Iris and Kira had calmed themselves before they arrived at the ship. As they approached, they found Scourge standing in front of the ramp, but he didn't greet them. He didn't even acknowledge them as he stared at the building they had just left. Kira walked past him onboard, but Iris tried to follow his gaze. He had his arms folded, as if he was acting like a bouncer at a cantina. She tried to see what he saw, but she only saw a few citizens walking around. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

"Scourge?" she whispered. He didn't move for a few more seconds before he glanced down at her. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm monitoring the imperial presence," he replied before he smirked. "The same you worked with underneath the ocean. I didn't realize that making dark allies was your calling."

"It was necessary," Iris shrugged. "Are they a threat?"

"No, I don't think so. Since you departed the building, it seems that the other imperials have left for their ship. No signs of deception or malice," Scourge reassured.

"Good, I was hoping," she whispered.

"I would like to hear more about your mission. I think that some explanations are in order for your actions," he warned. Iris raised an eyebrow before she could feel the unease from her ship.

"You told them?"

"I said that there was an imperial presence close to yours for an extended amount of time. I did not know what it meant, but I made them aware of your circumstance," Scourge replied before frowning. "Your medic is a very persistant man. How you put up with him, I'll never know."

"Ah, I see," she muttered. "I'll explain everything once we're inside. I'm sure Doc's bombarding Kira as we speak."

"I will be inside soon, jedi. I want to make sure that nothing has decided to follow," the sith informed. Iris thanked him before she went inside. The worry in the Force was strong, and she tried to block it out. She could feel it mostly from Doc with a little from Rusk. Iris wondered if Rusk would continue to serve on her ship after this affair.

Trust was also something she had to consider. While his trust in her would come into question, she wondered about her trust in her crew. Kira and Teeseven were mostly in the clear, but she didn't know much of Rusk's past. She even found herself wondering if Doc could be in the conspiracy. It was a long shot, but she never would have expected to find a secret lab belonging to a massive cult underneath the waters of Manaan.

However, this was her crew. She had served with them through the worst of circumstances. Surely, they would have mentioned something that would have clued her in. At least, Iris hoped that would be the case. She walked down the ramp towards the engine where she found Doc in the medical bay. He was working on something, probably dangerous, when she softly knocked on the door frame. Doc quickly looked up and abandoned his project to walk over to her.

"I'm okay, Doc," she reassured with a chuckle in her voice.

"I'll be the judge of that," he replied as he looked for obvious signs of injury.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly before he slowly pulled away.

"The sith said that there were dark forces or something surrounding you. I tried to get you some back up, but the laboratory sealed as we tried to get in. That was when Teeseven and I heard the explosions. We weren't sure you were going to make it. I had Scourge monitor your Force signature, or whatever, to make sure that you were alright," Doc sighed, shaking his head.

"I came out unscathed," Iris reassured, hoping she was convincing.

"What were those dark forces he was talking about?"

"I wouldn't exactly call them dark forces, but you may want to sit down for this."

"This sounds like something I don't want to hear."

"You won't know until you hear it," Iris coaxed as she sat next to him on the medical cot. He sighed as he relaxed. "You remember Theron from the station, right? The one who told us about the rescue mission and Tython?"

"I remember," Doc agreed.

"He had found leads to where Darok was going, and it turns out that he's a part of the Order of Revan. He was working with a Sith Lord named Darth Arkous. Theron found that they were both making trips to that secret lab," Iris explained as Doc waited patiently. She paused a moment, bracing herself for whatever reaction he would have. "Theron also found an imperial ally."

"An imperial ally?" Doc repeated with a slight laugh.

"A sith lord named Lana Beniko, who brought allies of her own," Iris spelled out slowly. "The Empire's Wrath and her apprentice were also there."

"The one from your vision?" he recalled in a low voice. Iris nodded as she leaned foward.

"And they became my allies down there. Lord Renata accompanied me down to the lab while Kira waited with the sith's apprentice, Beniko, and Theron," she continued. Doc seemed more irritated with Theron's name than the rest of the sentence. He had trusted the SIS agent to keep her and Kira safe. "That dark presence that Scourge felt was Renata, and she's not your typical sith. She was calm and relaxed. She would have made a great jedi if she had been born into the Republic."

"I'm all for you making friends, but with the sith? Three sith? They're masters of deception and cruelty. You need to be more careful. They could be luring you and this agent into a trap," Doc reminded. "I know you saw the Wrath in your vision, and maybe you're right about her, but what about the Wrath's apprentice? Or that Beniko lady? I doubt they were in your vision as well. What did Kira think?"

"She thought I was out of my mind when I agreed to go down there with the Wrath."

"And that didn't tell you anything?"

"I trusted my instincts, and we're better for it. Scourge is monitoring their activity, and they have done nothing to even acknowledge the ship," Iris argued. "Eventually, this war is going to end. I want the sith and jedi to learn how to coexist at the very least. The best way to do that is to show that we can trust one another."

"I want nothing more than for this war to end, but blindly trusting people isn't going to help. It's going to get you killed," Doc urged. Anger touched Iris's heart as her frustration grew.

"I don't blindly trust people," she countered. Doc sighed and shook his head.

"You met them today, and you agreed to a solo mission with one of the Republic's top enemies. You're lucky she didn't stab you in the back."

"You doubt my skills that badly?"

"Your combat skills are unmatched, but I don't want to see you hurt or betrayed. That's exactly what's going to happen if you keep teaming up with these three."

"I already gave my word that we would see this through," Iris replied sternly. "If that's an issue, then we can discuss whether or not you would like to be reassigned. I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable, after all."

"That's not what I'm saying. We can still take out this Order of, uh, Revan without surrendering common sense," Doc replied.

"Lana has helped us gain valuable information, and Alys helped me survive against all odds. They have proven that we can at least work together."

"You're on a first name basis with them now?"

"Let's revisit this later," Iris growled as she stood up. "I need to meditate."

"You shouldn't meditate when you're angry."

"I am not angry!" Iris nearly shouted before calming herself. "I just need a moment to calm myself before we continue this discussion."

"I haven't checked your wounds yet," Doc sighed flatly. Usually, Iris would've seen that as a pick-up line. Now it just seemed like he was trying to help her calm down.

"I'll return when I'm done meditating," she replied.

"I don't want them to get infected-"

"I said later, doctor," Iris said finitely. She had never used his title before. She always called him Doc. To hide her surprise, she quickly left the room to retreat to her quarters. She passed Kira and instructed her to go wherever she wished. Without waiting for a response, Iris shut and locked the door behind her.

Iris threw her robe onto the chair and removed her boots before sitting cross legged on her bed. With her back straight, she closed her eyes and tried to commune with the Force. She was too distracted to focus as her mind kept returning to Doc and their argument. Guilt stared to form as she realized that he was just looking out for her. He didn't really doubt her abilities, she didn't think at least. Then she had shouted at him, and her regret was complete. Iris couldn't remember the last time she had shouted at anyone during a discussion.

She fell backwards and lay on the bed, her arms outstretched beside her. The engines whirred as Kira took off, and Iris was at least grateful that they could leave this planet behind. She hoped it was going to be a while before she met up with their strange group again. It seemed that it was going to take a lot of work to get everyone onboard with the plan.

Iris wasn't sure how much time had passed before she heard a knock on her door. Throwing her legs to the side of the bed, she started to stand and went to the door. She grimaced as she saw Doc on the other side with a few of his medical devices. He gestured toward the room, and she stood to the side to let him through. She shut the door behind him and returned to sitting on her bed.

"You didn't come back for your exam, so I thought I would come check on you," Doc mentioned as he laid out his equipment. Iris nodded as she stared at the floor.

"Thank you," she whispered before she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"Water under the bridge. We all have to let off some steam once in a while," he replied as he took her arm.

"I shouldn't have shouted at you, though. You don't deserve that," she countered. "I promise I will be more civil in the future."

"You can be as angry or frustrated as you want, princess. I'm not made of glass. As long as you don't stay mad at me, we can fight about things," Doc smiled as he wrapped some synthweave around her arm.

"I'm not supposed to get mad about anything."

"I know you have your jedi teachings, but it's natural to show some emotion. Especially when I have a thick skull about certain topics. I don't doubt your abilities. I've seen them firsthand."

"Thanks, Doc."

"Of course. Now, you didn't get cut or anything, did you? By a lightsaber or blaster?"

"A few burns, but nothing substantial. I'll be fine."

"I know you will be. You have the best medic in the galaxy at your side," Doc answered with a chuckle. He brought out some bandages and started to wrap the burns as she pointed out the raw wounds. "Would you like to continue our conversation, or should we table it for now?"

"Let's table it. I still have to speak with the crew about the dealings that took place. Rusk isn't going to want to stay on my ship anymore," Iris groaned.

"Rusk is more understanding than you give him credit for. If you mention that you went after a Republic traitor and that's what led you down this path, I think he would be understanding."

"I hope you're right."

"Besides, even if he doesn't, then we'll have even more space on the ship."

"You just want it to be you and me on this vessel," Iris accused with a smile. Doc clutched his chest in mock offense. While he understood that she wasn't interested in a relationship, that didn't mean he couldn't tease her a little.

"You know me so well," he grinned before he returned to his work. "And it's not as outlandish as you would think. The war must be nearing its end, even if it seems like it's ramping up again. Even with the draws on Ilum and Makeb, you killed the Sith Emperor. Soon, Kira is going to get her own padawan, and Scourge will probably wander away. Rusk will probably get reassigned once the war officially ends. That just leaves you and me."

"And Teeseven."

"Ah, but Teeseven and I always get along. He can stay," Doc smiled as he finished patching her up. Iris grinned at him. "My point is this ship is getting a little cramped, and I would bet there are going to be some changes around here soon."

"Kira did mention that she wanted to teach a student of her own, and I would assume that the council would requisition her own ship," Iris replied with a nod. "Although I don't know where Scourge will go. I don't know if the Republic would see him go free, and I certainly doubt that he would be welcome back in the Empire."

"By the way, did the new Wrath talked about the old Wrath at all?"

"No, that didn't really come up in conversation," the jedi answered with a sigh. "I did mention that I was the one who killed her emperor."

"Oh?" Doc murmured, trying to sound impartial. "How did that go?"

"She, uh, thanked me. Apparently, the emperor was her only master. Now, she answers to no one," Iris replied as she gripped the side of the bed.

"We're lucky that she would make a good jedi, then," Doc whispered with worry in his voice. He gave her a strained smile before he started to pack up his equipment. "Where are we headed, anyway?"

"I'm not sure, I told Kira to choose the next place."

"We're probably headed to Coruscant or maybe Carrick Station."

"Most likely," the jedi whispered. "Okay, maybe I don't want to table our last conversation."

"Are you sure?"

"I want to make sure you're not mad at me," Iris murmured before she stared at the floor. Doc sat next to her on the bed and rubbed her back gently. She brought her knees up to her chin.

"I am not mad at you," Doc answered with a light laugh. "I don't think there's been a day that I've been upset with you. Well, maybe during the beginning when you kept rejecting my advances."

"You had some very bad pick-up lines."

"The point is I've never been angry at you, and I am not angry with the way you handled the Manaan mission. I was surprised and worried about you. I'm worried that the sith have deceived you, and that they might intend to do you harm," Doc clarified before bringing her shoulder into his. He held her close as she started to relax. "I want you to be safe."

"We have to try to make this alliance work, though. I want to be safe as well, but if we can start working together, then maybe there's a true solution to this war. We can create a lasting peace," Iris added as she looked up at him.

"That's a lot of faith you have for maybe four people," Doc sighed before nodding. "I hope you're right."

"Thank you."

"And I want to be there on your next mission with these people. I want to see what you see in them," he informed.

"You might have to fight Kira for that role."

"I'm sure I could convince her."

"I will leave that to you, then," she smiled before she let her feet fall back to the floor.

"I trust you, Iris, even when I may disagree with you. You have gotten us out of more than a few scrapes," he reminded.

"That means a lot to me. Thank you," she smiled. They stared at each other for a few moments before Iris stood. "I should debrief the rest of the crew before we get too far."

"Alright," Doc relented before he retrieved his equipment. "I will see your beautiful face in the conference room."

He blew her a kiss on the way out before she closed the door. Iris sat back down on the bed with her cheeks a little purplier than before. Doc certainly knew how to get a rise out of her.