I wasn't planning to release this chapter so soon, but the last review gave me some motivation to get it done faster. I actually was so unsatisfied with the chapter I had written months ago that I went back and revised more than half of the original content. I wanted to add another element to the story that probably would have had a great impact on the way the Jedi and Alora will get along: trust. Obviously Alora has reason to help the Jedi defeat Tavion, but she doesn't expect them to welcome her gladly. She will also come to realize the Jedi she'd come to know through the teachings of her master are much different than she ever expected.

I also ended this rather abruptly because I extended the chapter so much that I had to break it apart. I'll get the next one out as quickly as I can.

Prejudice

I had hoped that the closer I came to the Jedi academy on Yavin IV, the less anxious I'd feel. It was on my way to Korriban, so the detour only added about another two hours to the journey. Still, that was two hours I feared we did not have. I just kept thinking that Tavion probably was unearthing the tomb of Ragnos as I sat there. If that were so, then it was already too late to do anything. As if the time pressure weren't enough, I didn't exactly look foreword to confronting the Jedi in their own fortress. At that point, I was committed. The moment that I set foot in the Jedi Temple, I would have severed my ties to Tavion and the Cult forever.

As I came out of hyperspace and watched Yavin IV rotate below, I seriously began to reconsider what I had in mind. I felt that if I just forgot the whole endeavor and set course for Korriban, maybe Ragnos wouldn't find out about my failure to kill Korr. If I were to just go back... maybe things wouldn't have been so bad as I feared. Tavion was convinced that Ragnos would give all his subjects whatever they wanted... maybe she was right. If Ragnos were to return, betraying Tavion to the Jedi would have been like asking for death.

What I hated more than anything about my situation was that I had absolutely no idea what was happening on Korriban. I couldn't contact Tavion, as she explicitly commanded that there be no communication to or from Korriban. To signal her in itself would have been a capital offense, as it would have endangered their operation to unearth the tomb. The last thing Tavion would have wanted was to be discovered before it was unearthed. That wasn't in my best interest. Getting to Korriban from Yavin would have been almost two days, so I couldn't afford to wait that long. On top of that, it would have been at least four days before the Jedi could be there if I signaled them once I was on Korriban. By coming to Yavin IV in person and providing them with the critical intelligence and security codes I possessed, they could organize a task force sufficient to stop Tavion if they acted quickly.

Reaching the Jedi temple on Yavin IV seemed much easier than I thought it would be. I was surprised that no fighters were alerted to my presence. I suppose the Jedi assumed no one would've been stupid enough to try and attack them in their own fortress. Tavion taught me that they were weak and cowardly, but I knew better than to underestimate them. Even Desann tried to wage a full scale invasion with an entire army of Reborn and was defeated. Foolish they may have been, but certainly not weak.

While I descended through the atmosphere, I received a transmission from an operator. "Unidentified vessel, this is the academy docking control. Please respond." I wasn't exactly familiar with the ship's communications system and couldn't open a channel with the operator before he spoke up again. "Unidentified vessel, we see you on an approach vector leading to the Jedi temple. If you do not respond or turn away, then we will have no choice but to consider your intention..."

When I finally got it right, I interrupted him. "Yes, yes, I'm here. What do you want?"

He paused a brief moment before answering. "Actually, that's what we were going to ask you. We would like to know the nature of your mission."

I leaned my head back in frustration. My mission? What... that I'm a Cult spy defecting to the Jedi with information that will save their miserable lives? Yeah, very believable. Then I realized it may have been more simple than that. "I request permission to land."

"I assumed as much, but that doesn't answer my question."

I was getting annoyed with this guy. "I have information about the Disciples of Ragnos. The Jedi will want to hear what I have to say. Allow me to land."

After a rather long moment of silence, he finally got back to me. "From our readings, your ship does not appear armed and you're the only life form aboard. I suppose your intentions don't appear hostile. Normally I would be required to turn away anyone who doesn't have proper clearance, but I'll disengage our surface defenses and allow you to proceed on your current course and land on platform B."

"Acknowledged." I said, slapping my palm hard upon the communication device to cut the channel. Normally I was very good at hiding my emotions, even after Tavion took me for her apprentice. But as the years passed, everything I thought and felt became increasingly apparent. Even the smallest irritant made me curse like a swindled Hutt. I hated that.

Not like I had to hide my feelings in any event, but I still felt it was better not to reveal my state of mind to anyone. Even when it came down to anger and hate, it often played to my advantage for an opponent to underestimate my resolve. To most people, an opponent who didn't scream and shout after being slapped in the face was weak and frail... or she just hid her rage until she was finally ready to strike back. And when such people found out that little girl wasn't in fact broken, but instead determined to destroy her captor... none of them expected her to lash back with such rage.

Bringing myself back into the moment, I had realized that I needed to calm down. Hitting the control panel, kicking the ship's navigation equipment when it malfunctioned, or shouting at the computer wouldn't make them operate any better. In fact, it had a tendency to make things worse. If I were to be taken seriously by the Jedi, I needed to be as controlled as possible. Sounded simple; but when it came to dealing with the Jedi, they had the habit of making things 10 times more difficult than they had to be.

I wasn't really sure what kind of greeting to expect, but they only made the situation more difficult by sending armed to deal with me. After climbing out of my ship, three Republic officers stood there, waiting for me. Only one wasn't carrying a rifle, although he carried a firearm at his belt, as he appeared to be the group's diplomat. Upon laying his eyes on me, the man and his escorts drew back. As the two guards slowly began lifting their weapons at me, the diplomat grabbed the barrels and forced them to the floor. "Don't!" The guy seemed desperate not to get into a fire fight, nor to threaten a dark Jedi. When he finally looked me in the eye, the guy realized his duty and addressed me. "Please excuse our... reaction. We were told to expect an informant. If we had known who we were letting in..."

I didn't have time for chitchat. "Where is Skywalker?" I demanded.

The guy hesitated to answer, probably not expecting such a demand to be made right away. "Master Skywalker is preoccupied at the moment."

"It can wait." I declared, walking past the officers.

"Wait madam, you can't...!" Despite his attempts to stop me, I just continued through the hanger area. The diplomat took out a com link and activated it. "You didn't say that she was a Jedi." The receiver responded, although I couldn't hear it exactly. "Inform Master Horn. We'll keep track of her, but there's not much we can do if she becomes hostile."

I turned myself around and stared down that diplomat guy and his guards. I extended my arm and pointed at them as if to use the Force on them. They brought up their weapons again, but violence wasn't remotely what I had in mind. Twitching my right index finger, I gestured with it. "Go away."

I had to say that I found it amusing to watch that guy's face when his two guards walked off, leaving only him to deal with me. He didn't fall for the mind trick, but he was quick to follow their lead. Maybe he realized that there wasn't much that he could do; the smartest thing was just to turn tail and run. Let someone else deal with me.

Although there were a few mechanics tending to ships in the massive hanger, none were Jedi. It wasn't long before I started attracting some serious attention. They all stared at me in disbelief, and most didn't know what to do. It was obvious to them that I shouldn't have been roaming the area, yet none were willing to sound the alarm. It wasn't until I actually entered the temple that I was confronted by the Jedi.

Upon reaching the hanger elevators, I found four Jedi standing in my way, all with sabers in hand. My every instinct told me to draw mine and stand ready, but I couldn't do that. I was not there to fight; not like it would have done any good. There were far too many for me to possibly hope to fend off, let alone get through, still it was very difficult to leave myself so open like that.

One of the Jedi in front, I recognized to be Jedi Master Horn. His saber hilt was ready, but the blade wasn't deployed. He told one of the younger boys to stay behind and not to take me on by himself. I could tell that was a student... a boy, barely into his teen years. I also could see the worry in that child, as his master put himself into danger before an unknown threat... he worried for his master.

"You've come far enough. I don't know what you want, but you won't get it." He declared.

Staring at the boy, my answer was directed at him. "I'm not here to fight." Turning my attention to Horn. "I've come to help."

Scornfully, he talked down to me. "Like you helped Rosh Pennin? The way you murdered him in cold blood. "

"What?" I inquired.

He activated his lightsaber and waved it around in front of me. "Was it like this? Was he surrounded by enemies, weaponless? Was this what he felt before you slaughtered him?"

With the tip of his green blade only a few centimeters from my chest, I realized that going to that place was a mistake. Yet I didn't feel as though I had much reason to be concerned. Horn was like thunder: loud and scary, but virtually harmless... at least if I did nothing to threaten him. I looked him directly in the eye and spoke the truth. "I did not kill Pennin."

He didn't buy it... he wanted a justification to kill me. He most certainly didn't care about the truth, even when he sensed no deception from me. "And you're a good liar. I'm sure even you believe it."

"I didn't kill the little brat!" I let out, my anger quite obvious. "And even if I did, it's irrelevant. If you want to defeat the Disciples of Ragnos, you're going to need my help."

Horn scoffed, lowering his lightsaber. "And why would you... want to help us?"

I growled in frustration. "Let's make something perfectly clear: I'm only doing what's in my own interests. And it no longer does me any good to allow my master or her followers to complete their plan. I'm here to ensure that doesn't happen."

Horn extinguished his lightsaber. Still not entirely convinced, he wasn't exactly willing to pass up help if what I said were true. "What do you want?"

Finally! He obviously had no idea how short of time they really were. "Tell Skywalker I demand an immediate audience with him."

One of the Jedi behind him approached. "Master Skywalker is presently... dealing with another matter. He explicitly stated that he is not to be disturbed until..."

I burst out, hysterically. "You don't have the time!" Calming myself, I continued in a more controlled tone. "Events are already in motion. Whatever Skywalker is dealing with... it can wait."

Horn did appear to notice my sense of urgency and maybe wanted to know what Skywalker intended to do with me. He twisted his head to the other Jedi behind him and made the choice. "I actually have to agree with her. Luke needs to know about this." He looked me in the eye again. "I will take you to Master Skywalker's chamber; he'll decide what to do with you. However, I must ask that you surrender your lightsabers. If your motives are peaceful, then you will not need them."

As he extended his hand to accept the weapons I carried, I felt insulted that he would believe I was helpless without my weapons. Although his demand was reasonable, his tone of voice and the pesky comment at the end really irritated me. Not like I intended to fight in any event, but for him to think I was stupid enough to actually refuse his demand? I made too much out of small gestures and tended to over think things that didn't matter. I just wished that he had simply demanded my weapons and left it at that. That comment about not needing my weapons if my motives were peaceful... was he that stupid?

I removed both my lightsabers from my belt and presented them to him with a swift and somewhat elegant gesture. He took both at the same moment and assumed I'd let go, but I hadn't loosened my grip just yet. When he lifted his head again, I spoke. "I would tell you that I'm going to want them back, but I assume you already know that." When I finally let him take the weapons, I neatly folded my arms across my chest. "You also don't have to remind me that I'm not welcome here. And that I am to respect your rules for as long as you allow me to remain."

Horn didn't seem to appreciate my comments, but it wasn't like he had anymore to add. After stepping back and handing off my lightsabers to his apprentice, he told the boy to put them somewhere safe, and then gestured me to the elevator. "After you. I insist."

I had to say that the Jedi were not as Tavion described them to be. While we were in the elevator, Horn threatened me yet again. He told me that I would receive no mercy from Skywalker if that was the reason I came. He actually grabbed me by the neck and held me against the wall of the lift once we were alone, demanding that I confess to 'my crime.' When I again defended my innocence over the death of Pennin, it only seemed to vex him further.

Releasing me, Horn said that Skywalker was not as easy to fool as he was. And then gestured me to proceed down the hallway once the elevator door opened. Not once did he walk with his back to me. Even when he lead the way, Horn remained at my side. Obviously he had no reason to trust me, which I unfortunately understood and agreed with. It was unfortunate because I had to allow myself to be treated in such a way without fighting back. If anyone else had done that to me, aside from Tavion... he'd be dead.

As we walked through a dim-lit hallway, I saw an open doorway ahead. The room was lit far better than the hallway, which was why I could distinguish someone's shadow before he even came into view. I almost came to a dead stop when I saw the shadow, but it was not until the figure emerged that Horn continued right past me. For all that time that he was so careful to keep me in front, for him to show his back at that moment was peculiar. It was almost as though he felt he could trust that person to watch his back while he wasn't looking.

It was Skywalker who had stepped into the hallway. From his demeanor, I had to assume that he already knew about me, which was why he came out to confront us. Horn bowed and spoke first. "Sir, Tavion's apprentice..."

Skywalker just nodded and went past Horn, coming directly at me. "Thank you for bringing her. Please leave us."

"As you wish, Master Skywalker." Horn slowly turned about and did as he was told, although he was in no rush to depart.

Skywalker seemed just as anxious about speaking to me as I was with him, but Horn's presence really disrupted our first meeting. Standing right in front of me, Skywalker's attention was on the other Jedi, noticeably irritated that he had to wait for Horn to go away before he could speak to me. When he did, Skywalker didn't so much as give me a proper greeting. All he did was offer me a key card and gestured to the ceiling. "This isn't the best time or place for you to be right now. There's a chamber on the level directly above us. This key will grant you access. I have to take care of this and I'll be with you in a few minutes."

When he turned about, I couldn't help wondering what the hell just happened. Yeah, I understood his instructions, but why did he just do that? Why did he make no formal greetings, call off my escort, and give me a key card? Actually it was a master key card that handed me, one of which could open any security door in the temple. So he essentially gave me free access to the entire temple. And yet, I couldn't find the nerve to move from that location; that just had to be some kind of trick.

It was then that I heard Skywalker's voice in the next chamber as he tried to conclude his conversation. "Look Kyle, I'll trust your judgment. If you feel that you need to take an extended leave of absence as well, then you do what you must. I've only got a few more minutes before I'm needed somewhere else, so we need to resolve this."

Katarn's voice followed. "I understand how bad things are, Luke. But maybe you aren't exactly aware of my situation. This thing with Tavion... if I hadn't spared her all those years ago, Rosh would still be alive."

Skywalker replied. "And what if you had killed her? Would you have remained true to the light as..."

Katarn interrupted. "Don't give me that crap, Luke! You may be in to that kind of thing, but I find it hard to believe that would try and justify Jedi ideals at a time like now. Rosh died because I did things your way. And she nearly took Jaden as well."

"Kyle..."

"I'll do my duty, Luke. But if you had any sense, you would be the one insisting that I sit this one out. Because if I ever see Tavion again, I will kill her for what she's done."

And then I heard Korr's voice. "Kyle."

Katarn sighed and apologized for what he said. "I'm sorry. I know I'm taking this far too personally. I just wish that there were something we could do, other than just waiting for them to make their next move. With all the power they've collected in that scepter, Tavion's followers have more powerful than ever."

Skywalker addressed that. "I don't believe that empowering followers with the dark side is Tavion's ultimate goal. I've noticed a pattern in both Cult and Imperial Remnant activities which indicate separate agendas. There have been no reports on Cult activity in the last few days, but I don't think they've gone into hiding. Whatever their plan is, they must be close to completing it."

"Any ideas as to what it might be?"

Skywalker paused a moment and attempted to take his leave of them. "I'm hoping that we may soon find out."

Although Skywalker told me to report to the upper level, I had been so interested in the conversation that I remained just outside the door. It was then that I decided to reveal myself to Katarn, as he was bound to discover me in any event. I felt that confronting him directly would at least show some dignity on my part. "I can tell you." Stepping into the doorway and into the light, they saw me for what I was. First seeing Katarn's back to me and Skywalker approaching the doorway, the only one sitting on the floor was Korr. The sound of my voice wasn't something they expected to hear again, but it came as a shock to all of them.

Korr stood up from behind her master and Katarn shot himself around, both quickly going from a state of relative sadness to extreme rage. With his brow furrowed, Katarn took a few steps towards me in a threatening manner. "You've got a lot of nerve showing yourself here."

Korr moved up to her master's side. "Actually we should thank you. It saves us the trouble of hunting you down." As she spoke, the girl slowly came at me, although Katarn held her back.

Ignoring their threats, I told them exactly what we were dealing with. "The situation is worse than you realize. Tavion intends to use the scepter to resurrect Marka Ragnos. If that happens, no one will be able to stop him."

After a very brief moment of silence, Korr tried to contemplate bringing someone back from death. Looking at Katarn, she asked his advice. "Is that even possible?"

As Skywalker began speaking, all our attention was on him. "The Force holds a great many secrets that we have yet to understand. There have been theories that with a high enough concentration of Force energy infused into a body... it could regenerate dead cells and bring the person back to life. I can't say that for certain, but I believe the scepter's energy would be sufficient for such a thing."

As I continued, their attention came back to me. "That's what Tavion believes will happen. She uses the staff to revive Marka Ragnos, the resurrected Sith Lord takes control of the galaxy. He annihilates the Jedi, and only those loyal to him would serve under his rule."

Katarn shook his head. "One Sith Lord... that's not a good thing, but it's not like Ragnos can overpower all of us, can he?"

Skywalker explained the threat. "The power within the scepter is enormous. If its power were in the hands of someone like Ragnos, he could very well be more dangerous than he ever was in life. I can't underestimate the danger that a revived Sith Lord represents."

Passing between both Korr and Katarn, I addressed my next statement directly at Skywalker. "Which is why you need to rally your forces to keep that from happening. The scepter is ready, but Tavion has yet to excavate Ragnos' tomb and recover his remains. If you act quickly, you may be able to stop her before they can unearth them."

Skywalker turned about and looked out the window. Korr continued to sneer at me with great hostility. Katarn just shook his head in doubt. "I don't know about this, Luke. It's a good story, but it seems a bit too convenient that we should learn this now. I think this is just another deception on Tavion's part."

I turned and rudely moved my face centimeters from Katarn's. "It's the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not. Obviously you have no reason to, but I do know you will take me seriously."

Katarn grabbed me by the collar and tried to intimidate me with more shouting. "You flatter yourself! You're just like your master, switching to whatever side best suits you!"

"Kyle!" Luke shouted, breaking him away from me. "Jaden." he gently asked. "Would you please leave us? I'll deal with the matter."

Jaden raised her head to look me straight in the eye, almost as if to silently tell me how much she hated me. When Katarn turned for the door, he put his arm around the girl's opposite shoulder to turn her around in a friendly way. "I'm sorry, Jaden. This is the last thing you need right now. Don't worry, Luke's got it under control."

I tried not to let my eyes wander, but I found myself watching those two again. The exchange of contact comfort and those words of assurance left me with a sense of... loneliness. I didn't know why Korr was so upset, but I wish I knew what it was like to have a master who really cared for me. I mean... Tavion did protect me from harm when she first took me, but it was my power that she wanted to nurture. It toughened me so that I would be strong, but only so long as it helped me to better serve her purposes. Was that really what I wanted?

Katarn had taken one last glance at me before passing through the doorway; it was the same look he gave to me back on Taspir. If only he knew my motives were genuine, then he might have been more grateful that I had come to that place. Not like I was doing it for the Jedi, but he could have at least been a little less hostile.

Skywalker approached and gestured to a cushion on the floor. "Why don't we sit down?"

I silently refused, preferring to stand.

He shrugged his shoulders and took another cushion for himself, regardless of what I did. "I really wished that you had done what I asked. I was hoping to avoid such a confrontation."

Maybe it was off topic, but I really had a question for him. "You seemed to know that I was outside before even laying eyes on me. Did you...?"

"I sensed you, yes." he answered.

"Strange that those two didn't." I implied.

"Well they weren't actively looking. I had sensed you from orbit, although I didn't figure out exactly who it was until after Kyle and Jaden told me their story."

I sighed and turned my back to him, knowing what was coming next. "And what did they say?"

He hesitated for a moment before telling me. "Kyle said that you had Rosh Pennin killed and that Jaden nearly fell to the dark side over his death. He also told me about the fight that happened after that."

"I didn't kill Pennin." I spoke.

"I believe you."

Instinctively, I shot my head around to look him in the eye. What he said came as a complete surprise to me. I never would have expected someone in his position would speak that he believed an enemy over the word of two of his allies. By the seriousness in his expression, I knew he believed me.

He remained silent for a moment, just enough to let it sink in. "They told me the truth, although I could tell they knew more than they shared with me." He stood up and confronted me. "It was Jaden, wasn't it?"

I had no idea why, but it really affected me to hear him speak those words. To dark Jedi, fratricide was almost encouraged; but to Jedi... it was probably the worst crime they could commit. Yet for reasons that eluded me, I took some of the responsibility off her head. "Yeah, it was her. My orders were to provoke Katarn's 'good' student into striking down the other. Tavion felt that it would be more painful if Katarn had to be the one to strike her down."

He nodded grimly and went over to the window. "I did sense much guilt within her, but I had thought it was because Jaden believed she could've saved him. But I find it most disturbing that neither she nor Kyle shared that with me."

"With respect, Luke Skywalker..." I waited for him to withdraw from the window before continuing. "...there are more urgent matters that we must discuss."

Understanding that much more was at stake than just three or four lives, even his own... Skywalker put aside his personal feelings and got himself back into the proper mindset. "Yes, of course. Ragnos."

"Yes. When last we spoke, nearly three days ago, the scepter had collected what she believed would be enough Force energy to resurrect the Sith Lord. But Ragnos' remains have yet to be recovered. That's what we have to prevent them from doing." I explained.

"Korriban?"

"Yes, that's where you need to send your forces. We... the Cult have already landed an expedition force to unearth the tomb, but they have yet to locate it."

Skywalker looked perplexed. "That's... not possible. We've monitored no unusual activity around Korriban, otherwise I would've been notified. Korriban is a system that I keep track of."

I didn't know whether I wanted to smile or not, as it would have meant they owed everything to me. Yet I would much rather that the Jedi have not been so careless, otherwise they would have upgraded the sensor network that kept track of Korriban. I did like making people swallow their pride, so gave him a smug expression. "You might not want to put such confidence in a sensor system that can't distinguish between asteroids and capital ships. You never know if one of those 'asteroids' in the Dennorious Belt may just happen to be a Star Destroyer attempting to slip past unnoticed."

As he stared at me, Skywalker realized that we had anticipated and overcame the sensor system watching Korriban. Maybe he also needed a moment to really absorb how bad the situation really was. He knew that Tavion had outflanked him again.

As for me, I gestured to the door. "You might want to take this opportunity to assess Korriban. And you might want to call some of your admiral friends and ask if they'd be kind enough to eradicate the Cult forces before it's too late."

Skywalker stared at me for another brief moment, quite convinced that what I told him was the truth. When he finally came to his senses, he went for the door. "I'll contact Admiral Fogel right away; his fleet is only a few light-years away from that system. What kind of opposition should we expect?"

I followed him into the hallway. "One star destroyer. That's all Tavion needed and any more would have attracted unwanted attention."

"That's fortunate. Our forces have been spread pretty thin in that sector, but I'm sure Fogel will be able to spare a task force capable of stopping the Cult."

"How long?" I asked.

Not turning himself around, Luke shrugged his shoulders. "They'll get there when they get there, and not a moment later." Once we reached the elevator, he twisted himself around to address me. "I'm going to call an emergency meeting in the war room and I'm going to need you there to provide us with whatever intelligence support we may need."

"I'm no expert on starship tactics. I don't know what else I can provide that would be as useful as what I've told you just now."

As the elevator door opened, he and I stepped in and waited for it to close again. "Perhaps. Maybe not. What I want is for you to observe the situation as it becomes known to us and maybe to offer any details that we may have overlooked. Would you do that?"

I couldn't help finding the whole thing amusing. Only a day ago, he wouldn't have had reason to trust me with his lunch credits. Suddenly, now he's inviting me to hear all their top-level military secrets? I had to say that I felt more confident about the way Master Horn doubted everything that came out of my mouth than... this. "Oh... am I to assume you'll trust me? I find it hard to believe that you of all people wouldn't be suspicious of me."

Skywalker nodded and then stepped out of the elevator once the door opened. "If it makes you feel better, I'll admit that I don't trust you." As he said that, Skywalker and I just stopped in the hallway and shared a look that seemed to acknowledge exactly who each of us were. "Although I am appreciative for what you've provided me, I still have reservations about your motives. I won't dismiss anything you may have to say, but if you give me good reason to doubt you..."

I gestured him to stop and nodded to him. "I'm not here to make friends. I simply came to inform you of what Tavion intends to do. It is not in my best interests to deceive you, as I don't want Ragnos resurrected anymore."

Luke nodded again and gestured to a high-security door further down the hallway. "Before we go on, there are a few things that need to be addressed. This is our operation; not yours. When we contact admiral Fogel, you are not to be an active participant unless you're invited into the discussion. If you speak out of turn, or are otherwise disruptive, you'll be escorted out."

I was getting impatient. Every moment he spent dawdling was one more moment Tavion had to find the tomb on Korriban. "Whatever, just get it done. If my presence will slow you down, then don't include me."

He gestured me to calm down. "Alora... I'm just as eager to stop Tavion as you are, but there are some things that you're going to need to be patient about. If we're not moving as fast as you would like, it's because we can't go any faster. When we contact Admiral Vogel, it may take some time for him to dispatch a task force to defend Korriban. No matter how much you may disagree with how we deal with him, the fastest way to get this done is to be as professional about this as possible."

"Alright, let's just get on with it!" I shouted, impatiently.

He looked as though he were going to complain about my outburst, but then got the sense that his pointless stalling was only making me more frustrated. When he got the sense to just leave it be, he reluctantly nodded. "Alright." As Skywalker approached the door, he started searching his clothing for something, but couldn't find it. It took me a moment, but I figured it out as soon as I saw the keycard slot next to the door.

That keycard he had given me earlier was still in my pocket, so I grabbed it and made my way a few paces ahead of him so that I could insert it... allowing him to just walk through without having to stop. Of course when he made it to the door, he stopped nonetheless and extended an open hand towards me.

I briefly glanced at the key before placing it in his palm. I suppose that I wanted to show him that he had quite carelessly handed me unrestricted access to the entire temple. That was the reason that I inserted the card for him, rather than being asked to surrender it. Upon having it returned, he slid it into his pocket. "Thank-you."