The cockpit of the Ebon Hawk lay eerily silent. Atton and Rann sat in silence watching the stars go by in hyperspace. Neither had mentioned a word to each other since they had escaped the destruction of Peragus.

Kreia had been wounded and had departed to another part of the ship. Neither man had wanted to follow her. They were both mortally afraid of the old woman, though neither would admit it.

Rann had been deeply troubled by the destruction of Peragus. It had reminded him of his younger years, when he had been carefree and vengeful. When he was younger he had been headstrong and cocky. He had used his powers for gain and pleasure, never to help those out who were in need.

His past was shady. He had been given to the Temple at the age of 5, after his mother had been killed by a bounty hunter. There he had been raised in the Jedi Arts, and secretly also the Dark Arts.

Rann and his friends at the Temple were known for being trouble makers. The Forceful Four as they called themselves hunted around the Temple causing trouble wherever they went. Thefour members consisted of Rann, a young Jedi Padawan known as Kavar, Rann's best friend, a young female Padawan, named Atris, and the final member was Rann's rival in the Temple. The man who would one day crush planets, Revan.

For decades they ruled the Temple. Picking on the weaker students who's ability was weaker then there own. They found a sense of comfort and joy in it. Things for a long time had been going great, until the day Atris was named to the Jedi Council. Rann would never forget the moment Atris had warned him to turn away from the path they had chosen to walk.

He pictured Atris that day, she had white silver hair and bright green eyes. She wore the robes of the Jedi Council for the first time. She chose the color white, some people thought it was because of her commitment to the light. Rann knew her better then anyone though, she had chosen white because it was her favorite color.

On that day Atris had taken him to the room of a thousand fountains and sat him down. "Rann, we've known each other a long time." She began, her green eyes stared into his with a compassion beyond measure. "I suppose this is why it feels so hard."

Rann's head popped up in wonderment. What was Atris going on about now. As long as he had known her she was always ranting about something. She had always been the conscience of the group, telling them right for wrong and keeping them out of trouble.

"Rann, as you know, I've been elected to join the council. This is why I've called you here. I've come to say good bye." Atris' head dropped.

"What do you mean?" Rann asked in surprise. "I thought the Council got to stay on Coruscant."

"The High Council does, but I'm nowhere near there yet. They are sending me to a Jedi Enclave on Dantooine for a few years. Once I get enough experience I will return to Coruscant. But that could be a long time."

Rann let his head drop down as he placed it on his knees. He listened to the Fountains in the room, the splashing that normally relaxed him was no longer there. The sound instead made him angry and vengeful. He felt tears form in his eyes. When he looked up Atris was crying into her hands.

"I don't know what to say." Rann put his arm on Atris' shoulder, trying to comfort her.

Atris looked up. Her eyes were now bloodshot. "I came here to tell you something, but now I'm not sure if I can say it." Rann patiently waited for his best friend to steady herself. "I want you to know before I leave, that I really care for you. You've always been there for me, and I feel as if I've been nothing but a nuisance."

Rann held her closer to his chest and softly spoke into her ear. "This isn't the end my friend. I promise, by the Force we will see each other again someday, and when we do I promise it will be a happy occasion."

Rann hadn't known at the time that the next time would be anything but happy. They had parted that day as friends and possibly something more. The next time they met, he would betray her.

"Rann, are you even listening to me?" Atton snapped Rann from his thoughts. "I asked you a question."

Rann came to attention at once. "I'm sorry. I was thinking about my past. What's up?"

"I asked you why you didn't carry a lightsaber. I know you're an ex-Jedi and all, but I thought every Force user had one." Atton looked back down at his console.

"I'm not a Jedi. I've never truly been one in fact. I was always a difficult student. When I was exiled I relinquished it."

"Not a Jedi. Let me guess, you had a red lightsaber." Atton joked, but wasn't sure if he had said something he shouldn't have.

"No." Rann laughed clearing the air. "My lightsaber was Viridian, a color the Jedi had never seen before. They figured it was because lightsaber combat was the only thing I could consistently beat Revan in."

Atton's mouth dropped to the floor. "You knew the Dark Lord, before he became the Dark Lord?"

"Yes, in fact I knew him quite well. We were rivals, if someone asked us up or down, if Revan said down I'd say up. That's the kind of relationship we had, though it was all good natured fun, until the war."

"I'm guessing you did some things during the war you'd rather not talk about." Atton didn't need Jedi perception to see the look on Rann's face, so he decided to change subjects. "Listen, we'll be at Telos in a standard hour or two. Perhaps you want to get some sleep, or check on the old witch in the back. Either way I can take the ship down myself. You've had a rough couple of days, more so then I did."

"Yeah, well I think I'll go check on Kreia. I've slept enough for a couple of days." Atton nodded his head as Rann stood and walked through the Ebon Hawk.

The Hawk was a small vessel but had plenty of living space. It had two medium size dormitories with eight bunks each. It had a small med center with all of the updated equipment, it had the cockpit which was large compared to most ships, and the main bay was large enough to hold lots of odds and ends. In the middle of the main bay, stood a huge holo-map projector. Rann figured he could use that later if need be. All in all the place looked as if it would be good enough to survive in for the next few months, or however long it took for this whole incident to blow off.

He turned into one of the dormitories, where in the middle of the floor sat the one handed Kreia. She didn't stand as he entered, but he knew she had recognized his presence.

"You must speak to that annoying captain we have. One of these days he is going to say the wrong thing to the wrong person and he will become dust in the wind." Kreia began as Rann sat down on a nearby bunk. "Now, what brings you to see me?"

Rann stared at her. The question formed in less then a second. "When I was on Peragus, I felt like my hand had been ripped off. I think it has something to do with your injury."

Kreia didn't looked surprised at all. "I see. There is only one thing I could see that would cause such a disturbance. It seems you and I have created a Force bond."

"As I asked before, how is that possible?" Rann asked.

"Force bonds seem to occur when two people are forced to work together under trying circumstances. Other bonds are formed through many years of working together, such as a Master and their apprentice."

"Then why did I feel your hand being cut off? What if you would get killed? Would that mean that I would di..."

Kreia did not let him finish the sentence. "I do not know, it usually depends on the bond. I suppose that seeing how much pain you were in, that you would most likely die. I would not try to test this theory however. The bond is not all bad, however. It has many helpful advantages, such as every Force power you use on yourself, I will attain as well."

That didn't make Rann feel any better about the situation. "Listen Kreia, about Atton." Rann didn't want to talk anymore about this bond, he would find a way to try and get out of it if possible. "I don't believe he's such a bad man. He seems a little paranoid, but if I were in his line of business I would be too."

"Yes, yet it seems he has something against the Jedi in particular. I would watch him, exile." Kreia warned.

"I will, Kreia. Thank you for the advice." He turned to leave but decided to turn around and ask, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I am fine now that I have had time to heal. I will be more then ready to go when we land at Telos."

"Good, because I'm sure I'll need you. 'Both' of you!" He added as he started walking to the cargo hold to put some supplies away. What was he doing here, and why was he letting a old woman Jedi, and an untrustworthy scoundrel.

The last words Atris had spoken to him that last day before she left for Dantooine and a different life were, "Rann, in your life you are going to have to make some tough choices and your going to have to make some strange allies. Remember to be mindful of the people around you. They will be useful to you, but do not trust them, for each one of them will hold a deep dark secret." She had then left the room without an explanation.

Rann hadn't understood it then, but he did now. He had been placed with these two people for a reason. Along with the droid they made quite a team, he realized he wasn't letting them tag along to use them, he was keeping them nearby because he had grown fond of them. In his years of exile he had missed the company of people, sure maybe he couldn't trust them yet, but he intended to keep them around as long as he could. He would do it in memory of his once best friend, who was now most likely deceased.

"Atris, I miss you. I have for a long time, and I guarantee you that I will not fail you again." He took off his Sith cloak and lay in his tanktop and brown shorts. He took a long good look at himself. He had been a Sith once, but maybe he could still find what he had been seeking. Redemption.

Telos this time of year, had once been beautiful, but now after the Jedi Civil War had left it destroyed it had become a big restoration project. On one half of the planet stood nothing but barren wastelands, and rocks. The other side had wildlife and grass and a pretty blue sky. The restoration process was slow, and so the planet was a mess.

Though Telos was a beautiful planet it looked so bare, Lieutenant Dol Grenn, who was the main officer in charge of the restoration project sat on Citadel Station.

Citadel Station was the temporary home of the Telosians set in orbit around Telos. It was where all of the materials came from that was slowly rebuilding the planet. The station had been their only for so long, but it had already been made into a city, full of citizens and entertainment.

Lieutenant Grenn was a man in his early fifties, he stood at 6'2 and was cleanly shaven. He wore a Telosian uniform, signifying his place in the military and the restoration project. He was known throughout the station for being a fair man, but today Grenn was going to be tested.

He had just received a call from Republic HQ signifying that there main supply of fuel had been destroyed and that the ship that had done it was on it's way here to Telos. The ship, known as the Ebon Hawk had a tainted history full of smuggling. He grabbed his finest officers and had them take the positions in the dock bay area. The crew of this ship would get a good Telosian welcome, and then they'd be thrown in jail.