Jaarak led us through the thick foliage, using a knife he'd borrowed from Canderous to cut through the worst of it. We'd been walking for maybe an hour already at least yet barely traveled far in that time. And we hadn't said a word to each other. Sure, I could tell Carth was still pissed off at me, but he would have to learn to get over it. Or, if he was a Jedi, I would have said there is no emotion, there is peace.

In the lowlight of the Shadowlands, it was also hard to see except for those of us who could sense using the Force. But even then, with all of the sensations of the jungle and the ever-present darkness, it was difficult to make out.

HK-47 broke the silence with a long sigh. "Observation: Master, I seem to be lacking the necessary utilities to defend both you and myself from possible combatants. Query: Do you happen to have—"

I waved a hand. "Just run away if we get attacked if you're so worried about it."

"Argumentative: I do not run from threats, Master, I am the threat. But, if I have to, I will bludgeon the meatbags into a bloody pulp or use my Baragwin flamethrower to burn them alive. Though I will have to advise caution, Master, things could get crispy in the general vicinity."

I glanced about the claustrophobic space taken up by brush and vines. Most of it was wet from humidity and wroshyr trees were fire-resistant, but...did I want to be caught in the crossfire? That was the real question.

"Actually, HK, please use that flamethrower as a last resort only—"

Revan.

I flinched to a stop at the whisper. It came from the mists, past the wroshyr roots. A familiar, dark, whisper. After an hour of avoiding her, I met Bastila's gaze. She heard the vision in the bond too. Which meant we had to be close to the Star Map. How close, though, was the question.

Eventually, Jaarak stopped near a giant precipice. The roots dug into the side of it and we couldn't see the bottom either. More lifeforms buzzed through the trees and the vines below.

"The Lower Shadowlands." The Wookiee shivered. "Let's keep moving, outsiders."

And we kept moving. We cut through hundreds of more vines for another five minutes at least before we stumbled into the first clearing since the basket lift. But it wasn't the relief from the jungle that caused us to halt in our tracks.

Bodies. So many bodies. The bodies of Wookiees wearing bone armor and holding spears were all strewn about like discarded waste. Some had been...decapitated posthumously with a dull knife. Others had blaster burns on their heads and chests. No one had been spared.

Jaarak stopped at the sign of the massacre.

"No…" the Wookiee whined.

Mission shivered. "How...how could someone…"

Close by, a cold metal statue in the shape of a beast watched the death with a stoic gaze. Canderous flinched, not at the death, but at the sight of the machine. Ignoring our frozen states, he stormed up to it.

The metal had been hidden with leaves and vines. Blaster pipes jut out from its mouth and the hulking saddle was littered with more vegetation to hide it from sight. The Mandalorian brushed it away, revealing a swirling symbol. It was identical to the one tattooed on his shoulder. Something disturbed the air near the machine. It was that same feeling that engulfed the massacre site.

The dark side.

"A Basilisk droid…" Canderous muttered to himself. "Marked with the symbol of Clan Ordo."

A faint cough. Near a fallen root, one of the furry bodies jolted to life. Jaarak marched towards the surviving Wookiee and bent low.

"Grrrwahrr!" The injured Wookiee tried to sit up, but Jaarak forced him back down. "Don't move, you've been shot."

"Jaarak...you've come back?"

"What happened?"

Grrrwahrr coughed more—this time blood matted his fur. "Chieftan...Freyyr...told us we needed supplies. My hunting party...killed us all without honor. I want those murderers to suffer the same."

"Who, Grrrwharr? Who attacked you?" Jaarak asked.

"They followed us for a long while." The injured Wookiee coughed again and shivered. "We found...bodies to the southwest, and then again further south after the west branch of the path. There were...five of them. Their speed...on those flying metal machines...it was terrifying. Even with their superior firepower, they waited until we were off-guard—setting up camp. We couldn't...fight back. They killed us...like—!"

"Bloody cowards."

I tilted my head after Canderous accidentally completed the Wookiee's sentence. The Mandalorian's body had become taut. I couldn't see his expression, but I could sense anger in the Force.

Jaarak purred. "Come on...I can help you back to the camp."

"No...Jaarak...I don't think I'll...make it." Grrrwahrr slackened. "Tell...Sharrwar that I...love her. Freyyr...he will always be...my chieftain."

The body of the Wookiee stilled in death. Jaarak's shoulders sank before reaching over to cover his face.

"May we meet again in the hunting grounds, brother."

Verena paced up to Canderous with crossed arms. "How is there a Basilisk war droid here? Revan ordered for them to all be destroyed after the battle of Malachor V."

The Mando punched the metal of the droid. "I'll tell you why." He twisted around and faced all of us. "These hut'uune were never at the battle of Malachor V."

"Deserters," Carth muttered.

Canderous kicked the Basilisk for good measure. "Pathetic worms."

"That is what you take issue with?" Bastila muttered. "Not the death and destruction they caused?"

"Oh, Princess Jedi finally speaks," Canderous growled. When Bastila didn't snap back at him as usual, he took his blaster rifle off of the belt on his shoulder then glanced at me. "Did the furbag say where they went?"

"Now is not the time, Canderous," Carth said. "We need to keep moving."

"Oh, so if Admiral Saul Karath had been the one prowling around here, you wouldn't have the time to go after him then?"

The pilot flinched. "That isn't even remotely comparable...and, wait, how did you even know—?"

"Word gets around the ship, flyboy, and you make it really obvious every time Karath is brought up." Carth's face tightened. "In any case, you don't need to come with me. I can deal with this on my own. In fact...I should deal with this myself…" Canderous eyed me again. "Well, pipsqueak?"

I shook my head. "He didn't know. But they left a trail of bodies on one of the paths."

"Then I'll follow the trail."

Jaarak growled as he shot up. "I would advise against that, outsider. The creatures...they are attracted to the scent of death."

After I translated, Canderous huffed. "I've killed worse things on Dxun. I'll live."

"Canderous…" When I spoke, the Mando raised his brow. "Go if you want to, but we're not going to leave you behind."

Carth sneered at me. "Speak for yourself."

"We really shouldn't split up down here. And do you want to be jumped by a group of those?" I asked, pointing at the droid. "At the very least if we're with Canderous he could try to talk them down."

The Mando snorted. "I don't want to talk them down, Jedi. If I see their faces, they'll be dead for running away from battle."

"But with you, they won't ambush us like the Wookiees, will they?" I asked. "They'll be looking for an honorable fight."

Juhani stepped forward. "I agree. And if we can stop them from killing more Wookiees, then it would be for the better."

Mission nodded along with the Cathar's logic.

The Echani sighed. "Mandos…"

Carth crossed his arms then glanced back.

"Bastila?"

The other Jedi stared at him for a second. Then shrugged.

My face tightened. She was pouting? Why? I was the one pissed off here. I could have tried to sense the bond to see why she had cloistered up like this, but if I did she'd try to analyze my mind like a nosy therapist again. That was something I wanted to avoid at all costs.

Canderous pondered before he growled. "Fine, you can come if you want—not like it matters. But if there is any fighting...stay out of it."

Jaarak threw his trunk-like arms into the air. "You outsiders are crazy…"

Had to agree with him there.

Fortunately, the Wookiee led us in the direction his dead friend described despite his misgivings. A natural path formed between the roots as we continued downhill. Along the way, corpses of foreign beasts and tachs had been slaughtered and discarded. These damn Mandalorians were hunting anything that moved down here.

Canderous' march matched Jaarak's long pace ahead of us and he hadn't relaxed as if he was preparing for battle. The Mando rarely got angry at anything. The one time he did had been because of Carth...and honestly, didn't blame him there.

I rushed up to his side. Canderous still had his finger on the trigger of his blaster rifle.

"So…" I began. "Why would a Mandalorian desert, anyway? I thought you all wanted to fight."

He spat phlegm at one of the corpses. "It happens. Rarely—thank Mandalore—but it happens. If a Mandalorian deserts and they don't have a good enough excuse, like fighting a better battle elsewhere, then their right to call themselves Mandalorian is forfeit."

"I mean, it looks like they're fighting to me," I said, waving my arms at the next corpse.

"Slaughtering a defenseless opponent or a weak creature isn't a fight . It's cowardice."

"Then...there were many cowardly Mandalorians fighting in the war," I muttered.

The Mando searched my face as if he was confused. "Stop. You're starting to sound like flyboy…" He shook his head. "But...you're right—sort of. There was no honor in wiping out the Republic like these tachs or the Wookiees. At first. That all changed later, fortunately."

"Later?"

Canderous sighed as if pining over a long-lost love. "Later...when Revan joined the war." There was a brief moment of silence other than the roaring of the jungle around us. Before I could ask what he meant by that, he continued. "At the start, the Republic wasn't much to speak of. Fighting them wasn't a challenge—too easy. But once the Jedi Revan took charge, things began to turn against us."

"Really?" I snorted. "One man was all it took?"

"You laugh as we did at first, pipsqueak, but we quickly learned that Revan was no laughing matter. When he joined the war, the Republic fleets began to use more than just basic tactics. Feints, counterattacks, mass deceptions. Revan was a genius on the field. He abandoned worlds of their defenders so that others would be too fortified to strike, and was willing to make sacrifices in order to advance goals. In the end, Revan proved to be too much for us."

I pursed my lips while scanning the dark trees. "Someone else could have done the same. Better, actually."

"Better? That's a funny joke. There was no one else." Canderous kicked a dead tach to the side. "The Republic hid behind their own people. The surviving Sith from Exar Khun's war hid in the Outer Rim or the Unknown Regions. And the Jedi hid in their temples. No one else dared to face us."

"But it was a terrible mistake," I said. "If Revan didn't go to war, we wouldn't be fighting the Sith now."

Canderous narrowed his eyes at me. "That's what the Jedi say. I didn't think you of all people would regurgitating their bullshit, pipsqueak."

"Are they wrong?"

"Wrong and living in complete denial. The Jedi who refused to fight would never admit that Revan was the Republic's only hope. He won the war."

" Revan won the war?" A sneer tightened my face. "No, the people did. There were thousands of soldiers that fought and sacrificed their lives. And those on the Outer Rim wanted to...fight to be free. That would have let them win eventually."

"Ships and men and a vague fight for freedom are nothing without a strong leader to do what must be done." Canderous shrugged. "It was never your ships or your men or your vaunted 'fight for freedom.' It was always by the actions of one man, Revan, that the Republic prevailed." He adjusted his grip on his rifle. "His strategies and tactics defeated the best of us. Even Mandalore was taken aback by the ferocity, the tenacity, and the subtlety of his plans. We didn't have a chance in hell."

My shoulders sank. "You're talking like Darth Revan was a Mandalorian himself or something."

And I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of anyone sympathizing with a Sith Lord like that.

Canderous' eyes grew misty. "If Revan was a Mandalorian, nothing in the galaxy would have stopped us. But no, he gave us something better. He gave us a fight that would be remembered for centuries. It was what we all wanted, in a way." He sneered at the dead creatures. "Or...at least most of us—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the sound of multiple blaster rifles charging surrounded us. I grabbed the hilt of my lightsaber and didn't hesitate to unleash it before bolts could rain down onto us from the side of the path.

On one of the large roots to our left and right, the air wavered. In the Force, I sensed four bodies with intentions to do us harm. We stopped, all of us with lightsabers lit the ground and those with blasters pointed them at the invisible opponents.

"Canderous. "

The wavering air to our right formed into the figure of a steel-masked Mandalorian. He dropped the ten feet or so from the root and walked up to us in the middle of the path. Canderous snarled at the deserter while pointing his rifle, then began to speak in Mando'a.

"You have five seconds to explain yourself, hut'uune , before I bury you six feet under."

The deserter Mandalorian's shoulders shook as if laughing, then spoke in Basic. "Hut'uune? Funny. Was going to say the same about you ."

Before Canderous could follow through with his threat, the deserter grabbed his mask and took it off. It hissed and his protective helm retracted into the shoulder plates. The scarred, tanned face of a middle-aged man scrunched as if he was in pain.

Once the deserter's face was revealed, Canderous' rifle lowered a smidge.

"Jagi."

I raised a brow. "You know him?"

"He…" The Mando sighed. "He was a warrior under my command up to the battle of Althir. But I thought—"

"You thought I was dead, didn't you, Canderous?" The air wavered near the top of the roots again and more silver-helmeted Mandalorians appeared. "You thought all of us had perished. You sent us to die while you directed the rest of your forces against the Althiri's center. You broke from the fight so that you could have the 'honor' of being the first to the enemy commander."

Right. He was talking about that battle. The one that had been Canderous' "greatest victory."

Verena snorted on my right. "What are you complaining about, Mando? You're alive."

Jagi snarled. "Stay out of this, Echani."

One of the other deserter Mandalorians raised their blasters at us, her voice echoed behind the mask.

"Jedi. One is a dirty Cathar. And we are the betrayers, Canderous?"

Juhani snarled. "Say that again, worm!"

"I did what I had to," Canderous said, ignoring the Cathar behind us. "As Mandalorians, it is only the fight that matters."

"A fight you ran from!" Jagi spat. "In the battle above the world of Althir, you ordered us to attack the flank and promised us support. But when you saw better prospects, you abandoned the fight and left us to die!"

All of us stared at Canderous' back. In response, he raised his blaster rifle. "You have slandered me and questioned my honor. Many have died for lesser insults."

I groaned then grabbed Canderous' blaster, shoving it down. "Ok, that's enough. You're both acting like children. It's giving me a headache."

Jagi pointed his rifle at me. "You do not know what you're talking about, Jedi!"

"This is a matter of honor, pipsqueak. I cannot stand by this insult." Canderous shook me away then pointed his blaster at Jagi again. "Why are you killing the local wildlife? Can't find a fight better than this?"

"Wookiee pelts cost a fortune—along with Tach glands. Everyone needs to eat." The deserter shook his head. "But that doesn't matter. What are you doing here? Why are you not with the clan?"

"Clan Ordo dispersed after the war, Jagi, or did you not hear?"

"Oh? That's news to me. I heard that Veela was making her rounds on the Sith worlds—looking for old members of the clan. She approached me, you know? Asked me to 'rejoin.' I declined with a frag grenade." Jagi laughed once. "She obviously wasn't too happy about that."

Canderous flinched at that name. "Veela…" His shoulders fell. "Shit."

"Oh, you didn't know?"

"Do you want to die quickly or slowly? It's your choice," Canderous said.

The deserter glanced about at his fellow Mandalorians. "A group of us are going to meet up ten clicks west of here in three days to gather our spoils. Most of them aren't of Clan Ordo, but they all follow the creed. I challenge you, Canderous, to an honorable duel."

"Slowly it is then."

Jagi grimaced. "Meet us there. Alone. Without the Jedi. And if you run like before...everyone will know about it this time."

The deserter whistled and he disappeared once more into wavering air. The rest of the Mandalorians followed suit. Canderous let out a few potshots, but the deserters vanished and blended in with the surrounding jungle.

"You aren't going to listen to that idiot, are you?"

As we walked along the path again, Carth stormed to the Mando's side. Jaarak had reluctantly continued to lead us on towards the Exiles' camp. And we were drawing close.

Canderous rumbled a laugh. "I've been issued a challenge. I don't expect you, a Republic soldier, to understand."

"This is crazy." Carth narrowed his eyes past my head—purposefully avoiding me. "Someone, please talk some sense into him."

Canderous growled. "I'm not listening to anyone. Not you, not the Jedi, not anyone. I will go and face Jagi in three days. Alone."

The Mando eyed me with that last line.

I pursed my lips, but for once I didn't argue. Nothing was going to convince the Mandalorian to not risk his life for his "fight for honor." And anything any of us said would only pressure him to potentially die a cruel, unnecessary death. Though, really, isn't that what all Mandalorians strived for?

Mission and Juhani both stared at their feet as we walked while Verena, for once, made no comment. I'd thought the Echani of all people would want to egg Canderous on, but instead, her pale face revealed nothing of the sort. It was as if she was...wistful. And that was an expression I'd never seen on her face before.

"We're here, outsiders."

Past one of the roots, a wroshyr stockade surrounded a clumsy encampment. The gatehouse was as crudely put together and was guarded by two bone-armor Wookiees. It was all hidden underneath the shadows of the giant trees and camouflaged by the foliage. The only sign of technology was steel beacons on top of the walls.

Jaarak led us to the gate and approached the Wookiee guard. He told him about the massacre and that we had all been exiled. It went without saying that we needed to speak to Freyyr.

Inside the exiles' encampment, many armed Wookiees glared at us as we passed. The children hid inside mud huts while their mothers grabbed spears. Though, in its entirety, this community was a fraction of what lived within Rwookrrorro.

Mission skipped to my side. "I don't see Big Z anywhere…"

No. And that wasn't a good sign.

Finally, we stopped at the only solid structure in this encampment. A wroshyr branch had fallen and was carved out. The Wookiee guard led us to the doors and Jaarak opened them without waiting to be invited.

Within the fallen branch, a lone aged Wookiee sat on a stump, looking deeply into a roaring fire. For some reason...there was something familiar about this Wookiee. But I couldn't put my finger on it.

He looked up only once before staring back into the fire with a sigh.

"I knew this day would come, Jaarak." The old Wookiee's shoulders sank. "I only have myself to blame."

Once we all crowded inside (with HK keeping watch by the door), our Wookiee guide marched towards Freyyr.

"This isn't your fault, chieftain." Jaarak shook his head. "It is because of my naivety that we are here now. I thought our people could be reasoned with. But I was a fool to believe that."

I winced while avoiding Bastila's glance—despite her not understanding a word. Jaarak had described all of the same thoughts I had about this situation.

Freyyr nodded then passed his old eyes over us. "Who are these outsiders? Why do they journey with you?"

"Chuundar banished them with me. They travel with Zaalbar." He waved at me. "He promised a life debt to the short, shifty-looking one."

"I'm not short!" Jaarak's Wookiee eyes sparkled. I cleared my throat to collect myself. "I mean, well yes, I'm short compared to a Wookiee, I guess... "

And not short compared to anything else.

"Zaalbar?" Freyyr's body tensed. "My son...he's come home?"

Uh, oh. I glanced towards Mission who had already begun to panic. She stormed up to the elderly chieftain.

"What do you mean? You haven't seen Big Z down here yet?" she asked.

Freyyr shook his head. "He must have been taken by one of the Czerka patrols. Normally, we try to rescue any exiled Wookiees before they get captured. But my hunters are not always successful."

"So," I muttered. "Zaalbar's been enslaved."

"It's my fault." The old Wookiee sank into his stump once more. "If only I had listened to my son when he told me of Chuundar's betrayal. My pride as chieftain blinded me—I only saw jealousy and hatred within Zaalbar. If Bacca saw me now...he would spit in my face."

"No...chieftain. We were all deceived," Jaarak growled. "And not all hope is lost. From what I remember...Czerka spends a few days down here before returning to the surface. We could find the patrol and rescue him."

Freyyr waved an arm. "We do not have the power to fight back against Czerka. Not anymore. With all of our hunters missing and dead due to these masked outsiders, our numbers have dwindled. Only the power of Bacca's blade could fight them back."

"Bacca's blade?" I asked. "What could that do?"

I'd heard them mention Bacca before many times yet no one had ever stopped to explain who that was.

Jaarak shook his head. "It's just a legend...superstition. You wouldn't be interested, outsider."

"Do not say that around the camp, Jaarak. That superstition gives them all hope," Freyyr said before turning towards me. "Bacca was a great warrior from the old times—before we knew of the ones beyond the stars. In fact, it was he who discovered our first hint of life elsewhere. A spaceship crash-landed in the Lower Shadowlands. Since Bacca was a cautious old wook, and feared the taint of invaders, he constructed a blade from the wreckage. It has long symbolized our freedom."

Jaarak whined. "And a generation ago, Chieftain Rothrrrawr challenged the Great Beast and lost the blade. His arrogance cost us our heritage. Now, our clan only has the hilt of Bacca's blade. Some say it placed a curse upon our clan…"

"It did place a curse on us, Jaarak. A decade after my father's death, Czerka took over our village."

Great Beast?

A shiver of something traveled up my back. Images of a horned beast...Czerka goons...Wookiees…

Oh!

"You were that Wookiee Revan rescued!"

I sensed Bastila perk up at the mention of the Dark Lord. Everyone else in our group looked confused at the tangent.

Freyyr tilted his head. "Revan? Is this the name of the masked phantom who released me from Czerka's bonds?"

"Yeah—sounds like him." I crossed my arms. "Well, he's not a phantom—more like an evil, dead Sith Lord. Actually, guess he would technically be a phantom now..."

The Wookiee shivered. "I do not know how you knew about that, outsider, we haven't told a soul about it. Even though I owe the phantom for rescuing me...the price I had to pay was horrendous."

"Uh...what?" I frowned. "What did he do?"

"It...I don't know how to describe it. The phantom...took my mind. It...sorry, I have no idea." Freyyr shook once more. "Though after he did that, he could understand me."

Wait, that was a thing?

I glanced at Bastila. I really didn't want to speak to her...but this was weird.

"He's saying Revan 'took his mind.' Then after that, the Dark Lord could understand the Wookiees. Is that another dark side power of some kind?"

She closed her eyes. "Well, no, not exactly. It is a neutral Force ability called Comprehend Speech. It allows one to learn languages using another's mind. It is a difficult ability to master and, usually, a Jedi doesn't...take the knowledge all at once since it discomforts the host."

"Which explains why it discomforted Freyyr. Revan was probably in a hurry and didn't give two kriffs about a poor Wookiee." I nodded. "Do you...happen to know where this phantom went?"

Freyyr sighed. "He asked about an ancient device of some kind. I told him that my hunters had seen something like that in the Lower Shadowlands. But...the Great Beast stalks that area. I tried to warn him about it, yet he rushed off before I could."

"So, if we wanted to go after this ancient device ourselves…"

"You'll have to get past the Beast."

I rubbed my stubble while searching my mind, replaying the vision in my head. Something must have saved Revan from dying back then. Something.

A green light chased away the darkness...

"What about a Jedi?"

"Jedi?"

I glanced at Bastila again. "Yeah, a Jedi—an outsider. He might know a way to deter the Beast. Have you seen one down here? They have weapons like ours." I held out my lightsaber staff. "It is a sword of light. The Jedi we saw had one that was green."

Freyyr shook his head. "No, I haven't seen anyone with a weapon like that." Great, wouldn't be surprised if Revan killed that one too. "Though, there is an outsider that makes their home here. The hermit."

"Hermit?"

And who the hell would want to live down here?

"It's what he calls himself but those in the camp call him the Spirit. Perhaps he may know more about this Jedi? Or he may know how to get past the Beast."

Mission pushed me aside. "We'll worry about all of that later! What about Big Z? We need to rescue him before he's lost for good."

"But little outsider…" Jaarak growled. "We...it's impossible."

She shook her head. "Wes rescued him before on Taris alone. That's why Big Z promised him a life debt. If he can do it once then he can do it again." She met my gaze with a familiar hope in her eyes. "Right?"

"Mission…" I looked away from the young Twi'lek down at my boots. "I'm sorry, but they're right."

"No." I didn't dare to look up when her voice cracked. "No, you can't give up! Just because we couldn't help all of the Wookiees doesn't mean we can't help Big Z at least."

"Well, Zaalbar didn't want our help, did he?" When I lifted my head, Mission's face had become solemn. "He wanted to sit back on the ship and pretend his people weren't suffering. Why should we help him in return? And, in any case, it'll be impossible to break him out without risking the mission—"

"What is your problem?" Mission's face contorted and her shoulders heaved. "The Wes I know isn't a coldhearted, horrible jerk!"

She bumped her shoulder into my arm as she stormed away. I turned to the rest of the crew, hoping they'd see me eye-to-eye on this, but for some reason, everyone was glaring at me.

Carth rubbed his forehead. "Nice going there with the tact."

Guilt rose in my chest from his words. I twisted around and crossed my arms—ignoring their accusing stares.

"We need to get down to the Lower Shadowlands to find this ancient device. The hermit might know something. Where do they live?" I asked.

Freyyr nodded. "He lives in a root near the border to the Lower Shadowlands. That's all that I know. I would send someone to guide you there, outsider, but I cannot risk any more warriors."

I glanced up at Jaarak. The Wookiee sighed. "I have no idea where this hermit lives. That and I need to speak to...Grrrwahrr's family. Sorry, outsider."

Then it would just be us searching within the wilds of the Kashyyyk jungle.

Wonderful.

After I summarized all that I could from that conversation (with Carth occasionally throwing me the side-eye), we decided to rest for an hour to eat and recuperate before wandering out into the dangerous jungle.

I took a spot next to a roaring fire, alone. Well, unless HK-47 counted. Everyone else had gone to a different fire. I could have joined them, but I wasn't in the mood to be scrutinized. Mission had disappeared—stormed off to who knows where. Hopefully, she wasn't getting herself into trouble, but she had a good head on her shoulders. I wasn't too worried.

I finished eating...whatever lizard creature the Wookiees had given us. I wasn't picky—all of that walking made me starved—but that didn't mean I couldn't judge the local cuisine.

A shadow grew from the fire. I didn't have to look up to know who it was.

Bastila's soft voice sighed next to me as she sat on the log. I threw the carcass of my meal to the flames.

Oh, boy. What words of wisdom was she going to bestow onto me now? Let me guess—a lecture on controlling my anger? Heard that one. Or maybe it would be the one about acting before thinking. Heard that one too. Oh, no wait, the dark side! My favorite lecture. Maybe she'll come up with a more creative spin on it this time. Can't wait!

I continued to pretend that she didn't exist and stared into the fire, occasionally looking up at HK. For once, I envied that thing. It only had one thing on its mind ever.

A tingle of frustration...and loneliness. It was the bond. I crossed my arms and tried to block it out.

"I…" Bastila's voice, which was usually so confident, wavered. "I've been thinking."

Oh? Thinking?

"I know my manner can be a bit taciturn."

A bit?

"And I know you must be getting sick of my lectures about the mission, the dark side and...and everything else."

That was the understatement of the millennia.

"What I'm trying to say is...I know what it's like to have the burden of high expectations. I spent my teenage years being hounded by my instructors. Being told so often how gifted and important I was until I was sick of it. I remember when I was younger I used to swear that I would never become as self-absorbed and stodgy as the Jedi Masters. It's ironic, really."

Don't forget edgy, critical, overly secretive...

"Being in control of my emotions has kept everyone around me at an arm's length—even those like yourself who are most in need of my understanding and compassion. And I...I don't want you to feel like you have to hide from me anymore. With the Wookiees, I should have approached you about your pain sooner rather than...expect you to suppress it. I should have extended you a hand rather than slapped you away. We might not be in this situation otherwise."

Oh no. Was this an apology?

"I suppose I should just come out and say it. The truth is, I have come to depend on you. Not just for the sake of the mission, but for my own sake as well. When you blocked me out...I was afraid that I'd irreparably damaged our relationship."

Kriff. It's an apology.

"Because even after I kept pushing you away while I was...grieving my father, you were there when I needed you most. So...it's only fair that I also be there for you."

"..."

"I made a mistake. Pushing you away. It only made things...worse between us. To be honest, you took me completely off guard. You're like no man I've ever known before. And you're nothing like what I expected you to be after...after the Council sent us on this mission together."

Those words cleared the fog from my head. Finally, I gave up on my stare down with the fire and turned to face Bastila. Her face was framed with the orange from the flames. Her normally tight expression had relaxed.

"How did you expect me to be?" I asked.

"Well, just...different, I suppose."

"Different?"

Her expression dipped and her gray eyes glanced away from mine. "You were a smuggler before. A criminal. I'd expected you to be...cruel. Heartless. Cold. Not kind, selfless, or...warm."

A fake wounded frown sunk onto my face. "Gee, thanks, glad I made a good first impression."

"No! Just—" She growled and her nose wrinkled in that cute way it always did when she was frustrated. "Is there nothing I can do to make it up to you? I would rather we were friends."

"Friends?" I leaned closer until our shoulders were touching. For once she didn't jump away. "How close a friend would you like to be?"

Red bled onto her cheeks and she tried to suppress a smile. I kept my gaze fixed on her. Never looking away.

"You just...stop teasing me," she hissed, a serious expression reappearing on her face.

"Teasing?"

"I...you are teasing, right?"

"Am I?"

Her lids flickered as I stared at her for...longer than usual. And I felt myself drawing even closer. Warmth entered my mind as I accidentally allowed her back in.

She flinched away, overwhelmed by my emotions, then growled. "You...you know I can't feel that way about you. It isn't permitted. We must resist all temptations and passions. But I still want to consider you a friend. We could...we could never be anything more. That...that isn't allowed."

My shoulders fell. Something like...pain drifted into my chest. It was a strange, foreign sensation. It couldn't have been a wound. I hadn't been injured in my chest since the crash.

I dipped my head, avoiding her eyes. "Okay." I nodded then met her gaze again with a smile. "Yeah. We could be that. Friends."

She nodded back as a smile of her own drifted onto her face. "Now...I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but can you go ask one of the Wookiees about Mission? She's been gone for too long..."

I shot up from the log and glanced around the Wookiee settlement. No blue headtails. I rubbed the side of my head. I didn't wait for Bastila to follow as I approached one of the Wookiee guards.

"Um...have you seen a blue girl wandering around here?"

The Wookiee sneered. "That perky outsider? She was asking around about the location of the Czerka encampment. When we told her of the closest one, she left out the gates in a hurry."

Oh, kriff. She was going after Zaalbar. Alone. I really was a bad influence...

My voice rose. "Where is the Czerka encampment?"

"Near the edge of the Lower Shadowlands to the east. You should spot it easily. The structure is—"

I didn't hear the rest of what the Wookiee said as I ran towards everyone sitting around the fire. They all perked up as I rushed up to them frantically.

"We've got a problem."

Phew, so with Canderous, you may have noticed I've pushed his "character arc" mission ahead a bit (and given Jagi the role of the Kashyyyk poachers). If you were worried he won't have much else to do after this, don't be! There will be more to his deal than just the Jagi situation. And part of it will slightly if not completely invalidate the "Revan" novel (you can try to guess what part if you would like). This has always been a bit AU in the first place, of course, so anything is fair game!

As always, I appreciate any and all feedback :)! See you next time!