Splotches of light filter through thick foliage as the lift sways gently from side to side. Mal swings her legs in the empty air below and looks to the serious faced Wookiee operating the ropes. The disregard he feels for their lives comes off his body like waves. To be human is to be a slaver in their eyes and as much as it pisses her off, she understands. Maybe if they'd adopted that paranoia earlier, they could've avoided slavery to begin with. That's a cruel thought. Take your own advice.

She misses Zaalbar's presence. The memory of him, a quiet desperation in his eyes as the doors closed between them, is overlaid with a vision of him smothered by chains. She prays his scum of a brother doesn't invoke some strange law to keep him there forever. Mission and Bastila are still in the village in case he tries something funny. T3 and Carth are stationed at the Hawk keeping Czerka's greedy hands at bay. Which leaves Canderous and Juhani standing on opposite sides of the lift doing their best to ignore each other. Really should've planned that out better. Their tense silence is awkward at best, unbearable at worst. It does nothing to soothe the ache inside of her.

Snitched out by her own Force bond, Mal's stunt at the Czerka office was met with a gentle scolding on the consequences of acting before thinking. And what little anger the moment released had returned twofold. Because what's the point of being a Jedi if she can't do something as simple as that?

The lift shudders violently. Mal lets herself teeter on the edge, the darkness of the Shadowlands beckoning like a gaping mouth below. The crease of her knees is the only thing securing her to the platform. All it would take is a strong wind or another quick shake to send her tumbling down to her death.

"Watch yourself."

It's Canderous who speaks, his eyes trained on her wobbly form. She's tempted to lean further out of spite, but his words hold less of a challenge and more of a genuine concern that makes Mal settle her body back to safety.

"Juhani would catch me. Wouldn't you?" She peeks over her other shoulder and winks.

Juhani looks at her strangely, tense with a readiness to make good on Mal's suggestion. "I'd rather you didn't test me."

Mal lays back on the wooden planks. "I wasn't actually going to fall," she sighs. From this angle the treetops seem to dance circles around each other. Distant and ethereal. Like laying on the bottom of the sea watching towering kelp sway in the current. Mal frowns as a strong nostalgia punches her in the gut. An impossible daydream. Nothing more.

"What the hell?" She feels the platform shift as Canderous moves.

"What?" His silence has her sitting up, carefully this time as Juhani looks ready to pounce. "What is it?"

The forest floor appears without warning. Mal pulls her legs up just in time for the lift to settle wearily in the grass. She expected it to be louder down here, but a suffocating quiet envelops the area. Canderous hops off and aims his rifle as three figures melt out of the dark. Mal blinks rapidly before following.

"Calo Nord, you slick bastard! Is that really you?"

There's a trademark smugness to his walk that gives him away. It's what she remembers most about him. That and the explosive way he dealt with confrontation.

"I bet you thought you'd gotten away from me."

Canderous laughs. "You don't know when to die, do you Calo?"

"I could say the same about you, Canderous."

Juhani stands warily by Mal's side. "You know this man?"

"Sorry, we're being rude. This is Calo Nord. We met him on Taris. He's Canderous's best friend."

The two men in question manage to spit out, "He's no friend of mine," at the same time.

Mal grins cheekily. "It's so cute when they do that."

Calo slashes the air angrily with his hand. "You don't know how much I've been looking forward to this. There won't be any distractions to save you this time."

She hums thoughtfully while sizing up his Wookiee companions. Fully armed and plenty experienced. The lift operator seems content to stand back and watch leaving it an even three-on-three. "Calo." The blood in her veins starts to sing finally, finally. "You should've stayed dead."

Both sides tense at once, the violence erupting between them so in sync it's hard to say who strikes first. Calo's henchmen are as tough as they look. Hard, unflinching, and completely at the mercy of Mal's unleashed energy. She's burning with it, all the suppressed rage swallowed down now bubbling at the surface. She makes them dance with her blaster before sliding up close to finish them off in quick clean cuts. More, more.

Calo puts up an impressive fight. The man really loves his explosives. It takes all of their focus to avoid getting blasted and even with the odds stacked in their favor, they fail to do any real damage. Juhani and Canderous unwittingly sabotage each other's movements, growing frustrated at every turn.

"Back off Mandalorian!"

"I'll shoot you next time you're in my way!"

"Stop it," Mal hisses. "Before you get us killed." She tries to grab Calo through the Force but he slips away. "Damn it!"

Canderous shoots off a few more rounds as Mal throws down a smokescreen. "Any bright ideas?"

"Depends," she snaps. "Can you two work together for one fucking minute?"

Juhani bristles, words sharp as a knife's edge on her lips. Mal stares her down. "Peace over anger, Jedi." It has the intended effect. Juhani blanks for a moment like a system resetting before loading up the right program. She breathes out slow, the anger in her eyes settled to a sharp calculation. Why can't you do that? Take notes. A series of pops sound off from their right side moving closer.

"Go!"

Canderous rolls out first. His rifle spray sends Calo on the move while Juhani leaps at him with her lightsaber drawn high. He catches the blow, redirects it to the side, and answers with his own. Canderous aims a few shots to his back, but they're absorbed by his shield. Calo shoots off another grenade before turning back to fend off Juhani. This time Mal stops it mid-air. The Force reaches out like an extension of her own hand as she catches it and sends it flying back. Juhani leaps out of the way as the blast short circuits his shield.

"Now!"

Mal flips him through the air, Canderous fires, Juhani swipes, and Calo is a bloody heap on the ground. He's still breathing when Mal reaches him, fumbling for something in his coat. She slams her foot on his arm pushing down till he groans and releases his hand from his pocket.

"Don't be a sore loser, Calo," she chastises mockingly.

Canderous lifts his rifle to finish the job, but Mal stops him with a raised hand. That pulsing need inside of her grows, unsated, still begging for more. There's a gaping wound on his stomach openly weeping blood. Keeping one foot on his arm, she raises the other and digs her heel into it. To his credit, he barely cries out.

"You know, I was really shocked to see you. I mean we left you and Davik buried under a pile of rubble as the world ended. But you survived. Even managed to escape off planet before it was torn to bits." She presses down harder, the heel of her boot sinking into the wet tearing flesh. "Honestly, I was amazed by you before. But now?" His breath is erratic, but he still refuses to scream. She digs in best as she can watching blood and dirt mix. "Now you just piss me off. A planet full of people and you're what's left."

His free hand grabs weakly at her ankle. The pathetic attempt at freedom disgusts her. Mal reaches through the Force, that beautiful extension that's become another part of her body, and snaps his neck. It's quicker than he deserves but the rush is gone. Looking at him makes her feel sick. A tiredness creeps through her muscles as she backs away. Canderous is already looting through his remains, but Juhani watches her with a blank expression. Mal almost wishes she'd pull a Bastila and lecture her. The silence is scathing.

It lasts up until they find the mad hermit living in the woods. Even then, Juhani would rather speak to the forest itself than to Mal. At this point, she's grateful for the extra company even if Jolee's running commentary is borderline inane. She'll take anything to fill the silence, to distract from the incessant itch of her body. She feels unsatisfied, filthy. Just another frothing beast in the Shadowlands. When they stumble upon the Star Map it's enough of a shock to break her self-loathing, if only for a moment. Because why the hell would an ancient computer presume to know her that way? Try to lecture her on how to be? Incorrect answer, my ass. She tells it what it wants to hear and in return she's left with a map and no more answers from an unresponsive AI. And no amount of prodding makes it come alive again.

"That's weird, right? Why me? Why not Jolee or any of you?"

Juhani sits off to the side watching the lights of the Star Map blink and twirl. She hums thoughtfully but doesn't say a word. Mal gives the machine one last kick.

"It's probably Revan's fault. He sounds like the type of guy to make you pass an annoying personality quiz before you can play with his toys. Bastila's gonna be pissed we found it without her."

A crescendo of Tach calls is the only response. Sweat trickles down Mal's neck. Her hair sticks to her forehead no matter how many times she pushes it out the way. Despite the air being cooler down here, the humidity is thick. Her muscles are coiled at the ready. She wants to scrub her skin raw.

"Just tell me already." That makes Juhani look at her. "Tell me you're disappointed. Tell me I fucked up. Please."

Juhani's face is unreadable. "Would that make you feel better?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Yes."

"Then no, I won't say it."

"What?"

Juhani stands and turns to face her. Her movements are slow, calm. They don't match the sharpness in her expression. "I look at you and I can't find the person who talked me away from the edge of darkness. I look at you and I see the worst parts of myself reflected back. You want me to absolve you of your guilt? I won't. You should feel it."

"Juhani—"

"What was it you said only moments before? Peace over anger. How quickly you forget."

Mal grits her teeth. "I never claimed to be a perfect Jedi. Hell, I'm barely a Jedi as it is. Cut me some slack. You've been at this a lot longer than I have and look what happened to you."

"Do not mock me with my failure!"

"I'm not! I'm reminding you that this, all of this, is new to me. I'm doing the best I can."

The fire in Juhani's eyes turns to a cold steel. "I do not think that is true."

She walks away cutting the conversation to an abrupt end. The hot air in Mal's lungs whistles through her teeth like a kettle. A thousand insults crawl up her throat aching to be released.

Don't you dare take it out on her. She's right and you know it. Can't stand when someone calls you out on your excuses. What are you even doing here? Thought you could play Jedi? Look at you now. They're going to tear to shreds, build you up just to watch you—

"Any luck?"

Her eyes snap open at Jolee's voice. He's poking at something in the bushes with a long stick. A small courtesy, looking away while she stands catatonic in the middle of the forest. It takes a second to process his question, and another to comprehend it.

"No." Her voice cracks. She swallows and tries again. "Probably got tired of seeing your face all the time."

His dry chuckle makes her crack a weak smile. "You sure it wasn't tired of answering the same question 20 times over?"

"It wasn't the same question. I worded it a little differently every time."

"That's almost worse."

"Where are the others?"

"The serious looking fellow's prowling around like he's some kind of jungle predator. Your other friend's watching to make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid."

There's something warm about Jolee hidden under the layers of candor and gruffness. It calls to Mal like a muffled promise, a mystery she's eager to solve.

"You're coming with us."

"Attached to me already, huh?" He crosses his arms and eyes her sharply. "You're a little too young to be telling me what to do."

"It's not a command or a question. You're planning to come with us. I couldn't stop you if I tried."

He shakes his head, tsks her chidingly. "Kids these days. Always presuming things. You've still got some promises to keep before you can even think about leaving."

Mal tilts her head back. The trees look more solid down here, unshakeable. She takes a breath and reaches for that memory of excitement as the Ebon Hawk first dipped down into the treetops. The wonder of it all. Zaalbar's gentle consent of her curiosity. That's right. Someone's counting on Mal to get her shit together. She smiles at Jolee.

"Let's go finish it then."