The battle with the Terentatek played again and again in my mind; I smiled as I remembered a new detail each time. It was a spectacular fight. Malak was in his element, power-attacks pitting sheer muscle against muscle. He was enjoying the challenge—until it seemed we might not win as the beast refused to submit under Malak's best efforts. I depleted my Force energy with periodic healing while augmenting our abilities with speed and valor. Of course we should have prepared before the attack, but calculating sound strategy wasn't Malak's department: I was the one who came up with the plans. His ideas always ended in failure—well, outright near catastrophe, actually, as evidenced with this fight. It did not take long for us to realize I had the better mind for such things, and he quickly fell into a pattern of following my lead on just about anything without question or hesitation. After all, each success garnered greater fame and honor for us and our status grew within the academy. Often times he would come to me with an idea and I would craft a plan for it.

He was right: together, the two of us, we were unbeatable. I would set our goal, he would help bring it to pass with brute strength and determination. That was more his style: watching Malak duel would make my blood pound in my ears. He was strength personified: fluid power and motion combined into a devastating force. He had no strategy to speak of: his tactics were pretty much hit hard and often—and it worked. I studied his moves and adapted them to my own abilities; I would never match his strength, but my small size gave me speed and agility he could not achieve. My strategy of employing his own moves against him with quicker strikes made up for my lack of power, and he was never able to defeat me outright, especially when we used our Force powers. He couldn't quite figure out that landing several small hits was more effective than the big crushing blow—never made sense to him, and besides, that method didn't look as good as that huge overwhelming final strike. He always went for the big bang, just like when he betrayed me. A sneak attack, but still flashy and dramatic. And like all his other plans, it failed; but to be fair, it really wasn't all his fault that time. I tried to remember the scene, the duel with Bastila, but it was hazy; the Terentatek fight forced its way back to the forefront of my mind. I sought to think of other battles; my single combat with Mandalore was an equally thrilling and glorious victory, but I was unable to relive it the way this day, some fifteen years ago, continually compelled itself upon me.

I realized I was actually trying to avoid the memory: I knew what came next. The fight was at last coming to an end. My attack was fatal: I had driven my lightsaber directly through the animal's skull—it was dying as it fell, probably dead before it hit the ground. But I never got to witness my great victory. That damn baby—neither of us knew it was there. We had rushed in, I did not study the situation as much as I should have, so I was caught by surprise, and paid the price. Again I attempted to think of another memory; again, the same battle was fought over in my mind, stopping at the same place. I could not get around it: I was to relive every last detail of that day. I wondered why. I could see now, through the filter of time, that this day was the end of what I was, the beginning of what I would become. But there was something more—the Force itself seemed to insist I see it all, minute by minute, word for word. I gave up the struggle within and allowed the story to continue. The images seeped into my mind. I hoped to get it over with quickly so I could move on, but the memory paced itself, slowly with agonizing detail.

I was to remember it all.

Juhani kept a wary vigil on HK. The droid seemed more menacing now, if that were possible, and the Cathar suddenly, ironically, appreciated what passed as his former restraint. She was uneasy and uncomfortable in his red glare, which he flickered towards her often, apparently enjoying the distress he was causing. Juhani struggled to maintain her composure and her unconcerned gaze. She turned her attention away from the droid and towards the small table near the window. What she saw there was a scene she never even imagined; it would have been funny, if the circumstances were different. Still, she managed a slight smile—that slipped quickly from her lips as she turned once again and met HK's deadly stare. She found herself silently meditating on a stun droid Force technique as her face returned to an unreadable mask.

Bastila maintained an austere and unwavering posture as she watched the events unfold at the table. Her statuesque form and stoicism contrasted greatly with Carth's agitated fidgeting next to her. He was either clenching and releasing his fist, or running his hand through his hair, causing his medals to clink and slide across one another. Bastila cast a brief look of disapproval his way, and was met with an equally defiant "don't even start with me" scowl. Simultaneously they returned their focus to the two men at the table.

It was difficult to determine exactly what Jolee's expression meant, but Bastila and Carth watched him intently for clues. Canderous, however, was quite easy to figure out: dumbfounded defiance was probably the best way to describe his attitude. He sat rigidly still, his gaze drilling holes through Jolee as the old Jedi examined the Mandalorian's memories. How he came to agree to this was what truly mystified him. They had returned to his room, and Jolee began to study his thoughts from the previous day, looking for evidence that would suggest the Force had been used on him to make him forget or misremember.

"Nothing; can't find a thing in there," Jolee finally announced. Carth snickered, but Bastila's shoulders slumped in disappointment and disbelief.

"That is impossible!" she exclaimed as Canderous stood; he was still eyeing Jolee with extreme suspicion.

"I am telling you, Bastila, from the moment he left the hotel until the time we saw him last night, his thoughts are unbroken; there are no gaps, no time loss spots…everything is seamless. He never went to her door, never took her to the cantinas—he was alone, well, until Lena of course…" Jolee said clearing his throat.

"Satisfied? I do not blame you for trying, Bastila, but I think maybe you are looking in the wrong head," Canderous said off-handedly as he picked up his pack. "It was my word against yours, so you gonna put up, or shut up? Let Jolee poke around in your mind, see what he finds."

"Do you suggest I was persuaded to believe you were at her door? Preposterous!" Bastila huffed.

"You two had that bond—she knows her way around your head pretty well…"

"That does make sense, Bastila," Juhani offered. "What do you remember last when you were in her room?"

"We were in the middle of our conversation when there was a call at the door. Jiara got up to answer it and told me spending time with Canderous…" Bastila's voice vanished, her mouth hung open, her eyes widened.

"It makes her go away, disappear," Jolee finished her sentence. "That's what you told me, isn't it?" Bastila could only nod. "What is the next thing you can recall?"

"I returned to my room and began to research information about my mother, if you must know…she is supposed to be here on Coruscant receiving medical treatment. But I cannot say when exactly, or how long, I was at that task," she admitted.

"Well, if you ask me, it is pretty damn convenient that she tells you I make her disappear and then there I am at the door and she can't be found. I am not a Jedi expert or anything, but that sounds like a mind trick to me," Canderous snorted. "You are all fools. Each one of you. In your pathetic attempts to deny the real Revan you place blame and suspicion everywhere and concoct ridiculous stories to explain away the obvious. This was her plan, hers alone. She was not forced into it, she was not tricked. She wanted to do this, end of story. Now outta my way—you have stalled me long enough," he growled as he moved towards the door. "Come on HK, let's go find our master."

"Jubilation: It is about time! All this meatbag simpering was beginning to rust my capacitors."

"So, I guess this is it then," Carth said softly as he stepped into Canderous's path. "I do thank you for agreeing to that…at least we have the truth now, even if it wasn't what we wanted." Carth held out his hand; Canderous stood in uncomfortable silence staring down at the offered handshake. "Next time we meet, we will be at cross purposes," Carth explained. "I just wanted to tell you it wasn't all that bad fighting alongside of you, Canderous…I knew you had my back and we could all count on you. You would have made one hell of a soldier."

Reluctantly, Canderous clasped and shook Carth's hand. "You call yourself a soldier, but they only follow the orders of others. Warriors fight for what they believe in…you are a true warrior, Carth, never give up that fight, no matter what they tell you." Carth nodded, then reached up and slapped Canderous solidly on the shoulder a few times.

"Thanks," he said as they broke apart. "Hey, sorry I bugged ya."

"Hmmph," Canderous grunted. "You can be a pain in the backside," he said, then turned to Bastila. "And you were a royal pain, princess." Bastila nearly smiled; only now did she realize he had made a point of addressing her by her given name since the party…since he told her he was leaving. She at last understood: these were meant to be his final words to her as a comrade and friend, and he chose to call her by that damned title. Already, she missed hearing the antagonistic tease. She looked away, willing her discipline to hold her emotions in check.

"I hope you find what you are looking for out there," Carth added.

"Yeah, good luck," he muttered. He nodded to Jolee silently, who returned the gesture. Canderous then turned to Juhani, their eyes meeting in the hard stare of the battle-tested. They both smiled, acknowledging the other as only warriors could. He returned his expression to his usual, unreadable scowl, adjusted his pack, and pressed the button to open the door.

Out in the hall, a sight awaited them that none of them ever expected to see.

Again thanks to everyone for coming back and reading this story! I hope you are still enjoying the ride; I am trying to update about once a week, but well, you know...