Thank you to my reviewers! Your support is fantastic.

Declaimer: I do not own Knights of the Old Republic or anything related to it. I am not making any money off of this story.

EIGHT

The old door hissed and slid back from its frame, metal scraping metal as it retreated. A dark silhouette stood silently in the doorway, its white teeth being the only visible detail other than the slight shine of its long robes. "Well, well," it said in a deep voice, "what have I caught in my net?" A tall, broad-chested man stepped through the doorway wearing a slightly maniacal grin that was slowly spreading across his face. "Two Jedi in one swipe? My luck can't get much better," he laughed, walking toward his prisoners.

"Frack," Emlyn heard Dustil curse quietly. She glanced over at him and saw that he was gritting his teeth and glaring at the newcomer as though hoping the man would burst into flames.

:Who's that? You know him: she asked.

:Sholdan:

:What! Frack: Emlyn repeated his earlier sentiment.

:I sense something in him, Em. It's bad, real bad:

:What is it: Emlyn asked. Before Dustil could answer, the senator began speaking again.

"And who are your friends, Jedi? Companions that you lured into your trap? Are you forcing them to help you now?" Sholdan asked sneeringly. Walking slowly, he approached Emlyn. "What is your name?" he asked her, his grin fading. He was looking at her in a way that Emlyn didn't like; it was as if he wanted to pick apart her insides just to see what color they were.

"Stay away from her," Dustil snarled.

Sholdan didn't even glance in Dustil's direction and acted as though he had not heard the threat. Annoyingly patient, Sholdan waited for Emlyn to answer his question.

With an effort, Emlyn wiped the angry scowl off of her face and replaced it with a look of severe boredom. "I'd tell you, but you're so reprehensibly dull that I can't bring myself to give a katarn's backside what you want," Emlyn said lightly.

"Watch your tongue if you desire it to remain in your mouth," Sholdan said darkly, "But that doesn't answer my question. Perhaps one of your companions will tell me?" He looked at Cole, who merely gave him a rude signal with his hand; Mackenzie did likewise, grinning as she did so. Sholdan just blinked at them before moving onto Dustil, who had lowered his head so as to not look at the senator. "How about you, Dustil Onasi? Care to give me information on your friend?" he asked.

"What?" Dustil's head snapped up.

Sholdan smirked nastily. "Do you honestly think that anyone who knows your father can't figure out who you are? You look almost exactly like he did at your age. Taller, though," Sholdan mused.

"So what are you going to do? Demand a ransom for me?" Dustil asked mockingly.

"Of course not: I'm going to kill you," Sholdan said, his voice almost happy, "Right after I clear up a few little mysteries. Let's begin with your friend here, shall we?"

"Go jump in an engine core, Sholdan," Dustil said casually.

"What is her name?" The senator asked, ignoring his captive's order.

"Can't seem to remember," Dustil said thoughtfully, looking over at Emlyn with a perplexed frown on his face. "Could be Zsa Zsa, but that might have been my pet tak from when I was a kid. Cute purple things, taks."

Sholdan folded his arms and calmly breathed in, and then out. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say that her name is Emlyn Devender," he said.

"Sorry, that's incorrect. Care for another shot?" Emlyn asked.

"I'm afraid you've erred, child. Your mother's name was Maya Devender. She married a man named Enan Ulak, or so he said. They were married for a short time before she died, and when you were born Enan insisted that you take your mother's last name. He didn't want you."

"Either get to the point or drop dead," Emlyn snapped, raising emotional barriers around her mind to protect herself. She knew what he said about her father was true, but that didn't mean she was okay with it. "My last name isn't Ulak either."

"They were married because he blackmailed her into it, you see," Sholdan continued, beginning to pace slowly, almost ignoring Emlyn completely. "He threatened many things that have no relevance in this story, so I will not repeat them. Before she married Enan, Maya was to wed to another man, but she left him when they disagreed on the teachings of the Sith. She believed the Jedi, he knew they lied. She was, after all, a Jedi. Did you know?

"She did not agree that the strong should rule the weak, and that those who were too weak to seek power should be eliminated or dominated. Maya wanted to protect the useless rats, to help them and shield them from dangers that they couldn't handle."

"Sounds like she was right to leave then," Emlyn snapped. My mother was a Jedi… And my father…

"She was not correct in her decision. If she had not left her betrothed, Enan wouldn't have gotten his claws so deeply into her. She hated him. He hated you. How does that make you feel, little Jedi?" Sholden asked.

"Like I should pound your face in, but that it would take more effort than you're worth," was her reply.

"Your brother killed your mother, did you know?" Sholdan continued as if Emlyn had not spoken.

"Liar; I don't have a brother."

"He is your half sibling and the son of Enan. Would you like to know his name?" Sholdan asked, grinning nastily.

"I say you take your information and shove it up your…"

"She never should have married him," Sholdan interrupted, "But that is history. What I am concerned with at this moment has to do with him, not you." The senator gestured at Dustil.

Emlyn scowled threateningly at him. She would tear his innards out and feed them to the Telosian wild life if he so much as touched Dustil.

"There is more that I'd enjoy telling you, but it will have to wait," Sholdan whispered amusedly. Then to Dustil, "Tell me, how much of what she encountered in the Unknown Regions did Revan tell you about? Not much? That's because she didn't see much. There is more out there than even she encountered. She was close, so close to seeing it before she left. She would be a great ally, Revan. I intend to show her what she missed, and to learn about what she did manage to see.

"Did she tell you about anything important that she found out there? A place, to be specific," Sholdan asked eagerly.

"No," Dusil spat, "But if she did, you wouldn't find out about it."

"She didn't finish what she started, did she? Revan failed. She couldn't run around the galaxy in constant peril while carrying her child, could she? No. If she had managed to finish it, perhaps none of you would be here," the senator told them musingly. He seemed to drift away from his present reality for a moment. Emlyn didn't want to know what he was thinking about.

"You see that gauge right there?" Sholdan asked suddenly, pointing to a small device on the outer bottom panel of each energy cell, "It tells me whether or not you are lying."

"And what did it say?" Dustil asked mockingly.

"That you told the truth. You do not know what Revan found. Interesting; I wonder if your father knows, or if she lied to him too," Sholdan said softly.

"Yeah? I think something different," Dustil said seriously.

"And what is that?" Sholdan asked, greed sparking in his eyes.

"That you're a pathetic, greedy little man in desperate need of a shower," Dustil told him.

"Ah." Sholdan reached out a hand and pointed it toward the control panel for the energy cages. A lever lowered and electricity flooded Dustil's cage. The young Jedi let out a grunt of pain, but remained standing. The electricity flowed stronger. Dustil let out a cry of pain before biting down on his bottom lip.

Emlyn watched a red ribbon of blood run from Dustil's cut lip. Her mind screamed at her to break Sholdan's head open, but the golden energy wall that kept her from him would not allow her to gratify her desire. No, she thought determinedly, I can't let him make me hate. But I won't sit by and let him hurt Dustil, either.

"That was just a taste of what you're going to go through, Jedi," Sholdan said with sadistic pleasure, "However, if you tell me what I want to know your death with be faster. But no, you are a Jedi and would never consider such a thing, would you?"

Dustil spit blood out of his mouth and glowered at his tormentor. "You read my mind, Senator."

"Good, good," Sholdan said with obvious delight. If he had been a child he might have clapped his hands and bounced on his feet. "That will make everything much more fun. I have a new toy that I'd like to try out on you. Wait here, will you?" Sholdan hurried out of the room, his shimmering robes swishing behind him in his haste.

"He's completely mental," Cole said bemusedly when the door closed behind the retreating senator.

"He joined the Sith; what do you expect?" Emlyn asked. She then turned her attention to Dustil, who was wiping the remaining blood off of his mouth. "Are you okay?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah, but I don't like the sound of that 'toy' of his," Dustil said darkly, "And the way he talked about Revan makes me worry that he's going to pull something dangerous. I just don't know what."

Mackenzie sighed and sank to her knees inside of her cell. Cole began absently poking at his energy cage with the end of his shirt, watching as it began to singe and smoke.

"By the way, I was part of the Sith once too, you know," Dustil said accusingly to Emlyn.

"So?"

"Your earlier comment: 'If you join the Sith you're mental.' Remember?"

"You were the one that made me come to that conclusion," Emlyn told him with a smile.

"Thanks a load," Dustil grunted, rolling his shoulders back and forth to loosen them.

Emlyn nodded briefly, and then asked him how he planned to escape. Dustil asked her why he always had to be the one with the plan, and Emlyn told him matter-of-factly that he was the one related to a war hero, so it was his responsibility.

"Ah, I see. How stupid of me," Dustil said.

"Yes, it was. Now think, Dustil," Emlyn ordered.

"Well, I suppose we could…" Dustil began contemplatively, but was interrupted by a quiet sound of triumph form Mackenzie's cell. The golden energy field surrounding her flickered and went out, much to the astonishment of her three companions.

"Save that plan for the next time we get thrown into cells, Dustil," Emlyn said cheerfully.

Dustil ignored her and congratulated Mackenzie. "Thanks," Mackenzie responded as she lithely crossed the room and shut down the other cells.

As soon as he was free from his cage, Cole strode over to Mackenzie and pulled her to him before crushing his lips to hers. Mackenzie's eyes widened in shock, and then she closed them and wrapped her arms around Cole, kissing him back.

The kiss was a little too… intent for Emlyn to watch. She looked down and felt a hand slip into hers. She looked up to see a smiling Dustil. Not able to help it, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before turning her attention to the control consul. Soon she had the door unlocked and Dustil had managed to get Mackenzie and Cole unlocked.

"Just to be clear, I hate you," Mackenzie told Cole as they exited the room.

"I know," he answered, grinning.

"So tell me," Emlyn began as the four of them snuck through yet another hallway, "What did you sense in Sholdan? Other than insanity, I mean."

"He's… I don't know how to put it. It's like he's not there," Dustil struggled to say.

"Like something's using him as a skin?" Emlyn asked quietly. There was a knowing tone in her voice that caught Dustil's attention. She glanced at him, her gaze dark.

"What do you know, Emlyn?" Dustil asked.

"I said I'd tell you when we got out of all this," Emlyn whispered, following Mackenzie through another doorway, "And unless I'm on the threshold of death's door, I'm not telling you any sooner; everything you say in a place like this can come back to haunt you. Security cameras are not new, Dustil." They came to the door that opened onto the streets of Nar Shadaa. It was magnetically sealed. Cursing quietly, they began looking for the door's consul.

They crossed the hall, their footsteps on the metal floor sounding as loud as drum beats to their ears. There! Through a window they could see a control consul sitting in the next room along with...

"Oh good! I'd been wondering when we'd find some war droids. Now's the time to get in some of that practice you wanted, Dustil," Emlyn said in mock happiness as she began looking around for a way to overload the circuits in the droid room. Unless she could help it, they weren't going to go charging at the droids, especially with the weaponry they most likely had. Like plasma weapons. Plasma hurt. A lot.

Dustil continued his and Emlyn's conversation, saying, "I'll hold you to that."

"To what? Getting in a fight or two? I was kidding; I'm trying to find a way to avoid that. I know you men don't mind blowing up every obstacle that lands in your path, but I prefer to…" Emlyn started, getting cut off by Dustil.

"No, not that; I'm going to make sure you tell me what you know once we're out of here," Dustil clarified.

"I promised, didn't I?" Emlyn snapped. "I've got to contact the Republic before… oh." She stopped, suddenly remembering that they had bounties on their heads and a warrant for their arrest. She wasn't exactly sure, as she had never actually had a bounty on her before, but a warrant and a price on one's life seemed like they would hinder any communication that wasn't aggressive.

"Do you think your dad would listen to me?" Emlyn asked, beginning to search the wall between them and the droids. Aha! On the left side of the door was a panel that practically calling out, "Over here!" It would do nicely.

Emlyn grinned as she hacked into the panel's system and programmed an overload, and then watched happily as electricity flooded the chamber and the explosions of machines could be heard. "Got it."

"Father will listen," Dustil murmured as they passed through the now empty droid store room, all four of them thankful that almost everyone was at Jobba's party.

"I have to talk to the Jedi Council as well," Emlyn went on, walking over to the consul and slicing into it with ease. "There's something they'll want to know." She activated the security cameras, checked to see if they would have any unwanted visitors. Seeing no one, and once again wondering why, Emlyn then began trying to crack the code on the door's magnetic seal.

"Try 13 25 47 3 84 6. Why the Council?" Dustil said as he leaned against the wall, his head tilted toward the ceiling. The way he stood made him look absolutely adorable. If she had heard herself say that at an earlier time, Emlyn might have lost her most recent meal, but thing were different. She felt like kissing him again, but decided that it wouldn't be a good time, what with the insane senator running around somewhere.

"Because what I have learned concerns all Jedi and consequentially the rest of the galaxy. How the heck did you know that password?" Emlyn demanded as the consul accepted the numbers.

"It's written on the underside of the consul," Dustil said absently, "So what did you learn?"

Emlyn, Cole, and Mackenzie all bent down to look for the code. Sure enough it was scratched into the metal of the machine. Bizarre, and yet incredibly helpful. "I said I'd tell you when we were free," Emlyn repeated.

"Do you guys always do this?" Cole asked as they trotted back out into the hallway to check the sealed door. "I mean, if you do its fine, but it makes you seem a little wacky."

"Do what?" Emlyn asked, punching the button to open the door. The metal creaked and groaned as it began to lethargically retract into the wall. Emlyn wanted to help it along with a few frag mines and a couple of grenades, but didn't think anyone else would appreciate the explosions: like the Sith, for instance.

"Carry on a conversation like you're sitting in a cozy corning in the local cantina," Mackenzie answered for Cole, who found a datapad lying on the ground and picked it up in fascination.

Dustil and Emlyn looked at each other quizzically. "There's such a thing as a cozy anything in a cantina?" Emlyn asked, earning herself a glare from Mackenzie. The door began jerking strangely as it retreated another two inches into the wall. The old thing was getting to get ridiculous; if it didn't hurry up, Emlyn would blow it higher than a Derallian kite could fly.

"Well, seeing as I haven't been in many situations like this, I can't really say," Emlyn answered, "When I traveled, I dealt with pirates and the occasional unidentifiable sentient being that decided I'd taste good as the main course, not Sith who want my head detached from my body."

"I'm usually alone when I'm kidnapped or captured, and I've never been either with her before, so I guess the answer would be no, we don't always act this way while on the run," Dustil said. He bent down to pick up piece of scrape metal and put it up to the slowly retreating door. Using it like a lever, he helped the moaning piece of junk along, much to everyone else's relief.

Soon Dustil had the door wide enough for them to slip through and out into the alley street. It was dark and quiet. Not a good combination, if you asked Dustil. The only sound was the faint music and voices from Jobba's party, but even that was far enough away to be quiet.

"So you really think your father will believe what I tell him?" Emlyn asked again, "I sure wouldn't."

"He'll believe you," Dustil said firmly, pulling her against the wall as someone walked past the alley mouth. "He'd even help us. The problem will be finding him; I don't know where he is at this time of year."

"That won't be a problem," Emlyn said, her face turning white.

"Huh?" Dustil asked.

"They've got her."

"What are you talking…?"

"There," Emlyn whispered, pointing.

Dustil looked and gaped in horror. Filing past the alley and heading for the door to Jobba's detention center were several guards and…

"Revan. They've got Revan," Emlyn whispered hoarsely.

My cousin is getting married! They're such a cute couple! And he's the first out of all of us (I have around thirty-something cousins, though I'm not sure of the exact number… better count them later) to get married!

Here comes the bride, all dressed in white!

I love weddings!

Oy. I just realized that I didn't go over this chapter before putting it out. Oops. So sorry about any inconsistencies in the text. Let me know if you find any: they need to be expunged when and if they are found. Maybe.

And a thank you to my sister!