Ruins

Danika

We left the enclave at a mile-eating jog. For someone who had been a city girl, Mission stayed with us pretty well. Of course running away from the Black Vulkars had probably gotten her ready for this. We avoided the Kath-hound packs, moving with smooth speed across the plains until finally we reached the series of standing stones. I stopped, looking around. I felt Bastila's apprehension, and could feel my own as I felt the Dark side like a tangible web before us. She moved up beside me, her lightsaber in her hand. "I don't think we'll need that just yet." I said. She glared at me, but hung it back on her belt.

The door was huge, molded stone with patterns disturbing to the human eye. I reached out, and felt the door slide aside as if it had expected me. We entered the gloom. Cunning light channels focused sunlight into the room, and I could see the next door. Like the first it was huge, but unlike the first, this one bore a burn from an energy blast. I remembered Revan in the dream, using the Force to force the lock. I touched the lock tentatively, hoping I would not have to do the same, but the lock stone settled in it's niche, and the door slid downward into the ground.

Dust lay like a blanket over everything. I stepped in, and stopped as Mission yelped. There to our side, a Jedi lay, his hands curled before his face as if warding off an attacker. Bastila came over to him, kneeling. "Nemo. He is one of the oldest Padawan here. Never good enough to be a master, but always willing." She stood, eyes toward a metal pintel standing in the center of the room. As we watched, legs sprouted from its dull sides, lifting the mass of a droid body from the floor. It began speaking in an odd language.

"Danika?"

"I haven't heard anything like it before." I replied. The droid stopped then began speaking yet another language. "I think I might have heard that somewhere but can't remember." The droid cycled to another language. Then another when we didn't reply. "That's Selkathi isn't it?"

"It must be an ancient form of it." Bastila said. "I don't recognize the language."

"Do you understand this?" It repeated in ancient Selkathi.

"Yes, I do." Danika replied.

"Language synchronization complete." The droid said.

"Synchronization?" Danika asked.

"Yes. This unit has been programmed with all of the slave languages of the Builders. It is required for my duties as overseer."

"You understand that?" Mission asked.

"Yes, it's speaking an archaic form of Selkath." Danika replied "Overseer of what?"

"The construction of the temples on this world. The slaves that might be sent come from throughout the Hegemony, and all of their languages are programmed into this unit. However you did not speak a language that was in my memory core. An oversight easily corrected during my next maintenance cycle."

"Who built you?"

The Builders built me. When they completed this structure, the slaves that worked on it were euthanized. I was shut down. Since you have arrived, I must assume that more work is required."

I filled Bastila in "Maybe the Selkath built it?" Bastila asked.

"Unlikely. It thought we were slaves. It wouldn't have spoke to us with their language." She turned back. Overseer, how long have you been here?"

"Since the beginning."

"No help there." I said. "How long has it been since you were deactivated?"

It hummed. "From the positions of the planets, and the stars, I must assume the outer planet has made eleven orbits of this star."

Again I told Bastila. "Eleven orbits? The outer planet orbits the sun every 2500 years! This structure is older than the Republic itself!"

I looked back at the Overseer. "What was housed here?

"The works of the Builders. No slave needs to know more than that."

"Have other slaves come seeking this?"

"No."

I paused. "Others did come seeking it."

"Yes."

"How long ago?"

"Five planetary years."

"Revan and Malak." Bastila hissed.

"What happened to them?"

"They proved worthy of the Builder's knowledge, and departed."

I looked at Nemo. "Did you kill this man?"

"This unit has neither the ability nor the programming to kill. Only to punish. The being you speak of attempted to bypass the security system and was dealt with."

"How can I prove myself worthy?"

"There are proving grounds to the east and west. By passing them successfully, you may enter the main chamber. Failure will result in your death."

I drew my lightsaber, and walked toward the west door.

"Danika. Is this wise?"

"No, I admitted. "However we must get into the main chamber, and we don't have time to waste." I pressed the lock, and the door opened. A droid stood there in my path. Beyond it was what looked like a computer terminal. I stepped forward, then leaped back hastily as the droid hummed to life, a force screen blinking up. I stood there, but it ignored me. I wasn't past the threshold yet. "Mission?"

"Yeah?"

"How good did you say you are with a computer?"

"If it were a man it would marry me when I'm done!"

"Come here, but stay back from the door." She walked over, standing behind me. "Never see anything like it. But it's got a keyboard, and places to put diagnostic tools. What's the problem?"

I lifted a piece of stone, and flipped it toward the other end of the room. The droid turned smoothly, and a beam shattered the rock.

"Well I have to get over there, and key in. What about the door guard?"

I sighed, closing my eyes, and focusing myself. "Just hurry." Then I leaped in, running past the droid. My lightsaber blocked a shot, and I was past. It hummed angrily, and began charging after me. I ran to the wall, ran two steps up it, and spun, my saber cutting down onto it. But the force field bounced the lightsaber back hard enough to jar my hands. I flipped over it, and began running frantically around the room. There were pillars and stones that had fallen from the ceiling, and they saved my life as I ducked and dodged among them.

"Almost there-"

"Hurry!" I flipped up a stone, flinging it at the droid. It caught the stone with a leg, then folded it over and through the rock contemptuously as if it were moldy bread. The humming was rising as if I had really made it mad, and it lunged, wrapping legs around a pillar. The pillar staggered, and I dived aside as it collapsed. I ducked behind another, and it suffered the same fate. The droid was removing my cover, and I was rapidly running out of places to hide.

"Got it!" She ran past me, and I flicked up the lightsaber, stopping a bolt from taking her in the back. Frantically I backed away. As I passed the threshold it paused, growling as if it were on a leash.

"Maybe the other will be easier?" Mission asked. I opened the door, and she yelped at the droid standing there. They must have been in communication because this one was already mad. I leaped over it, and my dance began again. I knew a lightsaber was an outstanding weapon, but at the moment I wanted a heavy auto-cannon and about a kilometer of standoff. I started to use the pillars again, but this one started smashing them immediately. I was left with no cover within a minute. Mission was engrossed in her work, and I had to protect her. I looked up, noticing a pillar cap that hung a bit down. I reached out with the Force, feeling the stone sheer, and three tons of stone dropped on the droid like a hammer. I had barely taken a breath in relief when it pushed it's way up like a mole, and the red sensor ports locked on me.

"Mission-"

"I got it!" The droid finished climbing out of the debris between the door and us.

Nothing happened. It stood there, the humming slowly fading down, then the lights went off. I gasped in relief, and we made out way past it.

The Overseer stood there, watching. I went to the door. This one had writing of some kind on it. "Overseer, what does this say?"

"Room of the Star Forge." It said.

"What is the Star Forge?"

It grumbled electronically. "That is not in my memory banks. It was not considered necessary to my function."

I told Bastila. "Then we don't even know what the Star Forge is." She mused. "Beyond the fact that it appears to be an artifact of great power for the Dark side."

We stood before the door, and opened it. Like the first, this one had light channels that focused all of the light on a dais. I walked up to it, and there was a handprint set in stone there. The hand had four fingers, and I instinctively put my hand in it, keeping my middle two fingers together.

There was a clicking sound, and the stone sank in a short distance. As it did, I saw a flash of light. What appeared to be an ornate tricorn pillar split, each horn falling back to form a large arch. Between them smaller triangular legs lifted then a ball in the center of the mass shot into the air. Light fired into it, and we flinched from the light as it glowed into a hologram. The galaxy seen as a disk, and on it, five stars glimmered. Lettering marked each star with a long list of coordinates.

Bastila was our star pilot, and she was in her element. She recorded the entire map, then settled down on her haunches. "All right, I am not sure where the rest are, but that one-" She tapped the map. "Should be Korriban if I am correct. The Original settlements of the Jedi that joined the Sith were there. This I think is Manaan, and that would mean this is Tatooine. This over here could be Kashyyyk. I have to take this back to the archives to compare it with the master charts. To be sure of which stars they are. This set of coordinates in each line-" she pointed at one "-is a lead to another hyper corridor. The coordinates are odd, missing data, corrupted programming. I need more data."

"The Star Forge." I almost heard an echo. The book had mentioned it, and so had the Overseer. "What could it be?"

"Whatever it is, Revan and Malak found it first. We must discover the truth about it. But if Revan and Malak thought someone might follow, there will be traps.

"Why would they have gone to Korriban?"

"That is actually the only verified place where Revan and Malak had been during their disappearance. These other worlds will undoubtedly give us clues to where the Star Forge is. Once we know, we can find it, and discover a weakness. It seems our task has only begun."

Mission stood there watching us. "Guys, if it's all right with you..."

"Yes Mission?"

"If you decide I need to take a walk or something, could you forget to tell me? That was a little intense."

I stifled a laugh. Even Bastila smiled. "Well I don't think your worried about Griff at the moment." Mission giggled.

It was a long walk back, and I felt a chill at thinking that I was now on Revan's path. She had come here, seeking in her own mind, the Republic's survival. It had instead led to the bloody war we were fighting. I glanced at Bastila. She was lost in thought, a small frown on her face.

"What's on your mind?" I asked.

She looked at me. "I was considering what the Council said about us. There is a bond. We both feel it. But the nature of the bond is what I question."

"I still don't understand the bond itself." I admitted.

"Our fates have become intermingled somehow. So strongly linked that a literal bond has formed between us. Given our continuing relationship, I would like to ask some questions. Nothing too intrusive." I shrugged. We had to walk a good distance yet, anything would help pass the time.

She took my silence for assent. "What is your background?"

"Nothing extravagant. I was raised by a professional hunter, joined up, did six months of combat before we met. Just a soldier really."

"Where you born?"

"Crossroads hospital on Deralia. It's a frontier planet. Unless you hunt you probably can't even pick it out on a star chart."

"Your current age?"

"I'm 26, no, I think I turned 27 in there somewhere. All of this is in my service record, didn't you look at it?"

"Actually yes, I did. I knew the answers, I merely wanted to see how you handled the questioning."

"All right. Now, madam, how did I do?"

"You answered honestly without flippancy, and took the questions as seriously as they were put to you. A lot can be told from such an exercise. Your reactions, and mine will shape what happens within this bond. I had to know what type of woman I was linked to."

"Fair enough. Now, turnabout is fair play. Tell me about yourself. Tell me how you became a Jedi."

She walked in silence. "I am 19 years old. I was found to be strong in the force when I was five, and I was given to the order to be trained."

The way she said it disturbed me. "Given? It sounds almost as if you were a pet."

"Nothing of the sort." She said stiffly. I could hear the lie in her words. "When I joined the order, I left my family on Talravin as all of us do. My family is still there, last I heard. I have had little contact with them as such is discouraged."

"Discouraged?"

"Of course!" She looked at me surprised. "I forget you didn't study here as a child. Emotion is our worst enemy, because it leads a Jedi into error." She said as if quoting from a book. "Families have such emotions, and they are more powerful when you know the person that intimately. Hatred and anger are dangerous true, but even love can cause danger to the Jedi."

"You aren't even allowed to love?"

"Oh it isn't forbidden, merely discouraged. People speak of how love is blind, but at times it can be deaf and dumb as well. Think of the power an unrequited love could generate in your soul." She paced on, thoughtful. "Emotional entanglements can be dangerous when the lover is a Jedi. They can lead to outbursts of emotion and impair rational thought. A Jedi must be above such things."

"You don't sound very convinced."

"It is a hard lesson to learn. I wasn't on good terms with all of my family, but I remember missing my father terribly for a long time."

"Who were you not on good terms with?"

"I was only a girl when I left, but I didn't like my mother. I resented how she treated my father. My father was a treasure hunter. I spent my first years traveling from one planet to the next, searching from one false lead to the next. She whittled away my father's fortune on one failure after another, and I hated her manipulative ways. I know it was her decision to send me off to be trained. My father was heartbroken."

"You've never tried to get in touch with him since then?"

She shrugged. Her shoulders stiff. "A child doesn't understand why sacrifices need to be made. It was better for all that I not try once I had come into my power. Once I was older I realized the wisdom of the policy. A Jedi might be sent anywhere, into any circumstance. When they arrive they must do what is needed to resolve the crisis, and personal desires cannot be part of such a decision. Love or hate can only obscure the proper course."

"You sound sad about that."

She laughed a bitter laugh. "Even the Jedi cannot control the feelings of the heart. We must always guard against it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Some have a harder time of it than others.

"I really would rather not talk about this anymore."

The Quest

We arrived at the Enclave, and filed our report. As we went back toward the ship, a woman stopped us. "I am looking for Bastila Shan." She said, looking at each of us.

"I am she." Bastila replied.

The woman looked at Bastila, as if trying to see another face. "Yes, you have grown, but I see your father's eyes. I am Malare Velos. I knew your father well."

"Knew?" Bastila's tone was sharp, as if she expected bad news.

"Yes. He and Helena left and went on to another planet not long afterward. I hope you're mother's condition has improved." She said bluntly.

I thought Bastila would react, but she didn't. "Her condition?"

"You mother contacted me because I was coming to Dantooine. She wanted me to ask you to meet her, and I hoped the Enclave could at least pass on a message."

"Then you have. "Where is she?"

"Still on Tatooine, last I heard."

"If my business takes me there, I will see her."

"Bastila, there is no need to be abrupt." I admonished.

She looked at me, and I knew she wanted to scream at me. Then she turned back to Malare, and her voice became warmer. "I am sorry for my abrupt behavior. Pressing matters guide my footsteps at this time. Please forgive me."

Malare nodded, but I could tell she had been deeply hurt by Bastila's reaction. She walked away.

We returned to the ship, and Bastila went into the berthing area, and stayed there all night.

Bastila

My mother wanted to talk to me. But what of Father? I felt as if someone had taken a hammer to the universe and shattered its foundations. I remembered him as if it were yesterday, a giant hoisting me up to his shoulders, showing me the world from the heights. Tousling my hair, and laughing. Holding the shards of pottery I would find at some of the sites we visited in search of that golden future. He always acted as if what I found would be the key to that future, even though in my child's heart I had known it wasn't true.

And my mother, watching from the shadows, lurking like a pit spider to drag him away. My fists clenched, and I wanted to hurt her, to smash that face into ruin, to make her feel half the pain I had felt when she sent me away.

That night I dreamed, and as always, Danika was there. She was silent, walking beside me through the forests of Deralia. She tried to take my hand, to hold me as she had done so many times, but I pushed her away. I didn't want comforting. I wanted vengeance.

At one point, I ran, feeling the rough bark of the trees as I stumbled through the forest. I came to a temple mount, steps cut into the living rock, and found myself climbing them. At the top, my mother stood, with a knife raised, then it came down on an unseen figure. Her hand reached down. She looked at me, sneering, then flung something at me. I caught a bloody heart, then recognized my father on the altar, his chest ripped open.

"He wanted you to have this." She said, her tone dripping with vitriol. I ran toward him screaming, and hands caught me. Danika. She showed the same skill she had shown with others, holding me firmly and crooning wordlessly to calm me down.

The next morning I avoided Danika's looks. I wanted out of the bond, but I couldn't see a way.

The Council met in the same room as always. Master Vandar looked at Danika. "Your report was clear, Padawan. Revan and Malak sought this star map, which leads to something called the Star Forge. Master Dorak has searched the archive thoroughly and except for the two mentions that seem almost like legends, there is nothing about it."

"I don't know Malak's intent, but I feel that Revan sought something to protect the Republic rather than destroy it." She said.

"What brought you to this conclusion?" Vrook asked sharply.

"Master, she was still trying to protect the Republic from an outside threat, maybe even a future one. I think she went looking for this shield for the Republic, but the dark forces that surround it brought her down."

Vrook nodded thoughtfully. "It sounds like her. She was always one to play with fire. This time she got burned."

"You knew her, Master?"

He looked at her sharply. "Every master in this room knew her."

"Master Vrook, let us concentrate on the matter at hand." Vandar chided gently. "The news that the Star Forge may actually exist and with no knowledge of the extent of its powers is... disturbing. Action is called for but we must not act in haste. We must discuss this at length. Please return to your ship."

We returned to the ship, and I returned to the starboard berthing area where the women were sleeping. Mission saw me and scuttled out. My look that day before probably frightened her still. I sat, and tried to meditate.

"Bastila?" Danika. Who else would try to break through my funk?

"Go away."

"I will not." I looked up, and she came over, falling into the tailor seat facing me. "You can't keep it in, Bastila. Your hatred for your mother is coming through clear enough to make me angry with the woman. And your fighting against the bond is not helping."

"I will deal with it-"

"No you won't" She interrupted harshly. "You will allow it to fester, and build within your soul until you discover the truth. You want to know where your father is, and you want a confrontation with your mother. You see him as a sacrifice to your mother's demands."

I pictured the altar scene again. "Stay out of my mind!"

She laughed softly. "As if I can. I don't like the bond, but it is there, and I can feel all of your pain through it. Your pain is mine, Bastila." She looked at me thoughtfully. "After Kalendra left, I was devastated. I wanted to run away, go to Echana, beg her to bond with me. It wasn't until later that I discovered that the Echani are all empathic. They link in the life-bond on a level the normal human cannot imagine. This bond between us is like that, if I am not mistaken.

"That bond can only be broken from within by the mutual agreement of the partners, or by death. I don't know if this Force bond is like that, and I am afraid to try to break it.

"Please, Bastila, if not for your sake, than for me, your bond-mate, let's find your mother, let's get it over with one way or another. I can't stand seeing you in pain, and having your pain transfer to me doesn't make it any easier."

"Just go away. Please." I begged.

She reached out, brushing a stray hair from my face delicately. "As if I am ever far away." She stood, and left me in my misery.

Our wait was not long. Again the Council met with us. "Padawan Danika, you have done well, but there is more that you must do against Malak and the Sith." Vandar said.

"I am ready, Master." She said humbly. I could feel her emotions just as she would feel mine, and I could see only a deep calm and resolution in them. How could she be so calm?

"We of the Council see no way that mere martial might will defeat the Sith. Not as long as they have this Star Forge on their side."

"Yet we are agreed that the only way to remove the threat is to find and if possible destroy this Star Forge." Vrook said. "Whatever it might be, it must be a powerful implement of the dark side to have dragged both Revan and Malak down."

Vandar spoke. "The map you found showed four worlds, and Bastila was correct in her assessment of which worlds they were. Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan and Korriban. We believe that whomever built the Star Forge wanted it to be difficult if not impossible to find. These other worlds perhaps have maps of the same type as the one you discovered, and they might give us clues to the Star Forge's location. You must go to each world, find the star maps there, and discover the location of the Star Forge."

"As the Council wills, Master."

"The council knows how important this mission is, but we are bound by constraints in this. If we sent a company of knights upon this quest, with masters to guide them, we would draw unwanted attention. By the same token our ranks have been so harrowed by the Sith that we have no massive company to spare. Secrecy is needed."

"Must I go alone, Master?" Her question was not plaintive, but I could feel the worry in her mind.

Vandar shook his head. "That would be equally unwise. A young barely trained Padawan would have no chance if such as Revan and Malak could fall so easily. Bastila will accompany you. The bond between you might be the key to unraveling this mystery. And Juhani has asked us to allow her to accompany you. After long deliberation, we have acquiesced. You have been a stabilizing influence in her life, and perhaps she can help to stabilize you as well. She came so close to falling to the dark side. Perhaps her example where you can see it will strengthen your will in this regard."

I was watching the scene with horror. I wanted to scream, and beg them not to send me.

"There are also the ones that the Force has gathered to your cause. They must be asked, but I know that their special qualities will make this mission easier for you as well. But they must be told that secrecy and discretion must be paramount. You will not be able to conceal the fact that you are Jedi, nor should you try. But word of what you seek must not reach Malak's ears."

"I understand. When do we leave?"

Vrook sighed. "As soon as you feel ready. Malak grows stronger every day, and we must have that information. But a word, young Padawan. The lure of the dark side is strong, and you must guard against it at every turn. If not I fear the quest to find the Star Forge will lead you down an all too familiar path."

"The fate of the Galaxy is in your hands, young Padawan. We pray you are up to that challenge. Go, and may the Force be with you."

She bowed. "Go, Danika." I said. "There is something I must discuss with the Council. I will meet you in the courtyard." She nodded, and left. I faced the council. I reached within myself, and with every fiber of my being brought myself to calm, forcing it to also extend down the link we shared. "Masters, I have made a grave error."

"Such is the lot of Padawan from time immemorial." Vandar said dryly.

"The link I forged. It is going beyond any ever recorded. I can feel her emotions, her desires, and sometimes even her thoughts. I don't know if I can stand it much longer."

"When you told us of it, we were also worried."

"But now it has become impossible! When she was just some woman, and we thought it would fade or just be interesting dreams for the both of us it was one thing. But she has found the Force within her, and her progress at gaining its mastery terrifies me! She is so much stronger than I! The bond will drag me down when Danika falls!"

"You believe she will fall?" Vrook asked.

"No, I don't. She has shown a depth of control I have felt from no one, even from my original master. But that control fights with her own emotions. She was furious when she discovered Zaalbar had been a slave, when she faced the Mandalorian raiders here on Dantooine. Yet she took those emotions, placed them away from her mind, and dealt with the problems she faced."

"So you worry for yourself, not her."

"Yes! No. I don't know!" I looked at them appealing. "I recently heard my mother was ill and looking for me, and for a time I was unable to deal with it. I dreamed, and she was there! When I tried to meditate after our last meeting, she was there, trying to deal with my problems as if they were hers! I can't stand this! Please, there must be some way to dissolve the link!"

"She has already suggested a possible way to you." Vandar said softly. "Ask her to aid you in breaking it."

"No." I shook my head vehemently. "We might need the link as it is to succeed."

"If the link is necessary, what would you suggest?" Zhar asked.

"Don't send me."

"That we cannot do. You have caused her mind to be calmer than it was before. If you are separated, the link might drag you to join her anyway. Or consider if she does fall." Vrook said. "Can you see yourself committing the acts the link will force on you here among us?"

"There must be something!"

"There is not." Vandar said. "If we could break this link, we would have done so when we discovered her new found talents. You will not accept the alternative, and we cannot allow her to roam the galaxy like a sentient warhead alone. Can you see an alternative I have not mentioned?"

I shook my head. "I will do what must be done." I bowed and took my leave of them.

Danika was seated on a bench, looking at the Blba tree. "You have something you wanted to ask me." She said at my approach.

"I do. How did you know?"

She grinned sadly, tapping the side of her head. "You didn't want me to hear what was happening, yet some of it came through. Is the bond so horrible? Or is it me you hate?"

"I am a Jedi. I will not let emotions guide my actions. I do strain against the bond, true. But I neither hate nor like you."

"Well that is clear enough."

"The bond allows us to catch glimpses of each other's mind. Our emotions travel along it and what you feel troubles me. A Padawan must receive considerable training. She must learn to control her emotions and darker impulses before she can be trusted to act within the world beyond the walls. This takes time, years in some cases, before control is assured.

"The problem is that the Republic does not have the years needed to assure you will not fall. You are strong in the Force, and that very strength drives the situation. You desperately need those years. Your lack of training can doom us."

She stood. She wasn't trying to block the bond from her end, and I felt worry more than anything else. It was like looking into a calm lake and seeing the fin of a predator cutting the smooth surface. "What can I do?"

I shrugged. "Considering our situation, there is nothing that can be done from outside. You have shown a remarkable degree of self-control and compassion up to this point. I hope you can maintain it when the surroundings are not so controlled.

"We must all resist the forces of the darkness that resides in us all. It is what we give our lives to stop. You with your natural affinity to the Force are pressed harder than those with more training."

She nodded. "I can only try."

"That is good to hear. You will find the path harder even with the best of intentions. There is great danger before us. Any reckless act by either of us will affect the other, and the consequences can be devastating."

"But it works both ways." She said. "As I tried to help you earlier today, you can lend your strength to me."

"Yes, that is true. I will do my best to guide you, but I am no master skilled in such arts. Not yet at least. There are times when I find your very capability frightening. As if I were riding a beast the size of the Ebon Hawk. Your sheer strength within the force can be overwhelming.

"I only hope that my skills can guide you through the hard times ahead."

"I hope so as well." She said softly. "While I was waiting, I asked one of the Archivists to gather all the information of the planets we must visit. I wanted to study them while enroute."

A Twi-lek hurried toward us. Like most of those that worked with Dorak, he seemed permanently bemused, but when focused was like a missile. "Greetings, Bastila, I am Deesra, Master Dorak's assistant chief archivist. The files you request, Padawan are here." He handed the data chips to her.

"Five chips? I asked only for the planets."

"Ah but your request for Korriban also kicked this back." He said. The record of the last Great Hunt."

"Great Hunt?"

"The Sith are not the only minions of the dark that exist. There are animals that find themselves drawn to it as well. The worst of these abominations is called the terentatek, a beast that feeds on the flesh and blood of those who have any vestige of capability of the Force within them. The stronger the being is in the Force, the greater the impulse, so their preferred diet is Jedi, and our dark cousins. Over the centuries, many Jedi have fallen to their ravenous appetites."

"How great is the danger?"

"For a Jedi, it is ever present. We are their chosen prey, and they are intelligent and vicious hunters. They also have an inborn resistance to the powers we wield. It is believed that they are a horrible hybrid created by the True Sith of long ago, and spread through the galaxy in their attempt to destroy the Jedi.

"Fortunately, they are quite rare. They only live in places steeped in the dark side. In fact no one has seen one in almost forty years."

"Possibly they are extinct."

"There is no such luck. They have disappeared for centuries at a time. It is believed that when the light side is strong, they hibernate in some manner. When the Dark side waxes stronger, they awaken, and as the dark powers grow, they are drawn our of their lairs to hunt. I fear Malak and the Sith have reawakened them to hunt again.

"When we have defeated the Sith, I would not be surprised if the Council does not organize another great hunt as they did then."

"You mentioned the Great Hunt before."

"After the previous incursions of the Sith, such hunts were organized. Jedi must again travel and try to set right all that had been destroyed by the Sith. When our members die suddenly by violence, and with no other possible reason, the terentatek are usually responsible. Teams of Jedi are sent, and they hunt them down and kill them. Though always the cost is high."

"The cost." She mused. "Because you are hunting something that hunts you back." I looked at her, and she shook her head. "Remember, Deralia is home? A place where Hunters go to face the most intelligent prey in the galaxy. A lot of Jedi probably died in that last hunt."

"Yes they did. Korriban is rumored to still have them in abundance. That is where the New Sith first settled. It is where they always seem to return after one of their defeats. It is also where Exar Kun fell, and became the Sith Lord. The planet was still strong after the war of Exar Kun, and the Council viewed the cost of capturing it merely to destroy these animals as prohibitive. They declared the hunt at an end, though three Jedi were sent to deal with the problem if they could. But they failed. Duron Qel-Droma, Guun Han Sharesh and Shaela Nur had a bond in the force as strong as you two share.

"It was believed that their bond would strengthen them in the ordeal. But their Master reported that they had rejoined the force only a short time later. It was decided that it was too dangerous to send others, so their exact fate is not known. But let their deaths serve as a warning to you."

"I will." Danika slipped the chips into her pouch.

"Do not underestimate the terentatek, Padawan. Great Jedi have fallen to them before. If you go into battle with them you must use all your skill and cunning to survive!"

War Council

Danika

Back aboard the Ebon Hawk, I called a war council. Everyone was there, and I assured that they were comfortable before I began. I let Bastila give the briefing, and sat back watching them. When she was done, Bastila waved toward me. I stood.

"Remember what you said about confused chains of command, Carth?" I asked. "This is guaranteed to be a real problem if we don't take care of it before we lift. This is what I propose. Carth, aboard ship, you are in command." I waved down Bastila's protest. "You are the most experienced pilot we have, and Bastila is the second best. That makes you our flight team. Canderous, you have more experience with weapons than any aboard, so you will be the weapons officer. You and I will man the guns. Mission, you already have a job, and from what I've seen, you're good at it, so you remain our loadmaster. Zaalbar, from what I've seen you are an excellent mechanic, so I'm making you engineering officer. Juhani," I turned to look at the Cathar woman. "Until we find out what other skills you have, I'm not sure what you can do."

"I am a skilled healer. I will accept medical officer."

"Done. T3, you'll help where possible. Did I forget anyone?"

"Yes, you did." Bastila said. "You haven't told us what you will be doing."

"Why I am the Captain and owner aboard, master of all I survey." I said. There were chuckles. "In truth I was assigned this mission with Bastila assisting. So I am just going from place to place with you.

"Our destinations have been logged into the Nav-computer. I am open to suggestions as to where to go first."

"Well we had better leave Manaan for later." Mission said. "Davik is wanted in Ahto City. But then again, taking a crime boss' ship does have its advantages." She grinned. "There are four entire transponder settings. Who shall we be today? Coruscant Sunrise? Freetrader Alliance?"

"Isn't that illegal?" I asked, matching her grin.

"Hey, I won't tell anyone if you don't." She stopped smiling. "I know my brother's on Tatooine, but I won't let personal problems enter into this. I will go where the ship goes."

"As do I. Juhani said. "I am just glad that someone who trusts me is in command."

"I go where I'm told to go, and kill who I'm supposed to kill." Canderous said.

Zaalbar growled. It didn't matter to him. T3 bleeped the same.

"Carth?"

"Before we go anywhere, I want some answers. I guess I'm just sick and tired of being kept out of the loop."

"I haven't been keeping you out of the loop, Carth."

"Maybe not, but you're not helping matters, and it's really beginning to irritate me. For one thing all the secrecy. The Jedi Council drags the two of you in to talk, but won't even tell me what it was about.

"Then all that training while we were forced to sit on our butts. Yet instead of finishing that training, they send you out like a sacrificial goat! Even I know it takes years, even decades before a Jedi is judged competent, but you've had what, seven weeks?"

"They though it was more important that I help find the star maps instead of staying."

"And why is this your mission, not hers?" He waved at Bastila. "Sure you were hell on wheels on Taris, in a free flowing combat situation. But this is different. What good are you going to be commanding a mission when you're not even qualified to be a Jedi yet? What about your training?"

I looked at Bastila. "I was sent because Bastila and I share a bond, and that bond is giving us clues of where to search. It gave us the coordinates so far, and the planets to search on."

"A bond? Just because you like Echani clothes, and use a ritual brand like one doesn't make you Echani! I find the entire reason they've given us to be shallow. You're a neophyte Padawan, saddled with what might be the most important mission of the war. Why? If this were a Republic crew and ship, and you had this little experience I would say it you were a stalking horse! This is a suicide mission in everything but name, and I for one want to know why I have to die!

"I'm not accusing you of anything, or saying that you are responsible for the Jedi Council, but throw us a bone here! There has to be a reason."

"Bastila has a bond with me, and I have been given this assignment. There is nothing more I can say, Carth."

"And what does that mean? Is this more of that 'destiny' crap the Jedi are always shoveling? That can't be it, and someone, either the Council, the Jedi themselves, Bastila, or you is hiding what is going on. I am not going to be betrayed again!"

I sighed, closing my eyes. "Carth, I am not Saul, and I am not going to betray you. I thought I had earned at least some trust."

"It isn't that. I don't think..." He slammed his fist on the table, and looked at me sadly. "All I seem to do is insult you. Let's just get on with this."

I looked around, then nodded. "Stations."

I walked forward, followed by Carth and Bastila. I went to the Nav-computer, and opened it's files. One entry intrigued me. "Why is Yavin listed?"

"Must have been something Davik left."

"Why does that name..." I snapped my fingers. "Exar Kun's base at the end of the last Sith war. "Why would that be in here?"

"Perhaps they are using it as a smuggler's hideout, or transfer point?" Bastila opined.

"I am wondering about the salvage options." I said. "With the Massassi extinct, and no patrols, perhaps they are looking for artifacts they can sell to the Sith?"

She considered. "That is possible."

"Then let's go there first." I punched in the coordinates as Carth lifted us off. I looked down on Dantooine, and felt a chill. Somehow, I knew I would not be returning.

Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is the master of his enemy's fate