-Kerlah-

I groaned as I stretched my arms and looked at the slums of West Corbalant. I stepped onto the ramp from the small shuttle I was on and closed my eyes as I felt the breeze against my skin. I saw some people glance at the gleaming silver ship with curiosity, but most continued on their way.

The Jedi have an unwritten rule that all Padawans wear basic drab brown tunics. I hate them, and only wear mine when it's absolutely necessary. I tend to prefer wearing a long, sleeveless shirt which fit my frame and some soft elastic pants which hugged my legs, both of which allowed me to use my acrobatic abilities.

I was currently wearing a dark orange shirt and black pants, and had a thin golden belt around my shirt at my waist, which is where my lightsaber was inconspicuously attached. My specialized commlink was on my left wrist. Completing the ensemble was my akul-tooth necklace.

I rubbed my left lekku. A nervous habit.

I stepped off of the shuttle and waved at the pilot to go. As it flew away, I could faintly see the capital ship Bool was on.

I smiled slightly and focused on the Force. I instantly felt Bool's presence. Bool had told me that he can feel the same with me, that anytime a Force user develops a bond with another living being, they can easily feel their Force presence no matter the distance between the two. The other person didn't have to be Force sensitive; he once told me that he had a pet he grew close with as a child and developed a bond with. With little effort, I sent him an image of me waving to him. A few moments passed, and then I saw in my mind Bool giving me a small wave.

I made my way into the slums of West Corbalant. A few looks were thrown my way, but I ignored them and continued on.

This was not my first solo assignment. I wasn't even a fully fledged Jedi, and I already had a reputation in the Order. It wasn't necessarily the best one, as my file clearly states that I am "disrespectful to superiors", "disregard Jedi custom", and "fail to behave in accordance with Jedi protocol", but I also rival Master Ansi in skill with investigative work.

I got to a dingy wooden house that was on stilts, turned on the voice recorder on my commlink, and knocked on the door. A crash came from inside, and the door was opened gruffly to reveal a portly, middle-aged male who I knew was a trashman. I watched his beady eyes as they looked me over and groaned inwardly, but managed to give him an innocent smile. Bool always told me that my looks were a gift that would allow me to do things he never could. Personally, I wasn't feeling it.

"What's a lady like you doing here?" he asked, and I was surprised that I could sense some concern in his voice. "This place isn't very safe for an attractive young woman like you."

"I'm looking into a recent accident at a hyperfuel refinery you performed the clean-up on. Owned by Stanco," I said, watching him carefully to see what he will do.

Fear appeared in his eyes, and he hurriedly nodded and said "Please. Come in." I stepped through and saw that the inside was about as dingy as the outside of the house. This man clearly put a lot of effort into making the best of his situation. The place was neatly cleaned and sparsely furnished. He moved to what passed as the living room, which had a small coffee table and a small couch with cushions that didn't all match. He straightened a spot on his couch, paused, and moved the coffee table further away from the couch and took a seat on it. He motioned for me to sit on the couch in front of him.

"Sorry. It's the most comfortable thing I've got," he said as I sat down.

"It's okay," I said. "What can you tell me about the accident?"

He shook his head. "Not an accident." He glanced at me quickly and said "What you are looking into is incredibly dangerous, and not something I recommend doing."

"Thank you for the concern, but I need to know what you know."

"Why?"

"I'm an investigative journalist," I said without thinking.

The man nodded and said "Okay. Well, it wasn't an accident. It was a cover-up. A big one. I was hired by someone. They said it was due to an explosion. I was paid in credits before the job, and then again after. It was under the table, but I didn't care. I needed the money. But there was no explosion when I arrived. The building was standing when I did the clean-up. The explosion happened afterwards."

I leaned forwards, intrigued. This was news.

He continued, "I was the only one that was hired. They provided a unit of droids to assist me. I had to go to give them orders and ensure that they got everything. When I got there, the building smelled awful. Absolutely awful. It was coming from this large room where the coaxium reserves were usually held. Except they weren't there. They were missing. All the lightbulbs in the room were broken. Little bits of glass were everywhere. And there was something else broken and littered around the place. Oh, and some strange grease spots on the floor. And vomit. Anyways, there was blood everywhere, and like fifty Junel were scattered around, all dead. Some were mangled up. Some had words carved into them. It was horrifying."

I internalized this for a moment before asking "Can you please describe the Junel? How they died? What they looked like? What their injuries were?"

He nodded and said "Well, there was one who had large gashes on his abdomen, and his limbs were mangled. Like he was attacked by an animal. One had the words 'Don't try. Soundproof' carved into them. Another had the words 'one by one' carved into them. One's skull was crushed completely. One had the words 'strike one' and another had the words 'strike two' carved into them. Then there were a bunch who had what looked like lightsaber wounds on them. Some looked like they were impaled by something. Some were ripped in half. And there was one that didn't seem to have anything wrong with them. No sign of death. They were just… dead. It was horrifying." He looked me dead in the eye and said "I've never heard of anything like this happening before. I've been terrified ever since that job. I'm terrified that this… this monster is going to come for me. And I'm afraid anybody who looks into it is going to be hunted down and killed."

I furrowed my brow. "Why do you think all of this will happen?"

He glanced around quickly and said "There were some Junel I was friends with. They had family who died in that. They went and started asking questions, and then were never seen again."

I nodded. "Okay. I believe you. I'll lay off, and see about notifying the officials to get someone to protect you."

He started shaking his head rapidly. "No protection. They're just as dangerous. They don't care about anyone in West Corbalant."

Slightly taken aback, I said "I want to help you. How can I?"

"The best thing for me is to keep my head down. Live like normal."

I didn't feel right not helping him, but I nodded and said "Thank you for the information, and thank you for your hospitality."

He jumped up with a grin and said "Happy to help how I can."

I left the house and turned off the commlink.

I frowned. That man mentioned some Junel that went missing, which sounded wholly unrelated to our current pursuit. We've been hunting the Renegades ever since Grand Master Sorsee made it our top priority two months ago.

The Renegades. I still didn't believe Darin was leading that band. I thought he was weak in the Force. Everyone did.

I sighed inwardly. Guess I didn't know him as well as I had thought.

I walked quickly through the dark alleys until I spied a dark balcony. I Force-jumped onto it and pushed myself against the shadows. To the average passerby, I'd be practically invisible.

Before I could focus the Force to try and find any Junel, my commlink light began blinking. I pushed a button on the commlink, and a voice came in through the earpiece.

"Evening, Commander," a familiar male voice said. A voice that haunted me.

"Lance," I said carefully. "I was hoping to never hear your voice again."

"I deserve that."

"You're a monster."

"That I don't deserve. How am I a monster?"

"You kill people."

"Don't pretend to see the world in black and white."

"Doesn't change the fact that you're a monster."

"You don't get to choose the hand you're dealt," he said with a low edge to his voice.

"Why are you calling me?"

"I heard that you're looking for a rogue Jedi."

I stiffened. "How do you know that?"

"I have my sources."

I huffed slightly. "Yes, your source is correct. What's it to you?"

"I have information."

Of course he did. "You want to tell me what it is?"

"Now why would I do that?"

"Out of the goodness of your heart?"

"I'm a monster, remember? There's no goodness in my heart."

"Then what do you want?"

"To help."

"And why would you do that?"

"Let's say I have a vested interest. Come to the bar near the river."

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"I know you're in West Corbalant. Come to the bar near the river."

"How do you-"

"I have my sources. You want my help? Come to the bar near the river. You have 20 minutes." With that, he ended the call.

My heart raced. Lance was dangerous. Incredibly so. This could easily be a trap.

And yet, part of me didn't believe that it was. Lance and I had history, and he has had numerous opportunities to kill me, and yet he didn't. He spared me at every turn. And if he tried to kill me, I'd kill him first. I was much stronger now than I was a year ago.

Feeling lucky, I jumped up onto the roof of the building and looked for the bar.

I walked in and immediately knew why Lance had chosen this bar. The crowd was rough, the floor dirty, the alcohol cheap. Just his kind of place.

Quite a few eyes turned as I walked in, but I managed to make it to the bar without any issues. I casually looked around the room, trying to catch a glimpse of Lance, but was unable to find him.

A hand grabbed my butt, and I immediately grabbed the arm, twisted the person around, and shoved them to the ground. My response was lightning fast, and all eyes turned to us.

"What the kriff?!" the mook yelled at me, struggling to register exactly what happened.

Three individuals who I assumed to be friends of my harasser started threateningly coming towards me before someone in the crowd quickly grabbed one of them, quickly kicked another's knee in, and threw the guy he grabbed into the third.

"You couldn't help yourself, could you," Lance remarked.

I threw the guy I had down and stared sharply at him.

The last time I saw him he coldly ended the life of a Jedi right in front of me as I lay there, paralyzed by a nonlethal neurotoxin and unable to stop him.

"Come on," he said as he made his way to the exit. I hesitated slightly, but followed him out the door.

"It's good to see you," he said as he started quickly clambering his way up onto the roof of the bar. I Force jumped up and crossed my arms as he reached me. He looked at me, a crooked smile on his face, and said "You've gotten better at that."

He stood on the roof and looked into the water. "You look good," he said.

I refused to acknowledge his words, but a part of me wanted to tell him that he looked good too. His blonde hair was cut shorter than before and he was clean shaven, but he was still Lance. He still had that scar on his left eyebrow that split it in half. I could see a large scar on the left side of his neck. A scar that I'd put there.

He noticed me looking, smiled, and lightly touched the scar. "You leave one hell of a mark, you know."

"I wish I'd killed you," I said coldly.

He raised an eyebrow. "And I'm the monster."

"You used me. You betrayed me."

"I never wanted to hurt you. I had an objective."

"You used me."

"I… look, you… you weren't supposed to happen. I was going to lie, become friends with a Padawan, use their info, do my job, and leave. It was all going to take a couple of months. Four at most. Then I was going to leave without a second thought. The only reason it took me two whole years to finish it was because of you."

"You lied to me. For two years."

"You think I don't regret it?"

"I think you don't care about anybody but yourself, and that won't ever change."

He faltered. It was a brief, yet clear show that what I said actually hurt him. Either that, or it was an act to get me to trust him.

"You said you had information. Spill," I said harshly.

"Only if I work with you," he said quickly.

"Like hell you are. I'm never spending any more time with you than I have to."

He stepped towards me, and I instinctively stepped back. "Fine. I have an...objective I need to accomplish, and I believe that working with you will benefit us both."

"I'm not going to let you kill another innocent person."

"He was hardly innocent. That Jedi I eliminated killed quite a few innocent people."

"He had good reasons."

"So did I."

"A good reason for stabbing me in the back?"

He winced. "I never wanted to do that."

"But you did."

He started to protest, but stopped himself. He took a step back and said "The past is the past, and we can't change it. Right now, our goals align."

"And what would those goals be?"

"Finding the rogue Jedi."

"I won't let you kill him."

"My job isn't to kill anyone. I was hired to find the Mandalorian he's with and bring her to my employer."

"Who's your employer?"

"That's classified," he responded.

"Of course it is."

"If we work together, we could-"

"No," I said sharply. "No way in hell am I going to work with you. I would rather die."

He nodded and said "Fine. I'll see you around," before walking to the edge of the roof and hopping down.

-Sadie-

I sprinted through the halls to the med bay, narrowly dodging some Burhaj that were walking around. I ran through the doors and stopped when I saw Darin was squirming inside of the bacta tank. A yellow light flashed and the monitors beeped loudly.

M5 was scurrying around the bacta tank while Ster pushed buttons and a Mirialan was handing M5 different vials.

"What's happening to him?" I asked, slightly panicked.

"He's waking up, which should not be happening," M5 responded.

"Why not? Isn't that a good thing?"

M5 grabbed a vial from the Mirialan and injected it into a tube. "It usually is. But he's in a bacta tank and he's been intubated. If he comes to with a tube in his throat, he'll rip it out, and possibly do a lot more damage. Additionally, ripping out the tube will take the mask off, and he could easily drown in the tank. So we are trying to sedate him so we can do everything safely."

"It isn't working," Ster said matter-of-factly. "No matter how much sedative we push, no matter which kind, it isn't working."
"Are you sure the sedative is getting into his system?" I asked.

"We tested it prior to administering the sedatives, and a few times in between attempts. It's getting into his system," Ster said.

M5 said "What his body is doing should not be possible."

"Is it his Force sensitivity?" I asked.

M5 shook his head. "I don't know. I was able to administer meds without a problem with you, but he's very different from you."

The lights started flashing red and the monitors started emitting a loud, shrill, shrieking noise. I stared in shock as I saw Darin's eyes open and he began to reach for the mask on his face.

M5, with a new alarm in his robotic voice, yelled "Deflate the balloon!" at Ster and then started attaching an emergency tube to the bacta tank. Ster pushed a button, and the Mirialan girl started clearing the vials that were on the little table near the bacta tank.

I gagged when Darin grabbed the mask on his face, yanked it off, and then pulled what looked like a meter of tubing out of his throat. His eyes widened suddenly as he inhaled bacta fluid and he began thrashing about wildly. Cracks began forming on the glass, and I realized what was going to happen.

"Tube is good! Begin draining!" M5 yelled.

The bacta tank exploded and shrapnel went flying in every direction. Instinctively, I threw up some Force barriers in front of everyone. Darin's body slumped forwards onto the floor and he began violently coughing. I let the Force barriers down and rushed towards him. A disgusting noise left his throat and bacta fluid spewed out of his mouth. His muscles trembled as he heaved for air, and I knelt next to him and put a hand on his wet back. He turned and weakly looked at me, his eyes teared up from his coughing fit, and started laughing before falling into another coughing fit.

Help me, rang out in my head, the Force signature very clearly Darin's, and he started struggling to his feet. I wrapped an arm around him and helped hoist him to a standing position.

"Is he okay?" the Mirialan girl asked.

M5 said "I have no idea. Everything that just happened defies anything that should be physiologically possible for any organism." A sudden beeping from another patient prompted him to quickly attend to another patient's needs.

"What exactly is he?" Ster asked.

"A kriffing mess is what I am," Darin said weakly before doubling into another coughing fit, blood spraying from his mouth onto the floor. He let go of me and tried to walk forwards on his own, but lost his balance and buckled. Ster and I's quick reactions kept him from falling to the ground. We carefully eased him to a bed, and thankfully he didn't try to stand back up.

"What is that?" Bree asked when she noticed the tattoo on Darin's left forearm.

"Personal. Who are you two?" Darin asked.

"I am Ster Bureem. This is Bree Allstone."

Darin waved his hand. "Yes, but who ARE you two?"

"They're allies," I said. "They joined us after we rescued them on Tatooine."

Darin got a glassy look in his eyes before he quickly reached for an empty bedpan and vomited into it. After a few seconds of him retching into the bedpan, he shuddered, put the bedpan to the side and said "I don't recommend swallowing bacta fluid." A very weak smile followed. I sat on the bed next to him and put an arm on his back. He leaned on my shoulder and closed his eyes, his body shuddering occasionally.

"That Mirialan girl is Force sensitive," he mumbled.

"Bree? Yea, we know" Ster said.

Darin opened his eyes and looked at Ster. "So. We came to your rescue and you joined our cause. Why was the Alliance trying to kill you?"

Ster hesitated before saying "I was the leader of a Spec Ops group in the Alliance. We, along with the Vindicator, defected."

He nodded before asking "Who's she then?"

"Someone who got caught in the crossfire, and who means a lot to the Vindicator."

"And Vindicator is…?"

"The best warrior of our kind."

"Right." Moving faster than I thought he was physically able to, Darin stopped leaning on me and got off the bed. He wobbled slightly, but managed to hold himself upright. I went to help him, but he held his hand up. He took a few slow careful steps, wobbling slightly, before he started picking up the pace. Soon he was briskly walking around the med bay.

Ster stared at him, his jaw open in shock. "That recovery speed shouldn't be possible," he said.

"You've got no idea," I said.