T3-M4 rolled ahead, leading us to the closest computer terminal. From what I could decipher from the avalanche of beeps, the closest and safest computer terminal we could reach was in the generator room. To get there though, we would need to deceive one or two Sith engineers and battle droids. Speaking of battle droids…

A kinrath spider-like machine clambered past us, it's red scanning beam searching for intruders. Once the alarms went off, those droids wouldn't hesitate to attack us.

The heat from the generator rooms caused sweat to build on my body. I sensed the same discomfort from Bastila over the bond. Koth swiped the passcard one more time. The locks released and we entered the boiling room.

A Sith engineer dressed in gray slacks saluted us. He stood by a console and a few of those spider droids clanked up and down the steamy, dangerous hallways.

"Sirs." His sharp eyes looked the three "dark Jedi" up and down. "What brings you to the generator room? Everything is in working order."

Jolee's figure shifted uncomfortably. Koth took a step back. If we stayed silent for long, the Sith would become even more suspicious.

So, I stormed forward, making sure my hood didn't fall off my face.

"Everything is in working order?" I asked, with a lowered voice.

"Um…" A wet sheen reflected off the man's forehead. Not due to the heat from the room. "Yes?"

I raised a hand and closed my fist. The engineer grabbed his throat as I used the Force to cut off his breath.

"I don't think so."

Something grabbed my shoulder and tugged me back. Bastila. I sensed her...fear. But this was all a bluff. Before the man choked further, I released him. The Sith stumbled back, raising both hands.

"S-Sorry, my lords—"

I waved to T3. "Since you can't seem to do anything right, I'm going to let a damn droid do your job." I took a step forward and he flinched. "If you want to keep yours, go and find a way to make yourself useful."

"Y-Yes, of course, right away, sir. Please, don't…"

I grabbed the Sith by the collar and kicked him out of the room. When he stumbled past the threshold, Canderous slammed the button to close the door.

The Mandalorian chuckled underneath his helmet. "Quick thinking there, pipsqueak."

I rushed to the glowing console. "We don't have much time. T3?" The droid gave a happy beep and rolled to my side. "Figure out how to shut down the cameras."

The droid happily obeyed my command and opened his connector, plugging it into the system. I first asked him to locate the server room. And, of course, it was on the highest floor. Once we got that much, we stood there, waiting for more info on the cameras, until T3 let out a few concerned beeps.

"So...bad news," I said.

Bastila sighed. "What?"

"There is only one way to turn off the cameras. We need to shut off the main power generators." I met her gaze from underneath her hood. "And when we do that, well…"

"Everyone will know about it," Bastila finished.

"Exactly."

Carth walked to my other side. "But if we turn off the main power, we won't be able to access the servers either. Someone will need to turn the generators back on."

I pursed my lips—feelings of dread filled my chest.

"We'll have to split up, is what you're saying?"

Carth nodded. "I'll stay and guard the generators. Make sure no one comes back to turn them on."

Canderous pushed between us. "And I'll lay down some of those mines at the door and start shooting if anyone gets too close."

Jolee waltzed forward. "I'll also stay behind, kid. Our pilot and Mandalorian here will need someone with the Force. Dark Jedi will surely make things difficult."

"I don't know…" Bastila looked him up and down. "Are you sure you're up to the task, Jolee?"

"She's right, you know," I said. "You barely fended off the Kashyyyk wildlife, old man."

He sighed. "Kids. Always underestimate the elderly. That's because I'm not a duelist. I may not look it, but I was one of the best Force users in my time. And I've been doing some meditating these past few days."

Koth snorted. "The best? Really?"

"Oh, you shut your mouth, Sully. I may have slacked off once...or twice. Doesn't mean I don't have the skill." He huffed. "And that Darth Bandan or whatever is skulking about. You'll need an actual duelist if you're going to face that. Sully here is better with a lightsaber than me."

I let out a long sigh, rubbing my face. "Alright, fine." I switched the computer over to manual mode. "But you better comm me if you run into problems."

"Sir yes, sir."

I rolled my eyes.

Before I switched off the power, Koth stepped to my left between Carth and I.

"And what of my Padawan?"

T3 made a few beeps.

"He said there isn't any info here on where they're keeping prisoners. It'll probably be in the server room."

The Jedi Master sighed. "I see."

I opened the comm channel to inform the base of an unscheduled outage. Figured we may as well stall the Sith for as long as we could. With T3's help, I also made sure the droids skulking about in the generator room were on our side. Which meant Canderous, Carth, and Jolee had extra backup.

Without waiting even a second after that, I pushed the lever to shut down the entire system. The lights dimmed to a flashing red from the backup generators. The rippling air within those hallways stilled as the room became a few degrees cooler. Finally, when the red light from the cameras dimmed, Bastila, Koth, the droid, and I rushed out towards the elevators, leaving everyone else behind.

T3 led us through the winding halls. The elevator we were going to take was on the other side of this floor. Which meant there were a lot of opportunities for the Sith to spot us.

"Master?"

I flinched at the sound of HK's dark voice over the comm. I raised a hand and we stopped at the corner of the hall, peering out. I flicked the channel over so that I could speak to him.

"HK. Hang tight."

"Statement: The cameras are no longer functioning, Master. I am now able to continue the mission and rescue those female meatbags."

"No." I stood up straight as a dark troop marched past us. When they left, I hissed into the comm again. "Don't move, idiot. If you leave—"

The sound of a blaster firing up was released. After that, the red lights started blinking along with the sound of a whining alarm. Koth whispered a curse in his language and Bastila stormed up to me.

"What is going on?" she hissed.

"HK!"

"Problem, Master."

"Problem? Ah, yes, I see no problems here. The kriffing alarms didn't just go off. No."

A few more bolts were heard over the comm along with the faint sound of dying Sith.

"Observation: I detect a higher pitch in your tone that is a clear indication of sarcasm, Master." More Sith shouted as HK shot them dead. "Continued Observation: If you can hear the alarms, that must mean you are in the vicinity."

"No kriffing shit!" I rubbed my forehead. "Whatever. It's too late now. Meet us at the elevator as quietly and quickly as possible. Please. T3 will tell you where."

"Query: The astromech is still functioning?" Another shot went off. "How disappointing."

I clicked the comm off with a long sigh. How could one droid cause so much trouble yet also solve so many problems? The Force was having a laugh.

Bastila pointed to the ground. "This is why you shouldn't have continued to mess with that dangerous thing," she hissed. "But of course…why would you listen to me?"

I smirked. "We all have our hobbies, sunshine."

"Normal people have normal hobbies."

"Ah, wait, you have a hobby?"

"Well, no, I—"

"So, then how can you judge what a normal hobby is then?"

Her cute face scrunched. "That—who cares if I have a hobby? Normal people don't have hobbies that include meddling with assassination droids!"

That caused the Jedi Master to butt in. Forgot he was there.

"Assassination droid?"

"No time. We need to keep moving."

"No, this is pertinent," Koth continued, pushing my shoulder back as I tried to run. "Why are we using an illegal droid on this mission, Padawan?"

"We really don't—"

"Initiates."

All three of us stopped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice then turned away from the hall. Behind us were three dark Jedi hooded with cloth masks. The leader marched up to Koth.

"What are you doing? The alarm is going off near the western sector. A droid has gone berserk—"

Without waiting for them to come to the obvious conclusion, I pushed the leader into the wall with the Force. The remaining two, caught off guard, unleashed their red blades as I slammed my lightsaber into one. Bastila let out an annoyed hiss while Koth pushed the other with a burst of the Force.

The dark Jedi I crossed lightsabers with growled underneath his breath as he noticed the blue light.

"Jedi!"

Flicking his blade away, I twirled my own lightsaber underhand and didn't wait for him to recover. The dark Jedi cursed as I calmly met each of his strikes, following up with faster, stronger slashes. T3 let out a barrage of binary as we almost crashed into him. The Sith's cursing turned into shouts as the droid shocked his leg. Ha! I slid my lightsaber cleanly between his ribs—without breaking a sweat or stride.

The remaining two were dealt with just as easily. Koth had unleashed his yellow lightsaber and, focusing on the Force rather than brute strength, sent the leader flying into the ceiling. He blocked the overhead attack as the Sith fell then slashed his neck cleanly. Bastila twirled her lightsaber staff, a continuous, confusing blur of light. The Sith's head came off with a single swipe.

The alarms blared loud after the carnage. The three of us let out a long sigh of relief. That is until…

"Intruders...Jedi...three...one an Iridonian...dressed like—"

Kriff. The Sith still lived. I used the Force on the comm he held and ended his life with a slash before he had a chance to reveal more info on us.

Koth sheathed his lightsaber.

"So much for subtlety."

HK-47's lights dimmed as we approached the elevator. On the way, we had to deal with another triplet of dark Jedi who heard the memo. We defeated them, yet it took time. Time we didn't have.

"Statement: Finally, Master. I was wondering if you were ever going to arrive."

"Alright, HK, new mission," I shouted while shoving the bag of grenades into his metal grip. "Go cause a ruckus as far away from this elevator as you can. Kill, shoot, explode, maim, whatever."

Bastila grabbed my shoulder.

"Excuse me? You're sending this thing out there? Again?"

Koth narrowed his sharp eyes at me.

"You've broken the Code far too often today, Padawan. You really shouldn't be committing random acts of violence like this. There is no chaos, there is—"

"If they think we're in more than one place, the Sith will have to spread out," I interrupted. "They don't know where we are, no cameras, remember? I'm not sending HK out there to appease my 'bloodlust.' He's a distraction."

Koth watched me for a second then gave up his arguments. He swiped the elevator while mumbling out of frustration. And, of course, it didn't open right away.

"Exaltation: Oh, I am so happy to hear you change my mission, Master. That mission to rescue those pathetic meatbags was so absolutely degrading that I was considering—"

The elevator doors opened to reveal an entire troop of dark-masked Sith soldiers. We all jumped to the side before the barrage of blaster fire rained on us, while HK let out maniacal laughter as he switched on his shields.

"Die, meatbags!"

While the crazy droid let out many yet precise shots, I raised my hand and pulled one of the blasters from the soldier's hand into mine. Without looking and sensing through the Force, I hit three Sith soldiers from around the corner—direct burning shots to the helmet. Bastila had taken the lightsaber deflection route and batted the bolts back at the Sith. Koth grabbed one of the Sith with the Force and toppled half of them as he pushed them away.

We didn't wait when the last Sith fell dead. Rushing into the elevator, I gave HK a weak salute.

"Careful with those grenades, tin can."

With that warning out of the way, T3, Koth, and Bastila entered the elevator and the doors slammed closed. We each released a relieved breath. We had only a moment's respite before we were going to be thrown into the fray.

My comm once again clicked.

"We have Sith incoming," Carth shouted. "They're trying to cut the door open with plasma torches. It's not going to hold. Canderous placed the mines but...it's going to be messy."

Bastila raised her comm this time to answer. "Just make sure the generators aren't destroyed, Carth."

"Yeah, we figured." He sighed. "We're holding up in the energy shafts. The mines and the droids should be able to pick off most of them. If not, well…"

Canderous interrupted him. "They're in for it!"

With the Mando's last words, the elevator stopped at the top floor. We all grabbed the hilts of our lightsabers. Something...dark laid on the other side of that door. A weird sense of deja vu washed over me. It was like what I felt on the Endar Spire. Before I knew about my Force sensitivity.

Then…

The elevator doors opened and when we stepped out it revealed a dangerous scene.

In the middle of the hall, Darth Bandon stood with feet planted shoulder-width, blocking our path. His slimy smirk widened as we carefully walked in. He had been expecting us.

I sensed pain from Sul Koth's direction.

"Bandon," he spat.

The Sith chuckled. "My old Master." He dropped his dark robes revealing a mechanical leg much like HK-47's. "Long time no see."

Koth also dropped his robes to the ground. The elevator doors shut and Sith soldiers marched from around the corner, aiming their blasters at us. They were there to make sure we didn't escape the other way. We were completely, utterly, surrounded.

Sul Koth finally moved. "Where is Belaya?" He unhooked his lightsaber. "Tell me where she is or I swear—"

Darth Bandon raised his hairless brow. "You would like to know, wouldn't you? After all, she mattered more to you than I ever did." The dark Apprentice began to pace. "Perfect Belaya. Always demonstrating control. So much potential. It's too bad, then, that she wasn't as perfect as you believed,."

"Enough." The Jedi Master let out the yellow beam of his lightsaber. "I will not hear any lies. Where is she?"

"Where else? With her lover."

That caused Koth to shift. "Lover?"

Darth Bandon stepped closer to his old Master. Too close. I unleashed my own blade and Bastila followed my lead. The Sith's eyes, which had once been dark, filled with a bright sickly yellow.

"I followed the Code to the letter. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no passion, there is serenity. I formed no attachments. Practiced night and day to be successful in your eyes. It was never enough. Yet for Belaya, sweet Belaya, she didn't have to do anything to be your prized student. And yet she broke the Code. Before you left Dantooine, I saw them together. She defied your whims behind your back and fell in love with that Cathar! Her reward was to continue being your perfect Padawan. What was my reward for years of loyalty to the Jedi ways?" Bandon raised his hand. "Nothing!"

The air crackled between him and Koth. I sensed it coming before it manifested. Lightning coursed from Bandon's fingers and hit the Jedi Master's lightsaber. Sparks still hit the Iridonian.

"But the dark side?" Darth Bandon let out maniacal laughter. "The dark side has been very rewarding!"

While Bandon distracted all of us, I took the opportunity to strike the Sith troopers. Bastila sensed my intentions and attacked at the same time, twirled her lightsaber, reflected the bolts back that almost hit me. I took off the torso of the closest dark guard, both halves of his body hissed as it collided into the ground.

Darth Bandon relaxed the lightning and replaced it with a torrential attack. He slammed his red lightsaber into Koth's, more sparks mixed with the red beams of the blaster bolts we reflected into the walls.

The soldiers didn't put up much of a fight. One by one, in a strange rhythm, Bastila and I carved into the ten or so dark soldiers. With the bond, and with the Force, nothing took us by surprise. A bolt shot in our blindspot was deflected. A sharp blade was thrown using the Force when the other blocked. It was a dance except more beautiful. More in unison. Complete.

"This is what I've been waiting for!" Darth Bandon cackled behind us. "I've dreamed of killing you since I left Dantooine." Koth grunted as he blocked a heavy swing. "That is why when I heard you were here, I had to capture Belaya. I knew you would try to rescue your favorite Padawan despite the Code. You're hypocritical like that."

Yes, but...what about Juhani? Where was she?

Once all of the Sith soldiers had all fallen, we turned our attention to Koth's fight with Bandon. The Jedi Master hadn't faltered. I rushed to help, however, the Iridonian raised his hand. The elevator doors opened and Darth Bandon twisted in the air and slammed inside.

"Go!" He threw the passcard to Bastila who caught it on reflex. He waved at the server room doors. "Destroy the data. Find out where they are keeping Belaya and Juhani. I'll fend off Bandon for as long as I can."

Bastila rushed past me. "But—"

"That is an order, Shan!"

And he didn't give us a chance to disobey that order. Koth ran into the elevator and the door closed behind him. A loud boom resounded along with a screech as if the elevator came off the wires.

T3-M4 let out an anxious whimper. The poor droid rolled out from underneath a few Sith corpses. I met Bastila's terrified expression.

We had even less time now.

The massive server room hummed as we approached the holomonitors. All of the machinery had gone cold due to the lack of power and the Sith had vacated the area to deal with HK, most likely. Bastila tapped a few keys while T3 prepared to connect to the system.

I raised my hand. Before we turned everything back on, we had to deal with the cameras watching us. I focused on the corners of the room and crushed the devices using the Force. As I worked, I felt extreme fatigue from Bastila. Her shoulders rose and fell.

I watched her pained eyes for a split second before raising the comm. "Carth, we're in the server room. What's the situation?"

"Not good!" The faint sound of an explosion broke the mic of the comm. "The Sith have breached the door. Most of them died to the frag mines but more of them are showing up. We're barely holding them off in the tunnels right now."

"Okay, but can you shut on the power?"

Carth hissed. "No. They're blocking our path. Jolee might but last I saw he was leading the dark Jedi away from us. Who the hell knows where he ran off to."

I threw a hand. "Lovely." I switched the comm again. "HK?"

The faint sound of another explosion destroyed the comm's mic.

"Yes, Master?"

"You need to go deal with more meatbags. They're in the generator room. When you get there, take them out then switch on the power. Think you can manage that?" The droid answered with a barrage of gleeful laughs. It was enough of an answer. I switched back to Carth. "I'm sending you back up."

"Back up?"

"HK."

Carth cursed. "Really?"

"Hey, don't underestimate him."

"That is not what I'm having doubts about, Wes."

I snorted. "Don't worry about it. Oh, and if you can try to stay out of the tunnels."

"Why?"

"It's going to get crispy."

With those final orders, all we had to do now was wait. Wait and hope that our team could follow through. In the meantime…

I slid to the floor underneath the main computer and rubbed the sweat off my brow. Exhausted after our numerous battles. The sound of small footsteps tapped the floor and Bastila followed my lead, sliding next to me. We both leaned back on the server machine, our heavy breaths interrupted by distant blaster fire.

Bastila's soft face was sheeted with sweat. Now that we were resting, I'd thought that exhaustion in the bond would have gone away. Yet it only became worse.

"Bondy?" Her gray eyes met mine. She didn't look away. I smiled through my heavy breathing. "Since we almost died...is now a good time to talk?"

"I'm sorry...I…" Bastila hugged her knees yet she still kept an eye on the door. "We need to focus."

"We can't keep dancing around this forever." I leaned on my crossed legs. "Something is stressing you out. And it isn't about how we're breaking the Jedi Code. It's more than that."

Her lips pursed tight. "We will talk later."

"You're hiding something." Bastila met my gaze, chest rising and falling. I frowned. "That's what's stressing you out. You're suppressing...something."

"N-No…" Her voice broke. "No, I'm not—"

"I already told you at the party, didn't I?" I said. "Nothing you say could possibly hurt me. Say that you don't love me or that you don't want this to work. Fine. It won't make a difference. I don't care. What you feel...that's all that matters."

"I'm not hiding—"

"You don't have to lie to me anymore!" When I shouted that, her body sank away. Once I was sure she wouldn't continue with these lies, I spoke softer. "Whatever it is that you're hiding...I know that you wouldn't tell me without a good reason. So, can you just be honest about your feelings since, you know, I can tell what you're feeling? Please?"

Bastila's mouth hung open for a while, stunned. Her lips shook. Then, her expression set. Determined once again.

"I will tell you, Wes. When we have a chance, away from the Sith, I will tell you. I promise."

Finally. My brow relaxed, I sighed, my body had grown tight. A small smile drifted onto my face. "Sometimes it is not easy to keep such promises," I said, repeating her own words with a wink. After, I took her hand in mine. "Whether or not you tell me what is bothering you, you have to know that I will care about you anyway."

"I know…" She trembled. "Force, I know. It's just if you know then you'll—"

I pressed a finger to her lips. She narrowed her eyes, unamused.

"Nah, ah—what did I just say?" I removed my finger and brushed my hand around her chin, closer, foreheads touching. Staring deep into her eyes, I whispered, "It doesn't...matter…" I pressed my lips to hers and she pushed closer. Once again, the stress disappeared. And the warmth that felt like a spice hit at this point erupted down my core from the bond again.

This was a habit I'd grown fond of, really.

"Guys!?"

The soft touch of Bastila's lips was yanked away and replaced with Canderous' desperate shouting over the comm. Right, and like clockwork, we also had to be interrupted. Though we were kind of in the middle of breaking into a Sith base. Right. I guess that's more important.

Groaning, I grabbed the comm from the floor, rubbing my forehead.

"What now?"

"Where is that kriffing droid?" Canderous shouted. "We're on the last frag mine here!"

I switched the channel. "HK, what the hell? What is taking you so long?"

"Apologies: I am sorry, Master, but there are too many pathetic meatbags in the way. I've had to eliminate them all."

"Eliminate?" Bastila hissed.

"What are you talking about, just sneak past them!" I shouted. "You have that stealth generator. What kind of assassination droid are you?"

"Fine, Master." Underneath his vocabulator, I heard him mutter something about wasting the opportunity. We waited a few more minutes before HK returned. "Statement: I am almost to the generators, Master."

I switched to Carth and Canderous again. "Alright, guys, lead the Sith into the tunnels and make sure you are as far away from them as possible."

Canderous chuckled over the comm. "Oh...I see."

A few minutes later, Carth's voice replaced the Mando's. "Okay, we're in the far room in the center," he said. "Canderous distracted them with the last mine and trapped them in."

"HK! Turn on the power!"

The droid didn't respond for a long moment. Bastila and I waited with bated breath. Then…

"Affirmative."

The lights flickered on, causing us to wince at the bright whites of them. Over the comm there was a crackle along with distant dying screams. The Sith were burning—trapped within the halls they had been chasing Carth and Canderous in. Hopefully, Jolee was alright—

"What the hell?!" Carth shouted. "Jolee?"

I heard the old man's laughter. "Ha! I led those Sith on a chase. Those idiots never bothered looking up!"

I let out a long sigh. Well, at least everyone seemed to be okay even if they were now stuck behind the blasting heat of the generator tunnels. It was better than being chased by the Sith.

T3 rolled up to the main server computer. He plugged himself in and his blue light flickered as he attempted to break into the system. This droid really was worth the two thousand credits we paid for him, huh? As T3 worked, Bastila switched on the holoscreen to reveal the scrolling data.

Finally, the small astromech gave a successful chirp.

"He's in," I said. "Alright, T3—look for any data that has been recently put into the system. When you find it, download it to your data core."

"Wait, what?" Bastila looked up from the computer. "The Ambassador told us to delete everything."

"Yeah, we'll do that," I said, "once we find out what they are hiding from us."

"We don't have time. Any moment now, more Sith could arrive. We can't—"

"Just trust me, alright?"

That somehow convinced her. A miracle. While T3 downloaded the Republic's files, I opened the console and searched on the holoscreen for any additional information the Sith could be hiding from us. First, of course, we needed to find out where they were keeping their prisoners.

However, once I touched the computer, a voice erupted from the machine. "Determining parameters. Initiating neural recognition." A red light scanned my body. "Intruder. Intruder. Intruder."

"Kriff."

A loud boom slammed into the doors to our left. They let out a hiss as they opened. Numerous droids both shielded and armored marched past those doors.

"T3, why the hell didn't you take down their defenses!"

The poor droid blamed his slow processing unit. Excuses!

Bastila unleashed her lightsaber.

"Keep working. I'll deal with them."

She didn't give me a chance to argue as she rushed to the droids, twirling her blades, crushing some with the Force. With a wave of her hand, she threw one of the sentinel droids into each other. When I heard the crinkled collapses and explosions, I returned my attention to the computer.

First, I opened the map. Some of the base was underneath the ocean. Had to be since there was a "Flow Control" room. Water pumps? Of course. The Sith had an underwater base and they had to get to it through this Flow Control area. If there was an opportunity, we needed to go there as well. May as well grab the Star Map while we were here. Unfortunately, there were no files describing the base so that we could have proof. But it was enough to know that something was there.

I moved on from that and tried to search for the prison. Yet as I searched, I noticed more...disturbing files that mentioned prisoners. Files on "Hunters."

I froze.

Verena.

I never really asked what she did for the Sith, did I? Her cold silver eyes stared down at me from the holoscreen. Instead of her real name, it called her "Ice." Underneath this false name was a list. An entire list of children. Lists and lists of Force sensitive children. Along with some adults. Their locations had been noted with very detailed descriptions. All of it had been assigned years ago. Probably by Darth Revan himself.

And on Verena's chin was the sliver of a scar.

Innocent. Verena was innocent. She didn't kill her mother. She had the scar before she deserted. Yet all of this… it was almost worse.

I quickly scanned through the list. Most were human children, some were alien, and there were a few adults too. None were Jedi. I tried to memorize some of the names—maybe we could rescue them—yet as I read them off, my eyes caught onto one name.

Dustil Onasi.

That was Carth's son. He was alive. Alive and...captured by the Sith. I waved at that name and brought up his file. A familiar-looking teen stared down at me. He'd been marked "captured." So, he was still alive. Out there, somewhere. Being trained as a dark Jedi.

I scanned the rest of the names. So many names. Hundreds. It was sickening how many Force sensitive children the Sith had discovered. How? How did Revan find them all? Kriff. However he did, I was lucky to avoid being placed on a disturbing list like this.

"T3, when you're done, download 'Ice's' records."

I waved away the file just as Bastila rushed up. She'd dealt with the droids with only a minor singe on her cheek and arm.

"Is it done?" she asked.

I waved the screen again, bringing up more files. "Look, Bastila...they take children." The hunter I stopped at glared down at me with dark eyes—someone named Jaq. Hundreds more—but this one listed some Jedi too. "How is this possible? It's like Revan knew they were Force sensitive and sent these monsters after them."

Bastila shuddered as I scrolled through the list trying to find something to explain it all.

"I...I don't…"

"And here! It stopped," I said. "About six months ago, it stopped." I sighed with relief. "Maybe whatever they were using stopped working. It was probably Revan using some dark power."

"M-Maybe…"

I studied Bastila's face. In the bond, I sensed a chill. She was likely as disturbed by this as I was. I sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Hey, it's alright, it's—"

She flinched away as if I stabbed her. I flinched back, not only due to her movements but because I sensed a deep terror. Her eyes watered and her lips shook. Then, it was like nothing happened.

"T3?" She stepped away from me. Her face had become stoney. "Are you almost done?"

When he beeped, I translated. "Ten minutes."

She nodded then walked away. Far away. From me. I stared after her, deeply confused over what just happened. The warmth we shared before was all but a memory now. I decided to give her space, let her process what we discovered, and searched the system for the location of the prisoners. And I was finding nothing.

I found something else though.

"Bastila?" She approached me slowly, and I still felt that cold from her over the bond. I didn't wait for her to ask why I called her over. "Here." I pointed at the map. "It's a dorm."

"A dorm?"

"For apprentices. Recruits."

"What about it?"

"Well, some of those children are probably being tortured to the Sith's ways," I said. "We need to go rescue them. They could tell us where the prisoners are too."

Bastila sighed. "It...I don't...Wes—"

"Why are you arguing with me about this?" I said, narrowing my eyes. "We have the perfect opportunity to help them now. Koth doesn't need our help—"

"It's not that," she said. "It's...I don't think they'll want our help. Or listen to us."

"Oh, they'll listen. I'm rather convincing, remember?"

"You don't understand." Bastila's face grew serious. Dark. "They won't listen so easily, especially when there are many of them. Maybe we could if we had time, but now—"

"You're saying you don't want to try because it'll be too hard?" She paused, searching my face, and I could feel bursts of desire. She wanted to help them too, yet this negativity, this fear that we would fail, ruled over her. I twisted around and met her gaze fiercely. "We'll succeed, Bastila. And even if we somehow fail...it wouldn't be your fault. And this isn't just my 'over confidence' speaking."

When her tightened face softened, I knew her answer.

T3 beeped. He finished downloading the data. I jumped on the computer and started to delete everything off the system.

Now, all we had to do was escape.

Blue incandescence washed over Bastila and me as we entered the bottom floor of the Sith's base. The belly of the whale. HK-47 turned off the generators once again so we had to feel our way down the halls using the dim backup lights.

Flow Control. The dorms were past this room. The entire trip was made in silence except for when I explained to Canderous, Carth, and Jolee what the plan was over the comm. T3 stopped rolling with us and waited by the doors to the Flow Control. They were going to try breaking into the room using T3 to gain access to the submarines.

We stopped at a room marked "2." It was a torture room from what I remembered was on the map. It wouldn't hurt to take a look and see if someone like Belaya or Juhani was there.

Bastila opened the door with the passcard. Inside...was a grisly scene.

A young Selkath took in deep, labored breaths. He was chained to a metal table and beside him were...instruments. Instruments of torture. No one else except for this Selkath was in the cold room.

When the door closed and I stepped closer, the Selkath shivered.

"P-Please!" He began to struggle. "Don't! I-I will join, I promise! Just don't hurt...hurt me…"

Bastila unfroze first. She let out a calming hush as she rushed to the Selkath's side.

"It's alright, we're here to help you."

He gurgled out a green liquid from his mouth.

"Lies. It's a test. I will join you. I promise."

Bastila dug through her pack, probably to search for something to help the Selkath, yet stopped. More gurgling from the Selkath. I approached when she didn't move for a long time. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Bastila—"

"Just cause…" The Selkath coughed. "I can't see...it's a trick...I know. I know it's a trick. No one will come. No one."

His eyes. The Selkath's normally misty eyes were gone. What remained had been burned. Singed. Black. When I observed the rest of the poor Selkath's body, I saw more evidence of this torture. A finger, missing. Sliced off with something hot to prevent blood loss. More dark burns all across the Selkath's smooth skin.

How could they?

Bastila violently shrugged my hand away. She dug through her bag once again and found a medpac. The poor Selkath flinched as she unchained him from the slab, cutting it off using her lightsaber. Once he realized what was happening, he relaxed back onto the slab. Bastila said nothing as she applied the medpac to his eyes.

I didn't move. Honestly, I felt...sick. Sick to my stomach. My vision blurred as I watched Bastila work, somehow she was completely unaffected by this.

"Hey!"

I flinched. The torturer. He'd returned.

The Sith raised his blaster once he opened the door. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "Step away from the prisoner—"

He was interrupted, his words cut off due to the lack of air. My body moved towards him, the edges of my vision blurred as I focused all of my anger, rage, and terror at the torturer. My left hand grazed across the devices on the table next to the Selkath. A poker. The switch made the metal grow hot. It could burn anything. Skin. Brows. Eyes.

I slammed the Sith against the wall. The blaster let off a single shot. Then nothing. Nothing but emotion. Rage. Pain. All of it. I wanted him to feel what the Selkath felt. Pain. Neverending pain. I lifted the poker. And then—

In all honesty, I don't know what happened.

What I do know is that I woke up to a smell. A burning disgusting smell. Below me. My hand had been stopped by a strong grip in the Force. I gripped the hot metal poker tight. The Sith torturer was there. I'd...tackled him to the ground and held him down with the brunt of my left arm.

When I finally registered what happened, I dropped the device. Its clang made me flinch.

His eyes. Burnt. Stabbed. Charcoal. Not only that. I'd stabbed his neck clean through. Three times. Blood pooled at my knees. His mouth hung open. He'd screamed as he died.

My hand shook.

I'd...done that?

I jumped to my feet and collided with the table of torture devices. Multiple rings caused me to shuffle back even more terrified. I'd done that. I gripped my head and slammed against the wall. Why...how could I...I lost myself again to the dark side.

There was someone muttering at my side. Bastila. She was saying my name. Yet, I could barely hear it. How could she even look at me? After what I did? As Jedi, we weren't supposed to kill like that. Take vengeance like that. Right?

But didn't he deserve it?

Of course he did.

I finally snapped out of it when she grabbed my arm and shook.

"Wes!"

I blinked multiple times. Eyes dry. A warm sensation washed over me again. Her kind eyes focused. I didn't want to look away. Eventually, she let out a staggered breath and touched my face.

"It's alright." She rubbed my cheek. "It's alright. You're okay. You're alright. You're back."

It was as if she was speaking to herself. Reassuring herself. I grabbed her hand and pushed her aside. Saying nothing. I still said nothing as I approached the Selkath.

Dead. The stray blaster bolt had hit the tortured Selkath, killing him. In my rush...I hadn't noticed.

I sighed, glancing back at Bastila who still appeared disturbed.

"Come on. Let's find these apprentices. Before…" I glared down at the torturer. "Before they hurt anyone else."

There was a grain of truth with what Bastila told me. The children and young adults taken by the Sith wouldn't listen to us. At least not right away. Which is why I decided a little deception was needed.

I lifted my hood and glanced back at Bastila. Once again, quiet after what just occurred. Yes, it was true, I'd once again almost turned to the dark side, but she helped to bring me back again. Like she promised. And so what? I killed a Sith. Did it matter? He deserved it for what he did.

I stopped. I turned, ready to at least apologize for scaring her like that. Because I wasn't going to apologize for killing that monster.

"Bastila. I—"

"It's fine." She knew what I was going to say. "It...it's fine, Wes. I…" Her eyes narrowed. "I could have stopped you before you...killed him like that, but I didn't want to. I wanted you to do it."

I gapped. Completely surprised.

"What?" I sucked in a breath. "Why?"

"He deserved it."

Her cold words echoed in my mind. Cold, vengeance filled words. Words I agreed with. And I recalled something she told me back on Dantooine. Something I'd scoffed at as some naive Jedi saying she regurgitated to me over and over again.

No one deserves execution, no matter what their crimes.

But it was wrong. Some people did deserve to die for what they did. If they put many lives at risk, innocent lives, it was only fair that their lives ended too. More children would have been imprisoned by the Sith if Revan was still alive. Maybe Bastila was finally coming to her senses about the Jedi ways. As Jolee said, they weren't perfect. We weren't perfect. It would be arrogant to pretend otherwise.

I finally opened the door to the dormitories.

Bunk beds lined the wall and on the opposite end were many lockers. Near those lockers, a group of Sith apprentices huddled behind a makeshift blockade. Some of them pointed their blasters at us, but then relaxed once they realized we were Sith. We marched towards them, confident.

Yet my feet staggered.

Juhani shot up, yellow eyes widened with fear. What was she doing here? I would have thought she would have been with the prisoners.

I couldn't ask her. Not without breaking my cover.

"Masters." One of the Selkath stood and walked around the barricade. "We heard the alarm so we made a defense. What is going on?"

Okay, so, what now? I opened my mouth to say something cruel like I did to the many Sith soldiers before, yet nothing came to mind. Fortunately, Bastila saved me this time.

"That is none of your concern," she hissed. "You should know better than to speak before being spoken to."

The Selkath nodded, bowing her head. "Y-Yes, Master. I'm sorry, Master."

My gaze took note of the apprentices. Most were teenagers or young adults. No young children. They either took them off-world or...they were somewhere worse. Like a torture room. Most were Selkath though there were a few humans and other aliens mixed in.

Juhani relaxed when she heard Bastila speak. She must have recognized her voice.

They all waited in silence. Waited for us to tell them something. Order them to do something. It was...eerie. Like droids, they needed instructions. This had to stop. I had to stop this.

"What's your name?" I asked the Selkath leader.

She paused. "My...name?"

"Yes."

"Shasa."

My shoulders twitched. Of course. Of course Shasa was here. Yet, why?

"Why are you here?"

The question accidentally spilled from my thoughts into words. Fortunately, Shasa interpreted it differently.

She saluted. "To serve the Sith Empire in any way I can, Master."

The rest of the group saluted with her. I was stunned by it. Had they all been brainwashed? Tortured into serving the Sith like that one Selkath was? No. None of them looked harmed at all. How could they be so loyal?

"No." I stepped forward. I was only a foot away. "Why are you here?"

The words wavered past my lips.

Shasa lowered her salute, beady fish eyes blinking as if she was confused.

"W-Why am I here?"

"Why do you want to serve the Sith?"

Shasa paused. "Why...wouldn't I, Master?" She looked at Bastila. "Is this a test of some sort? If so, does this mean I—?"

"Your father was killed by the Sith." My breath hitched. "He was slaughtered like an animal. Why the hell would you want to serve the people who did that to him?"

That caused Shasa to flinch back. The rest of the Selkath blubbered to each other. Bastila grabbed my arm and pulled me back, fear brushed my mind. I'd broken our cover. Unintentionally, those words had spilled out.

Once the blubbering quieted, Shasa raised a blaster pistol.

"Who the hell are you?"

I could tell that Bastila was going to try and salvage this. But it was too late. I pushed back my hood, revealing my face.

"I'm a Jedi."

That caused all of the Selkath to raise their blasters. Shasa let out watery laughs.

"You're stupid to reveal yourself then, Jedi."

Juhani used this opportunity to jump over the barricade and unhooked her hidden lightsaber. The group of apprentices glared at the Cathar as if she had truly betrayed them. When, really, she had just come back to us.

"Stay back," Juhani said, raising the lightsaber hilt.

"Wait, you're not an apprentice, are you?" Shasa muttered.

One of the Selkath rushed to their leader's side. "The Jedi have infiltrated our ranks. Should we sound the alarm, Shasa?"

"No. We can't always go running to the masters. We'll appear weak."

"Wait!" I unhooked my lightsaber and let it fall. Bastila shot me a worried look from beneath her cowl. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Enough tricks."

"It's not a trick. Your mother is looking for you, Shasa."

The Selkath looked at their leader, confused. Shasa growled and the other Selkath at her side muttered near her gills.

"I told you your stupid mother would do something! You should have killed her when the Sith told you to. This failure—"

"Shut it!" Shasa raised her own pistol and pointed it at me. "How do you know about Mother?"

"I saw her." I took a step forward over my lightsaber. I could feel Bastila's worry over the bond. "She tried to kill the Sith...taking herself with them. Shaelas is trying to find you—"

She shot at my feet. I stopped moving.

"My mother is a fool!" Shasa shouted. "When Father died to the Progenitor, Mother went ballistic making up this crazy conspiracy theory about how the Sith killed him and stole his research. She wouldn't let Father rest in peace!" Her muffled breathing ramped up and I felt...darkness. "No one wanted to hire a crazy fish like her, so we were left destitute. When I told her I wanted to join the Sith, well, you can only imagine what her reaction was like."

Bastila stepped forward, dropping her own lightsaber, raising her hands.

"Why would you join the Sith, Shasa?" she asked. "They are...monsters. They've destroyed worlds. Tortured innocents."

"Republic propaganda. The Sith are the victims of lies and half-truths! They are not monsters—no more so than the Republic."

"I don't like the Republic," I said, gaining a glare from Bastila. "But I know for a fact that the Sith are worse."

"The Republic doesn't care about Manaan," one of the Selkath in the back sputtered. "The Sith do! They promised that once the war was over they would leave. But the Republic? They set up casinos and hotels. They made our world a resort for off-worlders. They'll never leave us alone."

Bastila sighed. "The Sith will destroy your planet like they destroyed Taris and Uyter."

"Another lie," Shasa said. "And even if it were true, the Sith would never destroy Manaan. They need the kolto."

"They'll be your only customers if they win. And once that happens, they'll kill every last one of you," I said.

"Prove it." The fish was a foot away from me now. She pressed the cold of the blaster to my forehead. "If the Sith are so evil, then prove it."

Prove it? Why did it even need to be proven? If the damn Selkath opened her eyes, the proof would be there. No. Any "proof" I gave to her would be dismissed as a lie. She was ruled by emotion. The dark side. Facts, logic, reason, it was stranded out at sea. Only something personal would convince her.

So, before she could press the trigger, I grabbed her claw and focused on the Force…focusing on her mind. Somehow, it was easy to peer into the depths of it.

Hunger. Endless hunger. Mother spent every last credit paying for investigator after investigator. They went hungry again tonight. Which meant she had to feed them. She had to keep them safe. Father was gone, but they had to move on.

They had to survive.

One, two, three hundred credits. It was easy once she got the hang of it. One day, though, she took a risk. A Sith. They had credits. She slid her hand into their pocket. Yet this Sith was different. They sensed her. Grabbed her claw. Terror rushed through her thin body. Imprisonment. That is what she faced now. And mother...she would go hungry again. She would die without her protection.

But instead of calling for the SSF, the Sith chuckled.

"Hungry?" They took out the credits from their pocket. She didn't reach for them for a moment but…when she did, the Sith pulled back. "No, you are hungry for more than just credits, urchin." The Sith whispered, like a sharp firaxan. "You are hungry for power."

Shasa dropped the blaster with a gasp and a sputter. I released my grip on her mind and stumbled back myself. The apprentices were stunned by what happened. So stunned, they didn't shoot.

"They saved me." She gasped, on her knees. "They saved all of us. Some of us...we just needed to survive. How could…" Her head lifted. "How could saving us make someone evil?"

The Sith had taken advantage of them. Saw their desperation and used it against them. They were victims. I knelt down so that I could speak to her at eye level.

"If they truly wanted to save you," I said, "they would have just given you the credits."

"I wouldn't need to get credits if Mother hadn't gone insane! If I was strong enough!" she shouted. "Father wasn't killed by the Sith. Why would the Sith kill anyone?"

I didn't answer. No. This time, I grabbed her claw again.

They would kill for information.

Guttural screams vibrated off the side of the metal walls. Darth Revan's mask didn't flinch as the Sith continued to torture the Selkath scientist.

"Shasa."

When Revan uttered that name, the doctor flinched.

"No…"

"You have a daughter."

"Don't hurt her, you monster, you—! Please...don't...please…"

"Give me what I want," Revan whispered, "or she will suffer twice the amount of pain that you've suffered."

Another image. This was now Shasa's memory.

"Make me swim! I wanna swim!"

"You're getting a bit old for that, flounder…"

"So?"

Her father sighed. He lifted her in the air then guided her around the house. Shasa giggled as she moved her arms, pretending to swim in the air.

Then. Finally...the vision again.

Crack.

The doctor's body sagged to the cold slab. Eyes rolled back. Dead. Revan lowered his hand and marched out of the interrogation room. The body and the research would have to be properly disposed of.

It wouldn't do to leave evidence, after all.

Her body shivered after I exited her mind. Tears dripped down her smooth skin. Dripping onto the metal floor. Everyone was quiet. No one moved. And there was only sadness. The pain of sadness caused by the visions I showed her through the Force. Eventually, she spoke, whispered underneath her breath.

"Daddy."

Here is an extra long chapter as a reward for the wait! :)

Next time, the gang will finish the break-in with a few more surprises... There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

I want to thank everyone who has favorited, followed, reviewed, read, and supported this so far! I really do like hearing your thoughts :)! If you want to have a sneak peek on the next update (or if you want to check to make sure I still live lol), I occasionally post preview snippets/drafts on my Tumblr torilaa.

Until next time!