TangentOne: The Star Wars dimension, I haven't been here much. If I'm not mistaken you've visited this place quite often, Two.

TangentTwo: Yep! It's perfect for my sadistic Sith lording! Oh, and the Twi'lek's are almost as hot as catgirls, so that's a bonus too.

TangentOne: Well, at least you're honest.

TangentTwo: I'm always honest! How dare you imply that I'm dishonest at other times!

TangentOne: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to microaggress.

TangentTwo: Micro... aggress? What the fuck? What does any of this have to do with Star Wars?

TangentOne: I don't know, it seems we went on a tangent.


Jaren Orden and his master, Kaiya Doiae, stood before the Jedi Council. Each member of the council regards the two with a sense of dissatisfaction. Satele Shan, the Jedi Grandmaster stares intently at Jaren with cold yet fair eyes.

"You passed the trials, Padawan." She acknowledges the young man. "However, we are not pleased with the way you did so. Jaren, you ignored the teachings themselves and chose to belittle the society we have built." Satele turns to look at Jarens master. "Master Kaiya, how did this happen? Where did he go wrong? I say this so he can learn, not to misjudge your guidance."

Kaiya stands forward and sighs before speaking. "I do not know, master. I have tried a myriad of times to push him in the right direction, but yet I failed. His emotions have a hold of him and they won't let go, and if left unchecked he could do more harm to himself and the order."

Satele thinks on Kaiya's words, along with every other council member present. Jaren felt anger rise from his chest but says nothing, as he knew now, was not the time. Orgus Din looks to Satele.

"Master Satele, we should bar him from the trials until Master Kaiya believes he is again ready to take them. As of now, he seems to be held by his emotions far more than is wise." He states formally.

Satele considers him for a moment. "You may be right. Does anyone else disagree?"

The rest of the council members hold their tongues and Satele nods in satisfaction.

"Master Kaiya, continue Jaren's training. He has much to learn." Satele informs with finality.

"You can't be serious Master Satele. I've worked hard and done everything necessary of me and you deem it not enough? This Order is built on weakness and inaction and you do all in your power to hold back those that you are afraid of!" Jaren shouts releasing his pent-up anger and sends a shockwave through the force.

"Calm down, Padawan. You must be rational, this is one of the reasons we are withholding you from your knighthood." Satele tries to calm the young man.

"No, you are holding me back because of who I could be. Don't pass your illusions off on me, it won't work any longer." He seethes out, his aura turning to encompass pure hatred.

"The decision has been made, Padawan. Leave while we give you the chance." Orgus demands of the fledgling Jedi.

Kaiya sets a palm on Jaren's shoulder. "Time to go."

Jaren refuses to concede, delving further into his hatred and nearly losing consciousness. His Master closes her hand, grabbing his shoulder and forcefully escorting him from the Council's Chamber. She continues until they are in a separate room, away from the other Padawan and Jedi so she can try and talk some sense into her wayward Padawan.

"How dare they treat me as if I'm a child! You could have done something, anything. Yet you chose to hold me back just as they did!" Jaren continues his vehement rhetoric.

"I couldn't have done anything. Just as you are unable to change the situation. The Masters were right, you need to calm down and be rational." Kaiya replies calmly while folding her arms.

"Calm down? If I was stronger I'd have made them see the errors in their words! This entire Order is the reason the Sith are able to go around doing as they wish without recourse!" He turns to face his master his eyes burning with anger and rage.

"Still your tongue. You are crossing a line you can never return from. Do not make this mistake." His Master warns carefully.

Jaren stands tall, his entire being now a washed with a feeling of calm, yet beneath the surface of his skin, an uncontrollable rage boiled his blood. He looks at his master with finality, he is finished with her lectures and her control. He flexes his entire body, allowing her and all those nearby to feel his rebirth.

Kaiya looks into her Padawan's eyes to find they've been replaced by a sea of blood. He raises his hand and holds it out while contorting into a vice-like shape. His master feels a grip around her throat, tightening with every passing second. A feeling of pure joy now controls Jaren, he is finally happy.

"Well Master, it seems I have surpassed you and this Order." He taunts, closing his hand inch by inch.

"Th...is is n...ot true… po...wer." Kaiya manages to let out as the unseen hand tightens on her throat.

"'True power'? No, unlike yours mine is not an illusion, mine is real." Jaren returns, forming his hand into a fist hoping to end his Master's life as her body falls to the floor.

He walks over to her body, continuing to eye her with malice. As he walks closer, he begins to hear noises from outside of the room. People are rushing for help, while others were trying to forcefully enter the room and ascertain what is happening. Jaren curses and moves to the nearest window and leaps out onto the ground below. As he looks around he sees no one present. He then makes his way toward the nearest speeder station to find a way off of the planet's surface.


Xin Panteer and his master, Chu'umba, enter the Council Chamber just as Jaren leaves. Xin nearly speaks out to his childhood friend, but notices the urgency in Kaiya and decides to leave them be. Upon entering the chamber, near every member of the council smiles.

"Padawan, let me be the first to congratulate you on finishing the trials." Satele greets warmly.

A chorus of agreement runs through the rest of them, and Chu'umba smiles in his own way.

Xin bows deeply. "Thank you, Master Satele."

As Xin stands straight again, Satele continues her dialogue.

"We have already convened on this matter, and agree that you deserve the status of a Jedi Knight." She informs the delighted Jedi.

"Thank you again. I have no words to express my gratitude." Xin claims incorrectly.

"You may go forge your lightsaber, Knight Xin. You know where it is historically done." Satele motions with a hand in the general direction of the forge.

Xin bows in tandem with his master, and both exit unceremoniously. Just out of the chamber, Xin notices a presence of hate lingering in a room down the hall. He darts over to the door that lies between the hate and himself and force pulls it open. The door opens just in time for him to see a person drop out of the window, but his gaze locks onto the downed body closer to the entrance.

Chu'umba appears right behind him and kneels next to the passed out Kaiya.

"Go find the person who did this. It seems they've taken Jaren as well." Chu'umba orders before picking up the woman and calling for help.

As his Master spoke, he ran to the window and jumped out falling three stories. He scans the area and notices a cloak dash behind a corner. Xin takes off at full speed, intent on capturing the culprit immediately. The wind whips past his face as he runs and his adrenaline starts pumping. Once he reaches the corner he lays an abundance of force on his left foot to take the brunt of the sharp turn, then he pushes off and follows the brown cloak as it runs away from the temple.

His speed increases as the culprit lay in sight. Then something clicks in his mind, there's only one person. With another burst of speed, he follows the cloaked man around another corner to the front of the temple. There he sees the man run over and hop on one of the speeders at the station. He stops dead in his tracks when the hood of the cloaked man falls. His childhood friend locks eyes with him for a moment and he can briefly see the color change before he smiles wickedly and takes off.

Xin stands bewildered at the sight of his friend leaving, and more importantly, his friend's descent into the dark side. A spark of betrayal runs in his veins and he shoots toward the speeder station and hops on the closest one. The droid handler begins to protest, but Xin ignores him and follows after his friend.

His chase leads him to a landing dock for their shuttles. He jumps off his speeder as it flies forward and tracks Jaren down by sense alone. A shuttle turns on near the end of the dock and Xin starts toward it, shouting for the pilot to halt. As he draws ever closer, the shuttle doors lock audibly and he stares with malice at the retreating ship toward the sky.

He stands there for minutes on end, watching it climb ever higher into the sky and longer even after it leaves his view. Eventually, his Master stands by his side. The man gazes in the same direction his former Padawan does.

"You did all you could. You'll be glad to note Kaiya is still alive." Chu'umba prefaces.

"I couldn't stop him, Master. That jars me in ways I know it shouldn't." Xin replies, never looking away from the last location of the shuttle.

"You'll see him again. Your paths are intertwined, the force tells us so." Chu'umba continues calmly.

Xin turns to Chu'umba. "I need to make my saber. I want to go after him immediately." Xin begins to walk off.

"Don't act on your emotions so easily, this could be what he wants too." Chu'umba chastises.

"I'm not acting on my emotions, Master." Xin lies easily. "You told me to capture him, and so I will."

Xin never looks back at Chu'umba. His wound of betrayal festers and grows, and while he knows it is not the path of a Jedi to do so, it is all he can think about as he makes his way to The Ancient Forge.


Xin waves his new lightsaber experimentally. The purple blade swishes through the air satisfyingly, and the white core greets him with a wondrous gleam. The blade retracts at the push of a button and he clips it to his belt. With a determined mindset, he makes his way back to the Council Chamber.

Along the way a few Padawans he knows spot his new saber and approach to congratulate him. Instead of acknowledging their presence, he pushes past and continues to make his way along the giant halls of the Jedi Temple. He stands before the Council Chamber doors and knocks on the massive pair of wooden apertures.

"Come in." A voice sounds from inside.

Xin pushes the large doors and stands before the Council for the second time this day. The gates shut behind him on their own as every Council Member looks at him with curiosity.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Knight Xin?" Satele asks quizzically.

"Jaren Orden has taken to the Dark Side. Master Kaiya was found unconscious a few rooms down and Jaren fled the scene. I caught up to him at the landing dock just as he coerced the pilots to take off. I believe he is now at the fleet above Tython, searching for an interstellar capable ship to flee." Xin explains the full extent of the situation.

No visible change was made in any of the Council Members, but Xin could almost see their minds churning with possible courses of actions and ideas as to what this could mean. Satele shares a glance with Orgus before looking Xin in the eye.

"What would you do? You were close to him, it seems only right we gather your opinion." Satele asks, and instantly every Council Member's attention rested solely on the newly Knighted Jedi.

"I would bring him back," Xin states simply, knowing the Council Members would understand the full weight of his words.

Without deliberating, the Council comes to a consensus.

"What do you require to do so?" Orgus questions.

"The same tools he is looking for right now. An interstellar capable ship and a pilot. The rest I can handle." Xin answers.

"Even Knighted you cannot do everything, Xin. However, we will grant this request with a few stipulations." Satele begins. "Your Master, Chu'umba, must go with you. He will be commanding this operation. We are sending Master Kaiya with you as well, this is a matter of utmost importance." The Jedi Grandmaster finishes by standing, every council member mimics her at the same time.

Xin bows deeply, slightly frustrated with their decision, yet he defers to them. He leaves the chamber once he stands and searches for his Master. Undoubtedly, Chu'umba would be informed by the time he found him, so he took his time. He thinks on everything that led to this moment, there is very little he could find to force Jaren to act this way. He had a much more hands-on training than Xin did, and he thought that would attend to his needs better. He never once thought his friend is capable of doing what he's done.

With a silent curse in his mind, he knocks on Chu'umba's door and waits for an answer. With no answer given in a reasonable amount of time, he opens the door to find Chu'umba lost in meditation. He strolls in and closes the door behind him. The sharp sound draws Chu'umba from the meditative state. He stands from his cross-legged position on the floor, and his eyes that seem far too large for his face scrutinize his Padawan.

"What is the matter, Xin?" He queries.

"Your comm must have blown up. The Council has ordered us on a mission. We are to retrieve Jaren immediately, with Kaiya's assistance." Xin informs his Master.

Chu'umba strides over to his muted comm and sifts through the latest messages. He inwardly winces at the three orders he missed from the Grandmaster. He turns to his Padawan with a stoic face. Not that Xin could ever read the toad-like face of his Master, but he doesn't want Xin to even guess his embarrassment.

"Then we must leave immediately," Chu'umba replies with conviction.

Xin sighs at his Master's slothful tendencies and leads the way to the medical ward.


All three Jedi step off of the shuttle and onto the station above Tython. All of them instantly recognize the force surrounding a person opposite of their dock. Without communication, all of them run around the circular floor plan of the station. They pass multiple trader stations set just outside their docks and a few guard patrols who looked to them in curiosity. They stop at the dock where they all know Jaren went through and watch as the doors close on them.

Chu'umba reacts instantly, forcing the door to stop moving and allowing Xin to slip in before his strength faded and trapped him on the inside of the trading ship. Xin continues on quickly through the ship to the bridge. Once there, only one man sat in the pilot's seat, the rest of the bridge is empty.

"Jaren." Xin states.

"Ah, Xin." Jaren continues to prep the ship for departure without looking at his childhood friend.

"I can see I won't be able to stop you. Just answer one question. Why?" Xin asks, for once in over a decade showing anger in his words.

"Why? Many reasons, the most recent is the orders inaction and willingness to hold back those they fear." Jaren returns, anger too lacing his words.

"Are you saying they didn't make you a Knight? You passed the trials." Xin asks as he reaches for his saber.

"Don't bother, it won't help you. I'm sure my Master has informed you of my failure." He threatens now finishing his preparation.

Xin pushes his arm back to his side. "Actually, she said nothing the whole way here. I can tell her resolve to bring you back is strong."

"I'd rather she'd died back in the Temple, along with the rest of the Council, but alas it was not to be. For now." Jaren states, finally standing and turning slightly to face his friend.

"After all these years of training. All of the blood, sweat, and tears spent on you becoming a Knight. On those we spent on becoming a Knight. You desert and choose the dark side. Saying I'm ashamed of you is an understatement." Xin spits out with malice.

"I did what was right for me, the dark side was always with me. It took me until now to realize my true powers lie within it, and my blood." Jaren remarks, now looking his friend dead in the eye, showing his blood red iris.

"How quaint. You're even related to a Sith." Xin mocks.

"Not a Sith, the Sith. The blood in my veins is purer than most in the entire Sith Empire!" Jaren reveals, smiling like a madman.

"This isn't over. I will bring you back, believe it." Xin informs his friend.

"Please try, I honestly would enjoy watching you fail." Jaren taunts with a laugh.

"Do you mind letting me off on the station before you leave? I'd hate to float around in space." Xin's demeanor changes to their usual friendly state if only a mask to hide his pain.

"You can take the escape pod once I'm in cold space, I'll not allow those Jedi fools a chance to get aboard and stop me." Jaren counters, turning back to his seat and sitting.

"Have it your way. May we meet again soon, friend." Xin finishes as he walks to the nearest escape pod.

Xin then enters and seals the pod. He prepares the tiny rescue vessel for travel, which takes less than five seconds. His mind wanders to their conversation, the past the two share and the utter betrayal that his friend refused to acknowledge. His malice turned to hatred as the ship undocks from the station and pulls away.

Near instantly, he pops the pod out from the ship and directs it down to Tython.