The streets still bustled with the afternoon traffic and I scanned the crowds for a flash of dark armor. When I didn't sense nor see the Sith, I walked out into the streets while flipping up my hood. However, my stealth was ruined by a metallic stomp behind me. Despite being an assassin droid, HK-47 stuck out like a red thumb.

Someone else followed with lighter steps. Without looking back, I called out to this someone.

"Why are you following me?"

The Echani rushed to my side. "For one, I would like that back." She pointed at the double-sided vibroblade. "For another, I'm not letting that thing out of sight."

I switched the vibroblade to my other hand. "If you can't tell, I have more pressing things to be worrying about."

Calo Nord's blue coat flashed on the opposite end of the street. Like that. With him, twenty to thirty or so Sith troops marched towards Anchorhead's gates. Which meant they were heading my way. I cursed and dove into the alleyways—HK following.

Leaning against the wall, I looked down at the marching sounds of the Sith passing.

The Echani woman leaned against the opposite wall.

"You do know what an HK unit is, right?"

"Yup."

"And you still want it?"

"Sure."

"Are you stupid?"

Kriff this Echani was aggravating. I peeked up from beneath my hood and sighed once I realized the Sith had passed. Over the short buildings, Czerka Headquarters towered to the south.

Before I left again, the Echani entered my bubble.

"That thing could be on a mission. And if it is, it wouldn't stick to you willingly even if you purchased it. Either you or someone you know could be its intended target. You've bought a live grenade."

I turned to face HK. The deadly thing's head swiveled as it scanned the crowd outside of the alleyways. Would Malak delegate the task of killing us to a mere droid?

HK-47's lights dimmed as I glanced up and down at him. "First of all, it would have attacked by now if that was true." The Echani opened her mouth to argue, but I continued. "Second of all, we wouldn't be chased like this by the Sith if HK was assigned to 'assassinate' us. And, lastly, it told me it was an assassin." I smirked. "Have to try better than that, sister."

The Echani was speechless after I mentioned those facts. I thought I'd scared her off, but she rushed in front of me before I could leave the alley.

"Why is Calo Nord after you anyway?"

I placed a hand on my lightsaber. "Look— whoever you are —that is none of your business and, frankly, you've overstayed your welcome."

"Verena."

"I don't care. Stop following me or I'll let HK do what he wants."

The assassin droid's trigger finger twitched. "Request: Oh, please, Master, don't give her a choice!"

I ignored HK and marched out into the street. The Echani, Verena, didn't follow as I passed her with a shove. Hopefully, it stayed that way.

The streets widened as I skulked towards the Czerka buildings, trying my best to avoid the Sith troopers that had begun to invade the city. When I arrived at Czerka headquarters, Bastila was shouting at the receptionists while Juhani and Mission stood off to the side. HK held his rifle close as we stomped our way up to the ongoing conflict.

I approached Juhani with a raised brow. The young Jedi shook her head.

"We've run into some...issues."

I waved a hand. "That's an understatement."

"Czerka rents speeders to company employees for free...but for civilians their prices are ridiculous." The Cathar sneered. "Even with our hunting license, they're saying it'll cost 1,000 credits per hour. And once time runs out, it automatically returns to the speeder ports."

Bastila's frustration flowed through our bond. My own frustration matched. I marched up to the employee and began to fight with them as well. However, not even the Force or my intelligently worded arguments could convince them to part with credits. Czerka would need to be dead and buried in the sands before that happened.

Defeated—resigned, we all left Czerka Headquarters. Bastila followed my example and raised her hood before we weaved through the streets to find some hidden nook in the shadier part of town. Few people there would care about our suspicious actions. We stopped to hide in another alleyway after Bastila sensed a Sith troop approaching. While we waited for the soldiers to leave the area, Mission pointed at the vibroblade in my hand.

"What's that?"

The Jedi also stared at the weapon I'd inadvertently stolen from the Echani. I lifted the blade.

"Oh...this?" I hooked the vibroblade to my back through my bag belt and tightened the straps. I could have abandoned it, but...for some reason that felt like a waste. "That Echani woman at the auction attacked me and tried to destroy HK. I nabbed this from her before she made another attempt."

Bastila rubbed the bridge of her nose. "As if we didn't have enough problems."

"Don't worry, I chased her off. Hopefully, she's given up…" I glanced back—Bastila more than likely sensed my worry. "Where are we going? We can't run around Anchorhead all day. Calo's going to find us eventually."

Before she could answer, footsteps echoed from the entrance of the alleyway. All three of us with lightsabers pulled them out while Mission and HK raised their blasters. Before we unleashed our attack on the hidden foe, Canderous Ordo sauntered around the corner.

I lowered my weapon and glared at the Mando.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Canderous chuckled darkly. "I should be asking why you are sneaking around like wanted criminals. Is something exciting happening?"

Bastila took over the interrogation by stepping out of the shade of the overhang—closer to the Mandalorian. "Exciting? The Sith have shown up. If you think that is exciting —"

Danger.

Bastila deflected the red bolt with her yellow blades before the blaster fire connected with the Mando's back. Canderous shuffled away with a rare expression of surprise. He turned on his blaster shield and took his heavy rifle from his back. Multiple bolts rippled the purple shield as he shot red beams at the Sith troop. Juhani and I joined Bastila in defending against the red onslaught. Mission and HK shot at them from our rears.

"You idiot!" Bastila shouted. "You led them straight to us!"

Canderous grunted as the bolts began to break his shield. "How the hell was I supposed to know, princess?"

"If you'd brought a comm with you like the rest of us then you'd know!"

The troop had trapped us in this hallway and any bolts sent back ended up embedded in the surrounding adobe walls. Before we could try to retreat to the southern end, Mission shouted over the barrage.

"Guys! There's more of 'em!"

My gaze flitted back only for a moment. Kriff. We were surrounded. Both the northern and southern exits led to a black wall of Sith troopers. Yet, as soon as the fighting had begun, the shooting ceased. All of us tightened our weapons and glanced back and forth between both ends of the alleyway. Then a cold, strange feeling choked the air.

A blue-robed figure stepped around the dark soldiers at the northern end of the alley.

Calo Nord had seen better days. A deep scar trailed along his pudgy face and those stupid goggles hid his eyes. An ambient humming came from beneath his loose left sleeve. A generated arm—probably blown off from that detonator he almost killed me with. So, he hadn't escaped Taris unscathed.

Calo's scarred face smirked at me. "We meet again. You'll be pleased to hear that I've completed your background check. You've had many, many professions. What are you calling yourself now? A...soldier? Smuggler? Ah, no, wait—you're calling yourself a Jedi. The joke writes itself."

Heat filled my chest and I raised my blue blade. "Were you laughing at it in the grave, Calo?"

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same question," he said.

Canderous aimed his heavy blaster at the bounty hunter. "Enough talk. How the hell are you still alive?"

Calo chuckled. "I've made new friends, Canderous. Ones that won't stab me in the back ." After he mentioned those friends, the soldiers took a step forward. "We've got you cornered. Either the Jedi surrender themselves or we do this the hard way."

Eventually, my sight locked onto the side of the building and then up to the roof.

Dead or alive. Penalty for failure is death...

It was a gamble.

I pulled Bastila towards the side of the building.

"What are you—!"

"Come on!"

I ignored Bastila's denials and, using the Force, I began to scale the side of the building. Fortunately, the Sith took the bait. Calo cursed and was forced to either allow me to escape—on pain of death—or to go after me.

He chose the latter.

"Don't let him get away!"

I deflected all the bolts that came my way with one hand while I pulled myself up to the rooftop with the other. I could somehow hear Bastila's huffs along with a "I can't believe this" over the sound of the barrage. Eventually, she pulled herself up to the rooftop with me and began to defend my back.

I smirked at her over my shoulder painfully. "Glad of you to join me."

"We can't just abandon them!"

"Who are they after at the moment, sunshine?"

"Oh, so that makes it okay to run ?"

"No—we're tactically retreating!"

I continued deflecting their bolts as I dashed across the rooftops in order to get a closer vantage point. Bastila followed me, guarding my back as I helped our friends on the ground.

A clothesline hanging dirty laundry swung with the vibrations of chaos below. Focusing, I snapped the line with the Force. The dark troops cursed after their sights were...unfortunately obscured by undergarments. After most of his troops stopped shooting, Calo ran away towards the courtyard like a coward.

Hopping over the rooftop hydroponic gardens, I avoided the rest of the blaster fire as best as I could. Soon, Bastila and I'd gained more ground than everyone below so the southern troop was forced to focus their attention on us again.

Two more of the northern troopers fell to HK, Mission, and Canderous' bolts. Eventually, they had taken out the rest of the Sith that covered the north exit into the courtyard. Smirking at our victory, I jumped from the edge of the roof and let myself smoothly drop back down to the cleared courtyard. Bastila followed with another annoyed huff.

I kicked some of the fallen underwear with a snort. Who knew that dirty drawers were the Sith's ultimate weakness?

Yet, I celebrated too soon.

A lightsaber smashed and a strong sensation of pain entered my head. The dark Jedi bared down with his red lightsaber and I was forced to push back.

"Wes!"

That was Bastila. Another dark Jedi had appeared and wielded his own lightsaber to match Bastila's double staff.

Our friends had arrived in the courtyard, unscathed, yet they were now the soldiers' main focus. And our only defense. Blaster fire erupted from the southern end of the alleyway. Too much blaster fire.

The dark Jedi laughed as he kicked in my chest. Staggering back, I defended myself from his hurricane-like blows. The attacks were more fierce than the last Sith I faced. Somehow, though, I managed to break his offense with a shove in the Force. The dark Jedi staggered himself and before he recovered, I held out a hand and focused. The Sith flew across the small courtyard and his lightsaber flipped in the air before landing far from our position. He sagged against the wall of one of the hovels. I rushed towards him with my lightsaber poised.

Yet, before I could reach him, the dark Jedi lifted a shaky hand. Sparks filled his fingertips. I held my blade to block his attack.

Except...

"Bastila!"

But it was too late. The lightning shot out of his hands and hit her directly in the back. She shouted before collapsing. A sharp pain filled the space between us. It filled my chest as if I had been hit. I flinched at the sensation.

This...this was Bastila's pain.

Horrified, I rushed to the dark Sith and, before he could do anything, I painted his neck with the red heat of my lightsaber. His lifeless body sagged and his head rolled away. With his death, the pain in the bond numbed.

Yet, I couldn't rest. The other dark Jedi approached Bastila's still figure. Get the HELL away from her! With a speed and a ferocity that I couldn't fathom, I dove towards the red blade and blocked Bastila's attacker. The man, surprised, staggered back.

The blaster shots behind me were still going on. I chanced a look over to Calo's last position. The rest of our team was still somehow managing to hold back the rest of the Sith troops. Canderous and Mission dove to the side of the alley in time while HK-47 stayed in their line of sight. Suicidal droid. Juhani tried to deflect all the bolts to give the others time to attack.

But still, no sign of Calo.

I'd looked for too long. The Sith arched a horizontal slice at my abdomen that I almost missed blocking. He called his fallen comrade's lightsaber to him and I was fighting against two red blades, ducking hums, predicting vertical slices. Sweat ran down my forehead.

Meanwhile, Bastila struggled to stand as I weaved from the Sith's attacks. Evil yellow eyes grinned at me with a barrage of light and sound. Soon, I grew tired of dodging and weaving. The dark Jedi hit me in the face with the back end of one of the lightsabers.

Crack!

I reeled back and blood pooled down my lips from a possibly broken nose. Red light flickered and then—

Then, a hiss. The dark Jedi roared in pain while dropping his lightsabers.

A yellow blade had pierced his thigh.

Taking advantage of Bastila's surprise, I stabbed his torso—the yellow disappeared from his eyes. His body fell with an echo.

Sighing with relief, I glanced down at Bastila who had her head bowed from exhaustion. Striding up to her, I held out a hand. She ignored me and stood of her own accord. Looking down at my empty hand, I closed it awkwardly into a fist as if I had never offered it to her to begin with.

Calo was nowhere to be seen. Gone. Coward.

Before I could celebrate, again, there was another shout of pain.

"Juhani!"

Bastila shouted this while she rushed towards the young Jedi—deflecting the ongoing blaster barrage. A bolt burned the Cathar's leg and she hissed in pain while staggering to the ground.

Kriff. We'd taken too long with the dark Jedi. Mission and Canderous occasionally shot at the Sith troops but they couldn't put up a decent defense. HK-47's metallic laughter interrupted the hissing sounds of Bastila deflecting the blows in order to protect Juhani. I joined her but I knew that, eventually, we would be overpowered like our fallen friend.

Juhani pulled herself up to the side of the wall—out of the way of the firefight.

"Get out of here!" she shouted at us.

Right. I grabbed Bastila's shoulder but she didn't budge.

"Let's go, moron!"

"We can't leave her behind!"

"Yes, we can!"

Her gray eyes briefly met mine. A twitch of anger entered the bond. Before I could shout at her again, Bastila broke off from deflecting the bolts and helped the Cathar to her feet. I grunted in pain as I both defended from the bolts and tried to follow the Jedi.

"Exclamation: The pudgy meatbag has escaped! Query: May I use my blaster to imprint a bolt within the back of his neural functions, Master?"

"Sure, HK, but now is really not the time!"

When I could sense that Bastila and Juhani had left the courtyard, I broke away from the defense. I met Mission and Canderous' gazes.

"Come on!"

We escaped the fight and followed Bastila and Juhani's lead through the endlessly twisting Anchorhead alleyways.

One...two...three.

Crack!

"Agh—!"

I snapped my dislocated nose into place. Tears sprung into my eyes. Canderous' blurry figure shook—probably laughing at my pain for some reason—while Mission's blue blur leaned close to my face. I laid my head down on the table as the pain passed into utter exhaustion.

We'd hid within a dark cantina far away from when we'd had our battle with Calo's goons. This one was filled with spice dealers and spice addicts. The lowest of the low. Exactly what we were now.

Bastila and I were hidden in the corner of the circular booth while Canderous and Mission sat in front of us with pained sneers. Juhani took up most of the booth with her injured leg. The droid stood on guard beside me—its head swiveling from side to side. Watching the spice dealers and addicts.

Mission flinched with each passing shadow by the window. I placed my elbows on the table and pat my bloodied nose dry with one of the provided napkins. The Mandalorian raised his bushy brows at me with a chuckle. I glared at him.

"What is so funny, Mando?"

Embarrassingly, my voice still sounded like a freight horn.

"Nothing." Canderous raised his drink to his lips—one I was tempted to steal. "Nothing but our current situation."

Right. Our current situation. Juhani was injured and we hadn't brought med packs with us. The Sith were prowling about. Calo ran off like a coward. Carth was trapped on the Ebon Hawk. And Anchorhead had become another prison.

Our only hope now was to find the Star Map and get out of this dump. There had to be something we could do to leave the city without drawing Calo's attention. I glanced to the side. Bastila's face was carved of stone. I tried to read her emotions in the bond, yet she'd become cold after that battle.

No one had spoken up in a while. Mission looked down at the table with balled fists. Canderous was getting drunk. Bastila had been frozen in carbonite. Juhani was barely conscious. HK, well...HK was HK. So, I guess it was up to me then.

I took the napkin away from my nose. The blood had stopped flowing.

"We need a plan."

Neither Mission, Juhani, or Canderous moved. But Bastila finally broke her stasis. "Plan?" The Jedi's face tightened. "Oh, well it's good that you're asking us for a plan instead of acting on your own accord for once."

I pursed my chapped lips. "I'm sorry—were we supposed to sit around a table and debate how we were going to get out of that situation?"

"You risked their lives ." Bastila shook her head. "Calo could have had them killed if he hadn't been so eager to kill us ."

"And it was a good thing that he was so eager to kill us."

"How were you so sure?"

I licked my bloodied lips.

"Part of it was...a gamble."

"Oh, so you just gambled with their lives?" she asked. "On a whim?"

"It wasn't on a whim ." I clenched my fists. "It was either we drew their fire or we all died trapped in that alleyway. And—guess what—we're alive."

"We could have found another way."

"What way, Bastila? From where I'm sitting it looks like that was the way—"

"Guys! Guys!"

Mission interrupted our bickering with a wave of her hands. Her face had become tight. Kriff, we really shouldn't have gotten a kid like her into this mess. My shoulders sank. I hadn't realized it, but the bond between Bastila had turned...cold. Distant.

Bastila rubbed her temple. "You want a plan? Here is the plan. We get supplies then sneak out of Anchorhead. We walk to the Sand People's encampment."

I crossed my arms. "That could take days. The Sith are not patient if you recall. If they haven't left already, they'll head for the Star Map to set a trap."

Bastila's emotions flared in the bond. "Well then, other than gambling with people's lives, do you have any bright ideas?"

Heat gathered in my chest—my mouth bitter. I glanced away from her and out the frosted window again. More shadows passed over the dirty glass along with the silence. I just couldn't look at the Jedi anymore without feeling like I had to justify myself.

The sound of the many Czerka miners bustling at the entrance of the cantina interrupted my thoughts.

An idea formed.

"The sandcrawlers…" I looked up at the three. "They go to the mines up north near the Sand People's camp. If we snuck on board, that would get us there faster than if we went on foot. And Calo wouldn't know to look for us there."

A small grin lit Mission's face. "So...we'd be like smugglers?"

I matched the Twi'lek's expression.

"Exactly."

Bastila rubbed her forehead with feelings of dismay. "What about Juhani?"

Oh. Right, Juhani. The poor Cathar had drifted into a dreary state. Guilt, for some reason, built into my chest. No, why should I feel guilty? We'd survived because of my quick thinking.

"She'll have to stay behind."

"And risk getting caught by the Sith?" Bastila asked.

I chuckled. "There is no way they'll recognize her. She's safer than all of us here, sunshine."

Before Bastila could find some way to argue about that, a pained voice whispered from the booth.

"I want...to help."

I pursed my lips. "Juhani—"

"No, let me do this, Gale." She pushed herself up. Her yellow eyes still had pain within them. "After I get back onto my feet, I can buy you some time. Lead the Sith troops around. Make them think...you're still in the city."

I raised a brow. "Not a bad idea…"

Of course, Bastila wasn't going to have it. "No, that is not an option."

"Bastila...please."

With Juhani's plea, the Jedi finally relented with a large sigh.

"And what of Carth?"

"What about him?" I shrugged. "They don't know he's onboard the Ebon Hawk. He's in a better position to run away, honestly."

"But unlike some people, he wouldn't do that."

My hands balled into fists at the Jedi's scathing remarks. I tried to reel in the anger— there is no emotion, there is peace —but dark thoughts, thoughts of my continued failures, rung within my mind. Because she was right. I was just a smuggler before all of this, after all. A coward who didn't spend one moment hesitating before leaving his friends to the curb.

Crack.

Canderous cursed.

The glass in the Mando's hand crumbled as if he'd gripped it too hard. I unclenched my fists and stared numbly at the broken shards. The Mandalorian chuckled at me as he brushed the glass away.

"Whoops."

But Bastila had sensed what I'd done—because of course she did. The anger I'd felt through the bond softened. The dark accusations. The fleeting feelings of...hatred. These days, after confronting Bastila's mother, the bond had numbed so much that I'd barely noticed it was there.

My shoulders untensed. "I..."

Sorry.

Maybe she heard that thought. Maybe not. It was hard to tell.

The Jedi sat back in the booth. Her face had returned to stone. "Fine. But we need supplies—both for Juhani and our journey." She sat back. "We'll sneak aboard the sandcrawlers. Tonight."

The cool air of night surrounded us like the dark side. I led us through the alleys and shortcuts towards the square of the Czerka warehouse. HK had been assigned bag duty and carried enough supplies for a few days in case we somehow got stuck out there for too long. The droid complained about being a pack bantha and insisted he wasn't some "pacifistic, wimpish protocol droid." Fortunately, he was far more obedient in his actions than his words.

It was either because of the claustrophobic spaces or the speed at which I was going...but Bastila followed close behind.

A bit too close...

We stopped before entering the courtyard facing the side of the warehouse. I sniffed once, scooting away from the Jedi. However, after a short while of walking, she either consciously or unconsciously moved closer. I narrowed my eyes.

"There is a thing called 'personal space,' you know."

Bastila looked at me fully, peering past the shadow my hood created over my face. At first, it seemed as if she didn't understand what I said before she flinched away. I eyed her suspiciously then returned my attention to the warehouse doors.

Mission had found some security spikes being sold at the black marketplace. The plan was for the teen to break into the back doors reserved for employees only. The rest of us would watch the Twi'lek's back as she worked. Any sensation or sight of trouble, we'd jump back into the alleys. We couldn't risk anyone finding out what we were up to.

A few cameras scanned the area around the door. Of course, Czerka wasn't going to skimp out on protection over their credits. The young Twi'lek met my gaze before sneaking out of the cover of the alleyways. She ran to the side of the building, sticking close to the shadows and out of the camera's peripherals. Eventually, she got to the backdoor's security panel. With a quick motion, she detached the panel with a hot laser then plugged in wires from the spike to the controls as if she'd done it a million times before.

Half a minute later, the green lights on the cameras dimmed. We ran across the street beside the young Twi'lek—HK somehow mimicked our quiet footfalls. Canderous leaned on the corner, checking for any droid patrols, then waved a hand signaling that we were clear.

The previously locked door hissed open and the lights on the cameras flickered on once more.

So far so good…

Bastila led Canderous and me after Mission into the darkness of the warehouse.

A spooky atmosphere echoed around my ears. The once lively warehouse had become lifeless. The sandcrawlers were all locked up for the night and wouldn't budge until morning. We bent low as we passed through the rows of shipping containers, Bastila and I watched out in the Force for the occasional floating security droid.

We stopped at the first sandcrawler. Mission took the lead again and connected her spike to the vehicle's control panel.

"So...good news and bad news," she whispered.

I sighed. "What's the good news?"

"It'll just take an hour."

I grimaced. "What? Make sense."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have asked for the good news first."

Bastila walked to the teen's side. "What will take an hour, Mission?"

"For the security spike to charge."

"Are you kidding me?" I hissed. "It shouldn't be out of charge already."

"Well, we did buy these second-hand..."

I rubbed my face and peered around the sandcrawler's treads. None of the security droids had made their rounds yet but I wouldn't be surprised if they came by in an hour. I glanced towards the textured metal then back towards the silver mining droids parked by the crawler.

I pointed to the droids. "HK, blend in."

"Affirmative."

The red droid shuffled beside the mining droids then shut off its photoreceptors. If anyone passed by, it looked like some junk protocol droid ready to be dumped.

Without a word to the sentient members of our team, I gripped onto the metal tread pipes then pulled myself into the small crawl space. The security droids would have trouble scanning the metal of the treads.

Everyone else followed my lead, sitting, cramped within the sandy, gruby sandcrawler treads. Canderous sat to my right while Bastila crawled to my left. Mission, who was smaller than all of us, had no trouble squeezing into the remaining space. The Jedi's face contorted with disgust and Canderous' laugh echoed in the metal space.

"Afraid to get your hands dirty, princess?"

In the darkness, I noticed that the Jedi had already gotten some oil on her nose.

"Quiet," was her only response.

The Mandalorian grinned wide as he addressed me. "You know, Wes, if more prissy Jedi like Bastila fought in the war, my side might have won."

Anger at Canderous words radiated through the bond. I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing. Not because I cared about Bastila's feelings—no—because we still had to be quiet enough to not be detected by the droid's sensors.

"Prissy?" The Jedi's hiss vibrated the metal. "I am not prissy. You, on the other hand, are an ignorant, washed up…" Before she could go on her insult rampage, the bond numbed once more. "There is no emotion, there is peace."

"Guys…" Mission muttered.

Canderous pah-ed. "That's the problem with you Jedi. Always chanting about peace and control, never up for a good fight. Well, except for Revan, I guess."

I grinned after feeling Bastila's mortification. "That is— "

"Shh! Guys!" Mission interrupted the Jedi with a serious look on her face. "I heard something..."

A pale hand gripped the metal before us and a shadow pulled itself into the tread. Bastila and I grabbed our lightsabers tight, Canderous unsheathed his combat knife, and Mission held her blaster.

That damn Echani, Verena, pulled herself beside the Mandalorian and raised a white brow at us. Well, more like me in particular.

"Wha—?"

That had been Bastila.

"Who—?"

That had been Mission.

"Kriffin'."

For once that was Canderous.

I hissed through my teeth. "Stalker." I pointed a finger at her. "I told you to stop following me! Actually, how the hell did you keep up with us?"

Verena acted as if she hadn't heard me and instead looked at her nails as if trying to clean them.

"It's not hard to spot the droid."

She was referring to HK. Force, that thing was ending up being more trouble than it was worth. And it wasn't due to its bloodthirsty quips.

Bastila crossed her arms. "Is this that Echani you were talking about?"

"Unfortunately."

Before Verena could say anything else to excuse this creepy habit of hers, Mission waved her hand. "Shh, guys, the security droids."

We all shut up then, though I was sending dirty looks to the Echani who joined our little party without being invited. The woman's face grew tight as she stared off into the shadows of the warehouse. An hour passed in silence. Bastila gradually became uncomfortable in the presence of this random stranger. Canderous had that glint in his eye. And Mission stared wearily back at the Echani.

Eventually, the small red light turned green.

"'K!" Mission took the spike off the charge. "Let's roll!"

After the next security droid passed, we climbed out of the track and made for the control panel again. While Mission worked on getting the sandcrawler unlocked, Bastila brushed sand and oil from her robes before glaring at Verena. I matched her expression with a sneer.

"You're lucky that I don't trust you to keep quiet. Otherwise, I'd kick you out of here," I said.

Verena's brow remained raised and that stoic expression of hers hadn't flinched.

"What...are you doing?"

Bastila's face tightened. "Who even are you?"

Of course, the Echani wasn't given answers. And I wasn't going to provide them. Finally, the control panel glowed green. The door on the side of the crawler creaked open and the ladder up to it hissed then slapped the concrete floor. We all flinched and glanced around the warehouse. Fortunately, none of the security droids were nearby to hear that.

Mission climbed up first then followed the rest of us—Echani included. HK-47 tailed—his stiff mechanical body took longer to ascend the metal ladder. Once we all entered the crawler, the door creaked shut behind us.

Inside—pure darkness. Since we were only within the cargo holds, we risked a light. Bastila shined her torch and the beam passed over empty containers painted with the Czerka insignia. More mining droids surrounded those containers. She met my gaze. Must have gotten the same idea.

Digging through the supplies I packed onto HK, I grabbed a rope and tied a small discarded machine part to it. Using a brief spurt of the Force, I threw the part over the container. It landed on the other side with a clang.

Verena winced. "Can you be a little quieter?"

I glared at the Echani before gripping the rope and facing the droid. "HK, go into standby mode. Knock the container at the first sign of trouble."

After the droid gave a firm confirmation, I began my climb to the top. The rest of the team followed—plus Verena. The container was sandy and about as filthy as the sandcrawler treads. With a sigh, I collapsed in the corner. The heat within this place was already causing me to sweat. I leaned against the hot metal.

"Now we wait," I muttered at the three—plus Verena. "Might as well get some sleep before we start moving."

Mission pounced on that idea and didn't even hesitate before laying down in the other corner. Canderous dropped his pack in front of me then sat in the opposite wall. The Mando rested his head on the side of the container—even though he closed his eyes and looked asleep, I wouldn't doubt that he could be up and shooting within the second.

Bastila passed me without a glance and made for the far side of the container. She sat with crossed legs and began to float in meditation. She still didn't want to talk, huh? I rolled my eyes. Despite saying we should rest, I didn't feel an ounce of fatigue.

The Echani, of course, sat next to me. She eyed the vibroblade I still carried on my back. I sneered at the action and grabbed the weapon in my hand before she could even think about it.

Verena sighed. "Why are we hiding in a sandcrawler, Jedi ."

"Wes Gale."

"Why are we hiding in a sandcrawler, Wes Gale ?"

I balanced the vibroblade in my hand while looking up into the gray darkness. "First of all, if you haven't heard, the Sith are after us. Second of all, I don't want to get stuck out in the desert in the middle of the night and freeze my balls off."

"It's just like a Jedi to hide like a coward."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I pointed the vibroblade at her. "You have something against Jedi?"

Verena finally faced me. She seemed to think for a moment before her eyes landed on the vibroblade I was threatening her with.

She slumped. "I was never on good terms with Jedi. Or Sith."

"O-kay..." I lowered the blade, the sparks snapping up as it cut through the air. "Why aren't you on good terms with Sith? Or Jedi?"

"It's just like a Jedi to invade other people's privacy."

Great, I was doing it now too? I glanced over at the meditating Jedi. Bastila must have begun to rub off on me. I placed the blade down on the metal floor.

"Privacy fertilizes secrets."

Verena raised an eyebrow. "But you are the one hiding secrets. For example, the droid."

"The droid, the droid! It's always 'the droid' with you." I rubbed a hand through my hair. "We need information from the Sand People. HK-47 is the only thing on this rock that understands them. That's why I couldn't just let you bash him to pieces."

She pursed her lips. "I see."

"Great. You see. Now that's cleared up, you can go now."

"No. As long as that thing is still standing, I'm following."

Oh, great. I'd gained another stalker—this one even more unwelcome than the last. The atmosphere grew awkward, Verena's attention drifting away from me to the floor. Finally, her sigh cut the silence.

"That blade belonged to an Echani called Yusanis."

I paused at the change in subject.

"Uh, who?"

She gaped at me, astonished. "You know nothing of Yusanis? Where have you been living all this time—the Outer Regions?"

More like a smuggling ship. And prison on occasion. But I didn't want to complicate things. We'd be here all night.

"Okay, so he's famous or something?"

Verena sighed. "Yusanis wasn't just famous. He was a great war leader. When I fought in the Mandalorian Wars, I respected his command. He was the only General I put my full trust in."

"You fought in the Mandalorian Wars?"

It seemed like everyone I ran into nowadays fought in that war.

The Echani tightened. "Yes." She didn't go into detail on that fact about herself, however. Instead, her gaze drifted. "Yusanis was considered a war hero. He helped us to survive Dxun, Jaga's Cluster...battle after battle. But in this war, he was betrayed. By Revan."

I lowered my head after hearing the name of the dead dark lord.

"He killed him?" I asked.

"Killed him? No, Revan butchered him like an animal. I should know since I was there on Yusanis' ship when it happened."

"And he got away with it?" I sat up. "Why didn't you stop him?"

Verena grew uncomfortable, her gaze drifting off into the rafters. "Why didn't I stop Revan? Do you even know what you're asking? No one could have stopped Revan. And, even if I had that power, I couldn't have stopped him because Yusanis issued the challenge."

"What?" I asked. "Why the hell would he do that?"

"Well, aren't you full of asinine questions? Why does anyone do anything? For honor. The Sith Lord assassinated the Echani senator and Yusanis' challenge was supposed to be justice." Her fist clenched. "Justice that will never be."

I frowned. "What are you saying? Revan's dead."

"But I wasn't the one who killed him."

Her bright eyes were filled with fire, with a vengeance that would never come to pass. I'd never seen someone so angry over a dead man.

I rubbed my healing nose. "And the point of that was...?"

"I only wanted to tell you about that vibroblade you stole from me."

Glancing down at Yusanis' blade, I picked it up then held it out.

"Then take it."

Verena blinked once, getting herself out of her ever-present anger. "I thought you said you didn't trust me?"

I shrugged. "Still don't," I said. "But I doubt you'd stab anyone in the back with this."

The Echani hesitated then took the vibroblade. She stared poignantly at the hissing blade and a small smile crept up into her normally frozen face. Verena stood then hooked the vibroblade to her back.

"You surprise me, Jedi. Perhaps you aren't a fool after all."

As she walked away towards the opposite corner, I called after her. "I would've been happy with a simple 'thank you.'"

Time passed. Canderous, Mission, and Verena had all fallen asleep—somehow. The heat and my nerves kept me up.

Bastila hovered in the air on the far side of the shipping container. Since everyone else had been knocked out, and there was no way I was going to get any sleep, I stood and crept towards the focused Jedi. She was so focused that I stood a mere foot away and she hadn't opened her eyes.

I poked her nose.

Bastila jolted.

"Force!"

She fell to the ground with a thump—sand kicked up from the vibrations of her fall

I held my hips and chuckled. "Boo?"

Bastila looked up at me with a glare. In the faint light of the storage room, her eyes were baggy and her hair still mussed from climbing around in the sandcrawler's track. She was obviously exhausted, I didn't need to feel it in the bond.

I sat beside her. "What are you still doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said.

Shrugging, I stuffed hands into pockets. "I'd say this heat but you probably sense that's a lie. Honestly, I'm...nervous."

"You? Nervous?"

"Is that so hard to believe? We're being hunted by the Sith." I leaned back—for some reason, a portion of fatigue began to slow my limbs. "What about you?"

She sighed then leaned forward. Her pigtails had come loose and her hair was now brushing around her shoulders.

"I've been thinking about you, actually."

"Me?"

A wide smirk strained my face.

As if expecting me to say something else about that, she quickly corrected, "I meant I've been watching you. Studying you closely to see what kind of progress you've made since your training under Master Zhar."

"We both know the 'real' reason why you've been watching me," I said.

My face almost broke from smiling when the bond numbed yet her eyes betrayed her flush with a glare.

"You never give up, do you? I admit, I find you intriguing. Compelling, even. But it's not what you think."

"Then tell me," I whispered, leaning forward. "What am I thinking?"

I could tell that she was uncomfortable with the breach of space when her head jerked back a centimeter in disgust. She studied me before huffing a strand of hair out of her face.

"That isn't how the bond works. I can't just read your mind whenever I want to."

"Alright then..." I trailed off, studying our sleeping teammates on the other side of the container. "So, what, you've been grading me?"

She shrank at my words as if she was about to dance with a rancor at the intergalactic prom. "You have a great gift, Wes. An awesome command of the Force...and I tremble when I think of how you might misuse it."

I stretched then placed my hands behind my head.

"I have that effect on lots of women, Bastila. You'll get used to it."

She flinched. "That's not—anyway, in many ways you are dangerous."

"Dangerous?" I lowered my arms. My smile finally disappeared. "How am I dangerous?"

I hadn't done anything wrong. At least, nothing that I didn't know about.

She stuttered. "I...it's difficult to explain."

"Go on." I crossed my arms. "Explain."

She faced me with a calm, tranquil look. "Today had many examples. You loathed the Echani for following us. I could feel your hatred for Calo Nord...and the Sith who harmed me. You despised me for accusing you of abandoning the team. There is a pattern here. Every time you fail, or you think you fail, you anger. That is what makes you dangerous."

Heat crawled up my chest that didn't come from the air around us.

"Hypocrite."

A quiet stirring interrupted the usual numbness in the bond. "You're deflecting from guilt. That only makes me even more convinced that you have no idea what the dark side represents in its entirety. You're blundering with it, badly, and it shows." She sighed. "I suppose only a Master can truly explain...but I will do my best to make you understand."

"Make me understand?" I felt my neck and chest turn cold. "It's practically the only thing the Masters ever tried making me understand. Don't give in to hate or anger or you'll turn into a Sith. I understood that perfectly way before it was hammered into my kriffing skull."

She shook her head as if dealing with a child. "The dark side isn't just giving into anger or temptation. These things only lead to the dark side. But the more you give in to anger, hate, or passion, the closer you draw to it. And it begs you to surrender to it, Wes. So much so that you never even notice when it takes hold."

I leaned my head back on the metal of the container, finally growing tired. Mostly because of these lectures—this paranoia. What happened to the Bastila that hoped? The one that seemed to understand? Is she hiding in another cargo container or something?

She noticed my tired state and sat forward. Through our bond, I could sense her frustration and for some reason, I felt guilty about it. I was only ever a trouble for her, wasn't I? It always came back to being a Jedi, being emotionless, being...apart.

And despite having a bond, as Jedi we would always be apart.

The dark side—it sounded like a virus the more I listened to Bastila describe it. A disgusting, fatal virus that consumed all that it touched.

"How then?" I asked. "How could I ever hope to understand the dark side without falling myself?"

Bastila seemed almost taken aback by my question. Perhaps she was surprised that I was asking for her advice.

She cleared her throat before speaking softly, "We only need to look at the atrocities which have been committed by those under its sway to understand the corrupting power of the dark side. Millions dead and far more suffering. What sort of person would you have to become in order to perform those deeds gladly?"

I balled my hands into fists.

I thought I knew the answer—it was the answer the Jedi Masters repeated ad nauseum. The dark side controlled and manipulated the minds of those under its sway. Those who drew closer to it became puppets. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that couldn't be all there was to it. All people were marked by who they were before. No one changed from hero to villain without cause. But what cause? What?

"I don't know," I said.

She met my gaze with intensity. "And that is why the dark side is so insidious. Why so many have fallen. No one knows. And if you are not careful, you will not see the small steps taken towards it...until it is too late."

"But we know how some have fallen," I said. "Malak tortures and brainwashes Jedi to the dark side."

"Yes. The Sith have become powerful because these Jedi have been forced to succumb to the lure of the dark side and join their cause." She glanced at the floor. "What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? To use their own knowledge against them?"

"We are weakened while they are strengthened. With little casualties as well." I sighed. "Kriff, they're like breeding gizka. Completely unstoppable."

Bastila shook her head. "Not completely. Not if we do what is required to fight against the dark side."

"Do what is required? Such as?"

"I don't know," she said.

I waved a hand. "Wonderful."

She grimaced. "It is the truth, unfortunately. I do not know what the future has in store for us...but I sense something ominous lurking in the shadows. Almost out of reach. Distant."

I laughed darkly. "Great, now I'll never sleep."

"I'm sorry if I…" She huffed. "Force, I just made things more difficult, haven't I? I really shouldn't have addressed this. I am not your Master after—"

I shoved a finger onto her lips. "Shh...quiet. You'll bite your tongue off."

She shoved me away then wiped her mouth as if I had the meridian plague on my hand.

I smiled. "You need to have more faith in yourself, Bastila. Not many people have gone through what you have in this war. Fighting Sith, the dark side, even the Dark Lord himself." I shook my head. "What I'm trying to say is...I'm...sorry for being difficult."

A moment passed before she responded. "You haven't been difficult, Wes. Not many could become a Jedi in a month without being prone to error. In fact, sometimes I wonder how things could have been different if you weren't...here."

"Rather boring I'd think. There would be so many grumpy people on the Ebon Hawk that I wouldn't be surprised if people started calling it the Ebon 'Dull-as-Rocks.'"

Bastila playfully crossed her arms, a rare sparkle appearing in her eyes. "Oh, so it's you who makes all the difference?"

"Who else?"

She sighed. "You...do know that we are on an important mission to save the entire galaxy, right? Whether or not it's 'boring' isn't the priority."

"No, it is a priority. Sometimes you need to forget your troubles by smiling, Bastila, or trouble is all you'll ever have." Stretching, I laid down beside the wall. "Speaking of trouble, night, sunshine. We have a long day tomorrow."

"What happened to you being nervous?"

"I'm still nervous, but talking to you is exhausting."

"What...how dare you—!"

However, I closed my eyes and pretended to fall asleep. Not sure if she believed the act, though.