Okay, everybody, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. By the way, you may have to look up the Aurabesh.

Chapter 10 ~ Reunion

Kasey knew that Kenobi would have a difficult time trusting him over the next few days, so he kept quiet and obedient over the next few days. They had landed on Mandalore in a rush, and Satine—when she came to—was not only disturbed but frenzied as she hurried back to her palace to speak with her advisors. Eager to make some kind of sense out of the chaos that came from what happened on Concordia and Pre Vizsla's betrayal.

It was rapidly decided that they would need to return to Coruscant. In their absence, Almec had alerted the Senate to the Death Watch's actions and, unsurprisingly, the majority of the Senators wanted to "assist" Mandalore—a fancy way of saying "occupy". Angered, Satine immediately made the choice to go to Coruscant with Kenobi, Skywalker, and Kasey in tow.

The Coronet left Mandalore with a number of other neutral senators. As they pulled away from Mandalore, Kasey found himself relatively relaxed in his quarters, staring up at the ceiling as he waited for Kenobi or Skywalker to come find him—he had been ordered to stay out of trouble and quiet until Kenobi could have a proper talk with him. Kasey was sure that after the talk, he'd still see pieces of himself in Kenobi's mouth after he'd been chewed out. With the senators currently enjoying a meal, Kasey was sure that it would be some time before he was sought out, so to say he was surprised when there was a knock on his door after just two minutes was an understatement.

He jerked upright, and stared at the door. He reached for his small piece of rubber to pull his hair back into its ponytail before answering the door. For some reason, somebody was persistent—the knocking didn't stop and just before he opened the door, he heard an annoyed voice from the other side.

"Barker, cut it out! He'll answer the door!"

Shocked, Kasey opened the door, amazed when he saw the Beta Squad standing there, the four of them he'd left behind. There were differences in their appearance, but there was no doubt about it. Painted on the armor they wore was the symbol they had designed together, a symbol that they said would show their unity after they would graduate together. Kasey had never worn the symbol personally—being a Jedi meant he wouldn't be able to—but he would recognize it anywhere. It was shaped like a flame, painted blue, with the letters Besh, Esk, Trill, and Aurek written around it.

"Barker? Goth? Murk? Fury?" Kasey breathed in shock. Their appearances may have changed slightly, but there was no mistaking it. Barker's hair was shorter and red, but he still had that same, dumb smile. Goth's name was painted along his right arm and, as usual, he was intently focused on a datapad. Fury, who had been glaring angrily at Barker, turned back to Kasey and Kasey could see a rather ugly scar across the bridge of his nose. And Murk—Murk had changed the least. He was slightly bulkier, more muscular, but that was it.

"Hey, Master Jedi," Fury said sarcastically. "It's been a while."

"Approximately, two thousands, one hundred, ninety-one hours since we last spoke," Goth explained.

"Dumb that down a notch for Barker," Fury remarked, putting his hand on Barker's head playfully.

"Three months," Goth sighed.

"How have you guys been? When did you graduate? When did he get the scar? How are you guys here?" Kasey breathed, too amazed to really think straight.

"Come on. We'll explain everything in the mess hall," Barker stated, wrapping his arm around Kasey's shoulder as he led the way. "I can't wait to tell you how badly Fury screwed up when he—"

"Finish that sentence and you'll be eating your blaster!" Fury snapped.

To say that their stories were remarkable was an understatement. Despite their relatively short careers as troopers, they seemed to have had plenty of adventures, many of which sounded unsanctioned, dangerous, and semi-successful. Even more surprising was that they had turned the battlefield into some kind of game—each one had a score based on which kind of droid they'd beaten and how many they'd defeated. According to their scores, Fury and Murk were tied for first place with Barker in third and Goth pulling up the rear. Then, Kasey added his scores and everyone moved down below him, not that they were surprised.

When they had their food and seated themselves, Kasey told them about his own adventures, leaving out the parts where Kenobi was disappointed with him.

"I guess I can't be surprised," Goth said. "Kasey's always been the best."

"Can I see your lightsaber?" Barker asked excitedly, reaching out as if to grab it in his hands.

"I'll show it to you, but you can't hold it," Kasey replied, unclipping his saber. He ignited the blade, pointing it towards the ceiling. It was lit for only a minute before he turned it off, putting it back onto his belt.

"So, do you enjoy being a Jedi?" Murk questioned. There was a hint of worry that didn't escape Kasey's notice.

"It's a lifestyle. You pretty much have to give yourself to it entirely," Kasey answered. "Quite frankly, it's not that bad. I kind of enjoy it, personally. And, now, I've got the Jedi's 'magic'." It had been quite some time since he'd referred to the Force as 'magic', not since he was a cadet on Kamino. When they looked at him in disbelief, he smiled, raising his two hands. Just as Shaak Ti had done to him so long ago, he lifted the members of Beta Squad, letting them hover above the table. While Barker and Fury seemed disturbed by this—they acted as if they were swimming, trying to get down—Fury seemed intrigued and Goth seemed to be enjoying himself. Carefully, he brought them down, allowing them to land on the floor rather than trying to put them back into their seats. The effort was slightly tiring, but Kasey had done more before.

"Don't do that!" Fury snapped.

"That's terrifying," Barker added.

"Not really," Goth added. "I'd like to know how you did that. It's really quite—"

The ship shook roughly and an alarm sounded. Instantly, they were soldiers again, ready to fight whatever had just attacked them. A voice came on over the intercom, Kenobi's.

"Separatist droids have boarded the Coronet! All hands on deck to protect the Senators."

Kasey kept close to his brothers as they made their way to the upper decks—it was extremely clear by the chaos around them that they had not only been boarded by droids, but by something far more dangerous. The droids they encountered were quickly cut down or blasted through as they hurried to protect the senators on board. Kenobi's radio silence was worrying, but not quite as much as the feeling Kasey got when he came close to the second lift to go up to the upper decks.

"Something's really wrong," he stated.

"We noticed, Captain Obvious," Fury remarked. "By the way, I've taken down three."

"Two," Goth stated.

"One," Barker sighed sadly.

"Three," Murk announced, pride ringing in his voice.

"Six, but that's beside the point," Kasey stated. Did they not understand? There was another presence on the ship, one that dwarfed droids. It felt like an evil, something familiar that he had once come upon. The lift opened and smoke began to fill in from the doors. In the smoke, Kasey could see two red lights, moving closer to them, cutting glowing swaths in the metal walls as they passed. That could not have been anything but a lightsaber...

"I've been waiting for you, Jedi Clone," the familiar, icy cold voice stated. "And I see you've brought some friends."

"Ventress, what're you up to? Why are you here?" Kasey demanded, taking a quick stance. Fighting against Ventress would prove difficult, probably impossible on his own, but with his brothers, the Beta Squad, they may have a chance, however slim that chance may be against a ruthless Sith assassin like Asajj Ventress.

"My master insisted that I come," Ventress replied, "because he wants to meet with you."

"If he wanted to talk, he should've come here himself," Kasey answered quickly. "Tell him I said that."

"Oh, but my orders are to take you there regardless of if you're kicking and screaming or if you've simply"—she brandished her sabers—"unconscious with pain."

Kasey made the first move, intent on putting some distance between Ventress and his brothers. Their blasters may be of assistance, but ultimately, the victory, he knew, would decide on how well he could match the hairless assassin. Their blades clashed and the sound of her laughter started to pierce Kasey's mind. She was enjoying the fight. She was dangerous—how could the Jedi Council have allowed her to roam freely all this time?

Time to correct their mistakes.

With blaster fire helping to cover him, Kasey began to think that he was gaining ground against her. She was on a defensive footing and her skills seemed to be faltering as he pushed her back. Yet even as he began to revel in his supposed victory, something in the back of his mind wondered why this was so easy. Then it hit him—this was too easy.

A strange mist began to replace the acrid smoke that filled the hallway. The mist was a bright orange-color and it wasn't long before Kasey felt his movements slow and his body become heavy. His vision blurred and his breath became too ragged to maintain the combat with Ventress, whose lightsabers had deactivated just as the mist had taken over the smoke. He heard her footsteps approach and heard her speak in victory.

"You have a meeting with a Sith Lord."

Kasey felt something hit him in the back of his head, just as the world became nothing but black.

When Kasey came to, he wasn't lying on the tile floor of the Coronet ship, but on a carpet. His vision, while blurry, was starting to clear and he looked up at what seemed to be some kind of office. There was a desk a few feet ahead of him and behind the desk was a massive, green window which cast a greenish glow on the entire room.

Kasey soon became aware that he wasn't alone. Lying on the floor around him, still unconscious, was the Beta Squad. Fury seemed to be in the worst condition—Kasey could see that he had lost his right arm somehow. His best guess was that he had lost it to Ventress, probably trying to save Kasey after he'd passed out. However, his greatest concern right now was not how Fury's arm had disappeared—it was where they were. He had never seen a room like this and it seemed to be radiating with danger and darkness.

"Ah, so you're awake."

The voice was unfamiliar and Kasey hurriedly got to his feet, stumbling slightly in his own tiredness. He reached for his lightsaber, afraid when he realized it wasn't on his belt.

"Guys! Come on, guys! Wake up! Don't be dead, I need you now!" Kasey shouted, embarrassed by the fear that was starting to choke him.

"They aren't dead," the voice announced. "Merely incapacitated. How long they remain that way is entirely up to you, Padawan Kasey."

Kasey paused, looking towards the desk, in the direction the voice was coming from.

"Who's there? How do you know me?"

"I know you because I helped create you," said the voice. "I've watched you mature. And now the time is right for you to join your creator." Behind the desk, the chair swiveled around, revealing a man with gray hair and a gray beard with eyes of amber. Even though he'd never seen him before, Kasey recognized this man. His face was infamous throughout the Republic.

"Count Dooku..."