Chapter Nine: Don't be a bad girl

"You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do
And it's breaking my heart in two
Because I never wanna see you a sad girl
Don't be a bad girl"

Cat Stevens, "Wild World"

Deep space somewhere between Telos and Nar Shaddaa, Moon Shadow's cockpit

She was being herded into the cantina, together with all those other people from the Refugee Sector. It was hard to hold on to her mother's hand in the crowd, but she managed to stay close. She didn't want to be separated from her again, not after the episode with that slimy squid. Through the moving crowd she could catch a glimpse at one of these white haired women who had come down to the Refugee Sector and had started to round up people.

They felt… strange. She had felt something like this before, when that Jedi woman had rescued her and brought back to her mom, but those felt… off. They felt similar but not the same. Darker, colder… She shook her head. No point worrying.

Suddenly the pushing from the people around slowed down a little, and a voice boomed over their heads: "Filth of Nar Shaddaa, I am Atris, the last Jedi Master, and it is my determination to cleanse this galaxy of scum like you. But I will grant you one last mercy. Your otherwise meaningless and well-deserved deaths will serve a greater purpose. You will help me to gain strength for the further pursuit of my destiny. And now: Make your peace."

The people didn't even have enough time to turn around confused and ask their neighbors what this was all about. As soon as this Atris had ended her speech, they suddenly started to cringe and clutch their heads. All around her, people were starting to sink to the floor, screaming and writhing, and as she realized that soon she would be the only one standing, she instinctively started to pretend she was dying, too, and slowly crawled behind the bar where the white-haired women wouldn't be able to see her.

There she cowered in fear; I wish I was dead., the only thought in her head. And the people around her were still screaming…

Né woke with a start. Screaming, there was someone screaming… She scrambled out of the pilot's seat in blind fear but was brought to her senses when her knees hit the deck plating. Dreaming. She had been dreaming. But what… Screams again, from the passenger compartment. Adana!

She scrambled up again, making her way past T3 who was sounding a little confused himself, into the small cabin where she had put Adana. The child was whimpering now, having curled up herself into a tight ball. With a firm, but still gentle touch she shook the girl a little, and she jerked awake.

For a moment Adana was looking at her with sheer terror in her eyes, but when she realized that she wasn't asleep anymore, she relaxed a little, though still panting heavily. "I was back. She killed them all. They were screaming…", the girl started to ramble on, but Né cautiously put an arm around the child's shoulders and drew her towards her. In a comforting voice she said: "It's okay. You're safe here. They won't get you."

Adana said nothing, just turned to her and buried her face in her robe, sobbing quietly. Né just stroked her hair and held her close. But already her mind was working again. She was almost 100 per cent sure that she and Adana had had exactly the same dream. On the planet she also had felt the child's – most probably unconscious – use of the Force. What in the galaxy was she going to do with a Force sensitive child when she was supposed to be chasing a mad Dark Jedi? She needed to get her somewhere safe, but that would mean losing time…

"You… you'll keep them away, right? You'll not leave me, right?" Adana looked up at her, pleading and hope shining in her eyes. How in the stars had she…?

"Adana… I… need to take that woman from your dream – Atris – down. And I could never take you with me. You wouldn't be safe…"

"I'm not a kid anymore. Really. Mom always said I was… I was… very mature." Oh great, the kid's starting to pout. Very mature, indeed.

"And I bet she was right. But this isn't about being mature. It's about danger, it's about…"

"I grew up in the Refugee Sector. I know danger.", Adana told her in a tone matching that of an adult explaining something to a child. A very stupid child. Né sighed. She had never been good with children, but she really needed to find a way of getting her somewhere sound and safe. Somewhere far away from death and with a lot of security… Telos! That was it, she had to return to Telos, give Adana to the capable hands of Carth Onasi or any other Republic officer and then catch Atris before she chose Telos as her next target. Now that's a clever plan…

"Not the kind of danger I'm talking about. Trust me."

The kid looked at her suspiciously, crossing her arms in front of her. "How can I trust you when I don't even know your name?"

Well, she certainly had a point here. "Errr… right. Sorry. I… I'm Neeneá Tekal, but people usually call me Né."

Adana uncrossed her arms and put her knees to her face. "Alright. But I still don't see why I can't come with you."

Né rubbed her forehead. Time was of the essence, and she didn't have much left. "Look, Adana… you've seen what Atris did to all those people on Nar Shaddaa. That's the kind of danger I'm speaking of. And that's the reason why I can't anyone but T3 allow to come with me."

"Well… it surely didn't kill me.", Adana remarked and with that threw Né completely off-balance. Great. Now she had to explain to a kid which might be the only survivor of a Force-drain massacre why she wasn't fit to accompany her on the hunt for the woman who had been responsible for that massacre.

"Look… it was pure luck you survived. I've fought this woman before, and I've seen what she did on other planets… Trust me, you don't want to be there when the shit hits the fan."

"Mom told me using those kind of words is not the way of a lady. And besides: you're lying." Dammit, how she'd do that? And now she would have to watch her mental and emotional shields as well. This was getting better and better.

"First: I'm not a lady anyway. And second: no, I'm not." Well, not completely, anyway. "Adana, it was pure luck. Atris is getting stronger with every planet she's "visiting", and she isn't alone. Those girls with white hair you saw? The least of my worries. You're a smart girl, you know about the Sith, right?"

Adana nodded, very serious. Né continued: "Well, the most powerful of them were buried on a planet named Korriban. And they were so powerful that they remained as evil ghosts in their tombs. And Atris did something terrible. She went to Korriban and broke into three of the tombs and gave those spirits new bodies. This is what I have to fight. You still want to come along for the ride?"

The child had grown very quiet during her little story, and for a moment Né was sorry to have her burdened with such a knowledge. This was so not a bedside-story, but saying the truth seemed the only possible thing to do for her. Plus, Adana had already seen something that could hardly be topped at its cruelty and terror.

"But were are you going to put me? I don't want to go to another Refugee Camp, never again."

Né smiled a little and stroked the child's hair again. "And you won't have to. You ever heard of a place like Telos?"

"My mom said we were from there. And she also said the planet was destroyed totally. I don't want…"

This was interesting news. Admiral Onasi was from that world as well. Maybe he'd be a little better to persuade to take the child when he knew what planet her mother was from. "Don't worry, Addy, it's changed. The Republic started to rebuild it, and they are doing a wonderful job. I know someone who'd be very happy to find a new family for you or even take you himself. I know it's hard, but please trust me: I'd never leave you somewhere where I'm not 100 per cent sure they will treat you in the best way possible." To emphasize her point, she sent out a wave of warmth and caring and love to the child.

She was surprised to find her responding immediately with tentative small waves of trust. It was this moment where she realized she had already formed one of those damned bonds with Adana. Another one who was bonded to her, chained to her. Another one she would eventually use and drain. Dammit.

"You okay?" Concern crept into Adana's voice, probably because she had been feeling her distress through the bond. Né tried to pull herself together, putting on a fake smile. "Yeah, sure. Just zoned out for a moment. So… what do you say? You want me to bring you to Telos?"

"Well… yeah. I mean… I don't have much of a choice anyway, huh?" Né's smile turned into a genuine one as she squeezed Adana's shoulders.

"You always have a choice. And you made a right one, smart girl that you are. Now, go back to sleep, I'll wake you shortly before we reach, Telos. And if there's anything you need… just scream, huh?"

"Sure.", Adana murmured and went to lie down again, while Né went back to the cockpit, setting a course for Telos. The Shadow was small, but she had a state of the art hyper drive, faster even than the Hawk. They would arrive at Telos in three hours, leaving Né a lot of time to think about the recent developments.

Citadel Station, Admiral Onasi's office

"Admiral, there's a visitor for you." His heart lurched for a moment but he forced himself to take in a deep breath and steady himself. If Revan was back, she would certainly make a different entrance than showing up at his office and ask politely if he had a spare moment to see her.

"Who is it and what does he want?", he asked back.

"Atton Rand, sir, saying he has a "very important message" for you.", his personal assistant said. Another member of This Year's Galaxy Saviors, Onasi thought sarcastically. Not that he didn't somehow like the ragtag band that was the Ebon Hawk's current crew, but every time one of them showed up at his doorstep meant trouble for him. Just like one day ago, for example.

But they usually also were reliable source of information, and so he finally said: "Show him in, please."

His personal assistant acknowledged, and a second later the door to his office went open, revealing indeed Atton Rand. Onasi motioned for him to come in, and the younger man obeyed, sitting down before him. He looked troubled, Onasi noticed. Dark circles had formed under his eyes, and his hair was even messier than usual. He leant back in the seat before him, but the usual easy air was missing. Instead the man seemed darker, more like a soldier than a scoundrel.

Onasi raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me there's been another planet "visited" by Atris."

Atton frowned in surprise. "'Another planet'? Of how many planets do you already know?"

Now it was Onasi's turn to look surprised. "Well, Korriban, Dantooine and Nar Shaddaa. Of how many do you know?"

Instead of answering the question, Atton just said: "She's been here, hasn't she?" This was getting stranger with every minute. Hadn't she said she would leave the reporting to him and the others? Didn't she want to go chasing Atris right away?

"If you mean General Tekal, then yes, she's been here."

Onasi was surprised at the obvious change going on in Rand. An almost feverish glint appeared in his eyes as he leant forward. "When? How long? She still around? What did she want?", the man shot questions at him, all the time transmitting some kind of desperate hope with them. If I didn't know better I'd say that's me shortly after Revan's leaving sitting right across from me., Onasi thought. He sighed a little.

"Yesterday, only for a couple of hours. Slept a little, brought some information and… something else with her. Or rather someone else."

Atton had gotten a grip on himself, calming himself through dipping into the Force, and was leaning back in his chair again. "Someone? Who?"

Before Onasi could answer, the speaker on his desk sounded again. "Yes?"

"Sir, it's Adana again. Says she needs to come into your office immediately.", the slightly unnerved voice of his personal assistant floated into the room. Onasi frowned. Now that was an odd coincidence.

"Show her in.", he simply said, and when the door opened this time it revealed a blond eleven-year-old girl with a serious expression on her face. He smiled at her. "Come in. I was just about calling you anyway."

The girl came nearer, eyeing Atton a little suspiciously. Then, suddenly, her face lit up as if in recognition. "Hey, I know you. You've been the one Né's been seeing in her sleep."

"Adana, I don't think it's very polite to address a guest like this.", Onasi said with a stern face.

The girl blushed furiously and dropped her gaze to the floor. "Right. I'm sorry, Carth. And I'm sorry… Atton?"

The bewildered look on Atton's face as she addressed him was priceless, and Onasi had to keep himself from laughing out loud. "Uh, yeah, it's okay… who are you anyway?", he stuttered, but before she could answer, added: "No, wait, I know who you are. You're that girl from Nar Shaddaa, right? The one we rescued from Visquis."

She nodded, still somewhat averting his gaze. Force, what he had done now? "How come you're… she took you with her, right?"

The girl nodded again, but before he could ask her what exactly had happened he was cut short by Onasi. "I think you should leave that for later. For now I think it's enough that you got to see Adana. I'm sure there's at least one member of your crew who'd be very interested in her."

It was clear by the look on her face that Adana didn't approve of him talking of her like she wasn't in the room. He would apologize for that later, but for now he needed to send her out of the room again. "Adana?" She nodded. "Would you go back to the quarters, please? I'm going to pick you up to show you something later, okay?" For a moment it looked as if she was going to put up one of these battles of wills they had been experiencing already but she just got up from her seat and walked out of the door.

Once the door had closed behind her, Atton let go of his restraint and needled Onasi with questions: "What the hell was that about? How in the Force did Né happen to bring that girl here? And what was that comment with "one of my crew being interested in her" about?"

Onasi held up his hand to stop the ranting of the younger man and answered each of his questions as best as he could. "Adana seems to be the only survivor of a terrible massacre on Nar Shaddaa. General Tekal told me that the people were most probably killed because Atris… drained their life force to make herself stronger. Seems like that kid is Force sensitive and was somehow able to make herself invisible in the Force. To Atris she just didn't exist, so she didn't touch her life force. Don't look at me like this, I'm just retelling what the General told me. She also asked me to find a family for the girl where she could come to rest and be safe, and she told me if you did chose to come here I should ask you to have Visas examine the girl, maybe even train her little. Oh, and she gave me those."

He handed Atton a pack of data cards which he eyed suspiciously. "What's that?"

Onasi shrugged. "Dunno, she just said I should give you those, and you should read them if you had a moment for yourself. There are names on them, and I guess there's one for everyone of you."

Atton nodded. But there was still the matter of Adana needing to be dealt with. "Admiral… we don't have any time for examining her or training her. We only came here to tell you news you obviously already know and do some investigations on the planet. When we're done we'll… try to locate Atris and help Né. The Hawk isn't the place you're looking for."

Onasi's brow furrowed. "Oh, but the General told me she was going alone after Atris. She specifically told me you were in no way to interfere with the whole thing. You aren't telling me you're disobeying her orders, are you?"

Dammit. "Uh… no. We're just… interpreting them a little different than you. She just said we shouldn't follow her. And we're not. We won't go to Nar Shaddaa, and every other planet she tells us not to go to, but she never said we weren't allowed to do a little looking around for ourselves." Oh look, there is a brain inside your head after all, Rand.

"I don't like this. And she's going to kill me. But if I'm judging you right there won't be any way I was able to stop you, right?" Atton just nodded, already knowing he had won. "But on one condition." Alright, so maybe not so soon. "You stay here for at least a couple of days, and Visas has a look at Adana. I have no idea where to put her, so she's going to stay with me for the time being, and I'd really like to know what possible havoc a Force sensitive child could wreak on my life. Well, another one, I mean."

Atton held back a smirk. As far as he knew, Onasi was in his 40ties, and he didn't seem like the type of guy who had had a lot of experience with children, let alone Force sensitive ones. Hearing at least a partial admission that the Admiral was a father of sorts, and of a Force sensitive at that, did change the perspective Atton had had on the man a little.

"Well, what do you say, Rand?", Onasi said with one eyebrow raised.

Atton shrugged, knowing they had to refuel and restock the Hawk and most probably had to talk about the Admiral about some things regarding Dantooine anway. "Agreed. But I bet, you'll be happy to see us gone once we're done her."

With that he stood up, as did the Admiral and they shook hands. "Always a pleasure doing business with you, Rand.", Onasi said half-sarcastically while Atton just smirked.

A/N: Now, that was fast one. Anyway, not much to say, apart from maybe that you should get used to Adana because she somehow wormed her way into the story, and now I'm stuck with her. I hope you like her. Oh, and I hope you liked my version of Carth. I never got to play KotOR 1, so I never got to experience him first hand. Just don't do anything violent to me for him being possibly OOC ;)

Amme Moto - Well, during the game I was kinda unnerved by Visas calling me Master since I always did feel she deserved that title more than me. So in that case my Exile is a kind of Mary Sue, but as someone remarked on another fanfiction-site: the POV of the game makes it nearly inevitable that the Exile becomes a kind of alter ego for her or his player - well, that or the other way around ;)

Kathleen - Actually I somehow liked Visas during the game, and I thought that once the Exile was gone, the crew needed some kind of... spiritual anchor, what with so many Force sensitives among them. Given the fact that Visas is the one with the deepest understanding of the Force in the remaining crew it was a natural choice to make her that anchor. I actually enjoy writing her very much.