Come to me. Join us, and live.

Miranda tightened her grip on her lightsaber as she followed a step behind Deakin. The masters were up front, a few meters ahead, leading the group at a brisk pace.

"You okay?" he asked, turning to look at her. A flicker of annoyance passed across her face. She really hated that he was picking up on her distress. It wasn't like she was broadcasting it.

"I'm fine," she snapped, biting her lip after Deakin turned back around. Cool it, Miranda, she told herself. This isn't his fault. "Deakin?" she asked hesitantly. He had turned his head slightly and she could feel him staring at her, an anxious expression on his face.

"Yes?" His voice was soft, gentle.

Just say it.

"I'm sorry."

She saw his lips quirk in a wry grin, and he slowed his pace, waiting for her to catch up. "Don't worry about it."

Miranda offered an apologetic smile in reply. "So you're hoping to be knighted soon," she ventured, hoping that he wasn't upset about her previous eavesdropping.

"I hope," he replied, adjusting his utility belt. "I've been preparing for the trials for at least six months, but the last time Cale brought it up to the Council they disagreed."

"Well I think you're ready," Mira huffed, a sudden defensiveness to her tone.

He gave her a sidelong, disbelieving glance.

"No, really," she continued, moving closer to him. "You're the best apprentice in the Temple, and that's not just my opinion – that's fact. If anybody's ready for the trials, Deakin, it's you."

Deakin offered a small smile and looked down at his feet. "I used to feel that way," he said, his voice quiet. "But the way this mission is going…" he trailed off. "That doesn't matter. What's important is that I've faced things that I haven't been able to conquer; I'm not so sure if I'm ready."

"Like what?" Miranda replied incredulously. Deakin was strong – much stronger than her. He was wise and intelligent, incredibly athletic and extraordinarily strong in the Force. She was hardly able to believe that Deakin had come across obstacles that he couldn't pass.

He looked up, and his gaze locked with hers. "It's nothing." He broke his eyes from hers, and something about his presence stiffened. "We're almost there," he said, taking his place in front of her again. "See that ridge?"

Miranda followed his finger, which pointed at a line of walls at the end of a cliff. "I remember it," was all she said. She was suddenly aware of the intensity of the midday sun on her back and shoulders, and she quickened her pace, eager to tackle the last obstacle.

Deakin held his arms out for balance as he carefully made his way down the craggy surface of the ridge. The group was making their way down what had once been a set of stairs, but now existed as little more than a treacherous indent in the canyon wall. In front of him, Miranda was navigating the steps with relative ease, to his mild annoyance. She was certainly graceful, and for a split moment he allowed himself to wonder what other areas that skill might affect-

"Be careful," Tysin warned Miranda from behind. Deakin grappled for the last moments of his daydream. The thought was warm, but it was colored by something that he couldn't quite name. Then he flinched. It was attraction.

Deakin stumbled, but recovered instantly. Attracted? To Miranda? The events from the mission have me unsettled; I'm misinterpreting my emotions.

"I am," Miranda replied crossly, turning to look behind her.

Deakin stopped. She had one hand on the canyon wall, and several loose strands of hair had fallen across her face. The wind ruffled the edges of her shirt and blew her hair to one side. She readjusted the survival pack on her shoulders and looked up into Deakin's eyes.

For one second, he forgot how to breathe.

Miranda seemed to have noticed, and her eyebrows twitched when he didn't look away. Before either of them could say anything, however, a howl echoed off the canyon walls. Then, moments later, a blast nearby shook the walls and a plume of smoke billowed up into the air just beyond the last ridge. The Jedi all exchanged quick, worried glances.

Miranda rushed down the remainder of the cliff-side, well ahead of her counterparts. She didn't know why, but she knew that whatever had just happened was somehow related to Nyx. She could feel it. She sprinted across the last open expanse of grassy plain, and bounded up the side of the canyon wall with extreme agility. Tysin, Cale, and Deakin were now running after her, but she was quick and determined, and had ascended to the top of the cliff before the others had even reached its base.

What she saw before he made her gasp. Port Matale was in a blaze, the entire settlement a smoking mess. A hundred people were running around frantically, some trying to escape, others trying to extinguish the fires that had caught on to several buildings. The stench of the smoke was horrendous, and it was even harder to see through. She looked farther on and noticed the cause of the chaos: every single ship in the docking bay was completely destroyed – blown to pieces. Including theirs. So that was how Nyx had planned to delay their departure – she destroyed their transport. Force, she destroyed everybody's transport.

Without thinking, Miranda instantly rushed down the side of the ridge, skidding down the hill on her heels. A deep dread set in as she realized that this chaos had happened because of her. Because of Nyx. That thought made her angrier than the previous, and as soon as she reached the ground she dropped her survival pack and sprinted to help douse the fires.

The process was primitive, with people passing buckets of water along a chain and tossing them futilely on buildings that were obviously done for. But it didn't matter; this was her fault, all her fault…what had she done? Selfish, stupid girl.

By the time the other Jedi reached the port most people had given up. They sat back and watched as their businesses, their houses, their everything burned to the ground. Miranda felt a sharp pang in her heart as a few children began to wail. And when the thought finally occurred to her that some people may have actually died, she gritted her teeth, forced back tears, and worked even harder, now helping families who were trying to save their remaining belongings from the blaze.

She was stopped by Tysin, who wore a weary and hardened look. "This is not our job-"

"Yes it is!" Miranda fired back, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the heel of her palm, but leaving a black smudge in its place.

Tysin leaned in close. "The best way for us to help these people is to find out who did this and catch them before they escape, if they haven't already."

But I know who did it, Miranda thought grimly. And this is my entire fault. If I wouldn't have agreed to her nonsense…Miranda forced herself to stop. This was not the time to be dealing in "what-if's." This was a time for action. This was a time to tell her master the truth about everything. This was a time to stop Nyx before anything else horrible happened.

The group of Jedi worked their way through the smoke to an assembly of Port Matale Security Officers, huddled in front of the shipyard wreckage.

"What happened here?" Cale asked as they approached the group.

One of the Officers, a tall, dark human female snorted. "What the blazes does it look like happened?" She laughed out loud and waved her arm dramatically through the air. "Crinking Jedi, marching in here, crinkin' think they own the blasted place, for star's sake…"

"That's enough, Talis," one of the other Officers said. He was shorter than his counterpart, but his stockiness more than made up for it. He motioned the group of Jedi aside, the arrogance in his walk affording him an air of authority. "I'm sorry about her. We're all a bit shaken-up. But you're assistance won't be needed, as grateful as we are for the offer."

"We can be of great aid," Tysin replied.

"You don't understand," the man said, exasperated. His uniform was torn in several places, and scorch marks and dirt smudges made it look like it belonged on some Kessel slave, not a SecOff. "We caught the guy." He motioned to a landspeeder parked some distance away. Three SecOffs were struggling to wrestle a bound and writhing woman into the back seat; they didn't seem to be making much progress.

"She did this?" Miranda asked incredulously. She hadn't expected Nyx to be working with someone else, but then again, it was foolish of her to assume anything about that mysterious old lady. As soon as she had said the words, the perpetrator stopped squirming and looked directly at Miranda. Even through the smoke they made a moment's eye contact, and she thought she saw the other woman smile. Glancing nervously at her master, she exhaled a breath - that she hadn't recognized she'd been holding - when she realized that Tysin hadn't noticed the motion.

"Do you have any idea why she did this?" Deakin questioned.

"Not at this time-"

"We're Jedi," he reminded, crossing his arms and looking down at the smaller man. "We are here to help. You'd better tell us everything you know."

For a moment Miranda allowed herself to be impressed with Deakin's very successful intimidation of the officer, but she quickly shook off the feeling, wondering where it had come from. The Officer sighed and rubbed a hand over his bare scalp. "She's a serial arsonist," he relented. "Wanted on seven different planets for things like this; we just ran her file. Case closed."

Mira stepped back, stunned. This certainly didn't add up. "Can we speak with her?"

"I'm afraid not-"

"I'm sorry," Miranda retorted, "I don't know if you noticed, but our ship, just exploded."

"And my crinking town is on fire!"

Tysin subtly nudged her padawan in foot with her heel. "He's not going to cooperate, and it would be best if we didn't exasperate this man any further."

Miranda exhaled in response. Once again, she found herself with more questions than she knew how to answer, and a doubt as to whether Nyx had actually staged this event or not. The situation was now too deep, too complicated, for her to possibly try to explain to her master. She would figure this out on her own.

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