Cade rubbed his hand on the edge of the wooden table. He traced the carvings in the wood. He felt the grooves of a four pointed star chiseled into the wood. The northern tip pointed to an arrow, used to target far away prey and lead it towards primitive traps. Going clockwise the next tip pointed to a spear, the weapon that the lead hunter would use to deliver the killing blow. The southern tip pointed towards a Beesh, the Myneyrshi blade used for harvesting flesh and skinning the hide. Finally, the last tip pointed to a Hooghan, the ceremonial tool used for carving wood and stone in a decorative fashion.

When Myneyrshi worked with anything dead, they gave it a certain reverence. Over the years of continual planet wide cataclysms, the Myneyrshi had coined a phrase, Hoj'uh Chidi. Em had once told Cade that the term roughly translated into "life from death".

Cade moved his hand along the beautiful engravings, the stories told in carvings. He then felt the rings of the wood on the top of the table and began counting them. He estimated this tree had probably been close to 250 years old when it met its untimely demise. An uninterrupted life cycle of the Nineez Ina trees could have them live to be thousands of years old.

Em came up to the table with a boiling pot of water in one of his hands, a cup of sugar in another, and a tray balancing four wooden cups and a container of herbs in his other two hands.

He placed the tray on the table and began making tea with the herbs and boiling water.

"One spoonful or two spoonfuls of sugar?" Em'Achee asked.

"Five for me!" Traya shouted with a giggle.

"She'll take two." Cade butted in.

Traya leaned back and sulked in her chair. Em gave her a wink and a smile as he put three spoonfuls of sugar in her tea while Cade pretended not to notice.

Cade stopped examining the table with his hands and attempted to sense it in the Force. He grew unnerved as he realized the material of the table, Deadwood. This table was just like the root he carried in his pocket, it had no presence in the Force.

"This is a beautiful table," Cade noted to Em.

"Yes, it was brought in by Tsintah. He's traveled deep into the Deadwoods and brought back many wonderful items, pieces, and artifacts."

Although the wood made Cade, and often other Jedi, who came in contact with it uncomfortable, this wood was held as sacred by the Myneyrshi people. What better example of Hoj'uh Chidi than taking an object dead to the Force itself and making it into something so immensely alive.

"How is your Ts'i young one?"

"Needs more sugar," Traya huffed.

Cade gave Traya a nudge with his elbow and smiled at Em'Achee, "it is delicious, Em."

Cha'ku also gave a grunt of approval. Once Em had finished serving all his guests he took a seat. "So Cade, as happy as I am to see you, I can't help but notice you seem on edge. What brings you to Wayland now?"

Cade pulled the root he had been carrying around with him out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

"I have been trying to study this piece of Deadwood and see if on my own I could glimpse hints into the mystery of its emptiness in the Force. I have traveled to a number of planets searching for experts in the Force who might aid me in the matter.

"It seems to me there are two options. Some remnant of Yuuzhan Vong life energy is still flowing through the Deadwood. It seems like a possibility, although not very likely or practical. Or something is cloaking the Deadwood and everything that has become entangled with the Deadwood.

"What do you think it might be?"

Cade watched as Cha'ku gave a suspicious glance at Em'Achee. Em tried to hide his concern, but Cade could sense something was off. Em leaned towards Cade.

"Cade-" He turned to see Traya whispering his name. Something in her voice indicated deep, crippling fear. He looked up to see a completely pale Traya, frozen in place. Cade moved over to her and was about to ask if she was alright when a horrific scream came from the North, from the direction of the Borderlands.

Cha'ku jumped off his chair and began sprinting towards the sound. The Myneyrshi were always on edge about threats from outside the Green. He then noticed Cade was still at the table staring at Traya. "Cade?" Cha'ku shouted back expecting him to join.

"One moment!" Cade had moved over to a paralyzed Traya. "Traya?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a quick shake. "Traya, are you alright?"

"Are you going to join, or am I going alone here?" Cha'ku yelled over his shoulder as he restarted his sprint to the woods.

"Just give me a second." Cade shouted back.

Cade was unable to leave Traya's side even though he knew he was needed. His fright was calmed by a hand on his wrist. "Cade, I'll take care of the child. You follow Cha'ku to find out what is going on over there. It sounds like it came from the Borderlands. He'll need your help"

Cade paused, hesitant to leave Traya, but he knew that it was unsafe to head to go too far out of the Green alone. "Thank you, Em," Cade said and quickly rushed to catch up with Cha'ku. "Right behind you!"

He quickly caught up with Cha'ku and the two began running towards the sound of the shout. The trees grew more thick as they approached the Borderlands. The area where they had parked their ships and had been drinking Ts'i was an area of the Green that was relatively free of trees. This was uncommon in Wayland, where most of the planet was covered in thick forests and foliage.

When the jungle became thick enough Cha'ku shouted to Cade. "I'm going up." He began to scale the trees, his four arms not skipping a beat. When he reached a sufficient height he began launching from tree to tree.

Cade rushed across the forest floor, struggling to keep up with the leaping Myneyrshi. The air itself had a strange sensation. It almost acted like a medium dulling one's ability to feel the force around them. For Jedi, this was a frightening prospect. It was not an exact border, but as they ventured further away from the Green, the air became thicker, the bony growths on the jungle foliage became more and more abundant, and the two Jedi began to struggle, as the Force in all the life around them simply began to disappear from their senses.

Even with his lack of sense in the Force, Cade felt a growing air of danger. He then felt a presence in the forest, about 100 meters away, alive but fading. "Cha'ku you feel that?" Cade yelled towards the canopy.

"I do. I don't sense anyone else in the force. Why don't you go in and check on them while I keep watch from above?"

"Okay. Let me know if you sense anything though. We should definitely be ready. Something must have happened out there and we don't have a clue what it was."

Cha'ku gave a sense of confirmation in the Force. This indicated to Cade that they would keep vocal communication to a minimum.

Cade wanted to reach the body quickly, but he also did not want to rush in. He knew that although the Borderlands were relatively safe, yet every part of his instincts seemed to tell him that something was deeply wrong here.

He kept moving as he could feel the injured Myneyrsh was close. Yet for some odd reason, the closer he grew, the harder it was to sense the body in the Force. He swerved around a final tree before almost tripping on the Myneyrsh's feet. He soon realized that the forest was moving to encase the body; roots like tendrils were crawling up and around, squeezing the Mynershi's rib cage. Ferns were enveloping the feet.

Cade reached to his waist to take out his lightsaber, preparing to cut back some of the thicker roots. Yet, when he moved the lit blade towards the body, the roots receded, as though they retreated from the lit blade itself.

Cade knelt down next to the injured body and moved his hand across it to assess the state of the Myneyrsh's injuries. There seemed to be some indication of head trauma, various smaller wounds, but for the most part the Myneyrshi looked like he would make it.

"Cade, I'm hearing significant movement about 100 meters deeper into the forest!" Cha'ku yelled down from the tree canopy with a growing sense of alarm.

Suddenly a torrent of blaster fire came flying out of the brush. It almost felt like an ambush. Cha'ku dropped down from the trees and landed between Cade and the body and the blaster fire. He began to deflect blaster bolts.

"Who has blasters in the Borderlands?" Cha'ku shouted over the whirring of blaster fire. Usually attacks in the Borderlands occurred from bones and stone weaponry. Blasters didn't make any sense. "Cade, I don't like this. How bad are the injuries? Do your magic and let's go!"

Cade appreciated the compliment but knew the situation was more delicate than Cha'ku realized. "He's got a head injury, I need to take a proper assessment before we can move the body."

"Well, we're sitting ducks here." Cha'ku yelled.

Cha'ku was right, but Cade was still nervous about whether this Myneyrsh was in any condition to be carried through the forest. Gently, but swiftly Cade lifted the body with the Force and placed it behind a thick tree to provide coverage from the growing onslaught of weapon fire. Cade moved his hand over the Myneyrsh's head. Using the Force he saw fault lines glowing in blue where damage had occurred in and around the brain. There was minor swelling, but no major bleeding or spine injuries.

"Ok we're good," Cade said, kneeling down to carefully lift the Myneyrsh over his shoulder.

Cha'ku joined him behind the large tree for coverage, "you go ahead, I'll cover your back."

"You sure?" Cade asked, standing up, the Myneyrsh slung over his shoulders.

"Yes, now go!" Cha'ku yelled. Whoever was firing the blasters were closing in on them now. Cha'ku now had both blades out to deflect all the blaster bolts being shot at them.

Cade started running. He made sure to be careful of his footing. It was hard enough to run and not jostle the Myneyrsh he was carrying, he knew the wounds weren't terrible, but he wanted to be as careful as he could with the injured body. However, as he ran he could feel the air growing thicker. It was as if it had a mind of its own, seeking to nullify his ability to sense the Force, and predict the path with best footing.

He continued running when he heard a shout of pain from Cha'ku. He turned around to see Cha'ku on one knee as a coil of vines was quickly enveloping his left leg. Cade began to place the body down to go check on Cha'ku.

"No- Go on!" Cha'ku yelled.

"Now you know that's not an option. I can't let you have all the fun." Cade shouted as he tucked the body slightly out of sight and ran back to help his friend.

Cade sprinted in front of Cha'ku and started deflecting the oncoming blaster shots. "Cut those vines!" He yelled behind him.

Cha'ku began slicing the vines from his leg. Cade noted though that, unlike earlier, though these vines weren't just not receding from the lightsaber, but actually growing more aggressive the more Cha'ku cut them.

Suddenly the blaster bolts stopped. Cha'ku sliced himself free, and stood up. In the pervading silence, Cha'ku whispered to Cade. "Is that a good thing?" Compared to the constant blaster fire from before, this complete silence was almost more frightening.

"I'm not sure." Cade said back.

Suddenly a bolt of warning shot through him in the Force, directing his attention to the body he had left about 10 meters behind him.

It felt like all the blaster fire resumed at once. And the entire volley was directed at the defenseless body Cade had left alone. It was barely exposed, but the entire volley would certainly do some terrible damage. Cade had already started to sprint, but he knew he would never be able to make it in time.

Cade had wished he had realized it sooner. The attack on Cha'ku was just a feint, the real target, as it had always been, was the body. Cade felt like he was watching the blaster fire in slow motion as it was about it make its mark and then stopped. He couldn't believe it, the blaster fire shimmered in the air in front of the body. It was hanging there. However, his relief quickly turned to dread as he realized who was the only Force wielder he knew who could do such a controlled maneuver like this.

"You guys were gonna go ahead and start fighting without me?" Traya shouted out with a laugh. She came out from behind a tree, hand extended, holding the blaster bolts in place. As she became fully exposed from her spot behind the tree three more blaster bolts flew her way.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I wouldn't recommend that if I were you," Traya said, almost playfully. She whipped out the lightsaber at her belt and deflected the three bolts randomly into the forest. Then she swung her hand, redirecting the blaster bolts, still dangling in the air, and fired them towards the spot in the forest where she had just been shot at from.

"Traya- no!" Cade shouted, but it was too late.

There was an awful screech from where the blaster bolts met their target.

There became a renewed volley against Cade, Cha'ku, and Traya, but this time it seemed to be rather uncoordinated and inaccurate. With the death of their comrade, it seemed that the previously aggressive creatures seemed to be fleeing deeper into the forest. There was another bellow in the forest as the individual who had been injured by Traya's blaster attack tried hopelessly to call to its fleeing companions for help.

Traya began sprinting into the blaster fire, directly towards the cries from the creature she had struck down.

"No, no, no, I don't think there is anyone coming to save you," Traya said gleefully. Lightsaber in hand, Traya carelessly deflected blaster fire in her way. It was almost as though she was giddily dancing towards her prey.

Cade was standing over the injured Myneyrsh about to check for further injuries when he looked up to see Traya dashing into the forest.

"Traya. Stop."

This time she heard him.

She turned around while deflecting a few more blaster bolts. "Cade," the child whined.

"We need your help here, forget the creature."

Traya looked over her shoulder to the critters fleeing through the woods, again deflecting blaster spray. This time with only a flick of the wrist, no blade needed. She huffed, "fine."

She made her way, begrudgingly, over to where Cade and Cha'ku were gathered around the injured Myneyrsh.

"How's he looking?" Cha'ku asked Cade.

"I stopped all the blaster bolts before they reached him. He should be good. That guy over there however," she pointed to the bushes where she had deflected the blaster fire, "well, he probably isn't looking so great," she said with a glint in her eye.

Cade sighed. Cha'ku was clearly unnerved by Traya's thrill from the battle.

"Go help Cha'ku get this Myneyrsh home. I have something I need to do." Cade said to Traya.

Traya looked longingly at the bushes where her prey lay waiting, but didn't move.

"Traya," the girl now looked at Cade. "This is a rescue mission. There is no need to shed blood," Cade warned.

"Tell that to him!" Traya shouted, pointing to the where him victim lay in the forest.

Cha'ku lifted the body onto his shoulders. "I've got it, Cade. The work you have left here. Your Padawan should see it as well."

"Appre-" Cade grabbed Traya's arm, cutting her off. "You're right."

"He is?" Traya asked, confused.

"Yes, he is. We will meet you back in the Green," Cade said with a bow to Cha'ku. "May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you," Cha'ku repeated as he turned with the body on his shoulders and began sprinting toward the Green.

"What was that all about?" Traya asked.

"We still have work to do," Cade responded, as he began heading to the direction of the creature Traya injured with the blaster fire.

"Ooooo, we gonna torture the truth out of him?" Traya asked excitedly, walking lockstep with her Master.

"No."

"Threaten the truth out of him?"

"Nope."

Traya paused, suddenly realizing the real purpose of their little side quest. She ran in front of Cade, "you can't be serious."

"Completely," Cade said, pushing her out of his way and continued moving towards the bellowing creature.

"I saved you from him!" Traya shouted.

"And now I'm saving you from yourself." Traya froze, unsure of Cade's meaning.

She ran to catch up to him, "He was going to kill that Myneyrsh!"

"I know."

"So he should be punished."

Cade paused and turned back, "Listen, Traya."

Cries of pain came from the bushes where her victim lay in pain.

"What?" Traya tried to pretend that she didn't care, but was starting to feel some guilt as she listened to the moans of agony from the bushes.

Cade walked over to his Apprentice. He knelt down in front of her and grabbed her gently by the shoulders. "Traya, my pledge is to help all life on Wayland. That even includes the ones that have been shooting at me."

Traya looked confused at this idea.

"Wait here." He told her.

Traya crossed her arms and sulked as Cade moved further into the brush to evaluate the injuries of the abandoned creature.

Cade turned and headed towards the moans coming from where Traya's attack had hit. He pushed aside two large ferns to find a fat and rotund creature rolled on his back. He was whispering a sound over and over again. At first Cade thought it might even be his own name. Yet as he arrived closer he had a horrific realization. Over and over the creature was whispering, Krayt promised, Krayt promised, Krayt promised.