"The mandalorians have rampaged across the galaxy long enough! Those who want to stop them follow me!"

...

"Ma'am, their lines are breaking!"

"Good. Send the Twenty Third Fighter Group into the left flank then have the Second Cruiser Squadron follow them in. Let me know when they cut the mandalorian's battle line in half."

"Yes ma'am!"

...

"Alek, something drove the mandalorians to attack."

"We don't know that for sure. And they didn't seem like they cared about anything other than slaughtering whoever they came across."

"What about the signal that we found on Mandalor's flagship that originated from uncharted space?"

"Probably a scouting party looking for more people to kill."

"Not that far out. It has to be something else. I'm taking the Third Recon and Fifth Star Destroyer Flotillas out there to find out what's sending that signal."

"Fine. If it's bugging you that much then I'll come with you."

...

"Welcome to my home, Jedi."

"You and your followers shouldn't even exist! How did any of you survive the purge?"

"You and your companion shall soon find out… my new apprentices."

...

"You can not win this Revan!"

"Please don't do this Bastila. I don't want to fight you."

"Then surrender."

"I can't. This is something that I— MALAK NO!"


Lieutenant Commander Lara Barrett

0517 ship time

I jerked awake covered in a cold sweat. Groaning, I rubbed my temples as a stabbing pain made itself known in my head. As I tried to overcome the pain of my headache I took in my surroundings. The spartan grayish-white metal walls of my quarters yielded little to distract me from my pain. Twisting around, I looked through one of the two windows and was met with the pale blue glow of hyperspace. I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly before throwing my covers off of myself. I turned around so that I was sitting with my legs crossed and facing the window. I fell into a light meditation as I tried to overcome my headache and ponder my dreams.

Unclear and disjointed images and sentences drifted through my mind. People and places that I'd never seen before, parts of battles that I'd never fought in, conversations that I never had. Very little made sense to me. I was a country girl from an Outer Rim backwater planet who was quick with a blaster and quicker with a blade. I'd joined the Republic military during the Mandalorian Wars and was put into an elite recon unit called the Shadow Scouts. Most of the Shadow Scouts had been wiped out at Malachor IV and the survivors had been split up until Revan betrayed the Republic. When Revan attacked the Shadow Scouts had been reformed and thrown into the fight.

I grimaced as I remembered some of the battles that I'd fought in. The battlefields that I'd fought on against the mandalorians were little more than meat grinders and the battles against the Sith were almost as bad. My experience from the Mandalorian Wars under Revan's direct command had been invaluable to the Republic, most notably my ability to think like Revan herself, and had earned me my current rank of lieutenant commander. I sighed as I found myself unable to sort through the random memories in my head. At least my headache's finally gone down though.

I got off of my bed and stretched some of the kinks out of my back. Clad in nothing but my panties and a bra I wandered over to the small mirror set between the two footlockers on the left side of the room. A light snore reminded me of the other woman in the room. I glanced her way, but could only see a vaguely humanoid shape cocooned in bed covers. I turned back to the mirror and studied my reflection.

Two different colored eyes filled with a keen intelligence stared back. My left eye was dark brown, almost black, and my right eye was light blue, almost white, but both were haunted from the horrors of war. My face had a diamond shape, angular and slightly boney, with tanned skin. With my hair down the raven locks were long enough to brush my shoulders, barely within regulations for length.

My eyes continued down to my breasts. They certainty weren't small, but they weren't large either. More often than not I would hear men say how they were just the right size behind my back, but it didn't matter to me. Not many things mattered to me anymore. With my home turned to glass the only family that I had left were the Shadow Scouts, and all of the original members were dead except for me. The only thing that kept me alive so far was my duty to the Republic. I would complete any mission given to me with the utmost efficiency, but I would always hope for that one lucky blaster bolt or knife blade to find its way through my defenses. A sigh slipped through my lips before I pushed all thoughts to the side and started to dress myself.

Unlike the standard uniforms that most Republic grunts had to wear I could wear Shadow Scout combat fatigues. Combat boots, green cargo pants, a green camo long sleeve, and a green field hat. I quickly put my fatigues on, pausing to pull my hair into a bun before putting my hat on, then grabbed my utility belt. I clipped my belt on and made sure that my holster was within easy reach and that my knife was at the small of my back. Then I pulled on a brown leather jacket with another knife attached to the left shoulder next to the collar.

Fully dressed, I looked into the mirror one last time. My eyes were inevitably drawn towards the deep scar on my right cheek where a piece of shrapnel had almost torn half my face off. A shiver ran through me as I remembered the boarding mission that'd been comprised half way though. The only reason that I was still alive was because a small Jedi team had been able fight through the Sith, reach the bridge, and get us out. Unfortunately, that wasn't before the bridge took fire from another vessel and had been critically damaged. One of the explosions had caught me and threw shrapnel all over my body. I couldn't remember much after the explosion but I did know that one of the Jedi had healed me and carried me out. I shook thoughts of the past from my mind and left my quarters for the mess hall.

I stepped out into the hallway, turned right, and started walking. I passed various crewmen and women along the way, each of them snapping a crisp salute as they passed me. Fortunately, that formality was dropped the moment I stepped through the door of the mess hall. My eyes instinctively swept the room. The mess hall was easily twenty meters by fifty meters and tables took up nearly all of the floor space except a long section on the left wall where the waiting line was. Almost everything was in the painfully standard grayish-white of most starships except the windows along the right wall. About two-thirds of the crew was in the mess hall with one shift ending and the next about to start. I fell in line with the rest of the crew waiting to get their breakfast or dinner.

As the line slowly shuffled along I could see many of the people sitting at the tables looking over at me and pointing at the emblem on my sleeves, a sniper crouched on the edge of a cliff, the emblem of the Shadow Scouts. I ignored all of them as I grabbed my breakfast, not even bothering to look at what I took. When my tray was full I left the line and made my way over to an empty table in the corner by a window. I sat with my back to the window and started mechanically shoving whatever was on my tray into my mouth.

As I ate I scanned the faces around me. Most of them were young, probably between eighteen and twenty-five. A few were older though, between thirty and forty. All of the older ones had the look of hardened veterans: the thousand-meter stare, the constant awareness of their surroundings, the slight tension in their shoulders, and the noticeable disconnect from the people around them except for those that they'd bled with. If things were to go to hell right now I knew which group of people would most likely walk out of this room alive.

I did recognize one of the veterans though, Carth Onasi. As the ship's executive officer, he'd given all the new crew members a tour of the Endor Spire before we set out. He stood roughly a hundred ninety centimeters tall with short swept back brown hair and light brown eyes. Some could say that he had a rugged handsomeness but, like most things, it didn't matter to me. Onasi must've noticed that I was looking at him because he turned and gave a small wave. I nodded and went back to eating. It was only then that I realized that I was eating something that resembled lasagna accompanied by mushy vegetables, something with the consistency of mashed potatoes that tasted like fish, and a pink juice drink.

I shrugged to myself and continued eating my meal. About half way though I sensed that someone was watching me. I paused to drink my juice and used that as an opportunity to scan my surroundings again. Most of the "night" shift were already gone and the "day" shift had replaced them. Sitting two tables up and one to the left was the small team of Jedi consisting of six sentients of various races, four humans, two of each gender, a ruby-orange twi'lek male, and a tan zabrak female, all commanded by the famous Bastila Shan. She was sitting at the end of the table, watching my every move.

The mission had been launched by the Jedi Council, meaning that every sentient and droid on board was under their command. But why she was watching me, I couldn't fathom. Shan was, in a single word, beautiful. Her lush brown hair was pulled back into two small pigtails but a couple loose locks hung free to frame her angelic face. Her hypnotic gray eyes held a confidence that seemed almost to border on arrogance. I guessed, like myself, she stood about a hundred seventy centimeters. She also held herself with an air of regality that demanded that people listen to her.

I set my drink down and met her eyes with a level gaze. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise but otherwise she didn't react. A whisper of a thought passed through my mind. Did she sense that I was watching her?

The thought confused me because Shan was watching me, not the other way around. That look of surprise returned to Shan's face. I blinked and suddenly found myself staring at… myself? A small gasp escaped me before I was looking at Shan again. I shook my head, feeling some sort of whiplash from… whatever the hell just happened. What the fuck was that? How the hell was I looking at myself from Shan's perspective?!

I looked back at Shan who had turned pale. I could almost feel the confusion rolling off of her with… fear mixed in. I groaned and broke eye contact with her as another stabbing headache overcame me. It quickly subsided and I decided to get the hell out of the mess hall before something else happened. I grabbed my tray, tossed my leftovers into the waste disposal, and left it for the kitchen staff to collect it before making my way to the exit. The entire time I could feel Shan's eyes burning a hole into my head until I was out the door.

I started down the hall going over everything that had happened in the mess hall to determine what the hell had happened between me and Shan. Nothing stood out to me that would explain the two of us somehow switch perspectives.

I growled in frustration and started towards the ship's training center on the starboard stern. I was barely a quarter of the way towards the training center when I somehow sensed that Shan was following me. I ignored her and continued on.

I reached the training center and immediately bypassed all of the weightlifting equipment in favor of the combat simulators. The close quarters battle simulator that I went to was ten meters in diameter and would drop a weak ray shield around it so that bystanders would be safe from any projectiles coming from the user. I activated the controlling console and inputted my preferred scenario: a compromised stealth Op with ten to twelve attackers coming from random directions with varying levels of skill. With the scenario established I stepped into the center of the simulator.

The ray shield dropped and I drew the knife on my shoulder. A moment later the first opponent appeared in front of me wearing standard Sith armor with their back to me. I approached him silently then grabbed his shoulder and jammed my knife into the side his neck, all the way to the hilt, cutting through the carotid arteries, the esophagus, and the windpipe in one stab. Before the nerves could relay to his brain that there was a knife in his neck I sliced forward, severing the esophagus and windpipe and cutting his neck in half. His death was quick and silent.

A shout came from my right. I turned and saw a Sith patrol coming at me with stun batons and vibroblades. I hurdled the knife in my hand at the lead Sith. The blade bounced off of his chest plate, but it had enough force behind it to stun him momentarily. I drew my second knife with my left hand in a reverse grip and my blaster with my right hand in the same motion and fired at the rear Sith, hitting three of them, before blocking the first attacker with my knife. The soldier tried to bare down on me with his superior strength and weight behind his sword, but didn't notice the muzzle of my blaster pressed against his kidney. In one smooth motion I fire, disengaged our blades, spun around his shoulder, and buried my knife into the base of his skull.

As I pulled my knife free I fired point blank into the next Sith's chest twice then again in the faceplate. I kicked him away and ran towards the next one. I ducked under his horizontal slash and stabbed him in his left shoulder. Keeping my momentum, I slipped under his left arm and jumped onto his back, wrapping my left leg around his torso and my right over his shoulder. I immediately brought my blaster to his head and fired twice straight down into his skull. The Sith fell to the ground, dragging me with it. I threw myself forward, making the body fall forward, and untangled my legs from it in a forward roll to land in a half crouch with the corpse behind me. I twisted around and fired at the other four Sith, hitting one in the chest and another in the leg and arm. I turned my blaster to the next Sith but it clicked empty, the energy cell was depleted.

The two Sith standing had vibroblades and the one on the ground had a stun baton. I backed away from the still living Sith, towards the dead ones, while dropping my empty blaster. The two living ones must of thought that without my weapons that I was scared and charged me, just what I wanted them to do.

The lead one tried to stab me, but I spun around him. The second one swung at me as if his vibroblade was a club. I dove under his blade and rolled, coming to a stop in front of two blades that had been dropped. I grabbed them and spun to meet the last two standing Sith simulations, the left blade in a reverse grip and the right in a standard hold. A loud gasp brought my attention to outside of the simulator. A large crowd was watching me, probably half the day shift and almost all of the Jedi, including Shan. My attention was forced back to my opponents as they charged me.

I met the charge and blocked both of their attacks, one overhead and the other horizontal. I kicked the one on the left in the chest and swung that blade at the other. He quickly disengaged and moved back. I followed him, spinning my body so that both my blades battered down on his one after another. The Sith's strength quickly faded and I broke his defense. My right blade glanced off of his helmet but my left blade bit deep into his shoulder, in the vulnerable space where his shoulder guard ended at his neck. Using my blade as a fulcrum I vaulted over the trooper in front of me, dislodging the blade as I landed, and let the one that had been charging me from behind hit him. I kicked the first trooper into the second and swiftly decapitated the second one before he could throw his dead counterpart off of himself.

I turned to the last Sith trooper, the one that I'd shot in the arm and leg. As I approached he tried to crawl away before holding his stun baton out to protect himself when he realized that he couldn't get away. I brought one blade down on his baton, slowly but surely forcing it down. He struggled against me until I kicked him in the cod piece. It distracted him long enough for me to force the stun baton against his chest, sending thousands of volts through his body. I watched his body spasm before swiftly cutting through his neck. An alarm droned then all the Sith bodies faded away and the ray shield dropped.

Almost immediately I was swarmed by young Republic troops asking me a million questions. They asked me things like: Where did I train? How was I trained? Was I really the last Shadow Scout? How did someone join the Shadow Scouts? Could I take over as the hand-to-hand instructor? One kid actually asked me on a date. Eventually someone shouted, "OFFICER ON DECK!"

Instantly every member of the Republic military silenced themselves. For a moment almost every foot stomped as one unified echoing thud in the training center as everyone came to swift attention, waiting for the inevitable arrival of the officer. A path to the entrance opened to reveal Captain Aiden Myers. The Captain was an older human male who, interestingly enough, only spoke Huttese due to the fact he had grown up as a slave to some minor Hutt. He stood an imposing two hundred fifteen centimeters, putting him well above most people. His steel gray hair was cut in a typical military square top and his blue eyes held a depth that only comes from life experience. He started towards me, walking with a noticeable limp. Captain Myers stopped in front of me and, before I could salute him, he saluted me. Surprised, I returned his salute.

"I had heard that the last original member of the Shadow Scouts had been assigned to my ship. I apologize for not greeting you when you came aboard, Lieutenant Commander."

It seemed that the Captain was a fan of the Shadow Scouts, though obviously not because of Republic propaganda like the mob that'd swarmed me. I wasn't sure how to respond so I said, "It's alright, Sir."

He nodded and turned to the rest of the crew. "The show is over crewmen. Let's give the Lieutenant Commander the space she desires." Almost instantly all the crewmen and women assembled scattered as they went back to what they were doing or to where they needed to be. The Captain turned back to me and held his hand out to shake mine. I took his hand and he clasped mine with both of his. I looked up at him in confusion and he said, "My niece served with the Shadow Scouts at Malachor IV. She was my whole world after her parents died."

I bowed my head, in respect to his niece and grief over the dead. Captain Myers clapped me on the shoulder, causing me to look back up at him. "None of that, LC," he said gently but firmly. "It was the proudest moment of my life when May joined the Scouts. And it still is the proudest moment of my life."

May, I tried to remember that name. A cloud settled over my mind before I suddenly remembered exactly who his niece was. "Your niece was May Saraas." He nodded. "She saved my life twice. She pulled me to safety when I'd taken shrapnel in my leg and again when a mandalorian was about to impale me."

Captain Myers nodded again, smiling. "Yes, she mentioned both of those incidents in her messages. I would like you to know that I don't blame you for her death, Lieutenant Commander. She died a hero of the Republic. Now, I've taken enough of your time. As you were."

"Yes, Sir," I said as he left. As Captain Myers walked towards the exit I turned and started collecting my blaster and knives.

After sheathing my last knife, I sensed that someone was watching me again. I scanned the room and saw Shan a short distance away watching me. She flinched slightly when my eyes landed on her, but she gave no other response. Why the hell is she watching me? What does she want? Determined to get an answer, I started marching towards her. A look of indecision crossed her face, as if her were trying to decide if she would talk to me or try and make a break for it; it vanished as I stopped in front of her, replaced by a calm and emotionless mask.

"Why are you following me?" I demanded

She looked me up and down, her eyes lingering briefly on the knife on my shoulder. "You resemble a woman I once saved. I watched you to see if you were her."

Her voice was calm and clear, colored by a Talravin accent.

"That doesn't really answer my question. And if you really wanted to know, you could've just asked me instead of stalking me."

A brief look of discomfort slipped through her mask. Obviously, she wasn't accustomed to someone not bowing down to her authority or my accusation of her stalking me. "I… suppose that is true. I was a member of a small Jedi team sent to… sent to rescue a group of Republic commandos trapped on a Sith ship. One of the officers had been caught in an explosion and nearly died. She would have if I had not brought her back from the brink of death."

I was shocked. Disbelief overrode me as she spoke. The only thing that I could say after she finished was, "That was you…"

Shan frowned slightly, a guarded look across her face. "What do you mean?"

"You saved me. You were the one that healed me and carried me off of that Sith ship." I winced and rubbed my temple as a burst of pain flared in my head. "I guess I should thank you. Though, part of me wishes that you would've left me to die."

"What do you mean?" she asked again.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. What happened between us in the mess hall?"

Shan paled slightly before saying, "I don't know what you're talking about."

I narrowed my eyes as I scrutinized her. "Yes you do. You gasped the moment you realized the I was seeing things from your eyes. And for some reason I could almost feel the confusion rolling off of you when I was looking through my eyes again." As I spoke Shan became paler and paler until she was as white as the walls.

"How…" she muttered.

"How did any of that happen? I've got no fucking clue. You're the Jedi, Knight Shan. What do you think?"

She was silent for a long while before tentatively saying, "I… I may have a theory but… it could be incredibly dangerous to myself, and you, if it became common knowledge."

"What's your theory?" I asked as I crossed my arms and rested my weight on my back foot.

Before Shan could say anything a voice behind me called out, "Knight Shan, Master Tas would like to speak with you."

I turned and saw the twi'lek Jedi coming towards us. "Thank you, Knight Kree," Shan said. "I will depart immediately."

I held up my hand, stopping Shan from slipping around me. "I want to know what your theory is, Knight Shan. If whatever's going on between us puts you in danger, then it could threaten the Republic war effort. That cannot be allowed to happen. I'll try and find you later."

Shan nodded mutely then practically fled the room. I glanced over at the twi'lek Jedi and saw that he was giving me an odd look. It seemed as if he were trying to see inside of me. I pushed him from my mind and went back to the combat simulator for more CQB practice.


Jedi Knight Bastila Shan

0603 ship time

Silently thanking the Force for Knight Kree's almost perfectly timed intervention, I nearly ran out of the Endor Spire's training center. Once I was a few corridors away I leaned against the wall, banging the back of my head against it. I groaned in frustration, wishing that I was anywhere in the galaxy except for this ship. "Damn it, Shan," I muttered to myself. "What the bloody hell were you thinking, bringing up that mission."

I shook my head and pushed myself off of the wall. I started down the corridor again, mentally reciting the Jedi Code to myself. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force. I let sense of peace that the code alway brought wash over me and cleanse me of my emotions. When I reached Master Tas's quarters and paused for a moment to press the doorbell. There was a slight pause Master Tas's voice drifted through the door. "You may enter, Bastila."

I opened the door and stepped inside. The room was as bare and spartan as most military vessels were. The room was four meters by six meters and had a narrow window opposite of the door. Two alcoves in the side walls served as beds with storage for clothing and other personal items located above and below the beds. Past the beds were two desks, also built into the walls. Master Tas sat at the desk on the right reading a data pad.

As the only zabrak Jedi on board, Master Tas stood out amongst our group. She stood about hundred seventy-five centimeters tall and her crown of horns added another two centimeters to her total height. Her skin was a slightly darkened tan and more leathery than a regular human's. Her brown eyes held a kindness that the war with the Sith had yet to take away. She turned and gave me a small, tired smile. "Thank you for coming, Bastila."

"Of course, Master. Knight Kree said that you wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes. Please sit," Master Tas said as she gestured towards the other desk chair. Once I'd sat down Master Tas continued, "This morning at breakfast I sensed a slight disturbance in the Force originating from Lara Barrett. Could you shed any light on this occurrence?"

"Yes, Master. I believe that the Leftenant Commander sensed that I was watching her in the mess hall. When she did she focused, most likely all, her attention on me. Soon after I felt… another mind brush against my own. The presence of the mind felt similar to the Leftenant Commander. Barrett later approached me in the training center and I learned that she somehow managed to see what I was looking at."

Master Tas nodded with a thoughtful look on her face. "Interesting. Very interesting. I read the after action report on the mission that lead you to save the Lieutenant Commander, Bastila. We both know that you formed a Force bond with her when you brought her back from the brink of death. So what is it that troubles you so much?"

"I did not expect her to be able to sense me or manipulate the Force. Neither did I expect her to remember the explosion."

"All life is rich in the Force, Bastila. As a Jedi you know this. As for the explosion, people do not forget about a traumatic experience easily, but they rarely remember everything."

"Yes, Master," I said, bowing to her greater wisdom.

Master Tas was quiet for a moment before saying, "Something else bothers you, does it not?"

I cringed slightly before nodding. "Yes. I… I just don't know how to act around her, Master. Barrett is so similar to Revan before she fell, yet she seems to be someone else too. And underneath everything she seems so… broken."

Master Tas nodded slowly with a sad look on her face. "Lara Barrett has lived a hard life. Her home world was turned to glass by heavy bombardment from the mandalorian fleets when they invaded, everyone and everything she held dear was destroyed. From there she joined the Republic military and was put into the direct action and long range reconnaissance patrol unit known as the Shadow Scouts. Barrett quickly rose through the ranks and distinguished herself as one of the best operators within the Shadow Scouts and was put into their flagship team, Shadow One, but as the war dragged on she lost many friends and comrades.

"It all came to a head at Malachor IV. Several Shadow Scout units, including Shadow One, were sent to create a diversion for the Jedi Exile. Shadow One alone sustained seventy percent casualties but managed to wipe out two full companies." I gasped, realizing just how bad that fight must have been. The mandalorians were notorious for fighting savagely and the Shadow Scouts were among the most elite within the Republic military. That would've made the battlefield little more than a meat grinder for both sides.

"After the battle psychologists detailed that many of the Scouts were badly scarred psychologically, but something in Barrett seemed to have broke during the combat and she became almost overly protective with the remaining original member of Shadow One. After the war ended she disappeared for a time before coming back when Revan attacked. Since then the rest of her comrades have died and her psychologist says that she has a mildly suicidal outlook on her own life. Barrett herself said that she would complete any mission given to her but would hope for death during the mission."

"That explains why she wished that I hadn't saved her," I said quietly.

Master Tas nodded gravely. "Yes… Treat her as you would any other sentient, Bastila. But, be gentle with her as a part of her is broken."

"I shall, Master," I said as I bowed in my seat. "Will that be all?"

"Yes, Bastila," Master Tas said with a tired smile. "I would suggest getting to know the Lieutenant Commander because of the bond that you two share."

"I will try, Master," I said as I stood.

"That is all that I ask. We will arrive at Taris for resupply and to deliver reinforcements to the Tarisian garrison tomorrow morning, approximately zero-four hundred ship time."

"I understand." I left Master Tas's quarters and wandered down the hall, going over everything that I'd learned about Lara Barrett. Suddenly a burst of pain erupted from my left side causing me to stumble. More pain flared across my arms as if I were trying to block an attacker. Then an explosion of pain erupted from my cheek, making the corridor to spin. Several more invisible blows rained down on my body until they suddenly stopped.

I blinked and saw a Republic trooper in front of me, he looked like the hand-to-hand combat instructor. My eyes scanned the training center floor, looking for the dummy knife that I dropped. Wait… training center?! My eyes snapped back to my opponent as he said, "You Shadow Scouts really are good."

I blinked again and I was staring down the corridor to Master Tas's quarters. "So that's what she experienced," I muttered. I pressed my hand against my side, yet felt nothing. I must have somehow felt the blows that Barrett took through the bond. She was right. We do need to speak about the bond between us.

With a clear goal in mind, I started towards the training center. Along the way I felt many more strikes that Barrett took, but I was prepared this time and blocked myself off from that part of her. I could still feel the blows and pain, but from Barrett's body not my own. I reached the entrance to the training center and looked around. There, at the sparing rings, was a crowd gathered around one ring. As I approached there was a loud thump then rapid tapping. From inside the circle came Barrett's smooth and cool voice, "Looks like you're no longer undefeated, Chief Petty Officer."

"I knew that this day would come sooner or later, Commander. I'm just glad that I didn't lose to one of these FNGs," came the hand-to-hand instructor's gruff voice.

"Can't blame you for that, Chief. Alright people! Clear out!"

The crowd slowly dispersed until only Barrett remained. During breakfast I'd noticed a number of crewmen practically drooling over the Lieutenant Commander, and I honestly can't blame them. Looking at her I could see what others saw: a beautifully exotic woman with a perfectly proportioned body honed into a lethal weapon. Undoubtedly men were lining up to try and coax Barrett out of her shell and form some sort of relationship with her. For some reason the thought of someone getting close to Barrett caused a bad feeling in my gut. Barrett turned, saw me, and started walking towards me.

"Knight Shan. Are you ready to share your theory?"

"Yes, but it is not something that should be discussed in a public setting."

"My quarters are hot-bunked so they're out of the question. And just about every other space onboard has at least two people in it at any given time."

I sighed in mild annoyance, realizing that she was right. The only place besides the Captain's or Executive Officer's quarters for privacy would be one of the rooms given to myself and the rest of the Jedi. "We can use my quarters. I believe that my roommate will not be there for some time."

"Alright. Lead the way." I nodded and started for the exit.


Lieutenant Commander Lara Barrett

0617 ship time

As we walked through the corridors I went over everything that had happened between myself and Shan ever since I first saw her when I came onboard yesterday. I'd caught a brief look at her when I got on the Spire and recognized her from the Republic propaganda. I saw her again at dinner, but nothing crazy had happened. Shan stopped and I noticed that we'd reached the quarters for the Jedi. She opened the door on the left and motioned for me to enter.

Stepping through the doorway I briefly scanned the room. It was a standard VIP quarters for two people in a military vessel. Two alcove beds, two desks built into the walls, and a tall but narrow window opposite to the door. Shan stepped past me and raised her hand. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I felt a… a wave of something pass through the room originating from Shan. The wave settled on the chairs at the desks before both rose slightly and turned until they faced each other. The chairs settled back on the ground as Shan said, "Please have a seat."

I nodded and sat down on the chair on the left and Shan took the other. "What's your theory, Knight Shan?"

She was quiet for a moment before asking, "What do you know of the Force?"

"Only that it's what all Jedi and Sith draw their power from and that it somehow influences everything that happens in the galaxy."

Shan nodded slowly. "Yes… that is correct, if a little simplified."

"What does the Force have to do with whatever's going on between us?"

"What do you know about Force bonds?"

I shook my head. "Not a damn thing. Is that what we have? A Force bond?"

Shan nodded, seeming to avoid catching my eye. "Yes. I believe that we share a Force bond."

"So what is it?" I asked as I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms.

"A Force bond is a connection between two people through the Force, basically their spirits join together. This usually occurs between a master and padawan who have been with each other for a very long time."

"So how did a Force bond form between us? Because last time I checked I've only met you twice."

Shan looked hesitant as she said, "It… it is not heard of for a bond to form… between two people if one saves another from… from the brink of death. It's the most explainable reason for our bond."

I shook my head in disbelief. "So I have this bond with you because you wouldn't let me die. Maybe I wanted to die? Did you think of that when you saved me?"

A distressed look over came Shan before she said, "Jedi hold all life sacred. It is against our beliefs to let someone die when we could save them."

I snorted before asking, "So where were the Jedi when the mandalorians were slaughtering us by the thousands? At least Revan and Malak came before it was too late."

Shan shook her head, a sad look on her face. "That is not what we are here to discuss. I am not sure how strong the bond between us is, but from what has happened between us today it must be quite strong. At breakfast you were able to see through my eyes and before I came to find you after speaking with Master Tas I could feel the blows that you took from, and inflicted to, the hand-to-hand instructor before I saw through your eyes as well."

"Wait a second," I said as I shook my head in disbelief. "You were able to feel the blows that I took in my spar with the Chief."

"Yes, as if I were being hit."

"Fuck," I muttered. "So that means that you'd be able to feel any type of wound that I receive. Does that mean that you'll also take damage?"

"I do not believe so. While I am able to feel your pain, I do not receive a physical wound. However… I am unsure as to what will happen if one of us… dies."

I froze as the meaning of what Shan had said sank in. "So if one of us dies, the other might die too?" I asked as I looked Shan in the eye.

Shan had an incredibly uncomfortable look as she said, "I… I honestly do not know. Nothing that I have read or heard has said what would happen. All that I ask is that you be careful, just as I will."

"So I have to stay alive so that you can stay alive," I said neutrally.

"I believe so," Shan said with a hint of uncertainty.

I slumped down in my seat, my head bowed over my hands. A small hurricane of anguish and regret swirled through me, each trying to overwhelm the other. "All I have to do… is stay alive," I muttered to myself.

Eventually one emotion overcame the other as Shan asked, "Barrett… Are you alright?"

I didn't answer. Instead I got up and walked over to the wall.

"Barrett?"

Quick as a lightning bolt, my fist lashed out and struck the wall with a resounding crack as a primal scream of anguish forced itself out of me. "Barrett!"

I slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor cradling my fist. Past experience let me know that the sharp, blazing pain in my hand meant that I'd probably broken a bone. A hand touched my shoulder, causing me to look up. Shan was crouched in front of me with a look of deep concern on her face, mixed with a small grimace of pain. "Are you alright, Barrett?"

I shook my head. "Not really," I said hoarsely.

I cleared my throat and said, "I'm not alright, Shan… I'm broken. Have been since Malachor.

"You've probably already read my personnel file so you know what the shrinks say about me. Something inside me broke during the fight for Malachor and since then the only thing that's kept me from pulling a trigger on myself is my duty to the Republic."

I chuckled darkly before continuing. "And now this bond between us guarantees that I can't pull a trigger on myself or let an enemy combatant kill me."

Shan was quiet for a moment before saying, "I know that nothing that I can say or do will bring back your comrades or family, but killing yourself is not the right answer. For now… Let's just get your hand healed."

She slowly reached out for my hand. When I didn't respond she gently took it and cradled it within her hands. Her hands were incredibly gentle, as if she were handling a priceless artifact; and they were as soft and smooth as Alderaanian silk, marred only calluses. The same pulse of energy from before came from Shan, but settled on my hand. I gasped as I felt the broken bone in my hand shifted slightly, but there was little to no pain. I could feel the bone knitting itself back together until the energy coming from Shan faded away.

"There," she said as she set my hand down. "Your hand will be a little tender for about a day, but it's fully healed." I nodded, feeling an odd sense of loss after Shan let my hand go.

"Thanks," I said quietly. "Don't worry about me, I'll keep myself alive."

I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly before pushing my sorrow aside. At least now I had some semblance of a reason to stay alive: keep Shan alive by staying alive. With that in mind I suppressed my emotions and let my SpecOp Commander mentality take over. "How much combat experience do you have, Shan?"

"What?" Shan asked, taken back by my sudden question.

"How much combat experience do you have?"

"I've fought in many battles over the past two years and have become a very proficient fighter."

I got back on my feet as I asked, "And how many of those battles did you fight without a lightsaber?"

"A few, when I was disarmed," Shan said while backed up slightly and crossed her arms.

"How effective were you without your primary weapon and no secondary?"

"Not… not very effective," she admit with difficulty.

I crossed my arms too as I said, "You need combat training then."

"What?!" Shan practically shouted in indignation.

"Jedi and Sith as a whole have become dependent on their lightsabers as their primary weapons to the point that they're the only weapons that they know how to use other than the force. That alone is the single most dangerous thing for any soldier to do."

"I am not a soldier. I am a Jedi," Shan said hauntingly.

"And how many ways can you kill a humanoid sentient without a lightsaber?"

She hesitated before grudgingly admitting, "Not that many without the Force."

"And that's how I've managed to kill four mandalorian Jedi and two dark Jedi without overwhelming firepower. I disarmed, crippled, then killed them before they knew that they were dead."

Shan seemed to debate with herself before sighing and saying, "You… you do have a point. Perhaps some of the techniques that you know could be beneficial in combat with the Sith."

"It's settled then, your training will begin immediately. Meet me in the training center in five to ten minutes." Shan nodded and I left her quarters. After I'd gone a few meters down the corridor I let my SpecOp Commander mentality fade. Almost immediately I was swamped with anguish and regret. Anguish that I couldn't escape from this nightmare of a life and regret that I'd even consider defiling the sacrifices that the Shadow Scouts had made for me and the Republic by wanting to end my life.

I paused and leaned against the wall. I scrubbed my face with my hands. I groaned softly, seeing the faces of the original members of Shadow One pass before my eyes. Each face brought back memories of good times with friends… and torment as I remembered each one of their deaths.

"-alright?" I glanced up and saw Commander Onasi standing in front of me. "You alright, Barrett?"

"Yeah," I said as I pushed off of the wall. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just… just remembering some things that I… that I wish I never went through."

A haunted look over came Onasi as her said, "I know what you mean."

I straightened and asked, "Is there something that you wanted, Commander?"

Onasi snapped himself out of his memories and said, "No, LC, as you were."

I gave him a salute and waited for him to return it before starting down the corridor again. I made my way through the ship to my quarters and entered quietly. Inside both beds were two men, both of them junior officers that I'd never met before. I ignored both of them and ghosted my way over to my locker. Without a sound I pulled out the smaller of two duffle bags holding my personal training equipment, shouldered the duffle, and left my quarters in total silence. With all that I'd need collected I started towards the training center again.

When I entered the training center I spotted Shan by an empty sparring ring in the far left corner. As I headed towards her I noted that Shan had removed her Jedi robe and was wearing the cream colored tunic and pants that most Jedi wore under their robes. Looking at her I couldn't help but admire how her tunic clung to her body. Shaking those thoughts from my head I nodded to Shan in greeting and set my duffle down a safe distance from the ring. I opened the bag and started pulling out my equipment. Soon two short practice swords, two folding long swords, an expandable staff, limb weights, and a variety of rubber knives were neatly laid out on the floor. "Pick your weapon of choice."

Shan almost immediately went for staff. "I assume that means that you favor the dual bladed lightsabers."

"Yes. I have found that the more unorthodox styles of the dual blade can confuse those who have only trained with regular light sabers." I nodded as I picked up a long sword and took off my field hat.

"Unfortunately for you, I do know how to counter a dual blade," I said as we entered the ring.

Shan hesitated before entering a ready stance. I got into my own ready stance and squared off with her. We stayed in place for several long moments before I started edging my way to the right. Shan noticed this and started moving to her right so that we were circling each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

In an instant I lunged at Shan with a controlled shoulder to hip slash. She parried it with the tip of her staff and swung the butt of her staff at my side. I leaped back from the staff then forward after it passed me. Shan continued the swing and spun with it so that she could try and stab me with the tip of her staff. I deflected her staff with the base of my blade and slid down the length of the staff until I was close enough to slash at her. Shan jumped back and we started circling each other again.

Shan attack this time with a barrage of fast strikes. I blocked most of her strikes and dodged the others until Shan overstepped. I took full advantage of her mistake and kicked her leg out from under her while at the same time I lashed out with my sword and struck her shoulder with enough force to leave a good bruise. I followed up with a light pommel strike to the face then a quick slash to the neck, stopping my blade before it could hit her neck, and resting it against her skin.

I lowered my sword and helped Shan to her feet. "You have a good stance and good control over your weapon. You also know how to use the unique design of a dual blade against an opponent. The main problem is that you follow only one style of combat."

Shan scowled slightly and said, "You only used sword techniques."

"Because I wanted to judge how much skill you hand with your main weapon against the most common weapon of your opponents. My preferred weapons are dual short swords."

Shan's scowl faded and she said quietly, "Yes, that makes sense."

I stepped out of the ring and replaced my long sword with the two shorter swords. I held both swords in standard grips and faced off with Shan again. She got into a ready stance and started circling to her left this time.

Instead of circling with her, I rushed her. She quickly blocked my first left horizontal slash then my right slash. She thrusted the tip of her staff at my chest, but I batted it away with my left sword. Using the redirected momentum of her staff, Shan spun the butt of the staff towards me. I rolled backwards into a crouch and flipped my swords into reverse grips before leaping back at her.

Shan immediately backed up and frantically blocked the rapid barrage of strikes that I sent at her, using quick sidesteps and short leaps to change the angle of my attacks. Between strikes I would occasionally switch my grip on one of my swords, making the style of my attacks different. Then I did something that most Sith and Jedi didn't expect, I dropped to the ground and swept Shan's legs out from under her. She fell with a shout of surprise. As she fell I twisted and slashed upwards with my left sword, held in a reverse grip, to connect with her neck. Before my blade could hit Shan I pulled my sword and loosened my grip enough so that it wouldn't hurt her. Shan landed with a thump and I winced as pain flared on the back right of my neck.

Shan briefly looked around in surprise at her new point of view until her eyes fell on me. "How…?"

"Combat training. You learn how to kill your opponent by any means you have at hand. There's no room for fancy footwork or pretty movements." I stood and held out my hand for her.

Shan looked from me, to my hand, and back to me before taking my hand. "This way style fighting is… very different."

I hoisted Shan to her feet saying, "There's no one style in any form of combat training. You take your enemy down by any means necessary."

In an instant, I grabbed her by her wrist, spun towards her so that my back was against her front, and threw her over my shoulder. As Shan struck the ground I twisted and drove one of my swords into the ground next to her head. Shan stared up at me in surprise before she scowled at me for taking her down, again. "An attack can come from anyone and anywhere. Always be prepared to retaliate."

This time Shan got to her feet herself. I set both of my short swords aside and motioned for Shan to do the same. She nodded stiffly and set her staff aside. "Let's start with the basics: hand-to-hand combat."

"Start?! What have we been doing then?"

"I've been seeing how rooted you are in whatever dancing forms the Jedi've been teaching you."

"The Jedi masters have taught me how to wield a lightsaber since I was a youngling," Shan said hauntingly.

"That may be so," I said as I crossed my arms. "But swinging a glowing stick that can cut through steel is a lot different than breaking someone's neck with your bare hands."

She paled slightly at the prospect of breaking someone's neck. "Have… have you…?"

"Yes."

"Oh…"

"Let's start with making a fist. Curl your fingers in and rest your thumb over your fingers. When you punch make sure you hit with your first two knuckles." Shan nodded and put her fists up in a typical fighting stance.

I walked around her, checking her stance. "Legs further apart and bend your knees more. You should keep your weight on your back foot, but be able to rock your weight back and forth easily."

Shan nodded and did as I instructed. I stepped behind her and put my hands on her shoulders so that I could turn her. "Keep your shoulders parallel with your hips and your fists between your shoulders and chin. You want to be able to see your opponent, not your knuckles."

Shan raised her fists, but her arms were sticking out like wings. "Bring your elbows in. They protect your ribs."

She did so and I nodded in satisfaction. I stepped in front of her and raised both of my hands as targets. "Let's see how hard you can punch. Jab! Punch! Jab!"

Shan jabbed and punched at my hands, but threw most of her weight into them. "Don't punch with your weight. Punch with your hips. Use your hips to add force behind your punches without compromising your balance."

She nodded and I said, "Jab, jab, punch, jab!"

She did what I told her, using her hips, and kept her footing, even when I grabbed her last jab and pulled lightly. I nodded saying, "Good, Shan. Good. You'll be a semi-decent fighter by the time today's over if you keep up like this. Let's move on to kicks.

"There's four basic kicks: front, side, back, and roundhouse. To do a front kick you raise your knee in front of you then snap your foot to hit with the ball of your foot. The higher your raise your knee the higher you can kick. It's the same concept with the sidekick except that you pivot sideways to your opponent on the ball of your planted foot and hit with the heel of your kicking foot while leaning back. Roundhouse starts with your knee parallel with the ground and strikes with the ball of your foot while you pivot on the ball of your planted foot. A back kick is self explanatory but make sure that your foot passes next to your knee and you hit with your heel." Shan nodded and started practicing while I made sure that she was doing the kicks correctly.


Jedi Knight Bastila Shan

2237 ship time

I stumbled back to my quarters drenched in sweat and covered with bruises. I barely had the strength to lift my arm to open the door. The door swished open and I somehow managed to stumble over to my bed before I collapsed. A groan escaped me as I wondered why I'd agreed to have Barrett train me. The memory of Barrett fighting in the combat simulator came to mind. Through the entire simulation she was as calm and collected as a Jedi master in meditation and as calculating as a droid. Yet when she moved… she moved like water through rocks, weaving around her enemies with a grace that could make a twi'lek dancer jealous.

I closed my eyes and groaned again in exasperation as I tried to push Barrett from my mind. I opened my eyes and saw a datapad held in front of me. I frowned in confusion and read what was on the screen.

'Shan has good balance and flexibility, but has some difficulty keeping a correct stance and not slipping into a more upright sword stance. Otherwise her footing and arm position is fine. The best way for her to make improvements is for more sparing with an experienced opponent... then having to take her first life in a fight with her bare hands.

'Shan's progress today alone indicates that she has a talent for hand-to-hand combat and could become a superb fighter if she can be reliably taught. The only way that I can see that happening is if she applies for special forces training or if she requests and receives a SOF military advisor from Command and asks that person to train her.

'Part of me hopes that I could be that advisor. Whether it's because of this bond between us or my own self appointed mission to keep her alive, I can't say. I don't know why but for some reason I feel like I need to stay close to Shan. There's something about her that—'

The journal seemed to just end. My hand itched to keep writing, but I wasn't sure what I was supposed to write. I blinked and I was staring at the ceiling of my bed. Another groan escaped me and I covered my eyes with my arm. I pondered the journal that I'd read. It'd obviously been written by Barrett and I felt a sense of pride at how well she thought I'd done today, and a little regret for intruding on her personal life. Perhaps I should request that Barrett be assigned to me as a military adviser as she considered, I thought as the door swished open.

I heard my roommate Talana, the only other human female Jedi, step inside and gasp. I raised my arm to look at her and said, "Hello, Talana."

"Bastila, what… what happened to you?" she asked as she came to my side.

Talana held both her hands over me, palms down, and reached out to my body through the Force. "By the Force, Bastila! How did anyone beat you this badly?"

A sigh of pure relief escaped me as Talana began to use the Force to heal me. "It was Barrett. Leftenant Commander Barrett was the one who beat me."

"I know what everyone says, but I still don't trust her. You shouldn't either, Bastila. Look at what she did to you, she beat you half to death!" Talana nearly shouted, but never lost concentration on her healing.

"I wanted her to."

"What?"

"I wanted her to. She's teaching me how to fight without a lightsaber."

"Why would you need to learn how to fight without a lightsaber? You're a Jedi, Bastila, not a soldier."

"I said that to Barrett and she said that she was able to kill four Force sensitive Mandalorians and two dark Jedi on her own. Barrett said that she would 'disarm, cripple, then kill them before they knew that they were dead'. If someone can kill a Force sensitive without using the Force or overwhelming firepower… it's worthwhile to learn from them."

Talana sighed and said, "You have a point, Bastila. But I still don't like her. We all know who she really is."

"I haven't forgotten, Talana. But… if you put that aside you can see that underneath her hardened shell she's broken. She wants to die but can't do it herself so she's trying to find purpose in her life."

"If you say so, Bastila. But I still trust her as much as I do a rabid kath hound. You're all healed so why don't you get some rest now."

I gave her a small smile, saying, "Okay." I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes. I fell asleep to the sound of Barrett whispering something through the bond between us.


This chapter was beta-ed by Elizabeth Carter and Eltas Aldaron 31.

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