Foresight
Chapter 3

Spar left. Parry right. Smooth movements. Increase the flow of your muscles. Master Kavar said her left foot was her strongest. Master Zhar said her right. Revan tried out both of them and couldn't help thinking they were both wrong as the vibroblade came at her again. She darted back, hesitant to use any of the Force to increase her steps. This was a show of blades and will – not who could control all around them.

"Very good, Padawans. Feel the Force, but do not use it – let it flow through you," her new Master's voice was reassuring, but he was Malak's Master first.

Malak's blade came at her again and she had to dodge quickly to not be impaled by it. Her breathing was focused. Shin'jiar movement. Malak countered her and she flew back with a hard jerk. She regained her balance and steadied her feet. She quickly moved in and out of his range. Jal-toran movement. Malak countered her and she almost tripped over her feet. She gritted her teeth and threw the blade back and forth between her hands. Malak knew all the movements, he had studied every form and pose that was known – it was one of the things they had in common, but Malak had always been better at actually executing the moves.

It did help that her friend had half a foot on her and had twice as much muscle mass. Size does not matter, Padawan. Master Vandar had once said that to her. Of course the two foot green Master, would have to think that way. Revan was feeling very at odds with herself at the moment. She dodged Malak's attack and held her blade in a defensive position. He was using Fok-Lor movement, which was next in the progressional holo of warrior arts. Revan felt like a light source activated in her mind – Malak was using all the attacks from the datapads that were held in the archives. He was using all the combination movements prescribed as well.

Revan ran her tongue over her lips and pulled back quickly before darting in towards him. She made a combination of three moves that she was sure wasn't in any of the texts and Malak was caught off guard. She balanced her posture on her right foot while slamming the butt of the blade into Malak's chest. He had a look of complete surprise as he fell backwards towards the ground and she had to force herself to point the blade at his chin.

Her breathing was quick and she was wild eyed as she looked down.

Zhar's voice broke though with, "That's enough for today," he smiled, "Very good Revan – I see you've been practicing."

She brought the vibroblade back to her side and nodded carefully, still in complete shock. She had just beaten Malak… at sparring. It still wasn't correctly processing in her mind. The shock still didn't wear off as Malak's leg came out with an angry grunt knocking her onto the floor. He got up and threw the vibroblade down before storming out of the practice room.

Zhar shook his head as he left. "Malak's temper is like a Hothan Volcano. Dormant and is hard to rise, but once it does it just flows over until it plays itself out."

Revan nodded slowly. "Uh-huh." She lifted herself to her feet and still tried to process all that had just happened.

"Are you alright, Padawan?" Zhar asked. His lips twitched as if they were trying to smirk but could not fully extend.

She nodded again, feeling her brain start to respond. "Should I go after him?"

Zhar's lekku twitched. "No, young one. Give him time to cool off."

She let her gaze travel to her hands. The hands that had beaten Malak – top student on Dantooine. She was now in every way, stronger than him, smarter than him, better than him. She tried to squelch the thoughts and hide them, but she thrilled in the knowledge of it. But pride was as bad as jealousy and tried to calm down her enthusiasm as her Master turned to her. Sometimes she missed Kae's soft eyes and quiet smile and other times that thought felt traitorous. "I didn't mean to hurt his pride."

Her master laughed and his lekku moved in response, one curling around his shoulder. "No, you did Revan – and it was a good lesson for him. Also a good lesson for you as you have finally overcome your belief that he will always win."

She smiled slightly. "Well he's twice my size."

Zhar smiled, "Size matters not, as the old saying goes – and as you obviously learned." There was some murmuring outside and Zhar's headtails tensed. "Excuse me for a moment, Revan."

Four seconds after he was out the door Revan started to move around in bastardized version of the Deralian victory dance. She swiveled her hips around and moved her shoulders, waving her hands above her head. She shot back to a normal standing position as Zhar came back in, one of his eye ridges raised carefully. She grinned at him as if nothing had happened. "What was the disturbance?" Revan asked with a completely innocent expression.

Zhar's headtails twitched. "Malak is outside, he wanted to spar with the wall – as many young male Padawans his age often do."

Revan shook her head. "Should I go talk to him?"

Zhar nodded. "It may be best that you do, Padawan."

She walked around the corner to where he was staring at the wall as if it had aggrieved him. "Mal?" she approached him cautiously, trying not to show her utter glee when the source was the reason his knuckles were bleeding. "Why do boys always hit things?" she wondered aloud.

"It lets us vent," he said stiffly.

Revan titled her head to the side. "No Alderaanian poetry?"

Malak snorted. "Don't make me laugh."

Revan ignored him and continued to press. "Come on – you could totally vent through the magic of 200 verse soliloquies." She coughed into her fist. "I'll start you off – Her eyes were blue as lakes. Some might say they were fakes. His hearts desire was to set them on fire, but then her vision would bake."

Malak shook his head with a laugh. "That is the worst poem I have ever heard – Alderaanian stanzas don't rhyme and they are always in Alderaanian."

Revan hedged closer and carefully took his hand. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly as she knitted the broken skin back together. "See, I'm not good at everything."

She opened her eyes to find an unreadable expression on his face.

"You are Revan. And I shouldn't complain," he said softly.

She shifted, awkward. "Do you want to come back? We could fix up our sabers or something."

He shook his head. "No, I think I'll – meditate."

She bit her lip as he walked away, thinking there was something else she could have said. "And what would that be, Revan? Oh, suck it up, Mal you big baby?" she grumbled to herself.

"It seems to be a good thing that you didn't say that, Padawan," Zhar's smooth voice came from behind her and she jolted in surprise.

Revan turned towards him. The ridges above his eyes curved in amusement. "You heard that?"

Zhar nodded and his headtails twitched. "Revan, sometimes it is better to keep your mouth closed and your ears open."

"I would say that sometimes it's better to plug your ears and talk really loud – like if Master Vrook tried to sing – but I'll just keep it to myself." she said with a grin.

-

Her legs were stiffly pressed against the dash. There was plenty of room on the ship, but with her current state of landing she'd had to practically throw herself onto the controls to keep it up.

"I thought you were going to keep it steady?" Revan barked at the inauspicious droid.

T3 let out a series of sharp beeps.

"Don't give me that lip. I may not be the best pilot, but I sure as hell paid for you - so you'd better get your tin ass into action."

T3-M4 made a few auspicious sounding noises.

"What do you mean you don't have an ass?"

The droid beeped a few high-pitched noises at her.

Revan growled something deep and low in her throat. "Just shut up you stupid-" There was a barrage of static on the communications frequency that interrupted Revan's tirade. She quickly tried to adjust it to get a good reading. "Help me, you overrated footrest!" After a frenzied attempt the static turned into barely coherent growling. "HK!" she barked. "Translate! I can barely make it out."

The red toned droid stepped forward. "Observation: Master, my skills are far more suited to taking up armament and-"

"I said translate."

If a droid could indignantly huff, HK-47 did. He waited a moment, listening to the garbled growling. "Translation: Identify yourselves."

"Tell them we're the Ebon Hawk and request landing," she held up her hand. "Wait- Tell them EXACTLY that, HK, none of that loose translation you like."

"Statement: I only do what you order me to do, Master. When I am fortunate it involves bloody mangle-"

"Just do it."

A stream of Shyriiwook left HK's vocal nodes and Revan could only grab bits and pieces of what he was saying. A matching stream of static filled wookiee language growled through the comm.

HK whirled around. "Translation: The furry meatbags have granted landing privileges. That is, if you do not crash into them and cause irreparable damage."

Revan arched an eyebrow and shifted in the pilot's seat. "That had better not be a suggestion, HK."

"Supplication: Of course not, Master. If you died in a fiery burning crash of epic proportions, the amount of carnage you could ensue would be sadly diminished. Correlation: And I would have to wipe my memories and lose all of the valuable information that is stored in my central processor. Memories, holobanks, torture sessions-"

Revan held up her hand. "I get the picture. Force-" She shook her head. "T3 take us down."

The little droid beeped an affirmative.

-

Landing was difficult enough without having three bowcasters aimed at her head the minute she stepped off the docking ramp. Revan held her hands up amicably and tried to calmly explain herself, before HK decided she was in danger and did something terrible. "Look - I told you when I landed, I'm Revan. Remember? The female that helped free you guys from Czerka? Always welcome?"

One of the wookiees grinned ferally. "You speak the language of slavers - we do not respond to that."

Revan shook her head. "What do you want me to do? You can't handle speaking basic, I can't handle speaking Shyriiwook, so I'd say we were pretty much even!"

The bowcasters moved closer to her face. "We don't speak the tongue of the enslaver!"

Revan groaned. "Fine!" She coughed loudly and mangled her vocal chords. "Name is timing. I have no bad. Zaalben knows her."

"What is your name, slave species? We know only of one kin from the otherlands."

"Revan," she choked out. "Frackdammit that is hard to say in anything but basic."

"None such as Revan have ever landed here."

Revan flinched. She knew what they were looking for, she even knew how to say it in their language - she just didn't want to. It was one thing to have a nick name, maybe an alias, but having a name that was shoved off on her, didn't stand for anything she was - it made it impossible for her to use it. It was worse than a swear on her tongue now. "Ariate Talke." She said finally. "Now get out of my way and take me to Zaalbar, before I show you what Revan is really like and get HK-47 to translate."

Wookiee laughter. She knew and hated that sound - it always meant a very bad joke. Zaalbar appeared from the boughs of an extensive tree branch. "It is good to see you, honorbound."

"Mission warned you I was coming?" Revan thought of the many ways she could badly maim and kill that Twi'lek when she got back. Though on some level she knew she was going to miss having reasons to be mad at the young girl.

"She told us of your arrival through the communications system a few hours before." Zaalbar growled. The other attendants had stepped back a bit.

"Obnoxious little snot," Revan smiled. "Any other surprises in store for me, Zaal?"

He shook his head. Revan noticed there was a long sash across his chest, she could not make out the symbols that clearly (speaking ancient dialect had always been easier than reading it), but it seemed to denote his importance. She had heard that he was taking on new responsibility, but the full force of the fact that her humble friend was a leader of his people really hit her.

He was everything a leader should be. Wise, calm and honorable - some part of her wanted to add tactical, decisive, and sacrificing. She hated that part of her - mostly because she agreed with it.

"She told me that you were coming. That you would claim that the life debt was invalid. And I can tell you now, I will not listen, Ariate Talke. I made that vow and you cannot break it."

"You made it to 'Ariate Talke' not Revan. I'm not 'Ariate' I have never really been 'Ariate.' That woman you knew was just a ghost in a shell – I am Revan." She folded her arms stubbornly in front of her. Part of her was a little proud of Mission for being so underhanded and guessing her intentions. Another part of her wanted to march back to Coruscant and smack the Twi'lek upside the headtails.

"Names are meaningless-"

"Really, Z," she interrupted. "Names mean a lot. Names define you – I didn't become dark lord of the Sith with the name 'SparklyPrincessHessi.' You can't make assumptions like that. You made that debt to the wrong name, which by definition binds you to a person who doesn't exist. You also made it to a fantasy of the Jedi Council."

"You were always good with words. And stubborn. We shall speak more on this in the later hours. The hairless one waits in the shadowlands for your arrival."

"Son of a-" Revan clenched her fists. "Why, of all the planets does that man have to pick this one?" She smiled carefully. "No offense, Zaal."

He made no indication that he was offended, or paying attention to her. "The lift has been prepared for you and Rasskodk will take you down – when you come back up will feast with brethren and speak of things."

Revan grunted. "Sure, sure."

HK made a buzzing noise alerting that he was next to her (the last time he had surprised her she had, to his approval, threatened to tear out his rotary wires and strap him to the roof). "Query: Does this expenditure require heavy armament and the use of my new carbon attachment?"

"Kill. Every. Kinrath. You. See." Revan said evenly as her skin began to crawl.

HK's photoreceptors lit up. "Statement: Your thirst for bloodshed, delights me so, Master."

"One of those furry little creeps gets within four feet of me and I'm going to forget that I follow the light and using some lightning to fry his fracking ass."

"Statement: My first trip to Kashyyyk is sure to delight my wiring, Master."

-

Revan kept her body completely still in the center of the lift to the shadowlands. She also made HK keep on strict alert to shoot anything that moved while they were heading down. Irrational fear – conquering it had been one of her knight trials. One that she almost failed. Pushing through the fear once did not cure the fear - it just delayed the reaction, unfortunately.

And she really, really, really, hated Kinrath spiders.

Rasskodk did not look amused. "I shall await your return," he growled stiffly.

Revan waved him off. "Sure thing, knowing the old fart this could take years so don't expect us back soon." She gestured for HK to follow her. "Come on, rustbucket - keep alert. And no shooting Tachs."

"Objection: But their hyperactive jumping sets my processors to a slow boil. Conjecture: Surely, my Master would not be against some well placed target practice?"

"Your master would not be against you shutting your metal trap and keeping alert to the wildlife."

"Who's there?" A sharp brittle voice broke through Revan's reaming. She instantly brought out and activated her lightsabers and HK was alert with his carbine aimed at the person's head. The person was a young man with lightsabers and a deep scowl. "Name yourself!"

"Supplication: If he moves, according to your instructi-"

"No," she interrupted before he started to destroy everything near them. "Who are you, kid?"

"I asked first!" he glared at HK and then back to her, eyeing her lightsabers warily.

Green and violet, they were green and violet last time she was here. Green, the color of a Jedi Councilor, Dorak had been so proud of her fake personality. Shortly after realizing she wasn't a scout with any allegiance to the Republic or the darkside and all the other bantha spit they'd placed in her brain, she had decided to fall back on more familiar colors. Now they were violet and red. She deactivated her red one and stepped forward. Intimidating the kid wasn't her goal… yet. "I'm Revan and the blaster carbine in your face is HK-47 who has not killed his quota lately, so if you'd kindly tell me who the phoq you are, I can have him back up."

He sneered at her. "Yeah, right like I really believe you're Revan."

She rolled her eyes. "No, I'm Nomi Sunrider - give me a break here."

Something in his eyes flashed when she said that name. "Oron Qel-Droma," he said glaring at her more as he took in her attire, "You're wearing my robes."

"Technically these were Duron's and if you don't believe I'm Revan - I'm not going to believe you're a Qel-Droma." She knew he was a Qel-Droma the moment she looked at him. It was harder to sense him in the deepness of the shadowlands, but readings on Duron, Ulic, and Cay, looking at holovids and it was plain to see the similarities. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to let some brat off the hook that easily.

There was shuffling and some swearing from behind Oron. There was some rustling in the bushes and another familiar voice broke through. "What's all this racket about?"

Revan couldn't help but grin. She had really missed that old annoying voice. "You really have to work on your greeting system, old man."

Jolee stepped out of the bushes; flanked by a Zabrak girl that looked around Oron's age - but her demeanor was much friendlier. "Are you Ariate Talke?"

Revan glared at Jolee. "No. I am most definitely not."

Oron scoffed. "She claims she's Revan."

The Zabrak's eyes went wide, and her expression was that of someone reviewing archive files in their mind. Revan had seen that before on her own face. "You're Revan." She sounded star struck. Revan swore to herself.

"Yes. Me is Revan. Revan is me. Are we clear now?" she shook her head.

"You are ornery, aren't still afraid of those -"

"No," she cut him off. "No, I am not and drop it you old -"

"Don't interrupt me, missy. Don't think just because you've got your memories back you've earned the right to treat me like a corpse. I'm still alive and I'm this old so I get to complain. You'll listen to my whole ramblings and like it, dammit."

Revan eyed him. "How did you know that I-"

"Lucky guess, that and you're roaring with the Force more than the last time I saw you - the kid may have spilled it as well."

"Why is everyone tattling on me?" she said with an exasperated sigh.

"Master Bindo?" The Zabrak Padawan looked wide eyed, but Revan could tell after a few months with Jolee she was beginning to wizen up, there was the faintest hint of a knowing smile. "I thought you said to expect Ariate Talke?"

Jolee scoffed. "No, I said the wookiees would be expecting an Ariate Talke – I never said that was her name."

The Qel-Droma glared in every direction. 'Arrogant Cuss' came to mind – as did familiar. "Revan was coming to Kashyyyk and it slipped your mind? I don't care how senile you claim to be – that is impossible."

The Zabrak put her arm lightly on his. "Calm down, Oron."

He shrugged her off, "Back off Lydie." He sneered at Revan, "Anything here for you Revan? Did you come for the scenery or the weather?"

"Well he's just a piss in the pants isn't he?"

The Zabrak looked almost scandalized, Revan thought she didn't get out much. Oron was glaring harder, but Jolee just laughed. "How I would have missed your pleasant disposition if I could remember it."

"How did you know I was coming, old man?"

"The kid commed me." The kid could be anyone from Mission to Bastila when Jolee said it. Revan decided she was better off not knowing. "Said you were making rounds and to keep an eye open. Feh, young ones these days under estimating my eye sight."

Revan rolled her eyes. "Look, could we take this love fest somewhere else? You know somewhere without the lovely pungent odor that the shadowlands possess?"

Jolee shook his head. "Fine, be impatient – we'll walk to my cabin if you still know the way, but with your attention span. Can't stand still for a minute, one moment to the next, kids these days-"

Revan grunted and followed the old man as he headed to his old cabin; she tuned out his ranting.

"She's afraid of some of the wildlife," Lydie whispered behind her, "I think it's the Tach."

"Who's scared of a Tach?" Oron scoffed.

Revan turned and scowled at him. "There are a lot worse things to be afraid of down here than the Tach."

"Like what?" Oron scowled back at her.

Revan flashed her teeth. "Me."

If she had been focusing on walking instead of glaring at someone half her age, she might have noticed the elongated limbs that called themselves a spider. She jolted and grasped her chest with a sharp gasp as the kinrath spider became green slime near her feet. HK-47 stood near her, holding his blaster carbine at attention. "Thanks," she muttered, trying to ignore the muffled giggles behind her.

"Extrapolation: Master, I only did what you ordered. If you would vary your orders there are also-"

"No," she said tiredly.

A sharp laugh came from behind her. "I guess the Dark Lord of the Sith pales in comparison to the ferocity of a forest bug."

Sometimes she really had to remind herself why she was serving the way of the light.

-

The tea tasted the same. It always did. It had tasted the same when she had thought she was having it for the first time- when Ariate Talke had sipped at it with inane curiosity, while trying to look casual as Carth once again tried to apologize for being a jerk on Dantooine. It had tasted the same as when Malak had carefully rolled his eyes and looked for threats, while she had talked the old man into showing her where a source of power was.

Everyone was a tool to be used.

She sipped a bit of the bitter bark tea and Jolee continued. "And that was how I was wrangled down with these two here. Lydie's Master recently joined the Force," he shook his head, the girl was sitting reading with Oron over on the other side of the Cabin. "Not that the old man was that good of a teacher to begin with, couldn't get his old bones moving to train her in anything."

Revan's lip quirked and she arched an eyebrow.

Jolee glared. "Don't you dare, lass. Keep your mouth shut."

"I didn't say anything. I'm just drinking tea," she smiled as she sipped a bit more. "So the obnoxious kid really is a Qel-Droma?"

Jolee nodded, "A dying breed, unfortunately. The ones left aren't too keen on giving their brats over to the order. Can't say I blame them after what happened to Ulic and Cay," there was a seriousness in Jolee's eyes when he spoke about Ulic or Exar.

Revan decided not to touch on it. "And Duron."

"And Duron – nice robes, by the way. I thought you refused to wear them after the Leviathan, said they made your ass look big or some young thing."

Revan rolled her eyes. "I didn't say-" She sighed. "The personality that the council had tried shoving on me, was not very happy with well… being me."

"And you are happy?"

She shrugged. "Who is?"

He grunted. "Did I ever tell you the story-"

"Oh, come on, Jolee," she groaned throwing her head back. "I didn't come to hear you ramble on about another story."

Jolee frowned and put his cup down. "Well then you sure as hell shouldn't have come in the first place, dammit. You travel all the way down here, you're asking for a story – and I am feeding you right now so you're going to just sit still and listen to me talk. When you're my age then you can complain and not listen, but until then you're going to just shut up and pay attention."

Revan sighed and rested her cheek on her fist. She didn't feel the need to point out his infallible logic that she would never be his age, if he kept aging. "Fine, knock yourself out, you old bastard."

"Feh, the disrespect." He shook his head. "Once there was a man named Shardi, now Shardi had a mite few things about him that people thought were strange. He had an old chair that he used to dance with on cold nights, a hat that he'd keep in his hands at all time, and then one day… one day he got a rat."

"A rat?"

"Did I tell you to interrupt me? Shut your mouth and listen. So Shardi never paid any attention to this rat. He just let it follow him around sit on his shoulder, eat his food when he was done with it, never really talked to it, picked it up or anything you'd do for a normal pet. It was just there. Everyone else noticed it, sometimes they'd ask him, 'Shardi where did you get the rat?' and he would just nod and walk away. Act like it didn't exist at all. Until one night he had to notice it."

Revan rolled her eyes at the pause. "Okay, I'll bite. Why did he have to notice the rat?"

Jolee nodded slowly. "Interesting choice of words. Actually the rat bit him in the neck while he was sleeping. Shardi bled to death."

Revan narrowed her vision. "If I'm the rat I'll dump this tea on you."

He coughed loudly. "It's not always about you. But there are some things you have to listen to, lass. Some things that are always there- no matter how much you ignore them, they're always going to come back and bite you in the neck."

She frowned and put down her cup. "Snakes and rats. Can't you tell a story about desa kittens and iluvant twarp birds?"

"Life isn't birds and kittens, kid. You know that."

Revan frowned at him and shot another look towards the two Padawans that were carefully attempting not to pay attention to her. "I've got a story for you, old man."

Jolee arched an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. "This I gotta hear, kid."

She cracked her knuckles loudly, drawing Oron and Lydie's attention towards her. She pushed it back with a glare. They both went to looking at whatever was interesting on the floor. "There once was an ugly old man. He was loud, boring, and slow. He also liked to ramble on and on about things people didn't want to know. Sometimes he would ask you things he said four minutes ago, just to pretend he was senile when he was actually annoying. One day he decided to shove himself along on a mission with a fantastic, smart, and great looking Jedi type person - then he died. The end."

"Sounds familiar. You really should work on your story telling abilities, kid. Not really getting it there."

Revan shook her head. "Do you know what the moral is, Jolee?"

"I have an idea," there was an amused quirk to his lips.

She placed her palms on the table. "You are too old to come with me."

Jolee scoffed. "I'm not going to argue with you. Of course I'm too old."

"What?" Revan balked at him.

"You're too stupid to take someone wiser and more experienced with you. I'm not going to disagree with logic like that. Get yourself killed, it's all the rage for the young kids I hear," he sipped at his tea. "Just don't come back here whining about how you couldn't do it without me."

She blinked and just stared at him with her mouth open.

"Keep that up and one of those giant workser flies is going to make a home in your open mouth."

Revan shut her mouth immediately and stood up. "You know, you really do have some great hosting skills, you old bastard."

"I never invited you down," he crossed his arms, "Hmmph, kids these days, ungrateful pissers the lot of you."

She brushed off her robes and stared at him. Revan crossed over the table, leaned down, and kissed him on his bald head. "I'll miss you, you old jerk. Don't ever change."

Jolee waved her off. "Bah, don't die and then come back to haunt me – I don't need the hassle."

Revan rolled her eyes and shook her head. She glared pointedly at the two Padawans in the corner. "Be nice to your elders."

-

Revan tried to keep her breathing calm as she made her way towards the Ebon Hawk. The spiraling walkways of Kashyyyk would not be missed. She had to keep glancing in every direction to watch out for kinrath, but in her intense concentration HK kept sneaking up on her.

She jumped in her skin. "Dammit, stop doing that!"

"Statement: You told me to keep guard for kinrath, Master. I am just doing what you ordered. Observation: There is a very hairy meatbag approaching us."

"Carth?" Revan brought herself back to reality and noticed Zaalbar approaching. "Oh."

He looked angry. Revan didn't need to read through four volumes on Kashyyyk history in relation to the Jedi to realize that an angry wookiee was a bad thing. "My scout informed me that you were trying to run with your tail between your legs."

Revan smiled sheepishly. "Humanoids don't have tails, Zaal – you know that." He crossed his furry arms in front of him. He didn't seem impressed. Revan sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. You can't come with me. No one can come with me. I mean – you've got a great thing here Zaalbar, you've got your own scouts for frack's sake."

"You cannot disavow a life debt."

Revan crossed her arms. "You do… all the time. I mean look at you now," she gestured to the long sash that hung across his chest. "You're the chieftain now – you have opportunities, family. Do not give that up for some stupid debt. Hell, Zaal I didn't even want to save you, it was the only way to make Mission help us get into the base."

Zaalbar let out a loud and fast growl. "I pledged a debt of honor and it is not up to you to disavow that."

"Then who is it up to, you giant carpet?" she growled back.

HK-47 moved next to her in a precision movement. "Statement: It would be my great pleasure to take care of this annoyance for you, Master – one quick blaster to the-"

Revan threw up her hand. "Stop suggesting that or I will take you apart and spread your remains throughout the rim." She eyed Zaalbar evenly. "Look – we've never gotten along well. We only have Mission in common, Zaal and you know that – plus if it ever came down to it, she'd be the one you'd want to do whatever a life debt does. So why not do what you want?"

"Honor is not about doing what you want. Honor is about doing what is honorable."

"What do you plan on doing, Zaalbar? Following me on the ship? Going beyond the outer rim? Abandoning your people when they need you?"

Zaalbar let out a mournful growl. "I was going to wish you well – and tell you to call on me whenever it was needed. But you seem to be a sapling that insists on breaking the older tree to get out, when if you'd just grow with the older tree they would both prosper."

Revan crossed her arms. "Keep well, Zaalbar."

"As should you. Revan Talke."

She smiled lightly as she watched the wookiee stalk away. He proved that there was more to someone than met the eye. Just looking at the outer shell and not seeing the strength and inner spirit beneath the monster – or the wookiee. And that was stronger than the Force could be.

"Come on, HK – that's five down two to go," she made her way back to the Ebon Hawk.

"Statement: It pains me to hear you say that, master – when it does not apply to carnage or other bloodshed."

Revan glared at him as she walked up the ramp where T3 was waiting and beeping impatiently. "Force help us all, I almost agree with you."

-

"Um… Revan, I know you're busy and all, but could you-" Nisotsa's brown eyes stared back at her, ever hopeful.

Revan sighed and put down her datapad on the pile of the other ones. "Nita- could you at least say hi first?"

Nisotsa sunk back into her seat. "Sorry, just Master Ell gave me this big report on ancient Jedi history and I'm not exactly sure what to do with it. I mean there are so many volumes and it's so vague."

"He probably wants you to show some initiative," Revan frowned and glanced up. Four other Padawans and two apprentices were making their way over. "You like engines, Nita. There's a volume in the second shelf on the first floor that's all about Jedi in relation to the increase of transportation on Coruscant."

Nisotsa blinked. "Who's it by?"

"Master Yunis Gill."

Nisotsa smiled brightly at Revan. "Thanks so much, Revan. I'm glad you're back – how long are you staying?"

Revan shrugged. "Master Kae has a few more things to take care of, she said we'd be on Dantooine for about a week."

"Oh… well we should do something later tonight, go out with the settlers or something. I can grab Jene and Cariaga for you?"

Revan nodded softly. "Sure, Nita."

Her blonde friend trotted off to find her report and Revan let out a sigh of relief. She picked her datapad up and began to read it through again. Studies on Bothan Behavior were hard enough to find, let alone find the time to read through.

The four Padawans and two apprentices were staring at her now. Two of them were at least three years older than her. She kept her vision on her datapad, maybe if she ignored them they would go away. A loud cough from one of the Padawans told her differently.

Revan sighed and put the datapad down. "I really need to get my own work done."

"You heard her," chirped a voice from around the corner. Talvon Esan peered out around the corner. The Padawans shifted in their seats. The short blonde boy crossed his arms in front of him and frowned. "Shouldn't you be checking on your own duties and not leeching off someone else? I'm sure Master Tegen would be very disappointed to hear you've been harassing Padawan Revan, again."

All six of them scrambled to get up with short Jedi bows and mumbled apologies. Talvon kept a firm face until they left and then grinned and slid into the seat across from her. He shrugged off his shoulder sack.

Revan smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Tal."

"So how was Alderaan?" he grabbed the datapad out of her hand and set it out of her reach.

Revan frowned, "I'm trying to work."

"Bantha-poodo, Revvie – you know Master Kae doesn't assign you any work while you're here. You're just being boring for fun."

She crinkled her nose at him and crossed her arms in front of her. "I'm not boring."

"More boring than a granite slug, Rev."

Revan pulled at her robes self-consciously. "That was a nice Vrook impression you've developed."

Talvon grinned at her. "Yeah I know. Helps having him for a Master." He shook his head and rustled with the sack beside him, "I heard you would be in here mucking away, so I decided to bring you some cheer."

"Jedi don't have cheer," Revan clipped, a smile forming on her lips.

He pulled out a heavy board and placed it on the table. "I was going to bring Galactic Monopoly, but you spanked me last time, so I thought maybe we could try some dejarik, where my poor little farm-boy brain has a chance to win."

Revan snorted. "We're on equal footing, Dantooine-boy. I'm Deralian, remember?"

Talvon waved his hand impassively and began to set up the pieces. "Yes, I recall – barefoot dancing and ribbons."

She rubbed her nose awkwardly. "I should never have given you that book."

He grinned at her and started to place pieces on the second tier. "Yeah it was a good presentation, got a standing ovation with those baby-holos of you."

"That wasn't me, it was a picture from the book of a Deralian with black hair. It wasn't even a girl," she crossed her arms over her chest.

Talvon blinked and placed the last piece in place. "Neither are you… I mean not really."

Revan balked. "What am I then? An androgynous marsh toad?"

Her shorter friend nodded and sat back down. "Yeah, pretty much." He flicked on the board and lights played through the tiers. "Your move, marsh toad."

She squared off her shoulders and made a face at him. "Want to make it interesting?" She moved two of her pieces towards him.

"What?" Talvon mock-gasped, "I have never heard such a thing. I'm a Jedi Padawan I don't gamble. Ten creds." He moved one of his pieces away.

Revan laughed and switched out two pieces. "I heard Xas is on Nar Shaddaa – checking out a Hutt syndicate."

Talvon frowned. "Yeah, Xaset gets all the fun missions, while the rest of us have to deal with settling settler disputes." He shook his head. "You know how hard it is telling your uncle that he has to act with proper respect towards his neighbors. The man is twice as big as I am and scares me more."

Revan rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you're complaining – I'd love to be this close to my family."

He scoffed. "They're not my family, stopped being that when they dropped me off on Coruscant – besides no attachments, right. They're less than an hour away and can't even check in on me."

She lifted her hand and used a delicate strand of Force to slide the tallest piece closer to the middle. "There are plenty of interesting things here, Tal."

"Says the girl who travels to the farthest reaches of space with her Masters."

Revan arched and eyebrow at him. "I thought I wasn't a girl?"

"Don't be a literalist, Rev. You never answered my question," he exchanged two pieces from the top and bottom tiers.

"What question?"

"How was Alderaan?"

"Oh…" Revan felt her face heat up and she quickly made a counter move to cover it up. "Um… it was fine."

Talvon leaned around the table to stare at her. "What did you do?"

She glanced around and sighed, "I jumped on thranta and flew around the great courtyard."

He stared at her for a long moment. "Bravo."

"Shut up, Tal."

"No really, Rev. That's – I'm very impressed. Kae must have killed you."

Revan scratched the back of her neck. "I had to clean the entire ship, with a sonic toother."

"Ouch," he moved three more pieces. "That would be di'endete."

Revan stared at the board. Three tiers, fourteen possible moves – three steps to victory if she took a shorter reference. She looked up at Talvon and moved her piece. "I think she was going easy on me."

Talvon shook his head. "Yeah Vrook would have made you wax and polish it too," he smiled brightly as he tipped over two of her pieces and put them in his pile.

She nodded softly. "Probably good thing I don't have Vrook as a Master then- there's only so much waxing a girl can do," she moved her piece into spot and all three tiers flashed. "Dejan."

Her friend's mouth was open slightly as he stared at her. "You- you tricked me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Revan rested her hands on her lap. "You're just a sore loser."

Talvon shook his head and frowned. "You let two pawns be knocked out in succession."

Revan tipped her head to the side. "Sometimes you have to sacrifice the pawns."

Talvon shrugged stiffly, still sore about losing. "Yeah, well tell that to the pawns."

Thanks to all the reviews and people have have stuck with me and my slow self. Also big thanks to Kosiah for betaing this chapter for me and helping me with it. AND Rose07 who had to hear me bitch about it for three months, while she ate popcorn.