Opo Chano, a local Duros droid vendor in the second level of Citadel's trade centre was more than a little intimidated by the approach of three sentients and one droid to his shop. "What do you want?" He asked in a tone mixed with wariness and caution.

"I'm looking for someone to assist me with a project. I've been told you're the one to see about such things." Kaelan spoke, his face one of indifference that did nothing to ease the merchant's fears.

"What project is this?"

Kaelan took a quick look around before leaning closer, "It concerns Czerka, specifically Jana Lorso's personal assistance droid."

"B4-D4?" The Duros looked at his customer in confusion, "What do you want with him?"

"That's none of your concern," The veteran spoke sharply. "All you need to know is that I want the droid reprogrammed to do a task for me."

Chano gazed at the human for a several moments in silence, "And what assignment would this be?"

"I recall saying that it was none of your concern," Kaelan spoke with more than hint of malice highlighting his tone.

"Y…you did," The merchant spoke quickly, trying to placate the person he was quickly realizing was dangerous. "But I must know, in order to better meet your needs."

Kaelan looked at the Duros for a long moment in silence before slowly nodding, "Very well, I require the droid's services for accessing the corporation's mainframe."

"I...I can't do that." The Duros said, his voice quavering in fear of the group's reaction.

Kaelan's response was to harden his gaze at the merchant, "Why not?"

"I have a contract with Czerka, I'm in need of the money."

"Isn't every trader in need of money?" Atton said with a laugh.

"Perhaps," Chano said, more out of indulgence than confirmation. "But I do, in fact, need to keep my contract."

"For what purpose?"

The Duros switched his gaze back to the armoured human, "I….I need to repay a loan."

"Well I wasn't about to ask you to work for free Duros," The former General spoke with a small smirk. "I'll give you five hundred up front and another thousand once I have what I need. I trust that will be sufficient to cover your expenses?"

The merchant was left speechless for several seconds. One and a half thousand credits was far more than he had expected as a first offer and it left him sorely tempted to say that it was not, but he felt a strong urge to agree. "Yes, that will be fine."

"Good." With that Kaelan tossed five credit chips at the Duros, who eagerly caught them. "Get to work."

Three hours passed before Opo Chano announced that his work was complete. B4-D4, after being retrieved from Czerka headquarters, had undergone extensive modifications, most of which started with his central processor and control cluster, in order to remove the programming implemented by Czerka. Once his systems were free of the corporation's baseline commands, Chano proceeded to implement new instructions. Those instructions included the primary tasking of searching Czerka's database for anything relating to the Exchange. If such data was present, the secondary objective called for all of the corporation's activities to be downloaded.

Additionally, a new pattern was implemented into B4's behaviour core, giving the droid the ability to lie. Deceit was far from common in mechanical units and it stood to reason that no-one inside Czerka's holdout would be able to know about the protocol droid's turn in programming.

Now B4-D4 stood in front of Kaelan, being assessed by the exile prior to his task. "Outline the details of your mission."

The droid responded to the order, scouring through his control cluster for the uploaded assignment in a few microseconds. "Infiltrate main Czerka compound and gain access to the mainframe. Once there, I am to download any files relevant to the topics concerning an alliance between Czerka and the Exchange and the company's general activities for the past six months."

The outcast nodded in approval, "And your safety protocols?"

"In the event of unexpected complications, either resulting in suspicion or my capture, I am to initiate fail-safe program 001."

"Excellent B4-D4, you may proceed with your assignment."

As the mechanical moved to carry out its task, Kaelan turned to the assassin droid standing by his left side. "What do you think HK?"

"Risk Assessment: You have taken great pains to cover your tracks Master, you know more about droids than I would have thought. Still, I calculate only a seventy-eight percent probability of everything going according to plan." The droid paused to focus his photoreceptors on his Master, "Analysis: Protocol droid models are prone to such short-comings."

A small smile grazed Kaelan's features at the mechanical's accusatory tone, "True, and I would much rather send you to do this task, believe me. Unfortunately, closed systems can only be opened by those who are authorized, as I'm sure you know."

"Query: Would one still require authorization if no-one were around to ask for it?"

"No HK, they wouldn't," The exile spoke with a chuckle at the droid's rhetorical question, "But they would run the risk of becoming posted on the TSF's most wanted list. Even you, I think, would object to the idea of the entire Republic trying to capture or dismantle you."

The assassin droid was silent for a moment, his photoreceptors still focused on his Force Sensitive owner. "Observation: You don't know me very well, do you Master? An entire Republic's worth of meatbags hunting me? I would find that to be a most ironic turnabout. Besides Master, one death is a murder, but one trillion is a galactic record."

Kaelan could only shake his head and laugh, unable to hide his amusement at HK's almost philosophical sounding tone.

()()()

"I was under the impression that Jedi could handle long waits," Atton said as he watched Kaelan slowly pace the floor of the apartment they'd booked not long after B4-D4 had left for the main Czerka compound.

The apartment was only large enough to comfortably accommodate three people, leaving the four strong group feeling a little claustrophobic in some rooms. The living area was one such place, its size only large enough to include two beds, a couch, workstation, and a table with two chairs.

Kaelan, who had been slowly pacing a five meter span of floor, came an abrupt halt at his companion's words. "And I was under the impression that smuggler's knew when to keep quiet!" The exile took a deep breath to steady himself before he spoke again, "Sorry Atton."

The pilot didn't really register his friend's apology, however, he only regarded him with a surprised expression. "How did you know I was a smuggler?"

Kaelan only shrugged in response, "On Peragus you told me you were imprisoned for a 'security violation.' How many security protocols would a small facility like that have? And how many of them warrant a severe penalty like imprisonment for an infraction when every worker is needed? Only important protocols, I would think. Since I knew from the security logs I downloaded that the security chief had been stamping down on miners in possession of blasters, it seemed to fit."

"Huh," Was all Atton said at first, making a mental note to be more careful around his clearly very observant companion. "Well, you're right, I did smuggle weapons onto the station for miners. But it was more of a side job," Atton quickly continued, briefly surprised at his own sudden concern of how someone else viewed his actions. "I took a job for being a freighter pilot for shuttling Peragian fuel here. When I found out that the miners wanted to get their hands on some firepower, I jumped at the chance to earn some extra credits."

"Atton, relax," Kaelan spoke in a slightly amused one, "I don't care about that."

"You…don't?" The former convict replied with confusion.

"No, I don't. In fact," The Force Sensitive said as he looked at his friend, "I'm wondering who your supplier was."

"I was able to go into business with a Duros who operates here on the station actually, Samhan Dobo."

"Let's pay him a visit," Kaelan said as he headed for the door."

"Now?"

"Yeah, now. Unless, of course, you like watching me pacing around."

Having been silent during the entire exchange, HK chose that moment to speak. "Statement: Master, your incessant movement is even beginning to drive my tracking sensors crazy."

"I'm not sure if that's your way of inviting yourself along," Kaelan said with a glance to HK, "But you may as well come too." The outcast paused for a moment after opening the door to the apartment, his gaze resting on his still sitting mentor. "Kreia, are you coming as well?"

"I have better things to do with my time than gallivant around Citadel to appease your restless nature."

"A simple 'no' would suffice," Atton whispered to Kaelan as the two left the room, leaving a small smile to stretch across the Force Sensitive's face.

Tracking down Samhan Dobo proved to be easier than Kaelan would have thought, particularly since the alien had set up shop directly in the trade centre of Citadel Station. The green-skinned Duros stood in front of a lattice work of storage racks, making the back of his shop almost look like a warehouse. It was certainly large enough, with his shop being twice as large the others.

"So, this was your supplier?' Kaelan asked as they stood only a few metres away from the merchant in question.

"Yeah, among others. Samhan was the one I always turned to for weaponry though, he's got an armoury filled with enough outlawed weapons to supply an army."

"Good," The outcast spoke with a smile Atton was beginning to find a little eerie.

"May I ask what you're planning to do?"

"If we're going to take the fight to the Sith, and deal with the bounty hunters, then we'll need all the firepower we can muster."

"Commentary: The more diverse the weaponry, the more creative the kill."

"Right," Atton drawled as he glanced between the assassin droid and Kaelan. "And I'm guessing you don't want to buy any of this."

Kaelan merely looked at his companion for a few moments. "Would you?"

Without waiting for further comment, the veteran moved toward the Duros vendor, who eagerly greeted him at his approach. "Welcome sentient, you have made a wise choice in selecting my shop. I can offer a wide variety of items. Tell me, what do you seek?"

"Disruptors," Kaelan stated simply.

"Well, I'm afraid I do not have such weapons for sale. They are illegal in the Republic after all."

"Are you sure? I was told you were the one to come to for such things."

The Duros fixed his red eyes on Kaelan briefly. "People whisper a great many things, that does not make it true."

"Perhaps not, but those I spoke with were adamant."

A longer silence ensured this time, with the green-skinned trader studying the exile for several long moments. "Why would this be of interest to you?"

Kaelan leaned in and said in a voice scarcely above a whisper, "I've heard you're part of a smuggling operation here on the station, its something I'd like to get involved in."

Samhan mulled the offer over for a few seconds. "Well, I suppose I could use an extra hand."

"I'm listening."

"I'm nearly ready to send off my next shipment, but there are a few," The Duros paused, searching for the right words, "Unique items within the station that I have not yet acquired. If you can get them for me, it'd be very much appreciated."

Kaelan raised a brow at that, "If I am going to do this, I would require much more than your appreciation as compensation."

Samhan only waved the demand away, "You will be richly rewarded as well, of course."

"In that case, what exactly do you need?"

Kaelan left the shop a few minutes later, a new datapad stored within his belt pocket. He met up with Atton outside the trade centre, who had wisely chosen not to follow Kaelan and HK.

"I don't get it," Atton said as the group moved out of the trade centre. "How does working for a black market operator get you access to his merchandise free of charge?"

"It doesn't Atton, this is only the first step."

A sigh escaped the smuggler's lips, "Great, there's more involved." He paused as they moved through a small crowd gathering near one of the kiosks. "So what has Samhan so interested that he's willing to recruit complete strangers?"

The outcast answered by throwing his datapad back to Atton. "Never a dull moment in the smuggler's lifestyle," The pilot murmured to himself after reading the listed items. "You do realize," He said as he looked to his left to catch Kaelan's attention, "That Samhan has probably hired a few dozen before you to do this exact same thing."

"No doubt."

"And the reason he's still looking for them is because they failed."

"Of course."

"Which means they're dead."

"Right."

Atton let out an exasperated sigh, "This isn't dissuading you in the least, is it?"

Kaelan smiled as he glanced at his friend, "No."

"Great, so what's the plan?"

"Simple," The veteran spoke as he stopped outside the module's shuttle platform and faced his two companions, "We split up and get this done faster. Atton, you'll be going for the energy matrix schematic in the Exchange compound. Well," he amended with a cruel smile, "What's left of it."

"HK, your goal will be the salvage droid parts in Czerka's private storage facility. I want you to pay close attention to everything inside; it could give us a clue as to what they've been up to."

"Statement: If there's anything important to find, I will discover it Master."

The exile nodded to the droid, "Good. I'll be going for the prototype shield unit in the Ithorian controlled docks. We'll rendezvous back at the apartment when we're done."

Kaelan picked his way through module 130, shifting his way through the mass of lifeforms meandering around the dock. A curse sprang from the veteran's throat at the situation he had found himself in, wishing- not for the first time- that there were more shuttles available to thin the crowd to a more tolerable number. It took nearly twice as long as it should have for the outcast to finally make it to the Ithorian landing bays. He approached the entrance, only to be intercepted by a dock supervisor. "Greetings sentient, how may I help you?"

In answer, the exile drew on the Force, using it to form a barrier around the decision making part of the alien's brain. "You will open the door and forget you ever saw me."

Repeating the instructions word for word, albeit with a different pronoun, the Ithorian did as commanded, allowing the landing bay's outer airlock to slide apart.

Stepping inside and approaching a terminal in-between the inner and outer airlocks, Kaelan started the entry cycle. The outer airlock started to close, with the inner door opening immediately after the other entry way was sealed. It was a safety measure incorporated into every docking bay galaxy wide, a feature designed to keep the rest of the station safe in the event of a hull breach in the port itself.

With no shuttle present on the landing pad, there was only a minimal amount of activity in the bay, activity Kaelan was able to completely avoid as he started his search for the prototype shield unit. Looking through stacks of ready-to-ship containers found the former General staring at swarms of engineering supplies and collections of intergalactic flora and fauna. None of them held what the veteran was looking for, however, so he extended his search to the storage hold.

After using the Force an Ithorian who took an objection to his presence, Kaelan found what he had been searching for. When pressed for information, the alien herder revealed that the arm mounted protective device was designed to shield the user from hazardous environment conditions. Apparently, the landscape of Telos outside the designated 'restoration zones' was completely inhospitable. This meant that the shield network could only be expanded when orbital craft dropped off a new generator, even droids could not stand the conditions for long.

Unfortunately such a process was incredibly time consuming, making it highly impractical in a project where timing was crucial. The shield was designed to assist in that regard. With Ithorian workers safe from the lethal conditions outside restoration zones, they would be able to setup new shield generators far faster than they used to.

Making a mental note to copy the design as soon as he could, Kaelan pocketed the shield and headed out of the Ithorian docking bay. He didn't take more than ten steps, however, before he abruptly came to a halt. It only took a few moments for him to ascertain the reason for his sudden feeling of uneasiness, there was no longer any activity in the hangar.

Such a fact struck the outcast as more than a little strange, especially considering it was standard procedure for there to at least be a skeleton crew present in the bay at all times. It was a protocol implemented to ensure that inactive landing pads could still be utilized for emergency purposes.

It was this knowledge that made the former General survey his surroundings more closely, both through conventional means and through the Force. With his extended perceptions, Kaelan could feel as though something was just outside his current range of awareness. It instantly set him on edge, his hands immediately falling to his holstered Vericon disruptors, waiting for whatever, or whoever, was nearby.

He got his answer when an armoured humanoid suddenly appeared near the inner airlock, dual blaster pistols of his own clutched in his hands. Kaelan had quickly withdrawn his own weapons the moments the cloaked individual revealed himself, leaving them in a bit of a standoff.

At least, that's what Kaelan thought it was.

"Impressive reflexes," The armoured human spoke with a tilt of his head, his voice sounding distorted through the respirator attached to his black helmet, "Though I suppose I should expect nothing less from a Jedi. I must commend you on standing your ground when you are clearly outnumbered."

Before Kaelan could remark that they looked to be in a standoff from his position, two more armoured forms appeared to his left and right; each of them garbed in the same full-body black armour as the one directly to his front. Glancing briefly to his left and right, Kaelan found himself facing another human male and a female, whose displayed lekku made it clear she was a Twi'lek.

The appearance of the two newcomers caught the veteran by surprise. An expression that, while brief in appearance, did not go unnoticed by the human in the centre. "Surprised? I didn't think it possible to catch a Jedi so unaware, maybe this won't be as much of a challenge as I expected."

"What do you want?" Kaelan growled, the taunting making his anger flare as he thought about his weakened Force Sensitivity.

The question was completely rhetorical, but it gave him the scant seconds needed to search for a tactical advantage. The sight of the human mercenary to his left taking a couple of steps closer, gave him exactly what he needed..

"Haven't figured it out yet? My my, aren't we the slow one?" He let out a brief chuckle at his own taunt, the distortion from his helmet making him seem more machine than flesh and blood. "What I want, is you, Jedi. You're worth quite a bit in a certain exclusive market. There's more to be had if you're alive though, so drop your weapons and come with us."

"I'm afraid I can't accommodate your request."

The group's chosen leader only nodded, "I didn't expect you to."

Red bolts erupted from the man's blasters only a split second later, each of them lancing toward Kaelan. At least, they would've if Kaelan's sharpened instincts had not already set him in motion before the armoured human finished speaking his sentence. The exile sprinted for the human to his left, a quick burst discharging from both his disruptors before he holstered them and withdrew his vibroblade. His target was able to avoid the disruptor bolts with a simple set of side-steps and rolls, something Kaelan had expected. The outcast, however, had anticipated that his opponent would be too busy recovering from such manoeuvres to notice his charge, not that he would have already drawn a melee weapon of his own.

The action proved to be life-saving for the mercenary, as the veteran's swiftly delivered flurries were intercepted with a defence brought up at the last second. The exile continued to press his assault, though, showing no restraint as he utilized overhead swings, side attacks, and stabs. Several times, his opponent attempted to take the offensive role, but each time Kaelan would either redirect his opponent's strike or simply counter with one of his own.

The human using his blasters had chosen to cease firing the moment Kaelan engaged his ally, settling for switching to a double-bladed weapon as he charged forward to aid his comrade. Kaelan had wanted to put a quick end to the confrontation, hoping to dispatch the armoured adversary before the others would join the engagement. The unexpected skill of his opponent spoke of a certain degree of training. While it was insufficient to go on the offensive, the training proved adequate enough to hold Kaelan at bay.

It wasn't long before the outcast was surrounded by all three aggressors. Rather than be met with the more sloppy offensive he expected from three bounty hunters attempting a coordinated assault, however, he found himself on the defensive as the armed group began attacking with ferocious sequences, sequences that compensated for the weak points in the stances of their comrades.

Every time the double-bladed weapon wielding mercenary started his set of flurries, it was to cover his single-bladed companion as he disengaged from the attack. Such a tactic kept the former General from taking an offensive approach to the engagement.

At least, the assault by the two humans did, the females Twi'lek on the other hand, was a couple of seconds slow in engaging Kaelan once the group leader disengaged. It was an error few could pick up on and he was quite certain none of them realized the small window of opportunity he was presented with every time the armoured aggressors cycled through their attack pattern.

Serving in the Mandalorian Wars and exploring the Outer Rim had taught Kaelan the importance of patience and it was that, more than anything else, that allowed the veteran to hold out for four more attack runs until his opponents made their first mistake.

Just before breaking off from the attack, the bounty hunter group leader made the mistake of bringing the left blade of his weapon in at a higher angle than normal. Seeing his chance, Kaelan quickly slashed his vibroblade along his enemy's exposed flank, his weapon cutting through enough of the protective attire to cut a wide incision into the flesh beneath.

Seeing the group leader crumple to the deck with a scream, the remaining human launched another attack. His panicked movements were quickly countered with two slashes to the chest, with an added stab through the stomach once Kaelan spun in a hundred eighty degree arc, putting him in a line of sight trajectory with the last remaining bounty hunter.

The entire attack had taken advantage of the female Twi'lek's lull between strikes, Kaelan quickly dispatching both the targets before she could get another attack in. Rather than stay and fight as Kaelan expected the Twi'lek female to, however, she ran; clearly realizing what a bad position she was left in. The exile's disbelief only lasted for a second before he withdrew his left disruptor. He was just a split second away from pulling the trigger when she re-engaged her stealth field and disappeared from view. Bolts discharging in her last known location hit nothing but the far wall, making a growl erupt from the Force Sensitive's throat before he holstered his weapons and moved over to the group leader's still squirming form.

"Quite a turnabout don't you think?" The menacing spoken query posed after Kaelan deliver a sharp kick to the bounty hunter's injured side.

"D….Do you….really….think you've w…won. We are but….the first…wave…of hunters….you will face."

Something about the mercenary's tone made the exile think the man was referring to more than the other bounty hunters in the galaxy. "Who are you?"

A hidden smile graced the leader's lips, "We are that….which lies….in s-shadow."

The expression of satisfaction only lasted for a handful of seconds before his body went limp, his now lifeless eyes fixated on the veteran. The lack of answers and last issued torment from the hunter increased Kaelan's frustration to the point where he withdrew his right disruptor and put two bolts into the man's corpse.

Holstering his Vericon manufactured weaponry, Kaelan exited the docking bay and headed for the apartment, part of him still feeling as though he weren't completely alone in the deserted landing pad.

A few hours had passed since Kaelan had told Atton and HK to split-up, now the reunited group were back in the same room they had occupied before departing. This time, however, Kaelan was sitting down in front of his bed, thinking about the newest complication in his life. The appearance of the three mercenaries in the docking bay struck him as more than what he had first accepted it as, the last words of the group leader kept echoing in his mind.

"Kaelan!"

Angry with the interruption to his musings, the exile shot a glare at Atton. "What!"

"Easy, it's not my fault you keep spacing out. I've been trying to ask you what our next move is, now that we have all the supplies Samhan asked us to retrieve."

Kaelan took a deep breath to steady himself, "Right. Well, I've been thinking that there are a lot of mercenaries on this station."

A dubious look from Atton showed that the smuggler didn't like where this was going at all. "Sure."

"So, I'll tell Samhan I've got all the things he wanted for his next shipment. He'll want me to come along as protection—,"

"How do you know that?" Before Kaelan could so much as react to the interruption, Atton continued. "Oh, right. Jedi senses."

"I can tell that he feels a strong sense of vulnerability when it comes to his black market operations," The outcast said with a look to Atton, deciding to voice his reasoning anyway. "HK and I will move to whatever docking bay he uses for his business. Atton, I'll contact you and tell you where it's located. I want you to hire mercenaries to raid Samhan's docking bay."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up. You want me to pay a group of armed killers to shoot at you?" Atton's disbelieving expression was enough to make a small grin stretch across the veteran's face. "That's…that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life! Did you get a hold of some spice when I wasn't looking?"

"Commentary: The Master wishes to test his blaster-accuracy ratio. It appears we do have something in common after all Master, for I too have been looking forward to a re-examination of my skills."

Kaelan nodded to the assassin droid, his small smile having grown into a wide grin at his mechanical companion's words. "See," He said as he turned to Atton.

The smuggler turned to Kreia who had silently been meditating during their entire conversation, "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you have got to see how foolish this is."

"An amusing choice of words," Kreia said without opening her eyes, "Coming from one such as yourself. The exile has made his decision," The old woman continued after a moment's pause, "While I may not entirely agree with the methodology; the potential gain would prove to be advantageous."

"You want my opinion." Atton said after staring at the one person he thought would share his view on the matter, "You're all insane."

"So will you do it or not?"

Turning to face Kaelan, Atton nodded. "Yeah, I'll do it. Just don't blame me if you die."

"Your confidence in me is awe-inspiring," Kaelan sarcastically stated with a wide grin as he stood and motioned for HK to accompany him.

"One last thing," Atton shouted just before the two left the apartment, "This hiring fee is coming out of your bank account!"

On the trip back to the trade centre of Citadel Station, Kaelan listened to HK-47's description of Czerka activities based on what he'd seen in their private storage facility. The assassin described a wealth of salvaged components, equipment, and parts present inside the storage area, most of which had once belonged to the Telosian Military prior to the Sith bombardment. Many schematics had been stored inside as well, all of them designs for old factories and research centres.

"Conclusion: I believe Master, that the question of why the galaxy's premiere arms manufacturer would take an interest in the Restoration Project, can now be answered."

"So it would seem," Kaelan responded after a moment of silence, the potential gain to Czerka with such an operation would be quite large. "Did you see anything to make you believe they actually contribute to the Restoration effort?"

"Statement: If you're asking whether removing them from the competition would prove harmful to Telos Master, I would have to gleefully answer no."

Smiling slightly at the assassin droid, Kaelan nodded hjis head. "Good."

Exiting the shuttle once it docked with the trade centre of Citadel, the two quickly made their way back to Samhan.

"I have everything you need," Kaelan said as he approached the Duros trader and handed him the items he'd been interested in acquiring.

After expressing his surprise at Kaelan's truthful statement, and his amazement at the short timing, Samhan felt that his newly hired hand would prove adequate enough to provide security for him during his shipment-loading at his private dock. The exile accepted and, after asking where they were going, contracted Atton.

"Our trader loads his shipments in bay 114."

"Understood, do you still want me to send the pleasant greeters or have you finally realized how stupid this is?"

"By all means, feel free to send them."

A loud sigh sounded over the COM, "Sure, I'll get right on that."

Closing the interface down with a grin, Kaelan continued escorting his merchant charge, with HK in silent tow.

()()()

"Statement: Master, this is not exactly what I had expected."

After loading another set of supply crates, Kaelan couldn't help but agree with the mechanical killer. "I feel the same way HK, but this will all be worth it soon enough. At least," The veteran added quietly, "It had better be, for Samhan's sake."

Apparently, he had not spoken quietly enough. "Statement: This was my line of thought as well Master. You have a ruthless quality I cannot help but admire."

Kaelan shot a glance at his droid companion, a brow raised at the choice of words. "Indeed."

"Everything has been loaded," The unmistakable sound of Duros dialect resounded through the bay as Samhan exited a Czerka freighter.

"About time," One of the corporation's affiliated dock officers spoke in reply as he consulted his datapad. "Unfortunately, that still puts us five minutes behind schedule."

"Something which might have been avoided if you had actually helped instead of standing there and complaining!"

The dock officer only smirked, "Nowhere in my job description does it say to lift cargo canisters."

"As exciting as this conversation is," Kaelan interjected with a scowl deep enough to make Kreia proud, "Are we done here?"

Before the exile's question could be answered by the intended recipients, someone else answered. "I'd say so."

Fighting to hide his smirk, Kaelan turned to confront five armoured forms. His amusement faded, however, when he was confronted not wit the neutral colours associated with mercenary armour as he expected, but rather the silver and gold colours of the Telosian Security Force.

The person in the centre, a female lieutenant, locked eyes with Kaelan. "You will be coming with us off-worlder, Lieutenant Grenn has been looking for you."

Shocked that the TSF had been able to track him on the station, Kaelan wasn't sure what to say. Fortunately, he didn't have to. "Hold it right there Lieutenant," The Czerka dock officer spoke, "This is privately owned property, the TSF has no legal authorization here."

The female officer brought her cold gaze swerving toward the Czerka official. "The TSF has legal authority over its own escaped prisoners, wherever they try to run."

"Be that as it may-,"

"If you want to remain a free man, I'd advice you to co-operate with us on this matter. The woman interrupted the deck officer, but her last sentence was aimed toward everyone present.

"Lieutenant, I would advice you to turn around and leave. I'm not going with you." Kaelan had spoken with the sharp tone he'd acquired during his time as a Republic General, a tone he had reserved for insubordinate soldiers. It was more than enough to make the junior officer flinch.

"This isn't a request off-worlder,' The woman continued after a moment of hesitation, her blaster, and the blasters of her companions, raising to target the exile. "You're coming with us, one way or another."

Kaelan's disruptors were out of their holsters before the TSF could fully bring their respective weapons to bear, HK-47 following suit with his repeating rifle.

"Commentary: Visual indications show that we are at an impasse, but tactical simulations do not bode well for the TSF, Master."

The veteran flicked his head in the direction of his mechanical companion, "You heard him. Tell your men to holster their weapons, Lieutenant. Think about this carefully, no-one has to die here."

The junior officer tightened her grip on her weapon, her eyes beginning to show her uncertainty, before she hardened her gaze. "I can't let you get away again, I'm under orders."

"I'm countermanding those orders, stand down."

Dressed almost like a mercenary, the tone and behaviour of a Republic General coming from Kaelan seemed more than a little ridiculous. It was enough, however, to make the junior officer hesitate once more.

Feeling a whisper of danger in the Force, Kaelan's fingers hovered close to the triggers of his disruptors. "This is your last chance, holster 'em!"

The sensation of an imminent threat was intensifying, Kaelan knew a bolt was only seconds away from being fired. With the junior's officer's expression one of fierce determination, he knew which member of the TSF was going to fire. Bringing his disruptors around to target the junior officer, the veteran sent a quick burst at the Lieutenant. The discharging red bolts riddled through the TSF officer's armour in a picosecond, burning enough holes through her flesh to leave her lifeless form slumping to the deck.

Following the Force Sensitive's lead, HK opened fire with his own repeating rifle as soon as his aural receptors proceeded the sound of the first shot. With the combined effort of the two's assault, the remaining security personnel could only afford the most basic of retaliation before succumbing to the same fate as their team leader.

"Fools," Kaelan muttered, his sense of anger flaring at such a pointless action.

The outcast was about to holster his disruptors when he stopped cold, the feeling of danger was still blaring through his senses. He didn't have much time to wonder where such a thing was coming from before a burst of blaster bolts erupted from the ceiling, the dark coloured armoured forms of mercenaries rappelling from the top of the landing bay.

"Clever," The former General growled after avoiding the first set of shots with a roll to the side. Noticing after he performed such a manoeuvre that he hadn't been able to avoid all of the shots- if the carbon scoring on his shoulder blade was any indication.

Recovering from his roll, Kaelan trained his weapons on the still rappelling forms of two mercenaries. A quick burst from each disruptor found its respective mark, leaving the two that were hit to let go of their handfuls of rope. A single scream resounded from the human still alive before he impacted against the permacrete deck below.

HK-47 hadn't bothered to move, the shimmering red energy shield glowing around his chassis absorbed the few blaster bolts sent his way. The tactic allowed the assassin droid to gun down three mercenaries before the rest were able to accurately return fire once their feet made contact with solid deck plating.

The Czerka dock officer was the first to be killed during the initial exchange of fire, leaving Samhan to take refuge by Czerka's freighter as the blasters-for-hire pressed their attack on the bay's only remaining defenders. Unlike the exchange with the TSF, Kaelan found this engagement anything but brief. The mercenaries utilized fire and advance tactics, splitting themselves off into three groups of three. Two people per group laid down a continuous stream of blaster fire while the other pushed forward for a few steps before stopping at a position of cover to fire his own weapon.

With two of the armoured aggressors firing at all times, Kaelan was finding it difficult to fire his weapon accurately. He had to resort to shooting behind cover to keep his foes at bay. It wasn't truly blind firing, however. With the Force at his command, the former General was able to see past the mere physical objects hindering normal sight, giving him access to a unique secondary form of vision.

The slightly blurred forms of mercenary forces could be seen to the outcast as they continued pressing forward, their advance brining them dangerously close to Samhan's position. Kaelan evaluated their deployment pattern as quickly as he could, searching for a weakness he could exploit. Such a flaw manifested itself in the form of the far left group being relatively exposed as they passed through the area where cargo canisters had been stacked in preparation for Czerka's next shipment.

Kaelan smiled to himself while he sent a transmission to HK-47. "Concentrate your fire on their left flank, HK. Wipe them out!"

The assassin droid wordlessly demonstrated his compliance, his repeating rifle swerving to target the indicated group of mercenaries. Red blaster bolts impacted against the three aggressors, each of them riddled with shots before they could even react to the new threat in their midst. The rest of the groups were quick to target the droid halting their advance. Various blaster bolts lanced toward HK's rust-red chassis, only to be absorbed by the droid's still active shield.

Breaking from cover once he realized HK had their attention, Kaelan caught the second group of mercenaries off guard with a quick burst from his disruptors. Desperation settled in on the remainder of the blasters-for-hire, their coordination all but vanishing as more and more of their number fell to the advancing outcast. With support from his mechanical companion, Kaelan was able to finish off the remaining six in swift succession.

Holstering his disruptors with a weary sigh of how close he had come to sharing the fate of the Telosian Lieutenant, Kaelan moved back toward the Czerka freighter where HK still stood, the assassin droid having not even moved during the entire fire fight. "You can come out now Samhan," The exile announced in a casual manner, leaning against the Czerka freighter. "It's over."

The Duros glanced peeked out from the corner of the trade ship he was cowering behind, checking to confirm whether the statement was true or not. Trying not to roll his eyes at the display, Kaelan merely waited as Samhan picked himself up off the deck, idly brushing dirt of off his once immaculately clean robes. "Yes, well, thank you. That was not the most...pleasant transaction I've conducted recently."

Kaelan raised a brow at the such an understatement, "Indeed. Now, I believe there is the matter of my payment."

A waving of the hand met the exile's statement, "Of course, of course. Unfortunately, this 'incident' may make Czerka decide to cut its losses and abandon our agreement. It will take some time for me to secure another private dock for my business. However, I believe I can spare several hundred credit-,"

"That's not what I mean," Kaelan interrupted sharply, not even bothering to listen to the merchant's rant of lost profit. "I just saved your life Samhan, you owe me."

The Duros visibly swallowed at the intense stare he was fixed with, clearly not liking where this was going at all. "Wha...What do you mean?"

"I think you know," Kaelan said with narrowed eyes. "I'm taking control of your business."

Despite the feeling of fear working its way through Samhan, the very notion that another could be in control of his enterprise was enough to make him sputter in outrage. "Absolutely not! That is unacceptable!"

"You act like you have a choice in the matter," Kaelan spoke venomously, taking two steps closer to the merchant who immediately took just as many steps back in response. "I assure you, that is not the case. Let me put this in another perspective for you, Samhan. If you do not agree to my demands, not only will Czerka be informed that you paid mercenaries to raid their docking bay, but," He continued over the Duros' words of outrage, "The TSF will also become aware of this little incident." Kaelan added with a gesture toward the dead security force members. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you what the results will be."

The Duros was thinking frantically, trying to figure out a way out of his current situation. "Czerka and the TSF would never believe you."

A vicious smirk adorned Kaelan's features at the desperate, hopeful sounding statement. "Don't be so sure Samhan. Corrun Falt owes me a very big favour and who do you think Lieutenant Grenn would believe? An escaped TSF prisoner with no criminal history, or a Duros trader believed to operate a smuggling ring on the station?"

A long silence followed, as the reality of the situation slowly sank into Samhan's mind. it didn't take much longer for the Duros to realize that there was no way out. "What do you want me to do?"

Smiling slightly at his victory, the former General shrugged. "At the moment, nothing new. Continue expanding your operations and stockpiling weapons. I will contact you when I have further need of your services."

Samhan offered a stiff bow in acknowledgement, "As you wish."

"Before you go, Duros, a word of advice. Do not even entertain the thought of betrayal, or I will make you wish I had not been here today."

Swallowing heavily at the cold gaze of his once helpful supplier, Samhan nodded in reply before leaving the docking bay as fast as he could.

()()()

"Still alive I see," Atton said once he had reunited with Kaelan.

"A disappointing prospect I know," the Force Sensitive replied with a grin.

Having contacted Atton after Samhan's departure, he had told the smuggler to meet him and HK at the Ithorian compound in module 083; and had told Kreia the same thing through the use of their Force Bond. The group now stood just outside the entryway to the herders domain, waiting for Kreia to arrive.

A laugh escaped Atton at his companion's earlier statement, "Not as much as you'd think. You owe me ten thousand credits for the hiring fee by the way."

Keeping a straight face at the statement proved to be a challenging feat for the smuggler, especially since Kaelan's scowl was all-too reminiscent of Kreia. When the exile's play-along look started to morph into an expression of shock when he thought Atton was serious, the ex-convict couldn't hold it any longer and started to laugh. "The look on your face!"

"Yeah, yeah." Kaelan said, a scowl still very much prominent, though he let out a brief chuckle of his own. "That's a real funny joke Atton, keep making your jokes."

"Let us hope he does not."

Turning at the sound of Kreia's voice, the outcast offered a respectful nod to his informal mentor. "Were there any complications?"

The silent wonder as to the old woman's delay was answered when she presented Kaelan with a datapad. "The Czerka droid returned shortly before my departure, his task accomplished."

"So I see," Kaelan replied absently as he looked at the data. B4-D4 had obtained a wealth of knowledge on Czerka activities, many of which made a Hutt look like a respectable entrepreneur. He ignored the list for the most part, however, his only interest was in validating HK-47's earlier assessment of Czerka's practices, something which didn't take very long.

Pocketing the datapad for safe-keeping, the outcast motioned to the others to follow him as he moved inside the Ithorian compound. A quick conversation with the human receptionist pointed him in the right direction of the Ithorian in charge of their opertaions, and he moved further inside.

While the rest of the station was covered in gray and orange coloured durasteel plating, the Ithorians had taken careful measures to bring some life into their domain. Plants of various species were placed in enough places to give Kaelan the implication he was in an atrium as opposed to an actual office complex. The main hall even had a few small water fountains placed inside.

All too soon, the group moved into a small room filled, not with vegetation as expected, but rather, clusters of terminals and consoles with a large holoprojector in the centre displaying a specific restoration zone on Telos. One Ithorian standing near the holographic planet noticed them almost as soon as the group had entered. The plant herder focused more on Kaelan as he spoke. "Welcome to the Ithorian compound of Citadel. I've been hoping to meet your acquaintance, young Jedi."

Biting back the scathing retort the word 'Jedi' brought to mind, Kaelan looked at the alien in front of him curiously. "What makes you think I'm a Jedi?"

The two mouths along the Ithorian's flat face seemed to widen at the query, "I am a Force adept among my people, I sensed your presence soon after arriving on the station and have been looking for you since."

"I assume you are the Ithorian in charge whom I've been looking for then."

"Forgive me, I seem to have forgotten introductions. I am indeed the one you have been seeking, I am Chodo Habat, priest and leader of this herd."

Frowning at the elaborate bow he was presented with, Kaelan settled for a simple nod. "Kaelan Nalto."

"A pleasure Kaelan," Chodo said as he motioned for the group to step further inside. "What, might I ask, brought you to see me?"

Tearing his gaze away from the projection of Telos, Kaelan looked back at the Ithorian leader. "I am in need of transportation to the surface of Telos. As part of the restoration project, I know you are allowed access."

"We are," Chodo replied cautiously, suddenly studying Kaelan intently. "But why ask for our help?"

The outcast fixed Chodo with a patient look, "Why not ask for your assistance? I know Czerka can't be trusted and I really must get to the surface."

"May I ask why?"

"You may," Kaelan said in reply, his tone clearly indicating the opposite.

It was something Chodo picked up on, "While transporting unauthorized personnel to the surface is illegal, I believe I can accommodate your request, provided you do something for me."

"Which is?" Kaelan asked, careful to keep his tone neutral.

"As a member of the restoration project, I must say we Ithorians share your dislike for Czerka Corporation. They have done nothing but hamper efforts to rebuild Telos since their arrival. The organization has taken a number of restoration zones from our control, many of which are already reverting to pre-restoration status. Kaelan, we ask for your help in dealing with this corrupt corporation to free Citadel from their influence once and for all."

"And what do I get out of this?"

"Passage to a restoration shuttle bound for zone 00-31."

A frown adorned the former General's face at the specific zone name, when the Ithorian had no idea what they were searching for. "Why that zone?"

In response, the Ithorian spiritual guide moved back to the holoprojector he'd first been standing next to. Keying for a display of the zone in question, Kaelan found himself looking at, what looked to be, a military base. A raised brow was directed at Chodo who quickly offered an explanation. "This used to be the focal point of our operations before Czerka wrestled control from us and began using it for their own nefarious purposes." The Ithorian paused for a moment, visibly composing himself before continuing, "We had a tracking system in development down there. The idea was to be able to monitor the status of our zones remotely instead of sending our herd out in the field to make a visual assessment. I don't know if it is still there, but it is your best bet to find whatever your looking for."

Nodding at the both the statement and the formation of their agreement, Kaelan sealed the deal by withdrawing the datapad he'd only recently placed within his cloak and handed it to Chodo, who looked at him in confusion. "I've already taken the liberty of downloading a list of Czerka's operations for the past six months. I think you'll find it most...interesting."

The Ithorian leader looked at the datapad in disbelief, an expression which gradually turned to shock as he skimmed through the data. "How did you get this? The only place Czerka would keep such records would be-,"

"Inside their mainframe." Kaelan finished with a small smile. "Precisely."

"This...This is incredible," Chodo spoke to himself as his hammerhead structured eyes scanned through more of the datapad. "We will take this to the Telosian Council at once, not even they will be able to deny the extent of Czerka's infractions. The corporation will be banned from the planet." Smiling at his own statement, Chodo motioned to a nearby Ithorian. "Moza," He spoke to the other member of his herd, handing him the datapad.

The faint flickering of a warning through the Force brought the outcast's attention away from the conversation between the two Ithorians, his head snapping in the direction of the entrance to the compound. He shot a glance at Kreia, who seemed to be studying him intently. "You can feel it, can you not?"

Kaelan nodded in answer, trying to put words to the bare whisper of danger he had just felt. "Something seems...out of place. But I can't pinpoint the origin."

"Your affinity grows stronger Exile, I had not expected you to sense anything at all."

The former General brought his wandering gaze back to Kreia. "Do you know what it is?"

A single nod met his query, "This area has been marked."

Puzzled by the odd response, the outcast furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

The none-too-distant sound of blaster fie provided a partial answer, with Kreia unhooking her lightsaber as she looked at the other Force Sensitive. "If we move to the entrance, we shall see for ourselves."

Recognizing a battle when he heard one, Kaelan withdrew his disruptors and followed his mentor's advice, giving a quick warning to Chodo to seal the doors behind them. The group emerged in the main hall with Kaelan settling his gaze upon an all too familiar sight, mercenaries storming through with blasters at the ready.

Their weapons swerved to target the exile and his group once they caught sight of them, though they held their fire. Atton, HK, and Kaelan did the same with their own weapons, their fingers hovering near their respective triggers, while they wondered what the mercenaries were doing.

The answer came in the form of a gold-armoured mercenary stepping through the smoke and haze that blaster fire and cutting tools had created in the previous area. He regarded the group before him with mild amusement, though he raised a brow at the active lightsaber in Kriea's grasp. "Well, isn't this a surprise. Not only will I get the reward for completing this contract, but I'll be able to collect on the bounty for Jedi." A brief chuckle escaped him before he pointed his own blaster pistol at the group blocking his advance. "Get them!"

Red bolts erupted from both sides at the mercenary leader's words, with Kaelan advancing beside Kreia, his disruptors having been exchagned for his vibroblade. The two melee combatants charged the mercenary line, ranged support from Atton and HK forcing tbeir foes to scramble for cover, giving Kaelan the time he needed to safely close to striking distance. His vibroblade was little more than a blur of motion as he twirled the blade in wide arcs that cut down more than a single mercenary at once. Armour plating and flesh alike was sliced indiscriminately, the former General showing no restraint in his actions as he chaneled his anger to the Force, empowering his movements.

The exile's sole focus was on carving a path to the mercenary leader, a goal that, with the extra firepower of his companions and Kreia's lightsaber prowess, was met only five minutes after the skirmish had started. The gold armoured blaster-for-hire had his attention focused on Kreia, believing her to be the larger threat as he continued unleashing a barrage of blaster fire directly at her. Though the elder Force Sensitive was more than capable of deflecting the shots directly back toward him, she had already sensed the exile's intentions toward the mercenary and was interested to see what he would do, so she settled for harmlessly deflecting the bolts to the side.

Closing the distance between himself and the mercenary leader, Kaelan brought his vibroblade down on the still distracted blaster-for-hire's weapon, the sharpened metallic edge slicing through enough of the pistol to render it useless. Not satisfied with simply disabling the blaster, the exile brought the blade slashing across a small exposed section in the armour at the left side of the torso. He pulled the weapon back once he felt it cut a small incision into the mercenary's side, he didn't want to kill him.

Grimacing in pain, the mercenary found himself slammed against the wall, an armoured hand gripping his throat with enough force to restrict his breathing capacity. "Who was your contractor?"

"I'm not telling you a damn thing!"

With an already enraged state of mind flaring at the statement, Kaelan showed his dissatisfaction by kneeing the merc in the gut and throwing him down to his left side, adding a good punch to his face for good measure. Before the mercenary could do anything more than try to rise, however, the outcast unleashed a Force Push strong enough to send the man careening through the doorway he had only recently entered, crashing into a section of wall in the reception area a few metres away.

Gasping in pain once he slid down from the metallic plated barrier, the man was more compliant when Kaelan grabbed hold of him a second time. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you."

"I'm all ears," Kaelan spoke with such a malicious tone that the mercenary couldn't help but flinch.

"I...It was Czerka."

"Czerka, you say?"

Though the question was rhetorical, the mercenary nodded anyway, desperately trying to placate the man holding him by the throat.

Eventually, Kaelan released his hold on the mercenary, letting the man slump to the floor as he took in ragged breaths before a disruptor bolt shredded through his skull and ceased the need for such an action.

"Atton," The exile called as he holstered his weapon, "If you'll be so kind as to get the information of our shuttle departure from Chodo, you and Kreia can head to our designated docking bay. HK and I will meet you there shortly."

Only slightly disturbed by Kaelan's calm execution of another mercenary, Atton nodded in response. "Sure."

As the smuggler and the old woman moved out of the main hall, the former General turned his attetnion to the assassin droid approaching him. "HK, do you know where Czerka headquarters is located on this station?"

"Statement: Yes Master, the corporation has established operations in module 057."

"Than module 057 is our next stop."

()()()

Entering Czerka's main office on Citadel, Kaelan immediatley started marching toward the executive representative's office, not even bothering to acknowledge the Czerka affiliated officials who shouted at his abrupt entry. The towering presence of an armed HK-47, however, kept them from attempting anything else. The corporation's security division did not have any such qualms. They stopped the pair's advance with raised blasters just outside of the executive's office.

"No ciivilians are authorized to be armed on Czerka property, surrender your weapons and you may proceed."

Kaelan regarded the one who'd spoken, his tone cold enough to make the CSD member cringe. "You're in my way."

Visibly flinching at the threatening expression on the armoured human's face, and the armed droid that regarded him through red photoreceptors, the guard considered doing as the armoured human asked, only to stomp the feeling down seconds later. "I'm afraid Czerka policy is non-negotiable. Surrender your wepaons."

"Query: Shall I blast him Master?"

Eyes widening at the droid's question, the guard felt his heartrate sky-rocket once the human continued to stare at him, ignoring his mechanical companion while his eyes bore into him. The inexplicable urge to stand down overcame the guard and he lowered his weapon, the other CSD member following suite.

Not even bothering to spare the guards a second glance, Kaelan continued his march as though it had never stopped. A Mirialan female looked up in alarm when she caught sight of two very unfamilar individuals entering her private office. Two startled CSD members guarding the mainframe access near her gunned down by a rusty-red coloured droid before they could even draw their weapons. "Who are you?"

"That's none of your concern," Kaelan replied before Force Pushing the woman out of her chair and into the wall directly behind her.

Shakily rising to her feet, executive Czerka official Jana Lorso looked at the armoured intruder with wide eyes, "Y...You're a Jedi!"

Kaelan only shook his head as he withdrew his right disruptor and advanced towards her. "No, I'm not. An unfortuante prospect for you Lorso."

"W...What do you mean," The Mirialan replied with a shaky voice as she tried to back away from the advancing human, only to find herself up against the far wall. She silently cursed herself for not having procured a bigger office.

"I know you Lorso; your employees, your corporation, and its activities for the past six months. I was simply planning to let the Telosian Council deal with you but your little act of contracting mercenaries to get rid of your Ithorian competition has forced my hand on this matter."

Jana Lorso's eyes widened at the man's words, her olive coloured skin seeming to lose its complexion as she felt fear dominate every emotion in her mind. Her attempts at trying to reason with the enraged human in front of her were cut off by a discharging disruptor, a smoking hole in her forehead testifying to the disruptor's accuracy.

Staring down at the woman's corpse, Kaelan felt the same emotion he'd experienced after killing Loppak Slusk, guilt. The sensation only lasted a handful of seconds this time, however, before he viciously stomped the feeling down, remembering Kreia's words from a previous time to assist him.

Control...It is about being able to unleash specific feelings at a time, to bring a single emotion to the centre fold and then seamlessly transition to another.

A grim, but necessary task, Kaelan silently concluded to himself. Lorso's history and recent actions made it clear she was far too much of a threat, not only to the restoration proejct, but Citadel Station itself. With that in mind he moved out of Czerka's headquarters and, after contacting Atton, moved to the docking bay containing Chodo's shuttle.

Now all he had to do was find his ship.

A long wait to be sure, but hopefully you'll find this to be worth it. Such information could be passed on through a review...

Subtlety is for squares.

Only one more chapter before we're done with Telos. I know, I know, it's about time, right?

I initially had intended Kaelan and HK to go on a complete rampage through Czerka HQ and kill almost everyone inside. Heh, but then I realized that was just my own affinity for the dark-sided moments trying to seep through, so I discarded it.