The smoke within the ship blew in their faces as the inside pressurized.

Republic scouts rushed forward with their blasters drawn—they scanned the abandoned ship with attached lights. A blue lightsaber ignited and a young Jedi Knight followed his senior. It was his first assignment in the Outer Rim. Already it was making him uneasy...

A cortosis mine owned by Czerka Corporation found this freighter on one of their scanners last week. It was suspicious that Czerka was making scans like that in the first place, but…the details on how the freighter was discovered didn't matter. What they found had been more important.

The young Jedi Knight used his lightsaber to guide his way within the darkened hull. There is no emotion, there is peace. He told himself he'd been prepared for anything. He feared nothing. Yet that had been a lie. A lie by some innocent, naive child.

Corpses. So many. Within the Force, he sensed remnants of the pain they suffered in death. The soldiers marched forward yet the Knights hung back at the sight.

They were…decayed. Years—he guessed. They'd been floating around dead for years. The brittle mummies huddled in a corner—mouths agape, arms outstretched, faces with crisp skin hidden. They'd been burned alive.

He heard a child crying. A woman screaming. The young Knight flinched and waved his lightsaber towards the sound.

Something grabbed his shoulder. The older Jedi Knight shook his head.

"Keep it together."

Right. He took a deep breath to center himself in the Force. There is no chaos, there is harmony. How could he forget? Stupid.

They approached the corpse pile. Some soldiers were connecting backup generators to the engines. Gradually, power returned to the casket of a freighter.

"Not pirates or smugglers." The captain of the troop muttered as he went through the computer. "This is a civilian shuttle. Whoever attacked left little trace of their identity."

"A raid gone wrong?" the senior Jedi asked.

"If this was a raid gone wrong…they wouldn't have been killed like this."

The young Jedi Knight walked closer to the corpse pile. Words from his first master echoed in his mind. Confront your fear. Don't let it control you. Concentrate. He bent low, keeping his lightsaber raised. Most of the corpses…were small. Frail. Women and children. Force. Who could…do something like this?

Something shimmered in the blue light. With his left hand, he reached over and picked up a cold metal object.

That's when it all began.

When I awoke, I could sense it. Darth Malak was close. An old, familiar bone-chilling pulse in the air tickled my spine.

My eyes felt glued together. The headache pounded my temple again. Screaming. Relentless screaming. I didn't dare get up, yet I tried to sense Bastila. I failed. I couldn't…anymore. After an eternity, the torture stopped. Saul Karath said something about going to "greet the dark lord" as they threw Bastila back into the force cage. Even though she was still conscious, her mind was elsewhere.

I got up and drew closer to the shield.

"Bastila."

She'd drawn in on herself. Buried her head in her knees. Her head moved slightly at the sound of my voice.

"It's too late." She sounded zoned out. "I can sense the dark lord. He's close…very close."

Carth spoke behind me.

"The others will—"

"The others have failed us, Carth!" Bastila shivered. "We can no longer hope for rescue. Malak will…kill you both. Then, he'll turn me to the dark side—or try to. It's…"

The sound of something clicking came from the door. We all turned at the sound. I stood, prepared to face another torturer. Only…the door hissed open and revealed—

"Mission?" A grin spread wide on my face. "What…what are you—?"

"Shh!"

Mission raised a finger to her lips. She snuck up to the computer and swiped something. A second later, the shields fell. I rushed to Bastila immediately and kneeled before her. I held her face then pressed a kiss to her lips—not even caring if the others saw. The pain fled our bodies all at once. It was like it never happened.

"Heh, uh, guys?"

Mission's sheepish voice broke through the fog of pleasure. Carth cleared his throat. I snorted at their impatience then pulled away. I smiled down at her.

"You were saying?"

She rolled her eyes but smiled back. I helped Bastila up onto her feet. Even though most of her wounds had been mentally inflicted, her movements were sluggish. She leaned onto my shoulder, head bowed. Carth limped up to the young Twi'lek.

"How the hell did you get in here?"

Mission rubbed the back of her head.

"Well, it's been a day and I figured you guys were in trouble so I…made a bit of a racket in my cell. They took me to solitary after that which so happens to be close to the torture chambers!" She whipped out a keycard. "Pickpocketed this off that stupid officer—he actually thought I was scared, pfft! Well, that's what happens when you underestimate a 'little kid'!"

Carth stared at Mission—shocked. And honestly, same. It took him a moment to find words again. Then, without warning, he slapped her shoulders.

"When…when we get out of this I'm going to make sure you get a Force-damn medal from the Admiral herself!"

Mission blinked then scratched her nose.

"Oh…uh, you're not…going to say that it was dangerous or reckless or…?"

"Well, yeah, that was a dangerous move." Carth shrugged. "But we're in a dangerous situation already."

Mission beamed. "Alright, awesome!" She went over to the computer. "We need to find the others. I think most of them are still in the prison block…"

"We should hurry." Bastila stumbled out of my hold and walked to Mission's side. "Darth Malak is arriving soon. We have about an hour at most. We can't be here when the Dark Lord arrives. None of us will be able to outmatch—"

"Why not face him?" I asked. "Without Malak, the Sith will schism. The war would end today. If we all ambush him, we could take him out once and for all. He would never expect—"

"No!" Bastila's shout made me flinch. A darkness pooled in her chest. Fear. Her voice softened when she saw my reaction. "The power of the Dark Lord is strong enough to destroy all of us... even you. It would be suicide to face Malak here. We need to get away before he arrives."

She had a good point. We weren't exactly in the best shape at the moment.

Carth nodded. "I know my way around the ship. The prison block has an airflow tunnel leading to it from the solitary block's storage unit. It should be in the room across from us, from what I remember."

"Alright then, let's get our stuff and rescue everyone," I said. "Oh, and let's find and pick up HK and T3 too. Can't forget the droids."

"Yeah!" Mission said, grinning.

Bastila and Carth sighed.

The neural disruptor clanged to the ground and the Force once again rushed through my veins. I almost collapsed at the strong sensation—it was almost like wincing at the light after being blinded by darkness. Bastila felt the same way as Carth helped unlock the disruptor from her neck. We slowly put on dark Jedi tunics that we found thrown into some container. Carth found his clothes in a waste basket and his orange jacket almost ended up in the trash compactor. Our lightsabers were locked in a storage bin (which Mission used that handy keycard to open).

We also took a moment to drink from some canteens we found as well as eat nutrient bars. As we ate, the Sith guard that we'd knocked out twitched in the corner. I eyed him suspiciously with my mouth full then considered my lightsaber. If we let him live…he could alarm the entire ship.

Since everyone was distracted by either eating or recovering, I approached the unconscious man and took my lightsaber off my belt. We couldn't risk it. We couldn't let anyone know we'd escaped and none of these bastards deserved to live, really. Not after what they did to Bastila.

Before I killed him with a single stroke, something grabbed my arm.

"We'll drag him into the force cage," Bastila said. "Just…"

Her gaze didn't leave mine as if she was asking for me to not do what I had intended to do five seconds ago. I nodded and leaned down so that I could lift the Sith guard's body by the armpits.

Once our prisoner was secured, Carth led us to the corner of the storage room and pointed up at a grate in the ceiling.

"The airflow tunnels will be hot, but it should let us get around the ship without being spotted."

Bastila raised her hand. The grate groaned with the pull of the Force then snapped when she put pressure onto the metal screws. At the same time, I focused on one of the storage containers and shoved it against the wall. Then, I found a smaller container and stacked it on top, making a shoddy ladder to the shaft.

"I'll go first." Carth climbed on the pile of containers—slowly and carefully. I went after him while Mission followed me. The heat suffused through my robes, my tunic, and sweat formed on my brow and chest. Force, and I thought Tatooine was hot. My gloved hands cooked on the metal.

"We have to go slowly," Carth said. "No one will see us in here, but they could hear us if we go too fast."

"Perfect." I huffed, wiping my brow. "Are you trying to fry us alive, Orangy?"

"Yes."

I narrowed my eyes at Carth's ass.

We slowly shuffled our way through the scolding tunnel. Occasionally, bursts of warm air hit our faces. My chest started aching again and, even though the Force and the kolto was helping to dull the pain, the bandages were starting to slide off. The one on my face dropped to the metal as the heat melted the adhesive off.

I stopped when a sharp pain cramped my torso. I sensed concern from Bastila.

"Wessy, are you okay?"

Mission's voice echoed around me. I sucked in a breath and stared at Carth's ass once again. He'd stopped and looked back at me with concern. I shook my head and held my chest.

"I'm fine. Just…need a break."

"I'm sorry. We need to keep moving," Carth said, "or we will be cooked alive."

I paused. "What do you mean?"

"Every hour or so, the shafts heat up to boiling to produce plasma. We don't want to be in here when that happens."

I pushed myself up again.

"Alright. Got it."

I started to crawl with deep breaths. Bastila sent a cool wave over me, empowering my limbs. We crawled for what seemed like an eternity.

Mission sighed after a minute of this torture.

"Are we almost there?"

"Almost," Carth answered.

Silence.

"So…" Mission's voice trailed. "When were you going to tell me?"

Bastila answered with a sigh. "What are you talking about, Mission?"

"Uh, I'm not blind, yah know. I saw you guys making out!"

I sensed the heat of embarrassment from Bastila. More sweat dripped from my brow. I had enough heat as is.

"Making out! I—! We—! That wasn't—we weren't making out."

"Uh, huh. Sure."

Carth sighed. I sighed with him.

"No!" Bastila flustered. "We…that was just a kiss! That wasn't—"

"Oh, but you've made out with him before, hmm?"

Bastila growled. "N-Now is not the time, Mission!"

"How long have you guys been kissing and stuff? Did you guys…uh, you know, hook up a power coupling?"

"Hook up a…?" Bastila paused. When she realized what it meant, she hissed. "W-Where did you hear that?"

"I'm fourteen, not five! I know what sex is! And Griff didn't exactly care if I heard it when he 'slept' with Lena!"

Okay. Eww. This conversation was getting…mildly uncomfortable. I think I lost all of my sweat glands…

"W-Why would we tell you about something private like that?" Bastila snapped back. "It's none of your business."

I sensed a sharp pain behind me.

"I…" Mission paused. "I guess I…well, I always thought you guys liked each other. And I asked if you liked Wes before that party, remember Bas? You said no. So, you lied to me."

"It's complicated," I said. "Bastila didn't…mean to lie. Jedi aren't allowed to fall in love."

"Wait, that...that's an actual thing?"

"Yes," I said.

"That's stupid! I wouldn't have said anything! I swear."

"Really?" Carth muttered. "I don't know…I kind of doubt it."

She let out a frustrated huff. "Oh, so Carth was allowed to know about it but not me?"

"I didn't want him to know about it!" Bastila shouted. "And I still have no idea why you are taking such offense—"

"Shh, guys."

Carth waved a hand. We quieted and waited for him to explain why he'd shushed us. Then, a loud thrum rumbled beneath us and the heat almost became unbearable. Carth cursed and started crawling faster, yet I doubted we'd make it before we were cooked alive in plasma.

I closed my eyes and sensed the area around me. Below us, I could sense life of some kind. Sith. Taking my lightsaber, I pointed down and pressed the button.

"What are you doing!" Carth shouted.

"We need to get out of here!" I shouted back. "We'll be fried if we don't!"

"But the Sith will spot us—!"

"Well, how would you rather die, Carth?" I shouted back. "Blaster fire or plasma?"

"Preferably neither!"

"Exactly!"

"Wes!"

I ignored him and concentrated on my lightsaber and started to pull around the tunnel. It glowed red and hissed as I slowly cut into the thick metal floors and walls. There was a commotion below us. I heard Bastila behind work as well and a minute later, we'd damaged enough of the shaft that our weight caused the entire crawlspace to groan.

A second later, we were weightless and falling. Carth shouted as we fell away with the tunnel. Immediately, the sound of blaster fire ricocheting off of a lightsaber came from behind. I rushed out in a blur, ignoring the pain from my wounds, and stabbed the first Sith soldier in the chest before he could register my presence. In a swirl of fire and smoke, I reached out with the Force and pulled one of the soldiers aiming up at Carth towards me. He shouted as he was shot by his own troop.

Bastila's lightsaber hummed behind me, taking out the other two Sith soldiers that were in the room. I heard Carth curse then fall. I quickly caught him with the Force before he fell and broke something. Seconds later, a burst of heat and flames spilled out of the crawlspace into the room. Smoke clouded our vision and I heard Mission shouting something in the haze. I helped Carth onto his feet and I closed my eyes, sensing what was around me using the Force.

Eventually, after tripping over corpses and coughing up a storm, I found the door panel.

"Over here!"

I waved and the door hissed open. Bastila appeared by my side along with Mission who had followed her. Carth ran to my side with both of his blasters in hand. We peered into the hallway—ready to take on any adversary.

I sensed the blaster fire before it collided into my skull. Blocking it with my lightsaber, I dove out of cover and dashed towards the attacker. The red-armored Sith soldier barely reacted when I took an arm. Another at his right brandished a cortosis blade. I lifted a hand and froze it in the air before it slashed my shoulder.

A second later, a bolt from a blaster burned into the Sith's exposed armpit. He fell, dead at my feet. Carth rushed up to me with a smile.

"I'm not letting you have all the fun."

I smiled back then turned to check on Bastila and Mission. They both had taken care of the other Sith soldiers on the opposite end of the hall. Carth grabbed an energy shield from the downed red Sith soldier along with some grenades. When Bastila and Mission rushed up to us, I faced Carth again.

"Alright, where are we heading to now?"

Carth turned about then nodded. "This way."

He led us down the hall and Bastila ran at his side. After a few seconds of running, a ringing alarm pierced our ears along with a red flash from the lights. Kriff, they must have found the scene of our crime. We didn't have much time to waste.

We passed a room labeled "droid maintenance" and I stopped.

"Hold up!"

Bastila looked at me then the door then groaned.

"We don't have time," she shouted. "We need—"

"A distraction!"

I ran into the room. Droids of all sizes and types were lined against the wall. On the table, T3-M4 sat defunct. They'd taken out his memory chip along with his battery. I sighed and picked up the hydrospanner to plug the required parts back in. The poor droid's photoreceptor blinked on than he let out a happy beep when he saw me.

"Okay, T3, where's HK?"

I placed him back down onto the floor. The small droid led me through the room—the others reluctantly followed. Eventually, after going through two storage areas, we arrived at a fancy holding area. HK-47 stood in one of the many charging stations. Locked. No wonder why HK hadn't been able to rescue us.

I glanced to the side and noticed Bastila's worried look. "Are you sure we should be messing with it? We should just leave it behind."

"It'll be just like when we broke into the Sith's base in Ahto City," I said, trying to reassure her. "HK can distract the Sith."

"It did work last time," Carth said. "But…this is Darth Revan's droid. What if—"

"He doesn't know he's Darth Revan's droid," I said. "His memory was erased. Believe me, I tried to restore it. It didn't work, so stop worrying about it."

Bastila flinched. "Why were you trying to restore its memory?"

"I was curious."

"Curious?!"

"Well, I think it'll be fine," Mission said. "HK hasn't attacked us once—he saved my life, remember?"

Bastila sighed. "Just...you..."

We ignored her stuttering and approached the console. Mission swiped the card yet…it flashed red. Denied. I frowned, crossing my arms. Next, we tried T3. He plugged into the computer and tried to hack into the system…yet even with his high-tech programming, he wasn't able to slice into it. Mission started another attempt to slice into the console. I closed my eyes in thought, tapping my finger on my arm. There had to be a way. We couldn't waste more time…

Fingers typing. Commands. A mission. A foreign sentence scrawled on the screen. Darr tou, ii rash nuyak. Through victory, my chains are broken. I could understand the strange words even though I'd never heard the language before. A hiss. HK-47's lights flashed on. With a distorted voice, I spoke.

"Rakat wal nun."

The Force shall free me.

HK-47 blinked once then his head swiveled.

"Statement: System memory and assassination protocols restored. I am ready to serve, Master."

I blinked, my head felt heavy at the strange vision. A vision of Darth Revan…yet it was different. It was—

Something grabbed my shoulder tight. I ignored it as my hands drifted towards the keyboard and typed. Darr tou, ii rash nuyak. A hiss. HK-47 was freed. I smirked at my success as I walked away from the computer—Bastila's hand fell away from my shoulder.

Mission stuttered. "W-Wait! How did you…?"

"Yes." Carth's voice was low. "How did you?"

I ignored them both as I walked up to the droid. "I said to help us escape, HK. Not sit here like a lamp." I tutted, waving a finger. "I'm honestly quite disappointed in your performance."

HK-47's lights dimmed as he stepped out of the storage unit.

"Argumentative: It was not my intention to be disappointing, Master. I did not have a choice. The pathetic meatbags wished to repair me. Poorly, I might add. They then locked me in that disgusting container."

He was right. His left hand had been replaced. Poorly—well, it was his opinion, but it looked fine. Not perfect, but…I rubbed my chin.

"Hmm…no excuse." HK's head swiveled. He was pissed. He didn't need human expressions for me to tell. I picked up one of the many sniper rifles that were found along the wall. "Unfortunately, this means you need to be punished."

"Query: Punished, Master?"

"How about you make it up to us by taking care of some meatbags?"

He blinked. "Truly?"

"Truly." I shoved it into his hand then went back to the console. While HK-47 could provide enough of a distraction, he would be destroyed without backup. So, typing into the console again, I unlocked all of the storage units. Black-armored security droids stepped out then straightened into a salute. All of them looked dangerous. No doubt they could kill without hesitation. Perfect. I grinned. "Take this squad and distract the Sith for a bit, HK. When you've had enough fun, head to the Ebon Hawk in the docking bay. Don't get into too much trouble. We won't be able to help you if you get mangled."

HK straightened, his hydraulics locked into place.

"Affirmative! Elation: Oh, I really do love these types of punishments, Master!" With that statement proclaimed, he skipped out of the room with the ten security droids at his beck and call.

Bastila, Mission, and Carth gave me bleak looks—as if I'd released a hoard of angry terentateks. Thankfully, those terentateks were on our side.

The prison ward was guarded by two dark Jedi. Bastila and I peered down the hall towards the door, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. On the count of three, both of us rushed out of cover with our lightsabers unleashed.

Neither saw us coming. At the last second, the dark Jedi blocked my underhanded slash with a rush of the dark side. I pushed down on the Force block only momentarily before leaping over his body and twirling around, slicing him in half before he had a chance to attack again. Bastila had been just as successful at taking out the other dark Jedi—his head rolled to the ground beside me.

I waved and Mission, T3, and Carth ran to the door. Mission used the card again—handy that.

Inside, the prison ward was…suspiciously empty. I decided to keep an eye out in the hall while the others worked on getting the others freed. There were numerous cells within, all were protected by energy shields. Mission went to the computer console and, with a single tap from her, all of the prisoners were released.

Canderous was the first one to stumble out of his cell.

"Finally." He cracked his neck. "What took you so long, kid?"

Mission huffed. "I was waiting for the guards to leave! They'd been in there for hours!"

Jolee was next to saunter out. He stretched with a long sigh and some of the bones in his back cracked.

"Ah, it's nice to wake up to a little rescue mission," he said, winking at the Twi'lek.

Juhani rushed out, fists ready to bash into an opponent, yet she relaxed when she saw us.

"I am glad to see you are all okay!" Juhani sighed. "Mission…what you did was so reckless! You—"

"I had to do something!" she shouted. "I…I thought it was my fault that T3…"

"It wasn't your fault," I said. "It was my—"

"Xai'chath, you both." Verena walked out, confident even in her state of dress. She shook her head. "We couldn't have predicted that this would have happened. Neither of you are to blame."

Carth straightened at the sight of the Echani yet didn't say anything. Bastila smiled in relief. Everyone was relatively safe—no one seemed that beaten up. Yet, we didn't have time to reminisce. I opened the lockers near the doors and found most of their clothes and equipment within. Bastila helped me pass along their weapons while Mission unlocked their cuffs. Carth stood watch at the door…everything was going relatively smoothly. Too smoothly.

Everyone was half-dressed when Carth called back to us.

"Sith troops incoming!" He cursed, grabbing a grenade. "Damn it, Saul knew we'd come here."

Canderous rumbled a laugh as he hoisted his blaster rifle up. A smile gleamed on his face as he joined Carth on the other side of the door.

"Well, that will be his last mistake then, won't it?"

Both of them opened fire—Carth threw a grenade after the round of blaster bolts. We finished passing along everyone's equipment and joined the fighting before Canderous and Carth were overwhelmed. Many troops filled the halls. Too many. I didn't try to step out at first…yet, Jolee, that insane old man, stepped out with his lightsaber poised.

"Old man!"

With a lifted hand, and with a shift within the Force, most of the blaster bolts that had been targeting him sprayed into the walls next to him. None of them had been deflected with his lightsaber. I gaped at his raw Force power then decided to join the fight when I sensed more blaster fire coming from the opposite end of the hall.

Deflecting the bolts back, I shouted. "You are insane, old man!"

"You too, kid!" he shouted back.

I groaned before I focused on the troops. Juhani rushed to Jolee's side, deflecting a thrown lightsaber from a dark Jedi. Bastila blocked the red blade from another and as they battled I made sure to deflect the blaster bolts. Verena risked stepping out as well, Yusanis' blade gleamed with the hundreds of red beams flashing around us. She managed to block a dark Jedi aiming for me, much to the dark Jedi's surprise. I came in quickly, briefly breaking from my deflections to stab my attacker in the side.

Carth, Canderous, and Mission shot out at the Sith from the door.

We were outnumbered. Dark Jedi poured out of the elevator. More of them kept coming. Saul was sending the entire ship down here…

"We need to get to the Hawk!" I shouted. "Carth, where—!"

"That will be impossible," he shouted over the blaster fire. "The bridge is the only place we can open the docking gates of the hangar where they've got the Ebon Hawk as well as turn off the field. We have to open those gates before we can fly out of here."

"Kriffing—" I slashed and killed another dark Jedi. "That will be impossible!"

"No…"

He grew silent. There was a break in combat—the entire hall had been cleared. Yet I could sense more coming—we had a few minutes maybe. "If I sneak in there…disguised…I could time it so that when you arrive at the Ebon Hawk, I disable the field and destroy the controls."

I lowered my lightsaber and looked at the pilot.

"Carth…"

"When I do that, I'll use a detonator with Saul next to me. He wouldn't…see it coming. That could buy you some time before they repair the console and shut the doors again."

Bastila looked over at the pilot too along with everyone else.

Mission stuttered. "But…but if you do that…"

"It would take us both out. Yes." He shrugged. "It's fitting. My only purpose has been to kill Saul. After that, there isn't much left for me. If I can do it while saving everyone—"

"No."

Carth flinched at my dark tone. Honestly, I…didn't realize I'd said anything. Yet, the word spat out of my mouth before I could stop it.

I glared at him, my face felt hot. "You're not sacrificing yourself. I'm coming with you."

Bastila frowned. "Wes, that's—"

"Your son is still alive," I said. "And you promised. Together. You're not sacrificing yourself, I won't let you, I'm coming with you, you kriffing bastard."

He blinked, staring at me, astonished. Then, he let out a long sigh.

"Fine." He snorted. "It's not like I could convince you."

I smiled. "We'll take out the entire bridge and get the hell out of there. Together. Alive."

Bastila shook her head and rushed between us.

"You can't…you won't be able to with just the two of you."

"If too many people go after Saul then we won't be able to take him by surprise," Carth said. "That son of a bitch will send all of his troops after us. He…overreacts when situations turn sour. There will be too many soldiers between us and the Ebon Hawk…but not many between us and Saul. If he notices what we're up to…that will change."

Canderous nodded. "Yes, flyboy has a point."

"Still, I'm coming with you." Bastila straightened. "Canderous—I'm putting you in charge. Lead the others to the docking bay. Jolee and Juhani should be able to take care of the dark Jedi."

"Take T3 with you if you need to break into anything," I said. "We'll take the keycard."

"The docks will be on the stern at the bottom level," Carth said.

Canderous nodded. "How will we communicate?"

"We will be able to after we take over the bridge," Carth said. "Take one of the Sith's comms. We'll scramble the channels once we're up there."

Jolee frowned as he stepped up to us. "I really hope you kids take care of yourself. I sense something foul in the air."

"I as well," Juhani said. "I think it's…"

"Malak. He's close." I sneered. "We'll try to stop the hyperspace jump when we get there."

Mission sighed then stepped up to me. She passed over the keycard.

"Be careful, Wessy."

"You be careful, Mission. We'll be fine, don't worry."

I shot her a thumbs up and a smile as a final goodbye. She smiled back. Carth, Bastila, and I ran down the hall.

There was a lesson my mentor taught me when I was learning about the ins and outs of the Outer Rim. If you put in too much effort for a particular result, then it isn't clever. Short-cuts, backways, unusual and unpredictable plans got results. The faster the better, because those who lived on the Outer Rim died if they didn't think fast enough. This is why even though we were going slowly, carefully, we were still going faster than if we decided to take on the entire ship.

Bastila peered out into the next hallway, hand on her lightsaber, preparing to either defend herself or to hide. We'd been following Carth through the winding halls, going the long way to avoid as many Sith soldiers as possible. In the distance, I could hear blaster fire (HK and his friends were doing a good job with that distraction). Five minutes of sneaky around later, we finally arrived at our destination.

The bridge.

Bastila and I took deep breaths as we sensed what lay beyond. With all of the chaos, we hadn't been able to check in with each other over the bond. The adrenaline mixed with the kolto was enough to numb the pain, yet we wouldn't last long…

"How many Sith do you sense in there?" Carth asked.

Bastila answered. "Not many. Maybe one or two dark Jedi. You were right, Carth. Saul panicked and left himself exposed."

I took my lightsaber off my belt.

"Let's get our revenge then, shall we?"

The bridge air felt frigid on my skin as we stepped inside. Barely any lights flickered on the ceiling—all the metal had been painted dark. Outside, the windows were engulfed in the blues of hyperspace. Saul Karath stood alone with his back to us. He hadn't turned around. The door hissed closed. No one attacked as we walked up to a blue glowing symbol at the center of the bridge. A broken diamond with a circle in its heart.

"Very resourceful." On the side, below us in the pits surrounding the bridge, numerous Sith soldiers aimed their blasters at us. That's when Saul finally turned around. His face was amused. "I assume you had some part in this, Carth. You learned your lessons well from me. Yes, I do have a tendency to overreact. Yet…" He motioned with his arm at one of the Sith. "I'm not so foolish anymore."

The doors hissed open behind us. A wave of darkness froze the air. Both Bastila and I ignited our lightsabers as a group of dark Jedi swarmed at our backs. A trap. Of course.

Carth gripped his blasters tight and sweat beaded down his forehead.

"I will only give you one chance," Saul said, turning around again. "Surrender or we will kill you all."

"Never." Carth raised his blasters again, aiming for Saul's head. "You taught me many things, Saul. Death. Betrayal. War. I've seen it. I'll kill you for it."

"Don't be a fool. I am giving you and your companions a chance to surrender. A chance to live. We will be arriving at the system any moment now. Darth Malak will destroy you. If you surrender, I will ask for my Lord to be merciful."

"Merciful!" Carth's body tightened. "I've had enough of Sith mercy!"

He shot. The blaster bolt was quickly deflected by a dark Jedi that jumped up from the pit.

Saul sighed. "You always did like to do things the hard way."

The hum of many lightsabers shot on. Bastila and I glanced once at each other before we were bombarded with a swirl of heat and red. Carth shouted as he continued to shoot at the Admiral with no success. The energy shield absorbed all of the blaster bolts. At the same time though, the Admiral's shots heated Carth's shield as well. It was a stubborn standoff. Whoever's shield failed first would die.

The dark Jedi swiped at us all at once. Bastila blocked two lightsabers before they sliced her in half while I focused on the Force to freeze some in place. The ones that escaped the net twirled their lightsabers in a blinding fury. I was forced to release the other dark Jedi in order to block the hurricane of lightsabers.

One fell to my blue blade. So many. Too many. I focused on the downed dark Jedi's lightsaber and took it in my other hand. Igniting the red blade, I blocked another oncoming attack before it sliced my arm off. Both pushed hard onto the two lightsabers…so hard they were focusing all of their energy on me.

Closing my eyes, taking a deep breath, I sensed the Force. I extinguished both blades, backflipped before both collided with me then threw the red lightsaber in my off-hand. It spun and took off the heads of both dark Jedi.

Bastila had been just as busy. Most of the dark Jedi had attacked her, so she was forced to retreat around the room. I grabbed one of the dark Jedi running after her and threw him into the wall. Numerous bones, broken. Dead. I turned to make sure Carth was alright.

Carth had ducked behind a computer—his shield must have expired. An explosion rumbled the ground—one of the many grenades the pilot had thrown fell into the pit and took out most of the Sith on the left. He was now aiming for Saul. The Admiral's shield must have also run out of charge since had taken cover behind a console. As Bastila took down the dark Jedi, I decided to help Carth defeat the rest of the Sith soldiers.

I lifted my hand and focused on one of the computers. The object took a lot of energy to lift, enough that sweat beaded down my neck and my wounds stretched with pain. The computer ripped from the ground with great effort then fell onto three of the soldiers. After the distraction, I rushed down into the pit and swiped at one of the soldiers as they were taken off guard.

One by one, the dark armored Sith fell. A backhand swipe, a careful, quick stab, a twirl, a pull with the Force. The violence, the death, blurred around me. Blended together so much so that I didn't even sense the life that fled the bodies of my adversaries. It was an act close to breathing.

It was exhilarating.

I'd taken out the soldiers in the pit with only a singed tunic. I Force jumped back onto the bridge—near the front. Near Saul.

I stormed up to the Admiral, my jaw tightening along with my hand gripping my lightsaber. The man's face had turned from confident to…terrified. He ran out of cover to the other side of the bridge behind one of the containers that had been thrown by Bastila. He grabbed something from his pocket.

"Don't!" A detonator. To what…I wasn't sure. He waved it in the air. "Make one more move and this entire bridge will be dust." Saul laughed when he saw that I'd frozen in place. "Smart. Now…" He pointed. "Put down your lightsaber…or—"

I sensed the bolt. In a single move, I deflected it into Saul's hand. The detonator fell and I used the Force to collect it before it collided with the ground. I crushed it with the Force. The Admiral hissed in pain.

"You—!"

Another bolt. I deflected it into Admiral Saul Karath's chest. His cold eyes widened as the blaster bolt burned through his skin, burned through his organs. He shouted in pain then collapsed to his knees—fell to his side. Dead.

Carth ran up to me with both of his blasters out with a sneaky smile on his face. I smiled back. Bastila shouted on the other side of the bridge. She'd taken down the rest of the dark Jedi—a cool wave through the bond washed over me as the battle ended. It was…anger. She hated them. Wanted to...make them pay for what they did. I turned and I was about to help her...

A cough.

Both Carth and I flinched. I raised my lightsaber while he pointed his blasters down at what we assumed had been Saul's corpse. Only, it was an overreaction. The Admiral grabbed onto the container he'd hid behind and held onto his wounded chest tight.

"Carth…" He wheezed then fell onto his back. "Carth."

Carth walked up to Saul Karath's side and let one of his blasters lazily aim at his head.

"For Telos."

Before he pressed the trigger, the light from hyperspace flashed. I turned as the system we jumped to appeared in the window. Tens to maybe hundreds of Sith ships flew about the system. We were too late. We didn't stop the Leviathan in time.

Darth Malak was here.

Bastila approached us—eyeing the Sith fleet with horror.

A laugh. A choked, painful laugh.

"The dark lord…is here." His hand squeezed his wound. Saul was dying. "Carth, I…there's something…I have to…tell you…about…" He coughed. Blood splattered out of his mouth. "Come closer…"

I raised my lightsaber. "No. He's wasting our time. We need to get out of here. Put him out of his misery."

Yet, he ignored me. Of course he ignored me. Carth dropped his pistol then got onto his knees. The anger disappeared…and all I sensed from the pilot was regret. Sadness. Saul's wobbly finger pointed at me. His mouth moved yet I couldn't hear the words slipping past his lips over the humming from my lightsaber.

"..."

"…the face…of someone you thought of as a friend. Remember my words…his face…"

When he was done, his hand dropped.

A moment. A single second. A beat that felt like it lasted an eternity. Carth's shoulders tensed as Saul's body stiffened in death.

He grabbed his pistol. The blaster shot into Saul's face over and over again even though he'd long since passed. The Admiral's face scorched and hissed as bolt after bolt melted his pale skin. Darkness pooled around the pilot as he silently shot at the Admiral.

"Carth, stop!" I extinguished my lightsaber and used the Force to throw away the pistol. I grabbed his shoulder. "What the hell has gotten into you—!"

He pushed me back and got onto his feet. The cold metal of his other pistol shoved into my face and he grabbed me by the collar to make sure I didn't run. Even though I sensed the violent intent, I didn't believe it enough to try and get away. He was panicking. Enraged after Saul's death. He…wasn't thinking straight.

I raised my hands and calmed my expression.

"It's alright. It's over. Saul's dead. You—"

"Shut up." His eyes gleamed with tears as he pushed the blaster into my cheek. I hissed as it disturbed the burn. "Not. Another. Word."

I ignored him. "Why? What did he say?"

"He said…" The blaster shook with his hand. "He said that…" He looked over at Bastila, his eyes wide with fear. "It all makes sense now. It's true, isn't it? You knew. You and…the entire Jedi Council knew. Why?"

I took a chance and pushed the blaster away from my face. It dropped to the ground. Anger and heat of confused terror filled my chest at all of these vague phrases.

"Knew what?"

"Carth." Bastila walked slowly up to the pilot with her hand raised. I sensed…fear. She nodded out the window at Darth Malak's fleet. "Not here. Please...there's no time. Malak is coming. This isn't the time or place."

"Oh, Malak is coming!" He laughed—deranged—then waved at me. "How is that the least of our worries when he's—"

A dark pulse. Bastila pushed Carth against the window using the Force. He stared down at Bastila—shocked. I gaped at her as well, surprised that she used the Force against Carth like that. Even if he was being a bit…irrational, that didn't mean she should have...

"Bastila, what the hell are you doing? Put him down!" I shouted.

"We will talk about this after we have escaped." Her voice was sharp, dark. Eventually, she released him. He stumbled to his feet. "Understood?"

Carth took in deep breaths. The whites of his eyes were stark. I could sense the fear. The disgust as he looked at her.

"I'll trust you for now, but as soon as we're off this ship I expect some answers."

"Answers? About what?"

"Of course." Bastila's shoulders sank. They were kriffing ignoring me. "As soon as we get to the Ebon Hawk, I'll explain everything. To both of you. I promise."

My lips pursed at their suspicious behavior. What was there to explain? Why had…Carth gone off on me like that? Nothing was making sense. Carth wasn't making sense. Bastila wasn't making sense. Carth hated me. This was the hate he had for Saul Karath. The hate he had for Verena.

Why? What did Saul tell Carth? Why was it enough to make him hate me?

"..."

It doesn't matter. We need to leave.

My hand shook as I bent down and picked up one of Carth's blasters. I walked over to him and twirled it so that the grip faced him. He brushed past me then picked up the other one as if I hadn't made the offering. Ignored me like he ignored Saul's mutilated corpse.

We'd killed Saul Karath together. Just like I promised. Vengeance served. Yet what should have been a moment of triumph became a moment of scorn. My grip tightened on the blaster. It took all of my willpower not to shatter it into a million pieces.

The language for HK's "password" is supposed to be Rakatan but I had to make up most of it because it doesn't exist (except for the word "victory" which is "darr"). Revan is the only person who knows Rakatan too so...it would make sense if he used it as a password!

...you probably know what happens next time ;) I'll probably post the next chapter sooner rather than later. See yah then!