"You have a touch of the Force inside of you." The female Jedi said. "If the Sith find out they will undoubtedly come and break you into one as well."

[No, I won't believe it. I refuse to.] Redém thought. [I can't be like them. Jedi lie. They always have. But people have been disappearing from the ranks . . . no. It's not true. It can't be.] Redém pressed a button and watched as she screamed from the shock that went through her. [Oh, how I'd love to kill her and end all of her foolish Jedi ways . . .]

He could feel it, how close to death the Jedi was. It would only take one more, maybe not even that. He reached for the button, but got a strange feeling . . . in his head . . .

[What, what's this . . . feeling? It's pain . . . but it's not mine . . . it's the galaxy's, the Jedi's, the padawan's . . . GET OUT OF MY HEAD JEDI!]

But the feeling didn't go away.

[It's like, listening to the heartbeat of the galaxy. Like awakening and feeling a bright sun for the first time . . . No, get out of my head!] He remembered what the Jedi had said before, about him being Force-sensitive.

[She's the only one who knows about my Force-sensitive nature. But the Sith could find out . . . if she lives and they torture her . . .]

"A Jedi's life is sacrifice." He heard her whisper. He moved his hand over the button, and then brought it down. There was the electrical sound of a shock, and a thump as her body hit the floor, but the feeling didn't go away. It stayed there, the heartbeat of the galaxy faintly beating . . .

[That's strange, at first I remember thinking that I would have loved to kill her, but now . . . I killed her because she loved me. It's this strange kind of love where you're willing to give up everything for someone you don't even know. She sacrificed herself to save me. Me. After all I've done to Jedi like her . . . I just can't get these emotions out of my head. I feel . . . guilty. I have to do . . . something. I can't do what I'm doing now any longer. I have to leave. I can't hurt Jedi anymore now that I have felt . . . this . . .]

He heard a scream coming from the adjoining room, and felt a little pain with it.

[That's the last thing that I'm going to do here . . . let them free. If I don't . . . this guilt . . . It will consume me.]

He left the room, silently saying thank you to the Jedi that he had killed out of love.

[I'll have to wait until the Sith lords get out of the padawan's cell, then I can let her and her master free.]

As if to answer Redém's thought, the Sith filed out of the room. When the Sith were well enough away, Redém opened the door.

He wasn't prepared to see the padawan, a child, lying on the floor, violently shaking; one of the effects of the Force lightning that the Sith Lords had been using on her.

[And this one has been going through this for about three days. How can she stand it? And now that I really look at her, she looks a little young for a padawan. She looks like she's only ten years old. I thought padawans were at least thirteen.]

But Redém couldn't just stand there, she needed help and the Sith Lords might come back any minute. He approached the still shaking child and reached out to put his hand on her shoulder to calm her. They both jerked away when they touched, the girl, because his gentle touch on her skin freaked out her nerves and Redém, because an after-shock coursed through him upon contact with her. Her shaking lessened in intensity down to a mild shiver.

[No, I still have to help her.]

"It's okay; I'm here to help you."

"Hel . . . p?"

"Yes. Can you sit up?" The girl reflexively curled up into a ball and cried.

"No – no!"

Redém realized that the girl mistook sit for Sith and went to correct himself. "No, not Sith, sit, like this." Redém stopped squatting down and sat on the floor. He then regretted it because he sat in something wet, probably the girl's blood.

The girl struggled, but didn't have the strength to get up.

[It hurts . . . it hurts so much . . . But this one is trying to . . . help me get out . . .]

"I can carry you out, but it will hurt a bit."

[Sari, what if you took over my form for the time being? It's not damaged, but keep in mind that it is not as physically capable as yours. All I'm . . . worried about at . . . the moment is . . . that it can . . . run . . . or even . . . stand up for . . . that matter . . . It can, but it won't go as fast or as long as you're used to. That's okay . . . for now . . . Okay, just, please, don't hurt it too much. I promise . . .] "No, something better." There was a bright flash and Sari's battered form changed into Sarah's normal form. [Wow, it feels so weird. I feel . . . weak. Yeah, thanks.]

Redém was surprised at her sudden transformation, but still said. "Come, we have to get out of here quickly."

Sari followed Redém to the next cell over. Redém opened the door and they saw Bow hanging in an energy field. A look of surprise crossed Bow's face as he saw what looked like Sarah, but felt like Sari.

When he saw Redém behind her he concluded that the Sith were going to torture them again, but Sari cleared that up.

"Bow, we're getting out of here. Redém's is going to help us escape." Redém went into the control station and went over to the button that would release Bow from the energy field. But as his hand went to go press it, his eye saw the button that would send an electric shock through him. It would be so easy to betray her trust right now. And if he did, he had a feeling that it would be worth it . . .

. . . But then he felt the Force again. He remembered what the Jedi had sacrificed. He remembered what would happen if the Sith found out about him. And he felt a bright happiness that washed through him. But it wasn't his own. It was of the master and padawan that he saw before him . . . He couldn't do it . . . His hand moved over to the release button . . .

Bow unceremoniously fell to the floor and Sari laughed.

"Come on," Redém said. "They'll be coming soon."

"What about our lightsabers?" Sari said as she helped Bow up.

"The other Jedi hunters have them. I can get them for you, just help your master put on his armor, get to the exit, and wait for me."

Redém knew that he couldn't just waltz into the room and ask if he could take the Jedi's lightsabers. The Lead Jedi Hunters would never give their trophies to him. That meant that he had to steal them . . . It meant that he had to use his stealth . . . And with his skills, he might as well just walk up to them . . . After all, they were trained professionals. But he would try.

Redém opened the door as quietly as he could. The other Jedi Hunters were asleep. That was good. He could see the lightsabers on the table nearest to him. Also good. He could also see that . . .

[Blast!]

Torue, the leader of Redém's Jedi Hunter group, had just woken up.

[Great, just great! Now how am I supposed to get the sabers?]

The answer presented itself when Torue got up from his chair, heading for the bathroom. Redém moved as soon as he heard the door to the bathroom close.

He grabbed the sabers and was about to walk out of the room, when the door suddenly opened. He slid underneath the table, and tried to make himself as small as possible. He hoped that the person entering hadn't seen him. Black boots and the ends of a black robe were all Redém saw of the person who had entered the room. Make that, the Sith who had entered the room . . .

The refresher door opened and Torue walked out. The Sith walked towards Torue.

"Where is the one you call Redém?" The Sith asked.

Torue seemed surprised that a Sith was in the Jedi Hunter's private room. He was especially surprised to find out that it was Diz.

"I ask again, where is Redém?" Torue scanned the room.

"He's not here, sir. I don't know where he is."

"Find him."

"Yes, sir." Diz reached out a hand and Torue grasped his neck, the universal sign for choking.

"I believe that "my Lord" would be more fitting, don't you think?"

"Of course – my Lord –" Torue choked out. Diz let go and Torue rushed out of the room. Diz walked slowly towards the exit. Redém was frightened that Diz would find him, and the slight 'click' of Diz's boots against the floor added to that fear. The clicking became louder as Diz walked closer . . .

Diz reached the door . . . but then turned around and seemed to look right at the table that Redém was hiding under. Diz's eyes scanned the rest of the room then went back to the table. A smile crossed his face as he walked out of the room . . .

Redém didn't come out from under the table until the Diz's footsteps faded away. He opened the door and rushed through the hallways to the entrance, holding the lightsabers so tight that he was sure that he had an imprint of them on his hands.

Sari and Bow were at the exit, on their guard. He handed them their lightsabers, his hands shaking. They hung their lightsabers on their belts as he started to work on disarming the alarm system.

The door opened and Bow asked the questions that had been on his mind.

"Why are you doing this for us? Why do you give our lightsabers back freely and open the door for us?"

"I can't explain it, just go. Get far away from here."

[I have to leave too. I have to . . . get lost, go somewhere where no one can find me.]

Bow nodded and the Master and padawan ran off into the forest.

Redém watched until they were out of sight. [It's time for me to go.] He ran back into the base, but turned towards the hangar to find his ship, the same ship that he had used to bring so many Jedi to this base to be turned, and also the one that would never return here again . . .