O.O Holy freaking cow...it's been a loooong time, and I apologize profusely. I blame life. It likes to get in my way. So, here's the next chapter, one that is much longer than the rest (over 10000 words, if I am correct). This was written over a long period of time, so I apologize if it isn't a smooth as some of the other chapters. I've put a lot of time and effort into this, but as usual, I don't like all of it. But, that is why I count on you to review and tell me what's wrong. It really does help.

Oh, Raze, I lied. I was going to have a major moment between Vincent and Bastila, but that didn't end up happening. The chapter was just too long already. It'll hopefully be in the next one.

Once again, please review and tell me what I screwed up or did great on. This was a compilation of many different sessions, so I'm hoping it's okay.

Note: there is a "moment" bt Vincent/Revan and Bastila in the Sith base (?) of all places. I like that moment.

Extra note: There is no way in HELL that I'm re-proof reading this damn thing...I've done that at least ten times already. So don't gripe about words that are together or grammar screw ups. It's midnight, I'm tired, and I just want you to be happy with another chapter. Okay? Good. (passes out on desk)


He could smell blood. Where was he? He didn't recognize any of his surroundings...who was bleeding? It was dark, he could barely see, but he managed to make out a figure lying on some sort of bed or...medical table? He was in the med bay, he now knew that much, but who was the person under the sheet? Slowly, he slinked out of one of the many shadows that hid the room and quietly made his way to the prone figure. If it was dead, it must've died recently, he conjectured; the blood smelled fresh.

He risked a quick glance around just to be sure he was alone. There was no one else present; it was just him, the figure on the table, and the sleeping medical droids. Licking his dry lips in nervousness, he reached out and grasped the sheet, pulling it away slowly. He couldn't hold back a horrified gasp as the man's hideously disfigured face came into view. A bald, tattooed head, long, straight nose and then...nothing. Nothing to speak of, at least. The man's upper lip was still there, but barely, and he didn't see any teeth where the man's mouth should have been. The figure's entire lower jaw was gone; it looked as if it had been sliced cleanly away...

With a guttural yell, the figure shot up off the bed and grabbed him by the neck with surprising strength.

"Why?"

It took him a moment to realize that the man had actually spoken, though his voice sounded mechanized.

"I didn't know..." the man continued.

"Wha...what are you talking about?"

"How could I have known?"

Suddenly, it hit him with such force he would have been brought to his knees had he not been held up by the man's chokehold. "Malak..."

"It was your fault," Malak growled, tightening his grip on his captive's throat. "You knew Kaylo was there, didn't you?"

"I don't – agh – know what you're talking about."

"Don't play with me, Revan!"

At that moment he glanced behind Malak and somehow saw his reflection in a mirror; it was him, but it was not. His skin was ashen, his eyes a pale green color, his scar seemingly darkened...

"No..." he whispered.

"NO!" Vincent shot up with shout, smacking his head on the 'ceiling' right above him and nearly knocking himself out. The force of the blow had sent him to the floor in a tangle of sheets; he tasted a mix of sweat and blood in his mouth and spit it out in disgust. A black fog encircled the edges of his vision and his lids felt heavy.

"Ugnnh...I'm not...like him..." he muttered before letting his head loll back onto the cold metal grating of the floor.

"Holy...someone get Bastila! Her lover boy's cold cocked himself," Canderous yelled.

"Not...me..."

"Damn, you're tougher than I thought. You've given yourself one hell of a gash there."

"Revan...am not...no...he is...me..." Vincent continued to mumble, much to the confusion of the Mandalorian.

"Revan is you? What are you talking about?" Bastila walked in and Canderous consulted her, as much as he would have preferred not speaking to her at all. "Maybe you can figure this out, Princess. He's muttering about being Revan..."

He did not expect his information to have the effect that it did. Her eyes went wide and she lost all color in her face, a small groan escaping from her lips. She knelt beside Vincent's barely lucid figure and cradled his head gently, sending a wave of Force healing over him and quieting his rambling. His eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp, finally succumbing to the veil of darkness that had been threatening to overtake him.

"Why's it such a big deal if he's talking about Revan?" the Mandalorian mercenary asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"He's been having these visions, Revan's memories, and I don't know if that's dangerous or not. But if he starts thinking he is Revan, then we could have a problem," Bastila explained.

Canderous nodded and exited, retreating back to the garage to work on something, leaving Bastila alone with Vincent's unconscious form. How long she sat there, she didn't know, nor did she care. As the minutes crawled by, a wave of guilt washed over her and she leaned down to kiss his forehead tenderly, his head still cradled in her lap.

"I'm so sorry..." she whispered.

"For...what?" he asked groggily, somehow alert.

"For everything. I never would have imagined it would've turned out like this."

"Not your fault," he responded sincerely. He smiled but closed his eyes again, the memory of his strange dream filling his mind. It made absolutely no sense. He had seen his reflection in that mirror, his image a manifestation of someone he wasn't. The picture of his face was forever burned into his mind's eye; the pale skin, the sickly emerald color of his eyes, the shadow that hung on his features...

A small amount of time elapsed before he felt her hands on his skin once again.

"Vincent?"

"Hmm?" He opened his eyes and looked into hers questioningly.

"Canderous said you were muttering something about Revan. What happened this time?"

He didn't respond immediately. Vincent let his senses take in everything around him. The metal grating beneath him was cold and unforgiving, a stark contrast with the warmth and comfort that Bastila provided. He could feel the gentle pressure of her fingers through his shirt, her hands now resting on his chest, this time warmer than his own flesh. Exhaling heavily, he relayed his dream to her as best as he could, leaving out nothing. He trusted her implicitly and he knew that she would take him seriously, something he wasn't sure he could honestly say for himself.

"That is strange. I don't understand why you would see yourself like that. You obviously aren't on the path to the Dark side, so I can only assume that your reflection was meant to by symbolic," she said once he was finished.

"But Malak called me Revan. And when I looked at my reflection...I feel like I've seen it before. It's familiar."

"I don't know what to tell you, Vincent. I'm sorry I can't be of more help," Bastila apologized.

"No, you've helped already. I'm gonna go get cleaned up," he said sitting upright and turning to face her. "Okay?"

She nodded mutely, too preoccupied with her own thoughts to really pay attention to what he was saying. He went searching for the refresher and Bastila found herself alone. Her mind was racing. Was it possible he could figure it out? Did he already know, and just wasn't telling them? She exhaled heavily, burying her face in her hands. She wished that she could be honest with him. Bastila hated lying to him like that every time he questioned his dreams and visions, giving him false answers and misleading him. She had no choice, however, as the Council had overwhelmingly voted against telling Vincent what was really going on, why he was really having nightmares.

She felt for him, how hard it must be to not sleep, to know that every time you closed your eyes you would see another horrible vision. Bastila knew that he kept most of it to himself, not telling her many of the visions that he had. She knew that his anger and confusion was building and that he was keeping it bottled inside so as not to worry the others...or her. Every time she reached out to him through their bond, she felt turmoil, something that troubled her deeply. One of these days, he was going to snap, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

If Vincent could have heard her thoughts at that moment, he wouldn't have been able agree with her more; but as it was, he had purposefully dampened his end of the bond. He didn't need her on his back about controlling his emotions. He closed his eyes as the hot water washed over his tired body, letting him know where every cut and scrape was. He had enough scars already; he didn't need more. Vincent absently rubbed a larger one on his ribcage and tried to clear his mind of the tempestuous storm that was raging inside, but to no avail.

Vigorously, he scrubbed down every inch of his skin, as if that would rid him of these new memories that plagued his mind. Why had Malak called him Revan? And what about his reflection? He wasn't going to fall to the Dark side...was he? Vincent suddenly wished that he could go back to Dantooine, just for a few days. Maybe then, he could get some sleep. As many problems as the peaceful planet had been riddled with, it was still a place of rest and tranquility like none he had ever experienced. And the Masters were there, people who might actually have answers to his questions.

Vincent sighed. He knew he shouldn't be thinking like that; Bastila was doing everything she could for him. But for some reason, he still felt like she wasn't telling him something, like there was something she was afraid to let him know. It bothered him, feeling like that. He stepped out of the shower and haphazardly dried himself off, giving his reflection in the bathroom mirror a cursory inspection.

He hadn't changed any, thank the Force, though he did look worn and haggard. Dark circles were beginning to form under his eyes, which were quite bloodshot at the moment, and his mouth seemed to be in a residual frown.

"Being a hero wears you down, doesn't it?" It was Carth.

"Some hero I am. Afraid of the dark..." Vincent snorted ruefully. "I can't even face my own demons, so what makes you think I can defeat everyone else's?"

"Is this going to go in a book or something?"

"Pardon my need for melodrama," he responded. "But seriously, I can't even sleep now. It's easier to just stay awake and not have to worry about what new nightmare will present itself next."

"I heard that you smacked yourself pretty good earlier," Carth commented.

"Yeah, the combination of being tall and sleeping in a midget sized bunk equals lots of pain. Don't ever sit up too fast. You might decapitate yourself," Vincent joked.

"I don't plan on dying any time soon, thank you."

Vincent snorted again and smiled. "Not planning on getting out of the ship, you mean?"

"True." Carth waived a hand. "Eh, you know I'm here if you need me, so a guilt trip won't work. All you gotta do is say the word," the Republic officer stated.

"I know," Vincent said with gratitude. "I was planning on asking you to come with me on Korriban, maybe with Jolee."

"Why Korriban?"

"Because I have the feeling I'm going to need you two to keep me from 'falling' as the Jedi like to say."

"You wouldn't go to the Dark side. You'd be the last person I'd see that happening to," Carth said seriously.

Vincent's smile turned cynical. "How many times have you heard that statement before listening to a story about some great Sith Lord?"

Carth looked at him for a long moment before nodding. "I'll help any way I can. As much as I'd like to talk about this more, I need to make sure we're not about to crash on Manaan," he said, exiting the refresher and leaving the Jedi to himself.

Vincent didn't mind, preferring to be alone at the moment anyway. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that he was isolating himself more and more from the people who really cared about him, but he felt helpless to do anything about it. He already felt guilty enough for drawing Mission into this mess, and Zaalbar as well since the Wookie had sworn a life debt to him. He was pretty sure Bastila didn't know what lay ahead when she first met him, and neither did Carth, nor Canderous for that matter. Juhani and Jolee had both asked to go with him, HK had practically begged, and T3-M4 had been a means to an end that happened to have more usefulness than he had anticipated.

Vincent smiled as he thought of the little droid; though they had never spent much time together, he rather liked T3. The droid had a sense of pride, and had immediately tried to impress Vincent when they had brought HK on board, apparently feeling that his master was trying to replace him with the combat model. Vincent had assured him he wasn't, and though T3 was skeptical at first, he accepted that HK was needed, and that his master still found him a valuable asset.

"Ah, T3 is something else," he muttered to himself, and was not prepared to hear inquisitive beeps behind him. Turning, he found that the little droid was staring questioningly up at him, if that was even possible.

"Oh, hey. I didn't see you back there."

T3 gave a disappointed "Wooo" and hung his head.

"That's not your fault, T3. I just didn't expect you to be in the refresher." Vincent paused, then, "Why are you in here?"

A series of beeps answered his question in an almost irritable manner.

"Okay, sorry. How's the Ebon Hawk then?"

Excited beeps met his inquiry and T3 perked up some.

"Really? Well that's good." Vincent now began to shave, and had to look at T3's reflection in the mirror. "HK hasn't been giving you any trouble has he?"

The little droid gave a negatory response that consisted of "Beep frotz", or at least, that's what it sounded like to Vincent. He was a bit nonplussed at why the droid would make a noise like "frotz" but he didn't dare question T3 about it; The droid was..."sensitive" to say the least.

"Well that's good. I know you two don't really get along that great."

T3 made an angry "Waaaow" indicating that he fully agreed. He then beeped something about having to continue his rounds on the ship and parted with a final "oooo".

Vincent washed his face and patted it dry with a towel, smiling to himself. T3 was definitely a piece of work. He suddenly remembered that he had gone to the refresher that required him to walk through or by the main hold to get back to his bunk and he cursed himself for making such a stupid mistake. Frowning, he grabbed a bath robe and slid it over his shoulders, tying it off in the front. Trudging slowly through the ship, he made his way to the crew quarters.

Once inside the room that he shared with two others, he closed and locked the door insuring that no one would bother him for at least a few minutes. Removing the robe from his frame, Vincent tossed the damp cloth aside, opened the locker that bore his name and began to rifle through his clothing, a pair of black pants and a grey, sleeveless shirt catching his eye. Donning the knee length, skin tight underwear that he always wore, he pulled the loose black cargo pants on and stretched the form hugging grey shirt over his torso, tucking it into his pants. He grabbed his boots and laced them up, completing his outfit with a black jacket that reached just below his waist and fit him perfectly.

Vincent clipped his lightsaber to his belt and re-emerged in the main hold.

"You're not wearing armor?" Bastila questioned.

He shook his head. "It's neutral planet, remember?"

"True, but will the Sith just ignore you? I mean, you do have a nasty habit of drawing attention," she responded.

"What can I say? I'm just so damn attractive," Vincent joked with a lopsided grin.

Bastila rolled her eyes, but her response, if she had any, was cut short by Carth's voice yelling from the cockpit.

"We've docked!"

"Good," Vincent mumbled. "Hey, Jolee! You wanna come with us?"

"Yeah, yeah! Hold your horses..." the older Jedi yelled back. Vincent and Bastila distinctly heard him mutter something about "young kids these days."

Vincent turned to the woman who seemed to stir within him the most interesting myriad of feelings. "Bastila, am I a young kid?"

"Hmm..." she said thoughtfully, playing along with him. "I don't know. You're older than me...but Jolee's at least three times older than you..."

"Please tell me I'm not like an older brother to you..." he trailed half-seriously.

"Oh God no," Bastila responded. "Definitely not."

"So...what am I then?" Vincent asked, hoping the question sounded innocent.

"Something else..." she answered cryptically, focusing her attention on Jolee. Vincent frowned, his playful mood gone. She had a strange way of killing his joy...

"Are we going or not?" the old Jedi asked impatiently.

Vincent hit the button to lower the Ebon Hawk's exit ramp, following silently after Jolee and Bastila. Two raised voices caught his interest, and moved in front of his companions to motion for them to stop. Leaning against the cool metal wall, Vincent listened.

"You Republic people are so pathetic, sitting around groveling at the table scraps the galactic senators deign to give you. It makes me sick."

"The senators work for the good of the whole galaxy, not for individual gain!"

"Don't make me laugh, you gutless simp! It's the destiny of weak-minded fools like you to be ruled over by the strong, like we Sith!"

"I'm warning you! Don't push me, or you'll get just what you're asking for!"

"Try it. Just try it. I'd love to see you throw the first punch. And with all the cameras around the Selkath would be all over you inside of 30 seconds. You break their laws; you pay the price, Republic scum." The man's voice filled with haughtiness. "But I can see that you're not man enough to back up your words anyway. If you ever feel like relieving yourself of your worthless existence, feel free to come by our enclave here. We have many, many ways to fulfill your wish."

Vincent rounded the corner as the Sith soldier finished his tirade and stalked off to harass someone else.

"Yeah, what do you—?" a Republic soldier snapped at them. "Oh, I apologize Master Jedi; I should not have been so rude."

Vincent ignored the man's boorish greeting; a conversation with the Sith could make anyone loose their courteousness. "I see the Sith are here as well," he pointed out.

The Republic soldier frowned. "Yeah...Manaan's a neutral planet, so we're forced to put up with them. The Selkath seem to think that if they don't show favoritism to either side, then they'll have amnesty in this war."

Vincent snorted. "Are they blind? The Sith will conquer and enslave them just like every other planet if they win the war. Evil doesn't listen to reason."

"Nobody said the Selkath were political geniuses," the man responded shrugging.

"Why didn't you just deck him?"

The soldier smiled ruefully. "The Selkath have imposed strict neutrality laws. Anyone who breaks them is punished harshly, and for the Republic, it could mean severe kolto restrictions. It could cost us the war to break a law."

"Ah," Vincent said. "Right then. Tell me what I need to know about this place," he continued, waving his hand in a small arc to indicate the docking bay they were standing in.

"It's big; real big. Actually, it's pretty much the only real city on the entire world. The only place for us air-breathers anyway," the soldier said. "Manaan is a water world—which you may have noticed on your way down to land here—inhabited natively by a species of fish-people called the Selkath. They built this city to cater to us off-worlders and as a base of operations to export kolto, which is the only real thing they have to trade here."

"And I'm correct in saying the Republic, and the Sith stay here?"

"Yes. Though, as I'm sure you saw, it's not entirely peaceable. Is there anything else you require Master Jedi?"

"No, I think I'm good. Thank you," Vincent replied.

"You're welcome, Master Jedi. If you have any other questions you should probably see Roland Wann, he's the Republic diplomat here. He's by the Republic enclave near the visitor residences. If you don't know where that is, go north from here - then south past the port official and the first courtyard, east into the second courtyard - then north - then east again. You got that?"

Vincent paused for a moment, memorizing the Republic soldier's directions. "Yep. Thanks again."

"You have a pleasant stay Master Jedi."

"I highly doubt the probability of that," Vincent muttered to himself as they walked away.

(Excuse me, sir? I was just wondering...might you have any exotic animals that I could take off of your hands,) a friendly looking Selkath merchant inquired as the trio of Jedi passed by.

(Uh...) An idea struck him. (Well, I've got some gizka I'd like to get rid of...)

The Selkath looked suspicious. (Gizka? Are those the small, biped creatures? We had a shipment of those once, and they reproduced at an alarming rate. I think not.)

Vincent was crestfallen. (Please? I'll give you a hundred credits if you take them off of my hands.)

(Well...) the Selkath paused for a moment, mulling it over. (I suppose we could use all kinds of creatures.) He sighed. (I'll have someone come by your ship and pick up the gizka.)

(I appreciate it. The ship is the Ebon Hawk, by the way.)

The Selkath nodded and entered something into a data pad. (Come back if you happen upon any other creatures, human.)

As the Jedi continued along, Jolee poked Vincent in the arm. "You spoke perfectly fluent Selkath, you realize that?"

Vincent blinked a few times before responding. "I know a lot of alien languages. They come easily to me."

"That's a rare gift, my young friend. Use it wisely," the older man cautioned.

Vincent didn't answer. They had exited the large corridor that led from the docks to the main sections of Ahto City, and all three of them had stopped walking. He was staring transfixed at Manaan's blue sun reflecting a beautiful rainbow of colors upon the water, the waves lapping softly against the outer hull of the city's structure.

"Incredible," he murmured, walking to the wall and looking down at the serenely blue water. Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply, inhaling the refreshingly salty air and feeling the gentle breeze on his face. Vincent stayed like that for a few minutes before his eyes snapped open and he got a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry," he said rubbing the back of his neck in the way that Bastila found so adorable. "We should keep moving."

"It surprises me that you're not distracted by every pretty young girl that walks by," Jolee said irritably.

Vincent rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry that I like to appreciate the natural beauty of a planet." He neglected to mention that he had Bastila to stare at most any time he liked.

Within thirty seconds of walking, they found the Selkath port official who briefed them on the laws of Manaan and charged them 100 credits. As Vincent stepped through the doors that led to the main sections of Ahto City, he was struck by the enormity of it all.

The place was huge. A newcomer to the city was sure to get lost many times before remembering where everything was. Thankfully, Vincent had a very good memory, and he easily recalled the directions to the Republic base. As they drew closer to the Enclave, Vincent noticed an alarming number of mercenaries conversing with Republic officials. He made a mental note to look into it at a later time.

The metallic doors of the Enclave slid open with a low whoosh to reveal Republic soldiers milling about in various states of activity. A single man was standing behind a desk surveying it all with a slightly bored gaze. He was a black man, older, and what little hair he had left on his head was turning a grayish white color. A stern expression was visible on his face, his mouth drawn into a thin line.

"Are you Roland Wann?" Vincent asked confidently.

"Yes. Yes I am. How can I help you?" the man replied and a clipped tone. He obviously wasn't in the mood for this.

"I was wondering why there are all the mercenaries about," Vincent said, gauging Roland's reaction to his inquiry.

The man's jaw tightened on a barely perceptible level and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And just who might you be?"

"My name," the Jedi began, "is Vincent. I'm a friend of the Republic. Or as much of a friend as you're going to get. I'm on a mission from the Jedi Council." Vincent crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm looking for something. An ancient map that's probably on Manaan's surface. Know anything about it?"

"An ancient map? I couldn't tell you much about that."

The man was lying, but he was good at it.

"You say you're a friend of the Republic, Jedi? If you help me with something, then I might be able to answer your questions," Roland finished.

"What do you need help with?" Vincent asked guardedly.

"One of our automated droids went down nearly a day ago. We've lost contact with it over for over twelve hours, and we have reason to believe that the Sith got to it. It has valuable data on the kolto harvest that would be devastating if it fell into the hands of the Sith."

"And let me guess, you want me to get the droid back for you?"

"Precisely. If you do that for me, I can try and find information about this map you seek," Roland answered.

"What about the mercenaries?"

"In due time. Do you agree to help the Republic?"

Vincent stared hard at Roland Wann for a long time. This man was slippery, a practiced liar. Vincent had no way of knowing the extent of this man's duplicity. Finally, and with some reluctance, he agreed.

"Fine. I'll help you."

"Good, good. Now, there are three options for getting you into the Sith base. You can either attempt to interrogate a prisoner we found, decrypt a pass card, or we can attempt to use a shuttle to insert you directly into the base." Roland paused. "Which would you prefer?"

Vincent brought his hand to his mouth, one finger raised and resting against his cheek, the others curled and covering his lips, his thumb underneath his chin. Closing his eyes, he reached out to Bastila through their bond.

"What do you think I should do?"

"I am not here to walk you through things like a child," she responded.

"Gee thanks. I know exactly what to do now."

"I'm not your mother!" Bastila retorted. "Make your own decisions."

"I'm not asking you to make my decisions for me. I just want your opinion. Is that so hard?"

He saw her shift irritably out of the corner of his eyes. "Well what would you like me to say?"

"I don't know! Be honest!"

"Fine. The shuttle's the quickest way in my opinion."

"See? Now I get to disagree with you."

"What -?"

Vincent didn't hear the rest of her response, however, as he closed their bond for a moment.

"I'll try my hand at the prisoner."

"Good choice. Take that door, and you'll see where he is. Good luck."

Vincent nodded as he entered the room where the prisoner was being held. Walking up to the guard that was stationed in the room, he asked a couple of questions and found that this man had been captured spying, and was thought to know the code to get into the Sith Base.

"Force techniques won't work on this guy. He's been trained against it. You're just going to have to ask the right questions. The truth serum will help some, but overdose him, and his body'll shut down. Then you'll have to start over," the Republic guard said.

"Right. Let me see that panel."

Vincent surveyed his options on the computer panel in front of him. He could give the man a low dosage, a medium dosage, or a high dosage, or he could completely wipe the man's memory. Opting for the medium dosage, Vincent punched that option on the screen and turned to the prisoner, but not before dismissing the Republic guard.

"Wh – what do you want from me, Jedi? I won't tell you anything!"

Vincent gave the man a tight smile. "Don't lie. I hate liars."

The prisoner swallowed and blinked before he regained his composure. "Ha! You can't do anything to me behind this force cage!"

Vincent raised a hand and pressed it against the force field, lightning crackling from his fingertips. When his hand connected with the energy field, the lighting raced out from his hand and engulfed the cage in an incredible display of blue electricity. The prisoner screamed and cowered on the floor, fully expecting to be fried by the Jedi's attack.

"Care to reconsider?" Vincent said calmly.

"I'll listen, but it doesn't mean I'll talk!"

"We have the other man, the one you were with. If I am correct, he's quite close to giving us everything we'd need to put you in prison for the rest of your miserable life."

"Ha!" the captured man snorted. "Being imprisoned for the rest of my life would be a walk in the park compared to what the Sith would do to me!"

"Maybe we'll just send you back then. We'll tell them how helpful you were..." Vincent trailed.

"I'll never tell you anything, Jedi!" the man spat.

Vincent's eyes hardened and a cold, feral grin spread across his face. "You seem to have believed a common misconception, my friend. I am no Jedi. Not in the true sense of the word. And I would have no problem torturing you within an inch of your life to get what I need," he said in a dangerously low voice.

"Your scare tactics won't work on me! What the Sith would do to me would be far worse!"

Sighing, Vincent returned to the console and selected "memory wipe." The prisoner groaned and cradled his head in his hands, his face contorted with pain. Vincent kicked the force field, causing the man to jump and look at him in confusion.

"What do you want?" he moaned.

"The pass code to get into the Sith base."

"Screw you...I'm not that stupid."

Vincent checked the data pad that held all the information the Republic had gathered on this man. One particular tidbit caught his eye.

"I'm sure you'll change your mind after you see what we've done to Tela," Vincent said nonchalantly.

"WHAT? What have you done to her? If you've hurt her – " the prisoner screamed, his face red with anger.

"You, my friend, are in no position to bargain. Now, if you'll cooperate, she might be fine."

"What do you want? Just don't hurt Tela..." the prisoner groaned.

"I can make this easy for both of you. I give them the word, and they'll let you both go. You have to help me though. I can't do anything for you if you don't tell me what I need to know," Vincent said in a sincere voice, and Bastila found herself believing him for a few seconds. It was frightening the powers of persuasion he possessed.

"I...you promise to keep her safe?"

"I promise," Vincent lied with a straight face, his eyes filled with earnestness. The prisoner nodded in defeat, hanging his head. "Good. What is the pass code to get into the Sith base?"

"I...it's...I can't tell you! If they find out, you won't be able to protect me!"

Vincent's whole demeanor changed in the blink of an eye. Livid, he hurled the data pad he was holding and sprang out of the seat he had been in. Slamming his hands against the energy shield that protected the prisoner, he snarled and lightning shot from his fingertips a second time.

The prisoner's eyes widened and he looked terrified. "Please...I can't do anything..."

"You can tell me the pass code. If you do that, you have a chance," Vincent growled.

The prisoner looked at him helplessly for a few moments before he responded. "All...all right. It's...Z245698A."

Vincent returned again to the console and pressed a button on the screen. After a few seconds, the prisoner clutched feebly at his throat before collapsing to the floor, unconscious. As he exited the room, the Jedi's face was a blank slate, devoid of any emotion or expression.

"Did you get the code?" Roland Wann asked as the three Jedi appeared through the doors.

"We'll be back with your droid," Vincent replied in a short tone. Striding quickly out of the enclave he could feel Bastila's stare on his back, pressing on him like an invisible weight.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me?" he asked once he slowed his pace to let her catch up.

"You were quite adept at that," she said simply.

"I'm good at lying. I can persuade people to do things they normally wouldn't. Doesn't mean I use it all the time," Vincent responded with a shrug.

"I wouldn't know if you were lying anyway," Bastila said lightly, but he could tell that didn't like the idea of that, of being utterly in the dark from his true motives.

"Well you're just going to have to trust me then. I'd never lie to you unless it was to protect you."

Glancing to the right, Vincent saw that they were once again passing the cantina, which seemed perpetually packed full of mercenaries and Sith, with the odd Selkath mixed in. To his left, the ocean that covered Manaan's surface gleamed with the light from the sun above.

"Maybe we should see what's going on in the cantina. We might be able to get some information," Bastila suggested.

Fishing his data pad out of one of his numerous pockets, Vincent checked the map of Ahto City to see where he needed to go in order to find the Sith base. They were currently in Ahto West, meaning they would have to pass through West Central and East Central before finally making it to Ahto East.

"Great. We get to walk across the whole damn city."

"Oh stuff it! You two are young and in great shape. If anyone should be complaining, it should be me!" Jolee huffed.

Both Vincent and Bastila rolled their eyes in exasperation. "Well, since we're here, we might as well see what's up at the local bar," Vincent agreed.

The trio entered the bustling cantina and immediately gravitated to an empty booth. Seconds later, a harried looking woman entered and looked directly at them with an expression of hope mingled with excitement and despair.

"Looks like we've attracted some attention," Vincent muttered to his friends.

"By the Force! I know her," Jolee said in surprise.

Vincent turned to the old man. "Who is she?"

"Elora...the wife of one of my old friends. She looks upset. I'm going to go see what's wrong."

Vincent and Bastila watched as he rose to reunite with an old acquaintance. Vincent's gaze traveled around the cantina, sizing up possible sources of information. One man in particular caught his eye, but not for a good reason. The mercenary's eyes seemed to be glued to the female Jedi who was sitting next to Vincent. He felt a surge of anger and jealousy at the mercenary's shameless stare, and he involuntarily tensed. Bastila noticed this and looked at him questioningly.

"That mercenary's burning a hole into you with his greedy little eyes," Vincent growled.

Bastila glanced around and saw the man that her bond – mate was referring to.

"Ignore him," she said.

"I can't."

"And why not? It's not like he's an old boyfriend or something. You have no reason to be jealous," she said, teasing him lightly. To her great surprise, a faint blush spread across his cheeks.

"Sorry," he mumbled, avoiding her gaze. Absently messing with his goatee, Vincent once again perused the cantina in hopes of seeing anyone that looked like they might know something. The only two Selkath in the room besides the bartender looked as if they were out of place. Something in the back of his mind served as the impetus for him to talk with both of them.

"I'm gonna talk to some people, see if I can find out anything. Will you be okay?" he asked.

"I can take care of myself."

He smiled. "Yes, of course. I'll be back"

Extricating himself from the booth, Vincent approached one of the Selkath. The Selkath spoke first.

(You are a friend of the Republic, are you not?) the native asked.

Vincent couldn't hide his shock. (What makes you think that?)

(Besides the fact that you haven't insulted me yet? You aren't in a Sith uniform.) Vincent simply nodded, affirming the Selkath's assumption. (My name is Nilko. If you have a moment, I'd like to ask a favor of you.)

(What kind of favor is this?)

(Nothing big. I am simply concerned for this war we are in. Our planet is neutral, but if the Sith win, it will not stay that way. My people are blinded to that fact. As of late, there has been much activity regarding the war. The Republic has been hiring mercenaries left and right. I ask that you find out why,) the Selkath explained.

(I'll ask around for you. I think I might have a source, but I have to do something first. I'll check with you when I have more information,) Vincent said. Parting with the native of Manaan, he sought out the only other Selkath that was residing in the bar.

(You look worried,) Vincent said cautiously. Some of these fish people had nasty tempers.

(My only child, Sasha, has gone missing. She is one of they many young Selkath who have disappeared recently. This troubles me greatly,) the Selkath said woefully.

(Is there anything I can do to help?)

(Forgive me, human. I have not even introduced myself. My name is Shaelas. I am a concerned parent, but I don't know who to ask about these disappearances.)

(Who's gone missing?) Vincent asked, his curiosity now piqued.

(Young Selkath, on the cusp of adulthood. I just know that the Sith have something to do with this,) Shaelas sighed heavily. (Unfortunately, I have no proof. I don't even know where they are now.) The Selkath looked at him hopefully. (But you look capable. I will pay you 500 credits for any information you might find. It's not much, but it's all I can spare.)

(I'll look into the disappearances, but keep your credits, Shaelas.)

Something caused Vincent to turn around at that moment and check the booth where he had left Bastila. White hot anger boiled within him when he saw that the mercenary who had been staring at her earlier was now sitting across from her and flirting shamelessly. Bastila's hand was slowly creeping toward her lightsaber, and she was glaring coldly at the man while quite clearly telling him to pack up and go. Clenching his fists in an effort to control his emotions, he made his way back to the booth.

"I'm not going to give you what you want, so either leave, or I'll have to forcibly remove you from my presence," he heard Bastila threaten.

"I never told you what I wanted. Can't we just -"

"Excuse me,"Vincent said, his voice low and threatening.

The mercenary looked up at him in annoyance. "And you are?"

"You'll be getting up out of that seat, or I'll be forced to remove you from it,"he said, ignoring the man's question.

"Look jackass, I don't know who you think you are but – "

"It doesn't matter who I am. The lady that you are annoying is a Jedi, and I can assure you that she is quite impervious to your so called 'charm', my friend." Vincent cocked his head to the side to look at Bastila. "Am I right?"

She looked at the mercenary and gave hima glacial smile as she spoke to Vincent. "Yes, I do believe that he doesn't measure up to the standards that you have set. Pity," she shook her head.

"See?" the male Jedi said to the mercenary. "She doesn't like you. Now go away."

"What if I don't want to?" the merc argued.

Now Bastila was angry. She stood from the booth, unclipped her double-bladed lightsaber from her belt and thrust it into the man's throat. "Do you recognize this? If I were you, I would take the opportunity to leave before I take your head off with it. The small one first, if you're very unlucky."

The man glaredsullenly at both of them but slidgrumbling out of the seat he occupied, brushing roughly past Vincent as he exited.

"And just what standards have I set?" he asked once the mercenary was gone. "And where did that last threat come from?"

One corner of Bastila's mouth turned up in a coy smile. "So far, you have been the only man who has managed to make me both want to kiss you and kill you at the same time. I don't know how you do it," she replied. "And I do know my anatomy, Vincent."

"Ah," he said with a smile of his own. "So uh, I'm getting the feeling that you like me."

"I never said that I didn't," she countered. "Besides, sometimes, you are irresistible in an adorable kind of way."

Vincent stared at her for a moment. "Have you been drinking while I was gone?"

"Vincent! I am trying to be nice here, and you're questioning my sobriety!" Bastila exclaimed in frustration.

"What? You've never complimented me before."

"That is not true!"

"Tell me another time then."

She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Sighing in anger mingled with defeat, she replied, "All right, you have a point. I haven't been very uplifting, and I apologize. I've been too worried that you'll fall to the Dark side to realize that you may have needed some encouragement along the way."

Vincent shrugged. "It's all right. I haven't lost any sleep over it."

"Maybe so, but I still should have seen this earlier," Bastila said. "I know that I can be...abrasive at times."

"Don't forget hard to please," he interjected.

She brought her eyes up to search his face. "And...hard to please...but I want you to know that I care for you and hold you in very high regard."

Vincent smiled affectionately and grasped one of her hands in his own. "You don't need to keep reminding me that you care," he said softly. "I know. Trust me, it's one thing I won't forget."

"Vincent..." she said uncertainly, her voice questioning. Before he could answer her, Jolee's voice knifed through Vincent's concentration and brought him back to the unforgiving reality that he still had another planet to save, not to mention the galaxy.

"If you two lovebirds would stop staring into each other's eyes for a second, you might see that we have a problem!" the old man said.

"I'm not averse to backhanding you Jolee. Just because you're an elder doesn't mean I won't resort to physically hurting you to get you to stop making ridiculous comments," Vincent said in a joking voice. Jolee huffed indignantly. "Now," the younger Jedi continued, "what is it you needed to tell me?"

"Elora is the wife of Sunry, an old war buddy of mine. According to her, he's being wrongfully imprisoned here on Manaan. Accused of murder or some such nonsense. I promised her I'd help her clear his name," Jolee explained.

Vincent groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I'm stretched very thin right now Jolee. I have to help a Selkath find his missing daughter, find out why there are a bunch of mercenaries around, get a droid back for the Republic, find another Star Map, stop Malak and save the galaxy from certain doom. I can't promise I'll work Sunry's little problem into my schedule."

"And you call yourself a Jedi..." Jolee muttered angrily.

Vincent frowned. "Look, if it means that much to you why don't you check it out, hm? Ever think of that? We've got a whole ship full of people who're ready to help any of us. Get one of them to come with you if you need to."

"Don't get yourself killed while I'm gone."

"I'll try not to. Really," Vincent said in seriousness as the older Jedi walked off with Elora. Once Jolee was out of sight, Vincent turned back to Bastila. "Now where was I? Oh yes, getting the droid back, finding out why there are mercenaries around, and getting Shaelas' daughter back. I guess we should get the droid back first."

"Don't you want someone else with us?"

"Yeah...I'm thinking. I know you don't like HK, but I think he'd be useful in this situation."

Bastila's expression stated explicitly that she wasn't happy with his decision. "Why do you like that droid?"

Vincent shrugged. "I don't know. There's just...something that's there. We have a weird connection. It just works. Besides," he said as he flipped on the COM link to talk to HK, "he doesn't argue with me as much as a human would. He just does what I ask."

"Was that a deliberate dig at me?" she asked in a tightly controlled tone.

"Why would it be?" he said. "Not everything I say is meant to tease you. I was just stating a fact." He pressed a button on the COM link on his wrist. "HK, you there?"

Static filled the channel for a few seconds. "Statement: Yes master. What is it that you require?"

"I need you to go to the Sith base here on Manaan. We're going to pay them a little visit."

"Statement: As you wish, master. What shall I do when I get there?"

"Wait. Go into standby. I don't want you to kill anything, understood?"

"Statement: Yes master. Understood. I will meet you there."

Vincent shut off the COM link and began to walk.

"Why did you tell him to meet us there?" Bastila asked.

"Because that's where we're going. No point in waiting for him to find us here, then having to go all the way over there."

Soon enough, they found themselves in Ahto East. Vincent noticed that there was a small group of Sith, seemingly waiting for something, blocking the only path into this section of the city. Frowning, he braced himself for the worst.

Sure enough, "Hey you!" rang out as he drew closer.

Taking a breath, Vincent brought his eyes level with the haughty woman who had addressed him. "Can I help you?" he asked tiredly.

"You can pay the toll! This is a Sith road."

"Nice try," he said with a tight smile. "It's a neutral planet, and I don't think that the Selkath would take very kindly to you claiming one of their roads."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Well it looks like we've caught one with a real spine this time!" she said to her group of "friends" behind her.

"He's bluffing!" a young man said smugly.

"Am I?" Vincent growled in irritation.

"Uh oh, the handsome stranger's getting hot under the collar!" another woman said mockingly.

"Come on, stranger. I dare you start this," the haughty woman goaded.

Vincent stared hard at her. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned in closer, an insolent grin forming on his face.

"No."

Walking through the crowd of Sith, he ignored the grumbling among his enemies. Vincent sighed. He was going to have to keep his temper on a very short leash while they were here on Manaan.

"Hello, HK."

"Greeting: Good to see you, master. Shall we enter the base now?"

"I think that would be wise."

Pausing for a moment when the Sith base came into view, Vincent mentally reviewed the password in his head. Satisfied he remembered it correctly, he confidently approached the guard at the entrance to the base. The guard looked at him with detached interest.

"Password?" he asked flatly.

"Z245698A," Vincent stated.

The guard was silent for a moment, then nodded, indicating that they could pass. Vincent walked past the guard into the base and felt a chill pass over him. This place held secrets, something sinister. No sooner had he stepped inside than things started to go wrong.

"Hey! I don't know you! How'd you get in here?" the girl at the front desk exclaimed in surprise.

"Calm down. I know the password. The guard let me in," Vincent said. No use in fabricating a story yet.

"I don't trust you! Give me one reason not to hit the alarm right now!"

Vincent sighed inwardly. He hated it when girls panicked. They just became so...irrational.

"Look, I have something I need to take care of. I don't want to hurt you, but if you keep this up, I can't promise anything. Now, how about stepping away from that alarm...I'll give you 100 credits," he said slowly.

The girl looked at him for a few seconds, debating. "Well...a hundred credits is more than they pay me here. As long as you don't kill me, I don't care what you do."

"Good girl," he said as he handed her the hundred credit chip. "You might want to leave. That way you'll be safe."

"Right." The girl exited the base quickly, never looking back.

"Query: Why did we not just shoot her, master? It would have been quicker."

"Because I don't like killing innocent people. Her death would have furthered no goals of mine."

"Statement: For once, I understand you meatbag logic. Killing her would have meant a waste of energy, as it would have served no purpose. Query: As for the rest of the Sith residing within these walls, how shall we deal with them?"

"You'll be happy to know, HK, that we can kill them."

"Query: All of them, master?"

"All of them."

"Excited statement: Wonderful."

Vincent shook his head at the droid's bloodlust while unclipping his lightsaber from his belt. Bastila did the same, and HK held his Mandalorian blaster at the ready. Going first to the desk that the receptionist had just been at, Vincent hacked the computer and downloaded the schematics for the Sith base. While he was at it, he checked some of the security cameras.

"I hate surprises. And there are some nasty ones in here," he commented as he logged out of the computer. "Looks like the room we want is through that door and to the left."

Out of habit, Vincent took the lead and stepped through the doors behind the receptionist's desk first, ready to engage any enemy that was stupid enough to present himself. Unfortunately, for HK that is, there were none. Following the map that he had downloaded, Vincent took a left turn and found himself staring at a faulty war droid that had simply been left to its own devices. Interestingly enough, it was right in front of the door that held the Republic's droid. Vincent paused for a moment, thinking.

"Suggestion: Master, may I recommend using the war droid as a –"

"Decoy?" he interrupted.

"Annoyed statement: Yes, master. That is what I was going to say before you so inconsiderately –"

"What do you think I am? Stupid?" Vincent shook his head. "What kind of tactician would I be if I couldn't spot a decoy like this? Tell me HK, were you planning on activating the droid and sending him in, thereby distracting the guards long enough for you to shoot them?"

"Statement: Exactly. Simple, but effective nonetheless."

"True," Vincent said while popping open a panel on the droid's back, "but I have a better idea."

The Jedi activated the droid and made sure it was working properly before glancing at HK.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked, holding up a small red ball.

"Statement: I would venture to guess that it is some form of explosive, master, though I cannot fully see it through your hand."

Vincent shrugged. "You're close enough. It's a thermal detonator. Our little friend here will be received with a bang."

Vincent armed the thermal detonator and placed it inside the droid, closing the panel and activating the droid's patrol mode. It ambled off toward the door, as innocent looking as ever. Hiding behind the wall, the trio listened for the sound that their gift had indeed been a huge hit.

"I thought this thing was busted!"

"The crap around here's moody at best. The thing probably just had a core overheat or a short or something."

"Yeah, you're probably right." A brief pause. "Why's it beeping though?"

"What? It's not...hey, it is beeping. What the...the back panel's loose! HOLY SH –"

BOOM!

A Sith guard came flying through the corridor and slammed into the wall opposite the two Jedi, landing on the floor with a sickening crunch.

"I believe they opened it," Bastila said dryly.

Vincent grinned as his lightsaber ignited with a snap – hiss. Turning the corner, he charged into the room, much to the surprise of the still stunned Sith who hadn't been obliterated in the explosion. Three of them dropped before they knew what was happening, and the other two fired wildly with their blasters, only to have their fire turned back on them by Bastila's yellow blades. Sending a small Force wave at the last remaining guard, she spun and sliced downward, catching the Sith's left shoulder as he flew backwards. His own momentum carried him through the rest of one of her twin blades.

Vincent was already checking the Republic's droid, finishing the job that the Sith would have finished within minutes had they not stopped them.

"Indignant exclamation: I didn't get to kill one!"

"Oh stop whining, there'll be more," Vincent scolded, too preoccupied with cracking the droid to really pay attention to HK's petulance.

"I'm surprised you didn't blow the whole thing to hell," Bastila commented.

Vincent gave her a look of incredulity. "Are you kidding? This thing's freaking double titanium and alloy plated. I doubt a nuke could open it up. I saw that on the security cam; that's why I risked the thermal detonator."

"All I have to say is you'd better be able to get the data Roland needs from that thing."

Vincent popped out a chip into the air and caught it as it began to fall, grinning at Bastila. "You mean this?"

"Now just make sure you don't lose it."

"I think that if I stick it up there with that lightsaber you've got rammed up your ass, it shouldn't be going anywhere."

"At least it's bigger than yours."

Vincent raised an eyebrow at her retort. "I should hope so. I'd kill somebody otherwise."

"Too bad I can't ask Brynn about it. You know, to get the exact measurement in micro centimeters," she said with a shrug.

"Well, maybe you'll just have to find out for yourself," he responded.

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

He grinned. "I'd be lying if I said no."

"You are so typically male," Bastila said shaking her head.

"You wouldn't have brought it up if you weren't curious." For his efforts, he received her patented ice glare. "You're cute when you're angry."

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Haven't you said that already?"

"I thought I said that you were cute when you were embarrassed." He shrugged. "I could be wrong."

"Aggravated statement: Master, listening to you two is sickening. I have limited knowledge of meatbag mating rituals, but if my calculations are correct, you two are long past due."

Vincent blinked at stared wide-eyed at HK, in utter shock that the droid would make such an observation.

"Um, I think that we should, ah, keep moving, don't you?"

Bastila nodded, also somewhat perplexed. "Yes..."

Exiting the room and once again continuing left, the trio found themselves face to face with another set of enemies, this time, full-fledged war droids. HK moved first, firing off a burst of shots that hit one of the war droids dead on. Spurred on by this, the war droids did some retaliation of their own, bombarding the Jedi with a never ending stream of potentially deadly plasma fire. Out of pure frustration, Vincent let loose with a bolt of Force lightning, momentarily stunning one of the droids. Cursing himself for not realizing the advantage he had with that attack earlier, he put his abilities to full use, frying the stunned droid to a heap of smoking scrap metal.

His Force powers now exhausted, Vincent was forced to help his friends the old-fashioned way. Coordinating his movements with Bastila, the two Jedi inched forward, gaining precious ground and slowly closing the gap between themselves and the war droid. Vincent flared to the side, forcing the droid to alternate between firing at Bastila or himself. This proved to be the droid's weakness, as Bastila began to hack viciously at it when she was no longer pinned by its fire. As it turned on her, Vincent did the same, never letting up his attacks until the war droid was once again firing at him.

HK landed the death blow, squeezing off a perfect shot into an exposed part of the droid's inner circuitry. The droid sparked and sputtered for a few moments before collapsing to the ground in a pile of useless scrap, much like his companion.

"Nice shot," Vincent praised the assassin droid, wiping the sweat from his eyes and flipping off his violet blade.

"Pleased declaration: Why thank you, master. I try."

"I don't think we'll be getting through there," Bastila interrupted, pointing a finger toward a corridor that was filled with lethal looking red steam.

"There's a pause," Vincent observed after a few seconds. "I can make it."

"Are you insane?" Bastila asked, concern showing in her beautifully icy blue-grey eyes.

"You just figured that out?" he called back as he quickly stepped into the hallway and disappeared behind a cloud of red steam. Vincent found that if he kept his pace at a reasonable jog, he stayed with the small pause that allowed the steam to recharge before erupting through the vents in the floor again. He reached the end of the corridor with relative ease, stepping into a semi-circular room with nothing more than a computer module on the wall and a few holo-screens.

Accessing the computer panel, he soon realized that he could hack into the many security cameras around the base and subject the Sith that resided in some of the rooms to various methods of painful death. Disabling a force field, Vincent logged off and stepped away from the computer, preparing himself to once again run the gauntlet of steam. Taking a deep breath and stretching his sore neck, he craned his head to one side and held it there. Suddenly, he noticed something he hadn't before. Another small panel across from the one he was at stood waiting on the wall, its purpose a mystery.

Walking over to it, Vincent turned it on.

DISABLE STEAM VENTILATION SYSTEMS?

Vincent grinned. This was turning out to be a very good day so far. Selecting yes to the console's query, he watched as the steam gave a final hiss and died, leaving a long, empty passageway before him. A long, empty passageway with one dangerous woman at the end.

"Well it took you long enough!" she yelled, her voice carrying to his ears as if she was right next to him.

"Aww...'d you miss me?"

"I was worried you'd gone and gotten yourself burned to death." she said in amore normalvoice as he drew closer.

He waved a hand at her. "Nah...I've been through worse. Got the scars to prove it, too. I'll have to show you sometime."

"I'll remember that," she said. "What was back there?"

He rubbed his goatee and exhaled. All of this fighting was starting to catch up to him.

"Vincent?"

He snapped out of his personal reality. "Sorry. Nothing but a computer panel and a console to shut the steam off. The computer was pretty useful though. I took out most of the Sith in the base, and I think I may have found something that will make the Sith look very, very bad."

"A conspiracy, I take it?" Bastila asked as they retraced their steps until they reached a new hallway. Vincent took another left before responding.

"Possibly. I met this Selkath who said that their kids have gone missing. I think I found where they disappeared to."

"I hope so. Do you think –" She was silenced by Vincent's hand covering her mouth. He gently pushed her back until she was pressed against the wall, and he motioned for HK to make himself scarce as well. The droid nodded and activated a near-perfect stealth field, disappearing almost entirely.

"Vincent, what is going on!" she exclaimed through their bond. He shook his head tersely, keeping his hand pressed firmly over her mouth, his body preventing her from getting off the wall.

Lord, he felt different without all that armor.

Forcing herself to ignore the fact that he was indeed a marvelous specimen of maleness, Bastila instead tried to focus on what it was that was causing him so much alarm. She could barely make out the sound of voices, conversing in hushed, urgent tones, though she had no hope of trying to understand what was being said. She made a frustrated sound against his hand, and he moved it slightly, placing a calloused finger over her lips. He removed it seconds later, and she immediately opened her mouth, if for no other reason than to see his reaction, as she had nothing to say. His thumb closed her lips and held them that way, his index finger gripping her jaw line lightly and the rest of his fingers curled underneath her chin.

He nudged up, forcing her to meet his gaze. She had expected to see anger, disappointment even, but she was met instead with a steady, intense gaze that had no predominant emotion save amusement. He shook his head, indicating that she should not make any noise at that point. For Bastila, the seconds seemed to drag on for hours. The only sound she could hear now was his breathing, and she could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her breasts.

She suddenly realized how ridiculously close they were. She had her back to the wall, Vincent in front of her, pressing against her with a good amount of strength. One of his legs was between hers, an accident of the swiftness in which he had pinned her this way. Bastila noticed that her leg, between his as well, was pressed against his inner thigh very near his groin. His free arm was to the side of both of them, palm to the wall. His torso was pushed against hers, and she could feel every inch of his strong chest and hard stomach; she could smell the sweat that mingled with his natural scent. His breathing was rapid and shallow, his concentration fully on the task at hand. His hand was rough, calloused from years of wielding a blaster or a blade.

Bastila found that her body tingled wherever it met his, a dull fire that was becoming more than she could bear. Suddenly, she was staring into his captivatingly green orbs and trying to remember what she had just been thinking about.

"Promise you won't make any noise if I move my hand?" he whispered, his voice husky.

She shivered involuntarily, nodding in assent.

"Good girl."

His hand moved from her mouth to the wall that she was pressed against, and she found that she immediately missed the feeling of his skin against her lips. His eyes held a fire that she had never seen before, a fire that left her breathless as she gazed into his intense eyes.

"They're gone," he whispered, though he didn't move.

"Does that mean I can talk now?" she whispered back.

He nodded.

"What were you listening for?"

"I was using the Force to try and augment my hearing. See if they had anything useful to say."

"Did they?"

"Well, they did say something about the missing Selkath, though it was near the end and they were walking away."

"If they're gone, why are we still whispering?"

Vincent stared at her for a few seconds before finally seeming to realize what kind of position they were in. She gave him credit; he was cool under fire. His expression showed no signs of embarrassment or hurry to disengage himself from their predicament, and he distanced his body from hers with an almost sad reluctance.

"HK, you can come out now."

"Statement: As you wish, master."

"Keep your weapons ready. I have a feeling those Dark Jedi aren't far," Vincent cautioned, drawing his lightsaber and gripping it firmly. He was right. As soon as they rounded the corner of the hallway, they came in contact with two Dark Jedi and a single apprentice, all seemingly waiting for them.

"Oh don't act so surprised. You didn't suppress your Force aura, and you, my friend, have quite a powerful one," one of the Dark Jedi said smugly.

Bastila glanced at Vincent and saw that his smile was self-satisfied as well. "But let me guess, it's not as powerful as yours, right?"

The Dark Jedi continued to grin. "That would be correct."

Vincent's smile turned feral. "Then I'm sure you'd love to know that I was suppressing my aura."

"Nice bluff, Jedi. There's no way you could have an aura stronger than you already do. No servant of the light is that powerful."

"Whoever said that I served the light?"

Bastila felt a staggering rush of power come from Vincent and she nearly reached out to steady herself against something solid. The Dark Jedi looked as if someone had just given him a swift kick in the crotch.

"And I'm not even mad yet," Vincent said. "I do believe that your apprentice over there is about to wet himself."

The other Dark Jedi gave the cowering apprentice a quick smack and cursed him harshly, drawing his lightsaber as he did so.

"If you're so powerful, then you shouldn't have a problem taking on all three of us," he said with a growl.

Vincent's right eyebrow rose. "You want me to go it alone?"

"Surely a mighty Jedi such as yourself could handle it."

"All right. Your death wish."

"Vincent what do you think you're doing?" Bastila exclaimed. He was being a complete fool!

"Just trust me," he said and ignited his violet blade. "Stay out of it."

"No! Have you lost your mind?"

"Bastila, get back," he ordered sternly. She could see that there would be no persuading him. Resignedly, she stepped behind him and lowered her weapon, watching the scene before her with mounting anxiety.

The three enemies simultaneously ignited their own lightsabers and dropped into combative stances, one Dark Jedi wielding both a normal blade and a short lightsaber. Directing his focus at the inexperienced apprentice, Vincent let loose with a Force whirlwind in his direction, sending him crashing against the wall. Both Dark Jedi charged at their enemy, one attacking in the front while the other acrobatically flipped over Vincent and attempted to hit him from behind.

The young man smiled. He wasn't even exerting himself yet. The Dark Jedi in front of him gave away every move with his shoulders, and the idiot that was trying to attack from behind wasn't coordinating his blows with his ally in front. The apprentice was still picking himself up off of the floor, too shaken to be of much use anyway.

ZAP!

Blocking a blow from the enemy in front of him, Vincent pushed forward and forced the Dark Jedi's crimson blade above his head. Quickly switching his attention to the enemy behind him, Vincent landed a clean kick to the man's head; as swiftly as he had done this, he rammed his lightsaber behind him, thrusting it through the Dark Jedi's exposed abdomen. Vincent was already forcing the other Dark Jedi to go on the defensive before the first dead man hit the ground.

The sizzle of cauterizing flesh was heard as Vincent sliced cleanly through his enemy in a diagonal cut from shoulder to hip, halving the man into two nearly equal pieces. Turning his attention to the cowering apprentice, Vincent switched his lightsaber off and clipped it back onto his belt.

THUMP!

"Ugnnh..." the apprentice moaned as he slid down the wall for the second time, having been thrown back roughly by Vincent's Force push.

SNAP!

Bastila cringed as the apprentices head jerked violently, his neck now at an odd angle. As she had watched Vincent fight, she had seen some of what he once was resurface; like an old habit, his old personality came back to him during battle, during the thing that was most natural to him. Though, she had noticed that simply breaking the apprentice's neck was an act of mercy, rather than torturing the Sith.

"Funny, I was expecting a lecture about how incredibly stupid that was right about now," she heard him say.

"I should be giving you a lecture. That was the most idiotic thing you've done yet," she responded.

"It worked, didn't it?"

"It doesn't matter if it worked! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Bastila exclaimed.

"Taking a breath every few seconds could get you killed, but you do it anyway. Same concept," he replied shrugging.

"Statement: You displayed a very proficient ability to kill, master. I am proud to be of assistance to you," HK said in admiration.

"Thanks, I guess. Look, I wouldn't have done that unless I knew I could beat them. Bastila, as much as you think I'm insane and take stupid risks, I'm actually very careful. I calculate every possible angle before doing something, and choose the best possible solution that presents itself," Vincent alleged.

"I believe you," she admitted. "And that's why you scare me."