Author's notes: And so we come to round two… no Jolee yet, but our very own forest hermit is making an appearance soon. Some altered character dialogue here, Carth gets a chance to apologize, a family reunion and Revan getting colder by the minute. Still, Bastila is right about one thing in the chapter. Read on, find out.

ether-fanfic – Suggestion noted. But writing the original stuff is the hardest. I'll do my best. Read on.

Dark Lord Daishi – that was a difficult chapter to write. Thanks. Here you go.

Brynn – I hate my keyboard… good thing I'm getting a new one soon.

X X X X

Chapter 19 – Uninvited

X X X X

An eerie dark forest was surrounding her. Was it night? She was standing in the darkness, her long black cape swishing in the breeze. Her face was uncovered, free of her mask as she programmed the ancient Rakatan console, the holographic alien bowing to her. The Star Map was indeed stored in the original system memory. Just like all the others, it slowly opened up, like a flower in bloom. Lights emerging from the projector pierced the shadows and any dark creatures watching the whole scene fled from the flash of energy. But no light could pierce the darkness of her heart. The cloaked figure smiled, satisfied with what she found there. The smile on her face was of pure evil, pure satisfaction with her own abilities. So far, everything was going as she had foreseen. No one knew about the quest. No one else knew of the Star Forge. It was she who uncovered the secrets of the Builders. It was her destiny…

X X X

After a long and boring discussion of the dream with Bastila, Revan bolted out of the ship, immediately taking a deep breath and walking up to the edge of the platform the Hawk landed on. She was glad to be back on this planet. It's very essence was similar to that of the Sith – the strongest survive, the most powerful rule. Such are the laws of the universe.

The only thing that bothered her was the Czerka outpost… she had enough of Czerka on Tatooine and wasn't in the mood for dealing with the slime-balls again. That was probably the only reason she wanted to go to Manaan next – Czerka sticked with the Sith on Manaan. Aratech was with the Republic. She was with Republic refugees. That meant Czerka wouldn't bother her while she was officially classified as a Republic citizen. Unfortunately, Czerka was the only company that was interested in Kashyyyk so far. It was inevitable that she would encounter them here.

"Umm…greetings to you," someone who spoke Ithorian quite fluently said behind her. Revan whirled around swiftly to see (very surprisingly) an Ithorian approach her. Even without his badge, his mind screamed 'Czerka rep'. "Err... while I am pleased to welcome you to planet G5-623, I do not see your ship on my docking schedule. The Czerka Corporation will see to your needs, of course, but there will be a one hundred credit docking fee. In advance, I fear."

"Oh, of course I understand." Revan coolly said, "And I don't need to pay the docking fee."

Her hand moved slightly, an obvious display of Force persuasion. Of course, the Czerka rep was too dumb and weak-minded to notice it.

"Perhaps you don't need to pay the docking fee. Any services you need will more than make up for it. You are welcome on Edean, trade designation G5-623. Czerka Corporation welcomes your business. We should discuss your interests in my office. We will also arrange for translation services, for a nominal fee, of course. You'll be encountering a number of Wookiees while here."

"Get out of my sight, you retarded womp-rat." Revan snapped in Mandalorian – her favorite language to dish out insults in. She doubted the Czerka rep would understand it – as long as she didn't insult him in Basic, Ithorian and possibly Shyriiwook, she was fine. And if he by any chance understood Mandalorian and threatened her or something… well, he would learn how an angered Mandalorian behaves, of course.

"I am sorry I am not quite fluent in… Mandalorian, was that?" The Ithorian said quizzically, "At any rate, I will simply assume you don't require a translator. Now then, please follow me to our information center. I will answer any further questions there."

Revan completely ignored him and waited until he was out of sight, which unfortunately gave Bastila the chance to catch up with her. The Jedi stormed out of the ship, her eyes immediately resting on Revan. She didn't get a chance to talk civilly with Revan ever since the Tatooine "incident". And Revan seemed quite content with the current status. But Bastila knew she had breached (or at least weakened) the front line of her mental defenses. Perhaps there was yet hope.

She knew Revan sensed her presence through their bond, so she didn't bother clearing her throat or anything like that. Instead… "I was thinking of going with you on this mission." She clearly proclaimed after walking briskly to the other woman.

"Again?" Revan asked, still not turning to face her. She had always liked the forests.

"Our last encounter with Czerka left me worried." Bastila explained.

"I hate their minds. Slimier than a firaxa in an oil container, these Czerka reps." Revan muttered. Then, she sensed worry from the Padawan and finally turned to face her. "You have something you want to ask me?"

Bastila blinked. She was trying her best to hide her emotions… but she supposed that her mind was solemnly focused on asking Revan something. The problem was, she didn't know what to ask first. "I do. How did you know?"

"Well…" Revan tilted her head slightly, examining the Padawan´s face closely. "Your face is all scrunched-up, like a kinrath pup." she noted calmly.

"A… a kinrath pup?! It most certainly is not!" Bastila snapped. Then she caught herself when she saw Revan raise her eyebrows. "I worry for you… Alexa." She sighed. I feel you are taking this too lightly. Our destinies are intertwined. Any reckless behavior on your part is likely to affect me as well."

"So you're just worried about yourself then."

"That is not true." There is no emotion; there is peace. "I am worried about myself, yes, but I wish neither of us would come to harm."

"If I wanted to harm you, I would have done it a long time ago, little Jedi." Revan noted, watching the trees again. "But the bond backfires your emotions to me at times."

"Now that is called being selfish." Bastila snapped. She had tried to project some guilt to Revan in the past, unsuccessfully. This was a confirmation that it had worked. But Revan didn't care about the emotions of others – that was the problem.

"I'm not you and I thank the Force for that."

Bastila scowled. If she were calm now, she would have tried to apologize and sort things out with Revan. But in her current disposition, the anger that was bubbling up to the surface of her generally good and kind aura, she turned on her heel, head held high, and stormed off back to the ship, nearly bumping into Juhani, who gave her a surprised look, but shrugged and leaned in on the wooden barrier, next to Revan.

"This place is… so full of life." The Cathar said distantly. At least she didn't have any preconceptions about what might happen here. Or she came to the conclusion that on a planet with so much wildlife, they wouldn't have to kill any sentient beings. Well… not many, at least.

"It's one of the planets where you really feel very small – Kashyyyk makes you understand you are part of the circle of life that constantly repeats itself."

Juhani nodded, "Yes. You are right." she sighed.

"How did you come to be a Jedi?" Revan suddenly asked, with idle curiosity that caused Juhani to blink.

"How I came to be a Jedi?" she asked, surprised, "I am sure you would not find it very interesting... Are you sure you would like to hear?"

"Why not?" Revan shrugged. "It seems… unusual for a Cathar to become a Jedi, that's all."

"Well... It goes back a number of years... Back on my homeworld we did not see Jedi very often, especially where I lived."

"Where did you live?"

"The hind end of space. A pit of a world, to be sure. Where Jedi rarely tread... But we had heard of them. Well, everyone had, so that is not to be unexpected. Champions of truth. Defenders of justice. Heroes of the Republic." Her eyes seemed to be completely distant, as if she were in a little dreamworld, where there was no evil, no injustice. As if she was drugged with glitterstim, really. "It was very easy for a child to be enthralled by their image, their mystique. Maybe I was one of those children. When I saw a Jedi for the first time they lived up to everything my imagination had created them to be." she said, in the same far away tone, "I was awed... and maybe a bit enamored..."

"Enamored?" Revan skeptically asked.

"They were quite striking…" Juhani explained. "To us, they seemed invincible. Especially their leader, who they talked about all the time! Paragons of light and justice, sweeping away all iniquity before them!"

Revan frowned at that. Jedi usually didn't have leaders… and judging by Juhani´s speech, this was a particularly large group of Jedi… unless… she didn't want to interrupt, but the idea that Juhani spoke of her was both flattering and risky at the same time.

"From that moment on I knew that I would have to try to become a Jedi. To lift myself out of the rut I had been living in for years and to make a real difference, as the Jedi were. The foolish delusions of a child. But THIS child made it happen! " Juhani proudly crowed, "As soon as I was able I left my world and went in search of them. I found them and was accepted. I had been living my dream on Dantooine for several years before you came."

"An unusual story… but interesting." she frowned. Juhani seemed to hesitate, clearly troubled by something. "Something wrong?"

"I… I have been bothered by something of late." Juhani admitted.

"Don't suppress your emotions, if someone can help you come to terms with them. What's troubling you?"

Juhani blinked at the strange advice, since her mentors often told her to use the Code to calm herself, when she needed it. "I have been wrestling with my feelings inside. Trying to come to terms with it, but I find I cannot. I must have someone to blame!" Anger. "Someone to blame for the destruction of my homeworld! Someone who is responsible for the death of everyone I have ever known except those on Dantooine!"

The sudden change in the Jedi's attitude made Revan frown. Was she wasn't getting at…? "You're not saying…" she carefully began.

"Taris!" Juhani snarled, confirming Revan´s supposition, "It was Taris that the Sith destroyed to try to kill you and your precious Bastila! Taris, my homeworld! If it were not for you and Bastila, the Sith would never had reason to destroy that world! It was your fault for being there, and your fault for rescuing Bastila. Without your intervention, the Sith would have no cause to lay waste on my childhood!"

"So your childhood is all-important?" Revan coolly said. "Are you the only person in this galaxy that has troubles?"

Juhani blinked at that, but her eyes remained narrowed. "Just let me vent my anger! I need someone to blame… something… anything! I hated that world, yet everything I learned as a child I learned there. It is as much a part of me as the air I breathe. I have this ache inside me where all my childhood memories lay, and I find your face there with them. If it was not for you, that world would still exist!"

"Sometimes you need to make sacrifices." Revan said calmly. She never made excuses for her actions or regretted them. Taris had been a horrid world.

"The sacrifice of an entire world is too much! Would you act the same if Dantooine or Alderaan were destroyed?!" Juhani practically yelled.

"If it had a purpose, than yes." Revan said, with clear apathy in her voice.

"That… that is just horrible!" Juhani hissed. "You­… you say it as if you did not even care about the lives of others!"

" Ultimate victory requires sacrifices. And the deaths of those people would spur my forces on. Even if you would save those people, they will most likely suffer a fate worse than death if you loose the entire war." Revan explained.

"Have you no heart? No compassion at all?!" Juhani demanded.

"Compassion – no. Heart – does ice count? There was no way to prevent what happened to Taris, even if I wanted to."

"But it is… so hard to loose your entire past!" Juhani sighed. "It was my home… Taris was my home for many years. As much as I hated it, it was still home. A rat-hole, a warren; a paradise. I suppose you could call it all those things. For me, it was hell…" She then explained how awful her life on Taris had been. It was very much an anti-alien planet, after all, so Revan wasn't surprised. Still, she was confused that this woman, who had suffered so much because of the fact she was raised on Taris, still loved that world so much. Juhani sighed when she finished her story, "You are human… you could not possibly know."

"Humans can be just as cruel to each other." Revan noted.

"That is true, I suppose. But it is much more obvious for someone like me. There were no other Cathar on Taris. No one to talk to. No one to confide in. Humph! But you must think me weak for saying this. But I am strong enough to admit it! Bah! Maybe I am weak. To think that some storied from my stupid past could possibly interest you." Juhani said, shaking her head in frustration.

"Humans have always feared what they knew little about. They fear that someone stronger, more capable, will come and replace them. In an archaic culture, you could say the entire anti-alien thing is like a witch-hunt – without the tortures, so far." Revan explained, "Fear can be an ally – people are easily manipulated when afraid. Or when they are angered. That's why so many people join the Sith… and also why so many Jedi rebelled in the Mandalorian Wars. We weren't content with the Council's plan of action, so we made our own."

Juhani´s eyes sparkled suddenly. "You… you were with those Jedi? Those who came to fight the Mandalorians?

Revan sighed. "I used to be a Jedi. There was a major migration after that war."

"And you chose to return to the Jedi. To turn a new page in your life. So, I guess all that doesn't matter. Only your life now does." Juhani noted, a faint smile appearing on her face.. "But you had the chance to fight for the right thing… to fight for Revan!"

"Well… yes." Revan blithely said. She preferred to tell a partial truth to her companions, not a full-fledged lie. They would take the revelation of her identity far better. This was skating on thin ice. One slip up – saying "I" instead of "she" – and her cover would be royally screwed.

"What was she like?" Juhani immediately asked. "I know that Revan was a woman, I have met her… once. Briefly. But I never saw as much as a fraction of her face. Could you tell me about her?"

"Haven't the Masters told you anything about my connection to her?" Revan warily asked. If this was a trick to gain her trust, it was a poor one. But when Juhani shook her head, she sensed no deception. "Well… she was always the leader, the most powerful of us. Her charisma did wonders and she wasn't the kind of person on whose wrong side you want to get." she recited what she overheard from the conversations of the Jedi that followed her – she could move unseen in the shadows when she wanted to. It was quite improbable that the Padawans who were discussing how proud they were to serve under her knew that she overheard the conversations… and was most pleased with their options. "I don't know what else I could tell you."

Juhani gazed dreamily into thin air and Revan had to snap her fingers in front of her face to bring her back to reality. "I am sorry. It's just… " Juhani sighed.

"Revan inspired you to become a Jedi?"

Juhani nodded, "Yes. I do not know what happened to Revan and Malak on their journeys, or what they sought with these Star Maps, but the Jedi I knew was a paragon of the Order."

"Perhaps she had her reasons." Revan quietly said. Guilt. Pure guilt. That was what the Council wanted. That was why they granted Juhani´s request. Revan mentally called the Jedi Masters several obscene names. She shoved the guilt out of the nearest airlock, immediately.

Juhani shook her head, "This is meaningless speculation, I suppose. But I apologize. Taris was not your fault. Yet you did not lash back at me. You could be a much better Jedi than I, it would seem… despite your coolness." She added as an afterthought.

After about three seconds after Juhani said the last word, Mission appeared out of nowhere next to them. The Cathar jumped slightly, but Revan didn't even flinch. The kid was an awesome stealth tech, but couldn't hide her very presence.

"Hey, guys." Mission beamed at them, almost bouncing on the spot.

"Hey, kid." Revan greeted her, "What are you up to?"

"I slipped out of the ship while you were talking to that Czerka rep – by the way, I sure wish I had special mind affecting Force powers." Juhani glared at Revan, who smirked. "I got a new better stealth belt for the credits I won on Tatooine!" the Twi´lek beamed.

"Is there anything good at the shop?" Revan asked.

Mission nodded, "Yeah, fancy armor that belonged to some Zabrak and an electrical shield belt."

"Sounds good." Revan looked behind Mission, "How about you go beat that Rodian over there while I'm out and you can go have a look at the newest Baragwin merchandise when we go to Yavin again?"

Mission turned around to face the point Revan was looking at. She also saw the crate loader's Pazaak deck with several cards. She smiled a shark's smile. "Okay, no problem. By the way, Zaalbar´s being a baby about returning home, could you talk to him?"

"I don't want him to be scared." Revan noted, "I'm on it."

"Cool. Thanks." Mission bounced away to talk to the Rodian.

"It appears you do care for someone." Juhani noted quietly.

"She's not bad in hacking computers and being stealthy. She's worthy of keeping… perhaps even protecting."

Juhani smiled. "Interesting. Perhaps you are not beyond hope after all."

Revan shook her head, though . "I believe in honor. I was in debt to her."

"I must ask you… why did you spare my life at the grove?" Juhani asked, her aura indicating that she was wondering that for quite some time.

"Because you were never my enemy, you just drowned yourself in guilt and thought you were hunted."

"I saw that you are a hunter, though." the Cathar muttered.

"But you were never my prey." Juhani smiled and continued to watch the forest even when Revan departed.

X X X

She found Zaalbar in the cargo hold, where the Wookiee failed miserably at hiding behind the plasteel cylinders.

"Zaalbar? Mission said you were afraid to come out. Why is that? I thought you'd be happy to return home." Revan said, sitting on a cylinder nearby.

"Kashyyyk…my home…" Zaalbar growled distantly, "I never thought I would return here. I should have prepared you for coming here... but I don't know if I've prepared myself."

"Prepared me? What do you mean?"

"I didn't leave Kashyyyk voluntarily." he growled, "Mission must have told you how I was fleeing slavers... but there was more. I am an exile. The slavers on Kashyyyk only took me after I was forced to leave my village home, twenty years ago."

Revan frowned. Not good. "Why were you forced to leave?"

"My brother made deals with the slavers and allowed them to get a foothold. I found out and attacked him." he explained. Anger and bitterness radiated from him in waves. The brother in question would be in deep trouble if they ever met again. "The fight was stopped, but my father did not believe me when I told him about my brother's actions. I was made an exile, disowned by my home and people. I should not be here. They will not accept me back."

"Why didn't your father believe you?" Revan asked warily. Definitely not good.

"When I attacked my brother I was so mad... I used my claws. You don't understand what that means to a Wookiee. Our claws are tools, not weapons. To use them in battle is to become an animal. It is madness without honor. I am forever a mad-claw in the eyes of my people. Nothing I say is to be trusted. They were right to cast me out."

"I would say that time has passed and things have changed… but Czerka are still here. Still,
we'll deal with whatever you need to deal with, if we have to. Would you accompany me to the walkways? What we seek must be out there."

"I don't have much hope." Zaalbar noted sadly, "But I will follow." He stood up without knocking away any supply containers, to Revan´s surprise.

She took him and HK-47, since they would encounter a lot of vermin on the way to the village – she wanted to go there and finally find out what happened to make Zaalbar a mad-claw, when he seemed to be completely true to Wookiee honor.

X X X

The mix of emotions around her was soothing… Revan sensed much emotion around her as she and Zaalbar passed through the Czerka port. The fact that the death around them could make Bastila dizzy made her smirk. She decided to check out the store Mission mentioned – an electrical shield was a useful thing. You never know when you might be stuck with a lightning-happy Sith.

"So, new spacers have come to wild Kashyyyk? Please, look well upon the wares of Eli Gand. I live to serve your needs." the salesman said slimily as she approached the stall.

The merchandise was mostly poor, though there were a few good things among the trash.
A young man was sitting nearby, repairing a gadget of some sort didn't look up, though he acknowledged Revan's presence.

"Just be sure to pay cash." he suddenly warned, "The interest on his loans will drain you like a Deluvian fatworm on a Hutt's backside."

The owned – Eli – looked at the mechanic, arching an eyebrow. "First off, Hutts are ALL backside." he said smarmily, "Secondly, I don't much like the comparison. No need to get personal. It's just business." Shaking his head, he turned back to his "customers". The dishonesty was so clear in his voice, Revan didn't even have to sense it out through the Force, "Poor fellow, he's been waiting for his friends to return with my money for a standard month now. Ah, but you don't need to hear of this. What can I get you?"

"Do you always enslave your debtors?" Revan asked tonelessly. Kashyyyk was known for Wookiee slavery, not human slavery. Czerka actually cared about the people that visited them – you never know when they might turn out to be a rich business partner.

After much rambling, it turned out that the mechanic was abandoned by his crewmates for some reason or another. Well, it was standard trading rules.

"So, how much for this little gadget?" Revan asked, holding up the electrical shield belt for Eli to see.

"Ah, I see you've got a fine taste, ma'am. Just 8000 credits and you've got yourself a top notch electrical shield belt." Eli said brightly. Revan considered the possibility of using a Mind Trick on him… but Matton would notice that – Eli was far too greedy to just give her the belt for free. So, instead, she gave him the full price in the race bonds she won on Tatooine. As soon as Eli counted the bonds, he smiled.

"Pleasure doing business with you, ma'am. Do come again."

Revan gave him a fake smile and led the way out of the village, "persuading" a guard to let her pass.

X X X

Once outside, Zaalbar stopped, looking around. "Can you sense it? The wind… the sound… the smells? I feel it all now that we are away from the spaceport." he told Revan when she also stopped. "The walkway is new, probably built by the slavers, but I remember the trees. My village is not far from here."

"Is there something I can help you with?" Revan asked.

But the Wookiee shook his head. "It is kind of you to offer, but my problems are very personal. I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with them. I must warn you one thing. I don't know whether I'll be a help or hindrance here. My father was very powerful… a chieftain." Zaalbar said the last word quietly, as if he thought Revan was better off not hearing the truth, even though he honored his life-debt. But Wookiees never speak too quietly. "Perhaps his feelings have mellowed, but if my brother had his ear all this time… I may be very unwelcome."

"We'll deal with that when the time comes." Revan suggested.

"That is what I am dreading. My shame was meant to be forgotten on some far away world. I never thought I'd come back. I'm sorry, I've taken enough of your time. We should press on."

The first thing they ran into was a group of Czerka around a freshly killed Wookiee.

"This isn't good. I can't afford this." A Czerka guard said.

"You think I can? Do you know what they get for a healthy one of these things?" The second one demanded.

"We'll work it out later. We've got company." The leader said, pointing a finger over his shoulder in Revan's direction. Then, he turned sharply to her. "What do you want, spacer?

I'm Patrol Captain Dehno and you're interrupting Czerka Corporation business."

"Tell me what happened here. Now." Revan demanded. No Force Persuasion… she just knew she had a right to know it.

"This Wookiee slave got a little… rebellious. We had to put it down." The captain said edgily.

"You "put it down"? We're not animals!" Zaalbar snarled. Revan never saw him this angry. On the other hand, it was justified.

"Zaalbar, let me handle this." She said calmly, though her eyes never moved from the Czerka.

"But their disregard for the life of this Wookiee is too much!" he growled.

"I know. But I have asked you to let me handle this. Honor my request."

"I will do so. For your sake, not theirs." With a curt nod, the Wookiee took a step back.

"Careful now… that growl sounded pretty threatening. Keep your slave on its leash or we'll have another accident." Another Czerka idiot said, waving his blaster.

"Just shut up, you trigger-happy idiot." The captain smartly suggested.

"HK, enlighten them with my option on this." Revan coolly ordered.

"Affirmative." The droid cheerfully said, blasting the nearest Czerka with obvious glee. Revan stayed back and she and Zaalbar just followed HK, who was currently busy exterminating the entire kinrath species. Before they came nearby the village, they were (yet again) rudely interrupted by three Dark Jedi.

"Lord Malak was – " the apparent leader began, but was interrupted by a Force Storm. A few seconds later, there were three piles of ashes where the Sith stood.

"So much for subtlety." Revan noted dispassionately.

HK looted the new corpses and took extra care to step on all three. They were close to the Wookiee village – a logical place to start - and were stopped by the guard.

"Stop where you are, outsider. You enter the domain of Chuundar, Chieftain and leader!" the brown Wookiee guard growled.

Zaalbar stepped in front of Revan protectively. "Stand aside! This human is with me and I want access to the home of my people!"

The guard seemed to flinch with disgust. "You have no rights here, mad-claw! This human should not have brought this taint upon out land! You must answer to Chuundar!"

"I'm not going anywhere I don't want to, mongrel." Revan said at once, "Try to stop me and I shall skin you alive, hair by hair."

"No! Please, Alexa, do not do this – I don't want anyone to suffer because of me." Zaalbar said. He bowed his head sadly. "I will answer to Chuundar. Let the others go."

"The Outsider has brought you back, mad-claw! She must answer to Chuundar!" the guard demanded, with a dangerous growl, "Enough talk! You and the outcast mad-claw will be taken to Chuundar now!"

Revan gritted her teeth, but lowered her already instinctively raised arm. They would most probably need some way to get down to the Shadowlands – the others would never agree to land the Ebon Hawk down there. Searching the surface "blindly" would be too complicated. It was time to see whether this Chuundar and his Czerka allies could redeem themselves in Revan´s eyes slightly by offering some assistance.

They were brought to the Chieftain's Hall, where a black Wookiee wearing a chieftain's necklace, sitting on a wooden throne-like chair, greeted them. The word "greeted" was too polite to be in that sentence, however. He radiated overconfidence and smugness, which showed on his voice and expression.

"Step forward and address mighty and wise Chuundar, outsider. I don't often allow visitors of your kind," he growled. Revan's eyes moved to the Czerka guards standing nearby. Yeah, right.

"You are flanked by Czerka slavers! Are they not outsiders? Or have you sold all of Kashyyyk to them!" Zaalbar snarled in response.

"Ah, brother Zaalbar. You've been exiled a long time. You shouldn't speak in that tone. Things are different now." the black Wookiee replied. So this is the infamous Chuundar? No wonder Zaalbar didn't want to come, Revan thought, glaring at the black Wookiee, "You are a mad-claw without honor. You have no voice among your own people. I, on the other hand, am Chieftain."

"Why drag us in here?" Comparing the warmth in Revan´s voice with Hoth´s climate made the ice rock seem like a desert.

"I haven't killed Zaalbar because he is my brother, and I hoped he and I could come to an agreement. You are irrelevant." Chuundar said calmly.

"Careful what you say, fuzz ball." she said with annoyance, sparks of lightning jumping between her fingertips. Chuundar obviously didn't get the hint, since he laughed in her face. With a dangerous growl, Revan held her hands in direction of the two Czerka guards standing next to Chuundar's throne. A strong dose of Force lightning hit them both in the chests, sending their twitching corpses to the ground. The other Czerka were too terrified to even raise her weapons. The self-proclaimed fuzz ball carpet chief (as HK by now nicknamed Chuundar – quasi-chief carpet, for short) visibly cringed.

The black Wookiee tried to appear calm, quite successfully. His eyes, however, told a different story. "If you are so powerful, I may be able to put you to use on a menial task. Zaalbar will have to stay here, of course."

"Explain."

"A simple thing. Another Wookiee has suffered the same fate as Zaalbar, gone mad and been exiled. He now lurks the Shadowlands." Chuundar said nonchalantly, "More importantly, he's pestering my Czerka allies during their Shadowland expeditions. It is not good for business. We only enter the Shadowlands for ritual hunting. I'd leave the troublemaker down there but he has proven too good at surviving. He has managed to linger a number of years, cowering in his madness and shame. You are expendable. You will remove him. I'll allow you access to the Shadowlands. You will track and kill this insane Wookiee, and maybe then you will earn my favor."

"Your favor is irrelevant to me. I don't serve petty wannabie tyrants." Revan proclaimed. "I will go to the Shadowlands and get what I came for. Consider anything that tries to kill me dead. If your mad-claw will be among those things, I will tell you. When I return, know that I will not leave without Zaalbar, even if I have to kill every Czerka on the face of this planet, including you, to get him back. Harm Zaalbar and I will rip your entrails out through your ears." Revan hissed.

HK's eyes lit up. "Query: Shall I begin blasting, Master?" He piped up hopefully. "We could have your hirsute companion back in no time."

"Not yet, HK." Revan said coldly. "Not yet." She her eyes narrowed, glaring at Chuundar once more, before she turned on her heel and stalked out of the hall, the doors smashing open in front of her. HK followed, obviously just looking for an excuse to blast the hairy meatbags.

X X X

The coldness of the villagers' auras, even though they kept it off their faces (partly because of HK-47, partly because of the Czerka guards), made Revan decide to return to the ship.

"Query: Master, why not blast the black furry meatbag? He insulted you in public!" HK whined once outside the village, marching beside his Master.

"By the time I'm done with him, he'll be begging for death, HK." Revan noted. "I'm not some semi-evil self-important overlord's errand runner. We came here for the Map and he gave us access. That buys him several more days of life."

"Statement: Your cruelty is most refreshing in an organic meatbag, Master. Query: Are you sure you aren't part droid?" HK asked, with genuine curiosity. The droid was a cold-oiled killer, but respected his Master above all other sentients. To an organic, she would seem fragile at first glance. But there wasn't much difference between Master and servant. They were two of a kind – and HK-47 was most proud of that. That was one of the things he admired about the Master.

"Unfortunately, no."

HK's eyes flashed. They visited Yavin station the previous day, scaring off a bunch of Trandoshans who were threatening the resident Rodian inventor. Most fortunately for the droid, the bug-eyed meatbag there had just what the Master needed to repair the sadly damaged assassination protocol… and, not surprisingly, her awesome maintenance and engineering skills were more than enough to repair the damaged actuator.

"Report: HK-47 assassination protocol restored, Master. Please specify my target."


The Master smiled. "Sorry, HK. Malak's mine."

The droid sulked visibly. "Objection: Master, that is just unfair! It would be my greatest pleasure to remove that inept meatbag lackey's entrails for you."

"I'll keep that offer in mind." The Master said with a slightly enigmatic smile.

But HK knew well that the Master would do a fine job torturing the original meatbag herself. To be tortured by the Dark Lord personally required you to be either: 1. A powerful Jedi that could be turned into a servant, 2. A highly torture-resistant organic carrying extremely important information or 3. A figurehead of the enemy. And sometimes 4. A traitor.

Since the Master's former pupil was considered to belong into category 3. and 4. both, HK had to admit that the Master had every right to torture him herself. Still, the droid considered it too much of an honor to the aforementioned meatbag. Hopefully, it would be allowed to have a bit of fun with him before the Master would dump what was left of him.

Once back on the Hawk, Revan went to search for Carth – over the past few weeks, she learned to distinguish the auras of her companions. And his aura was definitely not away from the ship. The male sleeping quarters were unlocked, but she knocked nonetheless.

"Carth, you there?" She asked even though she knew the answer. The question was quite toneless, however. Their last conversation was difficult to forget.

"Yeah, c'mon in." his voice replied. Revan entered to find him scowling at a datapad of some sort. He threw it on his bunk a moment later. Otherwise, there were random piles of junk all over the room. Not that it surprised her.

"What was that?" she curiously asked.

"Reports for the Republic, since they ordered me to monitor this mission. You wanted something?"

"Yeah, I need you to watch the ship. I don't trust those Czerka core-rats and if I leave HK to do it alone, I'll return to a ship full of corpses."

He shrugged. "Fair enough. No problem."

"Thanks. If Princess Padawan ever stops scowling in our room, tell her I went to the Shadowlands to have a walk."

"Alexa?" Carth's voice stopped her when she was about to slip away. She caught the doorframe and whirled back into the room, following her own footsteps.

"Yes?"

"I, ahhh…I'm not very good at this. I…I know I owe you an apology. Uh, more than one, probably." He sighed and she sensed clear regret from him. This was not just an act. "I was just so desperate to finally face Saul directly in the battle over Taris and now the Jedi have us looking for these…these Star Maps. I know this mission is important, it's just…I feel a bit useless." Revan raised her eyebrows at that. "I can fight, sure, but I'm no Jedi like Bastila, Juhani or you… all this seems completely out of my league."

"Maybe if you pulled yourself together, you won't be so useless." Revan said, but with a touch of humor. Calling her a Jedi just begged for a comeback. Without sarcasm. He didn't catch the lack of it, though, and smiled wearily.

"You don't exactly pull any punches, do you?" The look on her face assured him of that. "Not that I don't deserve it, I suppose. I just hate not knowing what's going on and feeling this…helpless. But I shouldn't have taken that out on you. I've been a royal pain in the backside, haven't I?"

"Don't worry about it, Carth. I've met worse people in my lifetime" Revan noted, waving her hand dismissively.

But he shook his head, "No, I do worry about it. I've traveled the lanes more than once, I should know better than this. So…I'm sorry, Alexa. Will you accept my apology?"

"I don't know." Revan said with a serious face. "Maybe you should work for it, a bit." A satisfied smile appeared on her face.

"Oh? I don't know if I like the sound of that…"

"No need to start sweating, Carth." Revan said, finally loosening up a bit. Enough tormenting for him today. Especially since she realized that it would be childish. "I was only teasing... this time."

"So…you do accept my apology." When Revan nodded, a brief full smile appeared on his face. "Huh. Good. Good. I'm glad. You know you, uh…you aren't so bad to have around, you know that?"

"I know. I'm very charming, I'm told."

"More than that." Revan´s face froze for a minute. The puzzled look on her face made Carth realize he said something he probably shouldn't have said to a Jedi, least of all her. "But…anyway…you probably should be off…" Really smart thing to say, Onasi. Just amazing, he thought.

Shoving away all suspicion and perhaps even slight happiness, Revan reinforced her mental defenses. Calm. Subtle. But cold as well. One temporary weakness was more than enough – she couldn't afford another. She merely nodded, quickly retreated and went to find out who else would want to go on a little field trip to the Shadowlands.