Grove

Danika

As the sun rose, we awoke, and continued our journey. The Grove was not that far ahead, and I felt the presence of the darkness that dwelt there. I had felt this before, but hadn't known it was the Force. People call it acting on a hunch, or invisible eyes.

I saw the bodies first. Three or four Mandalorians had come here, and they lay torn to pieces by Kath hounds. But I could see the cuts of a lightsaber. They had died, but their killer had hacked and hacked at them until they were dismembered. I saw the standing stones, and a Cathar woman kneeling in meditation. I walked softly up to the edge of it, and stopped.

She looked up, madness and hatred in her eyes. She reached out with the Force, and both Canderous and Carth were blasted off their feet by her anger. Then she leaped, lightsaber ignited, charging at me. I blocked, pushing her with the Force so she landed ten meters from me. She bounced back to her feet, and charged again, screaming wordlessly.

I found myself desperately blocking her assault, unable to attack even if I had wanted to. She reached out, and I felt phantom fingers close on my throat. I shook them off, and pushed again, harder. She slammed into a stele, and I reached out, snatching the lightsaber from her hands into mine.

"Kill me!" She screamed. "You're the strong one, the strong always kill the weak!"

I shook my head, the lightsabers dying in my hand. "I did not come to kill. I come to cleanse."

"It's the same thing!"

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Juhani, and this is the seat of my dark power. This is the place you have invaded." She glared at me. "This is where I embraced the dark side, where I sought solace in my pain. It is mine, and I will not give it up!"

"You embraced the darkness. Why?"

"I was distraught over my home world, destroyed by Malak and his fleet. I was angry, and my master sought to teach me. I used that hate, that anger, I struck my master down. I killed Quarta!" She screamed again in pain. "When I did I knew I could never go back, they would never accept me. Now I revel in my dark power, enough to destroy any that faced me!" Her face fell, her voice softening almost to a whisper. "Or so I thought."

"Power is never enough."

"What do you want of me? Why can't you leave me in my pain?" She wailed.

"What do I want? To talk with you, nothing more."

"Talk! You have beaten me so easily. Yet all you want is talk? You a stranger and a human! All Cathar know that the weak exist only to feed the strong. So be strong! Kill me!"

"To be strong is to be gentle as well." I said softly. "Like a father holds his children in the strength of his arms, yet does no harm. I hold no hatred for you, Juhani. Only peace."

She shook her head. "Even in your naive attitude, you defeat my words. I sit here, thinking myself strong in the Force, but I am a cub bravely attacking her mother's foot! But I have gone too far, I can never go back to what I had been." She looked past me, watching Canderous and Carth struggling to their feet. "I thought my masters, the other apprentices were jealous. They held me back because I would outstrip them so easily otherwise. None of them could match me in full cry! Now I see that it was because I was not good enough. I would never be good enough."

I touched her face. "The first step a child takes on the path to true knowledge is to admit that they don't know everything. Throughout life those that remember that, and are still willing to admit that they still have ignorance are the ones that continue to grow. Denying that ignorance is the first step to death."

She smiled sadly. "If only my ignorance had not been so costly. My master suffered and died from it."

"Even death does not end the essence of the Jedi." I replied. "Death will not hold either of us, sister. If your master has died, the Force will take her back as she takes even the smallest animal in its time."

"If only she were alive still." She mused. "There is so much I still have to say. So many faults I must confess. The masters will consider me a failure."

"Why? Because you made a child's mistake?

"How could they forgive something I cannot?"

"You struck in anger, you ran in fear, and now you let that fester within you as you revel in your dark power. Can you not see that like an infection it must be lanced and cleansed?" I waved at the fields beyond. "You must return. You must show them that anger is like rainwater that has run from your body, and fallen to the ground. Once here, now gone and no more."

"But will they accept me?"

"Show them that what you were, what you became, is no more. Show them your contrition, your willingness to learn from those mistakes."

I felt it; a lightening of the Force about her. She considered my words. I held out my hand, and her lightsaber leaped to her hand. She flicked it on, scowling at the red color. "I must replace the crystal. Better yet," She smashed it on the ground, the metal shearing. "I will start over with unblemished parts." She looked at me, not with hate, or anger, but with wonder. "I will go. I will beg their mercy. I will stand in the light again." She ran past me, and I watched her running with all her heart toward the enclave so far away.

Return

Danika

Our return was uneventful. The Kath hounds still menaced, but those we spoke to said the attacks had dropped off sharply. We crossed the bridge, and Canderous pushed to the fore. The man that mourned Ilse saw us coming, and stopped, unsure what to do.

The huge Mandalorian knelt, looking down. "I report that those that dishonored your daughter are dead by our hands, and that their leader died by my own hand. However there is shame upon my clan thanks to their leader. He was of my clan, so my clan bears the dishonor." He took off his own Soochir. "This is the honor of my life, the honor of my name. If you feel I deserve it, smash it destroy it or merely keep it from me. Until you return this to me, My clan and I have no honor in the eyes of our people"

The settler took it, staring at the hulking form bent before him, then at me. "The Mandalorians that have been raiding here are dead. Canderous Ordo of Clan Ordo fought well to kill them, to take the vengeance on Sherruk Zion of Clan Ordo with his own hands. Canderous destroyed Sherruk's Soochir, leaving him an empty voice among his people. Yet he feels he owes you and your daughter more." I lit my lightsaber. "If you feel that he and all Mandalorians bear this sin, set it down, and I will destroy it. He will become nothing to his people, as Sherruk now is. Just keeping it wounds his honor, but it is a wound he offers freely in recompense."

The man stared at it, warring within his heart. Part of him wanted to smash that plastic and metal form, to deny even this man his honor. Then he sighed, tears running down his face. He held the chain, dangling the Soochir before Canderous. "Take it. My daughter will sleep well now."

Silently, Canderous took the Soochir, slipped it back over his neck, and walked toward the Academy entrance.

We entered, and I saw Juhani standing in the courtyard beside Belaya. Belaya ran toward me, then stopped. "I must thank you for returning my friend, apprentice. She was lost to us, but has returned, thanks to you."

I was nonplussed. "I did what had to be done for her and myself. I am glad she walks in the light again and that I helped her."

Juhani approached, hesitant. "I must give you my thanks, and beg your forgiveness. Thanks to your advice I am welcome here, but I caused you pain in the process."

"No matter." I said. "What have you heard of Quarta?"

"It was all for nothing. If I had stayed, if I had bothered to check her, I would have found that while sorely wounded, she still lived. As if a child in the Force could hurt one such as her!

"That bout was supposed to be merely more training in the Force. The Cathar are hunters and killers by nature. We have pride in the skills we carry from our animal ancestors. Such skill however, along with pride could drive us into the Dark side if used as it can be. She wanted to show me how easily pride could lead to the dark side, and picked the wrong time to do it. But I ruined it all!"

"Her treatment of you was harsh, but you cannot fault the test, Juhani."

"The ways of a master are strange to those that have not ascended that height. Looking back I can see the wisdom of her actions. Humility is something my people have trouble learning, and is never easy even with other calmer races. But I am a better Jedi for it. Now I know what I must be on guard from in my own soul."

"Sensible." Canderous commented. "The hard lessons can't merely be handed to you as if they were instructions to a small child. As my people say, 'Pain is the teacher, and reflex is the result'."

"Your people speak wisely some times,." Juhani agreed. But her voice was harsh. She turned back to me, ignoring Canderous. "After that fight Quarta decided that there was no more she could teach me. She knew I would need time alone to explore and master the turmoil in my spirit. Only then would I be willing to listen to a guide and return. You were my guide, and I thank you for it.

"Quarta went to another Academy, there is always work for a teacher such as her. With her help and yours, I have passed this test. The Council now decides what training I need to complete my studies before I can be declared Padawan and go on into service."

"Some friends." Carth snorted. "First the Jedi trick you into becoming the enemy, then they pit you against each other. Then, since you survived, they welcome you back. Can't say I like what how they run this training."

I turned, and as I did, Canderous spoke. "Giving you a second chance when you have failed this badly is a sign of weakness. I find it hard to believe that the Jedi could face even a Republic threat, let alone people such as mine in battle."

"Canderous, As you said, I say to you both; Your words issue from an empty head. We at our training are still children in the Force. We need guidance until we understand how little we know. And as for you, Carth, from someone who trusts no one, I will take your comments as I do with your mistrust, because I must." I turned my back on him. "Trust in the Force, Juhani."

"And in those that help. Thank you."

"The masters knew you would return, they asked me to inform you that they will see you in the morning." Belaya reported.

"Then I am going to take a hot bath and go to bed." I looked at the two men, smiling. "If you two would like to share more stories, let me know. It was an interesting evening."

I was coming up the ramp when I was almost slammed off my feet by a guided missile named Mission. She clung to me, crying, and I wasn't sure what was wrong.

"I'm sorry, I was mad at you when you left, and I thought you'd die!" She wailed.

"I didn't die, Mission. Don't worry."

"But you asked me about Griff and I was mean to you, and you didn't talk to me for weeks and I wasn't sure how to apologize, then you were gone, and no one would tell me where you went except into the outer lands, and-"

"Mission." I hugged her. "If you don't mind scrubbing my back, I will tell you what happened."

After I had cleaned up, and gotten a bowl of food, Mission sat with me. "It's just; I don't like to talk about Griff that much. It's embarrassing."

"I understand, you don't need to tell me anything."

"No, I owe that to you for what you've done for me. Zaalbar is a great listener, but it took a long time to learn his language, and he's more of the beat on a problem and it goes away type.

"I never knew my parents. They died when I was young. Griff always looked out for me. He was the one that brought me to Taris. I was only five then, and I remember the trip, if you want to call it that. We were stuffed in a packing crate in a star freighter's cargo hold, with just enough food and water to make the trip. It wasn't first class."

I was aghast. "How could he treat a five-year-old like that?"

"I don't know the whole story. He probably owed people money, or maybe there were arrest warrants out on him. He was pretty good at getting into computer systems, and when we had to run, he programmed us as cargo, and had us delivered. Once we got to Taris, he broke open the seals, and we headed into the Lowercity. That was the only way he could see to get us away from the problems, to smuggle us out I mean. I don't want to make it sound like we were criminals or something, though maybe Griff was.

"Now you see why I don't like to talk about it. Griff may have had his problems, but he was my brother, and took care of me."

"He's family. You have to stick by your family."

"Right! I don't know where I'd be if he hadn't been there when I was a kid. But he didn't change. He gambled, he drank, and he was always borrowing money for his latest get rich scheme. But he had a good heart. He taught me how to survive. He taught me how to slice a computer system, how to get into a locked building without the access codes, how to spot a quick mark for a shell game."

I was surprised she hadn't ended up in a penal colony. "Useful skills to have."

"Yeah, Griff did right by me. I really miss him since he left. He promised he'd come back for me, and I've just been waiting for him to come and get me."

I ran my finger around the rim of the mug, unsure where to go with this inquiry. "Why did he leave?"

"He fell in with a bad crowd, Exchange types, high rollers. It was all Lena's fault. She batted those lashes of hers, rubbed her Lekku in just the right way-" She ran a hand down the tentacles on her head, and off he went!"

"Who's Lena?"

She clutched her mug. "I said I'd tell it all, and I will! She was a dancer at the cantina Griff hung out at." I nodded. Twi-lek women dance in what is considered a seductive manner. Part of it is that to the women of their race dance is an expression of freedom, a religious experience, and a mating ritual all at the same time. Men of a number of races feel the attraction, and the Twi-lek women use that primal attraction when they are dancing for work.

"We had a good thing going. Sure Griff had run ins with the law, but all you had to do on Taris was be born anything but human for that.

"Griff used to play Pazaak at the club. Then Lena came there to work. Griff liked her, and when he wanted to be he was a smooth talker. Pretty soon they were spending a lot of time together. But the crowd Lena hung out in was upper class. She would escort top rank Tarisian men when they came slumming, if you know what I mean. Exchange hard guys, rich men all of them. Griff could never have given her the lifestyle she enjoyed. "

"So you expected Lena to dump him."

"Yeah. But she must have seen the potential of a big pay-off. Big enough to put up with him."

"Maybe she really liked Griff. He does sound personable."

"No way. I could tell exactly what she was. A busty, no-good credit-grubbing Cantina rat! She used Griff just like every man around her. After they had been together for a few months, Griff told me they were leaving Taris. He had a plan and they were going to make their fortune off world. But Lena didn't want a kid interfering with what they had to do, so she told him to leave me there until afterward. But he promised to come back and get me. We'd live like Taris nobles with the best of everything!' Her face fell. "That was two years ago. I haven't heard anything, I don't even know what planet he went to!"

"And you think this is Lena's fault?"

"Of course it is! She stayed with him until they made that fortune, then she dumped him somewhere and ran off with it. I only hope I can catch her and find out what happened to Griff. I may never see him again, but I'm not going to stop trying." She sat up straight. "That's why I joined up with you, and wanted to go off world. I can't start my search from a pit on Taris."

"I'm glad you did."

"I just wish there was something to do. The Jedi Academy is like major creepy, and I hear about Kath hounds and crazed Mandalorians, and I don't even want to think about going into the outlands."

"Well what can you do?"

"If a computer had legs, I could get it to sit up and beg."

"Well we seem to have acquired a ship, and we're not going anywhere too quickly as far as I know. How about working on an inventory for Carth? I hereby declare you to be the ship's supercargo!"

"The what?"

"When you load a ship, everything has to be just right, the mass has to be balanced, you have to know where everything is, how much of it you have and when you need to buy more. The supercargo is the loadmaster and purser combined; the one that makes sure that is done, and makes sure it's paid for."

"I'm on it!" I handed her a datapad, and she went to work on the inventory. I curled up in my bed, and went to sleep.

The next morning I poured my tea and joined Carth and Mission at the table. Mission was humming to herself, and seemed focused. Then she handed the pad to me. "How did I do?"

I looked at the pad. She had gone through the entire load out of the ship, and had prepared a full inventory. There was a list of equipment we needed, and supplies such as food beyond combat rations and even additional spices and cooking gear.

"When did you have time to do this?"

"All night." She said. "I figured the faster it was done the better."

"Carth, what do you think?" I handed it to him. He looked at it, and the fork paused on the way to his mouth. "Better than any depot officer I ever saw. Pretty good, Danika."

"I didn't do it. Our supercargo did."

"Who?" I pointed at Mission. "No way!"

"Carth, she needs something to do, and I like her style. If I have to, I'll call for a vote, but I don't think you really want to take it that far."

"But she'll be handling all of the money! What's to stop her from walking with it?"

"Hey mister antique high and mighty jet-jockey, I got more money than you know what to do with!"

"Oh you do, and where did you get it?" He glared at her

She looked at me, her defiance vanishing. "Promise you won't get mad?" I shrugged. "When we got here from Taris, I didn't have anything to do, so I decided to check the local central computer records."

"You sliced into a protected system?" He stared. "From my ship?"

"Your ship! Ha you wish! No, I used a terminal in the shop over there." She waved toward the shops along the docking ring. "Just to check out the system, and used a few credits to buy access to the main data banks.

"Since Davik was dead, I used his access code, at least anyone seeing it would think it was his code. If they check, they'll also think he used a computer in the main city. I withdrew every account he had that was off Taris and sent it all to Coruscant."

"Coruscant? Why there?" I asked.

"Because he was supposed to send his commission to the Exchange there. When it arrived, the computer bootstrapped it to an outgoing signal, and it went through five other systems at random before going back to Coruscant, then into a numbered account with the Bothan banking cartel. I have the number." She looked sheepish. "But I had to pay Danika back, so I bought her something."

I suddenly knew where this was going. "Oh no, you didn't-"

"No I didn't. Davik did according to the paperwork. He sold the Ebon Hawk to you on arrival here, bought passage on a ship leaving for Naboo, and never boarded. As far as anyone knows, Davik has gone off to parts unknown with a lot of money that belonged to the Exchange. But considering a lot of the stuff he's done and how old he was, I could see him running off to retire somewhere with

a fist-full of credits."

I stared at Carth, who was vainly trying to not laugh. "You aren't helping, Carth!'

"I can't think of a better group to get ripped off for a few thousand credits!"

"Hey, I don't work cheap! Try a few hundred thousand credits."

"Oh dear." I said. I hoped she was as good as she thought she was. The Exchange would blow a planet apart to get that much money back. And the Bothans are more serious about money than that! "Now Mission, as much as people think it is all right to steal from thieves, you shouldn't have done that. I want you to promise you won't slice into any computer from this point on-"

"-Unless we ask you to." Carth put in.

I glared at him, "Unless we really need you to."

"That's a promise. If I find Griff, I'll have the fortune he was looking for already waiting." She looked smugly satisfied. She handed me another datapad. I took it warily. It recorded a bill of sale for the J-Class mod 4 Ebon Hawk to me Paid in a banking draft from a numbered account on Bothawui. All fees, taxes etc had been paid. "the account that paid for the ship is mine, and the money went through Davik's hands into the same mangle as all of the other money. All it cost me was the transfer fees and taxes. That was wicked though, the Republic government bureaucrats are worse thieves than any I ever met!"

I knew the Bothans were secretive and so honest it was a byword within the Republic. Money is important to them, more important than anything but a contract. To them a contract is something stronger than durasteel. Maybe the Republic could break their banking system, but no one else could. I looked at Carth desperately, but he was studiously ignoring me. "All right, I give up!"

"About time." Mission said. Now I have to get on the com with the supply center. We need the rest of our supplies as of yesterday."

Padawan

Danika

I entered the training center. Master Zhar was talking with several students, directing them in meditation. He looked up at my entrance, turning his class over to an older apprentice.

"The Council has seen your report, and I must say, well done my pupil. The ancient grove has been purified, and your handling of Juhani's case deserves praise. Few would have looked beyond the surface to see the root of the problem. Because of your vision, she has been returned to us.

"But you cannot dismiss what happened to her. Juhani was as dedicated as any before her fall. Remember that we are all vulnerable to our own weaknesses. She injured her master, a grave act. Quarta admitted to us that she chose to test Juhani in that manner, and provoked the attack in so doing. Yet, thanks to you, it seems to have made its point, and the lesson was learned.

"Congratulations, my apprentice, or should I say Padawan. Let me be the first to welcome you to our order." He took my hand warmly. "There is much you must do, and little time to do it. The Council will meet in two hours, and your assignment will be given then. Until then you are free to do what you will."

I bowed and left. Part of me wanted to return to the Ebon Hawk, to immerse myself in the friends that had come so far with me. But instead I found myself in the archives. The tables were crowded with apprentices and Padawans studying with deep concentration. Master Dorak saw me, and walked toward me. Of all the Jedi masters I had met he was the only one that hurried anywhere. He was so full of energy that merely walking looked like a military stride.

"Congratulations on you ascension Padawan. What do you seek today?"

"Revan and Malak bother me." I admitted. "All I have heard of them suggests that of all of us they should have been the least likely of the order to fall, yet they seem to have fallen so easily. Is there a record of them here in the archives?"

He frowned. "Yes there is, but it is in the one place where I can decide who must hear it." He tapped his head. "I have recorded it on a Holocron, but I think you should hear it directly." He led me to his office, assigned two of his Padawan assistants to assure no one disturbed us, and sat me down with a mug of tea.

"The story does not begin with them, because events prior to it led to their fall. I will begin forty years ago, with the war of Exar Kun. Like Revan and Malak, Exar Kun was a Jedi. In fact he was in consideration as a Jedi master at this very Academy. Yet his master Vodo-Siosk Baas felt that there was too much impatience in him." He looked at me. "As one who has fought, and one who has learned, you understand the danger of such with a student."

"Yes. You can't just hand a squad to a someone without the proper mindset and expect them to excel. Either they get her men killed, or gets killed trying something stupid."

"Indeed. He left the Academy, and created another one on the moons of Yavin 4. He drew a lot of our disaffected to him at that time, including those among the Sith, and fell to the darkness after a voyage to Korriban.

"Eventually, the Jedi Council called him to task. He had demanded autonomy for his planet, and the matter was to be discussed before the Republic Senate. But when Exar Kun arrived, he cut down his master before them, and told the Republic Senate that no one could tell him what to do, and that led to the war.

"The Sith of course joined that war, as did a lot of the planets that wanted to break away from the Republic. If they had simply declared their independence, the war might not have even occurred. The Senate tends to take a rather scattered view of what to do in such a case, and the Chancellor can suggest or ask, but never demand action from them. But Exar Kun's forces began to try to expand out of their enclave, and that forced the issue.

"The war devastated us all. Yavin's fourth moon was bombarded and reduced to ruin, the Massassi race was obliterated when Exar Kun drew all of their life force in a frantic bid to protect the moon. The Order was weakened, most of our order had died either in the fighting, or in the defections that had occurred. The Republic had spent a massive fortune to win, and was weakened both politically and militarily by the concessions they had to make to the Corporate organizations and Trade alliances. For twenty years, we struggled to rebuild from that carnage.

"But we were not left in peace to do so. Twenty years ago, the Mandalorians began conquering planets and multi system polities on the outer rim. They were circumspect, careful to not attack systems that were claimed by the Republic, or allied to us.

"The Senate debated heatedly, then finally decided to do nothing. They saw the fact that if we were to intervene, other nations would join the Mandalorians, and we could not afford such a major war so soon after the last. We would stand neutral."

"But we were drawn into the war anyway." I murmured.

"Yes. While we stood by and did nothing, the Mandalorians threw every industry in those captured worlds into production of supplies and ships. Seven years ago, they attacked across the border into three separate sectors simultaneously. The Senate had no choice but to order the fleet to battle. The Mandalorian wars had begun."

"How did the Jedi stand on this?"

"We were petitioned for aid." Dorak admitted. "But there were factors to consider that the Senate could not understand. We had to resolve them before we allowed ourselves to be drawn into another such conflict. Unlike the Republic, we cannot simply throw money at an Academy and crank out Padawan like proton warheads or warships. Training takes most of a young person's life; money, or shouting does not change that.

"As Master Vrook said, we are guardians of the Republic, and sadly that led to our major problems with the conflict. While we tried to preach restraint and patience to those of our order, there were many of our members that not only wanted to join the fight, but were eager for it. This extended right up into the Council itself. The controversy focused around two young Knights who had emerged as spokespersons for the group. Revan and Malak. They rallied many to their cause and finally, against the wishes of the Council, joined the Republic fleet in battle a little over five years ago.

"For the Republic, it could not have come at a better time. Revan was a skilled warrior, a master of Naval warfare, both strategy and tactics. She took the fleet in hand, and the Republic began to not only win, but win handily. Four years ago, she was able to smash their fleet so decisively that the Mandalorians surrendered unconditionally."

"Yet at the height of her victory, she fell."

"Yes. Revan and Malak her strong right arm were heroes, the saviors of the Republic. A third of the entire fleet was under their direct command at the end of the war. But something happened.

"They returned here only briefly, then took that fleet beyond the border of the Republic into unexplored space. They claimed they were searching for a Mandalorian fleet that had run rather than surrender. All contact was lost. For months it was believed that some great disaster had destroyed the entire fleet. There were reports, all unsubstantiated that Revan and Malak had been seen on worlds within the Republic, and beyond, even to Korriban. Scattered sighting that made no sense, and still do not."

"There was no idea of where they had been or why?"

"None. Perhaps they merely went beyond our borders. Maybe they had discovered previously undiscovered Hyper corridors. No one on our side of this conflict knows. But three years ago they returned with a massive fleet larger than she had left with. Revan claimed to be not conquering the Republic, but to be liberating it, returning it to what it should have been. She had also assumed the title of Darth, the dark lord of the Sith. Our greatest hero had become our worst enemy.

"But you said they had only a third of the Republic fleet! That is what, a thousand ships all told. Where did they suddenly find such a force?"

"Some were our own ships now in her service. But over half of them were of an alien design never seen before. By every estimate made, there is no known way for her to have built such a fleet in so short a time. The only suggestion that makes sense is that they were derelicts that she had discovered and converted to her service. But they exist, and the fleet grows with even more ships of that design joining them every day.

"As for the troops, most were those that she had led into battle. You know as well as I that soldiers believe in order and discipline. It is what makes their function possible. While the population of the Republic might abhor it, her call to make that order something everyone would have drew a lot of the military to her. With each conquest her ranks swelled. Even many of our own order also joined. The ones that see us as ineffective at maintaining order. All lured by the glory and the power and some for the riches such power would naturally create.

"So we fought them, and we could see what the Mandalorians already knew. That no one could stand against Revan when she set her mind to a goal. Malak was not considered as much a danger. He was nowhere even close to being her equal in these matters, and had attained his rank by being her obedient servant still."

"So we fought them."

"Yes. But we needed the sheer will of those that saw her idea of 'order' as oppression to do so. For two years they were all but invincible. Fortunately, Bastila proved to be a master of battle meditation. That allowed us some victories. But we could not maintain the pace of the conflict.

"Our efforts focused on Revan and Malak. It was believed that if we could remove Malak, Revan would be weakened. Not a great deal mind you, but any lessening of her efficiency would be good. But if we could remove Revan, the Sith would no longer have her skills to fall back on, and the war would sputter out. So we set a trap for them both. A fictitious supply base was created in a system accessible from just one hyperspace corridor. Revan fell for this."

"Zanebra."

"Yes. She led a fleet there, and when they arrived, they were dragged from hyperspace by gravity well projectors that also trapped her in normal space.

Forty-five of ours versus forty of theirs. I remembered. Against anyone else it would have been a slaughter. Instead it had been a Pyrric victory.

"Bastila was one of the Knights that led the desperate assault aboard the enemy flagship, as you should know. She was there to witness Revan's end. Not at our hands, but when Malak aboard Leviathan blasted the ship apart.

"That was three months ago, but if anything the situation has grown worse. Malak assumed the title of Dark Lord, and while he is far from Revan's equal, he has made up for it with sheer brutality. Worlds that would have resisted have been terrified into surrender by the news of Taris' fate, and when that has not been sufficient, he has repeated it, killing more worlds for daring to resist too efficiently. There is no longer talk of order and peace, now the Sith simply say surrender or be destroyed.

"By removing Revan we have merely released an even worse horror on ourselves. We must end this before the devastation sends us into a spiral downward from which we can never recover. Malak and the Sith will overwhelm us and destroy any vestige of freedom in the process." He looked at me sadly. "Learn from this, young Padawan. Even the most promising among us can fall, and the greater that promise, the greater the danger they become. You must always be on guard against the evil all of us harbor within us." He looked at the chrono on the wall. Come, the Council awaits us."

As we walked I asked. "Revan was wearing some kind of mask in my vision.

Why?"

Dorak contemplated the question. "When Revan was younger, many discounted her abilities because of her looks. She was, after all, not unattractive However she never told anyone why she had begun to wear it."

Ascension

The Council awaited me as they always had, united. Bastila looked at me, and for a moment I noticed unease in her face. Master Vrook, looking a little less angry than was his wont nodded at my entry, and took my hand. "I must congratulate you on your actions. The heads of both Matale and Sanderal came to complain, but now are asking us to intercede with their children. The fact that they have done so knowing that the other has also done it bodes well for the disagreements between them.

"The handling of the Mandalorian problem was even more efficient than we might have imagined. The fact that the Mandalorian who is your follower showed the true spirit of his people has done a great deal for relations between the locals and the few Mandalorians that visits us peacefully. Yet what gives us the greatest hope is how you dealt with Juhani. She has repeated your words to us, and we can see the change in her mien. You have done a great service not only to her but the order itself."

I winced under all of this praise. I had done what was necessary, and had considered the options.

"You have chosen to be a Consular, in this we approve." Vandar said. "However we now must cut short your training young Padawan. Events beyond this world force our hand, and we do not like the implications of it, but there is no time. We must now focus on the dream both you and Bastila shared.

"When we heard of the ruins in your dream, Master Dorak recognized it as one not far from here. A series of such structures are scattered around the lands of Dantooine. We dispatched a Jedi to examine those ruins, but he has not returned. We fear that we erred in sending him.

"The Force seems to be guiding you through your visions. We believe that you and Bastila can succeed where he has failed. The task of exploring that structure seems to be linked to your destiny. That is why the Council has decided to send you both on this mission. Whatever led Revan and Malak down the dark path must be there. The secret that will lead to stopping Malak may rest within it, and we must have that!"

"Master, I have been given a précis of the situation before, but I need to understand our adversary. What do you know of Revan and Malak?"

He froze, and I was afraid I had offended him. Then Vandar relaxed. "I knew Revan as a promising young Padawan of this very Academy. She was strong in the Force, and highly skilled, but she was headstrong and proud of her skills; but such traits are common among Padawan. Perhaps that is why I did not see the true extent of the danger.

"Many of our apprentices admired her not only for that skill but also for her natural charm. She was always outgoing, and willing to help others. Among her admirers was Malak, four years her senior, but she had mastered the ways of the Force more readily than he had. Yet she never looked down upon him. Rather they were good friends and were inseparable. When Revan decided to join the Republic war effort, Malak was the first to join his voice to hers in the matter.

"However that bond was what dragged Malak down when Revan fell. Others also fell at that time, but everyone knew Malak would, as assuredly as gravity draws a meteorite to it's death by his devotion to his friend. It was inevitable."

That bond. The words resounded in my mind for some reason. Like the one that Bastila and I share? Would I be dragged under if Bastila fell? Or she by my fall? "So you're saying that if Revan had not fallen, Malak would not have?" I asked softly.

"Such will never be known. Revan was as I have said, always the more powerful of the two. It had been hoped that if Revan were removed, the Sith war effort would become fragmented, and fade. But Malak has embraced the dark side even more deeply than his master had. Only you and Bastila have a chance of stopping him now.

"The way ahead of you will be difficult for both of you. But you must draw strength from each other and the Force." He looked at the others. "You must go and quickly."

Bastila

As much as I had know what was to occur, I dreaded it. Danika motioned, and we went out toward the ship. "I want to understand this dream we shared."

"As the Council has said, it was more of a vision rather than a dream. However if I can answer any questions they have not, I will help as I can."

"It isn't the dream or vision that obsesses me, Bastila." She was a little frustrated. "It is why you shared it with me, or I with you."

"Are you wondering why we shared it? Or why it was sent to us in the first place? As to the first, I can only repeat what the Council has already said. The Force links us in this. For someone as strong in the Force as either one of us is, that amounts to a near physical bond. As to the second, the Force works as it will, and our likes and dislikes have little to do with it. Perhaps we should only be grateful for what we have been given."

"But why us?" She asked adamantly. "How did our fates, the fates of two women from such different lives come to be so interwoven?"

I considered what to say. I knew whence it had come, but I couldn't tell her. "I am not sure. Believe me I don't find the thought and reality of being linked to you as enjoyable in any fashion."

She stopped, looking at me appraisingly. "I just find this link to be a little too... convenient."

"The Force has always proven that it can bend the laws of physics and probability in ways we cannot even imagine before they occur. It is especially true of those deeply affiliated with it. In this case, when the Force had forged such a bond, we must merely accept it, no matter how 'convenient' we find it. We Jedi are tools of the Force as much as we use it."

"You make the Force sound alive. As if it has a mind of it's own."

"There is no evidence either way on the matter. What you make of the Force and how you use it and it uses you is determined by what kind of person you are. Does that help?"

She shook her head. "Not in the least. Maybe I should just trust in the Force."

I sighed inwardly. "As must we all."

We came out into the docking bay as a cargo lifter came in. Mission came out, striding as if she were an officer from a major cruise line. She began checking the invoice, and signed when satisfied. She signaled, and droids began moving the material aboard.

"Just about the last is aboard, skipper!" She shouted gaily.

"Mission, is that you?" The girl paled, and her teeth were bared in a killing smile.

We turned. A Twi-lek woman stood there. She had all the physical attributes Mission would one day possess, and the help of several years in knowing what she could do with that sensual armament. She looked overjoyed to see Mission; something Mission didn't share. The woman looked confused. "Don't you remember me, Mission? It's Lena."

"What are you doing here? Where's Griff?"

Lena's face grew sad. "I'm just passing through on my way to Ryloth. We broke up not long after we left Taris, Mission. Probably for the best for me. Your brother talks a good game, but he's bad news."

"Don't you start trashing my brother you cantina rat! Take that back or I'll rip your Lekku off!"

"Mission, what's wrong? What have I done-"

"You talked him into leaving me when you went off world!" Mission screamed.

"She is upset that she was left behind." Danika commented.

"I can understand that. Anywhere would have been better than Taris! That's why I was surprised when Griff told me she wanted to stay."

"You liar! Griff said you didn't want his little sister cramping your style!"

Lena's face grew cold. "Is that what the little Hutt-slime told you? Mission, I wanted to take you with me. You had become the little sister I never had. I would have paid, just like I paid for everything he asked for. He said you wanted to strike out on your own."

"No, you're lying, Griff loved me, he wouldn't have left me."

Danika was watching both of them and I could feel her mind reaching out to discover the truth.

Lena's voice grew warmer, her hand raised in a placatory manner. "Mission, think about it. If I had tried to leave you why didn't Griff tell you where we were going? I couldn't have very well stopped him, could I? After we left I knew something was wrong, because he started talking about how you were always tagging along, and stopping him from doing what needed to be done. I think you might have noticed, but Griff is very good at blaming others for his problems. He did the same thing to me before long, blaming me for his gambling losses, the get rich quick schemes that cost more than we ever saw back out of them. Finally he told me to get out of his life and stop draining away his luck."

Mission stood there, staring in hate and dismay at Lena, then she bolted onto the ship. Lena started to follow then stopped, almost crying. "He did that to everyone. I thought he might have at least treated her better."

"Where was he the last time you saw him, Lena?" Danika asked.

"He'd hired on with Czerka Corporation on Tatooine. They are renting mining claims and he figured on making his fortune there."

"We'll find him for Mission." She promised.

Lena looked at her. "Take care of her, will you? Griff treated both of us like dirt. I don't want to even think about what's going through her head right now."

We went aboard. Danika went to the starboard berthing area, and I followed. Mission was curled up on her bunk, crying.

"Mission."

"She's lying, he wanted me to go."

"She told us where he was, Mission. Tatooine, working as a miner."

"All right, he's a miner, but the rest is all lies!" Her voice told me however that she was desperately denying what she must have known was the truth.

Danika touched her shoulder gently. "We will find the truth together, Mission, and I will be there. Now, want to get off the ship?"

"Yes!" She rolled over, wiping her tears away. "Where? The city, maybe?"

"No. Some old dusty ruins. But you would be a big help to me if you went along."

"Well ruins aren't what I like. No fancy lights and hot drinks."

"Afterward maybe." I looked, but I couldn't tell whether she was joking, but her mind radiated amusement.

"Sure. Should I be armed?"

"I am."

"All right then." She slipped on her weapons belt, and slipped the heavy blaster pistol into it.