A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS! I sort of did it again... I only had this chapter done for about two weeks before posting, but that's better than a month, right? So here is your Christmas present, lol. Hope you enjoy, and thanks sooo much for reading!

Black and White

Carth paced a circle in the miniscule quarters he'd been temporarily assigned to on the Intelligence vessel. Unfortunately the door had no lock, but he'd made sure to keep it closed during the hour that had passed since he'd stormed from the galley. He just wanted some time alone, some time to think.

What Aayla had said during their dinner bothered him. Was it possible he'd given something of his thoughts away in his actions? Had his emotions been so readable? He hoped not. He was a soldier of the Republic; he shouldn't be so transparent.

The doubt began to creep through him again. Maybe Aayla was right. Maybe he wasn't ready for this mission. That's ridiculous, he scolded himself. You've been planning this moment since you first realized she was going to betray you.

He went to the sink of the tiny fresher and leaned on its edge, staring at himself in the mirror and wincing at the reflection. He did look different. The stubble on his jaw had lengthened, his face had thinned considerably, and there were circles under his eyes he wasn't sure even sleep could cure. He was tired - worn out, exhausted, everything Aayla had mentioned. And not just physically.

After splashing cold water over his face, he went back to pacing. He pulled his blaster from the holster Intelligence had provided and studied the weapon. He had shot Revan with it once already; so long ago when she had first found him trying to send a warning to the Republic on the Ebon Hawk. He'd felt nothing but hatred in that moment he'd seen her; pulling the trigger had been easy.

His second chance was supposed to have been just as easy. He sat down on the bunk, holding the blaster in two hands so the Onasi family crest became clearly visible. Don't forget what she's done – what she's doing now. He gritted his teeth, dropping his head to his hands so the cool side of the blaster pressed against his forehead. Ultimately, Revan was responsible for the bombing of Telos. She had taken that life from him in the blink of an eye. She was also responsible for the deaths of millions of others.

He could never forget that. But now he couldn't forget that last vision in the tomb, either. The expression on her face as she lay dying in his arms haunted him. She had seemed so surprised, so hurt… as if she had trusted him inexplicably with her life, and he had completely and absolutely violated that trust without reason.

I had reason…. He stood again and resumed his furious pacing. He'd told himself over and over it had never really happened, that it had just been Revan playing with his mind. But it had seemed so real, and what he'd felt…

He shook his head, holstering the blaster and desperately wishing the room's synthesizer made something stronger than Andoan wine.

"I loved you… come back with me…" Her words drifted back to him.

Carth punched the button for the wine anyway and gulped it down as if it were nothing more than Bribb juice. Why did he feel like he was betraying his family? You're scared. The thought crept in uninvited and Carth got another glass of wine. What happens when you finally get to Revan? After you've gotten your answers, then what? Will you really kill her? Can you go through that again? Would it even be the same? What if what she said in that hallucination is really how she feels?

He drank a third glass of wine, oblivious to the burn in his throat that followed. What if there really is some of Moriel left in her? Could you destroy that chance for good?

Was it even right of him to ask such questions? He thought of Morgana and Dustil and the guilt settled on his shoulders as heavy as any suit of Bonadan armor. Revan had killed them, and here he was contemplating the chances of saving her.

A soft knock came from the door and Carth jumped, nearly spilling his wine on the crisp white sheets of the bunk. He finished the fourth glass just as the muffled voice of the Jedi Master asked, "Captain Onasi? May I speak to you for a moment?"

Carth cleared his throat, looking around for a place to hide his wine goblet. The room offered few nooks and crannies, however, and Carth eventually gave up. What did it matter if he'd had a few drinks, anyway? "Yah, come on in," he called.

The door slid open and Master Faxx stepped through, greeting Carth with a nod. The Jedi glanced around the room, then brought his gaze back to the soldier. "I hope I'm not intruding?"

Carth shook his head. "I was just… thinking."

The Jedi nodded. "That's understandable. How are you feeling about all this?"

Carth smiled at the man. That was possibly the most ridiculous question he'd heard yet. But he restrained the sarcastic remark that first came to his lips and said instead, "Oh, as well as I can, given the circumstances, I guess."

"You sure you're up for this?"

Carth eyed the Jedi Master as he made his way back to the synthesizer. Faxx was very average in appearance, with a medium build, shortly cropped brown hair and gray eyes. Carth suspected the man could blend in most anywhere... but for a Jedi, his demeanor wasn't very subtle. His gaze was too sharp, his stance too stiff. So the soldier shrugged.

"I've been trying to get to Revan for a year now," Carth said. "I'm ready." He hit the button for another Andoan wine, but the synthesizer only beeped at him in an admonishing tone. The selection screen flashed a red message box that read: 'Alcoholic beverage limit has been reached. Unable to fill request.' He gave the machine a scathing look.

"I take it you've been drinking," the Jedi commented blandly.

"Yah," Carth admitted, punching the button a few more times just for the hell of it. "And I'd give some real money for a hit of juma about now." He turned back to Faxx, giving up on the synthesizer, which continued to beep in protest. "Any chance you could reprogram that thing to make me one?"

The Jedi Master clasped his hands behind his back. "Not likely. Our superiors disapprove of drunkenness on the organization's vessels."

Carth straightened indignantly. "I am not drunk, Master Jedi."

Faxx gave a low nod in acknowledgement. "I never said you were. However, when given a free flow of alcoholic beverages, most sentient beings find themselves in that state sooner than they expect. Thus the limit. It prevents… temptation."

Carth lifted one eyebrow and grunted unhappily.

The Jedi cleared his throat. "Captain, would you like to discuss what happened in your hallucination?"

Ah. So that's what he really came for. Carth sighed heavily and sat down on the bunk again. Hallucination. He hated that word. "To be honest, no," he answered finally. "I'd prefer not to. But I'm guessing you'd like to hear about it anyway."

The Jedi Master took a few steps forward, his face creasing in a frown. "I can't and won't force you to tell me anything, Captain. But knowing what you saw could be useful information. It's very likely whatever she showed you was related to the reason she wants to meet you again."

"It was," Carth said, turning his empty wine glass around in his fingers. "She knows I want to kill her. I think it was a test."

"A test? What kind of test?"

Carth paused before answering, choosing his words carefully. He was well aware of the fact Faxx would be judging his replies and reactions just as closely as any jury. "A test to see if I would actually go through with it," the soldier said quietly. "To see if I would actually kill her."

"And… in this hallucination, you were successful in doing that?"

"Yes." Carth didn't feel it was necessary to mention how close he'd come to not doing it, nor did he feel inclined to mention the terrible, crushing grief that had overcome him afterwards.

"Did she say anything to you before you shot her?" Master Faxx asked next.

I can't do it alone; I need your help… Carth's throat seemed to close in on itself, but somehow he found himself saying, "Nothing significant. Just the usual… the Republic is failing, she did what she had to do, and so on."

"Interesting." The Jedi stroked his chin. "Do you think she was trying to convince you to join her?"

"Probably." Carth answered the question as casually as Master Faxx had posed it.

"Do you think that's why she wants you to come to her? So she can recruit you?"

Carth had no doubt Revan ultimately sought that end, but he said, "She's already tried that once. And she failed."

The Jedi Master shrugged. "Yes, but many things have changed since then. Maybe she thinks you've changed, too."

Carth caught the implicative tone in the statement and looked to the other man sharply. The soldier rose from the bunk, but another knock came from the doorway before he could offer the Jedi a rebuttal.

Both men turned their attention to the door to see Aayla standing there. "Briefing room, please, gentlemen," she said. And then she turned to lead the way.

Master Faxx looked back to Carth, giving a low bow. "It seems our conversation is over, Captain. Thank you for your time, it has been most educational."

"Likewise," Carth muttered, and he handed off his wine glass to the Jedi as he exited the room, leaving the man to stare at the goblet in bewilderment.

As relieved as he had been to escape Master Faxx's interrogation, Carth's spirits fell again as he entered the sparsely decorated briefing room. He and Master Faxx were not the only ones who had been summoned there. All the other agents waited for him, sitting at a long, oval table equipped with a small holoprojector. Carth sat heavily in the seat offered to him and looked around in dismay at the agents who had already gathered there. All eyes rested on him and he shifted uneasily in his chair.

As soon as Aayla and the Jedi had taken their seats, the agent directly across from Carth stood and gave him a nod. The man was tall, his black hair graying at the temples, and his blue eyes were so bright and piercing Carth almost winced as they fixed on him. "Captain Onasi," the man said in a deep baritone voice, "thank you for joining us. We know you must be anxious to get on your way, so we'll keep this short. We just wanted to touch base with you on a few of the more important aspects of your mission."

Carth waited silently, and once the agent realized he wasn't going to get a reply, he slid a datapad across the table. Carth pulled the device toward him, flipping it on and scrolling through the contained information.

"That datapad contains a partial map of the Star Forge," the agent continued, "as well as what we've calculated to be the best approach vector and docking bay."

"Only a partial map?" Carth asked sardonically, unable to help himself.

The agent's lips formed a tight line. "Darth Revan seems to have an uncanny ability to detect the agents we place among her ranks. We pieced the map together from what information they could send before they were discovered."

Carth grimaced at the thought, knowing most of those captured agents probably faced the Silencer at some point. Who knew what sort of Republic secrets Revan was now privy to…

"You should take this as well," another, less intimidating agent spoke up, pushing a stealth field generator and enhancer in his direction. "There's no telling what kind of reception you'll get upon docking. Better to cloak yourself and go in unseen for as long as you can."

"And we'll provide you with some gas and plasma grenades," a third agent said, obviously the youngest of the group. "We advise killing from a distance. Less chance of an incident that way."

"Especially given what I've learned from our discussion," Master Faxx spoke up. "It seems likely Revan will attempt to persuade you to join her. And Revan has always been a very persuasive talker. So… don't give her a chance to talk. Strike from a distance if at all possible."

"All the grenades are equipped with magnetic lock targeters," the third agent continued, "so they should be immune to almost all types of Force influence."

"Almost all?" Carth asked apprehensively.

The agent shrugged. "There's always the risk a Jedi could Force-activate the grenade while it was still on your person. However, even that is unlikely."

Carth briefly considered the consequences should a plasma grenade go off while still on his belt and decided he didn't much like the resulting mental picture. "I think I'd just prefer to use my blaster."

"We have a modified combat suit for you as well," the first agent said. "It's was built with a cortosis weave and should be highly resistant to both blasters and lightsabers. It's also got a bio-restorative underlay. Not that we're anticipating any such trouble for you," the man added, "but it's always better to be prepared."

"And the last issue," Aayla said, causing all heads to turn her direction, "is that of your ship. Originally we planned for you to take the G-wing we brought with us. However, that ship's transponder codes would be unfamiliar to Revan, and you would have a greater chance of being shot down before any of your hails were received. Therefore, it has been decided that you should take the bounty hunter's ship."

Carth blinked. "The bounty hunter… but… isn't he long gone by now?"

The Twi'lek shook her head. "We've been monitoring his ship since we landed, but there's been no activity. The energy read-outs suggest some kind of power failure, but I'm confident we can fix that well enough to get you to the Star Forge."

"Is he still on the ship?" Carth asked.

"As far as we know," Aayla said. "At least, he hasn't disembarked since we've been here."

Carth stood abruptly from his chair and left the room; the agents sat in confusion for a second, but then rushed after him.

"Where are you going?" Master Faxx asked. "We haven't finished –"

"I'm going to find Veeren Siege," Carth said, speaking over the Jedi and patting the blaster at his hip. "I owe him a little something."

The soldier punched the button to lower the boarding ramp amid a slew of protests, but Aayla finally silenced the others with orders to retrieve Carth's needed supplies and meet them at Siege's ship. Carth went on without her, but it didn't take her long to catch up, and the two of them walked silently toward the valley.

The storm had waned somewhat; the rumble of thunder was distant, and though the rain still came down steadily, it wasn't nearly as heavy as it had been. Carth moved at a determined pace despite the mud that now dominated the downhill path, half hoping to leave Aayla behind. The audacity of her words in the galley still stung him, and he'd had about enough of her Intelligence people and their "advice" for dealing with Revan.

They had no idea. No idea what it was like to get to know someone so well, only to realize that personality had been created to cover up someone entirely different. No idea what it was like to finally find someone to love again, only to watch helplessly as that person turned into a monster. No idea what it was like to wonder whether that person's returned expressions of love were true, or just another ruse used to manipulate and control.

Carth's steps quickened with his thoughts. He was oblivious to Aayla's presence behind him until she cried out in alarm. He spun around just in time to catch her flailing arm and keep her from falling full out into the mud. He steadied her and she nodded to him.

"Thanks."

"You all right?" Carth asked, briefly scanning their surroundings to search for anything unusual. The rain made it hard to see, but there was no sign of anyone following, friend or foe.

"Yah," Aayla answered, trying to wipe the rain from her face. "I just slipped. Damn mud. And why are we walking so fast, anyway?"

Carth released her arm, resuming his march to the valley with no less speed. "I want to catch Veeren Siege."

"And what exactly are you planning to do then?" the Twi'lek asked, struggling to keep up with the soldier. "You can't kill him."

Carth stopped abruptly and faced her. "Why not?"

"We need to question him."

Carth narrowed his eyes. "Even after what he did to you? What he did to those officers at Headquarters?"

Aayla met his glare with one of her own. "He will stand trial for what he's done," she said. "But first, we'd like to see what he knows."

"All right, then," Carth said, turning his back to the Twi'lek once more. "I'll just repay him for some of the pain he's caused."

"Well… I can't say I'd stop you from doing that."

"Good."

The freighter soon came into view and the two of them crouched behind the last rocky outcropping before the stretching plain of the Valley of the Dark Lords. Carth brought up his blaster, peering around the edge of the rock to survey as much of the valley as he could see.

"You're sure Siege is still on the ship?" he asked, speaking just loud enough to be heard over the storm.

"No, not sure," Aayla replied, also keeping her voice low. "But since we've been monitoring his ship, he hasn't come out or gone in."

Carth frowned, his eyes sweeping the ship and the surrounding valley. The boarding ramp was still down; a good sign. But other than that, there were no clues as to Siege's whereabouts. However, if there had been a power failure, as Aayla said, then the most logical place for the bounty hunter to be was aboard his ship, attempting to fix the problem.

Carth tightened his grip on his blaster and looked to Aayla. "You stay here. I'll go check out the ship and signal you when it's clear."

Aayla scoffed. "Oh, I don't think so, soldier. I'm going with you. In case you forgot, I do know how to take care of myself." She pulled a small hold-out blaster from a boot holster and checked the carbine to make sure it was full. "Besides, you know as well as I do we have a better chance of defeating him together."

"I really think I should do this alone."

Her dark eyes locked his gaze; little rivulets of water ran down her blue-skinned face and dripped off her eyelashes. "No way, flyboy. I know how you think; I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Carth growled.

"That look in your eyes," Aayla explained. "I've seen it before. It's the same way you looked before you took Vogga's freighter."

"Yah? Well then it must be my I'm-tired-of-being-used-and-I'm-getting-the-flaming-hell-out-of-here look." He gave her a pointed glare.

"Exactly. Which is why I'm going with you."

Carth narrowed his glare and considered arguing with her further, but in the end decided against it. It would only waste time they didn't have, and he had little chance of success, anyway. He gave a reluctant nod. "Fine. Then watch my back."

And before she could protest the order, he left the shelter of the rock and trotted over the soggy ground of the valley toward the Iridonian Star. He reached the boarding ramp and threw his back against one of the hydraulic struts, holding his blaster in both hands and scanning the valley again with his eyes. The only movement was that of the rain and Aayla coming in a crouching run to join him on the opposite side of the ramp.

They stood still for a long moment, watching and listening. Carth peered up into the interior of the ship. There were lights on, but no sound of activity above the drumming of rain against the durasteel hull. He looked to Aayla; she gave him a nod. He signaled with two fingers to indicate his preferred search formation, and then they moved together up the ramp, shoulder to shoulder, their blasters leading.

They separated at the common room, each covering one side of the ship, and met back at the ramp. But Veeren Siege was nowhere to be found.

"Find anything?" Aayla asked.

Carth shook his head. "He's got some interesting things in his medic, and an abnormally large passenger dorm, but I didn't see any clues as to where he might have gone. How about you?"

The Twi'lek sighed. "Well, I had to use a few security tunnelers on two of his doors. One turned out to be his personal quarters… nothing real interesting there. The other was a small storeroom, but it contained mostly just basic supplies. I didn't find anything helpful, either."

"We should check his logs," Carth suggested.

"I already did," Aayla said. "Most of them were encrypted." She tapped a datapad hooked to her belt. "I downloaded them to this, but I'll have to take them back to our ship to even start decoding them. He's smart, this Zabrak. Very smart."

Carth frowned, hearing the note of concern in her voice. "So… what's wrong?" he asked.

Aayla looked around the ship, seeming to search for something. "It's just that…" She shook her head. "I checked the engine read-outs while in the cockpit. They say the power failure was caused by a few faulty power couplings."

"So maybe he went to look for parts," Carth offered.

"He could have. Except, why would he go look for parts when he has plenty of spare power couplings packed away in the storeroom I found?"

"Oh." An odd sensation passed through Carth's being, but he shook it off. "Siege can't still be on the ship," Carth insisted, for his benefit as much as Aayla's. "He wouldn't have let us search it without showing himself."

"I agree with you," Aayla said. "Still, I don't like not knowing where he is or when he might be back."

"Should I take the G-wing, then?" Carth asked.

Aayla shook her head again. "No. It won't take long to install the new power couplings. In the meantime, we can set up a perimeter watch to keep an eye out for him in case he returns to the area." She keyed her com. "Agent Durg, the Iridonian Star is clear. There's no sign of the bounty hunter in the vicinity; we'll need the equipment to set up an invisible perimeter."

"Copy that. Equipment en route. Durg out."

Aayla replaced the com on her belt, then looked to Carth. "Well, let's go check out those engines, shall we?"

Carth followed her to the engine room, which required another security tunneler and some extensive rewiring to unlock without knowing the code. They stepped inside the massive chamber and faced a wall of four towering engine drives. Aayla hit the wall button to turn on the service lights and Carth blinked as the huge machines were suddenly illuminated.

"Whoa."

"That's an understatement," Aayla echoed, walking over to run a hand along the starboard engine's exhaust fan. "I'm surprised these things run at all with all the mods he's got strung on…." She gently fingered some cross wires. "He's either insane, or a mechanical genius."

"I wondered how he managed to outrun Coruscant's patrol so quickly," Carth murmured, still staring in awe at the contraptions that barely still resembled engines. With difficulty he finally turned his eyes back to Aayla. "Will you still be able to repair them?"

The Twi'lek nodded. "Yes. But it will take a little longer than I first anticipated." She moved toward the other side of the room. "The computer said the port-side engines were the ones having the prob-." She drew up short with a gasp, and Carth immediately went to her side. The question died on his lips as he, too, saw what had induced her reaction.

A good portion of the two port engines and the side wall had been blackened, as if by electricity. One engine's service panel lay open, the wires within spilling out onto the floor in a broken heap, exposed ends still sparking.

"Well," Aayla said.

Carth looked at the mess, that odd feeling coming back to him in full force. Something wasn't right about any of this…

"Faulty power coupling, indeed," Aayla huffed. "More like missing power coupling and completely destroyed power coupling. I swear one of these days I'm going to have a visit with these freighter manufacturers. Their diagnostics are never specific enough… and for stars' sake, how could this have happened in the first place? Unless maybe his cross-wiring at the –"

Carth gripped her arm, stopping her rant in mid-sentence. She turned to him with a startled expression.

"Force lightening," he said gruffly.

Aayla blinked. "What?"

"Force lightening," he repeated, a chill racing up his spine. "I've seen it before." He gestured to the scouring on the wall and engines. "The pattern is the same."

"But… that would mean…"

"Revan."

They both glanced around the chamber again uneasily.

"How can you be sure it was her?" Aayla whispered.

"She was here, when we landed," Carth replied, also whispering. "Now she's gone, and so is Siege."

"You think Revan took him?"

"I don't know. But from the looks of things she came aboard and wasn't too happy. At the very least she scared him off. Maybe she disabled his ship to strand him here."

"But he had the parts –"

"What about the time?" Carth asked pointedly. "Maybe he detected your ship approaching and was forced to delay his repairs."

Aayla considered this possibility. "Perhaps," she consented. "Well then," she raised her voice back to normal level, "whatever Revan's intentions were, I plan on stranding him here myself. The repairs will take a little more time than expected, but you'll be off soon enough. And then Veeren Siege, if he's still on Korriban, will be hard pressed to escape our detection." She headed for the engine room door. "I'll just get the necessary tools… you might want to go help set up the perimeter, Captain. I'll be awhile."

The last thing Carth wanted to do at the moment was help set up the perimeter. He wanted nothing more to do with any of the agents Aayla had brought with her. The Twi'lek had been quite accurate in her reading of his expression earlier. He had fully intended on leaving the surface of Korriban before Intelligence's official send-off if at all possible. However, Aayla had successfully foiled that plan. And now that he'd seen what the engines looked like, Carth wasn't necessarily unhappy with her for doing so. He would have had a hard time repairing that damage himself. Still, he wasn't looking forward in the least to spending more time among the agents.

Nevertheless, the soldier soon found himself out in the rain again, ankle-deep in mud and swearing as he struggled to fit one of the sensor pylons into a rocky crevice at the edge of the valley. This whole affair had taken far too long already, in his opinion. If Siege was still on-planet, he'd probably returned a long time ago, and was now crouched just out of sensor range, watching the agents through his micros and laughing at their clumsy efforts to catch him.

Or… he could be at Revan's mercy, being tortured by HK. Maybe the droid needs to test the Silencer on Zabrak anatomy. The thought brought a grim smile to Carth's face, and he finally settled the pylon into place. The com he'd been provided with beeped just as he finished, and he unclipped it from his belt. "Yah?"

"Is your sensor in place yet, Captain?"

Agent Durg again. Carth rolled his eyes. "It is now. Just finished."

"Excellent. Investigator Surra has just finished the ship's repairs. Go ahead and make your way back now, we should have everything up and running by the time you return."

Carth scowled, looking back over the gray expanse of the valley to where the freighter rested, barely visible through the rain and distance. "Copy that," he said, and clicked the com off, returning it to his belt. It hadn't escaped his notice they had given him the furthest point of the perimeter to set up. But, being as he preferred little contact with any of them anyway, he hadn't protested. He began the long walk back to the ship, his head bowed against the onslaught of water still pouring from the sky.

Investigator Surra. He still couldn't get used to that. If he hadn't of seen the official orders from the Minister of Defense himself, Carth wasn't sure he would have believed any of them at all.

His teeth started to chatter, and he regretted his earlier decision to forego more layers of clothing. But he was nearly there now, and once he got back to the Iridonian Star he could get off this rock and away from these cursed Intelligence agents… and into some dry clothes. Best of all, Carth was quite sure Veeren Siege hadn't put any alcoholic beverage limits on his synthesizers.

One standard hour later, Carth was at the Iridonian Star's controls, once again dry and freshly clothed. Only Aayla and the Jedi Master remained on the ship, the others had gone back to begin monitoring their perimeter sensor readings. They had left a footlocker full of the equipment they'd discussed during the briefing in the common room, and yet both Aayla and Master Faxx still seemed reluctant to leave.

Carth ignored them, fixing his whole attention on plotting the best course for the Star Forge and going through the pre-flight checks. The controls were much like the Ebon Hawk's, but after seeing what Siege had done to the Star's engines, Carth didn't want to underestimate the bounty hunter's freighter.

"Don't forget your supplies are in the footlocker," Aayla spoke up suddenly, appearing behind the pilot's chair.

"And use distance to your advantage if you can," Master Faxx added, coming to stand beside the Twi'lek.

"The repairs I made should hold till you reach the Star Forge," Aayla continued. "But I wouldn't push the engines too hard. Try to avoid combat, tractor beams, you know, that kind of thing."

Carth twisted in his seat to look at her. "Right," he said dryly. "I'll try my best."

"And you have our transmission codes?" the Jedi asked.

"Yes," Carth replied wearily. "I've triple-checked them. And yes, I remember the plan: I'll radio you when I reach the Star Forge, and again if I succeed in killing Revan. But if you don't hear from me within twenty-four hours of the first contact, I think it'll be safe to assume I'm dead."

Aayla swallowed hard at his blunt statement.

Master Faxx nodded gravely. "May the Force be with you, Captain."

"And be careful," the Twi'lek added quietly.

Carth looked at them for a second, then turned back to the bulkhead. "Thanks." It wasn't the most genuine show of appreciation, but Carth knew their sentiments weren't really for his personal safety. He was just a tool to them, and if a tool couldn't accomplish its task, then what good was it? It doesn't matter, he thought gloomily. I got what I wanted out of this deal, too.

He heard their footsteps fade away, and soon saw them disembark via the video feed from the boarding ramp's small camera. Carth hit the switch to warm the engines and raised the ramp as they disappeared from view.

Shortly afterwards, Aayla's voice came through the com, "We're clear, Carth. You're set for take-off. Good luck."

"Acknowledged," Carth replied, "I'll contact you in about five days." He turned off the com and gently lifted the freighter off the ground, surprised at how lightly it handled. He tilted the nose toward sky and took off up into the storm, all too happy to leave Korriban far behind him.

Aayla stood side by side with Jedi Master Alex Faxx, both of them shielding their eyes against the rain to watch as the Iridonian Star roared away into the clouds. Even as the sound of its engines faded beneath the noise of the storm, Aayla kept staring after it.

Eventually her Jedi colleague faced her, folding his hands inside the very wet sleeves of his robe. "Having second thoughts?" he asked.

Aayla startled, bringing her eyes down to him. She met his gray gaze and pursed her lips. "Yes," she said. "I am. I'm wondering if this plan is worth all the lives that were sacrificed for it."

The Jedi regarded her calmly. "I assume you're referring to those the bounty hunter murdered in Fleet Headquarters. But we had no way of knowing the Zabrak would be so trigger-happy. Nor could we predict Onasi would be brought here rather than the Star Forge."

Aayla made no reply, turning her gaze back to the swiftly dissipating trail of exhaust the freighter had left in its wake. There was a short silence, in which she could still just barely hear the whine of engines.

Faxx looked at her abruptly. "You didn't tell him about the detonator, did you?"

She sighed heavily. "No." Her fingers absently brushed over the ridges of scar tissue on her arm left by Vogga's brand. She peered at the Jedi Master. "Why? You don't think he'll follow through?"

"His emotions for Revan are strong," Faxx answered, "but confused. Carth Onasi has always been one to view things in black and white. Now… I got the impression a gray area has entered his mind. He is uncertain, undecided. And that means eventually he will have to make a decision. He will have to make a choice. I'm just not sure that choice will be the one we want him to make."

Aayla faced the Jedi incredulously, crossing her arms. "After all he's done for the Republic, after all he's suffered at the hands of the Sith, you really think Carth Onasi would join Darth Revan?"

Master Faxx remained devoid of expression. His eyes went toward the sky again. "What I think is irrelevant, Investigator. I only know the impressions I sensed from speaking with him. And as troubling as it is, whatever Revan made him see in that tomb… I think it changed him. I think it made him reconsider his world of black and white."

The Twi'lek frowned at the Jedi's words, doubt settling like a weight in her stomach. She had been so sure, so confident… and Carth's explosion in the galley had only strengthened her hope. He wouldn't forget the horrors Revan had inflicted upon the galaxy. He couldn't.

"And that's why we have the detonator," Faxx intoned.

"But we'll give him a chance to destroy her on his own, first," Aayla said firmly.

"We'll give him twelve hours after first contact," Faxx said.

Aayla glared at the Jedi, swearing the man could be more unfeeling and impersonal than even the most experienced of Intelligence field agents.

Faxx seemed to sense her displeasure; he looked over to her and shook his head. "He said himself it would be a one-way trip. He knew what he was getting into."

Did he? Aayla bit her lip. She had grown to know Carth well through their year of slavery on Nar Shaddaa. He was a good man, better than most she had ever worked with, hands down. She hated to see him throw his life away, even if it was for the greater good of the galaxy. But it would be utterly intolerable to lose him if nothing good came from his death. If this plan failed – if her plan failed, Aayla knew she would never forgive herself. "I'd like to think there's still a chance he could survive this," she whispered.

Master Faxx lifted his eyes to the clouds. The sounds of the ship had gone completely, leaving the two of them standing alone in the valley, surrounded by mud and awash in the rain.

"If the Force wills it," the Jedi said.

TO BE CONTINUED...