Bakurro and Adara moved quickly through the night, sprinting across the sand as fast as their feet would carry them. They moved as shadows might, silently and without hesitation. After an hour or so, they had to stop for a break, and collapsed into the ground.

They both lay on their sides, gasping for air. After a moment, their eyes locked, and they broke into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we did that!" Adara was grinning, her heart was racing, and she felt more alive than she had in years.

Bakurro grinned back at her and pulled a half-chewed cigar from his vest. "I'm genuinely surprised you went along with it."

"You tranqued Foster! They're going to kill you for that!" Adara covered her mouth in sudden realization. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Relax. I use that stuff all the time. He'll sleep for an hour or two and wake up with a headache. No big deal, I've used on myself when I really needed some sleep before." He casually lit his cigar and took a deep draw from it. "That being said, it won't be long before they figure out what happened, and they'll probably come after us. So we can't wait long."

Adara nodded, and sat on the ground, willing her heart to slow down and her muscles to recover. They would have to move again soon.

"You could still go back, you know."

Adara looked at Bakurro in confusion.

"If you think you can't go through with it, I mean." Bakurro propped himself up, leaning back on his elbows. "Back there, they coddle you. They think you are weak, that you need to be protected. Going back there, it'd be a lot easier than running with me."

She shook her head. "Not a chance. They're a bunch of hypocrites and liars. I don't need their pity. At least you are honest with me."

Bakurro shrugged, and leaned back on the ground. "We'll have to move soon. Way I figure, they light up sky like morning in about another hour. I want to be long gone by then."

"Where are we even going?"

"We're gonna get my uncle back."

"Oh Yeah! We're gonna rock this place tonight! Corral at 21:00 local time, everybody, its gonna be awesome!"

Kalna the Hutt shuffled through the hallways of the facility, his entourage in tow, handing out flyers and reminding the staff that an evening at the Corral was a great way to punch in their mandatory weekly relaxation credits. The Hutt slithered his way back to his wing of the base, where cold sterile fluorescence gave way to dimly lit velvet hallways with neon signs. It was jarring for most people, walking from what felt like a hospital to what felt like the Red Light district of Nar Shaddaa. It was this stark duplicity that made the Facility work as a concept. It made you feel like you were truly entering a different world.

"Alright guys, beat it. I got a meeting." Kalna shuffled up to his main conference room and pushed the doors open. Dr Passus was sitting at the far end of a long conference table, looking none too pleased. Kalna enjoyed holding their little meetings on his home turf. He was not afraid of meeting the Doctor on his, but he knew Passus was uncomfortable with the life of decadence the Entertainment Wing represented. "Doctor Passus. Good to see you."

Passus clicked his timepiece closed and it disappeared back into the folds of his coat. "You are late."

"Yeah, well...maybe... you're just early? Ever think about that?" Kalna shuffled to the head of the table and relaxed. Passus rolled his eyes. "So what did we need to discuss?"

"I've had to accelerate my timetable on certain projects. I'll be claiming a double portion of the generators this evening to power a special project. Your little club will have to close early."

Kalna's nostrils flared, seething with anger. "What? No way! That's not happening!"

Passus rolled his eyes and crossed his legs. "You know how this works, Kalna. Czerka and the Hutt Cartel are sharing risk and profit on this operation. I run the special projects, you run the staff. My project's importance outweighs your ..." Passus wrinkled his nose. "...parties."

Kalna slammed his fist down on the table, sending splinters flying as his fist went partially through it. "No! Morale is my division, and we've been planning tonight's event for months! There is NO way I am letting you shut it down."

Passus examined his fingernails closely. "I'm not asking you, Kalna. I'm telling you what is going to happen. I am enacting a brownout in order to power a particularly important action. Your little nightclub would drain the batteries down to nothing, and I cannot risk this transfer being cut off before being partially completed."

Kalna grumbled. Technically Passus held the right to order him to back down, but his Hutt pride would never allow him to let the power shift so dramatically in his opponents direction. His eyes narrowed. Fine. He'll get his way in the end. But I'll make sure I retain the high ground.

"You understand what a major problem this is, the entire staff has been waiting for this event. Postponing it will be...problematic."

Passus was bored of this transaction, and ready to make a deal. "I'll offer you two boons, as a courtesy for the inconvenience. First, a proper explanation of what I will be doing with the extra power, you are owed that much if you are giving up your position."

Kalna nodded, this was Passus deferring to Cartel protocol. It would be dishonor to ask a Hutt to give anything up without proper explanation.

"My former apprentice is comatose. For lack of a more scientific explanation, his soul was taken from him. The vessel that carried it has recently been acquired."

Kalna tapped his fingers on the table. It was obvious that Passus was dumbing down the terminology, but he had lost interest anyways. "So you need the generators for a thing. Fine. What's the second boon?"

Passus sat back in his chair. He was looking forward to explaining the intricacies of his plan, but showed no outward sign of disappointment. "My second boon is this: I will promise you special entertainment at your event once it is rescheduled. Fresh meat."

Kalna's eyes widened. "That...would be quite a treat indeed. I could justify the delay in the event by saying we are waiting on the new entertainment..." He pondered this for a moment, and then grinned. "Alright, Passus, you got a deal. I'll reschedule the party for a week from now."

Passus stood. "Make sure your people are all in their quarters by nightfall. I plan to get started as soon as possible."

Quarros was marching slowly through the desert. He felt neither thirst nor fatigue, and the fact that his companions were slowly falling behind him was annoying.

Arbokk and Barrow had both stripped themselves of their top level of armor, and had torn shawls from bits of spare cloth to protect their skin from the heat while still affording them breathability. Foster was managing decently enough in his gear, but Rodeo was still wearing his full-length coat, refusing to leave it behind, and sweat was streaming down his face.

"Hey, you're gonna dehydrate man. Here." Foster handed Rodeo a canteen, and the latter took a sip.

Arbokk shield his eyes and looked towards the horizon. "I don't get it. I don't see any tracks, why are we going this way?"

Barrow looked up. "And where is the heat coming from? There's no sun."

Quarros spoke for the first time in an hour, without breaking his stride. "The planetoid is utilizing Project Falsom, which uses a series of satellites to create an artificial day/night cycle. They are scattered high in the atmosphere and each unit can emit enough heat and light to provide for a large community. When used in conjunction with each other, if the system is large enough, they can simulate a full day/night cycle for an entire planet."

The group was silent for a moment, then Arbokk spoke. "That is definitely the most I've ever heard him say at one time."

Rodeo growled. "Hot is hot, its part of life. We have to keep moving."

Barrow trotted to catch up with Quarros and kept pace beside him. "Hey, we're buddies now, right? What's your deal? How do you know about that stuff you just rattled off?"

"It is a Czerka project. I have seen the design schematics."

Rodeo stopped dead in his tracks. "Hold up, Quarros." The droid stopped and turned in an about-face. "You're saying this planet, this hidden planet on the dark side of the Rift, is using Czerka tech?"

Quarros nodded. "Affirmative. The energy readings are unmistakable. This planetoid is almost certainly a Czerka outpost."

Rodeo gritted his teeth. "Those lying bastards..."

Foster looked back and forth between Barrow and Rodeo, uncertain of what to do. "I don't get it...what's the problem?"

Barrow frowned and wiped his brow. "We had a deal with Czerka. The original eight of us. There were favors on both sides, but at the end of it, we walked away. The deal was they got to keep all the data they had collected on the latent Guardian energy from us. But the tradeoff was that they had to drop all pursuits to breach the dimensional barrier. Basically, to stop trying to get out of the dimension where the Nexus didn't exist."

Arbokk yawned and stretched. "So they broke their promise. Big deal. They're a big corporation. What did you expect?"

Rodeo chimed in. "If they breach the dimensional barrier, and were somehow able to simulate Guardian or Halcyon energy, they'd have a tremendous power source at their disposal. Imagine Czerka militias with weapons powerful enough to pacify an army, with absolutely impenetrable shields, tech that is powered by a literally unlimited energy pool. Does that sound like a good idea to you?"

Barrow nodded towards Rodeo. "Hey man, try it."

Rodeo grunted and shook his head.

"C'mon, you gotta try it. I was never ever to do it. I know you could at least touch the stuff. You were close enough to Guardian for that, we both know it."

Rodeo frowned for a moment, then quickly removed his hat and coat, laying them gently on the ground. He stood with his feet wide apart, facing away from the group, looking off into the distance.

Barrow chuckled. "Okay boys, you might be getting a show now."

Foster was completely lost. "I don't get it, what's he doing?"

Barrow kneeled down, Arbokk and Foster instinctively did the same. "Well, this power of theirs, it enhances what you already have, right? If you're a Jedi, your connection to the Force is amplified. But for a guy like Rodeo there, imagine the greatest marksman you've ever heard of, and then forget him. Because when Rodeo there was in his prime, with a touch of that Halcyon power, he was the fastest, greatest shot the galaxy had ever-"

"Will you PLEASE shut up?" Rodeo growled through gritted teeth. "I'm trying to concentrate."

"Oh! Sorry!" Barrow whispered. The three men huddled together, watching Rodeo. Quarros stood stoic, silently taking notes.

Rodeo steadied his hands over his blaster grips, shaking them once, and then again. He closed his eyes, reached his mind out as hard as he could, straining for a taste of that golden aura that had been ever-present with him so long ago.

A moment passed, and Rodeo's shoulders slumped. "Sorry kids. I got nothing."

The group let out a collective groan of disappointment. The gunslinger quickly retrieved his hat and coat. "Either we're still in the exiled dimension, or we're someplace where the Nexus can't reach us. I can't feel a thing."

"Well that was anti-climatic." Foster grumbled.

"We have wasted enough time. We will keep moving." Quarros stated this as fact, and resumed his march. The others soon followed behind, dragging their feet and grumbling.

Elder and Lilia were meditating, facing each other on a pair of cots. They each sat in a reflective pose, their legs crossed and their eyes closed. They were in a makeshift tent, and while the occasional clatter and argument could be heard outside, both Jedi had tuned out the outside world and were together in a purely solemn, peaceful state.

They went on in silence for the better part of an hour before Lilia started to shift uncomfortably. Her back was aching and her legs had fallen asleep. She twisted and turned, her eyes still closed, trying to work out the ache in her muscles. Elder smiled as he sensed her discomfort. "I think that's enough for now. Let's take a break."

"Oh? Are you sure, Master? We can keep going, if you like."

Elder smiled again, amused by her persistence. "No no, I think a break would suit me quite well. My back is quite stiff. And please, do not feel the need to address me as Master. I'm already uncomfortable with my designation."

Lilia tried her best to suppress a giggle, and failed. "I wondered about that. 'Master Elder Halcyon?' It does seem rather..."

"Pompous? I certainly thought so." Elder chuckled along with her. "But we do what we have to do. I thought the name Elder was rather pretentious, but I think Michael and Rodeo found it amusing."

Lilia cocked her head to the side. "Wait, you mean 'Elder' isn't your real name?"

Elder laughed and leaned backwards, popping his back. "You think my parents held a little baby in their arms and decided to name it 'Elder'? That a little boy grew up being called 'Elder' by his friends? Hahaha, no, no, quite not."

Lilia sat back down, hesitant to ask her next question.

"It's okay child. It is only natural to wonder now. But I'm afraid you might be disappointed in my answer."

Lilia asked anyways. "What is your real name?"

Elder smiled down at her. "I cannot tell you."

"Why not?"

Elder sighed. He had only had this conversation with a select few in the past several years. But there was something about this girl. Something familiar, and inviting, and over the years Elder had learned to trust his instincts about people.

"There a great many secrets in the universe, child. Some are better left unspoken."

Lilia nodded, a practiced gesture Elder had seen many times in the faces of padawans who were being told to shut up and do what they were told.

"No no, child! You must never accept an answer like that!"

Lilia cocked her head to the side again and stammered, "But, Master-I mean, Elder. Sir. Did you not-?"

Elder lifted his head back and laughed hard. "Child, the universe is a wondrous place, and there are a great many secrets left in it to discover. Don't ever let anyone tell you not to go seeking them. Just because I cannot tell you something does not mean you should give up searching for it."

He sat down next to her and put an arm around her. "Imagine the whole of the universe, not just our galaxy but all galaxies, swirling around in the infinite wonder that makes up all creation. Do you think that somewhere, out there, in the infinite void, there is another old man boring another young woman with his lectures?"

Lilia smiled and leaned into Elder, who was already feeling more like a grandfather than a Jedi Master to her.

"Of course there is. And if not, there will be. History is cyclical, child. It will repeat itself over and over again until all the stars have burned out. And then a new star will rise and the whole process will begin again. We are but a small part of a very large and beautiful working, and the infinite wonders out there are begging to be found by adventurous young women like yourself."

"Now, let's get back to your training. No reason to sit idly by." They both resumed their positions on the cots. "Now, that fiend aboard the ship managed his escape by clouding the minds of the two youngest members on board. We are going to practice shielding your thoughts from invaders. I am going to erect a shield around my mind, and I want you to try and pierce it. As you do, study my technique, and learn from it."

"Yes, sir." Lilia closed her eyes and reached out to Elder, who quickly raised a defensive shield. In her mind's eye, it was like a golden sphere encompassing his whole being, swirling like water under an golden transparisteel floor. She poked and prodded for a while, but was unable to break the shield.

"You'll have to do better than that, child. We are in an astral plane now, use your imagination."

Lilia gritted her teeth and mentally balled her fists. The spectral version of Lilia sprouted a pink energy from her hands, and she stabbed at the shield, pushing with all her might.

"Good! Now you are being a clever girl. Watch how my shield adapts to your attack."

The shield began to draw energy towards the spot she was attacked, and she could see energy flow from behind the sphere to bolster the spot where her energy attack was focused.

I can do this. I can be clever. If I can just catch him off guard...

"You are doing great, child. Now, watch how my mental shield reacts to-"

Now!

The astral version of Lilia swung her arm around wide and fired off a blast of pink energy around the sphere. It flew like a knife, orbiting the shield and striking it at the far side, where the energy had pulled away. It struck and abruptly pierced the golden sphere.

Ha! I did it! I -

Suddenly, Lilia found herself with more than she had bargained for. Elder's memories flooded her mind, blasting through her so fast it nearly split her head in two. Sights and smells and phrases and pain and all the life's experiences of the man swarmed her senses.

"-a place of peace-"

"-the only way-"

"-dinnertime!"

"-poppa!"

"-there's been a fire, down at the village!"

"-never again will we-"

"-damn our Oaths!"

"-an act of mercy..."

"Lilia!"

Lilia gasped for air and opened her eyes, Elder was standing over her, focusing his healing energies on her. "Child, are you alright?"

She nodded and gripped her head, the pain of the intrusion still tearing at her, like a finger that had been cut off but could still be felt.

"Child I apologize, I should not have underestimated you. I inadvertently let you wander into territory you were not ready for yet. I take full responsibility."

She shook her head. "No no, its alright. I tried to overstep and got burned for it. Its part of the learning process."

Elder frowned and held her tightly. "Lilia, I hate to do this, but I must ask. Did you see anything in my mind that you feel you shouldn't have."

Lilia paused, and nodded.

Elder frowned harder, his face darkening ever so slightly. "What did you see, Child?"

Lilia's voice was soft. "I saw your real name..."

Elder sighed, and stood. Lilia was quick to protest. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to! And I won't tell anyone, I swear! I understand now why you kept it a secret, if the others found out..."

Elder peeked his head outside the tent, and then came back inside. "I'm sorry, child. But I cannot take that risk."

Lilia backed up a bit. "What...what do you mean?"

Elder looked at her sternly. "This matters so much more than just you or I. For the good of the galaxy, I cannot allow this information to be set loose. Not when the stability of the Nexus is so imperiled as it is now."

Lilia was getting scared now, and backing away. "Master...I swear, I won't breathe a word of this to anyone. I swear it."

Elder furrowed his brow and looked at her with hard, cold eyes. "I know."

A few moments later, Lilia and Elder came out of the tent, laughing at some antiquated joke Elder had told. His arm was around her and she was leaning into him affectionately, once again feeling like she had found a grandfatherly presence to lean on, a friend in this dark time. They headed back to the middle of camp, where Alan was preparing some rations for dinner.

"Now, child. Do you have any questions about what you learned today?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Nope. I'm good. But I'm gonna beat that shield of yours one day, Master!" She turned her head to the side. "I feel like there was something I wanted to ask you about...something important...hmmph. Must have slipped my mind. Oh well!" She smiled and waved. "If I think of it, I'll ask you later!"

"Very well, child. Go get something to eat."

He watched her as she merrily skipped over to the campfire, not a care in the world.

Elder's smile slowly faded, and sighed deeply into himself.

This isn't at all what we planned...