shanesnest and snackfiend, thanks for reviewing. I feel less nervous about posting this next chapter. I'm eager to hear your opinions.

shanesnest: Thanks for noticing that mistake there. I have changed it, so it should be less confusing. Oh, well. These things happen. It only proves that no author is perfect, eh?

snackfiend: Then again, having Rosh's arm cut off is pretty satisfying, too. I often wonder if it was the intention of the people at Lucasarts to make Rosh the way he is. He's the Jar-Jar Binks of the Jedi Knight series. And personally, I'm a light side player, but fighting Kyle in the dark side ending is just too fun to resist. He's the toughest boss in the entire game.

5-3-05 Edit: Added some dialogue near the end of the chapter, in the middle of Jaden's message.
5-25-05 Edit: Changed a couple of words around to make things more clear.

Hyperspace – The Raven's Claw

The Raven's Claw hurtled through open space towards Yavin 4. Flickering light from the passing stars played over the ship's hull. Inside the ship, a raven-haired youth sat at the controls, his lips pursed together as he surveyed the swirling light before him.

The brown-haired, middle-aged man slumped in the copilot's chair was more relaxed than his companion. The man's eyes were closed and he breathed deeply and slowly as if asleep.

The console beeped. The young man leaned forward to look at the display. His eyes widened, and he poked his copilot in the arm.

"Kyle! Wake up!"

The older man opened one brown eye lazily. "What is it, Rosh?"

"We're getting a transmission. I think it's...it's from Master Skywalker!" At this, Kyle opened his other eye and sat up straight. He blinked hard a few times to chase away the sleepiness and tapped a few controls.

A blue-tinted hologram of a man materialized on the console. Luke Skywalker spoke first. "Kyle, Rosh."

"Luke." Kyle acknowledged. "What's up?"

"Something disturbing."

"Well, I figured you didn't call to ask for the time."

"And if you had," Rosh interjected, "That certainly could have been classified as 'disturbing.'"

Luke wasn't one to give comebacks, but he smiled at Rosh's comment. "Yes, I suppose it would be. How far are you from Coruscant, Kyle?"

Kyle called up the galaxy map on the Raven's Claw. "Approximately five hours. Why?"

"I've been in contact with Jaden. It seems that something has gone wrong with her latest mission. I sent Jaden to Coruscant to investigate and retrieve a Sith artifact."

"Wait a second," Kyle interrupted. "You said 'Sith?'"

"Yes. A Twi'lek male happened upon it while scavenging in the underlevels. Not knowing what it was, he activated it. He was found dead six days ago."

Kyle and Rosh looked at each other, concerned. "I sent Jaden to Coruscant immediately upon hearing the news," Luke continued. "I received a text-only transmission from her fifty hours ago, saying that she had found, and I quote, 'something disturbing.'"

"Hence your use of the phrase earlier," Rosh put in.

"Yes."

"Could you send us the message?" Kyle asked.

Luke nodded. "The message is on its way. And there's more. I want you and Rosh to go to Coruscant yourselves and find out exactly what is happening there. I've told Jaden to stay put until you arrive."

"Oh." Kyle nodded. "Okay. Where is the artifact now?"

"I do not know. The Twi'lek was the last known person to hold it. But don't investigate the artifact itself until you find out what's bothering Jaden." He paused. "There is a disturbance in the Force. I fear there is more going on here than either you or I, or even Jaden, know. Be extremely cautious."

Kyle touched his hand to his forehead in a salute. "Will do."

The hologram dissipated.

"I thought I talked with him about over-using that sentence," Kyle muttered.

"What sentence?" Rosh asked curiously.

"'There's a disturbance in the Force.'"

"Oh, that one. I thought you were talking about 'Be extremely cautious.'"

"That one too. Now let's see that message." Kyle brought Jaden's message up on the display.

"In my investigation of the Sith artifact, I have come upon something disturbing."

"Ha!" Rosh crowed. "There it is! 'Something disturbing.'"

"Shut up and just read the message."

It continued, "Recently, I have been experiencing nightmares while I slept. At first, I thought it was caused by residual stress from last year's incident on Korriban. But I found that as I came closer to the artifact, the nightmares became more severe, and I started experiencing flashbacks even when I was awake. Meditation does not help. Sleep is impossible. I feel that I am incapable of completing this mission. I would strongly recommend not sending anyone else to investigate the artifact. I will return to the Academy as soon as possible and brief you upon my arrival."

Kyle leaned back in his chair, deeply disturbed by what Jaden had written. Rosh sat quietly, waiting for his Master to say something.

At length, Kyle turned towards Rosh and spoke. "Any thoughts, Rosh?"

Rosh was tempted to say something funny like, "Well, that could definitely be described as 'something disturbing,'" but the gravity of the situation made him hesitate.

Instead, he commented, "I'm thinking we should change our course right now."

"You took the words right out of my mouth, kid." The two set about plotting a new course for Coruscant.