Chapter Note: This chapter overlaps a little with the previous.


An abrupt awakening

- Jolee Bindo -


"I will be back shortly," Juhani murmured, before striding away on the cooling sands like a desert cat hunting her prey.

Bah. That's a terrible analogy, given her quarry. My eyes narrowed as I watched her figure depart, wondering if I should stop her, if she were the best choice to head off after that brooding Twi'lek, in light of their last encounter.

He wasn't headed to that cursed pyramid- at least not yet. I could sense him further afield, some distance out of sight along the shoreline. Well, it's the Cathar's choice to chase him. Here's hoping she's more circumspect with her words this time around.

The loud shink of lightsabers crashing together reminded me of the others; swivelling back around, I could see Revan holding her training 'saber in a steady defensive guard as Dustil took a step back. He scowled, and then lunged forward abruptly, red plasma beam aimed low at her legs.

With ease, Revan jumped clear of the swipe, her weapon returning back to its default position as she landed. "You're leading with your shoulder," she murmured. "It makes your next move predictable."

Dustil's eyes glittered with resentment. "How can you not remember anything?" he spat. "Mission still calls you by that fake name. But even you said you're not her... I heard you say that... but you also said you can't remember a damn thing!"

Revan raised an eyebrow; the boy was obviously frustrated, but it didn't seem to faze her.

"You can't have it both frakking ways!" he blurted out. "Either you're Revan in which case it's your fault- everything is your fault-" His face was blotched red with frustration; like every other teen out there in the darn galaxy, he was looking to blame all his woes on someone else-

Ach. I suppose in his case he might actually have a point.

Revan didn't answer immediately, and there was a certain measure of calm on her face that, if I were honest, I hadn't expected from her. Aye, she was usually prickly about discussing anything of her past... and with good reason, given who she was.

But maybe it was her questioner. Somehow, I didn't think the likes of Dustil Onasi would ruffle her. Somehow, I didn't think she'd let him.

Revan strode forward, blade levelling out in a textbook-standard blow that appeared more to keep Dustil's attention on the duel rather than pose any sort of real test. His 'saber rose to block, and she side-stepped, throwing another sweeping hit his way- this time with a tad more speed and strength behind it.

Dustil blocked again, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

"If you're facing a superior foe, make them do the work," Revan commented. "Make them chase you. Tire them out. Don't stop moving."

The boy scowled, but I took note of the way he retreated, feet shuffling on the sand, leading Revan backwards. When she struck out at him again – in another overt move that I picked was designed to be noticed in advance – Dustil dodged backwards, once more forcing her to follow.

"I'm not asking for any acquittal from my past, Dustil," Revan said. She circled around him, pausing her offensive for now. "But if what you really want to know is about Telos..." she trailed off, her voice lowering. A dark look of anger twisted the kid's face, and he growled, before abruptly leaping forward in a savage flurry of attacks.

She didn't dodge; no. Each wild lunge she blocked, as if choosing to allow the boy's anger to find an outlet against the safety of her training blade.

"Keep your eye on the environment, too," she advised. I snorted to myself at her adroit change of topic. Aye, in some ways Revan was a mercurial character, quick to think on her feet. She was drawing Dustil into conversation, into the depths of his bitterness... but drawing him out again before his emotions had a chance to explode. "We're losing daylight... can that aid you in any way? Are there obstacles around you could use against your foe?" Revan gave an obvious tilt of the head at the 'Hawk's landing ramp, off some distance to Dustil's side. "Height's an advantage, for instance."

"Environment, huh?" Dustil muttered. He flung his off-hand out in a sharp motion, a short burst of Force energy exploding from his fingers and slamming into the ground near Revan's feet.

A flurry of sand shot into the air at the impact, some firing directly at her face.

She was quicker; just. Revan bounded into the air, somersaulting backwards to land some metres behind.

An amused look appeared on her face. The sand hadn't caught her in the eyes, but it'd been close. Closer than she expected, I'd wager. And yet the darn woman looked almost impressed.

"That's a cheap shot," I grumbled. "For a practice duel."

"Oh, I dunno," Revan murmured, as she kept her eyes on the lad. There was a note of approval in her voice. "Practise duelling as you would out in the field, I reckon."

It was getting dark, I realized, staring beyond the two to the expanse of beach sand that slowly lolled into dunes in the distance. The shadows of evening lengthened over us, cut through by the glare of the 'Hawk's illuminated underbelly.

"Eh, it's time to turn in," I called out, jerking my head back towards the loading ramp. "Let's finish this spar on a pleasant note, huh, kids?"

"I can't tell you about Telos," Revan whispered, completely ignoring my last statement. Sometimes, I grumbled to myself, I swear that darn woman lost half her sense with her memory. Sithkid was just starting to calm down around her. "But Yudan can. Question him if you want answers... all I know is what he told me. Telos was a joint strike by Malak and Talvon Esan."

And, as I expected, the boy's face had twisted once more in a backlash of anger. "Talvon was a Telosian!" he hissed. "I've heard that banthacrap before, and I don't buy it! You really think he'd turn on his own frakking homeworld?"

Revan stared at him, mute. She doesn't know, I realized with a pang. She's got no idea here... no recollection of this at all. I'd not paid extensive attention to Revan's war of attrition, and all I knew about Telos was that it had been obliterated.

But I'd heard about the madness of Talvon Esan.

"That's the Dark Side for you," I said, hearing the sadness in my own darn voice. It wasn't just Revan who'd dovetailed into actions and corruptions that those who'd once known her would never have believed possible.

It wasn't just her generation who had the monopoly on failure of such magnitude.

I cleared my throat. "In the end, if you keep following that cursed path, you'll have to sacrifice everything. Your planet, your friends, your values, your soul. Some just fall quicker than others."

Dustil's shoulders slumped, and I saw defeat chase across his expression before he turned awkwardly away. It was a bleak sort of resignation, I thought; an acceptance of something that maybe he'd already known.

"The holonews..." Dustil muttered. "All the channels said Talvon went mad. Insane after Malachor. He'd been the hero of Telos... him and Saul Karath. If the likes of them can turn into monsters... frakk, the likes of you-" he turned, throwing a bitter look over his shoulder at Revan. "Then what hope is there for anyone else?"

"Bah," I snorted in derision. "That's a load of rubbish, boy. Everyone's fallible. Being more powerful or intelligent or heroic don't make you any less likely to fall... in fact, some say the pressure's harder. Everyone has the potential for evil inside them... and the flipside is, anyone can be strong enough to resist it, too. No matter their background. No matter what trials their past have already burned them with."

"All I can tell you is that I won't fall again," Revan said, her voice a quiet whisper in the dusk. "Except that I'm sure I believed myself incapable of falling once before. But I'll finish this, no matter what it takes." She sighed. "And my allies will help me stay true... or stop me if I don't. And you've thrown your lot in with us, Dustil, which makes you one of them."

Her lips twisted into a quick grin; a flash of wry, almost black humour. "Bet you never expected that."

Dustil blinked, for once surprised into silence. His mouth opened, before shutting again, like the lad had no idea what to say, or how to take the damaged, powerful woman standing across from him with a training 'saber held loosely in a combat grip.

"Okay, I'm calling time," I grumbled, with a sudden shiver. The temperature had plummeted after sunset, and it was fast getting too cold for my old bones. "Come on, kids. Inside."

xXx

Of course, they'd taken their time before actually listening to me. The Mandalorian had returned, dragging some salvage behind him on plysteel ropes, which immediately garnered the attention of both Revan and the Twi'lek chit who'd backed out from underneath the 'Hawk's hull to join us.

No sign of Juhani or Yudan Rosh, although Canderous mentioned something about running into them on the beach. Eh, I hope for their sakes they make it back before our pilot spots their absence. We've had enough spats recently to flesh out a holo-soap.

I'd wandered inside at that point, more interested in a lie-down than idle conversation. I didn't bat an eyelash when Revan followed me a few minutes later, but Dustil's presence behind her had been a surprise.

I'd half thought the boy would stay outside to chat with Mission, or go find his dad- but instead, he appeared to be shadowing Revan with a wary gleam of interest in his gaze.

Aye, he certainly didn't trust her... but she'd done well with him. Better than I thought she would. Dustil had been determined to get a rise from her, throwing his anger in her face, constantly poking at a sleeping terentatek with a stick – and Revan, in contrast, had exhibited a surprising amount of tact in not reacting.

She'd make a fair teacher. I hadn't noticed that about her until now.

"You should head to your dad's quarters, lad," I said, frowning at him as he entered the common room behind Revan. "Get a few hours kip while you can."

"Don't think I can sleep," Dustil muttered, scrubbing at his face with one hand as he slumped down on the plimfoam benches.

"Now that Canderous has returned with a suitable repair patch, I think we'll be all fixed up in a matter of hours," Revan said, eyeing over the caffa machine. "Sleep's a good idea for us all."

"It's not a magical thing I can turn on," Dustil grumbled. "If I'm not tired, then I'm not frakking tired."

"Training helps with that," Revan returned in a dry voice. She followed it with a frown directed at me. "I think. I don't remember, but I seem to fall into sleep easily enough."

"Aye, you have the right of it. Meditation, too," I offered. "All good tricks. Even the military use a form of it, teaching their troops to sleep when they have a chance." I turned an eye on Dustil, who was still scowling at Revan. "After all this is over, it'd be a good idea to get you some training, lad."

"I ain't going anywhere near the Jedi," he returned coldly, his glare burning into mine. "Don't you bloody start."

I snorted. "I got my own issues with the Order. What's a young pup like you so annoyed at them for?"

"I don't trust them," he said through clenched teeth. "And I've spent my life doing what others tell me to do. Not anymore. No frakking way."

"Guess you'll have to learn from others, then," Revan said, her voice light, even as her gaze on him was curious. "Pretty much like you have been doing. Seems like our Jolee isn't too bad a teacher, anyway."

"Bah, did you completely fail to hear my story the other day?" I grumbled. Last time I'd tried my hand at training, it had ended in disaster and ripped out my heart. "There's a reason they stick Padawans under Masters, you know."

"For lack of a better option..." Revan murmured, trailing off. There was a certain amusement in her gaze that dwindled into seriousness. "You've had some training in the Order, Jolee. It's better than nothing."

She pushed one hand up against her forehead, brushing her unruly mop away and leaving her face bare. It brought the angular lines of her face into stark relief. I could tell she was paler than normal for her olive skin tone, but I hadn't really paid much attention to her physical appearance until now. The flight from Kashyyyk and the Leviathan had been frantic enough to keep my focus on the more important aspects of our lives: namely, survival.

Besides, Force signatures were usually the way I recognized people. When I'd spent time with Revan four years ago, that'd been down in the dark depths of the Shadowlands, where we'd both relied on the blue-black etchings of Force-enhanced vision to see anything.

The Force provided a useful form of sight. Aye, particularly for noting fluctuations of energy. Didn't shine the greatest illumination onto physical features, though.

My eyes narrowed as I stared hard at the woman, and a ghostly shiver danced down my spine.

"What?" she asked, her hair still pulled tightly back.

Revan had a plainish sort of face, long and ending in a chin that was almost too sharp. Normally her striking eyes dominated her expression, but now I took note of the way her nose curved ever-so-slightly at the tip, and that her eyes were a little wide-set-

"You have had a few years training, Jolee," Revan repeated, frowning.

...

"A few years training is more than I've had," Nayama said. I could hear the resentment in her tone, and knew, as always, that she was thinking on her stars-blessed sister. Nayama's straight brown hair was braided tight against her scalp as per her norm, leaving her face bare to the elements. Her wide-set brown eyes stared at me in simmering resentment. "It was one mistake, Jolee. One!"

"Aye, and it almost killed us both," I said, sighing as I placed a hand on my irate wife's arm. "I've as good as left the Order, Nayama. I-"

"I didn't ask you to leave!" she seethed, eyes flashing, the curved tip of her nose wrinkling in anger. "Don't you dare lay that on me, Jolee Bindo!"

"Now you're taking my words out of context," I grumbled, as she jerked away from me. "I'd do it again in a flash, Nayama. But if they won't train you, and I can't train you without it being a danger to us both-"

"Exar will." Her voice had turned soft; her anger vanishing in a beat. I knew it to be a dangerous sign. "He'll train us both, Jolee. You cannot expect us to live a life without the Force."

"You've been in contact with him again," I said slowly, feeling my gut tighten with anger – and not a little dread. That man was all over the holonews these days – as notorious as Nayama's sister was famous. "Nothing good will come from associating with him, Nayama. You must see that."

Once, before the Force had touched either Nayama or Nomi, they had spent some time on Dantooine. It wasn't my native enclave, but it had been home to Nayama's brother-in-law when he still lived, the aspiring Jedi Knight Andur Sunrider.

Nayama hadn't particularly enjoyed her time there, but she'd befriended two of the people I liked least in the galaxy. The powerful Knight Exar Kun, and the grouchy Padawan Vrook Lamar - who would later transfer to Coruscant where I had the unfortunate experience of knowing him.

"Exar is offering to train us, Jolee-"

"You told me that last time he made contact with you," I muttered, trying to hold back a scowl. Nayama swore there had never been anything romantic between them- she'd been young, bored, and resentful of her sister's new husband. But her bashfulness when speaking of Exar always put me on edge. The slight look of awe, as though wondering what might have been-

I'd never met the darn man, yet that would have been enough to make me dislike him. But there was worse. Oh, there was, indeed.

Skirmishes. Annexations. Massacres. All along the edges of the Outer Rim, in little-known worlds with no government to speak of. Sketchy reports of dark sightings and deep terror amongst the refugees. And through all the unreliable stories, the same name kept cropping up: Exar Kun. The Jedi Knight who'd left the Order under a cloud of suspicion.

Aye, mayhap there was no concrete evidence that Exar Kun was leading the unrest, but his name was whispered frequently enough to implicate it. Along with another word that hadn't been used for centuries: Sith.

Sometimes, Jedi walked away from the Order. Sometimes, Jedi fell. But there hadn't been a Dark Jedi who'd proclaimed himself a Sith Lord for a long, long time. And while I would never denounce anyone as destined for the Dark Side- I also wasn't a blind idiot.

One thing was obvious – Exar Kun desired power. And he was willing to chip away at his own humanity to achieve it. There was a reason the Jedi were rallying against him, and I hated the fact that Nayama was so blind to it.

"He swears we will have nothing to do with his ongoing disagreement with the Order-"

"Disagreement?" I muttered. "Bah! There's a euphemism if ever I heard one."

But her sharp chin jutted out in that familiar stubbornness I both loved and, at times, was annoyed by; and I settled myself in for a lengthy discourse on the subject. There was no way I'd let my wife get embroiled with the likes of him.

No way at all.

...

"Jolee?" Revan prompted. She'd dropped her hand so the dark curls once more framed her face.

I held back another shiver, blinking with unexpected nostalgia, as the creeping tendrils of the past slowly loosened their hold. Revan was still staring at me, and the odd sense of familiarity departed. Suddenly, she was once again the unique individual that had sent ripples of change across the galaxy.

I shook my head in mild irritation. It's the words, is all. This conversation started too darn much the same.

"Eh, it's nothing," I muttered, scratching my head. "A wraith tip-toed across my soul, as the Ukatins like to say."

"Hmm." Revan didn't look convinced, but she appeared willing to let it go. She shot a sideways glance at Dustil. "I'm off to sleep. Doesn't hurt to try it, Dustil. Even a lie-down counts as rest, and you might be grateful for it later."

The boy said nothing, merely stared at her with simmering mistrust.

A wry grin stole over Revan's face, and she walked away, avoiding the caffa machine for once to head to the women's living quarters.

"Fine," Dustil muttered, the moment the hatch had closed behind Revan. "Suppose rest is better than sitting around, waiting for the hours to tick down until the end of everything."

I snorted, unimpressed with the boy's melodrama. "There's always another great war around the horizon, lad. And with every war, there's always someone who claims the end is nigh." I gestured around the room ruefully. "Yet here we are, and the universe still stands. Don't be so darn dramatic."

"Why are you even here?" Dustil demanded suddenly, eyes flashing. "I mean... I get why some of the crew follow her... but you'd been living in that frakking forest for decades. What made the likes of you decide to up and follow her?"

"Does everything need to have a reason, boy? Maybe I was just sick of all the trees."

"That's misdirection if ever I heard it," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. The boy looked tired, no matter what drivel he claimed. "If you don't want to say your reasons, then just frakking say so."

"That Academy of yours certainly didn't teach you any manners, did it?"

"We were a bit more focused on different ways to kill people rather than flowery speech," he said coldly.

"Bah, don't talk back to your elders, child. If you really want to know..." I paused. "The Force swirls around us all, but no one more so than our Revan. Ah, but it's not just that... for I know well that sometimes swirling Force is just swirling Force. No, it's her actions that intrigue me. She's got more reason than any to run, and yet she's doing her darnedest to stay on course, now. Face up to things." I turned a beady eye on the boy, thinking on his innate dislike of the Jedi Order and wondering exactly where it stemmed from. Was it just the years he spent with the Sith? He'd turned his back on that life, and yet seemed to hate both sides with equal passion.

I didn't exactly care for the restrictions of the Order, myself. But, still, I couldn't help but think that the Jedi might do the angry lad some good. I sighed. "Revan understands that running away doesn't work. Maybe you could learn something from that."

Dustil's jaw stiffened and he rose to his feet. Without a word in reply, he stalked off towards the pilot's quarters.

Well, that's one way to get him to bed, I thought with mild amusement. I wasn't sure if he'd actually take any of my words in... but Dustil Onasi listened more than he let on. Earlier, when it'd been just us two left on the 'Hawk, I'd taken stock of the interested gleam in his eye when we'd spoken of psychic guarding. Take the angry lad away from any flashpoints like Revan or Telos or the Order, and he calmed down immeasurably. Showed a fair aptitude for imitating the basic blocks of a mental shield, too.

Aye, Dustil Onasi might pretend to be angry at the universe, but he had a desire for knowledge alongside it. Coupled with his undeniable strength in the Force, he had the potential to transform into a powerful Force-user one day.

One day. If the lad would ever grow up and get over his simmering resentment of just about everything.

I was just about to depart for a lie-down myself when I heard the footfalls of another echoing through the freighter's hall. I turned as the hatch opened to admit the boy's father.

Carth Onasi shot me a tired smile; no more than a quirk at the edge of his mouth, really. Everyone is so darn glum these days. It was beginning to get on my nerves.

"Humph," I said in greeting. "How's the patch job going?"

"Good." Carth stifled a yawn. "The others are outside, but I told them to head in to catch some sleep. Zaalbar's staying out with Teethree. They don't need more than two hands sealing the patch, and they'll wake us once done. A few hours, maybe four, and we'll be launch ready."

"The others?" I frowned, wondering whether to ask for elaboration. "All of 'em?"

The Republic soldier shot me a puzzled look. "I saw Dustil and Revan head in before. But the rest are congregating by the repairs. Did you expect someone to be missing, Jolee?"

"Heh." I hid a grin, shook my head, and took a step towards the starboard living quarters. Probably a good thing that brooding Twi'lek's walk went unnoticed by our pilot. "Well, stars know I ain't one to turn down a nap. I'll leave you to it before the rest turn up and fill this ship with yakkity yak."

"Where- where's Revan?" Carth's hesitant words had me pausing at the exit. "I- and Dustil?"

"They're of the same mind as me. Dustil headed to your room; good thing, too, with how crowded the men's quarters are." I shot him a look over my shoulder, and knew it wasn't his son he'd really been asking about. "If you want to talk to Revan, then stop dithering and do it before we leave this planet. None of us are getting any younger, you know."

The man's face snapped into a scowl at my interference, and I had to stifle a chuckle at how much his expression reminded me of his son, then.

"Thanks for the advice," he ground out. "But I'd appreciate it if you keep your nose out of my affairs."

I let my chuckle run free as I opened the hatch. "Eh, what would I know? I've only lived for more decades than I can count. But one thing I'll remind you is the danger we're about to sail into. Sort things out while you've got the chance. Living with a lifetime of regret ain't a fun thing to do."

I stepped through the hatch and wandered away, aware the man was no doubt glaring daggers at my back. Heh. He and Revan might be fully grown, but they were dancing around each other like a pair of mating wyyyschokk spiders. It could take years for the arachnid mating ritual to complete, and half the time one ended up eating the other before the next generation was even conceived.

Well, I can't deny they have more than their share of issues. Aye, it wasn't easy for them, I'd admit. But I was a firm believer in grasping love where one could find it. There was enough darn bleakness in the rest of life that letting a chance for happiness slip away was nothing more than foolishness.

I yawned, disrobing absently as I sat down on the bunk. After all my years of sleeping on a pallet – or a bed of leaves, when circumstances had rolled that way – a soft mattress was more comfort than my back could handle. I was used to the harsh wild of Kashyyyk; my home for near on half my life. Sometimes, I wondered if I'd ever see her untamed beauty again.

First time I'd happened upon the planet of the Wookiees had been on honeymoon with my new wife. She'd always liked the simpler, less civilized worlds.

My thoughts lingered back on the recollection from earlier. Nayama and I'd had some good years between us, but they'd been few. Too few. And my failure with the woman more precious than any I'd met before or since sat heavy on my soul- even all these decades later.

Nayama had been so like her elder sister. She'd never seen it, though. She'd always measured herself against Nomi, and always believed that somehow she was lacking in comparison. But they were similar... both free-spirited nomads at heart. Daydreamers, but with a determined drive regarding causes they believed in. Strong, gifted, and unusually late to bloom in the Force.

If Nayama had only secured the training of a Master. Aye, and maybe that had been my miscalculation, taking her to my home enclave on Coruscant rather than following her sister's footsteps. For the High Council had been fired up at Dantooine's gall in accepting Nomi Sunrider – an adult woman with a squalling newborn at her side – and the Masters on Coruscant weren't willing to take the same risks with Nomi's younger sister. Not when she was already emotionally entrenched with the likes of me.

The Order might have changed their collective minds later – when Nomi's Battle Meditation reared alongside her heroism against Kun – but by then it'd been too late for Nayama. And the sheer hypocrisy of some of the Council members, using Nayama Bindo's name as an example of how attachment could lead to corruption, why adults should not receive training-

Aye, sometimes I wondered if Nayama's fall was preordained, from the moment the High Council refused her. She could have been great. I still believed that. And I still cursed the Order for sealing her fate.

I sighed, lying back on the soft mattress, letting the bitter thoughts slip away into the cobwebs of history. I could hear the movement of others through the ship, feel their presence in the Force as they congregated around the central hub of the freighter. I planned to be out cold before any of the men walked in here.

Yawning, I emptied my mind, and drifted slowly into a meditative precursor to sleep.

xXx

Wake up!

"Eh?" I muttered sleepily, half-aware that something had woken me, but whether it be dream or reminiscence or purely a sense of justified foreboding I couldn't tell. I nestled deeper into the covers, blocking my ears to the Mandalorian's snores, and tried to grasp the last eddies of slumber.

My thoughts submerged into the half-conscious state of dreamworld. My dreams were interspersed with flashes of darkness, and a woman demanding someone to speak with her. A plea, for someone to listen.

Time morphed into intangibility, stretching into seconds or hours.

This is no trap!

I jerked back to wakefulness as a psychic wave of power washed over me. It dissipated quickly, but the echo of the voice rebounded in my mind. This is no trap! A woman's voice, insistent and indignant and thrumming with dark Force residue. A powerful message aimed at someone other than me.

My attention crystallized into focus, immediately stretching out to find the source of the power-

The audible sound of the hatch hissing closed scythed clean through my concentration. I scrambled into a seated position, hands grabbing the two lightsabers near my person as I took immediate stock of the room.

The Mandalorian was still breathing heavily in sleep above me, and the Wookiee's bunk opposite was empty – he'd be under the 'Hawk, still, finalizing the repairs. But the fourth bed- that should have had a body-

No you don't! If there was one person on board this ship whose loyalties were still in question, who was the most likely to be lured away-

I barrelled off the mattress, shucking on my tatty robe, and darted through the closing exit.

If that mental voice had roused me, then it would have woken others, too. Augmented by a psychic power both strong and foreign and insidiously dark, it had to be coming from that cursed Force beacon. Attracting the darkest link in our crew, mayhap?

I sprinted around the curve in the 'Hawk's corridor and all but slammed into the Twi'lek's back.

Blinking in surprise, I stumbled, catching myself against the durasteel walling.

"What is not a trap?" Yudan Rosh murmured, without bothering to turn around.

"Humph," I grumped, poking at his back in irritation. He didn't budge. "If someone tells me something ain't a trap, first thing I conclude is that it is. Could be that I'm just a suspicious old bugger, though."

"The psychic power felt strangely alien to me," the Twi'lek continued. "But the voice I heard spoke Basic with a clear Core accent."

Did mental voices have accents? Pshaw, I didn't know – but I understood what he was saying. The words that had flashed through my mind had been spoken in the tones of a young, educated female. One whose home tongue was Basic, I'd wager.

"I cannot sense it now," Yudan commented. "Only the steady Force beacon we have all felt since landing here."

"They could be the same thing." I shrugged behind him, but my thoughts were still fixated on the strange event that had pulled us out of slumber. "Most likely it came from that darn pyramid. I thought the message was aimed for you. But if not-"

"So who-" Yudan Rosh stopped speaking, and I had the brief impression of his back tensing before he shot forward in a surprising burst of speed.

I blinked, before my brows lowered in annoyance. Twitchy Twi'lek! Was he running away or running after someone? With a grunt of effort, I reeled the Force in underneath my heels and ran after him.

The hatch to the common room was still open from his entrance and, once more, I almost barrelled into his stationary back next to the kitchenette. He made a damn inconvenient wall.

"Are you staying or going?" I snapped, jabbing a finger hard into his kidneys. I felt a small sense of gratification at his grunt of discomfort. "Make up your darn mind, sonny. I'm getting dizzy here."

There was a swish as the door leading to the port living quarters opened to admit Juhani.

"Cathar," Yudan said, his voice low and tense. "Tell me Revan's still in her bunk."

The light had been set to night-time low, so only the faintest illumination glowed from the ceiling. The Ebon Hawk had been programmed to emulate diurnal rhythms, although frankly, I didn't see the point when one could just choose to turn the darn light off. But even in the dim, I could see that Juhani's ears were laid flat against the side of her head. Her slanted eyes were tawny slits, and the fine dusting of fur on her face quivered in tension.

Juhani's alarm was palpable on the Force.

"That message or whatever it was that woke us," I said, my voice lowering as I realized what I should have understood the moment I'd woken. "It was aimed at Revan."

"She has gone," Juhani confirmed with a brief nod of the head. "When I first saw her empty bunk I sensed her running at speed toward the pyramid. She is beyond my range, now."

A low noise rumbled from the Twi'lek; almost a growl. "After all of this," Yudan muttered. His normally bland tone had hardened with disappointment, and his jaw was clenched. "She fails again."

"Fails?" Juhani echoed tartly, glaring at him. "I do not believe she had a choice, Yudan Rosh. Not when it was her captured bond-sister begging for her presence."

"Ah," I said in sudden comprehension. "That voice. Bastila Shan, was it?"

"I forget that you have not met her before," Juhani murmured. "But, yes, you are correct."

"Revan should have woken us," Yudan censured. "Running off alone is the worst thing she could have done." He sighed; a short gust of irritated air. "Reckless," he muttered under his breath.

"We must go after her," Juhani implored in a low tone. Her slanted eyes flashed in the dim lighting. "Bastila is... I am unsure of Bastila's state of mind."

"She is Malak's prisoner," Yudan bit out. "I am well familiar how quickly Force-sensitives break under his ministrations. This is a trap, and Revan is idiotic to face this herself-"

"We must wake the others," Juhani cut in. She turned, face cocked in the direction of the men's living quarters.

I heard the slightest of scuffles, the whisper of a footstep near the now-closed hatch that led back to the men's dorms. I frowned, staring at the durasteel flooring. A handful of that Twi'lek chit's pazaak cards littered the ground; a picture of teenage normality, in amongst the craziness of our situation.

"That is time we do not have, Cathar," Yudan growled. "I agree that we follow Revan. Now. But the rest of the crew would only slow us down."

One of the brightly-coloured cards shifted slightly; almost as if someone had stood on it.

A body whirred by me at breakneck speed; taken aback, it took me a moment to comprehend that Yudan Rosh had launched himself into the air, leaping directly past me and landing in a controlled crouch on top of something- something invisible-

Beneath him, the figure of Dustil Onasi winked into existence. One of the Twi'lek's fists was pressed hard against the boy's throat.

"Get- get off me!" Dustil choked from under the hand crushing his oesophagus. His eyes were wide with fright.

"Do not sneak around me, boy," Yudan warned. He leaned in close, face to face with the young lad. "You are fortunate I do not have a lightsaber in my possession, or my instincts may have yielded more severe consequences."

"Stop grand-standing and get off the lad," I muttered, unable to stop a roll of the eyes. "Yes, yes, you're a scary Dark Jedi, we're all aware of that. No need to go frightening the children, sonny."

In a fluid motion, the Twi'lek rose to his feet and Dustil scrambled to follow suit.

"I heard what you all said," Dustil muttered, glaring at Yudan and me in turn. He raised a hand as if to rub at his throat, before evidently thinking better of it. "Revan's run off, and you're going after her. If she's gonna fall again, then I- I can help. I'm not just a frakking child, y'know."

At that, I felt a sliver of unease. Of the lot of us, he had the least training. I'd thought Yudan Rosh the most likely to run off independently, but surely Dustil Onasi was the more pre-disposed to lose control when faced with the power of that cursed Force beacon.

"No, you are not a child," Yudan monotoned, staring at the lad. His gaze narrowed. I had only the briefest inkling of forewarning before he jerked one hand up vertically, and a fine, precise twitch of the Force erupted from his fingertips. Swift and minuscule, the spear of energy hit Dustil Onasi directly in the forehead.

The boy collapsed to the ground.

"Stop!" Juhani cried. She took one step towards Yudan Rosh, her unlit 'saber tight in her grasp. "What- what have you done?"

The Twi'lek turned around slowly, his expression blank, his yellow gaze pinned on her.

"Ach, the boy's fine," I muttered, even as I strode forward to double-check. But I recognized that use of Force power, even if it wasn't something I could emulate myself.

Juhani held still, attention still fixed warily on Yudan. I harrumphed, one hand raised in a shooing motion at the Cathar as I knelt down next to the lad. "Settle down, girl. Push the Force out yourself and you'll see there's no damage to our resident Sithkid."

Best make sure, though. I'd be a senile idiot to blindly trust Yudan Rosh. Wisps of investigative Force gently curled out from my command, circling the prone body in front of me. My assumed diagnosis was immediately confirmed: stasis. Not even a strong one, at least. I shot the Twi'lek an irritated look. "Your favourite trick again," I grumbled. "Get a kick out of putting everyone to sleep, do you?"

Yudan Rosh gave a nonchalant shrug. "If the boy's mental guarding was competent, that would not have been able to fall him. He will wake soon and no doubt let the others know our destination. In that respect, Dustil Onasi will be of assistance."

Mental guarding, bah! I wasn't sure if that was a dig at my training of the lad, I'd only had him to myself for a few hours. I felt my brows lowering again as I viewed the dispassionate Twi'lek. "Dustil won't be impressed when he wakes. He's got a thing or two to prove to himself, and staying behind won't rest easy with him."

"He's a liability," Yudan shot back. "Dustil Onasi is young, powerful, and little trained in either restraint or control. Consider my attack a test. Had his innate shields proved a counter to my stasis, then perhaps he would have been competent enough to accompany us." The Twi'lek looked down to appraise the comatose boy. "We are heading toward the lure of an immense Force power," he murmured, his voice dropping. "Bringing the boy along would be a greater risk to his own soul than whatever benefit it would bring us."

Yudan Rosh glanced back to me again, staring at me flatly, expression revealing nothing. Mayhap it had only been pragmatism that drove the Twi'lek's actions. I wasn't sure. And I had to admit there was a goodly chunk of sense in his little mental test, whether it originated from concern or cold reason.

"Careful, sonny," I warned, feeling my eyes narrow. "You might start me thinking there's a bone of compassion in your body."

His expression didn't change.

"We should depart," Juhani murmured, her voice once more her useful, reasoned tone. "Every second Revan gets further from us."

A metaphorical gust of icy wind chased across my soul, then. Sudden and dark and bone-chilling with foreboding. It faded as quickly as it had materialized, leaving nothing but an unnatural urgency thrumming in the Force all around me.

"A premonition," I muttered. I knew the difference between personal anxiety and a portent from beyond. The feeling had been too puissant for a simple flight of fancy. "Juhani is right. We have to move, and now. I've a hunch that Revan's going to need us before long."

With a silent nod from Juhani and a sharp-edged look from the Twi'lek, we all departed the Ebon Hawk with alacrity.

xXx

It'd been awhile since I'd used the Force so gratuitously, hammering at speed through a tangle of low-lying bush. The Shadowlands on Kashyyyk were filled with trees as tall as mountains, which left their depths relatively clear of bramble for the most part. In contrast, the vegetation here was nowhere near as haughty or ambitious – laying much thicker on the ground, and thus being immensely more bothersome.

"Good thing I didn't like this robe," I muttered as the other two ground to a halt. There were minor scratches on my face from the whiplash of branches I'd run full-tilt into, and burrs of thistle clung to the tatty remnants of my clothing.

Ahead of me, the mess of greenery ended abruptly in a large clearing. Perhaps fifty metres beyond us lay the entrance to the pyramid.

Even I had to admit it was grandiose. Looming high into the now-midnight sky, the edifice was etched in the blue-black lines of my Force-enhanced sight. But it was the wisps of burgundy energy curling back from the edges that had me stiffening in caution; those wisps were the residue of the alien power bleeding back... bleeding back into the fabric of the Force itself. I couldn't attribute direct evil to them, but the temptation to walk forward and possess the eldritch energy they offered was strong.

It was a very good thing Dustil Onasi wasn't here, I realized. Somehow, I doubted the boy's tenuous control would hold firm under the promise of such power.

Slowly, tentatively, I stretched out my awareness on the Force. The pyramid beheld four sides, each set at a wide angle from the ground, so the final height of the structure was far greater than its base. The sides were a smooth pane, comprised of some metallic material I couldn't identify. My Force-sight showed little in the way of indentations or imperfections anywhere on the outside of the pyramid, and I knew it to be a statement of superior craftsmanship. Or an ego-stroking flaunting of wealth and power to all and sundry. From the little I'd heard of the mysterious Rakatan, I had the feeling it was a bit of both.

"The beacon," Juhani said in a quiet, almost awed, voice. "It is so strong here, and emanates from the bottom of the pyramid itself."

She was right, I realized, as my gaze narrowed and dropped back to the base. Inset in the centre of the side facing us was a curved archway that jutted out several metres from the pyramid itself.

The entrance.

"And yet Revan is ascending inside," Yudan murmured. His profile was aimed high, near the zenith.

"I cannot sense any life nearby." Juhani's voice was taut with concern as I felt the Force stretch exploratory wings out from her. I sighed in irritation, plucking an errant bramble from my sleeve, even as my own Force awareness emulated hers.

"There she is," I muttered, senses briefly touching on a flare of familiar power. She was high already, more than halfway up the temple, but even Revan's strength was difficult to pinpoint in amongst the overpowering morass of energy coming from the temple.

I lost her psychic signature, then, and Yudan Rosh stiffened ahead of me. Frowning, I threw my Force-focus out further afield.

-come closer, old man-

My concentration frayed, quicker than it should have. The alien power, while not exactly sentient, still merged into my connection with the Force.

-glimpses of the truth can be found here-

Revan's presence was indistinguishable, now; completely obscured within the pyramid that rose like a sinister portent of doom. I pushed out, harder; surely I should be able to track a Force-user of her magnitude-

-you could find out what happened to your wife-

"Careful!" I gasped, reeling myself back in with a jolt. My stomach turned. "Keep yourselves contained! That- that power..." is seductive. Too darn much.

Yudan Rosh pivoted to face me, his expression blank even as his fists were curled tight at his sides. He's got some inkling of the danger here. Juhani gulped in a shuddering breath. Her inward struggle was obvious as she slowly grounded herself.

"I do not trust promises like that," Juhani hissed as she turned. "I will not fall prey to such trickery, wherever it is coming from."

"Aye, it's beguiling, alright," I muttered. "But provided you keep your shields up and don't push out your awareness, it shouldn't be a problem."

"This is a construction of the Star Forge." Yudan turned back to the pyramid once more, crossing his arms as he stared at it. "This is a taste of what we shall experience on the Forge, no doubt."

"Huh," I grumped, feeling slightly taken aback when I considered the likelihood of that. "I hope you're wrong, sonny. I don't normally attribute Dark Force to anything except sentients, but I'm thinking this pyramid might be an exception. And if the Star Forge is similar..."

Juhani, too, had turned back to appraise the pyramid. She inhaled deeply. "Despite my efforts, I still did not sense Revan. Or Bastila."

"Bah, that beacon's so strong it's drowning out every other vestige of life. Could be a hundred sents inside that we don't know about."

"But if Bastila led Revan here..." Juhani trailed off.

"This Force-bond," Yudan said tightly. "I know little of it, other than it is uncommonly strong. What sort of power does it have over Revan?"

Juhani turned at that, throwing Yudan Rosh a wary glance. "It is an equal connection, as far as I know. Created when Bastila drew Revan back from beyond the edge of death on her flagship. But you are correct; it is very strong."

"This Bastila Shan managed to break through Revan's natural shielding," I commented, staring at the pyramidal structure through narrowed eyes. Temples of this design could be found throughout the universe, but the Force-power that radiated from this one set my hackles on edge. The power stemming from the base was both foreign and overwhelming, even while the majority of it was funnelled up through the centre of the pyramid, shooting like a laser into the skies above. Magnifying the EMP scrambler, Revan said. But then there's the residue flashing back to us. Drawing us in.

While alien in its nature, the attraction of the beacon hummed around me; coalescing into a deep desire to step forward and embrace it. On my belt, my decades-old lightsaber hummed.

"Bastila and Revan share a telepathic connection and can also lend each other Force strength," Juhani murmured, facing back to the pyramid once more. Her ears twitched. "That ability aided Revan more than once on Korriban."

"Lend each other..." There was a shocked note in the Twi'lek's usual monotone. "I have never heard of a mind-link to allow that sort of exchange. Are you certain, Cathar?"

"I would not say it so if I were not." Juhani's reply back was tart. "Bastila herself had expressed concern at the potency of their connection. I do not believe any of the Masters had ever seen such a link before."

My hand rested gently on my old weapon. It reverberated underneath my grasp. "Huh," I muttered under my breath. "Like Force calling to Force."

"And this bond allowed your precious Masters to destroy what was left of her memory-"

Some kaiburr had a tendency to feel alien in their power. Usually the ones that didn't sing out to the seeker-

"Her mind was already destroyed, Yudan Rosh. Revan holds no ill-will toward the Council for doing what they had to."

-but they could be sensed upon the Force nonetheless.

"Really?" Yudan mocked. "Are you so certain about that?"

This is a structure created by millennia-old Force-sensitive species. I wonder, did they ever harvest kaiburr?

"This is a pointless conversation," Juhani replied tersely. "We should stop bickering and go after Revan."

It would have to be a very large crystal, to throw out that much power-

"At long last, a sentiment I agree with," Yudan drawled. The Force drew deep underneath his limbs, and next to him Juhani readied herself to move in tandem-

"Wait," I said, and the two stopped mid-stride, turning back to look at me in question.

Kaiburr or not, the monumental Force power could be concealing any number of enemies. The Force had whispered to me that Revan would need aid of some description, that there was danger ahead- but I had no idea in what shape this threat would present itself. The three of us would need to be ready, be strong, be armed-

I stared hard at Yudan Rosh, the Twi'lek who had followed Revan into the depths of the Dark and still carried the shadows of darkness inside him. In many ways, I wondered if he was more of a liability than Revan herself.

Aye, but she was willing to take a chance on him. And the second lightsaber I'd unthinkingly grabbed upon waking in the men's quarters still sat snug on my belt. I didn't believe everything was due to the Force... but, sometimes, she certainly seemed to have a wry sense of humour.

"Best we all have weapons," I muttered, unclipping Zhar's lightsaber and lobbing it casually to the man who'd killed him. Yudan's hand shot up in instinct to grasp the hilt. A flash of sheer surprise crossed his face as he surveyed the weapon he'd once pilfered from the leafy floor of the Shadowlands.

I'd not bothered picking his 'saber up when I'd left that cursed, charred room on the dying Leviathan, but my gaze had landed on Zhar's old weapon as we'd traipsed out. Revan had used it, briefly, as a secondary hilt, but hadn't even thought to question its whereabouts since that explosive scene.

Probably she believed it sank with the heavy cruiser, and Revan seemed content with just the one 'saber these days, seeing as Yudan himself had mangled her off-hand.

There was a certain irony, I thought, in Zhar's weapon ending up with Yudan Rosh. Mayhap a sense of rightness, depending on what future the Twi'lek chose for himself. And as the green flared from the once-Dark Jedi's grasp, somehow I knew it was the Force again at work.

Giving Yudan Rosh a chance, may he be worth it.

"Zhar Lestin's lightsaber," Yudan murmured, gazing at the particle blade whose colour mirrored my own.

"Aye. I still plan on having that chat with you, sonny," I harrumphed, rubbing a hand over my bare scalp. "But that can wait. For now, honour the weapon and its original owner. Mayhap the green will aid you in finding balance." I snorted. "Since you seem to believe your own waffle about some fancy spiritual meaning behind crystal colours."

Yudan didn't acknowledge my words, but remained staring at the lightsaber with a fixed expression.

"Let us go," Juhani cut in. Her posture was tensed with readiness, her gaze tight on the pyramid. Her own 'saber ignited, a dark blue single-blade held taut in her grasp. "I have the same ominous premonition as you, Jolee Bindo. Let us go find Revan."

With a collective nod, the three of us approached the pyramid.

xXx

Author's Note:
Coming up: Revan walks amongst the ghosts of her past.

Thanks kosiah for the beta.