Having debated the subject with himself, Rishi found himself unable to do anything but admit to his worst fear; he loved to fight. He missed the feeling of his own lightsaber in his hands, but it was a small longing. Kal's handgrip was performing acrobatics by itself inside his palms, never staying still fore more than a second before moving into the next series of ferocious spins or lunges.

The blade was an extention of himself and although he'd trained with a lightsaber ever since Master Skar had plucked him from Draori, he knew most of the speed and precise movements came from the Force. No Jedi, Kjoil or Sith was as fast as the Force, no eye as exact as the will of the Force.

Fighting for him was the real kind of meditation. There was an abandon of mind that took place when he thought, a moment where he truly gave himself to the Force, rather than pulling from it. The Force filled his every cell and used him as a puppet, it's energy flowing through his limbs and veins. All he knew and saw was the Force painted in a bluish light that flashed before his eyes ten times a second.

The Sons of Destiny soldiers came at him in groups, their carefully planned points of defense easily laid to waste by a spinning blade and a squad of Republic soldiers. They were definitely good, these Sons of Destiny, but their tactics suffered beneath the sheer ferocity of Rishi's advance.

They relied on logic and good planning; Rishi had none of that. He marched through the station with nothing to guide him but the danger sense in his head. Wherever the Force detected activity, that's where he went.

Clearing out another nest he came into a junction in the hallways and had to consult his comlink for a readout of the station. He'd lost a few of his own men in the fighting, but considering the losses on the enemy's side of things it didn't bother him much. Thousands were about to die outside on the plains if he didn't move as fast as he could.

The hologram shimmered over his wrist and Rishi began sculpting a plan. He was two buildings away from the main structure where he belived the heaviest fighting would happen. Kal was on the opposite side of the main structure, fighting his way to the same destination.

Their combined movement would create a pincer move on the main structure, coming in from both sides which Rishi hoped would make the siege of the structure easier. Rishi opened up the link with Kal.

"Saber Two, this is Saber One."

"Saber One, go ahead."

"Continue your advance towards the main building, but await my arrival. With good coordination we can catch them from both sides. It should lessen the opposition."

Kal sounded hesitant. "Uhmm, I'm not really headed for the main structure, Saber One. We managed to patch into the enemy's frequency and it seems they're rallying all of their forces in one hangar. They're getting ready for the battle outside."

Rishi frowned. "They're ignoring our presence?"

"Seems like it."

"Well, then what are you doing, Saber Two?"

Again he hesitated. "Rishi, I've come across something very bad over here. Suggest you forget the main structure for now and come take a look."

Rishi cursed. "I can't get to your position without going through the main structure."

"Well, then move silently. And leave your unit in the main structure. I'm sending my unit to link up with them. With all of the enemy gathered in one spot you won't meet any resistance."

Rishi decided to go along on Kal's idea. "Alright, Saber Two. But what have you found?"

Kal snickered nervously on the other end. "Well...I was feeling pretty good about my ability to leave a trail of dead across the entire station - "

"Yeah?"

He could hear Kal swallow hard. "I've found a bigger trail."

The words shook Rishi at his very foundation, and he knew instantly he needed to see it for himself. Something told him it was related to Master Skar. Rishi concocted a quick plan to reach the building Kal was in, but concluded there was no direct approach. Hundreds upon hundreds of the enemy soldiers had massed around the main building and there was no quick way around it.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

With lightsaber in hand, Rishi set about making a straight line.

Jedi Master Raine's cloak resembled wings trying for flight as he walked to the edge of the roof, falling into place next to the Dark Jedi Eknath. Their hoods hid their faces from each other, but their minds spoke in volumes between them. Raine allowed his walking stick to fall to the ceiling and flexed his fingers, summoning all of the Force's energy into his small limbs.

Eknath cracked his knuckles and gazed expectingly at the horizon. At the black dots in the far distance that made up the Republic's ground forces. They were too far away for his taste, and time moved much too slowly.

Raine nodded as he was ready. "Krych is below, speaking to the troops."

"Excellent," Eknath said out the corner of his mouth, showing little interest. "Let us hope he is not dissapointed with the leftovers."

Raine didn't like that prospect. "He's become dangerous, too powerful. Unstabil."

Eknath grinned. "Yes, just what we need. Restraint is not an option, all we can do is direct him towards our enemy, and let him have his fun."

Raine shook his head. "He's changed too much."

Eknath's face turned slightly to look at the small Jedi Master. "Only for the better. You saw him at the meeting when we first came here. He stood up to Riokon, and Riokon diminished him."

Raine looked to his own palms. "Sometimes we must listen to someone outside of the problem in order to have an objective view. Krych was put in his rightful place."

Eknath scowled. "Only because Riokon's greed was more powerful than his. He wanted the clone for himself," the telepath's scowl slowly formed a smile, "and even when given the chance he failed."

Raine sighed. "Revenge is easy to understand in someone who believes in nothing."

"Revenge can also be a faith. But Riokon doesn't believe in nothing," Eknath offered. "He believes in our family. Family is the most important thing to him, that's why we're here now. The wrongdoing that was committed against his son will be ratified."

Raine nodded, but his eyes showed no compassion. "He...did place him in their hands."

Eknath smiled fiendishly. "The clone lived his life as their son, he was the closest they'd ever have to a son."

"But whatever deception he lived through meant nothing to Riokon," Raine retorted. "And I don't blame him."

Eknath's brows lifted. "Someone close to him thought otherwise."

"Sasa?" Raine asked, thinking of no other option.

Eknath nodded. "She was endeared to him. He though of her as his mother, and she saw the son in him Koll was trying to avenge."

Raine frowned, refusing to believe it. "Sasa is reliable. She is - "

"Sasa was reliable," Eknath stated, "until she met him."

Raine didn't want to believe it. Sasa was Koll's wife, his closest family, his entire family. She would never betray him. No, it couldn't happen. They'd been through too much. She wanted this revolution as much as he did. Their priorities were the same, as any husband and wife.

Raine pushed the idea away. "You think she'll betray us?"

Eknath stared at the horizon, his face frozen by more than just cold. "No. Actually, I've seen sufficient proof of her loyalty. It is the size of her loyalty that scares me."

The sight of the thousand soldiers that awaited him inside the hangar, as he rode in on the unsaddled Talon, sent a rush of blood through his veins. Pride filled him instantly, causing yet a smile on his torn face underneath the mask. He pulled Talon's reins and the creature sprang into motion, its claws clanging on the hangar floor as it thrashed its way to the front of the soldiers, roaring proudly.

Krych sat back on the creature's spine, facing the soldiers, letting each and every one of them take a good look at his new face. Talon clattered back and forth underneath him, not used to being alone, and facing so many that would have been food if not for Krych's coercion.

He'd dressed himself in one of Riokon's antique battlesuits, a red undersuit complimented by shining golden gauntlets, epulets, greaves and boots. His chest and stomach was shielded by a silver defensive covering, of an elaborate design that eluded him, although he was sure he had been present when their army had visited the world of the designers.

He felt enormous wearing the armor, more so he felt worthy of it's beauty, felt like a real general. General Riokon had always looked impressive wearing it and Krych was sure whoever had designed it had imagined it for ceremonial uses, and never intended it would actually be worn in true combat.

Krych would wear it, and he knew that when he returned it would still be undamaged. He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt, lit the vermilion blade and held it aloft.

"Sons of Destiny!" he yelled, using the full strength of his lungs to make his voice heard through the mask. "This is the moment we've been waiting for! Our time spent fighting tiny factions in the Unknown Regions has not been in vain! Every battle fought in that nameless region has prepared us, strengthened us, for this day! To fight the Republic! To take this Galaxy into our own hands, and lead the future!"

The soldiers roared in unison, their yells shaking the very walls and floor of the hangar. Talon bellowed in response, snarling and shaking its powerful head at the soldiers. Krych felt the excitement and pride of his soldiers wash over him, filling him with a light unlike any other. His eyes watered and his grip on the lightsaber tightened.

"Do it for liberty, for justice, for an end to corruption and tyranny! To a brighter world for our children! Do it for - " his voice broke, as he realized his own words had ambushed him. He swallowed the lump in his throat. ""Do...do it for Eulogy, for Junn! Do it for her! Make her proud! Show yourselves worthy of her love!"

He hoped she was listening somewhere, that she would hear the soldiers scream out her name as a battlecry. Krych's tears flowed freely beneath the mask, the salty drops stinging his face.

"Come!" he cried. "Let's shape our fates! Let's show the world the power of an ideal! The sheer force of will and determination! Come!" He reined Talon around to face the hangar doors that separated him from the plains, the soon-to-be battlefield. He moved the lightsaber down to point at the door. "Beyond those doors awaits immortality! Your names signed indefinetely in the pages of history!"

The soldiers raised their rifles to the ceiling of the hangar, their cries growing and growing, building into a steady frenzy of sheer undaunted pride and strength. Krych harnested the Force and pulled the doors open slowly, the cold wind ripping at his bare arms, snow fluttering through the gap as it grew.

Talon roared beneath him, wired from his energy. Krych unleashed all of the Dark Side at the outside plains, letting all of his anger manifest into a terrifying scream that drowned out the roars of the storm outside.

"What are you waiting for!"

Talon leapt into a full sprint, carrying a screaming Krych on it's back, a thousand soldiers charging after him, all of them etching traces in destiny as their boots trampled snow.

Rishi and his team came running into the hangar, on a gangway above the soldiers, only to watch wave upon wave of Sons of Destiny soldiers march out of the hangar doors, a sea of determination and pride dressed in night black armor. His commandos raised blaster-rifles over the railings, ready to fire.

Rishi stared at the departing army, feeling he had to do something. If they'd been more commandos in his team, he could've...

He sighed. There was nothing to do. The last of the soldiers dissapeared beneath the rim of the hangar doors, fading from sight in the thick winds outside. The lead commando secured his rifle and looked to Rishi. The battle was out of his hands to stop, but there were still objectives he could fulfill.

"Sir?"

Rishi couldn't take his eyes off the hangar doors, feeling so small.

This has to happen, Rishi, the voice said again in his mind.

But why? Rishi asked. There must be some way.

There is...and this is it.

"Sir?"

Rishi shook the voice out of his head and signaled the team to advance down the bridge. "The battle belongs to the soldiers. We're here for the hostages. Proceed without me, link up with Saber Two's unit, find the hostages and keep them secure."

"Right, sir." The lead commando waved his men forward. "Keep moving, team."

The soldiers snapped into action and ran onward, showing a clearheaded resolution Rishi no longer knew where to find. He knew he should have been with them, but the emptiness inside of him made him lean against the cold railing, staring unfocused at the snow outside. The Force was charging with energy within him, but he felt like a charged rifle without a target, without even a finger to press the trigger.

This has to happen? Why does it have to happen?

The voice manifested in his head. It is the will of the Force.

Rishi frowned. I don't believe you. The Force is the way of compassion, it's -

The way of compassion belongs to the Jedi. And you are no Jedi.

Rishi's eyes widened. So? What difference does that make?

The voice was grave, but not unkind. That question...is why you are here, and why you shouldn't be here. That question...is the end of everything.

Rishi couldn't fight the terror forming behind his eyes, a desolation seemingly bottomless. Was he wrong? How was he wrong in coming here? What was happening? He was here to stop the terrorists and the voice -

He remember the Bothan, Rarsk Dokyan, something he'd said shortly before dying. The Sons of Destiny are not a terrorist group.

Rishi's fingers uncurled from the railing and he stood back, fighting hard to find the truth among the lies, the sense in the insanity. Was there any? How could he trust this mysterious voice in his head? How could he trust the Bothan? How could he trust his own judgement? Who could he trust?

Trust me on this, Rishi, the voice returned, trust no one.

"First wave, advance," the static voice of General Davon came through their helmet's internal communication.

Most hesitated, but some didn't and once the first soldier broke the line, the rest followed, the sound of trampled snow rising above the roar of the blizzard. They moved like a wall of armor, widening out, an army of soldiers two hundred men wide and one hundred long, marching across the stretch to reach the repair yard one mile away.

Eknath frowned from atop the station, seeing the Republic forces starting to move on the station. "An advance force."

Raine steadied himself against the wind, searching the currents of the Force for answers. "Prudent for them."

"But time-consuming for us." He opened his cloak and pulled back the sleeves to reveal his slender hands. "But very well; if they want to die one at a time, so be it." His eyes fell upon Raine. "Are you with me, Master Jedi?"

Raine listened with all of his soul to the Force, hoping desperately for a sign or a voice that told him he didn't have to do this, that he shouldn't do this. Thousands were about to die, and he still found it impossible to believe the Force wasn't going to intervene. Times had definetely changed; in the days of his youth the Force had spoken to him like a clear signal, a unflinching divide between right or wrong.

Life had always precious and to be preserved. That the Force seemed to want this massacre to take place, was beyond him. And yet it was all he had to go on. He released the heaviest of sighs.

"I am with you, Master Eknath."

They both turned away from the battlefield and faced the north mountains on the opposite side of the station. They both pulled upon the Force, pulling all of it's power to their fingers, letting it flow through their veins and limbs, and prepared for a release of energy that hadn't been performed for a very long time.

At the feet of the north mountains, almost buried by the constant falling snow, shards of massive shiphulls still reached for the clouds above.

The Watchmen scrapyard.

In the front line of the Republic's advance force marched a young soldier called Sora. New to the military and still young enough to feel as if war was the last place he should be, he ignored the shaking feeling in his knees and concentrated on staring straight ahead. The winds stole away most of his visibility of the station, but every now and then a clear line of sight would reveal details about it that stabbed his confidence like a vibroblade. He felt as though he was riding a wave, his comrades around him marching confidently towards the station as if it was just another day in their lives.

Sora didn't feel that way at all. He had confidence but only in the fact that he would certainly die today. He could feel it. His heart was racing like a dewback on fire. Every nerve and cell in his body screamed to turn around and run as far away from Regana as he could. But every time he slowed, soldiers behind him pushed him forward, ordering him to keep up.

The station laid dead ahead, no bigger than he could fit it into his hand, and still he knew that section of buildings ahead would be the last thing he saw. Death hovered over him like the clouds parting above -

Parting? he thought.

But indeed the clouds were starting to pull away over their heads, pulling apart like a giant seam had been loosened down their center. It looked unnatural, and Sora doubted any wind could pull clouds apart so cleanly. The surrealness of it caused his feet to stop walking, and others soon joined him. Staring at a long gone sun finally glaring down upon them.

Several hundred soldiers stopped in their tracks and gazed upon the light falling pouring over them, mesmerized by this strange occurance.

"What are you doing!" General Davon's voice yelled in their ears. "Continue your approach to the target!"

The first piece of ship-hull that fell from the sky was the size of a blockade runner, stabbing like a giant dagger into the snow a few feet away from Sora. The building-sized shard of metal tilted onto its side, creating a wall between the soldiers and their target. Sora stood back, terrified, but more wrecks fell from the sky, raining down around them. Some the size of starfighters, others being entire engine departments that could have moved a star destroyer through space.

The ground quaked beneath them, and Sora had to bend down on one knee to keep from falling over. The sound pushed away the frantic screaming of his comrades and he could only stand there and stare as -

"They're herding us together!" he cried.

The falling debris was not accidental, it landed in precize locations, slowly building an unscalable wall around the soldiers. And no sooner had he said those words over his helmet's comlink, that the last piece slammed down into place, effectively sealing the soldiers off in a huge pen made of starship wreckage. The wall stood high like a four-storied building, tilted inwards to discourage climbing over.

"Advance team; what's your status?"

Their commander spoke up over Sora's frequency. "Locked tight, General." There was a tremor of fear in his voice. "Completely...no way out of here, General."

"Hold tight, we'll get you out of there!"

Sora began to suspect they would be too late. At the center of their new prison, beneath the boots of the soldiers, a section of snow began to tremble. The tiny particles of snow evened out flat due to the vibration. The nearest soldiers noticed it and trained their weapons upon the spot.

"Underground tunnels," one of them said viciously, "we'll be ready for them."

The ground continued to shake, rattling the soldiers, some falling on their backs. The vibration intensified, growing and growing until the section started to rise up, cracking down its peak.

"Keep it together, team," another muttered.

And then it was freed. A cylinder the size of a man shot like a rocket from the ground and soared up into the sky high above their heads. It lingered there for a second before coming back down, The confusion prevented the soldiers from firing, not expecting to see a harmless looking cylinder emerge from the hole. The soldiers jumped back as the cylinder slammed down again, right next to its hole, sitting pretty in a new hole.

Sora laid on his back only three feet away, staring at the object by his feet. Small lights flickered up its side and the thing seemed to give off a vibration of its own. A building vibration that shook through the ground beneath their boots just as before, a terrorfying omen of imminent danger.

Sora remembered back to his history classes in warfare, something about the object bringing forth a word in his mind by its own will.

And then it hit.

"Seismic char - "

Sound dropped to an utter silence for one second before the blast wave moved out in a giant circle of inferno around the cylinder, shattering armor and throwing bodies to the wind. Burning through the soldiers running for their lives, the blast wave moved up against the wall of wrecks enclosing it, ripping them from the ground and tossing the giant pieces of starships outwards like they were tiny pebbles.

And so the flying debris came soaring once again, but this time as a great wall of metal flying towards the remaining Republic troopers at an insane speed no snowspeeder could imitate.

The infantry dropped to the ground quickly, although the greater portion of them did get squashed against the sheer weight of metallic object ranging between smaller starfighter sizes to those weighing in several hundred tons. Soldiers watched their comrades flatten against enormous pieces of ships as the wave washed over them, roaring immensely as it passed.

The AT-ATs never saw true combat that day, they were swept along by the wave, becoming a part of it by themselves and were finally thrown several miles from their berth, their legs trailing behind them as they flew, exploding in small distant flashes against the horizon.

Smaller debris cluttered to the ground around the infantry forces, cleaving soldiers to pieces as they touched down, leaving their ground station a maze of ship-wrecks, the small open spaces available filled with Republic soldiers carved into pieces.

Survivors ranged around a handful of hundreds against the seven thousand initially. Although the few hundreds were still eager to fight and counted themselves as lucky to have survived, the battle for Regana was already over.

Eknath smiled radiantly, although the paling of his face proved his efforts to use the Force had been more exhausting than he'd anticipated. He relished the cool sensation of the wind brushing up against his face and slumbed down on his knees, his eyes frozen on the scattered Republic forces in the far distance, basking in the current of death that flowed through him from the Dark Side. With every scream, with every last exhalation on the battlefield, he was refilled and reborn.

Next to him Raine was still standing, showing nothing but a frown from his efforts. "There are still...some survivors," he observed.

Eknath chuckled merily. "Krych and the soldiers will clear out any stragglers." He'd barely said the words before they could both see their own soldiers march towards the remaining Republic forces at the foot of the structure they stood upon. Krych was riding up front on one of the vhroniks, red lightsaber blazing in his hand.

Raine looked down upon Eknath. "You don't look so good."

Eknath waved the comment aside and stood again. "The effort drained me. I am not as as strong as I used to be," he looked at Raine, "strangely, you don't seem affected."

He was affected, but not from the effort. The Dark Side was brushing up against him in subtle waves, forcing him to barricade himself within. However Raine found it possible to smile, even as the wave of death and misery was passing around him. "Maybe the new equilibrium of the Force differentiates between Dark and Light."

Eknath sneered at the comment. "Jovis will deal with the star destroyers in orbit, so its time we saw to our intruders."

Raine's chest tightened, and he spotted possibilites. Prosperous ones even. "I'll go." Before Eknath could intervene Raine turned on his heels and left the telepath to himself.

Eknath took a few more minutes to regain his strength and collected his cloak around him. His body felt heavy but his spirit was buoyed at the prospect of finally encountering this Kjoil apprentice. So far everything had happened according to the designs they'd envisioned and he was sure a mere apprentice could do nothing to stop them now.

Making his way across the roof to the lift, he began to sense something in Force, a tremor he'd never felt before and he stopped halfway to the lift. He turned his eyes to the sky, his ears slowly picking up on what sounded like a jet engine approaching. Could the star destroyers in orbit have already sent shuttles?

He doubted it. Nothing happened that he had not planned. He shrugged it off as the wind playing tricks on his ears and turned away -

And stared directly into the black visor of one Boba Fett.

Instinct conquered fear and Eknath's hands raised defensively to protect his face. Fett's armored right hand slammed into his stomach, throwing him back on the roof. Eknath groaned through the splitting pain and his blood froze to ice in his veins. For the first time in decades he felt scared for his life. Few things in life brought fear to his heart, but there were some that did, things like myths and legends. Unbeatable monsters for which there was no explanation.

Boba Fett's jetback was still venting exhaust that got towed by the wind, but his figure stood as if framed in rock upon the roof before him. Eknath looked over the bounty hunter in shock, the man a perfect blend between metal and weapons, a presence of sheer confidence and violence, staring at the fallen Eknath through his black visor. Eknath rolled away, eager to put distance between himself and Fett.

Fett changed the position of his feet, lifting his chin slightly.

Managing to get onto his feet after a new failing attempts, Eknath calmed his breathing, focusing all his mental powers upon the bounty hunter. But where he had expected to find a presence of outright death in the Force, a man who'd killed as many as Fett was sure to come off as the very presence of death, there was none.

Eknath tried again, holding out his hand at Fett, but sensed only a gaping hole in the Force. He began to chuckle lightly, genuinely impressed.

"Yes, I'd heard that about you. You're impervious to mind tricks. But it doesn't come from training, I see now. You're an...anamoly, a man untouched by the Force." Eknath kept his pride in check, standing straight, signaling he was undaunted and would face any eventual death with honor. "I suppose I should consider myself fortunate...to have stood in the company of Boba Fett for so long, and still breathe."

Fett stood like a statue wrapped in metal, not a single movement, barely even proof he was breathing. The psychological ploy had little, but still some effect on Eknath.

"What are you doing on Regana? Are you here to kill me, Fett? Or did you come for someone else? Who's the bounty?"

Light glistened off the armor, making him a presence of light within itself, a snake ready to strike, a wire pulled taut just waiting for the touch of a blade. He emanated hatred by just standing there, the fearlessness that scared his victims into submission, that cold aura of just playing with his prey.

Eknath refused to break. "It's not me, is it, Fett?" Eknath put as much spite into his voice as he could, his words the only weapons he had left. "You're not here for me. I doubt I've left anyone alive long enough to save up enough money to pay your fee."

Fett's chin lowered a milimeter.

"Ahh, I see," Eknath gloated. "It's the Kjoil apprentice, isn't it? Indeed."

Another milimeter.

It excited Eknath on numerous levels to outsmart someone like Fett. "You won't get your hands on him, my men will stop you. Is that what you really want? To be cut down like your father?"

Fett finally breathed, his helmet delivering the sound in a haunting mechanical state. "You don't really think you'll win, do you?"

Eknath growled. "I will kill you if I have to, Fett."

"You will try." Fett's armored gauntlet raised to aim at Eknath, the flamethrower attached there starting to light up -

A red lightsaber blade cut through the air between Fett and Eknath, causing both to step back as Tragedy stepped forward, putting himself in their center. Fett kept his flamethrower aimed at the young Joon, and Joon's lightsaber swirled around to point it's tip at Fett's helmet.

Eknath chuckled victoriously, safe behind Joon. "You have no part in this, Fett," Eknath said, his own voice full of venom, "whoever you came for, it goes no further than this. Like your father, you'll find the end of a lightsaber the easiest bounty you've ever caught."

Fett revealed no emotion but his flamethrower was still aimed at the young Joon, and Joon's lightsaber remained aimed at the bounty hunter's helmet.

Eknath moved out behind Joon, heading for the lift only a few steps away. "Yes, I'll leave you two freaks to settle this. I have work to do." Eknath reached the inside of the lift and activated its controls. "I would worry if I were you, Fett. Though he appears blind, Joon has killed more people in his short lifetime than you and your father combined." The liftdoors sealed before Eknath, leaving Joon and Fett on their own.

The wind made Joon's bandana flap against his shoulder, and the red lightsaber in his hand created highlights upon Fett's armor. It was a contest of wills, they both stood there motionless, waiting for the other to make the first move and start the fight. But Fett was a master of wills, and had a track record of zero mistakes. Joon was young, and although more powerful in the Dark Side than people three times his age, his strength came from only the Force.

Seconds became minutes, and Joon's outstretched arm holding the lightsaber began to spasm slightly. The tip of the lightsaber started to create tiny circles in the air before Fett, and yet the hunter stood frozen as ever.

Despite Joon's blindness, he could see the bounty hunter clearly through the Force. He could feel the hunter's presence and sense his movements. He could even sense the air around the hunter and would know exactly when and if the hunter made any sudden movements. He could also hear the hunter, hear his slow breathing, his armor's minuscule shuffling.

But Joon's senses had a limit.

The smallest of snowflakes hovered slowly between them and settled down on Joon's lightsaber. His level of focus made the sound of the snowflake melting on the blade equivalent to the sound of a supernova exploding right beside him.

Fett's gauntlet released a geyser of flame and Joon rotated his wrist, bringing his lightsaber around to defend himself.

Rishi had to slice his way into the section Kal was in. He knew where Kal was because the Jedi stood out like a beacon inside the station, not only because Rishi knew the aura the man brought to the Force. But because Kal was feeling the deaths happening outside and his sorrow and pain was a blinding light that Rishi was running towards. As for himself he dodged the sensation, pushing it away, expecting such an emotion to come. Some Jedi, when feeling such an amount of death, could be deafened by it.

Rishi chose to ignore the feeling, knowing he would gain nothing from sharing the deaths of his soldiers, his mission was different from theirs and he had to keep moving if he was going to make any kind of progress, if their deaths had to count for something. He knew it was cold of him, to not at least listen to the dying souls leaving this world, but he'd already had too much death on his mind.

Rishi dropped into the room, silencing his lightsaber.

Ironicly, since he was avoiding to listen to the deaths outside, it seemed death wasn't about to give up on him yet. The place was a two-leveled junction, with seven different entries and exits, easy access to the nearest walkways that led to the inner ring of buildings outside and as well as the main structure. Unlike the other buildings he'd been in, this one still contained some level of electricity, fixtures in the ceiling dropping in and out like an unsteady heartbeat. A line of coloumns separated the doorways, although a few of them were now fallen like giant logs on a forest floor.

Kal was standing in middle of the room, looking around at the floor. A floor covered in corpses.

Sons of Destiny corpses.

Rishi covered his mouth. "What the - ?"

"None of our teams have been through here. It was here before we arrived."

Rishi couldn't get the scent of death out of his nose, the bodies had laid there for days and begun to smell. They laid in awkward angles, clear signs of a battle, many missing limbs and some limbs missing owners. No blood. "They killed their own men?"

Kal looked at him, wet lines on his cheeks had dried. "I'm not sure."

Rishi crossed over to him. "Are you alright?"

"You must've sensed it too."

Rishi nodded. "Of course I did."

Kal looked away. "I've never felt anything like it."

"If we don't keep moving, you'll get the chance again."

Kal sighed. "I know. This room looks like what I felt. Except..."

Rishi waited, but Kal didn't finish. "Except what?"

One of the bodies in the room moved. Rishi and Kal both turned to see a single soldier lying on the floor, missing both legs. His hands were moving. Rishi drew his lightsaber and ignited the blade, wary of a trap. He ran over to stand over the crippled man.

"Who are you?" Rishi asked with a threat in his tone, keeping his lightsaber aimed at the fallen soldier.

Perhaps unable to move more than so, he only turned his face slightly to look at him, appearing to be in pain with even such a small motion. He spoke slowly, the pain making his voice tremble. "I'm...part of the army. A Son."

Rishi nodded, feeling the man's pain. He had compassion for the broken man, it was obvious the man was only minutes away from death. But he still wished in some part the soldier would talk faster because he had a million answers ready.

"What happened here?"

He closed his eyes, a shiver running through him that made him groan with agony. "He...killed them."

"Who?" Rishi asked. "Who killed them?"

"The clone."

Rishi felt safe putting his lightsaber away. "The clone of Skind Kjoil?"

He nodded slowly.

Rishi was confused. Why had this Kayupa killed his own men? "Why?"

He reopened his eyes, a fear behind those bloodshot ovals. "Revenge."

That only raised further questions. "Revenge? For what?"

Kal stepped up on the side of the wounded soldier. "Rishi, I don't think you're going to get anything cohesive out of him."

Rishi looked up at Kal, with a look that was intended to remind him who was in charge. "He's all we got."

"Maybe we should heal him up first."

Rishi looked back down at the man, deeming his wounds to be unmendable. The way he saw it he might as well get as much out of him as he could. Even if he couldn't get everything he could at least get pieces of the puzzle. "Kayupa - he was leading the army, wasn't he?"

The soldier looked surprised at the mention of that name. "Y-yes. How did you - " he started coughing, drops of blood dotted his clothes and chin. "He's still here...but I don't know where."

Rishi nodded, mostly to himself. "I'll find him, don't worry," he said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Where's the rest of the army?"

He coughed again, each cough filling him with pain. "The clone...he killed most of them."

Rishi remembered the impressive, but arguably small army he'd seen earlier charging out of the hangar. "But...there were twenty thousand?"

The soldier finished coughing, shaking his head as much as he could afford without causing more pain. The soldier let out a breath of heavy air, his eyes starting to water. "He was alone...all he had was a lightsaber...and the Force. I've seen Jedi fight. I know what they can do. But he...he was a whirlwind. He moved through this station...like the hand of death itself. Sweeping through every chamber...every hangar...every inch of every corner. Killing mercilessly. He was unstoppable," his voice broke, the tears flowing down his face mixed with blood, "I tried to stop him...he took my legs..."

Rishi felt the pain radiating off the dying soldier, but pushed it aside. He needed more information. "What happened to Kayupa? Why did he kill his own men?"

The soldier's eyes started to fade, his life ebbing away.

Rishi grabbed the man hard by the collar. "Answer me! Why did he kill - "

"Rishi!" Kal urged. "Let him go!"

RIshi's eyes flashed anger towards Kal. "Shut up, Kal!" He turned back to the soldier. "Where is the clone!"

But the soldier was already gone. What remained of his his body went lax in Rishi's grip and Rishi let go of the collar, the dead body flattening on the floor. Rishi wiped his blood-soaked hand on his thigh and stood, instantly searching the rest of the bodies for anyone still alive.

Kal glared frustrated at Rishi's back. "You're not helping matters by roughing up dying men, Rishi."

Rishi's eyes rolled. "Stow it, Kal. This is bigger than me or you."

Kal's frustration turned into incomprihention. "What is?"

"Finding the truth. Something very wrong happened here, Kal. Kayupa killed his own men, and we don't know why. Something is moving in the Force, can't you feel it?"

Kal shook his head. "Maybe I could...if the Force wasn't being drowned in your anger and fear."

Rishi swirled to face Kal. "Fear? I'm not afraid - "

"Rishi," Kal urged again, but without hostility in his tone. "Listen to yourself. You're breaking apart on the inside, that much I can sense."

Rishi was afraid to look at himself. He sighed deeply and rested his hands on his hips. "None of it makes sense, Kal. I don't get it. If this Kayupa is as powerful in the Force as he said, why can't we pinpoint him? Why hasn't Admiral Saul bombarded this repair yard into the ground by now?"

A new voice rose above their low muttering. "If you want Finality - "

Kal and Rishi turned as one, instantly raising their lightsabers, seeing the source of the voice, what seemed to be an old hunched-over man standing in one of the entryways. Jedi Master Raine smiled at the two young men, with all the warmth of an uncle happy to see his younger family relatives again.

" - Then that's why I'm here."

The Jedi Master dropped into a seating on one of the fallen columns, settling in with the kind of groan only elderly people could produce, as if all the weight of the world was on their shoulders. He looked around at the dead soldiers, his face scrunching up.

Rishi leaned against the column beside him while Kal kept to himself elsewhere. Rishi didn't know what to think about this Raine. But he knew now that this man was the light he'd sensed on Regana from the Masamune. The light in the Force that shone against the growing darkness.

But this Jedi, Jedi Master even, had sided with the Sons of Destiny, he'd probably helped them kill Master Skar. Yet not the slightest taint of darkness emanated off the old man, not a hint of a shadow. Jedi Master Raine was a sun in a world of dying stars, the Force shining through him at full blaze.

"Why are you working with them?" Rishi asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm not," the old man countered. "I am merely fulfilling my purpose."

"Your purpose?"

Raine nodded and his eyes seemed to gaze into the past. "I am a Jedi of the old kind. A servant of the Force. For many years the Force has kept me at Riokon's side. I doubted its intentions initially, but I've come to understand that the Force works not only in mysterious ways," he smiled happily, "but also in very slow ways."

Rishi remained cold, wary of deception. "You've...killed, in their service?"

Raine's eyes centered on Rishi with great strength. "I have done what the Force wanted me to do, son."

Rishi raised his chin. "Why differentiate yourself from me?"

Raine hugged his cane to his chest. "Just like the Jedi, a Kjoil is also a child of the Force. But they are arrogant, selfish, egotistical brats. They believe themselves to be the will of the Force, unlike the Jedi which believe themselves to be servants of its will. No one knows the real truth, but, as with so many other things, truth is individual."

Rishi shrugged. "And?"

Raine's eyes squinted, a deviousness shining through. "You didn't come here because it felt right. Infact, this is possibly the last place in the Galaxy you want to be, am I right?"

Rishi found it hard to refute. "A sniper couldn't have hit closer to mark."

Raine's eyes stayed locked but his face moved slightly to the side. "But you still came...because you wanted to change something."

Rishi began to object. "I came to stop - "

"You came," Raine intervened, "to change the outcome of his fate."

"Don't be ridiculous," Rishi said with a snort, "I knew he was dead, I can feel it."

"I'm not talking about dead," Raine replied, a layer of spite to his voice, "being dead doesn't mean the journey ends. You're here to collect his body."

Rishi looked at his feet. "That's right. I...don't want to leave him here. He..." Rishi thought better of continuing that debate. "Anyway, what happened here? Who are the Sons of Destiny?"

Raine chuckled again, a dry cackle. "From the beginning, I see. Proper. Let's see...the founding members of the Sons of Destiny were two Jedi who decided to go rogue shortly before the Clone Wars. They sensed something was wrong, felt the Republic and the Jedi Order were slipping. They decided to leave the Order, a few other Jedi, ones like me, eventually joining them."

"They retreated to the Unknown Regions, a space much larger then than it is now. For almost two decades they traveled the uncharted, pulling more and more to their group. Eventually they became mercenaries and bounty hunters, amassing an enormous wealth which they wisely used to gather better weapons and greater ships. Like nomads they explored the Unknown Regions, earning a living off domestic war."

Rishi scratched his chin. "Why are they back in known space?"

"Despite their distaste for the Republic's way of thinking, they did not stay ignorant to events in their old home. They devised a plan, gathering all their forces and resources for a single mission; to rebuild the Galaxy as they once knew it, as they felt it should be. They abandoned their nomad ways, and became crusaders for an ideal, for a purpose." Raine sounded almost proud. "They believed it was their destiny to acheive that mission. That is why they are here. To rebuild their home."

Rishi heard that Bothan voice in his head again. The Sons of Destiny are not a terrorist group. It made sense finally. The Bothan didn't regard them as a hostile group because he was one of them, one of the faithful. To him it would have been an honorable mission. "What about the spy network on Coruscant?"

Raine's eyes showed ignorance. "The spy network?"

Rishi nodded. "Rarsk Dokyan. The Bothan informant on Coruscant. He told me the Sons of Destiny have been secretly controlling the New Republic for many years, using lies and blackmail as a weapon to control and shape it," Rishi felt that old taste of bile in his mouth again, "to learn about it, to weaken it for a take-over."

Raine snorted. "And you trusted this Bothan?"

Rishi opened his mouth to talk, only then to realize his mistake. Trust no one. Could it have been a lie? But then why would Boba Fett kill the Bothan, if not as a retaliation for his betrayal?

Rishi looked away, gathering pieces. Trust no one. If he couldn't trust anyone, what could he trust? Himself? He was already working on clues he believed to be facts, like the Bothan claimed to have been doing for years. Either the Bothan was lying, or this Jedi Master was. Who did he want to trust the most? Were they both liars?

"So there never was a Bothan?"

Raine snickered. "Oh, no. We used a Bothan to pick out a small mercenary unit which we hired to take care of smaller objectives. But anything other than that we are not responsible for."

Rishi ground his own nails into his biceps. "He lied to me."

Raine shook his head. "Not nessicarily. It is possible he was doing the things he suggested, just not for the Sons of Destiny. We were already convinced the New Republic was heading for a fall. Why would we bother tearing it apart from the inside?"

Rishi shrugged. "To weaken it?"

Raine snickered again. "The New Republic is already weak. We've engaged groups and governments in the Unknown Regions that put up a better fight, that put up better stradegies than the Republic has so far." Raine shrugged. "Face it, boy; the Republic is doomed to fail, with or without us."

Rishi couldn't help agree with those words. They spoke to a fact he'd long thought to only belong to himself. But to actually destroy the Republic? He could never have thought of doing such a thing. It had never occured to him that maybe the Republic couldn't be fixed. That maybe the flaw was something inherently wrong with the internal structure of the Republic. Too many people in charge.

Too many opinions to apease.

Raine nodded, as if he could hear Rishi's thoughts. "Yes...an empire. The Emperor was evil, a twisted man. But not all of him was wrong. He maintained stability through tyranny. And if you think about it, the only people who believed it was wrong were remnants of the Old Republic. People trying to bring back the old ways," he shook his head, "people wanting revenge. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

Rishi nodded. "What do the Sons of Destiny plan to do differently?"

Raine groaned again. "Their plan is more in the ways of Palpatine, although not as drastic. They will destroy Coruscant, since they believe it to be the cornerstone of everything wrong with this Galaxy. Once Coruscant is made inhabitable, the army will fan out across the Galaxy, spreading the word of freedom, appealing to every system." Raine's eyes dimmed. "You see, son, there are many truths in this Galaxy, and the Sons of Destiny believe not to have the only way, but certainly the best way."

"The world will have to start fending for themselves, start to realize that they have to re-evaluate their beliefs. The Sons of Destiny don't care what they find out, all they're asking is that the systems start to plan ahead, start to think for themselves. The army will stay behind as a guardian program, steadily expanding their sphere of influence, while protecting the outer regions."

Rishi did his best not to smirk. "And you seriously believe that is going to happen?"

"Doesn't matter what I believe," Raine said with little emotion, "a minute ago you believed a Bothan alone was masterminding the Republic. And ten minutes ago you were beating up a dying man."

Rishi frowned. "What's your point?"

"My point is this;" Raine's voice took on an edge of hostility, "your recklessness and your easily deceived mind is exactly the kind of thing the Sons of Destiny are trying to destroy. People like you, people without any sense of honor, without any sense of right or wrong. People easily chewing up whatever is fed to them."

Rishi's muscles tightened. "You can't just - "

"You came here to pick a dead body, boy. All of these people died, all these Republic soldiers. The Republic knows their forces have fallen and yet not a single bomb has fallen on us."

Rishi stepped forward. "Because they're waiting for me to stop the terrorists, or fail trying. If I failed they would - "

"Send in the army," Raine finished his sentence, "and they already did. They believe you to be dead already. But the army failed as well." Raine's brows lifted. "And still no bombs."

Rishi searched hard for a logical answer. "They're...worried about the hostages."

Raine chuckled. "The advancement of the army and its ground armament was supposed to destroy the station, Rishi. They have already given up on the hostages. And, a hundred hostages or not, this place should have been destroyed long ago. Do you know why the Republic doesn't want to bomb this place?"

"No," Rishi admitted finally.

"Because of the secret deep in the bottom of this station. An old cloning facility left behind from when this was an Imperial base. If they bombed the facility would surely be destroyed, but the cannons on an AT-AT and the ground units would not so. I'm not saying your Bothan friend was right, but it makes sense to believe someone wants the genetic codes, the samples, that are still available here. Genetic codes for many of history's greatest warriors, the sharpest generals, the brightest of our past. Believe it or not," Raine's voice was hard as rock, "that is what is happening."

Rishi could feel dark talons crawling up his shoulders and decided he didn't need to hear anymore. "Who killed these men?"

Raine looked out at the many dead soldiers, some humanity coming through his tired eyes. aine exhaled again. "I'm surprised you don't recognize the handiwork. The calling card of your race...see the wounds, boy," Raine nodded towards the dead soldiers, "see the clean cuts. This was not malevolent. It was quick deaths all around. Easily dispersed. You must recognize it...you must have seen bodies treated this way before," Raine's eyes looked back to Rishi, "or are you the type to never look back, to see the dead in his wake?"

Rishi wasn't willing, but the old man's words struck some chord. He looked at the closest corpse; decapitated, several more dead by same method nearby, their rifles still fully loaded, no other wounds. They'd been dead the moment they stepped into the fight, the moment they raised their weapons.

None of them had a chance. Jedi didn't fight this way, Jedi disarmed before they killed. Sith preferred to induce as much pain as possible, feeding off their victim's pain. Those talons on his tattooed shoulders started to dig into his bones.

"A Kjoil did this."

Raine nodded.

Rishi couldn't fight the realization; couldn't beat back the light shining right into his eyes. "Master Skar did this."

Raine looked saddened. "Yes. You've been looking for the truth, and it has been staring you in the face. You chose not to acknowledge it. Deep in your heart you know you are catering a lie."

Rishi looked back to the Jedi Master. "Why?"

Raine shook his head. "I do not know. I never spoke with him, never even saw him. But I felt him." He shivered. "Indeed...I felt him. I've seen Darkness, boy. I've fought it. Your Master pulled upon the Force with such passion, such unquenchable thirst, that the rest of us felt drained. Powerful he was," Raine said as a matter of warning, "too powerful."

Rishi heard the words, but they didn't register. He stood in a room filled dead corpses, hundreds of them, limbs everywhere, blood drenching the floor. Master Skar was a great fighter, a fast fighter. But this was beyond him. This wasn't honorable, this wasn't justifiable.

It was slaughter, this was the work of someone who liked the taste of death, the feel of it.

"Did Kayupa make him do this?"

Raine looked away, folding into himself. "From a certain point of view."

Rishi's eyes darted back to Raine. "How?"

Raine hesitated, his eyes refusing to look at Rishi. "The one you call Kayupa, is Koll Riokon and he is the General of this army." Raine closed his eyes and took in a breath, trembling by the effort. "And he is the father of Skar Kjoil, the man your Master lovingly called Kayupa."

Rishi stood there, hearing the words over in his head. Eventually they became pieces of sentences, fractured, incoherent. It made no sense at all. Trust no one. Was this Raine feeding him lies, trying to get him to act out in some way? Rishi scoffed it off, but there was something underlying.

Something that made him think about it.

"Yes," Raine said in a low voice, "feel it. Search me all you want, and you will know I'm telling you the truth." Raine opened his eyes, those moist ovals finding Rishi in the room. "Your Master was the real clone of Skind Kjoil."

The words were a bombardment upon Rishi's emotion, a tidal wave crashing against his very heart. Every technique he knew instantly moved into position to counter himself from going mad, but there was no defense against such weaponry. Rishi felt like someone had knocked the air out of him, his insides deflating. He had to kneel down, only to keep himself from falling over.

Kal came over quickly and hunched down next to him. "What's wrong, Rishi?"

Raine looked at the two young men with sympathy. "A clone produces a disturbance in the Force if the proper precautions are not taken. The bloom in power you sense in the Force, comes from the death of your Master. Skind Kjoil is finally devoid of his presense in this world," he closed his eyes again, "there was no easy way to tell you, young Rishi. But it is the truth. The truth you had to hear." Raine closed himself inside the Force and extended his strength to Rishi. "That...is why I came."