Walking out of the Jedi Temple, Tinara looked up at the changing sky as it began to fall into dusk. As she gave a simple sigh and gave her forehead a slight rub from the strain of the journey, she suddenly heard a faint cry from behind.

"Wait, Tinara! Wait!"

Turning around to see who was calling her, she gave a great big grin as she could see the young Yoda running up to her.

"Yoda! How's my lil' Jedi guy doing?"

Finally reaching her, the small green creature manages to stop and gasp for air.

"To wait for me you said you would. Why do you go?"

"Sorry my friend." She said crouching down to him. "But I told you that I couldn't stay too long. I'm a busy woman and I have other jobs to do you know?"

Yoda frowned at her. "Promised me you did. Promised me to a tour of the city."

Her eyebrow rose with humor as she could see this small boy getting cross at her for not taking him with her. Giving a reassuring smile, she stroked the child's cheek fondly and gave into his demands.

"So I did. Come on then, I probably can squeeze in a few more hours to be with you. I wouldn't want to be labeled as one that broke a promise. But I thought you were supposed to be with Jin Wan as he trains you to be a great Jedi Knight?"

"Uh…" Yoda stammered. "Allowed me this moment he did. Tomorrow will my training begin…"

Tinara stood up and placed her hands on her sides. "Are you sure that's what he said? Or are you just saying that to justify being with me right now? Come on kid be honest…are you supposed to be out here?"

Yoda seemed surprised she could see past his obvious bluff, he breathed out softly and lowered his eyes and ears in shame.

"No. Forbidden it was to do this…but to be with you one last time I wanted very much. Miss you I will once you leave."

She seemed very touched by the young boy's honest emotion about her; she bent over, picked him up and straddled him to her side like a mother with her child.

"Dear Yoda…how can I disappoint such a good friend. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've got a crush on me?"

Yoda slightly blushed at her insight and gave her a coy look with his eyes.

"Come on then my little boyfriend." She laughed as she saw the guilt in his eyes. "Lets go see the city and bring ya back before they notice you're gone."

Yoda cheered with delight as she continued to walk down the steps with him and headed towards an awaiting taxi craft sitting at the base of the building.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Deep within the dark moon of the Sith hideout, Darth Bane walks slowly through the twisted and evil looking caverns with the remaining group of Sith walking along side of him. All of them are hooded in their dark robes and have their hands buried within their dark cloaks as the move together like a herd of monks.

"Can you feel it?" Bane says to them all. "Can you feel the darkside growing stronger again? Now that we have taken the weaker element out of our remaining order we can now move ahead with our plans unhindered."

"There is a surge or tremor if you will Master Bane…" One of the Sith says beside him. "But it is hardly enough to make us stronger then the Jedi at this time. Their numbers are still too great and their side of the force is still more powerful then ours."

Bane sighs. "It is a beginning at best Darth Nimbus. Have faith in the darkside of the force; it will show us the way to ultimate victory one way or another. As for the Jedi, I already sense there is a rift building between their order, one that we will more then likely take advantage of when the time is right."

The others stop behind the old Sith lord as they look at each other in surprise in his admission of this new development. Bane soon stops walking himself as he feels their confusion about his news.

"A rift in the Jedi?" Darth Nimbus spoke in disbelief.

"How can this be? There hasn't been a disruption in their order in over a thousand years." Another one of them speaks.

The idle chatter between them all about the impossibility of the fact causes Bane to lose his temper and bangs his cane on the cavern floor violently.

"Enough! Yes…I have foreseen it! Their numbers are too high and the youth crave more control over the older Jedi. We've seen it before…even in our own order has this impossibility happened. It is the way of things…the way of the force."

Nimbus walks up to him and shakes his head. "I have not foreseen this event you are speaking of. The darkside has not revealed to me this nature in the Jedi…so how is it that you are able to see something that none of us cannot?"

Bane slowly giggles as he eyes them all. "I told you all before that I am much more powerful in the darkside of the force…I alone shield you all from the out stretched minds of the Jedi who even now continue to search for us all. I am the one destined to lead the Sith to victory…. while all of you are here to serve me as I resurrect our kind out of oblivion."

Shocked by his admission, the Sith group stand in anger as they listen to this old man trying to undermine them. Nimbus takes off his hood and exposes his head; the creature is black with large white teeth protruding from the sides of his mouth. His deep yellow eyes showed the black slits in the center of them; his head is oval in shape and slender at the back almost like a fish fin.

"How dare you call us your servants! We supported you when Darth Kanos criticized you for trying to take over the order. By your own words you've just proven what he feared! You alone are not in control of this order…. we are. The combined minds and powers of all of us keep the Sith strong!"

Bane howls with laughter and then suddenly stops as he glares at Darth Nimbus. "Fools. Did you really think that any of you were in complete control over everything that has happened? I needed you all with me to augment my powers and lure those that were disloyal to the surface so that I could eliminate them completely. You...in control? Far from it…far from it indeed."

"You rotten old bastard!" Nimbus screams. "We should kill you for this! We trusted your judgment…we gave you support when no other remaining Sith would! I was blind to your scheming…but no more. Brothers, Kill This Fool!"

Bane raises his hand quickly at Lord Nimbus and suddenly the dark alien twitches as if he is being squeezed from the inside out. Painfully the being howls and his eyes begin leaking a pale green liquid. As Bane's scowl grows with anger, the tighter his powers squeeze this creature and more of the being's blood pours out from every opening of his body. The other Sith are horrified by the sight of it and can only watch as their friend dies. With one last look at Nimbus, Darth Bane speaks his final words to him.

"Can you feel the power of the darkside now Lord Nimbus? That is the power that truly awaits us all!!"

With one last squeeze, the dark lord shatters into pieces as his body is scattered across the cavern in a green mess. Lowering his hand, Darth Bane gives a calm sigh and then looks at the others again.

"Are there any more objections to my leadership?"

Reluctantly, the remaining three Sith kneel down at him and lower their heads.

"We serve you Lord Bane." One of them says in a low voice.

"Excellent Lord M'Tarken." Bane smiles. "Now we are stronger then ever."

The evil man's laughter echoes through the dark tunnel as it bounces from every direction within the moon's never-ending labyrinth of hollowed out caves.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

As part of the planet blankets into night, the mega-metropolis of Courscant lights up into a dazzle of neon and electric light. The horde of passing people in the streets gives an air of excitement as the nightclubs and bars open for business, in the rush of the frenzy of drunken patrons, a young green skinned Padwan watches it all with curiosity as he walks alongside his female companion and tour guide.

"Over there is the senate building…and if you look far left to that is part of the Jedi Temple." She says to the giddy boy skipping along side of her.

"More I wish to see, Tinara! More!" Yoda shouts with excitement.

Tinara giggles at his foolish behavior and pats his head. "Easy there lil' guy. We've been out here for hours now…I've pretty much shown you all I can in this sector. Maybe you should think about heading back to the Temple now huh? I mean, I'm pretty sure the council is going to be furious with you for being out with a…a…"

Yoda looks up at her as she struggles to find the right word to describe herself.

"A friend?"

"Uh…right."

The two suddenly stop walking and she lowers herself down to his height. A look of concern now washes over her face where the once beautiful smile was and breathes out as she once again struggles to talk to the small boy.

"Look Yoda, it's been fun hanging out with you and all…but…I've got work to do, you know? The Jedi will want to know where you are…and I don't want to be the one they search for and question if you get my meaning."

The boy thinks for a second and shakes his head negatively as he doesn't comprehend what she is talking about.

"They don't like my sort." She says sternly. "To them, I'm nothing more then someone that should be locked away for all time and never allowed to pilot a ship. I've done stuff that would probably get me in a lot of trouble with the Jedi and I'd hate to think that keeping you away from the temple would be the last straw with them."

"Tell not will I." Yoda says innocently. "Only to be with you…a good friend…I wish to be."

"I know buddy." She smiles. "But there comes a time in your life when you have to learn to let go of the friends and focus on what needs to be done. You were born to be a Jedi Knight and I was born to be what I am. You're still my friend Yoda…and I'll always remember you fondly. But you were destined for greater things…I see that now."

Yoda gives a quivering sigh and his ears droop down in a sorrowful manner.

"Never to see you again will I? Must it be so? Harder to be a Jedi it is, wish it were different it makes me feel…allowed to keep the friends and not distance one self from them just to be a Jedi.'

Tinara hugged the tearful Yoda and patted him on the back for comfort.

"Hey, hey now…that's no way for a brave Jedi to act. Come on my little man, no tears for Tinara now. They may not allow us to see one another, but there's no reason we still can't talk to each other. I promise to write whenever I can and keep you up to speed with what I'm doing, ok?"

The green child sniffles and wipes his eyes. "Yes…yes…right you are. Write you back I will also…friend you will always be to me, Tinara."

Giving a last deep hug to each other, they split apart and Tinara rises to her feet again. She pats her eyes with her fingers to remove the forming tears and reaches her hand down to hold his.

"Ok, if you're going to stick with me a little longer…then I'll have to take you while I make my next contact. Just stay low and try not to get into any trouble again, ya hear?"

Yoda nods agreeingly and once again skips beside her as they walk towards one of the local bars. Shaking her head and giving a last sigh, the black woman fixes her hair with her only free hand.

"Yoda, please stop skipping. The last thing I need to do is walk into a seedy bar like this and have a young kid jumping beside me. Low key remember?"

"Sorry Tinara." Yoda snickers as he stops jumping.

"Low Key…look who's talking. I'm taking an under aged kid into a bar with me. Sheesh! How do I get myself into these things?"

As the two enter the bar, the mixture of aliens and humanoids watch them both carefully as they enter. Just as they finally step inside, another figure steps up to the bar entrance in a dark cloak and follows in behind them.