"I'm sorry Steffan, but I'm still looking... it's like she disappeared into thin air, I've tried meditating but whenever I try to locate her...I'm blocked." Ainar reported over the comm unit, the worried face of the Jedi Master looked back at him.

"I fear for the worst, I feel it in my guts that she's in trouble...I can't even tell if she's alive," Steffan said gravely, "troubling times these are".

Ainar only nodded as he dropped out of hyperspace again, he had been in space for almost a week now... a few days ago a Jedi emergency beacon went off somewhere on the other side of the galaxy, he hadn't been able to pinpoint it since the signal only transmitted for a few seconds.

"Anything there?" Steffan asked, Ainar could see his wife sitting behind him, they were both worried about young Callista's safety.

"Nothing... no sign of her transponder beacon or Force presence... I don't know what to think, Steffan."

Ainar shook his head and started to calculate another set of jump coordinates, he was selecting at random at this point and this jump would take him to… Yavin, a known system at least… but when he looked at the star map something went off inside his head.

A system close to Yavin, a system closed off from the Republic.

Korriban.

"Steffan...I might have something"

Steffan looked intrigued as Ainar did some final calculations on his navicomp, "Yes... yes it all fits, the Ion trail, the beacon... and she might even have a reason to go there"

"Well are you going to tell me or do I have to guess? Because...that could take a while"

Ainar looked at the comm screen, then went back to the navicomp. "Steffan...she went to Korriban"

No one said anything for a few seconds, "You can't go into there on your own Ainar, I can be there in less then 4 days...".

Ainar turned his chair towards the comm unit again.

"Steffan, she's been there for days... she can't wait 4 more, if she's even alive...I'm going in, I can handle it."

Steffan nodded, "Alright, but be careful, I have a bad feeling about this...you think Bane's on Korriban?"

"It would surprise me if he wasn't in the thick of this..."

"If it's him... don't go up against him, I'm talking to you as a friend...we both know he's more powerful."

Ainar knew he was right, but it was still hard to accept it. "I'll just get her, in and out... don't worry."

Steffan stood up and walked towards the screen, "Alright old friend...best of luck, and may the Force be with you."

Ainar saluted, then shut the comm unit off.

He took a deep breath as he decided on his plan...thankfully he brought his lightsaber with him, but didn't have the proper gear.

He pulled the lever and the ship jumped to lightspeed, on it's way to Korriban.

And Ainar actually had to admit, he was a bit nervous.

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Keiab was at a loss. Everything he did to try and break Callista, she recovered from, albeit slowly. Even the treatment of her guards she took without complaint. This frustrated him, for she would make a fine addition to the Order. Her spirit was strong, and it would not be an easy task, of that he was certain.

He knew at some point that someone was bound to come looking for her, and he wanted to be ready. Her cell was not easy to access from the main part of the base, for it was located on a sublevel. Her body was already weakened from her injuries and the lack of food, and he felt that the guards would have no trouble from her. Even considering the change in her sense, he still felt that her injuries would slow her down enough that the guards would be able to keep her in line.

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24 Hours later...

The Valiant slowly descended into the rich forest, the running lights were off and he hoped that he was far enough out to avoid the perimiter sensors.

He was dressed in what he could find that would resemble an infiltration gear, black flightsuit, his engineering gloves, his own boots sufficed, and a pulldown thermomask.

He attached his lightsaber to his flightsuit, and strapped a blaster on his hip, along with a commlink, and on his right arm, he attached the Tikki blade Arie gave him all those years ago.

This will do.

He walked towards the ramp and lowered it, he stretched his senses forward as he walked down, he couldn't feel any threats, only small life forms scurrying about.

He locked the ship down, then took off in the direction towards the temple. He knew this rotten planet too well, all the briefings and history lessons came back to him as he ran through the dense forest like a Corellian razordog.

Thirty minutes later he arrived at the large stone building, twilight was just upon it but he could still see the markings all over the stone walls, but he made sure not to read them..

He buried himself in the lush trees, and watched the guards circle the entrance...he had diminished his Force presence as he landed on this rotten planet, one of the advantages of being trained in infiltration by Arie...

But the downside was, that he couldn't sense anything in the building.

But something was definately up, the Sith were in numbers...and protecting the place. Right now he wished Steffan was with him.

He waited, and minutes turned into hours...he sat motionless, watching the guards, the night was dark, but the Force helped enhance his sight, motions of the guards drew slower, they were tiring, and there were few of them around...three, maybe four now.

Ainar rose out of the bush, slowly moving over the field, his movements slow and careful...making sure not to make a sound.

The guards were down to three, one by the entrance, and two by either side of the front.

Ainar crouched down and moved in close, his Force presence barely gone, winked out. He moved in closer, his eyes never leaving the young Sith guarding the entrance.

It was now or never, the shroud of darkness conceiled him as he leaped forward, grabbing the young man's throat, the other hand over his mouth, and wrestled him down, muffling his screams, and applied pressure to the man's windpipe until his eyes rolled up in his sockets and the Sith went limp.

Ainar slowly pulled the unconcious form inside the entrance, and placed him against the wall, in the shadows hiding him. Then he stopped and listened...nothing, the other guards didn't sense him.

Ainar unstrapped the Sith's lightsaber from his belt, and put it in a pouch, inside his flightsuit.

The he unsheated his Tikki blade, and held it backwards as he crept down the hallway, torches lit up the tunnel and he hoped no one would come looking into the hallway while he passed...that would be bad.

He slowed down as he reached the corner, and looked past. A vast room, tables filled with rich foods, pictures and symbols on the walls, lit up by large torches and fire burning in the walls.

He felt cold.

The Darkside was overwhelming in here...he wanted to throw his shackles away, and burst with energy...but his Jedi training helped him against the lure...

He shook it off and looked into the room again, no one was there.

Great...the only way forward is through a very bright room..

He ducked behind the corner, sheathing his Tikki blade again and drew his lightsaber in one swift moment, but did not ignite it.

He wasn't sure what to do next...the last time he did something like this he was a young man, a young Jedi Knight. Back when Keving was still alive...but now he was alone, in the stronghold of the Sith Order...what in the blazes was he doing?

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Even without the Force, she could tell something was going on. The guards had stopped coming in to check on her almost 12 hours ago. Though the door was heavy, she was able to catch muffled voices from the other side, and she knew that there were more than just 3 guarding her now.

Looking around the room, She spotted a loose chunk of stone lying on the floor. It looked to have chipped from one of the wall blocks. The shard was twice the length of her hand. Picking it up, she carefully ran it back and forth over the rough floor, honing it to a rough edge. Certainly not the most elegant weapon, she thought, but it will have to do. She hid it in the folds of her tunic.

She could not have had better timing, for just then the door to her cell burst open, and the guards rushed in. There were five now. All held their sabers ready, but unlit. Something was definitely going on...

"Get up, Jedi," one hissed at her. She didn't move a muscle. He growled and flicked his hand at two of his companions. They stalked over and yanked her bodily from the cot. She exploded into movement, her actions a blur like those of a Corellian Sand Panther.

Two Sith fell before the other three even realized what was happening. She shoved the two Sith off of her, and they were dead before they hit the floor. She charged the others. They didn't even have time to raise their sabers and she took yet another down with her blade.

She felt a weight slam into her back, and then she slammed to the floor. The Sith's hot breath brushed her cheek as he spoke into her ear. "Try that again, and I will kill you where you stand, orders or not..." he trailed off, and left the threat hanging in the air like a noose ready to strangle her.

She squirmed, trying to get free from his grip, and he slammed her against the floor. "Don't move!" he roared. He jerked her arms up behind her at a painful angle, and she felt him snap stun cuffs around her wrists. Pullingher roughly to her feet, they dragged her from the room.

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