"This isn't like any lightsaber I've ever seen before," Ashlyn commented, marvelling at the ancient lightsaber's internal components.
"It's really heavy, isn't it master?" Tri'ina said.
"It certainly is," Ashlyn agreed. "It actually has two focusing crystals."
"That wouldn't account for all the extra weight though," Byz noted.
"No, you're right. It also has a thicker lens and a more powerful emitter matrix," she added, examining the components carefully. "The whole thing seems designed around being very free-flowing. It's a lot less resistant than ours. It seems to be a lot more powerful because of it."
"And what did you find out about the Sith's lightsabers?" Byz asked.
Ashlyn smiled at him, then took both the ancient lightsaber and Dialgar's saber in her hands and walked over to a durasteel block that was sitting on the floor nearby. She quickly put the ancient saber back together and sealed it with the pommel cap.
"Check this out," she said, igniting both sabers. The ancient saber's blade was a hue of deep, aquatic blue, and shone fiercely next to Dialgar's crimson-red blade.
She shoved both sabers into the durasteel block as Byz and Ferros watched on. Within seconds, the ancient saber had made a glowing orange-white hole, the blue blade poking through the other side. By contrast, Dialgar's saber had begun to superheat the durasteel, but it still only glowed red and hadn't quite started to deform the block yet.
"Impressive," Ferros said. "Is there any way to copy those components?"
"Way ahead of you, Ferry-girl," Ashlyn grinned, scooping up a pile of electronics that had been sitting on the table she'd been dismantling the saber on. "You'll need another crystal though. These components will be useless without it. You should be able to keep the same power cell though."
"There's something else I noticed," Ferros said. "About the Sith's lightsabers."
"They're identical," Ashlyn smiled. "I noticed it when you brought back the last lot yesterday."
"I don't think they're being trained in how to build them."
"They aren't," Ashlyn confirmed. "I spoke to 'Lord' Dialgar, and she says they get given the sabers as part of their initiation."
"What do you think of our new friend?" Byz asked her.
"Well, she seems sincere enough. Runice wants to speak to her alone first though. I think she's speaking to her right now, actually. If anyone can tell an honest Sith, it'll be Runice."
"I hope she isn't lying," Tri'ina added. "I hope she can change like she said."
"Me too, sweetie," Ashlyn agreed, "it gives me hope that we might be able to get through this with a little less killing. Anyway, we managed to secure a couple more of those geological compressors, so you can make more than one crystal at a time now."
"Thanks Ash," Ferros smiled.
The three Jedi left Ashlyn alone with the lightsabers then and made their way back to their quarters. The temple's living quarters had been arranged in such a way that they were grouped into three separate rooms, with a sitting area connecting them. Tri'ina and Curstenn now shared a room, with the other two taken by Byz and Ferros. Curstenn appeared from her room then, holding her yellow-bladed saber.
"Did you speak to Master Ashlyn?" she asked. "Can we go make our crystals?"
"Yes, you can go if you want," Ferros chuckled. "We don't have anything special planned for you two today anyway. Just remember, it'll take half the day to make them. You better have something to eat first."
"Okay!" Curstenn said excitedly. "Come on, Treen. Let's go!"
The little twi'lek girl smiled widely and followed her down the hall.
"I forgot how exciting it is to build a lightsaber," Ferros laughed. "I wonder what colour they'll end up being."
"As long as they aren't red, I'm not really fussed," Byz said flatly.
"You're no fun at all, are you?" Ferros replied. "What's wrong with you today anyway?"
"Oh it's that Sith girl," he answered.
"No it isn't. Besides, Kayla and Runice are taking care of that."
Byz sighed. "There's no point in hiding anything from you, is there?"
"Nope," Ferros smiled as she sat down on one of the couches they'd scavenged from the old temple on Coruscant. She patted the spot next to her and Byz obediently sat down. "We need to talk, Byz."
"I was afraid you'd say that."
"Afraid?"
Ferros took his hand and clasped it tightly and reassuringly, but Byz pulled it back and turned to face her. Ferros felt a sudden pang of hurt, and hoped it wasn't precognitive.
"I don't know if I'm ready," he said. "For us, I mean."
"What are you talking about?" Ferros replied, pretending to be angry and not succeeding. Tears welled up in her eyes as she took his hand again. "Wasn't it you who said we might die at any moment and that we should die as a couple?"
"I did say that, didn't I?" Byz looked down at his feet, not able to look Ferros in the eyes.
"Yes, you did say that. And I was the one who said I wasn't ready. What's really wrong, Byz?"
"It's nothing, Ferry-"
"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be acting all weird," she countered, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "Please talk to me."
Byz pulled his hand back again and turned away from her, then stood up and began walking away.
"No! Come back, Byz. Please?"
Ferros had started sobbing now. She stuck her legs out either side of him and pulled him back towards her, forcing him back onto the couch next to her. He started to grumble angrily and stood back up again.
"This is exactly why I can't talk to you about it," he snapped. "You don't take no for an answer. You're so caught up with being stronger and smarter than me, trying to embarrass me at every opportunity. Even Cursty thinks I'm overreacting when it comes to you."
"That's because you are overreacting," she insisted, tears flowing down her flushed cheeks.
"So why do it if you know how I'm gonna react?" he spat. "You're just making me look more pathetic."
"Is that what you're worried about?"
Ferros realised she'd struck a nerve when Byz's demeanour changed back to its normal, reserved self.
"Maybe," he answered reluctantly.
"So you think people are judging you now?"
"Of course they are," he said softly. "How can I possibly compete with you? You've taken down two full-on Darths now. The best I can do is get charcoaled by one."
"It sounds to me like you're the one doing all the judging, Byz."
Ferros wiped her eyes dry, her subtle eyeliner and mascara smearing across her face.
"You've got a little…" Byz said, pointing to her smudged makeup.
Ferros slapped his hand away. "I don't care how I look," she snapped. "I'm worried about you. Don't compete against me. I don't want a rival, I want a partner. I couldn't care less how weak or strong you are, and neither could anyone else but you."
"Why do you make fun of me all the time then?"
Ferros growled in frustration and rolled her eyes. "Because it's funny, and it's the only way I can get your attention these days. If I don't embarrass you or flirt outrageously with you, you barely even notice me. Even Kayla is trying to help me out, you've gotten so bad."
"You mean, the ten-cred bet-"
"She made it up, Byz. There's no bet."
Byz stopped talking and just thought about it all for a few moments. Maybe he had gotten it all wrong, after all. Now that he was thinking clearly again, he realised that she really had done almost everything she could to reinforce her attraction to him. Even little Cursty had seen it, where he'd completely missed the mark. And she was an eleven year old.
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't be sorry," she replied. "Just stop being a jerk. Besides, you make fun of me just as much as I make fun of you."
She took his hand again, for the third time, and gave it a little kiss, then clasped it tightly and hugged it to herself. Byz shuffled closer to her, and she swivelled around so her legs were resting across his lap. They hugged for a few minutes, Ferros gently sobbing into his shoulder until her tears ran dry.
"I just want us to be happy, that's all," she said softly. "I can't be happy without you."
The pang of pain Ferros had felt earlier had completely subsided now, and was replaced by a warm spot, glowing brighter and brighter as Byz held her. Then she sensed a sudden feeling of urgency, and Kayla burst into the room moments later.
"Ferry, Byz, we need you. Now."
"What is it?" Byz asked. Ferros was still snuggled into his shoulder.
"It's Corellia. They're in trouble. I'll explain everything, but you've got to come with me now. We need your help."
"The Sith have gone after our home planet," Devin announced, gesturing towards himself and Kayla. "Versca demanded that the entire Corellia system submit to martial law so they can search for Jedi."
"But isn't Hermald still there?" Ferros asked, referring to Hermald Reischek, one of the first Jedi to join the Order after the Battle of Pyria. He'd offered to be stationed long-term on Corellia to keep watch on the system and ensure that another Darth Caeer didn't rise up.
"Yes, he is. He's the one who warned us, actually," Devin confirmed. "They're not aware of him personally, but they know several Jedi Knights are Corellian."
"I'm guessing the Corellians didn't take too kindly to Versca's threats," Jens said dryly.
"No, Corellians never take kindly to threats," Kayla confirmed. "Senator Reebus flatly refused to allow the Republic soldiers in, so he's been arrested and is being held on Coruscant."
"They're after Governor Terluch now," Devin added. "They want him alive, presumably to make an example of him. Hermald is keeping him safe for the moment, but he doesn't know how much longer the situation will stay manageable."
"So what's the situation like at the moment?" Lenny asked.
Admiral Minvessen stepped forward then, activating a holoprojector which showed the city of Coronet in three-dimensional detail.
"Coronet is under siege," he began. "Republic troops have forced their way into the city. CorSec have been putting up a fight, but they don't have the numbers to compete. The Republic have sent in a whole army after the Governor."
"So what's the plan?" Byz asked. "Do we sneak in and smuggle Terluch off-world?"
Minvessen laughed. "You don't know Corellians too well, do you Byz?"
Byz stared blankly at the Admiral, blinking a few times. Minvessen sighed with amusement.
"We'll never allow the Republic to take Coronet by force," he continued. "We'd sooner die fighting them than run away from our own system."
"You're Corellian?" Byz asked.
Minvessen nodded. "A great deal of us are, both within the Jedi Order and the military. This is personal for us."
"Besides," Kayla added. "Even if we managed to get Governor Terluch off of Corellia, there'd still be the issue of Republic troops holding the entire planet hostage while they look for Jedi."
"Exactly," Minvessen nodded. "We need to go in there and smash them out."
"How many troops do we have?" Ashlyn asked.
Minvessen thought to himself for a few moments before responding. "I'd say about fifty thousand total."
"We won't even need a twentieth of that."
Ferros had been analysing the map the whole time, and finally spoke up.
"Who's in charge of the Republic military now?" she asked.
"Admiral Gell'ynd, I would think. He's a Bothan," Minvessen answered. "Not a nice one, either."
"If I know Bothans, he'll try and use surprise tactics, correct?"
Minvessen nodded without saying anything.
"And they have no idea where to look for any Jedi or Terluch, right?"
He nodded again, this time with a raised eyebrow as he caught on to Ferros' pattern of thought.
"So we get civilians indoors, spread our forces thin throughout the city, coordinate with CorSec and converge on the enemy in squads wherever we find them. No large groups."
"Actually…" Minvessen said to no one in particular, then turned to Kayla and Devin with both eyebrows now raised. "That's a pretty good plan."
The other Jedi Council members nodded their approval as well.
"He's a Bothan, so he probably thinks it'll be really clever to send a company of troops to the obvious places like the CorSec Academy or Capitol Tower, while sending smaller groups to less obvious places at the same time," Ferros said.
"If we use a sweep pattern with smaller groups headed by a Jedi, we'll be able to flush them out completely," Lenny agreed. "Whereabouts is Hermald?"
"He's staying on the train," Kayla said. "He figured it'd be smarter to keep moving around than to stay in any one place and risk running into Republic troops in the streets."
"As long as he stays safe," Lenny said. "We probably should contact the Republic too, out of courtesy. We don't want to look like the bad guys, killing Republic troops and all."
"I'll handle that," Finnschall offered. "I'm not much of a warrior anyway. You guys get busy planning the finer details."
"Okay then," Kayla nodded to the older Togruta Jedi. "Liina, go with her. Ferry and Byz, I want you rounding up the other Knights and the more experienced Padawans. We need to know who is willing to come with us. If there are any younger Padawans, it's up to their Masters. That goes for you two as well. Cursty and Tri'ina can look after themselves, but they're still just kids. If they're keen to help and you think you can keep them safe, then it's up to you."
"You got it," Byz affirmed as he and Ferros headed out the door.
"The rest of you, come with me. It's time to flesh out Ferry's attack plan."
With nearly all personnel ready and waiting aboard the orbiting Second Fleet, Kayla should have felt anxious to get going, but instead she felt apprehensive. Ferros and Byz had rounded up fifteen Jedi Knights and around ten Padawans, and although the Padawans would be travelling with their Masters, this still brought the total number of Jedi-led squads up to twenty-three. Almost two-thirds of the Order was going to Corellia to do battle with the Republic.
If only we'd had more time, she thought. If anyone comes to Tython while we're gone, they'll be pretty much defenceless.
She snapped out of it then, berating herself for allowing such thoughts. The truth was, as long as Dialgar stayed true to her word, there wasn't really any chance of Tython being exposed. The planet itself was pretty much unheard of, and very few people outside the Order even knew of its existence, much less its historical importance to the Jedi. Besides, she told herself, we'll be back in no time. This mission will be easy. Boring, but easy.
Devin came strolling up to her then with his usual swagger, looking rather displeased. She knew just by looking at him that his displeasure was of a completely different nature to her own, though. He sat down next to her on the top of the temple's front steps, the light of Tythos shining down on them gloriously as they looked out into the picturesque scenery of Tython.
"Gell'ynd refused to recall the troops," he said grimly. "I guess we're going home after all."
"You seem surprised," Kayla commented dryly.
"It just seems a bit unfair on Corellia. It hasn't been such a long time since that skirmish we both fled from, and already they're on the back foot because of the very Republic they helped to create."
"It's not the Republic's fault," Kayla shook her head.
"I know," he sighed. "Maybe that's just the Corellian in me talking."
"Don't worry, the Republic aren't capturing anyone. We've got enough Jedi to recapture the entire system."
"There's something else though, isn't there?"
Kayla looked up at him, trying to get a sense of his thoughts, but Devin was being as opaque as ever. She looked away again and stared blankly into the distant forest.
"Something's wrong with this attack, but I can't get a sense of what it is exactly. I can't even point myself in the right direction. Usually I have no problem with this sort of thing."
"I know what you mean," Devin nodded in agreement. "I've been sensing it since I heard about it. It makes no sense to forcibly enter Coronet like this. What has the Republic got to gain by getting on Corellia's bad side?"
"Exactly! Logic dictates that we should stay as far away from Corellia as possible, since it's Jedi they're looking for. We'd be walking right into a trap. They know we can't resist helping Corellia though, but why sacrifice so many Republic troops? It's not like they have much of a chance fighting against Jedi, much less capturing them."
"Do you think they'll send Sith in?"
"At first I wasn't sure. I didn't think Versca would be brazen enough to send any; she only just got elected. It would be foolish to show her true colours so soon. But now that I think about it, the whole thing seems pretty reckless, almost arrogant. Why else send the army in unless they're invading?"
"I sense something else though," Devin added. "Something…closer to us."
"I wonder if it's got anything to do with Ferry," Kayla pondered. "Artaith tried to capture her on Korriban, maybe this is another attempt to try and grab her?"
"It could be, but I doubt they'd be foolish enough to try it. She's proven herself to be in a league way above most of the Sith we've encountered so far. How much would Artaith have to improve to be able to capture her on a Force-neutral planet like Corellia?"
"Especially with Cursty with her," Kayla agreed. "Sending enough Sith out there to capture her would definitely give them away. Corellia wouldn't be the only system to leave the Republic if news got out that they were sending Sith Lords after the Jedi."
"Maybe they're going after Gavin then?"
"Possibly, but Runice will be with him. She's pretty bloody tough, and Gavin's got a lot more of his sister's strength in him than most people realise. He won't be easy to take. It's possible though."
Devin leaned back onto his hands and let out a deep breath. "I don't understand why we're having so much trouble sensing this. I'm not convinced the Sith are powerful enough to cast shadows this long."
"And yet, they are," Kayla frowned. "What I really want to know is how powerful this Emperor is. I get the impression that the Sith Lords he's trained aren't really a good representation of his own power."
"Same here."
Devin laid all the way back then, closing his eyes to shield them from the sun.
"Do you think we're leaving enough Jedi behind to protect this place?"
"I think so," Kayla nodded to him. "I was thinking about this just before you got here, actually. Nobody knows about this place except the Jedi Coalition and Dialgar, and we shouldn't be gone long enough for it to matter in any case."
Devin turned his head to face her then, allowing himself a lopsided smile.
"I suppose you're right. It's not exactly going to be the Battle of Pyria, is it?"
He kept looking up at her for a few moments, long enough to make her self-conscious. She frowned down at him then and edged slightly away.
"It's okay," he laughed. "I was just watching how your hair changes colour in the sunlight. You don't have snot on your face or anything."
"Oh," she chuckled. "Does it look okay?"
"Beautiful," he smiled warmly at her. "I've always really liked your red hair. Don't ever dye it."
"But it is dyed," she replied flatly. "I have brown hair naturally."
"Really?" He sat up instantly, totally astonished.
"No," she laughed. "I had you for a moment though."
Devin shook his head and smiled, then got to his feet and began to make his way back inside.
"Come on then, we really should get going," he told her, just as her portable holocom started buzzing. She took it out of a pouch on her utility belt and activated it, producing a hologram of Colonel Brellin Kryss.
"Kryss!" she said with some surprise. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you."
"I wasn't expecting to comm you," he grinned back at her. "I'm just letting you know I'm on my way to Corellia as we speak."
Kayla and Devin exchanged a confused look. He should still be investigating the gauntlet; no one had requested for him to join back up with Special Forces.
"Is something wrong, Brellin?" Devin asked him.
"Funny you should ask," he replied with more solemnity than before. "Word of the Jedi Hunt in Coronet reached Mandalore, and the Mandalorians are split right down the middle. Mand'alor wants to support the Jedi Coalition and secede from the Republic, but Kinseth wants to fight for the Republic. It's hopeless, they'll be fighting among themselves for weeks, or until either Gregor or Mand'alor is killed."
"That's unfortunate," Devin understated.
"No kidding," Brellin agreed. "Stuff hanging around there. I won't bother arguing the case when my niece and nephew are being hunted by the Sith. I would have brought more warriors with me, but Gregor is hiding behind tradition. He says no Mandalorian can leave to fight if we can't all agree on a side."
"So you think Kinseth is behind this mystery gauntlet then too, do you?" Devin asked him.
"Without doubt, Dev. I can't prove anything, of course…call it a sixth sense. I'm sure you understand what I mean," Brellin chuckled.
"We'll talk more about it when this business on Corellia is all done and dusted," Kayla said. "We'll be leaving very shortly, we should arrive not long after you do. Meet up with us on the Corell Star."
"No worries, Masters. I've got a nice new blaster that Mand'alor gave me, and I can't wait to test it out on some traitor scum. I'll see you there. I'll even wear my honorary bloodstripes."
With that, Kryss signed off, and the hologram fizzled into nothingness. Devin gave Kayla a look that she recognised all too well.
"You have a bad feeling about this."
Devin flashed a lopsided smile, then followed her inside the temple to the lateral turbolift leading to the adjacent military base.