Chapter 6

Reunions and Ruins

Twice in so many short weeks, the Enclave was in a near-uproar. Could it be true - the fallen Jedi Padawan returned to the Order? And the strange new apprentice…she was the one who was able to redeem their lost sister? Indeed both were true. Bastila was among the most astonished, and she knew Kairi longer than most anyone else.

She had been surprised when she sensed Kairi not in the Dantooine Outback, but in the spaceport. At first, she wondered if she had somehow grown frustrated with the training or was attempting to escape the planet. After all, the Hawk's repairs were mostly finished. No, her bond-mate was calm. What was going on? Bastila didn't bother with full robes, belting her tunic and walking to the spaceport.

Canderous was in the armory, stooped over the workbench and busy fitting a mesh underlay to what had been Sherruk's armor, his cannon leaning against the bench in easy reach. His excuse that he owned half the ship seemed to be a little thin. After all, the Order's resources weren't limitless, but certainly they could buy off a common mercenary. He looked up from his work as she came in.

"Kairi's down in the galley," Canderous said. "Brought a stray with her last night."

"A 'stray?'"

"You heard me, Princess. I'm not interested in socializing, especially since it looks like the stray's Cathar. Last person she'd want to talk with is me, anyway."

"Pardon me, a Cathar?"

"Hadn't realized you were deaf," Canderous said, looking up from his work to give her a head to toe look.

Bastila shuddered and crossed her arms, trying to block as much of his "view" as she could. "Thank you, Mr. Ordo," she said before crossing the armory briskly to exit the other side.

Canderous just shook his head. "What a waste," he muttered before going back to work.


The galley hatch opened, and Bastila didn't bother with the ladder, simply jumping down into the room, and using a slight pull on the Force to control the fall. Carth, Mission, Kairi, and their "guest" sat around the long table, passing around some local fruit, cheese, and crackers for breakfast.

"Nice trick," said Carth. "Come to get breakfast?"

"I've come to get Kairi, and..." Bastila stopped mid-sentence as she realized who the "guest" was. They'd found her a Service Corps coverall to wear, which was why Bastila didn't recognize her at first. "Juhani?"

Juhani bowed her head, the wooden beads braided into her topknot clicking against one another. "Bastila."

"Wow, you two know each other?" Mission said, cutting off another hunk of cheese.

"She was a student at the Enclave," Bastila said abruptly, not willing to go into more detail. "I thought you had left the Order, left the planet."

"No," Juhani said, her words slurred by her thick accent. "I fled. I hid. Kairi convinced me to return."

Kairi clutched her cup of caffa and edged closer to Juhani. "We got back late. I figured she could at least use a change of clothes, a shower, and a decent meal before turning herself in."

"Turning herself in?" Carth said with a scowl. "What for?"

Juhani sighed. "It is...all right. I should at least admit what I have done. During a sparring session, my master tested me by goading me into rage. I failed the test. I lost control. I...I believe I killed her."

Mission whistled and flinched a little.

Carth did not move, aside from deepening his scowl. "You sure your master wasn't trying to get you killed?"

"Carth! What kind of question is that?!" Bastila cried.

"A valid one," he snapped. "There's a difference between breaking down someone to build them and pushing them too hard and too far. Saul never figured out the difference -"

"So it comes back to him, does it?"

"Stop it," Kairi said. "Whatever it is with the two of you, figure it out. This is about Juhani."

"It was an accident, right?" Mission said. "It's...it's not like you meant to..."

"The deed is done, and I have delayed long enough. Kairi, it is time," Juhani said.

"At least let me walk you there. Come on."

They climbed up the ladder and out of the room, heading for the Council's Chambers.


They reached the massive wooden door, and Kairi pushed it open for Juhani. Vrook, Vandar, and Dorak were waiting. Zhar was conspicuously absent. Perhaps he had another matter to attend.

"I thank you," Juhani said. "Know that whatever their sentence, I will accept it. Thank you for your guidance. Thank you for carrying me this far."

Kairi hugged Juhani briefly. "There is no emotion..."

"There is peace."

"There is no death..."

"There is the Force." Juhani let go of Kairi and walked inside, the door sealing behind her.

Kairi would have been content to wait there, but after a few minutes, Zhar walked into the waiting area, closing the door. "I heard the news. You have done well, my pupil."

"You said it yourself; those on the Dark Path aren't always lost. And Bastila said that the Jedi do not execute those who have surrendered. It wouldn't have done any good to destroy her – not to her, not to me, not to the grove, and not even to Quatra's memory."

"Quatra is a very...odd woman, and specializes in what we would deem 'difficult' cases. She chose Juhani as Padawan when few others would."

"You mean Quatra is -"

"It was a near thing. Juhani's attack injured her greatly. But it was Quatra's choice to test Juhani this way, and it seems to have made its point. She is both dedicated and true to the ideals of the Order, yet she was still vulnerable to the dark side. As are we all. Though she was saved, do not dismiss what happened to her."

"She'll be relieved to find that out. What do you think will happen to her?"

"My colleagues will decide that. As for you, Kairi? You have passed your test, and proven yourself worthy of joining the Jedi. Congratulations, Padawan. Let me be the first to welcome you as a full-fledged member of our Order!" He clasped Kairi's hand in both of his own.

Kairi swallowed hard. This meant she was fully a Jedi, more so than when she built her lightsaber, more so then the day she granted her reluctant consent to be trained. Finally, she had a place in the universe. So, why was her mouth day and her heart racing?

Being able to understand the emotions of others didn't mean your own were any better sorted out.


It was only a few hours later that she was summoned into the Council Chambers. That morning's promotion did little to decrease her self-consciousness around the Masters. It was just like the day she walked into their presence the first time. The four Masters stood around their table, and Bastila stood next to her.

Vrook spoke first. "For good or ill, Kairi, you are now a Jedi in full. The time has come for you and Bastila to investigate the dream you shared. The secrets to stopping Malak may lie hidden within the ancient Dantooine ruins you both saw in your visions."

"When we heard of the ruins in your dreams, Master Dorak recognized it as one of a series of ancient structures here on Dantooine. After much study, we believe we have pinpointed which one. It lies to the east of this Enclave," Vandar said.

Dorak pushed several hidden buttons, causing a small holoprojector to activate and show a three-dimensional map of the area with the cluster of ruins in question lit in red. "It's still dangerous to explore. We haven't mapped out the area in any great detail, and the Dark Side energies agitate the local wildlife. Worse, it had been a hideout for the Mandalorian bandits your friends recently dealt with."

"We sent a Jedi to investigate... but he has not returned. Perhaps sending him in the first place was a mistake," said Vandar.

"Who?" Bastila asked.

"Nemo," Vrook said. "He spent most of his career recovering artifacts and history we thought lost. We believed his skills to be a good fit for the task."

"I passed through the edge of that area when I was heading to the grove," Kairi said, pointing to one of the clusters of stones on the far end. "When I touched one of the stones, I got...more of an impression or feeling, actually. Hundreds of people – slaves – crammed into that tiny area."

Zhar rubbed his chin. "Thank you for informing us of this. It does confirm what we suspected. It is both of you, Kairi and Bastila, that must go there. Something in the Force has tied you to that site."

"I'm not entirely sure I understand what the Force is thinking in that regard," Kairi remarked darkly. "Still, if there is something important Revan left behind there, any lead has to be investigated."

Zhar did not physically shrug, but it carried in his voice. "As I have said, Kairi, the Force's Will is hard to discern. We do not know why it has chosen the two of you to investigate any more than it chose you to receive the visions. We can only see the results before us and act accordingly."

Kairi nodded. Even after all these weeks of intensive training, there was so much she wasn't sure she understood. There was little she could do but defer to their greater experience in these matters.

"The Force is guiding you through your visions; it may be that exploring the ruins is a task tied to your destiny. That is why the Council has now decided you both should be the one to investigate this."

"We will investigate the ruins right away, Master Vandar," Bastila said, bowing slightly.

"Remember that you are both equals in the Order's eyes now," Zhar said. "Though you are an experienced Padawan, Bastila, you have not yet undergone the Knight's Trial. You are a team in this mission, and must rely on each other."

"The powerful link between you should aid you in this quest. The secrets to stopping Malak may be hidden within those ruins. You must investigate them and find what Revan and Malak were looking for. Come back to us with whatever you have found. You are dis-"

A loud shout echoed through the halls, cutting off Vandar in mid-speech. "The Jedi are good for nothing but empty words!"

"And that would be Ahlan Matale paying his respects," Zhar said, with as much sarcasm as his station allowed.

The large door leading to the Council Room was flung wide open. Carth – of all people – was attempting to calm down a human man in his sixties. Barging through the open door, the old man strode right up to the Council and started shaking his fist at them.

"The Sandral family is a blight upon Dantooine. They must be punished! I came here seeking results, which are apparently something you cloistered philosophers can't give. I'll see your useless hides leaving this planet – you hear me!"

"The Council will look into this matter, Mr. Matale," Vandar warned. "You must be patient. Your accusations have no proof, and if you are mistaken in your accusation of the Sandrals…"

"Mistaken? My son, Shen, is missing! How can there be any doubt that the Sandrals are to blame?" Ahlan was bright red.

"Perhaps there are other explanations for your son's disappearance," Vrook said.

"It took that Republic soldier outside the door and a mercenary to take care of the Mandalorians. Your kind never lifted a finger! If he will not help and your kind continues to dismiss our demands for justice, then I will take matters into my own hands and rally others to do the same. Let's see how you arrogant parasites like THAT!"

He stormed out, leaving the door wide open and a very embarrassed Carth standing just outside. Vandar looked to the others and nodded. "You may enter, Commander Onasi."

He trudged in like a schoolboy sent to the headmaster. "Uh, sorry. He did come seeking us out, but Canderous…Well, he's not the most diplomatic guy."

"No…No, he isn't," Bastila said. "I'm rather glad I did not witness the attempt he made at diplomacy, either."

"Just what is going on?" Kairi asked.

Bastila explained, "The Sandral and Matale families are two of the wealthiest local landowners, and have never been amicable neighbors. Ahlan Matale, in particular, has filed numerous complaints against what he perceives as Sandral interference. The Sandral family tends not to go to the Council, but take direct action which only seems to infuriate Mr. Matale further."

"Now," Carth said. "It looks pretty close to all out war. The sons of both families are missing, each blames the other, and both sides probably have enough stockpiled for a small army."

Kairi put her hands behind her back. "Masters, would it be permissible for us to help in this matter?"

"As dangerous as the current threat from Darth Malak and the Sith may be, the Jedi cannot abandon our other responsibilities," Vandar said. "And we are not a cloistered order. Our influence and teachings must spread beyond the walls of our academies if they are to do any good."

"Your studies and training are important, but we have promised Ahlan Matale that we will look into his son's disappearance. Should you have time, Padawan, you can investigate this matter," Vrook said.

"The task has its own importance," Bastila said. "It may also serve to divert our minds for a short time…something that carries its own rewards."

Dorak nodded to Carth. "Since your actions against the Mandalorian raiders have brought the respect of the local farmers, Commander, you may accompany Kairi and Bastila if you wish."

Carth shrugged. "I wouldn't mind getting out of the Enclave for a bit. I mean, come on. How bad could it be?"


True to their standing, the Matale estate was vast, plenty of workers in the fields, plenty of droids helping to sow the crops. It would have been a pleasantly pastoral scene if not for the patrol robots and occasional armed guard on the perimeter, the official reason being the hostile local wildlife. The manor house stood center, painted a pale blue, and part of a sprawling complex that housed employees and servants as well as the family.

The family protocol droid acknowledged their arrival, but did not invite them inside. Instead, Ahlan came out to speak to them, flanked by a phalanx of expensive, and barely legal, security droids. Self-righteous indignation and bitter wrath wrapped around him like an energy shield.

"My protocol droid tells me you're here on behalf of the Council. I was beginning to think my demands for justice had been ignored, though I think your time would be better spent interrogating the Sandrals as to the whereabouts of my son Shen."

"Any information you can give us would be helpful," Kairi said. "Ransom notes, communications, physical evidence..."

"I already told my story to the Council! Why did they not inform you of the facts in this matter? I did not expect such incompetence from the Jedi, but here it goes. Many years ago, I came to Dantooine to escape the crush of humanity on the Core Worlds. Soon after, the Sandrals arrive and they've been a plague on my house ever since. Our disputes are well documented."

"I imagine the story from the Sandrals would sound just about the same, don't you?" Kari sensed a jab of tired frustration from Carth. Before she'd taken up a lightsaber, she would have flashed him a smile. Seeing as she was now on official duty, however, she settled for attempting to keep a straight face. Bastila's annoyance was a more subtle thing, more tired.

Ahlan continued to grandstand. "Yesterday, I discovered several of their droids on my land. They've been destroyed, of course, but I don't want to think about what nefarious plans the Sandrals had for them - maybe my assassination or burning my estate to the ground. I wasn't about to find out. That very night, Shen vanishes. He is my only child - heir to my estate."

"Where was Shen last seen?"

"Isn't it obvious to you damn Jedi? Nurik Sandral had him abducted because he could not destroy me instead. The only resolution possible is the return of my son and punishment inflicted on those land-grabbers."

Kairi clamped down her own frustration. There wasn't a single bit of proof, was there? If there were, Ahlan would have waved it before their noses already. "Thank you, Mr. Matale. I must now speak to Mr. Sandral to find out his version of events."

"And know this, Jedi. I am not going to sit idly by. I will do anything it takes to get justice - including razing the entire Sandral estate!"

"You would be willing to risk open war over this?" Carth asked.

Ahlan folded his arms and edged closest to the nastiest pair of droids. "Is that shocking? I hope it proves my point. The Sandrals started this - not I."

"Here I thought you'd start blaming us if we failed," Carth said. "It seems everyone is responsible for your actions except for you."

The old man turned bright red, and he shook his fist at them. "I don't need to stand here and listen to this impertinence! Until you find Shen, we've nothing further to discuss. I've got plans of my own to make." He turned and stormed back inside his home.

"I'm impressed, Carth," Bastila said. "That interjection was very Jedi-like."

"What can I say? You pick up a few things."

"Unfortunately, Ahlan Matale isn't making idle threats," Bastila said. "He's rash and foolish enough to attempt an assault on the Sandral estate - and all-out war between their families."

"I've seen men like him before, so convinced his hatred is justified that he's willing to do anything." Carth watched the droids and guards patrolling the estate perimeter warily. "And if we don't figure it out quickly, there's going to be a lot of blood."


The Sandral grounds were approximately equal in size, but they were far less open about their wealth. There were patrol droids and employees to be certain, but the manor was smaller, with fewer outbuildings.

The protocol droid at the door escorted them into an entry hall. Enclosed in tempered glass, it was as much a greenhouse as it was a parlor, appointed with plush benches and verdant, well-tended plants.

Nurik Sandral was a broad-shouldered, dark human about a decade younger than Ahlan Matale. His voice was even and his posture stern, obviously a man who extended formal politeness to strangers, but nothing more than that. "I've been informed by my protocol droid that you wish to speak to me."

"I'm here on behalf of the Jedi Council, investigating the disappearance of Shen Matale," Kairi said. "Ahlan sees to think you know something about it."

"He'd blame me for the wind if he could get away with it. I brought my family here to find peace and safely - not to be harassed and treated like common criminals."

"Jedi are renowned for their fairness and pursuit of justice," Bastila's sharp alto cut in before Kairi could say another word. "There is nothing to fear from us…unless you have something to hide."

Kairi stood back, trying to analyze Nurik. A heavy cloak of his own concern and bitterness, brought on by the long years of quarreling with his neighbor almost concealed him entirely. Yet, Kairi could pierce the cloak. He was hiding something, but it wasn't clear what.

Nurik glowered at her. "My own son is missing as well. Gone two days before Shen Matale, yet I can take care of my own problems. I sent out my patrol droids to find him, and Matale used them for target practice. This is not Jedi business or concern – it is between the Matale family and mine. I trust you can find your own way out."

The door slammed behind him, echoing off the walls.

"That's quite a line. Do you actually believe that?" Carth argued. "Don't you think someone is allowed to value their privacy?"

"Privacy is well and good, but justice must be valued higher. Is it not obvious to you that Mr. Sandral is hiding something?" Bastila said.

"Actually, it is," Carth said. "All I'm saying is that not everyone welcomes the sight of a Jedi with open arms. Better get used to it."

Kairi turned to Bastila. "Yes, he is hiding something, but we won't understand what it is if we take the high-handed approach. He's too proud, and it would get us nowhere." Kairi scowled. "Wait a minute!"

"What is it, Kairi?" Bastila asked.

"Look, over there." On one wall, there was a large case of odd treasures. Bits of stone and fossils, at least one ancient skull, and painstakingly-assembled models of ancient ships and tools. "It appears as though someone here is a digger."

"Casus, Nurik Sandral's only son," Bastila said. "He was a fixture at the Enclave, trying to escape his father. He had a degree in xenoarcheology from one of the better schools on Coruscant, but Nurik insisted he return to help administer the estate. I remember him always trying to get an audience with Dorak to share some discovery or another."

"He may have found something worth Dorak's attention," Kairi said, pointing to a black tablet on the lowest shelf, engraved in the alien script seen through the cluster of ancient ruins. Beneath it was a second language that seemed familiar. "See that script? Some of those characters look like ancient Corellian."

"It may be nothing."

Kairi shook her head. "I was hired for languages, remember? Ugh, this stuff is past even my abilities, but if Casus has been studying the ruins, that's where we should start looking. For all we know, he brought Shen Matale with him."

"He could be in trouble," Carth said. "The place is a maze, and there could be a straggler or two from Sherruk's camp that didn't get the surrender order. The kath hounds nesting there could also take down a man easily."

"The ruins it is," Kairi said. "We find one son, we're liable to find the other."


They were running out of daylight as they reached the ruins. The whole place felt cold, despite the balmy weather. From a cliff overlooking them, the shape and organization of what had once been a compound the size of a small town could clearly be seen. The centerpiece of it was the ruin that the Masters had pointed out to them, a mass of black stone covered now with soil and grass.

Going back to the ruins, even in broad daylight, did little to ease Carth's nerves. The women seemed to perceive the same thing, shuddering as they navigated a low trail through a hard-to access canyon at the edge of the ruins.

"You sense anyone here?" Carth asked.

"No, Bastila said. "This place has such a strong Dark Side presence that I can barely perceive a thing."

"All these cliffs and ruins made it a great place to hide, and if your Jedi senses are blind here, then little wonder it made such a good hideout for Sherruk."

"Mandalorians have very high Force resistance," Kairi said. "Trying to read Canderous is hardly worth the bother."

Carth snorted. "He'd be a little ticked off at the idea of being 'read' at all." He stopped in mid-step, and pulled his blasters. "Hold on, I hear something."

Kairi and Bastila reached for their lightsabers only an instant before a baying pack of kath hounds swooped down from the hills. They were all raw-boned and patches of fur were bald from thick scars, having been made all the more aggressive by generations of breeding here. The pack snapped and howled, trapping them against the ravine's wall. The leader of the pack was a bruiser – a thick mess of albino skin, three horns on his head, and as tall as Kairi at the shoulder.

The double blade on Bastila's saber sliced into the heart of the pack, Kairi and Carth breaking apart and heading for the edges, splitting the pack three ways and making the beasts easier to take down. Carth scrambled partway up the cliff, all the better to rain fire with his blasters, and cripple the smaller ones. Kairi went straight for the massive albino. Kath were pack animals – and the albino was clearly the pack's leader.

It snarled and reared up on its hind feet, looming over her.

She powered off her blade and did not dodge.

It pawed the earth with its cloven hooves and charged for her. Kairi waited until the twisted, sharpened horns were less than a meter from her chest. There would only be one chance at this.

As the albino surged forward, Kairi sprang into action. Vaulting upwards with a Force-assisted leap, she spun in mid-air and landed on the kath hound's back. Re-igniting her lightsaber, she raised it high and plunged it into the hound's thick neck. The beast let out a single agonized howl as it collapsed, throwing Kairi as it did.

She was still trying to recover her breath as she heard Carth shout for her and open fire on the hound nearest her, cutting it down. That's when another sprang up and tackled him. He tried to block the hound's jaws with his forearm, but his leather coat was flimsy armor at best. His fear surged through her, renewing her strength. Kairi raised her arm and shoved the hound as hard as she could manage. Her telekenetic push sent the hound crashing into one of the remaining walls of black stone with the speed of a swoop, killing it on impact.

It was then that Bastila managed to slice through the last of them. Saber still lit, she ran over to them. "Carth? Kairi?"

"Here," Kairi said, trying to get back on her feet.

Carth rolled up his sleeve to make sure the hound hadn't bitten through. "I'm going to feel that in the morning," he remarked. Pushing the sleeve down, he started to look Kairi over. "How about you? Anything broken?"

"No, I'm all right," she said.

He offered her a hand to help pull her up, and she gladly accepted it. Ah, she had almost forgotten what a pleasant thing it was to be in his presence. No matter where they were, it always felt just a little safer with him.

"The pack seems to have been nesting in that structure over here," Bastila said. "Something's half-buried inside."

The three of them squeezed into what was little more than a decaying cave, the women's lightsabers providing just enough light to see by. Kairi, being smallest, was able to duck into the narrowest part of the den, an area that barely qualified as a crawlspace. There were bones stashed among the stone and tree roots, most of smaller animals.

Most, but not all. Her foot struck something that was too thick to be bone, and too giving to be rock. "There's a body back here."

It took the three of them to pull the corpse out of the kath hounds' den. The man had been young - maybe in his middle twenties, but it was very hard to tell much else due to the extent of mutilation. Hunks of flesh were torn away, eaten as the pack's dinner the night prior. The only identifying feature still visible was a patch on the man's jacket, bearing the Sandral crest.

"Casus Sandral, I'll bet," Carth said. "We'll need to get the local law in here to claim the body. At least give it back to the Sandrals for a proper burial."

Kairi once again crawled to the cave's back. After a few minutes of searching, she pulled out a battered, but functional datapad that had been mostly ignored by the kath hounds. After some coaxing, she managed to get it to power up. "It looks like he never stopped pursuing archeology, even with his family confining him to the planet. His journal has an almost complete map of the ruins. And he's been trying to decipher the writing…"

The first file in the datapad outlined a series of symbols - thirty-eight in all. They seemed to form some sort of alphabet. What particularly caught Kairi's attention was a sketch in the back. Six words formed a circle.

Air…soil…wood…fire…metal…water…


It was past sundown by the time they arrived at the central ruin. A pathway of broken obelisks led to a towering stone door. Unlike the rest of the stones that littered the area, the intricate details on the door seemed unblemished by time.

"This…I…I remember this from the dream! The patterns are the same…" Almost like she was in a trance, Kairi walked up to the door and lightly brushed her fingers against the runic patterns.

"I don't see any means of opening it," Bastila said. "I would hate to try and carve through it with a lightsaber – even if it were possible."

"Hush!" Kairi said. "I think...I think I have an idea."

It was that horrible feeling creeping up on her again, that feeling of being far too close to the edge of a fall into oblivion. She hated it, as it always felt like she was surrendering control of her body to something or someone else. Using the Force was always like this in some way or another, and these very strong suggestions from it were the worst.

She fought down the panic. As much as she dreaded the feeling, and always wondered if she would ever surface again, there was as much choice in using it here as there had been on Taris – none. Kairi took a deep breath and plunged.

In her profound trance, there was no self, there was no "Kairi." All that she moved, breathed, knew came from the depths of that endless chasm in her mind. The Force rushed into the emptiness like ocean water, filling and changing it, but it was still the grave of her former life. She was barely aware of Carth and Bastila. She could see what was around her, but could not take conscious action.

Her fingers stirred of their own accord, tracing the lines and patterns. Hidden among them, almost, but not quite invisible were a series of panels. She pushed the sequence, and the door slid open. She strode into the dark interior, still under the dreamlike state.

Carth quickly glanced to Bastila. She shrugged, indicating she had no idea what was pulling Kairi in, but they wasted no time in taking glowrods from their pouches and following her.

The ruin was far bigger on the inside than it appeared to be on the outside. It was built of the same kind of stone the rest of the complex was, and inscribed with the same incomprehensible characters. The hair stood up on the back of Carth's neck. This place was bad news. He was walking into someone else's bad dream at the least, and possibly following the path walked by two Sith Lords. Top it off with being an ordinary guy, and therefore completely clueless about the arcane things Jedi took for granted.

Kairi looked around at the heavy stone columns, the high roof. Her voice was faint, almost sleepy. It only seemed to unsettle him more. "This is the place, Bastila. This is where the secret was…"

"Yes, yes…" Bastila said. "I can see that clearly now."

"Kairi, are you all right? Kairi?" He'd seen that look on her face one too many times on Taris. She looked more like a broken droid than a person. Carth wanted to take her shoulders and shake her out of it.

Bastila held up a hand to silence Carth. "It's all right, Kairi. Keep going. We're behind you."

Deep breath, soldier. Remember, let the Jedi do their job, don't pretend to understand it, and keep your mouth shut. That was the usual party line in the Fleet when it came to the saber-swingers. Creator of the Universe, he hated the party line.

This was only the opening room of a larger complex. The ruins in this valley could have been all one building at one point, but cave-ins blocked most of the tunnels. They came to what could have been the central chamber of the structure. A spidery droid that resembled a metal kinrath stood guard in the room. They had barely stepped forward when a loud voice boomed from the droid, saying what sounded like a series of grinding and whistles.

Kairi walked closer. "Hello."

Another burst of gibberish from the machines, this one sounding like hisses and coughs.

"What language is that?" asked Kairi, her voice flat. "Try another."

The droid responded in another unfamiliar language.

"The phonemes are unfamiliar," Bastila said. "Maybe it doesn't understand."

"I can reproduce any of the languages spoken by the slaves of the Builders."

"Selkath! I understood that," Bastila said. "It's…it's an archaic dialect of it. I can barely but it's definitely Selkath."

"So why is a droid stuck in a Dantooine ruin speaking Selkath?" Carth asked.

Kairi spoke the translation in Basic as the droid recited it in Selkath. "Communication was vital to ensure that the slaves constructed this temple according to the wishes of the Builders. But you are not of the slave species. You are like the ones who came before…neither Builders or Slaves."

"It must be referring to Revan and Malak," Bastila said. "It's possible they encountered this droid while exploring the ruins."

"I am the Overseer. The Builders programmed me to enforce discipline among the slaves while this monument to the power of the Star Forge was constructed. At project completion, the slaves were executed and I was programmed to serve should a Builder return in search of knowledge of the Star Forge."

"What is this Star Forge?" Bastila asked.

"The Star Forge is the glory of the Builders, the apex of the Infinite Empire. It is a machine of invincible might, a tool of unstoppable conquest."

"What kind of tool?" Bastila asked.

"The Star Forge is the glory of the Builders, the apex of the Infinite Empire. It is a machine of invincible might, a tool of unstoppable conquest."

"Great," Carth said. "It's either not programmed with the answer or not going to tell us."

"The Star Forge sounds like some kind of weapon, though it could be anything…" Bastila paced around the droid, examining it. "Revan and Malak certainly wanted to find it."

"A Forge..." Kairi said. Her eyes were still blank, her posture unnaturally stiff."Where things are built. Weapons...Ships..."

"Maybe. It would certainly explain how the Sith were able to amass a fleet so quickly, but I suspect that this Star Forge is more than a mere factory. Kairi, how long has the droid been here?"

"I have been here ever since the completion of this monument. In all this time, no Builder has returned to seek information about the Star Forge. My chronological circuits have marked over ten revolutions of this system's outermost planet since the Builders left."

"Ten revolutions?" Bastila was stunned. "That's more than 20,000 years! If this is true, then this empire and this droid are over 5000 years older then the Republic itself! There has to be a mistake in the calculations."

"There is no mistake. The Builders constructed my circuitry using the technology of the Star Forge itself. My calculations are infallible. The Builders are the great masters of the galaxy, the conquerors of all worlds, the rulers of the Infinite Empire and the creators of the Star Forge."

Carth scowled. "I've heard a few of the Corellian guys in the Fleet throwing around legends about ancient beings assembling their star system. I figured it was just the Corellians being Corellians. Get a couple beers into them, and out come the tall tales."

"In the years before the Republic, the Hutts were a dominant force in the galaxy, but they did not build an empire. In fact, I know of no species that would fit with this information," said Bastila. "These Builders must be an extinct people, though it's strange that there's no record of existence. Even the Jedi archives make no mention of them or this Star Forge."

"Now that the slaves are gone, my purpose is to aid those who seek knowledge of the Star Forge if they are worthy The ones who came before you, the ones like you - not Builders, not slaves - sought knowledge of the Star Forge. They proved themselves worthy. They discovered the secrets of the Star Forge locked beyond the door behind me. The temple's own protections will destroy the unworthy if they fail in their quest for knowledge. Now it is your time. Within the chamber ahead, those who understand the will of the Builders can unlock their secrets and open the doors. Those who fail will be destroyed by the power of the temple itself."

"Revan and Malak unlocked the sealed door and uncovered the secrets of the Star Forge. Now, Malak must be using this device to fuel his conquest of the Republic. We must find out what they uncovered - unseal those doors and learn more. The Republic is depending on us," Bastila said.

Kairi turned and walked over to the sealed door. Once again touching an incomprehensible pattern of hidden tiles, it slid open for her, the ancient mechanism groaned with protest as it did. Carth and Bastila followed her into the room. The walls were decorated with bas-relief carvings of plants and animals, marvelously intact for their age. Even the floor boasted a beautiful mosaic in the form of a circle. Kairi walked to its center.

"Kairi?" Carth asked. She had that glass-eyed expression on her face and her posture was perfectly still. He'd seen it on Taris, but this was the longest she'd ever been under like this.

No answer. It was like she could not hear him, though he stood next to her. He waved his hand in front of her face. She didn't even blink. Bastila glowered at him like he was being deliberately silly.

The door slammed shut with an ominous crash, sealing the three of them inside. Carth and Bastila ran to the door, but quickly realized that they would not be able to open it. That's when they got a better look at the debris on the floor. The chamber was littered with bones, some animal, but some sentient. One of the corpses, propped up near what looked like an altar, seemed recent. His flesh seemed to be half-melted from his face, and his hands were like ground meat. The corpse wore what looked to be a grey Jedi robe.

"Nemo," Bastila said. "The Council sent him to investigate and it cost him his life."

"Looks like some kind of chemical weapon caused..." Carth started sniffing the air. "Oh, kriff."

"What?"

"It's not just the body I'm smelling. There's some kind of gas being pumped in."

Bastila sprang to her feet and started looking over the carvings on the walls. "Hidden vents. We won't have much time unless we can find a way out."

Carth used the altar to try and lift himself up, accidentally pressing a hidden panel. The altar wasn't just decoration! Like the droid, it was an ancient computer lying dormant. The carvings on the wall and the mosaic on the floor blazed to life with color.

"Carth, you..."

"Get over here, Bastila. This thing's powered up and trying to do something, but hell if I know what!"

Bastila ran over and tried pushing panels on the computer, trying to see if something – anything would work. The gas was now becoming obvious, a burning haze on her skin as her eyes watered. "I'm trying. There's got to be one of these panels that work."

Just then, a screen lit and one of the panels folded open. It looked the right size for a datapad. Not certain if anything else would work, she took out Casus Sandral's journal and inserted it.

The voice that echoed through the chamber via some unseen speaker system was heavily accented, but it certainly was recognizable as Basic. "Welcome, Seeker. Walk the sequence that generates life."

"Wind or air." Kairi walked through the tiles, interpreting the pictures on their surface. "Wind shapes the soil…Soil gives life to wood…wood fuels fire…fire purifies metal…metal cools and attracts condensation …water…which in turn purifies air…"

The walls glowed green "Breaking Life Seal." Then, the carvings went from green to red. "Now, walk the sequence that ends in death," the computer said.

Kairi's steps were mechanical, but deliberate. "Fire consumes air, water consumes fire. Wood conquers water, and metal cuts wood. Soil traps metal. And metal becomes fire when it erupts, poisoning air."

"Breaking Death Seal," reported the computer.

Carth and Bastila saw the mosaic on the floor start to turn, the inscriptions glowing as long dead programming took effect. The gas vents shut off, and a door opened on the northern wall. Bastila was looking extremely rattled, Carth noticed smugly. Well, good to know he wasn't the only one that was shaken up by this place. Kairi's blank eyes and droid-like movements were still incredibly unsettling. He wanted to get whatever it was the Jedi were after, get out of range, then use a pile of thorium charges to level this place.

The chamber past the second door boasted the same mosaic as the one in the testing chamber. It was giving off a faint glow as if waiting for them to approach. Bastila strode up to the platform and motioned for Carth to follow, snapping on her mask of calm superiority. He did so…reluctantly. His stomach was knotted. Bastila merely put her hands behind her back and waited. The platform descended to the lowest level of the catacombs.

The object waited for them at the bottom of the catacombs – a tripod on tripod design made of black, evil-looking metal. Kairi touched one of the curved metal spires of the larger tripod, and it bloomed like a giant metal flower - like it had for Malak and Revan. It truly was breathtaking - a sphere of gold, blue, and black. The image seemed to hang slowly before them, the sphere and the constellations of gold stars within rotating gently.

As soon as it opened, the spell over Kairi seemed to break, and it was like being hit with a bucket of cold water. She cried out and stumbled, clutching her head. Carth caught her before she fell.

"Easy there. What…what came over you?"

She looked up at him and shook her head, clearly as baffled by her own behavior as he had been. Bastila was more fascinated by the artifact.

"This…this must be what Revan and Malak found when they entered this temple," Bastila said, amazed. "This must be where their journey down the Dark Side began."

"It…I'm not certain what this is," Kairi admitted, breathing heavily. Carth still had his arm around her, and she wasn't willing to be let go just yet. Great Force, she had been so far gone that she thought she would never come back to herself.

Breathe in...breathe out...She focused on Bastila. Surrounded by the darkness, she felt their bond, almost like a thick blue rope of brilliant blue. Yet...there was something else. It could not be called weaker or stronger, only...different. She hadn't noticed it before, as it was something that had always been there.

Bastila interrupted the thought. "Perhaps it has something to do with your visions. You must have done it to yourself, attuning your being to this alien place. Since you've not had years of training, it must have been disconcerting." She cleared her throat. "Now, as for what this is…it appears to be some sort of interstellar navigational chart. Revan and Malak must have used this to find the Star Forge."

"So, what is this Star Forge, Bastila?" Carth asked. "Your theory?"

"I…I don't know, but Revan and Malak were very interested in finding it. Perhaps the Council can tell us more, but I think this map is key to finding it, whatever it is. We can follow in their tracks using this map and find the Star Forge ourselves. But we must be wary - they may have lain traps or concealed what they found.""

"Let me have a look. I'm the pilot here," Carth said. He took a datapad out of his jacket and started recording the information, cross-referencing it with the star charts he already had. "I recognize a bit of this. Most of it…it's planets I've never seen before. The map's no good, though: incomplete hyperspace coordinates, corrupted data. Not to mention that there's nothing here on where this so-called 'Star Forge' might be."

Bastila was pointing out planets on the chart that were lit up in blue. "See this world here? That looks to be Korriban, the Sith world. If that's Korriban, then here's Kashyyyk…that's Tattooine. Here's Mannan…"

"Maybe the worlds marked on the map have more clues," Kairi suggested.

"I was thinking that, too," Bastila said. "This map might not be able to take us to the Star Forge, but I know Revan and Malak visited Korriban at least once. Perhaps they discovered something more there. In fact, they may have found a part of the puzzle on each of these worlds." Bastila looked away from the map to Kairi. "We find all the pieces, and they might lead us to the Star Forge…and some way to destroy it."

"That's quite a supposition," Carth said. "What if you're wrong?"

"And what if I'm right? We can't ignore this. Finding the Star Forge may very well be the key to stopping Malak and the Sith! We'll inform the Council at once of what we've uncovered. They can decide our next course of action, though I suspect our task has only begun."

Bastila was deep in thought, still studying the artifact. Carth, however, only looked calm. Beneath his composed facade, he was impatient, anxious.

"Carth, are you all right?" Kairi asked

He shook his head and looked at her, astonished. "Me? You were the one that went catatonic."

"You've seen me do that before, like during the swoop race."

"Not like that! Kairi, please...I don't ever want to see that again. What happened?"

"I…I don't know," she admitted. "It was like…like something else took over when I walked in that room. I don't know what…"

"That is none of your concern, Carth," Bastila's voice held an edge that made Kairi's teeth ache. "And you'd do well to leave the matter be."

"I respect you, Bastila, but you've been as close-mouthed as the rest of the Council. If you aren't going to talk to me, then maybe someone else will. If there's one thing I don't like, it's being left out of the loop."

"Left out?" Bastila said.

"Yeah. Left out of the loop, strung along, not being told anything – especially when it damn near gets us all killed. It's really starting to irritate me. For one thing, I want to know what the Jedi Council told you about this. It's not like they'll say anything to someone like me."

Kairi spoke up. "I'll tell you what I can. I don't understand much of this, either. The Council sent Bastila and me to investigate the ruins and find these Star Maps or whatever else Revan was after."

"You're a neophyte Padawan – one they took and trained despite you being an adult, and who's only had a few weeks of training. And they send you half-trained into a deadly situation. Does any of this strike you as strange, Kairi, or did you go all 'blind obedience' once you picked up that lightsaber?"

"You take orders from superior officers, don't you?" Bastila was still talking down to him, and Kairi sent a silent warning.

"I trust my superior officers, mostly. The Jedi Council…they're stringing us along."

"Trust in your superiors? Such as Saul Karath?"

Rage blasted from him and his hand curled into a fist. He was about to lash out when Kairi made a gesture and sent them both stumbling back.

"Stop this!" Her soft voice was strained. "When you fight like this…"

"Your empathy, and the bond," Bastila said. "Of course. You can shield against everyone else, but not me…the door is always open."

"No," Kairi said. "It's both of you."

This stunned them silent. Bastila's worry shot down their bond as she looked over at Carth.

"It's nothing," Kairi said. "You were the first person I remember, Carth, and so you're a... constant. On Taris, I couldn't control my empathy much, so I tended to focus on you when there was too much noise."

"You're reading my mind? Without me knowing?" Carth was all black fury now, ready to explode in anger.

"No, Carth. I can't read your mind. I can't read anyone's mind – just their emotions. With you, Mission, and Canderous, I can sense where you are and your emotional state. That's all. With Bastila, it's different. There's a connection in the Force itself. Neither of us really knows the 'how' or 'why' of it; it just is. The connection is strong enough to induce and share Force visions. We had one about Revan and Malak investigating this structure. That's why the Council ordered us to investigate these ruins and find whatever they did."

Carth looked between Bastila and Kairi. "All this over a dream?"

"Vision, Commander - a Force-induced vision. Why does this seem so strange to you?"

"You so aptly put it earlier - I'm no Jedi. I certainly don't like the idea of one having a back door into my brain. I'm being treated like a mushroom here - kept in the dark and fed with manure, and damn it - I've about had it!"

"Carth!" Kairi shouted. "How many times must I say it, and how often do I have to prove it? I am not going to betray you. Just because I'm a Jedi now does not mean I will be any less honest with you than I have been all along!"

"We'll just see about that won't we?" His anger changed subtly, turning more inward. He shook his head, shrugging with frustration. "Look, Kairi. I...I didn't mean it that way. I want to get to Saul, not…No…Forget it."

"If Bastila's theory is right, then we could be looking at a way to find and destroy the Sith's hidden base - maybe the source of the fleet they've sent against the Republic. Regardless of what got us here, we are looking right at something Revan and Malak were desperate to find."

He seemed to cool off a bit when thinking about that. "All right. You file your report about this with the Council, and I'll follow up with Admiral Dodonna. Right now, anything we can dig up on the Sith will help all of us."


Using their comlinks, they radioed for scouts from the Enclave to retrieve the body of Casus Sandral. As the trio returned to the Enclave, they saw the crowds outside. Some wept at the news, others shook their heads. Apparently, the younger Sandral was a well-liked and well-known member of the local community.

Nurik Sandral was sitting on one of the benches outside the enclave, heartsick. Kairi stepped forward and put a hand on the grieving man's shoulder.

"Casus is dead," he said to her. "Just as I feared, but kath hounds?"

"Yes, Mr. Sandral," Kairi said. "I was the one to find his body. They apparently cornered him in a ravine as he was searching the ruins."

"I was so certain the Matales were responsible," Nurik said, shaking his head. "Ah, but it changes nothing. My own son is dead - why should I shed one tear about the disappearance of my bitter enemy's son?"

"Typical," said Bastila with a heavy sigh. "Anything to continue the feud which has become so customary to your people."

Kairi glanced sharply over her shoulder at her Bastila before turning back to Nurik.

"I must ask you for something, though it is difficult for me," he said. "My son had a diary- his private, personal thoughts. Now that he's gone, I've nothing to remember him by. I'm prepared to offer a reward for it."

Bastila took the datapad from the inner pocket of her robe and handed it to Nurik. "We need no reward for this task. In a way, Casus saved our lives today. His datapad contained critical information about the ruins, information that rescued us from a trap that was left behind."

"Yes," Kairi said. "He did a very good job of it, and nearly deciphered the language, too. He studied the ruins extensively, despite the dangers. Not even the Jedi have studied them to the extent he did. The Council would be interested in his notes."

Nurik turned the datapad over in his hands. "Casus wanted to be a digger, ever since he was a little boy. To think anything would become of his ventures into the ruins...he would be delighted." He shook his head. "I'd still trade all I have for just another few moments with my boy."

Nurik Sandral's grief was chaotic, potent blend spiked with anger, rage, and a deadly jealousy. It was an unstable and very unsettling combination. Carth looked upon Nurik with sympathy, and painful recognition. From Bastila, was a certain hollowness…almost homesickness. The crowd has its own muted emotions, echoes of strong emotions from those in the center. There was another presence, though, one that seemed to be calling to her. She looked up to see a lithe young woman, obviously a Sandral from her sharp features, half-hidden in the shadows. Kairi left Nurik's side and half-ran to catch up with the woman as she hurried behind a corner.

They were alone. She looked around before speaking. "You were one of the Jedi who came by my house earlier, are you not? Looking for Shen Matale?"

"Yes. Who are you, madam?"

"My name is Rahasia. Nurik is my father. He's not been himself since Casus disappeared. He's gone mad with grief, and he's not thinking rationally. With Casus dead, I am more afraid than ever!"

"I do not understand…"

"My father is a good man. When my mother died, he raised Casus and me by himself. We came to Dantooine after that. I think he was trying to get as far as he could from anything that reminded him of her." Rahasia continued. "But Ahlan Matale and my father have been arguing ever since we settled here. To hear my father tell it, Ahlan is a rich bully who believes his wealth gives him the right to step over everyone else, and that he stands up to Ahlan because no one else will. I just…don't judge him too harshly. You must understand that he's been under a terrible strain. I have no wish to disobey him, and I love my father dearly, but there are matters where his authority is not absolute."

"What do you know of Shen Matale?"

She took a deep breath and sighed before speaking, pinching the bridge of her nose as though to keep from crying. "My father did kidnap him. He's being held prisoner in our home. Now that Casus has been found dead, my father might take it out on Shen…"

Kari focused on Rahasia, feeling the worry, certainly. There was something else, though, something soft with a scent like starflowers. Kairi remembered something like it when she showed Juhani the gold clasp. "You and Shen - the two of you are in love."

Rahasia's eyes opened wide. "I had heard that the Jedi could read minds, but…"

Kairi hung her head, blushing a bit. "Not thoughts, but I could often sense emotions even before I joined the Order. How is that the two of you…?"

"Shen and I…we…well, we'd been taught by our families to hate each other, just for being related to our fathers. But one day in town, away from our fathers, we met. Shen is so charming and kind. He didn't care I was a Sandral, and I didn't care he was Matale. We accepted each other, no reservations."

Kairi smiled, trying to imagine what it must have been for Rahasia.

"We talked and met aver the months and we did fall in love. I even introduced him to Casus, and they were starting to become friends. Then, this whole horrible tragedy had to happen…"

Kairi reached out and touched Rahasia's shoulder. "I will do what we can, Rahasia. I swear it to you."

She slipped a keycard to Kairi. "There's an unguarded door in the back. This key will let you in. Rescue him and make your escape through there. Please, hurry and prevent my father from doing something he'll regret forever. You're his only hope."

"All right. Wait here at the Enclave," Kairi opened one of the doors leading to the Jedi quarter. Go in, and explain the situation to one of the Jedi – tell them Kairi Niko sent you. I'll bring him to you."

Rahasia nodded, vanishing through the door. Kairi looked around again, and listened through to Force to make certain they hadn't been heard. Running up to Carth and Bastila, she pulled them aside. "Come on," she said. "We've got to head back to the Sandral house – now!"

"But what of the Council? We have to tell them what we found!" Bastila insisted.

"The Council can wait a few hours. There's a life at stake right now – Shen Matale's life." Kairi shook her head. "We need to get to a speeder. I'll explain on the way."


Bastila used her code to check out a speeder, and Carth drove. The more Kairi told of the story, the more Carth stepped on the accelerator.

"You mean, the Sandral's daughter is in love with the Matale's son?" Carth asked.

"Looks like the Force has picked a time-honored method of solving the families' argument," Kairi said. "Provided we get Shen out of there and convince the patriarchs not to do anything stupid."

"Easier said than accomplished," Bastila said dryly.

They pulled up just short of the perimeter. With Nurik and Rahasia at the Enclave and planning a funeral, the house and estate were mostly empty, save for a few guard droids on patrol. The droids were easily crippled, though. Of the first Force abilities Kairi had been taught was disrupting droid electrical systems. With the droids disabled, the trio was able to sneak about with relative impunity.

Once inside the manor itself, they were faced with a series of long corridors, the mansion far too large to search room-by-room. Kairi gripped Bastila's hand.

"Bastila, hold on. I'm going to try and find him." One of the advantages of a Force Bond was the ability to pull on it, transferring strength from one to another. As she touched Bastila, her ability to "see" in the Force became much more clear and exact. Among the few servants still tending to the house, there was a muted presence at the end of a far hallway that didn't feel like it belonged there.

Shen.

Letting go of Bastila's hand, Kairi gestured to Carth and Bastila to follow. When they found the door in question, it was sealed shut with a heavy lock. Of course, Kairi had picked up a few tricks from Mission when it came to disabling those.

A guest room had been hastily converted to a prison, and sitting on the bed was a young man that was the very image of a younger Ahlan Matale. "Who are you? What do you want of me? Are you working for my father?"

"I'm Kairi, I'm here to get you out of here."

"Rescue me? NO…it's too dangerous. I don't know what he'll do to Rahasia. She's been begging her father to release me since this happened. I leave, she'll be left to face her father's wrath."

"Rahasia is at the Enclave now. I told her to wait for you there. She gave me the keycard." Kairi took a deep breath. "Shen, trust me on this. You will both be safe at the Enclave."

"She…is she that willing to turn her back on home and family to save me? Who could imagine a Sandral doing that for a Matale like me?"

Carth shrugged. "Why not? The two of you sound like you're willing to bury the hatchet rather than pick it up. Can't disagree with that."

"I was taught to hate them - the Sandrals, but I saw Rahasia in the city, and I knew our fathers were wrong," Shen got a dreamy smile on his face. "She was like an angel - white silks and perfume, seeming to float rather than walk. I don't know what else to say - I love her. We've been seeing each other in secret, but our fathers..."

Kairi sighed. "Well, by the time this is over, they'll have to know the truth. Come on…before Nurik returns!"


After smuggling him to the speeder and an equally hasty return trip, they sneaked Shen in through a non-public entrance. Taking him to the guest quarters, they opened the door where Rahasia had been waiting. His eyes lit up as he ran to her, and they met in a tight embrace and a very joyful kiss. Kairi could not help but smile.

"Shen…"

Shen pulled her closer, rubbing her back. "It's okay, Rahasia. It's going to be okay. No matter what."

She had been crying, her eyes red and puffy. "Oh, Shen…Casus is dead. The kath hounds killed him on one of his digs."

He looked horrified at the news, only hugging her tighter. "Oh, no…Oh, I'm sorry, baby. So sorry…but I did promise him something, okay? I promised him that I'd take care of you, whatever happened. And I still want to make good on that. This is probably a really bad time to ask this, Rahasia, but I'd live or die for you. Marry me."

"Oh, Shen…You know the answer already!"

Another kiss, and Kairi felt her eyes sting as she silently blessed the young lovers.

Carth's voice was quiet, bittersweet. "Good luck, both of you. May you know the joy that I once did."

He turned away and started back for the Hawk. Job was done, the fallout would happen, and the look on Shen Matale's face was too painfully familiar for words, bringing back memories that once were sweet – that should have stayed sweet. Now, it was like drinking acid – sharp and bitter as it burned through him.

He'd thought he was able to walk away unnoticed, but he heard the quiet footsteps behind him. It figured she would follow.

"Go away, Kairi."

"Carth, what is wrong? I can sense your sorrow…your pain…"

He whipped around, glaring at her. Just another kriffing Jedi she was now - offering platitudes and empty words about things she would never understand. Bittersweet recollection…twisted into grief…into vengeance…and all leaving a horrible emptiness. He imagined pressing those black emotions into a ball and hurling it at her.

Is that what you wanted, Kairi? You're so determined to get under my skin…well? Like what you see?

He saw her pale, holding up her hand like she was blocking an incoming punch. "Stop it. Why are you acting like this?"

"Why? Because I don't want you in my head. I don't want you saying you understand things about me or how I'm feeling when you don't and you can't."

"If I've done that, I'm sorry," she said. "But, please, I am still Kairi. I'm still the person you knew on Taris. I'm not your enemy."

"And they have to go and make a damn Jedi of you…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked. "This has given me a chance, Carth. A duty, a calling…"

"They're dealing from both ends of the deck when it comes to you, Kairi. Even I can tell that. They have you shut up in here…you realize this is the first time for weeks that we've had a chance to talk alone?"

"Yes," she admitted. "My training has kept me busy."

"And kept you from asking questions," he pointed out. "Think about it. You still have no idea who or what you really are – just a datapad and Bastila's word for it. Canderous noticed you handle a sword like a Jedi when he saw you fight on Taris, and I heard the Council bickering after you had your first audience with them."

"Are you calling the Jedi untrustworthy?"

Hell, yes. I'm calling them untrustworthy. Sit on their butts when we're under attack, talk in riddles, have all that power and absolutely zero checks on it... "I told you on Taris, Kairi…I don't trust anymore. Bastila and the Jedi have an agenda. Don't kid yourself otherwise."

"Despite your feelings," she said, "I still consider you my friend. Please, you'll return to the Fleet soon, and I'll be assigned somewhere with Bastila. I don't want our last conversations with one another to be like this."

Carth looked at her. She had the small and strong body, the same dark eyes he could too easily lose himself in. He could almost believe it…until he saw the sand colored robes and the lightsaber at her belt. "You don't know how badly I want that to be true, Kairi."

He fought with himself as to whether or not to say more to her, but silence won. He left the Enclave as though fire had been set to his heels, hurrying back to the ship. He had to leave this planet soon…had to leave these Jedi soon. A man drive himself nuts in this place.