Hord just stood there, and watched as the blaster bolt entered his chest. He sank to the ground - but not entirely unconscious. He was using all of his remaining strength to ignore the tranquilizer and not slip into unconsciousness - leaving him in a very weakened state.

"Stopp...himm...while....he's...weakened...", Varik was able to sputter, breaking out of Hord's hold for a few seconds.

Traver looked onto Varik and saw the horrible picture of him fighting the Sith lord inside him.

''What now? You Jedi, do something!''

"You" Light said pointing at the female "I need your help. We are going to bring Varik back, but we have to help him fight off Horde. We should use this time wisely, because he has exausted his physical vessel, thus weakening himself mentally. We have to journey into Varik's mind using the Force. The rest of you need to stand watch. If any of us come back and anything seems off, do not hesitate. Either knock us out swiftly, or kill us."

Light looked to the others for confirmation that he had been heard and that they would comply. He recognized a couple of the individuals, roughly. He had always been better with faces than names.

The female Jedi Knight nodded. "My name is Per'dra Yllari," she said matter-of-factly, "and as for journeying into someone's mind, I've never done it. I've tried, but not succeeded." She remembered the attempt as clearly as if it were yesterday, and also her victim. Master Lenina Karos had fought her off almost immediately, however, which made her wonder: If I couldn't venture into a Jedi Master's consciousness, what makes me think I'll be able to infiltrate the mind of someone possessed by a Sith Lord? Then she became fully aware of how weak Varik/Tulak Hord was. I'll have to try, along with our new ally...

"On three, shall we?" Per'dra asked him gently. "One...two..."

"On three, shall we?" Per'dra asked him gently. "One...two..."

"Three" Light murmered quietly in time with Per'dra.
His eyes closed, but he reached out to Varik's mind which, like the market place of most worlds, was noisy and obviously conflicted. Light noticed another presence with him, and recognized it from his brief contact before. It was Per'dra.

While Light had never done this before, there would be little time before Horde was back to full strength and killing him would be the only way out. This was not what he wanted, as he and Varik were friends. Light surged into Varik's mind. It was split into two, with a small part fighting off the larger part.

The battle for Varik's mind was brief but fierce. Hord's influence, albeit in its weakened state, still controlled most of Varik's mind. However, the combined power of the three force-users destroyed what remained of Hord's defenses.

The surroundings of Varik's mind changed. What was once a vast, gray void, were now the sands of the Valley of the Dark Lords. Light and Per'dra were standing in the center of the Valley, with Varik's comatose body about fifteen meters away. Standing directly behind it was a dark specter, with black robes, and an even blacker, featureless mask. In it's hand was an ancient serrated warblade, and on his belt - the hilt of a lightsaber.

"The Valley of the Dark Lords." Hord said in a didactically tone. "The final resting place for some of the greatest Sith in history. A Force Nexus of dark power. It was here where I led my successful campaigns of Yn and Chabosh." Several tuk'ata appeared behind him. "And here was where I created the tuk'ata, learning from the ancient tomes of Karness Muur."

"This place has been a catalyst for all four of our lives, a shame that you never put it to much use beyond.", he said, berating the three.

"This isn't the last you've seen of me. I guarantee it.", he stated, and both he and the several tuk'ata disappeared in a swirl of black mist.

***

Varik, physically battered and worn, struggled to stand. He felt like death - utterly exhausted. He fell to the ground again, and spit blood out of his mouth. He pushed himself up with a groan, clutched his side, and looked at the others with a look of shame clearly evident in his eyes. He limped quickly out of the building, and moved swiftly towards the ship. Unwilling, or unable, to glimpse at Kif's broken body, he shut himself in his quarters, locking the door. He laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

((Adding a new character.))

Vlalkor watched with his blaster pistol pointed at Varik as he rose to his feet and simply let the building with a look of shame in his eyes. Vlalkor knew that he wasn't force sensative but he couldn't help but feel that something about him was different.

"Well...thats that I guess. We should probably regroup on the ship and discuss what happened here." He said quietly to Per'dra and the others as he turned and left the building. He was carefully following Varik just in case and he boarded the ship and watched as he ran to his bunk and shut the door behind him.

Something is wrong here, he couldn't help but think.



Dune sea
Tatooine

The sounds of lightsaber combat could be heard throughout the dune sea as two figures battled it out. One was wearing the armored robes of a sith warrior and was smiling a dark smile as he toyed with his opponet who was wearing the robes of the sith assassin and was using a double bladed lightsaber. The one wearing the assasin robes was quickly losing ground and was struggling to hold her own as she attempted to counter the lightsaber strikes from her foe

"Your life was over the moment your master died." The warrior chuckled. "You should have known that acts of mercy would result in your death."

The assassin brought her lightsaber above her opponet and attempted to try and strike her opponet near the neck only to have him block the attack and his lightsaber made a medium size cut on her arm.

"The thing you seem to forget Velros is that I was trained by Darth Toriyas herself while you trained at the feet of a lowly overseer." She gasped as she suddenly used what was left of her strength to blast the warrior with force lighting.

The warrior never saw it coming.

As the warrior roared in pain, a small opening appeared in his movements and the assassin slammed her lightsaber into the warrior's stomach and than quickly pulled it back out and slammed the lightsaber hilt against his neck, breaking his neck.

The assassin smiled grimly as she looked out across the dune sea and her gaze fell on her own small wrecked ship. She had been shot down and she had no idea where the warrior had hid his ship. She couldn't sense any other lifeforms.

Please don't let me die out here...she thought as the smiled faded and she began walking what she thought was north. She had passed over a small town when she had been coming in for a crash landing and she hoped that she was heading in the right direction.

I've come too far to be stopped by a desert...I've survived assassination attempts and traps and betryals from those I trusted most. I won't die! she thought, she was so tired and out of focus that she accidently transmitted part of her message through the force. Since she wasn't at full strength the message didn't go far.

But it went far enough.


Shan

Zarev muttered quietly to himself as he tried to sit up as he heard a whisper through the force.

Betrayels from those I trusted...Won't die...I won't die!

He tried to reach out through the force and tried to locate where the whisper had come from but in his weakend state he could only tell that it was from somewhere on Tatooine...

"Vlalkor...he said quietly as he watched the solder walk by the door. "When Per'dra is onboard...I need to talk to her. There's something wrong...someone is in trouble here. But I can't locate them..."

"understood sir." Vlalkor said as he headed to the bridge.

That was, without a doubt, the worst mission I've ever tried to undertake since... Per'dra Yllari's mind reeled with anger, disappointment and the agony of defeat. Not only were we attacked by an assassin that none of us could sense through the Force, but Varik was possessed by a long-dead Sith Lord! Unbelievable! Disgusted with herself despite her training, which had taught her to suppress emotion, the Jedi Knight boarded the ship in seething silence.

As Vlalkor continued on his way to bridge he saw Per'dra board the ship. He could tell that she was angry But he had been assigned to assist the jedi in anyway possible and since Zarev was in too much pain to move he had to ask her for him.

"Excuse me, Knight Per'dra. I was just visiting with Zarev and he asked if he could speak with you. He seems to think that there is someone on Tatooine in trouble but he can't get a fix on whoever it is in the force. I'm not going to say that I know about jedi stuff but I'm going to assume that it's some sort of jedi matter."

With that, Vlalkor turned and headed for the bridge.

Zarev heard some of the conversation from the medbay but the majority of it was blocked from his mind as he heard the same voice that he had heard when he had been fighting the assassin echo through his mind again.

Can't stop...Can't stop...Someone stop me...

Who are you...?he thought to himself as he tried to get a fix on the voice through the force but he couldn't sense anything except the words echoeing through his head.

Per'dra gave a salutatory nod to Vlalkor and went to find Zarev. "Is...anything wrong?" As deep in concentration as he was, she didn't want to spoil it. "The mission was harder than I ever thought it would be. Is that how you feel, too?"

Shan

"Is...anything wrong?"

Zarev nodded. "I think that there is some sort of force sensative here. And I think that whoever it is is in trouble. Whoever it is...I was able to recieve a message through the force although I think the message was not meant to be heard."

Zarev lowered his head in shame. He was still too weak after his battle with the assassin to locate whoever this was. "I can tell that whoever this person is, they're on Tatooine but I can't focus in on their exact location."

"I'm hoping that you might be able to get an exact fix on whoever this is and direct Vlalkor to pilot the ship to their location to see if we can help. And...there is another matter...something I'm still not sure about."

Zarev raised his head. "I think someone is trying to contact me through the force. Something other than this mysterious person on Tatooine. I can hear the same words echoing through my head but I can't locate whoever this person is through the force."

He smiled sadly. "You must think I'm crazy. Hearing these voices in my head must make you think that I've gone off the deep end. But despite the remote possibility, I think this second voice could somehow help us find Voleran."

"The mission was harder than I ever thought it would be. Is that how you feel, too?"

Zarev looked up at her and smiled weakly. "To be honest, I didn't think that I was ready for a mission like this at all. But yes...I didn't expect it to be this difficult. I assumed that there would be fighting but...not on a scale like this."

The female Jedi Knight nodded. "Varik's being overtaken by Tulak Hord certainly didn't help things. How and why in the Force did that Sith Lord target him at this particular point in time? Hord has been dead for far longer than I've been alive, and I know for certain that presences like his don't just reach for random targets when they find it convenient." She voiced a suspicion that she had never dared to before. "I'm not saying that Varik wanted to be in league with Hord, but something tells me there was an uncharacteristic weakness in our comrade's mind. A fissure in his mental armor, so to speak, upon which Hord capitalized."

Raising an eyebrow, Per'dra turned to Zarev. "You believe that someone is trying to contact you through the Force? I don't think you're crazy--in fact, far from it. When I was on Korriban, being tortured by the Sith in the last mission upon which I was sent, my own Master tried to do the same thing. Yun Xiaolin did succeed, and perhaps I can help you find out who's trying to succeed in contacting you. In order to do that, however..." She trailed off.

Folding her legs into a lotus position as she sat on the floor of the ship, she told Zarev, "Please take hold of my hands. It will help me attune to your mind, and to the frequency on which this person--or people--wants to reach you."

Traver walked up to Varik, patting him upon his shoulder. He took a cigarette and his lighter from his pocket and smoked it. He blew the smoke right into Varik's face.

''Well, if these things keep happening it won't be a happy ending for any of us. And they ask me why I don't like jedi.''

"Thanks for slicing the door.", Varik said with a grin as he sat up, seeing his friend Traver walk into the room. His pat on the shoulder reassured Varik.

Varik coughed as smoke blew straight into his face. Under normal circumstances, he would have punched Traver in the face, but he was too weak to exert himself at the moment.

''Well, if these things keep happening it won't be a happy ending for any of us. And they ask me why I don't like Jedi.''

"I hear ya.", he said with a groan. "Anyways, I'm going to check on Kif, care to join me?"

He walked down the corridor into the med-bay, where he saw Light checking up on Kif's broken body.

"How is he?", he asked in a worried tone.

"Please take hold of my hands. It will help me attune to your mind, and to the frequency on which this person--or people--wants to reach you."

Zarev was speechless for a moment. He didn't expect Per'dra to believe him honestly but he was relieved that she did. It was nice to work with someone who had also had someone communicating with them through the force.

"Very well...I must warn you though...since my master died, I have been having trouble centering myself. So...just be careful."

Zarev, with some slight hesitation took ahold of Per'dra's hand and began tryinig to clear his mind. He succeded after a few moments just as the voice that had tried contacting him earlier spoke to him once again.

Stop me...Stop me...I can't stop... the voice repeated over and over in a voice that had no emotion to it. Stop me...stop me...I can't stop

Dune sea
Tatooine

Her body was failing her.

The assassin muttered nonsense to herself as she attempted to try and find out where she had gone wrong. She should have been able to see some sign of life even if it was a mosture farmer or a tusken raider but instead she saw nothing but endless dunes of sand as far as the eye could see.

I either need to find help or I'm going to die out here. She thought. She now had two options: Die out in the sands of tatooine and let the sith win by having her die.

Or send out a call for aid through the force and hope that someone heard her plea for help.

She reached out through the force, using the last of her strength to search for a mind that was force sensative, that could hear her plea for aid. Someone...anyone...help she sent through the force as the last of her strength left her and she collapsed on the sand.

((LDR, do you think you could have Varik pick up her distress call and notify the others?))

((Uhh...Varik doesn't use the Force very much, but alright.))

"Anyways, I'm sure you're expecting an explanation to...", Varik began to say, before he picked up a message through the Force.

Someone...anyone...help...

Varik never knew he was still potent enough to receive messages. He had thought that his strength in the Force had atrophied from disuse, due to only using it to boost his combat effectiveness.

"I just received a message through the Force. I'm going to investigate. Light, Traver, care to join me?", Varik asked.

Light heard fragments of the message as well, but kept it to himself as he would sometimes catch thoughts of unguarded minds.

Light raised an eyebrow. He was still concerned about Varik's well-being. Kif had been permanently blinded and in poor shape. However, he appeared to be recovering.

Light gave Varik a harmless pat on the arm and said

"You know I've got your back, let's go."

Traver didn't hear anything and looked at the Jedi with their ''mind messages''.

He rolled his eyes and then he extinguished the cigarette with his boot. He blew out one last smoke and then softly punched Varik in his back.

''I'm always in for another adventure, mate.''

Per'dra shuddered. "I hear it--him--her," she said after a long and awkwardly tense moment. "Someone does indeed need help, but it chills me that this person's voice is utterly devoid of emotion. It's almost as if he or she were being turned into a droid, and that does a disservice to droids because most of them have more personality than their voice does. I hate to say it, but it scares me."

Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering...

Shaking her head as if to clear it from these unsettling thoughts, she let go of Zarev's hands. How warm and comforting they had felt, after such a colossal and heartbreaking failure of a mission! "What's your theory on our 'contact'?"

"Someone does indeed need help, but it chills me that this person's voice is utterly devoid of emotion. It's almost as if he or she were being turned into a droid, and that does a disservice to droids because most of them have more personality than their voice does. I hate to say it, but it scares me."

Zarev smiled weakly as Per'dra let go of his hand. On some level he felt disappointment but he didn't really know why. "It scares me as well. I don't know why this person has been trying to contact me but I won't let whoever it is down..."

"What's your theory on our 'contact'?"

"I don't know...All I know is that I started hearing this voice very shortly after our confrontation with the assassin on Tatooine. I can't help but think somehow the voice and the assassin are connected."



Vlalkor had been walking past the medbay when he heard Varik talking about soem sort of distress call being transmitted through the force.

"If you want to, I can pilot the ship to where the distress call is coming from. All you have to do is tell me where to go."

"If you want to, I can pilot the ship to where the distress call is coming from. All you have to do is tell me where to go."

"Well, this is a big ship, and might draw some more unwanted attention. Thanks for the offer though.", Varik said to Vlalkor.

"You know I've got your back, let's go."

''I'm always in for another adventure, mate.''

"Alright then, let's go.", Varik said, as he walked down the boarding ramp, and back onto sand. Unsurprisingly, the bodies of their previous conflict still littered the streets. They scoured numerous buildings and alleys - searching for a way of quicker travel. After bursting into a large garage, they saw numerous speeder bikes.

Varik jumped onto one of the bikes, and drove into the approximate direction of where the message originated from.

"Say, Light, doesn't this bring back memories?", Varik asked Light, remembering all of the mercenaries that he and Light cut down shortly before he left for Onderon.

(I hope we don't have any more problems with LF eating our posts)

Corsail watched as Varik left the ship. He didn't understand why they had left Varik alive, he had betrayed them and almost killed the twi'lek that was working with them. He stood up and walked to the room that Per'dra and Zarev were talking,

"Are you two aware of Varik leaving the ship? Because he just took off on a speeder bike."

Light spoke back over the comm link Varik had found and left for them in the garage. "Indeed."

He hopped on the back of his own speeder, and followed Varik in the direction he'd left in, quickly catching up to him, before falling half a speeder behind to allow Varik to lead.

"Are you two aware of Varik leaving the ship? Because he just took off on a speeder bike."

Zarev looked up at Corsail sharply as he heard his voice. The full impact of what he said hit him a moment later.

"...You don't think that Tulak Hord managed to take control to him again do you?" he asked Per'dra quietly but not quietly enough as Vlalkor walked past.

"I don't think so." Vlalkor said as he walked into the room. "I heard he and that Light fellow talking. Apparently one of them picked up a distress call through the force. As far as I could tell, it sounds like someone is in trouble on tatooine so he and light went off to investigate."

Zarev shook his head. "Did Varik look like he did earlier when he was under Tulak Hord's control? Was he acting odd at all?"

Vlalkor shook his head. "No sir. As far as I could tell he seemed to be in control of himself."

Zarev looked over at Per'dra. "What do you think we should do?"



Dune sea
Tatooine

The sand was covering her body as she fought to stay alive despite the best efforts of the sand and the wind. She was tired...so very tired and the heat was sapping the little strength that she had left that was keeping her alive.

Her body was nearly totally covered in sand. Only her arms and head were uncovered by the sand and that was quickly changing. The assassin briefly opened her eyes as she heard the sound of speeder bikes approaching.

I really hope that that this isn't another sith lord looking for me...she thought.

Zarev looked over at Per'dra. "What do you think we should do?"


"Well I say we go after them, you can't trust Varik anymore, and what if this Light fellow is an imperial spy?" His eyes flickered with anger as he spoke, "If we had just killed him to begin with it would have saved us alot of problems."

"We must indeed go after them," Per'dra replied, "so let us. The sooner we catch up, the sooner we can find out what they're up to, and if they're in danger!" As for killing Varik, you may be right, but what if not? she thought.

As Varik's speeder bike got ever closer to the source, he saw something in the distance. It was the mercenary camp they fought through months ago - already nearly half buried. He slowed his bike to a halt, as he saw a figure nearly buried in the sand, unconscious.

He used the Force to lift her off of the sand, and into the air. She wore dark robes, which made him suspicious. The hilt on her belt, however, confirmed it.

"Sith.", he said with a hiss. He promptly dropped her body to the ground.

"It was a mistake to come here.", he said to Light. He grabbed the lightsabers off of his belt, but did not ignite them.

He could've sworn he heard the faint hum of other speeder bikes in the far distance.

''Aye. Looks like your Jedi pals have decided to chase tail. Our tails.'' He looked at the Sith and took her lightsaber.

''That will bring me some extra spice money.'' He took his modified blaster pistol from his belt. He moved his hand to the grenades dangling near his hip.

''Maybe we'll get some fun after all.''

"Good, I was afraid you'd say no." Corsail said with a smirk. "I saw him heading east, so thats the direction we should head."

He left the ship and mounted one of the near by speeder bikes and started it up. Sand flew into his face making him rub his eyes, he looked up into the sky and frowned. "Looks like a sand storm is coming this way, we better make this quick"

Dune sea


"Sith."

The assassin's eyes slowly opened as she felt herself being lifted off the ground and than winced as she was dropped.

"Not sith..." She muttered. "Not anymore...I showed weakness and as a result, I've been chased across the galaxy."

Her eyes widened for a moment as she felt her lightsaber being taken from her but sighed heavily. Were these two going to kill her? Had she survived so many attempts on her life and so many different hostile planets to be killed here? On Tatooine?

The assassin attempted to rise to her feet only to drop to her knees. She was too weak after her battle with a warrior and the sand filled winds of tatooine weren't helping either.

"My name is Avriela. And I am not sith!" She said as her voice regained some small measure of strength.


Shan

"So let us. The sooner we catch up, the sooner we can find out what they're up to, and if they're in danger!"

"Your right. But we're going to need a few speeders." Zarev said. "Vlalkor, I want you to stay on board and keep an eye on Kif. Let us know if his condition changes immediatly."

"yes sir."

Zarev headed towards the ramp and saw around four speeder bikes parked outside a cantina. "I recommend we borrow these for the time being. I'm sure they won't even be missed."

Zarev sat down on one of the speeders and activated it and reached out through the force and was able to quickly locate Varik's unique force signature.

"I've got a fix on Varik's location."

''That will bring me some extra spice money.''

Varik raised an eyebrow at Traver, and was about to speak before the Sith spoke.

"My name is Avriela. And I am not Sith!"

Varik laughed, showing cruelty he gave to only Sith. "I know you, I know your kind. Your self-destructive code brings only destruction and ruin to everything, including yourselves. But there is some truth to your words. You were not strong enough to be considered a true Sith. You were weak, selfish, and foolish."

"Who knows what atrocities you've done, the innocents you've slaughtered, and your adherence to that path. It is one thing to meet a Sith, so infatuated in his ways, and then to cut him down - still clinging to that belief. But to meet a Sith surrendering, after untold years of cruelty, to suddenly turn from that path that they clang to for years - begging for forgiveness when the odds turned against them, is even worse. You are a disgrace. I should give you 'mercy' by killing you right here and now. But I won't. I could send you to a POW camp, send you to the mercy of a patriotic Republic crowd of millions, or I could send you back to the Sith. I show no forgiveness to your kind."

He turned his back to the Sith, and walked to his speeder.

In the distance, he barely saw speeder bikes.

"I know you, I know your kind. Your self-destructive code brings only destruction and ruin to everything, including yourselves. But there is some truth to your words. You were not strong enough to be considered a true Sith. You were weak, selfish, and foolish."

Avriela lowered her gaze for a moment before bringing them back up to be level with Varik's. Her gaze was cold. "I am being hunted across the galaxy for one reason and one reason only: I thought I could forge my own path across the galaxy. I thought that a sith should not torture and murder and cause chaos. That is not the path I walk. I showed mercy and compassion to my enemies and that brought unwanted attention to myself. As a result, I am now considered a disease among sith."

"Who knows what atrocities you've done, the innocents you've slaughtered, and your adherence to that path. It is one thing to meet a Sith, so infatuated in his ways, and then to cut him down - still clinging to that belief. But to meet a Sith surrendering, after untold years of cruelty, to suddenly turn from that path that they clang to for years - begging for forgiveness when the odds turned against them, is even worse. You are a disgrace. I should give you 'mercy' by killing you right here and now. But I won't. I could send you to a POW camp, send you to the mercy of a patriotic Republic crowd of millions, or I could send you back to the Sith. I show no forgiveness to your kind."

Avriela's voice was cold and filled with regret. "I'm sorry that thats the way you feel about me. I'm thankful that you saved my life, but n my travels across the galaxy I met Jedi like you, jedi who wished me dead and jedi who attacked me on sight.

Avriela smiled. "And everyone of them still live."

Per'dra, on her speeder bike, spotted two figures in the receding distance. One of them was, of course, Varik, because she could trace his Force signature: conflicted yet determined to seek redemption (or retribution). The other was the assassin who had confronted them. Gunning the accelerator on her bike, she quickly closed the gap between herself and the two enough to hear what Varik was telling the human male:

"Who knows what atrocities you've done, the innocents you've slaughtered, and your adherence to that path. It is one thing to meet a Sith, so infatuated in his ways, and then to cut him down - still clinging to that belief. But to meet a Sith surrendering, after untold years of cruelty, to suddenly turn from that path that they clang to for years - begging for forgiveness when the odds turned against them, is even worse. You are a disgrace. I should give you 'mercy' by killing you right here and now. But I won't. I could send you to a POW camp, send you to the mercy of a patriotic Republic crowd of millions, or I could send you back to the Sith. I show no forgiveness to your kind."

"Are you sure Tulak Hord is gone, Varik?" Her voice was equal parts suspicion and disappointment. "If it is truly you speaking, I wonder how you call yourself a Jedi. We never execute our prisoners, no matter what their crimes, and we refrain from slaughtering unarmed opponents! Perhaps you can help us, assassin, and tell us what drove you to attack us on sight. For whom do you work? Are you associated in any way with the rogue Jedi Master Voleran? The more true answers that you give us, the more Varik won't want to kill you." Per'dra dismounted from her bike. "Also, the more I will believe you."

"Fine! Ally yourself with the Sith. Don't blame me when she takes advantage of that and tries to kill us all. Sith aren't to be trusted. I thought you knew that.", Varik said with heavy disgust.

He angrily grabbed Avriela's lightsaber out of Traver's hand, and drove off back towards the ship.

((Avriela is not the one who confronted them earlier, while we were fighting the Twi'lek jedi-turned-assassin, Avriela was fighting a sith warrior deep in the dune sea who has been dispatched to kill her. Just thought I would let you know. :)))

"Are you associated in any way with the rogue Jedi Master Voleran? The more true answers that you give us, the more Varik won't want to kill you."

Avriela shook her head in confusion. She was a bit wary of the group of people who had appeared but she didn't sense any killing intention from any of them. Well, she had sensed something close to it when the one known as Varik was talking to her but that was it.

"I don't know of a Jedi master named Voleran, come to think of it, I've only met a few jedi in my travels and most of them were not exactly willing to speak to me."

She narrowed her eyes as the full impact of what they had said hit her. A jedi master had gone rouge? That was interesting news.

"Also, the more I will believe you."

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help but I've been running from the sith for nearly a year now so forgive me but I've been out of contact with the majority of the galaxy for a long time."

She turned and looked towards the area that Varik had taken off towards, most likely it would lead back to some form of civillization. "Based on how many sith have come after me these past few weeks, I think they've been increasing their efforts to either capture or kill me. I think I'm going to need my lightsaber back."

"We can't believe a word she says, I don't think anything she just said was true" He drew one of his blasters out of his holster and pointed it in Avriela direction.

"Think about it, Varik pretends that he gets "possessed" by some sith spirit so he can betray us and still be considered an ally, hopping he could cut a few of us down while at the same time giving the rouge jedi Voleran time to finish business on tatooine, after that he leaves the ship to meet his sith contact and get paid whatever the sith was paying him to betray us."

Corsail took a breath then continued "This other jedi, Light, is an imperial spy working with Varik, and this other guy, whats his name? Oh yeah Traver, was apparently let in on the deal and went with them. Now that Varik has his pay he left Light and Traver behind to deal with us, while he go's back to the ship alone and....kills Vlalkor, the only person we left behind at the ship. He'll kill him and take our ship leaving us stranded on the planet."

Corsail looked around at everyone expecting them to see the truth in what he was saying.

Light definitely saw the perspective of this stranger, Avriela. Not belonging to either major group himself, he felt compassion for her. He moved forward putting his back to Avriela, and drawing his two one-handed sabers without igniting them.

"At worst I say we contain her. But claiming that everyone is a traitor, that's foolish. Varik took her light saber, so she doesn't have the ability to fight any of us. If he was a traitor, he'd leave her armed, hoping she'd kill some of us."

Light disabled Corsail's gun with the force, by forcing sand to completely clog it. Then, thinking better of what made him draw them, he belted his lightsabers, and offered a hand to Avriela by turning to the side and keeping an eye on Corsail.

"Of course you would say that!" Corsail shouted "She's your contact and you're still trying to get out of this with your life!" Corsail looked down as sand filled his gun. Blasted jedi.... He thought to himself. Corsail slowly moved his hand to his other blaster ready to draw it at any time.

He looked around at Zarev and Per'dra, "You can't really be falling for this can you?"

Per'dra Yllari blinked. Hard. "You've definitely thought this situation through very deeply," she told Corsail, "and I can see the merit that your theory holds. Varik could very well have pulled the proverbial wool over our eyes when he said he was possessed by Tulak Hord, but the thing is, I felt Hord within him. If Varik had only been pretending, Light and I would have known he was when we took a journey into his mind. We would have seen through his deception. True, Light could be a spy for the Empire, but from what I've heard, it takes a Sith Lord's degree of talent with the Force to pull off the 'battle' with Tulak Hord. To co-create that deep of an illusion, within someone else's consciousness, is a feat that no one that I've ever heard of can perform--or equal." She sighed.

"It could be that we're all being played for fools, and we need more than the hope that we're not being played for fools in order to continue! Is there some kind of test we can do with Varik and Light, besides killing them outright?"

Avriela took light's offered hand and was able to get to her feet and smiled in thanks. She turned to look at Corsail and shook her head.

"I can assured that I've never met any of you before and therefor have no way of being in league with anyone."

"You can't really be falling for this can you?"

Zarev blinked in confusion as he heard Corsail's theory. Wow...Hes really thought this out. Of course none of it can be true but still...it's almost as if hes suffering from extreme paranoia.

He looked over at Light and Traver. "Light helped us in finally defeating Tulak Hord and I'm sure I would sense some sort of killing intent if he and Traver were here to kill us but right now I don't sense anything close to that."

Shan

Vlalkor was sitting in the medbay making sure that Kif was alright when he heard the sound of the holoterminal activating.

"Hello? Is anyone reading me?"

Vlalkor made sure that Kif was stable and headed over to the holoterminal and saw a holographic image of Grand Master Satele Shan.

"Master Jedi. This is Vlalkor, I'm from Havoc Squad and have been assigned to assist in the mission. The rest of the group is currently investigating some sort of distress call. They should be returning shortly."

The Grand Master nodded once. "We have a new lead on Master Voleran. One of our knights managed to catch his trail for a short time. He stole a ship from Tatooine. The knight managed to hit his ship with a tracking device but we lost the signal a few hours after he entered hyperspace. Based on his trajectory we believe he is either heading to Nar Shaadda or Balmorra. Once the others come back let them know about this new development. We'll contact you with future updates."

Vlalkor nodded and the holoterminal shut off.


Unknown Location

"My lord, it appears that the assassin we dispatched has failed in her mission. I sensed her death through the force. We believe that one of the jedi that is traveling with the group is responsible."

The mysterious figure smiled darkly. "But we do have an accurate count on how many there are, Am I correct?"

"Yes my lord. We now known how many there are, their skills in combat and detailed information on the ship they are traveling on. We should be able to track them wherever they go."

The figure thought for a moment as he thought about their style of combat and with the ease that they had defeated his first drone.

"Voleran is heading to Balmorra so that I can influence the mind of the Sith overseer that leads the planet through him. Once that is complete, he will go straight to Yivoren so that one of my drones can obtain the data."

The figure thought for another moment. "We can't risk this group catching up with him. We recently managed to take control of the mind of one of the Dark Council, correct?"

"Yes my lord. Darth Sevairis is a new member on the council and was corrupted before he joined. He is extremley formidable in combat and has been charged with the murder of seven jedi masters during the war and nearly a dozen knights."

"Dispatch him to Balmorra. I want these insects dealt with."

"My name is Avriela. And I am NOT Sith!"

Avirela's voice echoed in Varik's head.

I showed mercy and compassion to my enemies and that brought unwanted attention to myself. As a result, I am now considered a disease among Sith."

Maybe she was telling the truth, Varik thought to himself.

"I met Jedi like you, Jedi who wished me dead and Jedi who attacked me on sight. And every one of them still live."

No, he thought to himself as his speeder rushed across the dunes.

Sith always lie, always manipulate. Once she heads toward the ship, she will betray and kill us all.

He parked his speeder bike in the alley of one of the buildings, and then boarded the Satele.

He clutched at the double-bladed lightsaber in his grip. And I'll be damned if I allow that to happen.

Vlalkor was just about to head to the medbay when he saw Varik board the ship. He quickly walked over and motioned to the holoterminal.

"While you were gone we recieved a transmission from Tython, it was Grand Master Satele Shan actually. It seems that the Jedi briefly managed to track Voleran. It seems that hes either heading to Nar Shaddaa or Balmorra. The Grand Master is going to contact us with future updates as they come."

"The bottom line is that Master Voleran is no longer on Tatooine. We need to get the others and try and find out if which planet he's heading to."

Dune Sea

Zarev was watching the assassin and Corsail with a careful eye. He didn't want anyone to start shooting and he didn't want the assassin to start using her force abilities.

He was about to speak to try and calm everyone down when he suddenly felt a sharp pain go through his mind as a voice screamed through his mind. The voice was devoid of emotion same as the last time he had heard it but it was very loud.

STOP ME...STOP ME...I CAN'T STOP

Zarev clutched his head as he dropped to his knees.

That voice...it's the same as before...but it's so much louder now! It hurts!

"While you were gone we recieved a transmission from Tython, it was Grand Master Satele Shan actually. It seems that the Jedi briefly managed to track Voleran. It seems that hes either heading to Nar Shaddaa or Balmorra. The Grand Master is going to contact us with future updates as they come. The bottom line is that Master Voleran is no longer on Tatooine. We need to get the others and try and find out if which planet he's heading to."

"Nar Shaddaa's too obvious. My gut tells me that they're heading to Balmorra.", Varik replied.

He walked to the other side of the room.

"Oh, and I almost forgot. Remember that 'distress call'? Turns out it was a Sith. Per'dra thinks we could trust her. I think she's going to betray us all. Keep an eye on her when she boards the ship, will ya? I already confiscated her lightsaber.", he added, holding up her lightsaber.

(( OCC: I will be on vacation until tuesday or something. I won't be able to participate in the RP at that time.))

Zarev clutched his head as he dropped to his knees.

Corsail saw Zarev fall to his knees, and glared at Avriela.

"She attacking him with her force powers! Kill the sith before it's too late!" He yelled. He snapped his second blaster from his belt and fired a spray of blaster bolts towards Avriela. Jumping back behind one of the speeder bikes for cover, he let off another spray towards Light and Traver.

Light, standing beside Avriela, quickly snapped his sabers to his hands, activating them and defending both himself and Avriela using the Soresu stance that had kept him alive with blaster weilding opponents. He carefully deflected the bolts away from himself and Avriela, mindfully avoiding the bystanders.

Using the force to sense where Corsail hid, Light pinned him down by moving the speeder bike with the force, so that it came to rest atop him. He calmly walked to where Corsail now lay, and put his saber at this paranoid man's throat. "Try that again, and I will not hesitate to kill you."

He turned his lightsabers off, returned them to his belt, and looked around to see how the others had faired, minus Traver who had quietly disappeared.

"Zarev!" Per'dra fell to her knees as well as her Jedi ally collapsed in the throes of whatever force--or person--was trying to contact him. "Stay with me!" She grasped him around the waist as he thrashed. Whether this presence was Avriela's or not, she could not discern, but right now she wanted to keep Zarev as safe as he could be under the circumstances. "Talk to me. Come on." Should I enter his mind? I can't, for two reasons: 1) he has to LET me in, and 2) he doesn't seem possessed like Varik did. Instead, it's like he's being completely stunned by the "loudness" of whoever's trying to communicate with him through the Force. She repeated her command: "Talk to me, Zarev..."

Avriela eyes widened in shock as the Corsail fired his blaster at her and sighed heavily in relief as Light ignited his lightsaber and deflected the shots away from her.

"Thank you...I don't know why but I couldn't sense that attack coming, not that I would have been much good without my lightsaber."

"Talk to me, Zarev..."

Zarev muttered in pain as he attempted to block at least some of the effect of the voice from his mind.

STOP ME...STOP ME...I CAN'T STOP

"It...It's in my head..." He whispered. "I can hear him screaming in my head..."

Avriela couldn't help but overhear what he was whispering. She was using what little bit of her force strength to highten her senses just in case Corsail tried something again.

"Hold on...I swear this won't hurt at all." She said quietly as she moved past Corsail and placed her hands on his head. She turned to look at Per'dra and took a deep breath. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt him."

Avriela began to focus what little remained of her energy and used the force to reach out and see what was in Zarev's head.

STOP ME...STOP ME...I CAN'T STOP

The voice...it's causing you so much pain. Her voice echoed gently through his mind as she tried to focus what little remained of her power to build up a sort of mental wall between his mind and the voice.

Just a little bit more...she thought desperatly as she tried to finish the work only to find her strength failing her.

Her eyes were still closed and she didn't take her hands off of his head as she spoke quietly. "Jedi...I need help. I'm trying to build a mental wall between his mind and this voice. My strength is failing me and I don't think I'll be able to finish this on my own..."

"Help me. Help me save your friend."

Corsail pushed the speeder bike up with his legs and slid out from under it. He had almost wanted to detonate a grenade in Lights face when he had walked over to him, but decided it would have been equally damaging to his own health.

He saw Per'dra and the sith crouching beside Zarev, "What is this???" Corsail couldn't believe what he was seeing "Is the sith your long lost friend or something?"

Light moved up behind Avriela and placed a hand on her shoulder. Though his fight with Horde had taken a bit out of him, Light had recouperated, as it was more a mental action using the Force. Recent actions had become commonplace to him and didn't tired him.

He gave strength to this unknown individual having gleaned her intent with the Force. He removed his hand once he deemed she had enough strength to help Zarev and still be able to support herself untill the party arrived at the ship.

After this, he turned toward Corsail, giving him a wink, and moved to get back on his speeder where he would wait for the others to mount up so they could return to the ship.