Salaarg:

Kara walked forwards, proudly bearing her new, prosthetic leg. She had a new belt attached to her waist with clips that ran down her leg and onto the metallic limb. Her staff was slung over her back and she walked forwards, getting the feel of her new leg. She felt like she'd been missing a sense during her time on Salaarg, and now it had finally been returned to her. It worked exactly like her usual leg. She was able to swing it back and forth just thinking about it. She didn't have toes, and was still getting the hang of balancing properly. Her left leg was now heavier than her right, and it was taking a great deal of getting used to.

They were on their way back to the homestead, having left the town. The sun had fully set, and they rode in total darkness. Kara was leading Artax by a rope, while Via rode Resha slowly across the treacherous terrain. Kara felt invincible, and couldn't think of how to thank Via.

'How'd you afford all this?' asked Kara.

Via smiled wryly. 'I didn't actually buy spices and I already had a few hundred tokens at the homestead. I thought I'd pool everything together and try get Bronto to give you your leg back. I was going to have him keep it aside for our next visit, but seeing as we were passing through…' Resha let out a little snort, as though he'd known all along.

'It reminds me, I want Artax to have a rope in his saddle bag in case you have to lead him on your own.' Via had leant Kara her own lead and had bought another one while in town. Via pulled the rope out of her pack and handed it to Kara, who stuffed it in Artax's saddle bag absentmindedly.

'Bronto did well' stated Kara, marching forward, testing her leg. It wasn't fool proof. She couldn't rotate her ankle side to side, only up and down but it was better than having the staff driven into her shoulder all day long.

'He knows what he's doing' returned Via. 'His skills are wasted on Salaarg, but like so many here he came when Salaarg was beginning to thrive and the potential for work was growing.'

'Do you wish you could have stayed on Salaarg instead of joining the Clone Wars?' asked Kara. She had already explained to Via everything that had transpired in their separation.

'There were a lot of things I regret about my past and that is one of the worst.'

'What do you regret most?' asked Kara.

'Abandoning my brother on Aeos was the most terrible thing I have ever done. I should have fought harder. I could have saved him from the Empire.'

'What have the Empire done to him?' asked Kara, wondering if after their experiences in Venos, Via would share more about what she knew.

'After I left Aeos, I realised what I'd done and I followed Vader, to save my brother. It took me a while to find him, bust eventually I found him on Bellassa, at the Inquisitorial Training Facility. I was expecting to find you and the Phantom Order there, that's why I hacked an Imperial database and read your academy record.'

Kara frowned, not sure what she should make of Via's tale so far. 'Who are the Inquisitors?'

'Let me tell my story, and when I am finished, I will explain' responded Via. Kara nodded, happy that she was going to get some answers. 'The facility was not for holding or executing the Jedi as I had guessed. Vader had corrupted my brother to the dark side of the Force and he joined the Inquisitor Training Program. He was not a fully-fledged Jedi, and required training before joining their ranks as did all the other Jedi captured by you and your Order. The Inquisitors are a terrible thing, pets of the Empire. Vader turned my brother to the dark side. I broke into the facility on Bellassa and met up with him. I tried to convince him to escape with me. He had already been corrupted and refused to leave the Imperial facility. He then had a chance to call the Imperial's on me, but he didn't. He let me escape.'

'Why? If he was loyal to the Empire, why didn't he turn you in?' asked Kara, but she could sense it was more complicated. KT cocked her head to one side as if also considering the question.

'I believe that he hasn't fully given into the dark side' responded Via. 'He let me escape because he still had hope. If I can get back to Bellassa, I can find him and I can save him before he joins the Inquisitors. I can bring him back to the light.'

'What happened next?' quizzed Kara, trudging through the sand.

'I left and came to Salaarg. It doesn't matter' replied Via, tears gently rolling down her cheeks.

'Then what happened? The engine? Why'd you burn it if you believed you could free your brother?'

'Kara, you have to understand. I wasn't thinking straight. My brother had joined one of the most horrible forces in the galaxy, and rejected me. I was distraught and I gave into the dark side of the force.'

'That's rubbish?' scoffed Kara, her earlier gratefulness deserting her as she heard Via's story. 'The dark side. What's the difference? It seems to me like you're trying to make an excuse for why you did something pretty darn stupid.'

'Anyone who gives into the dark side of the force will lose control. They gain power but at a terrible price. Once someone has given in, it is hard to come back to the light.'

'Who are these Inquisitors and why are they so terrible?' interrogated Kara, ignoring Via's earlier comment.

'I'll tell you when we get inside' responded Via, gesturing forward, as they came over a dune. They had reached the homestead. Kara went silent, angry. Via dismounted her Kargran and Kara led Artax and Resha into their pen, closing it. Via unpacked the saddles and they exited the pen, walking down the hill.

'The Inquisitors are force sensitive tools of the Empire, who wield lightsabers?' explained Via, as they walked.

'They're like Jedi' snarled Kara quickly. 'The filthy, traitorous Jedi.'

A pained expression crossed Via's face. 'No. Nothing like the Jedi. The Inquisitors use the dark side of the force. They are the Empire's force for hunting the Jedi who escaped the Purge.'

'I think you might be wrong about that one' chuckled Kara nastily. 'I'm kind of an expert in that area, and I've never heard of freaking Inquisitors.'

'That's because the Phantom Order was never anything but a false front for the public. The real threat came from the Inquisitors' responded Via.

'That's impossible. The Order were the best of the best. We weren't -' yelled Kara, the insult cutting deep. She stopped, not sure what to think.

'That is exactly what you are.'

'No!' yelled Kara. 'It can't be. Who found you and delivered you to the Empire!' she howled, tears pouring down her face.

'You did, and you haven't been given a single real lead to the Jedi since. You were never supposed to actually find Jedi, but when you did, they had to feed you other missions to keep you occupied. You were just a way for the Empire to hide what they were really doing, using the Inquisitors.'

'You're lying!' howled Kara, distraught. She knew Via couldn't be telling the truth. Her entire work couldn't have been for nothing, but in the back of her mind, Kara knew it made sense.

'The Empire is tyrannical, like the Kobane' responded Via coolly, making Kara shake with anger. They had reached the huts and Via led Kara into the shelter as she unpacked the pack she had been carrying. Kara followed her in, wanting to hear more despite her anger. 'The Emperor is a horrible person. What you need to see Kara, is that you're not.'

'Everything I ever stood for!' screamed Kara. KT let out a small beep but Kara ignored her. 'No!'

'You need to realise what the Empire really is. They are terrible, but you don't have to be.' Kara looked angrily at Via, her fists clenched with rage. She knew what Via told her made sense but didn't want to know what that meant for her. She knew she had to return to the Empire, and join her crew once again, but what did it mean for her. Could she live there, knowing that the Order was nothing but a fraud, and that the Emperor was a villain. After her experiences with the Kobane and the people of Venos, did she still have faith in the Empire.

Kara looked up at Via. 'I'm sorry Via' she said quietly. Via shrugged, just as fire blazed up all around them.

'Kara!' screamed Via, a black silhouette as red and white exploded right over the top of them. Kara felt herself knocked backwards, and heard crashing. The weight on her shoulder disappeared as KT was torn away. Pain erupted through her, ears ringing and head spinning.

Kara pulled herself upright, swaying from side to side. The shelter was on fire. The moisture well had exploded and the pen had blown open. Smoke hung in the air, and Kara spat blood out of her mouth. The shelter's ceiling collapsed, dragging the two huts in on it, falling into a blazing heap. Fire and smoke erupted upwards in a massive column of red. Kara stumbled forward, tripping on her left leg as she stumbled towards the flaming heap. Via was trapped inside the blaze.

Kara was still getting her bearings as she reached the flames. The two explosions, the buildings and the well were coordinated. They were under attack. Even as Kara had the thought, red blaster bolts streaked overhead. Kara dived for cover, behind a piece of debris from her hut.

Kara ripped her jacket off, wrapping it around her hands as she tossed the debris away, to get to the middle of the inferno. She moved further in, the tips of her hair curling up and smoking. Flames beat down on her. The blaster bolts ceased and Kara caught a flicker of movement on the hill behind them. More Bounty Hunters.

Kobran had been the first and now more had tracked the wreckage of the Phantom Fighter back to the homestead. Kara moved into the burning homestead with renewed determination, scooping aside flaming chunks of stone. She could hear a yelling sound coming from under a stone pylon and as she moved more rubbish out of the way, she unveiled a leg. She reached down and grabbed the pylon, tugging on it. Via's leg was kicking rapidly as she tried to break free of the wreckage. Kara hauled continuously, but the pylon was wedged in place. Kara yelled in frustration but she couldn't even hear herself over the crackle of the flames as they danced all around her. She coughed, spluttering on the smoke as the flames closed in on her, licking hungrily at her feet.

There was a loud whinnying from behind Kara as Artax charged through the flames. Kara motioned for him to move away but he moved to her side. Kara saw his saddle bag attached to his side and pulled it off, tipping it open. Inside was a piece of rope. The same piece of rope Via had bought in town. Kara looked up at Artax, amazed at the creature's intelligence. She grabbed the rope and tied it around the pylon, attaching the other end to Artax's body. Artax jerked away, pulling with all his strength. Kara pulled on the rope, helping him. She drew on all her strength, reaching for the reserves of her power. Inch by inch, the pylon was dragged away, freeing Via.

Kara stretched a hand out and Via took it. Kara hauled her up. Via was breathing heavily, and her face was covered with soot. She coughed out ash and doubled over, retching on the ground. The flames were closing in on them and Kara lead Via out of the rubble, with Artax tailing closely behind them. 'We were attacked by bounty hunters' croaked Kara, stumbling out of the flaming wreckage, where Resha was waiting for them.

Via removed her lightsaber, but refrained from igniting it. She pulled her blaster pistol out of her boot and handed it to Kara, who accepted it gratefully. Blaster bolts streaked around them. Kara rolled aside and Resha bolted away. Via was able to nimbly dodge the bolts and get behind cover, but it was Artax who suffered. Three blaster bolts had punched straight through his hide. Artax snorted with discomfort, before toppling over sideways.

'Artax!' screamed Kara, diving across the sand to be at his side. Blaster bolts were immediately fired at her and Via stepped out of cover, igniting her lightsaber to deflect them with ease. Artax snorted once more, his breathing laboured and finally, his eyes slid shut.

'Kara, we have to go after them' yelled Via, snapping Kara out of her stupor. Kara looked at Via, her jaw still open in horror.

'Let them go' she snarled.

'No. They've seen my lightsaber. If word reaches the Kobane, or the Empire, I'm dead' responded Via, deflecting another stray blaster bolt. 'After everything we went to keep KT out of the Kobane's hands, we have to do this.'

'How many of them are there?' asked Kara.

'I saw two' returned Via. The blaster fire had ceased. She pointed at the hill. 'They're fleeing that way. We have to stop them before they get away.'

Kara nodded, sprinting up the hill, Via close behind her. They sprinted past the remains of the shattered moisture well and over the dune. As they crested the hill, they looked down the hill to see a single speeder bike at the base of the hill. Two bounty hunters were fleeing towards the vehicle, sprinting down the dune. Kara could see one of them was a Rodian, and as she sprinted in pursuit, she made out the other one as a Weequay.

Suddenly, before Kara or Via could respond, the Rodian spun around and fired with his blaster pistol. Via flicker her lightsaber up to deflect the blast, but she was too slow. It penetrated her guard and caught her on the shoulder. She toppled over, rolling down the sand dune. Kara raised her pistol at the Rodian and fired a shot at him, catching him square in the chest. He fell to his side, while the Weequay raced onto the speeder.

Kara stopped at Via's side, kneeling beside her. Via looked up at her. 'What are you doing?' she grumbled. 'I'll be fine. Go after him' she moaned, pointing a finger at the escaping Bounty Hunter. Kara nodded, standing up. She knew Via would be able to handle herself, but she didn't feel any better about abandoning her. The speeder bike was already disappearing over the hill. There was no way she could catch the speeder on foot.

At that moment, Resha came bounding down the hill, sliding to a stop next to Kara. 'Perfect timing' mumbled Kara, as she swung herself onto Resha's bare back. She knew Via had told her not to ride without a saddle, but she didn't feel she had a choice. She nudged her legs together, sending Resha sprinting after the speeder bike. Kara pushed the beast hard, his legs bounding forward rapidly. She was carried up the hill with uncanny speed and the two of them went flying down the next hill. Kara caught a glimpse of the Weequay as he made his way over the next rolling sand dune.

Kara leaned down low over Resha's back and quickly discovered Via's reason for using a saddle. Resha's bony shoulder blades were driving straight into the back of her legs, rapidly rotating against the skin as he bounded forward, just above her prosthetic leg. A moment later, Kara could feel warm blood trickling down the back of her legs. She tried to pull her legs away but found herself nearly slipping off the Kargran.

Kara rode over the next hill and was glad to see she was gaining on the speeder bike. She raised her pistol and fired a few stray shots at the bike, but they went wide. The Weequay leaned backwards, spinning around to fire his rifle at Kara. A streak of red carried itself towards her ridiculously fast. Resha jerked aside, nearly stumbling on his own feet. Kara was almost thrown off the beast, but managed to hang onto his mane with one hand.

They continued after the Weequay, who tried to outmanoeuvre Kara by swinging at a ninety-degree angle. Resha was able to curve to the side, spinning around faster than the speeder could, putting them within distance of easy shooting. Kara leaned over the saddle, pointing the blaster at the speeder. At that moment, Resha tripped on a piece of stone in the sand. He stumbled forwards, toppling over himself. Kara was thrown forward from the saddle and launched into the air. She spun forwards flipping over herself as she sunk towards the ground. As she fell, she was able to raise her blaster.

Time seemed to slow down all around her as Kara zeroed in on the speeder bike with her pistol. She was falling at an incredible speed, but it felt like ages to her as she inched towards the ground. She placed her finger on the trigger and squeezed. A bolt of red burst out of her blaster and struck the Weequay in the back. The Weequay fell from his speeder, dead. Kara grinned, and hit the ground.

She was thrown forwards, spinning head over heels. Pain exploded through her back and her pistol was flung from her grip as she tumbled to a stop. Resha slid out in the sand, stopping behind Kara. Kara hauled herself upright, blood seeping from the gashes behind her leg, a large scrape across her prosthetic leg. She took a step forward and nearly toppled over.

'I'm sorry we had to go through that' sighed Kara, as she walked back to Resha. Resha disentangled himself, letting Kara pull him upright. Kara turned around, and retrieved her pistol. 'Come on boy, let's walk home.'