All four of them were marched out through the night club by the soldiers, all of whom were dressed in light brown trousers and shoes, both expensive, a white cotton t-shirt with some sort of protective vest thrown over it and a mask with a t-shaped visor made of a dark, glossy material. Their blaster rifles bore a similarity to bolt-action slug-throwers, save for the unmistakable glow of red blaster energy on the inside of the barrels, each of which had a small knife affixed to it. They also carried each a type of red-dot-sighting system. People mumbled and shrank away as the group passed.
The Mythosaur skull emblazoned on their left sleeve instantly let Bastila know who they were. Elephant like with a large set of teeth and tusks, only one culture used the symbol so extensively.
Mandalorians. Otherwise known as the Jedi Order's favorite sparring partner when no Sith were around. The rivalry between the two groups had risen to a fever pitch in the Exar Kun War, with the Mandalorians seeking only to prove themselves the greatest warriors in the galaxy, and the Jedi seeking only to humble them in combat. The tactic, at least on the Orders end, had never worked. Mandalorians were next to impossible to humble.
Juhani saw Jack and Arren rise from their seat and approach the armed team led by a taller Mandalorian in a pinstripe suit and wide-brimmed slouch hat. A light red blaster-proof vest stretched over the burly man, whose face was concealed by an engraved face mask with a t-shaped visor like the others. He held a dark grey repeater with a drum clip and foregrip that used only iron sights. The look was completed by imeccably polished leather shoes.
"Canderous, I hope you have a good explanation for this," Jack warned the burly figure.
"We paid up this month, Jack, so what do you care?" the Mandalorian leader wondered, tone dismissive.
"Paying for my gambling problems and running a few casinos without a license is one thing. Kidnapping people in broad daylight is something else," Jack replied casually, clearly not caring if people heard him or not. "Of course, we could always leave the decision up to Miss Arren if you would prefer..."
Arren, licking her lips, pulled out the Katana from its sheath slightly, directing its gleam to Canderous.
"C'mon, Jack, old boy, you really wanna start 'another' feud over something so silly as unlawful restraint? Remember the last time I tried to blow up your transport. You're lucky the freak you're sleeping with spotted the bomb."
"And you're lucky your poison taster does his job so well. How many have you had to replace, by the way?"
Canderous held up his hands placatingly.
"Jack relax. I'm not going to execute them. I just wanna talk. Honest."
"You're still kidnapping them," Arren pointed out in her sultry manner.
"I'm not kidnapping them. I'm simply aggressive in my escort," at this, Canderous hefted his repeater to them threateningly. "Isn't that right folks. Mind you, it's inadvisable to say anything other than 'Yes'."
"Yes. Absolutely. He is escorting us. That is what he is doing," Bastila said quickly and tonelessly, trying to control her stress at how quickly the situation had turned on them as she directed her gaze to Jack and Arren pleadingly.
Jack shook his head. "I'll be pulling for you, miss, but that's about all I can do. Good luck."
"You get killed Rae, and I get custody," Arren said mockingly to Nolin. "This days lookin' better and better."
"Screw you," Rae said under his breath as the soldiers marched them out of the club.
The four were shoved into a long black stretch speeder with and armored canopy and an auto-targeting blaster turret on top. The interior was dark also, but with soft plushy seats covered in a blue fabric with the Mythosaur skull stitched in silver thread at the center.
One soldier kept a blaster pointed at Bastila's head at all times.
"We were monitoring your conversation with the old hag. That's why we're taking such precautions. Can't have you digging into our skulls, now can we?" Canderous asked, sitting back in a seat.
"What do you want?"
"I want the exact same thing you seek: The death of Revan," Canderous answered, clasping his hands together. "The Agency is not the only group concerned about the freaks. Mandalore doesn't want any hiccups when we make our final push to overthrow the Union. If Revan is mad enough to try and weaponize the Force, he has to be stopped."
Though Bastila in part was relieved that someone besides her at last saw the need to eliminate him, she was disappointed to find that the only people agreeing with her were the ones who stood the most to gain from crushing the Jedi.
"Why do Mandalorians want to overthrow Union?" Juhani asked in her still undeveloped syntax.
"Are you blind? It's our time!" Canderous chuckled. "Conflict's the natural state of things. What we Mandalorians do is simply carry this truth to its natural conclusion. We embrace it. It's made us strong, made us the greatest warriors in the Galaxy. We'll soon be running everything. All the brothels, the Casino's, the drug dens. Hell, Congress will answer to us. We'll use all these aspects you and the Union would discard simply doesn't fit into your world view. A firm hand and vision is needed, not the half-meant uttering's of some government that only plays at being a democracy."
"If you wanted Revan dead, why not simply let us go and let us carry on our task?" Rae demanded."
"Because I have a use for you. You can make anybody tell you anything, and Revan has knowledge I desire. I won't stop you from killing him, but I do ask that you recover the location of a Rakatan Space Factory. My spies suggest he's been using this decommissioned station to produce all the material he needs to fuel his splinter from the agency."
"And why would I do this for you? You're not giving me anything in return," Bastila snapped in contempt.
"You think the threat of weaponized Force Users will end simply with Revans death? He has thousands of supporters, all of whom will be more than willing to make him a martyr. And I can assure you that if he dies a dozen more groups will spring up in his name. I'm planning to eliminate them all, of course, Princess, but if you help me, I may be inclined to act sooner rather than at my own discretion. You think you four are going to be able to breach wherever he's hiding on your own? You'll be outnumbered an hundred to one, count on it. But if you agree to help me, I'll provide you with an entire legion of my best troops for the final assault."
"You can't trust this guy, Bastila," Rae spoke suddenly. "He'll betray you at the drop of a hat."
"You'd be absolutely right if this were any other circumstance, Jedi. But this time you're wrong. I have just as much to lose here. The Mandalorians can't afford the Jedi gaining a real figurehead. Or turning into Sorcerers," Canderous finished. He held out his hand to Bastila. "So, Jedi, we got a deal?"
"Deal," Bastila said quickly, taking the hand.
"Excellent," Canderous replied in cool fashion. "I'll have my men drop you off at those apartments you were going to visit. Have fun-"
A blazing red Arc-Sword plunged through the canopy, sending little sparks as the weapon melted it's way through just like a lightsaber would have.
Canderous' repeater was out instantly, firing through the roof along with every other soldier, shredding it off the speeder as it sped through the air traffic of Coruscant's as-yet-to-develop cityscape.
The Arc-Sword erupted from the bottom of the craft and Bastila heard the fuel alarm whine as the vehicle tumbled from the sky.
Bastila didn't remember if it was Rae or Onasi that pulled her from the wreck half conscious. All that she knew was that a searing pain went through her ribs. Too much pain for her to really concentrate on healing the wound with the Force. Canderous, Juhani, and Carth were behind the crashed speeder. They had landed on a docking platform on the upper towers and Canderous and the remaining soldiers were firing at someone who expertly dodged all their shots seconds before they could hit, gradually getting closer. He was tall, bald, but with a dark goatee. He wore a silvery blaster-proof vest over a black shirt and black slacks and boots. His skin was a healthy beige, and he had an expression of utter determination in his milky grey eyes as he expertly deflected with his double bladed Arc-Sword. The platform was in the open air, and a wind that smelled of cinnamon blew in from the east. They could see the massive public park still under construction that would consume a quarter of the planet's surface when it was done.
Bastila squinted in recognition. Bandon. On her side of the pond, Bandon had been thrown out automatically for following Revan, along with her general, Valia. Here it seemed he was carrying on the tradition.
She could already hear the sirens in the distance. Either the Agency or average police would show up soon. The storm was darker and closer in the sky than it had been when they had arrived, and she could feel the shivers in the air that indicated that rain would soon fall.
"Juhani!" Bastila wheezed out as Juhani exerted a powerful Force-Push in Bandon's direction, which he had already dodged seconds before the energy had really left her. His ability to predict danger was impressive, and hinted at the strengths the Jedi of this universe had practiced.
"Yes?" she said, going over to her fellow padawan who lay on the ground, nearly immobile.
"Toss the bloody speeder at him," Shan choked out, coughing blood.
"Are you sure? Rae-he could learn something."
"There isn't much to learn when crushing a person with a crashed vehicle," she rasped. "Do it."
Juhani shrugged amidst the chaos. "Okay. You say so..."
Juhani yelled for everyone to get out of the way and then lifted the speeder up and hurling it with as much speed as she could impart.
Bandon, surprised, flipped over the rushing vehicle, evaded Juhani's attempt to telekinetically grasp him and guarded with his weapon.
"Such power!" he exclaimed in a husky voice. "Revan was right. You two are the future of the Order."
"Revan is tyrant. He will be corrupted by quest for knowledge," Juhani replied calmly, disquieted at what seemed to be an unusually high skill in practical far sight. Did all Jedi in his dimension possess this gift?
"You cannot know that for certain, girl. We all make our own choices. We are not slaves to destiny. You act against him out of fear. Tell me, why do you seek his death so fervently?"
"To be honest...I just do job. Bastila insists his death is for your own good."
"She does not have the right to decide what is in our best interests. You disappoint me, sister Jedi. You of all people should understand our struggle."
"I see, and your Revan had no right to trick us into parallel dimension, keeping us prisoners and separated from all we know so he could prosecute war against Mandalorians."
"It's for the greater good. It's all for the greater good," Bandon said more to himself than Juhani as he charged.
As Bastila had with Old Lady K, Juhani performed a stun technique, immobilizing him in mid-charge.
"Hey Bastila, you right! This trick not ever get old!" she exclaimed happily.
"Lovely, Juhani," Bastila wheezed on the ground. "Simply lovely. Knock 'em out for me, would you?"
Juhani approached the stunned and now awestruck Bandon.
"Sorry for this. Only doing job..." Juhani spoke quietly before slamming her fist square into Bandon's jaw. He crumpled to the ground as she released the energy fields hold.
Bastila awoke with a groan, stretched out on a queen-sized bed, a blanket thrown over her. The room was small and cramped, and devoid of all but bare needs.
Juhani sat in a chair right next to the bed. She was fiddling with what appeared to be a ball of yarn. Uncomfortably, Bastila detected what almost sounded like purring coming from Juhani's throat.
Juhani sensed Bastila watching and quickly dropped the ball out of embarrassment.
"I can explain, Bastila," she began quickly. "Cathar have...affinities for certain items. For some, it shiny coins. Others, yarn. I am yarn person. You know how it is, wanting to compulsively play with string..."
The pair stared at each other in an awkward silence that went on for a few seconds longer than it should have.
"Not really, no," Bastila said after a few seconds.
Juhani scratched the back of her head before changing the subject. "It no matter. Rae heal you. You took bad damage in crash."
Bastila's eyes became beady. "You let Rae heal me?"
"Bastila, I not skilled healer. Rae is. All Jedi of this universe skilled healers. It one of only two disciplines they use. Other is Far sight."
"How long?"
"Pardon?"
"How long did you let him heal me?" Bastila demanded, cold fear racing through her body.
"All the way. Two hours. Why?"
Bastila didn't answer. She had sunk her consciousness deep into her own Force connection, hoping not to find anything.
Instead, her eyes snapped open. "Dammit," she hissed.
"What is wrong?" Juhani asked, now out of sincere concern.
"How badly was I injured?"
"You had massive internal bleeding. If Rae had not acted, you would be dead."
"Juhani, we're bonded. Rae has created a Force bond in saving my life."
Juhani went wide-eyed. "I-I'm sorry, Bastila! Forgive me, I did not know!"
"It is alright, Juhani. It isn't common knowledge that a bond can be created like that. But it now means We must be much more careful around Rae. We must find a way to sever the bond, or he could start to learn my techniques simply by being in proximity to me," Bastila uttered.
Without even meaning to, she had put the galaxy in great danger all by herself.
Bastila was soon up and about, slipping on the Agency clothes she had come into this dimension with. Juhani had the clever idea of salvaging all the spare parts and electronics from the crash along with Bandon's now-disassembled Arc-Sword, spreading them out on a caffa table in the sparse apartment's living room, which was noticably cleaner than Old Lady K's had been. The shutters were closed, keeping out the amber lights of the twinkling city. No lights were turned on except for a small lamp on the floor. Carth sat on a couch in front of a holoprojector, Canderous next to him as he flipped through all the news frequencies. Yet no report of the deadly crash surfaced.
"I don't understand. Juhani threw a freakin' speeder at that guy. There had to be a few local cameras that spotted it," Carth grumbled in confusion.
"Jack Rand probably set up interference when he heard. Can't risk spreading a mass panic with the freaks," Rae grumbled, taking a sip of caffa that another Mandalorian soldier offered him.
When Bastila entered the living room, Rae left the kitchen and approached her.
"Something changed when I healed you," he spoke quietly. "What was it?"
"You're feeling the bond already. That isn't good. Rae, you've placed yourself in terrible danger helping me as you did," Bastila asserted. "You've created a sort of telepathic link, one that is not easily severed."
"Does it have any advantages?"
"No," Bastila flat out lied.
"You're lying. I can feel it. Feel your thoughts."
"What the hell is it with you freaks?" one of the Mandalorians asked, overhearing. Juhani shushed him, however.
"Rae...I'm not fit to teach you anything, even with the bond. I could end up making things worse, don't you see?"
"Things are already bad now. His followers are growing more powerful. You felt it in Bandon-wait, how did I know his name was Bandon?" Rae asked, confused, shaking his head.
"If the bond is already that intense, you must have felt the barest hint of Jedi teachings," Bastila whispered. "We have to sever this bond, Rae. Soon."
"Is it really so bad if I know a little of what you know? Isn't it better if I learn to control it? So I don't risk harm to others with what I already know from you?"
"Wait, how much do you know, exactly?" Bastila asked, frowning.
"Uh...a...a set of...movements or something. Elegant. Meant for a sword or something," Rae answered, clasping the side of his head. "I-I think I could move something if I pushed myself..."
Rae stretched out his hand toward a cup on the porcelain counter. It fluttered across the surface into his waiting hand.
"Not good. He's picking up my fighting style and he's already understanding the basics of telekinesis," Bastila whispered to Juhani.
"Would you two stop whispering?" Canderous called from the couch. "It's really annoying. Makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up."
"Rae...I could end up doing more harm than good. There are terrible risks with the path I and Juhani walk."
"Then help me avoid some of them!"
"He has point, Bastila," Juhani added.
"You think I don't know that, Juhani?" Bastila hissed in frustration. Her anger flared and the cup Rae had put back on the counter spontaneously exploded, shards flying everywhere.
Rae swooned. "W-what was that?" he asked, clutching his forehead. "Your power just...spiked all of a sudden. Uncontrolled. I...can feel your anger."
Bastila froze as everyone, including Juhani, stared at her.
"Is that the secret?" Rae pressed, taking the padawan by the shoulders. "Is that the secret you're so desperate to hide? That emotion can fuel your abilities as much as a clear head can? That there is a...a Dark Side to the Force?"
"Forgive me, Officer Nolin," Bastila whispered. "I have failed you."
"What?" Nolin asked.
"Again with the whispering?" Canderous called out, exasperated.
Rae suddenly felt himself being lifted by something invisible and then he was flying through the room, crashing through the front door and sent into the dingy under works alley just beyond.
Rae scrambled up, drawing his pistol, only to have the pistol fly out of his hand and into Bastila's.
"Bastila, NO! BASTILA!" Juhani cried, heading out the apartment.
Bastila floated off the ground, eyes again glowing that terrible orange color. She spotted Juhani and pinned the Cathar woman to the ground effortlessly with telekinesis.
Onasi ran outside, blaster drawn, only for Canderous to stop him, wrenching the blaster out of his hand as the remaining soldiers all trained their rifles on Bastila, but Canderous waved them away also.
"Don't," he warned. "She'll kill you."
"Bastila, what are you doing?!" Carth called out.
"He knows!" she hissed, going into that echo voice as she levitated off the ground. "He'll spread the knowledge of it before his Jedi are ready to face it! He has to die!" Wind and the Force made her hair fly wildly, the ground underneath her pressing together and cracking from some invisible pressure.
"Hey furball," Rae called out to Juhani, both frozen, one out of fear, the other from Bastila's restraint. "Is this normal for your type of Jedi?"
"No," Juhani answered. "Bastila, why it so bad he know truth?"
"It's my fault! He'll know what I know, feel what I feel! He has no frame of reference."
"Bastila," Juhani pleaded. "It murder if you do this."
Bastila turned to Juhani, still glued to the dirty, muddy ground. "What would you have me do? Train him? I'm only a padawan! I'll mess it up! He'll turn."
"We make it work..." she gasped."Besides, everyone else here know secret now. You kill them too?"
"I...I..." Bastila stuttered.
Suddenly, she released her power over Juhani, dropping to the ground. The glow left her eyes.
"Forgive me, Nolin, for what I was about to do," Bastila panted, sweating from the unfathomable exertion, her reserves strained. "I won't kill you, Officer Nolin...but I cannot train you either. It would be irresponsible of me to do so. You'll just have to work it out on your own. I won't give you any advice from this point forward except this: Beware the Dark Side."
"I don't even know what it is, yet you ask me to be afraid," Nolin countered, calling his pistol out of her hand and back to him. "What is it about the Dark Side I'm supposed to beware of?"
Bastila regarded him sadly for a moment before her gaze hardened.
"Rae," she said in a low growl. "Don't push it."
Bastila walked back into the apartment, the others giving her a wide berth as she strode past them
Rae sat at the couch silently by himself, experimenting with moving his pistol around the caffa table via his new gifts. Bastila had been in deep meditation for over an hour, clearing her mind and regaining her strength. Captain Onasi was busy cleaning his blaster on the kitchen counter. Canderous had sent his remaining soldiers away, desiring glory by accompanying this group on the next phase of the mission. He was outside, enjoying a cigar.
Juhani sat down next to Rae. He didn't glance up.
"I sorry for what happened out there," she started.
"What gives Bastila the right to end my life based on fear?"
"Nothing, Rae. Nothing gives her that right," Juhani replied. "She just needed a reminder, is all. She acted out fear. And fear is of the Dark Side."
"What IS the Dark Side?" Rae demanded. "Why is she so dead set on keeping me shackled to HER ideal? Wearing her chains?"
Juhani suppressed her disquiet at his mention of 'chains'. "She only tries to stave off disaster. Protect people."
"That's exactly what I'm trying to do, but I can't do that if I don't have all the facts. Help me, Juhani, I'm begging you," he said, taking her hands into his own.
Juhani pulled her hands away. "It not so simple. I could end up hurting you."
"There is always risk in any venture," Rae protested. "But what good is your vow to protect others if you won't help them learn to protect themselves?"
"I...I can show you...'something'. A meditative trance. No harm in that," Juhani replied, dodging his questions about the Dark Side.
Nolin wasn't fooled and he did not relent. "We're past simple exchanges, Juhani. I need something solid. Concrete."
Juhani finally made up her mind and stared at his pistol. "Close your eyes."
"What?"
"Close them. You want me to teach you, Da? Then you will learn. Close your eyes."
Rae closed his eyes behind his thick mask.
"You know how I lift vehicle earlier? Size not matter. An object has no weight in mind except what you believe it has. I train you to ignore this limit," Juhani continued authoritatively. "I train you to lift couch now. Focus. Let go of everything..."
When Bastila stirred eventually, she was greeted with the unpleasant prospect of feeling Rae's presence in her mind. Except it was calmer. Controlled.
"Juhani's been showing him tricks," Bastila muttered. "Great, just what I need..."
She rose from her kneeling position and walked into the cramped living room. Rae was at the kitchen counter assembling his pistol-with telekinesis. The parts floated in the air, locking gently into one another. Juhani sat with Carth, watching some sort of sitcom on the holoprojector.
"Juhani," she called out sternly.
Juhani rose wordlessly and followed Bastila into her bedroom. The turbo door shut automatically behind her.
"You've taught him something," Bastila stated. It was not a question.
"A basic technique, nothing more."
"There is nothing 'basic' about the Force, Juhani!" Bastila hissed. "If he goes bad, it's on you. Just remember that. I tried to avoid this at every turn."
"You are responsible for him. He save your life, and in thanks you try to take his!" Juhani protested, again making Bastila experience a deep sense of shame in nearly giving into her panic after Rae had discerned the truth. "It is not I who should be showing him such things."
"We are both padawans. We have no business showing him 'anything'," Bastila replied, rigidly sticking to her earlier argument.
"Like it or not, your lives now tied together, and it even more irresponsible of you to let him flounder, when it is YOUR gift he learn from," Juhani argued. "Ignoring him is bigger mistake."
"You will never convince me to train him."
Juhani sighed. "I know," she answered sadly. "I had to try and make you see though. So I could sleep at night, knowing I do everything I could to make you honor bond. It saddens me to see you like this."
"Like what?" Bastila inquired, cocking an eyebrow.
"Full of fear," Juhani answered.
"I'm not afraid," Bastila protested.
"I'd say you will be...but you already are. You fear Nolin, Fear making misstep."
"Juhani...we're stuck in a friggin' parallel universe. One mistake and we could end up being stuck here forever, while 'our' Revan goes on to ravage 'our' galaxy. Think woman! You know how destructive the conflicts are over there with the Sith! Do you really want to risk importing that over here?" Bastila snapped coldly. "I don't. I won't have that on my head. I've already made a mess of things as they are just being here! Every second we spend here, we risk contaminating it even further! So forgive me if I don't want to waste my time playing 'Mysterious Jedi Mentor' to the locals only to have one of the bastards pull a red blade on me someday!" she finished, drawing breath in sharply as she tried to rein in her emotions.
"Bastila...is this how you feel about 'our' Jedi?" Juhani asked with a flash of clarity.
Bastila stared at Juhani.
"Interpret it however you choose. But mark my words, Juhani, I will 'not' be responsible for Nolin. Or for bringing the Dark Side here," Bastila finished sitting back on the bed. "Now, if there is nothing else, we have a friend of Revan's to visit..."