Plop!

A rock fell into the lake. One more time. Just one more time and I can do it. All of the rocks that had been lifted by the Force fell with a thump. There was stirring in the bushes.

"Ah! Um…sorry. Didn't mean to—"

Water splashed across my nose from my mouth as I coughed. Air returned to my lungs and someone held me steady.

"Easy."

Images from that odd vision dispersed, and the only sensation I could recall was a deep, relentless fear. The Selkath language was dull in my ears. A medical doctor held me down. I tried to sit up…tried to find Bastila…yet when I went to sit up, fatigue washed over me again. An IV…trailed to my wrist. Terror. It raced through my veins.

No. Not again.

The Force wavered and I couldn't focus enough to defend myself. To take out the kriffing IV. The Selkath blubbered something…something about staying calm.

Never. I will not. Not again. I won't—not again!

The Selkath slammed against the wall. Bastila. Her face wavered above me. Her hand held my cheek. The warmth from the bond sent a wave of calm over me. My eyes fluttered shut.

Hours passed. I awoke, bleary, to the ceiling of a cold medical room. The taste of salty kolto tainted my mouth as I came to a terrifying realization.

Both of my arms were strapped down. An IV filled with who knows what type of substance sat near me. It…must have been what caused my head to feel so heavy. My breath was lost once again and I glared at the offending IV.

My voice was hoarse. "What…is…"

"You were put under for our safety." A Selkath blubbered. "Please remain calm."

I looked to my left. The Selkath sat in a chair and stared down at me as if I was a strange specimen. My chest heaved—my voice cracked.

"Remain calm…kriff that! Why is an…an IV…?" My fist clenched. "Take out the kriffing IV—"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot. You are under arrest. The SSF discovered your vessel and ordered your surrender. You only lived due to the kolto within your lungs, but you would have died if it remained in your body like that for long. A doctor resuscitated you, yet you attacked with your powers. You didn't give them much choice."

I smacked my dry lips. Figures.

"Who are you?"

"I have been assigned as your Arbiter."

I sighed, laying back down on the pillow. I hoped I would have never been arrested again in my lifetime. Guess it was wishful thinking. At least I had an Arbiter this time.

"What have I been…arrested for?"

The Arbiter stared at me like I was an idiot.

"You and your companions were found below Manaan's oceans yesterday. Surely you know this is against the law? Not only that, but we discovered an illegal facility built on the Hrakert Rift. Then there are the Sith's accusations that you broke into their base and killed one of their generals. These types of crimes are taken very seriously on Manaan. You all face the death penalty."

I wished I could have awoken to more cheerful words.

"No. We don't." I glared. "This is a misunderstanding. We had nothing to do with that. We're innocent."

"Yes. That's what you believe. But the evidence shows otherwise."

This was my damn Arbiter? I tried to believe that Sunry was innocent of his crimes even when the evidence was against him at first. How could I trust an Arbiter who didn't even take me for my word?

"I will defend myself."

The Arbiter flinched. "That is…not recommended."

"I don't care." My voice felt scratchy. "Inform High Judge Shelkar that I will defend myself and my companions during the trial."

The Selkath Arbiter stood and walked towards the door. "You're making a mistake, human."

"It would be a mistake to have you defend me, Arbiter."

With that, the Selkath passed through the doors—the panel flashed red on the side, signaling that I had been locked in. I sighed and laid back down. Trying…to focus. These Selkath went all out when it came to dulling my connection to the Force. Drugs, a neural restraining collar, this kriffing ringing in my ears.

…Wes.

Yet, still, I could sense Bastila. Our connection was faint, but I knew she was close. I tried to tell myself that everything would be fine. I was able to prove Sunry innocent. If I could do that, how hard would it be to then prove myself innocent?

Oh, who am I kidding? It was going to be impossible. And we couldn't ask Ambassador Wann for help when Erina Takaon had him under her boot. I almost wished I'd drowned in the ocean at this point.

Time was immeasurable in this room. An hour could have passed. Or a day. My stomach ached and my mouth still felt dry. I didn't sense the doors opening, so I flinched when a heavily armored SSF officer marched in.

"High Judge Shelkar has asked to see you."

This was…unexpected.

"Asked…to see me?"

The SSF officer didn't elaborate. He unlocked me from the bed and took out the IV. I hissed in pain as I felt a rush fill my head. Still under the effects of the drugs, the officer had to pull me up to my feet and cuff my arms behind me.

The Selkath led the way through the sterile halls of the medical ward. We entered an elevator that shot up. Through the glass, the Ahto City early morning sun flickered and the casino lights made me wince. I didn't dare ask why this was happening—I still had this damn neural restraining collar on, after all. Once the doors opened, the Selkath officer led me into an empty waiting room.

Judge Shelkar looked up from his datapad when the officer opened the door. It was the same plain office I'd been in when I requested to become Sunry's Arbiter. Maybe this is why I was here? Did I need to fill out paperwork?

I narrowed my eyes. Really?

"Wesley Gale. As you requested, High Judge."

Shelkar narrowed his eyes. "Why is he cuffed?"

We both stared at the judge as if he just told us to jump out the window.

"High Judge…the human is a suspect—"

"Release him."

The officer stared at me in shock. A second later, he took out his keys and released me from the cuffs and the neural restraining collar. Once I was free, Shelkar waved. "Leave us."

"But sir…"

"You heard me."

The officer narrowed his eyes then walked out. When the door closed, Shelkar waved at the seat in front of his desk.

"Please, sit. We have a lot to discuss."

I stared at the Selkath, confused, but listened to his request. My body shivered, the drugs were starting to fade away, and I let out a cough. Shelkar looked at me for a long time, before he dropped a bombshell.

"Erina Takaon escaped from Ahto City last night."

I flinched at those words. "W-What?"

"A Republic soldier delivered evidence to us yesterday evening. It was a confession. Takaon committed the crime of matricide."

Carth. He must have sensed with his "gut-feeling" that Takaon was up to no good.

Shelkar continued. "We went to arrest the Echani, yet she was able to jump into hyperspace using an unregistered ship. Last night, we went through her files…" He brought up a holo of the Hrakert station. "Takaon is responsible for tampering with recordings, blackmail, and bribery. She also helped fund the construction of this facility under orders from the Republic. Ambassador Wann has broken the treaty."

"I..." I couldn't deny it. He had the evidence. I looked to the side. "Yes. He did."

The holoimage disappeared and once again there was silence.

"You do realize what this means, Jedi." My shoulders fell. "We cannot allow any offworlders below our waters. On Manaan, the kolto is what gives us power. Strength. Without it, an army could easily take our world. What the Republic did by constructing that station…it is an act of war."

No… My lips pursed and I struggled to come up with something, anything, to convince the Selkath judge that it wasn't true. Shelkar once again stared at me. It was unnerving. But then…his body sank back.

"My son is dead." I shot him a raised brow. Shelkar's gaze wavered. "A group of Selkath youth escaped the Sith embassy and told me that…they tortured him. Killed him." His rubbery voice shook. "The Sith are monsters. If I were to turn this evidence into the Council, the Republic would have their kolto contracts canceled. They would suffer in the war against the Sith." He paused. "For too long, we've tolerated the injustices committed by the Sith in your war. In the name of justice, we have allowed the crimes of the Sith to go unpunished. No more."

I sat forward.

"You mean…"

"We have found evidence that the Sith have created a station on the Hrakert Rift." Shelkar's eyes seemed to smile at me. "This station threatened the Progenitor. Even though most of the evidence was destroyed with the station, we've collected records and the SSF found a Sith transport. You were captured and forced into this vessel. Fortunately, you managed to kill your capture and escape. After this event, we will be holding a trial to determine the Sith's…status."

I couldn't believe it. Judge Shelkar was going to lie on our behalf. Incredible.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Would they believe…?"

"Whether it is true or not will be determined during the trial." Shelkar tilted his head. "That won't be your concern."

I still couldn't believe it. All of it wasn't for nothing in the end. Unless…

"The kolto…" I frowned. "The station was keeping most of it for over a month. Will it be…?"

"The kolto is in short supply. We noticed an irregular amount surface these past few weeks. At first, we believed it to be caused by the storms. It's why we decided to up the price—among other reasons." Shelkar shook his fishy head. "Now we know that the station was the cause. Right now, some is floating to the surface, but it will take time before it reaches Ahto City. Production will be held back for at least a month."

I let out a long sigh. It was one of the many consequences that went with destroying Wann's project. The Uyter refugees that were severely injured would die. No doubt. With the little amount of kolto surfacing, Ambassador Wann would take all that he could for the war effort.

It's not our fault.

Bastila's past words rang within my ears. Along with Jolee's reassurances. It wasn't my fault. I knew that. Some things were just…out of my control. I couldn't blame myself for that, otherwise, I would truly go insane.

Shelkar sat back. "I assume those on board the Sith vessel were with you?" I nodded. The Selkath judge nodded back. "Then they will also be released. We will also return your belongings." He narrowed his eyes. "If I were you, human, I would leave our world quickly and not return. Already some of my kind find this decision…suspect."

I stood, shivered again, yet didn't move. Still shocked at the turn of events.

"We'll leave as soon as we can and…thank you."

"No need to thank me. If we hadn't gone so easy on the Sith...my son might still be alive today. I am only doing what our council should have done from the beginning." His beady eyes shined. "Protect the Selkath of Manaan."

After collecting my lightsaber (and putting on a spare tunic), the SSF led me to the courthouse foyer where we were all reunited. Bastila's face glowed as she walked toward me. Canderous gave me a mischievous grin while Verena nodded with stoic approval. Juhani appeared…nervous. I recognized that look. It was the same look she gave me when she thought she "failed."

I told them why Judge Shelkar released us then went into detail about what happened when I'd been trapped in the Hrakert station. Including the painful fate of Darth Bandon. Canderous regaled what happened while I was "passed out on the floor like a helpless youngling." The Selkath that rescued me dragged me to the Sith's sub, yet before we could escape, the SSF arrived. Instead of running, they had no choice but to ask for their aid.

When Canderous finished, Bastila cut in—saying that we needed to report to the Ambassador, Admiral Dodonna, and the Jedi Council about our success in retrieving the Star Map.

I huffed. "Can't that wait until we find Jolee, Mission, and Carth?"

I'd used that as an excuse when I really didn't want to see or talk to them. Bastila sensed my unease, of course, so she let out a long sigh.

"If that is what you would rather do…"

"Yes, actually. I want to make sure people I actually care about are okay first before I talk to core slimes that lied to our faces."

She narrowed her eyes. "Wes. That is—"

"Yeah, I'd rather go find flyboy than let some politicians yap my ear off," Canderous muttered. "You don't need us, do you?"

Bastila studied us with crossed arms. "Well, alright. You can go find the others while I make our report."

Juhani stepped forward.

"I will join you, Shan." She hesitated. "Actually…I wish to request something from the Jedi Council."

I raised a brow. "Oh? What?"

Her yellow eyes became shifty. "I…I wish to ask to return to Dantooine." What? I went to vocalize my protest, but Juhani rushed to explain. "I've made too many mistakes, Gale." Her accented voice wavered. "I let my anger take control, and I almost lost myself when I confronted Darth Bandon. If I am to continue with this mission, I think I might fall to the—"

"No. That was an understandable reaction," I said. "Bandon tortured Belaya to the dark side—that bastard deserved far worse."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Gale, my reaction goes against the ways of the Jedi. I shouldn't have lost control of my emotions like that. Bandon deserved redemption, like all—"

"Hell no," I hissed. "After what he did to Belaya…to Uyter…nothing could redeem him."

"But…"

"If you want to leave the mission, fine. Honestly, though? I think you're strong enough to resist any temptation thrown your way. After all, out of all of us, you've seen it the most. That's why the Council sent you with us, right?"

Juhani blinked. Then, she smiled back though, it was strained.

"Right."

I nodded with a smile, then turned to Bastila. "See you later then?"

Her eyes were glazed over. She shook as if I'd shaken her awake.

"Y-Yes."

I frowned. "...and maybe go back to the hotel when you're done and get some sleep."

Verena nodded. "Yes, I agree. You were up all night, Bastila."

Her head dipped, fatigue and embarrassment wavered.

"You don't have to…worry about me." She turned without giving me a second look. "Come on, Juhani."

The sunlight caused me to wince as Canderous, Verena, and I walked the streets of Ahto City to our destination. As we walked, I told everyone over the comm about what happened. Mission had chosen a sleazy cantina for their hideaway. Carth didn't…like that the young teen picked a place with hookers and strippers, but there hadn't been many options since most places had been owned by Takaon.

Keyword being had. All of the casinos had been confiscated by the SSF. The Ring was no longer ruled by Takaon's silver fist.

We arrived after thirty minutes or so of walking. Carth twisted in his seat at the bar with a frown on his face when Canderous called out. Jolee and Mission were currently playing rounds of pazaak beside him. They immediately stopped when they spotted us.

"Wessy!"

Mission jumped off from the bar and rushed towards us. She froze when she noticed Verena.

"Little V!"

The Echani's serious face dipped.

"Kid, I told you not to call me—"

She was interrupted by Mission's infamous Wookiee hug. I smirked as the poor Echani started turning as blue as Mission from the suffocation.

Mission rambled. "I'm so glad these idiots finally rescued you! I don't care that you're a Sith, really! If anyone has a problem with it, then I'll—"

"Okay…kid…can you…let me…"

"Oh, whoops!"

Verena let out a cough when Mission released her from the hug. She adjusted Yusanis' blade with a sigh then narrowed her eyes at Canderous who started chuckling.

"Shut it, Mando."

Mission skipped as she led us to the bar—telling us about what she and Jolee saw on the holonews. Erina made a grand exit indeed. At least an entire troop of SSF officers died in her escape. I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into her again. We'd be more than prepared to fight her when the time came, of course.

Jolee sat beside Carth at the bar and commented on how bored he was sitting around waiting for us. I ignored the "cranky old man" and sat next to Carth. Verena…gave Carth a nervous side-eye, and was smart enough not to approach. They'd spend at least a few days getting used to each other's presence, I'm sure. Canderous and Verena ordered a drink to "celebrate." Mission begged them to order one for her. Thankfully, they pretended like she hadn't said anything.

I ordered a drink along with some food and sat forward at the bar with a sigh. Carth looked…nervous. I raised a brow at both his silence and his guilty expression. He wasn't drunk, was he? That would be the day.

"Everything all right, Orangy? You haven't said a word."

Carth sighed. "No, it's…" He twisted the glass of beer on the counter. "I was worried about you guys. That's all."

"What, did you think we were going to die or something?" The bartender slid the drink and I caught it with only minor spillage. "You really underestimate me, huh?"

"Not that, I…" He shot me a concerned look as I drank some of the beer. "I'd been…so frustrated, so suspicious of Erina, that I turned in the evidence. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I only risked your lives in the process."

I paused and stopped drinking.

"What do you mean? We're fine."

"You were lucky that you had a judge on your side. If you didn't, all of the evidence they found in Takaon's manse…it would have been a disaster. Your deaths would have been my fault since I gave up that blackmail."

My food was placed in front of me, but even though I was starving, I ignored it.

"I trusted you to turn in the evidence if shit hit the fan, Carth."

He frowned. "Yes, and I blew it."

"No." I crossed my arms. "We blew it."

Carth's face dipped. "That's—"

"Your mistakes are my mistakes are the Republic's...mistakes." I smiled. "Right?" The pilot stared at me, unimpressed until I slapped and shook his shoulder. "Stop worrying about it, Orangy. It wasn't even a mistake anyway. We're alive—thanks to my genius. You really need to stop underestimating me."

He sighed, at first I thought he was going to comment on my "ego." But he laughed and raised his glass up to me.

"To Wesley Gale's genius."

I chuckled and grabbed my cup, slamming it into his.

"To Carth Onasi's paranoia."

He narrowed his eyes after I drank.

"Really? Did you really have to insult me?"

"What?" I smacked my lips. "Am I wrong?"

"Yes! For the thousandth time, I am not paranoid!"

I grabbed the pazaak deck sitting nearby—Mission's more than likely—and started shuffling.

"Wanna play? Republic senate rules. No plus or minus cards. We're going with pure luck here."

Carth smirked—he almost looked evil as he put his drink down.

"No, we're betting, asshole. Five hundred credits."

"You really want to do that?" I sat back with a hum. "I don't know…if credits are on the line, I'll do anything to win. Anything."

This made Carth blink and regret crossed his eyes.

"Okay, yeah, you're right. Republic senate rules."

"Nope! Too late. Bets are all on the table."

I slammed our first two cards down—the thudding sound drowning out Carth's tired sigh.

HK-47's lights dimmed as I hooked in another wire to the arm joint. I'd set up a small space in the corner of my room so that I could work without bumping into the decor. The empty sounds of the hotel were interrupted by an occasion fitz as I hooked another wire to the motor core.

After winning five hundred credits from Carth, we returned to the hotel to wait for Bastila and Juhani's return. I figured that while we waited I'd put the time into good use. The ex-assassin droid celebrated my return like a dependant kath hound pup would (without the cute running though). I immediately got to work on repairing his missing arm with the parts we scrounged up from the markets the other day.

As I worked, I unconsciously sensed the bond. It was…that depression I'd felt before during the Republic's party. It once again reared within my mind. And I hated it…it was distracting—

"Gah!"

I shut off the hydrospanner and sucked at my burnt index finger. HK's face twisted at the sound of my pain.

"Observation: I do not advise self-inflicted torture at the moment, Master, as much as it would help to practice in the event. I am uncomfortably...exposed, and I cannot afford for you to damage my inner workings."

I hissed, throwing down the spanner (ignoring the strange implications HK "observed").

"What am I even doing?" I asked myself. "Why am I tampering with Darth Revan's droid? It can damn explode if it wanted to..."

I knew the answer. I started messing with this thing in order to help get information about why Revan killed Yusanis. But was this information even worth it anymore? Verena was fully on our side now. It didn't matter why the Sith killed someone, really. So, then, why was I bothering?

"Answer: I do not know, Master. Supposition: Perhaps this is another type of self-inflicted torture? You do seem to enjoy tormenting yourself. If I were the T3 unit, I would call a licensed professional. But the T3 unit is an inadequate, idiotic—"

"Self-inflicted torture. Right." I picked up the spanner again. Then…a strange thought. "HK, what are your opinions on love?"

"Answer: I do not have an opinion since I do not have a definition of 'love' in my databanks, Master. However, it is categorized under a different definition. Query: By 'love' do you mean…procreation?"

I sighed. "Never mind, it was a stupid question—"

"Definition: Procreation or 'love' is when one organic meatbag releases biological data into another organic meatbag to produce an offspring. Pleasure is sometimes a side effect yet it is not the intended purpose. Warning: Organic mating should be avoided for your species, Master, since you human meatbags produce like wild gizka. If there was an…accident, well, you'd have to deal with the possibility that an improved copy of yourself could someday rise and try to supplant you. They would have a clear advantage since they would be younger, stronger, and faster." His lights blinked out as he let out the fake sound of shivering. "I do not know how you meatbags stand the notion.

"Contemplation: I would say that the risk of procreation is worth it for the pleasure, Master—with some protection. But this type of pleasure distracts you from your purpose to cause pain and suffering to our enemies. It leaves you…exposed. Vulnerable. In more ways than one. You cannot trust the meatbags to not kill or harm you during the act.

"Recommendation: Best to smash the desire to breed under heel and take it in hand before it gets worse. I would also recommend brutally decapitating the meatbag you want to have relations with. Replace a carnal pleasure with a…violent one."

I gaped in disgust at the droid. Too shocked to interrupt this…tirade? Rant? Great, something else that I had to fix in this odd droid.

"I-I'm talking about love, HK. Not procreation. There is a difference."

"Statement: Not really, Master. My creator would have programmed in a definition if that were true."

"Well, your creator was stupid. We'll add one. The definition of love should be less…clinical. More poetic."

His lights dimmed and I swear he shivered.

"Poetic, Master?"

"Yeah, you know. Something mushy like…love is a day that never ends, a night of bright stars, and a sunrise without clouds." Force, no, that sounded awful. "Err…I mean, when you're in love, you can't think about anything else. Only their smile. Their touch. Their…kiss. It's something that feels…beautiful yet strangely impossible at the same time."

I smirked at the thought of sending HK over to Bastila with a cheesy love poem. Maybe I'll do that tonight. She'd probably die from a heart attack.

"I…see. Definition: Love is making a shot to the knees of a target 120 kilometers away using an Aratech sniper rifle with a tri-light scope."

I flinched. "Well, that definition is 'beautiful' and 'almost impossible' in a way I guess. But it's not very relevant."

"Disagreement: It is relevant based on how you described it, Master."

"Well, to make it relevant, how about you add… Love is knowing your target, putting them in your targeting reticule, and together, achieving a singular purpose against statistically long odds."

"Confirmation: Fine, Master, but this definition is, frankly, idiotic."

"Did I ask for your opinion?" I smirked as I finished one of the hydraulic connections. "I'm guessing Darth Revan wasn't the romantic type, huh? If he programmed you with a definition like that."

Though he was the Dark Lord of the Sith. Probably the least romantic being in the galaxy.

HK's lights blinked and his head twisted—as if stumped by my question. "Answer: I...told you, Master. I am not familiar with this 'Darth Revan' individual. So, I do not know if this 'Darth Revan' individual would be such." He blinked again. "Statement: Though...if this 'Darth Revan' individual were to say a specific code or passphrase, I would remind him, Master."

I sighed with a shrug. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not morbidly curious enough to dig around your memory core to find out about a dead Sith Lord's love life. Or lack of one."

HK's head froze as I returned to working on the wires. "Statement: You are my master, Master. Even if the way you act...confuses me at times."

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual."

A knock on the door interrupted my repairs. HK's lights dimmed as I put the hydrospanner aside so that I could stand and answer the door. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw Bastila standing there.

I smiled.

"Caught me at a bad time. Trying to repair this psycho."

HK grumbled something or other when I pointed a thumb back at him. Bastila's gaze drifted to the floor.

"I spoke to Ambassador Wann…and Admiral Dodonna. We're scheduled to leave tomorrow morning. The fleet will clear a window for us so that we can safely jump to Korriban. But with Darth Bandon out of the picture, I doubt anyone will follow us."

"Alright. That's good."

We stood there in awkward silence. I felt a wave of fragile anger in the air.

"Wann wasn't too happy about what we did."

Of course he wasn't.

"Well, tough shit."

"Neither was the Admiral." The bags under her eyes wrinkled with her nose in disgust. "They didn't even care that we could have destroyed all of the kolto. All they cared about…"

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her enough so that she looked back up to me. Stress. Fatigue. It was getting to her. She really needed to relax.

"Who cares about them?" I scoffed. "Forget it. You know what we should do? Celebrate."

She shook her head. "We shouldn't go out and—"

"Come on. We're on a kriffing resort planet and in a week we'll be in hell. We haven't had a single day to take advantage of our vacation package without bantha shit being flown into our faces. Which is typical." I raised a brow. "So before tomorrow…let's not worry about it. Okay?" Even though she nodded her head, Bastila still had a niggling sense of doubt in her chest. I watched her tired face for a moment, then sighed. "Take a nap for an hour. I'll gather everyone and come up with something fun to do."

"Fun?" She became concerned. "What type of fun?"

"The relaxing type of fun, of course." I smirked. "We're not going cantina hopping, don't worry."

Her response was slow.

"If that's…what you want."

"No, if it's what you want." I crossed my arms. "I'm not making you do something you don't want to do. If you don't want to relax, well…"

"Of course I want to relax!" Her shout was strained. Terse. "It's just…recently, I can't afford to."

"Why not?"

"Because it's—!" She interrupted herself with a huff. "Fine. I'll rest. Wake me up in an hour."

As she marched away, I tried to call back to her. Yet, she'd run away before I could ask what, exactly, was wrong this time.

Precious sunlight. Warmth hit my skin—burning. Honestly, I thought I'd loathe the idea of being cooked by a sun again (Tatooine soured that experience), but now…now…it was so nice.

"I deserve this…" I said, sighing. "Force, I deserve this."

"Nah."

I opened my eyes with a frown. Jolee stood over me with a large grin on his face, a handball under his arm. Like Mission and I, he'd put on a swimsuit so that he could fully enjoy this resort (and why did an old man look so Force-damn muscular?).

He threw the ball at me, but I didn't bother catching it. Instead, it bounced off my forehead.

"Nah?" I crossed my arms. "What do you mean nah? I deserve at least a few hours of doing nothing after all the shit I've done, old man."

Jolee chuckled as if I'd made a joke worthy of a comedy sketch.

"You need to be careful with the language there, kid. There are younglings about."

Speaking of younglings, children of many species from human to Twi'lek to Selkath rushed with piercing shouts towards the fake waves of this fake beach. Mission laughed maniacally after them—it was nice that she was acting her own age for once.

The saltwater wave pool was filled with Manaan's ocean water, sure, but the Selkath were paranoid about letting anyone, even tourists, get close to the true waters of Manaan. It wasn't entirely an authentic experience, but it was close enough. Not like I was actually expecting to sit on the beaches of Naboo while drinking out of a crystal wine glass. Maybe someday…surely if we saved the galaxy, I'd get some kind of reward.

Carth sat at the wooden bar near the "pier". He was still clothed and sat next to Verena. They were talking about deep subjects like the Sith or…something I'd rather not bother listening into. Maybe later. Because I was relaxing now. Canderous chose not to come, citing the old "Mandalorian" handbook that said swimming around "for fun" wasn't that fun. He was at some strip club. Probably. Juhani meditated near the fake dunes, practicing her focus with all of the chaos that surrounded her.

And Bastila…

She was alone, staring off into the distant blue sky. She also sat in a meditative pose yet she wasn't at peace. Not in the slightest. I'd hoped that coming to some type of "natural" environment would ease her mind. At least before we had to fly in the sterile Ebon Hawk for days. Guess a calming fake atmosphere wasn't enough.

I sat up with a yawn, rubbing my sore shoulder which popped.

"Besides dampening the mood…what did you want, exactly?"

"Oh, nothing really." Jolee sat on the towel next to me. Sand blew into our faces. "You looked rather lonely laying here, is all."

"I'm not lonely. Better than normal, actually."

"Sure."

"How can you talk? You're the old man who secluded himself in a jungle for twenty years…" I paused. "Speaking of which, why did you seclude yourself in a jungle for twenty years?"

Jolee acted as if he hadn't heard me.

"Hmm?"

I sighed. "I said, how did you end up on Kashyyyk? And why did you stay there?"

"Oh, Kashyyyk?" He laid onto his back with a thoughtful expression. "I…got sick of treachery and deceit. So much so, I left the civilized parts of the galaxy and headed instead for the uncivilized parts."

"Uncivilized? There are Wookiees on Kashyyyk."

"Oh, no, I was on my way to somewhere else when I crash-landed on Kashyyyk. The ship I was using was a rust-bucket."

I blinked. "And you just…stayed after that?"

"Yup."

"Why…why didn't you just fix your ship and keep going?"

"Hmph. I'm no mechanic."

"So!" I stared down at the old man, shocked. "You could have asked for help from the Wookiees or something instead of doing nothing."

"Well, I just didn't feel the need to leave. It seemed like an interesting enough place to spend a couple of decades exploring."

This old man…I rubbed my face of sweat as I stared off into the fake horizon of the fake ocean.

"You're completely insane."

"Oh, I'm insane?" He sat up and gave me that twinkling gleam of a smile. "Interesting that you say that."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm crazy. Not crazy enough to live in a jungle filled with dangerous creatures for two decades! That and I doubt the Wookiees appreciated you living in their Shadowlands like a stowaway."

"Hmm…actually, they got to trust me well enough after a couple of decades of my aid. The Wookiees always offered tributes to 'the hairless one' in return. Hmph. Hairless one. I used to have plenty of hair, I tell you." He pointed to his white chest hairs. "Still have some, actually."

I grimaced with disgust. "But still, two decades? Alone? With the Wookiees?"

"With the Wookiees."

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Yes. What did you stay for? Why seclude yourself?"

Jolee paused. The sound of the waves and the screaming children interrupted the silence.

"Why...I did it all for the Wookiees."

"The Wookiees?"

"The Wookiees."

That caused me to sit up again and give Jolee a look. He was pulling my leg. Had to be.

"You are a very strange old man, you know that, right?"

Jolee let out a single laugh. "Why, thank you. You're not so bad, yourself, all things considered."

"All things considered?"

"Well, putting your terrible attitude aside, you really do…care for this little group of ours, don't you? It's…well, quite frankly I'm relieved."

"Of course I care about them," I said. "Why wouldn't I?"

He stared off into the distance. Appearing almost reflective. Sad. Then, he waved a wrinkled hand.

"Oh, I don't know. Ignore me. I'm just a…rambling old man."

With that, I got up. Relaxing was going to be impossible with a pessimistic old man yapping in my ear.

"Right. I'm going to actually have fun." I grabbed the handball from the sands. "For once."

Jolee chuckled. "Then have fun, kid."

And for once, I did. Mission waved her arms from the roaring pool and shouted at me to toss the ball. I snuck Bastila a sneaky look…then frowned when she didn't respond in kind with a disappointed or concerned expression. So, focusing, I made the ball hover over the group of children. They all looked at it and at me with awe as it floated into Mission's hands.

She grinned.

The children begged for me to do it again, so Mission threw the ball and I caught it using the Force. I made it bounce in the air and a smile grew on my face as the children giggled at the ball's antics. They'd get bored of it eventually though, so facing the beach, I spotted all of the spare handballs and willed them towards us. As they each floated towards the younglings, I shot Bastila another look. Hoping she would storm over here and demand me to "stop using the Force in such childish ways." Yet, she was still in that strange daze.

I frowned.

A ball went flying towards my head. I made it freeze in the air and narrowed my eyes at Mission. I sent it back with a small pulse and it slammed into the young Twi'lek's face.

She sputtered as she fell into the water.

"Hey!"

That's when Gil rose from the waters like a fish and jumped onto one of the floating balls with a struggled meep.

"Mission!" I grabbed the poor gizka from the ball. He almost slipped out of my hands. "Why did you bring Gil, I don't think he can swim!"

She pouted. "Hey! I didn't bring him into the ocean, he jumped in after me!"

"You shouldn't have brought him with us at all!"

"Oh, I'm so-rry."

I carried the poor creature back to the sands and released the gizka. He hopped away towards a box filled with fruits and began munching on them. Well, he was going to be preoccupied for a long time now, at least. I spotted Carth who had moved from the bar and was giving me an amused glance. My face warmed once I realized the bastard probably noticed I'd freaked out about the safety of a gizka of all things.

I stormed over to the pilot, sand kicking up behind me.

"What?"

"Nothing. You look like you're having…fun. That's all."

I crossed my arms and looked at him closely. "Well then, stop moping around and join us. Get some R&R. For real this time."

"I wish I could, but I was going to visit Jordo one last time before we leave tomorrow."

"Ah." I faced the fake ocean. "You know, he told me you saved his life on Telos."

Carth didn't respond for a moment.

"He told you that?"

"Yeah, he said that's why he helped us."

More silence. Carth returned to staring out at sea.

"His entire family was killed on Telos." His voice was low, almost too quiet to hear over the waves. "As his house was burning down…he tried to run back in. I knocked him out before he could. His father, his mother, his sister…they all burned alive."

Kriff. I…hadn't expected something like that to happen to someone who had been so friendly. So outgoing.

His head dipped. "I can still hear them screaming to this day. For a while, he didn't forgive me for that."

"You did the right thing though," I said. "He would have died too."

"I know. I think a part of him wished that he'd died with them. He blamed himself for what happened." Carth shook his head. "He almost drank himself to death while we were stationed here…rehabilitation my ass. Without anything to do, without a purpose, all he could do was mourn. One day, when he almost got arrested, I sat him down, told him that it wasn't his fault, that it was Saul…" His voice trailed. "I couldn't take it anymore. I had to rejoin the front lines. I promised Jordo that I'd kill Saul with my bare hands if it came down to it. For all the suffering he caused us both with his betrayal, I wanted him to feel it a hundred times over. Even if…I died in the process."

I grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, you won't. We'll help you. If we ever run into that bastard, we'll kill him together. You don't have to do it alone."

He blinked

"That's nice of you to say, Wes, but the mission…"

"Kriff the mission. Saving the galaxy wouldn't be worth it if someone like that is still alive."

His tight face slackened, probably realizing that I'd repeated Verena's words, then…he laughed.

"That isn't a very Jedi thing of you to say."

I smiled. "No, it isn't. But...we can't have you dying on a suicide mission, Orangy. Or, well, I wouldn't like it if you died at all."

"Then...we'll kill Saul," he said. "Together."

I nodded. "Together."

I released his shoulder, and that's when I remembered. Dustil. Carth's son was alive. Captured by the Sith, in fact. I opened my mouth to tell him, but…how would he take the news? I didn't get a chance to tell him anyway, since the pilot turned and walked off. My lips pursed. I'd have to tell him tomorrow on the Ebon Hawk. I couldn't keep this from him for long or else he'll run into his son…his very alive son.

Exhausted from that conversation, I walked up and sat at the bar next to Verena. The Echani stared into her Tarisian ale with a tightened expression. She didn't even look up at me when I sat next to her.

"You and Carth were talking for a long time there…" I said after I ordered a drink.

Verena narrowed her eyes at her ale.

"It was nothing. Just…flyboy bringing up regrets from my past. He promised to kill me if I made any wrong moves. I asked what sort of moves he meant. Onasi didn't appreciate that statement." She laughed, once, but then her face dipped. "But we are in agreement that the Sith should be destroyed at least."

I watched the younglings throw handballs at each other. Some pretended to make them float in the air.

"Darth Revan made you kidnap Force sensitive children," I said.

She sighed. "I know."

"Why wasn't it that?"

Verena finally looked up at me. Her silver gaze met mine.

"What?"

"Why didn't you desert the Sith when you had to kidnap children?" I tried to calm my voice, yet I sounded angry anyway. "What made you want to follow Revan so badly that you'd do something so horrid?"

Her shoulders shook. Verena's stoic face twisted as if she was in pain.

"I…" She pushed her drink away. "I had nothing left. Most of us…had no one else. We only had Revan. The Sith."

"Who cares?" I shook my head. "Darth Revan and the Sith would have been worse than no one."

"You don't understand." Her eyes wavered. "During the Mandalorian Wars, Revan was our savior. During the war, we had to do terrible things and Revan always assured us that it was for the greater good. We believed it. We had to believe it. If we didn't…then all of it…all of the sacrifices we made…would have been for nothing." Verena paused in contemplation. "Back then, to me, kidnapping those children was nothing compared to what we sacrificed already. It was all in the name of protecting the galaxy. All in the name of righting the wrongs done to us…"

I sat back, feeling like my body was once again weighed down by water, heavy, then took a long drink. It could happen to anyone. Anyone who was desperate enough. Anyone who had no guidance. No other purpose. I remembered something Canderous said…how one man was enough to turn the tide of war. Maybe he was right. If one man could turn the tide of war, then one man could corrupt an army.

"I wish…" She leaned forward with a long sigh. "I wish I realized sooner. Maybe Yusanis would have been alive if I had."

I watched her for a long time, thinking of what to say, then nodded.

"Revan would have killed him without your help."

Verena turned, raising a white brow. "Oh? How do you know?" She narrowed her eyes. "Did the droid…"

"HK didn't tell me anything. He doesn't have to. Revan was a Sith. If he wanted to kill Yusanis, he would have found a way to do it." I smirked. "Stop blaming yourself for something that would have happened anyway."

"So, you're saying it was destined to happen?"

"Sure," I said, raising my drink. "But it was sort of a good thing, right? Without it, you would still be a Sith."

Verena crossed her arms. "You make a good point. I only wish that my destiny for desertion didn't also kill Yusanis in the process."

"The Force, destiny, it all screws in the end." I took a drink, toasting my words, then finished it with a wave. "I'm a great example."

Verena smiled. "Yes. It must have been a shock to become a Jedi in such a short amount of time."

"Shock? Yeah, I fought my destiny kicking and screaming." Literally. I shook my head as I thought back to Old Wes. It felt like it happened years ago rather than months. Before I got too reflective, I stood. "I'll make sure Orangy doesn't get on your case too much. You help us on Korriban…it'll be enough proof for him that you're on our side, I'm sure."

"You know, my sister was wrong about you." I raised a brow. She continued. "There's something about you that brings people together. I wouldn't have joined your group if you hadn't been here. Someone without honor couldn't possibly do that."

I blinked, slightly stunned by this compliment. I shot her a sneaky grin.

"Oh, no, she's right. There isn't an honorable bone in my body."

"Wha—?"

I didn't give her a chance to convince me otherwise. Not like I would have been convinced. And, in any case, I wanted to return to relaxing. These deep topics usually killed the mood.

For the next few hours, I relaxed in the sun, and occasionally I was dragged into the fake ocean to float more of the handballs. When the sun began setting, Canderous showed up. He said he'd gotten bored and he wanted to fight something other than droids. So, he asked me for a fight out of nowhere. I wasn't in the mood to, but I suggested he ask Verena instead. She must have agreed to this fight since they set up a place near the waves. Hopefully, the SSF wouldn't stop this…

Verena and Canderous squared off in the sand. Some of the children stopped to watch, but their parents dragged them away while giving the Echani and Mando dirty looks. As they fought, Verena glided fast with her kicks and Canderous used his burly strength as he tried to overwhelm the Echani. It was an even match.

I didn't watch them for long since I noticed Bastila had finally awakened from her meditation. Smiling, I hurried over to her. She didn't look up at me so I sat at her side, ignoring the sand getting under my swim attire.

"Enjoy the sun?"

Bastila sighed. "Perhaps."

"You can admit that I was right, you know. You needed this." I blinked, watching her emotionless face. "It wasn't enough though, was it?"

She leaned forward, body uncurling from a tense posture.

"No."

I hummed, rubbing my chin. "Then, how about dinner then?"

Bastila frowned.

"Dinner?"

"Yes. You know. Dinner. A date."

"A date? Why would we go on a date?"

"Um, because that's what couples do?"

She glared. "You do realize we are in the middle of a war."

Ah, she hadn't denied it.

"Yes." I nodded. "But we can't exactly bring down the Sith until tomorrow though, can we?"

"You almost died." Her eyes glistened. "You almost died and I couldn't do anything—"

"Exactly." My face became serious. "That's exactly why we should pretend like there isn't a war going on. We could die tomorrow. Why not live for today?"

Her face fell at my words. Then, a small smile drifted onto her face. A sad smile.

"You really are impossible." I opened my mouth to argue, but she interrupted me with a sigh. "Alright. We could…have dinner. We do need to talk about some things of a…serious nature." She crossed her arms. "It's not a date."

I smiled and stood. "Of course, of course…" Then, I held out my hand for her to take with a wink. "Not a date."

Bastila rolled her eyes, but she took my hand. And, as I pulled her away from Canderous and Verena's intense fight, I sensed…someone watching us. Jolee. The old man sat on a mat. His eyes narrowed.

I glared back and stormed away as Bastila and I left the beach, hand in hand.

"Come on," I said over the bustling crowd, "you have to have a favorite something."

Bastila walked close by my side. It was an hour after we'd left the beach (it took a while to both get the sand off and weave through the crowds of tourists). The sun had fully set and the nightlife once again proliferated the Ring's streets.

The Jedi sighed. "As I said, I don't have any preference."

"Grilled meat?" When her face scrunched, I shook my head. "Seafood? This would be the place for it." Her expression didn't change. "Err…yeah, actually, I'm not in the mood to eat fish either…" I thought for a moment. "Sweets? There's a Correllian bakery over there."

"For dinner?"

"Yeah, why not?"

She grimaced. "No. Absolutely not."

"Wait, what? You don't like sweets?"

"They're fine…just…" She shook her head. "Not for dinner."

I sighed. "Why are women so picky?"

"Picky? I said that I don't care where we eat."

"Oh, and then you shot down all of my ideas."

"Who in their right mind eats sweets for dinner?"

"I do! All the time! It's delicious!"

Bastila's face grew red at my enthusiasm.

"Fine! We can eat at that Correllian bakery."

"Well, now I don't want to since you seem so opposed to the idea."

"Wes." She stopped. I stopped with her. The crowd weaved around us. That depression once again seeped into the bond. "If you want to then I want to."

I frowned. "I only want to go to a place you'll enjoy. Otherwise, what's the point?"

Her sad eyes met mine. She'd been like this all day. So far, nothing I did helped. Nothing brought her out of this depression. In all honesty, I felt…helpless. She wouldn't tell me what was wrong, either.

Bastila's gaze drifted to her boots.

"If you're happy then I'm happy too. Alright?"

But that wasn't true at all. She was very much unhappy. I wasn't going to argue though and force her to make a decision. Not when it seemed like the very thought of making any decision at all was getting to her.

So, I took her hand, you know, so we didn't lose each other. We walked into the cold air of the Correllian bakery—a bell rang in our ears as the door swished closed. The human owner nodded to us as we approached the counter. Cakes of all types were on display. Next to them were various ryshcate pastries for birthday celebrations…parties… Since ryshcate was very filling, I ordered two of those along with noodles they also happened to sell and two pints of Correllian whiskey.

We sat near the corner, far away from the other patrons. Bastila stared at her food with slight interest even though I could sense nausea pooling in her stomach. I slowly ate the noodles, pacing myself with Bastila. When she grew tired of the noodles, she broke the ryshcate in half and nibbled at the corner.

"Is it good?" I asked.

She nodded. "What is it?"

"Ryshcate."

"Ryshcate?"

"Yup. Some of my crewmates were Corellian, so they had it sometimes. They told me it was eaten mostly during celebrations—birthdays and such. It helped them feel better about being away from home." I snorted. "I always made sure to get the ingredients needed to make it before our smuggling runs. It helped morale."

"I'm sure…it did." She took a bigger bite. "It's delicious."

I took a bite myself, smiling at the taste of nuts and whiskey.

"So delicious. It's almost a crime, you know?"

"Wes…"

I looked up at her with some of the pastry still in my mouth.

"Hmm?"

Her face turned. The brief bout of happiness drifted away.

"We need…to talk."

I finished chewing and smiled. "Yes. We're talking."

"No. We need to talk. Alone."

I rubbed my greasy hands in a napkin. I'd be lying if I didn't feel happy at the prospect of her finally telling me why she was feeling so down.

"You can tell me now," I said. "Doubt anyone we know will discover us here."

"I…" Her chest huffed. "I can't. It's not…safe."

Okay.

I chuckled. "Well, that doesn't sound ominous whatsoever."

"Wes, please, just…trust me."

I stared at her stressed expression for a long moment then glanced out into the Ahto City streets.

"Alright. Where should we talk then?"

"The…" She thought for a moment. "The Ebon Hawk."

"Not the hotel?"

"That's…" Her gaze darted. "I don't trust talking about this…there."

She had a good point, considering. Yet, it seemed a bit much. She was acting paranoid—what was so dangerous to talk about that we had to go to the Ebon Hawk just to make sure cameras weren't around? Maybe this was due to her lack of sleep.

"Alright. When we're done here, we'll go to the Ebon Hawk."

Well, it didn't matter, really, if she was paranoid. I'd humor her. If what she was going to tell me would make her feel better then I would do anything she asked.

Anything.

And there you have it! Manaan is finally done! I'll be honest - did not expect Manaan to last this long. I have a strange writing process where I jump around and write important scenes then fill in with other filler scenes as I post and...well, that caused these chapters to balloon in length XD. I enjoyed writing Manaan though (and that might be why I went waaay over what I intended lol). I hope you liked all the changes I made!

Next time will be an Ebon Hawk chapter! It'll hopefully come out before I need to travel for the holidays ;) See you until then!

Also, in response to guest reviewer AG: At the moment, my Exile doesn't even have a name yet XD! I'm leaning towards making the Exile female though. If I do write KOTOR 2, I'm going to continue with the theme of 1st person POV and I'd want her POV as different from Wes/Revan as possible. This also means she'd be very antisocial/shy and I couldn't imagine her being that outgoing as a child XD. Also, I didn't want Wes to have dreams about the Exile...yet.

What I mainly changed in that dream was which friend was talking to Revan...you can probably guess who that is now ;)