Star Wars: Outcast of the Force

by Rated NC-17 Superstar

Just an old story I've had. Oneshot...ish. Read the AN and you'll get it.

A/N: First off: this is a one shot kind of thing. No updates, even though the story doesn't end. Why?
This is an older story I did a couple years back that I found while digging around on my computer. I like the story and characters, but it needs a lot of work. I've been thinking about revamping it. I'm posting this here to get some feedback. If I get some good feedback, maybe I'll revamp it and make it a regular fic and update it regularly and stuff. If not, then okay. At any rate, enjoy.

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Star Wars

Outcast of the Force

It has been seven years seen Jaden Korr, a Jedi at the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV, defeated Tavion and the disciples of Ragnos, stole the Scepter of Ragnos, and fled from the Jedi. He has not been heard from since, and it is presumed that there is no serious threat to the New Republic anymore. And the Jedi Order continues its search for beings who are Force sensitive to undergo Jedi training to help defend peace in the galaxy.

One of these young talents, Silver Carson, was one of the few who went through the long training of the Jedi. After a few years, he was accepted into the Jedi Council. However, it wasn't long after that when he suddenly resigned from the Jedi Order and broke one of the most sacred rules of the Jedi; retaining his lightsaber and abilities after leaving the order.

Now the newest prodigy at the Jedi temple is a young girl named Leena Aylalya, who has just finished her initiate training and was accepted as a Jedi Knight. And now, she has been given her first responsibility as a Jedi Knight, to find the outcast Jedi Silver Carson and bring him before the Jedi Council...

Characters:

Silver Carson

A rouge Jedi who left the Jedi order, keeping his lightsaber and Force abilities. He has been to many systems in his life and is well versed in their histories, languages, and customs. He excels at stealth missions due to his ability to hide and blend among crowds, and his powerful mind affecting Force abilities. Nothing is known about his past, his family, or what he was before he joined the Jedi.

Leena Aylalya

A newly appointed Jedi Knight of the order on Yavin IV. Leena is the newest person to be sent after the rouge Silver Carson, and has managed to track him down to Nar Shaddaa. Although powerful, she is headstrong and tends to lose her patience easily, making her lose sight of the task at hand.

Kyle Katarn

The Jedi who defeated the dark Jedi Jerek and Desann, and helped bring an end to Tavion and the Disciples of Ragnos, Kyle now teaches students at the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. As an ex-smuggler and Imperial Officer, he knows most of the galaxy very well and has many contacts.

Luke Skywalker

Often thought as the most powerful Jedi of the order, Luke is the one who originally started the Jedi Academy after the defeat of the Empire. He is hunting down the former Jedi Silver Carson, after the rouge fled from a near confrontation with him.

Jaden Korr

Also a former student at the academy, Jaden was the one who killed Tavion and took the Scepter of Ragnos for himself, fleeing from Kyle Katarn and joining up with the Remnant. He has yet to show himself to the Jedi since then.

Jan Ors

A rouge pilot/smuggler and the former partner of Kyle Katarn, Jan now lends her skills to the new Republic.

Ecclesiastes

The ancient Jedi wanderer who claims to have been traveling the galaxy since before the start of the old Republic, Ecclesiastes shows up without notice and disappears just as quickly. He claims to know the dead Jedi Tionne.

Rade

An ex-mercenary who has become the apprentice of Jaden Korr. Rade used to work as an assassin for several crime lords on Coruscant before he ran into Jaden on Yvanian.

IG-87

A protocol droid who is probably too human for his own good. He gives out information on Nar Shaddaa, for the right price of course. He used to be in leagues with the dark Jedi Jerek, and betrayed Kyle Katarn for personal gain.

Chiss took a look around and sighed. He had so much work to do before opening time. His bar was the most popular in the lower city of Nar Shaddaa, and his patrons had tendencies to leave big messes when they left. He still had to clean up the vomit in the third booth and prep the Fizkas for the betting matches. He walked into the storage closet and grabbed his stuff. He might as well start sooner rather than later. He walked back into the main bar, and was about to start when he heard the automatic door slide open. A mid height man wearing a long leather coat and slim sun shades was walking into the bar. "I'm sorry sirs, but the bars doesn't opens for another half an hour." Chiss said impatiently. "If you don't mind, I would like to wait here until you open," the stranger said, "I've walked here from Milthanis and my legs could use a rest, as well as shadows from unfriendly eyes." Chiss sneered. This was just another rich noble from the upper city. He was used to people hiding from bounty hunters and gang hitmen in his bar. But he was losing time and didn't want some random human to distract him from his work with pointless conversation. "I'm sorry sirs, but I said we aren't opens yet!" he told the man. The man walked forward towards Chiss. "You want me to stay," the man said soothingly, waving his arm at him, "You wouldn't want a paying customer to take his business somewhere else." Chiss thought about this. He wouldn't want a paying customer to get hurt, and it would be nice to do something nice for someone. Besides, the man seemed so polite, and he wouldn't want to come off as rude. "Okay fine, feel free to stays," Chiss replied, "But no drinks can be ordered until I opens officially." "No problem." The man bowed and proceeded to sit in the shadows of one of the booths. Chiss went back to cleaning and after a while, snuck in a look at the man, and for the life of him couldn't think as to why he let the man come in early...

Reitto was growing bored. He and his brother had already lost two hundred and fifty credits betting on Fizka fights, and he was waiting for his brother to find someone to "obtain" some credits from. And he was, as all Rodians are, getting very impatient. "Come brother, have you found no prospects?" he asked. "I think I might have found a new guy." Ralth, his brother, replied. New guys were good. New guys didn't know them. New guys were easy to "obtain" easy credits from. "Ahh... very nice." Reitto stated, "The one in the corner booth there, I think?" "Yes brother, he is the one," Ralth said, "He has kept to himself, I doubt he's even been on Nar Shaddaa for long." "Well, we would be doing him a favor to let him know what life on Nar Shaddaa is like then, right?" Reitto said with a small smirk growing on his face. "Yes, we should break him into life on Nar Shaddaa. Come." Ralth said. The two rose and headed for the man. The stranger barely lifted his head as they approached. Reitto stood at the booth as his brother slipped into the seat on the other side of the booth. Booths were very good for business, where others can't see well what you're doing. "Greetings stranger, and welcome to Nar Shaddaa." Ralth said. The man said nothing. "What is wrong with this one, does he not understand us?" Reitto asked. Most humans could speak Rodian. "Of course he can." Ralth said, turning his attention back to the man, "Now, Nar Shaddaa is a very dangerous place. And we wouldn't want anything to happen to a new wanderer." "We wouldn't want that at all." Reitto agreed, holding back snickers. "Now, for a small fee, we could ensure your safety." Ralth said. The man looked up. "Sorry, not interested." He said. Ralth frowned. "Maybe you don't understand." Ralth replied, pulling out his blaster, "You really need our protection, yes?" The man stared at Ralth. "You got what you need from me." he said, waving his hand. "I-I got what I need, I suppose..." Ralth said. "What?!" Reitto nearly leapt back. "In fact, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to help a poor traveler out with a little loan, hmm?" The man asked, waving his hand once more. Ralth sat there. The guy seemed sincere. And maybe the guy could use what little credits they had more than they did. After all, he did take the blaster to the face well. "Here you are, I'll help you out poor traveler." Ralth handed the man their last credits. Reitto couldn't believe his ears. "Have a nice day gentlemen." The man said, leaning back. Ralth got up and left the booth. Reitto chased after his brother. "What was that?" Reitto asked. "What is wrong brother?" Ralth asked, "We got what we wanted." "Got what we wanted?!?" Reitto said, nearly spitting on patrons nearby, "Not only did he not give us credits, you paid him!" Ralth stopped in his tracks. An angered expression came to his face as he pulled out his blaster and ran back to the man. "Playing me for a fool, are you?" he asked, "Ralth doesn't roll that way!" Reitto came up next to him, pulling out his own blaster. "We do this my way brother!" he said. Ralth nodded. "We want everything of value you have!" Reitto said, "Credits, personal value, whatever!" "Oh? Personal values you say?" The man asked. "Yes, everything! You heard my brother!" Ralth said, very angered at the man. "Are you sure now? My personal values aren't very secure." The man replied. "Yes! All of it! Now!" Reitto said. As quick as a flash, a blue glow extended from the mans arm, lighting up the dark booth. Ralth nearly turned pale (as pale as a Rodian could get) and quickly turned to run. Unfortunately for him, the stranger was faster, and the blue tip of his laser sword had pierced his back. Reitto had already started fleeing the scene, when an unseen force suddenly pulled him back to the man and his head slammed against a pillar with a sickening impact. His lifeless body hit the floor. The mans laser sword had disappeared as quickly as it had activated. By this time, everyone in the bar had turned their attention toward him. The man quickly fled the bar, and soon after the patrons went back to their drinks, soon forgetting the incident even happened...

Silver Carson was running swiftly through the back alleys of Nar Shaddaa. He was hoping not to draw any attention during his stay there, but those two Rodians didn't leave him much of a choice. Now he would have to find a new place to hide. He didn't know what he was hiding from. A Jedi was his best guess. He just felt a strong presence pursuing him. And if it was a Jedi, he didn't feel the need for a confrontation. The Force had helped him avoid trouble so far, but he couldn't run forever. He would need transportation off this planet, to his next destination. He stopped running and rested his back against a wall to catch his breath. He felt for certain it was a Jedi. Skywalker had been sending Jedi to catch him ever since he left the order. Just because he kept his lightsaber. What was up with that? He had safely avoided all the Jedi so far, but this one seemed more determined than the rest. Suddenly he heard a clang in the alley behind him. Someone was coming...

Leena slammed her fist against the side of her computer. She kept trying to calm herself down, but it was getting frustrating trying to track this man down. It took her a month alone to find out he was on Nar Shaddaa, and since she landed she had been chasing him throughout the whole planet. They had yet to have a face to face confrontation. He knows I'm after him, she thought, or someone is after him anyway. She was started to hate the council for giving her this as her first assignment as a Jedi Knight. She decided to try and hack Nar Shaddaa's security page and see if any ships registered to an unknown entity had landed in the lower city recently, where she had last lost track of him. She sat back down and began work on the hack...

Silver snuck in the alley, hoping to take his new foe by surprise. His lightsaber was in his hand, ready to defend him at any given moment. He lifted his foot over what he hoped was not a human body and took a peek around the corner. He saw the back of an imperial officer, who appeared to be speaking into a comlink. Silver leaned in a little closer to try and listen. "Yes, my lord, we have the layout now. I'm sending the upload to your comlink now. It should only take a few minutes." the officer said, "What? No, they didn't even detect our access. If things go as well with the republic as they did here, our plan will go smoothly." Silver snuck up behind the officer and used the Force to disable his comlink. "But there's still the matter of- what? Hello? Damn thing!" the officer shook his comlink, and then suddenly heard a buzz behind him. He spun around and saw Silver there, lightsaber in hand. "I would consider canceling that upload now." Silver said, "But that's just my opinion, you may not be totally outclassed." The officer had a grim look on his face, but nevertheless cut off his upload link. "What do you want from me, Jedi?" the officer asked. "I'm no Jedi, and I have no ties to the republic." Silver replied, "But I am curious to know what's so important that the remnant needs that's on that data of yours." "You think I'm going to tell a Jedi the plans of the Empire? Ha!" The officer spit on the ground. Silver sighed. He was getting sick of having to do this. "Yes, you do think you should tell me your plans." he said, waving his hand, "I'm no Jedi, I'm your friend, remember?" "Your Jedi mind tricks won't work on me. I've been trained by the master to resist such things." The officer sneered. "Hmm, well, doesn't work on everybody." Silver said, "But then again, there's always the fun way." He took a step forward. "Wait now, I can be reasonable." The officer said, "You said you have no ties to the republic, correct? That means you must be on our side." "I have ties to no one." Silver said, "I couldn't give any less of a shit what happens to either side, as long as I get what I'm searching for." "Well then, why not come work for us?" The officer said, "Come. The Empire is about to embark on a glorious quest to victory. We will crush the republic scum and retake our place as rulers of the galaxy." "Yeah, cause that's worked out so well for you guys in the past." Silver said. "Oh? But this time, we-" The officer started, then stopped. "This time you?" Silver prodded. "If you must know, we found data that has a layout to a secret temple, within it is a map leading to the greatest weapon the galaxy has ever seen!" the officer said, a grim smile on his face, "Not even the Jedi will be able to stand against us! What do you say now, renegade? Join the remnant of the Empire, and rule the galaxy next to our lord!" Silver stood there for a moment, and then quickly slashed the officer neatly on the torso. The officer let out a small scream and fell dead on the ground. Silver grabbed the officer's comlink. "Thank you, you saved me a lot of trouble searching for this thing." he said, downloading the layout to his datapad, "Would have taken me a long time by myself." He threw the officers comlink on his body, and quickly fled back out onto the streets. Now all he needed was transportation off Nar Shaddaa...

Luke Skywalker and Kyle Katarn stood in Luke's meditation room, as a hologram of Leena explained her current situation. "-registered under an unknown name landed in the lower city a few days ago, but the ship was reported missing soon after. Probably thugs stripping it for parts." she said, "At least I know I've got him trapped for now." "Paitence Leena. Don't be in such a hurry to capture him. Silver was always good at stealth missions, if he doesn't want to be found, he probably won't be." Luke replied. "I need to ask, Master Skywalker, it's been on my mind ever since you had me start this mission." Leena said, "Why is it so important we find this guy? Even though he left the order, he isn't the first. Why is he so different?" "That's not for you to know... yet." Luke said, "For now, just proceed with caution. And try not to engage in battle with him. Chances are he won't attack unless provoked." "As you wish, master." Leena bowed and ended the transmission. Kyle turned to Luke. "I know it's a need-to-know kind of thing for her, but mind letting me in?" Kyle asked, "I couldn't get nearly as close as she's gotten to him, but I was curious myself at the time." "I probably should tell you, I just don't want to tell Leena. Knowing her, she might try to kill Silver if she knew, and we need him alive." Luke said. "That bad?" Kyle asked. "I never told anyone, but Silver found out how to use a very powerful ability with the Force. It was banned from use in the Order back in the days of the Old Republic." Luke said, "He learned how to do it from holocrons of Exar Khun he found on Korriban." "Exar Khun? Wasn't he one of the first Sith lords?" Kyle asked. "And the strongest. He had a unique ability know as the "mind pierce", a skill that utilizes the Force to pierce someone's mind directly, causing near instant death." Luke replied, "It is a death worse than a shot from a disruptor rifle. It works the nerves in your brain to send waves of pain throughout your entire body. And it causes instant paralysis, so there is nothing you can do to stop it. It's a silent, painful death." "And Silver learned how to use this skill?" Kyle asked. "Better than Exar Khun himself. See Kyle, although the mind pierce is a powerful Force ability, it puts a tremendous strain on the user. Exar Khun could only do it about once a day himself." Luke explained, "But Silver, he learned how to perfect it, and use it multiple times before he would need to rest." "And you're afraid he'll misuse this power?" Kyle asked. "I don't know, to be honest with you. He came to me when he first mastered this ability, explaining what had happened when he used it on a... friend of his, shortly after he returned from Coruscant. That's when I learned about the skill from the holocrons we keep hidden from the students here at the Academy." Luke said, "I told him never to use this ability, and he agreed. Shortly after, he went on a diplomatic mission to Manaan. It was shortly after that mission when he left the order." "Did something happen to him?" Kyle asked. "I don't know. I didn't sense the dark side in him, but I didn't sense the light either. He had a completely neutral state, like most beginning students have, but he was still as strong in the Force as he was when he left. I'm not sure what to make of that." Luke replied, "All I know is if he is in a neutral state, even using the mind pierce once could turn him over to the dark side. And if he was to go over to the dark side with the mind pierce, not to mention his other mind bending skills..." "I can see why you're concerned Leena would kill him." Kyle said, "But would it really matter if he was alive?" "Well, there's more to the story. He has info we need." Luke said. Kyle waited for Luke to finish, but Luke said no more. "I'm assuming you're not going to tell me?" he asked. "I'm sorry Kyle, but not yet. Not until I know more myself." Luke said. With that, he left his room. Kyle sighed and shook his head. "I could've retired to the tropics..." he said to himself, as he left to go back to training the other students...

Leena walked into a bar in the lower city. Thanks to a few patrons she managed to sober up, she heard the tale of the stranger with the laser sword. She knew he wouldn't be in there now, but she needed more to go on. She still didn't even know what this guy looks like. And maybe someone saw what way he went. She sat down on a bar stool and waited for the bartender to offer something up. After a few moments, he walked over to her. "Many new faces to sees today." he said to her, "What can I gets for you?" "I'm not here for drinks, I'm here for information." "Isn't most everybodies these days?" the bartender said, "I've seen plenties, and heard plenties, but tell little. Not too many peoples get much out of ol' Chiss." Leena sighed, and put five hundred credits on the bar. "Well, will this unseal your lips long enough to tell me what I need to know?" she asked. Chiss' eyes lit up. "Ah, looking better alreadies you are. Maybe a secret or two will leaves my lips tonight." he replied, "What do you needs to know?" "I heard a stranger with a lightsaber was in here earlier," she asked, "You know anything about this?" "Ah, him. Troublemaker. Killed two of my best costumers. Sads it is, he seemed so nice when he first came in. Nice manners, so I thoughts." Chiss said. "What did he look like?" she asked. "Average height, I suppose. Maybes five ten, six feets? Brown hairs he had too. And it was green eyes I thinks. He had a leather coat on, and sun shades, though they fell off when he left." Chiss replied. "Do you have them?" she asked. "Maybes I do, maybes not. I'm getting on in age, some things aren't easily remembered." Chiss hinted. Leena sighed again and put another five hundred on the bar. Chiss quickly swiped it up and handed her a pair of sun shades. "That's all I knows about him." he said. "What happened with the fight anyway?" Leena asked. "Not too sure. I thinks it was just Reitto and Ralth stirring up troubles, always trying to cheat peoples." Chiss said, "Apparently your friend didn't feels like dealing with them." "Thanks for your time, just one last question?" Leena asked. "Makes it quick, I've got others to attends to." Chiss said. "Which direction was he heading when he left?" Leena asked. "I didn't see him personally, but I thinks some of my patrons saw him heading east from the exit." Chiss said. Leena got up and bowed to him, and quickly left the bar. Now she had a description and a lead. All she had to do is subdue this rogue...

Silver left the alleyways of the lower city and sat under a shaded, rotted hut. He had to come up with the next phase, getting off the planet. His ship had been stolen by thugs. He might be able to steal an imperial ship, if there was one, but he wouldn't be able to do it easily. It would most likely be guarded. And he still needed a plan to get rid of his pursuer. He could sense the presence of a Jedi. Luke was really beginning to drive his patience. Although he had to admit, this pursuer was better than the rest, whoever it was, it was getting closer. He had to act fast. He got back up and proceeded through the lower city. He figured if that imperial guy did have a ship there, it would be in lower city, where it would draw less attention. Unfortunately, going to the starpad there would lead him closer to his pursuer. He refused to get caught now though. He finally had the data he was searching for. But did the remnant also know of what he was searching for? How would they know? Either way it didn't matter. Without the layout he had, they wouldn't get too far. He stopped short of door to the outside area that would lead him to the starpad. He closed his eyes, trying to sense his pursuer. Whoever it was, they were nearby. He needed to move quickly. He walked through the door and stepped through, quickly ducking behind a crate. He took a look around. He saw a few thugs and gang members, but no one who could be a potential Jedi. He stepped out and walked through the streets. A few of the gangs and thugs turned their heads as he walked by, but no one stopped him. Maybe it would go well, he figured. If he could keep up this pace casually, he could get to the starpad without any trouble. Then he just needed to- his thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into someone. "Ugh!" he grunted as he fell down. "What's your problem?!" the stranger asked angrily. "I don't have a problem." Silver said as he got back to his feet, "My only problem is the problem that you think is my problem, but wouldn't be my problem if our current problem hadn't become a problem in the first place." The stranger just stood there for a moment, rerunning that sentence through his head. It didn't take. "Well, whatever this problem is, it's your problem now!" the figure said, pulling out a blaster. Soon, all the gang members were on him. "Uhh... you don't have a problem with me." Silver said, waving his hand. "Yes, I do!" the stranger said, and everyone opened fire. Silver jumped up quickly and landed on the roof of a building, and started running from rooftop to rooftop. Why couldn't that trick work when he really needed it? He flipped over to another rooftop, and stopped short. More gang members. He quickly pulled out his lightsaber and deflected the bolts shot at him, running to another rooftop. The gang members were everywhere. One pulled out a concussion rifle. Not good. He rolled to the side to avoid the shot and pushed out with the Force to send the second flying in the air. He leapt back to his feet and jumped to another roof, and was immediately knocked down from a thermal blast. He rolled over and saw a gran standing over him with a gun. Before he even had a chance to pull his lightsaber back out, a yellow glow pierced the gran's back. The body fell, and a girl with a lightsaber now stood over him. He didn't know if he should thank her or run. "Finally, I caught up with you!" she said, "I've been tracing you through half of the damn planet!" "I'm gonna guess it's not to congratulate me on a job well done?" Silver joked weakly. "I'm afraid not. On behalf of the Jedi Order, I-" Leena started, but was cut off by another thermal blast. She spun around to face the enemy, and Silver leapt back up and started running. Leena quickly turned around again and started pursuing him. She hadn't come this far just to let him get away that easily. She saw him jump down into an alley and start running in the direction of the starpad. He must have a second ship, she thought. She stayed to the rooftops and ran on a different, quicker path there. She leapt to the top of an apartment complex and jumped down into the middle of an alley, blocking his path. "You're persistent for one of Luke's Jedi." Silver said. "I've spent months trying to catch you, and now I'm the first to get so close to capturing you." Leena replied, "I'm not about to let this opportunity pass me!" Silver started to circle her. "You know, you're awfully confident for a Jedi." he said, "Not even Kyle could catch me, what makes you think you'll do better, miss...?" "Leena, and Kyle couldn't get this far, so obviously I'm already doing better than him!" Leena replied. "Leena? I remember you. One of the new students who arrived about a month before I left." Silver said, "You sound a bit too egotistical for a Jedi." "Don't get all preachy on me. I don't need to be taught how to be a Jedi from the one who not only left the order, but broke one of the most important rules!" Leena said, "Just face it Silver, you're coming back to the academy with me." "Ah, no, I'm not heading in that direction." Silver said, "But thanks for offering the ride." "Cute, but I think you need to take this more seriously. You don't have a choice." Leena said. Silver laughed at her. "Well then, the prodigal Jedi would rather learn how a real chase works?" he said, "If you want me so much, come, get me." He flipped backward onto the wall, and pushed off to the roof. Leena quickly followed him up there, and saw him jumping from building to building, already a ways ahead of her. She began pursuit again, desperately trying to keep up with him. He flipped over to another building, jumped onto a wall of another, and pushed off into the alleys again. Leena quickly flipped down after him, but fell down as he tripped her. She quickly pushed back up and grabbed his arm as he turned to run. He spun behind her and pushed her into a wall. She pulled out her lightsaber and pointed it in his direction. Before she had a chance to say a word, he pulled out his own blade and took a swing at her. She blocked his attack and swung at his legs. He jumped over her blade and kicked at her head. She leaned back and pushed up with the Force. Silver spun in the air, but managed to land back on his feet. He rushed her left side and swung at her. She parried his blow to the side and aimed a counter attack at his head. He brought his lightsaber up in time to block the attack and tried to stab her saber arm. She spun to the side and swept kicked his legs, he tumbled to the ground, but quickly flipped himself back up. He went in to attack again, but heard a noise behind them. They turned around and saw a huge remnant patrol. "You! You're the Jedi that killed our commanding officer!" one of the stormtroopers said, carrying a rocket launcher. He fired a shot at them, and the whole squad opened fire. Silver grabbed Leena's wrist and pulled her into another alley in time to dodge the blast. "Come on!" he shouted to her, and started running. She quickly ran to keep up with him, trying to avoid blaster fire from the pursuing stormtroopers. Luke was right, Silver was good at getting away from people. His path was erratic, but still managed to go in the same direction toward the starpad. Soon he leapt over a wall into one of the hangers. Leena jumped after him, and saw he was quick at work on one of the computers. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Trying to disable the security on this remnant ship." Silver replied, "You may want to get ready to hold those guys off before we can get on the ship, it could take a little while longer." "What? No, wait, we aren't taking this ship!" Leena said, "You're coming with me back to the academy!" Silver laughed, not looking up from the computer. "On what ship? According to this, your ship was checked out a few hours ago." he said. "What?!" Leena nearly shouted, but didn't have a chance to find out if it was true. A few of the faster soldiers were already there. "Take care of them; I don't have much left to do." Silver said. Leena reactivated her lightsaber and started attacking the stormtroopers. She sliced the arm off of one and kicked another to the ground. She then reflected a bolt to the fallen one and slashed the torso of the one who fired the gun. She pushed a few of them down, but more kept coming. Silver had to hurry; she couldn't take them all on. As she was deflecting shots, she saw a crane carrying pillars for repairing one of the buildings near where they were fighting. She used the Force to turn the crane toward them and flung her lightsaber at the rope holding the pillars up. They crashed down, taking some of the troopers with them. The lightsaber flew back into her hand, but it was a little late, she got hit by a bolt. She lost her balance for a moment and fell down. The soldier who shot her walked over to her body, but quickly lost his head to Silver. He grabbed her arm and lifted her up. "Get on the ship!" He shouted. She nodded and ran toward the ship, holding her shot shoulder. Silver turned to the stormtroopers, who now numbered about twenty five. "Drop your weapon, now!" the lead trooper said. Silver turned off his lightsaber, but didn't drop it. With a quick flip of his wrist, the broken pillars flew into the backs of the troopers, taking out all but the leader. The leader took a couple steps back, raising his weapon. "D-Don't move, Jedi!" he said in a shaky voice. Silver took no move toward him, but raised his arm. Before the trooper could shoot at him, he snapped his fingers. The trooper suddenly jerked violently, and fell to his knees. He sat there, in a kneeling position for a few moments. He wanted to scream, clutch his head, neck, body, everything, but he couldn't move, and his voice formed nothing. After a moment, his lifeless body hit the ground. Silver turned around and ran onto the ship before the rest of the troopers got there. He saw Leena in the cockpit waiting for him. "About time you got on, let's go!" she said. Silver quickly got in the captains seat and started up the ship. They heard blaster fire outside. "They're trying to blow out the engine!" Leena shouted. "Just a moment!" Silver said, trying to get the ship to start. His started hitting buttons. "Come on! Don't tell me you can't fly this thing!" Leena shouted at him. "Maybe if you'd shut up I could concentrate!" Silver shouted back. He pulled on the accelerator, and the ship started up. He started up the rest of the systems, and soon, the ship blasted through the air, leaving Nar Shaddaa behind...

Leena sat on the bench as Silver applied the bacta to her shoulder. "You don't need to do this, you know." she said. "I know, but I can't help but feel it might sort of kind of maybe be a little bit my fault you got hurt." Silver replied. "It's almost completely your fault, you killed their officer!" Leena said, "Luke said you were discreet, but I'm beginning to doubt that's true." "I didn't have much of a choice. He... had something of mine." Silver said, tightening the bandage, "How's that?" Leena rubbed her shoulder. "Better. Thanks." she said. "Don't mention it." Silver said. Leena got off the bench and headed for the cockpit. "Umm, and where are you going?" Silver asked. "I have you now, where do you think?" Leena replied, "We're going back to the academy." "Yeah, no, we aren't." Silver said. "Yes, we are. You don't have a say in the matter." Leena said. "I figured you'd try this, so I already set the autopilot and locked the controls." Silver said. "Well then, you're just going to have to unlock it for me!" Leena said. "I could do that, but I'm not going to do that, because I really don't want to do that." Silver replied, "You see I was the one who found the ship, and the one who hacked the controls to get into the ship, defeated the remnant soldiers following us, and rescued you from death." Silver smiled at her. "Sorry girl, but looks like you're riding with me now." "You can't do this, I won't let you!" Leena said angrily. "Too bad Leena. You don't have a choice. Even if you tried to attack me, there's no way you would win. Especially with your arm hurt." Silver stood up and headed to the cockpit himself, "Besides, what I'm doing would be easier accomplished with a partner." "Partner? Hell no!" Leena said, "I want no part of whatever you're planning!" "You say that like I'm planning something evil, but surely you don't sense the dark side in me." Silver said, "Come on, you can't say you're not a little curious to why I left the order, and what I'm doing. And if you want to leave, you can find another ship to take you back to your little academy." Leena just stood there for a moment. "I want to at least know where you're taking me." She finally said. "Manaan." Silver said. "Manaan?" Leena asked. "Manaan. Home of the Selkath." Silver replied, "I'm sure you've heard of it?" "Of course I've heard of it!" Leena said, "But what do you need there?" "Hmm... I'm not sure I can tell you... yet." Silver said, "Not something I want you taking back to Luke. Now if I were you, I would probably get some sleep. We're going to be pretty busy when we get to Manaan, if you decide to hang around of course." With that, Silver went into the cockpit. Leena stood there, shaking her head. She was beginning to get annoyed at Master Skywalker for getting her into all this...

"Manaan. Most of the planet is covered in water, but some selkath primarily stay on the surface." Silver said to Leena as he worked on landing the ship, "Their main city is Ahto city, which is where most of us offworlders are allowed to stay. The rest of their cities are underwater. They were one of the republic's and one of the Sith's strongholds in one of the wars long ago." "You seem to know a lot about this place." Leena observed. "Well, the last mission I had as a Jedi was here." Silver explained, "Plus I did studies a lot in my free time." The ship jerked a little as he finished the landing process. He leaned back in his seat. "So, what's it going to be?" He asked, "You gonna hang around me for a while, or you want to find a ride back to the academy? If you want to leave, I'll help you find one before I start." Leena took a second before she replied. "Well, I thought about it, and decided I don't have a choice but to go with you." she said. "Oh? And how do you figure that?" Silver asked. "My mission was to capture you and bring you back to the academy." Leena said, "But that didn't work out now did it? You won't come with me, and I won't fight you in a populated city. If I go back to the academy, they'll just send me back here, and by that time you'd be gone. At least this way I can keep an eye on you. And maybe after we find whatever it is you're looking for, you'll come back to the academy with me." "Fair enough then." Silver said, standing up, "You're free to come, as I said I could use the help. We should by find a place to stay for the next few days; it may take a few days to finish the research." "Research?" Leena asked. "I'll explain later." Silver said, walking to the exit of the ship. Leena followed him to the outside of the ship. Silver walked up to the selkath port guard. The selkath said something in its language. Silver nodded his head and gave the selkath one hundred credits. "What was that?" Leena asked. "He was asked for the docking fee." Silver explained, "You couldn't understand him?" "No, I'm not familiar with the selkath language." Leena admitted. "Hmm... usually one with the Force can understand other languages pretty easily." Silver said, "You probably will too after a short while." They proceeded into the city. Leena took a look around. The city was beautiful. The ocean surrounded the area; it seemed to be a floating city. There was a fountain in the center of the city, and when they passed it, she could see exotic fish swimming in it. Most of the buildings were made from white stone, and there was many plants growing around the city. "What else do you know about this place?" she asked. "Not too much. The city used to be weary of letting offworlders on the planet, until sometime during the Sith wars. I don't know all the details." Silver said, "But the selkath are the only distributors of kolto in the galaxy." "Kolto? What's that?" Leena asked. "It's a plant with healing properties." Silver explained, "It's the main chemical used in the healing bacta everyone uses now. As for the selkath themselves, they now freely welcome outsiders, but have a strict policy for following their laws. Breaking them can result in serious punishment, usually death. Not the people to piss off." They went through a doorway into another part of the city. There were many flags hung around there, and flowers blooming everywhere. "This area is where the republic embassy was back long ago." Silver said, "There should be an apartment complex somewhere nearby where we can rent a room." "And what is this research you were talking about?" Leena asked. "I won't say too much about it now, but there is a library nearby where we will go after I fill you in." Silver said, "Here it is." He stopped in front of a fancy building. "Are you sure you can afford a place like this?" Leena asked. "Don't worry, I got it covered." Silver said with a sly smile. He walked inside, holding the door for her. They both went to the front desk where a human was waiting at the counter. "Welcome to Manaan travelers, and welcome to the best apartment complex in the east central city." The clerk said, taking a look at them, "We have a nice deal on a honeymoon suite if you two are interested." "We aren't together!" Leena said quickly, "We'll need two beds." The clerk had a small smile on his face. "Of course, ma'am." he said, checking his datapad, "Ah, we have a nice room on the fourth floor, only fifteen hundred credits." Leena nearly took a step back. "What?!" she said, about to call the guy insane. Silver stopped her and stepped forward. "We don't need to pay." he said, waving his hand. "Ah, yes, I see, you're right, no need to pay." The clerk said, handing Silver a card key, "Please enjoy your stay in Ahto city, and if you have any question or need tourist info, just call front desk." "Thank you." Silver said, turning to the elevator. Leena took a second to follow him. "The Force is not some toy to just use on anyone!" she said, steaming, "Especially not for personal gain!" "First off, I don't think it's personal gain if we didn't actually gain anything." Silver replied, "And two, you have to admit, that price is a little expensive." "That doesn't justify what you did!" Leena said, "We could just as easily go to a cheaper place!" "Oh, lighten up." Silver said as the elevator opened. He went down the hall and opened the door to their room. Leena went in. She had to admit, she was a little glad he got a room there, however he did it. There were two big beds on opposite sides of the room. The mini bar was rather long and had many drinks and plenty of food. Everything was clean and shining; whoever cleaned it must have been very thorough. The blue carpet was soft and there was even a holocron butler to order room service with. Silver walked past her and sat down in a chair. Leena followed him and sat down on one of the beds. "Well? Are you going to explain everything now?" she asked. "Yes, I am, I'm just trying to decide where to start." Silver said. "Well, how about why you left the order? And why Luke is so determined to find you and get you back?" Leena suggested. "Okay then, I'll start there." Silver said, standing back up and pacing floor, "As I said, my last mission as a Jedi was here on Manaan. I was sent to be a diplomat in the undercities for one of the upcoming elections. The current governor was planning an assassination on his opponent, and, well, those details aren't important. While I was here, I took a look around the libraries they had in my spare time. I found something... interesting, but I'll get to that later. After I finished the mission, I went back to the academy. The only reason I did was to tell Luke I was leaving the order. He wasn't too pleased that I was, but he got real mad when I said I was keeping my lightsaber." "Mad? Master Luke?" Leena asked, surprised. "He wasn't too happy I was breaking that rule, and not relinquishing my Force abilities." Silver said, "I think it was mainly out of fear, and it nearly led to a fight, but I left before the situation got worse. That's when he started sending people after me." "Why? Why would he be scared of you? What do you know that he doesn't want to let out so bad?" Leena asked. "It wasn't what I knew, but what I could do." Silver said, stopping and turning to Leena, "Have you ever heard of Exar Khun?" "Exar Khun? The old Sith lord? I think everyone's heard of him. Why?" Leena asked. "He had a certain ability in the Force. It's not known by many, just me and Skywalker, known as the mind pierce." Silver said, continuing his pacing again, "I won't go into too many details about how it works, but basically it pierces the nerves in the victim's brains, causing a silent and very painful death." He stopped pacing and sighed. "I'm the only person alive who can use this ability." "What?!" Leena nearly jumped out of her seat. "I found some of Exar Khun's personal holocrons on a mission a couple years back." Silver explained, "He talked about the ability and how to use it, but he never was able to master it. But I found what he was missing, the thing needed to complete it. I was told by Luke never to use this ability, for it calls terribly upon the dark side." He turned to her again. "You get it now?" he asked. "Yes. Luke doesn't want you to misuse this ability. It's too dangerous." Leena said, "And I can see why!" "Don't get worked up, I don't use it." Silver said, "I know what it can do, and I'd rather not inflict that kind of pain." "Okay, that explains when you left the order and why Luke wants to find you, but why did you leave in the first place? What did you find here on Manaan?" Leena asked. Silver sat back down. "I found records in a hidden history book in one of the libraries. I doubt even the librarians knew about it." Silver replied, "It tells of a... weapon, of sorts. Well, not a weapon, it's... hard to explain..." He stopped for a moment. "It's an artifact from ancient times, that's all I can tell you for now." he said, "Maybe I'll tell you more later. All I know is that if it fell into the wrong hands, the new republic could be in a lot of danger." "You know, I hate being left out of the loop." Leena said. "And I apologize, but for now that's all I can say." Silver said, "Besides, I don't know if I can fully trust you yet." "Okay fine, I'll drop it... for now." Leena said, "But you haven't heard the last of this yet." "Fair enough. Now, is that all I need to cover? Or can we get started now?" Silver asked. "Not yet, you need to tell me what we're going to be researching here at the libraries." Leena asked. "Well, this datapad I have has a layout I got from that remnant officer." Silver said, "The layout should have direction to the location of the artifact. But I don't know where I can decode it. I found out that the translation device is hidden somewhere here on Manaan the last time I was here. That's what we're looking for." "And you think the location of the device is in a file at the library?" Leena asked. "I don't know, but I would think it would be the best place to start, don't you?" Silver replied, heading for the door, "Now we're wasting time just talking. Come." Leena got up and followed him out the door...

Luke continued pacing back and forth in his meditation hall in silence. It was starting to make Kyle a little annoyed. Leena's personal communicator had stopped sending its signal. Her last transmission had told them she had a lead on Silver's whereabouts, and that she was going after him, but then they lost contact. They were planning their next move. Or, they were supposed to be, but Kyle just figured Luke was going to pace all day. "If you don't mind stopping for half a second, maybe we could work on something here?" he asked Luke. Luke stopped. "Sorry Kyle. I'm just trying to sense where Leena is, but everything is clouded." he replied, "I sense something is about to happen, soon. The dark side is growing strong again." "How come whenever we get struck with such a simple problem, it multiplies constantly?" Kyle asked, "Do you think Jaden's finally making his move?" "I don't think it's safe to assume anything yet, but I have trouble coming up with anything else." Luke said, "But for now, we should just work on what we do know." "Right. I'm heading to Nar Shaddaa tonight. I've been there enough times to get a few contacts; I'll see if I can find out what happened to Leena." Kyle said. "Do you need transport?" Luke asked. "I've got Jan picking me up in the Raven's Claw. I figured two people had a better chance finding Leena than one." Kyle replied, "What about you?" "I'm taking a temporary leave of absence from the academy. I'm going to try and track Silver's path after he left the academy. Maybe I can learn more about why he left the order." Luke said, "Our trackers showed him heading in the direction of Coruscant when he left." "Looks like we're splitting up then." Kyle said, "I'll contact you if we find anything." "Good luck Kyle, and may the Force be with you." Luke said. "Yeah, you too." Kyle replied, taking his leave to the docking bay...

Leena flipped through the pages of the book she was reading, "History of Early Manaan", trying to find... whatever it was she was supposed to find. She was beginning to doubt she would find anything. This was her fourth book she was looking through, and she hadn't found anything yet. And Silver had gone through four as well and found nothing. They had narrowed it down to ten possible books that could have information on it. Silver had said if they couldn't find it there, they would have to try sneaking into the undercity. Of course, if they got caught, they would probably be killed. She wasn't too big on that idea. She put her book down and stretched her back. She was getting sore and cramped for just sitting there. She wanted to stretch so badly. She looked up at Silver, who was still silently reading an ancient text on the ancient devices of the selkath. His face didn't show any emotion, surprise, happiness, disappointment, nothing. She had to admire his determination though. She had already gotten up twice to stretch and walk around, and tried to start conversation with a few other offworlders, but Silver had yet to move at all, save to turn pages and switch books. She couldn't help but wonder what it was he wanted to find so badly. Could anything possibly that much of a threat to the republic? Silver must have noticed her staring, because he turned to her with a sly smile on his face. "What's wrong? See something you like?" he said. "Get over yourself!" Leena snapped back, "I was just thinking, that's all." "I'll bet." Silver replied with a small laugh. "You've got a real big ego, you know that?" Leena replied, "I was just wondering what could be so much of a threat to the republic that you would leave the order to find, instead of going to Master Skywalker." "I have my own reasons. Besides, if I told Luke about it, he would have to meditate on it, take it to the council of the other Jedi, etcetera, etcetera. There isn't enough time for all that. The remnant must already know of it as well, why else did they search for the layout?" Silver replied, "And the Order wasn't for me anyway. All the rules and restrictions... ugh." "So then, are you going to give up your abilities after you find this thing?" Leena asked. "Doubt it. I'm probably going to be busy with other things." Silver said. "Oh really? Such as?" Leena asked. "Not important right now. Come here, I think I found something." Silver said. "There's no chair at that table, where am I supposed to sit?" Leena asked. "My lap is pretty much open, if you're interested." Silver said, with that smile back on his face. "Men..." Leena sighed, lifting her own chair with the Force and sitting next to Silver, "What did you find?" "Right here. It talks of a hidden underground grotto where the ancient selkath stored their most valuable devices and scrolls. The grotto was sealed by an unknown traveling magic user and the path to it was lost." Silver said. "Magic user? Sounds like a Force-user to me." Leena replied. "That's what I was thinking. It doesn't say on how to get there, but I learned in my earlier studies that someone already found it when he was searching for something." Silver said. "What was he looking for? What else could be here?" Leena asked. "Not important. What is important is that I think I know where the main path leading to where this grotto is." Silver replied, closing the book, "Of course, to get there we need to break the law of the selkath, go deep under the sea, and travel across lost passageways with only a little knowledge of where we're going, not to mention firaxa sharks. If you want to run back to your little academy, this is your last chance." Leena stood up. "I'll go with you." she said. Silver got up as well. "I knew your curiosity would get the best of you." he said with a smile, "We should get some supplies today, and maybe get you a new outfit. We don't want to arouse suspicion with your Jedi robes. We can head out tomorrow."

Silver and Leena were standing at a corner of one of the main streets of Ahto City. Just around the corner was the guarded path to the Undercities. Leena looked over at Silver. "So, what's your plan on getting in?" she asked. Silver walked around the corner, signaling for her to follow. She quickly fell in behind him. The guards turned around as soon as they heard them coming. "I'm sorry, but we must ask that offworlders stay in the upper city during their stay on Manaan." the guard told them, speaking galactic basic, "Only those with the proper authorization and the selkath are allowed into the undercity." Silver stepped forward. "We are authorized to go into the undercity." he said, waving his hand, "We're with the outer rim trade groups. You are expecting us." "Ah yes, I remember now, we are expecting you." the guard said, "I'll just need to see your papers." "You already got our papers yesterday." Silver said, waving his hand again, "We are free to come and go as we please." "You may come and go as you please." the guard said, standing aside. The other guard, looking confused, stepped to the side as well. Silver quickly entered the door, with Leena right behind him. Leena waited for the door to close before she opened her mouth. "Although your plan worked, I disagree with your methods. You play with the Force like it's a toy." she said. "Ah, you just worry too much." Silver said, "Try to have a little fun in your life, huh?" He hit a few buttons in the small room they were in, and the room started moving down. It was an elevator. "What do we do when we get in the undercity?" Leena asked, "Won't there be more guards? And more witnesses? I don't think you'll be able to trick that many people." "That is exactly why we aren't going that far down." Silver replied. "Umm... what are you talking about?" Leena asked. Instead of replying, Silver pulled out his lightsaber and jammed the blade through the wall. Water started pouring in. "Take this!" he shouted, tossing her an oxygen mask. She put it on, as Silver put one on himself. She watched as Silver put his lightsaber back on his belt. The water was up to their waists now. "Whatever you're doing, you better hurry!" she shouted. Silver turned to the hole in the wall, and sent out a terrifying wave of the Force at it, breaking down the entire wall. Water flooded in. Leena fell over at the force of the water flow. She felt Silver grab her wrist and drag her out of the elevator. She opened her eyes and looked around. They were swimming about halfway down into the ocean. The elevator had stopped moving when Silver put the hole through it. Silver tapped her shoulder and motioned for her to follow. She nodded and started swimming after him, trying her best to keep up. He was a really good swimmer apparently. She looked ahead, wondering where they were going. They were heading in the opposite direction of the undercities. They swam for a long time before she finally saw the ruins of some old building. Silver motioned towards it. That was their destination. She hoped they got there soon. The water pressure was getting intense. Silver grabbed her wrist and helped her swim to the building. They swam in the ruins, trying to find a door. Leena took a glance around, and saw an airlock door to the side. She tugged Silver over in that direction. He turned his head and saw it, and immediately began swimming for it. He used the Force to open the door and quickly pulled the two of them in before the water flooded in. Leena collapsed on the ground and pulled off her oxygen mask. Silver leaned against a wall, trying to regain his strength as well. Leena lay there, trying to catch a breath to talk. "Why didn't you tell me of that little plan of yours? You said we were going into the undercity!" she said finally. Silver lifted his head. "That was need to know. The elevator won't be moving for a while. This way, by the time they get it moving and sort out the fact that we broke their law, we'll be done and off this planet." he replied. "Next time you have an idea like that, tell me before hand!" Leena said, pretty pissed off. "If I had told you, you wouldn't have agreed." Silver said simply, "This way, we're in where we need to be, I didn't get an argument from you, the selkath don't know where we are-" "And you have no idea of how to get past the selkath on the way back up, do you?" Leena interrupted. "Not... quite yet..." Silver replied, "Still kind of... working on that part." Leena sighed. "Whatever. How about you tell me where the hell we are now?" she asked. "Well, I don't know the exact point of the area where we are." Silver said, "But the building itself, these are the ruins of a kolto harvesting plant used in the wars long ago I told you about. The selkath kept their neutrality in the war by allowing both the Sith and the Republic to stay on Manaan, and provided them both with an equal amount of kolto. But the leader of the selkath judges knew about the Sith's true nature, and secretly worked with the Republic and built this facility to harvest extra kolto to give the Republic the upper hand in the war." As he was saying this, he walked over to a control panel and started working on it. "And this leads to the grotto we're seeking?" Leena asked. "Almost leads, actually." Silver said, still on the computer, "You see, when they were mining out a path deeper into the planet, the workers found an extra passage that led to a sealed door. They tried everything they could to open the door, but nothing worked. Eventually, the Republic decided they were losing time and sealed the passage off, going back to work on the other passage they mined." He pushed a few buttons and a holomap came up. "I'm guessing the sealed door is the door that leads to the grotto. If it was sealed by a Jedi, then a Jedi should be able to open it." he said. "Wait, you're guessing the sealed door is it?" Leena asked, "So you mean you've based this entire plan that nearly got us killed, could get us killed, and will probably get us arrested and then killed on a guess?!" "Geez, where is your sense of adventure? Live it up!" Silver replied with a smile, "That's why I gave up on the Jedi life, can't enjoy anything." He motioned for her to stand next to him. She stood up and walked over. "Unfortunately, we're on the other side of the ruins of where the path was found." Silver said, pointing to their position on the map, "And most of the doors were locked when the facility was shut down, so it will be a relatively long path. But thankfully all the security droids were taken out when they shut the place down." Silver shut down the holomap and stepped away from the computer. He turned to Leena. "Seriously though, as long as you're riding with me, try to loosen up. You're going to stress me out more than the order did." Silver said, then he smiled, "And don't think I have a problem leaving you here on Manaan with no way back." "Try it." Leena challenged. "Maybe later. Come on, we should start going." Silver replied, heading down the hallway. Leena stepped in behind him. "So we open this sealed door, enter the grotto, grab the device, and then what?" Leena asked. "Well, we use the device of course. Why else would we be looking for it?" Silver replied. Leena sighed. "I mean, how do we get back to the surface, and how do we get past all the selkath who will be trying to arrest us?" she asked. "I figure we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Silver said. "Well I figure as long as we have nothing to do until we get to this door, we might as well come up with something besides one of your surprise plans." Leena replied. "Hey now, we got here and we're alive, aren't we?" Silver said. "Hardly. There are plenty of other ways to get things done." Leena said. "Yeah, but my way was more exciting." Silver said. "Can't crave excitement if you're dead, you know." Leena replied. "Do you have to question every one of my methods?" Silver asked. "I just think that-" Leena started, but was interrupted as Silver put his hand over her mouth and signaled to be quiet. He motioned into the next room. Leena looked around the corner and saw a figure standing in the next room. "I thought you said these ruins were abandoned?" Leena whispered. "I thought they were. He kind of looks familiar..." Silver whispered back, trying to think of where he saw the man before. Leena took a look around. "We don't have any other paths we can take. As long as we have to go in there, we should try to talk to him." she said. Silver didn't reply. Leena shrugged and went in. Silver jumped to attention as he remembered the man. "No, wait!" he tried to stop Leena, but she was already approaching the man. "Hey, you!" she started. The figure turned around and quickly activated the red blade of his lightsaber. Leena jumped back in surprise, and nearly bumped into Silver who had just run in. "It's one of the cultists." he said. "Cultists? What are you talking about?" Leena asked. "It was a while back. Surely you heard? The Disciples of Ragnos?" Silver replied. Leena remembered, the cult that Kyle tried to stop. "I thought they were defeated?" she asked. "Maybe we should talk later." Silver said, pulling out his own lightsaber. Leena activated hers as well. The cultist leapt in and kicked Leena into the wall. Silver began his attack on the cultist, using horizontal attack katas. Leena slowly stood back up, groaning from the pain. She jumped back into the battle, slashing downward with her saber as she fell down on the cultist. The cultist brought up his blade in time to block the incoming attack, but the force of the blow knocked him off balance. Silver stabbed at him. The cultist spun to the side, trying to regain his footing. Leena swung her blade to the side. The cultist parried the blow and kicked Silver in the stomach, turning in a circle to begin his assault of Leena. Leena blocked the continuous blows, trying to lure him near a fallen power circuit. Silver pushed himself back up and charged in at the cultist, hoping to take him by surprise. The cultist looked up to see Silver charging him, but couldn't bring up his guard in time. Silver slashed him in the leg, causing him to shout out in pain. Leena took that opportunity to bend back and pull with the Force, causing the cultist to flip over her body and hit the power circuit. The cultist screamed in pain as the power circuit shocked his body, and then the circuit overloaded and shorted out. Silver turned off his saber and walked over to the body. "Maybe he's just one of the survivors?" Leena asked, walking up next to him. "It's possible. But the real question should be how he got here, and why." Silver replied. "And also if he's the only one. What if there's more?" Leena asked. "Hmm..." Silver closed his eyes, reaching out with the Force. He opened his eyes. "I don't sense anyone, but the cultists weren't strong in the Force. They were mainly just able to be empowered enough to handle a lightsaber." he said, "But we should still be careful. I remember Kyle saying how some dark Force users were able to mask there presence." Leena nodded, and Silver led the way through the ruins...

Kyle walked the streets of Nar Shaddaa. He hoped that things went well. He was waiting for the day he could go to Nar Shaddaa and not get into a fight. He would just love to be able to get some info, and leave in peace. He doubted that would happen. He already could feel trouble creeping up on him. Some of the people he passed looked at him with recognition. Not a good sign. He walked into a bar. The bar, to be exact, where his problems would always start. He took a glance around. No one he recognized. That was good. He went up to the bar and sat on a stool. After a few moments, the bartender came up. "What can I gets for... you..." the bartender drifted off, "You! I remembers you!" Kyle sighed. "Wonderful..." he said. "Now whats do you wants? You've caused me enough troubles in my life! Can't you leaves me alone?" Chiss asked. "I don't find this meeting too pleasant either. Maybe if you could refrain yourself from hitting the alarm our past meetings would have ended better." Kyle replied. "What is it this time? I'm not too fonds of helping the likes of you." Chiss asked. "I'm looking for someone. But what else is new?" Kyle replied. "A lots of peoples are looking for peoples. I see many, and forgets much. Who are you looking for?" Chiss asked. "A girl. If she was here, I doubt she'd use her name. About average height. Blonde hair, blue eyes. And she's a Jedi." Kyle smiled, "I'm pretty sure you don't forget those." "Well well, I seems to remember someone who might match that description. But what's in this for me?" Chiss asked. "If I remember correctly, the last time you tried to bribe me, it ended in a fight." Kyle replied, "In fact, every time I've been here it's ended in a fight. Please, let's try not to get in a fight. Fights are bad. Just tell me what I need to know." "Only on one condition, will I tells you." Chiss said. "What?" Kyle asked. "You leave my bars, and never returns." Chiss said. "Seems like a win-win situation for both of us." Kyle said, "Deal. Now tell me what you know." "She cames in a few days ago." Chiss said, "She was also looking for someone as wells. And the guy she was looking for was in heres a few days before she was too." He smiled at Kyle. "A pattern, I thinks. What's going on with the Jedis, I wonder?" he said. "Long story, and I don't think it concerns you." Kyle said, "Where did she go?" "Well, if she wents after the guy she was looking for, it was the direction of the starpad, I thinks." Chiss said, "That's all I knows." "Okay. And I'll keep my end of the deal. I really don't want to come back here anyway." Kyle said, standing up and turning to leave. "Wait, I haves one last thing." Chiss said. Kyle turned back around. "Tries to keep a low profile. A lots of peoples here are after you. Daero Baruk, heir to Reelo Baruk, has been searchings for you. Walk with cautions." Chiss said. "I'll keep that in mind, Thanks for the info." Kyle replied. He left without another word. So Leena was on track for catching Silver. But then what happened? He didn't think Silver would go into a fight, and even if he did, he doubted he would kill anyone. But of course, he could be wrong. He started out for the starpad...

Silver and Leena stood in front of the sealed path that lead to the grotto door. Apparently the Republic workers were in a hurry to seal the path; rocks blocked the pathway completely. "The Republic must have just used a minor explosion to seal it off." Leena said. "Which makes our job so much harder." Silver said, "We could easily move the rocks with the Force, but it would take weeks. Time is not a pleasantry we have." Leena just stood there thinking. "Are you sure there's no other path?" she asked. "Positive. The only way is through here." Silver replied. He sighed. "I have one idea, but I was hoping to use it as a last resort." he said, moving into the path. "Whoa whoa, wait!" Leena grabbed his arm and dragged him back out, "This time, you're telling me your plan before you execute it." "Fine... I have a small explosive I bought in Ahto City." he said, pulling out a small sonic grenade, "I can use the Force to maneuver the bomb into the middle of the rubble and set it off. The waves it emits should be enough to shatter the rocks... or enough to make the ceiling cave in on us. But we'll never know until we try, right?" Leena sighed. "I can't even believe I'm going to let you do this..." she said. Silver smiled. "Now you're getting into it! Just admit, my way is always funner." he said. "Just blow up the rocks." she said impatiently. Silver went in and pushed the grenade through a small opening in the rocks. He carefully guided it through a maze of spikes and spires. "Move back." he said. Leena stepped back a few steps. Silver followed her, and let go of the grenade. They heard an explosion, and they ducked behind a wall as small rock fragments shot out from the doorway. They crept back around. "See? I knew it would work out." Silver said, "Shall we?" Leena nodded and followed him inside the pathway. There were still plenty of rocks in the path, but there was enough room to get through without too much trouble. The reached the end and saw an ancient looking door. "This is it, isn't it?" Leena asked. "Yeah, I'm sure it is." Silver replied. He put his hand on the door, reaching out with the Force. "Hmm... It's more simple than I thought." he said, turning back to Leena, "It's just a basic lock, really, but it's inside the door, which was built to be thick. All the Jedi had to do was unlock the door with the Force. I guess the material is strong enough to withstand a strong blast too." Leena stepped up and reached out to feel for herself. She could sense the lock inside, and she unlocked it herself. The door opened slowly. "I'll go in first." Silver said. Leena nodded and watched Silver walk into the room, and quietly followed him. Inside the room were piles of old machinery and ancient devices. Leena could recognize some of the devices as old devices Tionne would often brought to the academy from her travels. But most of the devices were completely new to her. "How do you even know which one is the right one?" she asked, turning to Silver. She stopped, stunned. "I'm assuming it's the one he's holding." Silver replied. There was a figure standing a ways in front of them, holding a small reader device in one hand, and a staff in the other. The figure turned around to face them. "So, you're the Jedi who took out my officer on Nar Shaddaa." the figure said. "Who are you?" Leena asked, but Silver recognized him. "Jaden Korr. Didn't think I'd ever see you again." he said. "Ah, Silver Carson. It's been a while." Jaden replied. "Jaden Korr? You know him?" Leena asked. "An old student from the academy. He betrayed Kyle and took Ragnos' scepter from Tavion. He fled, and wasn't heard from since." Silver explained. "Betrayed Kyle? The Jedi betrayed me!" Jaden said angrily, "Yes, I fled from my former master. And I waited patiently until I could gather the information I needed." "So, you're after it too then." Silver said. "Of course! You know the power of what we seek! And now I have half of the puzzle." Jaden said, "And correct me if I'm wrong, but you have to other half don't you? The layout my officer was trying to send to me?" "Looks like we both have what the other needs." Silver said, "Unfortunately for you, we have you outnumbered." "Outnumbered? You forget that I have this!" Jaden said, holding out the scepter, "I am the most powerful being in the galaxy! Numbers are nothing against my strength!" As he said this, he activated a red lightsaber. Leena was quick to pull out her blade as well. "Tell me, how did you find out about the layout, and this place?" Silver asked, his lightsaber not active but still in his hand. "After I fled from the Jedi on Korriban, I went to the remains of Byss. Using the databases there, I was able to bring up ancient texts about the great weapon." Jaden said, "I waited, giving rebirth to the remnant, and I personally went searching for more information in the meantime. It wasn't long before I discovered about the layout on Nar Shaddaa and the device needed to view it, hidden here on Manaan!" "I'll bet you're sure proud of yourself, but I'm afraid I have to rain on your little parade and ask you to hand over the translation device. Now." Silver said. "Quite the arrogant fool, for a Jedi." Jaden laughed, "Who are you to make demands? It's you who needs to hand the layout over to me!" "I'm no Jedi. I left them a while ago. And even with your little walking stick, I'm more than enough for you." Silver replied. "You mock the power of the scepter? You are pathetic!" Jaden said, "Tavion had no idea of the true power this scepter holds! She couldn't even scratch the surface!" He leapt in the air and smashed the scepter into the ground, making it crumble. Silver leapt to the side, holding on to the wall, activating his lightsaber. Leena rolled back and jumped in toward Jaden. Jaden blocked her attack and slashed at her with the scepter. Leena parried him to the side, and Silver pounced at him. Jaden shot Silver with a blast from the scepter while using his saber to block an incoming attack from Leena. Silver flipped over in the air and landed on his feet, rushing back in. Jaden spun to the side to dodge an attack from Leena and blocked the attack from Silver, and kicked Leena's wrist, knocking her lightsaber free. Silver attacked Jaden, but was pushed away by another scepter blast. Leena's lightsaber flew back into her hand and she spun around slashing. Jaden locked blades with her, and knocked her aside with the side of the scepter. Leena fell to the ground, and looked up to see Jaden standing over her. He flourished his blade with a smile on his face, and stabbed at her. Leena closed her eyes, waiting for the blow, but it never came. She opened her eyes and saw Silver in front of her, with the tip of Jaden's blade through his shoulder. Jaden slashed at Silver, but Silver parried his blade to the side and kicked Jaden down. Jaden flipped back up, flourishing his saber and the scepter. Silver faced him, but he was outmatched. He had the use of only one of his arms. Jaden shot a blast at the ceiling, causing a part of it to crash down on Silver. Silver leapt to the side, and quickly jumped back as another blast was shot at him. Jaden rushed in, but stopped suddenly. Silver noticed it to. They all started to hear a rumbling sound. Jaden's blasts had started the ruins to collapse. "Leena, get out of here, now!" Silver shouted. "What's going on?" Leena asked. "I don't have time, go! I'll get the device!" Silver shouted back. Leena looked worried, but nodded and ran back out the pathway. "You think you can defeat me by yourself, with only one arm?" Jaden asked, "You were barely holding me off with two!" Silver deactivated his lightsaber. "Who said I needed my arm?" he asked, pushing Jaden into a wall with the Force, "Now, this is going to sting a little bit, but unfortunately, I think you're strong enough to survive." "What the hell are you talking abo-" Jaden started, but was hit with a strong pain in his head. He fell to his knees, blinded by furious pain. He started to black out as the pain spread from his head to his arms... to the rest of his body. Silver watched his body fall to the ground. He then walked over to it and picked up the translation device. "You'll live." he said, although he knew Jaden couldn't hear him, "But I'll be surprised if you can come to in time to get out of these ruins before they cave in on you." He walked out of the grotto, turning back before he left. "And you'd be wise to keep away from what's mine."

Leena stood waiting by the doorway, worried about Silver. Why he still wanted to get the device when the place was caving in and he had been stabbed in the shoulder was beyond her. She even doubted it was him who would walk back up. She felt for sure Jaden would be able to defeat him. She looked up as she heard a figure approaching. She hoped it was Silver, but held her lightsaber in her hand, just in case. She waited and saw the figure make it to the top. It was Silver. "Silver! You're alive!" she ran up to him, "I thought you probably..." she trailed off. "Yeah, well we need to get moving, fast." Silver said, holding his shoulder, "Within soon, the whole ruins will probably collapse on us." "What about that guy Jaden? Is he dead?" Leena asked. "No, he'll live. But I doubt he'll be able to get out in time. If we can ourselves." Silver said. "And just exactly how do we get out?" Leena asked, "This is why it's good to plan ahead of time." "Think about it; if Jaden was here, he would have needed transportation, correct?" Silver replied, "And since the cultist was with him, I'm assuming they had a submarine or some vehicle that can travel underwater. This way, we can avoid the selkath as well." "But where would his ship be?" Leena asked. "There's only one docking bay here, and it's relatively nearby. Come on." Silver said, leading the way still holding his hurt shoulder. Leena followed behind him, also noticing that some of the walls were starting to shake. They could here a soft rumbling coming from the grotto behind them. Silver started to pick up the pace, leading them through the catacombs of the ruins. Leena couldn't help but notice the bodies as they passed, well decayed by now. She decided to keep her eyes forward. Silver turned a corner. Leena went around, and bumped into Silver. "Why are we stopping?" she asked. Silver just pointed ahead. She saw a door to the docking bay, but guarding the door was a party of cultists. Five by her count. "Damn, I could completely take them if it wasn't for my arm!" Silver said. "And you don't think I can take them by myself?" Leena asked. "Well, I never said that... out loud..." Silver replied. Leena shook her head and leapt into the cultists, activating her lightsaber as she went. The cultists looked up, but didn't have time to bring up their guard. Leena kicked the first one down, and hung in the air long enough to deliver a kick to the second. The third tried to slash at her, as did the fourth. Leena leaned back, causing the cultists to lock blades with each other. She leapt over the blades and stabbed the first one before he had a chance to get up. The fifth took a slash at her legs. Leena jumped over the blades and landed on his shoulders, driving her saber into his head. The second had gotten up by now and leapt in at Leena, as did the other two. But the second never got to her. A wave of the Force sent by Silver flipped him back into a wall. Leena cut down one of the other two easily. The other one began raining attacks at her. The one who hit the wall slowly got up and leapt at Silver. Silver spun to the side and pushed the cultist into the ground. Leena flipped over the cultist she was fight and stabbed backwards. The cultist jumped into the wall and pushed back out at Leena. The other cultist got back to his feet and tried an overhead attack on Silver. Silver used his good arm to grab the cultist wrists and slammed them into the wall, causing the cultist to lose grip on his lightsaber. It fell to the ground. Leena dodged to the side to avoid the incoming cultist, who rolled as soon as he hit the ground and leapt back at her. She ducked low and slashed upward, cutting the cultist through the torso. Silver punched the cultist as he reached for his lightsaber and kicked him across the face. The cultist stumbled backwards. Silver dashed forward, grabbing the cultist by the neck, spinning around and throwing his body into a pole. The cultist back hit the pole with a crack, and his lifeless body hit the ground. Silver turned around and saw Leena running up to him. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Forget about me! Your arm!" Leena said pointing. There was a pool of blood underneath Silver, and his face was starting to lose color. "We need to get your shoulder fixed, now!" Leena said. "We don't have time, listen, the noise is getting worse. We get worry about me when we get back to our ship." Silver said. "But you-" Leena started. "We don't have time to discuss this, let's go!" Silver shouted. He started toward the door to the docking bay. Leena quickly caught up to him and followed him into the room. It was small, with a pool of water in the middle. Floating in the pool was a submersible. Silver jumped to the top and opened the hatch. "Get in, now!" he ordered. Leena went in without another word. Silver got in after her and sat in the seat, working at the controls. After a moment he had the ship running, and he started back towards the surface...

Jaden crawled out from the pathway to the grotto. The ruins were beginning to fall down around him. He could barely keep going. It was taking his entire command of the Force to get him that far. He had no idea what Silver did to him, but he would make him pay. He decided he should get to his feet. He used the scepter as a third leg and got to a vertical basis. He had to find a new way out of there. He was pretty sure those Jedi took his submersible to escape. Looking around, he saw the door leading to the airlock room. Luckily for him, there was still an air pressure suit in there. It was outdated, but it would have to do. He got in it, and opened the airlock controls and left the ruins. He looked back and saw the building crumbling slowly. As he worked his way back to the surface, he weighed his options. Now Silver had the layout and the translation device. Unfortunately for Silver, Jaden still knew one important piece of the puzzle. And whatever that little trick was Silver did to him; he would make sure it never happened again...

Leena made Silver lay down on the table. They were back in the ship, already past Manaan. Thankfully for them the city was in a bit of a confused state thanks to their crashing the elevator and the remnant troops still waiting for their master's return; not to mention the crumbling ruins. Silver just set the ship to get away from there, no course plotted. Then Leena took him to the medical room. She started to apply the bacta to the wound. Silver winced as she grabbed his arm. "How's it feeling?" she asked. "I've been hit worse before, I'll be fine." Silver replied, "Sorry I got you into so much trouble." "Well I can certainly say this; I never thought my mission would turn out like this." Leena said. "Life is more exciting away from the Jedi." Silver said, "There's probably going to be a lot more dangerous situation then what we were just in." He looked up at Leena with a smile. "Sure you don't want out?" he asked. "Well, I think we should contact Master Skywalker and let him know about Jaden." Leena answered. "No way. You contact Luke, he finds out where we are, and he comes after me to rescue you." Silver said, "Besides, he would only slow us down." "Fine, we can keep him out of it." Leena said, "But you could tell me where we're going to next." "I don't know. The layout should let us know where it is when we use it with the translation device." Silver replied. Leena finished applying the bacta to the wound, and almost immediately it started to clear up. She ran her hand over the previous area of the wound, and just held it there. Silver waited a moment, and then lifted her hand in his. Leena looked at him, then after a moment pulled away quickly, keeping her eyes on the floor. Silver slowly got up, and just sat there for a moment. "Well, no point in waiting around." he finally said, "Come on, let's check out this map." He got up and went into the lounge of the ship. Leena followed, eyes still on the floor. Once they arrived in the room, Silver picked up the device and started looking around it. "Well? How does it work?" Leena asked. "Hmm..." Silver murmured, turning the device around in his hand. After a moment, he smiled. "Ah." he said, sliding the layout data through a small crack on one of the sides. The device suddenly became unbearably hot, and Silver dropped it in surprise. The device hit the floor and started shaking. "Are you sure this is the right device?" Leena asked. "I would doubt both me and Jaden were wrong, but now..." Silver said. Then without warning, the device shot out a hologram some alien species. The alien began speaking in galactic basic. "I hold the answers to that which you seek." it said in a monotone, "My answers are limited. Ask only what is in my memory." Silver stepped forward. "I was told this was a layout. A map of sorts. Is it not?" Silver asked. "Answer: this data was created as a backup tool in finding the great creation. No map data has been programmed, however, certain coordinates have been programmed as leads toward the great creation." the alien replied. "Leads only? You don't have a straightforward path to it?" Silver asked. "Answer: the builders did not trust putting the information of the great creation out in too many places. The full data of the great creation is programmed however, but access is restricted." the alien replied. "Restricted? To who?" Silver asked. "Answer: that data is unavailable to you at this time." the alien replied, "The data has been programmed for one lead at a time. Only one. The previous user of this system has set his lead to the great creation." "And how do we obtain this lead?" Silver asked. "Answer: only by asking the question required can you find what you seek." the alien replied. Leena stepped up. "What is this 'great creation' you keep referring to?" she asked. "Answer: the Star Forge created by the builders is the great creation." the alien answered. "Star Forge? What's that?" Leena asked. "My answers are limited. Ask only what is in my memory." the alien replied. "How is that not in your memory?" Leena asked. "My answers are limited. Ask only what is in my memory." the alien answered. "Whoever programmed this probably figured whoever would use it would know what the Star Forge it already." Silver told her, "It may be able to tell you what it is, but you can only find out by asking the right question." "Do you know what it is? Is this the weapon you told me about?" Leena asked. "Sort of. Back in the wars I told you about, the Dark Lords Revan and Malak used the Star Forge to produce an unlimited supply of ships and troops to aid in the war." Silver explained, "The republic was always confused to how the Sith got so many followers and troops. It was a battle station of sorts. But Revan was defeated, and eventually Malak fell as well and the Star Forge was destroyed." "Umm... and why are we searching for a destroyed battle station?" Leena asked. "Well, that was just the short version of the story." Silver said, "But the danger of the Star Forge was never destroyed. Revan thought the Star Forge was just a tool to create an army for him. But Malak knew more about it. The Star Forge was a tool to give more power to the disciples of the dark side. But what Malak didn't even know, was the source of the Star Forge." "Answer: the source of the Star Forge was a rare milathian crystal in the core of the great creation." the alien said. "Milathian crystal?" Leena asked. "This crystal has more Force power than the scepter of Marka Ragnos, which Jaden had." Silver explained, "If he got his hands on the crystal, he could probably destroy an entire planet just by blinking, and still have the energy to slaughter all the inhabitants who were on it. And then some." "So it's a maddening source of the dark side?" Leena asked. "Not exactly. I never said dark side." Silver said, "The example I used was just what Jaden might do. I said it has Force power. The crystal's power is completely neutral. It can only give what its holder wants it to give. Virtually, it's the strongest force in the galaxy." He then turned to the hologram. "I have to ask the right questions to get your clue, huh? Alright then. Who placed the last lead in your memory?" he asked. "Answer: the previous owner did not register a name, however, I was later programmed to identify him as Revan." the alien replied. Silver lifted his eyebrows. "Revan? You've been inactive a long time, haven't you?" he said. "My answers are limited. Ask only what is in my memory." the alien said. "That was rhetorical..." Silver said, "Okay then, did Revan set the question to be asked to find the lead?" "Answer: leads can usually be discovered by asking any one out of a variety of questions related to finding it. However, Revan programmed me to give his lead by asking only the correct answer he set." the alien replied. "Which means this could take us a long time." Leena said, "Any bright plans now?" Silver just sat there in thought, pulling together everything he knew about the past wars and about Revan and Malak and the Star Forge itself. Finally he smiled. "What is the best way to hide the Star Forge from a potential traitor?" he asked. Leena looked at him like he was crazy. "Answer: opening file set by previous user Revan. Reading file. 'The Star Forge has proven a more useful tool then I had imagined. It supplies us with limitless troops for our army. The republic has put up a good war effort, but every one soldier they lose is one step forward in our direction. I have all the time in the world to pursue them, for their defeat is inevitable with our overwhelming resources. However, Malak has been getting a bit too independent for my taste. He has been ignoring some of my orders from the front. If he seeks the information on the Star Forge, I know he will try to take it from me. But thanks to this device, I can hide a piece of the puzzle from Malak's grasp. Since this device can only take one lead at a time, I shall set only one. Vardian. That is all I have to say.' End of file." the alien said, "Due to the access of last placed lead, system will commence shut down." With that, the hologram disappeared. "How did you know to ask that question?" Leena asked, stupefied. "Easy. I just thought of all I know about Revan and Malak, and given their history I knew there weren't too many answers it could be." Silver replied. "How do you know so much about all this anyway?" Leena asked. "I've done my research. If you dig deep enough, you can find many treasures." Silver said, "It took time, but I found a lot out about the past wars surrounding the Star Forge." "What was the Star Forge? And who was Revan and Malak?" Leena asked. "I can tell you, but it's a long story." Silver said. "Go ahead." Leena said, sitting down. Silver sighed. "Okay then, let's see... I guess I'll start with Revan himself." Silver said, "Revan was a member of the Jedi Order. He was young, idealistic, talented with a blade and gifted in the Force. Those seem to be the qualifying traits to turn to the dark side. It was never really known when he and Malak turned, but it was probably sometime around their training on Dantooine. There was a cave there that held the secrets to the Star Forge. The entrance had been sealed by the most ancient of Jedi, but somehow Revan figured out how to break the seal. He and Malak entered that cave, and found out how to find the Star Forge. I don't know many of the details regarding what happened next. I know they went off to fight in the Mandalorian wars, and that it was sometime around then that they turned to the dark side, but as to what happened in that time period, the story gets mixed up. Many people had different theories." He sat down next to Leena. "Anyway, eventually the Republic came up with a plan, a trap to be more precise. Revan and Malak went into a battle with the republic forces, and during the fight a ship with a small team of Jedi lead by the Jedi Knight Bastila boarded Revan's starship and faced off against him. It was popular belief that Bastila killed Revan on that day." he said. "Popular belief? It wasn't the truth then?" Leena asked. "No. In actuality, Malak turned on his master." Silver replied, "The Jedi thought both Revan and Malak were on the same ship, so Malak's portion of the battle was rather short. He went to go aid Revan, but instead saw his opportunity to seize the title of Dark Lord from Revan. When Bastila and the Jedi faced off against Revan, Malak fired on Revan's ship, knocking Revan unconscious. Bastila used the Force to preserve his life, and the Jedi Council wiped his memories clean, and programmed him with a new identity. He eventually was signed into the service of the republic, and after time was brought to the Jedi enclave on Dantooine to be trained as a Jedi. But he did find out about his past as Revan when he ran into his former apprentice, Malak. Malak and Bastila confirmed that he was indeed the former Dark Lord, and that the Jedi wiped his past away to try and use him against the Sith. However, Revan did not turn back to his dark ways, and he and Bastila eventually defeated Malak and destroyed the Star Forge." "If the Star Forge was destroyed, then what makes you think this crystal still exists?" Leena asked. "There is only one Milathian crystal in the entire galaxy; it is the strongest force known in any race. It can only be destroyed in one way." Silver said, "The crystal most likely fell into one of the surrounding systems of the Star Forge's location. We find out about the Star Forge, we find out where it was and what was around it, we find the crystal." "And the lead 'Vardian', does that mean anything to you?" Leena asked. "Vardian is a planet way out in the outer rim. Very big on gangs, mercenaries, and other scum like that. Makes Nar Shaddaa look like Coruscant." Silver replied, "Maybe Revan went there before and left something behind. Something that can help us. But if we're going there, we need to blend in. Can't go around with our lightsabers sticking out our belts or we'll be shot in a second." He stood up. "Vardian is relatively small, but it has many undergrounds that make it hard to get around without getting lost. But as long as we don't draw attention to ourselves we should be fine" he said, "I'll go ahead and set the flight to go there." "Wait, hold on." Leena said, grabbing Silver's arm, "I have one more question. Why..." she looked down at the floor. "Why did you take that hit for me?" she asked. Silver turned around. "I wasn't really thinking about it at the time." he said, shrugging, "I just didn't feel it was right for you to get hurt on my account." "On your account?" Leena asked. "Well, I dragged you down there, exposing you to the danger. It's not right for you to get hurt in someone else's battle." Silver replied. "It's not your battle. Not anymore." Leena said, getting up, "I said I would help you find this thing, and I'm going to stick to my word. This is our battle now." Silver let out a small laugh. "If only you knew what you were getting into." he said quietly, "Well, I guess I should thank you for your help." "No, I don't need your thanks. Not until we've finished." Leena said, "And besides, you saved my life back there. That makes me indebted to you." "Call it even?" Silver asked. "Fine, it's even." Leena said with a small smile. Silver turned back toward the cockpit. "Haven't really seen you smile before." he said as he walked away, "You should do it more often, you look cute like that." Leena sighed and rolled her eyes, following him. She entered the cockpit just as Silver was sitting down. "How do you know so much about all these planets and legends anyhow?" she asked. "Didn't actually care much for fighting back in my academy days." Silver said as he messed with the controls, "I spent most of my free time reading and doing research with master Tionne. And when I got a bit older, I would get permission from Luke to go visit other systems to do more research. I found out a lot about old legends and folklore from some of the locals as well." "You're a really good fighter for someone who didn't like it." Leena noted. "I never said I was bad at it. Just said I didn't care for it." Silver replied, "I could probably take on anyone at the academy if I wanted." Leena noticed there was no hint of bragging in his voice. He was just making a statement. "I know you're probably sick of all my questions, but..." Leena started. "Go ahead, I don't mind." Silver said. "Well, you said you can use that mind pierce thing, but also you said you don't use it." Leena said, "But you have to have used it in order to know you could use it, right?" Silver let out a sharp breath. "Okay, I have used it before." he said, "Which is also another small reason why I left the order." "Why? Afraid you would turn to the dark side because you used it?" "No, not exactly." Silver said, pausing for a moment, "You see, back at the academy, I was Tionne's apprentice. She was with me when I found the holocrons of Exar Khun. She couldn't understand the language used by the Sith lord though." Silver sighed. "She was intrigued when I started to uncover the secrets of the mind pierce, and she wanted me to test it to see if I had learned it fully." he said. Leena gasped. "You didn't...?" she asked. Silver waited before continuing. "I didn't want to do it. I knew it would probably be too much for me to control, and she didn't know how dangerous it really was. Neither of us did." Silver replied, Leena noticed how hard it was for him to say this, "She said she would be able to handle it, and I probably couldn't use it to its full ability anyway. She assured me she would be fine..." He drifted on. Leena waited for him to continue, but he didn't say anything else. Finally, she said "What happened?" Silver closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with one hand. "I killed her. I... I didn't mean to, nor want to! It wasn't my fault! She said... she said it would be... she..." he was nearly broken down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you!" Leena said, putting her hand on Silver's shoulder. "She promised me! She said it would be fine!" Silver said, seemingly getting angry, "I knew I shouldn't do it. I told myself not to! But... but I was too damn curious to know myself! And because of me, she... Tionne... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Leena tried to calm him down. Silver leaned his head back on her shoulder. "I focused on it and executed it perfectly. Too perfectly. I didn't mean to. All I remember is that look on her face. Her eyes got so wide, with pure fear in them." Silver said, in a quiet voice that made Leena have to lean in to hear, "She just slumped forward into my arms. I shouted her name, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't. Her lips moved a bit, like she was trying to say something, but her voice didn't come out. Then after a moment, I couldn't feel the life in her anymore. I hated myself for doing that to her, but there was nothing I could do about it." "What happened then? What did you do?" Leena asked. Silver sat back straight in his seat, regaining his composure. "I returned to the academy with Tionne's body, and tried to explain what happened to Skywalker. I figured he would kick me from the order." he said. "What did he do?" Leena asked. "He didn't believe me at first. He didn't think I could kill Tionne. I never thought I would either." Silver replied. "He didn't? Why?" Leena asked. Silver looked like he might break down again. "We... me and Tionne... we were... we were..." he tried to say. Leena didn't say anything. She couldn't imagine how much it must have hurt to kill someone she loved. Especially not with something said to be unbearingly painful. "Luke, all he did was ban me from using the mind pierce. And I pretty much thought that was a given." Silver started again, "But all I wanted to do was kill myself. I almost did. I had the blade so close to my neck..." "What stopped you?" Leena asked. "My mission to Manaan. Where I found out about the Star Forge." Silver replied. "And that's when you went to Nar Shaddaa?" Leena asked, "But Master Skywalker said he had sent others after you. How long were you on Manaan?" "I never said I went straight to Nar Shaddaa. I went to at least five other planets before then." Silver explained, "It took me seemingly forever to get information on the location of the layout data, but looking back I guess it was only a few months." He said nothing else. Leena didn't quite know what to say. "I-I'm so sorry, I never meant to bring back those memories..." she finally said. "No, it's alright. You have a right to know, if we're going to be working together." Silver said, "I just don't like to talk about it." He stood up and turned towards Leena. "I'm sorry if I seemed angry. I have problems controlling my emotions when I think of what happened. I have the course set to Vardian. I think I'm going to get some rest, I'm pretty worn right now." "I understand. I'll keep track of everything in here." Leena said. Silver bowed, and headed for the ship's quarters. Leena sat down in the chair with a sigh. When she first got assigned this mission, she had to admit she kind of hated Silver for leading her on such an annoying chase. It was weird to think that she went from hating him to feeling sorry for him. She leaned back and closed her eyes, waiting for the ship to arrive on Vardian...

The new republic office looked more like a palace than an office. There was a red carpet walkway leading to the main desk in front of a window wall that overlooked all of Coruscant. There were two couches set off to the right with a small table in between them, with a protocol droid waiting nearby to delever drinks from a bar not five feet away with more variety of drinks that not one person could ever try them all. On the other side of the room was a computer database with better technology than any other system known to man, with more information on anyone or anything than any other computer in the galaxy. The walls were lined with artifacts from over twenty thousand years ago before the republic was formed, and the walls were lined with extravagant designs made from what Luke could only guess was gold. The chairs were made from some material shipped from another world that screamed comfort. Of course, Luke wasn't there to enjoy himself. He was waiting patiently for his sister. He needed more info on Silver that only the republic databases could hold. He walked over to the window and took a look out at Coruscant. Air taxis and personal crafts were moving swiftly with the air traffic flow, and the nearby buildings were beginning to shed some light as it got darker out. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned around to see Leia walk in, escorted by two bodyguards in the republic armor. He smiled and walked toward her, letting himself be drawn into a hug. "I was beginning to wonder when we would hear from you again. It's been a while." Leia said. "Maybe a bit too long. But I'm sad to say I'm not here for a friendly visit." Luke said, stepping back. Leia sighed. "You never are, are you?" she asked. "I need information on someone. Silver, actually." Luke said. "Silver? Why?" Leia asked. "Silver is no longer a part of the Jedi Order. He left a while back." Luke replied, "He knows something dangerous. We've been trying to capture him and return him to the academy, but no one has been able to keep up with him. We sent someone out who came close, but we lost contact with her." "You don't think he killed her, do you?" Leia asked, concerned, "Silver isn't a killer." "I don't know. I can't even sense where he is, let alone if he turned to the dark side." Luke said, "I've been trying to figure out where he might have gone after he left. I think he came here first, and thought I should try to find out about his background." "As in his past?" Leia asked. "Exactly. Maybe if I can figure out what life he led, I can figure out what it is he's trying to do now." Luke said. Leia turned to the guards and motioned for them to leave. They bowed and exited through the elevator. Leia turned back to Luke and pointed at the database. "Well, let's see what we can find then." she said. Luke followed her to the computer. Leia pressed some buttons, and it sparked to life. "What do you know about him already?" she asked. "I don't know anything about where he came from. I found him on Vardian when he was fourteen, and brought him back to the academy myself. He didn't talk about his past at all. He usually kept to himself at the academy." Luke replied. Leia sighed. "You're aren't making this easy." she said, "All I can do is search his name, and see what pops up, but that will take longer." "Go ahead." Luke said. Leia typed in 'Carson, Silver' and pressed a few more buttons. A search began as millions of names flew by on the screen. Leia turned to Luke. "Why did you let a student into your academy if you didn't know anything about him?" she asked. "I sensed a large amount of power in him when I found him. He had, and still has, a strong connection in the Force." Luke said, "I couldn't just leave him there. He was living on the streets when I found him, although he said he didn't live on Vardian." "Was he banned from the order, or did he leave?" Leia asked. "Fled is probably the correct term." Luke said. "Fled? What-" Leia started. "That isn't important right now." Luke interrupted, "I fear what he might do if he's left out there. He already killed someone at the academy, and I don't want anyone else to be victim to... what he can do." Leia was about to ask another question, but then the computer made a beeping noise. "Here it is." she said, turning back to the computer, "It says... hmm..." "What is it?" Luke asked. "There's absolutely nothing on him! At all!" Leia said, "All it says is that he was a student at the academy. Nothing else." "That can't be right..." Luke said. "No mistake. No birth date, no home world, no family records, nothing!" Leia replied. Luke just stood there. "This is worse than I thought..." he said quietly. "What is so bad about him that can pose a threat?" Leia asked. "I... I don't know yet. I just have a bad feeling something bad is coming, soon." Luke replied. "What should I do?" Leia asked. "Nothing for now. We don't need to cause unnecessary panic." Luke said, "We don't have enough to go on yet. I don't think the senate will accept 'A bad feeling' as a good reason for alert. I'll see what I can find out about his stay here, and contact you if I find out anything else. Kyle is searching for the student we sent after him. He's going to contact me if he finds them." "Is there nothing I can do to help?" Leia asked. Luke thought for a moment. "What about Han? Is he here?" Luke asked. "I think he's off at the cantina in the central city. Why?" Leia asked. "He may still have some contacts we can get information from. I'm heading to Manaan next, I could use his help." Luke said. "I'll let him know to meet you somewhere." Leia replied. "Thanks. If Silver was here, he probably visited a library at some point or another, knowing him. I'll start searching a few of the surrounding ones and see what turns up." Luke said. "Good luck. And may the Force be with you." Leia said. "You too. Be careful, and let me know if you find something, anything, about Silver." Luke said, bowing. He turned and headed for the elevator. Leia sighed and went back to work on the computer. There had to be something, anything on Silver somewhere out there...

"How's it look?" Jan asked, standing outside of the starpad, on one of the nearby buildings. The air was cold, and it was dark. She almost laughed. Of course it was dark. It was always dark on Nar Shaddaa. Nar Shaddaa didn't have a sun. Kyle was standing next to her, working with a remote console. He had the connector set on the starpad's computer, so he could look into it and see who had access to it recently. "Not too bad, but not too much to go on." Kyle replied, "The only ships to land in the undercity in the past week are mostly remnant ships. There are also a couple of unknown cruisers, a ship registered by an unknown human, and an X-wing." He turned to Jan. "At least we know who one of the ships belonged to. And the unknown human ship was probably Silver." he said. "Where are they now?" Jan asked, "Are they still on Nar Shaddaa?" "Maybe. Leena's ship was marked to be checked out, but the time doesn't match up." Kyle replied. "What do you mean?" Jan asked. "It says here it was checked out on the fourth day Leena was here, however she contacted me and Luke from here the day after that." Kyle explained, "I'm assuming someone stole it." "And what about this other ship?" Jan asked. "Never checked out, but it's no longer here. Probably stripped by a gang." Kyle said, "If either of them managed to get off Nar Shaddaa, they did it with someone else's ship." "The noble Jedi." Jan joked. Kyle smiled. "That is noble compared to the stuff I've done as a Jedi." he said, "But kidding aside, I doubt they managed to get off this planet. You'll notice there's been a bit of talking around the gang community. Not a good sign." "Well, what do we do?" Jan asked. "Leena is smart enough to keep out of trouble. And I've worked with Silver. If he doesn't want to be seen, you'll never find him in a lifetime. Hell I'm surprised Leena managed to get as far as she did." Kyle answered, "Out of all my contacts, only one would be able to trace a Jedi. But I really don't want to deal with it right now." "You... you don't mean...?" Jan asked, hoping Kyle was talking about someone else. "Unfortunately so. Our old protocol friend." Kyle said, sighing, "I really hate whoever made him." "Isn't there anyone else? Anyone at all?" Jan asked desperately. "I'm afraid not. I wish there was. This thing has a tendency to try and get me killed." Kyle replied, putting away his remote console, "It's more human than 3PO is." Jan sighed. "How are we even going to find him?" she asked. "No idea. But we better move quickly. We're being watched." Kyle said, motioning to a higher building to there left. Jan turned her head, and saw a rodian looking through the scope of a disrupter rifle. "I'm with you. Lead the way." she said. Kyle made his way to the fire escape. Jan followed, not taking her eyes of their watcher...

Leena walked towards the ships quarters, looking for Silver. They had landed on Vardian. Leena had taken one look at the planet and already didn't like it. Even though it was day, it looked shady. It wasn't even that bright at mid day, the sun was smaller than the planet itself (which Leena noticed wasn't too big). She had a bad feeling about this, about all of it. Even though Silver filled her in, she still felt there was something he wasn't telling her. But she would worry about that later. She entered the quarters and saw Silver sleeping on one of the beds. He didn't look too comfortable, and seemed to be having a bad dream, as he was tossing and turning. Leena was considering waking him up when he suddenly shot up and looked around, confused. His eyes landed on her and stopped. "I... we..." he mumbled. "I was just coming to wake you up." Leena said, "We landed on Vardian a bit ago. I didn't want to go out alone. It doesn't seem like a friendly system." "Trust me, it isn't." Silver said, groaning a bit as he stood up, "Especially for someone as good looking as you, gangs will all be trying to snag you." "I don't know whether you're trying to complement me, or trying to warn me." Leena replied. "Both actually, but leaning more towards the warning." Silver said as he put on a black jacket and hid his lightsaber in an inner pocket, "Seriously, they wouldn't hesitate a second to drug your drink and drag your body back to their hideout. And if you try to escape, there's the sentry guns, perimeter guards, shock collars-" "Okay, I get your point, I'll watch myself." Leena said, "What's the plan?" "Plan? Have I ever come up with a plan? I usually just see how it turns out." Silver said. "You don't say? I haven't noticed..." Leena said sarcastically. "But our general direction will be to head to the underground. It's the most dangerous part of Vardian, but we're more likely to get information there." Silver continued, "We should stick together. If you try to navigate the underground alone, you'll be wandering for days until you die of exhaustion or starvation." "I take it the tourism here is relatively low?" Leena asked. "Pretty much. The underground is all gang wars and street fights, but there are some people who make a living off selling hideout plans and information on random matters that may know something and could warn us of any potential troubles beforehand. Also, there's an old friend of mine we can talk to, as Wiseman, he can help us more than anyone else." Silver said, opening a storage box and handing its contents to Leena. It was a pair of black pants, a black shirt and a grey vest. Leena looked up at Silver and raised an eyebrow. "It's better if we blend in, you know; try not to look rich, powerful, weak, Jedi-ish." Silver explained, "Keep a low profile." Leena just stood there. "It'll be safer this way." Silver said. "I know that, I'm waiting for you to leave. You don't just think I'll change while you're standing right there do you?" Leena replied. "Well, I know I wouldn't mind..." Silver said with a coy smile. "Out." Leena said, pointing at the door. "Fine, I'm going. Can't blame a guy for trying." Silver said, still smiling as he left the room. Leena rolled her eyes and proceeded to change into the street clothes.