So you see…that is why I came to you. And that is why I will stay with you.

Avery came out of meditation to see Visas' still form across from her. The Miraluka had been through such loss, but her Sith master's insistence that she find the source of the echoes led her right to Avery. This Nihlus creature had to be destroyed, or Visas would never be free from fear.

Despite reliving a great deal of pain, both Visas and the Exile felt centered after their meditation. As the ship headed toward Dantooine, Avery spent some time catching up with her companions.

As she walked up to the door of the starboard crew quarters, however, she halted. Kreia's voice, though muffled, was insistent, giving low orders to whomever was in the room. When she finished, Mandalore's angry tone barked a few words. Avery had just enough time to duck back into the main room before he stomped out.

He passed her without so much as a word. The Exile knew without a doubt that Mandalore didn't like her much. It wasn't that he despised her, but it was clear that he didn't care about any aspect of her outside of finding his clans though the Ebon Hawk. It didn't bother Avery terribly, but she respected the leader a great deal. She wished she could earn his respect as well, despite their past.

Mira and Bao Dur were working on better security for the Hawk, and T3 was chittering at them, likely unimpressed with their handling of the locking mechanisms. Avery slipped behind them carefully to enter the storage room.

The brown HK model was in the same place as always. As the Exile installed two more parts she'd found in the shops of Nar Shaddaa, she considered her actions. Revan clearly owned this old droid, and there was a great deal of information it was likely to have. Specifically about Revan's whereabouts and history within the Hawk. Avery missed her Master greatly, so despite the risk, she would try to fix this HK and find some answers.

There was only one more team member she hadn't visited, but she would avoid him as much as she could. There was no way she'd attempt to use the Force to hear what he was thinking, but she could assume he'd be upset and not all that eager to have another conversation with her. Not for a while, anyway. Avery seemed to have a knack for stressing him out.

The Exile knew now, at least, why the sudden physical bursts came from him, why he didn't listen when she'd told him- far too quietly and with not half enough determination- to stop, why he was overtaken with lust. Someone he once was wouldn't have cared whether a Jedi female told him to stop or not. She shuddered in the bright room. That was him before. Not now. But due to the knowledge she had of him now, it was hard not to be afraid of him.

They were minutes out from Dantooine, and Atton was not busy so much with navigating the route as he was busy calling himself an idiot. He had been for a couple of hours, but he really wanted to cement the idea in his brain before they went off on another wild chase for a Jedi. Kreia was right. He was an imbecile.

Maybe not for the reasons the old witch thought, but due to his actions lately? Certainly. He ticked off the stupid things on his fingers:

1) He idiotically gave her dancing lessons to 'help' her, which naturally made his hands-off policies nigh impossible, seeing as how his hands, and other things, were as on her as they'd get

2) As she danced for spectators in a marvelously tiny outfit, he watched her, which was stupid

3) He moronically went to her dressing room, where in all his pent-up agony, he pushed her against a wall and got into heavy, hot, wild foreplay with her

4) He didn't hear her ask him to stop, so he, in his stupidity, practically attacked her without meaning to

5) Because he was an idiot, he had a long, relieving talk with her about his terrible past, in detail, which naturally gave her right to fear him

6) He tried to kiss her not two days after she'd Force-pushed him away for touching her, which was truly dumb

7) He had now not only fueled the torturous fire of how badly he wanted Avery by doing all things listed above, but now he'd certainly, officially never have her for said reasons, which was almost the dumbest thing, but

8) To seal his moronic nature forever, he'd fallen in love with her, something he'd never done before ever, and she was a Jedi Exile General leader crazy person trying to fix the damned universe

He had to stop there, because he was running out of fingers. To summarize, he'd made his own rules way harder than they had been, he frightened her physically, he frightened her because of his past, and he loved her and wanted her to a point where he could hardly stand it, with no hope of relieving either issue.

To summarize the summary, Kreia was right.

Dantooine was huge: there were expanses of plains requiring miles of walking before arriving anywhere. Kreia was firm about staying on the Hawk, Mandalore brusquely stated that he would be spending the day contacting his men for updates, and T3 stayed for the likely reason of redoing everything Mira and Bao Dur had done. The rest of the team was eager to stretch their legs- and more than a few were excited to be out in a place that didn't smell. Avery wanted to get to the ruined Enclave first, for any hints of Vrook's whereabouts, but it would take a while.

While the five of them walked through the grasses, Bao Dur took a moment to look up at the bright azure sky before he did what Avery had asked. It was no trouble, as most of her requests were, but it would be difficult not to show amusement.

Atton, instead of near Avery like he usually was, hung back to trail the group. When Bao Dur came to walk next to him, the scoundrel looked suspicious.

"Have something for you," the Zabrak said calmly.

"Oh yeah? I haven't gotten a present in a while."

As Bao Dur handed over the metallic hilt, Atton's eyes cut to the Exile briefly. "A lightsaber? Did she put you up to this?"

"According to her, it would be better if I gave this to you. It's not a particularly great one, just stock parts, but you can practice with it. Also according to her, you can use a lot of your Echani stances with the lightsaber." It truly was funny, for Avery to ask Bao Dur to be this sort of messenger, but at the same time, the Zabrak felt a great deal of curiosity about the weapon. It wasn't just a fancy melee weapon: he'd seen so himself. Jedi and Sith alike were able to use them as an expansion of their own motivations, as though the weapon was an arm instead of a tool. The fact that Atton was given one meant he was Force sensitive. Soon, he'd be a Jedi. Bao Dur felt a pang of jealousy. As he'd always been, he was just the 'tech.'

Avery's head jerked sharply behind her, and before Bao Dur could look away, she sensed his feelings of insignificance. His mind was always an open book to her, because he trusted her implicitly more than anyone he'd ever known. Yet, sometimes, that could be an inconvenience.

"Well thanks," Atton said awkwardly. "It would have been nice coming from her, but I can see why she'd ask you to do it instead. So I appreciate you being the in-between guy."

Now the Zabrak was fighting the telltale pulls at the corners of his mouth. "I'd recommend it not occur again, if you want a chance with her."

"That's not going to- I don't have a cha- er, I mean, I still want a- I already-" On a noisy exhale, he got ahold of himself. "Thanks."

Bao Dur had to look up at clear sky again to hide his smile.

The party split into groups to better navigate the winding halls of the Enclave. There wasn't much preserved: the rooms mainly consisted of rubble, laigreks, and mercs or raiders picking through said rubble, so it was obvious that Vrook wasn't here. The team met up at the wide entrance to the main library and decided to check inside before they left.

Avery entered the room to a man surrounded by books watching her avidly. He stood at once as she walked up, and swept into a deep bow.

Avery blinked rapidly, stunned, and Atton snorted behind her.

The man was clearly young: rather smooth-faced and good looking, with tawny hair that fell across gray eyes. He smiled openly at her while she recovered from his manners, so then she had to take another moment to recover from his warm expression.

"Um, thank you for the polite bow. You must be a gentleman."

"In a sense I suppose." He was still watching her with that look that said he was wholeheartedly glad she'd arrived. It was disconcerting, to say the least. "I'm a historian and a scholar, actually. I work for the Republic. I'm certain my contemporaries would judge me more a historian than scientist. I'm Disciple. I'm here looking for some trace of the Jedi. I had heard mention that one of the Jedi Masters had come here. Once I arrived, I felt it was necessary to stay, to protect what was left."

A laigrek barked far too close to the room, and another answered further down. "Left?" Avery echoed.

"Much has been taken from the Enclave. I wished to preserve what I could." He gestured toward the pile of books he'd been sitting amongst. "Raiders are part of the problem, of course, but I suspect the Jedi themselves took the holocrons and records. I do not know why."

There were footfalls now, a great number of them, groups sniffing out the team's distinctive scents. Avery was studying the man's face, and he looked back unabashedly.

"You look…familiar to me," she said slowly.

His face lit up even more, if it was possible, and cleared his throat-

"Well, this has been just a delightful conversation," Atton interrupted, "but can we run now?"

"We're leaving the Enclave. If you want a safe way out, follow us," Mandalore offered.

"No, no, I'm sure he wants to stay and guard stuff or whatever-"

"Atton," Mira scolded, "I'm sure he'd like to leave-"

"Yes, actually. The laigreks were a rather impressive presence outside of the library, and I was hesitant to take all of them on at once. Even groups of raiders were dying rapidly, so I'll take advantage of this situation."

Avery was still studying the Disciple's face, frowning a little, and he was giving her that stupid adoring expression, but Atton didn't protest anymore. Worst-case scenario, Avery and this guy chat for an hour, she figures out why he seems so familiar, and then he leaves to go do history things and never sees her again. No problem.

"Then let's go," Bao Dur said. "If we wait here any longer, there's a distinct possibility that enough laigrek will be here to cause the species to become extinct once we're out. We don't want that. It'd mess with Dantooine's natural distribution."

"Where are we headed next?" Visas asked Avery as the crew stepped out into the welcoming sun.

"The crystal cave. If you recall that datapad we found on the corpse in the hallway, it was from mercs who talked about Vrook. Even if he's not still there, it's where the trail picks up."

When the team started the next long trek, the Disciple fell easily into step with Avery, as she had hoped. She dove right in to more questions. "You mentioned holocrons?"

She never did bother with small talk if she wanted information. The Disciple laughed to himself, then answered. "Someone has been taking holocrons from sites across the galaxy. It's almost as if someone does not want their knowledge used to find the Jedi. I fear the loss of their history. All these great teachings are in danger of being lost forever."

"Do you know what happened to the Jedi?"

"No. It is something of a mystery why they would exile themselves as they have." His next statement was worried. "I fear that there is something else at work. Something we cannot see."

Avery looked at him alertly, and noticing her anxiety, he forced the tone out. "Then again, perhaps the Jedi are hiding simply because so many people hate them these days."

"Why do you think that is?" It wasn't a question for fact, more for his opinion.

"It is difficult sometimes for the Jedi to see such things, since much of it is rooted in human nature, and the Jedi are often removed from events of daily life, insulated." Avery was now nodding emphatically. "But it's hard to tell the difference between the Jedi and Sith now. Even Revan and Malak were once Jedi Knights."

"Do you hate the Jedi?" she asked.

"Hate?" he repeated. "No. I do not hate them. They only raise questions without answers."

In this response, Avery knew that this man had the makings of a true Jedi in him in a way Avery never would. While she was too passionate, too impatient, too temperamental, he possessed the goodness and serenity that made up great masters of the Light side. She pushed the thoughts away as he continued. "Jedi are not supposed to be like the rest of us. They are supposed to see a higher purpose in all things. And they are supposed to train students responsibly and well, so mistakes of the past are not repeated. Yet all I saw was ignorance and arrogance, and what those seeds created in the Republic. It is difficult to follow the Jedi Code, when so few others have. But you know this."

Avery's head cocked to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Many Jedi defied the Order during the Mandalorian War, and that paved the way for the Jedi Civil War." He watched her knowingly, his grey eyes holding no judgment. "So perhaps there was some essential part of the teachings- or the teachers- that was flawed. Something they were missing."

Before she could ask further, the team halted at the yawning entrance to the crystal caves. She could sense Revan's mark here, a presence, as though he was standing just further along the cavern beckoning her in. Because of this, she was assured of the worth of this place and walked through without a second thought.

There were a few kinrath here and there, dispatched easily enough. Avery noted with delight that Atton kept going into various stances before stabbing, which although unnecessary for killing the beasts, was fun to watch.

As the crew stepped into a huge chamber, however, all of them were struck silent. Crystals with vivid colors bounced off the walls, glowing and colliding and blending into a starry array of shades.

Avery walked among them, her grey robes catching hues of light, the excitement on her face mixed with a sort of yearning. Revan could have been standing next to her, his presence was so strong here. She was guided to certain clusters before she really thought about it, and she noticed each one of her companions do the same. Visas picked up a deep red crystal, Disciple a light blue, Mira a cyan, Atton an intense green and Bao Dur, with an exaggerated wink at her, a yellow. Avery was rolling a violet one in her hand with satisfaction when something caught her eye.

The jagged structure was pulling her to it with the Force, and she was drawn up to it.

"Revan was here. Something rather important occurred in the cave. It's like he's watching over my shoulder. I guess the crystals reflect the Force energy, and act as a catalyst for those sensitive to it who come here."

She looked up at her team, who were all watching her with varying expressions. "Perhaps," she said softly, "future Jedi who visit this cave will feel our presence, as if seeing our footprints preserved in the soil."

Atton felt the pit of his stomach drop. The glow from the silver mirrored the shine in her eyes, and her whole face was radiant in the light. If there was anything more beautiful out there, he hadn't seen it. Unfortunately, he could see Disciple watching her too, and he was clearly thinking the exact same thing.

The Exile reached down into the silver and pulled up a small crystal. She had no tangible explanation for it, but this was for her. She and Revan had found a couple like this before, and they promptly built lightsabers to accommodate them. These were the rare sort that became an extension of will, a tie to the Force energy of the user like other crystals couldn't be.

When they got back to the Hawk, she and Bao Dur would have a lot of work to do.

As they began to move out of the room, the Exile saw Mira and Bao Dur start to return the crystals they'd picked up. She stopped them. "I know this is unorthodox and unofficial, but keep those. You both picked them up because you were led to them. I feel like…bear with me, but I feel like you can both pick up the Force, or at least you've been able to since you've started traveling with me. It's getting stronger the more I'm with you. If you'd be willing, I'd like to train you and see if it leads anywhere. You'd only benefit from it."

The two watched her, but Bao Dur didn't even take a second to think. He nodded at once. "Thank you, General. I'd be honored."

She looked up into his clear gaze and her face wrinkled. "…But yellow? Really?"

He smiled, showing her all his teeth, and shook the crystal in front of her face. She grinned back, then looked at Mira questioningly.

The bounty hunter took a steadying breath. What Avery said was true. She had been feeling funny since she joined up with the Exile, almost like Avery planted a seed of freakiness in her, and her instincts were all haywire. She could feel stuff in her gut without an explanation as to why. If that was the reason, and Avery would help her sort it out, why the hell not?

"Sure," she said aloud. "It'll be, ah, fun."

In the midst of exploring further into the cave, Disciple fell into step with the Exile. "I feel we should talk more."

"Agreed," she said at once. "I have a lot of questions."

"I'm sure you do," he replied knowingly. "You always do. Due to the sheer volume of them, I'd like to request that I travel with you. It seems our goals are the same. If you would have me, I can apply my knowledge and skills to helping you find the answers you seek."

Atton, overhearing, stopped dead in his tracks and looked down at the Disciple. "Look, we're already full up. We don't need anyone else."

"We need all the help we can get," Avery argued. "And he seems capable."

It took a lot of effort, but Atton once again managed to hold his tongue. He was on a roll with upsetting her, so breaking the pattern was more important than protesting the welcome of a guy who clearly had a 'history' with the Exile- and obviously loved her- though Atton was in the dark as to why or how. What fantastic priorities.

Instead of laigreks or kinrath in the next large area, they found a band of mercenaries in camp, with Vrook standing sullenly in an electric cage, looking not at all surprised as the Exile came in. The mercs were certainly taken aback though, and attacked clumsily.

It was six on twelve, so each crew member dispatched two in a couple of seconds. As the cage powered down, Vrook began his gracious thanks. "Always rushing into action without thinking of the consequences."

Or not. Avery's eyebrows rose briefly, and he noticed. "What? You were expecting thanks? Khoonda is in danger, and you've ruined the best chance of averting a full scale conflict."

There was a hearty rage simmering under the surface that was threatening Avery's temper, but she managed to dilute it into sarcasm. "And how were you going to help in a cage?"

"Is this a joke to you?" he fired back. "People's lives are at stake!" He continued despite Avery rolling her eyes. "Every action has consequences, no matter how small or insignificant they seem- and even the smallest choice has the potential for harm. The Wars- the Wars you supported, were proof of this."

"I can see you've wanted to say this for a while," the Exile replied, crossing her arms. "Is this here that same careful timing you were counting on in the Wars?"

"Those battles did nothing but bring more harm to the galaxy-"

"Enough of this!" Avery was furious now, suppressing the Dark side that rose up slightly in her, trembling to keep herself in check. "This is not the time for such arguments!"

Before she could do or say something unwise, she spun on her heel and left him in the room, brushing past her teammates and not slowing her pace until she was standing outside in the fields. With quite bad timing, there was a merc standing in front of her, oblivious to her bad mood.

"I suggest you look at me," he said in what he likely thought was a menacing tone. "I'm Azkul, leader of the mercenaries on Khoonda. I want to strike a bargain with you."

Avery raised her eyes to his, still seeing red at the edges of her vision, hardly listening as the foolish man spoke. She could only catch something about how he was trying to control Khoonda, a fight was about to occur, and he'd pay her a great deal to sabotage the defense so his men could overrun the place more easily. Not to Avery's credit, she considered this for a while. If Vrook was disappointed in her for doing the right thing, imagine…

As her teammates caught up with her, at least, she managed to quell the thoughts, though the irrational side of her was still in full swing. She met the merc leader's gaze and walked up, her hips swaying slightly, an odd light color glowing amidst the dark of her eyes. He'd considerably warmed up to her by the time she was a foot away.

"Lay down your weapons, call your men off, and leave the planet," the Exile said smoothly with a wave of her hand.

"Lay down my…" he echoed flatly.

"Yes," she said in that same level tone. "Call your men off and leave the planet."

For a moment, he looked ahead in a daze, but then his whole body shuddered and he lifted his weapon. "Jedi tricks? I learned how to counter those in the war!"

As the blaster came level with the Exile's face, a lightsaber appeared through his torso. "It would have been easier if you'd just let me persuade you. But regardless, I'm in the mood for a quick solution."

He gargled and sank to the ground, and Avery's saber flashed out of him to point at the rest of his shocked men. "Can I persuade any of you?"

The men promptly took off through the long grasses, and Mira fired off a few halfhearted shots at their retreating backs. "Well." She turned to Avery, hands on her hips. "Someone's acting rash."

The Exile lifted a shoulder. "Vrook always knew how to upset me."

"Clearly." Mira gave a sidelong glance to the Disciple, who looked staggered and a tiny bit afraid, then to the other three, who looked as though nothing had happened. This was clearly not the first time an incident like this had occurred. Mira made a mental note to always, always stay out of Avery's way if she seemed grumpy.

"Let's head back to Khoonda," Bao Dur said genially. "Maybe with this new turn of events, the mercs won't have much of an attack. They'll need some time to recover from their missing leader."

"And then, perhaps, the Jedi Master will be more receptive," Disciple added.

Visas spoke up, her request tentative. "If we could, I would ask that we return to the Hawk and prepare a few of our new weapons before the assault. It would likely be an excellent defense."

"Right," Mira said encouragingly. "Beats standing around with grumpy old men who won't talk to us."

To the entire team's relief, Avery had calmed down, and now she strode out with a great deal less stomping than before. But it would be in the best interest of everyone if they avoided a certain Jedi's presence for a while.

Avery's crystal would take time to understand, so Visas, the Disciple, and Atton all managed- with Bao Dur and Avery hovering over their every tinker- to assemble their lightsabers. It was clear that the Disciple had undergone Force training previously, and the Exile told herself to ask him about that later. She was certain now that she'd known him from before, and if he would be traveling with them, she had to know how.

Mandalore was standing near the table when Avery looked up, and he cleared his throat. "Visas told me that it's likely that mercs will attack the base here, and I wanted you to know I'm ready to defend Khoonda with you all."

"Thank you, Mandalore," she replied curtly. "We'd appreciate the help."

It seemed as though he wanted to tell her something else, but by the time all the tools were off the table, he apparently decided against it. His uncertainty turned to resolve as Kreia walked into the room. "Excuse me," he said stiffly, and walked out.

Avery immediately whirled on Kreia accusingly. "Look, I know something is going on here, and I want to know what you're doing to Mandalore. Don't disregard my question, and don't give me an indirect answer."

Kreia's mouth tightened. "He is…suspicious of certain aspects of my past, and believes I have ties to someone who was close to him. That, and the fact that I used some manipulation to bring him with us, is likely why he is agitated."

Avery's mouth opened in outrage, but the old woman interrupted. "I did not force him to do anything, child. But his fate is tied to yours for a while, and he refused to see it, though it is necessary. I simply informed him of the necessity."

"And that is the most direct answer I will get out of you." It wasn't a question.

"You may ask him yourself," Kreia replied as she turned to leave. "But I doubt he will tell you any more than I."

When the team arrived in the base of Khoonda, they were quite a sight. Avery, in light grey clothes with the dark grey robe wrapped around her, stood at the front gate wielding a single purple lightsaber, while a dark-haired man on her right held a green one, and a light-haired man on her left carried one of light blue. A Zabrak, already finished with optimizing the outside turrets, was planting mines in strategic locations around the entrances, while a redheaded woman set up a rocket launcher in a high area atop the building. Two women, both in hoods, carried stark red lightsabers inside the front lobby. A Mandalorian in heavy steel armor held a long-range blaster to his shoulder from atop the side entrance.

Glancing at Vrook, the Khoonda leader made his way into the conference room. "I thought we would be lucky to scrape out of this situation alive. That woman and her friends show up, and in a single afternoon I went from dread to wondering if it will take an hour to be done with all this. Amazing what a few people are capable of, hmm?"

Vrook didn't answer.