"So why do you hang around the cantina?" Jo asked the Rodian. The Rodian fit all three of them on his speeder and was taking them out of town.

"I'm always on the lookout for like-minded individuals like yourselves. I recently hit a wall in my research and nearly lost all hope. Then today, I thought I felt like something was telling me that I might get lucky today."

"Where are we going?" Aang asked.

"We've drawn too many eyes for it to be safe to go back to my place. We'll have to head somewhere more discreet."

Aang closed his eyes and cleared his mind for the time being. Suddenly something felt wrong.

The speeder made for the outskirts, where there was nothing but dunes and plains ahead. "If it's all the same to you, I don't want to be stranded in the desert too far from civilization." Jo spoke up.

"We're not going far." The Rodian said.

They went out into the desert for a minute or two, then they stopped behind a simple, unsuspecting dune hill. The Rodian got off and stood in front of the base of the hill, then perched down and started digging in the sand. He dug until he felt a tarp underneath the sand. He dusted the sand away and lifted up the tarp, revealing a control panel. He pressed a sequence of buttons, covered the panel up, and stood back up.

"Come and stand close." The Rodian said, gesturing them forward. Aang and Jo got off the speeder and stood near him. Rodian made sure they stood within a three meter diameter before a hole opened up under them, and they fell down a slide.

The sudden happening jolted Aang; but before he could get over it, he found himself standing in a dark underground compartment. "Where are we?" He asked. The Rodian turned on the light, showing Aang and Jo a small, convenient backup lab.

"I only come here when work becomes, eh, crowded." The Rodian said.

"Popular guy, heh?" Aang asked.

"Occasionally, when I become 'desperate' for information."

"How do you handle 'being crowded?' " Aang asked, taking a step forward. That was an interrogation tactic he used a lot.

The Rodian could obviously sense Aang's suspicion, and couldn't blame him. The implication that he was caught up with less-than-admirable activities would be unsettling to any regular person. Although around these parts, the Jedi would qualify in the 'less-than-admirable' category.

"You two should know more than anyone else on this planet that there are lines to cross to obtain the truth." The Rodian replied. Aang couldn't disagree with that statement, so he backed down. "Over here." The Rodian said, running over to the table he had set up. "This is a map of my desert ventures." He said. The map featured the beginning of the desert from the exit of Mos Eisley on the other side of the town, where Aang and Jo landed. There were several red lines drawn, indicating where the Rodian had explored. Having not been in the bunker to update the map, the Rodian grabbed a red marker and added two more lines through the map.

"I'm assuming you two landed around this exit, 'cause I didn't see any ship on our way here." He tapped the edge of the map/Mos Eisley. "Many strange things have come from this desert; I've been trying to find the source, but have only brought back sand n' grit to show for it." The Rodian said.

Aang and Jo noticed that the red lines reached far into the desert; but still not very far in retrospect, considering the great desert's size. "You don't have the proper travel and expedition equipment do you?" Aang asked.

"When the Republic took business away from this planet, there were serious financial repercussions that followed. Only the very few rich 'business conductors' who stayed here on Tatooine have all the 'good stuff' and have holed themselves up somewhere on the other side of the planet. So no. My equipment is a bit outdated." The Rodian explained.

"Well we could use our ship to explore. We have the stuff for it." Jo suggested.

"You'd have to be very careful where you fly it. These people haven't seen a well-functioning ship in a long time; they get a bit hard to handle when they become 'green-eyed.' "

Jo shivered. He remembered few of the animalistic gazes he received when he strutted around in the cantina.

"What we're looking for also lies in the desert. Perhaps we share the same interest. We're looking for something, someone very dangerous and very powerful. He is a very strange creature, you could say."

"Well I say we waste no time, then." The Rodian said, taking his map from the table and rolling it up.

The three drove around Mos Eisley to get to the Tantive ship sooner. They experienced smooth sailing all the way around; the attention they thought they had didn't amount to anything. That's at least what they thought.

They offloaded the speeder and approached their ship. Jo and Aang each carried a tank of fuel. When the ship's underbelly became visible, they noticed the ramp was down.

"Jo, did you forget to put the ramp up?" Aang asked.

"No I distinctly remember putting it back up." Jo said.

They each thought for a moment; it was strange to them that the elaborate safety protocols they installed on the ship were not functioning. Aang slowly put down the tank he was holding and grabbed one of his lightsaber hilts. "Keep your senses sharp." He whispered to Jo. Jo relayed the message to the Rodian, who just ducked into the sand.

Out of nowhere, a shock net came out of nowhere and tackled Aang. The sudden turn of events pulled Jo out of his focused trance. "Aang!" He shouted. He didn't realize the fatal mistake he made -letting his defenses down- until it was too late, until he too was under a shock net and losing consciousness.


Viran and Ephraim arrived safely back on Coruscant at the old Jedi Temple, which had been refurbished to also function as the Republic's lead military base. Much of the Jedi knowledge contained in the temple had been purged when the Empire took control decades before, and with the significantly smaller number of Jedi -as compared to the tens of thousands before the Clone War- left much vacated space in the temple. The Jedi had their Council Chamber, youngling training room, and shared the mission briefing rooms. The rest belonged to the military.

"What's our next move?" Ephraim asked. "I can't imagine anyone will be taking Ben Solo, as a source, seriously."

"Luckily, my friend, I have a friend in the Secretary of Defense. You leave the case to me; and as for the Senate, they're just going to have to believe us." Viran answered.

"Doesn't the Secretary of Defense report to the Chancellor? How's that gonna work out? I don't think anyone's seen the Chancellor in a long time."

"Relax, Ephraim. Everything will work out fine." Viran told him before they entered the facilities.

They found the front desk and register. Viran got the receptionist's attention and told her, "I'm here to see the Secretary of Defense on a matter of grave urgency."

The Tognath receptionist looked at him for a moment, then said, "Right. Is this actually a serious 'urgent,' or are you just desperate for some 'attention' again?"

Ephraim's eyes widened and eyebrows raised as he slowly turned his head to bore his eyes into Viran.

"It's not like that." Viran confirmed to Ephraim, who he sensed was staring.

"Is it not?" The receptionist asked, turning her attention to Ephraim. "I'm sure he's told you that he's 'good friends' with the Defense Secretary?"

From just staring, Ephraim placed his fists on his hips. "Buddy!" He said not-so-seriously. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

"Nothing to get riled about." He answered Ephraim. "Can you get the Secretary please?" He asked, firmly slapping a hand on the desk.

Viran's rushed tone seemed panicked to Ephraim; Ephraim just chuckled at this new side to Viran. One moment he was an all-business Jedi, and now he's acting like an embarrassed teenager with a crush.

"One moment." The receptionist said. "What matter of urgency is the matter?"

"National security."

"Oh that's a new one." She replied sarcastically.

"No less serious."

The receptionist just hummed, typing into the holo-computer when she received a notification. "Oh! She's been expecting you. Go on in."

Viran just nodded and headed towards the office.

"Try not to have too much fun, little Loth-cat." The receptionist poked fun.

Ephraim covered his mouth, stifling the burgeoning laughter desperately trying to escape him. He looked at Viran and asked as calmly as possible, "Is that what she calls you?"

"Please don't." Viran said before standing in front of the Defense Secretary's office. He looked in the camera beside the door, then heard a buzz before the door opened.

Quia Govan sat behind her desk with a sly grin on her face. Quia was one tough cookie on the outside; she was built like a one-woman army. She had a round head, but a square jaw; and a decent amount of muscle everywhere else. She took personal pride in her looks, but was all business all the time; even Ephraim did a double take for a second.

Quia opened her mouth to say something, but Viran put a hand up to prevent any discourse from the matter at hand. "I can't be here long, Quia. There is an urgent matter you must bring before the Chancellor."

"I'm used to it by now, lil Loth-cat; you never lingered long when we visited."

Ephraim took the statement literally, thinking Viran was just always busy and only had a little time to hang around with this Quia; but Viran saw the double meaning and turned his head, palming his face in the process.

"We have reason to believe there will be an invasion on Coruscant soon." Viran said

"Oh another one? You sure you didn't just come here to see me?" Quia said with a sing-song tone, gesturing to herself.

"The son of Kylo Ren will be leading this new enemy force." Viran continued.

That statement caught Quia's attention; she knew he meant business, so she leaned forward with a serious face and asked, "What's the evidence, and what kind of force can we expect?" She asked with her deeper 'serious business' tone, which took Ephraim by surprise.

"This man right here," Viran said, slapping Ephraim's shoulder, "works with a Jedi team led by the Follnor twins. That team encountered a Sith that wielded Kylo Ren's lightsaber. I spoke to the Naboo Prince who could all but confirm it. He's been in hiding, and he's ready to make himself known."

"Why Coruscant? That's a move almost too reckless to be considered bold by any standard."

"Prince Solo said that his son is the kind of person who would begin his reign with a manifesto big enough to get his attention."

"But he's just sitting back, on Naboo?"

"I think he's hoping we'll be enough to stop him; he's very reserved about getting involved in other governments' businesses." Viran said. "If anything was to happen, what do we have to work with?"

"We've gone a very long time without a war; most of the Republic warships are either out of commission now, or melted into scrap for other uses."

Ephraim decided to finally chime into the conversation. "I can talk with Garm Bel Iblis, our Corellian Senator about some new ships. In the meantime, if we have any ships, cruisers, fighters not yet melted down, keep it that way. Until further notice, that is."

"Someone's eager." Quia said, showing off a cocky smile. "Now when was the last time I said that?" She asked, looking at Viran with a bigger smile and lightened tone.

"Can you do what he suggested?" Viran asked, ignoring Quia's sentence.

Quia just leaned back in her chair, popped a mint into her mouth and said smugly, "Obviously. Look who you're talking to."

"Thank you." Viran said, immediately turning to leave. Ephraim slowly following behind.

They left the temple, and Ephraim just had to ask. "Dude. How do you know her that well?"

Viran stopped for a second, hoping the subject would be dropped, but continued onward and answered to get the subject over with. "I wasn't always a good fighter; she taught me what I know now." He exhaled. "She always holds over me how she could always beat me so quickly."

"Ah." Ephraim said, leaving the conversation as is. They left the temple and headed for the Senate Building, but on the way, Ephraim remembered a couple things. "Wait hold on! Are you sure there wasn't anything else between you two? Some of that particular dialogue and, that tone she used, kinda seemed a bit more than casual if you ask me. Even some things that receptionist said lean towards the more-than-casual side."

"Drop it." Viran said sternly. Ephraim decided to respect his wishes, feeling as though he wouldn't get anywhere. After an awkward silence, Viran told him the plan. "I'm going to drop you off at the Senate Building so you can talk things over with Garm, and I'm going back to Kashyyyk to watch over the base. Hopefully I can get in touch with Master Rye. I hope he's doing well."


Rye was doing his best to heal the two injured pilots without giving them too much of his life force. The most he could do was remove the shards of glass from their skin and stop the bleeding, but there were still puncture holes all over them. He sensed their vitals begin to pick up, so he got up to attend to the more pressing issue.

Rye jumped over the crate barricade, about to draw his lightsaber, but saw that Exar had taken care of most of the problem. There were only a few clone stormtroopers left, and they were soon disposed of. He looked back and saw the trooper transport ships flying off, but he wasn't having it. He stretched his hands out and stopped two of them dead in the air. He slightly curled his fingers in, pulling the transports towards him; but it was just a tad much for him.

Exar joined him and helped out; he tried stopping the third one too, but even helping handle two of them was harder than it seemed. Erickson helped lay his injured allies straight out on the ground, then helped his brother and Exar.

Successfully, the three of them pulled the small transport ships back to the landing platform; they could only hold them in place.

Struggling to hold them in place, Rye let out a loud grunt. "Get inside the ships and take out the pilots! We can't hold them much longer!"

Calista and her standing team made it to the ships, three teams opening the ramps and taking control.

"Let go now!" Rye strained, the three Jedi letting go.

The transports jolted forward, the pilots in command. But in a second, each ship started sputtering then going down; That was the point the pilots were taken out. Before the ships hit the water, they pulled back up; that was the point their teams had taken the controls, and took a landing on the platform around the burning Republic ship.

"Alright." Rye sighed, dropping himself and landing on his butt. "Get these crates onboard one of the ships. That one will go to Coruscant, and the other two will go to Dathomir II."

"I know those things don't have hyperdrives." Exar said, taking deep breaths and placing his hands on his hips.

"Is it that far away?" Rye asked.

"Yeah. We'll need some help." Exar said.

"Will we? I think the three of us could take that Sith." Erickson said.

"Not what I meant, I. . . We'd, best ask for some relief supplies. And not a short amount either." Exar said, his voice lowering and heading towards the ships.

'Relief supplies?' Rye and Erickson both thought, looking at each other.

Exar just stood inside one of the ships, leaning against the wall. Rye and Erickson followed him inside. "Exar. We're not only your masters. You can talk to us." Rye said.

"Exactly. What he said." Erickson said, voicing his opinion.

"What's going on, on Dathomir II?" Rye asked.

Exar didn't have the stomach to bluntly answer what was going on. "It's. . . one of those things you'd only hear about in horror stories." Exar sensed the confusion and realized his answer was vague. He turned around and faced them dead-on. "They're. . . eating each other. My people are dying at their own hands."

For the first time in their lives, Rye and Erickson saw Exar show an emotion other than frustration. There was a hint of mistiness in his eyes, and his lip was quivering. They even sensed compassion in Exar's heart. Genuine compassion, and massive regret.

"I left." Exar said, his voice not yet breaking, "I've provoked the Sith, and now they're going to be finished-"

Rye interrupted Exar, pulling him into a hug, making Exar stiffen his limbs. "Unless we get there first. It's not your fault, Exar. You know the Force has its plan for everything. Maybe it led you to us so we could train you as a Jedi so you could save them.

"If I had stayed, I could've done more." Exar said.

"Things happen, Exar." Erickson said. "We wish we could turn things back, but it is what it is. The Force has proven time and time again that destiny's ends justify its means. There is a purpose for all this; we just have to see it through."

"Okay that's enough." Exar mumbled, pushing Rye out of the hug.

"What do you want your purpose to be?" Erickson asked Exar.

"I. . . I never really thought about it much myself." Exar answered, rubbing his nose.

"Then let's start with saving your people." Rye said. "Erickson, contact the nearest Republic outpost ASAP. Use my emergency frequency."

"Wai- really? You've only used that once." Erickson asked.

"Exar's people are extincting themselves."

"Alrighty." Erickson said, going off to make the call.


Calista saw the whole conversation unfold from a distance, and suddenly had an idea. She signaled her second in command. "Yes ma'am?"


"We are going to need to know the planet's exact coordinates." Rye told Exar.

"Dathomir II's coordinates are a bit complicated, but you'll find it shortly outside the Outer Rim, from the Red Nebula on out. And those coordinates are 410.118 , 1134.896 at G-21." Exar said. "Just keep on flying straight from that point, and you'll reach the sector."

Rye and Erickson both just gave Exar very confused looks; Exar read their faces and noted, "That wasn't very helpful, was it?"

"Helpful, but so vague at the same time." Erickson confirmed.

"Right. I'll uh, I'll help lead you guys through."

"Through?" Rye asked. His eyebrows raised, and his voice hushed.

"I only go through that nebula if absolutely necessary."

"Okay, but, Rye her doesn't have the fondest memories involving nebulae." Erickson told Exar, putting an arm around Rye and rubbing his shoulder. "He gets 'neb sick,' you could say."

"Like a sea sickness?" Exar asked. He wasn't about to put his master through any sickness, but he'd never heard of any sickness related to nebulae.

"You could say that." Erickson nodded quickly.

"Ah!" Exar exclaimed. "Is it movement related? Because Dathomir II is -how do I say this- in the nebula. To be more specific, I have to take you guys through certain paths in the nebula to get to a certain spot also in the nebula."

"You should be fine as long as you get on the planet, right?" Erickson asked. "All three of us need to be there to kill the Sith."

"Yeah, I, should be safe on the planet." Rye agreed.

Then the three heard the other soldiers outside commanding the others to board the ships.

"Hey slow down!" Exar said to the second in command, pushing past the soldiers boarding the ship he was on. "We can't leave yet. There's something critically important I have to do here."

"Already done." The officer said. "We've ordered top-of-the-line relief supplies, and the ships are going to follow our trail to arrive safely."

"You know, I had my suspicions about you guys-" Exar said. By the start of that sentence, the surrounding listeners thought Exar was about to say something kind about the Republic; they had just gone ahead and ordered 'top-of-the-line' relief supplies to Exar's people, but their suspicions were dashed when Exar continued with, "and now they're not only confirmed, but now I know this Republic government eavesdrops on people too?" The officer didn't respond. "And chooses when to respond." Exar mumbled, going back to the ship he was on.


Aang, Jo, and the Rodian regained consciousness, but none of them could see. 'We're blinded.' Aang figured.

"Hey. . . what's going on?" Aang heard Jo ask.

"Am I the only one who can't see?" The Rodian asked.

"We're all blinded, but-" Aang tried reaching around his cloak for his lightsaber, but didn't feel the cool of the metallic hilt. "ah they took my lightsabers." he said quietly.

"Not mine." Jo whispered back.

"Well hurry and get us-" They found themselves unblinded.

For the brief moment Aang and Jo had to take in their surroundings, they observed the inside of a building that looked like an old palace. 'One stranded in the desert.' Aang added. Up ahead was a litter-style throne. What was odd was that it was carried by Tusken Raiders, and on the throne was someone donning similar Tusken garb.

"Didn't I tell you what would happen if my men or I saw you again, Rodian?" The one on the throne asked. He looked like another teenager, but an older one. Outside his Tusken uniform, there wasn't anything else of note other than dry-looking, flaky skin. 'And some resemblance.' That struck Aang, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The throne Tusken stood up and stepped down, slowly and intimidatingly approaching the Rodian while dragging his gaderffii across the ground.

"W-Well, technically, they wouldn't have seen me if they weren't raiding their ship."

"Their ship." The lead Tusken emphasized, going to kneel in front of Aang. "Yes, these two. Who owns a Tantive shuttle, has business this far out, has these distinct special tunics, whilst owning a couple of these?" He asked, dangling Aang's lightsabers in front of him. "You know what we do to Jedi in these parts?"

"You don't worship them, I take it?" Jo jested.

"Quite the opposite." The lead said, standing back up. "They're responsible for Tatooine's ongoing recession. Nearly every life on this planet is now ruined, so for the Jedi we provide excruciating deaths."

Jo leaned over to Aang and whispered, "He's lying. He's never encountered another Jedi before."

Both Jo and the Tusken noticed Aang wasn't responding; he was staring intensely at the leader, trying to nail the resemblance.

"Force' sake, what are you looking at?" The leader asked.

"You just look, eh, very familiar." Aang finally replied.

"Oh! A cultured visitor, finally?" The leader asked, standing his gaffi stick up and leaning on it. "You should recognize this face. It was my father, ultimately, that the Jedi, erased from the galaxy."

He knelt down in front of Aang and exaggeratedly held his hand forward to be shaken. "Hello there! I'm the son of Galen Marek."