Wow…it's been so long since I've updated. I'm so sorry I didn't get this out sooner. You can kill me later. It's just that I don't have much time at all to write with school, activities, and friends going on. Hope this can satisfy you for a while. :)

Revan666oftheVE: I'm sorry I couldn't e-mail you concerning your request. My e-mail's been somewhat of an ahole these past couple weeks. I just want to say that this isn't the first time I've been asked to join a role-playing sight, and while I'd like to join, I'm not sure if I would be able to be an active participant simply because of time constraints. With school and extracurricular activities this year, I have a lot less free time on my hands. Please e-mail me again if you wish to discuss this further, since I've finally managed to get my e-mail to work.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 15: Searching

The Ebon Hawk darted through space as it traversed its hyperspace route. A bored Atton sat in the cockpit at the controls. Mission sat in the garage playing a game of dijarik with T3. HK-47 was patrolling the interior, hoping to be able to take a shot at anything that caused trouble. The droid had been keeping an unusually close watch on Visas, as if it was looking for an excuse to blast her. Jolee Bindo was lying down in the port dormitory, sleeping (and snoring). Yuthura Ban was busy in the security compartment, doing who knows what. Visas sat squatted in the starboard dormitory, buried deep in her meditations. Amongst all this, Revan and the exile sat together in the main hold, busy with conversation.

"I don't know, Revan. This seems so much to be able to take in at once," Quaid said as he leaned back in his chair.

"I'm afraid we don't have much time to think about this, Quaid. Right now, the only thing I care about is getting that 'thing' back," Revan huffed.

Quaid could see that response coming. Revan's thoughts had been occupied with his task from the moment they left Dantooine. And why shouldn't he? The fate of the Jedi, the Republic, and the woman he loved more than anything else rested solely on getting that creature back before the Sith Lords could. And what was worse, is that they had to search for it on a planet teaming with life. Finding the Sith would be no easy task.

And amongst all this, Revan and Quaid still had almost no clue as to how that creature came was created. That, and as to why it was such a great threat still eluded Revan. He had many ideas, but couldn't decide which one was the main reason, or if it was just all of them put together.

"I want to know more about these Sith Lords Visas told us about. We've already encountered one," Quaid said. Darth Sion was indeed unlike any other Sith Lord they had encountered. He alone was almost more than Revan and Quaid could handle, and he wasn't even the most powerful one. He had to have a weakness they didn't know about. The one called Traya they still knew almost nothing about. They had no idea who she was, where she was, or what she was doing.

But the most frightening of all was Visas's description of the greatest Sith Lord – Darth Nihilus. Quaid had remembered Visas's chilling words: "One whom they say no living being can kill..." What sort of horror could he be? What powers could he possess? He would have to ask Visas more, but Quaid had decided to leave her alone for now.

"You know, Quaid," Revan began. The exile snapped out of his daydream. "That girl, Visas – do you find it at all odd why she should be so willing to follow us all of a sudden? Why she now fights the very ones she used to serve?"

Quaid paused and thought about it. "Well, I was under the impression she never like the Sith in the first place."

"True, but I think it runs deeper than that. Tell me, do you remember what happened during your first encounter with her? That is, aside from the fact you fought her?"

Quaid could never forget. "I remember…she wanted me to kill her. She wanted to die." Quaid's mouth hung open for a second as if he had just come to a big realization all of a sudden.

"And now, she wants to live," Revan told him. "Why do you think that is?"

Quaid paused again. He had another recollection, this time of Visas's response when Quaid asked why she was helping him.

"There is a greatness in you. A greatness that does not stem from the force. It stems from who you are."

"She mentioned me," Quaid told Revan. The former Sith Lord in front of him merely closed his eyes and nodded.

"As I thought. Did it ever occur to you, Quaid, that she is doing this more for you than anything else? That maybe you are the reason she is here with us?" Revan sighed. "Quaid, I think you may have helped this woman more than you know. To put it bluntly, I think she sees something in you. Something that gives her a new will to live. You may have saved her life."

Quaid just stood there, mouth open, not knowing what to say. He had never really bothered to give it much thought until now.

"She trusts you too, Quaid. If I were you, I wouldn't abuse her trust in you."

"Well, don't worry. I won't," the exile replied resolutely. And Quaid hadn't admitted it, nor really understood why, but he cared about her as well. He made up his mind then that he would try to talk to her again. Perhaps he could get her to open up some more.

"Revan," the exile said. Revan turned to him to show he was listening. "I just want to say that I'm really sorry about Bastila. I know you don't like to talk about it, but I just want you to know that I will be with you every step of the way, especially if we have a shot at saving her life."

Revan choked. Quaid had almost expected him to get upset, but to his surprise Revan smiled softly. "Thank you, Quaid. I know I shouldn't be like this. Even though I hate to admit it, the galaxy is what matters more. Bastila said that herself. It doesn't pay to dwell on grief. I don't mean that I'm going to forget about her, but I'll try my best to carry on. Can you and the rest just do me a favor, though?"

"Whatever you want, Revan."

"Just be sure to knock me back into reality if I ever start losing hope."

The exile nervously crept up to the dormitory in which Visas was meditating. There she was, squatting in the center of the room. Sensing him, she rose and turned to meet him. "Yes?" she asked.

"Is it okay if we talk?" Quaid asked her.

She nodded. "Of course."

"Visas, would you mind if I asked you about your master?"

The blind Jedi's head lowered. She seemed hesitant. Finally, she lifted her gaze and answered "I will answer what I can."

Quaid approached her till they were only feet apart. "How did you and your master become allies? Why did you choose to follow him?

She whispered, "It is not something I like to discuss…"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, I will tell you. It is not my wish to keep things hidden from you." She sighed. "My master had been the one who destroyed my people on Katarr. He left none alive on that world, save one."

"You," Quaid whispered.

She nodded. "My people are trained to feel things through the force. And when he came, it was like going numb. I was devoid of feeling. I hated it, and I hated my master for doing it. There was nothing left. But that was not the end of my suffering. My master found me. He took me in. I was unwilling, but then he opened my eyes."

"What did he do?"

"He showed me the galaxy. He showed me the life forms scattering about their various planets. I could see them wallowing about in ignorance. I could see millions and millions of beings reveling in misery, so ungrateful to be alive. And the worlds were filled with those who lived lives of ignorance, discontent, and conflict. And for the first time, I hated life. And I wanted to die. But he showed me this to make me believe in his cause: that all life must die. And so, I followed him."

Quaid now understood why she had been carrying so much pain. She was like him in so many ways - an exile bearing scars of the past. He looked up at her and was shocked to see a glistening tear roll out from behind the veil which covered her eyes. He could tell she was struggling to hold back her emotions.

Without even thinking, Quaid reached and gently wiped the tear away from her face. He gently wrapped his arms around her and leaned her head against his chest. And to his surprise, she accepted. When she finally pulled away, she released herself from his grasp and backed away. "I…I'm sorry," she said.

"It's alright," he assured her.

"No, I should be stronger than that."

"Showing emotion doesn't make you weak, Visas." Quaid wanted to ask her more, but he felt now would be a good time to leave her alone. He bid her farewell and left her. Though she hadn't shown it, Visas had been grateful for his company. For so long, she had been used to the misery and isolation of serving her master. The compassion and care the exile had shown her awakened something that she had buried in her heart for so long. Feelings she thought she would never feel again resurfaced. She could only hope they wouldn't place their mission in danger.

Time passed, and soon the Ebon Hawk was soaring toward the skies of Nar-Shadaa. Nar-Shadaa was a gritty planet, to say the least. The place was overrun by Hutts, gangs, bounty hunters, and various criminals alike, not to mention it was also a haven for the exchange. On top of that, according to Atton, the place was flooded with refugees as well. Many areas of Nar-Shadaa were camps specifically designed for these people.

"So this is where the Sith are hiding?" Revan observed from the cockpit as the Ebon Hawk drew ever-closer to the grey world.

"Well, they'll fit in perfectly if they are hiding here, that's for sure," Atton remarked as he steered the ship. "This isn't a very friendly place. And the planet is just crawling with the Exchange. We'd better be on our guard."

The Ebon Hawk descended into the planet's atmosphere. As it approached, the faint outlines of the cityscape below grew clearer, until the metropolis finally appeared full view to them. Atton sighted a dock, and brought the Ebon Hawk gently down onto the landing pad.

Moments later, the crew of the Ebon Hawk poured out onto the landing pad, taking in their surroundings. Vast, dark skyscrapers jutted up around them. Ships and speeders zipped through the air like insects. The city looked just right for its reputation.

"So this is Nar-Shadaa?" Mission asked as she looked around. "I heard about this place. Sort of reminds me of Taris, in a way, only more dull and grey. Why do you suppose the Sith would be hiding here, anyway? This planet doesn't seem very remote at all."

"This planet is swarming with life and appears to have little law. This would be the perfect place for the Sith to conceal themselves," Visas answered.

"The Sith do not just hide out in a random location, even on a planet such as this. They would most likely be hiding out in an established base around here. And most likely, they're going to have some kind of front to disguise their operations."

"Mm-hmm. The trouble is where are we going to find them?" Quaid asked.

Revan at last spoke. "I really don't know, but I think our best bet is to go out into town and start asking questions. But we can't do it as we are now, and we certainly can't be parading the fact that we're Jedi around here. We need to maintain our cover."

"Yeah, and believe me, you'll want to keep a low profile here. The exchange has its cronies running all over the place. And you won't get far without a guide, so I'm your man," Atton told him.

"We can't all go out at once, especially like this. We're going to have to go out a few at a time. The rest are going to have to stay here." Revan pondered as to who would go out first.

"Well, I don't usually say this, but you might want to avoid being seen with me," Jolee advised. "An old man walking around by himself is going to arouse suspicion. If anything, we may want to split up instead of half of us hanging around here."

Revan nodded. "Good idea, Jolee. Okay, perhaps half of us should explore one part, the other half explore another part? How many do we have here?" Excluding the droids, there were Revan, Quaid, Jolee, Visas, Yuthura, Atton, and Mission. Revan realized that there were five Jedi in his crew, a quick recipe for attention. They definitely would not be able to travel as one group.

"Okay, here's how we're going to split up," Revan addressed them. "Atton, Mission and I are going to go out and explore the area to the south of here. Atton and I are going to be gangsters looking for work, and Mission is going to be our slave."

That caught Mission's attention. "What? Rev, you can't be serious!"

"Mission, if you want to help out, you'll have to play along. Maybe on Taris you could wonder the streets just fine, but around here we have to keep a low profile."

"But Rev, I--"

"Mission, please! Just do this for me, okay?"

The blue Twi'lek sighed. "Okay."

"Good." Revan turned to the rest. "Quaid, you, Visas and Yuthura should explore north of here."

"What will we pretend to be?" the exile asked him.

"Might I suggest we go as bounty hunters? It's the most subtle ploy I can think of," Yuthura suggested.

"Alright, you're bounty hunters. Jolee, I'm afraid you'll have to stay here. But we'll still need your help. We'll keep in touch with you periodically and let you know if we find anything."

"Or if you need help?" Jolee smirked.

"That too."

"Query:" a mechanical voice asked from behind.

"Oh, brother," Mission sighed.

"Might I inquire as to what you will have me do, master? If you don't mind me saying, I my protocols have not been put to good use for quite some time! Please, do not say I must be confined to your ship again!" the red droid begged.

Revan looked at Jolee, who waved him off. "Don't worry, kid. I'll be fine here myself for now."

Revan sighed. "Okay, HK. You can come along."

"Exclamation: Oh, very good, master! I can already feel my behavior core tingling with a feeling you call 'excitement'!"

"Only," Revan began, "You'll be going with Quaid. And you are to obey him as you would obey me, understood? That's an order."

"Resignation: Oh, very well, master. Nevertheless, I am still grateful for the opportunity to spill some of the bodily fluids that make up your meatbag bodies."

"Right."

The crew re-boarded the Ebon Hawk, and the Jedi all traded their set of robes for normal civilian clothes. "Keep your lightsabers handy, guys, but keep them out of sight," Revan instructed. "Try to avoid using them if you can, though." Mission, Atton, and Yuthura all grabbed blaster pistols. Quaid grabbed his vibrosword, and Visas and Revan took vibroblades.

The group exited the Ebon Hawk again and headed for the dock's exit. There, they were greeted by a scruffy-looking Rodian.

"Hey! You think this dock free? This my dock! You want dock, you pay me! You understand?"

"What did he say?" Atton asked.

"He wants us to pay," Revan answered.

"Query: Would you like me to blast--"

"Silence, HK," Revan cut him off before he could finish.

"Indignant resignation: as you wish, master." Revan noticed the droid place a hint of sarcasm on the last word.

"Fee 100 credits! You pay fee, or you no dock!" the Rodian huffed.

"Alright, no need to get pushy," Revan told it. He reached into his pocket and fished out 100 credits. "Here you go." The Rodian greedily grabbed it out of Revan's hands.

"Good. Now, we no have trouble," the Rodian said.

"Can I ask you one question?" Revan asked him.

"Hmph! Me work docks, me no answer questions. You have questions, you ask someone else."

"But surely you can answer just a couple for us?" Revan asked. Quaid and the other Jedi noticed Revan use the force as he spoke. Quaid chuckled on the inside.

"Well, me guess me can answer a couple questions," the Rodian responded blankly.

"Do you have any idea where any Sith might be hiding on this planet?"

"Me no know much about any Sith. Me hear one thing, though. Rumors go round saying Sith and Exchange might be working together."

Everyone's hearts leapt upon hearing these words. Yuthura motioned for Revan to go on.

"Know anything else?"

"Me know nothing. Me just work at docks, just try to stay out of way of Jedi, Sith, and Exchange." the Rodian answered.

"Thank you very much," Revan replied. "And by the way, I did not ask you any questions."

"You did not ask me any questions," the Rodian replied blankly. With that, he turned and walked away.

Revan let loose long breath after the Rodian was gone. "Sorry, guys. We really should not be doing that here," he said, referring to his use of force-persuasion. "Avoid doing that, if you can."

"But at least we found something out," Quaid responded.

"Well, it's just a rumor, but it's a start," Yuthura answered.

"Well, we'd better split up for now," Revan advised them.

"We should start checking out some of the local cantinas around here," Atton suggested. He turned to Quaid. "Off in that direction, I think there are some shops and a swoop track, and maybe a couple refugee camps as well. You should look into those."

"Alright, we'll do that," Quaid answered.

Revan, Atton, and Mission headed off after bidding farewell to the rest. "Keep in contact!" Revan shouted from afar before he disappeared. Quaid, Visas, Yuthura, and HK-47 headed off toward where Atton had suggested.

"Oh, I almost forgot one thing!" Revan said out of nowhere.

"What?" Mission and Atton asked in unison.

"We need to be in character," Revan said. With that, he delved into his robe pockets and pulled out what looked like a chain.

"Here, Mission," he said to her.

"You can't be serious," she said staring in disbelief.

"Mission, I know you don't want to, but we have to do this if we want to fit in!"

"Okay," Mission growled.

Revan carefully slipped the chain's collar around Mission's wrist and tightened it. "There," he said. "Now you look like a proper slave."

"Gee, thanks, Rev," she replied sarcastically.

"Come on, let's go!" Atton interjected.

The three of them walked along the elevated streets of the city. All around them were dull-colored buildings illuminated in pale white streetlamps. The fact that the sun had set and it was cloudy only served to make the atmosphere even drabber. Around them, they could see civilians in pale, ratty uniforms walking the streets. Ironically, all were human. Those that were not human seemed to stand together in small groups. Gangsters, by the look of them.

"Home sweet home," Atton sighed. "Well, it's not really home, but you never really forget a place like this."

"Perfect place for Hutts, that's for sure," Mission said.

"I think you'll find it's like the opposite of Taris, here," Atton pointed out. "Around here, we humans aren't exactly treated very nicely.

"How did you get by, then?" Revan asked curiously.

"It all depends on the crowd you hang out with. I was stuck in a refugee camp for a while before I worked with the crowd. I had some useful skills the exchange was looking for. I was found by some weirdo named "Visquis" and he hired me to do some dirty work for him, like smuggling that fuel out of Peragus. I doubt he'll let me back in though, seeing as I was caught."

"Is it possible you can lead us to him?" Revan asked him hopefully.

"I might, given that they haven't moved their operations. As I said, I doubt they'll be very happy to see me."

"We should try. People like him are bound to know things."

"Why would the Exchange be working for the Sith, though?" Mission asked curiously.

"I don't know, but I'm betting it's not good," Revan said. "But if we're lucky, we may be able to get to the Sith through the exchange if they really are working together here."

Atton pointed at a sign that hung over what looked like a cantina entrance. "There's one cantina nearby I used to hang out in. They might know me still down there."

"Well, the sooner we get there, the better," Revan said.

Quaid, Yuthura, Visas, and HK-47 walked along the dark skyway. Around them, various bright signs were probably the only colorful things around. Everything else seemed to be in either a dull grey or white.

Near a dark corner stood a reptilian-looking alien. Quaid noticed the lizard-like alien staring at them as they neared, not taking his eyes off them for a second. A forked tongue slithered out of his mouth, licked his chops, and withdrew again.

"I think he may have something to say to us," Yuthura whispered to him.

Quaid could take it no more, and finally faced the alien when they reached him. "Is there any reason you keep staring at us?" he asked him flatly.

The alien smiled a toothy grin and gave a small hiss that might have been laughter. "Please excuse my behavior. I just could not help noticing your group. If you don't mind me saying, two of you look human, yet are not refugees."

"We are bounty hunters," Quaid answered him. "And this woman here is a Miraluka. We have come here looking for work."

"Work, eh?" the alien hissed. "Well, allow me to introduce myself. I am Ulussk. I am a Trandoshan hunter. Or, I used to be a Trandoshan hunter. I once dedicated myself to the life of bounty hunting, but not anymore."

"Why is that?" Quaid asked curiously.

The lizard hissed. "We bounty hunters used to have dignity. We once had honor. That is the way it was when I was part of them. But now, the hunters that come are little more than credit-rats who have no sense of honor or value. They are scum, and bring shame to the face of hunting. They do not appreciate the true value of the hunt, as I do. And so, I grew disgusted. I would not have anything to do with them, so I retired from it."

"I see," Quaid answered. "But do you happen to know where we might find work?"

"You may try to look for work with the Exchange or from one of the local gangs. I know Vogga the Hutt may be looking for hunters."

"Do you happen to know anything about the exchange?" Yuthura asked him.

The lizard grinned. "Little more than common knowledge, only I know a few things they do not want known. They are currently managed by Visquis on this planet. Rumors abound that they may be working with the Sith on this planet as well, but nobody has been able to confirm it. I would bet my skin it's true, though."

"Interesting," Quaid remarked. He only hoped they would be able to find the Sith somehow on this cesspit of the galaxy. "By the way, what are these refugee camps we keep hearing about?"

"Them? They are the places of refuge for those who have nowhere to go. Most are human, but there other species mixed in as well. Most are people whose lives were destroyed by the Mandalorian wars. Veterans or refugees from the wars had no homes and were forced to come here and scratch a life off this planet. The Exchange has kept a hold on them as well. They operate the camps in secret, keeping them all in place. The refugees don't like this. One small point, though…"

"Here it comes," Visas thought to herself.

"The refugees have been slowly disappearing recently. Rumors abound of the Exchange hiring massive amounts of mercenaries on this planet. Refugees, bounty hunters, or anyone can get a hold of. People are hired and never seen again. The Exchange puts them to work somewhere, but refuses to say where."

"Hmm. This is interesting. Can you tell us more?" Quaid asked him.

The Trandoshan shook his head. "Not much else that you wouldn't know yourself. I would recommend getting noticed if you wish to work for the exchange. Do something…creative. They will be quicker to hire if you have a reputation. And do not worry; I will keep this a secret. I have no love of the Exchange, either. They too lack honor."

"I sense no deception in him. I believe we can trust him," Visas whispered.

"Very well. Thank you, Ulussk." With that, Quaid and the rest proceeded onward. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Quaid would see if he could contact the Exchange or one of the gangs, but first he wished to investigate one of these refugee camps. He hoped Revan and the others were having some success as well.

The eerie, dark atmosphere of the Ravager's bridge hung over the place like a fog. At the very end, in front of the huge window, stood the black figure of Darth Nihilus looking out into space. The doors at the opposite end slid open, and a masked Sith Marauder stepped inside.

He cautiously approached his lord and knelt before him. "Master" he asked nervously.

The Sith Lord sucked in a long, raspy breath underneath his skull-like mask. "Betrayal," Nihilus said in his inhuman voice, not even turning around. "She has betrayed me."

"Who, Lord Nihilus?" the marauder asked.

Darth Nihilus turned. "They have discovered us. My own apprentice sides with our enemies, and even now seeks to aid them in their fight against us."

"Visas?"

"She will pay dearly in time for this transgression. Now, what of my artifact?" he asked coldly.

"Sion has found it. They have it on Nar-Shadaa, waiting for you to retrieve it."

Nihilus let out a demonic sound that might have been laughter. "Send ships to the planet to retrieve my artifact. Contact Sion and Traya, and tell them of her betrayal. Tell Sion to watch for our enemies. And tell Traya that she is not to fail in her task. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes. Of course, Lord Nihilus."

"Good. Now go," the Dark Lord commanded. The marauder turned and headed out the bridge as fast as he could.

Ugh…it feels good to finally get this posted. Once again, sorry for the wait. This fic is NOT dead in the water, and I do intend on finishing, even if it takes me months to update. With school and everything else, I just have less time to write. Hope you liked this chapter, and as usual, please R+R. ;)