Jaden landed her X-wing some distance outside the outpost on the planet Dosuun. Her mission was simple: to follow up on some New Republic intelligence about intercepted transmissions coming from the planet. They believed that suspected cult members were sending these messages from a base on the planet and since there were no New Republic fleets in this area of the Outer Rim, they asked the Jedi to investigate.

"Master Katarn asked me to inform you that you are not to engage the members of the cult. He would like you only to determine if the Disciples of Ragnos are on the planet and using it as a base," C-3PO had told her practically. She'd resisted rolling her eyes at the droid's 'as you should already know' type of tone. But she'd assured him she would be careful.

It looked empty for the most part but she didn't want to take any chances, so she decided to sneak up and do some reconnaissance. She thought she was doing rather well as she made her way carefully and quietly through some trees, silently approaching the wall of the compound.

That was when she finally sensed that something was wrong.

She looked rapidly to her left and right, but saw nothing. Regardless, she knew something or rather someone was there. The glow of her purple blade illuminated the dry grass around her and finally, she saw outlines of several men, outfitted with some illegal cloaking armor like the kind she'd seen used by the officers on Bakura. A doubtless connection, Jaden thought.

"Drop your laser sword, Jedi, and maybe we'll spare your life," came a voice from the top of the wall above her. She looked up to see a man, dressed in military issue clothing, but in a very unkempt state: from his uncombed, greasy looking hair, to his open military jacket revealing the stained white shirt that stretched over his paunchy abdomen. The other officers that flanked him and the sight of a large, strange rifle that Jaden had never seen before, was the only indication that this guy was the man in charge. The man seemed to be studying her and it was unsettling. "Or perhaps you'd like to take your chances?" He gave out a cold laugh. The officers surrounding her materialized holding disruptor sniper rifles. Jaden knew she was outnumbered. But if there was anything Kyle had taught her, it was to play the long game. She reluctantly extinguished her saber and placed it on the ground, then straightened up and put her hands behind her head.

"Good choice, Jedi," the pudgy man called out. "Take her away and bring her laser sword to me!"

Great! Jaden thought, I just polished it this morning and he's gonna get his greasy prints all over it!

She glared up at the man as they took her lightsaber and her blaster -including the holster she'd just received for her birthday- and led her inside the outpost and to the detention facility, putting her into one of the many empty cells. They left her there alone, and she started work on her escape plan.

She spent the next hour in silence, pacing her cell and going over all her options. They'd taken her comlink, so she couldn't call for help. They probably knew where her X-wing was, seeing as how they were ready to surround her when she'd gotten to the wall, which meant that though the outpost was small, they weren't blind to the comings and goings of ships in that system. She wondered if they would destroy her ship, or maybe set guards around it. Or even move it to another location within the outpost. The latter seemed more likely but there were too many options. Trying to get out and steal one of their ships might be the better decision, she also considered trying to send a distress signal, but how long would it take for Luke or Kyle to come rescue her? And what would they do to her if she could get out a distress call? They'd probably kill her before anyone came and if she stayed, they'd try to get as much info out of her before killing her anyway.

She shook her head, there was an answer to all this, she just had to keep tugging on all the loose threads. But for now, what she needed was quiet, not a racing mind. She settled down to a seated position on the floor, legs crossed, hands resting gently on her knees, the classic meditation pose that Kyle had taught her. She breathed in and out, focusing on the Force and its safety and peace. Suddenly, her reverie was rudely interrupted by loud, heavy and uneven footsteps approaching, accompanied by softer, more uniform ones. She stood and looked up through the red ray shield that blocked the roof of her cell. It was the Big Guy in Charge, both literally and physically, escorted by two stormtroopers.

"So, my Jedi friend. What do you think of our accommodations?" He said as he kneeled to peer into her cell. Jaden spotted her lightsaber in his hand.

"Why don't you come down here and find out?" Jaden didn't try to hide her annoyance.

"Ahhh… feisty. Good, good," he said, his droll tone sounding incredibly bored. He was casually tossing her lightsaber, catching it lightly in his hand like it was nothing but a child's toy ball. Now that he was closer she could see the medals from military service on his jacket but she highly doubted he earned them. "I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Rax Joris, I'm the commander of this outpost and I have a proposition for you. You see, it can get dreadfully dull around here, so I'm up for a bit of sport. I'm going to let you out. If you can make it back to your ship, you're free to leave. But, if I catch you, I'll have to shoot you… after all, you are an escaped prisoner. Hopefully, you'll prove more of a challenge than the bounty hunter I had to kill a few days ago. Of course, I've never hunted a Jedi before." Jaden's interest peaked and the gears of her mind started turning, but she didn't show it.

"And if I refuse to play along?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Well then, you can rot in your cell." Rax's voice gained a little volume but no change in the half-interested, almost leisurely timbre he used. But he did flash her a cold smile. "I'm sure someone might come looking for you, eventually." He stood up, turned on his heel and walked away. "Let the games begin!" He said, this time Jaden could hear amusement in his voice and it sent a chill down her spine. She listened to his heavy feet echoing into silence along with the stormtroopers that followed him. Jaden now had a new option, offered to her by her captor no less. It was a trap, she knew, but he was right, there was no guarantee of anyone coming for her anytime soon despite her masters knowing where she'd gone. She thought of Rosh and all of Kyle's failed attempts to glean information on his whereabouts.

"I am not gonna be another issue for Kyle to worry about!" Jaden said to herself. "I refuse!" She glanced up and saw that the ray shield was no longer active. It hadn't taken them long at all to deactivate it. "I can do this," Jaden breathed in. "I am a Jedi." She exhaled. "My lightsaber is only an extension of who I am." She inhaled again, "But I am going to get it back!" And exhaled. "And I'm getting out of here!" She took another steady breath. "I am one with the Force…" Then exhaled, "...And the Force is with me." Her breaths came in a rhythm now, "I am one with the Force…" balanced perfectly with her exhales, "...And the Force is with me!"

With a sudden, deft leap, Jaden cleared the top of her cell and landed gently on the floor above. "Let the games begin!" She echoed Rax's words, but this time, she was going to play a game of her own, and win.

She glanced through some windows that looked into a small, enclosed room at the entrance of the lockup. She spotted her blaster and new holster on a table near the door. She sighed with relief. At least I can have something that's mine! She checked the ammo cartridge. Full, just how she had it when she arrived. She buckled the holster back in place and grabbed a standard issue blaster from a rack by the door. She tied a strap to it and slung it around her shoulder, then grabbed several more cartridges of ammo, stuffing them into her pockets. She looked to the door, took one last deep breath before diving in. The Force is with me…

The sun was bright outside, she stood on a paved walkway near some more dried grass that grew everywhere it seemed and hoped she could remember the places she'd passed when they brought her here. A stormtrooper immediately spotted her and opened fire, but she was ready. Careful not to overuse her ammunition, she relied on the Force to trip up some of her enemies, then used her weapons.

A lesson from what seemed so long ago flooded back to her: "What about our lightsabers?" "You don't have 'em… You have to be ready for any situation, even the ones you swear you'll never find yourself in. Now, what do you do? And, you only have a blaster and the Force to rely on."

Okay Jaden, she thought to herself, it looks like this day has come so listen up. Scenario, you've been captured by a big ugly Imperial guy who wants to hunt you for sport. He has your lightsaber and you only have the Force and a blaster. What do you do?

She'd finished off the stormtroopers, and now looked around for where to go. A door leading inside a building just across from the detention lockup was the closest option she had.

"Hah! You Jedi certainly are quick!" She whirled around to see Rax standing on a high platform across the walkway from her, holding his big, heavy rifle she didn't recognize. He raised it and she did the only thing she could think of: Run. A powerful, blue blast of energy hit a mark so close she almost lost her balance as she ducked through the door to safety. Scratch that, he's also armed with a giant, powerful rifle that could knock you off your feet at best or obliterate you at worst. What do you do?

"Attention! We have an escaped prisoner inside the main garrison! Initiate security lockdown!" Rax's voice carried out the order over the building's PA system and an alarm began to blare. For a moment she felt like she was going to panic.

The main garrison, okay, so that's where I am. That means I can find extra weapons here and maybe, just maybe, figure out a way to turn off the lockdown.

She tried every door. All locked. She retraced her steps and noticed a door blocked by trip mines. After blasting through them the door revealed a small room with a trooper and an officer. The trooper didn't last a second and as for the officer, she lifted him off the floor in a choke hold, something she hadn't decided to try until today. But this was a desperate time.

"How do I stop the lockdown?" She asked.

"You think… I'm gonna tell you, Rebel Scum?!" The officer coughed out. Jaden tightened her grip a bit, careful not to crush his windpipe, this maneuver was tricky, one wrong misstep could be fatal and she didn't want to have to kill him if she could help it.

"Okay okay!" He cried, she loosened the hold slightly. "On, my belt. Keycard. It- …unlocks the lift at the end of the hall. Take it up to the security office. The lockdown can… only be stopped there. There'll be plenty of stormtroopers waiting for you."

"Leave it to me to worry about them," Jaden swiped the keycard from his belt and released him. He dropped to the floor with a thud, unconscious. He's sure going to have a big headache when he wakes up. Jaden picked his pocket and took the comlink she found there, exited the room and shot the controls so that he was locked in. He'll get out. Eventually.

She started firing as soon as she stepped off the lift and into the security office. The stormtroopers fell one by one and many were Force tripped so that her odds were more even. She stalked up to the head officer, flinging his blaster from his grasp with the flick of her hand. She aimed her blaster at his head.

"Shut off the lockdown, now!" The officer was more accommodating than the other, but as he reached for the lever, he pulled a concealed blaster from a hidden drawer in the desk. Jaden cracked the butt of her blaster on his head and he went limp. She rolled her eyes. Why would you even try that? She pulled the lever herself.

"That should take care of the lockdown. Now, where's the hanger?" She muttered and searched the monitors. It was on the other side of the compound in a different building.

"But…" She murmured, "If I go out through here then I can… That's perfect!" She smiled big for the first time that day. Things were finally looking up. Now, if only she could make it there, she'd be home free.

Taking the lift back down, she was pleased to see all of the green lights on the unlocked doors. She took a guess and went through one. Empty. Another door stood close by, she cautiously approached it.

"Not that way!" Rax laughed mockingly over the PA. Jaden jumped in alarm. Could he see her? Catching sight of a security camera she shot it down, prompting another laugh from Rax. She decided to go a different way and this time, the door she took brought her right into what only she could conclude were the barracks. Bunks lined the walls and in the middle of the room was a smaller room with openings on both sides. She heard voices coming from it and felt relief that the rest of the stormtroopers must be spread out over the compound. She crept to the open doorway and peaked inside. Rows upon rows of weapons racks lined the interior walls and two stormtroopers stood loading several blasters. They didn't look her way as they kept talking.

"Have you seen the new BlasTech E-19's?"

"Are they any good?"

"I just got one. I'm gonna try it out at the firing range when my shift's over later this afternoon."

"Well let me know how it goes. My E-15 could use an upgrade."

"My shift's over at 1600, why don't ya join me?"

"I'll clear it with my squad later and let ya know."

Finished with their work, they put up their supplies and exited through the other doorway. Jaden watched them carefully as they exited through a door at the other end of the room. The firing range eh? Sounds delightful!

She entered the weapons room and searched for an upgrade to the standard blaster she'd found in the detention facility, something that could at least compete with Rax's big gun. Her results were an Imperial heavy repeater and a Tenloss disruptor sniper rifle. One packed a good punch, especially at close range and the other, at least from what she'd heard, was deadly and painful when accurate. She only hoped that her long hours at target practice would pay off. Shedding the blaster from over her shoulder, she replaced it with the two new weapons, displacing her pockets with their new ammo instead. Now she was ready.

Rax Joris watched and waited, as any good hunter would. That was the difference between winning and losing. A hunter that was eager to kill too quickly lost before the hunt even began. He'd learned to live in the moment, to relish each and every kill. He felt as though he'd finally reached his limit of excitement and the thrill of the hunt, until today.

None of the other Imperials really treated him with the respect he deserved anymore. They either laughed at him or didn't take his love of sport seriously. But that would all change when he delivered the body of the meddlesome Jedi to their commander's ship. He had a feeling it would not only get him in good with the upper ups, but earn him a promotion and all the respect he deserved. Perhaps he'd be called in to hunt more Jedi? But glory and fame would have to wait. He still had to finish this hunt successfully.

The Jedi had disappeared off the radar, for now. It was expected for someone of her station to perform some level of sorcery and illusion, but in the end, the logic and patience of the hunter would win out.

"Sir?" His first officer approached.

"Hmm, yes?"

"We still have no location on the Jedi. Should we sweep the facility once more?"

"No, let her come out of hiding by herself. She needs to have a sense of security, of-"

"Sir?" This time it was from his comlink.

"Yes Admiral?"

"I think we found the Jedi, outside the All Terrain Scout Transport garage."

"Excellent work Admiral, nothing less than I expected of her. It's time to finish this hunt!"

Rax pocketed the com, then hefted his prized Stouker concussion rifle and stepped out onto a balcony that overlooked this side of the compound. He could see the entrance wall where they'd caught the Jedi, the detention facility, garrison and barracks, and directly below, he knew the building that housed the facility's AT-STs that sat right across the way from the firing range. But something was wrong. Smoke was coming from the side wall of the firing range where a gaping hole was, and across the way a low window on the side of the garage was shattered.

"What in the-"

Thhaaoommpp! Thhaaoommpp! Thhaaoommpp! Thhaaoommpp! Came the all too familiar mechanical sound of an AT-ST's stomp. At first Rax was confused as to why one of his men would go to such an extreme because of a Jedi. But the next moment, when the AT-ST cleared the opening garage door, he got it. It was not one of his men operating it. It was the Jedi. The monstrous machine turned its frightening metal head in his direction, as if examining him, sizing him up, and Rax didn't like it. He raised the Stouker, ready to blast right through the AT-ST's head and kill that pesky little Jedi.

"Sir! The rockets! Run!" One of his men left his side and Rax was forced to dive out of the way as a rocket sailed over their heads, missing the building entirely but still too close for comfort.

Rax let out a deep bellied laugh. "She doesn't even know how to shoot with it!" He stood again, ready to take aim, then another rocket followed by several precision shots from the AT-ST's canons came towards him, forcing him to retreat indoors where he took to swearing egregiously.

Jaden was having way too much fun. AT-STs sure were scary if you're the one on the ground, but up in its cockpit? Extremely satisfying! She'd stolen some thermal detonators and opened a big hole in the wall of the firing range, then did the same to get into the garage. She'd had no guarantee that Rax would be anywhere near, but figured it couldn't hurt to try and get to her destination in a safe, armored vehicle and thin the ranks while she was at it. Rax appearing on that balcony was just a bonus. She lightly tossed the stolen comlink in the air and caught it, grinning. She'd been able to hear everything those Imps said, especially all of their chaos and confusion over her having stolen a piece of their heavy, armored machinery.

"Bet he wasn't expecting that!" She looked to the balcony again, Rax had peaked his big ugly head out again. She was still getting the hang of operating this large, hulking thing but had the basics down. She fired another rocket, they were running out but she was determined to empty this machine of ammo on Rax until he was no longer a threat. The balcony was starting to look less like a balcony and more like an open door onto thin air and Rax was no longer in sight. Guess I scared the big guy into hiding.

There was a sudden Bang! and the entire AT-ST shook violently. Jaden peered out the windows, trying desperately to see what it was and where it came from. She got the clunky walker turned around and saw another platform jutting out from above a walkway leading inside the building Rax had gone into and the man himself was there on the platform, grinning ear to ear. Before she could aim properly, he got off another shot, this time hitting the cockpit.

Controls and other electronics caught fire. Jaden knew it was time to go and had an escape plan she hoped would work. Opening the hatch at the top of the walker's head, she glanced back at Rax who was taking aim again. She thrust her hand in his direction and he stumbled backwards. Wasting no time, Jaden clambered to the roof of the AT-ST as it teetered backwards and forwards, it was close to the walkway so she made a leap for it, rolling as she landed and ducking behind a box of supplies that had been scheduled to be moved into the nearby building before she'd gotten turned loose in the compound. Rax's shot came not a second more after she found her cover. She fumbled with the sniper rifle in her hand, trying to figure out how to use it. She'd never used this kind before because the Republic had banned them, for why, she'd never found out. She put the scope to her eye and aimed between some boxes. She couldn't get Rax in her sights but decided to test her skills on another officer that stood on the balcony close by. She tried a secondary mode, holding down a button on the side and pulling the trigger when the red meter she saw in the scope filled up.

The officer disintegrated into ashes that floated away in the wind. Jaden's eyes widened and she put the rifle down. No wonder the Republic banned these!

The rifle's blast had been so powerful that it broke down every single cell in its victims body, pulverizing it into nothing more than ashes and dust in mere agonizing seconds. Rax had watched it happen with fear in his eyes for the first time that day, not with sympathy for his fellow officer, the Force forbid, but with a realization that this… this Jedi might actually win his game, and that he could not let happen.

"You're doing well, Jedi…" he said just loud enough for her to hear.

Jaden was too shocked to try using the rifle again and just listened, hoping that Rax would see reason and let her go. Maybe this is his surrender and I can escape this hell. But Rax's next words shattered this hope. "Too well!" His voice was its loudest and filled with rage, a far cry from his bored tone in the lockup. "It's time to end this game!" He shouted and fired another shot that blew up some boxes a few yards away from Jaden. He spoke again, this time his voice was more even. "If you want me, Jedi, come find me in the hangar, it's not far."

The sound of his receding footsteps and the swoosh of a door closing told her that he was gone and she confirmed it by glancing out cautiously. She let out a deep breath she'd been holding, and looked at the sniper rifle. She had to win this game, she had to, but something about resulting to hiding and using dirty tactics felt beyond her and wrong. She pulled the rest of the ammo out of her pockets and laid the rifle on the ground. Securing the heavy repeater's strap, she left the other behind, deciding that if she was going to win this game, it would be by her own tactics and strategies, not his.

Looking this way and that to be sure that no surprises awaited her, Jaden took off and sprinted to the door below the balcony. She instantly felt that something was off, the presence of someone, several someone's, around her. The cloaking armor. She didn't have time to mess with them and raised her hands, palms facing the floor.

"What are you gonna do, Jedi?" Asked a voice to her right.

"This." Lightning poured out from her fingers, crackling and popping in the air around her, blueish purple and deadly. All the figures materialized and fell to the ground convulsing, paralyzed for now. Jaden rushed down a hall that curved around a room she could see into via multiple windows and soon found the door. She ran along a catwalk above a hangar that held rows of TIE Fighters tucked neatly away along the high walls. Any stormtrooper that rushed her got flung violently off the edge and plummeted to their deaths on the floor below. Jaden located a lift that went down and raced across the floor. Where is he?

Up ahead were large, tall doors that ran from the floor to the ceiling and were almost dizzying to look up at from where she was. They slowly opened at her approach. Jaden gripped her heavy blaster tightly, her stomach twisting in knots at a feeling of finality as she spotted her X-wing parked on the other side of a metal staircase that started in front of her and zigzagged up and up to even higher levels of catwalks and walkways.

So they did move it. At least I won't be flying home in a TIE fighter. She didn't let the word "if" become a part of her mental dialogue.

She cautiously stepped from the TIE filled hanger into the next room where her X-wing was. As she looked to the dizzying heights of the topmost walkway, she saw him, standing at the edge of the highest platform, arms behind him, casually holding his gigantic, deadly rifle. Her lightsaber dangled from his belt, sending a surge of anger through her. She forced herself to breathe, to calm down. She'd won, hadn't she?

"Well played." His dull voice echoed throughout the hangar, its tone so devoid of emotion it sent another chill down Jaden's spine. "Tragically, I can't allow you to tell anyone about my little operation. Farewell, Jedi."

Jaden wanted to argue, to scream that it wasn't fair, it wasn't what he'd promised. But this was what the Imperials were like, they dominated and took over. Whatever they said went and there was nothing anyone could do but suffer. But she wasn't any ordinary person. She had the power to do something.

Rax wasted no time in firing upon her. She ducked into a corner and tried to plan her next action. She had to get close to him, which meant getting all the way up to the highest walkway, if she could do that, then maybe her Force powers at close range could even the odds. It was worth a try. She peeked out of her hiding place. Rax was nowhere to be seen. Speed, I have to be fast. She silently counted to three, and ran for her life, racing up the steps, two and three at a time until she reached the first catwalk, which was when Rax fired another round. The shot decimated the grate-like floor behind her, cutting her off from going back down on that side. She continued running, glancing up at him now and then, trying to find a clear shot to try and send him into hiding with her heavy repeater.

She reached the next set of steps which she cleared with a high jump and kept going. She finally got a clear shot at Rax but missed because he either ducked in time or she hadn't been accurate due to her running, she couldn't tell. Powerful blue blasts echoed close by, destroying pieces of the walkways and stairs as well as barrels and crates and other supplies littered around. Jaden suddenly stopped, aimed, fired. Rax cried out and she kept moving, foregoing a staircase and leaping to the next platform entirely. One more level to go.

Rax kept shooting at her, proving that though her shot had been successful, it was probably just a flesh wound. She stopped momentarily, taking shelter under the platform above her, trying to locate Rax, but couldn't see him. She fumbled with an ammo cartridge as she struggled to reload.

Suddenly as if out of nowhere, a blue ball of energy came barreling toward her. She barely jumped out of the way before it thundered into the wall behind her, making a permanent black mark against the gray metal. Her ears rang and she felt disoriented for a second before shaking her head. The ammo she'd been trying to load was gone. She felt frantically around in her pockets. Only one left.

She had to get out of this alive, it could not end like this. Another blast came right toward her but she didn't move this time.

Up above, Rax thought was sure he'd fired the killing shot, watching as it hurled towards its victim who this time didn't move to avoid it. That feeling of triumph lasted all but two seconds as the concussion blast came barreling towards him and hit the wall a few feet away to his left.

Oh Krik.

Using that Force push to her advantage, Jaden quickly reloaded, cleared the platform and set on an all out run towards Rax, firing until her heavy repeater was out of ammo. But the pudgy man was slippery and hid well, ducking and dodging, taking shots at her when he could, forcing her to hide too and then continue her sprint.

She slid to a stop behind another hiding spot behind a pillar, she checked her pockets just to be sure of herself. She was truly all out of the spare cartridges she'd grabbed for the heavy repeater. But she felt she was finally close enough.

"This is your last warning Rax, let me go and give me back my lightsaber, or die. Your choice," she called out to him, quietly shedding the empty repeater and carefully laying it on the cold, metal floor.

"Are you really trying to bargain with me, Jedi?"

"So you're choosing death then?" The answer came with another shot dangerously close to her hiding spot. Okay then, I can at least tell Kyle I tried. Closing her eyes for a brief second, she summoned as much Force power as she felt she needed, then ran.

The world around her seemed to stop, the blast of Rax's rifle moving in slow motion towards her. He was closer than she'd anticipated. Only twenty yards away. She sidestepped the blast and prepared for the next one. Rax never saw it coming. One second the Jedi was behind the box and the next, she was fifteen feet away, he didn't even process the thoughts running through his head. He just fired, realizing a half second later that he'd just made a grave mistake.

Jaden stood where she was, watching the bright blue blast coming towards her, almost hypnotizing really. Dropping her gun, she thrust her hands forward, releasing a Force push more powerful than the one she'd used before, her mouth opened wide in a terrible battle cry as she deflected the shock wave back on Rax.

Rax Joris lay face down, life draining out of him, the Jedi's lightsaber lay a few feet away before his eyes. He lifted a withered hand to grab it, jerkily, painfully, his limbs wouldn't work right. In his periphery, the Jedi approach, bending down to take what was hers.

"It… Seems I underestimated you… Jedi…" Rax gasped out his final words before finally giving up.

Standing over him, Jaden shook her head, then bent down to pick up his concussion rifle, perhaps she'd take it back to the Academy and see what Luke and Kyle thought of it. She'd never taken trophies before, but it wasn't like that. She figured that maybe her masters should know about this dangerous weapon, to study it. She hefted it in her arms, it was pretty heavy. Curious, she aimed at the far wall and fired. The unexpected kickback pushed her to the floor. She took a minute to re-orientate herself before checking the amount of ammo left. Coincidentally, it was empty. Standing up, she took another look at it, thinking of all the victims Rax had claimed with it. That thought alone sent a disgusting feeling across her body and she held back the wave of nausea that came over her. She couldn't get it out of her hands fast enough as she threw it to the ground beside its owner.

She patted her lightsaber, safe and secure again on her belt, looking down at her captor one last time.

"Goodbye, Rax Joris. I'm honored to have won your 'game.'" She said bitterly before beginning the long descent down to her ship.

Jaden didn't have to look for Kyle or Luke when she landed at the Academy, in need of fuel and food, completely exhausted. They stood in the hangar, debating on Kyle going after her since she hadn't checked in with them all day.

"Jaden!" Kyle exclaimed. "We were getting worried, I was about to come find you. What happened?"

Jaden looked Kyle in the eyes, then Luke. "It's a long story, can we talk in the dining hall?" They all nodded and hurried her into the hall which was empty as it wasn't mealtime yet but Ched obliged. He gave her a heaping bowl of delicious, mouth watering stew and a tall cup of iced water for her trouble, which she downed in three gulps, then asked for more. In between bites of stew she told Kyle and Luke everything.

"I'll be sure to inform the Republic of this hidden Remnant operation and they should be there to clean it up soon enough," Luke said after she'd finished. "Good job on being resourceful and leaning on the Force for guidance."

Jaden nodded. "It was all I had to get through it. That and my training. It taught me a very important lesson indeed." She looked to Kyle, who smiled knowingly.

"Too bad Rax didn't have any useful info, the sick, twisted bastard, but I'm proud of how you handled yourself, Jaden, well done." He gave her a hearty pat on the back and glanced at Luke, Jaden waited patiently, feeling like more was going to be said. Surprisingly, it was Kyle who did the talking with a gesture of approval from Luke.

"We figured we'd tell you this before everyone but, be ready these next few days, Luke's got a plan to find the cult leaders and he's getting ready to present it soon."

She looked at Luke. "Really? You think you know who's behind this?" She felt a new energy. They were close to finding Rosh; she just knew it!

"Well, no," Luke said. "I only have a plan of how to possibly find them. We do also hope to be able to figure out why there's been so many of these Force wielding cultists around that you've encountered."

"You think maybe someone is doing what you're doing here? Gathering a bunch of Force sensitives from around the galaxy but putting them through some kind of Sith Academy?" Jaden asked, the very thought was disturbing to her.

"Hmm, I'm not sure, but we won't stop looking for answers. That's all for now. I wish I had something more but, this is all I have for the time being. We just wanted to let you know what we know because besides Rosh, you're the closest student to this case. Keep up the faith, and be ready." Jaden's shoulders sagged a bit, but she nodded and Luke took his leave. Kyle got up as well, then, remembering something, turned to his apprentice again.

"Oh, Tionne asked me to tell you that she and BK-5 scoured the archives and security footage to see who deleted that section of the records. It seems that the security footage from Luke's chambers wasn't the only ones that were scrubbed, but the footage of the archives as well. They're fully certain that it was a cultist who stole info from Luke's journals and is the same person who deleted the footage and that section of the Ragnos archive. The dates matched up."

"I thought so. I think it was Alora, that Twi'lek I met on Hoth that did it. But I'm not fully sure, it's just a feeling."

"You do huh? Well, I wouldn't see why not, she's our best lead and closest connection to this cult's leader that we have. And from what you've told us, she definitely seems the type to do her master's sneaky, dirty work."

Jaden smiled at how similar her and Kyle's assessment of that annoying little wench was. "For sure, hopefully we'll get something solid, I don't wanna just go off what I'm feeling."

"Well I wouldn't discount what you're feeling. Feelings are a good indicator of what's going on around us and inside of us. The Force works in many strange ways and feelings are definitely one of them. I wouldn't try to figure anything out now, though." Kyle came closer and lightly squeezed her shoulder. "Time to get some rest huh?"

Jaden suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion hit her and she nodded sleepily, her eyes barely open. What she needed now after food, water, and good company, was sleep.