15: The Power of the Dark Side

They arrived late the following afternoon, and the temperature had warmed considerably. Bastila and Lal gave the Starmap data to the Council, and Lal had expected some more answers from them. But the Council dismissed them, in order to examine and research this information. Lal was starting to understand Carth's frustration with being tugged this way and that, at the whim of a higher power. But perhaps it was for the best since Lal was exhausted. She thought about taking the Speeder out to her house, but ultimately, she just collapsed on her tummy in a bunk on the Hawk.

Lal awoke to a distant tickling sensation upon her cheek. In irritation, she brushed at it, but the sensation returned. Her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up with a yawn to find a shiny blob of metal hovering over her. Ay-Vee's sensor dome swiveled down to watch her with his customary curiosity. The droid released a muted stream of beeps and chirps at her, and a smile found its way onto her lips.

"Well, you're looking quite chipper, aren't you?" she chuckled, gently reclaiming a strand of her hair from one of his grasper arms. The droid whistled and spun in a circle, showing off his polished chassis. Of course, she had no idea what the little thing was saying, so she just nodded. "Oh, indeed. You look brand new. All shiny. I trust you'll be more considerate of Zaalbar's sensitive hearing since he went through so much trouble to put you back together?"

The droid responded with an excited symphony of whistles ending with an emphatic beep.

"Er…yes. Brilliant. Oh, and do try to be more careful in the future, hmm?"

Lal heard a stirring in the bunk across from hers and saw Mission's head peek out from beneath a thermal sheet. Mission glanced around with eyes that could barely open and muttered, "Time izzit?"

"Go back to sleep, honey," Lal told her. Mission yawned and propped herself up on her pillow. She squinted at Lal and Ay-Vee and rubbed her eyes. Lal moved over to sit on the edge of Mission's bunk and reached out to stroke the girl's head.

"Those two are like best buds now," Mission murmured sleepily. Ay-Vee chirped out his agreement eagerly. "I don't understand Wookiees. Once he got Ay-Vee back together again, he just started upgrading stuff. But he did turn down the volume on his speaker-thingee…"

"Ah. Of course."

Mission squeezed Lal's hand and laid back against the pillow. "Glad you're back…" In seconds, Mission was snoozing once more. It must have been very late. Lal figured she probably should have climbed back in bed, but she had been asleep since the afternoon.

So, she drew the sheet up over Mission's shoulders and stood. She went and took a shower and changed into a soft tan tunic that fell down past her thighs. She stole a pair of Mission's boots that came close to matching and laced them up to her knees. Mission had a slightly unhealthy taste for leather, it seemed, but these boots were fashioned from something that felt like tanned Vedra hide. Felt smooth and silky against her legs. But given how rare Vedra was, Lal decided it must be imitation. But obviously Mission had found someplace in the Enclave that sold off-world fashions. Good Mission. Good girl. Lal wasn't quite ready to be caught dead or alive in the Jedi robes that Basi favored. Beyond anything else she felt about the Jedi, Lal had come to the conclusion that they seemed to possess no sense of fashion.

Lal stepped out of the cabin, orbited by a steadily chirping Ay-Vee. She thought about ordering him to leave her alone, but she had sort of missed his constant curiosity. She found no one awake on the central deck, and when she peeked into the cockpit, she found Carth snoozing in the pilot's seat, with a blanket draped over him. Probably couldn't stand Wookiee snoring in the cabin set aside for the boys. Of course, Wookiees released other bodily noises that were far more disruptive to slumber.

Lal considered waking Carth up. She wanted to talk. To kiss. To touch him. But she thought about what Bastila had told her about Jedi, and about…being with others…Scorn darkened her thoughts and she considered it quite a foolish thing to be celibate out of fear. And then, she wondered if it was that sort of thinking that had found her in the company of Revan and Malak. She watched Carth for a moment longer, listening to the breaths he took, and then, in silence, she left the Ebon Hawk.

She left the landing pad and found herself wandering within the halls of the Jedi chambers. Her steps were idle and unguided as she slowly walked through the corridors. If she closed her eyes and held her breath, she could almost her the tumbling of tiny feet, children running through the corridors on their way to class. She imagined an entire pack of little Padawans in robes sized to just barely fit their little bodies…arguing, teasing, giggling. That's what children did.

But what about Jedi children? Did they laugh or cry? Did they fidget in line and dally in the halls? Did they tattletale and pass notes? Did they skin their knees?

Were they children at all?

She glanced down at her hands and held them up before her eyes. Hands such as these, learnéd in the skills of death and of life, they did not grow so talented overnight, but over a lifetime, almost from birth. It had to be so for the skills to come to her even though her memories had not. Abilities so engrained as to become instinct. Like walking. The children of the Jedi had to have their lessons pounded into them from a very young age. No time to be children. No time to laugh and be silly and play games and run and run and run all day. No time for these things when the goal was to become a Jedi.

And is that why she rebelled? Is that what caused her to follow Revan and Malak? And how far was she from the darkness, then?

"I see I am not alone in my midnight wanderings," a sibilant voice rolled through the air. Lal followed the voice into the interior courtyard, dominated by the massive twisting tree. The Cathar Jedi, Juhani sat on one of the permacrete benches surrounding the tree, with a silvery blanket wrapped snugly about her narrow shoulders. The mane of pale blonde hair that had streamed wild and free in the Grove was now bound tightly into two jagged tufts at the back of her skull, revealing her striped satiny skin and sharply pointed ears. Downy white fur gathered along the edges of her ears and trailed down the rear of her jaw. Dark slitted pupils floated in shining green pools as her eyes flickered at Lal. Lal noticed claws flexing in and out of the woman's fingertips as she clutched the blanket tightly to her.

"It is not cold," Juhani went on in a soft purring voice, "but for some reason, I have a chill I cannot shake."

Lal moved to sit on a bench near the Cathar and crossed her legs. She released a sigh and watched Juhani intently. "I believe I dreamed of you," Lal told her.

Juhani glanced down and to the side, her eyes narrowing into slits as she ground her sharp chin against her shoulder. "It is possible. I have felt a mind touching mine at times."

"You were younger. On Taris. I think I met you there. Do you remember me?"

"I was a slave of Tanka. Born into slavery because of my mother. I remember meeting many Jedi at that time. I was freed by the Jedi." She turned her head towards Lal and opened her mouth. She inhaled sharply, through both her mouth and her nose, tasting and scenting the air at the same time. "I'm sorry. I do not recognize you. But I know your name. The Council told me who you are. I must beg forgiveness for my…savagery in the Grove. I can offer no excuses to you, but sometimes, my people are…we can be…It is difficult to explain. Forgive me."

"I think I can understand."

"No," Juhani said, her eyes widening suddenly into slanted moons. "You cannot. I lost myself and my mind in the red of the hunting eye. When the existence of my people was defined by blood and by the scent of fear on the flesh. When the world was an endless savannah and when we ran on four taloned feet. It is a dishonorable state. Shameful."

Lal sighed and glanced down at her knees. "I suppose I was lost in such a time. A similar frame of mind. For three years. That is how I lived."

Juhani cocked her head to the side and stared at Lal with heavily lidded eyes for a long space of time. "I can hear the truth in your voice. You have known such things. Forgive my presumption, please. To be wild, to act with killing instinct, it is to be insane. A terrible thing." She nodded. "Yes, it is so. Do you seek redemption as well?"

"I…I don't know. Maybe. I have lost my memory beyond the past three years. But I see…visions…slices of my life."

Juhani nodded reverently. "To have visions is a great honor among my people. It means you are born with a great fate. Much is to be expected of a person with such a fate."

"I'd rather not have that fate, to be honest."

"You have no choice. Fate is fate. It is so. There are many tragic tales of Cathar who have ignored or shunned their fate only to suffer for it. You must understand your fate and learn to walk with it."

"For three years, my…fate has been determined by men who sought to use me. Now, other men are doing the same thing."

Juhani shook her head and sighed deeply. "You misunderstand me. No man can tell you your fate. Many might try. It is said that only the Mother in the Moon can say your fate. And that learning your fate can take an entire lifetime. It is learned in the trees and skies, and in the soil beneath your claws. It is learned in the water that slakes your thirst, in the meat you chew." She chuckled bitterly. "That is the Cathar way of saying, 'only life can teach you how to live.'"

Lal smiled. "So, what happened to you, Juhani?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you come to be trapped in that…in the Grove?"

"It is not something I would speak on with a stranger," Juhani replied. "But you took it as your task to pull me from the grip of the Shadow. In doing so, you became Sharrr-kaa to me."

Lal frowned and shook her head. "I don't think I understand that term…"

"It does not translate well," Juhani told her. "Sometimes, when a cub is lost, she can be guided by another that is not her mother. I suppose a human might say an 'aunt' or a 'godmother.' Maybe a sister. I do not know. They become bound almost as if through blood. But not so."

Lal found herself thinking of Mission. "Ah. I think I understand. To a degree. I am…honored, of course, but I think my path will lead me in a different direction, I'm afraid."

Juhani shrugged, as if it did not matter to her in the slightest. "As I said, I saw the red hunting eye. Anger and pride overcame me. A failing of my kind. It is said that Akaa, first son of the Mother stared down into a pool of clear water when he took his first drink of life and became enamored of his beauty. He was so lovely that he forgot the face of his Mother and knew only his own greatness. His eye grew red with his own terrible beauty and his killing strength. I saw my own beauty and it blinded me to the beauty that was around me."

"Um…"

"Sorry," Juhani smiled apologetically. "I became arrogant…I thought…I thought I could not be taught anything more. My pride became too great, and my Master was displeased. She drew…she drew her lightsaber to instruct me in a lesson of pride, and I saw only the threat bunched in her shoulders. I called on the strength of pride and struck her down. The shame caught and gripped me as I saw what I had done, and I ran. That is how you found me."

"So that is what you meant when I found you. You were going on about having killed someone. Your Master. I am sorry."

"I came back to answer for my crime, you see. When I was brought before the Council, my Master stood there, unharmed…! It had been a test…and I failed miserably. So. And I do not think I am meant to be a Jedi. All my life I have been a slave. And I remain a slave to my rage…my cowardice. I have meditated on this."

"Bastila does a lot of that."

Juhani nodded slowly. "She is your sister? Yes, I have heard of Bastila Shan. She is what I aspire to be."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. Bastila has been a great force of justice and good. It is so."

"I…I only recently learned she is my sister…mostly, we tend to argue a lot…"

Juhani smiled. She rose to walk silently over, and sat beside Lal, pressing close against her. "Sisters argue. I have heard it is so. It is good to have sisters." She reached out and caressed Lal's cheek with the back of her hand, and she smiled again. "What value is a sister who always agrees with you? Truth can only be found in words when they clash. A sister will always tell you the truth. I wish I had a sister. Of all my mother's cubs, only I survived. We lived in poverty in the Undercity before I was born. My mother's body was not healthy. I miss my sisters, even though I never knew them."

Lal found herself smiling as she thought of Basi and Mission. "Yes, I suppose it is good to have sisters."

Juhani nodded and stared at Lal. "You do not wear the robes of a Jedi, but I sense the Force within you. Have you decided that it is also not your fate to be a Jedi?"

"I…I don't know. But I will tell you something, Juhani. You won't learn your…your fate by merely sitting and meditating. Didn't you just say that only life can teach you how to live?"

"I…well…yes. It is so." Juhani chuckled softly and gazed at Lal with glittering eyes. She rose and let her blanket fall down her bare shoulders a bit. Lal saw that the slender Cathar wore only a short shift over her sleek, pale body. In her memory from Taris, she had seen the girl wearing far less. Clearly, their time on Taris had instilled a similar sense of fashion…

"I wish very much to have a bath," Juhani announced. "Do you want to join me?"

Lal arched an eyebrow. "Ah…how's that?"

"A bath. There is a heated spring beneath this chamber. There are stones upon which you can strrr-etch! It has always been a place of tremendous comfort to me."

"Actually, I just took a sonic shower…"

"So? One can never ever be too clean. Besides, sonic showers have a bad sound to them. It is not good for the ears. The warm water is gooood…" She tugged on Lal's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Ah…well, I suppose…But…you see, it's just that I don't have swimsuit is all…"

"What would you need a swimsuit for? We are not swimming."

"I…okay."


The next morning, Lal was summoned to the Council chambers, and hastened to put her clothes on. She was still stuffing her foot into her boot when Bastila found her in the corridor. Lal's hair was still damp from bathing with Juhani, and it hung in a slack sheet down her back. Bastila frowned at her as she tied up her boots and straightened her tunic.

"Where were you last night, Lal? I came back to the ship after midnight, but you were gone. I wanted to talk…"

"I'm sorry, Basi. I woke up in the middle of the night and…and went for a walk. I found Juhani and we chatted for a long while. Then we went down to the spring and…bathed."

"Bathed?"

Lal nodded. "Bathed. Bathes are apparently very big with the Cathar."

"So you…took a bath with her?"

"Well…it was…we sort of bonded."

"Oh…Lal, I…did you…and she…Well, I mean to say…did you…"

"Did we what, Basi?"

Bastila opened her mouth and closed it again. "Lal…you do know about…well, they say that Cathar females are…well…you know…"

Lal shook her head and frowned in confusion. "Bastila, would you just spit it…oh…ohhhh." She chuckled and shook her head. "Basi, I'm utterly shocked. I find it hard to believe that a Jedi such as yourself would judge someone based on their choice of--"

"Lal! I would never make such a judgment on anyone! That's not…I mean…well, the Jedi have very strict codes on this sort of…fraternization! First you and Carth, and now…"

Lal chuckled and laid a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Oh, I'm simply teasing you, Basi. We both got into the water and talked. It was a bit strange at first, but it was really very innocent. And pleasant. We talked all night. Besides, as you mentioned, there is the matter of Carth…"

"Oh Lal!" Bastila cried, throwing her hands up. "You're simply impossible, you know?"

Lal slid her arm around Bastila's shoulders and laughed, hugging the young woman close. "You're so very correct, Basi."

"You two talking about me?" Carth called out, hustling down the corridor to join them. He was still strapping his gun belt around his slender hips as he walked.

"As if we have nothing better to speak about, Captain Onasi," Lal smiled at him. "Really."

"Captain Onasi," he grinned back at her. "That's what I like to hear. Respect."

"Carth, what are you doing here?" Bastila asked, slipping free from Lal's embrace.

"Council sent a messenger," he explained. "Finally someone's gonna tell me what the hell is going on."

The three of them walked together into the Council chamber, where Master Vandar, Master Vrook, Master Zhar and Master Dorak stood conversing among each other. In the adjoining chamber, a silver-haired woman in a long gray tunic sat with her legs crossed at a computer terminal. Before her, there hovered a holographic sphere of blue light, like the Starmap Lal had seen in the ruins. Lal noticed the woman wore a beaded veil over her eyes.

Lal leaned close to Bastila to whisper in her ear. "Who is that?"

"Master Madra Minda," Bastila replied. "Juhani's Master. She was a member of the Council on Koruba, but stepped down some years ago to take on Padawans once more."

"She's Mirulakan, isn't she?"

Bastila nodded. "She sees without eyes. Very powerful Jedi."

"Ah, Lal, Bastila," Zhar smiled, giving them both a nod. "Captain Onasi. Glad you could join us. Captain, I must apologize for the way we've been keeping you like this. But all shall be made clear. I'd like to thank you all on behalf of this body for bringing Master Nemo back to us…his loss will affect us all."

The Council members nodded reverently.

"To get down to business," Vrook began gruffly, "the reason we've called you here is to discuss this Starmap business. Bastila explained the Starforge and Master Dorak has been researching it most of the night."

"Does that mean you know what it is?" Lal asked, folding her arms across her breasts.

"We agree with your assessment that it is some sort of device that can apparently mass produce star ships," Dorak said. "The beings referred to in the data files as the Makers seem to have crafted this device to build a fleet with which to rule the galaxy. Interestingly enough, a large number of cultures have legends and myths which make mention of a race of…progenitor beings; ancient creatures of a powerful intellect who came before the other races. Given the similarity of creation mythologies on a number of worlds, I've often speculated--"

"Er…yes," Vandar cut in smoothly. "Ancient are these Makers. Likely it seems that they built the ruins on this planet, as claimed the computer you encountered. So advanced their technology was as to seem almost like magic. Always, rumors have they been. However, denied the evidence cannot be. And it seems, gotten hold of their technology Revan and Malak did. When over the Mandalorian War was, Revan and Malak disappeared beyond the Outer Rim. No one knows where go they did. What they found. Until now, it seems."

"It is difficult to be entirely certain," Dorak went on, "but there is mention within the files of a 'non-zero energy'…an energy that permeates the very fabric of the universe, apparently. The files mentioned the Makers being capable of tapping this energy in some unknown way to power their technologies. It seems logical that this was their way of describing the Force, in terms their science could grasp."

"Obviously, their so-called science was incapable of understanding the deep mysteries of the Force," Vrook put in. "Beings have tried to tap the Force before using devices…always unsuccessfully. And always with dark consequences."

"Yes…indeed," Zhar said. "Lal, we conferred all night with the archives at the temple on Coruscant, trying to decipher the Starmap. We feel it shows the way to the location of the Starforge. Unfortunately, the map is not entirely complete. That is to say, even accounting for forty-thousand odd years of stellar drift, we've still been unable to decipher it. There seems to be some bit of code missing from the data files."

"I thought we downloaded everything that was there," Lal said.

Zhar nodded. "We tend to agree. It's like the code was purposely left out. Mind you, we've had slicer droids analyzing the lines of code all night. These are very complex droids, and they seem capable of translating only a fraction of the code."

"Mmm," Vandar grunted. "Jumbled the Starmap is. Tried, we did to correlate positions of stars, but beyond us the task is. Perhaps if a few years had we to spend…but we do not. Of the essence time is. Steadily growing and consolidating have Malak's forces been. Turned aside Revan's fleet did the Republic, but too great the attrition was. Still rebuilding are they ships lost in that battle, whereas Malak has the resources of the Starforge."

"So what does that mean?" Carth asked. "I mean, are you saying the Republic has no chance of defeating Malak? We can't find this Starforge, so that's that?"

"Of course not, Captain," Vandar replied with a scowl, shaking his head. "Master Minda, join us if you would…"

The Mirulakan woman rose in an elegant sweep of her long tunic and drifted down to join them as if her feet didn't even touch the floor. Her silver tresses fell in winding sheets that framed her high cheeks. She lifted her head, seeming to focus just beyond Lal and the others. "Lal Shan, it is an honor to finally meet you. Your sister has told me of your efforts to assist us. And I thank you for returning my dear Juhani to us. Captain, it is also an honor to make your acquaintance as well. You might not recall, but I have worked with you before. Do you remember when the Hammer was sent to Geonosis some years back?"

"That was you?" he gasped in surprise.

She nodded once, her face turning just past him. "And a cadre of Koruban Jedi, yes." She smiled. "The very pillars of heaven were shaken that day as I recall. At any rate, to answer your question, hope is not yet lost. Long ago, the Koruban people fled their homeworld because of a global catastrophe…they had an extensive library on matters dealing with the progenitors…the Makers. Most of those records were destroyed. But there does remain an account of a number of Maker repositories spread across the galaxy; ancient stores of knowledge held by these godlike beings in the eons before men walked upright. Some of these repositories still exist, like here on Dantooine. It stands to reason that these places may contain further information that could unravel the Starmap and provide the key to the location of the Starforge."

She turned her sightless gaze back to Lal and sighed heavily. "Lal, it seems destiny is working in strange ways. You see, many years ago, an archeological dig unearthed some ruins that had great importance to Koruban scholars, but, unfortunately, not anyone else outside of academia. But, ah…hindsight being what it is, we believe that this dig is of particular significance to this quest. Your father was head of that dig, on Tatooine."

"What?" Lal grunted in surprise.

"We spoke with Bastila about this last night," Madra Minda said. "It is sometimes odd how destiny guides our steps."

"Let me get this straight," Lal said, holding up a hand. "You're telling me the key to the Starmap is being unearthed…by my father?"

"Lal," Zhar joined in, "we believe that you must go to Tatooine and discover what your father found." He waited for this to sink in before continuing. "Captain Onasi, we have conferred with Republic Armed Forces Command. You've been ordered to escort Lal and Bastila in this quest." Zhar produced a data rod from a pocket within his robe. He stepped forward and passed it to Carth.

Carth turned the rod over and saw that it was stamped with the High Command's holographic seal.

"The specifics of your mission parameters are contained within," Vrook told Carth. "Of course, we could provide you with a ship if that's required…"

"The Ebon Hawk should suit our purposes just fine," Carth said, his brow creased by some unvoiced concern.

"As you wish, Captain," Vrook shrugged. "We were concerned that it might be too visible, especially if Darth Malak knows it was you and Lal who stole the ship."

"We didn't steal it exactly," Lal protested. "Well, we did…but the alternative was to get obliterated…"

"Of course," Vrook nodded.

"Besides," Lal went on, "the Hawk is the fastest ship I've seen. Unless you've got a ship that can match point five…?"

"So you agree to undertake this mission," Vrook said.

"Oh, it's not as if I have a choice, now is it?" Lal sighed elaborately. "You know I won't turn down the opportunity to find my parents. And…I suppose…I'm the best person for the job, aren't I?"

"Lal," Zhar said, "I understand your desire to meet your parents, but you must understand that there is a higher priority here."

"I do understand that. I'm understanding it more and more with every little bit that I find out. But that doesn't change my…my feelings one bit."

"Serve you well, your feelings do, Lal," Vandar told her. "But protect them you must. Likely it is that the Sith will you face in this quest. Always a danger is the Dark Side. And powerful are its servants. No time have we had to instruct you properly, but faith do we have in you. In who you once were, and who you will be again."

Lal glanced down for a moment, shoving down a sudden wave of anger at their flattery, at their attempts to withhold information from her. "Alright. You have faith in me. I must admit that I am of two minds in this. On the one hand, I feel that is a tremendous…honor to me. To be trusted by Jedi after the past three years of my life. Who would have thought? But on the other hand…I know you have kept things from me. I know that you still are keeping things from me. If you have faith in me, then you owe me the full truth."

Vrook snarled angrily. "Lal, you--"

Zhar cut in smoothly. "We have held things back from you, Lal, trusting in your ability to discover them on your own. In your own time. You may not believe this, but it has been done for your own safety. The mind can only heal in its own time. We took a tremendous risk in revealing your past as a Jedi Knight. Not because it is a danger to us, Lal…but because it was a danger to you. Not only did it put you at risk to the Dark Side, but it also put your mental health in jeopardy. If we had the time, we would have undertook extensive therapy, to ease you back into your former life. I can only imagine the pain and confusion and horror you must have come to know these past few days, being at odds with your life on Taris, and your life as a Jedi. Most people would not be able to stand up beneath the mental strain.

"But what questions do you have, Lal?" he went on. "What do you wish to know that we have not tried to answer?"

"I want to know why I took Sideen's name. I want to know why my voice was recorded entering a security code that Revan and Malak used in those ruins. I want to know what I was doing with them! All I have been given are hints and evasiveness! Why…why won't you trust me with the truth?"

"We already told you that we could only speculate about Sideen Ralli," Vrook said.

Lal narrowed her eyes at him. "And you used a mind trick to try and convince me of this."

Vrook's eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks turned red. He glanced at his fellows and lowered his gaze. "I…you're right." He sighed and lifted his eyes to meet Lal's glare. "It was a mistake for which I apologize. But the simple fact is, Lal…we don't know why you took her name as your own. There is no way to know. I honestly don't know why you have placed such an importance on this…Sideen was your friend and she died trying to protect you. What is important is that you always remember this. And in a way, you have. Do you understand?"

Lal nodded as Vrook's words moved through her, leaving a shivering chill in their wake. He was right. He might have used his Jedi trick upon her, but she couldn't deny the truth of his words now. Or the pain they summoned from a distant corner of her thoughts. "I…I…"

For the first time ever, Vrook's constant scowl softened. "I…suppose I have been…unduly harsh to you, Lal. Padawans know that I am a harsh teacher…but that I am also fair. And, I admit that I have not been…fair with you. We've told you that you have always held the greatest promise that we have seen. Well, I tell you now that this is true. I tell you…that…that there is not a member of this Council who has not seen their hopes made manifest by you. Including…me. Though you did fall…and though that did…affect me greatly, I uh…I have no doubt in your ability to do this task."

Lal's mouth dropped open and her eyes blinked in shock at his words. "I…I…th-thank you…"

Vrook chuckled gruffly and forced a scowl back onto his face. "So. I'll ask you to accept the apology of a stubborn old man…and to understand that you and your sister are very dear to us."

Zhar grinned and leaned over to Vrook. "That must have been hard, hmm?"

Vrook rolled his eyes. "You have no idea…"

Zhar nodded and turned his gaze back to Lal. "We have told you that you did join Malak and Revan. Like them, you took your first steps towards becoming…a different person than the Lal Shan we knew. You stand before us…so tremendously changed…But at times, we see the old Lal. Perhaps…perhaps the old Lal could not have survived the life to which she was exposed. Perhaps…who you are…perhaps it is for the best. And we must get to know the new Lal still. Personally, I'll take what I can get! But Lal, do not allow yourself to be troubled by the things you have learned. When you find yourself in greatest doubt, remember the choices that you have made in these past few days. They have defined you more truly than the past three years of your life ever could. You are the Lal Shan who has been protecting others ever since she was a small girl. There is no other truth. I'm sure other memories will surface, but this one truth is what must guide you: you are exactly who you were meant to be."

Lal wasn't certain she understood what Zhar meant by that. And she wasn't sure she'd ever be a true Jedi again. But for now, her questions had been put aside. Not answered, no. But perhaps, for the first time, those questions no longer needed immediate answers. Maybe they could wait.

She glanced at Bastila, who stared at her with such beaming hope that it squeezed Lal's heart. Carth cocked his head towards her with a crooked smile, his lips all but promising her a kiss. Lal sighed and turned to face the Council once more. "Well, I suppose we have work to do then, don't we?"

"One more thing there is, Lal," Vandar said, his green eyes twinkling. "A request from Master Minda."

The blind Madra Minda stepped forward and took Lal's hands in hers. "Lal, as I told you, you have my deepest gratitude for rescuing Juhani. She does not remember it clearly, but when you were on Taris, you were one of the Jedi who released her from a life of servitude. And you continued to safeguard her path when she was consumed with rage. I feel I have done her a disservice…but I thought it was best for her…for her to learn the lure of the Dark Side on her own. At any rate, I have asked the Council to honor my request in this, and they've agreed. Now it falls to you: I believe that Juhani will learn a great deal from you and Bastila. And even your noble friends. She is innocent and young, and perhaps a bit excitable…but she has learned all I can teach her. I ask that you take her with you."

"I…I'm no teacher, Master Minda…"

"Well, perhaps you are and perhaps you are not. But you can guide her just the same. And you will benefit from her presence and skill."

"Lal," Bastila added, "if we come up against Sith, and we likely will, we'll need every ally we can get."

Madra Minda nodded. "Redemption is something we all deserve, after all."

"Alright, Master Minda," Lal said, squeezing the woman's hands. "She'll be welcome. I like her anyway. But I'm not putting on a robe…" Madra Minda smiled and nodded.

Dorak walked up to Lal and handed her a data rod. "Lal, this contains all the information you downloaded…including the Starmap. When you find the Starmap code, you should be able to upload it and collate the data. Once you have it, return here and we'll discuss what should be done."

"With all due respect," Lal said, taking the rod, "if we find the rest of the map, wouldn't it just make sense to go and find the Starforge?"

"Let's not be hasty, Lal," Dorak said. "Revan and Malak…they went to find the Starforge, and what they found…it consumed them. You are not ready to face that. Not alone. None of us is. First things first. If you discover the location of the Starforge, we'll likely be sending an entire strike force to destroy it. We don't wish to take any chances."

"I suppose that's logical," Lal shrugged.

"Well," Carth began, "I reckon we should get a move on. We can have the Hawk prepped and ready for dust-off within the hour. Is there anything else?"

"Only this," Vrook said, clearing his throat as he addressed them all. "May the Force be with you."


Beyond the swollen green sphere of Dantooine, beyond the luminous tides of verdant sunlight lapping over the planet, in the trackless black sea of space, a flash of silver pierced the darkness, and a gleaming sword stabbed forth from the wilds of hyperspace. Time dilated around the prow of the Sith assault vessel with a streaking blur. Behind the craft, a number of smaller ships blazed into real-space, roaring into picket formation. Ten ships in all, ranging in size from tiny combat frigates with manipular-thrust vanes flexing and articulating wide for deceleration to pot-bellied, hammer-prowed destroyers, cruising close alongside the blade-shaped Huntress, which lead the pack of spacecraft.

Darth Bandon stormed onto the bridge in a whirl of black robes and swiveled his shaven skull across the command and operations personnel on deck. Commander Fell walked up crisp and sharp in her gray uniform and fired off a salute. "Lord Bandon," she addressed him with only a hint of a smile upon her lips, "We have dropped out of Hyperspace one hundred million kilometers from the planet. They have had no time to detect us."

Bandon shared her smile, as he had shared other things with her. He gave a curt nod and walked to the front of the Bridge to gaze out the forward view screen down at Dantooine laying helpless and innocent far below. Fell followed behind him, her body taut and ready to uncoil at his merest word.

Bandon clasped his hands behind his back as his master so often did, and glanced over his shoulder to Fell. "I trust the fighter wings are prepped for quick-drop?"

"Quick-drop and deploy is confirmed, my Lord," she replied. "Will you give the word, Lord?"

He chuckled at her eagerness and glanced back down to the planet. "The word is given."

She whirled and immediately began firing off orders to the crew in a harsh, powerful voice that did not fit her small frame. But no one hesitated or questioned her authority. She held the favor of a Dark Lord of the Sith, after all.

Within five minutes, a swarm of tiny silver-winged snubfighters washed out from their quick-drop cradles in the Huntress's sleek belly, and roared across his view screen to descend in thick rolling waves upon unsuspecting Dantooine. At the same time, as per Bandon's plan, the picket ships spread out to blockade any attempts to flee the planet.

"Forces are deployed, my Lord," Fell reported, "all fighters are away."

"Excellent. It is only a matter of time now."

"Commander Fell," the communications officer called out, "receiving another transmission from Calo Nord…" Fell joined her comm officer and leaned over the back of the man's chair to stare at his display screen.

She turned to Bandon. "Text only. He claims that you will wish to join the ground assault, my Lord."

For a brief instant, Lal Shan's face passed before his mind's eye. His fists clenched and he recalled her, as a child, striking him down with her own tiny fists, defending her dear little Basi. Bandon had always wanted to make her pay for that. He didn't allow his rage to control him usually, but perhaps, this time, he would do just that. Show her how much he had grown up. And then, he would take Bastila before Lal's body grew cold and her eyes lost their sight.

"Commander," he hissed, "have my personal launch prepped. A killing time has now fallen among us…"


"I am quite honored that you have agreed to allow me to join your mission, Lal," Juhani said in a rolling purr as she fastened her sleeveless red tunic. Lal watched with folded arms as Juhani stepped into the tall brown leather boots she had seen the Jedi wear. Juhani strapped on a wide belt around her impossibly narrow waist, and the corded muscles in her slender arms flared as she cinched the belt closed.

"Mmm," Lal murmured. "Say, where did you get those boots?"

"Oh, from the Rodian importer with the kiosk…the one outside the compound. "He is not to be trusted, but has a fine selection of off-world leather goods."

"I can't believe this," Bastila chuckled, shaking her head.

"What?" Juhani and Lal asked at the same time.

"Oh nothing," Bastila sighed. "The boots are…quite lovely." She glanced at Lal and went on, "I think she'll get along fine with Mission…"

Juhani strapped on her lightsaber and slung a small bag over her bare shoulder. "I believe I am ready."

"Alright," Lal began. "Lets--"

The ground suddenly rocked, thrusting the women nearly from their feet. Thunder crashed through the air immediately after, and a flare of heat burned through the open window in Juhani's room.

"Now what?" Lal growled, pressing her back against the wall and taking a swift peek out the window.

"Are we under attack?" Juhani gasped.

"It would so seem," Bastila nodded, gripping her lightsaber. "That's no orbital bombardment…those sound like seismic charges…"

As if to punctuate her statement, the air exploded with a clanging burst of sound, and a shockwave blurred across the courtyard beyond the window.

"Down!" Lal screamed, hurling herself to the floor. Bastila and Juhani dropped down as well, an instant before the plaster of the wall blew over them in a stinging cloud of ceramic shrapnel.

"By the Mother!" Juhani hissed, covering her face and head.

"We have to get to the Hawk!" Bastila whispered hotly.

Lal didn't fancy leaving the cover afforded to them inside, but knew Basi was right. She lifted her wrist comm to her face and spoke into it. "Carth! Are you ready to launch?"

"Lal, the entire Enclave is being assaulted by Sith snubbies!" he called back. "Sensors are picking up troop carriers, E.T.A. five minutes!"

"Right," Lal nodded, glancing at Bastila and Juhani. "We're leaving."

The three women dashed out of the doorway into an adjoining corridor. Jedi and Padawans dashed back and forth as debris showered them and the floor rocked from another blast. Belaya stepped out of her quarters and nearly collided into the three of them as the floor trembled again.

"Is it the Sith?" Belaya cried, glancing around wildly. Fire burst through a section of wall before them, hurling all of them onto their backs. The roof caved inwards less than a meter away, blocking their path.

Lal leaped immediately to her feet and leaped through the fiery hole in the wall. "Come on!"

She whirled around and saw that a pile of rubble had crushed whomever had been in this room. Belaya gasped in shock as she saw the crushed body. "Jorno…" she murmured.

"We can't do anything for him, Belaya," Bastila said, tugging the younger woman behind her.

Lal led the way out of that room and through the burning Jedi Enclave. They ran through the twisting, rumbling corridors, dashing past the corpses of Jedi and civilians alike.

"What about the Council?" Juhani moaned. "We cannot leave them here! They are too important…"

Lal was certain they didn't have the time for this. But as she glanced at the pale, drawn faces of her sister and Juhani and Belaya, she realized they'd make the time somehow. "Alright, the three of you, go on to the ship. Get anyone else alive you can. Get them on the ship. I'll get the Council out."

"Lal!" Bastila said sharply, "you cannot do it alone!"

"And she won't," Belaya nodded. "I'll go with her."

"Lal," Bastila murmured, gripping Lal's arm tightly, "you'd better make it…"

Lal sighed and hugged her sister tightly, stroking her hair. "Don't be silly, Basi. Now go."

She released Bastila, and shoved her away. Lal nodded at Belaya, and the two of them hurried down the corridor that led to the Council chamber while Juhani and Bastila ran out of the compound. Lal rushed into the central courtyard, where the tree she had admired now lay ripped and shattered in smoking, burning ruin. Glass shards glittered upon the ground in between torn shafts of molten steel. They moved quickly through the courtyard, hurling themselves into the air to cross the burning corpse of the tree and made their way into the Council Chamber.

Lal could not help but skid to a halt and stare open mouthed at what she saw. The roof had collapsed and heavy stone slabs from above stabbed down into the chamber. Fires raged in pockets of chaos, and Lal saw…pieces…that a part of her mind recognized…

"Oh no," Belaya cried. "Is anyone alive…?"

"Lal!" a gruff, growling voice called from a pile of rubble. "What are you doing here?"

Lal turned and saw Master Vrook, trapped beneath a broken slab of permacrete. Her heart sank as she eyed the slab; it had to weigh at least ten tons…She dashed to his side, gripping his hand. The lower half of his body was completely hidden beneath the mass of fallen stone. Bright pink blood streamed from his mouth, and darker red gashes crowned his balding head. His hand clutched hers tightly, and he released a whispering cough.

"Lal…" he gasped.

"Okay, okay," she said softly, "you're fine…get a new coat of paint on and you'll be just like new…"

"Lal," Belaya said, "perhaps together we can lift this…?"

"No," Vrook shook his head, trembling. "No use in it…"

Lal wondered if she was actually capable of lifting so huge a weight. She could not simply leave him in this condition, though. She turned and nodded at Belaya, but Vrook squeezed her hand suddenly.

"I said no…If the weight is moved…no. I am done for, Lal," Vrook sighed, closing his eyes and coughing again. "No power will stop my death now…And you have not the time to waste on the likes of me."

Lal shook her head. "But…"

"Gah…always arguing. You were always such a rebel," he murmured. "And it always got you into trouble…"

"I…I'm sorry I was so difficult, Master Vrook," she said in a tiny voice, kneeling over him.

"Per-perhaps…I c-could have been a bit…more…understanding. Dear child…you cannot stay here…If you die…all will be lost…no one else can…beat M-Malak…"

"Master Vrook…"

"Dorak…Vandar…I don't think they made it, Lal…Zhar tried to…it was no use. And then, this happened. Lal…you need to go. Now."

"But I…"

"Go!" he told her, his voice crumbling. "Go. I will be at peace."

Lal squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head. She laid a hand gently on his chest and summoned up the words, "May the Force be with you, Master Vrook…"

He smiled at her and nodded weakly. Then, his head sagged and the tension fled from the muscles in his neck, and a long breath fled from his lips. Lal sighed and pushed herself to her feet. She glanced to Belaya and said, "The Council is gone. No reason for us to be here anymore."

A tear rolled down Belaya's soot-smudged cheek. The two of them broke into a swift run as another explosion rocked the chamber. Lal pushed herself, feeling a dull, numb coldness growing in her belly. Her legs pumped like pistons as she ran, and the crumbling walls rushed by in a blur. In a matter of seconds, she and Belaya were at the exit from the Enclave. Clouds of dark smoke smudged the sky and fire spewed in great trembling spears from the buildings of the Enclave. Sith fighters swept by overhead, dueling in clusters with the few Jedi Sweep-wings that managed to get some sky before the brunt of the attack.

But that wasn't so much what worried Lal.

"Where is your ship?" Belaya asked, a sharp tinge of nervousness wavering in her voice.

"I don't--"

"Lal!" A voice called out. Lal whipped around to see Zhar running up to her, his robes spreading out behind him as he moved. "Why are you still here? I thought you left in the Ebon Hawk!"

She noticed blood streaming down the side of his face, and smeared on his tunic. He gripped his lightsaber tightly. Before she could respond, he went on, "Sith troops have landed. We're holding them at the main gate, but others are continuing to land. Minda and I got separated in the fighting…"

"The Hawk should be here," Lal said, scowling up into the sky.

"I guess it's possible your friends had to leave," Belaya murmured, glancing about wildly, "But that leaves us…"

"Calm yourself, Padawan," Zhar said, laying a hand on Belaya's shoulder.

Belaya swallowed and nodded. "Forgive me, Master Zhar."

"We've got to get you out of here, Lal," Zhar said. "My fear is that the Sith are looking for you and Bastila…"

"But how would Malak have found out about me?" she asked.

Zhar's eyes widened and he shoved Lal to the ground. "Down!" he cried. As Lal fell, she heard a wet thunk. She glanced up and saw Zhar staring past her with a stricken glare. He suddenly sank to his knees, and she saw a dark stain spread upon his chest. A small dart stood forth from the front of his robe.

"Well, now, I told him, I reckon…"

Lal turned and rose to her feet. "Calo Nord," she hissed, glaring at the squat barrel of a man, in his armored jacket and dark goggles. "Bounty hunting piece of slime."

"I get that a lot."

"You should be dead," Lal told him. She drew forth her lightsaber and ignited both blades. "Time to remedy that."

"Ah. New toys." His twin blasters leaped suddenly into his hands and he fired with a sneer. A volley of energy blasts seared towards her.

Lal held forth her lightsaber and spun it before her. Light flashed brightly as the weapon caught each shot and deflected it. Lal whipped around in a circle, catching each blast as he fired. Growling, he emptied each blaster's battery on her, and whirling like an autumn storm, spinning her blade like an angry wind, she thrust away every shot he fired.

He lowered his smoking blasters and took a step back in disbelief. Lal sucked in a deep breath, took a step towards him, pivoted around and dropped into a low stance. She held her weapon up above her head and held her other hand towards him.

And waved him forward.

"That's…a very nice trick," Calo muttered, struggling to eject the spent batteries and replace them.

"Calo," Lal hissed, "you have always been last year's model. I'm going to kill you. For what you've done. To Mission. To Zhar. And to me."

She swept her hand in his direction and both his blasters went flying across the courtyard. And bared his teeth in a nervous smile and took another step backwards. He glanced around and chuckled sourly. "Heh. Alright. You've always had the playing field leveled in your favor, haven't you? Now I know why. It's always been easy for you, hasn't it, Sideen? Killing? Whoring? Lying? Second nature to you."

Lal glanced down at Master Zhar gasping and bleeding on the ground. Belaya knelt at his side, her hand pressed to the wound in his chest. Lal turned her glare back to Calo. "I suppose it has been. Is that your problem, Calo? Were you upset that, no matter how much you tried, you just weren't good at being a whore?"

"That's good," he snarled. "Very good. Very clever. Good with the words, too…"

"Tell me what you're doing here, Calo," Lal said. "Was it vengeance that brought you here? For some perceived insult? Can you put your finger on it, Calo? Exactly what it was I did to you that's got your pride all bollicksed? Do you even know? Or is it your drive to merely inflict pain? Even if it means bringing yourself to ruin…"

"This ain't about me!" he roared. "It's about you. All about you. I signed on with a new player. Darth Malak. Oh sure, he might be big with the Sith and the Force and all that, but really, he's just another Low City player with a lot of muscle on his side. He wants you. And I've delivered you to him. Y'know, sure…I would have hunted you on my own, eventually…on general principle. Malak added an extra incentive to it though. Paycheck."

"People have hunted me before for money, Calo. Would you like to know what I told the last hired gun with the salt to come after me? While I held a knife to his throat? 'There are better ways to earn a living than dying.' You're not in it for the money, Calo. If that were true, there are a thousand other ways you could make a little cred. Or a bloody lot. No, for you, this is personal. And pathetic thug that you are, with barely the capability to rub together two idle whims to make a single thought, you don't even know why."

"Why…why isn't a part of my vocabulary. Only…why not!" With a flick of his wrist, he hurled a dagger at her face and rolled towards one of his pistols.

Lal held up her hand and the dagger veered sharply away from her. Calo grabbed one of his pistols and came up in a crouch, jamming home a fresh battery charge. Lal bared her teeth and hurled her body into the air. She felt an electricity surging through her flesh as she soared high above the ground…the Force sang through her muscles and she felt it quite clearly. She landed on the balls of her feet directly in front of Calo and slashed her lightsaber through the barrel of his gun.

He gasped in surprise and danced backwards, but she took a step closer to him and swung her weapon again, humming and hissing through meat and muscle and bone. Calo shrieked and stumbled back as his right arm fell in a smoking slab on the ground. He dropped to his knees and his face blanched. Breathing raggedly, he glanced down at the molten stump that remained and his mouth opened in a silent howl. Clenching his teeth against the pain, he reached for his knife and brought it forth to tear into Lal.

Her lightsaber snarled and flashed again, and his hand fell free, still clutching his knife. With eyes bulging behind his goggles, Calo Nord fell onto his backside and he stared up at Lal with helpless fury.

She pointed the glowing tip of her weapon at his throat. "One thrust," she whispered to him hotly. "That's all it would take…But you're not really worth the effort, are you? You…you're already dead, Calo…you died a long time ago."

She placed her boot against his head and shoved him to the ground. She watched him churn and writhe in agony and she shook her head. "Don't let us meet again."

"Lal!" Belaya cried sharply.

Lal heard the snap hiss of a lightsaber igniting and she whirled. Belaya stood over Master Zhar's body with her saber drawn and blazing. Before the young Jedi there stood a man in black armor, segmented like the body of a poisonous insect. A black cloak shrouded his broad shoulders and fluttered in the whirling convection patterns stirred by the burning fires dancing nearby. His head was shaven but for a cruel goatee that framed a thin sneering smile. He turned his frozen eyes upon Lal even as he unleashed a crimson lightsaber that burned like an angry sun. Nearly a dozen Sith soldiers flanked him in gleaming silver armor, blaster rifles swinging towards Lal.

Lal saw something familiar in his face as he swaggered forward…

"So it's true," he said with a growl of anticipation. "The prodigal lives." He tossed a glance towards Calo and shook his head. "I must confess, I didn't believe Nord when he described you."

"Bandon," she whispered, recalling the little boy she had punched so long ago.

He inclined his head and chuckled. "You have an annoying capability to evade a good ending, you know. I suppose I should give you the opportunity to surrender…my Master wants you alive. But now that I look upon you, to see your beauty revealed once more, I'm starting to think that it may well simply be wiser to kill you. To do what my Master failed to."

Lal frowned in confusion as she listened to his words. "What did you say?"

He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at her. He swept his lightsaber in front of him experimentally, loosening the muscles in his arm. "Shall we get to it then?"

"Little B-Bandon," Master Zhar grunted, sweat beading upon his heavy brow. The Twi'lek master rose unsteadily to his feet, keeping one arm pressed tightly to his chest. He drew his lightsaber with his other hand and ignited it. "Still acting with…only an approximation of…prior th-thought I see…"

Bandon flicked his steely gaze at Zhar and sighed. "Aren't you dead yet? Specifically…the old order, have none of you relics realized that nature has selected you for extinction? You are the husk of the old way, blistered, flaking…splitting across the pristine spine of a new way. A new universe. Have the good sense to step out of the way and die."

"Ah," Zhar chuckled, forcing himself to stand upright. He took a deep breath and released it, and the tension of pain fled from his body. "Revisionist conceit. Bandon, you know, you have it quite reversed. It is the way of the Sith that is the old disease; the rot. A lie cannot be truth."

Bandon's lip curled into a sneer of disgust. "History will tell a different tale. Old man."

Zhar shook his head. "While it is true that history is told by the victors, Bandon, I remind you…you have not won yet. And, I'm not that old."

Bandon snorted and shrugged. "Isn't it strange, Lal?" he asked. "How so very willing they are to defend you now…when not so long ago, you were their enemy."

"You…you lie," Lal snarled, moving close to Zhar and Belaya.

"Oh no," Bandon smiled. "I do not. You fought against their order, their dominion as surely as I will soon split your belly open and spread your entrails on the ground with my bare hands. Believe it."

"Lal," Zhar said, "he twists what you already know to be true. Adding lies to uncertainty. That is the way of the Sith. In every person's life, good and evil will collide and choices must be made. In good conscience, beings with the power to stand, must do so, and take a side. You have already chosen yours. So stand!"

A choice…what choice had she ever been given? Taken from her parents and made to walk the path of a Jedi…taken from the Jedi and made to walk the path of an assassin…taken from that life and given the burden of being…a savior? And she had been given a choice in this?

But…perhaps she had been given a choice. A choice she had made from the very first days of life. Not a choice to stand on any side, no. But a choice, once standing, to take a step forward. She had always walked into her destiny, her fate.

And so, she walked now.

Lal twisted the hilt of her lightsaber, breaking it into two weapons, clutched tightly in both hands. Bandon smiled and nodded eagerly at her.

"I'm so glad," he hissed. He held up his hand and swung it towards Lal, Zhar and Belaya. "Burn them down!"

Upon his order, his Sith troops opened fire. Lal swallowed a bit of acid in her throat and felt electricity shoot down her spine as a wave of crimson light roared in front of her. A hail of blasterfire coursed and churned towards her. Her hands moved of their own volition, spinning her lightsabers before her in glowing lavender fans to catch and deflect the fusillade of energy bolts stabbing towards her. Each bolt jarred through her lightsabers, sending hammering blows up through her bones.

Beside her, Master Zhar was a blur of green flesh and blue light, whirling his blade back and forth, hurling blaster bolts directly back into the bodies of the soldiers who had fired them. Sweat stood on his brow in heavy droplets, and blood from his wound coursed down his legs, staining his robes and trousers. And Belaya struggled to match them, her own lightsaber dancing and howling, hurling fire away from her.

Alone, three Jedi made a stand.

The Sith troops spread out, some dodging for cover as their own shots were reflected back at them. Bandon stood motionless, a tower of darkness at the center of the Sith. His eyes blazed as they lit upon Lal's dancing, spinning form. She felt the pressure of his gaze like a stone wall bearing down against her. She locked her eyes on him, and let her instinct move her lightsabers. She detached herself from the strain and struggle of her flesh and focused on him. A smiled flared upon her lips, and as he stared at her, his face twisted in rage.

Bandon hefted his weapon and his body tensed to hurl him towards her.

But a deafening roar swept over the courtyard, and a hot wind blasted and beat at their bodies. Overhead, the sun disappeared into shadow as a vast hovering hawk swung above them.

"Somebody order a rescue?" Carth's voice called from Lal's wristcomm.

The Sith glanced up in shock as the Ebon Hawk's ventral quad cannons swiveled and opened up. The barrels shook as they spat fire and thunder at the Sith troops. The ground erupted in columns of flame and bodies shattered and disappeared beneath the unrelenting fire.

"Not so easily!" Bandon shrieked, pouncing on Lal. She danced backwards and lashed out at his face with her foot. She caught him along his jaw, but he rolled with the force of the blow, pivoting around into a low spin. He whipped his lightsaber at her legs, and Lal's muscles took over and merged with the electric song of the Force.

She flipped backwards, lifting her feet over his strike. Her boots snapped out as she flipped, and caught him under his chin. Bandon staggered backwards as she landed in a crouch a few feet away. Above them, the Hawk swung close, cracking open her landing ramp. Bandon snarled incoherently and launched himself at Lal once more. She met his charge with one lightsaber high over her head, clashing against his crimson blade with a shower of white sparks. Her second blade stabbed towards his body and the tip jabbed into his hip. He gasped and jerked back. The pause gave Lal enough time to notice an entire host of Sith troopers flooding the courtyard

"Belaya!" Lal called, "Zhar! They've got reinforcements! We have to go now!"

"Belaya," Zhar grunted, "go! I will cover you!"

Belaya nodded and hurled her body ten feet straight up,. Her feet landed perfectly on the edge of the ramp and she whirled immediately to hold her hand down to Lal.

"Master Zhar!" Lal cried, "there's no more time! Come on!"

Lal turned to the staggering Bandon, whose face was purple with rage. She thrust her palm towards him and blew his body backwards with a rush of pure, burning will. She closed down her lightsabers and thrust herself upwards. Belaya caught her wrist and struggled to haul her up onto the ramp. Lal scrambled upwards desperately, wrapping her arms around one of the ramp's support struts.

And then, a blast of heat washed over Lal's back and neck and cheek. She gasped as a flash of red dazzled her eyes. Belaya screamed suddenly, and Lal saw Bandon's lightsaber, hurled through the air, bite and chew into Belaya's chest. The young woman stumbled and went limp.

"Belaya!" Lal screamed.

Belaya glanced down with blank eyes at Lal…she tottered on the edge of the ramp a second more before life fled her. And then she fell into the crowd of Sith gathering below.

"No!" Lal glanced down, and saw Belaya's body twisted and broken upon the ground. Several feet away, Zhar spun and whirled in a group of soldiers, cutting down any who strayed too close. As she watched, a Sith fired from behind him, and the bolt tore into Zhar's spine, whipping him around.

Zhar staggered to the side weakly and then his pain from Calo's wound consumed him. He turned a sad glance up at Lal and nodded once.

And then, they were on him.

"No! No, no, no no!" Lal moaned, tears burning the corners of her eyes. Above her, Bastila appeared, with Canderous hovering behind her. Bastila yanked Lal up inside the belly of the Hawk while Canderous dropped a pair of thermal detonators out into the courtyard below. Juhani punched the controls that retracted the ramp, and the explosives cracked open with a crack and a sharp hiss.

"Damned Jedi," Canderous growled as Lal sank to the deck. Bastila kneeled and hugged her tightly. He jabbed a wall-mounted comm and yelled into it, "We're clear, 'Public! Punch it!"

"Hang on back there," Carth warned half a second before the ship lurched violently. "Canderous, I'm gonna need someone on the top-quad! We got more incoming!"

Canderous sighed and glanced down at Lal. He seemed as if he was about to say something, but saw the pain twisting her face, and merely nodded. Then, he dashed off to man the guns.

"They're gone," Lal whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I lost them all…I tried…I…tried…"

Juhani knelt down along side both sisters and laid a hand on Lal's shoulder.

"It was Bandon," Lal whimpered, hanging her head. "Bandon and Calo Nord…"

Bastila nodded, cradling Lal's head to her breast.

"Where were you?" Lal suddenly cried. "If you had been there…"

"Lal, we had no choice!" Bastila told her, cupping Lal's cheeks in her palms and staring into her eyes. "Sith fighters were targeting us, and Carth had to get us airborne. We had to take a long loop around the compound to shake them…But I fear it's not over yet. We still have to get past their ships in orbit."