Flashpoint

- Jen Sahara / Ness Jonohl -


Harsh breath scraped through my lungs like sandpaper as I ran for all my worth, Force propelling my burning muscles as a nightmarish howl of fury reverberated around me. My ears rang and my heart pounded with the beat of fear as I realized that their speed was at least equal to my very best.

Get out, fool! My senses told me one was only metres behind, and this cavern stretched inordinately long. Salvation in the form of a narrowing tunnel lay just beyond. Jump!

I leapt high into the air, the Force spring-boarding me wildly forward just as a terentatek pounced with a resounding thud onto the hard, rocky cave floor underneath. The stagnant air whistled against my face as I sailed towards the exit, the granite walls narrowing as I flew ever closer, landing at last with a stumble, and smashing into the side wall.

A sharp burst of pain blossomed as my shoulder crunched into unyielding rock, and then everything went black.

"You're okay, you're okay," a voice was murmuring by my ear, trailing gentle kisses along my neck. I was gasping, my eyes squeezed shut, as the adrenaline subsided and generic pain overrode it. I could feel his Force senses over me, checking me, touching me, probing for any injury. "Minor concussion, whiplash, a fractured rib – to be expected when a terentatek slams you against a rock wall. Stars, at first I thought its claws got you."

His arms were warm and firm around me in the darkness, a calm cage of safety that gently soothed my frantic heart. My visor had broken, and my hold on the Force was shaky at best. I focused on my breathing, slowing it down to a manageable level.

"That was… lucky," I muttered at last, leaning into his warmth.

He snorted. "Lucky. Yeah. Story of your life."

I let out a weak chuckle, and grimaced as my ribs complained. I wasn't going to be feeling happy tomorrow. "How the frell are we going to get past three of those bastards?" I whispered.

"Two." His voice was smug. It took a moment to understand.

"Two?" I echoed in disbelief. "Sithspit, did you get one?"

"A krayt dragon and now a terentatek. I think I made the wrong career choice."

"Jen?"

The memory faded, as it always did, and I became aware of my current position, huddled against the damp sides of a rocky tunnel. An imitation of my past, it seemed.

::Jen? Can you copy?:: Carth demanded from my wrist. I hadn't the strength to answer just yet. The air had been knocked from my lungs, and a throbbing pain pounded through my shoulder. As I struggled to breathe, a loud roar shook the ground underneath me, and I glanced back to where I'd come from.

My visor had a crack running blurrily through it and was hissing an electronic protest, but it was the Force that showed me the monstrous limb edging down the tunnel too narrow for the terentatek's girth. The razor-sharp claw was scraping against the rock ground, only metres from my position. I groaned, and ripped the useless visor off, hurling it unceremoniously toward the monster.

It clattered futilely off the reptilian limb.

::We're back on the map, back on the trade route,:: Canderous relayed through the comm. ::Jen, get your arse out of the caves.::

I closed my eyes, ignoring the venturing claw, and leaned back against the mildewed sides of the subterranean tunnels. The details of the flashback had frayed already, but it wasn't anything new. I'd already known I'd been on Korriban before, after that lovely meeting with Jorak Uln. Ness Jonohl had been here before, and with her boyfriend, no less.

How could I feel grief, for someone I couldn't quite remember? Had he died? Had he been just one more casualty of Darth Revan? What, exactly, had we been doing on Korriban? No, not what. Why, is the key question. Bastila told me that I'd never fallen. So it must be what I surmised earlier, then, that I'd been following Revan's trail. With a man I loved, who was powerful enough to take on krayt dragons and terentateks.

Before Jen and Revan had died, and been forced into my mind.

::Jen? Are you there?:: Carth's voice was agitated, and I realized I hadn't responded.

"Yeah," I murmured into the wrist-comm. A loud roar echoed again, and the wall behind me shook as the foreleg slammed angrily against the side wall. A shower of dust sprayed into my face, and I coughed.

::Are you hurt?::

I stood slowly, wincing as I rolled my shoulders, but it appeared to be no more than superficial bruising. A body slam into solid rock wasn't particularly healthy for anyone, but I appeared to have come off lighter than I had once before.

I took a deep lungful of air, noting my breathing had recovered, and the pain in my shoulder began to subside. I'd been lucky, it seemed.

"I'm good. Moving out now," I answered.

I turned my back on the snarling terentatek, drawing on the Force around me and pulling a datapad out in consultation. A shattered screen made me grimace.

"Map's broken, Carth. Can you lead me out?"

Carth's voice was strong and sure as he guided me east, through one last cavern that was large enough to pose a threat. But the frustrated howls of the salivating terentateks had not caught up to my progress, and my unnaturally increased celerity was more due to my own fear than any real need. I ignored the remnants of the shyrack nest this time, keen only to escape the suffocating darkness and rendezvous with my crew.

My shoulder throbbed weakly as the tunnels narrowed, and I began to believe the end of the shyrack caves was near.

::You're almost out, Jen,:: Carth's voice, welcome and constant, emitted from my wrist. ::The others are waiting.::

We'd done it. I didn't have the strength to celebrate, not yet, but the feeling was growing deep in my belly. After Manaan, after Tatooine, I'd finally come to the frelling party and we'd got the Star Map. Bastila, when she finally woke – and I tamped down my growing concern about her vagueness through the bond – would be ecstatic. We could move on to Kashyyyk, to a planet safer than this one.

To her Masters. Yeah, there was that. But Ness Jonohl didn't have to fear them, right? Surely, I could show I was strong enough to keep Darth Revan at bay. I was managing to, with Bastila's help and Juhani's support. I wondered, not for the first time, if Jen Sahara's identity was thought to be a better cage for Evil Bitch than Ness Jonohl. Was that why they'd turned me into Jen?

The same questions still buzzed through my mind ever since the frelling Endar Spire. Would there ever come a time when I'd understand it all? Would there ever come a time when I'd be at peace?

The tunnel spilled out into the clearing of the Mandalorian duel, lit only by the vague radiation of nearby stars. It was night already, and beyond stood a small group of shadowy figures. My crewmates. I came to a stop, panting, feeling the ache in my shoulder return as the Force retreated.

"Jen!" Mission squealed, bounding over to me. Ten steps, and my arms were full of exuberant Twi'lek.

"Oof!" I exclaimed, staggering back several places as my arms encased her briefly. My shoulder spasmed in complaint, and my arm dropped.

"We did it!" she cheered, letting me go. Even in the dim light, I could clearly see her beaming grin. "We actually did it!"

I smiled back, enjoying her relief as my gaze moved further afield. Canderous, walking closer, had a quiet look of satisfaction on his weathered face - from what I could see under the visor he wore. HK-47 had his sights focused on the Sith fugitive.

I took a few steps closer to acknowledge her.

"Thalia May," I said quietly. "Thank you for your assistance."

The human woman was younger than I expected, maybe about Mekel's age, with short cropped hair and black skin that faded into the Korriban night shadows. The whites of her eyes gleamed as she eyed me over.

"Well, I guess I should thank you for getting me out of there. I've had enough of caves to last me a lifetime."

Her voice was wary, as wary as her tense posture. Even now, I suspected she didn't quite believe we weren't planning to send her back to Uthar. I grimaced. Enough time spent at that cursed Academy would kill anyone's trust.

"Why'd you run, Thalia?" I asked, aware that my tone was abrupt. In the darkness, I could see her eyes close once, briefly.

"Uthar ordered me to do something he knew I'd be unwilling to."

Her words were short, angry, and I remembered that she'd been hiding in the cursed caves with friends. Friends who were now well dead. Uthar tested her, and she failed him. By the sounds of it, he knew she would. Did he send her to her death, like he'd done to Mekel? Thalia May, it seemed, was yet another Sithling not quite taken with the darkness that Korriban offered.

"You were one of Yuthura's," I realized, surprised despite myself. For it was Yuthura Ban who'd first sent me after her, before I'd even stepped foot in the Academy. Yuthura Ban, who'd undoubtedly thought Thalia long dead. Thalia snorted, but didn't respond. "What's your goal now, Thalia?"

"You said you'd get me to Dreshdae. I'll make my own way from there."

"Let's get back to the ship," Canderous grunted. I nodded, and we started the trek back. We stayed in relative silence, apart from the occasional excited comment from Mission who was quickly hushed by the Mandalorian. I could understand his unease, I wasn't willing to celebrate either until we were in the relative safety of our durasteel freighter.

It was a short walk back to Dreshdae, and soon the lights of the colony shone in the distance. My only thought was our destination of the Ebon Hawk, and maybe it was my pre-occupation that caught me off-guard. I had absolutely no warning when HK roughly shoved me over. Hard enough for me to topple to the ground.

At the same instant, a deep burn sheered along the side of my ribs, and I yelled in shock as I thudded against the hard-packed dirt.

There was a thwacking noise as HK launched a projectile; Canderous cursed and opened fire; Thalia screamed and unleashed a wave of Force that tingled as my senses picked it up.

Numb shock froze my mind and body but it retreated swiftly, and in its place a fiery wave of pain blossomed into being.

"Jen!" Mission shrieked, falling to my side.

"Statement: Threat has been eliminated, master." HK's voice was a distance away. I was staring up at the bright stars in the midnight sky. One of them looked quite close. The sounds of my fast breathing seemed inordinately loud.

::What's going on?:: Carth demanded.

"I'm okay," I gasped, pressing a hand along my torso. It felt hot and wet. Whatever it was, it sliced straight through my armour. It burned.

"Can you get up, Jen?" Mission asked.

"Nothing on the body," Canderous muttered, his voice carrying from some metres beyond. "Not even a kriffing sack of credits."

"Statement: Even with your kill here my count still far exceeds yours, Geriatric Blockhead."

I sat, clenching my teeth, as Mission gazed at me worriedly. The injury had cut a line through my armour, alongside my ribs, but it was shallow. If HK hadn't pushed me over, it would have been a direct hit in the centre of my chest.

I'm only wearing an alloy mesh shirt. Disruptor rifles go straight through those. My blood ran cold. Disruptor rifles were rare, and often used against Force users. It was one of the few things that lightsabers could not block.

"You got enemies, Jen Sahara," Thalia stated, and I glanced over to see her with the others, some ten metres away. "This guy was lying in wait. And he's no Dark Jedi."

"Duros, plain-clothed, completely unidentifiable," Canderous commented. He stood from his inspection of the corpse, with what must be the disruptor rifle in his grasp. "I'd say one of your friends from the Academy hired a merc to take you out, Jen. We don't want to stay on this rock much longer."

"No, that's not the Sith way," Thalia disagreed. "We prove ourselves by taking out opponents using the Force. Far more prestige."

Canderous snorted in derision. "You're an idiot if you don't use what tools are available. This corpse almost did take out Jen, with nothing more than a gun. You lot always underestimate non-Force users."

"Observation: This organic meatbag has no identification or belongings on him, master. He is too unidentifiable to be a common mercenary. Supposition: this was an experienced assassin."

I stood, accepting Mission's hand, and winced as the slice along my ribs throbbed with stinging pain. It wasn't deep, and could easily be patched up in the 'Hawk if it hadn't clotted by then, but the shock was setting in now. A wave of cold sunk deep through me. Just like that, I'd almost died at the hands of a nobody.

I walked over to the corpse, staring at it in puzzlement. An assassin. And then it hit me like a ferracrete brick, for it had not been that long ago when I'd encountered a whole group of them.

Oh no. The GenoHaradan. They were still after me. Of course they were still after me. They had a contract on my life, and it wasn't complete.

"I'll make my own way from here," Thalia said. I could feel her wariness growing, and realized I'd drawn deep on the Force, deep enough to be noticed by her. She was staring at me guardedly. "No offense, but I don't want to run into any other assassins."

I wrested my attention away from the mysterious GenoHaradan and back to Thalia May. It took some effort. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us? We'll be leaving Korriban soon." There was hesitation on her face, and I wished Juhani was by my side. She radiated quiet strength and purpose, and I could see that Thalia was wavering. But honesty compelled me to speak further, and I grimaced as I did so. "We are headed to the Academy though; we still have to extract Kel." And Juhani. "And Yuthura might be mounting an insurrection, so it's likely to get messy in there."

Thalia blinked, and her face tightened. "Yuthura's not strong enough to take on Uthar."

"She's got a reason to swing some of the support behind her," I explained. I pressed my hand tighter alongside my ribs. "Uthar never killed Jorak Uln."

I vaguely saw her jaw drop as my gaze drifted back to the warm corpse at my feet. Why would the GenoHaradan send just one agent after me, when on Rii'shn there had been a whole battalion? And if the GenoHaradan knew I was here on Korriban, then would they track me to Kashyyyk? I could feel the paranoia growing, a crawling unease traipsing down my spine.

I can take out the GenoHaradan. A dark whisper caressed my thoughts. Or I could turn them to my side.

I shivered.

"If Uthar didn't kill the old headmaster, then who did?" Thalia demanded.

"I did, a couple of days ago," I said quietly. "Mekel has his head as proof."

Mission let out a surprised noise of disgust, and I saw Canderous' heavy gaze swing back to me.

Thalia coughed; a shocked, disbelieving sound. "Even if that's true – which I find exceedingly hard to believe – it won't swing Uthar's Adepts. And he's stronger than her."

"I'm pretty sure I can neutralize Dak and Dustil," I replied. "Let's just say I have leverage over them both."

There was a patch of static over the comm, and I briefly imagined the reactions of Carth and Belaya both. Thalia snorted. "So you still have Lashowe. She's strong – maybe Mekel would take her, maybe not. Kel won't fight, no matter what you promised him. That leaves Uthar against Yuthura, and you're a bleeding dumbass if you can't work out who would win that one."

I raised a brow. "And us."

"Look, thanks for saving my life," Thalia said flatly, and her intonation had turned cold. "But it makes no sense for me to go and throw it away again. I'm outta here, I can find my own way off this rock."

I inclined my head. "Okay, just –" I paused, once more thinking of Juhani. "You know the Jedi High Council is on Coruscant, right?"

Her brows lowered as she crossed her arms, her entire posture tensing, but she didn't reply.

"Think about it," I said. "The Force isn't something you can leave behind, and I'd say you've had enough of a taste of the Dark Side."

In the shadow of the night I couldn't easily make out her expression, but it looked inscrutable from where I was standing. "Farewell, Jen Sahara," she stated, and turned to walk away.

The Force was with me still, strong and true, ebbing the pain of the burn to a faint echo. My shoulder didn't even feel bruised anymore. I stared at Thalia until the shadows eclipsed her.

"Let's go," Canderous said, walking away from the corpse and heading toward the artificial light of the colony that radiated on the horizon. I glanced once more at the dead Duros, feeling my fingers clench tightly. A powerful assassination order was not the best of enemies. They must know Darth Revan is in my head. Or- maybe not. The Sith had contracted them, because they knew. But Thalia said Dark Jedi don't use assassins.

She's wrong, a cold voice in my head stated. Sithlings play their little games with their little rules to appease their masters. But a true Sith uses whatever resources are required to get the job done. Whether it's a kitchen knife or a nuclear arsenal. Whatever it takes.

Mission nudged me, the voice fled, and we carried on into the darkness.

xXx

Bastila? I pushed the thought out with as much mental fortitude as I could muster, but there was no stirring from the vagueness of our psychic link. If anything, the spiritual connection between us was dimmer than before, a hazy spider's web that was slowly unravelling. Now that the Star Map was behind me, my concern for my bond-sister was elevating into alarm.

Paranoia kept my eyes tight on our environment and my hold fierce on the Force. That the GenoHaradan were back did nothing for my peace of mind. The ambush on Rii'shn had resulted in the explosive revelation of Evil Bitch's true identity. I'd been so shattered, so stunned, so repulsed, that I'd barely even thought about the assassination order again, even though they'd been hired to kill me. Sloppy. I never used to be so sloppy. The thought was laced with disgust, and it was hard to tell who it originated from. I closed my eyes, mentally willing the villain in my head to disappear.

Bastila!

The hatch of the Ebon Hawk opened as Canderous clambered up the loading ramp, and I heard Mission heave a great sigh of relief as she followed him in.

"I can't wait to tell Big Z about everything!" she gushed, stepping inside. The grill of the ramp creaked as HK stomped on it, and I took up the rear, locking it behind us. I heard Mission heave a huge yawn. "Sheesh, I'll be glad to get some shut-eye."

Not going to happen just yet. The Academy. Every minute longer risked Juhani, and I could only hope that she was safe, hiding somewhere from Uthar. Unlikely, after all these hours. And I needed to find Dustil. Kel. Maybe even Dak. I sighed. I needed Bastila.

"To the common room, everyone," I ordered. I flexed my hand, and it felt dry with crusted blood. The slice on my torso stung superficially, and I made a mental note to bandage it before heading off. "It's time to finish our business on Korriban, and haul jets out of here."

Carth and Belaya were waiting there already, the former with a relieved expression on his face. Belaya – well, she looked as drawn and confused as I expected. Her worried gaze landed on Canderous, before flicking over HK and Mission.

"Belaya," I said in greeting. "It's good to see you up. This is Canderous Ordo and Mission Vao." I glanced over to HK who was standing in the corner of the kitchenette. "And HK-47," I added dryly.

"We did it, guys!" Mission was beaming, all but bouncing up and down, and she ran over to Carth to land him with an effusive hug. I grinned at his half-awkward, half-pleased look. Mission really was the light of our crew.

"We've got to extract some people from the Academy first, Mission, before we start celebrating," I said. "Chief amongst them Juhani. She's been gone since morning."

The enthusiasm dimmed in the girl's face, and I felt irrationally bad for that. "D'ya really think she's in trouble, Jen?" she asked.

"I do not understand nor know what to believe," Belaya said quietly. "You all claim that Juhani is one of you, and yet merely days ago I was told by a Sith that she was a student at the Academy."

Mission frowned. "Well, yeah, 'cause she and Jen have been pretending to be Sith-"

Belaya shook her head, a flash of anger crossing her drawn face. "No, it was a lie. That monster Dustil lied to me, tricked me into going with him and-"

"Okay, can someone please tell me who this Dustil guy is?" Mission demanded. Her lekku twined around her neck in annoyance. "Is he like, some famous Sith Lord or something that we should all know?"

I looked over to Carth, and his jaw was set stubbornly. His eyes held a depth of anguish that made me wince. "Carth," I said quietly. "We've all got to know, now. It's time to hit the Academy."

Carth sighed, glancing over to Belaya. "Dustil is my son."

The silence that fell over us was thick with suspicion and surprise both. Belaya's eyes widened in horror, or something close to it, and she stumbled backwards. Mission's mouth dropped open in a comic display of surprise, and even Canderous looked taken aback as he stared at Carth intently, measuringly.

"I-I thought he died," Carth muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. He looked back to me, eyes dark with pain. "Four years ago when my homeworld Telos was bombed by the Sith. I looked for him, I-" he cut himself off, sighing. He looked so torn that I felt my heart twist. "I only found out about him by accident, days ago. I guess one of the Sith picked him up in the aftermath, and he's been here ever since."

Belaya was edging away from us all, her face tight and panicked. Dustil had told me that he'd captured her, tortured her, and now one of her rescuers was his father… no wonder she looked so shell-shocked. For all that I cared deeply about Carth's pain, it was Belaya who needed the attention right now.

"Belaya," I said. "How could Dustil trick you about Juhani being here?"

Her light gaze swung to mine, not a little scared. Her lips parted, and her face had lost whatever colour had remained, but she didn't answer. I frowned, as a conversation from days ago came back to mind.

She always was the best of us three. She loved you too, did you know that? Dak's words, to Juhani. But Juhani hadn't believed it.

"You've been looking for her since she failed her trials," I said quietly, realizing the Dak had been right. Belaya blinked, and I saw the despair as it grew on her face. She was a Jedi Knight, who had loved Juhani from afar. Juhani's fall from grace must have affected her deeply, deeply enough for her to walk away from the Order and hunt for Juhani herself. Juhani's sodding Master should have been the one to do that. And Juhani had run thinking she'd killed her Master. "Juhani knows, now, that Quatra lives. I imagine she planned to go back to Dantooine, but we've all been caught up in something… much bigger than any of us expected."

"Where did you find her?" she whispered.

"Tatooine. She wasn't… she wasn't in the best of minds, at first." I heard Mission stifle a snort, and shot the Twi'lek a quelling glance. "But Juhani walks in the Light now, Belaya. She spends her days redeeming everyone she comes across." I heard my words twist wryly at the end, and saw an answering glimmer in the women's face.

"Juhani can be fierce on what she believes in," Belaya murmured. "But… is Dak one of your crew, too? I find that… difficult to believe… he left so long ago, and was so adamant the Order was not for him…"

"No, he's a genuine student here," I muttered, frowning. "Running into him was a surprise." Surprise was too light a word. Between Dak, Dustil, and Uthar's odd fascination with Juhani… My eyes swung back to Belaya as the pieces finally clicked together. For torture had a way of spilling all secrets, and if Dustil has already found out that Belaya was tracking Juhani, then of course that sick, twisted Headmaster would want the both of them to play mind-games with. "Stars, that's why Uthar's after Juhani!" I hissed. Although we'd introduced her as Staria, but how many Cathar were running about these days? No wonder Uthar had been chomping at the bit, to collar her alone and discover if she were the reason Belaya landed on Korriban.

"What… what are you saying?" Belaya breathed, her voice breaking. "That Juhani is in danger because of me?"

"No!" I immediately snapped, wishing I could retract my words. "No, no, if Juhani's been caught, then the only person to blame is that twisted creep Uthar."

"And Dustil," Carth said quietly.

I sighed, looking back at him, at a loss for words.

"I will not be on the same ship as that Sith boy, no matter whose son he is," Belaya said, and I heard the unyielding conviction in her voice. Carth winced.

"Belaya, there are four Jedi on this ship, including you," I told her. "Dustil's coming with us, willing or not. If he's any sort of threat, we will restrain him." I frowned at the anger on her face, and realized she wasn't convinced. We'll have to deal with this later. "Look, we need to get moving. And I need to wake Bastila. And- where's Zaalbar? Why isn't he here?"

"He's outside Bastila's door," Carth answered. "He's been very… intense about guarding Bastila. I told him you guys were here, but he didn't budge. I don't think he's going to move until Bastila is walking again."

"Big Z!" Mission hollered, skipping over to the exit that led to the pilot's quarters. "Get your hairy butt in here!"

Zaalbar didn't so much as grumble back a greeting to her, and I frowned. Too many things were coming to a head now, and even with the success of the Star Map I felt jittery, uneasy, almost panicky. Juhani's lengthy absence was more than just concerning, and exactly how we were going to extract her, Kel and Dustil without confronting Uthar… it didn't seem possible. It probably wasn't possible.

And the GenoHaradan… what if they had more agents on Korriban? I hadn't even registered the presence of the earlier assassin. HK saved my life, there. If I'd kept my mind on my surroundings, perhaps I would have had forewarning.

I needed Bastila, her advice, her guidance, her strength through the bond. The gradual fading between the two of us had been chipping away at my inner certainty, eroded by my burgeoning apprehension.

"Zaalbar!" I called out, leaving the common room behind in quick, impatient strides.

The Wookiee was standing outside the pilot's quarters, tense and upright, staring blankly at the opposite bulkhead. Legs apart, furry arms crossed, he didn't even twitch at my address.

The apprehension grew as it was spiked with something colder, something worse.

"Zaalbar?" I was in front of him, staring up into his empty gaze that was fixated behind me. He blinked, and craned his head down to stare at me.

"(Bastila is sleeping on the Ebon Hawk, where I found her,)" he said in a low voice. There was no emotion at all in his howl, just a mechanical emitting of noises that, when strung together, formed the vowels of Shyriiwook words. "(I must guard her door.)"

Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

"Big Z? What's going on?"

"Jen Sahara, I do not sense anyone within that room," Belaya murmured in the background. She sounded confused. A growing sense of numbness was escalating in my core, a buzzing noise ringing through my ears.

"Zaalbar!" I snapped, and my voice was ice even to my own ears. "By the terms of our life-debt, open this door and let me pass!"

Zaalbar blinked, and a whimper escaped his lips as his hand mashed against the hatch control. My fingers were tingling, my entire body was tingling, and I strode forward, ducking under his arm and shoving three hundred pounds of Wookiee muscle to the side in Force-induced need.

I took two steps into the room.

Into the empty, empty pilot's quarters.

"(Kylah Aramai took her to Uthar Wynn at the Academy,)" Zaalbar said, and his intonation was flat. He howled, then, a long, despairing, bone-chilling howl.

Bastila! I screamed, and the tingling abruptly transformed into mind-numbing terror. Bastila!

Just then, the vague link between us snapped clean. I'd felt the same, back on Taris, and it had been because a neural disruptor had clicked around her neck. She was no longer present with me.

She was no longer on the ship, and she was no longer in my head.

No! No! The yawning pit of horror inside me froze my blood. A background hubbub of noise started, but I couldn't comprehend it.

BASTILA!

And then a fiery blast of rage ignited like a thermal detonator. I couldn't see where I was anymore, no, no, all that mattered was the strength required to go find my bond-sister. My bond-sister. And tear open the body of that schutta Kylah and rip her heart out with my fingernails.

This hot rage is power, power I need, power I can use, power I WILL use-

It was a flashpoint of fury, burning like liquid fire through my limbs, wresting a hold of the Force and drawing it deep, deep, deeper, all the strength I needed and I didn't need anyone else. With this power I could get Bastila, I could do any damn thing I wanted and no one, not some cowardly ex-Jedi, not a slimy twisted Headmaster, not anyone would stop me-

-I'll make them all pay, I'll draw in all the strength of the galaxy and make things the way I want-

Somewhere, in the distance, a Wookiee was howling in soul-shattering anguish.

xXx