Penguin notes - Since Alice is away, this one is entirely written by me, Candace and Son Kenshin. My other projects are helping Alice update the first fic and write a historical fic about a bard...plus homework, Thanksgiving, and my daughter. Please enjoy.

Korriban - Dreshdae

Jon

As they pressed further on into the corrupted city of Dreshdae, Jon continued to feel more and more uneasy. The incident with Shaardan gnawed at his insides and he replayed it over and over in his head like a broken record.

That was very dark of me to have done that. I should have stood up to him and made him let those people go. But what if word of that got out…got to that Yuthura Ban? Then, they'd know I was a true Jedi.

He looked over to Carth Onasi, who was staring at him, but immediately turned away. Jon could see the mistrust in his eyes and knew that he'd have a very hard time convincing Carth of his loyalty.

Especially after that last stunt.

Deep in thought, Jon failed to notice the group of Sith students gathered in the hall and he brushed up against a slender blonde woman. He shrugged offhandedly. "Sorry."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her whirl toward him. "Sorry? Is that all you have to say?" she said venomously in a clipped accent. "Come back here, boy."

Jon turned to see the woman's outstretched palm, radiating energy from the Dark Side of the Force. He saw Sano and Carth take aggressive postures, but he looked at them and made a downward motion with his hand, telling them to stand down. Reluctantly, they do so. Jon shrugs and walks back to the woman. "My name is Jon, I said…I'm sorry."

She looked into his eyes and saw something. Jon could tell that her attitude had changed and the aggressiveness in her manner softened. "I am Lashowe, one of the selectees for this Sith Academy's class. Why should I accept your apology? I could destroy you here and now like an insect and be done with it."

A slight smile began to spread across Jon's face. "It might not be as easy as you think, but if you accept, you walk away the victor."

The blonde woman thought for a moment before continuing. "Well, I think that you should offer more than just that."

"What did you have in mind? I could tell you a joke."

Lashowe laughed derisively, making a sound like the grating of stone. "A joke? What makes you think that something like that will appease me?"

"Well, a funny thing happened to me on the way to Star Forge…."

One of Lashowe's cronies chuckled. "Oh, I've heard that one. It's pretty funny."

Lashowe rolled her eyes. "Not an old joke, please."

Jon grimaced. That was about the only joke he knew. "Okay, Revan, Malak, and Exar Kun are trapped in a shuttle with a Hutt and a Twi'lek dancer…."

The Cantina

Jon had to laugh at his own joke. It was pretty good if he did say so himself. "I can't believe they found that funny. I just made it up on the spot," he said as he summoned the bar tender with a wave of his hand. "I need a Juma Juice, straight up."

Sano shook his head, wiping away tears as he tried to stop chuckling. "I didn't know that the Sith had any sense of humor."

An image filled Jon's head for just a moment. He stands with Malak on a devastated world in the Outer Rim. A man in a Telos Security uniform lies wounded amid the rubble of a ruined city. "You are Jedi," he cries. "You were suppose to protect us."

Revan looks down at him from behind his crimson mask. His black robes flutter in the hot wind created by the raging fires. "Well, the joke's on you."

Jon grins. "They are funnier than you think, my friend."

Now on a bar stool, Sano turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure? They attack everyone in an effort to conquer the galaxy. I don't find that very funny."

"You had to have been there," Jon replied cryptically. "Bartender, where's my Juma Juice?"

A Rodian ambled up and passed the two men large mugs of strong-smelling liquid. "Here you go sir. Say…word gets around fast and I've heard that you are the owner of the Ebon Hawk."

Jon gave the Rodian a suspicious look and set the mug down. "Why? Who's asking?"

"Oh, not to be alarmed, sir. I am Mika Dorin, a humble follower of…." He began and then lowered his voice and cupped his hand over his mouth, "Revan."

Jon gave Mika a stern look and the Rodian put his hands out and scrunched up his long lips. "Oh, so sorry Revan," Mika whispered. "I suspect that you're here incognito. I know," he continued, now with a conspiratorial look, "you're very unhappy that Uthar Wynn took over and you're here to resume your control of the Academy."

Before Jon could speak, Mika nodded, happy with his own logic. "Very well, Revan, count me in," the Rodian said in a low voice. "In fact, just so you'll remember me when you return to power, I'm going to give you my Dominator Gauntlets…cheap of course."

Jon continued nodding and Mika continued speaking, "Well, I do have to tell you about your ship though. It seems that a curse follows all of the Ebon Hawk's owners. Why, it use to be a smuggler's vessel, passing from hand to hand because of unfortunate accidents or…other nefarious deeds until it came to Taris under the ownership of Davik Kang…and we all know what happened to him, don't we?"

Jon started to speak again, when Mika continued, "Well, I'm sure the great Revan won't suffer the same fate so you remember Mika Dorin now." The Rodian then winked and slid Jon another Juma Juice. "This one's on me."

Jon took the drink and downed it with one, thirsty gulp. "Thanks, I needed that." He then looked around the room, with a sneaky expression. "Say, do you know how I might get in touch with Yuthura Ban?"

Mika smiled. "Going to stage your comeback, huh? Well, she's right over there," he said as he pointed to a female Twi'lek, covered in tattoos and gray of skin color. "Normally, a Force user as powerful as Yuthura would be tough to handle, but you, Revan…I'll start setting up your base of operations here."

Jon put his hand out to stay Mika. "Not yet. I don't want to be too hasty."

"Ahhh, strategy. I get it. Don't worry about me, boss. I have your back."

Jon nodded with a nervous smile and then walked over to the Sith Master. He bowed respectfully, but with a little confidence in his stance. "Master Yuthura…."

She gave him a disinterested once over with her purple eyes, letting her lekku twirl in distaste. She was about to turn away when something about Jon caught her attention. "I assume you are here about entering the Academy?" she asked in a husky Soprano.

"I am."

Yuthura then gave Jon a serious look, inspecting him very closely. "There is something different about you. You're not just the run of the mill wannabe."

"I was a Jedi, but I found their ways stifling and without purpose. I left to join the true masters of the galaxy, the Sith."

The Sith master raised an eyebrow at this. "You flatter us. Well, you don't have a medallion yet. You must have one to enter the gates."

"How do I get one?"

"You can obtain one either by doing a notable deed, here in Dresdae. That might convince me to give you one. Or, you could take one from a student who already has one."

Jon smiled. "I suppose that student wouldn't just part with it."

"You suppose correctly."

Jon's smile grew and he used his silkiest voice. "So, might I convince you to give me a medallion? After all, you said I was different."

The Twi'lek looked him up and down again and then stiffened her upper lip. "I am tempted, but I think not. Somehow I don't think that will deter you though."

Jon bowed, but disappointment was written on his face. "We'll meet again, Master Ban, we'll meet again."

Tankios

Young Tankios was wandering the halls of Dreshdae, trying to obey Seja's request that he stay out of trouble. He desperately wanted to be near the Jedi and learn more about becoming one, but they always seemed busy and distant.

"Juhani seems to be the most caring…maybe Jon too, but he's been off since Malak took Bastila away. We'll get her back, I know we will."

Practicing his stealth techniques, he activated his field generator and faded into the background. Pleased with himself, he watched the people walking by all around him. Creeping slowly down the hall, he turned the corner and saw tall man in a gray uniform, leading others toward a bar.

The man had a closely trimmed beard and an arrogant expression with his chin up and his nostrils flared.

"He's one of those Sith maggots, I'll bet. I'll try and follow them…see what they're up to."

He moved cautiously down the hall to the bar, where the man bellowed out a drink order in a clipped accent. Soon, a young waitress stepped forward with a tray of beverages. The man purposefully bumped the girl, making her spill the drinks.

"How dare you be so clumsy," the man said, pulling back the edge of his lips to reveal his teeth.

"You'd think that she did that on purpose, Shaardan," said another Sith. "I say we do something about that."

The girl recoiled, bowing her head and putting her hands up in supplication. "No, it was an accident. Please, I'll get you more drinks."

The bullies began to crowd around, jostling her. One lifted his hand up and sparks crackled on his fingertips.

Tankios gasped. "I can't let this happen. What would Seja do?" Then, it all became clear and he leapt into the group with a war cry. As his stealth field evaporated, Tankios materialized on the back of one of the bullies. With the butt of his vibrodagger, he smote the man on the head.

The man let out a yowl, "What the f-" His words were cut short by another blow. As the man fell forward, Tankios deftly jumped down and faced the mob.

"You big men, picking on a poor waitress. You must be oh so powerful."

Shaardan looked down on the boy with amusement before he erupted into a deep, haughty belly laugh. "Is this a joke? Did Lashowe put you up to this? Well, boy, the fun is over. Run along now."

"Did I say that this was a joke?"

Shaardan stroked his beard and smirked. "Very well, boy…I hope your parents know you won't be home for dinner."

Tankios sneered. "I don't eat dinner," he said and launched himself at another bully. The man was taken aback by the boy's speed and tried to move out of the way, but Tankios kicked him in the shin. The man howled and doubled over.

Another bully drew a vibrodagger and sliced at Tankios' head to which the boy fluidly dodged under the blade and rolled behind the mob. Tankios came up and stabbed the man in the buttocks, causing him to scream in pain. As the wounded man turned to face him, Tankios smashed him in the face with the hilt of his dagger, sending the man reeling back.

Tankios followed up with a flying kick, that crushed the bully's nose and knocked him unconscious.

Shaardan shook his head. "I don't believe this. One pint-sized rat is kicking our asses. Get him, boys. All at once."

Now, the mob was upon Tankios and he couldn't defend against so many at once. One man seized him by the arm and another slammed a fist into his gut. Tankios doubled over with a sickly grunt as another bully kicked him in the back. Stun clubs came out and Tankios was doused in an oak shower.

The young waitress tried to intervene, but Shaardan knocked her down with the butt of his lightsaber. "Stop, enough!" she yelled to which Shaardan laughed.

Tankios lay groaning on the floor, bruised and bloody. One Sith then pulled out a vibrodagger and held it to the boy's throat. "Let me finish him, boss."

Shaardan laughed again. He pulled the man's arm back and then kicked Tankios full in the gut. The boy moaned. "This pipsqueak isn't worth our time. We've had our fun. Let's go, boys," Shaardan said as he clipped his lightsaber back to his belt.

The mob moved on, leaving Tankios lying in his own blood and bile. The girl rushed over to him and cradled his head. "I can't believe you did that for me," she said.

The boy groaned, but focused his eyes on her. "I…I couldn't let…them do that. Who…what's your name?"

"Sharia," she said as she wiped the blood from his face.

She helped him to his feet and he limped along back to the Ebon Hawk, where Seja and Sano saw him, battered and beaten. They rushed down the ramp and picked him up. By then, Tankios was barely conscious.

Seja looked down at Sharia. "Thank you for bringing him here. What happened?"

"He…he saved me. Shaardan and his idiots were going to hurt me, but Tankios leapt in and fought them. He knocked out two of them and hurt a third, but they ganged up on him."

Seja's eyes widened with admiration for the battered boy. "He has a fierce heart. I'm just glad he survived."

Tankios groaned as they carried him up the ramp. "M-must learn…learn how to fight…many."

Sano, the brawler, put his hand gently on the boy's swollen face. "Don't worry, son, we'll teach you."