Early the next morning, Brinna opened her eyes and immediately rolled over onto her left side. To her relief, Carth was still there, sitting stiffly with his back up against the wall as he gritted his teeth. Dark shadows colored the skin under his eyes, making it look almost as though he and Canderous had come to blows while she had slept. She remembered her comment to him about liking his calling her slave and she blushed. Swiftly, she pushed that thought aside and made a quiet noise to let Carth know that she was awake.

"Oh, good. You're awake," he said, rising to his feet.

Brinna sat up on the bunk and glanced to her right. "Where's Canderous?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Here," he answered, stepping around the wall. He had somehow managed to balance three steaming mugs and he handed one to Brinna and one to Carth.

"Thanks," Brinna said, taking a grateful sip from the mug. The tea was hot and potent and it helped to clear the fog from her head.

"Everything's very quiet right now. Most of the students are still sleeping but Uthar's out in that big, round room meditating," Canderous reported.

"Then let's move," Brinna said, setting her mug aside and rising from the bunk. She'd slept in her oversized Jedi robes and they were looking rather worse for the wear. She quickly smoothed them and then reached under her bunk and pulled her boots out, shoving her feet unceremoniously into them. She grabbed her pack and strapped on her belt.

"Ready?" Carth asked.

"Ready," Brinna told him, afraid that if she made him wait any longer he'd explode.

They set off down the corridor, moving as stealthily as possible. There were some Sith guards patrolling the corridors but they paid Brinna and her companions no heed as they completed their rounds.

"They're probably used to seeing students skulking around the corridors at all hours," Canderous murmured to Brinna.

The short corridor leading to Uthar's quarters was deserted and Canderous hung back to peek around the corner and provide cover, if it should prove necessary. Brinna was nearly holding her breath as Carth pulled a security spike from his pack and used it to pick the lock on Uthar's door. It wasn't even fully open when she and Carth slipped inside. Brinna headed for the footlocker that lay dead ahead while Carth hung a right and made for the footlocker next to Uthar's bunk.

"Nothing but these," Carth called quietly to her, holding up a set of Jedi robes.

"Keep those," she said, rummaging through the footlocker. Under a few layers of junk, she found a datapad. She scanned it quickly and what she saw made her face pale.

"The pupil known as Dustil has shown remarkable progress," the datapad read. "His talent with the Force is great. The same, however, cannot be said for the human female that he arrived with, Selene. She has little talent. Moreover, Dustil holds a great degree of affection for her. This is a weakness in the boy and has been slowing down his training. Orders were sent this morning to have the girl removed from the academy and terminated. I will tell Dustil that she was killed in the valley. He will forget her soon enough, I think… He is too promising to lose at this juncture."

"What?" Carth asked, walking over to her.

"I think this might be what we're looking for," she said, handing it to him.

She studied his face as he read it. When he'd finished, he looked as if he was going to be sick. "I wonder if Dustil knows his friend was disposed of like that? If not, it might convince Dustil that what we're saying about the Sith is true. It would be worth a shot."

Brinna nodded. "Come on; let's go show it to him."

They made their way out of Uthar's quarters and joined Canderous, who told them that he hadn't seen anyone. "Let's just hope there's no one lurking around wearing a stealth field generator," he added.

"You sure know how to reassure a girl," Brinna said sarcastically.

"Back already?" Dustil asked, as soon as they entered his quarters. "So tell me, Father, where's this 'proof' you promised?"

"I have a datapad I want you to look at. You knew someone named Selene?" Carth asked, handing the datapad to Dustil.

Through the Force, Brinna could feel the ripple of emotion that ran through Dustil at the mention of the name. "Selene? She's the one who convinced me to come to the academy with her. Why? Where did you get this?"

"Look at it," Carth urged him. "It belongs to Master Uthar, doesn't it?"

"Yes…it's his. But…he told me…he, he said that she'd been lost on a mission in the valley. This…this says that they…"
She just barely managed to stop herself from reaching out a comforting hand to touch Dustil's arm. She could feel his love for Selene so strongly that it was almost as if it was her own love that had been murdered. Pain and disbelief were mingled on Dustil's features and Brinna could feel him struggling to make sense of what he'd just learned. The careful little world that he'd constructed for himself was crashing down on his head and he was afraid and confused.

"Killed her because she was hindering your progress," Carth said, completing his son's statement. "Superiority at any cost, Dustil. There's your evil. Or can you live with that?"

"No. No, I can't," Dustil said, quietly. "I…I had no idea…they lied to me."

"Well, there's the son I remember. Now will you leave here?" Carth asked. Unconsciously, Brinna had connected with him via the Force and she could sense his nervous tension as he waited to hear what his son had to say. His love for his son was strong and she knew that there were many, many things that he longed to say to Dustil, things that would simply have to wait until a more opportune moment, if there ever was one. Carth's hope was still there but it had been stretched so thin that it was on the verge of breaking.

"I…no," Dustil replied and Brinna could sense Carth's heart sinking. Her own disappointment left a bitter taste in her mouth but it was followed by a deep sense of relief at Dustil's next words.

"You go do whatever you have to, Father," the teenager said. "I…I have some other friends here. I have to warn them what's going on. And maybe I can, you know, look around here and find out some more information. From the inside. Something that might help you."

Pride and worry were at war within Carth. Brinna knew that he would have liked nothing better than to send Dustil far, far away from the academy in the hopes of keeping his son safe but Carth understood that Dustil was no longer a child. He was a man in his own right and Carth needed to step back and allow Dustil to do what he felt was necessary.

"I…don't suppose there's any way I could talk you out of that, is there? I mean, you're not going to do anything half way. Sounds familiar," Carth replied, a hint of a smile playing over his face.

"I…guess it does," Dustil said. He looked at Carth and Brinna could sense that Dustil was truly looking at his father this time. He was seeing Carth for the man he was, not the deplorable man that Dustil had invented in his own mind.

"I'm proud of you, Dustil. You aren't hanging onto a lie after you see it for what it is. Not everyone could do that."

"Maybe…after this is over, we can…talk. I'm still not sure about…us, but I'll listen. Maybe we can get back to where we should have been," Dustil said tentatively.

"I'd like that," Carth said softly.

"I'll go back to Telos when this is over. You can find me there. Goodbye…Father."

"Goodbye, son. Good luck."

"Do you think you'll see Dustil again?" Brinna asked Carth as they watched Dustil's retreating back. She had severed her connection with both father and son, leaving them to thoughts in which she had no business prying.

"I think so. If he's anything like he used to be, Dustil hates to be tricked. There's no way he'll let the Sith trick him again. As for whether or not he'll be my son again…I don't know. He's so full of anger and hate…I wasn't expecting him to be like this. Maybe we can work it out. I hope so. I guess I'll have to wait and see. Thanks, by the way…for all your help," Carth said.

"I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat," Brinna assured him.

He flushed slightly. She could see from the expression on his face that he wanted to ask her something but that he wasn't certain whether it would be appropriate. She looked at him with her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"The datapad," he began, hesitation evident in his voice. "It said he was strong in the Force. Could you…did you know what he was feeling?"

Brinna would have liked nothing better than to tell him every one of Dustil's emotions that she'd been able to feel but she knew that it was not her place. The Force was not something that should be used for personal gain and she felt that to tell Carth about Dustil's emotions would be a violation. She felt that she shouldn't have even allowed herself to tune into them.

"Carth… I hope you know that I would never want to keep something from you. The datapad was right; Dustil is very strong in the Force. But what you're asking…"

"No, no, you're right," he said, cutting her off. "I shouldn't have asked. I had no business."

"I know how hard this has been for you," she said quietly, laying a hand on his arm.

"Been in my head as well?" he asked, smiling at her a little uncertainly.

It was her turn to flush. "I just wanted to make sure that things didn't get…out of hand. But I shouldn't have done it and I promise I never will again."

"It's all right," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "I know you were just trying to protect both me and Dustil. Besides, if I had to have anyone in my head, I'm glad it was you."

Brinna blushed even deeper and stammered her thanks before leading Carth back over the Canderous. The Mandalorian took one look at her red face and raised his eyebrows. He let Carth get a little ahead of them and then leaned over and breathed, "Was loverboy whispering sweet nothings in your ear?"

"You are a Gamorrean," Brinna replied through gritted teeth. Her blush deepened and she was certain that her face was probably a highly attractive shade of purple.

Carth turned around and took one look at her before his gaze flickered to Canderous, who smiled widely at him. Carth's lip twisted slightly and he turned back around, ignoring Canderous.

"I get the feeling Soldier's not too fond of me," Canderous said easily.

"Can you blame him?" Brinna asked.

"At least I know that you like me."

"Hah! Guess again!" She raised the volume of her voice a bit, just enough so that Carth would hear her as well. "You two had better get behind me and act more slave-like."

"Yes, Master," Canderous told her, saluting her and falling back a few steps, Carth joining him.

"Let's get the rest of those tombs done. I want to do that final test as soon as possible," Brinna said over her shoulder before turning around and concentrating on making her way through the corridor. Gradually, she could feel her blush fading.

The three jogged their way through the academy and out into the Valley of the Dark Lords. Reluctantly, Brinna headed for the first tomb on the right. She wished she could keep moving until she got to the second on the left, but there was apparently no way of getting into the tomb of Naga Sadow unless Uthar declared her the official candidate and brought her to it for her final test.

Just outside of the tomb, they ran into a young archaeologist named Galon Lor. Galon told them that the tomb belonged to Ajunta Pall, who had once possessed a sword of terrible power. He added that anyone who could retrieve the sword would certainly earn a lot of prestige.

"More evil weapons. Just what Uthar needs," Brinna grumbled as she opened the door to the tomb.

As with the tomb of Marka Ragnos, Ajunta Pall's final resting place was crumbling, dusty, dim, and redolent with the scent of mildew and something earthier and less pleasant.

"Whatever that is, it smells worse than the Wookie," Canderous commented, drawing his vibroblades from his sheaths and holding them at his sides.

"Smells like those nasty things we ran into in the shyrack caves," Brinna said, the words no sooner leaving her mouth than they were beset by a pack of tuk'ata.

When they were finished, the tomb reeked of blood and singed fur and Brinna felt her stomach roil. "Ugh. Let's get out of here as fast as we can," she said, leading the two men past the tuk'ata corpses.

A couple of corpses and a severed arm decorated the stone floor of the tomb. "It's the homey touches that make the place so welcoming," Brinna said, sweeping her arm out as if she were a realtor showing off some property.

Canderous snorted in laughter and Brinna turned to see that Carth was smiling, though he rolled his eyes when he caught her looking at him.

"Ha ha," he said.

Brinna sobered and headed for the datapad clutched in the hand of the severed arm as Carth and Canderous riffled through the packs of the corpses.

"This is interesting," Brinna said, as she read the datapad. "It's the journal of a Sith student and it says that the obelisk over there is made of unstable material that will probably be set off by an energy discharge."

"This one was written by a Sith archaeologist and it says that the substance is Therangen, which is highly volatile and reacts violently to fire," Carth told them, holding up a datapad that he'd retrieved from one of the corpses.

"Let the fireworks begin!" Canderous said, pulling a frag grenade from his pack and heading for the obelisk.

"As soon as you put that thing in there, run like hell. I want both of you to keep behind me. I have a feeling those droids aren't just going to sit there once that obelisk is blown to bits. I can deflect the blaster bolts with my lightsabers and use the Force to destroy them."

"Sounds like a plan," Canderous said. He stuffed the grenade into the obelisk and ran back toward Brinna and Carth, diving for cover as it exploded, showering them all with dust and bits of debris. The tomb rumbled ominously and for a second Brinna was afraid it would collapse.

Her attention was claimed elsewhere, though, as the droids suddenly came to life and opened fire. Carth and Canderous hung behind her as she'd told them and she deflected the bolts. She took a couple of minor hits while she was busy calling on the Force, but her wounds were superficial and quickly healed thanks to her Force connection.

"That was almost too easy," Carth said, looking around the tomb suspiciously.

"Yeah," Brinna agreed. "Never fear, though. I'm sure there's an unpleasant surprise lying in wait behind that door," she said, gesturing at the door that stood across the bridge.

"I can hardly wait," Canderous said and Brinna knew he was serious. He charged off toward the doors, blades in hand and Brinna shook her head.
"Stark raving mad," she muttered to Carth.

They opened the door and saw a sarcophagus lying before them. Brinna opened it and saw three blades lying within. As soon as she picked them up, the door closed behind them with a loud thump and some more debris rained down from the ceiling. All three of them lifted their arms and covered their heads. Brinna coughed as dust entered her lungs. Lowering her arms, she turned to say something to Carth and Canderous but was struck dumb by what she saw. Canderous and Carth looked at her and, silently, she pointed behind them.

"Too long…too long in the cold and the dark. I am disturbed again? A human... A…Jedi? Here? Why have you come to this dark place, Jedi? Why…disturb my sleepless rest?" the apparition asked, its voice so otherworldly that it sent shivers down Brinna's spine.

"Are you…Ajunta Pall?" she asked it, hardly able to believe what she was seeing.

"I…had a name, once. Ajunta Pall. Yes, that was my name. I was one of many. We were servants of the dark side… Sith Lord, we called ourselves. So proud. In the end we were not so proud. We hid…hid from those we had betrayed. We fell…and I knew it would be so…" the apparition replied.

Fascinated, Brinna asked Ajunta Pall some questions and he told her about his and his comrades' betrayal of their Jedi Masters. Several times he referred to a secret but when Brinna asked him if the secret was the Star Map, he could not answer her. Instead, he began to focus on his sword, commanding Brinna to take it away from his tomb. The catch was that she had to figure out which of the three blades that had been lying in the sarcophagus was his. She would have to place the blade she judged to be his on his statue and he would tell her if she was right. If she wasn't, he informed her she would die.

"How will I know which sword it is?" she asked him.

"I do remember one thing of my sword…listen to me carefully… 'I am that which grips the heart in fright, hearkens night and silences the light.' It was…written of my sword long…long ago. Go, then...find my sword and place it on the statue…"

Brinna and her companions moved over to the statue. "What was that you were saying about this being too easy?" she muttered to Carth.

"I thought you liked a challenge," Canderous said.

"I also like living," Brinna replied, rolling her eyes. "'Hearkens night and silences the light'," she quoted. She handed Carth and Canderous each a sword. "Take a look at those and let me know if you think either of them has anything to do with those words."

"While I'm sure I could do a lot of silencing with this thing, I don't think it's the one we're looking for," Canderous said, after studying the vibrosword for a minute.

"This one's got some kind of symbol on it but I don't think it's the right one either," Brinna said, holding up the silver-lined sword.

"No. This has to be the one," Carth said, holding the notched steel sword out. "Aside from the color of the blade, look at this." He turned the blade slowly from side to side and Brinna watched in amazement as the surface of it seemed to pulsate with shadow.

"That has to be it," she agreed. Carth handed it to her and, with a deep breath, she placed it in the statue's outstretched hands. She didn't release the breath until the spirit of Ajunta Pall spoke again.

"Yes…that is the one," he said. "That is the blade that destroyed me. Take it…take it and the other blades, even…take them and go. My darkness awaits me."

The despair in his voice was haunting and Brinna felt a rush of compassion.

I feel sorry for a ghost? Brinna asked herself incredulously. The ghost of a Sith Lord?

"There's no need to remain here is there?" she asked him.

"No…need? What choice have I?"

"You can return to the light side and end your torment."

"Return? But…I betrayed my old masters. They would never let me return to the light side. It is too late…too late…"

"I don't believe the light side would turn you away. You have suffered long enough," Brinna said truthfully.

"If…if I could return. Oh, my Master…it has been…so long…and I regret so much…"

With those words, Ajunta Pall's apparition dissipated. Brinna turned to see Canderous staring at her while shaking his head.

"What?" she asked.