Ri tripped and fell to her knees for the second time, but the evil man picked her up by the arm quickly and resumed his hard grip on the back of her neck. It was hard for her to walk with him pushing down on her as he was, but she tried her best to keep going. She didn't have much choice.

The man's cane clicked on the floor and echoed through the hall as they walked, and it had been the only sound she had heard for what seemed like hours. The man had silently led her through the confusing hallways, and even though guards and other people were everywhere around them, none of them seemed to even notice her and the man. She wasn't trying to hide, so why was it like no one could see them?

Finally, the man led her outside the stuffy building into the cold night, and like they were timed to meet, a plain looking airspeeder piloted by a helmeted man swooped down to the sidewalk beside them and stopped. The man lifted her by the arm again and pulled her into the speeder with him, swiftly sitting in one of the rear seats. Ri carefully sat beside him, expecting him to keep a hand on her. To her surprise, the man simply sat with his hands resting atop his cane that clicked as it met the speeder's floor between his feet. Though he wasn't looking at her, the man began to speak.

"You did very well, little one," he said calmly as if he were talking to a friend. "I'm sure your father will be very proud of you, how brave you are."

Ri looked away, trying to keep from getting sad. The truth was she was finding it harder and harder to be brave as the speeder took off into the air, blasting cold, cold air all over her. She pulled her legs up into the seat and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stay warm. It didn't help much, but she wasn't wearing clothes that were very heavy, so anything was better than nothing. The man turned his head to her, curious about her silence.

"What makes you so brave? You don't seem to be afraid of much."

In the faint light from surrounding buildings and ships, Ri noticed the man's skin seemed very shiny and smooth, but not from sweat. It wasn't normal, and it was somewhat unnatural. Still, his eyes were soft, almost caring as he patiently awaited her answer.

"I am a Jedi," she answered with a small voice, "like my mom."

"Ah, I see," he said lightly with a grin. "So that's how the guards never found you." He laughed softly, turning his whole body more to face her. "We are alike, you and I. I can do the same thing, you see, but I do it a little differently. Let's just say that I don't need the Force to disappear." Again the man grinned, and with one hand, he twirled his cane a few times before setting it back down between his feet with a click.

Ri looked at the floor, thinking. "So you're a bad Jedi?"

"No, I'm not a Jedi at all. If I were," he said as his eyes narrowed, "things would've been quite different." Still confused, Ri watched as the man sat back in his seat, seeming to think about something. She instead looked out to all the buildings that they were speeding past. She needed to not think about the evil man beside her or where they were going.

The cold trip was quiet the rest of the way, though Ri wasn't sure which she preferred - the man's strange yet calm voice and weird questions or the scary silence. She decided she didn't like either, but she didn't know what she could do about it. The speeder slowed as it approached a building that looked like all the others, and two familiar looking men met them as they landed. Ri recognized them as the two who had come for her in her room just before she escaped, but they didn't look angry. As his cane clicked on the platform floor, the evil man stepped out of the speeder and pulled her along with him. He gave the other two men a polite smile.

"Thanks for the update, Mr. Asakura," one of the men said quickly. "We'll take you to Dr. Tzymo right away."

"Thank you, gentlemen," Mr. Asakura said politely to the two as they turned and took them inside. Ri felt a heavy hand at the base of her neck again, making her work hard to keep from losing her balance again. The two men walked quickly ahead of her, but Mr. Asakura's cane clicked with the same pace.

The bright hallways inside the building were very busy, full of people and droids quickly coming and going. None of them stopped when they noticed her, too busy with the datapads in their hands and the conversations with each other. Ri thought that even if she screamed, no one would flinch.

The two men directed them into a room with all kinds of bottles and technology Ri had never seen before. Monitors and consoles were alight with various colors and displays. Before she realized it, the two men had left, leaving her with Mr. Asakura, but she couldn't see anyone else in the room until...

"Your cane will not work here, Kun," came an annoyed voice from behind a wall of equipment. With a tightened grip on the back of her neck, Mr. Asakura led her around the corner to a thin, pale, spiky blond-haired man standing over a counter covered in tubes, glasses, and vials. The man was dressed in a long white coat, reminding her of the scientists her dad had working for him in the Palace.

"I have no reason to hide, Dr. Tzymo," Kun answered kindly, making the doctor turn. "I come to you as a businessman, nothing more." Dr. Tzymo's eyes narrowed as he looked down at Ri then back up at Kun.

"How brash. Do you make it a habit of soliciting the highest bidder on your contracts?"

Kun looked hurt by the doctor's words, though Ri was sure he wasn't really. "I completed my contract with Mr. Tarthos. It was his insufficient security that allowed this young lady to escape him without any intervention on my part. Now, you had an interest in her, as well, am I correct?"

Dr. Tzymo again looked her up and down with a cold, unfeeling gaze that made Ri shiver. But apparently uninterested, he shook his head slightly and returned to his work. "I have no need of her."

"Of course you do," Kun said with a laugh. "You do because Mr. Tarthos' interest in her was only to control your alliance with the exiled king, a friend of the Natiyrs. If you refuse my offer, my only option will be to return to Tarthos Industries with an advantage you would be sorely remiss to ignore."

Dr. Tzymo didn't look back. "I have other means of assuring that my requests are carried out."

There was a long silence between the two men, and Ri felt Kun's hand tighten just a little on her shoulder. She was starting to worry that something bad was going to happen. Dr. Tzymo simply worked with his tools on something she couldn't see, returning to his work like they were no longer there.

"Very well, then," Kun said shortly as he grasped Ri's neck again. "Pardon my assumptions." Kun directed her back towards the door, but stopped when the doctor's foot tapped.

"If you try to force something like this on me again, Kun," Dr. Tzymo said darkly as he turned to them, "you will find yourself with more...difficulties than even you can handle."

Once again surprising her, Kun turned and smiled at Dr. Tzymo. "Of course. As I said, I came to you simply as a businessman, propositioning a business transaction."

"And when I want your business, I will request it." Dr. Tzymo's eyes narrowed even more, looking more angry by the minute.

Still smiling, Kun nodded. "Understood. I apologize for interrupting your research, Dr. Tzymo. We will see ourselves out." With that, Kun led Ri back out into the busy hallway, his smile fading into a dark gaze as they walked.


Even with Elena's constant protest, Mand continued on, having left the medical center almost an hour ago. Her vision was nearly restored, leaving only a slight blurriness in extreme distances. She could handle that.

"We should rethink this, Mand; we can't just walk into Tarthos Industries without much help, or a plan, for that matter. We don't know what they think happened to you, or what they've decided to do if they recapture you."

Mand glanced back at Elena, meeting her concern with a determined expression. Her silence only furthered Elena's frustration, and though Mand felt guilty for angering her friend, she knew she had to do this. She had no other choice. For the past few months, she had been preparing herself for some kind of test, though she hadn't been sure what it would involve. Now faced with saving her husband from the same fate he and her friends had rescued her from five years ago, her decision was absolute.

As dawn managed to break through the jagged Corsucant skyline, Mand continued walking, trekking across a vacant stretch of skybridge that connected several highrises associated with Tarthos Industries. She could feel the same dark, suffocating presence, almost identical to if not stronger than that of Tzan's, in the center tower, though she tried not to focus her eyes on it and give it away to Koril and Elena behind her. They couldn't come, she had also decided, though she knew Elena wasn't about to let her go alone. But Elena's patience was already worn; she stopped and grabbed Mand by the arm, turning her back.

"Why won't you listen to me!"

Though she knew her friend's concern was well-founded, Mand didn't think she could explain in a way Elena could understand why she felt they couldn't accompany her. She sighed, regretfully resigning to her last resort as she glanced back and forth between them.

"I need you to promise me something," Mand said quietly.

Calming at least somewhat, Elena dropped her hand, though her eyes remained intense. "What is it?"

"Promise me, please," Mand pleaded again. She could already tell Elena wasn't going to fold.

Elena's expression softened slightly, but she remained adamant. "Tell me what it is, first."

Mand swallowed, only to find her throat was completely dry, though whether from the cold night air that still lingered or her own apprehension, she wasn't sure. She continued, looking exclusively at Elena.

"I need you to promise me that whatever happens to me in there...you won't come after me."

Expectedly, Elena looked betrayed, angered and hurt as Mand hadn't seen for years. "How can you ask me to do that! No, I already told you, you're not going in there alone!"

"Please," was all Mand could think to say. She half felt that she was pleading for their safety, as well, but that wasn't her original intent. Elena continued to shake her head angrily.

"No! I'm not going to let you. Do you think you still have to prove yourself to us, prove that you're worthy of your recent fortunes, that you're redeemable from what you had been? This is not your fault, Mand; you don't have to sacrifice yourself like this. We're your friends, we won't abandon you."

Mand shifted her gaze to Koril, briefly wondering if she could change Elena's mind through him. Elena caught on immediately, her voice becoming darker.

"Don't you dare."

Mand looked back at her, though she said nothing else. She locked her determined gaze with Elena's, resolute in her decision. Elena only protested further, stubborn as she had always been.

"I've lost enough friends. If there's anything, anything I can do to help them and keep from losing another...I'm going to do it. You are not going without us, and that's final."

Mand lowered her head, releasing a long breath as she began drawing the Force up into her, saddened that she had to resort to this. She needed to stop her somehow, scramble her senses, keep her from following... After a few moments, she looked back up at Elena, trying to keep the regret out of her expression.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. As she drew on the last wisp of the Force she could muster, she released her powerful Force Shockwave on the two.

Before they could react, the blast knocked both Koril and Elena down, and briefly weakened by the release, Mand fell to the ground, too. Breathing hard from the sudden exertion, she immediately began masking her presence in the Force, as the Shockwave would be sure to get Morden Tarthos' attention nearby. She shakily got back on her feet and stepped over to Elena and Koril, checking them.

Both were still sprawled on their backs, but Koril was moving and groaning, though not fully alert. Elena, however, was completely unconscious, having suffered the brunt of the blast. Mand bent down to check her pulse, but Koril moved more, beginning to sit up. Before he could recover enough, Mand hid herself completely, making herself invisible to his confused mind as she walked away, heading towards the ominous Tarthos Industries center.


"Forgive me, your Highness, but where are we going again?"

"I told you, Kaydee, you no longer have to address me like that."

Veon suppressed a sigh as he navigated his small transport Light of Dalon through the Coruscant skies, approaching a strange conglomeration of buildings that produced one main tower in the center. The coordinates of Tarthos Industries had been given to him by Lutin Callegari, his late wife Peri's younger brother who knew the city-planet well. Koril had contacted him a few hours ago that Ri was being held by the Tarthos, and Veon immediately set out from the Rys'tihn's apartment, where he had been staying. He was beginning to regret his decision to bring the droid with him.

"Forgive me, Sire, but it is simply against my programming. Even former monarchs are entitled to formal address after their reigns end or are ended."

Ignoring her, Veon noticed that another ship was following him closely. He hadn't looked at the sensor readout for several minutes; how long had it been following him?

"Fine," he answered shortly, though he really hadn't heard most of her rebuttal. "Sit and buckle in quickly, Kaydee. I doubt Koril would take kindly to me getting you roughed up."

"Most certainly not, Sire," she answered humorlessly as she sat in a seat in the rear of the cabin. Veon waited to hear the click of her restraint, then quickly rolled the craft left, ducking between a pair of towers. The gap was barely wide enough for his narrow transport, but just before the sky disappeared on either side of the viewport, he caught a glimpse of his trail -- and to his surprise, it looked very familiar.

The comm beeped and a familiar voice he hadn't heard in a long time spoke.

"It's okay, Veon," said his brother Veron over the comm, "it's me."

Veon pulled the craft to a halt, hovering in between the two buildings. A long silence hung between them, and thankfully Kaydee didn't interrupt.

After a few more moments, Veon finally found his voice. "Why were you following me?" There'd be time to reconcile Veron's unwillingness to help his exiled brother later.

"I'm coming with you."

"No, Veron, it's too d--"

"After all you've been through, you still can't admit that even you need help sometimes?"

Veon closed his eyes, realizing that his brother was right. He didn't even have a plan, other than negotiating an exchange. In his blind determination to save his daughter, he hadn't even weighed the true dangerousness of what he was about to do.

"I have a few extra...hands with me," Veron continued, "and they know more than you and I about this Tarthos. We all do this together, save our Princess."

Veon nodded and pulled the Light of Dalon into a steep climb up and back out into the open sky, navigating over to Veron's matching transport.

"Together," he said over the comm, and the two ships continued on their journey.

"Pardon me once more, Sire," came Kaydee's calm but insistent voice from the back, "but where are we going?"

"To rescue Ri."

"Yes, I knew that, Sire, but where specifically are we going?"

Veon looked back at the droid, curious about her interest. "Tarthos Industries."

Kaydee seemed to jump slightly, as if gasping. Veon had never seen her react that way before.

"Kaydee?"

"Forgive me, Sire, but if at all possible, may I remain in the ship when we land?"

Though he originally had no intention of taking the droid with him, her plea made him that much more curious. "Why?"

"Oh, I have heard terrible stories of what the Tarthos do to intruders, Sire. I would advise you not to go, as well."

"Thanks," Veon said darkly as he turned back to the controls, "but I'll take my chances. I owe that much to Ri."

"But she is no longer being held there, Master Veon."

Instantly, Veon turned back to Kaydee. "What? Where is she?"

"In the custody of a bounty hunter by the name of Kun Asakura, I believe."

"...how do you know?"

"When I was rebuilt over a month ago, I was refitted with an encrypted comm unit, much like the one I had before, only I can now hear the communications between all the Ghost Heirs. It was between their chatter and the events that were being relayed to you, Sire, that I realized what had happened. A rescue attempt for Princess Ri has already been made, but it was unsuccessful. She was already gone, taken by the bounty hunter Asakura, who had kidnapped her in the first place."

Veon stared at the droid momentarily, wondering how she had pieced all that together from radio chatter, but decided to ask later. "So how do we find this hunter?"

Before Kaydee could answer, Veron's voice on the comm interrupted. "Land at that spaceport, Veon. We're going in from the Underlevels."

Veon returned to the controls and guided his vessel to a vacant spot beside Veron's in the quiet but shady looking spaceport, landing quickly and efficiently. He gave a brief wave to Kaydee as he stepped out the back hatch and closed it. Veron met him, as did two men Veon hadn't met before, though he thought they looked vaguely familiar.

"Keor," Veron introduced one of the men, "and Finn. Come on, we need to hurry. The hunter who has Ri is returning to the main complex." Veon nodded curtly to the two men, and the four set off into Coruscant's lower levels.

The darkness and the filth was nothing new to Veon, and the two men leading him and his brother seemed to be just as comfortable in the narrow corridors lined with trash, creatures, and homeless beings; Veron watched the alleys in every direction. As they walked through a seemingly endless maze, he began to realize why they looked familiar - they were related to the Royal Families somehow. But Royals he hadn't met before? Surely they weren't--

"There, up ahead," Finn pointed as he consulted a datapad and drew a blaster. Veron handed Veon a compact blaster pistol and held another in his free hand, following Keor and Finn closely as they stepped inside the door. Despite their location deep within the city-planet's Underlevels, the familiar hum of an airspeeder hovered over them, then softened as it powered down. Immediately, both Keor and Finn broke into a dead sprint straight ahead, leaving Veron and Veon confused as they struggled to catch up.

In mere seconds, the four raced up a staircase at the end of the hallway that deposited them into a surprisingly open hangar nestled within the lower levels. Only one speeder was sitting at the other end, surrounded by half a dozen armed guards as a well-dressed man stepped out of it. Veon's heart stopped briefly as he watched the man pull a young girl out of the speeder...Ri...

Before the four had even moved, the armed guards rounded to face them and began firing a rapid succession of bolts. Keor and Finn immediately returned fire as they shielded Veron and Veon, splitting up to duck behind columns on either side. Over the noise of the firefight, Veon could hear Ri's cry, but everything quickly quieted with another shout from the other end of the hangar.

"I said hold your fire!!"

As he regained his footing behind the column, Veon looked across the way to see Veron tending to Keor who was slumped on the floor. Finn kept a firm grip on Veon's arm, keeping him from leaning much further around the column.

"Veon Banarecc?" called the same man that ordered the ceasefire, though he had calmed considerably and even sounded slightly amused. Was that the hunter, Kun Asakura? "I have to say, you and your daughter are very much alike."

"Let her go," Veon ordered as loudly as he could. He watched Veron support Keor as he sat up, gripping a badly wounded shoulder as they both looked over to Veon. Finn kept his grip on Veon as he edged just beyond the column to look down the hangar.

"Step this way, unarmed, and we'll talk," the man said coolly. Finn stepped back and shook his head at Veon, as did Veron, but Veon handed his blaster to Finn as he shook free of his grip despite their protests.

The few steps Veon took out from behind the column with his empty hands held out to his side were the longest and tensest moments, his heart pounding in his chest, preventing him from hearing much else. In front of him were the same six armed guards he had seen earlier, and the well-dressed man stood in the middle of them, holding Ri by the arm.

"You taught her well," Kun said with a strange grin. "Her ability to evade her pursuers surpasses even yours, and considering what you have faced in the recent past, that is quite an accomplishment."

Veon felt his scarred arm throb with the memory of his encounter with a dangerous mercenary a few weeks ago. With the intervention of the mysterious Jack Tzymo, his attacker had been stopped, requiring Veon to provide Tzymo with a connection to Mand Natiyr.

"Let her go," Veon said as strongly as he could, returning his attention to Kun. The hunter kept his grip on Ri's arm, but his calculating gaze seemed strangely calm, forcing Veon even further on edge.

"If you share with me one thing," he said, seeming to enjoy Veon's discomfort. "Tell me what Dr. Tzymo's interest is in you."

Veon hesitated, wondering why this odd hunter would want to know that. But if he was going to release Ri... "Information."

Kun stifled a laugh. "I could have surmised that myself without your help. Details," he demanded with a slight edge.

Again, Veon hesitated, glancing down at Ri. The young girl was quiet and calm, but she was looking up at him expectantly, swaying his resolve with her dark brown eyes, just like her mother's. "He wanted access to...Mand Natiyr."

The hunter's eyes narrowed as his expression darkened suddenly. With a quick nod to his guards beside him, he began backing up, tugging Ri along with him. The six guards closed the remaining gap, training their blasters on Veon as he took a step forward.

"No, wait! Take me instead, let her go!"

Before Kun had turned around, his guards in front of Veon shifted their focus to either side as two women and five men, all armed, swarmed around them, with Veron, Finn, and the wounded Keor among them. Finn swept up behind Veon and handed a blaster back to him, and Veon couldn't help but notice that the others looked very familiar, as well. One young man even looked like--

"Hold your fire," the hunter barked again. With Ri still in his grasp, he stepped back over to the hostile crowd, looking over each of the new arrivals with a curious, fearless expression. He finally stopped in front of Veon, narrowing his eyes as he leveled an open palm to him.

"Make me an offer, and there won't be any unnecessary loss."

Veon's breath froze in his chest. He had no assets, no credits left to his name after he had been exiled. He couldn't afford any kind of ransom--

"50 million," said a middle-aged man who reminded Veon of his former Security Advisor, Merli'il Rys'tihn. The hunter seemed equally as surprised, but satisfied, he nodded and released Ri, stepping away with his guards. Veon immediately scooped Ri into his arms, turning his back to the hunter to shield her as he hugged her tightly, but Veron, Finn, Keor and the others tightly guarded them, watching the Kun leave with his guards.

"You will be contacted shortly with my preferred method of transfer," he called back as he continued toward the hangar's exit. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Veon warily watched the hunter and his guards leave, and even after they had been gone for several long moments, he still stood in shock, amazed at what had just happened. He pulled Ri back, looking her over to check for any injuries, but he couldn't even find a scratch.

"I'm okay, daddy," Ri said in a small voice, making Veon melt. He hugged her tightly again as the others returned to him. Getting another glimpse at the familiar faces, he finally realized who was standing before him.

"Veolar," Veon said quietly, recognizing his brother, his family's Master Ghost Heir, though they had never met. The young man nodded, and as Veon looked around to the others, they all nodded, too, acknowledging their identities, as well - a Rys'tihn, an Ot'rio, a Trislena, Finn Gedall, and Keor Ordeel.

"Veron, take Keor and Ri to the Celestia," the Trislena woman said, and Veron nodded obediently, gently taking Ri from Veon. The elder woman turned to Veon, putting a hand on his shoulder to ease his distress as Veron left with Ri.

"Come," she said quietly, "quickly. Our aid is needed elsewhere."

Watching Veron and Keor as they left the hangar with Ri, Veon gripped his blaster and followed the five Ghost Heirs deeper into the Tarthos Industries complex.


As Mand stepped into a large, open hall, the only unguarded entrance into the central tower, the silence between her careful footsteps was almost deafening. Though she was still shaking from the Shockwave she had just unleashed on her two best friends, she was able to keep her boots from clicking and echoing about the room. The same suffocating darkness swirled around her, but the entire building seemed to be emitting it. Was her father that strong, or did he have more dark servants on hand?

The only light that illuminated the hall came from an oval transparisteel dome at the top of the room, and the morning's sunrise blanketed the room in a warm yellow-orange. She saw nothing but nondescript doors scattered about the vast walls, but except for her, the huge area was completely vacant, void of anything that she could see. Though she initially had been sure she was alone, she suddenly felt a pair of presences approaching...

"Mrs. Natiyr!" a female voice broke through the darkness. Already holding its hilt, Mand immediately ignited her orange-bladed lightsaber and took a defensive stance as she faced the two. As they stepped further into the light, Mand watched a dark-headed man and a blond woman approach, and in her arms, the woman cradled an infant...a red-haired infant.

Mand felt her breath being taken from her with the realization that the baby was her Cordira, calm and unharmed. After the initial relief wore off, she tightened her grip on her saber as she looked at the two. The man looked pale as if in pain as he stood, and the woman looked alert but understanding...and somewhat familiar.

"Mrs. Natiyr, it's okay, we're friends," the woman said, recognizing Mand's expression. "We're friends of the Banareccs and the Rys'tihns. We rescued Cordira from your father's men."

Still on edge, Mand kept her distance, and again, the woman read her face. Keeping the infant tight against her with one arm, the woman slowly brought up a free hand to her neck and pulled a small pendant from beneath her shirt.

"Do you recognize this?" she asked as she held it for Mand to see.

Of course she recognized it. It was the Rys'tihn Crest; both Koril and Elena were each wearing one just moments ago, and she had just left them. There was no one around, and these two couldn't have stolen one and gotten back in the building before her...

Mand finally understood why the woman looked so familiar - she had to be related to Koril somehow. After a few more tense moments, Mand lowered and powered down her saber, slowly stepping closer to the two to see Cordira.

From the woman's arms, Cordira looked up at Mand with her ash grey eyes, smiling and extending her arms toward her. With pained joy, Mand brought her own hand up to the infant, and the instant Cordira's tiny palm met hers, Mand felt a sudden rush of Force energy flow into her, empowering her with incredible strength she hadn't felt before. Even the power of the Dark Side felt substantially insufficient, though it didn't make sense to her. How could such a tiny little girl channel such power? Deciding not to question it further, Mand kissed Cordira lightly on the forehead and stepped back, looking up at the two.

"I can't take her now," she said quietly. "Take her far away from here, somewhere she'll be safe."

The woman nodded sympathetically, and with the injured man, the two swiftly made their way back into the darkness and disappeared, leaving Mand alone to face the heavy, smothering shadow she felt approaching.

Refusing to allow fear to cripple her renewed strength, Mand turned to face the center of the chamber, expecting to see a dozen dark soldiers standing beside her father. To her surprise, there was only Morden Tarthos and one other man silently walking towards her from the opposite side of the room. They each stepped into the sun's golden glow, and Mand felt her heart stop as she saw who the second man was. He had no restraints; he willingly walked alongside her treacherous, murderous father. Rech...

"If she were still alive," Morden began with an air of provocation, "would she simply stand there before you, or would she retaliate for what was done to her?"

Mand froze, hardly able to think. She was very much alive; Morden had to know that. But after Rech had severed his connection to her, and with her subsequent effort to mask her presence in the Force, Rech could easily be convinced that what he was seeing was a vision or projection. So Morden was trying to turn him, remove all traces of hope, force his anger to surface...

"You see, nothing more than a memory," Morden continued, "an image your mind won't release unless you force it to."

Rech's unstable mental state was apparent on his face as he struggled to even look at her, and she saw in his eyes his desperate attempt to sense her, believe she was alive. Mand held his gaze for an agonizing moment before she began speaking shakily.

"It's me, Rech...I'm right here."

But Morden's dark voice removed any faint glimmer of hope that had returned to Rech's eyes. "You have to let go, unchain yourself from the pain and problems she brought upon you. She did nothing but inhibit you; you must rid yourself of her!"

"Don't listen to him," Mand replied, sounding stronger as she continued. "Look at me, listen to my voice. I'm fine, I'm right here."

"She's used you! She did nothing but lie to you, bring you down. You didn't need her then, and you don't need the memories of her now."

Rech's face twisted with a mix of anger and pain as he stared at her, and Mand felt her own tension rising. She hadn't lied to him outright when she began training with Master Lithess without his knowledge, but she had deceived him near enough. "Since I met you, I've only ever made choices in Cordira's and your best interests. I never meant to hurt you, and I'm sorry that I did. But I'm here now. I love you, and I've come back for you, just like you came back for me."

"You are being tested," Morden responded darkly in response to Rech's softening expression. "Are you strong enough to see through the illusion and overcome that which is withholding your true potential?"

"Don't listen to him. I know exactly how it feels...to be under that suffocating, numbing haze. But it's not really you. Your mind is being suppressed. Even below his control, you are strong, you always have been. You're stronger than he is--"

"She is your failure, your weakness--"

"You're better than this--"

Mand hand no time to react. The bolt of Force Lightning that Rech released struck her square in the chest, knocking her backwards breathless to the floor. She cried out in pain from the bolt's energy as it radiated throughout her entire body, her mind racing as she processed what had just happened. Rech was going to realize the truth, and Morden...what was he going to do?

Lying on her side and breathing hard to suppress the pain, Mand stole a glance across the room to the door she had come in through. Just briefly, she saw two familiar silhouettes shift in the doorway, as Elena, apparently well recovered, unsuccessfully resisted Koril's grip and the two disappeared back outside the building. Hoping Morden hadn't seen her two friends, she returned her attention to a lone set of footsteps coming closer to her. She closed her eyes to concentrate, drawing up the Force with her renewed strength from Cordira just moments before. She had to do it now, while they were distracted, before Morden could inflict real damage...


"We need to help them! Let me go!!"

Elena's frustration with Koril was just barely surpassed by her anger with Mand, but it was swiftly catching up. She kept trying to wrench her shoulders free of his grip, but he continued tugging her away from the door. She wanted to scream, absolutely fed up with people trying to protect her from harm, as if she were far more vulnerable than any of them. Did they have such little faith in her and her skills? Exacerbated by her anger, her head was still pounding, making it difficult for her to focus her blurred vision.

Koril responded quietly but forcefully. "You said earlier, we can't just charge in, and others are on the way. I want to help just as--"

With his sudden mid-sentence drop off, Elena turned to face Koril to see him looking through a narrow window into the interior chamber where Rech, Mand, and Morden were. After a few moments of forcing her eyes to focus, Elena was finally able to see what had stopped Koril so abruptly. Rech had knelt to the floor where Mand had been lying just moments before, and he was intensely focused on the vacant ground. Mand was walking away from him towards her father, Morden, taking very slow, deliberate steps. Strangely enough, Morden, too, gave no indication of being aware that Mand was no longer stationary, but approaching him. What was going on?

Elena watched Rech, still kneeling, stretch out his hand to feel nothing but air, and she suddenly realized what was about to happen...

Quickly shedding her cumbersome robe and Koril's grip, Elena dashed over to the doorway and ran inside with her ignited saber raised, getting both Rech and Morden's attention, though she no longer saw Mand. Rech stumbled back up onto his feet, confused and focused on something behind her, but Morden's expression darkened, seemingly thinking he had been tricked.

"Surprised?" Elena directed at the older man challengingly. As his only response, Morden leveled his arm at her, extended his hand, and began producing blue-white sparks at his fingertips...

Before a full bolt had even formed in his palm, an orange saber blade erupted from Morden's chest, neutralizing his expression. Within seconds, the once powerful, dark man fell to the floor lifeless, leaving Mand standing just behind him, breathing heavily and holding her saber hilt at her side. Almost immediately, Elena felt the heavy, smothering daze lift, allowing her senses to function properly again. Rech brought a hand to his head, and though he still seemed confused, the dark look in his eyes had disappeared.

"How ironic," Mand said weakly, getting Elena's attention as she slowly stepped beside her deceased father. "A master...slain by his apprentice's weapon..." Without much care, she tossed the saber to the floor beside Morden's hand and began to walk away, but she had only taken a few steps before her knees began to buckle underneath her. Instantly forgetting her anger with her friend, Elena quickly rushed over to Mand, catching her and easing her to the floor as she sat with her and supported her upper body.

"Mand??" Elena asked as she frantically tried to coax a response out of her. Aside from labored breathing, Mand hardly moved, but as Elena lifted her friend's head up, Mand opened her eyes and nodded a little.

"I'm...okay," she assured Elena breathlessly, "...just exhausted." Elena nodded and made sure she had Mand in a comfortable position as she brushed Mand's hair from her face.

"It's over now," Elena said comfortingly. "It's over." She looked back over her shoulder to Morden, making sure he was dead. She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it all happen in front of her. If Morden was that powerful, how had Mand been able to fool both him and Rech at the same time? They had been focused on Mand until Elena stepped in, then they both were...distracted, and not just by her. Thinking back, she realized Morden and Rech were looking at something behind her. Curious what she had missed, she looked up over toward the door, her jaw dropping immediately.

Standing beside Koril was his sister, Deilia, as well as his uncle Cade, Veon, and four other people Elena had never seen before. Beside Veon stood a young man who easily could have been the former king in his younger years, and a woman at the end reminded Elena of Dalon's Governor Ariler Ot'rio...

Koril read Elena's expression, shrugging as he glanced beside him. "I told you the others were on their way." Elena opened her mouth to respond, but Deilia stepped up to them, kneeling to talk to Mand as Elena cradled her.

"Your daughter is safe," Deilia said with a small smile. "She's on her way to the Jedi Temple with Veron and Ri Banarecc."

"Thank you," Mand managed at a whisper, and Deilia smiled again as she stepped back, rejoining the others. Elena was about to address the Ghost Heirs when Rech approached her and Mand slowly, his face full of remorse.

A long, tense silence hung in the air as no one moved or spoke, until Mand weakly reached her hand out to Rech, asking for his. Elena watched Rech's expression as it fluctuated, but he remained motionless and wordless. After a few more moments, he turned and left, walking out the chamber's main door leading outside.

"No..." Mand breathed as she dropped her hand, looking pained. Elena, too, was upset at his apparent struggle with the Dark Side, but she did her best to console Mand.

"Let him go," she said quietly. "He'll come back." Mand closed her eyes and turned her head into Elena, and Elena hugged her friend more tightly.

As the six Ghost Heirs also turned to leave, Koril and Veon stepped up to Elena and Mand, both looking concerned. "We need to leave quickly, Tarthos Industries guards have been alerted." Elena nodded, and with their help she stood and pulled Mand's arm around her shoulders. To her surprise, Mand was able to stand, though somewhat shakily, and the two of them left the chamber with little aid.

Koril and Veon took up stride behind them, the Ghost Heirs in front. They walked along slowly, but Mand seemed to be regaining strength with every step. Elena carried less and less of her weight as they continued on out of the complex, and as she saw the Celestia approaching in the distance, the group stopped and awaited its arrival.

"Elena," Mand began quietly, staring at the ground between her feet, "...tell me how Master Noor died."

Elena looked at Mand, confused. Of all things to discuss at the moment, why that painful day? When Mand said nothing else, Elena hesitantly began to explain, recalling how Noor had prevented the Dark Jedi she was dueling from hitting her with Force Lightning...much like Mand had just done before slaying her father.

Mand nodded. "I knew I had to, though it wasn't my original plan." As the Celestia approached and the roar of its engines drowned out any other sound, Mand finally looked up at Elena with the smallest hint of a smile on her face as she conveyed the rest of her thoughts to Elena through the Force.

I had to, for the same reason Noor had to.

Elena was still confused. Why did everyone have to protect her? It was infuriating, insulting...

You're pregnant.

As the Celestia landed in front of them, the Ghost Heirs ushered both Mand and Elena inside urgently, directing them to a comfortable inner room. Veon and Cade helped ease Mand onto a small bed as Koril took his seat at the controls and Deilia made her way around the cabin, ensuring that all had a seat. With a quick nod from her, the Celestia groaned as its repulsors lifted it off the ground, and under Koril's direction, the luxurious yacht returned to the sky, speeding away from the Tarthos Industries center.

In their quiet, private room away from the others, Elena numbly sat beside Mand, staring at the wall. Now it all made sense, though why she hadn't realized it before, she didn't know. So much had happened so quickly, she sometimes hardly even had the time to think. And now that she did have the time, she was beginning to feel overwhelmed.

"I had to...protect...him..." Noor's dying words resounded in her mind as she relived the scene. He knew, and he had selflessly sacrificed himself to save her, save her child...

"Elena?" Mand said, bringing her out of the sad memory and back into the small room. As she turned to face Mand, she blinked and felt the warmth of tears rolling down her cheeks. She vainly wiped them away, but Mand smiled as she sat up and embraced her tightly.

"You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, right?" Mand asked as she sat back, holding Elena's hand. Stubbornly holding back more tears, Elena nodded, releasing a shaky breath.

"I know you're scared," Mand continued quietly, "and you know how scared I was." Again, Elena nodded, remembering traveling to Paneau after Mand had slipped out of a Corellian medical center undetected to evade reporters and even her friends after learning of her own pregnancy. Elena never would have thought that she, too, would be facing the same situation. A million things were running through her head: how was Koril going to take it, what kind of a mother would she be, how could she still work for the Order...

"But don't worry about anything right now," Mand soothed, squeezing her hand. "You've got something else to plan for." Mand gave her a small smile, and Elena nodded, closing her eyes to calm her racing mind. It was all too much, too quickly...

"Do you want to tell Koril, or can I?" Mand asked excitedly. Elena immediately looked at her and shook her head, forcing a slight smile.

"No, I'll tell him."

Disappointed but still smiling, Mand sighed lightly and laid back down on the bed to rest, leaving Elena to her thoughts. She stood and slowly walked about the room, stopping to stand in the doorway. As she looked towards the cockpit where Koril was still sitting, she set her jaw and made her decision, allowing one more bitter tear to fall down her cheek.