"Thank you for coming. I have made all the preparations for the ritual to find Lord Vivicar."

Yuon turned to greet Aitahea with a rueful smile. "I plan to create a connection between us, using your shielding ability. If it is - was - Parkanas, this should work. Drawing on your strength, I will invert the link between myself and Vivicar and use it to sense his location."

Aitahea didn't know the details of what Parkanas might have experienced, nor did she wish to know. She did understand that as a result of what had occurred on Malachor Three, Yuon Par and Duras Fain were the parents of Laranna Fain. All of the Masters involved had abandoned Parkanas, whom they should have protected, she realized in dismay. That's what the Jedi were, protectors, defending the innocent and championing justice, weren't they? What did it mean, truly, that Yuon had called Parkanas weak?

"Don't expose yourself to Lord Vivicar's influence any longer than you must, Yuon." Aitahea found herself whispering a plea. "Please."

If this failed, it would cost lives, Yuon's and Aitahea's surely among them. In the quiet moments after her crying had passed, she'd discovered a calm remnant of strength, her private conviction that being a Jedi meant protecting everyone she possibly could.

Focusing on these newborn doubts would not benefit anyone. Her trust felt shaken, but Yuon had never brought her to harm before.

"I won't. For your sake, as well as mine." Yuon sighed, resignation in the drop of her shoulders. "There are risks. For one, the shielding you gave me on Coruscant will be severed."

Aitahea flinched. The shielding had become a comfort, perhaps not so unlike the Force bond that some Masters and apprentices formed through training. But as a shield and not a true bond, it was more akin to a signal she could check at will, adjust, improve, and repair as necessary. Aitahea thought of both Yuon and herself as fiercely individual in certain ways, and she'd never truly considered the implications. It had simply been so crucial, so necessary.

"I don't know what will happen then," Yuon continued, looking focused and prepared again. "It's possible I could die once your shield is gone."

"I'll protect you, Master."

"With your strength to sustain me, we will do what we can." Yuon forced another smile, little more than a grimace. "No matter what happens, you must give me as much time as possible. Reversing the link may be a long process." She knelt on the carpeted floor. Aitahea followed suit, while Qyzen stepped back to lean watchfully against a pillar.

"Let us begin."

The Force wrapped her, whole and complete, and Aitahea suddenly recalled a childhood visit to an artificial sea on Coruscant. She'd been young; the memory was little more than a hazy sensation of warm, buoyant safety. Yuon's presence across from her smoldered like the banked embers of a fire, steady and glowing.

Sinking further into the lull of meditation, Aitahea found herself adrift in the numinous experience of the Force. On Tython, with her own Master, under the watchful eyes of the Council, Qyzen's comforting presence near them, in the safest place in the universe. All was as it should be. For a moment, she rested calmly in the knowledge that she had everything she needed.

Then Yuon's gentle warmth grew abruptly fierce. An unnamable distress gripped Aitahea; the profound embrace of the Force around her shuddered. An unnamable something snapped, and Aitahea gasped aloud at the acute absence of her carefully constructed shielding. Her eyes flew open to see Yuon swaying.

"Yes, yes – it's working. I can feel his mind and… uhhh… I can feel—I…" Yuon's words trailed off, reeling listlessly for a horrible moment. Just as Aitahea was about to call her name, Yuon's eyes opened.

Only they were not Yuon Par's eyes. With horrible, sickening recognition, Aitahea felt the tendrils of darkness that she'd battled for almost a year once again entangling her beloved Master. When Yuon opened her mouth, it was not her voice that spoke.

"She can feel the power that she's challenging." Yuon slowly stood, motions mechanical. "There is no hope." Aitahea reeled back in alarm, and Qyzen hissed a sibilant curse. Vivicar laughed, examining Yuon's body as though it were a costume he wore.

"Yuon has drained your strength and made herself vulnerable to me. Still arrogant and reckless." Turning back to Aitahea, Yuon's head tilted in a horrible parody of affection, her Master's face a rictus of agonized delight. But it was Vivicar's voice that uttered her name.

"Aitahea." She shuddered but held her ground. "You don't look as strong as you did last time we spoke."

Inhaling slowly, Aitahea raised her eyes to meet the horrible, mindless stare in her Master's face, thoughts racing to find a response. "I know your name," she exhaled in a shaky whisper. Vivicar twitched Yuon' lips into a smirk but offered no reply. Aitahea continued, voice trembling. "You were once Parkanas Tark, a brave Jedi. You could be that man again."

"The past means nothing," Vivicar growled, waving a hand. "All that matters is the future, which doesn't involve you, Aitahea."

She clenched her jaw at his mockingly familiar use of her name, restraining a distraught scream of please stop. It would only fuel him further.

"See how Yuon's will crumbles before mine." Vivicar threw Yuon's head back with a laugh, casually plucking her lightsaber from her side. Aitahea felt frozen; she could not bear fighting Yuon again, not after Coruscant. But when Vivicar ignited the blade, the usual lively green replaced by unthinkable red, she stumbled back in incomprehensible terror. Every cell of her being shrieked at her to flee. Yuon's careworn face sneered down at her with unrecognizable hate. "Fitting, that two of my enemies will destroy each other."

Stunned into a blank, silent moment by the abject horror of her present, Aitahea observed her own motions as if they were saber stances, performed by an initiate in practice. Lightsaber hilt to hand. Ignite. Ready position. Block, but if the blade isn't fully —

Aitahea was shocked to find herself pinned brutally against the back wall, the ruby blade just inches from her skin. Qyzen was already aiming, but Vivicar flung out Yuon's hand and threw him to the opposite corner. Aitahea took that moment of barest distraction to send Vivicar himself flying, then climbed unsteadily to her feet and placed herself between Vivicar and Qyzen.

Vivicar drew Yuon's body up, limbs dangling as though they were on strings, a youngling's broken toy. Qyzen pushed to his feet again, growling a string of curses behind Aitahea, who hesitated at the sight of Yuon's lolling head and drooping eyelids.

At serious risk of toppling over, Yuon bent unnaturally and picked up the saber that had tumbled from her hand. Aitahea could sense that Yuon had been knocked unconscious by her reckless, panicked Force push, but Vivicar still drove her lifeless body forward.

"Parkanas Tark, Yuon Par was your friend!" Aitahea dodged a clumsy thrust. "Did she never once show you kindness, that you can do this to her? Release her! Parkanas, please!"

Aitahea blocked a second inept strike, and for a moment, Yuon's eyes cleared, her voice was her own. "Aitahea!"

Vivicar stumbled back, clutching at Yuon's head and keening pitifully. Yuon's saber hilt clattered to the floor again. Aitahea reached for it, only for anguish to pierce through all her shields, white-hot agony suffusing her. Distantly, well beyond her own tormented scream, Aitahea somehow heard Vivicar's wail become Yuon's voice again.

"It… It worked!" Yuon cried, her own eyes peering out from her spent, elated face again. "Listen, Lord Vivicar… he's out in deep space, on some sort of vessel… the coordinates!" Her hands reached out, beckoning.

Aitahea, panting in the wake of the assault, looked around for the datapad they'd had nearby, hoping that it hadn't been damaged in the struggle. A cluster of Jedi had crowded into the doorway, alerted by the unusual commotion. Aitahea found and handed the datapad to Yuon, who began softly muttering as she searched the galactic map.

"He's surrounded himself with defenses. Send this. It's his code. It will give you… time to get aboard."

Yuon pressed the datapad back into Aitahea's hands, then sank to her knees again, clutching at her head. "No—the darkness… Vivicar's will is too strong!"

Over one shoulder, Aitahea addressed anyone who was listening, fighting an overwhelming fatigue. "Fetch the Council and a medic immediately!"

"Yes, Master!" came a chorused reply as several youthful volunteers scattered. A few others began to clear the hallway in a spurt of practicality.

"I can't hold on! Please, kill me!" Yuon threw her head back, arching her spine, a strangled moan tearing itself from her throat. "End it now!"

"No, Yuon. You're safe now," Aitahea soothed, Qyzen thankfully at her side again. He lifted the datapad from Aitahea's hands so she could pull Yuon into her arms, willing the shattered shielding back in place.

Excruciating moments passed, punctuated with agony that Aitahea couldn't identify as hers or Yuon's or a lingering effect of the ritual. It was tedious and exhausting, like the time she'd attempted to paste back together a statuette of Master Gnost-Dural that a youngling under her care had broken. Pieces had been missing, and she'd been unable to fully complete the repair. Now, she filled in cracks and breaks with what felt like pieces of her soul.

Finally, the shielding began functioning. She could feel every straining fissure.

Yuon groaned, shook her head, and pulled herself from Aitahea's tenuous grasp. "The darkness… it's gone." Yuon passed a hand over her face, blinking as though she'd woken from a long slumber.

"I'm glad, Yuon," Aitahea murmured, swaying. Yuon started, suddenly recognizing her former student's distress. She grasped Aitahea's shoulders, steadying the other woman.

"You—you look exhausted." Guilt flickered over Yuon's face like a shadow. "Aitahea… You have sacrificed so much for me."

Aitahea offered a doleful half-smile, struggling to keep her eyes open. "The Jedi way is to serve. Vivicar should no longer be able to influence you, Master," she assured Yuon.

Several Padawans rushed into the room and began fussing over Yuon, her keepers that Master Satele had mentioned during their first meeting, she assumed. Qyzen leaned down and offered a scaly arm to support Aitahea as she struggled to her feet.

"Your shielding has driven him from my mind," Yuon said. Brushing off the exasperated Padawans, she caught Aitahea's other hand between her own. "Thank you."

Palm to palm, Aitahea sensed the delicate strength of her shield, already showing signs of deterioration. "Of course, Master."

The Padawans rushed in as soon as Yuon released Aitahea's hand. "I—I must rest." She blinked, and two of the Padawans took her arms, making soothing sounds. "Master Syo and the Council. They must hear of what we've learned."

"Herald needs treatment for injuries," Qyzen added as Yuon was pulled away.

Aitahea felt utterly wretched yet single-mindedly determined to end the plague as swiftly as possible. They knew where Vivicar was hiding. They could end it all in just hours.

"The Council first, Qyzen." Aitahea lifted her hand experimentally off Qyzen's steadying arm, feeling the lump in her throat tighten when her legs quivered. She took a breath, then a step, and finally waved for Qyzen to follow. With a shake of his head, Qyzen acquiesced, staying a step behind her.

By the time they'd reached the Council chamber, Aitahea had reached deeply into the Force to dampen the pain of her injuries and the fatigue of conflict. It didn't eliminate her agony, but it allowed her to focus long enough to deliver her debrief to the Council.

"The ritual was a success," she began. "Lord Vivicar is out in uncharted space in a hijacked vessel, the Progress. He knows I'm coming."

"Now only your shielding ability can stop him," Master Satele said, the other Masters nodding their consensus.

"You've shown great fortitude and once again saved Master Yuon, despite the odds." Master Syo leaned forward in his chair. "But Lord Vivicar will have made preparations, and he still has his greatest weapon—the plague itself."

Aitahea took a tremulous breath. "I believe I can save him, Master Syo. Now that I know who he really is, I could return Vivicar—Parkanas, that is—I could return him to the light."

Syo shook his head. "A noble thought, Aitahea, but don't take unnecessary risks. Your shielding ability is our only hope."

Master Jaric finally spoke. "Jedi, you're exhausted. You need medical treatment and rest." Qyzen grunted beside her in rare agreement with Master Jaric.

"There's no time to waste, Master. We must move now, before Vivicar strikes back," Aitahea argued. "I can recover en-route; I have a very capable crew waiting."

Syo glanced at Satele, then gave Aitahea an reluctant nod. "Go to the coordinates quickly. And, Aitahea—may the Force be with you."

Aitahea accepted the dismissal with a shaky bow, unable to trust her voice, and left the Council chamber. Qyzen followed, arm steady as he offered it to her again.

"Herald cannot—"

"Qyzen, we must," Aitahea interrupted. "I'll rest on the Luminous, Sia will manage the flight, and Tharan and Holiday can offer some assistance, I'm sure." Qyzen hummed a skeptical agreement but said nothing.

They limped to the shuttle pad. Aitahea idly hoped there wasn't a trail marking their path after she noticed the oozing wound at her hairline. No wonder the Council had looked so concerned; she probably looked a fright. With the coordinates already sent to Prelsiava onboard the Luminous, they could leave as soon as they were onboard. Then she would rest.

Qyzen mindfully guided Aitahea to a seat on the shuttle. She spent a few moments in unsteady healing efforts, but her grasp of the Force felt tenuous now, soaring thousands of meters above the sacred ground of Tython. Finally, Aitahea shambled on leaden feet through the orbital station to the Luminous, ready and waiting.

See-Too made a little stuttering gasp of alarm when he saw Aitahea climbing the stairs to the main deck and tottered over to fret as they ascended the stairs; Qyzen had kept her upright through the orbital station, but Aitahea's fragile strength was nearly spent. "Master Jedi, we must get you to the med bay at once!"

"Kriffing hell, Ai." Sia pushed past the droid, slinging Aitahea's arm over her shoulders. "What happened to you?" she asked, dragging the barely-conscious Jedi to the med bay. Between them, Qyzen and Sia got her onto the observation bunk while See-Too went in search of Tharan.

Aitahea roused, seizing Sia's sleeve. "Are we leaving?" she whispered, eyes briefly opening to squint blearily at the pilot.

"Got underway as soon as you closed the hatch."

Aitahea sighed deeply, the faintest smile on her lips as she closed her eyes again. "How long?"

"Six hours or so, if I got the calculations right, and I always do. You've got to rest. I'll get Tharan and Holiday in here to patch you up at least, bandage that head wound. Don't give me that line you always do about self-healing." She folded her arms, disapproval in her narrowed eyes. "You're starting to scare me, Aitahea. Very little in the galaxy scares me; you know that. When does this end?"

"Soon," Aitahea murmured. Sia sighed but didn't press her further.

"You'd have been better off staying on Tython where they have a full medical suite, you know," Tharan mentioned casually when he walked in, Holiday on his heels. He scanned a few labels before selecting a medical stim and a sedative from their supply. "Fortunately, See-Too has done exceptionally well keeping our stock current. You'll recover quickly." He unceremoniously injected Aitahea with the drugs, efficiently bandaged her obvious wounds, and then ushered everyone briskly from the med bay. Aitahea was asleep before they left.

Her wrist comm beeped; a call was coming through. Aitahea stirred but drifted back into stillness once the alert ceased to sound. A few moments later, the missed contact's ID popped unseen onto the display:

Lieutenant Erithon Zale.

AN: Be sure to read the one-shot, first-person piece Impending, occurring between this chapter and the next. Thanks to Taraum for beta reading and delightful friendship!