Okay, it's getting that time in the semester where I have to put my fics on the back burner. I should be back after November.

"This one has never seen a Force-Technique like this," Tesar said.

Two Rakata attendants knelt beside the sitting Mirta. If anyone was likely to have blocked memories it was he: after all she had killed a former subordinate officer when she discovered he was abusing his wife, made numerous bad judgement calls when they were stranded on Dathomir the first time that resulted in the Quintesson Empire's domination at the planet, yet until recently had always seen herself in the right. There was must have been some kind of personality flaw…

After two hours of the Rakata gentnly holding her and breathing in sync with her, the female holding her head said, "It isn't her."

They removed their hands and let Mirta up to drink some purified water they had brought. She was disappointed—not that she wasn't Force-sensitive, but that there was now only one explanation for her flawed behavior—like everyone else she made mistakes—but unlike most people she would stubbornly reconstruct her entire view of reality to avoid being caught in one—a fact which had prevented her from growing from those mistakes. She was a self-internalized perfectionist. She was disappointed with herself for being that way.

The Female Rakata had felt Mirta's angst and now said to her, "Being angry with yourself will solve nothing. Accept that you have made mistakes and then learn from them."

Mirta let those words sink in.

"Thank you," She said.

The male Rakata glanced at Yeyinde. "The Hunter with two names."

Yeyinde came forward and assumed the same cross-legged position that Mirta had. The female gently held his temples while the male gently held hiswrist and shoulder.

Yeyinde…or, rather, Baron Samedi was a more promising candidate than Mirta. He had experienced great personal loss at Krang's tentacles and then inflicted the same upon an innocent human family. Added to that was the fact that sorcerers—a term Yautja used for anyone with abilities that might be Force-derived were shunned. It gave them unfair advantages on the hunt.

The process again took two hours.

Blade watched with intense interest. It was his hope that Yeyinde's experiences held the key to a purer, more honorable way to hunt.

Yenyide breathed out slowly. He could see every painful event from his past in order in what felt like real time. He could remember his intense anger with Krang, his joy at his first kiande amedha kill, and his self-loathing when the ooman child cried after he killed his first truly sentient prey…there was plenty he wanted to block out, but everywhere he searched for a block he could find none. He hueard the disembodied voice of the Rakata female: "Don't force your way through any of this." His breathing had grown ragged but then it slowed. He and the Rakata could see clearly. There was no block. Yeyinde softly sighed as the Rakata lifted their hands.

"It is not him either."

That only left Cody, Durga, and Blade. Cody, had been sure it was himself before. Now, with both Mirta and Yeyinde eliminated, he was positive.

Before anyone could say anything else, a gigantic splash seized everyone's attention.

The two Rakata stumbled and put their hands on their heads as though in pain.

"The Dark Side," the female gasped between painful exhalations. "Our village is in danger."

Tesar quickly leaped into action, reaching into his robes for a breathing apparatus, prompting Muni to do the same.

"These ones must go into battle," he as he removed his outer robe and jumped into the lake, Muni following him.

Yeyinde stood and toggled the control on his mask to convert water into breathable air for a Yautja. While they breathed oxygen like humans the exact combination of gasses on their homeworld was different, and though Dathomir seemed equally comfortable for Humans and Yautja, Yautja could only go so long in a nitrogen dominated atmosphere like Earth's without masks.

"Blade, set your mask for water filtration and follow me. The Jedi will need our aid."

The two Hunters raced for the shore and dove in.

Mirta no longer had a suit of Mandalorian armor, and even if she did, it could not convert the oxygen in water to a gaseous form. She knew she would be useless in the water battle. Durga knew he was always useless in any battle—ever since he failed to stop Tala Doneeta from killing his father. There was so much about that day the young Hutt wanted to forget.

Cody, however knew that this battle was for him, about him, over him.

He walked to the water's edge.

"I'm the one you want!" He screamed. "Leave them in peace!"

Everyone heard a twig snap, or more accurately be crushed. They turned around to see Quoreal Rapuung emerge from the woods behind them.

"Such heroism is noble, Cody, but you do realize you'll be giving my master exactly what he wants?"

"Quoreal," Cody said.

"I'm Darth Galvan now."

"The herald of the Chaos Bringer? You know what happened to the last one, right?"

Quoreal had spent enough time in the Milky Way to get the reference.

"I'm not the one going crazy, Cody. Your own sanity, though," he stroked his chin, "You would really put your life on the line for all of them?"

"The Quoreal I knew was interested justice!" Cody said through gritted teeth.

"So am I," Galvan claimed, "but justice can only be achieved through power." Galvan narrowed his eyes, "And we almost have the power to right every wrong in this universe's sad history. The indviduals who die down there don't matter because soon history will change and they will be in a far better position in the new timeline. The only one who can stop this new time line is you. You matter."

"That's why I'm coming with you." Steely determination was etched into Cody's face.

"Cody, no!" Mirta screamed before Galvan Force-pushed her into the water.

Durga winced.

"If I go, you'll stop attacking the village?"

"I give you my word as commander, no harm will befall the village by my hand."


Darth Cyclone received the mental notification from Darth Galvan. Phase one of Darth Shredder's plan had worked. Jones was captured. Now for phase two: destroy the village anyway. It caused Meewal some pain in her heart. These Rakata lived fairly simple lives, much like the Noghri. Still, Shredder was clear—these were the people who had created Unicron. They were a threat to the universe until he could control spacetime. Then he could change the timeline, give them a different, more peaceful history. These Rakata had to go for Shredder's victory over Unicron to be complete, and for a new Rakata species with no connection to Unicron to be born.

The fighting so far had been one sided as far as she was involved, her blackish-blue blade hewing a half dozen amphibian bodies in two. Shadow stood on the lakebed giving mental suggestions to her. So far, few Rakata dared approach a Sith Lord such as herself, preferring the obviously less dangerous Sharkticons, and the not-so-obviously more dangerous Xenomorphs. Several Rakata had fallen to them. The majority of the population were staying within the safety of their underwater dwellings and erecting a Force barrier around their community as about twenty select warriors did battle. The Rakata were aided by two Jedi and two Yautja. She supposed that one of the Yautja was Yeyinde—not that it mattered. The human Jedi was much more important. He looked like…Could he be?

Muni? She asked through the Force.

The teenager stared at her.

Meewal-ji?

Darth Shredder would be pleased that you are here, she messaged as she sliced through a warrior.

What happened to you? You were good once.

He stabbed a Xenomorph through its jaw.

I'm still working for the good of the universe. These beings created Unicron. She hacked through another warrior, Shadow's suggestions becoming harder to hear as she focused more of her energy into communicating with Muni.

Is this what Rukh would want? He asked her.

Darth Shredder avenged Rukh, he killed Deliberata!

And what do the Rakata have to do with it?

They created Unicron. He gave the Quintessons their longevity. They are the authors of all this!

Muni had heard enough. All that Meewal was interested in was revenge, a revenge that hadn't been satisfied with Deliberata. It had only grown.

Darth Shredder can give them a new history when he controls time. He can give all of us a new history. Join us Muni! Become a herald!

For a moment, he thought he heard the old Meewal, trying to show that she still had compassion, and perhaps even she really thought it was still true about herself, but her purposed course of action only proved that she was following a

I will never join Shredder!

Meewal floated in place watching Muni, also in place.

"Then I have no choice," she said aloud, sadly, "You must die!"


It was too much for Durga. Galvan and Cody were a long way away but the water still had the green tint of what Durga guessed was either Rakata or Yautja blood—more likely the former.

He moved over to the female Rakata who knelt on the shore and let her tears mingle with the lake. He put a stubby hand on her shoulder and suddenly—he felt it. The entire lake community not engaged in fighting was putting up a Force barrier around their village, but they still felt the pain every time one of their warriors fell.

Durga felt that pain, and felt his own worry for Cody and the two Jedi and Hunters. The feelings of dread weren't separate from the Rakata's. He felt specific dread for individuals in the community he did not know: fathers, sons, daughters, brothers.

"How am I feeling this?" Durga asked.

The Rakata female lost focus and looked at Durga.

"It's you!" She exclaimed.

Durga was stunned into silence…Force-sensitivity was extremely rare among Hutts. He thought back to the events between Tala Doneeta and his father—something had deflected her first blaster shot—he had. The event was so painful though…

"Focus on creating a wave to push the invaders out," the Rakata said. At the same time sent a telepathic message to Hekka, who was coordinating the Force wall at the village center. He relayed it to all working on the same job.

Durga felt incredible strain as he was trying to form a wave. It made his head hurt. He had only just that he was Force sensitive. How could the Rakata expect him to…wait…did he hear cheering?

Durga opened his eyes to see Mirta and the Rakata near him crying in triumph. He could a mass of Sharkticon and Xenomorph bodies in the distance, along with what looked like two shadowy figures disappearing from view.

The two Jedi and the two Hunters broke the lake's surface. Smiles were apparent when the Jedi removed their breathing gear.

"How did I…?" Durga began only for the female Rakata to interrupt him.

"All you did was give us an idea from your memory, when you tried to use the Force to send the blaster bolt away from your father. We then thought of a way to send our enemies away from us. We are new to using the Force in combat as well, but creative thinking and enough people can accomplish many things."

The thing that stood out to Durga was the she said he did have Force abilities.

The Yautja were the first out of the water.

"So Durga is the individual who can stop Shredder?" Yeyinde asked.

"It looks that way," Mirta said with a reawakened optimism.

The Rakata merely said, "Durga is the latent Force-user we sensed, but I also don't think you should discount what your Utrom friend heard. Cody is most likely meant to be Shredder's opponent."

That sent shudders through all of them—even the ectotherms. Once again Cody Jones was a captive of the Sith, and once again a descendant of April O'Neil and Casey Jones was a captive of the Shredder.