The two women eyed each other in tense silence. Neither moved.

Keena kept her limbs and Force powers carefully still, not wanting to set the Jedi off, but kept her eyes glued on the Cathar for any sudden movements. Juhani mirrored her behaviour.

A Jedi. Six feet in front of me. What. Do. I. Do. Now?

What information Mission had given her on Juhani during their trip from J-3109 had mostly been about her personality, not the specifics of her combat capabilities. It was probably safe to assume, though, that she was a formidable opponent.

Yeah, well, so was Malak . . .

As for personality information, Mission had described her as being in a way even more deeply loyal to the Jedi ideals than Bastila.

And what does that mean? She sure as all hell won´t stand by and let me get even with Revan. But what about Eskon? Will she try to stop me there? And what will I do if she does? Damn it! This is why I wanted to stay clear of any Jedi!

With the tension she felt building up inside her, Keena was slightly startled when Juhani finally spoke.

´´Hello,´´ she said softly. ´´You can relax your guard if you wish. I don´t mean you any harm Pad . . .´´ Keena´s sharp glare made the Jedi catch herself, ´´ . . . Keena.´´

Keena looked at her in silence for a few seconds, keeping completely still and with her gaze locked on the Cathar.

´´I sensed you back in the hangar, didn´t I? It was you. Ready to stop me from taking that worm´s life.´´

´´I could not just stand by and let you murder him in cold blood. No matter what he was guilty of.´´

´´No, you couldn´t, could you?´´ Keena answered dryly. ´´How . . . noble of you.´´ It was meant to be sarcastic, but just came out as a tired sigh. The woman´s attitude reminded Keena painfully of her old self.

She hurriedly changed the subject.

´´So . . . it´s obvious you were following me with your stealth powers, and slipped into the ship just as I did,´´ Keena said with false casualness. ´´What I´m curious about is: How did you find me?´´

´´I followed the signal from the tracker Mission put on you. When she grabbed your shoulder on top of the hotel.´´

Ah. Keena felt like an idiot. She almost reached her hand to feel her shoulder but knew she wouldn´t find anything. Such trackers were tiny enough to disappear into clothing fabric. That clever little Twi´lek. Guess the last laugh is hers.

Keena´s bitter chuckle didn´t seem to bother Juhani.

´´We all discussed the situation, and decided that I should follow you to . . . observe you and your movements. Tana was following from a distance, in case your presence would draw out the Sith again.´´ The Cathar sounded almost apologetic for the stalking.

´´Seems my presence wasn´t needed for that.´´ She could have jumped me anytime, anywhere. She could have waited until I was asleep the first night on this ship and pumped me full of that rancor-tranquilizer in the medical bay. Hell, she could have dragged my unconscious butt to a holding cell right after the hotel. The thought of having been so vulnerable without even knowing it made Keena inexplicably angry.

´´Yes. Eskon´s Dark Jedi must have somehow combined their power to conceal their approach to Force sensitive minds. They did the same on Dantooine.´´

Keena raised an eyebrow. ´´So you decided to follow little old me, rather than stay and help your friends take on the big, bad Sith?´´

´´Yes. It wasn´t easy but I - I had to prioritise.´´

Keena raised the other eyebrow. ´´Prioritise?´´

´´Well . . . yes. It´s obvious to me that you are somehow the key to the Sith efforts in this sector. I couldn´t risk them getting their hands on you.´´

Keena looked at her incredulously. ´´Look: I don´t know how the Sith, or you, got that idea. I spent the last year in isolation, and three years before that as far removed from all this as possible. I have nothing that would help in a war effort. Nor any interest in doing so.´´

Juhani looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments, as if trying to gauge Keena´s sincerity.

´´Well, whether there is something you do not realise or if the Sith have made a mistake, it´s clear that they are after you. And here you are; running straight to Darth Eskon. Don´t you see anything wrong with that?´´

Keena didn´t sense any direct threat from the Jedi. Merely . . . readiness. She crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair.

´´Look, I just . . . I just have to do this,´´ she growled through clenched teeth. Angry at having to explain herself. Angry because she knew Juhani was right. ´´Four years ago he saved me, or as far as I could be saved anyway, and I left him behind. I thought he was dead, but it turns out he wasn´t. And because of my mistake he is now a slave to the Dark Side like everyone else Revan sunk her claws into. ´´I . . .,´´ she took a deep breath while searching for words. ´´I have to see him. If only . . . if only to apologize.´´

Juhani´s sad eyes looked into Keena´s. With pity and . . . understanding?

´´I understand being angry with oneself. And needing to apologise. More than you might ever realise. But you can´t let your feelings control you. Not when there is so much at stake. Don´t you remember the teachings from your apprenticeship? Weren´t you taught to guard your feelings?´´

Keena could tell the Cathar was trying hard not to sound preachy, and she felt a strange . . . empathy, with this woman. It wasn´t enough to stop her next words, though.

´´To guard against feelings?´´ she said, playing out her hunch. ´´Such as your feelings for Revan?´´

This obviously caught Juhani off guard.

´´I . . . we . . .´´

Keena felt rotten, seeing how uncomfortable she´d made the Jedi. However, there was also a secret part of her that enjoyed watching her squirm. She didn´t like that part very much, but it was there all the same.

Juhani seemed to struggle for words, before finally taking a deep breath and plowing on.

´´The Council has never really commented on our . . . relationship. With the losses the Order has suffered, and the ongoing war, as well as how she and I have helped each other stay strong in the past, they seem willing to ignore it.´´

´´Huh, well congratulations. Broke one of the main rules of the Jedi and got yourself a Sith Lord to snuggle up against for it. No wonder you stand up for her.´´ Revan betrays the Jedi, betrays the Sith, and gets to enjoy what both frown upon.

Juhani just looked at her helplessly.

´´I suppose now you´re going to say something about how I should put my anger behind me for my own sake?´´ Keena said.

´´Well, shouldn´t you?´´ It was a simple argument, but striking.

Keena was saved from having to answer when the ship´s autopilot took them out of hyperspace. A glance over her shoulder gave Keena a look at the asteroid field surrounding Gildra.

Keena swiveled the chair back to the controls, silently daring the Cathar to try something. ´´Well, looks like we´re here,´´ she said tersely and turned the copilots chair around for Juhani. ´´And since you´re so keen on keeping me out of harm´s way, Jedi, you can help me navigate through those asteroids.´´

Juhani stood still for a few moments before sitting down. Neither woman spoke as they started to carefully navigate through the honeycomb of floating mountains. Even with the shields up a collision would most likely spell certain doom.

As always, several emotions warred for Keena´s attention. She felt terrified at the prospect of meeting Eskon again. Terrified and ashamed. However, there was also an insidious ray of hope stabbing into her consciousness.

What am I hoping for? Resolution? Punishment? That he´ll let me join him . . . could that be it?

And Juhani . . . why was she so ready to assist? She had warned Keena against going after Eskon.

She certainly is relaxed in the presence of one out to settle a score with her Dark Lord snugglebunny.

´´So, do you have a plan?´´ Juhani broke the silence. ´´For what you will do when you come face to face with Darth Eskon?´´

Keena held her breath for a little moment before answering. ´´I´ll know what to do when the time comes. What about you? You must have something in mind.´´

Juhani didn´t look up from the controls. ´´Not as such. I place my faith in the Force to guide me through this.´´

´´That´s it? Come on, there must be something more.´´

Juhani still didn´t look up. ´´ "There is little left to chance where the Force is involved." Didn´t your master teach you that?´´

A venomous idea occurred to Keena. She knew it would be painful, and petty, but a part of her somehow longed to see the Cathar´s confident demeanor shaken.

´´Well, you tell me. You must have talked to him when you contacted the Council.´´ she bit through her teeth.

Juhani looked up, startled, and Keena felt bitter success.

´´I . . . your master . . .´´ Juhani sighed and braced herself. ´´He died. He went . . . um, he went on a mission at the start of the Sith war and never returned.´´

Keena´s face twisted into a pained mockery of a grin.

´´Forgotten the bonds between master and apprentice, have you? I felt it happen, shortly after escaping The Storm. And judging by the way you tiptoe around it, I´m guessing Revan had something to do with it.´´

Keena knew the Jedi must have sensed her pain, or at the least seen it in her eyes, but her compassionate look still somehow caused her jaw to clench.

´´As soon as Revan and Malak started their attacks on the Republic, a group of Jedi Masters went to try to reason with them. To try to bring them back i

into the fold. Your master insisted on going with them.´´

´´Ah . . .´´ Keena´s nails dug into her palms. ´´Of course he did. He must have been looking for me . . . must have assumed I had joined Revan in her treachery.´´

´´Well . . . ,´´ Juhani spoke in the careful tone of one about to say something that would most likely not go down well. ´´Since you weren´t turned, why didn´t you warn anyone? Why not tell the Jedi what was coming?´´

Keena´s index finger, with a bloodied nail, shot out to point at the Cathar´s face.

´´Are you blaming me, since I did not report the invasion planned by your Dark Lord girlfriend?!´´

´´No, I . . .´´

´´Well, to answer your question Revan must have sped up her plans after I escaped, since by the time I regained my senses the attacks had already started! I was a jumbled mess as I made my escape, not to mention the fact that I was on a small vessel a long way from Republic space, and had to dodge Sith search teams. Hell, they almost caught me once. I had them right behind me, just waiting for me to come out of hyperspace, and I didn´t even know it . . .´´

A light went on in Keena´s head.

´´What happened to Revan?´´

The yellow eyes blinked.

´´You said she was following you as you were following me on Brim. And here you are, with no one to watch your back, going quite confidently to meet with a Sith Lord. And you´re navigating awful slowly. More slowly than neccessary. Like you´re . . . stalling.´´

Juhani seemed to consider her next course of action, then realise she was caught.

´´The Ebon Hawk was docked a little way away from this ship. As I boarded with you she followed us, and has been doing so for the past four days. I have been keeping contact with her through the Force.´´

´´And kept me from sensing it,´´ Keena said with a stiff face. ´´Good job. Looks like we´re due for a little three-way reunion.´´

Keena´s hand found the accelerator and she steered the ship on a quicker course through the thick asteroid field. Some of Gildra´s barren surface was starting to show.

´´Keena, don´t!´´ Juhani put her hand over Keena´s. ´´Whatever Eskon may have been to you, he is now every bit the monster Revan and Malak were!´´

Keena shook the hand off. ´´Stay out of this!´´

Under Keena´s reckless piloting The Blue Wing zigzagged past gigantic rocks at high speed, and Gildra´s grey body quickly filled the viewport.

Now, where is he?

The ship shook. Both women looked up. A Sith battleship, six times the size of The Blue Wing, had come out from behind an asteroid and fired on its flank. Keena started powering up the weapons. There was no chance of making it through the dangerous asteroid field while under fire. Combat was the only option, no matter how uneven.

Another hit came, but from the other flank. Another ship, just as large, had come out of hiding. And as whatever means were being used to diguise the ships from the Force were no longer needed, Keena sensed a third one at the rear.

A trap! I walked right into a trap! But . . . but I sensed no deception from Pol . . . or was I too angry to notice?

The ambush was skillfully executed, and as the crossfire hammered them from three directions the shields quickly gave out.

´´Great, we´re naked!´´

´´Go down to the planet!´´ shouted Juhani. ´´It´s our only chance!´´

Keena sent the ship into a dive, hurtling face-first towards Gildra´s rocky surface. As they entered the atmosphere a blast hit one of the thrusters and the ship started spinning uncontrollably.

The ground approached fast, in the form of a twisting spiral.

Keena ran her fingers over the controls in a chaotic dance, drawing on every trick she could think of to raise the ship´s nose. Nothing worked.

´´Use the Force, Keena! We must combine our power!´´

It was a trick Keena hadn´t used since the Mandalorian war, and then only rarely.

Well, it´s that or end up as a protein-smear on a mountainside.

She put her right hand in Juhani´s left and closed her eyes, trying to keep the fear from distracting her.

Keena´s chaotic Force aura mingled with Juhani´s calm one and their individual power reverberated off of the other ones´.

The ship was caught in an invisible fist, and was slowly steadied into a slower drop.

Keena´s hands found the controls and lifted the ship´s nose up. The ground that dominated the viewport was replaced by a mountainside; one they were headed for at high speed.

Keena let the Force flow through her senses, sharpening everything into a painfully clear picture.

A mine entrance was just visible as a black dot. A dot that grew rapidly.

She dipped the ship´s altitude slightly as the murderous mountainside filled her view.

There was a loud crash and the sound of ripping metal as the top of The Blue Wing was sheared off upon entrance.

The cavern was huge, but the impact sent the ship into a spin and against the wall.

The cockpit lights went out as the ship went further in, bouncing back and forth between surfaces.

Something came loose and flew into Keena´s temple.

--------------------

Keena opened her eyes. It hurt. A lot.

She wasn´t sure how far in they had gone after she´d lost consciousness, but as a mixed blessing the wreck had stopped on its underside.

The Blue Wing was done for. One look around the cockpit, illuminated by emergency lights and sparks from exposed machinery, told her that without any doubt.

She carefully moved her limbs, as well as concentrating on her own Force aura to check for injuries.

There was nothing broken. A few scrapes and bruises, sure, but the worst injury was a slight cut on her temple.

She´d fought with much worse.

Keena´s intact condition was growing into a great wonder until she realised she was strapped into the chair.

But I didn´t strap in. There wasn´t time.

She scanned her memory for those few hectic seconds between entering the atmosphere and the crash, and remembered feeling Juhani use the Force just before they entered the mine. She had assumed the Cathar had been trying to steady their course, or shield herself.

Keena glanced to her left. Juhani was securely strapped in as well; except that the chair itself had come loose at some point. The Cathar, along with the runaway chair, was on her side by the entrance into the cockpit. She was unconscious and had a nasty, bleeding cut on her forehead.

Keena methodically unstrapped herself, stood unsteadily for a few moments, and walked over kneel by the Jedi.

She put her hands on the Cathar and examined her through the Force. Red hot pain. Several broken bones. Probably a concussion. She wouldn´t be surprised if internal bleeding was in package as well.

Juhani weakly mumbled something under her breath. It sounded like a name.

A cold chill ran along the surface of Keena´s skin as she felt it: A sick, infected cloud. Cutting through the Force like a filthy, dull razor. Coming closer. It felt horribly much like Revan, back during the nightmare of endless torture back on The Storm. This wasn´t Revan, however. Despite the putrid quality to it the aura was still one she recognized.

Almost automatically, Keena stepped over the chair and its occupant and into the hallway. She went into Pol Svikari´s makeshift medical bay and found the belt of kolto shots. She pulled out two and injected them simultaneously into her system. In a few seconds all her aches and pains had vanished.

´´I´m ready,´´ she said to the universe at large in an unsteady voice.

The greatest lie of my life. I´m NOT ready. Not for this. Not ever.

The sick presence had moved past the mine entrance; so close that Keena could feel it like a sour taste in the back of her mouth.

On legs that felt like jelly she turned towards the nearest hole in the hull and took a step towards it.

Another moan reminded Keena of her stowaway/copilot.

What did she say? "Master"? "Mother"?

Something about the pained, childlike quality of the injured Cathar´s voice hooked a line in Keena´s heart and pulled her towards the cockpit.

She knelt by the Jedi, who mumbled something again.

The woman who had tried to talk her out of seeing Eskon. Who had quite possibly saved her life in the crash. Whom Keena felt an odd kind of empathy with.

Keena felt strange. The feeling was so unfamiliar that it took her a moment to recognise what it was.

For the first time in four years she didn´t feel pulled in two directions. There was no conflict. No indecision.

This is what it feels like . . . I had forgotten about it.

She held up the four remaining kolto shots. The ever-present voice of self-preservation was there, of course, telling her she might need them quite soon. But it had no power.

One by one she took out the shots and injected them into the Cathar. She then carefully undid the buckles and stretched her out in a lying position on the floor.

The bleeding cut slowly closed, and Juhani´s breath eased.

Keena stood up. She still felt strange about the whole thing . . . scared even. And maybe a little silly. But she didn´t feel conflicted. It was . . . refreshing . . . and almost managed to distract her from the approaching dark cloud, and the ever growing dread deep in her stomach.

Time to face this. Time to face my folly.

She stepped out of the wreck.

A small shuttle was moving into the cave. It stopped about two hundred feet away from the trembling Keena and touched down.

The doors opened; agonizingly slowly, it seemed. To Keena they sounded like hissing portents of doom.

The center of the putrid cloud stepped out.

´´Hello Keena.´´

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Author´s note: The Dark Lord of cliffhangers strikes again! Muahahahahahahah!!!

Seriously, though, I honestly try to get these chapters done quicker, but something always seems to come up. Maybe enough reviews/death threats will prod me into hurrying up with the next one.

Many thanks to snackfiend101, and my beta, Holli.