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Chapter Twenty-Four

CARTH POV

Carth woke late the next morning. He sat up and looked around. He was alone in the little Sith room. Aithne was gone, and Jolee was gone with her. Carth kicked out of his bedroll, made it up again, changed clothes and shaved quickly, disgruntled, to say the least. He was about to set out to look for his truant friends, when he noticed a datapad on the bed.

Gone to the mess. Be back soon, and you better be up, C! –A.

Carth smiled at his bad mood, reflecting that he and Jolee had done the exact same thing to Aithne the day before. He looked over the note again, respecting how she'd just used initials, lest anyone see the pad but him. He munched on an energy bar and sat down to wait.

Normally, he would have been the first one up. Normally, he would not have stayed up so late waiting for Aithne. The woman had gotten back insanely late the night before. Carth had been worried. When she had finally gotten back, pale with red-rimmed eyes, Jolee had supported his stipulation that any further activity on Korriban was to be run by him and Jolee first if Aithne was to undertake it solo, and then only if she absolutely could not take them along. They'd been prepared to fight her on it, but surprisingly, she had agreed easily, clapped them both on the back, and fallen asleep without further ado.

Nonetheless, if Carth knew Aithne, she'd say that he deserved to miss breakfast for sleeping late, despite the fact that she'd complained loudly about he and Jolee's desertion the day before, despite the fact that he'd only slept late because he'd been up late the night prior on her account. Carth grinned, already anticipating the teasing reprimand.

Just then a knock came at the door. Carth put on his slave face, and answered it, expecting Yuthura Ban or some sort of messenger.

"Master's not in," he said automatically, then blinked. His son stood in the doorway. "Um, Addison's out," he amended, looking left and right to make sure they were alone.

"I know," Dustil said shortly. "I saw her at the mess. She said I'd find you here. May I come in?"

Carth stepped aside, and Dustil stepped in, closing the door behind him.

"You want to, uh, sit down?" Carth asked awkwardly. Really, what was he supposed to say to Dustil? He hadn't seen his son for years. Dustil was wrong in saying that Carth had never known him, but it was certainly true that Carth didn't know him now. The last time he had seen Dustil, his son had been a bright, cheerful, honest boy of eleven-and-a-half, waving goodbye to him at the spaceport, not this hard-faced young man in a Sith uniform.

Dustil sat down wordlessly on the standard chair. Carth sat on the bed. An awkward pause swelled out to fill the room. Carth and Dustil both started speaking at the same time.

"I'm sorry I threatened to kill you," Dustil said.

"I'm sorry I left you and your mother when the war started," Carth said.

Both men looked down, and gave a single nervous chuckle. Carth continued. "Don't worry about it," he said, referring to Dustil's threats. "I was wrong, to demand you leave without even asking what had happened." He winced, remembering Aithne's lecture after that first conversation.

Dustil's mouth quirked. "What's done is done," he said. "Both then and now. You messed up," he paused, and looked at Carth hard. "But I think you meant well. But that's not what I really wanted to talk about."

Carth blinked. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

"I talked to Aithne last night," Dustil informed his father.

Carth was a little taken aback. She hadn't mentioned anything of the sort when she'd come in last night. He wasn't displeased, actually, he rather liked the idea of Aithne befriending his son, but still, it was surprising. "Did you?" he managed.

Dustil shrugged. "She told me some things. She's not crazy like I thought. Or like you told me."

Carth rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Yes, well, she was being particularly annoying that morning. But you're right. She's not crazy. She's unpredictable sometimes. She's always brilliant, always dangerous, and sometimes reckless. But, no. I don't really think she's crazy."

"Then why did she act so strangely that first time?" Dustil demanded. "She kept making all these ridiculous comments when I was about ready to tear your head off…" He let out a soft chuckle. "That was it, wasn't it?"

Carth chuckled, too. "Yeah. She thought if you were preoccupied thinking she was crazy, you might not kill me."

Dustil smiled ruefully, abruptly serious. "She might've saved your life, old man," he said. Carth looked sadly at his son.

"Really?" he asked Dustil.

Dustil looked away. "I don't know," he said in a quiet, controlled voice. "I really don't, Father. I was pretty angry. Still am, even now. But now," and he looked up at Carth and smiled. "I'm trying to control it and work it out. The Sith tried to get me to harness my anger. It'll take a while for me to unlearn that, I think."

"At least you're making the effort," Carth said approvingly.

"Look," Dustil said in an abrupt change of subject. "Aithne didn't tell me much last night. How exactly did you two meet? How did you get here? Why?"

"It's a long story," Carth protested.

Dustil smirked. "Aithne and Jolee ought to be sparring right now. I sort of told them I wanted to talk to you. We've got time." He sat back, arms crossed, waiting.

Carth laughed. "Fine. You always did like stories." He leaned forward, and began. "I was empty inside, seeking revenge on Saul Karath. I used to tell you about him, remember? He was my mentor, until he betrayed the Republic and ordered the attack on Telos." Carth clenched his fists. "I'm still going to find him one day, Dustil, and I'll kill him for that, but what I'm doing now is more important."

Dustil's face was unreadable. " I see. Go on."

Carth nodded grimly. "I was on a ship, on an escort mission to take Bastila Shan from Dantooine to Coruscant. My position was purely advisory. We came out of hyperspace above Taris. The Sith were waiting for us. There was an ambush, and the ship was boarded."

"You nearly were blown up," Dustil said, surprised. He seemed troubled by it.

Carth nodded. "I nearly was. But I made my way to the escape pods. Bastila was already gone, and most of the soldiers aboard my ship were already dead, but I contacted a few. Some of them made it to the escape pods. Most of them didn't. And all of the ones that made it that far didn't get any further, except for the last two: a rookie, and a woman who wasn't even a soldier. She was a scout and linguist, also an advisor. They had made it through several firefights relatively unharmed, but as they got close to me, we lost the rookie. The woman, however, made it all the way. We escaped to Taris just as the ship exploded."

"You and a woman?" Dustil asked.

"Yes. Aithne and I."

Dustil shook his head. "Aithne's a Jedi," he objected. "Not a scout and linguist."

"She wasn't a Jedi four months ago," Carth countered. "She was a scout and linguist."

Dustil raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Carth nodded. "Really. Anyway, when the pod crashed, Aithne was banged up pretty bad. I dragged her away. We found a place to hide out. She was unconscious for three days. But then she woke up and I told her the situation. We had to find Bastila for the sake of the war effort. And Aithne took charge right away." Carth laughed. "The woman hates following orders. And she loves to give them. But she saved our butts there on Taris. She came up with plans, made allies left and right, singlehandedly saved Bastila, and became the Taris swoop and dueling champions in the bargain. We picked up five crew members, including Bastila, on Taris alone."

"All I know about is you, Aithne, Bastila, and that old Jedi Jolee," Dustil said.

"We didn't meet Jolee until later, but on Taris we met a Mandalorian named Canderous who offered to help us steal a ship from a crime lord,"

"Oh, yes. Aithne did mention him. Can't believe you're working with a Mandalorian, Father," Dustil remarked.

"I can't either, some days," Carth laughed. "Anyway, we also picked up an astromech droid on Taris that was supposed to belong to that crime lord I mentioned earlier. There's Zaalbar: a Wookiee Aithne rescued from slavery in the Undercity sewers. He swore a lifedebt to her, and so Mission decided to come too. She's Zaalbar's Twi'lek best friend, and the best stealth op I've ever seen, despite the fact she's two years younger than you, Dustil. I think the pair of them were living on the streets of the Lower City before Aithne found them. And then there was Bastila, the arrogant Jedi princess necessary to the war effort. At first, Aithne didn't get along with her at all."

Dustil laughed. "Pretty diverse group. You got off Taris just before its destruction? Aithne did mention that you saw it destroyed."

"We did," Carth said sadly. "Mission was pretty upset. Bastila ordered us all to Dantooine. And that's where things got strange." Carth sat back. He still didn't understand what had happened on Dantooine. "Bastila had been harping on at Aithne about her Force Sensitivity, and she told the Council. And the Council bought it. They practically forced her to join the Order."

"She kind of lights up the Force, Father," Dustil said.

Carth shook his head. "That's no excuse," he said. "Aithne was furious, but she trained."

"And you stayed with her?" The words were casual, but Dustil leaned forward.

"I radioed in to Admiral Dadonna. They didn't want to lose track of Bastila again, not with her Battle Meditation. They ordered me to stay with her. And for whatever reason, Bastila and Aithne have this 'bond', or so they say." Carth shrugged. "We all stayed. Once the Jedi started talking about Aithne's destiny and mission, I guess Canderous must've figured that he could get a fight out of it. And Zaalbar and Mission weren't going to leave."Carth shook his head. "We could've been there for months. Should have, probably, and then only let go with a Master. But the Council let her go after just six weeks."

Dustil blinked. "Six weeks? Really?" He shook his head. "Can't be. Father, I would have guessed that Aithne's been training since she was six, at least."

Carth nodded. "She's incredibly strong. I- she's more powerful than Bastila. But still, I never would have believed it either if I hadn't seen it myself. She became a Consular, though, and we picked up another crew member there on Dantooine, a Cathar Jedi Guardian named Juhani. And then the Jedi Council set Aithne and Bastila and Juhani off on a quest to save the galaxy, and again, I was asked to accompany them. The others just came along for the ride."

Dustil drummed his fingers on his arms. "Hmm. Just how are you supposed to save the galaxy, Father?"

"You've been to Naga Sadow?" Carth said. "You saw the Star Map?"

Dustil nodded, comprehending. "Oh. Like that. You hope it'll lead you to something? The coordinates are incomplete."

"We already have two other sets, both with different and complementary coordinate sets, from Dantooine and Kashyyyk," explained Carth.

The corner of Dustil's mouth quirked up, and his eyes danced. "Edean. You don't say. There was some trouble there recently, I've heard." Carth couldn't restrain the broad grin that came to his face, and Dustil laughed. "Come on, then, old man, what do you know about it?"

"That was one of Aithne's pet projects," Carth laughed. "She figured that while we were on Kashyyyk, we might as well start a slave rebellion. Kashyyyk's also where we picked up Jolee. He's a reclusive ex-Jedi who's spent the last hundred years living in the Shadowlands."

Dustil snorted. "That explains a lot," he muttered. "He almost looked like a tree. So you left Edean in ruins and came here. And Aithne's been playing the Sith to get to Naga Sadow."

"And to find you," Carth reminded him. "We'd actually planned on Tatooine next, until we heard news of you."

Dustil shifted in his seat. "Interesting story," he said. "Not as bloody as your old ones. A hell of a lot weirder, though. So. Aithne. She's something, huh?"

Carth laughed. "I'll say. I'm never sure quite what to do with her. She's smart. Funny, too. She's dangerous. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if she fell to the Dark Side, and I get- I get more than a little bit nervous. But I've- I've seen her do incredibly good things, just for the sake of it."

"She's also beautiful," Dustil said in a low voice, looking pointedly at Carth. Carth fell silent, realizing he'd said too much. He looked hard at his son. Dustil's jaw was set, but his eyes held no anger, only sadness.

"It's okay, Dad," Dustil said finally, and Carth took the more familiar title as a good sign. "You loved Mother, right?"

"Very much," Carth whispered.

"I've thought about it all night," Dustil said. "And the fact that you love Aithne won't change that."

"I don't…" Carth began. Dustil held up a hand.

"Not yet," he cut in. "But you're getting there. I sense it." He smiled crookedly. "She already loves you, Father. She has for a while."

"I know," Carth said softly. He studied his hands.

"It's okay," Dustil said again. "She's good for you. I can tell that much already. I think it's time we both move on. And you won't find another woman like Aithne Morrigan if you look the rest of your life. Mother…Mother was the most wonderful woman in the galaxy," he managed. Carth looked up at Dustil.

"I'll never love Aithne like I loved your Mother, Dustil," Carth said firmly.

"Maybe not," said Dustil. "Maybe you'll love her differently, but you will love her just as much."

"Dustil…" Carth hesitated. He looked hard at his son. "Are you sure?"

Dustil stood. "Old man," he said, a glint in his eye. "I'll be angrier at you if you don't go for it. So go for it." But just before he left, he looked at Carth, a little more serious. "Look, Father, I've talked to a few of the guys, and we all think we ought to get out of here with what we know before things get worse. I'm hopping a ship with them later this afternoon. So this is the last time I'll see you for…a while, I guess. So good luck. Goodbye." He slipped out of the room quietly, leaving Carth with a lot to sort out.

But as he thought, he began to feel lighter, and happier than he'd felt in years. Carth stood.

He needed to find Aithne.

AITHNE POV

Aithne was in the dueling room, sparring with Jolee. They'd both worked up a sweat and were grinning like two idiots. Aithne bore down on Jolee with her double-bladed violet lightsaber, slowly forcing him back. She laughed.

"You mentioned something about your adventuring days?" she grunted.

Jolee threw her off and feinted a blow to her side. Aithne blocked his true stroke without even flinching.

"Did I say that?" he replied evenly. "Strange the tricks memory plays on you when you get older."

Aithne flipped over the old man's head, leveling her saber at his back. He whirled to face her before her feet touched the ground. "So?" Aithne asked impatiently. "Were you an adventurer or weren't you?"

Jolee flicked his saber off, striding away. "Didn't I say that my past was my affair?" he said. "You don't see me poking and prodding you with questions, do you?"

Aithne flicked off her own saber, skipping a little to catch up with him. "Your interjections are annoying enough. This is my revenge." She laughed at his sour expression and poked him in the arm. "You're just not used to company. Stop being an old coot!"

Jolee smiled, albeit reluctantly. "Hmph," he growled. "I might be. But a mouthy young thing like yourself shouldn't get to call me an old coot, dammit! And besides, you don't really want to hear about me. We're talking ancient history, probably before you were born. History bores kids, proven fact."

Aithne picked up her pack from where it lay, extricated her canteen, and took a long drink. "Yeah?" she said after swallowing. "Well old people love to talk about history. Proven fact."

Jolee grimaced. "Oh, fine, fine, have it your way. Just don't cry about it later. Yes, yes, I was an adventurer. Happy now? I wasn't even done with my…" he looked around. Everyone was out in the valley searching for prestige. No one was within one hundred feet in any direction. But Jolee still lowered his voice. "…Jedi training back then. I had a full head of hair and an eagerness to see absolutely everything. Sound familiar? The Council was never very happy with willful, brash Jolee Bindo, you see. Even less so when I began my smuggling career."

Aithne choked on a swallow of water. "You were a smuggler?" she asked incredulously, eying Jolee with a new respect.

"Don't look at me like that, dammit!" grumbled Jolee. "I wasn't always the wrinkled old coot I am now, you know." He stashed his saber under his ratty robe as the two of them emerged into the Academy corridor. "I can still fight, too, so wipe that smirk of your face."

Aithne held up her hands. "No," she protested. "I'm impressed, really."

"At the time the Ukatis system was interdicted by its own king," Jolee related. "He preferred to keep his people starving and poor, the better to oppress them. The Senate was trying to negotiate peace, but they were getting nowhere as usual. I decided I wasn't going to wait. I found myself a ship and a partner and we began smuggling food and supplies to the Ukatis citizenry through the blockade."

Aithne made a small noise of approval. "But where'd you get the credits for all the supplies?"

Jolee shifted uncomfortably. "Well, we didn't buy all the equipment, per se. Some were happy to donate goods. Some we just, ah, knew had more than they could use."

Aithne snorted. "So you stole it?" she asked drily.

"'Stole' is such a harsh word," Jolee complained. "They would have donated those goods readily enough if they were compassionate. I considered it a tax on the greedy. We only got caught once. A lone Ukatish freighter shot us down and forced a crash landing. I thought the Force had abandoned me, as I remember."

"So what happened then?"

Jolee looked off into the distance, his face oddly mixed between happiness and sadness and bitter, bitter regret. "Well, as it happens," he said softly, "getting shot down turned out to be very fortunate. That day was the day I…"

"That was the day you what?" demanded Aithne. She wanted to hear this. "Go on!"

"Well, that, that was the day I met my wife," Jolee said.

Aithne's jaw dropped. She felt it. "You were married?" she gasped.

Jolee rolled his eyes. "You know another way to get a wife?" he demanded crankily. "But yes, that's when I met her. If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to stop talking now. My mouth is starting to draw flies."

And Carth was jogging up. Aithne looked around wildly, and a lone Sith student was turning the corner. So she smiled. "Ah. You have come, slave, just as I commanded," she said in a cold voice. "Good. I may have need of you today."

She was mimicking Master Uthar's tone, and Carth caught it. The corner of his mouth quirked up. He made a little bow. "Master," he murmured. Aithne fought to keep her grin off her face, and kept walking. Carth fell into step with her and Jolee.

"Have a nice talk with Dustil?" she asked him, when they were a suitable distance away from the Sith student.

"Yes," he answered just as lowly. "But what are we doing now?"

"We're going to hit up about three more prestige spots before dinner," Aithne said firmly. "The Shyrack Caves, and the tombs of Marka Ragnos and Tulak Hord. Then I ought to have enough prestige to make Sith, easy."

"Master, there was something about the tombs," Carth said, trying hard to remember. "One of the masters said that Uthar's old master has been hiding out there doing some sort of research, and giving any students he meets a lot of trouble."

Aithne grinned. "Bring it on," she said. "We can dish out the trouble ourselves, if it comes down to it."

Carth shifted. He still looked uneasy, and it was enough to put just the vaguest doubt into Aithne's head.

But as they began, it seemed like Aithne's doubt and Carth's uneasiness would be entirely unwarranted. It was true that there was a menacing terentatek in the Shyrack Caves that had killed a number of the ex-Sith refugees that Master Uthar wanted eliminated. But it was also true that Aithne's experiments with the Dark Side had given her an edge she previously hadn't had with the creature, and that this one seemed to be weak and old, in any case. It was a tough fight, but neither Aithne nor her companions were seriously damaged. After picking up another datapad containing information on the Great Hunt and gaining a truly excellent set of Jedi Robes, Aithne allowed the refugees to depart. There were enough bodies in the caves to convince Master Uthar that someone had been there without having to kill perfectly good people that were posing no threat to anyone. Aithne remembered the lesson of the day before.

Marka Ragnos' tomb was, if anything, easier. There were a bunch of droids in there, but they were ridiculously easy to dispatch, and Aithne had asked around and found out about their leader's sound difficulties beforehand. So when she finally met the rogue assassin droid that had been giving Master Uthar so much trouble, she met it as a friend, and with some commonsensical repairs and restructuring, she was able to disable the droid's assassination programming and fix its audio receptors without destroying the droid, which was truly a masterpiece of craftsmanship.

Everything seemed to be going swimmingly. But ironically because of her success, Aithne was very apprehensive as she approached the tomb of Tulak Hord. In her experience, whenever things were going their best, life would send around a truly nasty blow. There she stood, one item away from complete and total victory, once more walking the moral tightrope to which she was accustomed, and it only made sense that a cruel cosmic punch to the gut was just around the corner.

But upon entering the tomb, Aithne was surprised to find that there was nothing too terribly nasty in the first few rooms. They were dusty and crumbling, but they contained nothing more dangerous than a few tuk'ata. Aithne was at last beginning to relax when she arrived at the ancient console that would allow her into the hallway that preceded the burial chamber of Tulak Hord. It was child's play to slice the system, and the door opened. She walked fearlessly into the hall, while Carth knelt to examine a corpse.

Aithne and Jolee stepped into the middle of the hall, and Carth ran up, extending a hand, "Aithne! Wait!"

But by then, of course, the trap had been triggered, and fumes surrounded Aithne and Jolee. Carth had no time to react as he, too, succumbed to the contact nerve gas.

Aithne felt a tingling sensation return to her arms and legs. She opened her eyes, and tried to move, with no result. She bit back a swear. Should've thrown something into that corridor, she thought furiously. You'd think I was some idiot ten year old trying to play archaeologist!

A bald, wrinkled head turned, pale as chalk, and two dark yellow eyes regarded her with amusement from a shriveled, evil face.

"Awake already, are you?"

The man possessed a high, whining sort of voice that grated Aithne's nerves immediately.

"Good!" her captor continued. "This is the tomb of the Sith Lord Tulak Hord, if you don't know. I've taken up residence here, for now…it's dusty and full of critters, but it's home."

He smiled angelically, or as angelically as anyone with his face could. Aithne looked around. She stood almost directly in front of Tulak Hord's sarcophagus. She saw Carth and Jolee in the shadows, standing, but both out cold. Aithne assumed the man was using the Force to hold them in place.

"I demand to be released at once!" she said. Her voice came out hoarse and squeaky. But Aithne refused to blush, and somehow the wimpy tone came across as suitably defiant.

The wrinkled man, however, merely laughed in her face. "I may do that, in time, in time," he said, very amused. "But for now, I've decided to keep you in restraints. No point in you getting strange ideas in your head and ruining my fun. No, no. Let's keep things on a more civilized note, shall we?"

Aithne let out a harsh chuckle, which served both to express her contempt and to clear her throat. "If you call keeping prisoners in dusty tombs civilized," she said.

The little man smiled unpleasantly. "Now then, introductions are always the place to start, if I remember correctly. This other student here that I captured earlier you should know well enough. His name is Mekel. Say hello, Mekel."

For the first time, Aithne noticed that they were not alone with the madman. For sure enough, held beside her, was the cruel visage of Mekel. A surge of hatred rushed through Aithne. She knew Mekel well enough, alright. She could hardly forget those stupid, starving hopefuls at the gate that had fallen victim to his cruelty. But Mekel wasn't looking too well, she noticed. His breathing was shallow. He was sweating. It looked like he was fighting to keep his eyes open, and what she could see of them was bloodshot and terror-stricken. He looked like a man who had been pushed to the limits of what he could bear.

When Mekel heard his name, he hardly reacted at all. His eyelids fluttered briefly. He let out a groan. The evil old man that held them all prisoner laughed.

"Poor lad," he said in a mocking tone. "He's had a hard day. My name is Jorak Uln. I was once the head of the Academy, so I'm sure you've heard of me."

Aithne shot a glance at the still unconscious Carth, berating herself again for not being more careful. She returned her gaze to Jorak, warily. "I've heard enough," she growled.

Jorak chuckled maliciously. "Let's move on to the main event, shall we? You see, I'd like to discover if you've got the pluck of an old-fashioned Sith. Most of the drek Uthar has been passing through these days is so pathetic. Take young Mekel here," he said with a contemptuous gesture. "I already tested him. Didn't I, Mekel?"

"..I.." Mekel groaned.

"Yes, yes, you're welcome," drawled Jorak. "You see," he confided to Aithne, "Mekel here has the cruel disposition of a Sith…but not the gumption I'm looking for."

Aithne merely snarled. Over in the corner, Jolee was beginning to come to, still weak.

"Lass, what's going…" but Jorak made a gesture, and he fell silent.

"There will be no interruptions tolerated from your friends," Jorak told Aithne quickly. "They will either be spared or destroyed along with you."

"Can't we talk about this?" Aithne asked, looking past Jorak at Carth.

Jorak followed her gaze and laughed in delight. "I'm sure we could," he leered. "You could even try using your feminine wiles on me. But quite frankly, I'm quite determined and not above killing a woman. Even a pretty one. Perhaps you have some questions?"

Aithne wanted to protest that it wasn't her own death she was worried about, but Jorak eyed her coldly, and she knew it wouldn't be of any use. She sighed.

"Do your worst, scum."

Jorak chuckled. Aithne tried in vain to tighten her fist. She wanted desperately to wipe that ridiculous smirk off of his bat-like face. "Now, now," he chided her. "Is that any kind of attitude to take with higher education? I'm doing you a favor, really. So then! This is how it goes: I'm going to pose a moral question to you. Get it right, and I torture Mekel. Get it wrong, and I torture you. Mekel here is a bit weak…he probably won't be able to take much more punishment. Mind you, get too many wrong and you'll die yourself. I don't know what you think of Mekel. Maybe you don't like him. Maybe you think he deserves to be murdered. Well, here's your chance. Fair enough?"

Aithne looked at Mekel. As a matter of fact, that was exactly what she thought. But she hated to have it said so coldly. So acidly, she retorted. "Of course. It's always been my dream to murder my competition via a sadistic personality test given by a demented monster in the middle of a crumbling tomb."

"My, my, aren't you fun," said Jorak lightly. "Any last comments before we begin, Mekel?"

Mekel, by some supreme force of strength, managed to wrench his head to the side and look at Aithne.
"We can both survive," he grunted out. "Attack him together!"

Jorak's eyebrows met in a childish pout, and he forced Mekel's head back to its station. "Now, now, dear lad," he said in a honeyed tone that did little to hide his displeasure. "Do you really think your friend here will answer questions wrong just to spare little you, risking her own life? And how many correctly answered questions before you die, hmm? No, don't be silly…you had your chance, remember? On that note," he said, turning to Aithne, "let's begin. Now then, your immediate superior amongst the Sith is an effective commander and a fine leader. He trusts you, and you like him. You see an opportunity to kill him. What do you do?"

Aithne shot a glance at Mekel, who looked at her with hopeful eyes. She remembered how cruel and arrogant those eyes had been in the face of starving children. She sneered. "I use the opportunity to kill him and take his position in the Sith," she replied promptly. Carth stirred.

"Very good," Jorak hummed, turning on Mekel with a malevolent gleam in his eyes. "It looks like your friend is more of a Sith than you, Mekel. Time for your punishment." Purple lightning shot from his fingers into Mekel's body. Mekel shivered with the impact, screaming a hoarse scream that let Aithne know he'd been screaming for hours. Aithne tried to harden herself to the sound.

The old Sith continued the evaluation. "And so we come to Round Two," he said. "You come across a group of humans who are threatened by dangerous animals. They plead for help, offering you a reward. What do you do?"

Aithne licked her dry lips before responding insincerely, "I take the money and leave the weak fools to their fate."

More lightning. More of Mekel's screams. But the sound did not bring Aithne the pleasure she'd anticipated. She remembered Carth, comforting her in Dreshdae. You won't do it again, he'd said. And Dustil, just last night. It's simple to get caught up in the Dark Side. Compassion can too easily be twisted to anger. Aithne looked over at Mekel. A thin trickle of blood ran out of his mouth. Jolee's eyes stared right at her. Not accusing, but not pardoning her either.

Aithne looked over at Carth, and found his eyes open. He was looking at her too, and he looked so disappointed and heartbroken. Aithne felt like she'd been slapped awake. She felt the Dark all around her, and she set her jaw. I'm not going there again.

Jorak was rambling on about how brilliant she was. Finally he got around to the actual question. "You discover an aspect of the Force that gives you great power," he said, eyes glinting. "Do you share it and strengthen the Sith as a whole or keep it to yourself?"

Aithne swallowed. "I share it," she managed. Then she smiled into Jorak's ugly, animalistic face. It felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off her chest. "Let all learn who care to," she added provokingly. Carth's brow furrowed in confusion. Aithne looked at him. He hadn't been awake for the explanation. Jolee's eyes, on the other hand, suddenly cleared, and approval shone forth.

Jorak Uln, on the other hand, was quite irate. "Share it?" he demanded, fairly spluttering with rage. "You gain an advantage and you share it freely? I mean, share it? Are you mad?" He shook his head regretfully.

"Ah, well, you did ask for this. It's for your own good."

Pain tore through every nerve of Aithne's body. Previously, her entire body had been dead. Now it was alive, and it was being fried. It took every shred of Aithne's self-will to clamp her lips shut and keep her throat tight over the scream that threatened to emerge. Abruptly, the pain ceased, leaving Aithne sweating and shaking, but every nerve was awake. He'd burned the nerve gas out. She tried to move, and her muscles responded, but Jorak held her in place with the Force.

She forced a smile at Jorak, feigning indifference. "Still going?" he sneered. "Alright then. One of your underlings has made a major mistake which makes you look bad. He is normally very competent and skilled. Do you kill him or give him another chance?"

"Why, I give him another chance of course," Aithne said, panting a little, surprised by how she reveled in her defiance.

Jorak was nearly incoherent in his incredulity. He sniffed at last. "Fine. Time for your medicine."

The Lightning ignited her already raw nerves. She smelled a faint burning arising from her skin as her vision grew blurry and her lips began to bleed from the force with which she held back her cries. Despite herself, a tear traced its way down her cheek. The Lightning stopped, but now the very draft of the tomb was a torture on her anguished skin.

She looked at Carth again, and saw that he understood now. His eyes were wide in horror and sympathy and desperate, futile rage. "Stop this," he mouthed, but his voice couldn't come out of the throat Jorak had locked. Aithne shook her head.

"Last question," barked out Jorak.

"Bring it on," Aithne whispered through bloodied lips. She smiled at him, at Mekel.

"You're about to die," sneered Jorak. "Do you pass on your knowledge to your apprentice to make him stronger or do you use your last breath to strike at your enemies?"

Something in his shining yellow eyes made Aithne hesitate. "I won't give you the satisfaction of an answer," she spat finally.

"Hmph!"complained Jorak. "Such insolent students I get these days. You deserve this, and then some! I'll enjoy this. Time for your medicine!"

And then he released such a volley of Force Lightning that even Aithne could not restrain the full bodied scream that wrenched from her throat. Her eyes seemed to fog over as she burned alive, and the sound of her screams seemed to come from far away. Finally, finally, though, the Lightning stopped.

Aithne breathed. She'd won. She opened her eyes and looked straight at Jorak, and he shifted. "What? This is odd. The test is over and you're both still alive. Well that's never happened before."

Jorak was pacing, muttering, "What to do, what to do?"

Finally he stopped, turning to Mekel. "I suppose this means you can go, Mekel. I'll just have to figure out what to do with our friend, here." He released Mekel's restraints, and the Sith student stood tall, panting. "Run along, now," said Jorak.

Mekel remained, glaring at Jorak. "Or," he said quietly. "I could use the Force to free her! And we could kill you! Seems you didn't think of that, old man!"

And with a wave of his hand, he freed Aithne, Carth, and Jolee, releasing a Drain Life at the same moment Aithne released a wave of Force Heal covering Carth and Jolee's remaining weakness and her and Mekel's wounds. She summoned her saber from her abandoned pack in the hallway to her hand, and froze Jorak in place. She and Mekel advanced.

It was brief, brutal justice for Uthar's old master. Aithne stood panting at the end, staring down at Jorak's body, letting the hurt dissipate.

Mekel turned to her. "I can't believe that I'm alive," he said honestly. "You saved me. You could have easily just answered those questions and let me die."

Aithne regarded him with distaste. "I thought about it," she said finally. "I really did. For those hopefuls outside the gate, and all the ones you must have killed like them, I almost did. But…" she sighed, stretching her still faintly smarting limbs and remembering the torture. "Nobody deserves to die like that. Not even you."

Mekel looked down. "I see what you mean," he said quietly. Aithne looked at him curiously, and gestured for him to continue. "I've never…I mean I've never been on that side of the fence before," he confessed. "It makes you think. I'd be dead if you weren't…" he eyed Aithne's saber. "I mean, if you were a proper Sith. But you're not, are you?"

Aithne activated the saber, twisting it to admire the violet color of the double blade. Mekel tensed, but did not touch his own lightsaber. Aithne shook her head. "Don't worry. Technically, it should be bright green. It will be again, once I'm off this rock."

Mekel swallowed. "I see. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Aithne deactivated her saber. She considered Mekel for a second. "You know, you don't have to be like this," she said. "You can change."

Mekel looked down at Aithne's dead saber again. "You mean, the Light Side? I've never thought about that. Can you…can you even go back? I've done some…I mean I've hurt a lot of people."

Jolee, from behind Aithne's left shoulder, spoke up.

"There's always remorse. And atonement. That's the harder path, though, boy. Think you can do that?"

Mekel looked at his own saber, thinking hard. "I…I don't think the Light Side is for me," he said finally. "But maybe…maybe neither are the Sith. Maybe it's time for me to leave. Thanks, I suppose, Addison, or whatever your name is, and good luck."

He strode out of the tomb, lost, but somehow much more full of purpose than Aithne had ever seen him.

Aithne turned. Wordlessly, Carth handed her a datapad. Perusing it, Aithne saw that it contained Jorak's research, something Master Uthar was sure to find interesting. She stashed the datapad away without a sound.

She led them out of the tomb in silence. Without further word to either Carth or Jolee, lest the Sith hear, she led them all the way back to the Academy and to Master Uthar.

Uthar, after hearing her thorough report of all she had done, of course informed her that she had made Sith. Her final test, he said, was to be held the next day, and it was to be undertaken alone. Walking away, Aithne had to suppress a snort of derision. It wasn't as if Master Uthar had had a choice. Of course she had bested the others. There wasn't any competition left. She returned to her room, took out the robes she'd retrieved in the Shyrack Caves, and announced her intention to head to the Sith laundromat to get them cleaned. Carth volunteered to accompany her.

The laundry room was empty. For whatever reason, Sith preferred to have servants and slaves launder their clothing, or just went with dirty clothes. There was rather a superfluity of unhygienic Sith, Aithne had noticed.

Carth had something on his mind. His face was deeply lined with thought, and his gaze was clouded. Aithne hammered the stains out of the powerful, silky fabric of the robes and waited for him to bring up whatever was bothering him.

"Aithne…"he said finally.

"Carth," she replied quietly.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "You were…that man tortured you today. I…I watched you scream and I couldn't even…" he trailed off. His face was tense with shame and anger. Aithne sighed. She looked around. No one. She reached out with the Force. No one.

"I'm much better than I was yesterday, believe it or not," she said at last, keeping her voice low. "Carth, what do you think happened in the tomb of Tulak Hord today?"

"I think I was stupid. I knew Jorak Uln was hiding out around there somewhere- I should've been more careful, I should've known…and he tortured you. He almost killed you."

Aithne shook her head wearily. "What happened today is that I was blasé about a warning you had given me and jumped right into a trap like any greenhorn. Then Jorak gave me some sort of sick personality test. Every question I got right, he would torture Mekel. Every question I got wrong, he would torture me. 'Right' and 'wrong' here meaning just the opposite. Now, normally, this would just be a test to see if the Sith Jorak had captured had learned her lessons. But for me it was different. Carth, I could have given Jorak the answer he wanted to hear for every single question he asked today. So my dilemma was whether to take my chance and save Mekel, or deliberately cause him to be murdered by torture. And like I told Mekel today, for a while I honestly considered the latter. He would've deserved it." Aithne flipped the robe over and began beating the other side. "I could have killed him. But it would have hurt me more, in the long run, than the torture that now is little more than an unpleasant memory. Do you understand?"

Carth nodded. "I get it, but you shouldn't have been in that position in the first place. I could have-"

"Look. Shut up." Aithne interrupted. "Whatever happened in there was my fault, Carth, not yours." She wadded up the robe and tossed it into a washing machine. "If anything, you helped."

"And how is that?" Carth demanded. "'Cause from all I can see, I was useless in there today."

Aithne shook her head and started up the machine. "I don't know if I would've been able to resist getting Mekel back for the things I've seen him do if it hadn't been for you." She didn't look at him. "You made me want to do the right thing."

Carth regarded her. His eyes were desperate to believe her. "You know," he said, "I used to think that the Dark Side was a fancy name for something that I see every day. Corruption is everywhere. People are greedy and stupid and do horrible things. I'm starting to think that it's different for the Jedi, however. Like there's this evil watching them, waiting for its chance. I've especially seen it, here. You have so much courage and strength in you…yet, somehow, I have no trouble imagining it differently. I- I've seen it differently, Aithne. It's like the flip side of a coin."

"You don't know the half of it," Aithne muttered. She studied her hands in her lap. "My anger and arrogance are always waiting in the wings, ready to spring up. These past few days on Korriban- I've been Dark, flyboy. It's been hard to tell what's been an act and what's for real. I'm…I'm really good at this Sith stuff. It scares me, how easy it all is. But I don't like the person I've been here, Carth. Deceptive. Angry. Almost drunk with the power of it all. It started all the way back in Dreshdae. You remember. But it was worst yesterday. It all came to a head when I killed Lashowe yesterday evening. I didn't need to, but I did, but thank the Force something she said made me come to my senses. I ended up talking to Dustil about it, of all people." She laughed a little. "That's some kid you've got there, Carth. Brave. Smart. Good. Like his father. Better than me."

Carth was looking at her with fascination. "Why are you telling me all this?" he asked.

Aithne smiled bitterly. "You said you liked being in the loop," she said. "Well, welcome to the loop. Scary place, isn't it?"

He swung up beside her, staring at the opposite wall. "Not entirely," he said finally. "I- I knew you were having some difficulties here. But I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me. It's really been that bad?"

"Worse."

Carth frowned. "It's not just you," he said suddenly. "Bastila struggles, too. She's so…intense. I don't pretend to know much about the Force, but I know evil."

Aithne laughed. "Bastila? Seriously? Goody-two-saber, there-is-no-emotion, poster child Bastila going Sith? She'd never even slip up for a few days." Like me went unsaid between them.

"I would hope not," he said. "But neither you nor Bastila are fully trained on how to handle your power. I'm just concerned at what might come. This was just a test run, you know."

Aithne shifted ever so slightly away from Carth, made uncomfortable by his too-accurate observations. "That's sweet," she said. "I didn't know you cared."

"Well that's not what I…" Carth stopped, flustered. Aithne looked over, surprised. She blinked. The man was actually blushing. "I mean- Aithne, I didn't like seeing you hurt today. I wouldn't want you hurt in the future. Either of you. I suppose finding the Star Maps is more important than your training. And your safety. I just hope there isn't a price to pay."

Aithne gripped his hand. "Me, too," she said quietly. Carth laced his fingers through hers, and Aithne added, "You're so confoundedly decent, flyboy. It's rather inspiring, despite the paranoia and occasional unfounded accusation. It…it really does help."

Carth stood suddenly. But he retained her hand. "I don't like the idea of you going into that tomb alone tomorrow," he said.

Aithne looked up at him. "I'd rather have you and Jolee there, too. But you're a terrible stealth op, and so is he. And Yuthura and Uthar won't let you just go with me. I'll manage."

"I don't doubt you can. Physically. But what's to stop you from going over?"

Aithne looked down. "I figure I've gotten my taste of the Dark Side these past few days," she said. "Can't say it's a taste I fancy, honestly. Part of life may be about killing, and survival, and competition. Anger is undoubtedly a part of my nature. But that's not all of life. It's not all that makes up the Force. And it isn't all of me. I don't like that part of me. And now that I've gotten to know it, you better believe I won't be taking it out tomorrow, whatever happens."

Carth searched her face, and Aithne gave him stare for stare. Finally, he seemed to be satisfied. "I believe you," he said. "Be careful tomorrow, though, okay?"

Aithne looked away, tracing a design with her finger on the top of the washer. "What? So now you care if I end up some tuk'ata's dinner or chopped up to bits by some Sith Master's lightsaber?"

"Yes," Carth said, dead serious.

That simple word made a response impossible. Aithne's cheeks heated up, and her stomach felt like it must be doing back-flips. Carth grinned. "Besides. It wouldn't be near as much fun saving the galaxy without you."

Aithne woke up the next morning and dressed in her new robes. They were soft. They clung and draped perfectly. Moreover, they were filled with power. Looking in the mirror, Aithne grinned. She didn't look at all like a Sith. She tapped the double-bladed lightsaber on her hip, the crystal of which she had changed to green late last night. There would be no more pretense, no more lies. She'd talked to the Ebon Hawk crew and informed them that she would be joining them with the others that evening.

Carth and Jolee still slept. Better that she leave them that way, Aithne thought. Goodbyes and well wishes would just be awkward. Quietly, she slipped from the room.

She quickly found Uthar and Yuthura and the three of them made a silent journey to the tomb of Naga Sadow in the early morning light. Uthar let them in, and Aithne found herself in the place she'd been trying to reach since her arrival on Korriban. It was dark and dusty, as had been the other tombs she'd visited, with numerous cobwebs and nondescript dangerous animal droppings here and there, but a darkness ran through the heart of the place deeper than any she'd felt yet.

Uthar stopped in the entry passage, along with Yuthura. "We are now ready for your final test, young Sith," he said portentously. "You have earned the right to see if you shall become one of us."

"Well, that, and I've kind of eliminated all my competition," Aithne murmured provocatively.

Uthar chuckled. "Indeed you have," purred Yuthura. It was difficult to tell if this was in relation to Uthar's announcement or Aithne's comment.

Uthar bristled. "Is that a tone of mischief in your voice, dear Yuthura?" he asked in a honey sweet, poisonous tone. "You should know by now that no scheme is certain."

Yuthura's eyes glinted in the dim light. "As should you, my master," she retorted. "But I was only agreeing. Should we not get on with the test?"

Uthar eyed Aithne. "Yes, of course," he said. "We are in the sacred tomb of Naga Sadow, Addison Bettler, the one discovered by Darth Malak and Darth Revan years ago. You are to follow in their footsteps and reach the ancient Star Map that lies deep within. There you will find a lightsaber, amongst other things. The lightsaber is for you, your initiation present. Return to us once you have it, for you the test does not end there."

Aithne sighed. "Of course not."

"Be very cautious, here," Yuthura warned. "This tomb is like the others in this valley, and many of its old defenses remain active."

Aithne wondered how much of Yuthura's warning was affection for her friend, and how much of it was the Sith Master needing an ally to strike down a rival.

"Do you understand what I have told you?" Uthar was asking. "Are you ready to begin?"

"Ten minutes ago, Master," Aithne shot back.

"Good," Uthar smiled. "Yuthura and I will await your return."

CARTH POV

When Carth woke up Jolee was sitting in the chair in the corner, looking off into the distance. Carth looked around.

His stomach dropped. "She's gone, isn't she?" Jolee only nodded.

"Can you tell me anything?" Carth asked.

Jolee looked at him. "I feel that darkness surrounds her. She's frightened. But I think she's holding her own. All's well, for now."

Carth breathed a little easier, and gradually felt secure enough to complain. "She could have at least woke us up to say goodbye," he grumbled.

Jolee smiled. "She could have, could she? Sonny, you would have put her through hell before she could leave, and you know it."

Carth started to protest, then stopped. He looked away. "I hope she's being careful," was all he said.

BASTILA POV

Bastila was eating breakfast with Juhani, Mission, and Zaalbar aboard the Ebon Hawk. Suddenly a hot pain flashed through Bastila's mind. Bastila flinched, and her arm began to throb.

"What is it, Bastila?" asked Juhani curiously.

"Aithne," Bastila managed, eyes closed. "She's hurt."

"Where is she? How's she hurt?" Mission demanded, going pale.

"Her left arm's been wounded," Bastila told Mission, rubbing her own left arm, then focused. "She's in a dark place, close, dank…" her words seemed to come from far away. "She's in the tomb with the Star Map. Alone. Fighting."

/Will she be alright?/ Zaalbar wanted to know.

"I do not know, Zaalbar," was Bastila's only reply. She'd better be, she thought to herself. I've gone through too much for her for her to collapse on me now.

AITHNE POV

Aithne lobbed the special ice grenade she had found past the terentateks at the acid pool. It froze over with a hiss, and Aithne winced, moving her arms and trying to loosen up.

A particularly nasty wave of pain surged through her left arm. There had been two young, strong, and bored terentateks in a chamber of the tomb. With a bunch of Mission's mines and a few stims, Aithne had managed to defeat them, but one of them had dealt her a glancing blow on the arm with a spiked tail. Not only had the tail torn her new robes, but it had also ripped quite an impressive gash in her left arm. She'd managed to heal the wound well enough to stop most of the bleeding, but terentatek injuries were difficult due to the nature of the creature, and she hadn't been able to heal herself completely. In fact, she rather suspected that there was something important she had missed- but right now the objective was to get the Star Map and get off Korriban, and Aithne didn't have time to nurse her injury.

She crossed over the frozen acid to the final chamber of the tomb of Naga Sadow. Removing the Star Map datapad from her pack, she approached the structure she had been trying to reach ever since her arrival on Korriban. The triangular column opened, and Aithne downloaded the map.

She perused the datapad and nearly growled in frustration. She had three new coordinates. Just three. A massive hole still remained right in the middle of her datapad map. Sighing resignedly, Aithne replaced the datapad and ambled over to a nearby Sith statue. The kneeling statue clutched an ornate lightsaber. Aithne activated it. The blade was blood red, the hilt was black leather, with ornate brown stitching forming evil letters upon it. Aithne deactivated the saber quickly. She turned to leave the chamber.

Uthar and Yuthura were waiting for her. Not at the entrance, as they'd planned, but on the frozen acid pool. Aithne took a quick catalogue of her physical condition. The stims she'd used earlier had worn off, leaving her exhausted down to her very bones. Her arm ached steadily, and it felt hotter than usual. At least it was her non-dominant arm, Aithne thought. Not that that would help much with a double bladed lightsaber. But she swallowed, and strode forward.

Uthar smiled as she joined them. "So you return to us with the lightsaber in hand, as I knew you would."

Yuthura nodded. "The Force has served you well."

Uthar continued. "You took a great risk in acquiring the artifact. You used your mind and your power, no peaceful meditation, no pacifism. Sometimes you must fight in order to achieve. This gives you your passion, this makes you stronger. This is what makes you superior. That is the lesson we teach with that part of the final test. Do you understand?"

Aithne smiled grimly. "What I need to, yes," she replied elusively.

Uthar didn't catch her meaning. "Good," he said. "The last part of your test will now commence. Here you will learn the lesson of competition. All life must compete in order to flourish. Such is the natural order of the universe. To stand still is to know death. One must always be moving forward. So it is the same among the Sith. Compete or die. Mercy is irrelevant." He grinned now unpleasantly, pausing for dramatic effect. "So it behooves you in this final test to strike down one you are familiar with, for no other reason than to prove you are superior and without mercy. Normally this would be against another student. You, however, get a special treat. You will fight Yuthura here…my own apprentice."

Yuthura grinned, activating her lightsaber. "You talk too much, old fool," she said.

Uthar paused, glancing at Aithne. "So…you know, do you? Well, it makes no difference. You have become too ambitious, Yuthura. It is time for you to die."

Yuthura laughed. "No. It is time for you to die, master. My pupil stands with me." She motioned for Aithne to join her.

Aithne remained where she was. Uthar smiled. "Sadly, Yuthura, it is you who are mistaken. Your pupil is more ambitious than you realize. Isn't that so, Addison?"

Aithne shook her head. Slowly, she put her new Sith lightsaber into her pack, withdrawing her own double-bladed one. She didn't activate it. "I hope the two of you realize that both of you have promised me basically the same position." She kept her eyes open as she tossed her pack to the side. "So it really comes down to which of you I like better, doesn't it?" She got into an offensive stance, ignoring her protesting arm, and smiled apologetically at Uthar. "Uthar, Yuthura's right. You do talk too much."

Yuthura laughed in delight. "Do you hear that, my master? That is the sound of a new leader rising to replace you."

Uthar's face hardened. "So the time has come, has it?" he asked. He activated his lightsaber, but the poison bug Aithne had placed under his bed had done its work, for his face suddenly drained of color. "Ugh! No! My strength leaves me!"

Yuthura sneered. "You are weak, Uthar, and the Force has abandoned you. We have made sure of it!" With a feral cry, she sprang upon her master. Activating her green lightsaber, Aithne followed suit. Uthar could hardly bring his saber up to defend between the two of them, but as Aithne dealt him the fatal blow, Uthar noted the color of her lightsaber, and his eyes drifted over to his erstwhile apprentice. He smiled in satisfaction. "You lose, dear Yuthura," he whispered. "Your pupil has betrayed you." And then he died.

Yuthura straightened, looking at Aithne with a fierce pride. "Uthar is finished, and a new order is brought to the Academy. Excellent." She glanced down at Aithne's still active saber, and gave a little smile. "Unfortunately, I don't really need an apprentice. Especially one as clever, treacherous, and powerful as you, Addison Bettler, or whatever your real name is."

Aithne shifted. "I figured that you would think that way," she said, a bit sadly. "That's why I thought I'd slow you down a bit before you could kill me. You should feel it right about…"

Yuthura's face suddenly drained of color, too. "Ugh! The pain!" she gasped. "I…why did you do this to me?"

Aithne stood back a bit, waiting. "You think I didn't know that you would think I was too big of a risk to keep around?" she demanded. "I'm sorry if I wanted to make killing me a little bit harder for you. Look. I'm done with the games, I'm done with the lies. I'm no Sith."

Yuthura glanced at Aithne's still active double saber again. "Damn you!" she cried, reactivating her own. "I…I will destroy you for this. You…you will never leave here alive!"

"Now, wait, Yuthura, I don't want to kill you either…" but the Twi'lek Sith master was upon her. Aithne blocked Yuthura's stroke. She was still stronger than Yuthura, despite her injury that was hurting more every second. Slowly, Aithne forced the other woman back, finally delivering a kick to the woman's stomach that caused her to back off.

Yuthura circled Aithne now, wary. Aithne had told her that she had had very little informal Jedi training. By the lightsaber Aithne held, and the fighting she was exhibiting, Yuthura knew that was not true. But nevertheless, she attacked again, and Aithne parried with a dizzying set of strokes calculated to set Yuthura off balance without the exertion of a great deal of strength on Aithne's part or the risk of hurting Yuthura. It worked. Aithne spotted an opportunity, and knocked the saber from Yuthura's grasp. It clattered to the ground, and the frozen acid began to sizzle as Aithne leveled her own saber at Yuthura's throat.

"Stop!" Yuthura cried. "I…I yield! You are…too strong for me. I was a fool to think otherwise. I am…at your mercy."

Aithne withdrew her blade a hair's breadth. "You're assuming I possess it, then?" The words were a challenge.

Yuthura smiled weakly. "I suppose I am. You're not what you said you were, in any case. I was right before, in the cantina. You're different."

Aithne spoke through her teeth, trying to hold her saber steady. "You could say that. It's true that I never told you my real name or purpose. Yuthura- my name is Aithne Morrigan. And I've got what I came for."

The words made the impression Aithne wanted them to. Yuthura blanched. Well, Aithne thought, a general death warrant certainly helped to create a fearsome reputation. "You're a Jedi," Yuthura said.

"Of a sort."

"Malak himself wants you personally dead."

"For some reason or other."

Yuthura laughed. "And you've been here, all this time. So. What happens now? Will you show me mercy? Will you…just let me leave?"

Aithne withdrew her saber from Yuthura's throat, deactivating it and lowering it slowly so the Sith would not guess how truly weak she was right now. "You know the risk I'd be taking," she said. "You could call down hundreds of Sith on me before nightfall. But we were friends. I wasn't pretending that I liked you, Yuthura. I didn't poison you because I wanted you dead. I poisoned you to weaken you, to give me time to get away. Why did you decide to kill me?"

Yuthura shrugged, looking away. "It felt like I had no choice. You reminded me too much of a time before I became a Sith. I…didn't want to think about that."

Aithne crossed her arms, staring Yuthura down. "Why not?" she demanded.

Yuthura fidgeted. "All the things I wanted to do, all the wrongs I wanted to right…I haven't done any of it. They just get farther and farther from my mind. All I've cared about is power…" she looked down at Uthar, and for the first time Aithne saw something like regret cross her face. "And myself. This isn't the person I was."

Aithne looked down at Uthar. Yuthura's lightsaber was still there on the frozen acid, burning a hole through it, and acid was seeping up, burning Uthar's corpse now. She looked back at Yuthura. "I know. That's why you're not there on the melting acid with Uthar. How about we get off that, by the way?" Grabbing her pack, she led Yuthura into the adjoining corridor, then stopped her again. "Yuthura. You can still be the person you were meant to be."

Yuthura gazed quizzically into Aithne's face. Finally she said, "I think…I think you're right. And it gives me peace. Maybe peace is what I need, after all. The Jedi tried to show me that. I don't know if I can ever go back to them…but I can't stay here." With the 'here', she gestured around the tomb, to Korriban and the Sith in general. She smiled weakly. "Thank you…thank you for showing me that." She bowed. "You have a destiny, Aithne Morrigan, and I wish you well on your way to it. May the Force be with you." She turned to go, then said back over her shoulder, "And I won't tell anyone."

Aithne smiled. "May the Force be with you, Yuthura. I know you'll do great things."

Yuthura left, and after a moment, Aithne followed.

A/N:This chapter is kind of hard to write. I really like both Yuthura and Dustil. To be honest, if I went really crazy, I'd write the story so they both came along with Aithne. But I couldn't see the plot going the direction it needs to with Dustil in the middle of things, and furthermore I couldn't come up with how he'd get out with Aithne and the others without alerting every Sith on Korriban that it's not some random Jedi spy and her friends that are tearing things up, but Aithne Morrigan and Carth Onasi, presumably with Bastila Shan. Then there'd be dozens of ships after them and the whole thing would just get messy.

With Yuthura, I can't see that in the position she's in by the time Aithne's done with her, she'd be much of a help. Too fresh from the Darkest part of the Dark Side to be much use fighting the Sith, too desperate for peace to be much use fighting at all.

So adios, Yuthura. I really hope you didn't get vaporized on Dantooine. I do have Dustil set for one more appearance at the tail end of the story, though. So I'll comfort myself about his loss with that.

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying my story. Up next things just start getting better and better, as the crew heads to Tatooine and work out a whole bunch of issues. But, of course, just when it starts looking like happily ever after for everyone I'll have to drop the drama brick again. That's how this works.

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May the Force be With You,

LMSharp

Ah well. Dustil's gone until the tail end of our story. We are over halfway done, by the way. In the next chapter, Aithne almost dies, and Carth makes a move. R&R!