"You excited that you're home?" Carth attempted to make polite conversation with Bastila as they touched down on the planet.

Bastila just stared out the window. "I suppose," she murmured softly. In all honesty, the council made her feel wary and on edge. She knew that she had failed several of the tests that they had set for her, and the way they constantly rebuked her made her less than eager to return to the enclave. She had no doubt that there would be another lecture about the crew that she returned with.

"You suppose?" Carth cocked an eyebrow and turned to look at her.

Bastila cleared her throat and smiled at him. "Yes, I'm very happy to be home," she lied smoothly, and then wondered how, as a Jedi, she could do that in good conscience. She guessed it had something to do with her close association to the Dark Lord Revan. Now isn't the time to think of that.

"I'm sure the council will be happy to see you," Carth offered, and Bastila looked out the window again.

"Yes, I suppose they will," she murmured, a barely discernable touch of bitterness to her voice. The council had once been like her family. However, once she had realized that they viewed her as little more than a favored pet, resentment had begun to crowd out the rest of her emotions. But, she had no one left in the galaxy besides them…all of her friends were either Sith, dead, or in exile.

"Were you able to contact them? To let them know that we escaped Taris?"

Bastila chewed on her lower lip. "No. The communications device aboard the Ebon Hawk is in great need of repair. Perhaps the council will lend me a worker or two to fix it."

Carth smiled ruefully. "I don't think that anybody is going to be staying with this ship for long… unless Ami wants it for smuggling."

Bastila sighed as she watched the landing pad get closer. "Aminta may not be able to leave for a while yet. The council may wish to speak with her," Bastila divulged, and Carth winced.

"Ami doesn't like Jedi. I don't think she'll like that idea. She'll probably hop the first shuttle out of here to avoid them."

Bastila clasped her hands tighter in her lap. "We could all use a day's break after what we've been through. I will alert the council that I have arrived, but I will not report to them until tomorrow."

Carth frowned. "Do you think they'll like that very much?"

"Perhaps not," Bastila admitted, smoothing the wrinkles in her robes. "However, I have just felt the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, and have spent days meditating to attempt to clear my mind. I believe walking through the familiar fields for several hours will serve to calm me."

Carth nodded absently. "Do you know of any good cantinas around here? With your average, run of the mill, middle class people?"

Bastila's eyes went wide. "Excuse me?"

Carth grinned somewhat sheepishly. "You may find the grasslands calming, but I know for a fact that the other members of the crew like to unwind with a glass of ale. In mission's case a mug of Juma Juice."

Bastila nodded primly. "I suppose I could escort you to one, if that is what you wish for me to do," she offered.

"Yeah. That'd be great." Carth carefully slowed the ship to a halt as he landed it neatly on the landing pad. "Could you take us now? I mean, once we're ready to leave the ship?" he asked, unstrapping himself from his seat.

Bastila imagines the vast fields of flowing grass, and sighed inwardly. Apparently, serenity would have to wait for another hour or so. "Of course," Bastila bowed her head slightly as she unbuckled herself and smoothly rose from her chair.

Carth held open the cockpit door for her, and Bastila mumbled a thank you as she slipped through. "So, who wants to head to the cantina?" Carth called out as they entered the common room.

"That depends. You buying the drinks?" Aminta replied as she headed over to him. "Nice landing by the way. Zalbaar was terrified that you'd crash."

Zalbaar stood and crossed his arms indignantly. ":I most certainly was not afraid:"

"Beep doo beep beep!"

"You're right T-3. He did almost wet his fur!" Mission exclaimed with a broad grin as she patted the droid on its head. Zalbaar roared, and Mission grinned cheekily at him. "Sorry, Big Z, but when the droid's right, he's right."

":Why do I bother with a cub:" Zalbaar growled woefully, and then he glanced over at Carth. ":I will accompany you to the cantina, human. Perhaps there will be something strong enough there to take me mind off of her.:"

Aminta laughed, and translated the comment to Carth, who grinned broadly. "Okay, but you're paying your own way, Big guy."

Canderous grinned as he stalked over to the group assembled. "Why don't we all go, and we all pay our own way?" he suggested gruffly, and Carth nodded in agreement.

"I don't know. With all the grief that flyboy's cost me, I think that he should pay for my drinks," she replied, playfully baiting the pilot.

"I have been a perfect gentleman, thank you. If its anyone that should be buying anyone drinks, you should be buying mine," he countered, and Aminta rolled her eyes.

Bastila watched the scene with a slight smile as she stood apart from the group, and she crossed her arms over her chest. She hadn't been close to anyone like the assembly was to each other since before the Mandalorian Wars. And even then, she'd merely been the kid that tagged along. "What about you, Princess? You coming?" Canderous called out gruffly, and Bastila stiffened slightly.

"I am escorting you to the cantina, and then I will be returning to the fields."

"What? You afraid of a couple of drinks?" he leered, and Bastila hugged her arms closer to her body.

"Of course not," she replied haughtily, and Canderous sneered.

"I bet you haven't even had a sip of alcohol in your life."

Aminta quickly stepped in. "Aw, lay off, Candy. It's not her fault that she was raised by the Jedi."

"What did I say about you calling me Candy, Squirt?" he roared, and Aminta smirked at him.

"Enjoying our new nickname, are we?" She teased, drawing his attention away from the Jedi and back to the group. Bastila caught the older woman's eye and gave her a look of gratitude, and Aminta winked in response.

"Just for that, you should buy me my drinks!" Canderous exclaimed, stepping dangerously close to her.

For having a raging Mandalorian at her back, Aminta seemed perfectly calm. "Are you kidding me? With the amount of alcohol it would take to get you drunk, I'd go broke!"

Mission laughed at the pair. "I thought we already established that we're all paying our own way?"

"Fine," Canderous muttered darkly, throwing a glare to Aminta. Aminta simply smirked, and sauntered over to Mission's side. She is going to get hers.

"Who's buying the hangover pills?" Carth asked before another fight could break out.

Bastila went white. "You can't mean to say that you are all anticipating to get drunk?" she gasped, and Canderous laughed at her.

"What? Drunkenness doesn't fit into the prim and proper Jedi world?" Canderous sneered, and Bastila clenched her hands at her fists.

"Jedi typically avoid mind altering substances. They achieve nothing but a dulling of the senses," she replied calmly, reciting the Jedi code in her head in an attempt not to lash out at the Mandalorian. The fields of Dantooine sounded better and better with every minute that passed.

"That's the point!"

Bastila grimaced with distaste, and focused on a spot on the wall just past the hulking man's left shoulder.

"Canderous, cut it out," Aminta warned, and surprisingly, the Mandalorian took a step back. However, he continued to glower at the younger woman.

"Mission, go and grab my purse and your deck of Pazaak cards. Guys, go get your credit chips. I need to have a word with our resident Jedi," Aminta instructed, quickly taking control of the conversation. All but Zalbaar reluctantly trickled from the room, and Aminta raised an eyebrow at him.

":I carry my credits with me at all times:" he divulged, patting the belt that criss crossed over his shoulders. ":This way, I must not scurry about like mice as you other races do.:"

Aminta gave him a brief nod, and turned back to Bastila. "Canderous is itching for a fight. He doesn't like you, therefore, he wants to injure you in battle. Don't rise to the bait."

Bastila's mouth dropped. "I was under the assumption that you had a tenuous friendship with the Mandalorian. Why would you choose my side in our arguments?"

Aminta laughed and shook her head. "I'm not choosing sides. I'm just warning you about him. Yes, he is a friend, but he's brutal. I've witnessed it first hand." Aminta pulled down the shoulder of the shirt she was wearing to show Bastila the bruised flesh. "We started sparring half way through the trip. This is what he gave me, and he likes me. Imagine what he could do to you."

Bastila's eyes grew round. "I'm afraid that I still do not understand why you are telling me this," she admitted.

Aminta rolled her eyes. "Because, I don't want anyone on this ship getting hurt. For some insane reason, I've been elected the leader here, so no one is getting injured on my watch. Of course, what you do when you meet up with the council is your business, but until then…"

"Thank you," Bastila replied sincerely.

Aminta huffed out a sigh. "Don't bother."

——————————————-

"How many drinksh ish dat Candy?" Aminta slurred, trying to figure out which of the two heads belonged to her partner in crime.

Canderous was drunk enough not to notice the obscene nickname. "Shirty-five," he mumbled, in barely better shape than the much smaller woman was in.

Somewhere during the course of the night, one of them had challenged the other to a drinking contest. Aminta's head was too fuzzy for her to remember exactly which one of them had initiated it. Generally, she was able to hold her ale rather well… she couldn't remember a single time that she had slurred her words. But after thirty five drinks…

"Barshender! Get ush anoder round!" Aminta called, waving to the man working the car. He frowned at her disapprovingly, but she laid the credit chips on the table, so he brought them over their drinks. Besides, the pair were amusing the patrons. Fortunes had been bet over who would win.

"Shirty-shix!" Canderous proclaimed after he downed his in one gulp. Aminta did the same, and nearly fell off the chair at the sudden looseness in her muscles.

"What time ish it?" she mumbled, glancing down at her chronometer. Even though she squinted, the numbers kept rolling around. "Will you be a nishe shing and jusht shtay shtill?" She shouted at it, earning several laughs from some of the patrons.

Canderous leaned over and attempted to make out the numbers as well, but they were merely a blur to him. "Lishen to da girl, will ya?" he slurred, tapping one large finger on the chrono. The bartender rolled his eyes and walked in the opposite direction.

"Ami?" A flash of blue appeared in the throng. "Ami, what are you doing? We've been looking everywhere for you!" Mission exclaimed, pushing past the patrons that lined the bar. "Have you seen Canderous?" she called out, and when she got closer, she smiled brightly. "Oh, good! You're both here!"

Aminta turned around and grabbed Mission's shoulder tightly. "Mishon! There'sh da gal!" She paused, and squinted her eyes before opening them wide. "How many headsh did you grow?" she leaned closer to the teenager, and nearly fell off of her chair.

Mission caught her, and pushed her back up to her seat. "Ami! You're wasted!"

Aminta shook her head to clear the blurry haze that clouded her vision. "Whoshe been shmoking in here?" she demanded, and there were several chuckles from the people surrounding them. "Und I am not washted! I am alwaysh a deshignated driver!" She exclaimed, flailing her arms wildly.

Mission's eyes widened considerably, and she looked over to Canderous. "You let her get this drunk?" she demanded.

"Shquirt'sh right! Shomeone'sh been shmoking in here!" he waved his hand around to clear the haze in a room which was quite obviously clear of smoke.

"Pathetic," Mission mumbled under her breath. She quickly turned her attention to the bartender. "Exactly what have they been doing?"

"It was a drinking competition," he explained simply as he poured another glass of ale and handed it to a patron.

"A drinking competition?" Mission demanded, stamping her foot. "They had a drinking competition?" Seeing that the fun was leaving the situation, the patrons of the bar slowly dispersed. She whirled angrily to Aminta. "You honestly thought you could win a drinking competition with HIM?"

"We're even. Shirty-shix ta shirty-shix. I can take 'im!" she tried to land a punch in Canderous' direction, but her fist landed on nothing but air.

"Gods above! Thirty six glasses? Of what?"

Aminta's face screwed up in concentration as she thought. "I dunno know!" She exclaimed after a few moments, her face filled with disbelief.

"Ugh," Mission muttered, and then activated her comm link. "Hey, Carth, Big Z. I found them."

Carth's voice chirped in on the comm. "What? Where are they?"

Mission glanced over at Aminta and Canderous, who were beginning to sing rather poorly. Mission winced. "We're at the bar."

"They've been at the bar all this time?" Carth demanded.

"Yeah. Um, you'd better come pretty quick."

A frustrated sigh was heard over the other end of the comm unit, and then there was nothing. Mission turned to Aminta with a scowl. "You do know that Carth is going to kill you, don't you?"

"I cashn take Reshublic!" Canderous growled, and Mission shook her head.

"How're you plannin' on doing that when you can't see three feet in front of you?" she demanded.

Canderous' face contorted as he squinted his eyes together, and stretched his arm out in front of him. "I cahn show shee shree feet in front!" he squinted harder. "Why dosh I have sheven fingersh?"

Mission slapped a hand to her forehead. "You two are going to have the worst hangovers in the galaxy tomorrow morning."

"Mission? What happened here?" Carth demanded as he came to stand beside the teenager.

"A drinking competition. Believe it or not, they're tied at thirty six glasses of," she cast a sidelong glance at Aminta. "Something."

"Thirty six?" Carth demanded, his eyes going wide. "How the hell is she even still alive after drinking thirty six drinks?" he gestured to Aminta's small frame, and she slumped slightly in her seat as she turned her head around wildly to look for him.

"Carsh! My favortisht man in duh galaxshy!" he proclaimed as she leaned over to him. Unfortunately, she leaned to far, and toppled off of her chair. When she hit the floor, she let out a high pitched giggle and Carth groaned.

"Is Canderous this bad off too?" he asked Mission who was watching the Mandalorian try to lick his elbow.

She cocked her head slightly to side, and then grimaced. "Definitely."

Carth made a noise in the back of his throat, and he bent to scoop Aminta up into his arms. "I can't believe that they got wasted. Who started this anyway?" Aminta and Canderous pointed wobbly fingers at each other, and Carth sighed. "Zalbaar, do you think that you can carry Canderous?"

":Of course:" The Wookiee replied, and effortlessly slung the burly man over his shoulder. Canderous flung his limbs about wildly for a while, screaming Mandalorian curses at Zalbaar, who merely re-adjusted the weight and headed for the door.

"Come on, Mission. Grab their stuff and get the door for us, will you?" Carth muttered as he leaned away from Aminta's foul breath. "She's going to drag us all through hell in the morning," he mumbled under his breath.

Mission winced, and then grinned. "I say that you tell her you forgot to pick up hangover pills. That'll teach her a lesson."

Carth grinned. "That is so incredibly cruel." Aminta suddenly became a deadweight in his arms, and he rolled his eyes. "But I'm liking the idea more and more."

Mission laughed impishly. "I'll hide the pills in my pillowcase. They'll never suspect a thing."

—————————————

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" a young Jedi asked his companion, who simply ignored him and continued to unlock the door.

Getting nowhere with his companion, the Jedi wrung his hands. "You do realize that the council will exile us if they find out what we're doing."

Again, there was no response. The Jedi glanced around the dark corridors of the place, and shivered. "I don't like it here," he murmured.

The robed figure beside him shook its head as the lock clicked open and the doors slowly parted wide enough for the pair to enter. The room was dark and musty, much like the others that they had traveled through had been. The Jedi didn't see how the room would help them. "There's nothing here," he muttered. "We defied the council's anger for nothing!"

His companion heaved out a sigh, and walked further into the room, stopping before a short, oddly shaped pillar. It was somewhat round at the bottom, and various rings sliced into the air at the top. "This is what we came here for?" he demanded.

His companion reached out and touched the object, and a flash of green suddenly erupted from the hollow inside the pillar. Various galaxies were mapped out, a planet or so from each one missing. For once, the Jedi had nothing to say.

Aminta woke up in bed drenched in sweat, and she bolted foreword. Suddenly, her head began pounding, and she fell back into her pillows. Everything hurt… and she couldn't open her eyes. She groaned, but the sound rang in her ears and so she silenced herself, and just laid there, miserable.

"About time you woke up!" Mission exclaimed loudly from the other side of the room, and Aminta weakly lifted her hands to her ears to block out the noise. Having a weird dream was bad enough, but to wake up from a bad dream to a hangover was down right awful. "It's 10:00 already!" Mission chirped, and Aminta ignored the pain enough to roll over in bed and pull a pillow over herself.

Mission, however, refused to be dissuaded. "Come on, Ami! Let's go exploring!" the girl exclaimed, grinning wickedly.

"I have a damn hangover!" Aminta shouted, her voice muffled from the pillow, and she groaned at the pain that it caused.

"Well, serves you right for having a drinking competition with Canderous. Tell me, when you were drinking those thirty six glasses of whatever it was, did you ever stop to think of how you'd feel this morning?" Mission leaned over Aminta's bed and yanked the pillow off of her. Aminta cried out, and buried her head in her arms.

"It hurts," she whined, and Mission shook her head.

"You're pathetic," she muttered under her breath. "Just so you know, the Jedi council wants to meet with you in two hours," she called out over her shoulder as she left the room.

"What?" Aminta demanded, bolting up in bed. The action caused a sudden wave of nausea to overwhelm her, and she clamped one hand over her mouth as she cradled her head with the other one. "Shavit," she muttered, blindly swinging her legs over the side of her bed and roughly pulling herself to her feet. Her legs nearly gave out on her, and she had to grip the wall for support. This is all Canderous' fault.

Slowly, she made her way inch by inch to the refresher, gripping the wall for dear life. Carth happened to be walking through the hallway as she pulled herself along, and laughed out loud by what he saw.

"You know, this is the second time that I've seen you with a hangover."

Aminta glared at him, angry for laughing at her. "The first one was a piece of cake compared to this," she muttered as she continued to drag herself down the corridor.

"You need a hand?" Carth offered with a grin.

"No!" Aminta snapped, and then winced at the pain that blossomed in her head. "I'm gonna kill the Mandalorian," she mumbled.

"You sure?" Carth taunted, and Aminta glowered.

"Get back to you cockpit, Pretty Boy," she grumbled, and Carth laughed again, shaking his head.

"Whatever you want, Beautiful. Just remember that you have to be at the enclave in two hours," he reminded her before heading off in the opposite direction.

"Great. First I'm having dreams about Jedi, and now I have to meet them. Brilliant, Jae. Just Brilliant," she muttered under her breath, and sighed with relief as she entered the refresher. She turned and blindly locked the door behind her before leaning over to embrace the toilet. After retching for the third time, Aminta believed she was finally out of body fluids, and she turned to the shower, stripping clumsily before clambering in.

The hot shower was heaven, and she emerged from the refresher feeling a lot better than she had when she walked in. Well…slightly. I wonder how Canderous is doing? She didn't have to pursue the thought for long because the giant was collapsed outside the refresher door.

"You took forever," he growled, and the pair both gripped their heads at the pain that the noise ripped through them.

"I have an appointment," she retorted, and then groaned again. Maybe there's something in the medbay to get rid of this… "If you'll excuse me."

"Yeah. Now that you've made me retch all over myself several times now!" he snarled, and stumbled through the refresher door. Aminta turned on her heel and headed towards the medbay, scouring the cabinets when she got there. "What the hell? A smuggling ship without hangover medications?" she screamed as she kicked a bare foot against the wall. She then howled with pain, and jumped around on one foot.

Once she could stand properly again, she reached into a cabinet and pulled out a run of the mill pain reliever. Not that it would be much help…however, she dumped three pills into her hand and swallowed them dry. Suddenly remembering her 'appointment', Aminta glanced down at her chrono and cursed when she saw that she had less than two minutes to reach the enclave. Shavit.

—————————————————

The enclave was beautiful, Aminta grudgingly admitted. The walkways were wide and paved in marble; the rooms had tasteful, but few decorations. The color palate seemed to be a combination of orange, blue, and gold, and greenery stretched up the warm stone walls. All in all, Aminta could understand why Bastila seemed so attached to the place.

A few curious stares were tossed her way, but she ignored them and continued walking ahead. She hadn't expected the enclave to be so large; she thought that it would have taken her half the time to reach the council's chambers.

The walkway abruptly ended in a courtyard that stretched up to the sky. Despite herself, Aminta stilled as she took in the beauty of the fountain and natural accents that lined the large area. Feeling idiotic for stopping, she quickly shook her head and continued through the courtyard without a second glance and wound up in a hallway very similar to the one she had come from. It's like a maze in here.

The corridor twisted several times, the occasional skylight allowing the hall to be basked in sunlight, which only served to aggravate Aminta's hangover. Finally, it came to an end before two large doors, guarded by a Jedi. Another one, Aminta shuddered, recalling all of those she had seen thus far in the enclave. The place was like a bee's nest; swarming with the annoying creatures. And now I get to be in a room filled with them. Oh joy.

The Jedi looked her over briefly before standing aside, and the lock mechanism unclicked on its own. Aminta stared at it warily. I really hate Jedi. The light was blessedly dim in the room, and Aminta nearly let out a sigh of relief before remembering who was in the room with her. Bastila entered from a side door, and Aminta threw up her defenses. If Bastila was going to be here with her, things couldn't be good.

"Padawan Shan, Miss Jae," a small green Jedi bowed his head to the two women, and Bastila bowed back respectfully. If possible, Aminta's spine straightened a tad. Bastila coughed, and gave Aminta a pointed look, but the older woman simply stared straight ahead at the Master who had spoken.

"What exactly am I doing here?" Aminta demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and placing all of her weight on one foot. A graying human scowled at her, and Bastila's face went red with mortification.

"Masters, I beg your pardon, but I am afraid she doesn't know the proper protocol…" Bastila tried to cover for the woman, but she was abruptly cut off.

"I've read enough books to know all of the protocol, thank you very much. But since I'm not a Jedi and I don't want to be here, I'm not adhering to the rules," Aminta retorted, glaring at each of the Jedi Masters. "Now, just tell me what I'm doing here so I can scram."

The four masters shared a glance, and finally a green twi'lek spoke up. "Forgive us. Padawan Shan has informed us of your… intense dislike for Jedi. We do not expect you to respect the council as most would," at this point, he turned and gave a pointed look to the graying Jedi.

"Correct, Zhar is," the small green Jedi Master admitted, his voice somewhat reluctant. "Know this we do, but some courtesy expected of you, there is."

"Vandar! do not treat her with such respect. It will only be repaid with betrayal…" hissed the graying man, and Zhar held up a hand to silence him.

"Remember the code, Vrook," he said sternly, and the man quickly checked himself. Zhar returned his attention to Aminta, who had watched the scene with apparent nonchalance. "You had a vision last night, am I correct?"

Aminta's breath hitched in her throat, and she quickly recovered. "I had a pretty weird dream about a Jedi and a guy in black robes," she replied with a slight shrug, and Vrook narrowed his eyes.

"Revan and Malak, the Jedi you saw, they were," Vandar clarified for her, and then watched Aminta closely to gauge her reaction.

The woman's eyebrows lifted a fraction. "Really?" she drawled.

"Ruins and a strange device, you also saw." Vandar continued as though she hadn't spoken, and Aminta rolled her eyes.

"It's called a Star Map." She frowned slightly as she saw the masters' reactions range from shock to fear. What the hell? "How did you know that, anyway?" She asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Because Padawan Shan had the same vision," Zhar continued, casting a wary glance at his companions, who quickly donned their masks of serenity. Creepy.

Aminta laughed suddenly. "Are you telling me that I'm force sensitive?"

Vrook scowled. "Force sensitivity is not something to be taken lightly!" he snapped, and a calming touch from Zhar caused him to remember himself.

"You are not only force sensitive, but you have apparently developed a…bond…if you will, with Bastila," Zhar informed her gently.

Aminta raised an eyebrow. "A bond?" she drawled.

"Unusual connection between two souls, it is. Pain, emotions, and thoughts you feel through this bond," Vandar supplied. "A bond such as this is very rare indeed."

Aminta stared at them. "This is ridiculous." I really wish I didn't have this headache right now.

"I'm afraid that it is all too serious. You seem to be having visions that have been sent to you through the force, and since you are bonded to Bastila…" Zhar began, but Aminta cut him off.

"Is this just some byproduct of my hangover?" Bastila groaned from Aminta's side, and she turned to stare at the younger woman. "What? You think that this is normal?" Bastila closed her eyes and began to mumble the code. Aminta shook her head and looked back over to the masters.

Vrook fixed a severe glare on her, but Vandar continued calmly. "Normal it is not. On this bond, very few records were found."

"Because of this, and your strong force sensitivity, we began to consider you as an addition to our order. The visions that you are now having makes your training imperative," Zhar informed her.

Aminta gaped at the masters. "I'd rather kiss a Wookiee."

Zhar smothered a laugh with his hand, and Vrook stiffened. "You will abide by the council's decision."

Aminta raised an eyebrow. "First of all, I'm a grown woman; not a child. Secondly, I'm not a Jedi, so you can't go bossing me around. What I do is my business, and my business only."

"Care, you don't, about defeating Malak?" Vandar asked from his cushion. "The key to defeating him, your visions are."

Aminta crossed her arms over her chest. "No. No I don't. I could honestly care less who owns the galaxy."

"The destruction of Taris, did you not see?" Vandar probed. "The destruction of Telos, do you not recall? Under the Sith, more planets will be bombed, they will. Wish to see an end to the fighting, do you not?"

Aminta set her jaw. "Which is worse? The Sith bombing planets, or the Jedi allowing things in the galaxy to get so bad that the planets get bombed? In my opinion, the Jedi are every bit as bad, if not worse than Sith. At least the Sith take action."

Vrook coughed, and glared at her. "You speak like Revan," he said darkly.

Aminta raised her chin. "Well then, Revan was a smart man. After all, it was him that saved us from the Mandalorian threat while you sat their on your cushions," she said disdainfully.

"She," Zhar corrected. "Revan was a woman," he said, his voice slightly softer.

"But I thought…" Aminta began, but Vandar cut her off as he turned to address Zhar.

"Your student, she was. But speak of her, we must not." His words were filled with a hidden warning, and Aminta frowned. Very strange.

Vrook turned to Aminta. "We hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but if you do not accept our offer, every crime that the Republic erased from your name will be in full effect. We will be forced to arrest you, and ship you to Coruscant for your trial."

Aminta's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me. I basically have no option then, do I?"

Zhar's gaze dropped to his hands, and Vandar spared the man a sympathetic glance before turning back to Aminta. "A matter of the galaxy, this is. An option, you can not have."

Aminta stared hard at him. "I'll agree, but on several conditions," she said after a moment.

"Considering that it is your neck on the line, you should re-think giving us demands," Vrook warned, his tone gruff and dangerous.

Aminta smirked at him. "Since it is the future of the Jedi on the line, you should re-think giving into my demands."

Vrook glared at her, but knew he couldn't protest. Aminta could have sworn that she saw Zhar's mouth slightly upwards, but that could have been a result of the dim lighting. Vandar sighed softly. "Conditions, you must list," he said wearily, and Aminta smiled.

"First off, my crew has to be able to stay here with me while I train, if not in the enclave, then on the Ebon Hawk." She paused, and Vandar nodded his head in approval. "Second, they need to be able to eat from the cafeteria here. If you won't let them eat inside the enclave, fine. But they get access to the food." Zhar gave her a slight, soft smile, and nodded his head. "Thirdly, I'm not going to fully obey the code. I've lived a normal life, and I'm not about to start changing my habits now." Vrook sputtered, but Vandar stilled his retort and nodded. "And finally, once this whole 'save the galaxy' bit is over, I can go back to being a smuggler. No more Jedi business."

Vrook stared hard at her at that point, before he finally nodded. "You are a grown woman, and the way of your Jedi is not in your memory. Perhaps it would be for the best if we were to part ways. Especially if you refuse to abide by the Jedi code." He glared at her at this point, and Aminta smirked.

Vandar glanced over to Vrook. "Much we have to discuss. Excused you are." The two women headed for the exit. "Miss Jae, return tomorrow morning, you will. Padawan Shan, stay, you must" Bastila nodded her goodbye to Aminta, and turned back to the masters.

"Yes?" she asked softly, loosely folding her hands in front of her

"What do you think of the newest addition to our order?" Zhar asked her, and Bastila met his eyes.

"She is strong in body and mind. She will learn quickly. However, her views are… much like those of Revan's."

Zhar nodded with a fond smile. "So I noticed." His tone quickly became serious. "However, that quality is a serious threat to our mission, considering how many Sith that she will encounter."

Vandar sighed. "Agree, I do. Padawan Shan, teach her in the ways of the light, you must. Her conscience, you must become."

Bastila stiffened. "Perhaps there is another more suited than I…" she began, but Vrook swiftly cut her off.

"You started this. You are going to be by her side until she decides to stop being a Jedi."

"So this is to be my punishment?" she demanded, her voice harsh.

Zhar quickly stepped in. "It is not your punishment. It is merely your consequence," he replied. Then, his tone softened. "I understand how difficult this is for you."

Bastila looked down, and let out a sigh. "It is my burden," she said finally, and Vandar nodded with approval.

"Go now, you must. Return with her tomorrow morning, you will." Bastila nodded, and exited the room quickly.

Vandar turned slowly to the other Masters. "Begun, a series of events, we have. Afraid I am, of the outcome."

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Aminta screamed, and threw her pillow at the wall. "Of all of the fracking, idiotic, awful things to happen!" she screeched, and then clutched her head. "Blasted hangover," she muttered, sinking to her knees as she gripped her head.

Carth poked his head in through the open door. "I take it the meeting didn't go well?" Aminta growled, and plopped herself down on her bed.

"Oh, it went just great," she muttered sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. "Guess who's just been made an honorary member of the Jedi order?" She snatched the pillow off the floor, and balled it up in her hands.

Carth's jaw dropped, and he took a seat beside her on the bunk. "You're kidding."

"I wish," she growled, throwing the pillow against the wall opposite her bed. Carth followed the path, and winced slightly at the sharp thud that sounded when it made contact. He hated to think what would have happened if there had been a more solid object nearby.

"How did they manage to initiate you into the order?"

"In a word? Blackmail. I have enough crimes on my record to get me a nice lethal injection, and they threatened to drag up the charges and turn me over to the authorities."

Carth gaped at her. "Why the hell would they do that?"

Aminta rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. "Apparently, I've been having visions of this thing that can destroy Malak, and they need me to save the galaxy. Sounds like something out of a dumb holofilm, doesn't it?"

Carth frowned. "Yeah, actually it does. So you're seriously going to become a Jedi?"

Aminta rolled her eyes. "They agreed to let me go back to smuggling the instant this idiotic charade is over. That's about the only bright spot."

"What are you going to do until then?"

Aminta clenched her fists and a muscle in her jaw worked. "I'm going to deal with it," she ground out, and Carth winced.

"Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?"

"No one," she muttered under her breath, clenching her fists tighter.

Carth frowned. "Actually, I think that you're trying to convince yourself."

Aminta stared at him for a long, hard moment. It was purely the need to forget the past week that caused her to reach for him, and simply the need for a stress relief that made him respond.