"I'm telling you, this is destiny," Koth said, again, enthusiastically. "Lana doesn't want to believe it though."

"Honestly, I couldn't give less of a fuck," Maj. Horner replied emotionlessly. She should have been resting, but there was too much that needed to get done if they were going to get the Gravestone moving soon. It may have not been the best idea sending her with them, Master Kor thought ruefully, but she knew where the salvage spots were and how to avoid the wildlife.

Dax was leading Lana, Master Alde, and Darth Imperious to fresh water and their food stocks. That left Darth Nox and Cipher 9 to finish clearing the ship.

Ace kept looking in her direction, but felt it wise to keep any comments to himself for now. He had sensed regret coming from her and she was acting like she wished to apologize for her earlier outburst when Koth started talking about destiny again. This seemed to set her off and he watched for the right moment to intercede.

"Hey what's your problem," Koth demanded, facing her. "We went through hell to rescue you and your friends."

"What do you want, a fucking parade," she asked, eyebrow raised.

"A thank you would be nice," he shot back. "We all put our lives on the line to get you off Zakuul, causing a lot of innocent people to get caught in the cross fire."

"Innocent," she asked with a scoff. "Your people are hardly innocent."

"How dare you," he demanded, getting in her face. "You know nothing about what any of us have been through."

"How about what you've put my people through," she snarled, stepping closer. "Just how many civilians did you kill on Denon?"

"How do you know about that," Koth asked, backing down a little. He paled a little at the unexpected question and clear accusation.

"Vaylin would often mix business with pleasure and your name would come up from time to time," she answered coolly. "My point is, don't you dare act all high and mighty with me when your hands are stained in just as much blood."

Kor watched as she turned her back the Zakuulan and walked to the edge of the clearing. The Jedi approached Koth, who was looking out into the swamp.

"I didn't want to follow those orders," he all but whispered after a long pause. His eyes were distant, lost in the memory. "I pushed back when the chain of command first told me to start unloading on the locals, but I was over ruled. Told it was for the good of Zakuul, a massacre of thousands now would save billions later by preventing uprisings. It was after the first bombardment my crew and I deserted, that wasn't the Zakuul I knew."

"I believe you," Ace said simply, placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"Whatever it's worth, I'm sorry. That doesn't feel like nearly enough," Koth sighed kicking the ground.

"It's still important to be said," the Jedi replied, removing his hand. "It may not be enough, but it's a start. Don't let the major trouble you, she's been through an ordeal these 5 years and lashing out is her coping mechanism. It's not personal."

"Are all your people so philosophical?"

"Jedi? To a fault, so I'm told, although there are some exceptions," Kor answered with a rueful smile thinking of Master Alde.

Koth must have been thinking the same thing since he asked, "Yeah, you and the other one have slightly different outlooks. Is it because you're… um…"?

"Cathar?"

"Yes, that one. Sorry, still learning all the different species from your corner of the galaxy."

Ace waved off the unintended slight and answered, "I doubt it since most other Cathar I've run into are extremely temperamental. It most likely has something to do with the fact I was orphaned as a baby and raised by the order. The Jedi Code is all I've ever known."

"Sorry to hear that," Koth replied awkwardly as they started walking toward Maj. Horner. "Must have been difficult."

"For a time," he conceded, "but eventually I learned to accept the path the Force directed me on."

"Quiet," the major commanded before Koth could speak. Koth glared at her until he heard what set her off. Blaster fire and screaming not far from where they were. Without a word, they all took off in the direction of the sound, weapons at the ready.

They followed the sounds to a small camp, hastily set up judging by the tents and disorganization. A quick scan revealed scars in the trees from blaster fire and several sky trooper chaises on the ground. Another scream, this one closer, drew them farther into camp.

"Please don't hurt us," a man begged, standing protectively in front of what Ace assumed was his family, a woman and a little girl no older than 7. He followed his line of sight to see a familiar figure.

"Exasperation: For the last time, I am not programmed to exterminate non-hostile meat bags."

"HK, what are you doing," Koth demanded.

"Explanation: I came upon these sky troopers harassing the non-hostile meat bags and I exterminated the with prejudice."

"Yeah, it was probably the 'with prejudice' part that failed to put them at ease," Koth said with an exasperated eyeroll. "Relax everyone. HK may take a disturbing amount of pleasure in shooting things…"

"Irritation: There is nothing wrong taking pride in one's work," HK interrupted with a huff.

"… that said he won't hurt any of you," Koth finished. "Sorry about that."

"I-it's all right," the man said, looking skeptically at the droid.

"HK, head to Lana's position to see if she needs any help. I wanna get the ship up and running as soon as possible."

"You have a ship," the man asked hopefully. "Can you take us with you? There's a group of us out here being hunted by Arcann, and we'll never be safe if we're on Zakuul."

"It's not exactly a pleasure cruise," Koth warned.

"At least with you we might have a chance," he replied. "We would be able to carry our weight, I'm sure there's something we can do to contribute. Just please… don't leave us here to die."

"I'm sure Master Alde can be convinced to let them join us," the Jedi answered. "I'll have a word with her once we all return to the ship." Koth smiled, grateful for the Cathar's assistance.

"It'll only be a moment for everyone to get here," the man promised.

Koth nodded as as he ran off. Master Kor watched the girl closely who seemed to have taken an interest in Maj. Horner. Recognition sparked in her eyes as she excitedly pulled on her mother's leg. "Mama, mama, that's the knight who saved me from wingmaws!"

All attention focused on the quiet soldier who had yet to react to what she had said. After a moment, Maj. Horner gave her a small smile and nodded at her. "It was my pleasure," she softly told her parents before stepping away from the group.

As promised, it didn't take long for the other refuges to arrive, and they were shortly on their way.

Maj. Horner led the group with Master Kor and it didn't take long before Koth joined them.

"Why'd you do it," Koth demanded. "What did you get out of it."

"A nasty scratch where one of the bastard's claws got me," she replied without looking at Koth. He huffed and was about to respond when she cut him off. "Believe it or not, I did it because she was in trouble and needed help."

"That seems highly out of character of you," he replied suspiciously.

"Because you've had such a good chance to get to know me," she snapped back.

"You made your feelings on my people abundantly clear."

"Your people, yes," she nodded before looking back at the small girl being carried by her father. "Children? That's another story. They're innocent and don't deserve to be caught in our wars and yet they're the biggest victims. I may hate your people and not care much for you, but whatever you think of me, know that I don't ever take my anger out on kids. Kor," she said, changing the subject, "you know as well as I do Brooke is going to welcome this group with open arms, but Lana…"

"May have some reservations," he finished with a sigh when she trailed off. "That had been my concern as well."

"Send her to me," she answered, surprising both men. "I'll silence any objections she has. And Koth?" When she saw she had his full attention, she said, "Thanks for being such a shitty pilot you had huge crash site making it easy to track you."

The Jedi fought a smirk watching Koth as Maj. Horner fall back and cover their rear. His mouth was open in shock and it took a minute before he seemed to shake himself out of his stupor and say with a laugh, "That has to be the worst thank you I've ever heard."

"But it was said," Ace replied with a smile, "and it's a start."

He just shook his head and lead the group the rest of the way to the Gravestone.

Lana and Brooke stepped away from Imperious and Dax to talk privately while they collected water at the base of the falls.

"What does Zakuul do with all the tribute," Brooke asked. "They don't seem to want for much of anything."

"A question I keep asking but can't seem to get any real answer to," Lana answered, looking impressed. "I'll keep digging, but for now we have more pressing concerns."

She looked like she wanted to say more, but kept silent. "What is it?"

"It's just… you seem different somehow," Lana answered, pacing away from the Jedi. "I can't put my finger on it, but there's a change in you. I've felt it ever since I freed you from carbonite."

She considered lying, fearing what the Sith's reaction could be, but Brooke knew her. The former Minister of Intelligence was already suspicious, nothing the Jedi said would completely distract her. Besides, it would be better to have her help. Working together might be her best shot at getting rid of the asshole currently taking residence inside her head. Taking a deep breath, Brooke confessed, "I think you're right Lana. I think Valkorion is in my mind."

"What," Lana demanded as she whirled around. Brook saw her hand twitch towards her lightsaber and might have been insulted if she hadn't seen what Valkorion was capable of. "That's impossible. If he were controlling you I would sense it. I certainly saw enough of it on Ziost."

"I don't think he's controlling me, not exactly," she tried to explain. "After I struck him down, there was a release of energy and I blacked out. I barely remember being placed in the carbonite chamber. And while I was frozen, I dreamed of him." Brooke felt a bit of guilt, Theron had hoped in his letter it was him she dreamed of. Those would certainly have been far more preferable than fighting her way through Valkorion's trials.

"Thank you for telling me," Lana said earnestly. "I'll keep an eye out for any signs he might be influencing you, but for now, I think we should keep this between us."

"Are you sure that's wise," Brooke asked. She wasn't comfortable withholding a secret of this magnitude.

"Like you said we really don't know what's going on. And with Koth's hero worship of his former emperor and Major Horner's hatred of him, things could quickly spiral out of hand if we're not careful."

"She never was the same after Ziost," the Jedi observed. She had left the planet by the time everything happened, but Major Horner had stayed behind with Master Kor to assist evacuation of both Republic soldiers and Imperial citizens.

"Can you really blame her watching that happen to her home," Lana asked.

"Ziost was her home?" Brooke knew she'd been rescued as a teenager from Imperial space, but didn't know it was Ziost.

"She never forgave herself with how things ended, her shuttle was just taking off when Vitiate struck and she watched as the people were… affected."

"That would have shaken anyone," Brooke agreed. Before more could be said they were interrupted by a transmission from HK.

"What do you mean they're taking refugees," Lana furiously demanded. "Don't they know we can't afford to take in every stray we come across? I knew I should have sent Cipher 9 with Koth. We need to get moving before he settles them onto the ship."

They rushed back, Lana's anger growing when she saw just how many there were.

"Who authorized this," Lana demanded as soon as she entered the central room that had been made into a temporary operations center.

"I did," Maj. Horner responded from where she leaned against one of the bulkheads. "They are running from Arcann, same as us, and they have the benefit of knowing the land and have some basic contacts we may not otherwise have access to. Any objections?"

"A few," Lana stammered out. She seemed completely blindsided by Maj. Horner's defense of them.

"Too bad, they're not going anywhere," she shot back as she pushed off from the wall. Turning to Koth, she said, "If she tries to remove them, come find me. If anyone needs me, I'll be helping HK clear out more of the wildlife from the ship."

"Not one word," Lana threatened Koth through gritted teeth before storming out.

"And on that note, I'm gonna get started on repairs," he said, amused. "Let me know if anyone else wants to help. Plenty of work to go around."

They had barely finished the basic repairs necessary making them space worthy before Arcann's forces found them. Koth worked frantically to get the ship running while everyone else attempted to repel the knights and sky troopers.

Brooke, Lana, Cipher, and Dax had just been surrounded when someone crashed a speeder through a group of sky troopers, cutting a path. A knight in white armor approached and took up a defensive position next to Lana.

"You're late," Lana said as she eyed the encroaching forces.

"You got one of the knights to switch sides," Cipher observed from her position.

"As I told you earlier, not all of us follow Arcann blindly."

Both Cipher and Dax looked her over before refocusing on the incoming forces.

"Looks like you found another pragmatist," Brooke said to Lana dryly.

"Stow the chatter," she snapped. "Prove you can fight."

They came in waves, and eventually found a way to isolate the Outlander from the rest of the group.

"Knights," their commander shouted, "Zhildrag's Wedge!"

Brooke watched in horror as they used the Force to create a wall of debris to surround her.

"We have the Outlander," the knight said cockily as a group approached Brooke. "Kill the rest."

"If you get the chance, run," Lana commanded.

"Not a chance," she replied stubbornly raising her lightsaber, "we're all in this together."

She readied herself to strike out at the nearest knight when time seemed to stop. The Jedi saw Valkorion pacing behind the group, observing them with a bored expression. "I can help you end this if you give me control for just a moment."

"No way."

"Then your Sith friend will die," he said with a shrug. He pushed out a section of the wall, allowing her to see. Lana's lightsaber had been knocked out of her hand and the knight she was fighting had his blade readying a kill shot.

"Make your decision quickly, time has not stopped."

Desperate to save her friend's life, she was just about to accept when another voice whispered, "Stop and look, there's more here than he wants you to see."

She was really getting sick of all the voices that weren't hers taking residence in her head, but did as she was told. Nox, Imperious, and Dax were fighting a group of knights near the outskirts of the battle; the knight defector had just taken down a walker and was rushing to get to Lana, but she'd never make it in time; Cipher had just taken out the knight commander and was lining up a shot on Lana's attacker; Kor was closer to the ship, healing everyone as quickly as they got injured, with his help Lana might be able to make it without intervention; after some searching, she finally located Maj. Horner, she had a blaster pistol and the shield from earlier. She was about to body slam the knight, leading with the shield. That would be enough to interrupt him long enough for everyone to help Lana; a final glance at the ship revealed Koth and HK arriving to add plenty of suppressing fire.

She turned to Valkorion and sneered, "I'll never give you control."

"So be it."

Time resumed, and before Brooke could even strike at the knights, HK unloaded, taking them all down. She ran past the wall to see how everyone had faired. Maj. Horner was holding out a hand to Lana even as she gripped her side, appearing to have reopened whatever abdominal wound she had been suffering from earlier. Lana had a slice on her arm where she had been struck before the solider intervened.

The knight defector and Cipher 9 were kneeling over a fallen knight, looking like they were hacking into the com system.

Nox, Dax, and Imperious were taking their time to make their way back, ensuring all enemies were down.

Lana approached the ship, Maj. Horner's arm around her shoulder. Brooke noted that she was breathing heavily and most likely had only been able to move during the battle thanks to adrenaline. Clearly it had worn off as Lana handed and handed her off to HK to take inside. "We need to get moving. Where's Senya?"

"Excuse me? Where's who," Koth demanded.

"I'm right here," she replied impassively as she approached with Cipher.

"Oh no, there's no way she's getting on my ship."

"We don't have time for this," Brooke interrupted trying to avoid a fight. "Koth, prep the ship for takeoff. Cipher, you and Dax help make sure the engines are good to go. Kor, it looks like the Major reinjured herself, go attend to her, we should be able to raise the ship without your assistance." They followed Koth inside the ship while Lana, Senya, Nox, Imperious, and Brooke took positions. All focusing, they managed to use the force to lift the ship out of the muck.

"They're actually doing it," Koth's voice rang out through the comm. channel. "Can you believe it?"

"Observation: the ship is rising," HK answered. "Conclusion: belief is unnecessary."

Even focused, Brooke almost started laughing at the exchange. Once the ship was airborne, they all quickly got on board to leave Zakuul.