The shadow of a boot sank into the dune. Heat. Death. Power.

The ramp from a dark ship lowered. Two shadows marched out, bleak even underneath the piercing binary suns.

Malak—his eyes were consumed with something dark... pained.

And Revan. The red-gray mask didn't flinch as sands billowed into their faces.

"Do you sense it, Master?" Malak said. "The dark side."

Revan didn't respond, his mask ever stoic and cold. They were searching for something.

The Star Map.

Even within the vision, the dark side coursed down them in waves. These weren't the same fearful Jedi that searched for the Star Map on Dantooine. No, they were different. Consuming, powerful, evil.

Sands...blinded the senses.

They stopped before an enormous cave. Within the cave, a strange cold that never should have marked the desert seeped out like a taint.

A group of aliens and humans chatted around a campfire. One held up a mine, shaking his head. He addressed a green Twi'lek. "Come on—the Jedi isn't that incapable, Komad. He's—"

That's when they spotted the Sith.

The group jumped from the ground and picked up their weapons.

"Who are you?" shouted one of the aliens.

After a moment, the green Twi'lek lowered his rifle, face astonished. "Wait, I know that mask from the HoloNews! You're Revan the hero of the Republic," the Twi'lek, Komad, said. "But...what are you doing here? The whole galaxy thinks you're dea—"

Revan raised a gloved hand, squeezing. The green Twi'lek dropped his weapon, the whites of his eyes popping as he reached for his neck, trying desperately to breathe. The rest of the team froze with their shaky weapons, shouting for the dark Jedi to stop.

But he didn't.

A crack. The Twi'lek fell to the ground, dead. The group glanced at each other before dropping their weapons.

"We surrender!" one shouted—a human. "Just don't—!"

Without even lowering his hand, the dark lord of the Sith threw a bolt of lightning at the human, charring the already humid air. The man screamed, tearing at his face as it melted off, the smell of burnt flesh mixing with salted sweat. The screams stopped as soon as the man hit the ground, face blackened and forever frozen in terror.

The group grew silent.

Then all at once, they became frantic, raising their hands, dropping to the ground, pleading for their lives.

That monster acted as if he hadn't heard them. He took a silver object in his hand from his belt—a lightsaber—and walked up to one.

The man whimpered. "Mercy—"

The red blade pierced into the man's neck. The body of the man fell with a thump in the sands. Before he moved to kill the others, someone called out from behind. A Jedi stood, green blade ignited, his face horrified. The man took a stance, his head shaking slowly at the presence of the two dark Jedi.

"Why are you doing this?"the Jedi asked. "Why?"

Malak stepped forward—face eager. "Let me kill the Jedi, Master. I will make him suffer."

Revan raised a hand in front of his apprentice. Darth Malak looked almost disappointed. He's growing defiant.

The Jedi took a step back, lightsaber raised.

"I-I won't let you—"

Revan ignited a second lightsaber from his belt. The purple and red lights blurred together as he Force jumped up to the frightened Jedi. The Jedi raised his green lightsaber to block the attacks, but Revan was too quick. He flicked the two lightsabers like the giant maw of a rancor. The man grunted when sparks flew into his face. Revan snapped his jaws at the Jedi, blurring around the poor man as he tried, desperately to stop the incoming attacks.

A roar echoed from the cave.

The fight didn't even last a minute when Revan swiped at the Jedi's wrist. The man fell to his knees screaming. He held his steaming wrist—his hand thrown to the golden sands. Revan hovered over him like a shadow, lightsaber raised beside the Jedi's neck. The man breathed heavily in pain, head lowered in defeat.

The red lightsaber hummed. The Jedi looked up into the slit of Revan's mask. Instead of anger or fear within his eyes—as I expected—there was only confusion. Sadness. Pity.

"It's not too late, Revan." The Jedi smiled with pain. "You can go back—"

The lightsaber bit the Jedi's neck. His head bounced twice before rolling beside the severed hand.

A tinge of pain drifted from the mask, thick, heavy.

Revan sighed as he extinguished his lightsabers.

"What a waste."

Another roar came from the cave.

Malak arrived at Revan's side. A wide grin plastering his face. "I sense weakness within you, Master," he said. "I wonder...we haven't run into any Jedi until now. Are you feeling regret after killing him?"

Revan kicked the head of the Jedi. "He could have been of use to us."

"There is no use in turning more pathetic Jedi—"

Revan grabbed Malak's neck with both hands and squeezed. The dark Jedi grew frightened as he was lifted half by the Force and half by Revan's strength. The dark lord gripped tighter and Malak tried to suck in a breath.

"Remember, Malak. If you defy me again, I will carve that smirk from your face. Permanently."

The dark lord released his apprentice. Anger. Hatred. It all flowed from Malak. Revan stared down at the rest of the poor people who had frozen in terror after the death of the Jedi. The red mask faced Malak again then nodded. The dark apprentice chuckled then ignited his red lightsaber.

He killed them. All of them.

They were within the cave now. Bodies and bones littered the edges. The humming from the Star Map echoed off the interior. Light bounced off the wet walls. Ancient statues surrounded the device.

A pacified growl...

I shook awake—hair plastered to my face from sweat. My chest heaved as I stared up at the bunk, blinking away that vision.

A vision of Malak and Revan.

Throwing my feet over the side of the bed, I rubbed my clammy face. So clear. The Jedi's death, Malak's eyes, Revan's mask...

I wanted the visions to stop. All of them. Damn the mission. Damn Bastila. Damn the bond. Damn the Force.

When I looked up, Carth and Canderous weren't in their bunks, nor the Wookiee, so I entered the fresher. Staring into the small mirror, I groaned when I noticed dark bags and red veins marking the whites of my eyes. Flicking the faucet on, I splashed cold water onto my face.

As if that could wash away what I witnessed.

I grabbed my robes from the top of the bunk and put them on. I checked the chrono—1100? Why did I sleep in so late? Shrugging, figuring that time didn't matter while in hyperspace anyway, I sat in the middle of the room in order to find peace within the Force. Unsurprisingly, I found no peace. None.

We were hours away from Tatooine after four days of quiet travel. I didn't speak to Bastila or Carth much these past few days. Instead, I spent my time in the main hold messing around with Mission during the day and drinking the scarce amount of alcohol found in the cargo hold with Canderous at night. The Mando did most of the talking—about war, his strange honor-bound culture, and basilisk droids—while I apathetically listened.

There was also Juhani who—for some Force forsaken reason—treated me like I was her Master. Every morning when I snatched up breakfast in the kitchens she asked for advice—how did I control my emotions? How did I appear so calm, so at peace? What words of wisdom did I have to pass on? Always, it seemed, I disappointed her with my answer.

"I'm not a Master."

I told her this each time, but she still persisted. She was practically attached to me by the hip—she didn't speak to anyone else on the ship besides me. It was starting to weird me out. I could tell, due to the small "lessons" in the Force that I gave her, that she was also growing frustrated. It was a no-win situation.

Concentrating on my meditation, I calmed my emotions, trying to combat the rising darkness within my chest. Only to be reminded of the nightmare. The sand, death...regret.

Were these visions really a force for good? Bastila made it seem so. The Council made it seem so. And why wouldn't they be? They were revealing the Sith's plans to us—these visions had to be a force of light. And yet, every time I awoke from the dreams, they ripped something from me.

Bastila should have noticed. In fact, she should've noticed long before I did—she knew more about the dark side. But she always seemed unnaturally unfazed by this entire situation.

My stomach growled.

Kriff.

I fell to the ground, butt punching the floor. Right—too self-reflective to do any proper meditating. Before I opened my eyes, the doors swished open on the far side of the room. Bastila finally marched in—head held high.

I looked to the ground. "Finally speaking to me?"

"We had a vision."

I frowned. "That we did."

Silence. Both of us avoided each other's gaze like magnets repelling. I went to speak, but I couldn't find the right words to say. Sometimes it was like this with her. This...frustrating, awkward distance.

Bastila finally broke the silence.

"The Star Map seems to be in a cave of some sort within the desert. At least we have something to go by."

Heat pooled in my chest after hearing those detached, clinical words. I pushed myself onto my feet and tried to mask my emotions. Probably failing at that completely.

"These visions..." She finally met my gaze. "Is there a way to stop them?"

"Stop them?" Her mouth flapped open then closed. "Why...why would you want to stop them?"

"You didn't...feel it ?" I held myself then stared at the metal floor. "That dream...what Revan and Malak did to those people—that Jedi—it was terrible! What I felt was terrible. Why would the Force want us to see that?"

Bastila sighed. Great. What was she going to say? What excuses were she going to make up about our "destiny?" Instead of speaking, she walked over to a bed then sat down.

"We can't just make them go away."

"Why not? If they appeared out of nowhere then we can make them stop all the same."

She pulled a hand through her hair. "You just—you don't understand. These visions are the only things guiding us to the Star Maps. We would be lost without them."

"So? We know what planets they're on. And the vision barely gave us anything to go off of."

"It gave us plenty. The Star Map is within a cave purged within the dark side. That...and we don't know what other clues the visions could give us."

I threw up my hands. "And that's enough for you? You're completely fine having these visions mess with our heads in the hope that one day we'll just wake up with all the answers?"

"Of course I'm not fine with—"

"Then get rid of them!"

"I can't!" She met my eyes—her gray gaze intense. "We can't because I don't know how. These visions are involuntary."

My shoulders fell. Of course...I should have known. Why was I bothering Bastila with these problems? If I didn't know how to stop them, then how could I expect her to? I sighed, leaning against the wall, rubbing my face.

"I'm sorry," I muttered into my hand. "I really shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's just...these dreams are really messing with me. I have this feeling. Like there should be something in these visions...but..."

You can go back—

A warm hand touched my shoulder. I glanced down at Bastila's face. A sadness grew within our bond that matched the one she felt under the willow tree. Her gray eyes were infectious and drew me in like gravity wells.

"I...understand," she said. "After all, I'm having these visions too. Just...know that I'm here to help you combat the darkness. We need each other."

"We need each other?" After a silent moment, a smirk crept up my face. "Was that another confession?"

"Another confess—? What do you mean?"

"Of love, Bastila. A confession of love."

She released my shoulder with a flinch. "What? That was—no of course not! That wasn't a confession."

"Uh-huh, sure."

She huffed. "I was trying to support you but if your teasing is all I get in return..."

I gasped. "Support me? The protocol droid has found a heart! It's a miracle!" I ran up to the door, opening it and shouting out. "Hey, guess what, folks! Bastila has feelings!"

"Shut up!" she shouted at me from behind. I twisted around catching red lighting her features. She shook and held her forehead. "I just don't know how to deal with you anymore."

I shrugged. "You'll just have to deal with the way that I am, sunshine."

The Jedi pursed her lips right as Mission ran into the room.

"What's this about feelings?" she asked.

"It's nothing—"

I waved a hand. "You know that stupid rule the Jedi have about emotions?"

"Stupid rule— !"

"Yeah?" Mission asked.

"Bastila broke the rules."

"I did not. It was merely a show of comradery—"

"Wow, Bastila, I thought you were going to remain an ice queen forever. Good job finally melting your cold heart," Mission said with a thumbs up.

"Ice queen? "

"Yeah, it's what Wessy calls—" I glared down at her. Mission waved her hands. "I meant—ha, ha! Just me joking around like always."

She glared at me. I laughed nervously. So dead. Dead as dead can be.

An hour later, I checked my food, glancing towards Bastila who hadn't spoken to me since that morning. You know, just in case someone had slipped poison...

The planet of Tatooine appeared scorched even as we glided in orbit. The binary suns glared into the bridge windows and the pale planet slowly spun on its axis. Bastila and Carth sat at the controls while I held a comm up to my face. I sighed into the receiver.

"Look, we requested to land an hour ago. You either find some space in your fodder-stained hanger or we'll go somewhere else with our multiple piles of credits."

Bastila glared back at me, but I ignored her. The opposite end hissed.

"I-I'm sorry, sir, but we just let another ship land. We have no more room—"

"Then make room! You Czerka are resourceful. Make it happen."

"Y-Yes, sir. Please wait a moment, sir."

Carth snorted. "Sir?"

I ignored the pilot and spoke into the comm again.

"How long, exactly, will this moment take?"

"Ten minutes."

I glared down at the comm within my hand. Damn Czerka. When I glanced away from the comm, Carth and Bastila were both eyeing me like I was a miracle worker. I shrugged.

"Credits make the galaxy shine. Especially for scum like Czerka."

Ignoring me, they returned to piloting the ship, orbiting around the desert world. After five minutes passed, the comm fizzed.

"You have clearance to land in port Delta A."

Smirking, I waved the comm.

"See?"

Both shook their heads.

Carth landed the ship on one of the only cities on this rock—Anchorhead. I remembered little of the hellhole besides their cantinas and arenas of course. Sure, most of my jobs as a smuggler revolved around the Outer Rim worlds, but Tatooine was a newer settlement. It hadn't been around long enough to gain too much...notoriety. I must have been to the desert planet once if not twice. And I didn't enjoy either of those times.

As soon as we landed, Bastila stood. "Call the others for a meeting. We need a plan."

For once, I agreed with the Jedi.

A few minutes later, all of us circled around the holoprojector displaying a detailed map of Tatooine. I stood between Bastila and Mission while leaning against the metal of the projector while Carth stood as far away from me as possible. I smirked at him. Still wasn't going to speak to me, huh?

It took longer for the Mandalorian to grumble into the room.

"This is a waste of my time..." he muttered.

Bastila glared at the warrior. "Now that all of us are finally here, we need to come up with a plan in order to find the Star Map." She glared at me. "Without distractions."

Rolling my eyes, I leaned away from the projector then eyed the map. "We had a vision of Revan and Malak finding the Star Map within a cave filled with ancient statues." I pointed at multiple lines of brown. "There are hundreds of cave systems on Tatooine though. So, unless you want to spend years hunting around in the dark...we have a lot of asking around to do."

"Also," Bastila added, "the cave is tainted with the dark side. The closer we get to the Star Map, the easier we will be able to sense it."

"What do you want us to do then?" Mission asked. "Ask around if people have seen strange statues in caves?"

Zaalbar huffed a protest. "I don't do well in heat..."

I smirked up at the Wookiee. "That's fine, you can just stay here with Carth."

The soldier flinched.

"Wait, I'm staying here?"

"Someone needs to watch the ship," I said. "What if we need to jump out of here in an emergency? Only you could fly the Ebon Hawk fast enough."

"I thought you said that we were too far out for the Sith to notice us?"

I shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with being cautious, Orangy." Grumbling, the soldier backed down, shaking his head. I faced the map again. "I'll start at the cantinas—"

"I'm coming with you," Bastila interrupted.

A smirk grew on my face. "I didn't know you wanted to go on a date with me so badly. I would've chosen a theme park or a holofilm...but if a cantina in a blistering desert is alright with you..."

She grew red. "That isn't—!"

I cut her off. "Mission you're coming with us too. After all, you helped a lot scouting those cantinas out on Taris." I glanced towards Juhani and Canderous. "And you two will—"

"With him?" the Cathar interrupted, glaring at the Mandalorian.

I sighed. These people...

"Yes, with him," I said. "Is that a problem?"

"I will not pair up with a bloodthirsty Mandalorian," she spat. "Never."

Canderous snorted. "None taken, sister."

I crossed my arms. "He might be a bit...well, unsavory, but he isn't too bad."

"I do not wish to be tested, Wes," Juhani said, yellow eyes pleading. "If I'm with him then...I might fall again. I do not want..."

I pursed my lips, searching within the map of Tatooine. The Cathar has been on edge since her prodigal incident recently. And I didn't want her killing anyone...or turning to the dark side either. So, I shook my head, sighing. "Then I suppose you can just follow us. We will investigate Czerka later."

"Czerka?" Bastila asked. "Why Czerka?"

"Last time I was here, Czerka was strip-mining the planet for...well, honestly, nothing but useless rocks. They will have detailed info on cave systems though."

She nodded. "True."

The Mandalorian huffed. "I'm not sitting around the Hawk with flyboy."

Carth glared at him.

I rubbed my face. Please...for once will these people stop arguing. "I really don't care what you do, Canderous," I said. "Eat, drink, do a tach walk. It's a free galaxy."

And with that, the Mandalorian stomped towards the ramp. Probably won't see him for another week...

T3 rolled up then beeped a question over what he could possibly do. I smiled down at the droid. "Sorry, but I don't want to be tripping over you, buddy." The droid deflated, rolling back towards the hyperdrive.

With our objectives laid out, we began to prepare to leave. Before I headed towards my dorm to drop off my robe, I was stopped by Carth.

"Look, before you go..." he started. "I just wanted to apologize."

I perked up, a small smile marking my lips. "Sorry, had some Hutt saliva stuck in my ears. What was that?"

"I said I wanted to apologize, moron." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I've been thinking about all this, about the Jedi, about Bastila. And I think I've been going about this the wrong way. My fight is with Saul, not you. Not the Jedi. I shouldn't let my past get in the way of the mission. And...I've been a real pain in your ass, haven't I?"

"Pain in the ass? Sure. Paranoid bastard? Hell, yeah."

Carth gave me a strained smile. "You didn't have to agree with me, you know."

"What can I say?" I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "Brutal honesty is better than sweet dishonesty at the end of the day. At the very least it doesn't get you killed."

"Killed?"

"I've been lied to before. Most times I ended up with my shields flashing at ten percent and detours into Corellia's atmosphere. Believe me, I hate backstabbing traitors just as much as you do. So, I'll be the first to let you know."

Carth finally smiled at me, the coldness in his face disappearing. "Well, I mean, if you think about it that way...it means we actually have a lot in common."

I jabbed a finger at him.

"Hell no. We have nothing in common, soldier. Nothing."

He raised his hands. "Alright, alright. Didn't know that would be so offensive. Jeez."

With that, I stormed off towards the dorms to drop off my cloak. Checking my lightsaber before I left, I made my way to the ramp where Bastila along with Mission and Juhani waited for me. We stepped out into the bright sunlight soon after I arrived.

Czerka workers swarmed by the dozen around the spaceport. A few shuttles landed and took off only to be inspected by the Corporation. The four of us walked down the ramp—Bastila intent, Mission awed, and Juhani suspicious with the bustling activity.

I sneered when a Czerka lackey strode up to us.

"Welcome to Anchorhead. Is this trip business or pleasure?"

"Who the hell would want to come here?" I asked.

Bastila elbowed me hard in the ribs.

"Business, thank you."

He looked down at our lightsabers. "Jedi, are you? Hmm..." The man held up a datapad while shaking his head. "Well, it seems as if you made an unscheduled landing on a spot reserved for a company dignitary. Unfortunately, this means you will have to pay a small landing fee of 100 credits."

I shoved down the datapad he rudely sunk himself into. He glared at me.

"Look, money firaxen, is it possible for you to—I don't know—make this fee disappear?"

The man's face scrunched. "Well, in fact—no. It takes credits to maintain your ship, Jedi. And this dignitary paid handsomely in advance, sir."

Sighing, I dug through my pockets, taking out a credit chip. The man greedily held out his hand and I reluctantly shoved the thing into the slime's fingers. Better to pay the annoying company employees than hold out. It's no wonder why they've obtained billions of credits. Damn Czerka.

The ramp closed as soon as we finished our exchange. As we stood there, Mission pulled at my sleeve.

"So...if Griff is supposedly working for Czerka, why don't you just let me go look for him? I'm not a kid. I can take care of myself."

I glanced down at her then shrugged. "Czerka are a bunch of core slimes. I have a feeling you won't like what they have to say. We'll ask around for your brother. Together."

"How do you know?" she asked. "Did you sense it through the Force?"

I snorted. "I wish I could sense things like that through the Force. Then my days wouldn't have to be so stressful. I could just avoid landing fees all I want."

Bastila coughed from behind as if reminding me of her existence.

"Are we going to go or not?"

"Patience, young Jedi," I said, smirking. In return, she gave me a blank stare.

Juhani sighed at our antics.

We entered the city of Anchorhead. Hundreds of speeders and pedestrians passed through the narrow streets. Most of the buildings were simple in design compared to Taris or Coruscant—adobe clay patios and walls built with the more modern sonic generators and doors. I always thought that was a strange combination. The city itself, however, was a step above Dantooine's villages. Though that didn't say much...

I led Mission, Juhani, and Bastila through the disorganized streets—none of them had visited the planet before so I was the designated leader. We waited at the edge of the dirty road for an opening to cross over to one of the cantinas across the street.

Almost immediately, a speeder zoomed past and barely clipped my chest.

I raised my clenched fist, "Watch where you're going, core slime!"

The dark hooded man driving the vehicle, however, continued as if I had been a minor inconvenience in the road. Bastila was, of course, not impressed.

"Remind me not to get behind the wheel of a speeder with you," she muttered.

Mission nodded her head in agreement. And Juhani sighed. Again.

We combed through the crowds, watching for pickpockets and any other vagabonds. Or, well, at least I was. Soon we arrived at our first cantina. The place was crowded and musty with cigar smoke and booze—blinding most of my senses. So much so that I almost stepped on the feet of a stinking Gamorrean. The pig grunted at me once in its language before storming out.

Once we got our bearings, we began our hunt for information. My way, of course. I ordered three drinks, one for Bastila, Juhani, and me.

Bastila gripped the bar and hissed at me.

"I don't drink," she said.

Juhani frowned. "Neither do I."

Kriff, they just liked making this difficult.

I passed a credit chip to the bartender then pushed drinks into their hands anyway. "We'll look weird if we don't drink in a cantina, ladies."

They both glared down at it like Sasha did to the synthesized mush.

Mission pushed them both aside. "Hey! What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Why didn't you order me one?"

I shrugged. "You're underage."

Mission huffed. "I'm not a kid. I've had drinks before."

"So?"

Bastila snorted as if trying to stop laughing as she put down the cup without even bothering to take a sip. I glared at her. What? I followed Republic law once in a while...

Bastila, Juhani, and I took seats at the bar while Mission remained standing over my shoulder, pouting like a spoiled brat. A range of aliens from all walks mingled at the bar, tables, and pazaak boards. I sighed. We had our work cut out for us. Most of the patrons had Czerka insignias on their jerkins. One of them must have some kind of info on caves. I drank from my cup and flinched. That...that was pure speeder fuel.

Now I remember exactly why I hated this planet.

Juhani leaned forward.

"So...what's the plan? Just ask around randomly or...?"

Bastila tapped her foot in the air. "Remember, we need to keep this mission a secret. If they hear we're searching for...coordinates then they will be able to follow our every move."

I frowned. "Well, sunshine, that just makes this ten times harder." I pushed my drink far away then eyed the patrons again. I crossed my arms. "In the vision, there were people in front of that cave. Maybe if we found out who they were, we could get another lead."

Bastila nodded with a hum. "Yes, perhaps they were Czerka. Who else would bother with caves?"

"Most folk here are Czerka. You see their collars? That company stamps their insignia all over them like tamed bantha. Those people didn't have anything like that."

"But who else?" She shook her head. "No, Czerka is our only lead at the moment."

While she had been speaking, I noticed a crowded bunch in the corner. A bunch that lacked those obnoxious Czerka symbols. All of them had blasters and grenades at their belts, drinking, speaking boisterously to themselves. And they looked a lot like the people Revan and Malak killed in the vision.

Before Bastila could go on another rant—I waved at the bartender. "Who are those people?" I asked, pointing at the group.

The Bith slid the drinks in his hands over to a couple before crossing his arms.

"You an off-worlder?"

"Why—would I be asking if I wasn't?"

The Bith rubbed his bald head, sighing. "Those are freelance hunters hired by Czerka. A crazed lot, all of 'em. It's safer to earn money in the mines than out there with the sand people." He shrugged. "All of them come into my cantina like they own the galaxy. They're a nuisance."

I sat back, rubbing my stubbled chin, deep in thought. When I gave Bastila a look, she seemed to understand where I was going with this.

"I'll be right back." I stood then glared at Mission. "Don't drink from that while I'm gone, you hear?"

Mission puffed a lip. "Fine."

Something grabbed my tan sleeve. I glanced down at Bastila, ready to hear her demand for her to come along. But, instead, she shook her head.

"Don't do anything foolish..."

I pulled my arm away from her grip as I headed towards the table.

Half the hunters at the table were aliens while the other half, human. They all looked up at me as I sauntered over with a thin smile on my face.

A black-haired man glared at me, lowering his drink. "For the last time, we don't play pazaak— "

"No, not that," I said. "I just have a few questions."

Another hunter, a green Twi'lek, sneered. "What do we look like? Information droids? Move along, scum."

I searched my pockets, pulling out a credit chip. "For a round."

The hunters glanced at each other before smiling, kicking back an empty chair.

"You have our attention," the black-haired hunter said.

I sat in the chair. When a Twi'lek waitress came by, I handed her the credit chip and ordered the round. Meanwhile, the hunters finished what was left in their cups while eyeing me like I had an antenna for ears.

The drinks came and the new cups slid onto the table. I leaned forward. "Have any of you seen anything...unusual out there?"

A Bith hunter sat up. "You mean besides Tanis' wife?"

The black-haired man, which I assumed was Tanis, shoved the alien's shoulder.

"Shut it."

I sighed. Well, it wasn't as if all hunters explored cave systems. Before they lost interest in me, I tried another question—remembering a minor detail from the dream.

"Have any of you heard of a Komad? A green Twi'lek? Hunter like you?"

At this, the hunters sat up, finally giving me their full attention.

The green Twi'lek tilted his head. "Komad? Why are you asking about him?"

Finally. I smiled. "He owes a debt, and I've been sent to collect."

They all looked between each other before Tanis shook his head. "I'm sorry, but Komad died two years ago hunting the local krayt dragon. You're never getting paid," he said.

I almost spit out my drink. "Krayt dragon?"

"Yeah, the krayt dragon." Tanis sneered. "All the crazies used to go off trying to kill the thing for its pearl. If you ask me, I'd rather stick to killing wraids with my battle droids."

I stood. "Where?" I asked. "Where's the krayt?"

The Twi'lek gave me a confused stare. "Wait, why do you want to find that thing? Didn't you just say you were after a debt—"

I slammed my hands onto the table. "Tell me!"

"Alright, alright, jeez, settle down." The Twi'lek waved a green hand. "No one except the Sand People know where the Krayt Dragon is now. Everyone that tried hunting it died and no one's bothered looking for it since. It's long gone by now. Just give up—"

I waved a dismissive hand behind me as I left.

"Thanks but no thanks!"

Ignoring the hunters' muttering about my insanity, I pushed past the crowd of people towards the bar where I last left Mission, Juhani, and Bastila. We had something—if only a small something. Even if it was a monstrous krayt dragon and all. Yeah, now that I think about it, a krayt is even worse than excavating for the Star Map in the dark. Why was I so thrilled by this discovery?

I finally squeezed past the sweaty humans and aliens to the bar only to find three lonely drinks and a Rodian couple.

Twisting around, I tried searching the cantina but was met with nothing but a wall of stench. Closing my eyes, I searched through the bond for Bastila, weaving through the people before realizing...she wasn't there.

—the hell did you go?

Alright, I admit. I have never tried using the bond for anything other than to sense Bastila's location and emotions. It was weird enough that we could sense that, but to actually communicate into her mind? That was too much of a break in privacy.

Before I received a response, something shoved into my shoulder. Ignoring it, I searched the bond again. Bastila, Bastila, answer me! Why did she leave? I mean, I understand searching for information, but we were supposed to stick together!

I went to reach for my comm but someone grabbed my shoulder.

Run! Now!

The hand that grabbed my shoulder was dark, firm. In the next second, I predicted a gloved finger depressing the switch of a lightsaber into my back. I gripped the metal of my own lightsaber, twirling away to the left, igniting the blue blade. A red blade clashed with mine.

The crowd clamored away from the light. Past the humming lightsabers, I saw my attacker. A cloaked man—like the one that almost ran me over. His yellow eyes tightened into a glare, his mouth covered with a dark cloth.

A Sith.

How the kriff did they find us already?

Before I reacted to the attack, the lightsaber was replaced with a gloved hand. I extinguished the blade of my lightsaber as I was thrown into the crowd of people, over the bar, over the drinks, colliding with server Twi'leks, before crashing on the drink shelf. Numerous bottles fell and I used the Force to prevent some from bashing into my skull and sent them to the floor with a crash. Damn it! Why, of all places, did the Sith decide to attack here?

Dripping with multiple kinds of alcohol—smelling like a drunk—I pulled myself up using the bar. The Bith shouted down at me, but I didn't comprehend his words when the cloaked Sith sailed over the bar bearing his red lightsaber. I blocked a downward strike then twisted the blade away from a poor Twi'lek server cowering beneath the overturned shelf.

Sparks hissed at my feet. I grunted in pain, trying to hold the block, then kicked the Sith in his torso—intensifying the kick using the Force.

Bastila!

The dark Jedi went flying over the bar, but instead of extinguishing his lightsaber like I did, the blade pierced a poor Rodian as he landed. The bargoers shrieked in terror and began to rush out of the cantina. The Rodian's friends took out blasters and aimed at the dark Jedi.

The Sith didn't even look as he backhanded the bolts back at the aliens using his lightsaber.

I froze.

If we continued to fight here... then how many more were going to die in the crossfire? What if I accidentally killed someone?

I leaped over the bar again and eyed the exit. The Sith crashed his blade onto me again, stroke after painful stroke. I continued to block the red lightsaber as I made for the door—not risking a dodge in fear of the crowd around us. Not used to this sort of brutal defensive technique, my arms began to sore. The Sith grew more confident and powerful as he pounded into my lightsaber like a hammer.

My back hit the wall. Cursing, I dodged and his blade burrowed into sandstone. I ran to the door and into the streets. The people trying to leave the cantina shied away from me as I waited for the Sith that lay beyond the darkness of the cantina.

The cloaked man rushed out. Like a bantha fighter, I dodged and tried to cut his side. I bulked when my lightsaber stopped centimeters away from his cloak, the red blade hissing sparks again. How—? How was he so fast?

Something knocked the wind out of me. A leg punched into my chest as he twirled around out of the block. I connected with the dry road while I heard the hiss descend. Before it had a chance to kill me, I rolled away while throwing a strong wave at the Sith. Sand flew up after him as he shouted in surprise. His dark body collided hard into an opposite wall.

I took the lightsaber staff he dropped using the Force and pushed my own blade into his face. Blood pooled down his forehead.

"How did you know where to find us?" I shook my blade closer. "Answer me!"

His laughs started softly before they escalated into a maddening echo. I merely stared at him as he attempted to sit up.

After a minute, he was silent. "Lord Malak...sends his regards."

Wes!

Before I felt relieved at Bastila's appearance, I sensed a disturbance below me. Within the Sith's hands was a thermal detonator.

I tried to back up but it was too late. I was too close. Fire ripped through the plaza.

The last thing I felt was a powerful shove from afar.