Darth Malak was walking down a corridor of the temple with his new apprentice in tow. "My apprentice. Kill this old Jedi fool and then you can truly become my apprentice. I've already alerted the others so only you should kill him." The Dark Lord said, opening the door and walking away.

The apprentice bowed her head. "Yes, Master."

The apprentice opened the door and saw Master Vrook, tied up and beaten. She looked at him with disgust behind her helmet.

"What do you want Malak? I'll never swear loya..." Vrook stopped short when he saw the figure. "It's you. I knew that it was trouble to train you."

"It's too late. Master Zhar thought otherwise and trained me and now I'm back." She said, as she held extinguished Sith lightsabers in her hands.

Vrook broke free from his restraints, force pushed the apprentice backwards and into the hall, and he used the force to get his lightsaber from a dead dark Jedi.

"How did you...?" Came the confused reply from the masked apprentice.

Vrook ignited his lightsaber. "You underestimate the power of the Jedi." He said. The masked apprentice ignited her Sith lightsabers and the two figures locked blades as they circled each other and they began attacking each other with a series of blows. They locked blades again as they circled the room and Vrook ended up near the entrance. So Vrook force pushed the apprentice back into the wall before sprinting away to find a hologram table.

The masked apprentice got up, growled angrily, and went after him with her lightsabers still drawn.

...

Meanwhile, the Ebon Hawk was still in hyperspace, a couple days away from their destination. Carth was sitting on a chair in the bridge when the console beeped, indicating a transmission.

Bastila was meditating in the common room when Carth walked in and turned on the hologram table.

"Hello? Anyone there? This is Master Vrook of the Jedi Council on Dantooine to Bastila Shan. Do you you read me?" Said the voice, and Bastila stopped meditating and walked over.

"Yes, Master Vrook, I read you." Bastila replied as Carth, Mission, and Jolee gathered around the hologram table. They saw Vrook leaning against the table, looking badly beaten.

"I'm so glad that you are alive." He said and he then explained what happened at Dantooine.

"Are any of the masters alive?" Bastila asked.

Vrook looked behind him. "I definitely know that Vandar is alive. I don't know if Dorak or Zhar made it. I know that padawans and apprentices perished when Malak destroyed the enclave."

"Where are you?"

Vrook looked around him again. "I've been captured and Malak has been trying to turn me. Are you on your way to the Star Forge?"

"Yes master. We are."

"I've seen the Star Forge and it doesn't look like there is a way to destroy it. There may be a way to destroy it but I didn't see one." Vrook said and he looked like he was going to say more until a vibroblade flew past his head and he turned around and ignited his lightsaber only to be attacked by a figure with two lightsabers. Vrook turned back toward the hologram, "Bastila, find the Star Forge, defeat Darth Malak and contact the Republic to destroy the Star Forge."

The group just watched as Vrook fought with the figure. "The Sith will be defeated and the Republic/Jedi will always rule." Vrook said, as he thought the figure, completely forgetting about the hologram table.

"You talk tough like all Jedi but we Sith know that Jedi are just cowards." Said the figure, whose voice sounded like a mix of a masculine-feminine voice. The two continued fighting until the figure managed to overpower the older Jedi and impaled him in the abdomen and Vrook collapsed to the ground dying.

The figure then took out a heavy blaster pistol and looked at it for a moment and then aimed at Vrook's head. "It's time for the Sith to rule. The Republic will be destroyed and the Jedi will be hunted down- starting with you." The figure said, as they pulled the trigger, and Vrook lay dead.

The figure then turned toward the hologram table. "You will soon meet your fates soon enough." The figure said, as they shut off the hologram table which left the crew of the Ebon Hawk very uneasy.

...

Carth and Bastila were the in the bridge of the Ebon Hawk looking out into hyperspace. The Ebon Hawk jumped out of hyperspace. The first thing they saw was a star with a trail of light leading upwards. As they got closer, the station got bigger. The station was a giant sphere with 3 fins on each side and they watched as a new Sith interdictor cruiser was "birthed".

Carth and Bastila sat there amazed, looking at the station and the armada in front of it. "The Star Forge... I've never seen anything like it." Carth said.

"We should alert the Republic." Bastila said, still looking out the window at the station.

"I'm transmitting these coordinates to Admiral Dodonna. Maybe a quick strike by the Republic can cripple the Sith fleet." Carth said, as he was typing a message and then he sent it and then he crossed his arms. "Message is away. Now we can just wait here for the Republic to show up."

"Are you sure it's wise to sit here?" Bastila asked.

"We are safe here since we are outside their sensor range." Carth said, and a few moments after he said, that an alarm started beeping.

"What's going on?" Bastila asked.

"It's a small vanguard of Sith fighters, coming in hard!" Carth said. "Mission get on those gun turrets. Take those fighters out before they report our position to the main fleet!"

"I'm on it." Mission called back as she went for the gun turrets.

...

Among the small group of Sith fighters was a G-Type escape shuttle.

"Ok, guys. We need to destroy that ship." The pilot, of the shuttle, said referring to the Ebon Hawk.

"Yes, commander." Said the Sith pilots as they flew out of formation to attack the Ebon Hawk.

"I'm sure my Master, won't appreciate this." Said, the man in the second seat.

"We don't have to tell him. Besides, I just told him that we are investigating some on the planet." Said the woman as she rained laser fire onto the smuggling ship.

...

Mission was trying really hard to shoot down the Sith fighters but they evaded her laser fire.

"How's it going Mission?" Carth asked through the wrist communicator.

"Not well. I only managed to damage 2 Sith fighters and that one ship is making it really difficult." Mission replied.

"What ship?" Carth asked.

"Its flying by the bridge." Mission said, as she tried shooting at it but instead destroyed a Sith fighter.

"Oh, I see it. I think that is a G-Type shuttle." Carth said and he turned toward Bastila who seemed to be meditating.

Mission was firing at a Sith fighter until it collided with another Sith fighter and exploded. She was confused as she saw a Sith fighter attacking another Sith fighter before blowing up from the inside. "Uh, Carth? What's going on? These fighters are just destroying themselves."

"I think Bastila is using her battle meditation against the Sith fighters." Carth replied, looking at Bastila before looking out the window.

A few moments later, there were only two Sith fighters. Mission shot one and it exploded and she shot the other which nearly collided with the G-Type shuttle, but exploded. "Good, now I've got to shoot them." Mission muttered as she started shooting at the shuttle.

The shuttle seemed to be faster and dodged the laser fire but the shuttle started firing back at them. Mission somehow managed to hit their engines and some part of the hull as it went flying toward a planet with smoke trailing behind it and out of view from the occupants in the smuggling ship.

Bastila stopped meditating and watched Carth trying to do something. "Carth? What's wrong?" Bastila asked, worried.

"We've got problems!" Carth announced as he pressed buttons that didn't respond. "We've flown into some kind of distruptor field. All my instruments are jammed! We've got massive overloads in all systems!" He then turned toward a beeping panel that showed a planet. "I'm picking up a single planet in this system. I'll try and put us down there... Hold on.. This may be a rough landing." Carth then directed the Ebon Hawk towards the planet.

...

Carth landed the ship in what looked like a small secluded beach area. Nearby was a Hammerhead-class cruise, the bridge was sticking out while the rest of the ship was submerged and there were parts and pieces of ships everywhere and everyone met in the common room.

"Whew! Talk about rough landings, Carth! What's the matter? You're flying like you've been on an all night Tarisian ale drinking binge." Mission said.

"Well, for one. We are in Sith territory now." Bastila reminded her.

"That disruptor field fried our stabilizers - we're lucky we made it down in one piece! But if we can't find the salvage to make repairs, I won't even be able to get the Ebon Hawk airborne again!" Carth explained.

[During our decent, I noticed tons of crashed ships. Perhaps, we could take parts from those ships] Zaalbar roared.

Jolee looked at the Wookie and then turned toward the remaining crew. "The Wookie is right. This planet is technically a ship graveyard. I believe that the disruptor field wiped them out but the question is, where is the source of the disruptor field?" Jolee said.

"Even if we get the stabilizers fixed, we'll have to find and disable the source of the disruptor field before we can take off. Otherwise, we'll end up crashing again." Carth said.

Bastila was looking at the holomap table when an realization came upon her. "That disruptor field could disable the Republic fleet!"

"The Republic fleet won't even have a chance to destroy the Star Forge. We have to find a way to disable that disruptor field or the Sith will slaughter them!" Carth said, with tightened fists.

T3 suddenly made a series of beeps and Mission leaned against the bulkhead to view the console. "T3's picking up massive power fluctuations on the ship's sensors. They seem to be coming from some type of large stone structure to the east... it looks like an ancient temple." Mission said, looking up at the remaining crew.

"Good idea. If that temple is generating power it probably has something to do with that disruptor field." Carth said.

"Hey, don't forget about Tana guys! We still need to save her." Mission said, reminding everyone.

"I have a feeling that she is alive. But I hope we aren't too late. Even if she is alive, I fear that she has been Malak's prisoner for too long. She may not have my battle meditation but she is an expert with strategic tactics. If she did fall to the dark side, then this battle will be challenging." Bastila said.

"Even if she did fall, Malak will use her to turn you against the Republic making the Sith unstoppable. Also, she knows our weaknesses and vulnerabilities." Jolee said, looking distraught.

Bastila turned toward Jolee. "I hope I can resist her trying to turn me."

"Well if Tana is still alive and on the Star Forge like you think. Then we can't rescue her until we disable that disruptor field and let's hope she is a prisoner. The sooner we investigate that temple to the eat the better. We can probably find the wreckage of a downed ship along the way. If we're lucky we can salvage some stabilizers from it to get off this planet." Carth said.

"I hope everything works out as smooth as you make it sound, Carth."

"So do I, Mission. So do I." Carth said.

"Hey Bastila, how are you feeling?" Jolee asked, as everyone left the room.

"I'm feeling fine, still sore from the blaster shot though." Bastila replied, as the two walked toward the small medbay. Jolee checked on Bastila's wound and redressed it with new bandages.

Bastila walked back to the female quarters and was looking through her stuff when something caught her eye on Tana's bed. She walked over to it and picked it up. What she picked up seemed to be an ear-piece, probably a translator and she took it with her.

...

Bastila, Jolee, and Carth stepped off the boarding ramp onto the sand and looked around while Mission, T3, and Zaalbar stayed near the top of the boarding ramp. The trio walked forward a few steps when a alien came out behind a rock. The alien appeared to have leathery skin, seemed tall and had eye stalks (something like a gungan). The creature appeared to look at them before another one came and did its battle cry and more of the same alien followed.

"We haven't been here for two minutes and we are already being attacked." Carth said, as he raised his blasters.

"Nice to know that they sent a friendly welcoming party to greet us." Jolee muttered as he and Bastila ignited their lightsabers as they started attacking. Apparently, the creatures were using vibroblades so they could easily deflect their lightsabers and Carth had to switch to his vibroblades while Zaalbar and Mission started shooting from the boarding ramp.

A few moments later, the creatures lay dead at their feet and the trio were trying to catch their breath when 2 duros came up to them from their hiding place from a pile of rocks.

["You have defeated the murderous animals! We thank you for human, for saving us!"] The duros in red-white said.

"They, well, attacked first, but your welcome." Bastila replied.

"I was hoping that we could just become friends and go out for lunch." Jolee muttered sarcastically, which made Carth chuckle and Bastila just sighed and shook her head.

["If you arrival had not been so fortuitously timed, we would have been in great danger. We thank you again for saving us."] the duros said.

"So what are you doing here?" Bastila asked, since she found it strange that a couple of Duros ended up in Sith space.

["We had crashed here when our mining survey vessel encountered some strange sort of energy field. It disrupted our engine and our power system and forced us to make a crash landing on this world. Our ship sank far out to sea, but a handful of us were able to make it to this island...more than you see here, though."]

Bastila almost didn't want to ask since she felt like she knew the answer. "What, uh, what happened to the rest of your companions?"

["Many have been killed at the hands of the locals. A few tried to swim to one of the closer islands, but we have not heard from them in many days. Of the 10 of us who remained here, we two are the only remaining survivors."]

"So the natives killed the others?" Bastila asked, looking back at the dead creatures on the sand.

["They attack any they come across. They are barbaric savages who feast upon the bodies of the dead!"] the duros said, which made Bastila cringe and Carth looked disgusted and she couldn't tell what Jolee was thinking. ["The only beings who crashed here that can hold them off are the Mandalorians, and we dare not go near them... we know of their depredations too well."]

"Wait, there are Mandalorians here? On this island?" Bastila asked surprised.

["Yes, there are. More than you think, although that may just be because they aren't killed as easily as we are. With their weapons they raid and kill other survivors, and can fight off the natives as well. They seem to have some sort of invisibility or light cloaking shield that hides them until they strike."]

"Where are these Mandalorians?" Bastila asked.

["They seem to be hanging out around some ruins by a temple. But we cannot delay here much longer... The longer we stay, the more likely either the Mandalorians or the natives will find us and kill us."]

"Why don't you try to get to one of the closer islands?"

["I believe that would be the best choice... The others have not returned, but it may be because they found no way to. It would be worth the risk, rather than stay here and face certain death. I thank you one last time, human, for saving us. We shall remember you, and hope that, should you escape, you will tell the Republic of those of us stranded here."]

"We will pick you up if the Republic wins this battle not long from now." Bastila said.

The duro just smiled a little before he and his companion ran away to the spot they came from.

Bastila turned back to Carth and Jolee. "Lets go take care of those Mandalorians."

"Zaalbar come here. Mission and T3 stay with the ship." Jolee said, as Zaalbar ran up to them. They ended up walking upward since the way the beach was formed, it looked like there was ramp that lead down to the Hawk. They ended up getting attacked by natives again on their way up to the temple.