A/N: Yeah. It would seem that I only have one reader thus far, and that would be my brother. Kinda disappointing, if you ask me. Then again, I doubt there are a lot of readers in the crossovers category. Meh. Hope you enjoy this chapter, Foral!

Chapter 4: Returning Home

The soft sound of water and the gentle rustle of leaves filled the Room of a Thousand Fountains with a quiet tranquility that remained unmatched anywhere else in the Jedi Temple. Garen Muln sat at the side of one of the many winding paths, drinking in the beauty around him, his mind wandering so far away it might be near impossible to bring it back to his surroundings. But something did bring it crashing back. A sound, a splash, not much louder than the sound of the waterfall that cascaded into the nearby pool. He stood and made his way over to the water's edge, trying to see through the rippling surface.

What he saw caused him to jump back with surprise. "Forca," he breathed. A slender figure broke the surface and dragged itself onto the bank beside him. "You're back."

Forca coughed twice, sniffled, wiped the water from her eyes, and proceeded to wring her hair out. "What, did you think I'd be gone forever?" She flipped her long hair behind her back and regarded him with her dark eyes.

"No, I just…" The sapphire ring on her finger caught his attention as he sat down next to her. "What's that? I don't remember that being there."

"Oh, that…" She shrugged and fingered the stone. "I… I got it in… Well, there was this…" The words just wouldn't come. "You're not going to believe this."

His smile was warm and encouraging. "Try me."

She took a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing. "I found another Dimension."

"You found that 'Third Dimension' Rowena's been telling you about?"

"I think so. And I think that's where Xanatos has located his base of operations, but I can't be sure."

"What do ya need me to do, Captain?"

With a short laugh, she pulled his hand down from its mock-salute position. "I haven't quite made it that far up the ranks, yet, remember?"

"Don't worry, you will eventually."

She gave a shrug and let her gaze wander out over the still waters of the lake. There was silence between them for a moment before she spoke again. "Garen, what is evil? I mean, what defines a person as evil?"

The question caught him completely off-guard. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if a person is good, but you don't like them, so you decide to be evil? Does that purpose make you evil? Or is there some line that has to be crossed first?"

He thought for a moment before giving his answer. "I don't think you can decide to be evil," he said at last. "You can choose to perform evil deeds, thereby becoming evil. But you can't just wake up one day and say to yourself, 'I think I'm going to be evil today.' It just doesn't work that way."

"That's what I thought."

"Why? Have you been thinking of becoming evil because you don't like me?"

He received a firm punch in the shoulder as a response. "Of course not."

"Then why the sudden interest?"

Another shrug. "I met this guy in the Third Dimension. He seemed really… I don't know. Confused, I guess. He said he was evil because his brother abandoned him, and he wanted revenge. I kinda felt bad for him."

"Did you talk to Rowena about it?"

"Yeah. She gave me this whole deal about the complexity of the Fourth Dimension, and something about destined conflict or something." She paused as she remembered the rest of her White Hot Room conversation. "She also happened to mention that I was adopted."

Garen pursed his lips in thought. The look in his eyes could not be masked before she saw it. "Adopted, huh?" he replied, a little too quickly. "Imagine that."

Realization dawned on her instantly. "You knew, didn't you? You knew this whole time?" He didn't have to answer. She could see it in his face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it mattered. Besides, it's not like I knew you'd want to know."

"You know who my real parents are, too, don't you?" Again, he gave no answer. His gaze dropped to the ground beside him as he searched for the best way to go about such a delicate situation. "Tell me, Garen, please. I have to know."

"No you don't. It's not important."

"Yes, it is! How can you say that?" Her voice rose with her frustration.

"Because it's true!" His voice nearly matched hers in volume. "Jedi are not supposed to have any attachment, remember? Most of us don't know our real parents. Why should it be any different for you?"

"You know what I think? I think that's the lamest excuse I ever heard!"

He bit back another retort as he heard the sound of footsteps on the path behind them. Standing quickly, he turned to see his friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, approaching. Forca also stood, bowing politely to the older man, but clearly showing her frustration on her face.

"I see you have finally returned," Obi-Wan said softly. "I hope your journey was productive?"

"Fairly. I'm sorry for being so short, but I'm afraid I'm not in much of a mood to talk about it at the moment."

"Understood." He paused a moment and shifted uncomfortably. "The council would like to speak with you, Forca. I'm afraid it's rather urgent."

The sun was beginning to set behind the Coruscant skyline as Forca stood before the Jedi Council. She tried hard not to show her discomfort, as she had always been rather nervous about being called to the Council Chamber. Standing at the center of the room and waiting for someone to speak while they all stared was at the top of her list of most nerve-racking experiences ever.

After what seemed like forever, Mace Windu spoke. "Forca, you came to the Temple two years ago and were admitted by the special request of Rowena. You were much older than any of the other students when they started, and therefore you understand that you had to adhere much closer to our rules in order to prove yourself." She nodded slowly. "We gave you a fair chance. Unfortunately, circumstances arose that interfered with your training. On top of that, you have been spending a lot of time with Garen Muln. Too much time, we feel."

"A difficult decision, this was," Yoda intoned.

"You have been an interruption in his training, and he in yours. I'm afraid we have no other choice." She knew immediately what was coming, and her expression fell. "I'm sorry, Forca. You are hereby expelled from the Jedi Order."

Frantically, she glanced around at the many faces. All were sympathetic, but all were resolute. She felt tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. "So that's it? You're just going to ship me off to the Agricultural Corps or something?"

"No, we're not. You will be provided with an apartment here on Coruscant. The complications regarding your Jedi status will no longer prevent you from scaling the ranks within the Imperial Alliance, so your future there is still intact. Your shuttle leaves in two hours. May the Force be with you."

That was her cue to leave. She bowed and quickly left the room. As she waited for the turbolift at the end of the hall, she heard a voice behind her. "You know," Obi-Wan commented as he came to a stop, "Luke Skywalker is not officially a part of the Order. You could finish your training with him."

"Thanks for the advice, but I'm not looking for help." Her reply was a bit colder than she had intended.

He didn't seem to notice. "I have some business to finish on Zolan. I thought maybe you'd like to come."

"Still clinging to the whole 'Master/Padawan' thing?"

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Maybe. Or maybe I was just looking for an excuse to hear a more detailed description of your trip to Endor."

"Well, I'm afraid I'll have to pass. A vacation on Zolan sounds fun and all that, but I'm just not up to dealing with Yim today. Besides, I've got to get over to the Alliance. I think I might have found Xanatos' base of operations, and I need someone up top to clear an investigation."

"Someone like Admiral Solo?"

"Don't even joke. He and I are still not speaking at the moment." The light above the door lit up, indicating that the turbolift had arrived at their level. "I suppose I'll see you when you get back from Zolan, then?"

He nodded. "I'll come find you as soon as I get back, I promise."

She smiled slightly. "Thanks for everything," she said before the door could hiss shut. "I miss you already."

An hour and a half later, she had just finished packing when Garen walked into her room. His rather sudden entrance was met with a harsh glare. "Don't you know how to knock?"

"Listen," he began. "I'm sorry about you getting expelled. I feel like this is all my fault."

"Well, sorry isn't going to get me readmitted." Her voice softened when she heard his mournful tone. "At this point, I don't think anything would." She returned to her packing without another word.

"And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your parents."

"That's okay. I don't think I care anymore. They're probably dead now anyway, right?"

"Actually… no, they're not." Her gaze shot up to meet his in surprise. "And since I got you expelled, I feel like I owe you the truth."

"Scratch the apartment. I'm going straight to Zolan."

Ortani, the young starcruiser pilot, stuttered several times before getting an audible sentence out. "Wait, what? What's going on?"

Forca didn't answer for several minutes as she stashed her luggage in the small holding compartment. Taking a seat next to him at the controls, she fixed him with an even stare. "Your father has some explaining to do," she said simply.

A/N: If you are reading this right now, then please, please review!