While the Horn family was there for each other in their time of grief over the loss of Booster Terrik, each member still needed time to themselves every now and then, if only to not completely mire themselves in their mourning; after all, it was only healthy that some positive feelings were to be developed if they were to ever move on later.

As such, on the day that Darth Acheron, Hushk Grendel, and Ferris Jeckut made their fateful trip into Coronet, Booster's grandchildren, Valin and Jysella, were off exploring the city to gain a better familiarity with their ancestral homeworld's culture. Valin was old enough to start drinking in the local cantinas, while Jysella, who had yet to reach the legal drinking age, promised her parents that she would stick to more family-friendly restaurants and establishments. Considering the fact that her father was a Jedi Master, Jysella would have quite a bit of gall if she were to end up lying to them.

As for Booster's daughter and son-in-law, Mirax and Corran respectively, they each took time for themselves, as well. The latter had decided to go out for a simple walk, maybe stop by the CorSec headquarters to see how much had changed in the decades since he worked there. The former decided to visit some of her father's surviving old friends—ones who, surprisingly, had little to nothing to do with his smuggler days—at one of Coronet's retirement homes, whom she hadn't seen since the funeral.

When Mirax was done visiting those friends and was leaving the retirement home, her commlink beeped for her attention. She stopped in her tracks along the stone pavement leading away from the home and saw that she was getting a call from Jysella.

"Hello, dear?" Mirax asked.

"Mom, Mom, it's Dad!" Jysella cried in a panicked, disbelieving voice. "He... he's dead!"

Mirax's heart skipped a beat, and her blood ran cold. "What?" was all she could ask.

"He's dead, Mom! He's dead!"

"Jysella, honey, please, calm down," Mirax said even as she struggled to keep her own emotions in check. There had to be a chance that Corran was still alive, she thought. This wasn't the first time that he was believed to be dead, only for him to turn out to be ready to help save the galaxy once again. She still remembered Wedge Antilles' eulogy for Corran after the Rebellion took Coruscant from the Empire; if he was to deliver another one, Mirax had to make sure that he wasn't going to turn out to be wrong again... even if she hoped that he would be. "Now... what... what makes you think this?"

"I felt it through the Force, Mom! He's gone!"

Mirax's commlink beeped again, indicating another call. She ignored it as she processed Jysella's words with growing dread in her stomach. "Are... are you sure, honey?"

"If you think I'm mistaken, Mom," Jysella replied bitterly, "just ask Valin." She cut off the connection.

Despite herself, Mirax had the wherewithal to see who else was calling her: Valin.

When she answered it, her son's slurred, inebriated speech didn't make what he had to say any less comprehensible or horrifying.

"He's dead, Mom! Dad's dead!"

"Valin," Mirax said even as she felt herself gradually losing control of her emotions, "do you... do you know where your father last was?"

Instead of answering, Valin had been reduced to a crying mess, apparently not having heard his mother's question. Grimacing, Mirax shut off the connection and proceeded to type Jysella's comm number when she received another call; this time, it was from a number with which she was unfamiliar.

Sighing impatiently, and hoping all of this was just a nightmare—she couldn't have lost both her father and her husband in so short a time period, she thought—Mirax answered it.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Is this Mirax Terrik Horn?" an authoritative male voice asked from the other end.

"Yes; who is this?"

"My name is Detective Dheras of the Coronet Police Department. I'm afraid I have some bad news, ma'am. Are you sitting down?"

"Yes, I am," she lied, already knowing what was coming next.

Neither she nor her children were allowed to see Corran's cold and pale corpse in the police headquarters' morgue to identify him until two hours after Mirax had received the call from Dheras. It was only then that Mirax finally broke down into full sobs as she hugged Valin and Jysella close to her.

When the surviving Horns recovered enough from their crying, Mirax disengaged from her children and looked back to Dheras, who had been waiting next to the coroner in solemn silence.

"Who did this? Do you know?" Mirax asked angrily, her eyes still tear-streaked.

"We have a lead, Mrs. Horn," Dheras answered. "We're following up on it."

"What's the lead?"

"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to divulge that information, Mrs. Horn."

"I am the widow of a CorSec officer! I have the right to know who killed my husband!"

"You will when his killer faces justice in a court of law, ma'am," Dheras replied patiently.

"Oh, blast it!" Mirax exclaimed. "To all Nine Hells with your righteous-"

"It was Tahiri, Mom," Valin's voice cut through.

Mirax swiftly turned back around to face her children. "What did you say, Valin?"

"It was Tahiri Veila," her son elaborated, his voice still shaky from the crying that he had done as well as his remaining drunkenness. "She killed Dad."

"It's true," Jysella backed her brother up, her voice only slightly firmer than his. "We both felt her presence when she arrived in Coronet, and it was darkened, like a Sith. She was with at least one other person who also felt steeped in the dark side. Dad communicated with us through our Force-bond about it; he told us that he was going after her and the other Sith." With a bitter smile that quickly vanished after she said the next sentence, she said, "At least he got that other Sith; we had a bit of hope he would make it after we felt one of those dark presences get snuffed out."

"Why didn't he tell me about this?" Mirax asked in shock. "And why didn't either of you, for that matter?"

"He told us..." Valin had to turn back and resume another bout of crying upon his father's body.

Jysella straightened herself out. "He told us he could handle it himself; he didn't want to lose us. He said that you already lost your father; no need to endanger Valin and me, too. He was probably hoping that he would have told you about it after the fact."

"We were both Jedi Knights!" Valin yelled at his father's corpse. "We could have helped you, Dad! You should have waited for us! We were coming for you! We were coming..." His sobbing took hold of him again, and this time, Jysella joined him.

Mirax had to embrace herself along the nearest wall. She cried silently before Dheras placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, which she promptly shrugged off.

Damn Corran, she thought. Damn him and his arrogance; all these years of defying death in facing enemies like the Empire and Yuuzhan Vong and he thought he could take on two Sith by himself even with his Jedi children rushing through Coronet to help him. If only he waited, maybe he could be alive along with Valin and Jysella, and they may have even been able to take one or both Sith alive so they could find out what they were up to on Corellia.

But now was no time to be reminiscing over what-ifs, Mirax thought as a newfound surge of determination almost instantly filled her inner being. If Tahiri Veila was still on the planet, or even in this system, she was going to find her, and nothing, not any of this system's authorities, not the Jedi, were going to stop her from looking into Veila's eyes before she killed her. Mirax didn't care if she had powers that allowed her to kill her with a simple hand gesture; somehow, she would find a way.

However, if the planet's authorities or the Jedi Order were going to get in her way with whatever moralizing they had up their asses, even if they were going to do something about Veila, Mirax knew she was going to need help from elsewhere.

And she knew just where.

. . .

Despite the exquisite feeling of another Jedi dying—that being none other than Corran Horn—Darth Judicar still felt uneasy as she made her way into the Circle Chambers, the meeting place for the Lost Tribe of the Sith's Circle of Lords in Kesh's capital city of Tahv. There, said Lords regarded her neutrally from their seats.

"Welcome back, Lord Judicar," Grand Lord Vol said. "So what was it that you wished to speak to us about today?"

"I was wondering, Grand Lord Vol, High Lords, if you feel comfortable without my further input or assistance into the continuing development of your fleet," Judicar asked as she stood before them.

No one said anything for a moment; they all remained neutral in their postures and Force-presences. Then Vol asked, "Why would you want to depart from us, Lord Judicar? Have you had any problems with any members of the Lost Tribe?" Both his tone and Force-presence made him seem sincere and concerned for her well-being, though Judicar knew better; like the High Lords around him, Vol was suspicious of her true intentions and whatever hypothetical dark fate she intended to bring upon them should she leave them.

Although, through their mental shields, they were probably also happy to be getting rid of her without having to resort to violence. Not that they would be against it, of course; they were most likely thinking it would just be easier than to expend any kind of effort into going after her.

"Not at all, Grand Lord," Judicar responded. "Quite the opposite, actually. No, my desire to leave the Lost Tribe relates not to it, but to a discovery that was just made."

"Oh?" Vol asked.

"I'm sure this council is aware of the strange vessel known as the Sith Meditation Sphere that had joined our midst mere days ago?" Judicar inquired.

"We are," Vol answered flatly. "What of it?"

"Shortly after it joined us," Judicar went on, "it told me about a personal matter that I have had to mull over for quite some time. I would rather not say what this personal matter is, but to allay any concerns that any of you might have, no, it presents no danger to the Lost Tribe. At least not directly, anyway."

"What do you mean not directly, Lord Judicar?" High Lord Taalon asked darkly.

"Well... as all of you know, you are not the only Sith in the galaxy. And the matter that I have alluded to pertains to another Sith. Actually, if I am to open up a little bit, it concerns the Jedi."

"The Jedi?" Vol asked as concerned murmurs began to float between the High Lords.

"I'm afraid so," Judicar replied. "And if I do not see to it that this matter is taken care of immediately, the Jedi may grow too powerful in the future for your people to stop."

"Elaborate on this, now!" Taalon practically shouted.

"I'm in agreement with Lord Taalon," Vol said in a more controlled but still agitated tone. "How does your departure from our midst concern the fate of the Jedi, Lord Judicar?"

The addressed Sith sighed. "If you truly must know, Lords, it pertains to my cousin."

"Cousin?" Vol asked.

Judicar nodded. "The Sphere told me that it was brought out of its resting place from the planet Ziost by the rage, as fueled by the dark side of the Force, of my nine-year-old cousin, Ben Skywalker. However, before it came to us, the Sphere had left young Ben with the Jedi."

"What?" Taalon asked. "Why would the Sith Meditation Sphere leave him to the Jedi?"

"Because in spite of Ben's anger and hatred over everything he went through on Ziost," Judicar explained, "the Sphere couldn't go against his wish of returning him to his father, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Luke Skywalker."

"Is that really so?" Taalon asked.

"I'm afraid it is, Lord Taalon," Judicar said honestly.

Vol waved a hand at Taalon, wordlessly indicating that he be silent. Then the Grand Lord said, "I would like to speak to the Sphere myself to confirm this matter firsthand, Lord Judicar."

"By all means, Grand Lord Vol. It is docked near the Omen itself."

Minutes later, Judicar, Vol, and the rest of the Circle of Lords had arrived at the site of the crashed ship that had brought the ancestors of the Lost Tribe's human members to Kesh over five millennia ago. There, Vol boarded the waiting Sith Meditation Sphere; minutes after that, he descended from its ramp and addressed the other Sith with, "It is true. Lord Judicar's cousin, Ben Skywalker, was brought back to the Jedi world of Shedu Maad by this Sphere on the boy's request, which could not be denied even with the knowledge that he would be placed back into their influence."

"Are you sure this is not some trick, Grand Lord Vol?" Taalon asked.

"I am quite sure that I have not been fooled by either Lord Judicar or the Sphere, High Lord Taalon," Vol answered firmly and with a dark undertone. He then levelled his gaze upon the foreign Sith. "So, Lord Judicar, you wish to take your cousin back from the Jedi's grasp and make sure he remains in the stead of the Sith?"

Judicar nodded. "Or, failing that, Lord Vol, kill him."

As Taalon and the other High Lords gasped in shock at that, even Vol looked perturbed by the foreign Sith's statement.

"You would do such a thing, Lord Judicar?" Lady Olaris Rhea asked. "To a member of your own family?"

Judicar kept herself from blanching at the response of these Sith. They were so soft compared to someone like Lumiya or whatever organization that the likes of Iosha or that incognito cargo hauler Plekos were a part of.

"Of course I would," Judicar answered confidently. "In fact, before I was christened with the name I have, I was about to do that very thing, and just after I had killed Ben's mother before his eyes."

"His mother was a Jedi, I assume?" Vol asked.

"Yes, she was," Judicar answered evenly.

"Why didn't you go through with killing your cousin when you had the chance?" Taalon asked. "Especially when you killed his mother in front of him?"

"I would rather not answer that, Lord Taalon," Judicar answered diplomatically.

"Was it due to your unwillingness to kill a child, even if it was a Jedi one and your relative, maybe?" Taalon asked.

"Lord Taalon, that is enough," Vol intervened.

"No, no, Lord Vol," Judicar said. "I can answer Lord Taalon's question; at least in part. No, I did not spare young Ben's life out of sympathy or because he was a child or my cousin. However, I will not tell you the reason why he is still alive. Nevertheless, I can assure all of you that what had kept Ben alive will not stop me next time if I think it prudent that he should die." Or at least she hoped that Lumiya wouldn't get in her way next time.

"I think that is fair enough," Vol stated. "Don't you agree, Lord Taalon?"

The younger Keshiri had to school his expression into something resembling the diplomatic tone and posture that Judicar had adopted.

"I agree, Grand Lord Vol," Taalon replied as he looked into his elder's eyes.

"Good," Vol said. "Now, then. In light of what both you and the Sphere have shared with us, Lord Judicar, I find it appropriate to allow you to depart from us so that you may see to your more personal troubles. After all, if it is possible that your cousin's continued exposure to the Jedi may negate whatever he had experienced on Ziost, it may be wise to make sure that he does not live long enough to inherit his father's mantle as Grand Master of his Order." He shrugged. "Or just be a Jedi in his own right who could pose a more general threat to the Lost Tribe in the future."

"Thank you, Grand Lord Vol," Judicar said politely. Of course, she knew better than to think that he was allowing her this out of some Jedi-like bout of sympathy. No; this was about making sure that she, a foreigner to them and their way of life in what it meant to be Sith, could leave without potentially doing anything that could harm that way of life. And if that meant that she could leave in peace, she would play along. "Then if neither you nor the rest of the Circle of Lords have anything more for me, and if it is by your permission, the Sphere and I may take our leave this instant."

"You have my permission, Lord Judicar," Vol said. "And thank you for the assistance that you have given us this past month. It is highly appreciated and we hope to see you again; perhaps fighting Jedi when we reach our full strength."

Judicar couldn't help but find it slightly comical. It was as if Vol was the head manager of a fast food restaurant with how transparently false he was. Nevertheless, she continued to play along, using what little she learned from the mother of Jaina Solo to bolster her persona as she nodded. She then turned and proceeded to board the Sphere.

"Just out of curiosity, though, Lord Judicar," Vol said, stopping the foreign Sith in her tracks, "I have seen, through the images that the Sphere had shared with me, that it would take quite some time for you to traverse the subspace debris corridor of the Maad system. I assume you have a plan of reaching it without the Jedi detecting you?"

Judicar turned back to address the elderly man. "I will work on it on my way over there, Grand Lord Vol."

"Very well then. But before you do so, I wonder, would you like to have your own ship, the New Purpose, back? Because we would really appreciate it if we kept the Meditation Sphere for ourselves."

Judicar kept whatever surprise she had off of her face and from her Force-presence. After a brief glance around the expectant High Lords, particularly from the predatory look in Taalon's eyes, she knew that if she were to fight for the Sphere, even with her powers, she would not win.

And besides, as fascinating as the Sphere was as a machine and as a being with a mind of its own, she did not have much use for it anyway. So if the Lost Tribe wanted, this was a fight over which she wasn't willing to stake her life.

I am in agreement, Lord Judicar, the voice of the Sphere communed to her. I am content to stay with the Lost Tribe.

"As you wish," Judicar finally acquiesced with an almost casual grin. Still, even having that kind of loss stung her ego.

"Thank you. And safe travels," Vol said with a wave that the High Lords wordlessly mirrored.

"Once again, thank you, and good luck on the continued building of your fleet," Judicar said as she stepped away from the Sphere and turned in the direction of where the New Purpose was docked. "As well, as much as I hate that this is a Jedi saying, but may the Force be with you all."

"It always is, Lord Judicar," Vol said. "It always is."

Over thirty minutes later, the Purpose launched from the ground of the forest where Judicar landed it and rocketed it off into the sky. Minutes later, it had left Kesh's gravity well and jumped into hyperspace, all the while its pilot figuring out a way to reach her cousin without attracting the attention of the Jedi there.