Authors Note: This is written by Derisa, Rani and I. You ARE going to notice this is written by different people. I really can't help that and I certainly can't go back and rewrite these people's characters. Just remember this last half was originally a round robin and I had to do a LOT of sizing down to get it to fit in, without bringing in more peoples characters. Thanks for reading and the patience in between updates.

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Selorissa was *hungry*, starved for the dark exultation of another's mind in her possession, the wonderful opiate of *real* power.

The Sith-Witch watched the Jedi avidly, his movements as effortless as a bird in flight, that wonderful clean grace to his steps and vibrant swing of his ignited blade. She savored a smile of sheer anticipation as her guardsman drove the black-haired Knight back, but his retreat appeared too controlled. You are not fooling *me*, Jehdieeeh she whispered into the still, airy vault of his thoughts, and she almost laughed as his brow creased in intensified concentration.

Fight me harderrr, Jeh-die... oh yess! I will so *enjoy* devouring you... Her eyes glittered with lust for revenge; for her, and for those of her people also barred from entering into Jedi training, regardless of their sensitivity to the universal power of the Force. Too many of we Sellirri are abandoned to die in the wilderness of Akessiae, all to salve Jedi pride. Taste of our vengeance, Jeh-diehh... and know your Order to be doomed!

She swung with him as the fight swirled around her, keeping her reptilian eyes locked on the face of the battling Jedi. Selorissa knew her minion would last only as long as he could: the Jedi was a superb warrior, his blade a shimmering blur in the dimness of the Ship Storage warehouse. Her henchman was weakening too quickly, his magnificent reptilian form too brawny to hold out for long against the faster, slighter Jedi warrior he faced.

The Sith-Witch drew in a breath and filled herself with the throbbing power of her hatred, the sharp bite of her hunger. The Jedi were an abomination, weak, encouraging the Force to divide itself further and further, diminishing its might with their petty manipulations, their mind-tricks and minor manifestations. There were too many Jedi, and Selorissa was pleased with the success of her efforts to eradicate them, but it was time to escalate the offensive, she felt. Her Master was wrong, too cautious, too... *political*.

What need have we for politicssss, Jeh-die? *Thisss* is how we are meant to be: creaturessss of powerrr... give into it, beautiful one... give me your powerrrr... she slid out a sinuous tendril, a spell to ensnare the Jedi warrior, who was struggling hard with his discipline, and his own emotional detachment.

What has you so unfocussed, my pet? she asked him, her question a silent shard of oiled ice in his mind.

She caught a sudden flash of memory in answer: the clear, brown, doe eyes of a girl, a Jedi girl, her hair a fragrant cloud, her skin a fine, pale alabaster, soft and smooth as silk...her lips honeyed... A *Jedi* girl: his... Apprentice...? His mind's barriers rose again, rallying around the thought of this girl, and Selorissa knew she had to use what she had: turn The Jedi's own shield into an edged weapon *against* him...

What a succulent morsel she issss! the Sith-Witch purred into his mind, savoring the burst of protective anger from the Jedi Master. His control was slipping, and she slid herself further into him, insinuating herself throughout the corridors of his thoughts, so that wherever he turned, there she was, smiling sensuously back at him. She felt his panic flare, and his connection to the wild airy reaches of the Force slipped even further away.

With his mental control went his physical enhancements, his channeling of the Force into muscle and synapse, and he was trapped in a battle he could not win. With a last twist of the Sith-Witch's powers into him, the Jedi's foot slipped out from under him, suddenly unable to carry the weight of his retreat from the whirling energy pike, and his eyes turned to hers. Blue as the sky they were, and wide with the pain of the jolt against his shoulder, until they fluttered closed and she took possession of his mind. His lightsabre winked out, and she closed in for the kill.

Selorissa hovered over him, one clawed hand clutching his limp shoulder. He was... intoxicating, his essence struggling even through his unconscious state as she drove her mind into his, drinking his rich memories as though she were parched.

Ahhhhh... a silent sated sigh, as she drew back her resources, before diving in again, to drink as deeply of his memories, his power, his *self*, as she could.

When she had drained him dry, she would rend his mind, ripping his soul free of the husk of flesh that housed it, and the Galaxy would be free of one more Jedi.

***

The dead silence of her room unnerved her and more so, the feeling of emptiness that seemed to have crept in. The shadows of the room seemed to appear darker this night and the young woman shivered, unsure of what she was sensing.

A pillow clasped in her lap, Meri sat on her bed fighting sleep. She was waiting for some sign of his return - a sound at the door, or the light of his presence banishing the chilling darkness of their quarters.

Her earlier feeling of anxiousness hadn't dissipated, but instead had expanded, and she longed to know where her Master was at that moment in time, to be by his side.

Minutes stretched to hours, and seeking reassurance, Meri pulled the warmth of their bond around her, reveling in the connection. It, at least, told her that Alex was well.

As the evening wore on, the apprentice's thick eyelashes began to flutter against her face. Finally she slid down to rest on her side, still disturbed by an elusive shadow of apprehension. Unable to fight her own weariness any longer, she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

The quarters of the master and apprentice slipped into a foreboding silence, disturbed only by the soft breathing of the young woman. Then, gradually, almost imperceptibly at first, it changed tempo, becoming shallower, more frantic.

The heavy silence was suddenly broken, a desperate, agonized scream rising to shatter the stillness.

Meri woke to the dying echoes of her own anguished cry: his name, torn up from the depths of her soul as a connection that should have lasted a lifetime, snapped.

Sitting bolt upright in her bed, her face twisted in terror, Meri grasped frantically within her mind for the bond that should have been pulsing with the vitality of the Force. She found no sign of it, as though it had never existed.

She commanded herself to wake up. She had to be trapped in some nightmare, inspired by the darkest moment in her young life. This could not be happening again. The Force wasn't this cruel. Her master couldn't be dead, not *Alex*.

Stilling her panic, she again reached consciously for her bond, that tether that had tied them inseparable, but she found only emptiness, and Meri was slammed back into herself by the icy realization that she was once again, *alone*.

Surrendering to her own terror, the girl began again to cry her beloved master's name, as though she could somehow summon him back from being one with the Force. Instead, Meri's voice was choked out by the hysterical sobs, and the horror that now gripped her senses, held her mind hostage.

***

It was soft and dark where the Jedi was, a true and safe haven. She had floated there for a timeless time, wrapped in peace and tranquility, feeling the Force ripple through her like the familiar vibrant, comforting heat of a hearthfire.

How long had it been since she had reveled in that warmth, letting it penetrate into her being for her own sake, rather than channeling it for the sake of others? Before, the effort had exhausted her, depleting her of her ability to function and focus as a Jedi is trained. Now the Force surrounded her again, restoring her strength slowly, bringing her the balance that had eluded her these past months.

Rani felt a well-acquainted tug, luring her to watch some of those welcome fires dance a little closer, and then closer still, until she saw *through* the flames, and into...a dimly-lit, cavernous room, sounds dulled and indistinct amid the vast spaces arching overhead.

In the centre of a pool of light, a blood-red figure hunched over a slumped heap of Jedi robes. The pale flesh and seamless beauty of the scarlet-robed female form exuded a miasma of directed malevolence towards her victim, sprawled on the floor at her feet. She extended her hand in a possessive claw over the suddenly familiar head of tousled black hair...

Alex.

The figure shot an unimpressed glance at the advancing Jedi, and with a flick of her wrist, directed her minion to face off against the female Knight. He was a hulking reptilian warrior, clad in scarred battle-armor and armed with a fully charged energy pike, which he had already used to excellent effect on the fallen Jedi at his Mistress's feet. His scaled lip curled up in a threat display that would give most other opponents distinct pause.

The flame shifted again, but Rani clung tightly to her bond, knowing by a power beyond normal understanding that her friend needed her, more than she realized.

//T'Lor…// The name was not so much a word as a series of images, a collage of feelings, memories and emotions: mischievous teasing companion, diabolical genius of a thousand childhood pranks, respected and admired...Friend.

//Rani!// came the instantaneous response through the fire that was her mind's interpretation of the Force.

With a snap-hiss that seemed too quiet in the cavernous vaults of the ship storage facility, T'Lor brought her weapon to bear on the advancing reptilian warrior.

***

Ahhhh, yessss, fight me, Jediiieeeehhh...you *are* a strong one, aren't you?

Selorissa savored the slowly weakening struggles of the Jedi's mind, as he tried to defend his very essence from her onslaught. He was so sweetly protective of his Apprentice, so defensive of his feelings for her, already she was losing herself in the pleasure of pulling those memories out of him. She almost laughed aloud at the sudden flail of panic that raced through the fallen Jedi when he realized what she was doing to him.

One by one, she drank his memories, day by day, month by month... year...by...year...

She felt a ripple of warning, some danger nearby that threatened to interrupt her depraved feast, and the witch opened her eyes just in time to see the robe-clad female ignite her lightsabre with a snap-hiss.

With a brief gesture of her hand, the last of her puppet guards stepped forward to engage the diminutive woman. Selorissa could tell even from where she stood that this Jedi was far less a threat to her than the one at her feet had been. This one was less experienced, less disciplined in her thoughts and feelings, less...masterful of the Jedi ways. At best, the so-called Knight would make a disappointing aperitif once the witch was finished devouring the mind of her current victim.

Sssoon enough, little girl...all in good tiiiiime....

Seeing the reptilian catspaw square off against T'lor and preventing further interruption of her sensory repast, she turned her attention once more to the limp and unconscious form of Alex Arieh. Scenes of training with her, the one called Meri...oh, how deeply he loved her! Further back in time, their first meeting...how tender and patient he had been with her! Truly, this was something to savor in its destruction.

Selorissa was lost in the euphoria of it all as another year dissipated from his memory: the humiliation of his youthful appearance as he yearned for the respect that more aged knights received...his awkwardness in relationships with his former peers...Ah! His feelings for his own Master...the exquisite bittersweet blends of sadness and pride at the cutting of a braid, and a bond...

Another ripple of alarm interrupted her a second time, and the witch howled in her anger and frustration at this intrusion of her meal, at the very moment she was about to truly taste of his raw, undisciplined youth.

The glowing blade sunk deep into the reptilian's chest, piercing through his back but missing his alien heart and lungs. It was a pointless hope that it would continue to fight off her Jedi attacker, the witch realized, as the girl adjusted her grip on the sabre's hilt and drew it up and angled, cleaving the guard from left breast to right temple in one clean and definite stroke. The young Knight advanced even as the lizard creature crumpled to the floor, its cauterized wound still hissing within the lifeless, scaly corpse.

The witch Selorissa drew herself up to her full height, focussing the powers of the Dark Force to erase this nuisance once and for all. She would not even bother to savor this one's memories...brutally swift and simple erasure would be more efficient, as well as fitting. Perhaps she would leave this one alive? Yes, an empty and useless shell to send back to the temple as a tangible warning to the despised Knights that the Galaxy was theirs no longer.

She stalked forward, her fingers clawing at the air between them. A smile parted her lips as she saw the young Knight hesitate, eyes wide as she obviously felt the witch's probing thoughts slithering over her mental shields, seeking a hold, some crevasse or weakness to help her tear them down. Jediiiieeehhh...your training cannot help you now...it could not help your deliciousssss friend, nor any of the others I've takennnn… she called to the young woman's mind as their eyes locked with each other.

The Knight's only answer was a steady and determined step closer, and a raise of her lightsabre's blade to an attack position.

Selorissa's smile melted away. Something was wrong. She should at least be sensing *some* fear or anger, some weakening of the girl's defenses, but there was nothing...a total silence and solid focus from the Jedi, as though she had not even *heard* the witch's taunts in her mind. The blade came closer as the Knight took another confident step forward.

Fighting her own panic, the Sith-trained woman tried again, this time at full force, to attack T'lor's mental barriers like a psionic battering ram.

She sensed, rather than saw, a sudden and violent wall of flame erupt at the edges of the Knight's mind. The witch yanked herself back both physically and mentally, her psychic tendrils burned at touching the firey curtain that protected her attacker.

This was not possible! How could this young, inexperienced Knight possibly ignore her attack so easily, when the Jedi Master at her feet could not? She did not even have him to help her...she was alone, outnumbered...

No, not alone! Someone is helping her! How?

Desperately, Selorissa retreated a double step, stumbling backward over the body of her previous victim. The girl before her advanced, filling her view, the glow from her lightsabre blinding her to any clear view of the darkened room beyond, but the witch knew no one else was there. Who is aiding her? her mind raced as she brought her arms up to channel the Dark Force for a more physical counterattack.

Even as the lightning began to crackle across her hands, her focus was shattered by an answering voice in her mind borne of pure flame.

// LEAVE HER ALONE \\

The Sith witch let out a screech of surprise and pain, and clutched at her ears in vain. Steeling herself, she closed her eyes and drew on her dark energy once more. If she could reinforce her own shields enough, perhaps she could ignore the Jedi's unseen defender and yank the lightsabre from her assailant's hands using the Force.

// DAVIN, CIARAN, ALEX…I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HER TOO! \\

Selorissa matched the telepathic "shouting" with her own audible scream of fury, and shut her eyes against the firey psionic barrage that held her at bay. A moment later she opened them, and saw the lightsabre blade arcing down upon her...

**

The blade snapped down, searing the air between them, and the Sith-Witch leapt back frantically, evading T'Lor's first sweep with the cohesive blade of light.

"I am the Representative of the system Akessssiae," the woman cried, her voice panicked, "You have no say in these matterssss, Jehdiehhh! I have... " she searched for the words, then smiled evilly, "Diplomatic immunity." She gathered her defenses again, and her smile grew ugly as she built up her resources to hit the Jedi with every ounce of hatred in her petite form.

"Too many have suffered at your hands," T'Lor said coldly, as she faced the real source of all the losses the Temple had seen in the past several months. The Knight frowned determinedly, "No more."

Her hand was wrapped around the sabre hilt, its weight and familiar vibration comforting in her hand, and the buzzing of the lightbeam an anchor to her soul. T'Lor shared her vision with Rani, her perceptions filtered through the curtain of flame that guarded the sanctity of her mind.

She stepped past Alex's prostrate form and advanced on the Sith-Witch. T'Lor consigned her sorrow at another life given the living Force till a later time, and focused her awareness on her adversary.

Another stride forward and the two faced each other, and T'Lor repressed the swell of satisfaction she felt at the sudden flash of fear in the Sith-Witch's eyes. Her raptor eyes tightened on her quarry, and she drew up her weapon for her final attack.

A sudden, panicked gesture, and the Sith-Witch had her guardsman's pike in her delicate hands. She used the shielded length of the weapon to direct a flail of Dark Side energy. Again she lashed out, her mental attacks growing more violent, more viscious, even as the Dark Force powered lightning whips to flay at the young Knight.

Pain burned through T'Lor, her nerves afire, but with Rani's help, she quickly rerouted it to a reservoire where she would deal with it later. She would have to: later, but not now.

T'Lor inhaled a deep breath as she stepped forward, sweeping her lightsabre up and across her body to clash sharply against the shielded length of the energy pike. There was a crackle of conflicting energies, and T'Lor's Force-enhanced muscles slowly began to bear her foe back.

The Sith-Witch managed to block another blow, but only barely, her untrained body beginning to fail under the onslaught of the Knight's honed skills. The sorceress could not keep up the flow of Dark energy towards the Jedi and maintain her concentration enough on the combat to block the sabre-blows flashing down on her in a sizzling rain of light.

Rani's presence in her friend's mind was a fiery well of energy for her to draw on, enhancing her connection with the Force so that T'Lor could focus on destroying this creature of the Dark Side. She felt the reassurance of her soul sister as she drew her arm back and tapped the shaft of the pike. Its shielding shunted aside the cutting edge of the lightsabre, but not the force of the blow, and the Sith-Witch's strength failed her at last. The long-hafted weapon was knocked from her stunned hands, and T'Lor's blade slid, shimmering, home.

In the breathless pause that followed, the only sound in the dim reaches of the Akessian ship storage, buried in the heart of the Diplomatic Sector, was the buzzing hum of T'Lor's lightsabre, sheathed in the black heart of the Sith-Witch.