Al'andar was worried. Kennayil was never silent after a battle. This time, however, his friend seemed to be lost within his anger. When they reached the entrance, Kennayil had tossed their prisoner to the 70th's commanding officer and ordered him to take the prisoner to his Fury and guard both until his return. The troopers did as they were bid, but not without a few looks of fear towards their patron. Kennayil then grabbed the imperial that had been imprisoned, told Al'andar to return to the ship, and then walked off into the forest, away from the speeders.

Well, he told me to go back, but not to go directly there. Al'andar knew he was playing fast and loose with his orders, but with his lord in this kind of mood, there could be trouble. Al'andar has been trailing far enough back that he could still follow Kennayil's voice, but not the actual conversation that he was having. After nearly half an hour, he noticed that they had walked in a large circle and were nearly back to the speeders. Realizing that he needed to beat them back to the ship, Al'andar adjusted his course to a more direct line to the speeders. He had only gone a few steps before the distinctive sound of lightsabers clashing reached him. Spinning, he lost his footing and fell. His last conscious thought was the observation that this would have been funny if he had seen it happen to someone else.

Kennayil spent the first few minutes puzzling over the encounter in the tomb, the young archeologist following silently. He was definitely going to have to find out about this Vourrech character. Placing these thought on the back burner for now, he looked at the Pureblood walking with him.

Kennayil: What is your name, Pureblood? Then, tell me what you were doing here. What were your people looking for?

Grell: Grel'talrd, my lord. Though most just call me Grell. Our project leader told us that he had information of a powerful Sith being entombed here. We were to catalog everything, but take nothing. He was afraid the long dead Sith would be offended."

The tone in which he spoke told Kennayil what he thought of ghosts. Chuckling softly, Kennayil chastised him.

Kennayil: Even though there is no ghost here, they do exist.

The look Kennayil received spoke volumes. He enjoyed the thought of how that look would change in the near future.

Kennayil: Tell me how you came to be on this team.

They spent the next twenty minutes walking and talking. He learned that Grel'talrd was born to a prominent family. The middle of six children, he was the only one born without Force powers. His family protected him until he was old enough to find his own way. He had always had a love of history, and wanted to find out more about his people. Archaeology allowed him to expand that knowledge.

Kennayil: Well then, Grell. I have an offer for you. Have you heard of the Archivest?

He grinned inside his mask at the fire that lit the Purebloods eyes.

Kennayil: I've been tracking her journey through theclues sheleft behind. This tomb is what is left of a dark jedi that tried to kill her. If you wish it, the I can take you on that path with me. Then—

A tingle in the Force was the only warning he received. His lightsaber barely managed to intercept the attack. Kennayil spun around and sent a blast wave throught a wide area. His assailent slammed into a nearby tree and fell limply to the ground. A small hiss came from his left. He turned just in time to see a trandoshin take a shot to each knee followed quickly by a third that hit the top of his right shoulder as he fell forward. He was dimly aware of Grel'talrd aiming a pair of blasters at the trandoshin. Looking towards the tree line, Kennayil spotted the second shooter.

Al'andar was leaning against a tree with blood still pouring from a wound on his head.

Al'andar: Sorry I'm late, sir. But this damn tree jumped right out in front of me and knocked me cold.

Kennayil: Grell, see to his wounds. I'm going to see what I can get out of these two.

[Korriban]

The Sith Pureblood looked out across the practice room with disgust, his black and grey armor seeming to absorb the light as he paced back and forth in front of the gathered acolytes. They were not the worst class he had ever taught, but they were far from the most promising. He extended his senses through the force and listened to their emotions. Many were confused, and most of those could not keep their eyes off the togruta sitting patiently in the front row.

"Alright you worthless bags of meat, pay attention. I am Instructor Charris, before each of you are a modified training saber. If you get hit, it will hurt. A lot. My policy is simple, better you feel pain and learn to defend yourself now, rather than later when you lose a limb. Or your life."

Several of the students shifted uncomfortably. A small predatory smile crept upon his features. He knew that this method worked best at driving his lessons home. He could sense intense aggression focused at the togruta. Watching her, he gave her master some credit for teaching her self-control. The only evidence she sensed anything was a slight tightening around her eyes.

"Pick up your blade. Stand up! Odd rows, turn around and face your opponent. You will spend five minutes as the defender. Evens, that means you are on defense. They are trying to hurt you, but do not retaliate. Take your positions."

He watched the acolytes with interest. Some were chatting, some walked together silently running combat drills in their minds. The rest had hostility towards one another, with the exception of one pair. From these two he could feel actual hatred. The togurta appeared relaxed and projected an aura of calm; however, the blonde human behind her was practically seething. He waited for the students to take their places before announcing, "Begin!" Several students, including the blonde, attacked immediately. The rest hesitated only a moment before begning. Of the defenders attacked immediately, only the togruta blocked the attack. Spinning, she assumed a defensive stance. Knowing that she would be fine, he turned his attention towards the other students. Some of the students seemed to break their partners guard with ease, while others looked to be evenly matched. At the end of the five minutes, he called a halt and made them switch tactics. Watching the blonde and togruta, he called for time to start. The togruta did not move. Her opponent, who had expected an immediate attack, assumed a ready position. Upon realizing that she was not under attack, the blonde sneered, "What's wrong, slave? Too scared to move?"

The comments drew the attention of everyone around them. The sound of combat faded quickly as others realized something else was going on. To the students, the togruta simply vanished from one spot, and appeared behind the blonde and struck her down with a blow to the lower back. Looking down at her fallen foe, she stated calmly, "You dropped your guard."

With a rage filled scream, the blonde attacked. Several rapid swings meant to unbalance her opponent, never connected with anything. The togruta simply twisted her body from, or ducked under, each swing. With a spin, the togruta ended up slightly behind and to the right of the blonde, and swatted her on the butt with the blade. This seemed to only make the blonde girl angrier.

The Pureblood stood there transfixed. She said that as if she were stating that we need oxygen to breath. He, of course, saw what really happened. She simply accelerated her movements with the Force, and got behind the blonde before she could react. There was no reason for an acolyte of this skill level to be in his class. The answer came from a new voice by the door.

"Zentiira dear. Stop playing with your prey and finish this." Darth Nox's voice sounded as if she were bored. Now he understood. Nox was using him to test her skill level. He acknowledged Nox with a nod, but never took his eyes of the dueling girls. He was glad he did.

The togruta used a series of advanced saber techniques to stun, and disarm the blonde. With another blow to the lower back she said, "You never had a chance to defeat me. Hopefully now you understand how seriously I outclass you in every way." With that she approached Instructor Charris, handed him her blade and walked over to Darth Nox.

She opened her mouth to speak, but instead of words, a piercing scream came forth. She fell to her knees holding onto her left shoulder and looked at Darth Nox with pain and fear in her eyes. Her body went rigid and then fell the rest of the way to the ground, unconscious.

[To be continued…]

A/N: You know, one of the worst things about reading a story, or watching series on T.V. is the build up and then they say, "If you wanna find out what's going on, come back next time." I hate it. But sadly, I must do it to you because I have no idea how to transition to the explanation. As always, please leave me your comments, good and bad. It makes me feel like this is worth the effort.

Also, at the advice of pseudomoi I changed the format I am using to more traditional viewing. Let me know what you think.