With the conflict seemingly rising to greater heights, the galaxy soon faced a new threat which appeared in the form of a new Sith Lord, Savage Opress. Ruthless as he was powerful, this Zabrak male seemed to have no intention of showing mercy to any of his victims, which included even the youngest of padawans. Anakin and Obi-Wan sought out this monster in order to bring him down but lost him over Toydaria, where Opress had killed King Katuunko. Then the Zabrak disappeared, and nothing was heard from him again until a message was sent to the Jedi Council from the planet Raydonia, which brought to light some unsettling revelations. That Opress was active once more, and worse still, had found an accomplice. Maul.
It had been believed until this moment that Maul, the Sith that Obi-Wan and his master Qui-Gon Jinn had encountered, had been killed by Obi-Wan after severing him in half at Theed, but the message could not be mistaken as the second Zabrak murdered an entire village of innocent people merely to call Obi-Wan to fight him. Having seen the message myself, I had offered to go with Obi-Wan to face Maul, but Obi-Wan assured me that he could handle the Sith on his own as he had done before and opted to go alone. We had not known then that both Maul and Opress were now together, revealing themselves to be brothers, which meant that Obi-Wan very nearly lost his life. If Ventress, the fallen Dark Acolyte of Count Dooku, had not been there intending to collect the bounty on Opress, I dared not think what may have become of my friend.
Now working together, Maul and Opress were massacring their way through the Outer Rim, killing both innocents and Jedi in their quest for revenge. Action had to be taken, and since this was a serious threat that could not be taken lightly, I volunteered myself to join Obi-Wan and Master Gallia in our mission to track and capture the brothers before it was too late. This time, Obi-Wan did not refuse me. Tracking the brothers by following sighting reports and attacks, we came to the Cybloc transfer station which had a released a distress signal which had been received near to the previous attack we had tracked.
Thankfully it had only been droids to suffer casualties this time, no life loss, however it appeared the brothers had made off with a great deal of wealth in credits as well as a ship full of cargo and luckily, a droid survivor was able to reveal where the Zabrak brothers were heading next, the Sertar system. I was familiar with the system only through study in the archives, however Obi-Wan seemed to have an idea of what the Sith could be after in that sector. "What is in the Sertar sector?" Questioning Obi-Wan as we began to make our way back to the ship, Obi-Wan answered immediately.
"That's where Florrum is." The planet's name made me look up, recognising it as being the one where Ahsoka's group of padawans going through The Gathering had had to fight against a group of pirates before Grievous had attacked the sector and taken it over for the Separatists.
"You've been there? What can we expect?"
"Nothing good, I'd expect." I murmured quietly as I wondered what the brothers could want with Florrum, for there was nothing out there that would be of any interest to the Republic or the Jedi Order, and since their goal was to cause as much harm to us as possible, it did not make sense to go after pirates. We followed them to Florrum where Obi-Wan's hunch proved to be correct, Master Gallia confirming a match on the stolen cargo ship which was now in view alongside three more ships which were heading towards the surface.
"It seems Maul and Savage have picked up a pirate escort."
"Maybe to unload the stolen cargo." Master Gallia suggested, however I sensed that was not the case.
"Or perhaps to form an alliance. With the Jedi and every bounty hunter constantly hunting them, it stands to reason they would need to build an army of their own to defend themselves." I suggested, standing behind the two masters as they flew the ship at a safe distance away from the stolen cargo ship and pirate escorts as not to be noticed on their scanners. "Obi-Wan, do you think this Hondo character you mentioned would consider an alliance with the Sith?"
"No, I do not think so. Hondo is not the sort of person who'll accept orders from others, or enter into a venture where he cannot guarantee a profit or his life. Maul and Savage are too dangerous for him to consider a friendship with them." Both Master Gallia and I noted how confident Obi-Wan sounded in his prediction of this pirate Hondo's decision concerning an alliance with the Zabrak brothers, meaning that he seemed to know this pirate rather well.
"So you know this Hondo personally?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I had better make contact with Hondo, perhaps he can provide us a better idea of what the Sith want with him." Opening a channel to the planet below, we three waited until the Weequay pirate answered, accepting our communication. "Greetings, Hondo."
"Greetings? What kind of menace have you brought to my planet now? First, you lose this system and Grievous comes in and destroys my entire stronghold, leaving me here to just rummage through the leftovers of my once great empire." Hondo began in a rather extensive rant, causing my brow to arch as my arms folded in front of me, thinking that perhaps this Hondo character was the type that you would describe as…unique. "And now these two horned men show up. Who are these horny-headed maniacs? They don't seem like normal Jedi."
"Not Jedi, Hondo, Sith. We tracked them here."
"They just threatened to attack with a group of my men. My own men!" Well, you cannot expect honour amongst thieves.
"Yes, we are looking at them right now, a cargo vessel and three of your starships. They are heading toward you, Hondo." It was good of Obi-Wan to give this Hondo fair warning for what was coming his way, though I doubted it would make much difference. A battle will soon break out. I could sense it.
"More to the point, are you going to help me when you get here?"
"There's nothing we can do about your men, but we can certainly do something about the Sith." This seemed to satisfy Hondo, who agreed that so long as we dealt with the Sith brothers, he would deal with his own men. "Let us hope that the three of us together will be enough to stop them this time."
"So long as we work together, we shall prove sufficient to the task, I am certain of it." Placing my hand upon Obi-Wan's shoulder, I squeezed my fingers in order to signal that I had every confidence in our abilities. "It has been a long time since we have worked together, Obi-Wan, I shall do my best not to slow you down or get in your way."
"As I recall, it was usually me slowing you down, Theca. I still remember you flitting through those trees on Obredaan like it was second nature to you." Also remembering that mission, I chuckled a little as Master Gallia arched an eyebrow at the both of us.
"Now this sounds like something I would like to hear. You will have to fill me in with the details when we return back to Coruscant." Promising that we would, the three of us put away any light hearted emotions in favour of focusing on our task at hand, preparing ourselves mentally for the fight against two Sith. Obi-Wan had already told us everything he knew about the both of them, having fought them both before, and so I hoped to adapt my defensive style to become an impenetrable wall to help hold off the Sith so that Master Gallia and Obi-Wan could then focus on finding their weaknesses. Working together to defeat them would be far easier than attempting to fight them separately, and so I took several deep, meditative breaths in order to ready myself for the inevitable.
Obi-Wan landed the ship up upon a rise which overlooked the decimated stronghold which had once been Hondo's base, showing the battle of the two groups below but we barely had time to take it in before we sensed the dark disturbances in the Force behind us, and upon turning around, we came face to face with both Maul and Savage Opress themselves with their weapons drawn. "Throwing in with pirates now? Oh how the mighty Sith had fallen." Recognising the sarcasm in Obi-Wan's tone, we three Jedi did not hesitate to engage our own lightsabers whilst standing ready to battle as I quickly took in my opponents forms.
Maul did not rise to the remark but instead went straight for Obi-Wan with his singular blade, focusing on him whilst Opress, who wielded a double bladed crimson lightsaber, barrelled towards Master Gallia and myself. Immediately I was on the defensive, remaining light on my feet as I allowed my body to move instinctively and reflexively, quickly surmising that brute strength would not be enough to defeat this monster, for his physical power was beyond anything I had ever come across before. I moved naturally alongside Master Gallia, the both of us working together to keep Opress from joining Maul against Obi-Wan as our blades hummed and clashed, bright flashes of lights almost blinding to the naked eye.
Our position was a hindrance, however, as we were being pushed closer and closer to the edge of the cliff so with a flourish of my blade as I turned, spiralling it behind my back to block an attack from Opress, I gave Master Gallia the chance to jump down to the lower ground with Obi-Wan before I then joined them, moving towards open space so that the battlefield was more even between us. I fought alongside Master Gallia with fervour and determination, whereas Opress seemed to fight on raw strength alone. There was very little style or technique to his blade work, but the sheer power and drive he possessed to crush all in his path was enough to make him a considerably difficult adversary. Even when Master Gallia managed to land a blow against Opress's knee with the intent to knock him down, Opress did not even flinch, remaining upright and unaffected which threw Master Gallia slightly in her surprise.
Swiftly sliding over one of his blades, I came at the Zabrak's back and kicked out at him with all my strength, attempting to break his balance so that we might have a better chance at overwhelming him, however Opress easily shook me off and this time, returned a blow which sent me soaring backwards over the ground and into the dust with a dull ache in my chest now throbbing where I had been struck. It took me a moment to recover, placing a hand over the injured area and as I raised my head, I witness Master Gallia being thrown backwards with the Force by Opress, winding her as she struck the broken hulk of scrap metal before all at once, Opress charged with lowered head. "Master Gallia!" The horns of the Zabrak rammed fully into Master Gallia's abdomen just as I launched a piece of debris at Opress, attempting to throw him off course but his strength and stature was too powerful to be waylaid, and the debris merely rebounded off of him before mortally wounding Master Gallia.
I did not remember returning to my feet or springing into the air as Master Gallia fell, only that the intense burning from my injury had suddenly spread to my entire body as I flew at Opress as he raised his weapon to deliver a final blow to Master Gallia even as she passed into being with the Force. This time, with the added momentum of my anger and the power from my jump, when my foot collided with Opress's chest he was thrown back with a wild flail as I then landed before Master Gallia's body with a defensive stance, seeking to defend her even in death, for she deserved far more than to be skewered by a monster. Obi-Wan had cried out upon witnessing Master Gallia's death, but I was already fighting Opress once more with an increased measure of speed, driven by sheer force of will to overcome him.
Opress was on his back, stunned by the blow of my strike but as I brought my lightsaber down with a singing hum in order to finish him, another crimson blade appeared to block mine. Maul protected his brother and kicked me aside as Obi-Wan then reached me, stopping Maul's second attack from making contact as I staggered and struggled to maintain my footing whilst Obi-Wan now faced both Maul and Opress together. Seeing him being pushed back, I raced to his defence and vaulted over both of their heads, swinging one end of my lightsaber to force Maul to protect himself, and once I had landed beside Obi-Wan, we fought side by side against the Zabrak brothers.
Ducking low under Obi-Wan as he sprang over me, I blocked Opress's double bladed weapon with one side of my own whilst the other parried Maul, using everything I had at my disposal in order to keep both myself and Obi-Wan alive whilst also coming to terms with the fact that Master Gallia was dead. Her death weighed heavily on my conscience, but I could not allow myself to become distracted by that sadness. She would not wish for us to fail now and make her death to be in vain. "Kenobi, this way!" The voice of the pirate Hondo called out towards us and with a glance, I saw that he and his men were retreating into the ruin of their stronghold.
"Go Obi-Wan." Encouraging Obi-Wan to move, he paused only to summon Master Gallia's fallen lightsaber to his hand as I once again used my own weapon to block both the Sith at once, using every ounce of strength I possessed just to hold them for a brief second before I then pushed back with all my might and as I threw my arms forwards and up, I used the direction of my swing to carry through and vault back over my head and land on the ground after Obi-Wan who was waiting for me.
"Hurry, I'll cover you Theca." Already deflecting blaster bolts, I disengaged one side of my lightsaber so that I could use it as a single blade, joining in the effort to block the blaster fire from the pirate traitors that had chosen to side with the Sith and betray Hondo. Having more experience than myself in deflecting blaster fire, one bolt came exceedingly close to my face as it flew past my ear with a bright crackling hum, only just jerking myself out of the way in time as we retreated into the stronghold and sealing the door behind us. "Are you alright?"
"Yes Obi-Wan, I am unharmed." Taking a moment to catch my breath, I reached up in order to move aside a stray lock of hair which had fallen free from its usually kempt arrangement, my face now framed by sleek violet hair from where the effort of fighting against Maul and Opress had dishevelled me slightly. "Master Gallia…I am sorry. I should have been able to save her, and I failed. Her death is my fault…"
"It is not your fault Theca. The blame lies with the Sith and no other, you should not put such burdens on your shoulders." His arm came around me in an effort to console and offer comfort, the both of us using this brief respite in order to mourn Master Gallia and pay respects to her memory before we had to move forwards, or risk joining her in death as the pirates were now attempting to force their way inside. Already I could hear Hondo ordering his men, planning to set an ambush for the traitors who had once been loyal to him, though Obi-Wan did not hear as his hearing was not as sharp as mine, and so upon reaching Hondo, asked him where the rest of his men were.
"They are setting up an ambush. We can use your help." He said to us whilst looking past our shoulders, expecting for Master Gallia to come hurrying around the corner. "Where is the other Jedi? Were there not three of you?" Beside me I felt Obi-Wan feel a wash of grief and sadness, something that I too felt though he displayed his emotions more visibly on his expression than I did as he delivered the news to Hondo of Master Gallia's passing.
"She's…she's dead." Knowing of no other way to comfort Obi-Wan, I placed my hand upon his shoulder and anchored it there, wishing for him to know that I was still with him, and that we would pull through this together. Meanwhile, rather than being sympathetic for the loss of our friend and comrade, Hondo was more shocked that a Jedi had fallen at the hands of the brothers, spluttering in disbelief as he gaped.
"She's d…they are too powerful for even you? I am…semi-speechless." Echoed voices floated to us then, signalling the arrival of the rest of the pirates which immediately caused everyone to raise their weapons, Obi-Wan and I quickly igniting our lightsabers in unison as we prepared to fight once more as Obi-Wan instructed Hondo in what to do.
"We shall draw the brothers away. Once that's done, blast the passageway closed."
"And leave you alone with the two crazies?" At first it sounded as if Hondo was going to object, however he swiftly thought better of it as he preferred for others to risk their lives rather than gamble with his own. I could not blame him for being cowardly, for after all, he was a pirate, and he would never be a match for the Sith. It was best they were left to Obi-Wan and myself, to try and prevent any further loss of life. The moment Maul and his brother appeared with a hoard of pirates behind them, Hondo wasted no time in calling for a retreat and running for his life. "Retreat! Retreat!"
Signalling with his hand for me to hurry, I turned and fled first with Obi-Wan close behind me, the both of us racing behind Hondo and his pirates but then at the end of the hallway, we turned in the opposite direction and split off from Hondo in order to draw both Maul and Opress away from them. The sound of the passageway being torn down behind us gave both Obi-Wan and I the comfort in the knowledge that neither Maul nor Opress could escape back the way they had come or reach the pirates. Now, all that was left to do was face them, so after drawing them away we both turned together, facing the brothers directly. "Surrender. We are two, and you are no match for us both." My brow creased at Maul, taking it as an insult that I did not seem to qualify enough as a challenge to warrant me being counted as an opponent.
"Perhaps you are innumerate and cannot see that we are also two, and we are indeed more than a match for you." Wielding the two blades in his hands, Obi-Wan ignited them both as I did the same and adopted my favoured stance, lowering myself slightly and balancing with my lightsaber held aloft. An explosion of conflict then ensued, and I found myself having to trust in my high level of defensive capabilities to ensure that I did not become a casualty of the battle against the Zabrak brothers. Maul initially went directly for Obi-Wan, having a greater interest in him than myself, which left me with Opress and our identical weapons clashing, though his was broader and longer. My speed and agility was my ally, and so I continually sought to unbalance my opponent and began to strike repeatedly at every opportunity I found to strike at his left knee, viewing it as a weakness I planned to exploit.
But then all too quickly I had to move in a tight twirl to move around Obi-Wan as we exchanged places, our familiarity with one another allowing us both to pre-empt the other which now meant that I faced Maul himself. Twisting the hilt of my lightsaber, I separated the two and wielded the blades separately as I changed my attack style to fit my opponent, as defence would only get me so far. We were each fast, agile and swift in our attacks and the brothers were not giving us any options of mistakes, for they were as cunning and ruthless as they were skilled, meaning that I had to rely on every reactive instinct in my body to keep myself from making a fatal error.
Leaping up high I planted my foot against the wall in order to then spiral on the tip of my boot, the movement allowing me to circle my blades with a swift flourish as I then pushed off to land behind Maul and sweep out his mechanical legs, surprising myself with a successful hit but it was a short-lived victory, for Maul then used the Force to send me crashing backwards all the way back down the corridor to where Hondo had collapsed the ceiling, leaving Obi-Wan alone with both the brothers. He was trapped by them, one brother either side as Maul then lifted him off the ground and slammed him against the side just as I had managed to pick myself off, starting with fear for Obi-Wan before darting forwards once again in order to hurry back to his side.
As Maul and Opress struck, Obi-Wan used his two blades to block as mine joined his, a total of four lightsabers obstructing the two crimson ones. Our eyes then both turned to Opress's knee which the both of us had repeatedly hit during our battle, and without needing to confirm with one another, we both lashed out to hit the joint and I felt it crack underneath my boot, buckling unnaturally as it broke. Opress cried out from the pain of the break, causing enough of a distraction which allowed Obi-Wan and I to push back against the Sith and move against them, veering underneath our locked weapons before with an effortless flourish, my blade sliced through Opress's arm in a clean cut that severed it entirely.
"Savage!" A green mist began to bleed from the injury as Opress dropped to the ground, now defeated as Obi-Wan and I now focused on Maul. His anger caused the Force to ripple around him, wavering with his rage and as Obi-Wan lunged forwards with an attack, Maul's power manifested itself in a Force-push which sent Obi-Wan crashing backwards all the way to the debris blockage with so much power that he was gone from my sight in an instant.
"Obi-Wan!" My attention diverted for the merest fraction of a second, instinctively turning my head in order to find Obi-Wan however I felt the flash of warning as Maul then turned on me, and had I not caught myself in time, I may have been killed by the Sith there and then. Defending myself, I was able to block and evade three consecutive strikes before I too was subjected to the Force through the direction of the Sith, however I crossed my arms in front of me and solidified my stance so that even though I was pushed backwards, I remained standing on my feet and slid over the ground before coming to a halt just as the ceiling above collapsed from where Obi-Wan had crashed through.
My eyes darted upwards with a gasp, seeing the structure give way and, having no other choice, I dove for the ground towards Obi-Wan instead of allowing myself to become trapped on the other side with Maul and his brother. Dust hissed as it settled, the rumbling and crashing grinding to a halt as I scrambled to get up and rush to Obi-Wan, calling his name once more and quickly kneeling down in order to help him sit up. Placing my lightsaber down beside us, I helped to hold up his head as he came back around, looking into his eyes to search for sign of concussion. "Obi-Wan?" Blinking, Obi-Wan shook his head to clear it before then exhaling deeply, coughing up the dust cloud he had unwittingly breathed in before lifting his hand to placate my concerns for his welfare.
"I'm alright, thank you Theca."
"If you are certain, then we must hurry or the Sith will escape." Standing on my feet, I extended my hand to Obi-Wan in order to help him up, pulling him off the ground before we both Force summoned our lightsabers and took off once more in order to pursue the Sith brothers. Wasting no time, we found our way out of the stronghold to witness Hondo and his men, now reunited to the same side, had open fired upon Maul and his brother. We did not stop running, continuing to streak forwards and I soon outstripped Obi-Wan, being far faster in speed than he was. I could see Maul was injured in one of his mechanical legs as he was limping, but with another hit from a blaster blew the leg off completely which meant his brother was forced to help him limp away.
I was catching up to them now, my pace being still steady and strong however when Maul Force-dragged our ship from its landing point up on the ridge to tip over the edge, I soon found its shadow descending over me. Had it not been for Obi-Wan, I may have been crushed by our own ship. He used the Force to push me further ahead and clear of the descending ship, though it was an unclean landing on account of his haste. Still I was grateful, and a heartbeat later I was back on my feet and running, but I was still too late.
The brothers boarded their ship and took off just as I reached them, the rush of engines and heat blazing against me so I leaped backwards to avoid the backlash of their take off, coughing slightly before watching the cargo ship fly away. Obi-Wan reached me then, and just as we observed the Sith brothers escaping, Hondo had one of his men fire upon the ship with a rocket launcher which hit one of the thrusters and thus compromising their engines. Sharing a glance with Obi-Wan, we watched the ship descend from the sky in a stream of black smoke, Hondo looking rather pleased with himself as he then came to stand with us. "Well, Kenobi, let's get out there and see what riches have fallen from the sky for me…and you." His gleeful laughter filled the air as I placed my lightsaber away, still watching the ship as it finally crashed back into the surface of Florrum, and the bright spark of its explosion remained visible even from such a distance.
Hondo allowed both Obi-Wan and I to ride with him and his men to the crash site where I was finally introduced to the pirate, who insisted that I should ride as his companion since it was only polite that a lady should be attended to first. Untrustworthy as Hondo was, I found that I did not dislike him and even found his unique character to be amusing. Polite and reserved in my dealing with the pirate, I sat behind him on the speeder-bike as we moved to inspect the site of the crash, only to find no evidence of either Maul or Opress. The ship was in ruins and the cargo had scattered everywhere, but the brothers seemed to have completely vanished, with no trace of them to be found. It was a daunting prospect to think that the Sith were still out there somewhere, but now we had no way of knowing where they had gone, so we could only collect Master Gallia's remains and return them to be consecrated at the temple, where she belonged.
"Do you think they survived?" Obi-Wan questioned me as we made the return journey, my mind lingering on the events of the previous few hours which seemed to have flown by in an instant.
"I think that anyone aligned to the Dark Side desperate enough to continue living and surviving no matter what will find a way to endure. The ship's escape pod had been detached, so it stands to reason that Maul and Opress used it before the ship went down. They are alive. I can sense it." And it was true, for in my brush against someone living within the folds of the Dark Side of the Force, I had felt it attempt to creep its way into my mind, plucking at the strings of my consciousness and toying with my temptation, but I had managed to block it from taking hold. "You must be careful from now on, Obi-Wan. Maul has sworn his revenge upon you, and he does not seem the type to give up for any reason."
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to watch my back. Maul does not frighten me, it's what he plans to do next which causes me concern. He mentioned something of a plan that was yet to be completed, and I very much doubt he will give up on that either." This was indeed troubling, though there was nothing to be done about it now. We had done our best, and although we had lost Master Gallia to the Sith, we had managed to injure them both, and reminded them that the Jedi will not stand back and allow them to wreck destruction, death and chaos wherever they might go. Perhaps now, they will exercise a little restraint until we find them again, and next time, they will not escape us. "You fought well today Theca. I was most impressed with your abilities."
"We fought together and protected one another, Obi-Wan. I was merely doing my duty." Dismissing the praise as unnecessary, I instead focused on running maintenance checks on the ship we had had to barter from Hondo, which had cost us the entirety of the cargo that had been on the stolen ship Maul and Opress had taken. Only after agreeing to let Hondo have it would he provide us with a ship to get back to Coruscant, but considering the state it was in, I was not convinced that it would not fall apart around us.
We sent word ahead of us to the Jedi Council as to the results of our mission, and upon delivering the news of Master Gallia's death, I sensed a great swell of sadness from all those who received the message. A meeting was called between the Jedi and the Supreme Chancellor, and there we provided a full report of the mission and its events, however the Chancellor seemed adamant that this was the last we had seen of both Maul and Opress, and instead of sanctioning a search for the brothers, wished to sweep it aside and return to the matter of the war. Both Obi-Wan and I tried to persuade the Chancellor to take the issue more seriously, that Maul's attempt to create an army of pirates was a cause of great concern, but Chancellor Palpatine was deaf to our implorations, which sparked an ember of resentment towards him within me.
"So let him. Let him play with the rabble. They're just petty crooks. It is of no relevance to the Senate compared to the Separatist threat." The Chancellor ruled, however before he could dismiss the matter entirely, I found myself speaking my mind on a blind impulse.
"A threat is still a threat, Chancellor, whether relevant or not. There will be more innocents murdered and endless bloodshed if these Sith are allowed to roam free in the Outer Rim. How long before they move their efforts closer to the Core Worlds? What would you say of the threat they posed then?"
"Jedi Rouyn, you forget yourself." Master Windu was quick to reprimand me, however I felt no shame in the truth I had spoken and so did not display any hint of regret or remorse. My mind was clear, however I felt that the Chancellor was dismissing this matter too flippantly. It was not right, and I felt that he had become too absorbed in conflict and darkness from the war to see what was right in front of him. I twitched, irritated that Obi-Wan was not also agreeing with me or pushing to fight for what needed to be done, however when I opened my mouth to speak once again, Master Windu cut me off. "Be silent. It is not your place to speak here." I was angry. Inexplicably angry at Master Windu, Chancellor Palpatine, the Sith, the war, I was even angry at myself. This burning sensation seemed to creep its way through me, and seeing that my words would fall upon unhearing ears, I turned and strode out of the Senate council chamber in an act of defiance. "Rouyn! You have not been dismissed! Rouyn!" I ignored Master Windu, his voice being silenced by the closure of the door behind me, and once I was safe on the other side, I felt that anger immediately dissipate.
It shocked me to the core to feel the way I had, for it had appeared out of nowhere and taken hold without any kind of warning. Usually I was in much better control of my emotions, but just now, it had felt as if they had been ripped from me and allowed to run rampant without due discretion. I glanced back, thinking that perhaps it had just been a singular moment of unbalance, affected by the death of Master Gallia and the loss of the brothers into the unknown. Perhaps I was simply losing my mind. At this point, I would think it certainly possible, for it seemed as if all the galaxy had collectively lost its sanity, and nothing could be done to salvage it from the destructive path we had been set upon by fate or by design. There was just no knowing anymore, and so with my head bowed under the heavy weight of my thoughts, I walked away and did not again look back.