Ventress woke up and walked over to the computer. They still had about an hour before they dropped out of hyperspace. Kenobi had got her some cold-weather gear for her from the Jedi Temple since Yellowblades Landing was an arctic planet. She put on the boots and the pants and discovered they fit surprisingly well. The pants were a little big around the waist, but it was long enough to cover her legs.

Just as she finished getting dressed she heard Kenobi stir. "We are about 30 clicks away from the planet. You may want to get up." She said.

She heard the refresher door close, and went back to the controls. They would drop out of hyperspace at any moment. She was landing the ship when Kenobi came out and joined her, already in his coat.

"Where are we?" Kenobi asked.

'We are right outside Scourge's Base. The scanner is reading some life forms. This is the biggest settlement on the planet, so I thought we should start there."

"Do you sense Opress or Maul?" Kenobi asked.

"I sense something, but I can't make out if it's them or not." Ventress sighed, "If it is, his brother must have taught him to hide his force signature. What about you?"

"I sense a darkness, but that is it," Kenobi said and started stroking his beard. He looked at the scanner. There appeared to be about 30 or so life forms on the screen, with most of them on the outskirts of the settlement.

"I guess we should start there," Kenobi said and exited the ship. Ventress put on her coat and followed him out. The coat made it more difficult to move, along with the deep snow. The journey to the settlement was slow going. Ventress kept reaching out in the force to sense if the brothers were here, but to her frustration, could not detect them. She felt some force users but didn't recognize their signatures. Most of the time, especially on the outer rim, the force users she felt were unaware or undisciplined with their force powers. It made them more dangerous since they didn't understand their own power. She became uneasy as they came up upon the settlement and watched as the few people on the street gave them weary looks.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Kenobi said. "I believe we are being followed."

Ventress nodded. She had sensed that someone was keeping a close eye on them as they made their way through the settlement. Ventress had taken one of her lightsabers and hidden it in her palm, feeling that an attack would happen soon. There was the anticipation of a battle in the air. She looked over to Kenobi, who looked considerably more tense, which only heightened her feelings.

They entered the building and saw a Toydarian sitting at the desk. He looked like he was expecting them.

"Good day. What brings you to our little rock in the middle of nowhere?" He asked.

"We are here to seek information about two travelers who have stopped by recently. We will pay handsomely for not only the information we request, but for your discretion as well." Kenobi replied, showing him some credits.

"Republic credits do us little good out here. What else do you have?"

"We have gold as well," Kenobi said, getting a few gold sticks out of his pocket.

"Ah, gold, the universal currency. What sort of information do you seek?"

Kenobi got out a holoprojector and turned it on. The faces of Maul and Opress appeared. "We are looking for these men."

"Who are they to you?" the Toydarian asked.

"That is none of your business," Ventress said angrily while slamming her fists on the desk. It earned her an annoyed look from Kenobi, but he said nothing.

"Okay, okay! No need for violence. I saw a pair who looks like them a few days ago. They came in for supplies and to recruit some people to their cause. But I can't seem to remember where they said they were going."

"Does this jog your memory?" Kenobi said, offering another gold stick.

"Hmm, it's coming back to me now. They were on their way to Praxis Nexus, looking for some bounty hunters. They left a holochip here. Maybe it will be useful to you. It's in the back. Come with me and I will retrieve it."

Ventress looked over at Kenobi in warning, and he nodded his head slightly but walked off in the direction that the Toydarian showed. She hid her other lightsaber in her hand and watched as Kenobi's flinched towards his lightsaber but didn't grab it off his belt. She took a deep breath, trying to clear the anxiousness that she felt.

They entered a large chamber, with a few people walking about. Every single one of them looked at the trio entering and hurried off in a different direction, trying to get as far away from them as possible. This alone gave Ventress enough reason to turn on her lightsabers, but resisted. The Toydarian led them to a small door on the side and opened the door. Ventress looked at Kenobi one more time and entered the small room. There was nothing inside but a desk and a small cabinet.

"The holochip is in the cabinet over there. I am sure you can show yourselves out." The Toydarian replied and fled the room.

Ventress went over to the cabinet and found a holochip, and turned it on. An image of Maul appeared, stabbing one of the locals on the planet. She looked over at Kenobi, who had his lightsaber in his hand.

"I sense this is a trap," Kenobi said.

"You think?" Ventress snapped, pocketing the chip.

Ventress walked back over to the closed door. She closed her eyes and, took a deep breath, reaching out into the force to see what was on the other side of the door. Suddenly, she sensed him. He had learned how to hide his force signature after all.

"Opress." She whispered.

Kenobi nodded in understanding and opened the door. The chamber was empty at the moment. The people walking around before had vanished, but there were a few bays that were now open. Ventress looked up, as something dropped to the ground with a large thud. The familiar yellow and black markings came into view, as the angry nightbrother stood 10 feet away. Maul was nowhere in sight.

"Pity. And here I thought this was going to be a challenge. Where's your little brother? Doesn't he want to come out and play too?" Ventress purred, igniting her lightsabers.

"My brother isn't here, Witch." Opress growled.

"So he let you off his leash? Good for you." Ventress sneered as she raised her lightsabers, and heard Kenobi's lightsaber ignite beside her.

Opress let out a growl and jumped towards the pair, his yellow lightsaber ablaze. Ventress jumped, and in mid-air, their lightsabers collided. Kenobi forced grabbed a barrel that was in the room and tossed it towards Opress, forcing him to block it. Ventress's lightsabers came down towards Opress's side, but he was too quick and blocked the attack. It gave time for Kenobi to get behind him, forcing Opress to defend both the front and the back.

"I see being with your brother has done wonders for your skills with a lightsaber. You might be able to take down an unarmed child now." Ventress belittled.

Ventress could feel his anger being replaced by desperation as he tried to fight the pair of them off. Opress couldn't keep up with the pair of them. He was outmatched, and he knew it. He force threw them against the pillar that was standing in the middle of the room and ran off. Ventress and Kenobi got up and chased him but stopped as they heard several growls behind them.

"Wampas." Kenobi said, and no sooner as he said it, four wampas entered the chamber and started running towards them. Ventress and Kenobi ran to the open door that Opress exited, trying to chase him down and to get away from the wampas. Ventress had only dealt with them once before and barely escaped with her life. Luckily, she didn't have time to focus on her fear as one of the wampas caught up with them just feet from the door and grabbed Ventress by the waist. It threw her against the wall. Pain shot through her left shoulder, and she dropped her lightsabers in mid-air. Ignoring the pain, she got up and force threw a piece of metal at the oncoming wampas. It hit one of them, and it stumbled. She force grabbed a barrel and threw it at the one Kenobi was fighting. The barrel barely missed Kenobi as it hit the wampa in the side, allowing Kenobi to slice its head off.

Kenobi grabbed one of Ventress's lightsabers and ran over to her. "That was a little close to my head, darling."

"You can thank me later. Come on." Ventress said, and force grabbed her other lightsaber while running out the door.

Opress was standing next to a ship. Ventress looked over at him. He growled, obviously disappointed that the wampas had not destroyed them. Ventress ran towards the nightbrother, but was distracted when a gigantic crash came from behind her. She turned to see the remaining three wampas demolishing the outer door to get outside. Opress ran towards them, using the momentary distraction as an advantage. Ventress barely had time to block his attack. Kenobi was too busy with one of the wampas to help her. She discovered she couldn't raise her left shoulder higher than her chest. A slight panic rose in her. Opress had more brute strength than her, but he was far less skilled with his lightsaber. Their lightsabers clashed a few times before Opress focused on her left side. Clearly, he was aware of her injury. Getting frustrated, Ventress kicked him in the stomach and ran towards Kenobi and the wampas. Opress followed but was rammed by a wampa.

Ventress reached Kenobi, who was still trying to defend himself against two of the wampas. One was on the ground after Kenobi had hit it with the metal door, and the other one was trying to grab him. Ventress ran and jumped on the wampa's back, grabbing its white fur with her right hand, climbing up to its shoulders. She pierced the wampa's skull with her lightsaber and somersaulted off him. She landed about a foot from where Kenobi just killed the wampa on the ground. She watched as he brushed a sweaty lock of hair out of his face and noticed that most of his face was covered in blood.

"Thanks," Kenobi said.

"How bad are you injured?" Ventress asked, fearing he had cracked his skull.

"It's not as bad as it looks. You?"

"There is something wrong with my left shoulder. I can't lift it," Ventress replied,

Kenobi nodded and started running towards Opress, who was still trying to slay the last wampa. Ventress followed, but by the time they got halfway, Opress had slayed the beast. He took one look at them and took off towards his ship. Ventress assumed he must have been injured while battling the wampa since he was limping. They tried to catch up with him, but he was too close to the ship. Ventress watched as the ship took off. She threw her lightsabers down in anger and heard Kenobi sigh.

As the ship faded from view, Kenobi said, "Let's have another little chat with our Toydarian friend."

Ventress stood there for a moment, trying to control her anger. When it was unsuccessful, she grabbed her lightsabers and clipped one to her belt and strode off to the building. She was going to find the Toydarian and end him after she tortured him within inches of his life for information.

"Killing him won't make you feel better, Ventress. Let go of your anger. You are not that person anymore." Kenobi chided, feeling her anger through the force. "How is your shoulder?"

"Don't lecture me, Kenobi." Ventress lashed out and resisted the urge to impale him.

They searched for the Toydarian, but he was nowhere to be found. Ventress started searching the building for clues that could lead them to Opress and Maul. She started to destroy the Troydaian's desk. It didn't help with her search, but it made her feel a little better.

"I am going to talk to some of the residents. Maybe they will be more helpful. I will meet you at the ship in an hour." Kenobi said, watching her destroy the desk.

Ventress nodded and continued ransacking the office until they had found the Toydarian. She found little, but checked the rest of the building for a lead or some pain medication. The adrenaline in her system was starting to leave, and pain was replacing it. Ventress tried to ignore it as she found the room where the wampas were held in cages. It was there she found the Toydarian's upper torso. The wampas must have had a snack when they were let out of the cages. She received some satisfaction knowing that he was killed.

She searched what remained of his body and found his identification. His name was Jenteo, and he was from the planet Courkrus. She thought the planet sounded familiar, but couldn't think of the reason why at the moment. She pocketed the ID, but found nothing else of interest in the building. She headed back to the ship. Hopefully, she could look up the planet and place why it sounded so familiar.

By the time she got to the ship, the pain in her shoulder was almost unbearable from the weight of the coat. As soon as she got on the ship, she carefully removed the coat and checked out the damage. A bruise was forming on the front side of her shoulder and continuing to the back. Her arm looked normal besides a small dent from where the bones normally met. She needed help to put her shoulder back in place, but Kenobi was still at the settlement. She found some pain medication and took it before sitting down at the computer and closing her eyes.

"Ventress?" Kenobi said softly as he was entering the ship. She could feel him trying to gauge her anger level.

Ventress snapped her eyes open and spun her chair around to face Kenobi, clutching her left arm. She noticed the blood that was on his face earlier had been cleaned up.

"Did you find anything useful?" Ventress asked.

"The information that the Toydarian gave us about the brothers going to Praxis Nexus seems to be correct. They had some supplies shipped there about a week ago. Did you find anything?" Kenobi asked.

"I found the Toydarian. He was lunch for the wampas."

"That's unfortunate."

"He wasn't completely useless. I found his identification. His name was Jenteo, and he was from the planet Courkus. I was just about to look up the planet's information on the holonet. I think we should go there first. The information about Praxis Nexus is questionable."

"I have never heard of the planet. How is your shoulder?" Kenobi asked while walking over to inspect her shoulder.

"I think it's dislocated," Ventress replied, letting go of her arm and letting it dangle at her side.

"May I?" Kenobi asked, putting his hands near her shoulder, but not touching her.

Ventress nodded and closed her eyes. It was easier to deal with the pain if she cleared her mind of everything. She felt him gently grab her arm and try to raise it. He did it slowly, as to cause as little pain as possible, for which she was grateful. He could get to her chest before she felt it catch, and she automatically flinched. Kenobi stopped moving the arm.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" Kenobi asked, his voice full of worry.

"You didn't hurt me. That stupid Wampa did. Why are you concerned anyway? It's not like you care." Ventress snapped. She immediately felt bad about it. She knew he was trying to help. The pain was making her in a bad mood.

"Sorry," she added before closing her eyes again, trying to clear her mind.

"Don't worry about it. You're in a lot of pain, even with the pain meds. It's a normal reaction." Kenobi said and continued to lower her arm. She felt him moving it out to the side and got a few inches before she let out a yelp by accident. Kenobi gently placed her arm back on her lap and caressed her forearm. Ventress opened her eyes surprised by the gesture and the goosebumps that followed.

"I think you're right. It's dislocated. I think I can get it back into the socket easily. It will hurt, but only for a moment. You will have to wear a sling on it until we can get to a medbay." Kenobi said and patted her forearm one more time. She watched as he got up to find something that would work as a sling. He dug through the bag until he found a piece of white cloth.

"This will work until we get there. Are you ready?" Kenobi asked.

Ventress took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She tried to clear her mind once again, preparing herself for the pain that would happen in a few moments. After another deep breath, she nodded.

Kenobi gently grabbed her elbow. He took a deep breath and rotated her arm outward. Ventress tried to stay as still as possible and ground her teeth to prevent her from yelping. When her arm was parallel to her body, she yelped as the shoulder popped back into place. Kenobi immediately moved her arm back to her stomach and reached for the cloth. Ventress sat up while he tied it around her good shoulder and gently placed her left arm in the sling. After he was done, he kneeled next to her, stroking the back of her left shoulder.

"Thank you," Ventress muttered.

"Your welcome, Asajj."