The Gul'dan Chronicles Episode I

by TrevorGuldan

One year after QuiGon Jinn's death in TPM The Phantom Menace, a young padawan is nearing the end of his apprenticeship. This is his story. Original characters in the Star Wars Universe, which belongs to Mr. G. Lucas

14. Chapter 14

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

A large disturbance in the Force distracted Shudo from his medical treatment of the body of his former padawan. The burn mark in the middle of her chest gave Shudo all the information he needed to know instinctively, but his heart did not want to believe what his analytical mind and the Force was telling him; Kymber was now one with the Force she so longingly tried to understand. Zao Chun's screams could be heard as she continued her assault on the remaining dual-gunned battle druids. The Dashade were constantly trying to get to her, but Noa had interspersed himself between them, giving the Dashade more than they could handle. A tear welled up in Shudo's left eye as he wished her well on her journey. He turned up from the body to view the rest of the battle.

The large spider-like droid was complete incapacitated by fifteen Jedi and the remnants of the droid army were being beaten back by the remaining ground forces. The whining of engines broke the marsh's silence as the Xeddonian and Jedi starships continued to battle the ancient Sith starships. Shudo surveyed the grounds and found only a few Jedi sprawled on the ground. Most were moving, while only a handful were still as stone. The imposing Jedi Master ignited his lightsaber and lunged forward to battle as a pair of Dashade had overpowered Noa and were about to dispatch him. The green blade swept across the humid air, a trail of water vapor following the Jedi's riposte. The two Dashade were completely caught off-guard by the large Jedi's attack, dissolving the victory as suddenly as they had grasped it from the Jedi now laying in the mud. Shudo continued on as he felt Zao's presence start down the path of the Dark Side. The Jedi Master placed himself next to Zao, and immediately parried the attack that she threw at him. He reached out with the Force, gently guiding her mind to relax and let fatigue take over. The blue lightsaber faltered slightly as she blinked back the suggestion. Shudo nodded slightly and sent a gentle question to the young padawan teetering on the Dark Side.

"Do you want Kymber sacrifice to be for naught?"

Tears filled the young woman's eyes as the sounds of battle continued around them. Shoulders slumping, Zao disengaged her blade. Shudo knelt down so that he was not so imposing. He grasped her shoulders and squeezed gently, allowing the two to share in the sorrow that had nearly drowned Zao only moments earlier. Shudo raised his head as he felt a sudden closing off of his only remaining padawan. He sent a silent wish, knowing that Trevor was now in a fight for his life.

Blue-white light bathed the upper corridor of the Sith Temple. Trevor and Yendys had ignited their blades almost as soon as the laser walls had erupted between them and the outer doors. The light from both sabers allowed Yendys to see more clearly the double doors at the other end than with just the small illuminators that were spaced evenly down the corridor. Trevor needed only a moment to adjust his vision to allow the cavern to focus completely. The Sith Shrine reminded him eerily of the museum exhibit on Alderaan so many months ago. Trevor shook off the similarities and examined their surroundings.

The large entranceway that they currently stood in was circular in design with a dark long hallway directly opposite the laser wall. Trevor extended his vision down the corridor to allow for recon of their surrounding. The hall was half the height of the entranceway, but certainly large enough for the spider droid that Trevor had just sent into the ravine. A starship might have fit, if not for the narrow door that led outside. Trevor's vision showed two alcoves, each on opposite sides, giving Trevor enough information to hazard a guess that this is where the spider-droid that until recently had been stored. The pair headed towards the far end of the hallway, hoping to deal with Talaan quickly. The entry at the far end was almost as tall as the passageway with no visible way to access it. Trevor and Yendys both searched the walls and floor for any types of surprises, adding their saber light to the already meager illumination. As they neared the far door, it suddenly slid open, rushing wind greeting them in welcome. Trevor searched the walls again, and berated himself for not noticing the sensors that were nearly knee-high.

The pair surveyed the large cavern on the other side of the door. The most noticeable attribute of the room was a large mine shaft in the middle of the room. Three turbolifts were stationed above the shaft, surrounded by a loading platform of some sort. Trevor walked over to the walkway that circled the turbolifts and turned his vision down. The rough-hewn shaft dropped down into the planet's core, continued past Trevor's sight, seemingly on forever. Yendys continued to investigate the contents of the room, but found no other egress point, other than the one they just entered. Trevor listened to sounds in the room and realized that the wind was a constant flow, blowing through the room. Yendys' hair was whipping around her face, and it was a constant battle for her to keep her eyes clear. Trevor waved her over, and the pair entered the nearest turbolift and closed the doors. The controls on the lift were rather simple; up, stop and down buttons were located on the left side of the door. Yendys pressed the down button as soon as the doors closed. The lift slowly dropped into the mine shaft, and quickly picked up speed on its journey down into the cored-out column. The small rectangular windows blinked faster as the lift picked up speed, passing small illuminators spaced down the lifttube.

Not know how long their journey would be, Trevor shut down his saber and reviewed what he knew of Sith architecture, to make sure that he prepared himself for what would be ahead. Most of the traps and devices that Sith used inside their fortresses were not made to be just large and imposing; they were made to scare the wits out of anyone who dared approached. Mercenaries and other professional solders would not be scared so easily and Jedi training taught early on to handle fear and its side effects. Trevor focused his vision inwardly, kneeling down in the middle of the floor and beginning a Jedi calming exercise. Yendys sat down cross-legged next to him and closed her eyes as well, gather up what energies she could prior to delving into the depth of the Darkness.

A sudden thought came to Trevor as the lift continued down the shaft. The wind inside was certainly greater than outside. Why would there be more air movement than outside? The answer would not come to him immediately, so he categorized that particular question, until he had a better understand of where exactly he was in relation to the cargo ship that they arrived in.

The travel continued for nearly five minutes. Trevor guessed that they were below the level of marshlands where the Jedi and droid troopers were doing battle. The lift's repulsor engines whined as it slowed to a stop. Trevor tapped Yendys on the shoulder, and after getting her attention, pointed to the left side of the lift. She nodded as the doors opened onto a large room, similar to the one they had left earlier, with much more wind, due to four large turbines mounted into the walls and generators underneath each. Crates of archaic blast armor and helmets strewn around the room. Blaster pistols were also strewn around the room, with larger than normal grips, as if for a larger creature, like a Dashade. The mine seemed to have been abandoned many years ago. Trevor looked quickly at the armor and dismissed the idea of trying to use it. The large size would certainly have slowed him down, and he did not really want to take the time. The power generators were cabled directly to the turbines above, but Trevor also caught sight of a second set of power cabling heading directly into the rock. Realization took hold that these turbines had a primary power sources elsewhere and that these generators were a redundant power supply. A question drifted through his mind as to why someone would need high-powered generators and turbines deep within a mine shaft. But it did not form a cohesive thought, so Trevor continued on. They moved out of the lift, racing for a pile of shipping containers, hidden from any droids or workers who might be wandering through. Trevor was concerned about others nearby, so he opened himself up to the Force to sense any life forms nearby. What he got was a sudden surprise.

As he opened himself, he suddenly felt an oppressive weight over his consciousness. He tried to focus on where that weight was coming from, but the room seemed different, almost cavelike. The support struts holding up the walls suddenly seemed more menacing and broken. The boxes he was hiding behind were nearly three times the size that he knew they were, and they seemed to be closing in on him. What prevented him from losing it completely was Yendys' hand grasping his shoulder, bringing him back from the brink of madness. The dark energies that filled the Sith Temple could now be felt by the Jedi very easily. Continuing on into the bowels of the structure, he would need to work harder to overcome the negative Dark side energy to use his Jedi skills. The training that he received would certainly help to counteract any adverse affects, but he had not been expecting the intensity. With the preparations for battle, Trevor had not performed any rituals to fend of Dark Side energies. With Yendys' support, Trevor realized that the energies surrounding him emanated from deeper into the ground. But he was able to figure out that the energies flowed stronger from one of the doorways.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, thanks. For a moment there I thought that you might have been a wampa."

"Funny. What did you get?"

"Not much, except that door there I believe leads down towards our adversary."

"You sure?"

"No, not really, but it feels right."

"Okay. Let's get moving."

The partners gathered themselves, and skulked down the corridor; Yendys on the right hand side while Trevor took the other. The illumination here was marginally better so Trevor decided to disengage his saber, but not strap it to his belt. Yendys' blue saber continued to glow. Trevor constantly adjusted his vision, keeping details clear, but not more than five meters head at one time. The corridor twisted left and right, as if trying to disorient anyone walking in it. Trevor could only see twenty meters ahead at any given time due to the constant twisting and bending of the walls. The temperature continued to rise and the walls progressively darker. They continued to travel for a few minutes until they caught sight of an intersection. They stopped at an intersection, looking both left and right. Trevor extended his vision down each corridor to get a better handle on where his adversary was. The right corridor twisted and turned even more, heading on beyond the range of his vision. The left corridor continued on for another fifty meters to a large double door. Trevor pointed left, feeling that their adversary was still off in that direction. Yendys nodded, moved slightly ahead of him as they crept down the hall. Trevor ignited his lightsaber, giving more light to their surroundings.

They continued on for many minutes, repeatedly checked the corridors ahead for any signs of Talaan. They met with no resistance at all. The light off ofThe walls seemed to absorb the light generated from Yendys' saber. She grabbed his shoulder and pointed to the walls.

"I just realized that the rock wall is obsidian. That's a volcanic rock."

Trevor sniffed, recognizing the traces of sulfur in the air. He snapped his fingers. "Of course; no wonder it's getting warmer at the bottom."

"We know what the air circulation is for. Let's not cut any big power cable, alright? It'll probably get real hot real fast."

Trevor shrugged. "I'll do my best, sweetheart."

"Have I told you how much I hate that word?"

"You might have, but I don't seem to remember you mentioning it lately."

"Consider it mentioned," she continued to stare at his head, unsure if he really saw her or was looking around the chamber. Trevor sensed immediately that he had neared a forbidden line.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Feeling better?"

"A little… blind man…"

"Oh, nice. You want to continue?" They moved on, advancing deeper into the shrine. Moments later, the two Jedi noticed that the corridor was widening out, causing the two to move farther apart. The corridor spilled out into the large cavern, with multiple exits on all sides. Keeping the way back to the surface behind them, they counted six new corridors. On the walls between the corridors, long thin red crystals mounted in small sconces gave light to the room. The sconces were randomly placed all around the room and down the remaining corridors, giving a red quality to the entire room. Trevor looked around the room contemplating the nature of the crystals when Yendys inhaled deeply.

"It's like so radically different, and so similar at the same time… Might even be the same. It might be Ilum."

Trevor suddenly realized that the room looked just like one of the many crystal chambers on the ice planet. "You are right; it does. But these crystals aren't-"

"Those aren't really crystals; they are light sources. They are crystal-shaped. Red instead of blue and green. Creepy. I wonder if they did it on purpose. Probably"

"Well, the Sith did spawn from the early Jedi order."

"Did you have good visions while you on Ilum?"

"Did you?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Hmm"

"Put it this way; my vision was the first time I went against a Sith."

Yendys looked at her friend in a strange way. She nodded twice, took a deep breath and pressed on. "So which way do we go?" she demanded.

Trevor could only guess at what her vision was, and figured that if she wanted to talk about it, she would let him know. He had not mentioned the vision to many people before, but realized that giving her the information about his vision may have either scared her even more, or comforted her. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind, and concentrated on the task at hand. He extended his vision down the first corridor only to find that twenty meters down was a durasteel door with a small access panel on the right side. He retracted his vision and repeated the process down the next. This time, however, there was only tunnel for sixty meters. Trevor repeat the same steps four more times, only to find a repeat of the second. He nodded once, and pointed to the left most corridor.

"Time to put your skills to the test, sweetheart."

Yendys stopped and turned on Trevor, anger evident on her face. Her lightsaber extended out on her right side. "Have I ever told you how much I hate that word?"

He stood stock still, realizing that he nearly crossed a line. Trevor's lightsaber was on his right side, and he took a moment to disengage the blade. The two were bathed in red light for two blinks of an eye.

"No, I did not. Would you rather I said that it is time to earn your keep?" Trevor's nose was millimeters from hers, keeping his voice down to a whisper so as not to antagonize her. Knowing in times past, Trevor would have flinched at her sudden outburst, Yendys was surprised to see her 'partner in crime' trying to stare her down. In this simple way, it showed how much the Trevor she knew had grown into a fine Jedi. Yendys winked at him, "Actually, yes, I would."

She turned on her heels and walked to the double doors, beginning her work on the mechanism to open the door. Trevor reactivated his lightsaber, pushing the red lights away. He shook his head, and followed resolutely after her.

The access panel blinked slowly as if measuring time. Yendys put away her lightsaber to work on opening the door. Trevor took the time to investigate the corridor on the other side. He pushed his vision through to find a short entryway leading to a T-intersection. The passage seemed to be higher on one side. The doors whisked open as Yendys bypassed the access panel. Trevor immediately walked through the corridor and waited just on the other side of the door. The feeling of dark side energy was definitely getting stronger. He knew that it would not be much more time until he was completely immersed in it. Yendys put her tools away and ignited her weapon once again. The two stood looked down the opposite hallway, listening for any sound that might mean the approach of guards. The howling of the wind and the echoes of sound off the wall either masked the guards or there was no one around. Trevor and Yendys hugged the wall around the far corner. As Yendys leaned her head out into the corridor, an emergency door slammed shut behind them. Both turned around, lightsabers at the ready, but no one was there. Yendys shrugged her shoulders in apology and turned back to the corridor. The entire floor was tilted, acting line a corkscrew around a bottle. It was easily three meters wide, but the steep grade down gave Yendys some concern. Trevor pointed to the 'down' side of the passageway and Yendys' eyebrows raised once again.

Trevor took a deep breath and was about to step out into the corridor when a sudden memory forced its way to Trevor's consciousness. The air still consisted of a sulfuric smell, however a think, rank, musky smell permeated the stones. The stale air would have normally have been masked by overgrowth and decay of trees on a forested world, but underground, the smell of death and rot took over. Yendys watched Trevor's face suddenly go ghost white.

"Trevor," she whispered. "What is it?"

"We need to move. Now." The wind's howl took on a more predatory sound, and Yendys realized that it wasn't the wind that way howling, but some sort of animal. Trevor concentrated, using a stealth technique he learned many years ago.

"It sounds hungry…"

"It is. Come on." Trevor turned down the hallway, moving at a much faster pace than before. Yendys turned and caught up to him in just a few strides. The two raced down the hill as quietly and quickly as possible. An extending rock from the wall broke loose, careening down the corridor ahead. The howling suddenly got more intense, and claws could be heard scraping and scratching their way towards their prey. Trevor stopped in the hall, turning to face the enemies he knew he'd have to face one more time.

"What are they?"

"Vornskyrrs," he said simply. He quickly shed his cloak and raised his lightsaber in response to the sudden cries of the attacking beasts. Yendys' black jacket glistened in the light of the sabers. Trevor knew that all of his training since his 'incident' on Myrkr made him a more difficult target. He was not sure how Yendys would handle these six legged creatures with a barbed tail. They stood, side by side, as the running claws got closer and closer.

The first pair of vornskyrrs rounded the corner and ran headlong into the awaiting Jedi. Trevor's silver blade smoothly whisked around in front of him in a dual circular pattern, nearly catching the nearest vornskyrr in the head. It ducked and Trevor's blade came within millimeters of catching the front legs. It reared up, trying to avoid the moving light. Trevor saw the beast rearing up, and slashed at the front right leg, severing the tendons in the knee. Trevor could see Yendys' blade also moving in a similar arc as his, but more unrefined and untrained manner. But her strokes all struck home. The second creature ducked under the first barrage and the tail arched down, causing Yendys' coat to catch most of the attack. A ripping sound nearly caused Trevor to turn, but Yendys' counter attack singed the ears causing a minor retreat of the beast.

Trevor's blade continued to arc around in front. The first fiend tried to bite, but was unable to connect with the defending Jedi. Trevor saw an opening in the monster's defenses and immediately pushed his advantage. The leg was not very mobile, causing a creature who attacks with frontal appendages to slow down. The vornskyrr reared up as if to attack. Trevor pressed the advantage by spinning underneath the claws and cutting across the neck, nearly beheading the beast. A second pair of vornskyrrs rounded the corner, seeing one of their packmates falling under the onslaught of their dinner. They were not prepared to have this creature with a bright lights killing their brothers. They attacked the two 'humans', with one falling under Trevor's skilled blade in three strokes. The stroke that killed it was one from neck to hip, killing it within five seconds.

Yendys was having bit of a challenge from her pair. She kept them at bay for a few seconds and pushed back the attacks of the two. The newest beast recognized that its other packmates were dead, so went after the most threatening. The hunter was now becoming the hunter. Trevor saw an opening in the vornskyrr's attack pattern, and swung almost uncaringly. The beast easily avoided it, and attempted to attack while Trevor spun into the attack, slicing the beast across the belly, spilling its innards. Yendys's blade could be hear slicing into the body of the last remaining vornskyrr. As the body finsTrevor looked at her coat with deep concern.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, just surprised. I always heard these things were tougher than that."

Trevor looked at the remains. "These could have been tamed, or even weakened by lack of food. This is not their normal hunting grounds."

Yendys looked to her friend and recognized something akin to fear in his face. She opened her mouth as if to ask the next logical question when he turned his face to her.

"Yes, I have. And it was not an experience I would like to repeat anytime soon. It was less than a year ago that I last experienced these creatures in the flesh, not just in a vision. I would rather not talk about it right now, if you don't mind." Trevor turned in the hallway, first up the slope, then back down again. "We should go back up the hall and verify that they are all gone."

Yendys shook her head. "It could just be a smelly old den, you know."

"True, but I'd rather not leave it to chance at this point. Besides, he knows we're here, why not make him wait?"

They retraced their steps, passing the original entrance way and moving uphill to the vornskyrr's den. The bones of many meals lay disarrayed on the floor, near four different nests. Yendys searched each of the nests for anything use. Trevor stood in the middle of the room, contemplating on his vision and the similarities to his vision. Yendys disturbed his thoughts, calling him over to a pile of bones that were larger than the vermin littered around. Upon closer inspection, Trevor recognized a large Dashade hand amongst the bones. His brow furrowed in thought as he filed away this small insight into the former padawan to Shudo Laan.

"He's making a point to his mercenaries. He runs the show, and no one else," Yendys commented.

Trevor only nodded, trying to complete the puzzle of Viko Talaan as he lived today. And the dark thoughts that invaded his mind did not make him feel any better. He turned abruptly, deciding to face this challenge sooner rather than later. Yendys was a bit surprised at the sudden brooding mood that Trevor seemed to have fallen into. She pushed along the bond, and found concern laced with sadness. She caught up to her friend, and grasped his hand. He turned quickly, and started to pull away. She held tighter and turned him around to face her. No words were spoken, but Trevor's face softened slightly. Yendys' eyes shown brightly as she released his hand.

"See, I told you that was just a smelly old den."

Yendys pulled out a small lightsource, which emitted a small blue beam down the hallway.

"This way, we don't attract too much attention." Yendys commented, more to bring Trevor out of his funk more than anything.

Trevor barely acknowledged the words, instead concentrating on the flows of the Force. They continued down the corridor for another hundred meters, slowly winding down deeper into the ground. They reached a double durasteel door at the base of the corridor. Yendys scurried over to the door to begin manipulating the controls. Trevor stood in the middle, waiting for the doors to open. He realized right away that the darkest part of the underground facility was just on the other side of the door.

"Prepare yourself." Trevor wanted to give Yendys some time to get ready for what was ahead. She just nodded, concentrating on the electronic parts she had in front of her. Trevor just shook his head, still unable to get his head around the fact that Yendys had different skills than before. A small yelp escaped her mouth as the door opened. Trevor concentrated more so than ever before, gather what safe energies he could, calling on the Force to help him overcome the obvious waves of darkness that flowed over him. Trevor bathed himself in the light side of the Force, letting the darkness wash around. He extended the walls he created to include Yendys' fortifications though the bond they shared. She blinked her eyes at him quickly, as if a bright light suddenly went on in a dark room. He reached down, help her to her feet, and walked to a monstrous cavern, extending nearly sixty meters across and fifty in width. Three statues stood in the middle of the room. Each statue was fifteen meters tall, cowled in a black cloak with the face hidden and an arm extended with a lightsaber hilt. Trevor could nothing but stare at the figures in amazement as the source of the darkness seemed to emanate from the middle of the room. He continued to stare and walk across the room. Yendys hurried to catch up, only to stop as the entry door slammed shut behind them.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Yendys' voice and concern lanced through Trevor's amazement. The sudden closure of the door made her very nervous and he sensed it immediately. He started to reach for his lightsaber when a grinding sound from the middle of the room stopped him. The arms of the three statues were moving slowly toward the ceiling, loose stones causing a cloud of dust to emerge in the cavern. As the points of the sabers neared the top, Yendys continued to look around the room. She noticed a large crystal on the roof of the cavern, larger than anything else she'd seen before. She pointed it out to Trevor, who instinctively realized the crystal was right for use in an extremely high-powered lightsaber.

Instantly, three red lightsaber blades ignited from the hilts wound into the statues. The blades extended up to the crystal and arched out into the cavern against the wall. Trevor had barely time to register the additional crystals in the room when the three blades exponentially expanded, filling the room with red saber blades. They both maneuvered themselves out of the way; however, Trevor landed harder than usual, forcing more air out than he intended. He kept watch on the saber hilts, knowing that these 'arms' were moving by machine. The arms dropped slightly, causing the blades to shift slightly. Trevor expected the blades to move slightly and at one point, might even dissipate. He watched, gauging the speed of the arm and the distance to the next crystal. The blades blinked out of existence for a brief moment and Trevor leapt from his position toward the statues. He had noticed the blades never getting within a half-meter from the statues as well, so he knew he'd have the room. He pushed off, and upon gathering the Force, jumped nearly twenty meters. Unfortunately, he pushed a little too hard, and slammed against the nearest statue, dazing himself slightly.

Yendys had slightly better luck. She had moved out of the way of an intersection of blades towards the statues and didn't have as far to jump to safety. She landed with grace on the base of a statue and looked for Trevor immediately. Trevor extracted his lightsaber from his belt and immediately looked to sever the nearest arm. His statue's arm was right above him and he had a difficult time adjusting to the 'rocky' terrain. The base was wide enough for him to get a foot down to stable himself, and he thrust his saber directly into the elbow joint, causing a shower of sparks to cascade over him. The blade immediately went out, giving both Jedi plenty of room to spread out. Yendys sawed on her arm until the blade went out. Trevor cautiously made his way over to the remaining statue and attempted the same maneuver. A second spark shower and a muffled explosion could be heard on the inside of the statue. All three arms continued their downward trend, lightsabers safely dismantled. They searched for more threats but none showed themselves.

Trevor rubbed his arms and chest where he had slammed against the rocks, jarring his bones. The dull ache slowed his movements enough that he seriously considered stopping for a short time. Yendys' injuries did not seem too bad as she approached the opposite doorway inspecting the control panel. She pulled out her tools and began working on slicing through. Trevor knelt down and began a recovery trance, hoping to push the aches off to the back of his mind. Yendys' voice wafted across the room.

"You know, it'll be fifteen minutes or so before this is done."

Trevor pulsed along their bond. Take your time. I could use a quick rest.

Yendys responded back. Figured you took a good lick against that statue.

Trevor's face broke out into a smile. Noticed you were Ms Nimble back there.

Yendys spoke outloud. "Ok, Mr Jedi. I need to concentrate on this."

Trevor turned his inner voice off, allowing Yendys complete concentration on her task. He could feel the bruises forming on his left shoulder, a reminder of where the Sith were a remarkable enemy and should not be underestimated. Only one other Jedi in the last century had encountered a Sith, and Obi-Wan's metoric rise through the Jedi ranks was on the level of legend. Trevor extrapolated that possibly he was meeting another Sith by the same Master. Did not Shudo have not one but three padawans in his life? Trevor would have been happy with only one padawan in his life, but his current mission floated in front of him like a holographic vegetable in front of a pack animal. A pulse of happiness raced along the telephathic bond, causing Trevor to shake off his daydream and rise to his feet. Yendys stood three strides away from an open door, a smirk lining her face. Trevor put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly.

"Good job. Let's see what new tricks this Talaan has for us,"

Trevor admired her work professionally. Having her along on this type of mission certainly saved his energy, and she had grown into a proficient slicer since she had left the Jedi Order. Knowing someone with these skills might not be looked upon as a good thing in the Order, but his feeling on the matter seemed to force him to believe in her honesty and integrity rather than her skills. She finished gathering up her tools and they proceeded the next corridor. They were surprised to find they stood looking down a triangle-shaped corridor, with the walls peaking above the middle of the corridor. Two bulkhead doors stood opposite one another halfway between the ends of the hall. Trevor progressed down the corridor slowly, still expecting to have another surprise jump out at him. Fortunately, nothing here showed any sort of attacks. The companions slowly walked down the hall looking past all the struts and supports for any laser pistols or other weapons pointed in their directions. No vidcams could be seen but Trevor did not believe that no one knew of their presence. Just doesn't make sense that someone wouldn't know someone is around.

At the intersection connecting the doors, Yendys walked toward the left hand door. She started working on the control pad when Trevor forced his vision into the room. He was greeted with a room half the width of the corridor, but the same length, full of ancient metallic parts. Heads of droids, bales of wire and circuit boards littered the work benches along the sides. He pulled his vision back to a normal point of view.

"Don't bother. Just a room of droid parts. Not that we haven't seen them before, now have we?"

She turned around, giving him a dirty glare. He smiled and turned towards the opposite room. The contents of this room caused him to become stone-faced. Yendys realized immediately that something beyond the next door bothered him, so she strided across to the other door, and tried the panel. The door opened immediately and she stared at the contents.

Filling the long walls of the room were hundred of lightsaber hilts of similar design. A conveyor belt covered the length of the room, with parts on both sides. A sudden realization hit the partners at the same time. Trevor walked to the wall and pulled down a saber and ignited it. A blood-red blade extended out and Trevor remembered the design as being from the lightsaber-wielding droids that were on Ord Mantell and that killed Kymber. He immediately took the saber and disengaged it, extracting the power supplies from the main hilts. The whole operation took less that five seconds and Trevor realized that he had disabled ten lightsabers before he realized what he was doing. Yendys stood with her hands on her hips.

"Do we really have time for this?"

Trevor turned his face to hers. "At no time in the future will these sabers hurt any more Jedi. I will make the time to dsable as many of these as possible."

His harsh words were laced with unintended emotions which Yendys immediately realized was her clue that she had pushed him past an unknown line. She walked next to him and began dissembling the completed lightsabers that had been stored in the room. Fifteen minutes later, the two had disabled nearly all the completed lightsabers. Yendys had pulled out her lightsaber and run through ten hilts at a time, cooking the wiring to disable as many as possible. Trevor grabbed another red saber and followed suit. Soon, the acrid smell of burnt metal and wiring made the room unbearable to breathe in a very short time. He tapped her shoulder, and pointed out of the room. They vacated the room, causing damage to all of the sabers that they could. Trevor felt better about having disabled the ability for those deadly droid assassins. They continued on to the next door, blasting the comrades with sulfur-laced air. Hot air blasted through the opening, causing both to hide their face from the sudden rush. The wind died down shortly thereafter. As they turned their faces to the new hall once again, Trevor exclaimed, "You have got to be kidding me."

Ahead of them the walkway extended nearly a hundred meters. The struts of the durasteel structure were bolted into the top of the room, while below the entire floor was covered by flaming molten lava. A second door could be seen at the far end of the corridor. Trevor took a moment to look at the entire room and realize immediately the obvious.

"This is a definite trap."

"Really? What was your first clue?" jibbed Yendys.

"Look, those struts could easily have explosives in them. Once they blow, it is immediately into the drink. Period. I don't have the benefit of having fireproof boots, do you?"

"Well, what do you suggest?"

Trevor took a moment to inventory his belongings, which were meager at best. Fortunately, he found a canister of liquid cable, the same type that he had used on Metallos to slow down a trio of battle droids. He reached back on his belt and grabbed a small explosive wall mount. He placed the cable dispenser on the wall mount, and plunged it into the wall above and to the left of the door. He then placed a small ascension device onto the front end and depressed the ignition switch, causing the ascension device to eject the cable across the entire hallway. Trevor followed the cable across the cable and was rewarded with an resounding thud on the far end. The ascension arm had lodged above the door on the far side.

"You know, that was just luck."

Trevor smiled. "I don't believe in luck."

He reached up, grasping the cable for support. He walked across the walkway whilek keeping his left hand on the wire. Yendys placed a set of gloves on her hands, not wanting to cut them on the wire. As they reached ten meters into the room, a loud clang could be heard behind them. The door they had just left had closed and was in the process of sliding flush against the wall. Yendys turned back towards Trevor, a panicked look on her face. Trevor sent a calming pulse to her through their bond, which was received almost in shock. She looked at him in marvelous disbelief.

"Calm, Yendys. Keep your wits about you. We'll-"

The sound of hydraulic pumps could be heard through the walls. Trevor whipped around his point of view and noticed that the far end of the walkway had dipped down into the lava. Immediately he jumped up, swinging his legs over the wire so that his head faced the far door. He turned his vision back to Yendys to see what she was doing, but she had already hoisted herself up on the wire in the opposite direction. As they perched on the wire for a moment, small dust clouds could be seen falling from the joints of the struts as they continued to drop the path into the deadly lava.

Not wanting to be on the wire longer than he had to, he pulled himself along the wire to the far end. As slow as he seemed to move, the end was reached in no time. He must be getting desperate to start dropping the traps early. Getting a little impatient Viko? Trevor thought to himself.

He reached the end and realized that the door on this end was just as flush as the one opposite. Wondering how in the Force he was going to get by this, an exasperated voice slammed into him.

"Use that can opener of yours!"

He grasped his lightsaber, exasperated at his lack of imagination. He reached back onto his belt, grasped and ignited his lightsaber and cut a hole in the door large enough to allow both of them through without burning themselves on the edges. He lay dangling upside down for nearly ten minutes while making sure that the cut of the door was wide enough. As he reached the top of the door, the insert slid out, bottom first, and caromed off the stairs on the other side. A loud TWANG could be heard echoing off the walls of the staircase.

"Well, I guess the party crashers are here."

They swung off the cable, landing on the top stair. Looking back, Trevor wondered how they would get back over if necessary. Shaking off the daydreams he looked down to the bottom of the staircase. As he ventured down, he noticed that the stairs were flanked by two streams of lava, as if the previous hall was a pool for this staircase. He knew that the door had fallen at least fifty steps. Suddenly an alarm went off in the back of his head, his brain finally registering a second sound when the door hit bottom. He turned his vision to the stairs and he saw three big circular disks protruding out of the middle. Something was familiar about the disks, and he paused, causing Yendys to bump into him. She tapped his shoulder, as if to get his attention. Instead he just pointed to the door.

"Those disks in the door, those are lamrocs. Very ancient weapons."

In the heyday of the Sith - Jedi war, alchemically treated weapons were developed as way to counteract blasters and lightsabers. Shields and armor was made of this for additional protection from any Jedi / Sith lightsabers. Trevor related this small bit of history to continue reviewing the current agenda. He calcutated that these circular blades, measuring nearly a meter across, would not be the gauntlet-mounted type known during the Sith War. Rather these would be a mechanical trap mounted in a wall that would sense movement or body heat, maybe even a Force user. Trevor continued to figure on the trajectory of the blades, when he realized that one of the blades was actually above the level of the door. He certainly did not want to take that chance. He motioned Yendys to sit down on the stair.

He closed his eyes, keeping Yendys in the dark as to what he had planned. Trevor reached out with the Force, knowing that he was risking Dark Side backlash, and lifted the door. Suddenly the door was pelleted with more blades, some bouncing off, some embedding themselves deep within the door. He pushed the door forward, keeping the barrage of blades continuously hammering at the bulkhead. Yendys, upon hearing the blades connecting with the door, looked around and realized that the steps they were sitting upon were made of stone. Pieces of rock and stair littered the entire way. She reached back, grabbing a couple of larger rocks and started throwing them down the stairs. The rock's movement was picked up by whatever sensor was monitoring the halls. A new barrage of blades sliced into the stairs below, set permanently into the stone. Trevor dropped the door, realizing that spending energy was pointless with an surprisingly adequate supply of rocks nearby. For the next fifteen minutes, the two continued to fire rocks, pebbles, and larger stones, allowing the supply of blades to run dry. A constant click-click-click could be heard on the other side, indicating that the supply of blades and run dry.

The two friends turned to one another, realizing how close to death they had really come. They finished climbing down the stairs to get their first view of the blade trap. Fifteen meters down the hall, above the door were three large slits, each with a small sensor-cam under. The blades littered the room, as well as the large door that once blocked the top of the staircase. Yendys turned to her comrade in arms.

"So, Master Jedi. What next?"

Trevor looked at the far door, feeling just a bit fatigued.

"Let's take some time and rest. We shouldn't just walk into a room not fully prepared, and right now, I am sure you need the rest as much as I do."

"No argument here. How long?"

"Give me thirty minutes. I should be feeling better by then."

Trevor walked back to the stairs, and going up to ten steps, lay down on the step and immediately fell asleep. Yendys sat with her back to the Jedi, instinctively knowing that he would not cause her to jump needlessly. Thirty minutes later they switched places, Yendys falling asleep on her step, while Trevor stepped over her to kneel in the middle of the hall, facing the door. He reviewed what he knew and prepared himself for what he would consider the battle of a lifetime. Two padawans of the same Jedi Master had, as far as Trevor knew, never battled in this way before, and he hoped, never again.

One hour later, Yendys felt a slight pulse along the bond, forcing her from dreamless sleep to tense consciousness in moments. Trevor continued to kneel in the middle of the hall. Yendys rubbed the little sleep from her eyes and walked down to the landing.

"You let me sleep longer, didn't you."

"Yes, you look like you needed it."

She wanted to berate him for the unnecessary kindness, but she knew that he had more important things on his mind, and this small act was something that he had always done in the past. If he could keep his vision, and his protection, on her at all times, he'd do it in a heartbeat, whatever the cost. She leaned down, kissed his cheek, and motioned towards the door.

He stood up, a sudden chilling calm enveloping him. His feelings for Yendys, strong though they were, were placed in a locked part of his mind. His shoulders, once tight with anticipation, dropped to a relaxed position. All the grief he had experienced within the last day, pushed away by deep determination to finish what he started nearly a year ago.

They walked up to the doors, and suddenly Trevor realized that there were seven different sensors around the door, with no panel to open it. Trevor began to push his vision through the doors when they slid open on their own, revealing a catwalk extending out over a lava lake, spill out of openings in the wall on either side. A piling of volcanic rocks in the middle of the lake formed an island with a massive ceiling above. Upon the central island was a large array of machinery, cables, computer banks, monitors and sensors. The catwalk that led over to the island was nearly fifty meters long and supported above and below by durasteel beams. Massive turbines blew in fresh air flowing through, nearly blowing them off of their feet. The largest concentration of machinery was directly in the middle with more hanging from the top of the ceiling.

They entered the catwalk, sabers in their hands. The darkness that Trevor felt at the entrance was extremely pronounced here. The column of light that he had surrounded himself with earlier seemed to fade slightly under the constant weight of it. Their feet striking the floor echoed over the burbling of the lava below. Movement at the top of the middle pinnicle attracted Trevor's vision. A large chair was turning around, and with it, horns protruding forward above a red face of pure malice. Dark shadows surrounded the large figure as it rose out of the chair. Armor plating on the shoulders and forearms glistened in the limited light, and the voice that traveled down to the pair chilled their blood.

"So. the esteemed Shudo Laan's padawan has come to challenge me." The malice and contempt for the Jedi Order was evident in the oily voice of the massive Togruda. Viko Talaan's visage was bathed in meager lighting and Trevor could finally see the realization of the face in his dream on Ilum. While he expected the Sith's face to be twisted, Viko's was as twisted as Master Yoda's gimer stick, and much more deadly. The evil of Talaan's voice was matched only by the intensity of his gleaming eyes. Talaan's flowing cape seemed to make his presence even larger, as if trying to display how powerful he was. The face of evil turned to Yendys.

"And he's brought a friend. Please, come in. My door is always open, especially to ...family." Talaan paused slightly, contempt at the final word evident as it hissed out of his mouth.

Trevor continued forward a few paces, keeping his breathing and heartbeat at regular intervals. His hand had reflexively pulled his lightsaber off his belt, ready for anything that the former Jedi would do. Trevor expected this kind of talk, based on the information he knew of Viko. He allowed Talaan to believe that he was in control, and in some respects he was, but Trevor would not allow his emotions out to influence his opponent's actions, at least not yet. No amount of intimidation would affect Trevor, knowing that in such a short time he had gained much experience to deal with this monstrosity.

Trevor was approximately ten meters away from the stairs when Talaan reached the platform. The catwalk, being only five meters wide, made for a very interesting battle ground, and Trevor expected to be put to the test early and often.

"Shall we dispense with any further pleasantries?"

Trevor decided to put his plan into effect. "Why," he asked, "why do all this?" Talaan dropped his cape, ignited a red lightsaber and placed it at his side, ready for combat. A second saber ignition signaled that Yendys had readied herself for the impending action. Trevor mirrored Viko's actions, placing his blade parallel with the floor on his right side.

"Because the Jedi Order, and the Council, is stagnating. They are smothering under their own weight. They refuse to recognize greatness when it is in their very presence. And today, as they have before, will learn!"

"And you think you can teach the entire Jedi Order a lesson?" Trevor's incredulous tone seemed to irritate Talaan, as expected. Trevor's plan was to enduce Talaan into making rash moves, and act completely unexpectedly.

"I'll start by adding two more bodies to the pile," he purred.

"Greatness, Viko, is synonymous with respect. It is earned. We shall see if you can add more to the pile, or if you will be the last casualty of the mess you have caused." Trevor baited, offending Talaan's arrogance.

Viko's eyes widened at the sudden change in conversation. "Indeed we shall. Indeed we shall." Suddenly, he rushed forward, raising his blade as if to strike down on the Jedi. Trevor sent a quick pulse to Yendys, tell her to keep still. He took the entire brunt of the attack on his blade, and nearly strained against the attack. He parried one of the attacks back, but had to duck out of the way twice in order to keep his feet about him. In allowing Viko to have first shot, he realized that an open could be exploited. The armor on his arms seemed to allow him nearly complete movement upwards, but the cross swings gave Viko a hard time. Trevor ducked under the third attack, sweeping up and across Talaan's body. Talaan, slightly surprised by the sudden counter-attack, took an inadvertent step backward, allowing a small opening in his armor to be sliced across by Trevor's blade. Talaan lifted his head, a deafening howl drowning out the background noise of the lava lake. Trevor could feel some sort of armored breastplate near Talaan's chest area. Knowing the types of armor that could repel a lightsaber blade made the encounter that much more deadly, as Talaan might be able to withstand even more damage than any of Trevor's other opponents. Yendys, realizing that Talaan was distracted raced across the platform, much to Trevor's dismay. Talaan, after blocking Yendys' attacks, howled in pain. The Jedi Weapons Master suddenly realized all the dark side energies swirling around the room were coalescing around Talaan. Viko's frame seemed to grow slightly, as if it were collecting all the energies of the room to heal himself or improve upon some sort of defensive technique. Pressure against his defenses seemed to grow expontentially. Whatever he is doing, it's gonna mean a worse battle than before, Trevor thought.

Talaan reacted by renewing his attack on Trevor. The Weapons Master deflected two swipes but realized that his energies were draining him rapidly. There was no finesse to the attacks now, just pure power which Trevor could barely defend against. He could feel all of his reserve energies ebbing away rapidly. He counter attacked with a set of moves that he had learned early on in his training, but Talaan seemed to expect this attack, being able to block all but one in a four-move attack fashioned by Shudo. Obviously he knows about this.

Yendys, seeing her friend in dire straights, attacked with a fury that surprised Trevor. Her style was one that confused Talaan slightly, causing him to fall back slightly. Talaan's energy reserves were being depleted just as rapidly as Trevor's but he did not want his enemies to know this. After blocking Yendys' attacks, he pushed her back, causing her to fall onto the floor. He turned back to his former Master's padawan. Reaching into the energies that surrounded him, he reached his free hand out and blue lightning shot out of the fingertips. Talaan knew that he had his enemy defeated when Trevor's eyes widened slightly.

Trevor recognized the motion of the lightning and was surprised that Talaan had figured out how to manipulate lightning. He had learned about it early on in his training, and his Master had said the Sith were very proficient at this type of attack. One of the best ways to counter it was to absorb the energies flowing towards you. Trevor's only reaction was what saved his life.

As the lightning extended, Trevor reached out his free hand, reaching into the fire to gather the energies to himself. He reached back into the Force-barrier he had created for himself earlier and allowed that energy to help absorb the lightning into his body. The result was a small ball of blue energy centimeters from his outstretched hand. Trevor closed his hand, accepting the energies into his body. He suddenly felt very refreshed, and re-energized by the lightning. He twisted his head around, cracking the vertebra in his neck. The smirk that lit up Trevor's face infuriated Talaan even more. Trevor recognized his advantage and pressed it forward. Trevor swung again in an seeming erratic fashion, but very effective at getting by Talaan's defenses. Talaan's breathing came more and more erratic as Trevor pressed the attack. Yendys came in from the other side, fighting her way though his defenses, trying to assist Trevor as best she could. As she twisted her way through Talaan's defenses, Trevor concentrated on his battle training and tried to augment his techniques even further. Talaan, feeling that his advantage was waning away, reach out with the Force to grasp Trevor's neck, hoping to strangle the pup that was proving more difficult than he anticipated. Trevor felt his windpipe start to shrink and his breath become forced. He willed himself to fight off the attack, and felt his airways open up again. Shaking off the remnants, Trevor realized that Talaan was bleeding from small cuts and scrapes. Trying to estimate how much blood he had lost, Trevor figured that Talaan should have been on the ground by now. However, Trevor also supposed that Talaan was using the Force to augment his health.

Yendys flew in from the side, trying to force Talaan to the ground. He shrugged off her attempts and reach out, lightning lancing out at her. She tried to bring her blade to bear, but was unable to react in time. She spun around in the air twice, landing on her knees at the edge of the catwalk. Smoke lifted from the singed areas of her jacket. Talaan advanced, intending to take out one of the pesky intruders.

Trevor felt his blood temperature rise. Rushing forward he brought forth a renewed sense of urgency, and pushed Viko to the edge of the catwalk. Slicing past Talaan's defenses took all of Trevor's remaining energies. Talaan blocked all of the chest high attacks, but Trevor adjusted his final swipe to knee level, catching the taller foe off-guard. The red lightsaber fell to the floor, automatically disengaged. Viko's face showed complete surprise as the fire in his eyes failed, and the body slid off the remaining stumps of legs, tumbling over the catwalk towards the fiery lake below. A scream of terror escaped Viko's throat. Trevor, ever the conscious Jedi, reached out with his remaining strength, attempting to catch the fallen foe and bring him into custody for all his crimes. Alas, the dark side energies and a storm of rage had enveloped Talaan's body resisted Trevor's attempts, and Viko Talaan tumbled into his fiery grave, never to be seen or heard from again.

Yendys watched as Trevor sank to his knees, fatigue lining his face. She exhaled deeply, catching Trevor's attention. Her face was covered in soot and ash, her coat's once shiny gloss had faded into burn marks. Trevor gingerly stood and walked over.

"Are you okay?" He reached over, grasping her shoulder gently. She softened slightly, then brushed him off.

"I'm fine." She stared over the edge of the catwalk at the pool of lava for a moment more. "Shall we get back out there and find out what is happening?"

Trevor began to respond, when a loud noise interrupted him. He turned towards the pillars of computer banks, mimicking the lava column form. A synthetic crystalline ring structure ringing the center column, with many ornate lightsabers adorning the outside. The ring began to spin, slowly at first then picking up speed. The two survivors, realizing immediately that a final trap had be sprung, immediately raced for the open door they had entered not fifteen minutes earlier. Trevor moved his vision ahead and looked back, as if a camera looking at a scene in a vidmovie. The lightsabers had been activated at a certain speed, and were turning up, cutting the crystalline ring nearly in half. The explosion of the crystal structure caused a compression wave that knocked Trevor and Yendys onto the landing of the floor. Trevor looked back and adjusted his vision, seeing the lava lake rising up rather quicker than he expected.

Trevor and Yendys both climbed the stairs rather quickly, quicker than they even expected. Trevor reached up, grabbed the cable they had ascended earlier. His hands slipped and his body started to fall into the lava. He squeezed his legs together to catch himself. He swung back up, and pulled himself across the chasm. Yendys followed him closely. As they swung down to the other side, both noticed that the door was open on this side. But they also noticed that on the opposite side the lava was breeching the stairs, flowing into the hall. Turning they continued backtracking, cutting through the doors that had locked behind them. Yendys and Trevor worked as a team to cut through the metallic doors. As they reached the rougher tunnels, they could hear the roar of the lava as it burned the bodies of the vornskyrrs. Yendys yelled back as they proceeded to race along the corridors.

"Do you happen to remember the doors at the main entrance?"

Trevor nodded. "Yes, I remember the laser shield. Let's just hope that we can try to contact E5 before too long. Being down this low isn't real good for communications."

"Yes, but the shield must have been on both sides. They aren't coming in to get us." Panic started to creep into her voice.

Trevor thought quickly. "The air vents! We can get out that way! It leads out and it is our best hope."

Yendys nodded, "That'll work." And they continued to race on, both silent in their concentration to escape the death trap following them. They entered the main repulsor lift room, smoke billowing around them. Trevor thought that the smoke was from the lava behind them. What greeted them was something different.

The repulsor lifts were lying on the ground, lift mechanisms in a garbled mess. The metal was twisted around showing evidence of explosives under the lifts themselves. Trevor and Yendys suddenly felt as if their life-force was drained away. Their only chance of escape gone up in smoke.

A sudden twittering caught their attention from above. E5's metallic body broke through the haze of the room, exiting the far corridor. Elation greeting Trevor as a big smile lit up his face.

"E5! How in the Force did you get down here?" A series of beeps and whistles flowed forth, but Trevor quickly interrupted.

"Lead us out, NOW!" E5 stopped his chattering, twisted around and extended two small engines. Blue flames shot out, lifting the astromech droid up and out of the mine shaft. A small rear compartment opened, and a cable dropped down with a small metal base on the end. Trevor grabbed the base, reached around Yendys' waist as the cable went taut, lifting the pair off the ground. Yendys reached with her free hand up to the other side of the base, steadying the weight. However, Trevor could hear the strain on E5's motors as the pair certainly seemed to be straining E5's capacity. Trevor concentrated on lifting his body up enough to reduce the drag on E5. Yendys watched Trevor's breathing slow down, and realized he was trying to lift himself up. She closed her eyes, concentrating on her weight as well. E5 suddenly felt much lighter and soared to the top of the chamber. He reached level ground and immediately began to race for the door. Trevor and Yendys climbed out of the mine shaft and hurried after E5. There was no need to wonder about the door as E5 had somehow managed to deactivate the laser shields and open the door to the outside. The two humanoids raced towards the opening dodging dust and rock falling from the ceiling. A incessant twittering eminating from his waist notified Trevor that his comlink was going off. He ignored it for the time being, alternating between calling back to Yendys and E5 to hasten or to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. The freighter stood where they had left it, rear door open. The engine pre-flight seemed complete as steam escaped from the engines. Trevor raced to the pilot's seat, while Yendys jumped into the co-pilot seat moments later. E5 rolled up the ramp as Trevor fired up the repulsor engines to give them a head start. A plume of dust and smoke caught Trevor's attention as the dome of the Sith Shrine blew upwards in a mushroom cloud. A trail of smoke diverted from the main cloud as a large turbine flew off elsewhere on the planet. A large fire was reflected in the base of the clouds. The Sith Shrine was disintegrating right before him. E5 entered the pilot's bridge, screeching at the other droids, who immediately seemed to into overdrive to get the ship airborne. The comlink continued to nag at him, so he answered it rather curtly while pushing the repulsor engines to full to give the ship a head start in their escape.

"What?"
"Have you both made it out?"

He immediately recognized relief in his Master's voice. "Yes, we are trying to get this bucket of bolts off the ground right now."

"I am getting some bad energy readings. Get away from there."

"We're on it!" Trevor punched close the comlink while impatiently trying to avoid airborne debris that might cause them to crash. Yendys reached out to grab the stick, but stopped centimeters short. She did not want Trevor to lose his concentration, but she also wanted to help. She closed her eyes, and listened to Trevor's mind over the link, trying to anticipate where he would need her help next. Her hands flew over the control panel augmenting his piloting skills. Trevor avoided all the major particles as he increased the distance between himself and the ground. Yendys continued to assist in the avoidance of any more debris and the freighter eventually broke from the atmosphere and into space.

Trevor worked the controls and immediately contacted the Crystal Phoenix once again, now that that they were safely in the air. The crew could see, through vision, eyes and sensors, that the Jedi convoy was orbiting the planet, waiting for their wayward cousin. Some of the starfighter wings seemed smaller than before, and even some of the laboring starships looked to not be able to make the trip. Trevor maneuvered under the Crystal Phoenix and came up next to it, cockpits parallel to one another.

"Master, is there another place we can meet, other than here?"

"Yes, let's head back to Ithor, coordinates are already into the computer."

"Good. Meet you there."

The nav-lights blinked once in response, the universal sign for "break off and thanks". Trevor pulled gently away from the Phoenix to allow for the navicomputer to complete the calculations for the jump to hyperspace. Yendys held her right hand up, following the countdown to the jump to hyperspace. During the countdown, Trevor noted the Jedi convoy jumping to hyperspace ahead of him. He turned his face towards the stars, glad to have this mission over, but uncertain about his future. Yendys finished the countdown, pushed the hyperdrive controls to full, and the viewscreen streaked with starlight, beginning the jump to hyperspace. The freighter's engines flashed once and disappeared into hyperspace, leaving behind a once impressive Sith shrine in ruins below.