The Descendant: Echoes of the Revanchist

by darthmaul90

The Old Republic is gone; the last vestiges of it swept away and replaced by Palpatine's Galactic Empire. But as the heroic Rebel Alliance wages their war of independence against Palaptine's machine, the descendant of Revan stands poised to launch his own war against the Empire. Will he be persuaded to join the Rebellion, or will he make his own path amongst the battlefields?

21. The Descendant: Chapter 20

The Descendant, Echoes of the Revanchist – Chapter 20

Kwymar Sector – Planet Telos IV

6.1 months after the Battle of Yavin

The fourth planet in the Telos system, Telos IV was situated along the strategically important Hydian Way hyperspace lane. It may not have been the capital of the Kwymar Sector, but it was the sector's most cosmopolitan world and the Empire considered its military and economic power bases to be vital for its survival, much as its Republic predecessor had. In the days of the Old Republic, Telos had also been host to the Agricultural Corps, a section of the Jedi Order comprised of Jedi who had failed their training and were sent to live out their lives as farmers and laborers. A fair number who had found themselves in that position had ultimately resented their status.

During the Mandalorian Wars, Telos lay on the very edge of space conquered by the Mandalorians, yet it was mercifully spared from the carnage. It wasn't spared from war altogether though. In one of the earliest campaigns of the Jedi Civil War, former Republic Admiral turned Sith traitor, Saul Karath, arrived at Telos and demanded its surrender to Darth Revan's Sith Empire. His demand was refused and under orders from Darth Malak, the planet was subjected to an intense bombardment. Millions were killed in the devastation and huge swaths of the planet were rendered uninhabitable.

Despite the devastation there was hope. In 3,955 BBY, Telos was chosen as the first planet to be sponsored by a Republic restoration effort. Proponents of the effort in the Galactic Senate argued that if successful, it would pave the way for other restoration efforts on other worlds ravaged during the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War. Dissenters argued that Republic funds were being wasted on a project that was doomed to fail from the outset.

An immense space station called Citadel Station was erected above Telos to oversee and implement the restoration process and a herd of Ithorians were chosen to manage the project. Predictably however, other shadowy forces attempted to move against the Ithorians and further their own gains, most notably the Czeka Corporation. Through a combination of threats, promises, bribes and political strong-arming, Czerka managed to wrestle several restoration zones away from the Ithorians and implement their own restoration efforts which were largely destructive to Telos's ecostructure. The one thing Czerka hadn't counted on though was Meetra Surik, the Jedi Exile, making a trip to the station.

During Meetra's stay, she discovered the numerous shadowy and unlawful practices being sanctioned and supported by Czerka in a blatant attempt to wrestle control of the Restoration Project away from the Ithorians. After exposing Czerka's illegal dealing to the Telosian Council, Czerka was booted off the station, forbidden to have any part whatsoever in the Restoration Project from then on and complete control of the restoration efforts returned to the Ithorians. Even though Telos was later subjected to a quickly thwarted attack by Sith forces under Darth Nilhilus, the Restoration Project was ultimately successful making Telos a beautiful green planet once more, teeming with life. Many sacred grounds and national parks were developed in the ensuing years that drew tourists from all across the galaxy.

In the final years of the Republic, Telos became a politically significant and fashionable world, noted for its natural beauty and thriving tourist trade. Numerous business interests had eagerly established contracts and treaties with the Telosian government, making Telos as "the place to be if you want to get anywhere in the Kwymar Sector." Around 50 BBY a wealthy citizen, who also happened to be the Telosian Governor at the time, attempted to secretly to annex a neighboring planet for its valuable minerals and factories. He proceeded to recruit his son, a former padawan of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, as a co-conspirator. In time the Telosian population was made aware of the scheme and a terrible civil war was initiated by the father / son duo. As a result, the father was slain by Qui-Gon Jinn. Nearly a decade later, his son—having convinced the Telosians of his and his father's innocence—sought to industrialize the natural resources of Telos in a bid for personal power. His plan was foiled by yet again, Qui-Gon Jinn and his new padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Rather than face judgment for his crimes, he took his own life by leaping into a pool of acid.

But war and adversity were not done with Telos IV. It was one of the worlds in the Kwymar Sector to rebel against the Empire in the wake of the Battle of Yavin and was among the first to be subjugated in the resulting, and recently concluded, Kwymar Suppressions. Vast swaths of the planet were once again burned and destroyed in the Imperial crackdown and once again, untold scores of innocent civilians were killed. Unlike millennia before however, the Empire wasn't even remotely interested in establishing a new Restoration Project, leaving many to wonder if Telos would ever recover from this latest scarring of its surface and its people.

Force Revanchist and their guests saw none of this however, as the Silver Horizon and the Silver Solarium made their secret approach towards their home base. Named the Citadel in honor of Citadel Station, it was the one place in the galaxy where they all felt safe from the prying eyes of the Empire. Dahlgen had gone to great lengths to ensure its secrecy. Even those who might actively search for it were almost certain to be frustrated in their attempt because of the extreme conditions surrounding it.

Sitting at the controls of the Silver Horizon, Dahlgen maneuvered his way around Telos, avoiding the still significant Imperial presence along the way. Maris was at her usual co-pilot's station and Juliette was working navigation. Dahlgen had just given her a set of coordinates and she proceeded to feed them into the nav computer which produced a heading. "Set heading to niner-zero-three point seven."

Dahlgen set the heading and the Horizon altered course slightly. It was then that Juliette saw where they were going. "You're taking us into the northern polar region?!"

"Yep," was Dahlgen's only response.

"What in the blazes could be there for us?" Juliette demanded.

"Sanctuary," Maris replied.

The comlink crackled to life and Cronus's voice came over the speaker. "Hey Dahlgen, your father and Queen Goneril would both like to know if you've taken complete leave of your senses."

"Why is that?" Dahlgen chuckled.

"They just wanted to know if you've observed the fact that we're heading into the polar regions," Cronus answered with a laugh.

Dahlgen glanced behind him at Juliette. "Yes. Juliette was just thinking something along that same line," Dahlgen replied. "Tell them not to worry. Just tell them to sit down, relax and we'll be at our destination in moments."

"You got it Dahlgen," Cronus laughed.

At this time of year, Telos's northern polar continent was blanketed in an endless snowstorm. As the snowy tree line gave way to barren rock formations and towering mountains, blizzard conditions quickly developed. High winds howled just outside the view screen and buffeted the ship so much, Juliette was afraid they'd crash. But Dahlgen had made this journey dozens of times before and was quite familiar with the conditions.

Cresting over a mountain Dahlgen pointed out the view screen and said, "There. That's where we're going."

Juliette strained to see, but the blizzard just outside was too much. As they drew closer however, she noticed that one large rock formation ahead of them had a distinctively man-made appearance to it. Against the haze of the blizzard outside, she thought it reminded her of an ancient castle.

"What is it?" Juliette frowned.

"That's the Citadel," Dahlgen said.

Juliette was awestruck by the structure they were approaching as the view of it became clearer. The formation rose up sharply from the polar floor and leveled off in a very wide, flat plateau. Large enough to accommodate several light freighters, its top edges were perfectly circular in design. Four artificially-created rock towers rose up around the perimeter at the corners. They were arranged at equal distances from each other to form a box of sorts around the plateau. All in all it resembled the now fallen Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Something else caught her eyes and she looked down. Beneath the incoming ships she noticed a few dozen whitish silver masses against the snow covered ground. They did not appear to be rocks, nor did they even appear to be stationary. "What're those?" she said pointing.

"Jakobeasts," Dahlgen said. "Herd animals that call icy tundras and arctic regions like this home. They're good sized creatures. An average jakobeast is slightly bigger than an average bantha. Their fur is a fine, shiny gray striped with white. Other things that make them distinctive are their facial appearance which is somewhat feline in nature, their facial tusks which they use for digging and foraging and are very strong, and their two horns that sweep back from their heads."

Juliette noticed that some of the animals were starting to head in the direction of the Citadel as they were. "Looks like they're head to the same place we are."

"Indeed," Dahlgen said. "They've detected us and are coming for dinner."

Juliette wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. "Coming for dinner? And what do you mean by detected us?"

Dahlgen laughed. "Jakobeasts are quite amazing creatures. They're one of many different types of non-sentient creatures that have learned a primitive method of manipulating the Force."

"What?!" Juliette exclaimed.

Maris picked up the conversation. "It's true. They can channel it through the horns on their head and generate a Force Wave. It's how they defend themselves and their young from predators ranging from wampas to poachers."

"Wow," Juliette said. "How powerful is their push?"

"Very powerful," Dahlgen said. "This particular herd has been here on Telos for centuries. Therefore, as you can see, it's a good size. A heard that size can easily flip over a few smaller sized starships like this one or even knock an entire forest flat. I would imagine it could even stop an entire Imperial armor division dead in its tracks… AT-ATs and all."

"Amazing," Juliette said. "But it still doesn't answer my question about coming to dinner."

Dahlgen and Maris both chuckled and she answered. "Jakobeasts can survive for weeks, sometimes months, on a single meal. Given the conditions they call home, that's hardly a surprise. Yet every now and then, some of them will die due to starvation. We therefore have an agreement with this herd. We provide them with food and in turn, they watch and guard the Citadel especially when we're away."

Juliette was confused. "How can you come to an agreement like that?"

"That the beauty of the Force," Maris said. "For those who choose to devote study to it, it is possible to learn how to communicate with animals. They have their own language that they use to communicate amongst themselves anyway. So too can a sentient learn to understand that language and "speak" to the beasts."

"How?"

"Through telepathy of course," Maris said. "I can't really sit there and actually utter a series of grunts and snorts to talk to them. But I can project the meaning of my words to them through telepathy and translate what they're saying to me."

"Both Maris and I are skilled in this," Dahlgen said. "However, her skill in this aspect of Force usage is far greater than mine." He turned to Maris. "To that end, I think it goes without saying that you need to tend to our friends there when we arrive."

Maris smiled largely in appreciation of Dahlgen's compliment. "I'll take care of them. I think I'll have Rayna help me. A distraction might be good for her."

"Good idea." He turned his attention back to the comlink called Cronus. "You'll have to land near the walk-in entrance Cronus," he said. "The hangar will only accommodate one other ship."

"Already on it Dahlgen," Cronus assured him. "I've got everyone getting into cold weather attire for the short walk to the front door."

"Good. See you inside."

Dahlgen held the Horizon in a tight turn and approached the Citadel from the west as the Silver Solarium glided in to land on the plateau. Maris punched a secret code into the Horizon's transponder and ahead of them, a large hanger bay door opened up. He flew the Horizon through it and brought the ship to a gentle landing in the hangar next to a smaller freighter on the right. As Dahlgen shut down Horizon down, the giant hangar doors closed behind them. He turned to face Maris. "We're home."

She smiled in response. "It's good to be home. I can use a little down time."

"I think we all can use some down time," Dahlgen agreed. "Come on let's get out of this crate."

"What's that?" Juliette asked pointing to the other ship as Dahlgen led her, Maris, Dijas, Rayna, Katya and HK through the hangar.

Maris answered her question. "It's a B7 class light freighter called the Gray Pilgrim," she said. "Actually, I named that ship myself. When the Clone Wars came to their tragic conclusion my master and I were patrolling the Outer Rim for supposed outside threats to Republic security. The ship we patrolled the Rim in was also called the Gray Pilgrim. It was a two thousand meter long Jedi Praxeum ship that I was assigned to with my master after the Battle of Christophsis." She sighed. "The ship was designed to have four thousand inhabitants including Jedi Masters, their padawans and perhaps some support personnel. When my master and I were stationed on the ship, we were the only two living beings on board. Every other member of the one hundred strong crew was a droid."

The group exited the hangar and began heading up a long corridor. "When we detected the issuance of Order 66, my master returned to the Core to find out what happened," Maris went on. "He disappeared shortly thereafter but not before he warned me of the destruction of the Jedi Order and the emergence of the Sith as rulers of the galaxy. I reprogrammed the droids and sent the Gray Pilgrim to a remote area of space where it currently sits more or less adrift. I returned to civilized space in that freighter, renaming it the Gray Pilgrim in an effort to prevent the real Gray Pilgrim from falling into the hands of the Sith. There is still a tremendous amount of knowledge on that ship and it would be a travesty to future generations if it was lost."

I've said it before Maris, Dahlgen said. That was rather ingenious of you especially considering how old and ticked off you were at the time.

Thank you, Maris smiled. But my old master had some part in all that too.

I know, Dahlgen said. But you put the plan in motion. At your age then and your emotional distress, that took a great deal of courage and tenacity.

Juliette was totally oblivious to the Jedi conversation. "Hmm," she said with an appreciative tone. "So where is the real Gray Pilgrim now?"

You must be daft if you think I'd tell you that, Maris thought. "Sorry, only one other person knows where the real Gray Pilgrim is."

"Let me guess," Juliette said dryly. "Dahlgen?"

"Who else would you expect?" Dahlgen asked. He led the group through the docking control / navigation room, through a series of storage rooms, down another corridor and finally came to a circular entrance hall of sorts where Cronus and everyone else were already waiting.

With both groups together again, Dannix, Dijas, Cronus and Katya all dispersed to various other places in the structure while Dahlgen, Maris and Marsala remained with their guests. Forndak and Chenlamabec had elected to catch a ride back to Nar Shaddaa with their father and had remained on Kashyyyk when Force Revanchist and the others departed. But before they separated, they had each given Dahlgen their solemn promise that they would be ready to fight again when asked to.

Dahlgen took a moment for everyone who was new to the Citadel to get their bearings. Though the walls were made of simple polished gray stone, they had been intricately carved with a variety of designs and patterns, the meanings of which were long lost to time. A large, conical formation stood in the center of the room and displayed a number of historical dates and events that for some unknown reason had stopped sometime around the end of the New Sith Wars.

All of the newcomers were in absolute awe of their surroundings, but it was Juliette who spoke first about them. "What… what is this place?"

"You're standing in what was intended to be a Jedi Academy," Dahlgen replied.

"Jedi Academy?!" Juliette was shocked.

"Yes. But for all intents and purposes, it's our home," Dahlgen replied.

General Xavier had a question. "How long has this been here son?"

"Between four and five millennia dad, though I don't exactly know how long," Dahlgen replied. "This place was originally a station in the Telos Polar Irrigation System. Since that was built between four and five thousand years ago, you can see why I do not know how long this specific building has been here. But it was abandoned in the wake of the Sith bombing of Telos during the Jedi Civil War. After the bombing, Jedi Master Atris and several other high ranking Jedi Masters feared that Darth Malak would attack the enclave of Dantooine or worse, the Temple on Coruscant… a fear that turned out to be justified. So they moved a large number of artifacts and files to this location and turned it into a secret Jedi Academy. Jedi Master Atris was the head of it.

"However, no students ever attended it," Dahlgen continued. "And five years after the Jedi Civil War ended, the Academy still stood largely empty save for Atris herself and the twelve Echani Handmaidens who served her. That same year though, Meetra Surik found her way here and met with Atris to discuss the Sith's return to the galaxy before she embarked on her quest to find the lost Jedi Masters.

"Though this place never did house any students, it did host a large number of Jedi and Sith holocrons that Atris had managed to collect, along with many other Jedi and Sith related artifacts and training materials. Many of which helped me continue my training in the wake of Order 66 and still remain within the Archives or the Artifact Room today. However, nearly all of the Sith relics and absolutely all of the Sith holocrons were removed from this location in the wake of the Second Battle of Telos.

"Incredible," Rayna said with a shake of her head.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Juliette said.

"And you live here?" Hermia asked, looking directly at Marsala.

"More or less," Marsala nodded. "It's our safe haven that we retreat to whenever we need to. Or if we need to research something like now, we come here."

"How does this place stay powered all the time," Queen Goneril wondered.

Maris answered the Queen's question. "Hydroelectric generators. As Dahlgen said before, this used to be a station in the Telos Polar Irrigation System. Just because the system was abandoned doesn't mean the water quit running through it. The generators weren't active when he discovered this place twenty years ago, so he had to get them running. I can only imagine what kind of a task that must have been. But since then, the generators have always been active, even when we're not here."

"What about discovery?" General Xavier said. "Surely the power generated by such a facility would be detected somewhere."

"Yes, but this place is designed to be completely self-sufficient," Dahlgen said. "If any power fluctuations are picked up by any grid somewhere, it would be seen as a random flux instead of an actual power source. It could still be discovered, but an engineer would have to have an extraordinarily keen eye for detail and then know exactly what he was looking for. The power requirements of Telos are so massive, even more massive than they were in Master Atris's time, that they effectively mask what little power we use here. And if that's not enough, there's always the jakobeast herd that guards the place when necessary."

Queen Goneril smiled. "Yes, Cronus was telling us about them."

"Amazing," Juliette said. "And you discovered this place?"

"Let's say I was led here in the wake of Order 66," Dahlgen replied. Eager to move on, he changed topics before Juliette could quiz him some more. "This place has changed considerably since Atris's time, though how it did is lost to me," Dahlgen said. He pointed to a door that was situated to the left of the entry door Cronus's group had used to enter the Citadel. "Through that door over there is a hall leading to the Archives that I've been speaking of as well as a couple of offices used for researching the material that's there. I'll be making extensive use of it during our stay here."

Next he pointed to a door that was directly across the entry room from the hall leading to the Archives. "There you'll find a hall that leads to the mess room and the kitchen. Note to everyone… if we stay longer than a week, you will be expected to pull kitchen duty at least once. House rules."

"You don't seriously expect us to do that, do you?" Juliette complained.

"I believe Dahlgen said everyone and that it was the house rule," Maris replied. "So what do you think?" Maris laughed to herself at the image of Princess Juliette dressed in an apron and holding a scouring pad.

"Whatever."

Dahlgen pointed to the passage the Silver Horizon group had come through. "A couple of you already know this, but down that hall is a series of storerooms and docking control. Beyond that is the hangar where the Silver Horizon and Maris's Gray Pilgrim are now parked." He waved everyone forward. "If you'll all follow me."

He led the group down a new hallway that soon yielded a choice of branching to the right or continuing forward. Dahlgen stopped and pointed down the right branch. "Down that way is the Ranged Weapons Training Room. In ancient days, it used to be a small prison room with three holding cells. Those were removed ages ago and the room extended and widened to its current configuration. You'll find Dannix, Dijas and HK in there a lot." A muffled blaster shot reached their ears. "Sounds like someone is in there already."

Continuing down the forward branch, they arrived at a large room covered in a padded mat and eight other blast doors opening into it. There were three on each side and two at the far end. "This room serves a dual purpose," Dahlgen said. "It is the Unarmed Combat Training Room as well as guest quarters. So this is where you all will stay during our time here. Unfortunately, as you can see there are only eight rooms, six of which are already occupied. You'll have to buddy up."

"I can share a room with you Dahlgen," Juliette suggested.

Oooooooh, Maris thought. I wonder if he saw that one coming?

"Ha, ha. Nice try," Dahlgen said. "But my quarters are on the other side of the building and they are mine alone. Try some other arrangement."

He did.

Queen Goneril looked nervously at General Xavier. "You and I could share a room I guess," she said. "If you don't mind that is?"

General Xavier gave her a playful smirk. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" He braced himself for the jab in the ribs that he knew was coming and she didn't disappoint him. "It's fine Your Majesty. Not a problem."

"I guess I could share with my sister and Rayna," Juliette relented.

"Good," Dahlgen replied. "Well that concludes the credit tour. I'll leave you all to get settled in or whatever else it is you wish to do. You all have free reign of the place, so please feel free to explore wherever you like. In the meantime, I am off to the archives to begin my research. However, even before I do that there is one little item I need to address." He turned and pointed to Juliette, "You…" Next he turned and pointed to Maris. "…and you." With his thumbs, he pointed behind him. "This way please."

Dahlgen was already walking up the hallway and almost to the Entry Hall by the time Maris and Juliette followed him. Maris knew what was coming as she'd sensed he wanted to have a chat for some time. He led both women into the Archive Room. Seating himself behind a desk in one of the offices, he stared for a long moment at both women. Maris exhaled heavily as she looked towards the ceiling and Juliette kept her eyes on the floor. Finally Dahlgen spoke. "I assume you two know why you're being called in on the carpet?"

"Could it have something to do with the fight she and I got in while you were missing?" Juliette hazarded a guess.

"Something?" Dahlgen growled. "No Juliette, it's got everything to do with that."

Juliette started to talk. "Dahlgen, I can…"

He cut her off, not at all in the mood to listen to whatever explanation she may have had. "What a grand, dignified, appropriate display that must have been." Juliette was still trying to say something but Dahlgen wasn't having any of it. "Whatever words you think you want to say Juliette, they'd better die in your throat right now because I assure you, I have zero interest in hearing them."

Juliette finally got the message and shut her mouth.

"Now then Juliette," Dahlgen said. "I want you to turn and look at this Zabrak woman standing next to you." She was reluctant to do so, but nevertheless complied. "I have known this woman almost as long as I have known you. And because of our shared experiences together, she and I share a connection so deep and binding, it would baffle the most seasoned of Jedi masters. This woman has a heart of gold and a spirit that shines brighter than any star in the galaxy, certainly brighter than any star in my galaxy. She is my best friend and my closest confidant, has been since we were little children. I trust Maris more than I trust anyone else in the galaxy, and I have very good reason to do so. That most definitely includes you and on occasion it even includes me."

Maris knew her turn to get raked over the coals was coming, but it didn't stop her from listening to Dahlgen's compliments of her with a song in her heart.

He continued lecturing Juliette. "So get this through those red locks of yours right now. Under no circumstances was she responsible for my getting captured on Onderon. That was my fault and my fault alone. I was the one who made the decision to go walking off into Kira Square knowing the invasion could come at any moment. Not her. The comments you made to her were uncalled for and grossly inexcusable. The very idea that you would even suggest such a thing is unacceptable to me and to every other member of this team. And as far as I'm concerned, you got exactly what you asked for when she came after you the way she did. Now ordinarily I might be tempted to sit down with you two and figure out what seems to be the problem between you two and why you don't respect her or even like her and from that, bring up a solution to this issue. On this day though with everything else that's at stake, I couldn't give less of a damn if I wanted to. Look at me."

Juliette slowly turned back to face Dahlgen again.

"Get this and get it now. I will not tolerate such insults to any member of my team and certainly not to a dear trusted friend of mine," Dahlgen warned her. "And the absolute worst thing you could've said was that comment calling her a "horn-head." That Juliette was the most flagrant, wicked and inexcusable piece of racism I've heard in many a day. I will not listen, nor will I tolerate, anyone using that damned High Human, racially motivated rancor crap that Emperor Palpaturd would applaud against any of my friends! Nor will I tolerate this kind of in-fighting from you towards any other member of this team! You Juliette, will at least respect the fact that she is my best friend and that I hold her in the high regard that I do. Period! End of discussion! Fail to do that, and this little raking over the coals you're getting is but a sample of what you will get next time. Is that clear, Princess Juliette?"

She quickly nodded her head. "Yes Dahlgen. I'm sorry for what happened."

"Don't apologize to me," Dahlgen said. "Apologize to her."

Juliette once again faced Maris. "I'm sorry for my outburst Maris. It wasn't fair of me and I had no right to say what I did. Any of it. Again I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for the comment too. It was inexcusable."

Maris nodded. "I accept your apology Juliette and I hope you'll accept mine as well. The way I reacted was also inexcusable."

"I do Maris," Juliette said with a genuine smile.

"All right, you…" he pointed to Juliette and jerked his thumb towards the door. "Get out. You…" he pointed to Maris. "Stand fast. I haven't begun to chew your ass yet." Dahlgen waited until Juliette had left before turning his attention to Maris. When he spoke again, he did so in a much quieter tone. Yet he words were no less stinging.

"Maris Adrienne Brood," he said softly. "You surprise me."

Maris felt her heart break and she let out a pained breath. The only time he ever called her by her full name was when he was incredibly upset with her. He'd never done that when they were children and in the two years since they'd reunited, he'd only used her middle name one or two other times. Oh Gods, she thought. He's really pissed at me. But I can't blame him. I really screwed up on this one.

Dahlgen looked her in the eyes with a concerned and pained expression. "Have I failed you in some way?" he asked.

It was a genuine question and it caught Maris by surprise. She shook her head furiously. "No Dahlgen, of course not. Why would you even think that?"

"Because I thought I trained you better than that," he said. "I thought you'd learned better than that. I can understand why you reacted the way you did, but that doesn't make it acceptable to me or anyone else. An outburst like that… a fist fight in the middle of a crisis. It's not good." He tapped his finger on the desk. "Juliette is new to this group, she's not Force sensitive and I'm not her teacher in any way, shape or form. Therefore, I can excuse her conduct to a point. But you Maris? You're different. I can't ignore or excuse what happened as far as you're concerned. You are a Jedi. Because of that you are held to a much higher standard than Juliette is by both me and the galaxy at large. I hold you to an even higher standard Maris because you've already slipped down the dark path once."

Maris nodded her head. "I know Dahlgen. I know."

She sounded so distressed and it was starting to tear Dahlgen up inside. But at the moment, he couldn't let his personal feelings get in the way of what had to be said and done. "That kind of behavior is unacceptable by any standard," he said. "It's wholly unacceptable by my standards. But more than that, it should be unacceptable by your own standards. The fact that you allowed yourself to engage in it makes me question just where your standards lie. It's exactly that kind of mindless raging that caused your fall before and it's also what caused Katarina to start down the path she now walks. Is that what you want Maris? Do you want to once again start down that path which is familiar to you?"

His words stung her like lasers and she could feel her tears forming. She shook her head furiously. "No Dahlgen. Never. I don't ever want to become ensnared and trapped like that again."

Dahlgen nodded his head and managed a smile. "Good," his tone was reassuring. "Because there is nothing more in this galaxy that would hurt me more than to one day be forced to face you in battle as your sworn adversary Maris." That may have been a little harsh, but Dahlgen wanted to make sure that his point was not lost on her. "We have too long, too deep and too precious of a history together. I'd sooner turn my lightsaber on myself that fight you in such a way Maris. Were that to happen, it would mean that everything I've ever believed in or about you was a lie. I don't know about you Maris, but nothing would tear me apart more than if that happened. I would truly be dead inside with or without the special gift we share."

Me too Dahlgen, she thought.

"I care too much for you and to see that happen to you would truly mean I had failed you as both a teacher and as a dear, trusted friend."

I'm sorry Dahlgen. Her lip trembled and she could barely get her next words out. "I care for you too Dahlgen. More than you know. And I don't want you to ever believe that you've failed me. If anything, I've failed you."

Again, he nodded. "Perhaps. It remains to be seen. I've never said that emotions were wrong. We're sentient beings and we have them. It's part of life. And unlike most other masters, I believe they should be experienced. But there's a difference between experiencing emotions and letting them rule your actions. I've said that before. And it's that difference that can lead to disaster. You've been there once before Maris and look where it took you. You were on the brink of complete ruin. Starkiller did you a favor when he defeated and then spared you. He woke you up and gave you a second chance Maris. I hope in my heart of hearts you will not be so stupid as to squander it."

I won't Dahlgen, she promised him. I won't. You mean too much to me.

"I am many things to you Maris Adrienne Brood. And I hope to be many more things to you in the fullness of time. One thing that I am now, and always will be, is your teacher. Don't make me question you in this way again."

Maris desperately fought back her tears. "I won't Dahlgen," she whispered.

"But more than that Maris," he said. "I am your best friend and I've grown quite fond of you. Please don't turn away from me because I won't turn away from you. I'll always catch you when you fall Maris."

That did it. Her tears started to fall. "I won't turn from you Dahlgen. I'm fond of you too. I'll always find you Dahlgen."

Dahlgen nodded. "All right. You can go tend to our jakobeast friends now. But I want you to spend some time practicing your unarmed combat skills. While you're doing that, focus. Reflect on your actions." He turned to a computer terminal and began his search of the archives.

Maris stopped before she exited the room and looked at him. "I'm sorry Dahlgen" she said in a broken voice. "I'm sorry I let you down." She was out the door before he could turn and respond, crying profusely and leaving Dahlgen to wonder just who had let down who.

No matter what, I'll always catch you Maris, he thought.

Planet Kestos Minor

The Governor's Mansion

Of the eight hunters that Katarina and Major Derwit invited to interview for the contract on Force Revanchist, only five actually showed up at the designated time and place. Tyionsis Cex was in the hospital after a hunt gone wrong, Sabran was on a contract that her guild masters refused to let her abandon and Wexlann Tarn was attending an art show on Coruscant that he "simply couldn't miss." No bother. It merely meant the interviewing process would be that much easier and shorter. Or so Katarina hoped.

Sitting in what had been Moff Hazloc's private office, the very same office where she had discovered the ancient Sith tome weeks before, Katarina waited semi-patiently for Major Derwit to bring the first candidate to her. She wanted to get this over with and get back to Azkul Base. She was curious to know what the ore sample she had sent back to Marlowe Derwit had yielded. So far, Marlowe hadn't contacted her about it and she was presuming that no news was good news. Even so, she was eager to get his report.

Moff Hazloc's widow and the rest of the family had raised quite a stink when Katarina and her small entourage had arrived and informed them they would be using the house for the interview process. They'd raved and ranted for hours about it, accusing Katarina of murdering Hazloc, thundering on about how she'd overstepped her authority and how they were nobility and should be treated with proper respect as befitting a family of their status. They'd even threatened to pull some strings and have Katarina reassigned to some backwater listening installation in the remote Kathol Sector.

At that proposition, Katarina showed them just who the hell it was who wielded true power. Having had all of Moff Hazloc's whiny widow and spoiled brats she was going to take, she placed a few discreet calls into Coruscant. A short time later Grand Vizier Sate Pestage, Emperor Palpatine's right-hand man, personally contacted the deceased Moff's family and informed them in no uncertain terms that if they continued to work against Lady Katarina, they would be immediately stripped of their titles, their land and assets seized by the government and their son, newly graduated from the Imperial Academy on Carida, would be directly assigned to Lord Darth Vader as a personal assistant. Everyone knew what that meant. Vader's assistants were well known for having short careers… and life spans.

That had finally shut the family up and now they just basically did their best to avoid Katarina and her entourage. That suited her just fine. If they weren't going to help her, the next best thing they could do was just stay the hell out of her way. She didn't plan on staying in this place for long anyway. A day or two at best.

There was knock at the door and Major Derwit entered with a youngish blonde haired man in tow. The Major handed her a file as she took a second to size up the first candidate. He was relatively short as was his hair, had a mediocre build and for some odd reason, wore a brightly colored flight suit instead of the more traditional attire of the bounty hunter. She wondered how he achieved the record he had looking so ridiculous.

"Yarr Gatonne," Major Derwit stated flatly.

Katarina gestured for Gatonne to take a seat and turned to Major Derwit. "Thank Major. I'll let you know when we're done here." She winked at him seductively, which flustered the Major enough for him to clear his throat as he exited the room. Thankfully Gartonne had been paying attention to his boots at that exact moment and had missed the act.

She had Derwit wrapped around her little finger. Not that that was all bad. She didn't completely regret sleeping with him. He'd been kind of fun in bed actually; though, despite the fact they were now enemies, Katarina admitted he was no Dahlgen Luzard even in that respect. Few men were she guessed. She hated to admit it but Dahlgen Luzard was, by far, the best lover she'd ever had.

That aside, Katarina had to admit the Major fascinated her. Ever since meeting him and the rest of the command staff associated with this project, she had been silently watching them, trying to figure out what each person's greatest strengths and glaring weaknesses were. And as she did that, she analyzed how best to utilize their strengths and how to best exploit their weaknesses.

Most of them were so insignificant in both areas she hadn't bothered to truly test them. But the Major was different. He was a very methodical man and extremely analytical… the kind that always thoroughly inspected a repulsor car before buying it. Very few, if any, details missed his attention. And he always knew how to arrange things for optimum efficiency.

But his weakness had eluded her until recently. She'd carefully studied his personnel file and discovered, much to her delight, that he suffered from a barely controllable itch behind his fly. Her exploitation of that itch was working out reasonably well at the moment. She needed his analytical and logistical mind to get this project completed. And if the only way to get that from him was to pacify him with sex every so often, it was a small price to pay. In the end, he'd do anything she wanted him to.

The poor fool was probably right now thinking that they were an exclusive romantic item. It was half true; she wasn't sleeping with anyone else at the moment. But a true romantic item? Oh no. She didn't know where he thought their relationship was going, but to her it was only about the bedroom. Pure and simple. He'd be fun for a while. Maybe even a long while. But sooner or later he'd no longer be of any use to her. And then she would dispose of him as she did everyone who no longer met her needs. Even so, a small piece of her hoped she'd be able to enjoy him for a long while and an even smaller piece of her hoped she wouldn't have to be the one to kill him when he was disposed of.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Katarina fixated her gaze on Yarr Gatonne who was sitting quietly and waiting for her to address him. It was at that moment, she noticed he had a cybernetic right eye. Whatever. "Yarr Gatonne…" she said.

"Yes ma'am," he said.

"Before we begin I want to reiterate that this is an interview for a contract I have," Katarina reminded him. "A very well paying contract, to be sure. However just because you are seated here before me does not guarantee that this contract will be awarded to you. But regardless of whether you are awarded the contract or not, you will be compensated ten thousand credits just for coming here and participating in this interview.

"Must be a very well paying contract if you are willing to shell out that many credits just for talking about it," Gartonne replied.

"Yes indeed," Katarina said evenly. Didn't I just say that moron? "Now then, I will also remind you that this is a competition. You and four other hunters are interviewing for this contract. Only one of you will get it. The other four will be sent back to wherever it is that you came from to freely pursue whatever interests you choose to pursue. You will never know who the other four hunters are as they are being put up at our expense in separate locations. Any attempt to learn the identities of the other four hunters in a bid to one-up yourself in my eyes will result in your immediate disqualification and forfeiture of the credits promised for interviewing with me.

"I am the originator of this contract. I will be asking you a series of questions designed to test your mental capacities, how you might react to certain situations, what your thoughts are about pursuing certain types of contracts, so forth and so on. Complete honesty when answering is expected. Who the contract is awarded to is my decision and mine alone. I will award it based upon an individual's abilities, their answers to my questions and their previous track record. I will not award it through backstabbing and trickery of the other hunters. That kind of behavior is for assassins and politicians. None of which you see here nor will it be tolerated. Is all that understood Yarr Gatonne?"

He nodded once. "Indeed it is ma'am."

She opened his file. "Good. Then let's begin."

The Kwymar Sector

Azkul Base

Vilnius's detachment of stormtroopers had arrived back at Azkul Base well ahead of Katarina and Major Derwit. There had been a grand formation where all the troops were praised and congratulated by the unit commander, TK8275. After that, there had been promises of four days passes occurring on a rotational basis. Vilnius would get his in about a week if the promise was kept. Until then, it was business as usual.

Waking early, the morning after arriving back from Onderon, Vilnius checked his computer terminal and found a message written to him late the previous evening from Elassa. She'd signed it with a heart and a kiss. He smiled and turned his attention to other messages including one from TK8275 that said he was going to be presented with the Silver Cross for his actions in getting his men across the river and breaching the Royal Palace's walls.

He wanted to vomit. Receiving an award for his actions on Onderon was the absolute last thing he wanted. It wasn't like he had a choice of refusing it though. To do so was unheard of and it could mean a world of trouble for him and possibly everyone associated with him. Oh well, he supposed accepting the award would be a small price to pay to keep his covert activities secure a little while longer. Though he promised himself he would toss it down the refresher the first chance he got.

His time piece went off. Seven fifteen. He needed to hurry. He had a meeting in forty-five minutes. A quick shower and a freshly polished set of armor later, Vilnius made his way to the mess hall where Lieutenant Sheila Alston was waiting to have breakfast with him. The course of their conversation was largely dull and laced with small talk and Imperial rhetoric. But then, a crowded mess hall wasn't exactly the type of place where one could just blurt out sensitive information.

But then Sheila said something that got Vilnius's attention. "You know Sergeant," she said, keeping it professional for the benefit of everyone else around them. "Something very peculiar happened while you were away."

"Oh, what was that?"

"A necklace of mine went missing."

"Oh is that so," Vilnius said. He wasn't all that enthused by the revelation. "Why do you think that's peculiar?"

"Because it was stolen from my locked jewelry box," Sheila replied.

Vilnius was suddenly interested again. "Really? How do know it was stolen? Perhaps you just lost it?"

Sheila shook her head. "Not possible. That necklace was the last present I ever got from my late mother. I always keep it under lock and key because even now it's difficult for me to look at it, much less wear it. I haven't worn it in months."

Vilnius shrugged. "It's still possible it was lost though isn't it?" he suggested. "After all, how many times do you go through every single item in your jewelry box?"

Sheila knew what Vilnius was getting at. "Just because I don't wear it doesn't mean I don't look at it often. It is quite a beautiful piece."

Vilnius nodded. The ISB agent in their midst had somehow gotten their hands on it… assuming she wasn't pulling his chain about it being stolen. "What did it look like?"

"Why do you wish to know?"

"Well I'll be going on shore leave soon," he said innocently. "Maybe I can find a suitable replacement for you. Granted, it won't be the necklace your mother gave you, but it seems like it matters a great deal to you."

"Yes it does," Sheila replied. "And I could never replace it no matter how much I wanted to. Still, it was a gold seven pointed star pendant that hung from a simple gold rope chain. The point of the star which attached the pendant to the chain had a ruby set in it. All of the other points had small diamonds set in them."

Vilnius nodded. "Well… keep an eye out for it. I'm sure it'll turn up somewhere."

Sheila nodded. "Maybe," she said quietly. She checked her timepiece. "I have to go. I'm due in a meeting in five minutes." She gathered her tray. "Good day Sergeant."

Vilnius nodded. "Ma'am." After she'd gone, Vilnius did some thinking. Sheila had brought up her missing necklace for one of two reasons. Either it truly had been stolen by the ISB agent in their midst and Sheila trusted him enough to believe he was not said agent. Or two, Sheila herself was the agent and was baiting him into a trap.

He had to be very careful with how he proceeded with this. He had an idea, but it was risky and it meant putting some trust into people he couldn't trust at the moment. If Sheila was the agent, then the trap had been set and she was just waiting for him and the others to blunder right into it. If not, then he had an idea as to how he could trick the agent into giving himself away.

He couldn't do anything about it just yet. He'd have to wait until he was on his four day pass to put the plan in motion. Until then he just had to hope that the agent did nothing with Sheila's necklace. It was a good thing Elassa would be getting her pass with him. He'd need her help even if she wasn't aware of it. After they returned from shore leave, Vilnius would then initiate phase two of his plan.

And that was to find Sheila's necklace.

Planet Telos IV

The Citadel

On the ground level of the Citadel, Maris flipped a switch and two large blast doors slowly opened, allowing the pack of jakobeasts outside to slowly amble in. Manipulating a control panel, Maris activated a program and several large troughs full of a special feed rolled out of their storage places. As usual, the alpha male of the herd was the first one to meander up to a trough. He stuck his large, cat-like face into it and began to eat, his large teeth crunching and cracking the feed pellets as he did.

The special feed that she was giving them was a hearty mix of protein, vitamins and minerals that Dahlgen had developed years ago after studying them and their eating habits. He'd done it to show the jakobeasts that he meant no harm towards them and that if times were lean, they could come to him for food and water. Thus far, the jakobeasts hadn't complained and, as they'd all witnessed earlier, often headed towards the Citadel when they saw the ships inbound.

True to jakobeast hierarchy, the other males only began to eat after the alpha male was already eating. Later, after the males had gotten their fill, the sows and cubs would eat. Good thing Dahlgen always had plenty of feed handy. In the wild, older males and sows sometimes went months without eating. Fortunately, the cubs were often given priority after the grown males, thereby ensuring the herd would not die out due to starvation.

Maris slowly walked among them as they began to eat. She wished Rayna had accompanied her while doing this task. But she was still grieving over her brother and Dahlgen still had not told her about her father. She'd tried to persuade her, but Rayna just didn't want to do much of anything except be alone at the moment. Maris couldn't blame her but she knew that was inviting danger and she wondered what would happen when she did learn about her father.

Maris gently placed her hand on the flank of the jakobeast alpha male causing his to slowly look back at what it was. When he saw it was Maris, he gave a contented grunt and went back to eating. They were such fascinating creatures. And they were so powerful in the Force and their use of it boggled the mind. A pack of creatures that could topple an entire forest? Maris had never actually seen it done, but she'd sensed their Force sensitivity and it was among the strongest she'd ever felt in a creature before.

When Maris had first reunited with Dahlgen and joined Force Revanchist over two and half years ago now, she'd taken over care of the jakobeasts whenever they were on Telos. She'd done so completely on her own and without hesitation. To her it was a way of atoning for twisting and manipulating that poor bull rancor on Felucia. And the jakobeasts had accepted her rather quickly. In fact, among their own complex language of grunts and snarls, they'd actually given her a name which loosely translated to "Goddess of Plenty."

The Zabrak woman smiled as she thought about this, gently stroked the fur of the alpha male and had a brief moment to take stock of her life. She was truly blessed. Three years ago, she was caught in the middle of the most unimaginable hell she could think of. One so full of misery and sadness, it had nearly driven her insane. But then Starkiller had returned and woken her up. Showed her a different path to walk, a path she needed to walk if she was to truly survive and thrive in this Empire dominated galaxy.

And then shortly thereafter, she'd reunited with Dahlgen, a man she loved with all her heart. A man she loved more than life itself. He'd done even more for her than Starkiller had. Dahlgen had given her life back to her, a life that by all accounts, should've ended years ago. But he'd given it back to her not once, not twice, but three times. And each time he's done it, it had been without a second thought. Maris smiled. No wonder you love him, she thought. "I truly am blessed Stefan," she said with emotion, calling the alpha male her pet name for him.

Stefan didn't care, he just wanted to finish eating. The name Stefan had actually been the name of Maris's original master… Stefan Masuka. The man who'd selected her as a padawan just weeks before the Battle of Christophsis. The man who she'd patrolled the Outer Rim with. The man who'd ordered her to go into exile in the wake of Order 66.

Maris often wondered what had happened to Master Masuka. Had his end come quickly or had the Empire tortured him endlessly? Was he still alive somewhere and in captivity? Had he somehow managed to escape the Empire's clutches and gone into hiding elsewhere? Neither of those last two possibilities seemed very likely. But it didn't stop Maris from being a bit curious as the fate of her original master. Maybe one day, she'd be able to learn it.

By this time most of the males were done eating and the sows and cubs were taking their turns at the troughs. Even Stefan was done now and with a low growl, he backed away from the trough and flopped down on the floor nearby. Within moments, he was snoozing. Maris smiled. Stefan was older for a jakobeast but he was hardly decrepit.

She pulled out a datapad and made some notes. Caring for the jakobeasts like she did had presented itself with the wonderful opportunity to study them and their habits. Dahlgen had made some preliminary studies into their behavior years ago, but Maris had gone one better ever since taking over their care, keeping meticulous records and notes about her experiences with them. As it was something she loved doing, she wondered, not for the first time, if she'd have become a Jedi Beast Handler had the Order not been destroyed. Who knew?

Recently, Dahlgen had convinced her to write a dissertation about her experiences and she had just finished all the notes she could to get started. It was a project she looked forward to. Too bad the old Jedi Archives didn't exist anymore, or she'd submit it when she was done. For now, when she was done, it would be safely stored in Dahlgen's archives. And if the Jedi Order managed to be rebuilt, she would be sure the new Order benefited from her labor.

Inevitably, her thoughts turned to Dahlgen and the little spat they'd had earlier. Maris shook her head. He'd had every right to be upset with her for acting the way she had. But that Juliette just burned her up and it wasn't just the way that she seemed determined to start a romantic relationship with Dahlgen. No everything else about her burned her up as well. Still her behavior had been inexcusable, despite Juliette's racist "horn-head" comment.

It's just not fair, Maris thought. Here's this man that I want to shower with all my love and passion and so many things seem to conspire against us. Needless interruptions, jealousies, me getting pissed at him, him getting pissed at me. Where does it end? How long must we wait?

As soon as she finished her thoughts, she heard Revan's voice. Patience Maris, he said. You will not have to wait much longer. Be patient for just a little bit more.

Maris smiled. "For Dahlgen," she said quietly. "I can be patient a little bit more."

As if reading her slight depression, Stefan suddenly turned toward her and gave her an affectionate nuzzle, eliciting a joyful laugh from her and putting her in a much better frame of mind. "Hey big guy," she said. "I'm okay." She stroked his fur some more and the alpha beast settled down again. "I'm okay." A wistful look appeared on her features. "Just hopeful is all."

Rayna had spent the better part of the last few hours getting settled in and becoming used to her new surroundings. Not that she had much to unpack considering that she'd left Onderon with little more than the clothes on her back. Fortunately, Princess Hermia had been gracious enough to give her a couple of new outfits to wear. And she was still grieving for her brother which made settling in more than a little difficult. Maris asked her to help feed the jakobeasts outside, but she'd declined even when Maris persisted. At the time she hadn't really wanted to do much of anything, but now she was kind of regretting not helping Maris when she'd asked for it. Finally, when she'd emerged from the room she shared with both Juliette and Hermia, she went in search of Marsala only to find him dozing in his own quarters. She decided not to disturb him and instead, used the alone time to explore the Citadel in greater detail.

About half an hour later, Rayna wandered into what was best be described as a big meeting room. It was circular and had a large holo map projector centered in the room. Surrounding it were sixteen comfortable chairs, one of which was slightly larger and more decorated that the others. She took the liberty of sitting in this larger chair for a moment. She smiled as she fingered the arm rests. Rayna had no doubt that whenever Dahlgen was in this room, this was the chair he sat in.

Four doorways led out of this meeting room and were situated at the six, ten, twelve and two o'clock positions if one chose to view it like the face of an ancient clock. The first door at six o'clock led back the way she'd come, through a hallway to the Entry Hall, the guest quarters and other things. The other three doorways led to wide catwalks that spanned a deep chasm and led to unknown rooms.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she wandered through the door at the ten o'clock position. Ahead of her, the catwalk stretched out over the chasm for more than a hundred meters before it reached the far side. The only light available was that from the glow lamps that lined both sides of the catwalk. It provided some illumination of the rock walls at both ends, but in the middle there was nothing but empty space.

She shuddered in fear, but the catwalk was at least six meters wide. So as long as she kept to the middle of it, she'd be safe. Cautiously, she peered as best she could over the edge and saw nothing but a little bit of rock and empty black space. She had no idea how far it was to the bottom of that chasm and something told her she didn't want to know. Just keep to the middle, she kept telling herself as she ventured across. Her fear threatened to overcome her, but she kept her eyes focused straight ahead and her mind set on her task.

With a great exhale of relief, she reached the other side and surprisingly, the door to the next room swung open automatically. Although it startled her slightly, it was nothing compared to what she had just endured. A pleasant but dim light suddenly came on in the room and it almost seemed as if it was inviting Rayna inside. Unsure of what was going to happen next, Rayna ventured into the room beyond.

She had found Dahlgen's Artifact Room. Hanging from the walls and sitting on Force-only-knew-how-many shelves were a vast number of lightsabers, other weapons, Jedi armor, manuals and holocrons. The ages of the pieces ranged from ancient to only a couple decades old. But whether they were four thousand years old or forty years old, they were all valuable to Dahlgen and needed to be preserved.

Rayna was in awe as she walked up and down the aisles and stopped every so often to take a closer look at a particular piece that had drawn her attention. But then one piece got her attention more than any of the others for some reason. It was a standard single bladed lightsaber but what was unusual about it was the handle. It had an intricately designed relief web pattern surrounding it. Taking it from the shelf, Rayna inspected the weapon and was immediately taken in by its beauty. She found the activation switch hidden in the relief pattern and gave it a push, momentarily being startled as the cyan blue blade sprang forth with the trade mark snap-hiss.

She smiled as the weapon felt good in her hand and she twirled it about a few times. Rayna had of course, heard stories about the Jedi Knights and their hallowed order and she also knew that the Empire considered them to be criminals and were to be arrested on sight. But what had happened to her in past few days had convinced her that the Empire wasn't about a fair and just government. It was about tyranny and oppression. And the Jedi were about freedom and justice just like the old tales had claimed. Dahlgen's actions in saving her life had proven that to her as well.

Many times as a young girl, she had wondered what it would've been like to have been a member of that hallowed order. And a few times she'd even dreamed she herself was a Jedi too. She smiled at the memory as she proceeded to do battle with an imaginary foe, the cyan blade whipping and humming through the air as she moved.

"You're quite good at that," a female voice said behind her.

Startled by the sudden intrusion, Rayna whirled around. Standing before her was the shimmering bluish image of a woman. She was young and quite beautiful with light skin, though the expression on her face betrayed a life of hard living. She was tall with long brown hair tied in a tight bun behind her head. She had sparkling blue eyes and wore the traditional rust colored robes of a Jedi Master.

The woman smiled brightly at Rayna. "Do forgive me child. My sudden appearance has probably unsettled you. I was just observing you."

With eyes wider than plates, Rayna was almost too stunned to speak. "Who… who are you?'

Again, the woman smiled. "Again, forgive me child. My name is Meetra Surik."

Rayna was stunned and her eyes widened considerably. "The… the Jedi Exile?"

Meetra laughed. "Yes, that's one way of saying who I am."

"You followed Revan into the Mandalorian Wars," Rayna recited some of the most well known facts about her. "You became one of his top generals and were present at the Battle of Malachor Five. And then you returned to the Jedi Council to face judgment for your actions and were sent into exile."

"Guilty on all charges," Meetra smiled. "Well almost all of them. I went to face to Jedi Council at the insistence of my dear friend Revan so that I might show them the hypocrisy of their teachings." She rolled her eyes. "It came as no surprise to me or Revan when they, as usual, failed to listen." She dismissed any further discussion on the issue. "Forgive me child as I am forgetting my manners. May I ask your name?"

"It's Rayna, Master Surik."

"Rayna," Meetra smiled again. "That's a beautiful name. Please though, call me Meetra. Master Surik makes me feel like I belong to that old, gray-haired cadre of misguided fools led by Master Vrook." She pointed to the still lit lightsaber in Rayna's hand. "I wasn't joking Rayna when I said you were good at that. You do me proud."

"What do you mean?"

"Well that is my lightsaber you're holding Rayna," Meetra told her.

Rayna was embarrassed. "I'm… I'm sorry Meetra. I'll put it back straight away."

"No, no Rayna," Meetra said quickly. "Please don't. That's the weapon I initially crafted for myself and it's the one I carried throughout the Mandalorian Wars. It's also the one I surrendered to the Jedi after I was exiled. You were meant to find that lightsaber Rayna and I want you to have it. It's not like I can truly use it anymore." She made a kind, encouraging gesture towards Rayna. "Please, continue."

With renewed confidence, Rayna raised the weapon and went back to her play fighting, maneuvering the weapon in dazzling and dizzying display of arc, parries, thrusts and cuts. With each movement she made, Meetra watched and grew more and more proud. When she was finished Rayna turned and deactivated the weapon, waiting for Meetra to speak again.

"Amazing," Meetra responded. "You have such raw talent Rayna. I almost can't believe that you can wield that weapon so well, yet have never even picked one up before now. Your form is a little shaky and disjointed. But with time and training, you'll learn to use that talent just like those around you."

Rayna was floored. "Raw talent? Training?" She looked at the lightsaber in her hand. "I… I'm…"

"Force sensitive?" Meetra smiled as she sensed Rayna was having difficulty coming to terms with her new existence. "Yes Rayna, you are. You would hardly be able to wield that lightsaber or any other lightsaber that well for a novice if you weren't. I suspect that if you take a look back over your own life, you'll discover that you've always known that. True Rayna?"

Slowly Rayna nodded. "Yes. I guess I always have known. I've always been able to do things faster and react more quickly that my friends could."

Meetra stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on Rayna's shoulder. Though she was a spirit now, the feel of Meetra's hand felt as natural as it would from a living, breathing being. "It's because you can see things before they happen. That's why you appear to have such fast reflexes. It helped save you on Onderon, didn't it?"

Rayna nodded in agreement. "I always was one step ahead of my brother, throughout his life. It used to drive him crazy considering he was older than me. Then when we happened to run into Dahlgen, I just knew that as long as I stayed with him I would be okay." She wiped her eyes. "I wish my brother would've been okay."

"I know Rayna," Meetra said sympathetically. "But your own instincts served you well. The Force is very mysterious Rayna and everything has a purpose. I'm sorry your brother couldn't be with you now and witness what's happening to you. But know in your heart that he is proud of you. And he eagerly awaits to see how you fare in the challenges you have yet to face. But you already have four fine teachers around you. They will all teach you from the benefits of their own vast experiences. Learn from them Rayna. Learn of the triumphs they've accomplished and learn from the mistakes they've made. Learn from their legacies and learn how to build your own." She gently clasped Rayna's hand, the one that held the weapon, in her own hands. "I want you to keep this weapon Rayna. Wherever you go, let it go with you. Make it a part of you. It will serve you well in the years to come."

"But… but I have to leave," Rayna protested. "I need to return to Onderon. I need to find my father."

Meetra's expression grew solemn. "Rayna child, it may be difficult for you to come to terms with, but you already are where you need to be."

Rayna realized what Meetra was saying and fresh tears began forming in her eyes. "No…" she sadly whispered.

Meetra wasn't the only one who had noticed what was going on. Heading back to her quarters after tending to the jakpobeasts on the ground level, Maris had noticed that the lights in the Artifact Room were on. That wasn't altogether unusual, but when she'd heard the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber being wielded, she'd gone to investigate.

What she'd seen had stunned her; Rayna working with a lightsaber like she had wielded it for years and the spirit of Meetra Surik was watching over her. From the moment they'd met, Maris had suspected that Rayna had some sensitivity to the Force. But now with this display in front of her, Maris focused her energies on her and tried to see just how strong she was.

Wow. Rayna was strong. The Force within her burned as bright as a sun. But it was wild, unharnessed and unpredictable. She needed training and she needed it immediately lest she be lost to the forces that would keep her from unlocking her full potential.

Retreating from the scene, Maris ran at a full gait towards the Archives. Dahlgen needs to know about this immediately.

Dahlgen rubbed his eyes and looked away from the computer terminal he was using. The ever increasing stack of books on the desk and open files on the computer was beginning to frustrate him. Although he had been at it now for several hours, Dahlgen had yet to find an answer to the Derby Project question.

Problem was, without knowing exactly what he was looking for, he wasn't sure where to even start. He'd cross referenced the word "derby" with dozens of things from space stations to blasters and even settlements. Each one of them had yielded absolutely nothing. Not a single clue as to what the Derby Project was and how it could possibly tie in with Project Epsilon. And that was just going back over the last millennia. He hadn't even started to consider places, events or things that had occurred prior to the Battle of Ruusan.

He'd taken a break a while ago to retrieve a large trunk from the Artifact Room and stowed it aboard the Silver Horizon. He didn't know why he'd done it. It had just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Sitting at his desk, Dahlgen had a feeling he was going to need what was inside that trunk before the whole Project Epsilon thing came to a conclusion.

Even with that done though, he needed another type of break. He needed to work on something else for a while and come back to this with a fresh perspective. And he had just the thing in mind; the preliminary plans for the liberation of Onderon. The fact that Onderon had only the one major settlement was a huge advantage in that it limited the amount of urban fighting that would have to take place. But the flip side of that was that there was all that jungle the surrounded it.

Dahlgen was willing to bet his last credit that the Empire would make use of that jungle to disguise the true size of their occupying force. That had to be taken into consideration for any liberation mission undertaken. If it wasn't, it could spell disaster because he was also certain that it would take the Alliance or whoever liberated Onderon much longer to accomplish that task than it did for the Empire to conquer it.

He called up a map of Onderon and began selecting potential invasion zones all around Iziz. Damn, this was not going be easy. He'd need a lot of forces. Given what he'd seen and witnessed during the invasion, he was planning on anywhere from sixty to a hundred thousand Imperial occupiers. Where the heck was he going to get the forces needed to combat those kinds of numbers?

Nawnum wouldn't be much help. Oh sure, he'd spare what he could if Dahlgen did him a couple of favors beforehand. But at best Nawnum would be able to scratch up two maybe three hundred men. And they would be of the cut throat thug variety. Not soldiers trained to go into armed and potentially prolonged battle against other soldiers.

His only real chance was selling the plan to the Alliance once it took shape. That would be a hard sell. They wouldn't commit a single trooper to any action unless they could be shown it was in their best interest to do so. They were working with limited resources as well and unless Dahlgen could convince them that liberating Onderon would be a great boost to the Alliance's mission, there would be no liberating of Onderon. Not anytime soon anyway. Dahlgen didn't like it, but could hardly blame the Alliance for that mentality either. In their position, he'd have a similar mentality.

Queen Goneril would a powerful voice for Onderon before the Alliance High Command, but even that in itself wouldn't be enough. The Alliance would need another convincing argument. And as he looked over the trade routes around the area, Dahlgen thought he discovered an answer. Onderon lay on the Lesser Lantillian Trade Route which connected Zeltros with the Mid-Rim Region. Zeltros itself was at the apex of this, plus two other trade routes; the Lesser Kashyyyk Branch which connected it with Kashyyyk, and the Trellent Trade Route which connected it with the Colonies world of Commenor.

Commenor itself was the starting point for two other trade routes; the Commneor Run and the Quellor Run. Both of those runs, plus the Trellent Trade Route all terminated in the Core Region at the all-important Hydian Way. When viewing Commenor in relation to Onderon and Kashyyyk, they formed a triangle of sorts around Zeltros. It made Commenor a tempting target for Imperial attack.

Politically, Commenor was neutral though there were many suspected Rebel sympathizers operating on the planet, especially in the various star ports. Zeltros on the other hand, was a charter member of the Rebel Alliance and most of the galaxy knew it. It had long been a tempting target for the Empire, but because of the Zelton's ability to feel and project emotions onto others, they hadn't assaulted it. Doing so would be useless. Not a single invasion of Zeltros in the last five millennia had been successful. So for the longest time, the Empire had been forced to more or less accept that Zeltros was untouchable even for them.

Until they had overrun Onderon.

With Onderon and Kashyyyk, two of the three points of that "triangle" surrounding Zeltros, now firmly in Imperial hands Dahlgen felt it would only be a matter of time before someone in the Imperial Hierarchy saw what he was seeing. If the Empire decided to crack down on Rebel activity on Commenor, they could effectively choke off the last remaining free trade route between Zeltros and the rest of the galaxy. That would slowly starve the planet of much needed resources and force it to capitulate to the Empire. The Alliance would then lose a valuable ally in their revolution.

Of course, Zeltros could scream to the Alliance for help. Problem was the Alliance would be reluctant to go into battle for control of Zeltros because it would be a battle of the Empire's making and they would certainly be waiting for them. Therefore, liberating Onderon before someone in Imperial Intelligence figured all this out and force the Alliance into a situation which could cost them dearly became the driving factor in Dahlgen's mind.

So that was the argument to present to the Alliance. But then to carry out the liberation of Onderon he would need troops. So far he had his own team, whatever resistance groups the Onderonians still trapped on Onderon could form and the remaining Onderonian fleet currently in orbit above Zeltros. Nowhere close to enough. If he sold the Alliance on the liberation of Onderon, they of course would commit forces, but whether even that would be enough or not would be questionable. He needed to bring his own forces to the table.

Dahlgen suspected that after a meeting with King Arno of Zeltros at some future date, he would commit some forces to the cause. Zeltrons were of course, best known for being great lovers. But give them a reason… or an excuse… and they were just as ferocious fighters. Dahlgen also suspected that with Chenlamabec and Forndak's help, Attichitcuk would commit some Wookiees to the fight. But even all that might not be enough. He needed to recruit some warriors of his own. He needed his own strike force. And he felt in his heart that the only place he could get the warriors he needed was from the people he considered to be the best warriors in the galaxy.

He needed Mandalorians.

"Hard at it?" a voice asked.

Dahlgen looked up. It was Juliette. She stood in the office doorway smiling at him. "Taking a break actually. Been at it for hours now and I still haven't come up with the slightest indication as to what the Derby Project is. Or was."

Juliette produced two bottles of ale and offered one to Dahlgen. "Dannix thought you might need one of these. I did too."

Dahlgen accepted the bottle. "You have noooooo idea." He opened it and took a long pull. "Thanks. I really needed that."

Juliette wandered behind the desk, stood behind Dahlgen and looked at the files he had opened on his computer. "What's that?" she asked taking a sip of her own drink.

"Some preliminary plans and arguments for the liberation of Onderon," Dahlgen answered.

"How's that going?"

"I've got a general initial wave attack strategy and an argument for getting the Alliance involved," Dahlgen said. "But I won't lie to you… it's going to take weeks, if not months, to formulate this into a cohesive battle plan that makes any kind of sense. Then of course, I still have to sell it to the Alliance as well as recruit and train a strike force of my own. I don't know how I'll do all that yet."

"My mother and I can help sell the plan to the Alliance if need be," Juliette insisted.

Dahlgen nodded. "I'm actually counting on that, but neither of your sales pitches alone will be enough. The Alliance High Command has to be able to see in black and white that the risk of committing forces to the liberation of Onderon far outweigh the risk of doing the opposite. Which in this case would be doing nothing at all."

"True," Juliette replied. "Sometimes I think the Alliance is just as bureaucratic as that Empire is."

"They have to be," Dahlgen said. "They're fighting to restore the Republic. And they're working with extremely limited resources themselves. So they have to be careful as to what battles they choose to fight and which ones they choose to ignore."

"I guess so," Juliette said. "Doesn't mean I like it." She shifted slightly as Dahlgen returned to his work. "Dahlgen, I have a question for you."

"Shoot," he said not turning around.

"How did you come to be here?"

"I told you before. After I was able to escape the Onderonian jungles after Order 66 and buy myself passage off planet, I came here to Telos as a refugee."

"I'm not talking about that," Juliette said. "I'm talking about this very place. This Citadel as you call it. How did you find it?"

Dahlgen leaned back and relaxed in his chair. "I told you when we first arrived here that I was guided to it," he said finally.

"By who?"

"Revan of course," Dahlgen said as turned to face her. "All during my trip from Onderon to Telos, I experienced visions of this place. Revan appeared to me several times and said that if was willing to undergo the trial, there would be great rewards for me upon its completion."

"What trial?"

"Well you know how old I was at the time Juliette," Dahlgen reminded her. "And after I got off the transport in Thani, I didn't have the luxury of having a shuttle to get me here. So there was only one way I could get here."

Juliette's eyes widened. "You walked?!"

Dahlgen nodded. "Of course; and swam, and climbed, and camped, and hunted and anything else you can think of. It was not an easy journey and it took me the better part of two months to complete it."

"That was some trial," Juliette observed.

"Yes, but it wasn't the whole trial," Dahlgen said. "When I arrived here, this place became my home. And it still is my home. I entered this place when I was twelve. And with the exception of my quarterly supply runs into Thani, I was eighteen when I first ventured from it. For those intervening six years, I basically never left this place."

Juliette was shocked. "How… how is that possible? How did you eat? What about companionship?"

Dahlgen smiled. "There was a large stock pile of food here when I arrived. Yes most of it was thousands of years old, but encased in polar ice like it was at the time… it might as well have only been a day old. Still, there were other supplies I'd need every so often and that's why I made the quarterly supply runs I did. As for companionship, I had the Force and the spirits of my ancestors as well as a few other spirits who frequently visited. And that was all I needed at the time. Because even though I was more or less locked up here for six years, I was not idle. During that time my ancestors, Revan in particular, put me through the most grueling training and study sessions on a wide variety of subjects I ever had. And in the end, I was far richer for the experience."

Juliette wiped her eyes and sniffed loudly. "I'm sorry Dahlgen. I had no idea how hard life truly was for you after you disappeared. I wish I could've been here with you."

Maris often says the same thing, Dahlgen thought. Funny thing is, I think she was supposed to be here with me during that time. "You don't have to be sorry," he insisted. "As I said, I'm far richer for the experience. I wouldn't be the man I am today had I not gone through those trying times as a kid."

Juliette managed a smile and gently touched his face. "No," she said softly. "You wouldn't be."

"Dahlgen!" they heard Maris shout from some distance away. "Dahlgen!" She was getting closer.

Juliette quickly pulled her hand away as Maris ran through the doorway. Out of breath, she was a little surprised to see Juliette in the room with him. "Sorry. Dahlgen we need to talk. Now."

"I was just leaving," Juliette said as she headed for the door. She looked back at Dahlgen. "Again, I'm sorry Dahlgen."

As she left, Maris wondered what they had been talking about just prior to her arrival. Never mind. Whatever it had been, it wasn't important now. "You need to come to the Artifact Room right away."

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Rayna is there," Maris said.

"So?"

"Practicing with Meetra Surik's lightsaber and Meetra herself watching over her?"

Dahlgen was out of his chair in half an instant. "Let's go!"

They had almost reached the Archive Room when they heard Rayna let out the most ear piercing scream either of them had heard. Damn, she knows, Dahlgen thought. When they entered, they found Rayna standing before Meetra sobbing uncontrollably. The lightsaber had fallen to the floor and Meetra was trying to console the young woman. Without a second thought, Dahlgen and Maris both approached her, him putting his arms around her and holding her tightly in his embrace while Maris massaged Rayna's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry Rayna," Dahlgen said softly. "I'm so sorry."

"He died trying to protect you and your home Rayna," Maris said quietly. "You should be proud of him."

Amidst her sobs, Rayna barely heard either of them. Her knees became weak and she collapsed into a sitting position, desperately clinging to Dahlgen for support. She buried her face against Dahlgen's chest and let all of her pain erupt into a non-stop wave of quaking sadness. Dahlgen held Rayna tight against him as Maris laid her head against Rayna's back and gently stroked her hair.

Though she was in agony, Rayna was grateful both Dahlgen and Maris were there to comfort her. Feebly reaching around her head, she found Maris's hand a gave it squeeze before resting her cheek against it. "They're… they're gone! My whole family's gone!" Rayna finally managed to blurt out. As soon as she did she began bawling hysterically all over again.

No, Dahlgen thought. You may have lost one family. But you've gained another. That was enough debating. Dahlgen was never more sure of what he wanted to do for Rayna than at this very moment. She might not accept it, might not ever accept it. She might even one day resent him for it. But he had to let her know that she wouldn't be alone. She would never be alone. He glanced up and caught a glimpse of Meetra Surik who had only one thing to say to him. "Train her well."

Maris's face was a mirror of Rayna's anguish as she turned to face Dahlgen. Dahlgen, what do we do?

The only thing we can do Maris.

Maris sensed his intentions. Dahlgen, are you sure?

I am. Get everyone together in the Council Chamber right now.

Planter Kestos Minor

The Governor's Mansion

Katarina eyed the final hunter, the human female known only as Zardra, with a curious yet critical look. She was eager to get this over with, yet she didn't want to appear as if she was rushing through the interview. After six and a half hours of this, she was ready to strangle someone. But she had to remind herself to be patient just a little bit longer. Even dark siders like her had to exercise patience every now and then. But therein lay the problem; whenever she wanted something, she expected near instant results and now was no different.

She had all but selected Yarr Gatonne as the one who would be awarded the contract. Grefnakk had struck her as being perhaps a little too oblivious to needless destruction, Morr as potentially being too soft and Aglar Orin had arrived for his interview with more than a few drinks in him. But Zardra had impressed her so far. She was very business-like and appeared to be no-nonsense. But then, the interview hadn't truly begun. The question now was would she impress her more than Yarr Gatonne had?

For her part, Zardra was a beautiful woman in her early to mid thirties and Katarina suspected that she used her natural beauty to trap her quarry more often than not. She was tall, had long, chestnut brown hair, hazel colored eyes and full red lips. Her cheeks were slightly sunken and she had a definite hardness to her features despite her obvious beauty. She wore a loose fitting tan tunic with olive drab slacks, boots made of rancor hide and a dark maroon cape that extended just past her waist. Anyone could tell that her wardrobe covered some very flattering curves. The only thing that Katarina found offensive about her was her perfume. Zardra appeared to have showered in it before the meeting.

After initial introductions and Katarina's practiced litany of conditions, Zardra settled in while Katarina sized her up. That was fine. Zardra was sizing Katarina up as well. And she didn't like what she saw. Number one on the list was Katarina was a dark sider. Zardra didn't trust Force users in general, but when working with dark siders you usually had the unwelcome side effect of a short life span. But business was business. As she had said before to many others, "It's a dirty job, but I figure someone has to get rich doing it. And one way or another, that someone is going to be me."

Just when it was about to get really uncomfortable between the two ladies, Katarina began the interview. "I'm impressed with your record Zardra," she said. "Yet I also have some cause for concern. Let's start with Jodo Kast. You partnered with him for a time, is that correct?"

Zardra nodded. "Yes, sort of. I partnered with him for two specific hunts. The first was for two spice-jackers known as the Thig brothers. We tracked them to Taboon in the Stenness Node and got into a firefight with them in a bistro named the Red Shadow." Zardra rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately, a stupid Hutt slug and his entourage blundered right into the middle of the fight and allowed the Thig brothers to escape."

"Yes I want to talk about that, but later," Katarina insisted. "Please go on."

"The second time I worked with Jodo we were in pursuit of Adar Tallon," Zarda said. "Yes, that Adar Tallon. The ex-Republic admiral who practically wrote the book on modern warship and star fighter tactics. He was long thought to be dead, but as it turned out, he had staged his death and went into hiding as the Empire replaced the Republic. Recently though, he was discovered to be alive and well and Captain Parlan of the ISD Relentless put out a bounty on him. Jodo Kast, myself and a few others responded."

"And what was the outcome of that hunt?"

Zardra smiled. "If you've truly read my file, then you already know that the hunt was a failure. The Rebel Alliance was able to dispatch an extraction team to the Admiral's location. Though we did confront the Rebels in Adar Tallon's home, they were successful in stopping our assault and escaping with the Admiral. Jodo and I were the only hunters to survive and Captain Parlan of the ISD Relentless was blamed for the whole fiasco. What happened to Captain Parlan after that, I do not know. But since Darth Vader himself took a personal interest in the mission, I can guess."

"Yes indeed," Katarina commented. "Your partnership with Jodo ended soon after?"

"Not soon after," Zardra said. "Immediately after. That was the second time I had been on a hunt with him and the third time I had nearly gotten killed as a result. I may be more thoughtful, cautious and meticulous than other hunters and frankly, I don't care who approves of my methods and who doesn't. I'm in this profession to make money and enjoy my life. I can't do that if I'm dead, now can I?"

"But as a hunter, surely you must realize that a certain amount of risk comes with your chosen profession?" Katarina inquired.

"Of course," Zardra answered. "But there is a difference between accepted risk and senseless risk. It's like a soldier. A person becomes a soldier accepting the risk that he or she may someday be deployed in battle and that he or she may not survive said battle. However, expecting that soldier to charge head on and alone into a wall of enemy heavy repeater fire… well that to me sounds more than a bit senseless, because you'll have a dead soldier for what gain?"

Katarina nodded. "You have a fifty thousand credit bounty on your own head Zarda. Suppose you tell me about that?"

Zardra snorted in disgust. "Yet another reason why I chose to end may partnership with Jodo Kast. I earned that during the shootout with the Thig brothers. As I already said, some stupid Hutt, his name was Mageye, and his entourage blundered into the scene while the battle was going on. The pompous gas bag was being escorted to a meeting with another Hutt. When I say escorted, I mean four of his servants were carrying him to the meeting on a giant litter.

"The servants got scared and broke for cover, allowing Mageye's litter to drop and Mageye himself slid on top of me. Try as I might, I couldn't muscle my way out from under the gargantuan lard-butt on my own. So I had no choice but to shove a thermal detonator into his mouth. Blew him to bits of course. Unfortunately, Mageye happened to be a close contact of Jabba the Hutt and it wasn't long before word of Mageye's death got back to him. Jabba put the contract on my head."

"Aren't you afraid someone will come to collect that bounty on you?"

"It concerns me," Zardra admitted. "But I'm not losing any sleep over it. If I let that happen, then I might as well retire and go into hiding. I'm not one to hide from my problems."

Again, Katarina nodded. "Last question Zardra… why should I give the contract to you instead of the others?"

Zardra had a fast answer for her. "You can certainly award it to whoever you choose. And you'll get what you pay for. I've said it before; I'll say it again… I am thoughtful and I am meticulous. If the bounty over my own head is a problem, then don't hire me. In your boots, I'd probably pass me over too. But the question you need to ask yourself is, do I want the job done, or do I want the job done right?"

"Bold statement," Katarina responded.

"Take it for what you wish," Zardra said. "You've thoroughly gone over my failures, but you have yet to ask me about my successes. Like the forty thousand credit bounty the Empire just paid me for bringing them that pirate, Dharus. I captured him when he attacked the Culroon Minstrelstar liner."

"And how did you do that?" Katarina wondered.

"It was relatively simple," Zardra said. "I knew the Culroon Minstrel was frequented the area of space where Dharus was operating. I took a chance he might attack it and booked passage on it. My instincts paid off. Imagine how surprised he was when this 'harmless, spoiled Imperial aristocrat' took out his entire strike team and captured him."

"I would expect he was very surprised," Katarina said.

"If that's not enough for you, then might I suggest you have a look at the other thirty-eight bounties I've brought in?" Zardra said. "I'm sure you'll find those and the references I list to be… most impressive."

The faintest of smirks appeared on Katarina's lips as she nodded once more. "Thank you Zardra. I'll be in touch."

Zardra gave Katarina a curt nod as she stood up and exited the office. A moment later, Major Derwit appeared in the doorway. "Have you decided which hunter to hire Katarina?"

Katarina smiled widely. "Yes, Verrill darling. I believe I have."

Planet Telos

The Citadel

Everyone was assembled in the Council Chamber, the room where Rayna had earlier sat in the large chair, when Dahlgen entered with a still sobbing Rayna. General Xavier leaned over and whispered something to a confused Queen Goneril. Immediately her hands went up to her face and she looked on Rayna with extreme sympathy. Katya gently squeezed Rayna's hand as she slowly walked by and Marsala gave her a friendly embrace.

When Dahlgen had reached the center of the room, he addressed them all. "As you can all probably guess by now, Rayna has not only lost her brother in this tragic chain of events, but she has lost her father as well. He and her brother were her only family."

"Oh no," Juliette cried out.

"Sorry to hear that young one," Dannix sincerely told her.

Dijas paraphrased an old Mandalorian proverb. "Don't think of them as gone child. Think of them as merely marching far away."

Rayna slowly nodded as continued to weep.

Dahlgen placed his hand on Rayna's shoulder and exhaled heavily. "I've known about this since we were on Kashyyyk," Dahlgen told the group. "I elected not to tell her then because I didn't want Life Day to be forever spoiled for her."

"Good call," Cronus agreed.

Dahlgen nodded an acknowledgement and continued. "Dad, apparently you told Maris that he was a fighter pilot?"

General Xavier nodded. "Correct. He was a member of the Scoot Squadron. More specifically, he was the squadron commander."

Again, Dahlgen nodded. "I've thought long and hard about what to do about this situation. And I can only come to one conclusion. I think I speak for everyone when I say there is no way we would just leave Rayna somewhere, true?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Absolutely," Maris voiced the opinion.

"And going on that assumption, I further conclude that there is no way we would ever turn her over to an Imperial orphanage?"

"Hell no," Dannix replied. Again, everyone else agreed with the assessment.

"Then I personally would like to make a solemn vow to Rayna, in the presence of you all as my witnesses," Dahlgen said. He gently squeezed Rayna's shoulder. "Rayna, look at me."

She slowly turned around, yet could barely life her head to look Dahlgen in the eye. Despite her tears, Rayna managed to do so and wiped her cheeks.

"I know this may difficult for you to understand and perhaps even to believe Rayna," Dahlgen said. "But in a way, I can understand and sympathize with the sense of loss you feel right now. No one your age should ever have to go through the suffering that you are going through right now. And for those that do, far too many of them are lost to bureaucratic indifference and paper shuffling. But you do not have to worry about this Rayna for you are with family now."

He placed his hand on her head and gave her a fatherly massage. "Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad Rayna. Do you understand what this means?"

Rayna quickly shook her head.

Dahlgen smiled. "It's Mando'a Rayna. And it means 'I know your name as my daughter Rayna.' And that's just what I'm telling you. From this moment forward, I will forever look upon you, care for you and nurture your growth and experience as your father. From this moment forward, the galaxy and anyone I meet will forever know you are my daughter. I don't expect this to be easy for you to comprehend at the moment Rayna and I don't expect you to accept it right away. I am patient. I will wait as long as it takes for your voice, your mind and your heart to come to terms with this. For now, just let your mind know this to be true so that you don't go off and do anything you might not have a chance to regret. Your heart and your voice will follow in the fullness of time. Deal?"

Rayna didn't know what to say. Of all the things he could've done, the last thing she'd ever expected was for him to want to adopt her as his daughter. She was thrilled to know that, but it did little to change her overall sorrowful mood. In the end, she merely nodded and hugged him tight as her sobs began anew.

"You're with family Rayna," Dahlgen told her quietly as he held her tight against him. "You're with family." He looked up at his assembled friends. Most of them were smiling and nodding, knowing Dahlgen had done the right thing. A few were surprised by his promise and looked at him with a questioning stare. Maris even wiped a tear from her own eye. Dahlgen looked over all of his friends. "To you all, I say that as of this date I consider Rayna to be my daughter. I expect you all to view her as the same."

"By that same token, I consider Rayna to be my niece," Dannix said.

"As do I," Dijas added. "Aliit ori'shya taldin."

Dahlgen nodded. "Family is more than blood," he agreed.

"Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya," Dannix reminded him

"I will Dannix. I will train my son to be strong, and my daughter to be stronger," Dahlgen answered.

"Of that, I have no doubt my brother," Dannix said proudly.

Juliette was scratching her head, confused. Why was Dahlgen doing this? Why was he taking on the responsibility of being Rayna's father? It didn't seem like he was thinking clearly. It seemed as if he was rushing things.

She voiced her dissenting opinion. "Dahlgen, are you sure about this? Do you know what you're doing?

Dahlgen nodded. "Absolutely I do. I'm doing what needs to be done."

"What's on your mind, love," Dannix asked her.

Juliette scratched her head, unsure of where to begin. "Dahlgen… my heart bleeds for Rayna as much yours does. But adopting her like this? Don't you think it was a little rushed? You really don't seem to thinking it through and what the consequences could be."

"I'll face those in due course," Dahlgen assured her. "As for thinking it over, you're right. I didn't think it over. I don't have to. There are only two choices here Juliette… adopt her as family and provide her with the stability that family brings, or do nothing and fail her. Doom her to life of heartache and uncertainty. I choose to do what is in Rayna's best interest, even if she may not see it right now."

Despite still having her face buried against his chest, Rayna gave her "father" a squeeze.

"But what if you come across another child like Rayna?" Juliette asked. "Or five? Or ten? What then?"

Dahlgen smiled. "Then I'm going to have one heck of a big family aren't I?"

All of Force Revanchist laughed as Juliette rolled her eyes. "Come on Dahlgen. Surely there's got to be another option for her?"

Dahlgen was about to unleash a Coruscant sized lecture on Juliette, but Dannix stopped him. "Hold on there my brother. I got this one." He turned to Juliette. "Love, you're actin' like someone who's got a huge puzzle in front of her and she can't find where to start solvin' it. So let me explain this to you in terms you can understand. He's already told you that he saw what needed to be done and did it." He pointed to each member of Force Revanchist. "There isn't a person among us who disagree with that. And if he hadn't adopted Rayna, Dijas or I would have. And both of us would've been rather upset with him if we'd had to pick up his slack."

Juliette shook her head. "I don't understand."

"You haven't seen him for twenty years, so I'm not surprised by that," Dannix said as he recalled a similar conversation he'd had with Maris a couple years ago. "You have to understand that Dahlgen is more of a Mandalorian than anything. Yes, his birthplace is Onderon, his loyalty is to the Republic and this team and the bulk of his training is Jedi. But his heart, his mind and his soul… those are Mandalorian. Now he may not wear the traditional armor of our people. And he may not have been properly initiated into our ways. And he may follow some set of rules that differs from our own. But his behavior, his thoughts, his actions… they are every bit Mandalorian as they are anything else. And sometimes, that's all you need to be considered one of them.

"We in the Mandalorian culture are unconcerned about parentage. An adopted child to us is the same as a naturally born child. He or she is treated no differently. And as I'm sure you're aware, it is the practice of the Mandalorian people to adopt the children we leave as orphans as a result of our conflicts. A lot of people think we do this just so we can train more warriors for future conflicts. In some cases that may very well be true. But I also personally believe that it's done because children have absolutely no business being caught up in the affairs of adults. But the minute it happens, it is the responsibility of those adults to give those children to the tools they will need to survive those events and grow into fine adults themselves."

"I guess so," Juliette admitted.

"There's no 'guess so' about it Juliette," Dannix replied. "Dahlgen felt the best way to deal with Rayna's lack of family problem was to become her family. And I don't think he's wrong in doing that."

"But it just seems all so sudden."

"Whether it is or whether it isn't makes no difference Juliette," Dannix argued. "Here with us…" he jerked his thumb towards Dahlgen, Maris and Marsala. "especially with them, Rayna knows she's got people around her who truly care for her and want to see her grow up and blossom into the fine young lady she's already becoming. If she were to go anywhere else, it would be a sabacc hand. Maybe she'd get an Idiot's Array. Then again, it's far more likely she'd just Bomb Out. You get what I'm sayin' here lass?"

Juliette pursed her lips briefly, and looked at Dahlgen. For the first time since reuniting with him, Juliette finally saw how different he'd become. How much he'd changed since they were kids. She nodded. "Yeah. I do."

"Good," Dannix said with a smile.

Queen Goneril spoke up. "I think it's quite commendable what Dahlgen has done here today. It takes a special breed of person to be able to make that kind of commitment and throw the potential risks down the refresher." She looked at Dahlgen with an admiring eye. "It speaks volumes about his character."

Next General Xavier spoke. "I have to admit that this was something even I didn't expect. But you talk about a proud papa…" he stuck his chest out a bit. "Look no further than me." He laughed. "I hope Rayna realizes that sooner or later I'll expect her to start calling me grandpa."

For an answer, Rayna gave Dahlgen another gentle squeeze. "I think she understands dad," Dahlgen said.

"So," Katya said. "Shouldn't we have a celebration or something?"

"Perhaps later after we find out what this Project Epsilon is and put a stop to it," Dahlgen suggested. "Until then, I suggest we all remain at peak readiness. And I must now get back to the archives because I am no further along now than I was before all this happened."

Planet Kestos Minor

Light Freighter Ardraz's Quest

Sitting in the pilot's chair aboard her Nova-Drive 3-Z Class Light Freighter, Zardra carefully looked over the contract that Katarina had awarded her. Her initial pleasure at having been awarded the bounty rapidly vanished the more she read into the details of the assignment. Zardra hadn't even left Kestos Minor yet and she was already wondering if there was some way she could weasel her way out of this thing. There were several things about the contract she didn't like and now she regretted telling Katarina that she could get the job done right.

The first thing that she didn't like was the fact that the contract was for not one, not two, but three individuals who were confirmed Force sensitive. That alone was cause to make Zardra think twice about accepting this contract. She hadn't gotten into many conflicts with Force sensitive individuals, but the few times it had happened she had nearly been killed each time. The last time it did, she'd made a personal vow to steer clear of any bounties for people who were Force sensitive.

The second thing she didn't like was the fact that one of the three targets was a kid. That explained why Katarina had initiated the bounty personally. According to Imperial law, no bounties would be sanctioned by the Empire on anyone under the age of seventeen. This kid was only fourteen. Even though she readily admitted bounty hunting was a dirty job, she did have some standards. And hunting a child just didn't seem right.

It went against the Hunter's Creed too. A set of unwritten rules and edicts, the Hunter's Creed governed the general behavior of all hunters. And all hunters were expected to follow that creed if one hoped to stay in the game for very long. Oh sure, there were those who willfully broke that creed, some more regularly than others. But if one did it too much he or she could find themselves ostracized from the profession or worse, hunted themselves.

The third thing she didn't like was the sum of credits offered. A credit sum of a hundred thousand was enough to get the attention of the top hunters in the galaxy. This was for well over three times that number. Though Katarina had promised that she would be the only one who knew about the contract, Zardra knew the bounty hunting profession better than she did. Zardra knew it wouldn't be long before word of such a high priced contract made its way through the hunters' ranks. Then not only would she have the problem of trying to capture her targets, she foresaw the additional problem of having every hunter in the galaxy from the life-long experienced to the rookie adrenaline junkie trying to muscle in on her quarry.

She snorted loudly and continued reading. A hunter going and working against another hunter or going after another hunter's quarry was another violation of the Hunter's Creed. However, she didn't know of a single hunter in existence who wouldn't set aside the Hunter's Creed, at least temporarily, in pursuit of such a large sum of credits.

The last thing she didn't like about it were the conditions that had been attached. Conventional wisdom to her said that the easiest way to fulfill a contract on Force sensitive individuals, especially more than one, was to simply eliminate them. Katarina had absolutely forbidden that however, saying that if she wanted the targets dead she would've hired an assassin, not a hunter. Furthermore, she had made it absolutely clear from the word "go" that if even one of the three targets was brought to her in a deceased condition, she would personally see to it that Zardra's death was neither short nor painless. Few things intimidated Zardra, but Katarina was one of those few things that did and she had no doubt Katarina would do everything in her power to make good on that threat if she had to.

This was definitely going to be the most difficult hunt of her twelve year career and she wasn't sure she'd be able to fulfill it. That was another thing she didn't like. Katarina had also given her a deadline of one month to complete the contract. Katarina had warned her that if it wasn't completed by then, there would be no place in the galaxy she could hide from her wrath.

Zardra decided the best way to begin was to try and learn everything she could about her three primary targets… Dahlgen Luzard, Marsala Luzard and Maris Brood. There was an additional stipend for the capture of the Onderonian Royal Family attached, but it seemed to Zardra as if it had been added at the last minute. It was almost as if Katarina really didn't care if they were captured or not. She headed back into her private quarters, had a seat at her desk and fired up her computer terminal. Who were these people? What had they done to incur Katarina's wrath?

After about two hours of searching, she came up with Dahlgen's old personnel file from the Clone Wars. She pulled her legs up under herself as she settled in to study what she'd found. It made Zardra even more apprehensive about the assignment. Great, she thought to herself. Not only is he Force sensitive, he's a fully trained Jedi and a master of the Echani and Teras Kasi martial arts. He was the youngest Jedi to participate in the Battle of Geonosis and he was awarded the Medal of Valor for actions during the Battle of Christophsis. According to this, he was officially killed at the age of twelve on Onderon during the issuance of Order 66. Well that obviously is a load of poodoo. He's alive and well and I'll bet he didn't stay alive this long by being stupid.

Zardra shut the terminal off and massaged her forehead. Katarina hadn't discussed her reasons for wanting this trio brought in and she was beginning to suspect that it was for more than just the fact that they had committed crimes against the Empire. Even though that list was extensive, there had to be another reason she'd issued this contract. Zardra hated contracts issued for personal reasons, though she had accepted a few of them in the past. Most of them were jilted ex-lovers or vengeful ex-spouses looking for some form of payback against whoever they felt had wronged them. Zardra often wondered what made people do such silly things. If an ex was an ex there was a reason why, yet some people apparently just couldn't accept that.

Zardra felt that might be at work here, but she was convinced there was still more to the situation that she was as of yet unaware of. And if there was one thing she was aside from meticulous and thoughtful, it was stubborn. Somehow, some way, she was going to find out exactly what was going on here. And when she did, she would then decide how best to use whatever she discovered to her advantage.

Until then, she had a job to do. And it was time she got started.

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