"Drayden? Drayden Blackthorn?"

A humanoid approached him from behind. He had sensed it, but he knew from the way the creature was walking that it didn't intend him any harm. No, this had to be another contract. For some reason, he inwardly cringed at the idea.

"You've found me, what do you want?" Drayden grasped the handle of his vibrosword on his back, only briefly, and then waited for the humanoid's response. The footsteps behind him stopped, and then Drayden turned around, fully prepared to cut the humanoid down.

"I give you moneysss, yesss? And you take out thissss targetsss." It was a Chiss. He offered Drayden a datapad which was glowing. Obviously it had the location of his target on it. Observing the thing, however, Drayden quickly began to notice something funny about this particular datapad....

Drayden took it anyway, sensing that this was just another crazed man out for blood who couldn't actually take care of it himself. He was too busy thinking, and he wanted to get this over with. So many distractions....Just take the datapad, conclude business, and go.

He would regret the decision.

"Go to sleepssss, assassin," the Chiss grinned. The datapad was now glowing much brighter, and from the tip of it came a hissing sound and Drayden saw a chemical emanating from it. Sleeping gas.

Drayden pulled out his sword and managed to get a cut in before sleep began to take him. It was situations like this that he really hated. They weren't going to kill him, or else they would have done it already, and they wouldn't have the chance to if Drayden woke up again. But, still, as Drayden's eyes closed, he mentally hit himself for being so ignorant.

But there was always tomorrow....

"Jolee! I knew it was you the moment I saw Chandria's sketch. I'm sorry you might have had some unpleasant difficulties with her. She is still too rash and impatient for my taste. However, I didn't call you here to talk about her! How are you, and how have you been doing since our travels with Lord--Revan?"

Jolee crossed his arms in front of him and sat down in his chair with his saber hanging from his belt. I can't trust her.

"Not much Bastila. Been stuck on this station for nearly seven years. No one even tried to look for me."

Jolee uncrossed his arms and looked at her. "You must sense that something is wrong Bastila...Something is wrong with the Jedi you've been training. They're more...extreme. Cold."

Ebon Hawk

"Query: Why did you reactivate me? Are there certain hostilities you want terminated? I can do so."

Juhani turned to make sure they were alone. "No...I want you to watch over the Exile. I..feel that something is wrong...That something or someone is chasing her. Be her guard, her shadow if you will. Simply watch over her and perhaps I'll let you come with me when I confront Bastila."

HK's eyes flashed with excitment. "Hopeful Inquiry: You plan to terminate the smug Jedi meatbag? And you will include me?"

"Of course. She abandoned both of us...and it's only fair that you confront her as well. I can't battle her alone HK. I'll need your help."

((Played long chess game with Litofsky tonight. He rocked, and so did I! He won. :))

"Cold?" asked Bastila. "If by that, Jolee, you mean that they are becoming emotionless, isn't that what the Order has always taught? Vengeance. Anger. Emotion. These are the paths to the Dark Side, and that was the painful lesson I had to learn from scratch when I was being tortured by Lord Malak. I gave in because I let my emotions and my pain control me instead of my rational mind.

"I don't want my Knights and Padawans to have to learn the same lesson so harshly, and so I'm teaching them to deny themselves the feelings that would have made them 'warmer', so to speak. The galaxy has changed in seven years. Agents of terror, whether or not they're allied with the Sith, are everywhere. If we cannot trust our judgment and not let it get clouded by emotion, how are we ever going to stop them? As for 'being extreme'--one must risk all to achieve all. I push my students to the limit. Is that wrong?"

*******************************

"No," replied Chandria Par Sakhar. "No further word. Although--you probably won't believe this--my superior knows the old man who was trying to assist you earlier! The Force works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?" On the other end of the comlink, she smiled. "By the way, if you do want to meet in person, I'd be willing to come and see you if you have definitive proof of the Exile's whereabouts sometime. We can both help to back her to the wall."

Bad turn of phrase. Then again, Tysyacha Dvyx was a murder suspect...

**********************

T3-M4 sidled up to the Exile, beeping anxiously. He sounded as if he were in need of repair or a memory wipe, but the distinct pattern of beeps and whistles he made meant one thing only: incoming data. From Bastila Shan, or at least one of her underlings. She had many of them at that Temple of hers.

"Excuse me," she told Niera. "I think I need to speak with T3 for a moment. Something sounds wrong in the chassis. I won't be long." She waved.

"I don't want my Knights and Padawans to have to learn the same lesson so harshly, and so I'm teaching them to deny themselves the feelings that would have made them 'warmer', so to speak. The galaxy has changed in seven years. Agents of terror, whether or not they're allied with the Sith, are everywhere. If we cannot trust our judgment and not let it get clouded by emotion, how are we ever going to stop them? As for 'being extreme'--one must risk all to achieve all. I push my students to the limit. Is that wrong?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "So your planning on turning the Jedi into mindless automotons. If they can't feel warmth bastila...if you won't allow yourself to feel it, then where is your humanity? What happens to your compassion Hmmm?"

Ebon Hawk.

Soon...the time of our reckoning will be at hand. I will make that schutta pay for leaving me alone on that cesspit...for not even looking.

She felt her anger and despair rolling in waves through the force.

She turned to the droid. "So tell me...what are some of the best ways to kill force users? Or painfully incapcitate them? Either one suits my needs."

The droids eyes flashed with happiness as he began his explanation.

"No, no further word. Although--you probably won't believe this--my superior knows the old man who was trying to assist you earlier! The Force works in mysterious ways, doesn't it? By the way, if you do want to meet in person, I'd be willing to come and see you if you have definitive proof of the Exile's whereabouts sometime. We can both help to back her to the wall."

"Hm..the Force..." That raised some questions in Gelvik's mind, but he'd ask those when he saw her in person.

"Well, it won't be long before I have definitive information. Not long at all actually. I like the idea of teaming up to 'back her up into the wall,' as you said. She's definately a fugitive, and I would enjoy your help taking her down, Chandria. Once I have the info, I'll give you a call, and we'll meet up at the designated coordinates, wherever they may be. So, be on the ready okay?"

He reloaded his rifle and checked his powered-armor. He was set to go and find the Dock Authorities. He had to be so heavily-armed because often, the Dock Authorities were little more then Crime Bosses...you couldn't really trust them, at all.

"Alright, I've got to get moving...I look forward to seeing you."

"Aye, aye," replied Chandria. "Remember, we 'take her down' alive."

She switched off the comlink and wondered how the old man was doing in Conference Room C with her "superior". Even though the Jedi spy was a little worried that the meeting might not go as planned, she wasn't at all worried that either one would suddenly turn into a homicidal maniac. That was what the Jedi Exile had done once she'd started sneaking around and tailing the Exchange on Eriadu. She'd heard Garrun Thax and Yorran Thul, the spies, talking Exchange business and hadn't realized they were Jedi operatives. Maybe they had even been talking about killing someone to get something.

Nevertheless, the Exile had struck first, killing the spies and sending the real Exchange members into a panicked and fleeing mode. Mission accomplished? Hardly. The Exchange members were still alive, but the Jedi spies were dead.

In a way, Chandria would be relieved when the Exile was captured. Yet...

**************************

"What do you mean, I'm trying to turn my students into mindless automatons?" She pursed her lips. "That's not my intention at all, and if you believe it is, then you severely misjudge me. If I wanted an Order full of droids, I would have had some custom-built to carry out the work of the Jedi. I'm only saying that emotion can get in the way of proactive steps in fighting evil. For example, if I had not given in to my emotions, I wouldn't have made so many foolish missteps in trying to redeem...well...he was, eventually, but I fell to the Dark Side because of the passion for him I was trying to hide.

"It is my duty to help my students rid themselves of such base passion. Compassion is not always about being charitable or loving your enemies. Sometimes, to have compassion on your allies, you must do everything you can to protect them and help them protect themselves. Would you go into battle without weapons, with your hands bound behind your back? Of course you wouldn't, and that's what passion, fear and anger can do to you."

She didn't like arguing with Jolee. However, she knew it wasn't pointless...

****************************

"What's up, T3?" Tysyacha reached out through the Force to sense if anyone was listening in on the two of them. No one was at the moment, so it was safe to continue. "Let me check your chassis and see if we've got problems."

She opened a panel on his chest and pressed a secret "playback" button.

"Good morning!" chirped a light-haired male. "Master Shan says she's now two thousand parsecs away. Reports are coming in all the time, and she says in three days, she wants to eliminate the distance." On the holovid, he shook his head. "I don't know what any of that means, or is supposed to mean, but that's what she told me to tell you. She's kind of busy right now. Terance Larp signing off." Cringing, Tysyacha asked T3 to check her personal ledger.

"Two thousand?!" My, she's moving fast. At this rate, I'll be locked up in a matter of days, not weeks, unless her bounty hunters miscalculate or she suddenly decides to call them off and go after me herself. "T3, we only have ten thousand right now! If she keeps 'increasing the distance...'"

T3 warbled sadly, and Tysyacha gave him a huge hug. What to do now?

"I'm only saying that emotion can get in the way of proactive steps in fighting evil. For example, if I had not given in to my emotions, I wouldn't have made so many foolish missteps in trying to redeem...well...he was, eventually, but I fell to the Dark Side because of the passion for him I was trying to hide."

He held up a hand to silence her. "Passion doesn't lead to the Darkside. Passion can lead to fear...and then anger which can lead to the darkside but passion in itself won't lead you to the darkside."

"Would you go into battle without weapons, with your hands bound behind your back? Of course you wouldn't."

"Hello? I have force powers here...I don't think I would need any weapons. Young people these days...so forgetful."

He casually looked over to the side of the window that showed the night sky. What was that? It felt like a wave of anger...despair...all of it rolling briefly through the force before being contained. Someone is trying to hide their presence.

Ebon Hawk

Juhani had finished her discussion with Hk for the night who was now off patroling the ship and checking for escape routes. Juhani...was looking for the exile.

Where is she? I think she would be happy to know I repaired that old droid of hers and got his mind working properly again.

-ster Shan says she's now two thousand parsecs away. Reports are coming in all the time, and she says in three days, she wants to eliminate the distance."

Juhani's heart caught up in her throat and a massive wave of anger began to ripple away from her when she heard the name 'Shan'.

Bastila...so the exile knows something about her. I will get her when she is sleeping. She will either surrender the information...or I will drag it from her head.

Juahni turned and stalked off toward the cockpit

Darkness. Drayden was used to it. But this wasn't the darkness of the understreets of Coruscant. He couldn't see anything, and the rush of the wind and background noise of the understreets was gone. In its place was a low humming. Normally it would have been soothing to him, but this time it only agitated him.

He was on a ship. This was going to be an easy matter, then, if he was able to get out of the room he was in. Luckily, the door opened promptly at that moment, and Drayden was able to get a look at the Chiss yet again, who was holding a heavy rifle. They were far enough from each other, however, that it was likely Drayden would get shot before he could make a move.

This was going to be difficult, then. Even common thugs could be dangerous if you weren't careful. So he had to take this slow.

"Don't move, assassinssss. Let me tell you where you're goinssss, yessss? I'm going to give you to the hutssss, and then I'm going to get me some moneyssss. Sssso move it, assassinssss." He was nudging the gun threateningly.

Drayden decided to move, taking notice that the gun was now much closer out of his peripheral vision. He kept walking, silently building the courage to....

Suddenly, the exit ramp opened and the Chiss hit him so hard with the gun that he fell out onto the ground. His head hit with a harsh impact, not to mention the rest of his body, and it took him a few moments to recollect his senses. Then he noticed where he was. It was a landing pad. But he wasn't on Coruscant anymore. No, he knew this planet. He was on Nar Shadaa.

Time to move.

Vengeance. Anger. Emotion. According to Grand Master Bastila Shan, these were the tools of the Dark Side, or at least definite pathways toward it. Yet these were the sensations the Exile felt all of a sudden, coming from the direction of the cockpit. Juhani. She's heard something. Maybe she just heard my conversation with T3. If so, all is not lost, but then again...

Does she think I'm in league with Bastila? On her SIDE, for Force's sake? Something's not right here. I have to tell Juhani the truth, or else she's never going to trust me--and I won't trust her. As for Niera--maybe later. She went toward the cockpit, passing HK-47, reactivated and ready for action.

"Jubilant Exclamation: It is a pleasure to see you alive, Master!"

Tysyacha grinned, but ignored him for the most part. She had serious business to attend to. Once she saw Juhani, she signaled for the Cathar to follow her. She led her to the cargo hold, where her dvyxplanochniy waited. With a snap-hiss, she detached the blades and gave the hilts to Juhani--one for each hand. Then, very slowly, she knelt at her feet.

"I have something to tell you," said the Exile, almost whispering. "I'm...a murderer. As I searched for Revan, or tried to earn some credits to go search for him beyond the Outer Rim, I worked in a salvage yard on Eriadu as a slagbreaker. Unbeknownst to me, at least at first, the yard and its foundry were controlled by the Exchange and its 'front men'. I saw two of them, a Rodian and a human male, one hot and blustry day not too long ago. I was exhausted from work, but not too exhausted to forgo following them."

She swallowed hard, tasting precious little saliva. "They were talking about killing people, Republic officers in fact, to get their hands on the very same UMBRA device that Niera said she could procure. They were making plans. I heard all the details, and what's more, they soon joined up with some other thugs from the Exchange in order to elaborate. I was so furious that, overcome by rage and heat and the desperate pangs of a powerless pawn, I leapt into action and struck them both dead with my saberstaff, sending the others into a blind panic. They ran, and I ran in the opposite direction, leaving the bodies behind." A tear surfaced. "The two I killed were spies.

"Jedi spies, that is--Garrun Thax and Yorran Thul. I only found this out after the fact, when the Grand Master of the Jedi Order summoned me for questioning. Apparently, there were eyewitnesses, but not too reliable. After my interrogation was over, Bastila said I had three choices: confess, be tried, or run. If I chose to run, however, I would have to pay her credits and continue to pay for as long as I was fleeing justice. I--chose that path!"

She laid her hands on the buttons to ignite the blades. They sprang to life. Tysyacha then took Juhani's own hands in hers, so that the silver pillars of energy lay diagonally across her neck, intersecting at the delicate carotid artery. "Bastila Shan is blackmailing me, as well she might. I'm a killer. Death is preferable to the guilt and the shame and the endless recriminations. My dear Juhani, vengeance is yours. Take it. Then you can vanquish Bastila."

Tysyacha closed her eyes, preparing for the final blow--checkmate.

Before she did, however, she thought she saw two Twi'lek eyes watching...

"Bastila Shan is blackmailing me, as well she might. I'm a killer. Death is preferable to the guilt and the shame and the endles recriminations. My dear Juhani, vengeance is yours. Take it. Then you can vanquish Bastila."

"I refuse."

Juhani deactivated the saber without a second thought after listening to the exile. "What happend to you was an accident. There was no way of knowing that the two of them were spies. What Bastila is doing is wrong...Jedi do not blackmail like she is doing. Bastila has fallen. She fell a long time ago."

Juhani grabbed her hand and made her stand up.

Lying on the landing pad like this, Drayden finally noticed that his vibrosword was missing. The weight and the ease with which he was able to bend told him that. Reaching his hand down to his boot, he quickly grabbed the vibroknife hidden there and then waited until he felt the heavy rifle against his back.

With a move that he had wished he had practiced more, he reached back and slammed the vibroknife into the Chiss's hand. Drayden's assumption had paid off. The Chiss staggered back and dropped the weapon, rather than firing it, and then remembered to look at Drayden.

He realized his mistake too late. With a practiced stroke, the vibroknife cut into the Chiss's neck, instantly causing him to drop. It was over.

Wiping off the vibroknife on the Chiss's clothing, Drayden slipped it back into the compartment in his boot and then headed back into the ship.

He didn't really care about the ship. He knew that he would not be able to fly it since he had not hacking experience. But he wanted his vibrosword and blaster back, and it didn't hurt to try flying the thing anyway. How else was he supposed to get off this crazy rock?

Things were made simple for Drayden. This was obviously no experienced thug that had captured him. Drayden's weapons were lying against the bulkhead in a small room off to the side, in plain view.

Slipping the blaster back into his belt and sliding the vibrosword back into his baldric, Drayden made a brief 360 and then made off for the cockpit.

When he reached it, his worst and yet completely expected fears were true. The console was obviously locked, given that the displays actually said so, and more to the point the console was outfitted with a now flashing biometric hand-reader. This ship wasn't going anywhere.

Coming back out onto the landing pad, Drayden first noticed the foul smell of the planet. He hadn't noticed it before, but now his experiences on Nar Shadaa were all floating back to him. Looking around, Drayden didn't see much of anything nearby. Except....

Up on the landing pad by the nearest control tower he noticed something very out of place. It was a thing he had rarely seen before, and it inspired some kind of dread in him just the same. And he knew it had no place here.

It was a Basilisk War Droid.

As Tysyacha stood up, she realized that her legs were shaking so hard that she almost lost her balance and fell into Juhani's arms! Recovering her composure, but only barely, she said, "Thank you. My life was in your hands, and you gave it back to me. You are a true Jedi, not one of Bastila Shan's enslaved and brainwashed thralls, and I'm glad to see my confession was not wasted. It shall be the only one I'll ever make. Only the two of us--that is, three, counting Niera--need to know.

"However, if you help me, you will be aiding and abetting a fugitive from justice. Are you willing to take that risk? Bastila may not care anything about true justice, but the Republic certainly will if I'm caught. Are you...willing to keep my secret safe?"

"Remember, we 'take her down' alive."

"Right, no problem there."

He then deactivated his comm as well, and walked out of the Basalisk.

The Nar Shadaa streets were extremely crowded, but the numerous people and aliens made room for the heavily-armed Mandalorian.

The nearby control tower wasn't far off, and he made his way there fairly quickly. He opened the door and walked inside.

He loudly announced, "Who here is the dock authority?"

The other men in the room where visibly intimidated, and a small man raised his arm up slowly.

Gelvik walked towards the control panel behind the man, and pushed him aside.

He immediatley began to search the database for the Ebon Hawk's docking codes, which would then lead to their destination.

Finally, he found it, and the destination surprised him.

He activated his comm, "Chandria...I found where they're going...you won't even have to move...if this is correct, they're heading towards Telos."

"However, if you help me, you will be aiding and abetting a fugitive from justice. Are you willing to take that risk? Bastila may not care anything about true justice, but the Republic certainly will if I'm caught. Are you...willing to keep my secret safe?"

"I stopped caring about the law...A long time ago. And besides, we can turn this against Bastila. She let you go when it was her duty to capture you in order to gain credits. I am quite sure that she broke a big law when she did that."

She smiled a slightly insane smile. "Besides...I doubt that she'll be able to do anything when her head is seperated from her shoulders."

Taking his time, Drayden cautiously walked along the long path to the control tower. The Basilisk interested him, and since he needed to get to the control tower to find a way off of the planet, he had an excuse to check it out.

The biggest event that happened on his way to the control tower was the slight breeze, caused by who-knows-what. As he approached the entrance to the control tower, he made sure he had a good grip on his blaster before he entered.

Inside, there were very few people, and there was not much going on there. Drayden figured that what he wanted must be higher up the control tower. Spotting a lift, he walked over to it and pressed the "up" control. No one in the room looked at him. Things were going well for him so far.

On the next floor, which he assumed was the one with the landing pad, his thoughts were confirmed. Everyone's attention was focused on the presence in the room, a Mandalorian.

This must be who owns the Basilisk.

"Chandria...I found where they're going...you won't even have to move...if this is correct, they're heading towards Telos."

The Mandalorian was obviously on a mission of some sort, probably a bounty. The thought strangely sickened Drayden. But then, a question formed in his mind, and his curiosity got the better of him. Knowing full well how fast he could draw his weapons, Drayden confronted the Mandalorian as he turned from the control panel he was at.

"Drayden Blackthorn," he said, firmly and yet quickly. "What do you know of Bastila Shan?"

"I'm in this with you. I may be in the clear once we get into Republic space, but you won't be, and you'll need the help of someone who's been on the wrong side of the law more than once. Someone like me." Niera replied, keeping a reassuring look in her eyes. "I've dealt with corrupt businessmen before, but never a corrupt Jedi. This should be interesting."

TELOS

Chandria Par Sakhar dropped her comlink straight into the refresher latrine.

Good thing she had just finished using and flushing it!

Once she had wiped it off, she almost shouted, "What?! You can't be serious! If you are, then this is a quicker breakthrough than I ever thought there would be in this case! If the suspect is headed for Telos, then she and whoever's with her, including utility droids, will have to land on Citadel Station if they don't head for the polar regions or former Czerka research sites. When her ship lands, which it will, we at the TSF will take her into custody, and you'll get the two million credits you're after. Brilliant!"

She was so excited that she truly couldn't believe her ears. Success! Maybe Bastila will be so pleased with me that she'll finally promote me from a TSF officer on this backwater station to a real Jedi--a Jedi Knight! Police work is my dream, and it has always been my dream, but as a girl...

Chandria Par Sakhar had wanted to join the Jedi, but she lacked the Force.

*************************

Bastila Shan sighed. "I didn't summon you in order to get into an argument, Jolee. You have always been one of my dearest comrades. I called you to see if you wanted to come to the Temple on Coruscant to teach the students there. It's so hard to find both knowledgeable and reputable people these days who know how to take all the ramifications of a situation into play. However, if you still believe that I and the Jedi are wrong, then I will withdraw the offer immediately. Are you with me or against me, Mr. Bindo?"

*************************

ABOARD THE EBON HAWK

A slow smile spread across Tysyacha's face. "Indeed...Jedi Knight."

She winked at Juhani. "Perhaps now we can fight that duel I wanted to propose? You're going to need more than a geriatric assassin droid to keep you at the peak of your performance." Her face was flushed with excitement.

Tysyacha turned to Niera next. "Agreed. What's our next move?"

"What?! You can't be serious! If you are, then this is a quicker breakthrough than I ever thought there would be in this case! If the suspect is headed for Telos, then she and whoever's with her, including utility droids, will have to land on Citadel Station if they don't head for the polar regions or former Czerka research sites. When her ship lands, which it will, we at the TSF will take her into custody, and you'll get the two million credits you're after. Brilliant!"

Gelvik himself felt very pleased with this job. He left the Control Tower and began his walk back to his ship.

"Well...as you said yourself, the Force works in mysterious ways...I'll be there very soon, the Basalisk's hyperdrive is much faster then the Ebon Hawk's. Be prepared, let's not start counting the profits until the job is done....the Exile is still a force to be reckoned with."

He had heard a distinct joy in Chandria's words. He could imagine she could get promoted for this, so he understood that, alot of good things would happen if they managed to capture the Exile. They'd have to be at the top of their game in order to capture this Jedi.

He reached his Basalisk and began to activate it.

"I'd suggest you get the TSF ready to give them a warm reception. I doubt the Exile would simply walk into custody....I'll be there very soon."

Somebody caught the Mandalorians attention.

"Drayden Blackthorn, What do you know of Bastila Shan?"

He turned to face the man.

"Gelvik Verokin....I know nothing of Bastila Shan. What are you talking about?"

His hand rested on his blaster-rifle, being approached by a random person and asked a question regarding a Jedi that Gelvik had heard little about, was often, not good.

Telos

"I didn't summon you in order to get into an argument, Jolee. You have always been one of my dearest comrades. I called you to see if you wanted to come to the Temple on Coruscant to teach the students there. It's so hard to find both knowledgeable and reputable people these days who know how to take all the ramifications of a situation into play. However, if you still believe that I and the Jedi are wrong, then I will withdraw the offer immediately. Are you with me or against me, Mr. Bindo?"

"First of all, don't ever call me Mr. Bindo. It's just a foolish mistake on your part. And...I'll think about that teaching position. Just give me a few days."

Ebon Hawk

"Indeed...Jedi Knight."

"It's been a long time since someone's called me that. A very long time indeed."

"Perhaps now we can fight that duel I wanted to propose? You're going to need more than a geriatric assassin droid to keep you at the peak of your performance."

"If you think you can handle my level of sparring then your welcome to duel with me. Be aware, I've been training my body and my connection to the force for seven years straight. If the duel becomes too much for you, simply deactivate your lightsaber and I will stop."

"I believe this meeting is concluded, then," smiled Bastila. "I look forward to your answer." She stood up and left the conference room, without any aura of duplicity surrounding her. Bastila knew, and Jolee knew Bastila knew, that she needed him on her side. After all, Jolee was a Jedi, albeit an errant one. She needed all the allies she could get. If he taught as a Jedi Professor Emeritus at the Temple, perhaps in time she could...

No. Not now. He needed to make this choice of his own free will, and not of coercion.

*************************

"Let me hear Niera's answer," responded the Exile, "and then we will duel. Niera? What have you heard about the device we're after, and what's more, what have you heard about the other people--the ones who were with the spies I killed--who were trying to plot to kill Republic officers to get it? You may not know, but they could prove clues."

A bored Psycho sat in the hunk of junk ship the jedi had given him. He felt like it had been days since he had been following the Exile. His mind began to drift to his old killing days. The feeling of taking another's life always made Psycho smile. He was under direct orders not to kill the Exile which saddened him. He could at least destroy that annyoing little droid that follows her around and kill her crew. Bastila said that Tysyacha had to be brought back alive, she didn't say anything about everyone else. The only thing he had to do was wait for the Hawk to land. What better way to make something land quicker when its being chased.

This outta do the trick

Psycho hit the thrusters and the ship shot through space. He began to gain on the Ebon Hawk. He hoped his ship would show up on their radar now.

"As you said, the technicians were all killed after the prototype was made, which means there's only one in existence, and it's in the hands of the Twi'lek in charge of the project. Fortunately, I know him through erm, unrelated means. If I can distract him with a little 'reminder', the two of you can try to steal it right out of his ship. Of course, we'd make even more enemies, but with the UMBRA, we'd be able to escape them easily." Niera explained, checking on the ship's sensors. "This isn't a good time for this, we're being followed."

((CommanderQ, my character asked your character a question....did you read my post? XD))

((Ataris, I edited, take a look))

((Thanks, sorry about that! :D))

Drayden noticed the Mandalorian's movement towards his blaster. But he wouldn't have a chance to shoot him before Drayden did should the need arise. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

For some reason, Drayden just had a feeling that this Mandalorian had something to do with the recent bounty, and had ties with Bastila Shan. But he couldn't be sure. So he tried the direct approach.

"I'm interested in this bounty posted on some Jedi. What do you know about it?"

In truth, Drayden had no idea why he wanted to know, but from what he thought about Bastila he felt he should try and figure out the details of this bounty. The Jedi....They had all changed under her influence, and some strange force compelled him to ask.

"Not only are we being followed," replied Tysyacha, "but I can sense through the Force that whoever is following us isn't going to let any of us get out alive. Some people are killers by chance," said the Exile quickly, "and some are killers by choice. I sense that the one who's chasing us right now is one of the latter." Glancing hastily toward the cockpit dashboard, Tysyacha saw that the ship was not prepared to make a hyperspace jump. Bad news.

"Who's good at flying ships besides T3?" she asked, her eyes darting from Juhani to Niera and back again. "One of you should take over--sorry, little guy--and perform some top-of-the line evasive maneuvers if you can. That way, if that creep in the other ship starts firing on us, we can dodge the blasts. That will also give us time to jump to hyperspace if we need to. The other one? Come with me, and we'll man the laser turrets together. The Ebon Hawk has been in many a dogfight, and she's always survived. Move out!" The Exile suddenly broke into a run. "Follow me, top gunner!"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean...there are millions of bounties, many of which are Jedi..."

Gelvik had a strange feeling that he wasn't the only one interested in the Exile's bounty.

The Mandalorian felt that this man could be hostile, he blinked in his helmet, immediately activating most of his armor's weapons and gadgets. He wouldn't go without a fight, if that is what this man wanted.

"I have to leave now...so if you don't have any other questions, I'll be on my way."

((Grrrr Cyborg. You ruined my sparring match. :D))

"One of you should take over--sorry, little guy--and perform some top-of-the line evasive maneuvers if you can. That way, if that creep in the other ship starts firing on us, we can dodge the blasts. That will also give us time to jump to hyperspace if we need to. The other one? Come with me, and we'll man the laser turrets together. The Ebon Hawk has been in many a dogfight, and she's always survived. Move out!"

"I am not well suited to flying. However I have maned the gun turrents from time to time. I'll take top gun."

"Follow me, top gunner!"

Juhani followed the Exile as she ran to the turrents. "If you can open up a com link to his ship I might be able to slow him down."

"A risky move, but I like it!" At the gun turret station, there was also a holocomm station--just in case some stalkers or thieves were tailing the Hawk in another ship, her pilot or crew could demand unconditional surrender of the other party, or at least complete withdrawal from the area, before the laser cannons started firing on either vessel. Tysyacha activated it:

"This is Tysyacha Dvyx of the Ebon Hawk, along with her crew. Either stop stalking us and withdraw completely from this area of space, or we will be forced to conclude you are hostile and open fire." She waited tensely.

"A risky move, but I like it!"

Juhani looked at her and nodded. I do hope that she realizes that I intend to cut off our pursuers oxygen the second his or her face appears on the screen. It may not be the best solution but I have a feeling it'll work.

Wait...if Bastila is blackmailing her...then why would she send a hunter after her? I'm quite sure she still wants more out of her.

"If this is a hunter Bastila set on you then he might not want you. Not if you are still paying her credits. It maybe that he simply wants to make sure where you are when you run out of credits so he can easily capture you."

"Even so..." She turned to Juhani at the gun turrets. "Have you ever played shakhmaty before? The object of the game is to capture your opponent's king piece, yes, but the more pieces of your opponent's that you capture, the better chance you have of doing so. If this one is a pawn of Bastila's, I suggest we take him--or take him out. That will teach our Grand Master Jedi friend it doesn't pay to mess with either of us--or anyone on the Ebon Hawk."

Her blue eyes were steel. "I'm running, but I won't run like a coward from this worthless excuse for sentient existence. Do...what you're thinking of doing."

"I think it's pretty important we know who this thug is working for, and we can't interrogate corpses. The more we know, the better." Niera suggested, trying to see if she could switch the Ebon Hawk's active weapons to the ion cannons, if there were any.

Tysyacha conceded the point. "You're right. Ion cannons it is." She waited...and waited...but the other ship just sat there, floating in space.

"No response? Is he/she/it trying to psyche us out, or what?"

((Captain Buzz Kill at your service Chev))

"This is Tysyacha Dvyx of the Ebon Hawk, along with her crew. Either stop stalking us and withdraw completely from this area of space, or we will be forced to conclude you are hostile and open fire."

This was the exact opposite response Psycho wanted. He would love to open fire but he couldn't. Something clicked inside his head though, he had an idea. He activated the holocomm and looked around. His golden mirror like visor looking at the Exile.

"Save your threats for someone whose actually afraid of them sweetheart. I don't mean you any harm...for now. Your good friend Bastila wants me to make sure you don't go anywhere without her knowing and if I'm a real good boy she said she'll grant me freedom," Psycho laughed loudly at that. "So in reality I don't care, I'm staying my course. If you want to open fire fine, that just means I'll hit you with everything I got."

Tysyacha whirled around toward Juhani after turning off the comlink. "These are the laser cannons," she said, gesturing to the four large ones, "and these are the ion cannons," she continued, moving her hands toward the eight smaller ones. "Maybe if we fire a laser blast series as distracting shots, intending to miss all the while, we can fire the ion cannons and this criminal psychopath won't be able to tell the difference in the heat of battle. Yes?"

"Save your threats for someone whose actually afraid of them sweetheart. I don't mean you any harm...for now. Your good friend Bastila wants me to make sure you don't go anywhere without her knowing and if I'm a real good boy she said she'll grant me freedom."

Juhani's eyes narrowed. "I guess we don't need to figure out who he's working for now."

"Maybe if we fire a laser blast series as distracting shots, intending to miss all the while, we can fire the ion cannons and this criminal psychopath won't be able to tell the difference in the heat of battle. Yes?"

"Fine. But it would have been easier if you would have just left the com open, then I could have killed him by now and we'd be safe."

Whap! Tysyacha slapped herself on the forehead. Part of playing shakhmaty well was learning not to make any truly stupid moves--that is, not making any moves that were glaringly and obviously stupid. She had just made one. However, that didn't mean that this pawn could not still be taken. All she had to do was open the comlink and taunt the pursuer even further.

"I wasn't trying to make you afraid of my threats. I was trying to warn you." She gave a sharp downward signal with her hand toward Juhani, meaning Now!

((This should hurt your character enough to let us get away into Hyperspace, Cyborg. It needs to be realistic.))

"I wasn't trying to make you afraid of my threats. I was trying to warn you."

Juhani watched her opponets head fill the sreen and she extended her hand and began to constrict his wind pipe. Filthy criminal scum...shouldn't be allowed to live.

She watched in enjoyment as his head arched back and his hands went up to his throat in desperation.

"Are those coordinates in yet?! This is starting to take a toll on me."

"They're in. Tysy, want me to make the jump into hyperspace now?" Niera inquired, sitting at the helm. After trying to steal her ship, she wanted to show Tysyacha enough respect to stay on her good side.

"I wasn't trying to make you afraid of my threats. I was trying to warn you."

Psycho couldn't think of anything to come back with. He wasn't backing down or anything like that, it was just he was being choked to death. Instinct told him to grab his throat to throw the person off of him. Within seconds his brain kicked in and he remembered this was the work of a force user. His breathing became lighter and the movements were in an odd pattern. Was he wheezing, gasping for breath? No he was...laughing? The ship was beginning to spin inside of his mind which was calling out for air but he was laughing. With his right hand he pulled out a tonfa and stumbled onto the control panel.

"Well played jedi, well played." He said coughing up a little blood now.

His legs had gone numb, he had to do this quick. With the last of his strength he stabbed the holocomm with the tonfa. The screen went away and he felt release on his neck.

"Hey...who let these dancing wookies in here?" Pyscho asked the ship as he fell to the floor.

The Exile turned the comlink off, yelled an affirmative response to Niera down the ladder hatch to the gun turrets, and then grabbed Juhani. "Hold on!" The Ebon Hawk suddenly lurched in that acute, powerful, and sanity-shaking way that meant only one thing: a hyperspace jump. At the gun turrets, the jump was even more bone-jarring, and that was why both the Cathar and the human female had their eyes shut tight as the Twi'lek performed the necessary throttle and calibration of the coordinates. This meant a change in plans...a very drastic, completely unpredictable change.

"We're not going to Telos after all," said Tysyacha, her face blanched white, once she and Juhani had met up with Niera back in the cockpit. "If the psychopath came from there, that means Bastila either is on Telos, or she knows we're going there. In the moment before we jumped to hyperspace, I saw that ruddy planet in my mind's eye. It was full of white pieces, white pawns, ready to capture me. I saw myself as the Black King. Telos is full of hunters, just like Coruscant. We can't go back to Nar Shaddaa, and if we do venture to Citadel Station, the TSF would certainly take me into custody."

The other two stared. "They've surely seen the holonews reports. Listen. I know a place that is far, far away from Telos and that I know intimately. It's a moon of the planet Onderon, by the name of Dxun. According to the ship's fuel tank display, we have just enough to get us there. Even though Dxun is covered by dense jungle, there are clans of Mandalorians gathered there. I know their leader. If I must, I shall surrender myself as a servant to him for a time in order to earn enough credits to get more fuel for the ship. In the meantime, we can hide--truly hide--among predators no novice would dare fight." Her expression was sad, hunted, desperate. "Our move was forced."

"Telos is full of hunters, just like Coruscant. We can't go back to Nar Shaddaa, and if we do venture to Citadel Station, the TSF would certainly take me into custody."

Juhani narrowed her eyes. "If there are hunters there...then we should make them the hunted. I can handle anything they can throw at us. Besides...If Bastila is on Telos then that is where I am going."

"If I must, I shall surrender myself as a servant to him for a time in order to earn enough credits to get more fuel for the ship. In the meantime, we can hide--truly hide--among predators no novice would dare fight."

"No one is surrendering themselves to anyone as a...servant. I've lived that life...you don't want to live it. Believe me. I think I know a better place where we can hide...someplace with many allies."

She turned the both of them.

"Have either of you two ever heard of Kashyyyk?"

"I know enough of it to know that the Wookiees prefer not to be bothered," replied Tysyacha sadly. "They are more suspicious of strangers than any peace-loving species I have ever known. It is true that Czerka Corporation made them slaves, turning them into pawns for profit, but many of them fear that all humans, and all other smooth-skinned sentients, are at their core just like the slavers. It will be hard to convince them to harbor a murderer." A pause. "Do you know how many people I've killed? Hundreds and hundreds of thousands, not just two. I was the one who gave the order to activate the Mass Shadow Generator of my own free will. People say that Revan made me do it..."

Another pause. "Blaming such an act on Revan is an act of cowardice. The Wookiees will know of my past deeds, if not my present ones. If I present myself there, they will not take me in. In fact, they may choose to exile me to the forest floor, the Shadowlands, where only the strongest and most cunning survive. I would not wish that fate upon myself, or upon either of you."

Psycho jumped up to his feet and looked out the view of his ship. The Ebon Hawk was long gone and he had no idea where to look next. He had destroyed the holocomm to the ship so he couldn't contact anyone either. All he had were his weapons and thanks to the talk he had with the Exile he now had to ability to communicate with her through her ship if he wanted to. Plans aside Psycho needed a new ship and the closest planet was Telos. He flew the ship into Telos's atmosphere and found a landing strip to land the ship on. A smile found its way on Psycho's face.

So the Exile wants to play hardball?!?! Good, now the gloves are off. The next time we meet I won't be as passive.

"I know enough of it to know that the Wookiees prefer not to be bothered. They are more suspicious of strangers than any peace-loving species I have ever known. It is true that Czerka Corporation made them slaves, turning them into pawns for profit, but many of them fear that all humans, and all other smooth-skinned sentients, are at their core just like the slavers. It will be hard to convince them to harbor a murderer."

Juhani leaned very close to her face. "I think we have a friend there. A former companion of Revan by the name of Zaalbar is most likely cheiftan there...or at least he carries some weight. During the civil war Revan, Jolee and I managed to help the wookies get rid of a corrupt leader by the name of Chuundar. And after that we helped them drive Czerka away."

"We have been welcome there ever since that little incident. The wookies recognize the Hawk. And besides...I lived in the shadowlands with Jolee for nearly a year. His hut is down there and I think we should investigate it."

This seemed like a rather good idea. After all, the Exile had been to Dxun--it was one of her old "haunts", and one of the sites of a great battle in the Mandalorian Wars. Kashyyyk would be much less of a conspicuous destination for her, if not for Juhani. "Your plan sounds better than mine," Tysyacha replied. "Besides, even though the Wookiees love peace and mutual cooperation with their fellow creatures--all of organic life--they are not above fighting, and fighting ferociously, for their allies." She turned to Niera. "Your thoughts?"

"No matter where we go, they're going to go looking for us. Hiding isn't exactly productive. I recommend we try to find the UMBRA device. Even if it's something that will help us hide better, it beats just waiting to get caught." Niera suggested. Having heard about what had happened on Kashyyyk seven years earlier, it seemed like a fairly bad idea to go, even if they weren't friends with Czerka either.

"We do need that device," Tysyacha said. "We need it more than ever. If we're not going to ditch the Ebon Hawk and leave her on some remote planet, or try to bail out in the escape pods and abandon her, floating in space, for some salvager to claim, then UMBRA is our best bet. All right. We find the crime lord's ship, the crime lord who invented it, and distract him so we can steal the prototype right out from under his nose. It's a good thing I have some special equipment stored in the cargo hold." She sped off and returned with 3 belts.

"Eriadu Shadowcasters. I bought them on the same planet where I killed the two Jedi spies, with my own meager slagbreaker's salary, in case I had to go on the run. I bought two extra in case I found any friends on my journey." A wink.

"I will also have you know that even as a Jedi Guardian, and later a Master, I spent all my spare time learning stealth. Thus, I can use the belt. Can you?"

"Distracting him won't be a problem. Let's just say he and I hooked up a power coupling or two in the past, and he'll definitely be happy to see me again. Finding him is the real challenge." Niera explained, using a seductive tone and striking a seductive pose when she mentioned distraction. Putting on the belt, she added, "I'm a smuggler, I'd have to be an idiot to not know anything about stealth."

"I will also have you know that even as a Jedi Guardian, and later a Master, I spent all my spare time learning stealth. Thus, I can use the belt. Can you?"

Juhani smirked. "I do not need one."

She quckly gathered the force around her and cloaked herself in it.

"I am very proficent in the art of making myself invisible with the use of the force. I do have to concentrate to hold the form and it exhausts me afterward but it is very useful. Especally among the more...'unsavory' beings in the galaxy."

She let the cloak disipate around her and she smirked again. "After this I presume we'll be going after Bastila?"