Chapter 40

The Jedi didn't need to be told of the actions of the other group as they heard the explosions rumble deeply through the undergrowth like the roar of dragon. It reverberated through the earth and the Force. Feeling the destructive power of the explosion and yes, loss of life, the Force rippled with near pugilistic power directly into Skye- into Revan- and a part of her recalled that feeling before. Many times, before and yet it had no context even though it did. Once more the Nagai felt as if she were looking at a holo of someone she knew before she knew them.

On the cusp of the explosion came a comm from Mission. The teenaged street urchin relayed what had transpired between the renegade Mandalorians and the felled Wookiees. How it was Grandpa Candy's idea to set the trap with explosives. He seemed to be more pissed off at the renegades for how they were killing the Wookiees, rather than the fact that they were killing them in the first place. She was puzzled why Candy shot the other Mandies bits off when they were already dead. "I mean it seemed like overkill to me, they were dead who where they gonna do it with, with dead Mandy girls?"

"I'll explain it to you when you're older."

"I'm old enough now! Case you forgot, I'm an officially a woman now."

"I know. I know. Look if you're still interested about it, I'll tell you about it on the Hawk, not here. Good job getting rid of them. The last thing we need are bunch of Mandies running around mucking things up. Bad enough I have an old graybeard who thinks he can run me. Fortunately, he is intelligent enough to accept his place."

Bastila watched her lover and noticed the strange look on her face. She could gage exactly why. She had heard the closing comments.

Jolee started to open his mouth to question the comment when Bastila shot him a harsh look. His mouth snapped shut tightly suddenly after gaining a great deal of inspirational wisdom that it was better not to ask.

It set a curious overtone in his assessment of their leader. It had been a very long while since he had made a study of people that weren't covered in fur. He didn't need to study Czerka personnel, they were easy and their motives understandable: profit.

Plain and simple.

Slavery is a high market commodity. Both the Sith and the Hutts and not to mention a host of others who would gladly buy muscle bound rugs as slaves. Once broken, the Wookiees made phenomenal labourers, thus they were worth a substantial amount of currency in many of its forms, be it Republic credits or other finances.

While Czerka was a major bunion on the ass, it was by no means complicated. But the Nagai woman… she was all kinds of complicated. Watching her, Jolee couldn't help but cast a mental comparison to another Jedi: Nomi Sunrider. And that brought another tie, his old friend's daughter was Vima Sunrider- none other than the Master of Metra Surik—Revan's most trusted General. If the rumors were true, Metra was also a one-time lover of the Revanchist.

At the thought, he looked to Bastila as well. Oh the young women took great pains to disguise their love. But it was very clearly there. Subtle little hints, a brush of a hand lingering too long as they walked side by side, or lingering looks, soft smiles- they weren't blatant or on display but they were there, if you knew what to look for.

Jolee knew better then search out with the Force to study the Nagai. Not that he might alert her to his probing, but for what she was taking very significant pains to cover- and it wasn't the romantic tryst she was having with her fellow Jedi.

After his battle with the katarins, when the Jedi approached him, he noticed- or rather recognized- one face almost immediately: the face of Revan. It was known that in public the Revanchist never took off her mask. However, when in private there was no question that the mask fell: figuratively and literally. It was not a few short years ago, that Jolee saw her. She was crossing the Shadowlands with a male human now calling himself Darth Malak.

Jolee had only seen the face but once, but it was enough- the dark-haired beauty with eyes so piercing blue it cut though anything she looked at, almost as a lightsaber. Revan was powerful, dynamic and commanding. When he saw the great Jedi General—the hero of the Mandalorian Wars wandering the wilds of the Shadowlands, it drew Jolee's attention. Her face burned itself into his memory.

It was the face that walked beside him now.

And yet… it wasn't.

The face was hers, the spirit… wasn't, not completely. Something was very much off. And the name: Skye Ravensong. There was no possible way the Jedi Masters of the Council or the Grand Master would not know the difference between a woman taking deep cover and pretending to be something other than who she truly was.

Revan and Skye swirled around each other like cream in a cup of caffa before completely blending, inseparable and yet distinctive in of themselves, Jolee could not help but speculate what would occur when the two became completely blended.

His study of the former Dark Lord transferred to the woman walking next to her. Bastila Shan was most notable for her killing the Darth Revan just before the bridge of the Dark Lord's flagship The Ravage exploded. Of course the Jedi were more than masters of the Force, they were masters of hyperbole, misdirection, and half-truths.

Clearly Bastila hadn't killed Darth Revan and yet… the Dark Lord was put to an end. From a certain point of view, the Revanchist was destroyed. When Revan called herself Skye Ravensong there was no deceit on her lips yet it radiated around Bastila. Perhaps it was because she had been forced to live a lie that Skye wasn't Revan for the rest of the crew. It was clear that Juhani had no clue the Nagai was once the Great Dark Lord.

Jolee would be lying if he said he wasn't interested to see the growth of this young woman before him. Ravensong's command over the Force was incredible and that made her very dangerous, regardless of which path she chose to follow. That demonstration with the bottle proved one thing-he had overplayed his hand with her when he had demanded a favour for guidance. Using his age as a tool against her was another mistake. Like Nomi Sunrider, Ravensong chaffed at conventional methods and preconceived honorifics. And like Nomi, Skye / Revan is a woman of great passion and great power.

"I can feel your mind buzzing like a cazador nest, graybeard. Care to tell me what has it so astir?" Ravensong asked, though it came across as more of a demand.

"Curiosity." Bindo answered enigmatically. "Once you have all the Star Maps, what are you going to do with them? Do you intend to use them against Darth Malak or to stop him? They are not necessarily semantically the same." Jolee turned his gaze to Bastila.

"You destroyed Darth Revan, even down here the whispers of such a phenomenal victory spread. It is also said that Malak turned on his master at the same moment you struck the bridge and engaged in direct combat with her Dark Lordship."

"Want to get to the point anytime soon?" Skye looked over her shoulder. She didn't have to see the unsettled look in her lover's eyes to know that Bastila was growing more and more uncomfortable with the line of questions.

"I'm getting to it." Jolee said trying to sound every inch the grumpy old man. "Some say the Jedi co-conspired with Malak to take Revan down, for nether was strong enough to do so by themselves. Darth Revan was said to have acquired vast power and resources very quickly. Too quickly to be simply the confiscated ships, weapons and even personnel of the defeated Mandalorians.

"She was down here looking for the same map; she found it and left. Whatever she and her apprentice found via the Star Maps gave her that power. Now you and your motley crew are here looking for the same thing. My point is: once you find it, what will you do with it?"

Bastila opened her mouth to recant the speculation that she and the Jedi Masters has any such alliance with Darth Malak to bring Revan down but she snapped her mouth shut when her lover held up her hand to silence her.

"That information is on the need to know… and right now, your own allegiance is not fully measured. You don't need to know." It was an answer the Revanchist would have given.

"Prove that loyalty greybeard and you may know more. You spout supposition and rumor that the Jedi- more specifically Bastila- made a bargain with ol' Tin-Jaw to take Revan out of the picture. Thing is, there's a Dark Apprentice crawling around down here and it's all too convent that you are here too. Should we assume you are in league with this slithering fetcher, or is it all just a coincidence? Or is it the 'will of the Force'?" Skye's lips pulled into a sly smile.

Jolee took a beat before he answered. "As you know, all things are connected through the Force. Should I deny working with this Dark Jedi and if I did, would I be believed? If I admitted to such- what then? I have felt his presence as have you, that shift in the Force that warps when the balance tilts in one direction or another. Where he is, I cannot tell you. Though I have no doubt he will make his presence known once you have the Star Map."

"No doubt," a clipped response. "So show us the way." A command.

"It's not too far from where your lost Wookiee has taken shelter." Bindo took the lead guiding the young Jedi along the game trail.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

Winding their way through the forests, the companions felt the stickiness of Kashyyyk's humidity crawl down their spines in tiny rivulets of sweat. The heavy air set thickly in the lungs.

Their Zeison Sha warrior and Jal Shey mentor armours seemed take on weight- though that was more of a product of the imagination than truth. Jedi were highly trained individuals whose endurance levels were rivalled by few. This was just another character building exercise. Skye seemed to thrive in the physical challenge the world was offering more here than the desert as Juhani and Bastila were as well.

The Force had a strange energy here, it was invigorating as it reverberated from the life around them, and then there was something more, something almost dark and oppressive like the humidity that clung to their bodies.

One foot in front of the other; soon it led them what looked like the entrance to a bunker. In front of it was a dais, the sort that was utilized by hologram matrixes. As soon as the party approached it flickered to life.

Like most holograms it was blue, but its shape was of no species any of them had ever seen. It had eye stokes jutting out form its skull but unlike the Gungans, they were horizontal from the skull not on top. It was a gangly creature and bipedal. The legs were digitigrade like hind legs of an animal, (most gave it the term dog-legged) with spurs and ended in tree-toed feet. The creature also had three fingers on each hand including the thumb. Its nose was nearly non-existent, more like breathing slits in its muzzle, not unlike that of a serpent. It had a wide mouth but no lips.

As soon as they approached the hologram spoke: "Lifeforms detected. Determining parameters. Initiating neural recognition."

"Yes there's the thing." Jolee gambled. "Obstinate machine. I've no doubt it holds what you seek, but good luck getting to cooperate. You think I'm a stubborn old man, that thing is worse"

The hologram went on as if Jolee hadn't spoke at all. "Primary neural recognition complete: Preliminary match found."

Bastila shared a look with her lover, and it was the same worried look reflecting in those blue eyes that lay within her own gray orbs.

"Match found…? What the…"Jolee looked to the Nagai appraisingly. "It always muttered something about 'rejected patterns' for me."

Again the strange looking hologram continued on blatantly ignoring the old human's outburst. "Begin socialized interface. Awaiting interaction. Greetings. This terminal has not been accessed for quite some time."

"Who placed this terminal here? What is your purpose?" Skye asked pointing to the dais the holomatrix was being projected from with her chin.

"Error: Subject displays unfamiliarity to environment. Behavioral reconfiguration will be needed before access. I am sorry. I did not mean to confuse you. I will answer questions to the best of my programming limitations."

From within her mind, Skye heard Bastila speak: 'It must have recognized your neural pathways as Revan's initially.'

'But would they be the same after all the damage and the reprogramming?'

'A bit, but the cognitive memory that is truly Revan was never erased, just buried. And it's reasserting itself more and more.'

Skye nodded. She turned back to the hologram. "What do you mean behavioural reconfiguration?" If the thing outed her now as Revan, she might as well get it over with. Perhaps it was best all-around if she did do so, sooner rather than later. The way Bindo kept looking at her, as if she were about to grow all veiny and her eyes change to a glowing red any moment now, spoke to the fact that he must know the truth and was only waiting to see what path the former Dark Lord was going to take.

"I have been programmed with a very limited field of knowledge and I must restrict access to only those that fit my allowed pattern."

Rather than ask if she fit that pattern Skye went on to ask of the hologram itself and its installation.

"I utilize a retro-adapted holocron-interface. Clarify your questions and I will attempt to access original system memory."

"Who built this installation in the first place?" It was Bastila who asked the question. "Was it group known as 'The Builders'?"

"Error… Corruption. Extrapolating: This utility was built to monitor planet-wide agricultural reformation. It has since malfunctioned. It can be theorized that the super-growth of Kashyyyk's forests is a direct result."

"Just like on Tatooine." Juhani said. "There was a radical change in its environment which resulted in an ELE."

"Well, that is surprising. I doubt any Wookiee would support such a claim. The forest is millennia old." Jolee supplied.

"Well what happened on Tatooine happed several cycles ago. We found that out talking to the Raiders and what we found in the environment itself. Something massive happened there. My credits are on the Star Forge, whatever it is. And the same thing must have hit here and we'll find something similar on both Manaan and Korriban." Skye answered.

"Malfunction occurred 241 years after the last Builder communication. Last Builder communication … 29,643 years before current Republic standard." The hologram announced supporting the Nagai's words.

"If this place was built 30,000 years ago it predates the Republic." But they already knew that from the strange tripod droid in the ruins on Dantooine. "By a long way off." Juhani said.

"Error: Information regarding the Builders of this installation has been corrupted."

"By age or by deliberate act?" wondered Bastila more to herself than to the hologram. Indeed it went on to speak as if it had not been interrupted.

"No evidence of such a civilization exists in the galactic record."

"Deliberate. Just like the droid. Either the Builders never wanted their Empire to be found or it was utterly wiped out and all evidence of them erased." Skye concluded.

"All evidence save for scattered pieces like those strange droids, this hologram, the Star Maps and the Star Forge." Bastila interjected. She looked to the hologram, "You answered why you were built, now answer who installed you here, who built you?"

"This interface was installed to better access the ancient data stored with in the pre-existing system. The exact data is unavailable. Programming keys indicate no earlier than five years before currant Republic standard."

"Hmmmm, five years ago? I didn't notice it. This must have been installed in strictest secrecy. It couldn't have been Czerka." Jolee said still giving Skye the hairy-eye ball.

Of course it wasn't Czerka. It was me. Or the me that is Revan. Thought Skye. Only I don't remember doing it. But it sounds like something I'd do to cover my tracks. But why did I make this thing look like that? Is that what the Builders really looked like? It was installed here to monitor aggro-changes. I probably just changed the preexisting matrix…

"No other information on time if installation or identity of user available. Likelihood of removal by user, 100%."

Bet your flat-photonic ass I'd do that. Skye's mind said snarkily, "Who last accessed this installation?" she said aloud.

"Sorting by identity. Three attempts by the Wookiee Freyyr, all denied. 152 attempts by human, Jolee Bindo, all denied."

"Heh… call me stubborn. I guess. Heh. There wasn't much else to do around here," the old man laughed at himself.

"Error list of access attempts prior to these is corrupted. Likelihood of removal by user, 100%"

'You certainly did not want to be tracked. Though we know you were here.' Bastila whispered though the Bond.

'War breeds caution and suspicion of enemy movements.' The part that was Revan was asserting itself. 'But who was I acting so covertly against? The Republic? The Jedi or whatever it was Malak and I found beyond the Outer Rim?'

'I do not know my Love.'

"Five years ago was about the time that Revan passed this way. We know she came here." Juhani commented.

"Error: Data regarding 'Revan' corrupted."

"Hah! So there was an entry at some time." Skye pounced on the holograms words.

"Error: Data on 'Revan' unavailable.'

"Fine. Let's see if we can go around that little error of yours, shall we?" the scout smiled duplicitously. "Was there any further contact with the installer of this interface?"

"That information is unavailable, but contact is not required for the execution of my programming. Scanning range of this facility is well beyond planetary boundaries."

Skye decided to stop with the line of questions as it was pointless. She didn't need proof to know she had been the one to install the guard-dog or why. Proof that Revan had haunted the depths of the Shadowlands was equally as pointless. She had been here. What Revan hunted was the objective, better to focus on that then confirmation of her former identity's movements.

"I want information regarding the Star Map."

The program paused for a brief moment. "Accessing. Yes I have found a Star Map in original system memory. Access is restricted."

The former Dark Lord paused then spoke. "Original system memory? So the Map is as old as the original installation. About 30,000 years old?" her pondering did not require an answer to indicate to the literal thinking program she held up her hand and asked an obvious question. "How do I gain access? I want to see the Star Map."

"Your request requires additional security access. You must be made to match the parameters I have been supplied."

"How can I match them when I don't know what they are?" The Nagai scoffed. "And what happens if I fail?"

"Then you are not worthy of further access. You will be rejected as unsuitable."

"Clarify rejection."

"Information unavailable. If you have further questions ask them now. Access will terminate with success or failure of evaluation."

"A safeguard placed here by Revan no doubt." Bastila said.

"Which means the evaluation will be based upon which path I lead Dark or Light?" Skye wondered. 'Blast, if I could only remember!' "Alright let's get this over with start your bloody test then." she said to the program.

"Evaluation commencing: Results will be compared against pattern in memory. Just act as you should.'

'How is that? As Revan I don't remember being? Or Skye—scout come Jedi? How can I match a pattern in this thing's damned memory if I don't even know how I would have acted then?'

'Perhaps a more pragmatic approach?' Bastila suggested. 'By this time Revan was a Sith Lord. It is distasteful but you must answer the inquires with a more Dark Side undertone. Remember, it cannot feel the Force, it is following digital coding- not a philosophical approach. Therefore your answers cannot have a hint of gray like you answered the evaluations the Masters had given you during your Padawan Trials.'

Skye only nodded. Their mental conversation had gone unnoticed by the hologram as it went on to ask its questions. "You travel with a Wookiee and have encountered complications. Hypothetical: you and this Zaalbar are captured and separated. If you both remain silent, one year in prison for each of you. However, call Zaalbar a traitor and he will serve five years while you serve none.

"He is offered the same deal, but if you both accuse the other, you both serve two years. What do you do? What do you trust him to do?"

"How do you know about him? He isn't even here." Juhani said. And Skye was glad of the interruption for it gave her a moment to think. The hologram prattled on that even down here the transmissions of Czerka could be monitored. The events of Jedi coming to the Edam and what has been occurring between the Wookiee village and Czerka were well known to it.

Skye ignored it all. She trusted Big Z, hell she knew he'd say nothing, his honor would demand he not betray a comrade-in-arms, never mind the Life-debt, and she'd never betray him either. How would Darth Revan answer, though… still one year served is better than two… this as a poor choice for a line of strategic questioning.

"Zaalbar owes me a life-debt. He would not speak out against me in honor to that tradition and his own code would forbid him from speaking despite the fact treachery is in his blood from the actions of his brother or the fact his father cast him out.

"But my mission must take priority, for its sake I would denounce Zaalbar as a traitor, even citing the details of his family to my captors as I have with you to add weight and validity to my statements. Even if deep down I knew this to be a falsehood, cover stories must be maintained, secrets and even outright lies are permissible if the objective is crucial enough to warrant said actions."

Juhani hissed behind her but was silenced by Bastila's hand on her arm.

"The temperament of a companion is unreliable at best. You wisely trade the threat of one year or five, for none or two."

"This machine certainly seems to want a very specific type of response." Jolee commented.

"Yes it does. However one year served is far better than two. This proves nothing." Skye said deliberately hoping the others pitched up on her inflection of tone as she could not transmit her thoughts into them as she did with her lover. "Your question is invalid. I have no intention of being a captive, my priority is escape. The Force will allow me to bend the will of my captors, even if it doesn't, I will do what it necessary to escape."

The program continued. "In this instance the Wookiee is unreliable. As you have already stated his family has been a mire of treachery and the use of a life-debt a clear strategy. I judge the answer correct. You display the proper behaviour to match the paten in memory. Evaluation will continue."

"Get on with it then," groused the Jedi, feeling tainted even as she played the Game. She had to keep reminding herself it was not what she thought or felt that mattered so much as what she said. Words were after all dry leaves in the wind.

"Hypothetical: you are at war. Deciphering an intercepted code, you learn two things about your enemy- A single spot in their defences will be at its weakest in ten days, and they will attack one of your cites in five days. What do you do with this information? What is the most efficient course of action?"

Skye hated herself for this, for thinking this way, but it was the only true course of action. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few. It was like when she was on that scouting mission when she had a chance to free a bunch of slaves which would have alerted the Mandies to her movements or get in and take the INTEL and get out.

…No wait, that didn't happen… that was an implanted memory… or was it?... UGH!... the truth was the cold hard act of bloody ruthless calculus —no profanity this time

"War is never clean. It never changes. Calculus is bloody and hard and often cruel. To save a few would risk the all. The most efficient course of action will be what any General will say: I prepare my forces to attack in ten days. I do nothing about the city."

"Very good. If you have moved to evacuate the city, you would have alerted the enemy to their lost codes. Ultimate victory required the loss of the people in that city as you pointed out. You wisely ignored sentiment in your decision."

"The decision saved more lives, lose a few there to save many more lives and break the enemy forces down. The deaths of city would have become martyrs—a rallying cry to urge my forces on to see something like that never happens again."

"Very good reasoning. I will apply it to the rest of the evaluation. You begin to match the pattern in memory."

"Oh goodie for me."

"Hypothetical: remove the ongoing war from the previous example. Consider enemy states to be weak and remote. With no external threat, your empire stagnates. Your people become complacent and begin to question you. Same scenario as before; you discover an impending attack but also a weakness that will come after. How do you react?"

The question shot through Skye as it did Bastila. Was this… what Revan foresaw? The people of the Republic had been questioning the Jedi. The Republic had become complacent; then came the war with the Mandies and when there was no action from the Jedi Council, those questions became demands. Revan rose up and took up the mantel of General—of Revanchist.

After the war… the Republic was being eaten away by a cancer from within it. It was how Revan and Malak assumed control so quickly. What did they see out there on the Outer Rim that made them scurry for forces, for an Empire? For the Star Forge?

Something out there made her take very desperate actions. She had been cutting out weakness deliberately… yet saving the infrastructure.

"I let the attack happen." Skye said in a more thoughtful tone that paralleled her internal thoughts. By this time she had ceased paying full attention on the program and more and more on what the strategist-the Revanchist was trying to tell her though clouded memory.

Then she added, "Of course you do. It makes the most strategic sense. Your people will rally beneath you against a common foe. As their eyes turn outward, your rule will strengthen. The trappings of war grant many opportunities."

Just like the Jedi Council allowed the Mandalorians attacks to happen on dozens of worlds. They did not intervene, nor take any action until… Revan and the Republic rallied behind her."

Now all faces were staring at her. None could deny the revelation. Many now turned to the Jedi to lead them against the Sith. They followed the giants, the heroes within the Republic Military. Many concessions were being forged within the Galactic Senate even now. It would take careful planning, but with the right person posing as Grand Chancellor they could easily become an Emperor or Empress. If that person had command over the Force… their power would be staggering.

Perhaps Revan had not fancied herself as such a ruler but she was the Revanchist, Dark Lord, entitled Darth… with a magnificent and terrifying military machine that was now in the hands of a madman. Warrior and opportunist indeed.

"You have matched the pattern in memory," the hologram said sounding pleased by the declaration. "I recognize you and will fulfil my designated function."

"Then give me access to the Star Map."

"Yes, you are ready. And soon you will recognize the proper course to follow. The Star Map is yours. This unit has now completed its primary duty and has finished with the subject. Executing final action: Activating Star Map. Commencing Perimeters rest. Stasis initiated. End communication."

As before on Dantooine and Tatooine, the arms of the map unfolded ejecting an orb that floated above and then emitted a holographic map of the galaxy. And as before the companions studied it, in awe of the splendour it beheld. Perhaps even more so knowing how very ancient it was.

"Well, well. A Star Map. An ancient artefact of Dark Side power. Can't say I'm surprised. I always knew it was funny down here. I wonder if the Star Map has had an effect on the evolution of the creatures here in the Shadowlands. Might explain why it's so dangerous down here. It's an interesting theory, though I suppose we don't have time to test it out, now do we."

"No we don't." Skye said more authoritative than she might have intended. "You can stay and test all you want. We…" here she pointed to herself and the other women, "are leaving."

"Oh not to worry, I wasn't intending on staying here. Like I said before I'm tired of trees. Just a bit of pondering. Well, you got what you came here for; we should probably head back to the treetops. Of course if you want to find Freyyr, his camp isn't far."

Skye just groaned and pointed with her chin that Jolee should once more play the guide.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

Meeting up with Freyyr had not gone well, all things considered. He accused them of being Czerka-core rats and challenged them to battle. By her order it was only Skye that engaged, leaving the others completely out of the fracas. Skye had to deliberately pace herself as not to injure the old nearly feral gray-furred male overmuch.

Once he was defeated it was just as an arduous task convincing and reassuring the displaced Chieftain they were not Czerka core-rats. He was a stubborn mistrustful thing but not that he could be blamed; for all any outsider had ever done to him and his people was to lie. In the end Skye had to demonstrate that she was a Jedi and thus could be trusted. Even still Skye had to promise him that Zaalbar was not a slave but rather a valued crewmate and one who had pledged a life-debt to Skye after she had saved his life form the Gamorrean slave hunters back on Taris.

It took several moments to get the full story but it was the titbits within the story that Nagai needed to turn the whole of the village against Chuundar. Tradition dictated every movement, every action. Zaalbar's claims that Chuundar was working with slavers was not believed because tradition dictated the eldest child words be true. Chuundar easily explained the disappearances to the dangers of the Shadowlands The boy's lies created a backlash within Zaalbar and he had lashed out- thus he was exiled for being a 'mad-claw'. It took a full year for Freyyr to learn the truth and by then it was far too late.

Chuundar's deception and depravity stretched even further, it was not long after Zaalbar's exile that Chuundar's true aims came into fruition. First he spread lies that Freyyr was going mad, and the village believed it so greatly that the old Chieftain had no allies, no one to stand with him as he confronted his first-born, none stood with him when he was attacked by his eldest or the Czerka guards Chuundar had with him.

Even as Freyyr ran for the safety of the Shadowlands Czerka pursued. It was then that Jolee had first encountered the aged exile.

Getting the gray furred male to go against his older boy, Chuundar was not as difficult. Once more the Blade of Bacca was brought up. It was the only symbol the other villagers- especially the guard- would pay any attention too. It was the only symbol that could make Chuundar's hold and his web of lies impotent.

Of all the companions it was Skye who understood why such significance was cast upon a single blade. Not even Jolee who had lived amongst the Wookiees for the past two decades truly understood it. That it was far more then ceremonial. The nagai people were not called Knives by the galactic community simply because of the shape of their elongated tapered ears.

Canderous oddly enough could relate. No true Mandalorian would refuse the man (or woman) who wore the Mask –the Mantle of Mandalor. They would follow him without question. For he was proved superior when it came to the hunt; he was one who offered no protest.

Carth believed they didn't have time. HK-47 thought the problem could be solved by bombarding the village and the Czerka compound with megaton torpedoes. Jolee thought perhaps getting involved was not the best pragmatic solution. There would be many deaths on either side. Deaths the Jedi would be theoretically responsible for as it was the Jedi who were insistent open rebellion. That it was always the innocent who ultimately suffered in the conflicts.

Bastila and Juhani could not stand by and watch the enslavement of a people despite that freeing them was not their mission. They had actually completed it by recovering the Star Map. Becoming involved in what was clearly an internal conflict was not something the Jedi Order was supposed to do. Even if it meant leaving Zaalbar behind they could simply leave Kashyyyk.

Mission on the other hand was not having any of it. She was going to get Big Z back period even if it meant finding that stupid Bacca blade by herself and marching up to Chuundar and sticking it up his furry backside.

"If his people lost the damn thing then maybe that old gray rug is right, they are undeserving of it." Canderous stated.

"As undeserving as the Mandalorians are when the helmet of Mandalor became lost to them, wouldn't you say?" Skye said, "Your people look for it even now do they not? No Mandalorian can claim the honored title without it; same story here." Skye words held the weight of finality to them. "That sleemo Chuundar may have the hilt, but it's the blade that is all important."

"That's all well and good, Skye, but maybe you forgot about the part were even a Jedi couldn't fell this thing." Carth pointed out.

"He was one. There are four here with the ability to use the Force." Bastila retorted. "We will prevail. After all, did we not slay a krayt dragon? Bestial cunning and brute strength is no match for the power of the Force."

"A significant amount of fresh blood is what lures this creature out. We leave the offerings in the designated spot Freyyr gave us and set an ambush just as we did with Fido and the dragon." Skye echoed her lover's stance.

"Board proclamation: Using the 'old ways' as the furry meatbag demands is a waste of energy. Alterative solution: by all means Master, lure this creature into a kill zone then we vaporize it with blaster fire. The cagey usurper meat-bag will not know the difference." HK suggested logically. It was, Skye admitted, more statistically sound to fend this beast off with crossfire rather than by the tang of steal or in the Jedi's case lightsaber.

"Yeah I hate to say it but the clanker's right." Mission nodded. "And besides, if it's all supposed to be traditional shouldn't Chuundar be doing this hunting and reclaiming thing, not us?"

"I think it's more of bestial training than anything else." Skye pointed out. "There is a ritual place where this beast is accustomed to being 'fed' no? So it will stalk there waiting not for offerings but for opportunistic moments to scavenge an easy meal. Even the greatest predators are not above a bit of scavenging if it means spending less energy to gorge itself.

"We take enough kinrath carcasses to the site to get this thing's interest and do what we did to Fido and the dragon. Only not so much munitions that we destroy the blade in the process. Enough cryo and frag mines should do the trick."

"Yeah well here's the rub, we used all of them blowing up the Mandies." Mission muttered. "And that includes grenade clusters too. No munitions left." the girl shrugged haplessly.

"Slightly problematic, but not overly much. We check out the site first and pick out perfect kill shot bird nests for our gunners. As well where we Jedi can go to ground and ensnare it with Force powers and sabers. Once we establish our cover points we bait the site and simply wait for nature to take its course." Skye directed. "All right you have your orders, people move out."

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

Taking down enough kinrath had not proved much of a challenge. The Shadowlands were infested with the vermin and the companions were now long practiced in exterminating them with swift proficiency.

In no time at all, each of the companions had a body each, ever mindful not to spill too much the spindly creatures' blood until they came to the ritual site. Here they hung up the corpses so that the heads faced the blood-soaked earth that was marked by years, perhaps even decades, of traditional bloodletting. Like the rancor trapped within the sewers of Taris, this ritual beast had grown very accustomed and fat on being fed. 'T'was only a matter of time for the great beast of the Shadowlands to come sniffing around.

"Once we have it in stasis-headshots only." Skye ordered. "That old Wook neglected to mention just how large this thing is or where in the body that blasted blade is stuck in. One thing is sure is that it isn't in its head. Besides, you know the old adage- cut off the head of the beast and you kill it."

"How big do you think it is?" Mission asked trepidation staining her voice. "Rancor big or dragon big?"

Skye pointed to the trees. "I'd say rancor big. There is no massive dung heaps and no great destruction to the root systems that foretells of dragons. But three meters up on the trees surrounding the ritual site there are claw markings. Those are fresh and they're deep. And you smell that? This thing is marking its territory."

"Musk." Juhani answered. "Under the life and decay of this forest floor, is animal musk. The bull is in rut."

"Is that what that stink is? I thought it had something to do with ya know all the dead things that got ate here." Mission said wrinkling her nose.

Canderous nodded in agreement with the Jedi. "Figured it might be something like that. Three things that drives every beast in creation: the need to feed, the need to protect its territory and the drive to breed. This creature will fight to keep all three. Probably means there were a few more of them out there. This one's just the meanest son-of-a-bitch of 'em all. Gotta be."

"If this creature is as large as a rancor and has the same disposition as one- and in rut- it will be even more dangerous and far more unpredictable than is typical for such a creature." Bastila added. "This thing is an apex predator. It doesn't just mean it's at the top of the food chain, it has no natural predators. It will have no fear, and it will see anything in its territory as food."

"Condescending observation: Monsters still die if you shoot them in the head enough times." HK committed with a hint of mechanical superiority. "Conclusion: its state of mind is irrelevant, Master. Recommendation: Just shoot the damned thing and be done with it."

As they had with the Mandalorians, Carth's team took to the trees surrounding the hanging vines where the bodies of the kinrath had been left to drain out their life's blood. The Jedi had scarcely activated their stealth belts before they heard the very distinctive roar from the beast.

It was a familiar sound. The Jedi had heard it before.

"Is that not the creature we set upon the Czerka poachers?" asked Juhani without needing an answer.

The beast could smell the blood in the wind, tainted with the familiar stench of the 'chittering two legs'. There was a small pack of them. No matter—better—more meat. The meat it got off the prey earlier did little to sate the gnawing hunger. The rut always brought the deep hunger. It rose above the rage, the burn the biting claw in its hide gave him. The burn was forever. It's been there for so many ruts the beast had forgotten a time when it didn't have the pain.

His blood was up; the rut burned his loins calling him to find the females; to mate; to feed; to fuel the blood so he could mate and spread his line. There was so much blood—it was intoxicating. It took over. He let out a roar of defiance, of claiming. Whatever meat the furred-two legs dropped in the trees was his. His alone. The-no-fur two legs were there too, their scent was fresh, they lingered by, just like when he was trapped behind the light.

He rushed the blood spot, his roar bouncing off the trunks of the trees losing the echo, but gaining a deeper timbre. His roar was felt in the earth, by the hidden roots of the trees and carried by them, letting the other males know this territory was his.

He reached out for the first hunk of hanging meat when he felt the first sting. His roar didn't even reach his throat before the second and third hit him. Claws struck—burning.

Biting.

Rage.

Choking.

Striking green fingers of pain rippling his skin, his bones, bringing him to his knees. More stings. Hard. Evil. Cruel Hit! Claw! Bite! Fight! Roar. Blood.

The two-legged pack surrounded him. Biting, gnawing, drawing blood. The darting ones with light stingers danced around him. Spinning- swirling; he couldn't claw at them, couldn't bite them. His roars of rage, of defiance, did not terrify them. They didn't reek of fear like the others earlier. The ones he'd eaten. There was nothing now but rage.

RAGE.

The spinning ones, he couldn't reach them, they flickered like the glowing plants on the ground. Here and then not. One of them with green and a light glowing black -struck out at hi- taking an ar. RAGE PAIN ..the older light-stinger with the green lights was pinning him, couldn't move. He tried to strike out but the PAIN blurred his eye. Golden claws struck again and again, blue and green lights dashed in and out-slashing at his legs, his arms. He slashed and when he did more stings rained down from the trees like the dusty pollen.

Claws raked the trees, broke the bark, bite deep into the marrow of the trunks but the two-legged pack it couldn't touch. Couldn't reach. He roared his anger, making the two-legged pack know he was going to destroy them.

His roar always froze the two-legs but not now. This pack was different. Blood leaked out; his blood in puddles. Darkness… clouding—deeper and deeper. The Ground came up hard-fast. Blackness. Blood. Nothing.

Nothing.

It was done. The creature now lay dead at the companion's feet. The battle was rough, hard; raising the blood and the adrenaline. The former Dark Lord reveled in the euphoric release that came with felling such beast.

Revan pulled the sword from the beast's hide. Like a pebble in an oyster, the beast had calcified its skin over the Blade of Bacca, baking the broken metal into almost a piece of its armour plating.

"It's done," the Nagai said coldly. "Now we collect this failed Chieftain and return him to his broken throne."

"And after all of this, what if the Rug refuses to help us or demands more favors like every other dick-head in this pit-hole?" asked Canderous.

"If Freyyr will not cooperate as promised, he is of no further use. Let him rot in the Shadowlands. As for Chuundar…" Revan looked at the ritual beast then back to her crew, "we will do to him what we did to that creature. There is no difference."