Light stood in front of Kif, deflecting blaster bolts until Per'dra put the soldiers into stasis. When their blood vessels began to burst, Light moved over to Zarev and spoke quietly so as to avoid disturbing Per'dra.

"I'm going to help the others, be careful here. Try to save those soldiers if you can."

Light burst into a sprint, using the Force to muffle his footsteps, all the way outside, hopping onto a speeder and starting it up.

Should've muffled that too... Sorry

He kicked it into gear and took off where the dirt was still swirling from Avriela's flight to join the others, following the disturbance in the Force as a compass. Light arrived in time to see Varik on the stranger. Adrenaline heightening his senses, he could hear a crunching sound coming from there, and began to attempt to ram them with the speeder, hoping Varik would get out of the way in time.

Per'dra gasped, horrified, as the soldiers seemed to be crushed to death from the inside out by their nameless foe. "Zarev! I don't think there's anything we can do, but let's try anyway!" One by one, the Jedi Knight checked each body, streaming with blood and filth. These soldiers' demises had been not only quick, but excruciatingly painful beforehand. Once she discerned that every one of them was now united with the Force, she gazed at Zarev and shook her head.

"It's too late. The only thing either of us can do now is try to find this 'black-cloaked man' of whom one soldier spoke. The thing is, that describes every single Sith I've ever encountered, except for Master Karos, who was a traitor. She was a Jedi in name, but a Sith at heart, all in white..." Clearing her throat, she stood up from her squatting position. "Enough of old memories. Let's go!"

Canyons

Sevairis's body suddenly tensed up as he sensed the incoming speeder. The Dark Council member used his one remaining hand to send a blast of force energy into the ground, both he and Varik went flying into the air as the speeder passed harmlessly past them.

Sevairis landed on his side with Varik still hanging off him. He grunted in pain, the odd landing angle had hurt his leg but the voice inside his head was still forcing him to fight.

Enough of this. Kill them all.

Sevairis gathered the force around him and unleashed a massive burst of energy that sent Varik flying off him and pulverized a good portion of the ground around him. He reached for his lightsaber only to notice that it was gone.

Sevairis unleashed a powerful surge of lightning from his hands even as his eyes searched for his missing lightsaber.


Republic HQ

"It's too late. The only thing either of us can do now is try to find this 'black-cloaked man' of whom one soldier spoke. The thing is, that describes every single Sith I've ever encountered, except for Master Karos, who was a traitor. She was a Jedi in name, but a Sith at heart, all in white...Enough of old memories. Let's go!"

"I can't help but think that somehow Voleran is involved in this somehow." Zarev said quietly as he took a look at Kif. "Is it possible that he was the one who corrupted the men?"

Light sailed past his intended target, pulled the e-brake, drifted, and killed the engine once the speeder came to a stop. He hopped off and turned in time to see Varik go flying again, noticing Avriela standing near the crumpled form of someone else...
Corsail? Must be...

Light wasn't impressed by the flashy Force moves the Sith was putting on. They seemed very wasteful. He noticed the scanning motions of his head and determined that he was looking for something.

We need to get Corsail out of here, or at least safe...
Light tried to send Avriela the thought through the force, but both had their minds on battle, causing this to be a difficult task.

Almost a minute later, all things went to hell. Varik smashed into the ground, still grappled to Sevairis. A massive force wave pulverized Varik into an opposing rock face. He pulled himself out of it - and slumped to the ground, almost limp. He attempted to pull himself up, but he began to stumble and almost fell again. Ligaments felt torn, and some bones felt broken. He tried using the Force to heighten his adrenaline levels and block out the pain, but it wouldn't matter if his ligaments and bones were broken.

Still he tried, and he managed to walk a couple steps before falling again. Losing his focus, he felt massive pain shoot all around his body. He bit his tongue with all his might, to prevent him from screaming in pure agony. His tongue began to bleed as he held it in, and attempted to crawl by just using his arms to pull him forward. He pulled out a vibroknife from somewhere inside the folds of his robes to give him a stronger hold. Eventually, he started getting closer, only a few dozen feet away from where Corsail was.

He grabbed ones of his lightsabers and ignited it. He then threw it at Sevairis's leg, using the Force to guide it and hoping that it would strike.

We need...get Corsail out of...safe...

Avriela could tell that they were quickly losing this battle. Corsail was out of action and and Varik wasn't looking much better. Light was trying to contact her but she was having trouble, the sith was somehow jamming the message partly. Although she had fought many sith during her time she had never seen one this skilled in combat in her life.

She quickly looked at Varik who had just thrown his lightsaber at the mysterious sith when she realized what she had to do. It was going to be very painful but it was the only way to make sure that they survived this fight.

She sent a burst of energy through the force and was momentarily able to get a message through to light although she could tell it was going to be scrambled.

Get Varik and Corsail to safety. I'll handle the sith.

Avriela took a running leap and brought her ignited double bladed lighsaber down on the sith who had just found his lightsaber and summoned it to his hand just as the lightsaber that Varik had thrown hit the sith hilt first before making a cut in his leg as the blade part of it caught a bit of his leg. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the pain that was to come.

She wasn't disappointed.

Her arm burned with an intense pain as the Sith's lightsaber cut up across her arm. Not deep enough to cut all the way through but enough to cause her severe pain and badly injure her arm.

But it allowed her to get close enough with her other, undamaged arm and slam the lightsaber blade through the sith's shoulder. The sith let out a loud roar of pain as the hilt slammed into his body, knocking him to the ground. The blade of the lightsaber cut through the rock and ground, pinning him to the ground.

Avriela rolled off the sith who was still trying to remove the lightsaber without much luck and smiled as she found herself face to face with the injured Varik.

"We got him." she whispered in agony as she staggered to her feet and leaned against a boulder and offered her hand to Varik. "I personally think that we should kill him but we could question him."

Light received most of the message, assuming that she said for him to get Corsail and Varik to something, figuring she meant safety, and then we should fight the Sith. He quickly moved to Corsail, checked for injuries that would make it a bad idea to move him.

Finding none, Light picked Corsail's limp body off the ground and onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry. He used the force to move quickly to the speeder he had driven and laid him down behind it.

Light returned to the site of battle to find the Sith pinned to the ground. One way of doing things..

He walked over slowly to where the Sith was, and the other--former Sith Avriela was nearby, apparently attempting to help Varik up. Light took the lightsaber from the Sith's hand, igniting it and one of his own, crossing them at his neck.

"Were you the one who killed those troops at the HQ? What do you know about Voleran?" Light spoke the two questions he had for the Sith with ease despite the damage he had done to two members of the group.

He grasped her hand as she pulled him up.

"Thank you.", Varik said, before using the Force to reclaim his lightsabers and put them back on his belt.

He found himself having to lean on her shoulder in order to stand upright.

"Were you the one who killed those troops at the HQ? What do you know about Voleran?"

"Before we fought, he asked for me to kill him. And during the fight, I've seen him hesitate numerous times. I think he could be controlled by Voleran. And you said soldiers at the HQ? Maybe he controlled them too?"", Varik added, shifting his weight to alleviate some of the pressure off of Avirela's arm.

Balmorran Canyons

"Before we fought, he asked for me to kill him. And during the fight, I've seen him hesitate numerous times. I think he could be controlled by Voleran. And you said soldiers at the HQ? Maybe he controlled them too?"

You have failed me Sevairis. For that, you will die a very painful death. You were a fool to try and challenge me, to try to drive me from your mind. I expected much more effort from a member of the Dark Council.

No...This body is mine...THIS BODY IS MINE!

What is this?!

The dark council member was able to momentarily drive the presence away before focusing on the severe pain he was feeling from the lightsaber that was pinning him to the ground. Instead of driving it away, he embraced it, forged it into a shield to protect himself from the bizzare presence that had taken control of him.

Your shield will not last long fool. You won't be able to resist me for long. The moment it falters I will return.

Not this time...There is always a way out.

Sevairis couldn't move but he could speak. He knew he would have to speak quickly if he wanted to inform the group of what needed to be said.

"Voleran...is not the controller." he whispered painfully. "The dark figure is a threat to all...controls everyone he comes in contact with. The dark council...sensed his power, sent me to fight him. But he was far too powerful. Voleran is essental to his plans, corrupted the solders at the republic base."

Sevairis could feel the shield around his mind begining to weaken as the other presence tried to force its way past the mental shield. "I...was forced to come to Balmorra to kill you. To stop you from interfering in his plans. He considers you a threat to his plans."

He looked down at the lightsabers that were at his throat and he knew that either they would kill him or the dark presence fighting to get inside his mind would.

He reached out with his free hand and grabbed Varik's hand and concentrated for just a moment and he sent him a mental image of the system that he had traveled to so he could confront the mysterious force user. He hoped that the jedi would recieve his message and understand the coordinates that he had sent.

He looked over at his lightsaber which was laying on the ground a few feet away from him and tried to summon it to his hand but found that trying to keep the other presence away was taking all of his concentration.

"Please...if left unchecked he will take control of everything. Find Voleran...and stop him. He is the key to stopping the dark figure."

He laid his head back against the ground and sighed painfully as the other presence continued to hammer at his mental shield which was very close to shattering.

Light shook his head. "We can't confirm any of this, but we can't ignore it."

Using the Sith's saber, he put a hole in Sevairis's head. "Pity, but I know the fate that would have awaited you. This is the most mercy I can give you."

Light looked at his feet for a moment, collected himself, and faced the others. He put his own saber back on his belt and turned off the Sith's, which he placed in his pocket. "What's next?"

"He very well might be, because I have the feeling this Force presence is familiar. Regardless, we need to bolt!" She glanced uneasily around at the Republic troopers who were not being controlled by the mysterious presence, and they were seething with rage. "Come on!" She grasped Zarev's hand and began to dash down the base corridors.

When Corsail opened his eyes, he sensed the battle was over. With great effort, he struggled to sit up, using the speeder beside him as a prop. "Arghh! I feel like a rancor stepped on me....Twice."

He looked over where the group was standing, beside the dead sith lord, or at least he hoped he was dead. Apparently, some help arrived after I passed out. He thought to himself.

"When did you two decide to join the party?" He asked, directing his question toward Light.

Balmorran Canyons

"What's next?"

Avriela looked at the group and then looked towards the direction of the republic base. "I think we should head back to the ship. If what the sith said was true we may be walking into a trap if we head back to the base. I think the best thing we can do is get Zarev and Per'dra out of there and then decide our next move."

She looked over at Varik. "When he grabbed your arm...I felt something in the force. I'm not exactly sure what it was though. Did you feel anything or sense anything when he grabbed your arm? Anything at all?


Republic Base

"He very well might be, because I have the feeling this Force presence is familiar. Regardless, we need to bolt! Come on!"

"Agreed." Zarev said as he continued running with Per'dra. As they ran through the corridors Zarev could hear shouts of anger. An alarm began to sound through the corridors.

"Attention! Base is now on lockdown! We have intruders in the base!" Zarev shook his head as he saw the doors begining to close behind them.

"This whole planet isn't safe! We need to contact Vlalkor and get aboard the Shan!"

Zarev's comnlink shook once and Vlalkor's voice echoed through the corridor. "I was able to hack into the base's comnlinks. Already on my way. I'm prepared to blast my way through the front doors if you can't reach the entrance. After we grab you we need to pick up the others, I'm picking up a large group of imperials heading towards them."

"When did you two decide to join the party?"
"When he grabbed your arm...I felt something in the force. I'm not exactly sure what it was though. Did you feel anything or sense anything when he grabbed your arm? Anything at all?"

Light had noticed a bit more, but not enough to glean usable information from. Noticing the question wasn't directed towards him, and that another was, he walked towards Corsail. Once he was at his side, he kneeled down. "You all right? You don't look so good."

"You all right? You don't look so good."

Corsail raised an eyebrow at this question. Very few people had ever asked him that, and even fewer actually ment it.

"No, not really. The wounds will heal if thats what you're asking. The wounds always heal eventually, but i'm the kind of guy who will never be alright."

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, "You the one who killed the sith? I mean like, actually killed him? I was half expecting him to be invited to our ship to join our mission." He grinned, "Heh, like we would ever actually let a sith join us...."

"When he grabbed your arm...I felt something in the force. I'm not exactly sure what it was though. Did you feel anything or sense anything when he grabbed your arm? Anything at all?"

"He sent me the coordinates of a system; I think it's where Voleran is.", Varik paused for just a moment, looking again at the mental image in his mind. "It's...Taris. We have to go to Taris!"

He looked as Light decapitated the Sith Councilor. "A shame, but it's for the best. Rest in peace." He turned and saw Corsail, and smiled.

"Good to see you aren't dead. You took quite a beating."

Balmorran Canyons

"It's...Taris. We have to go to Taris!"

Avriela smiled. "Hopefully we can finally catch up with our elusive jedi friend on Taris. Before I went on the run, I heard that the Sith currently have some sort of orbital defense around the planet so no one can leave without their authorization. Things could have changed so don't quote me on that."

She looked down at the dead sith and shook her head. "Something's wrong here. Our attacker is dead but I can still sense...something."

She suddenly whirled around as a flurry of blaster bolts came from above. Her double bladed lightsaber ignited and deflected the majority of the bolts away. She looked up and sent a blast of force lightning in the direction the bolts had come from.

"We've got company! Imperial troopers!" She shouted urgently.


Republic Base

As Zarev and Per'dra continued running the comnlink suddenly activated again. "I'm less then a minute from the base but I don't see you outside! Where are you two? I'm picking up comn chatter from some of the troops and they're gathering outside the doors. They have some seriously heavy firepower with them. Hurry it up!"

"Yeah, right? Only former Sith, huh?" Light smiled at Corsail. He looked back at the corpse of the Sith with the hole in his head. "You never know, maybe we could've used his force lightning for something, haha.." Light's face returned to a stoic expression.

Suddenly he heard something. Heavy crunches... and swooshing sounds. "You hear that? It's almost like--" He was cut off as several Imperial troops came in. Some on speeders, some on foot.

"Shi+!"

Light stood in a defensive posture in front of the injured Corsail, deflecting blaster bolts as best he could. "You think you could start the speeder?"

One of the bolts Light deflected hit one of the speeder drivers in the head. The bike slid across the ground towards the other two members of the group. "We need to get out of here! Try that bike!" He yelled towards Avriela and Varik. The closest ground troops were beginning to come within the range of their blaster rifles, opening fire as they did.

"You think you could start the speeder?"


Corsail flinched as if the task sounded impossible, "I'll try." he said as he desperately struggled to stand up. Every bone in his body screamed at him, making him collaspse back down to the side of the speeder.

"Aghh!" He squinted his eyes shut, trying to block out the pain. He placed his hands on the rails of the speeder and tried to pull himself up. "Here comes more pain." he mumbled under his breath.

He threw himself over the rail and landed in the speeder with a thud. Before he had time to feel the pain he quickly reached the activation switch and turned it on.

"It's on! Get in the blasted speeder and lets get out of here!"

"Did we take a wrong turn or something? Why in the Force is it taking us so long to get out of here?" Per'dra Yllari gasped for breath as she continued to run beside Zarev. She exerted a bit of energy through her fingertips and pointed them at the nearest alarm console, making it explode in a hail of non-lethal shrapnel that distracted their Republic pursuers. "I hate to have to destroy Republic property, since they're on our side, but this is an emergency!"

Republic HQ

"Did we take a wrong turn or something? Why in the Force is it taking us so long to get out of here? I hate to have to destroy Republic property, since they're on our side, but this is an emergency!"

Zarev saw there was only one door left in front of them but it was closing quickly. He took a quick look back at the republic solders chasing them. He could sense the rage coming off them. "Trust me! They're not on our side at the moment!"

Zarev saw that the door was already half way down and if they didn't get out now they would most likely be trapped in the base. Zarev did the only thing he could think of at the moment.

"Hold on Per'dra!" He shouted as he grabbed her and held her against him even as he threw himself forward. The two of them rolled under the door as it closed behind them.

He let Per'dra go and smiled as he got to his feet and helped her up. He blushed slightly. I'm...uh sorry that I had to hold you like that. At the rate that door was closing only one of us would have made it out."

The sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention even as a much louder sound cut through the air. A large shadow covered the area as the Shan appeared overhead.

The loading ramp slowly went down as Vlalkor appeared at the top of the ramp.

"What are you waiting for?! We need to get out of here!" He shouted urgently as blaster fire started to hit the ship.


Balmorran Canyons

"It's on! Get in the blasted speeder and lets get out of here!"

Avriela looked at Varik and grabbed him and began running towards the speeder. She turned to look back at Light as she deactivated her lightsaber. "Light! Get in here so we can go!"

Light looked at everyone else. Corsail looked woozy in the back of the bike (which had a container area on the back, allowing him to sit down), Avriela and Varik were getting on their own speeder.

"I'll take care of Corsail, you guys get out of here"

One of the blaster shots grazed his arm while he was still standing there. Blood began falling down his arm, staining his robe.

Taking this as a sign, he hopped on the bike, kicked it into gear, and took off, going right towards a couple of ground troops and cutting them down. This created a hole in the enemy line, and Light made use of it to get away from the Imperial ambush.

Per'dra clambered aboard the ship as fast as she could. "Who knows what Voleran's going to do next, or who will be his next victim?!" She turned to Zarev. "As for you...you...did what you could, and what was necessary. I'm glad I have you watching my back when I need it."

Balmorra Canyons

"I'll take care of Corsail, you guys get out of here"

Avriela made sure that Varik was securly on the bike before immediatly sending the bike through the imperial lines after Light. She couldn't help but wonder, what it possible that someone had informed the imperials that they had been there? Was it possible they had a spy in their midst?

She continued following Light's bike and she knew that she couldn't take her eyes off it but she felt she had to ask.

"Varik?" She asked quietly, "Are you alright?"


Shan

"As for you...you...did what you could, and what was necessary. I'm glad I have you watching my back when I need it."

Zarev smiled at Per'dra as Vlalkor pushed past the two of them and headed into the cockpit. "I'm reading two speeder bikes heading for the Republic HQ at top speed." The trooper reported as he activated the shields and adjusted the Shan's course.

"I'm going to assume that would be Varik and the others. Moving to intercept. If they go near the HQ it's likely they'll become a target."

Zarev looked at Vlalkor and then at Per'dra. "And I'm glad that I have you to watch my back."

The Shan flew over the battleworn planet's surface and quickly came across the two speeder bikes. Vlalkor slowly flew over the two of them and adjusted the Shan's flight pattern so that the ramp would reach the ground while still allowing it to hover above the ground.

The ramp slowly lowered and Vlalkor appeared at the top once again. "Get onboard now!" He shouted down at Avriela and Light. We need to get going now!"

"Varik? Are you alright?"

"I guess so.", Varik replied as they went up the boarding ramp.

He stumbled out of the speeder, but collapsed on the floor when he tried to walk. He grumbled angrily as he pulled himself to sit against a wall.

"Wait a minute." he said aloud as Light and them went up the boarding ramp. "Where's Kif?"

Light was getting Corsail off the bike when Varik spoke. His eyes widened, apalled that the others could have forgotten him. "Son of a b****"

Light laid Corsail down and ran off to the cockpit, repeating Varik's question when he got there. "Where is Kif?!"

Shan

"Where's Kif?"

The smile on Zarev's face abruptly vanished and was replaced by a look of pure horror as he realized what he had accidently done. "I...I...I'm sorry Varik," he whispered. "The republic solders were attacking us and the base was locking up. With all that was going on...I must have forgotten to get him out of the kolto tank."

Zarev lowered his head in shame and shook his head in disbelief. How could he have forgotten Kif?! He had done something that he would most likely not be able to forgive himself for.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "But the base is on lockdown and I think right now if we tried to go back for him the base's air defenses would rip us apart."


Shan Cockpit

"Where is Kif?!"

Vlalkor didn't turn from the controls as the Shan turned and headed towards the sky. "He's still at the base, most likely still in his kolto tank."

Vlalkor turned to look at Light and shook his head. "As far as I could tell we couldn't get him out of the base before the lockdown was over. Our mission takes priority over the life of one man."

There has to be something... There's always a way..

"We can spare more than a couple of hours, and those air defenses are designed for ships. If we can get thirty minutes and a way down, a lockdown won't stop a precise strike with a small team."

Light paused for a moment, snapped his fingers, and said to the pilot, "Do we have the gear for a HALO jump? That would allow us to avoid AA and get us in to the base. Only worry then would be friendly casualties, right?"

"Is this what I'm hearing?", Varik asked incredulously. "What ever happened to 'no man left behind'? Have you forgotten that Kif is in critical condition? If the Republic doesn't kill him then the Sith most certainly will!"

"The mission may come first, but that's no excuse for leaving people behind to die because you 'forgot about them'. THAT IS RIDICULOUS. Jedi should know better, and especially you. Was he too much of a burden for you? Had you forgotten he put his life on the line for the rest of you?! Did you forget that too?!"

Varik was fuming. If only his legs had not been out of condition...

"You might've forgotten about Kif, but I sure as hell haven't! Somebody turn this damn ship around!"

With some effort, Corsail pulled himself up into a nearby chair.

"The republic solders were attacking us and the base was locking up. With all that was going on...I must have forgotten to get him out of the kolto tank."

Corsail blinked. "Why were the republic soldiers attacking you in the first place? Was the entire outpost working for the empire?"

Shan

"What ever happened to 'no man left behind'? Have you forgotten that Kif is in critical condition? If the Republic doesn't kill him then the Sith most certainly will!"

"The mission may come first, but that's no excuse for leaving people behind to die because you 'forgot about them'. THAT IS RIDICULOUS. Jedi should know better, and especially you. Was he too much of a burden for you? Had you forgotten he put his life on the line for the rest of you?! Did you forget that too?!"

Zarev was completly quiet for a moment as he looked down at the ground. When he rasied his head his eyes were blazing with anger and fury. "Vlalkor, bring the Shan about and head for the base. Prepare for a jump."

Vlalkor shook his head. "I'm sorry sir, but the base's defenses would rip us apart before we reached the inside of th- Augh!" Vlalkor's voice cut off as Zarev slowly moved towards him with both of his hands facing outward. Vlalkor could feel the pressue as Zarev used the force to push him back into the pilot's seat.

"You seem to be under the impression that that was a suggestion. You will turn this ship around towards the base or you will be relieved of duty."

"Sto-Stop this..." Vlalkor whispered painfully as his hand tried going to his balster pistol, but Zarev grabbed it with the force and crushed it easily.

"Now that you've had the time to think...will you turn the ship around?" Zarev asked quietly. Vlalkor nodded urgently. "Good. Now turn us around."

Zarev turned towards the others and brushed past them as he headed for the ship's ramp. He turned to look at them with a small but dark looking smile. "Anyone who wants to come along can."

Zarev steadied himself as the ship stopped moving above the base and the ramp extended down to the roof of the base.


"Why were the republic soldiers attacking you in the first place? Was the entire outpost working for the empire?"

Avriela shook her head. "I'm going to guess that Voleran got to the base somehow and corrupted them. From what I understand, all it takes is one person to spread his influence."

"If you don't mind, I'll guard the ship, because I think the Republic soldiers will recognize me on sight," said Per'dra. "And, after all, it was my trying to figure out where the jamming signal for Grandmaster Shan's communications was coming from that got us into this mess. If I hadn't been wandering around, I don't think we'd be in this jam in the first place."

Shan
Above Balmorra HQ

"If you don't mind, I'll guard the ship, because I think the Republic soldiers will recognize me on sight and, after all, it was my trying to figure out where the jamming signal for Grandmaster Shan's communications was coming from that got us into this mess. If I hadn't been wandering around, I don't think we'd be in this jam in the first place."

Zarev shrugged his shoulders and ignited his lightsaber as he prepared to jump down to the roof of the Republic HQ. He shook his head. "I'm going to need a quick pickup once I grab Kif. Keep the engines at full power."

He couldn't help but shake his head in slight confusion. Why had he been so vicious with Vlalkor? In fact, he could barely remember the incident even though is had only happened a few minutes ago.

What is...What is wrong with me? he thought in confusion.

Nothing.

Zarev ran down to the bottom of the ramp and took a flying jump and landed safetly on the roof of the building although the landing did cause his feet to hurt for a few moments.

Another alarm began to sound as solders began to run up to the roof in response to the alarm. Zarev ran at the group and unleashed a wave of force energy that sent most of them flying back, most of them hit one of the walls but a few of them were sent flying over the edge of the building.

Avriela moved to the top of the ramp and watched as Zarev ran at the group of downed solders with his lightsaber ignited.

What is he doing?!

"Zarev! Stop this!" She shouted out urgently as he cut down two of the downed solders. She turned and stared at the group.

"It's like he lost his mind! He's not holding back! He's killing them!"

Light's eyes widened in confusion. He had suggested a way down without putting the ship in danger, and yet Zarev had flipped out. Despite this, and the ship getting hit by AA fire, he was right behind him after he hit the roof, landing more cleanly than Zarev had.

Light watched as Zarev cut down a pair of soldiers, then ran up behind him, putting a foot into the back of his knee, and putting the Sith's lightsaber close to his throat.

"No more killing. There is a chance we can save them if we take out whoever is causing this. One more, and I will cut you down, understood?"

Killing is not something you should do lightly in any case, let alone against friendlies. What is wrong with him?

Per'dra Yllari doubled over in sudden agony. Despite herself, she screamed. Even though Jedi were trained to resist and restrain such displays of emotion, she could not control herself. The excruciating pain she felt was not only that of the soldiers as they died, but also of Zarev as he cut them down. What was he doing, and why? Who or what was influencing him, if anything? The Dark Side of the Force was like a cold black fog, clouding her thoughts. As she knelt, it took all of her strength to call out through its netherworld to Zarev's mind:

Zarev! Are you still able to talk to me, especially of who is controlling you? Is it Voleran? If so, I'll take the risk of contacting him directly. For now, speak!

Balmorra
Republic HQ

"No more killing. There is a chance we can save them if we take out whoever is causing this. One more, and I will cut you down, understood?"

Zarev chuckled. "You can't seem to sense it can you? There's nothing left to them. Their minds are gone."

Zarev turned to slowly look at Light as he smiled again. "You however...still seem to have some common sense left in you. You can either back off now or I will kill you."

What is this...this...this is wrong! What's in my head?!

Zarev's body seemed to move on it's own as his other foot slammed into Light's stomach which sent him reeling backwards. He then gathered the force around him and unleashed a powerful force push that sent him backwards against the wall. He simply continued pushing Light against the wall even as what was left of his mind screamed at his body to stop.

Your quest stops here Jedi. Voleran is the key my domination of both the Sith and the Republic. Nothing will stand in my way.

Zarev! Are you still able to talk to me, especially of who is controlling you? Is it Voleran? If so, I'll take the risk of contacting him directly. For now, speak!

Zarev let out a howl of rage and grief as he continued to push Light against the wall. Something...Something so much stronger. He sent back to Per'dra as whatever it was in his mind closed off his mind to everything.

"Light...get Kif...get out of here...before he takes you as well." Zarev whispered painfully as the remaining republic solders suddenly stopped firing at Zarev and formed up on him instead and took aim at the Shan's ramp.

"Please..." He whispered. "Get Per'dra and the others out of here before he takes them as well."

It was at that point that Zarev's body twitched once and Light was no longer restrained by Zarev's force push. Instead he slowly turned to the Shan and gripped it with the force and began crush the vessel's laser cannons with the force.

As Varik was sitting close to the boarding ramp, he looked down to see chaos Zarev killing Republic soldiers, then pinning Light against a wall, and then turning to see Per'dra scream.

"Light needs help down there! Avirela, could you heal up my legs, so I could at least be able to walk?"

The firing stopped, and then suddenly he heard the sound of metal crushing, and rifles being aimed. "Preferably soon?"

"Light needs help down there! Avirela, could you heal up my legs, so I could at least be able to walk?"

Avriela looked down at Zarev and the corrupted Republic solders before turning to Varik.

"I'm going to try and move some of your bones back into place in your legs. You should be able to walk but Its going to hurt pretty badly at first. Use the force to try and block the pain."

Avriela gently took Varik's leg and positioned it.

"Hold on!"

Avriela used the force to hold the leg steady as she quickly began to move the bones back into place. She couldn't fix the broken ones but she was hoping that Varik would be able to assist Light.

"Alright...one last thing." She said quietly as she grabbed a stimpack from one of the shelves and injected it into his leg.

"That should numb the pain. I can't fix the broken bones right now but if we have more time I can."

The Shan shook violently as two of the laser cannons were finally crushed as Zarev continued his assault on the Shan.

Vlalkor swore violently from the pilot's chair. "He's starting to attack our concussion missle launcher! If one of them detonates we might not make it out of here!"

The sound of blaster bolts could be heard hitting the hull and sparks began to erupt from consoles all around the ship. "Either we get Kif now or we don't! The ship can't take much more of this!"

Corsail had no idea what was going on, and was starting to black out again from the pain. He shook his head to try and clear his vision so he could see what all the shouting and sounds of blaster fire was about.

"Whats going on? Who's attacking us?" He asked, as he failed to stand up.

Wonderful, i'm completely useless. Were under attack and i'm too wounded to do anything. He thought to himself.

"He's starting to attack our concussion missle launcher! If one of them detonates we might not make it out of here!"

"That's a comforting thought." he mumbled as his vision grew hazy again.

Varik wasted no time, jumping out of the ship. He channeled the Force as he released it as he hit the ground, resulting in a shockwave that knocked all of the soldiers back. He grabbed and ignited one of his lightsabers, saving the second for when he really needed it.

"Stand down Zarev! I will NOT hesitate to hurt you.", Varik said, pointing his lightsaber at him.

Light, I'll distract him. Just go and get Kif. Now!, Varik said telepathically to Light.

Shan

"Whats going on? Who's attacking us?"

Vlalkor didn't turn from the controls. "It's Zarev. Something happened to him and now he's using his force powers against us. He's already taken out our laser cannons and now he's trying to take out our concussion missle launchers."


Balmorra
Republic HQ

"Stand down Zarev! I will NOT hesitate to hurt you.",

Zarev slowly turned around and released his force hold on the Shan's concussion missle launchers and turned to face Varik . His hand went down to his lightsaber and ignited his double-bladed lightsaber.

"I'm afraid your friend is no longer in control of this body." Zarev voice sounded off...as though something was speaking through him. "Your jedi friend is no longer here. I will use him to kill you all off and than my plans will continue unopposed."

Zarev briefly gathered the force around him and unleashed a massive force wave that caused the Shan to shake violently and almost caused Avriela to loose her balance and fall off the ramp and sent Varik stumbling backward.

Some of the republic solders were starting to get back to their feet and Zarev smiled as he grabbed a large piece of debries with the force and sent it flying towards Varik while grabbing smaller pieces and sending them flying towards the Shan.

Vlalkor swore violently as the Shan continued to take severe damage. "We can't take much more! We need to grab Kif and leave before the engines take more damage and we won't be able to get into space!"

Traver had awakened from the wild shaking. He felt horribly, and he was like seriously ill. He stumbled outside and saw them and he quickly pointed his pistol at Zarev. His face was as pale as marble. He was sweating, blood dripping from his mouth. He looked quite mad, his mouth wide open and his eyes wide open. Then his nose began to bleed too, and he couldn't breathe for a second.

''S-stand down.'' He said, with the utmost difficulty. ''O-or I will kill you.''

His free hand lowered to his belt, where he got a bottle full of blue liquid. He opened it and it began to smoke rather alarmingly. He drank it all up and then fell on the floor, but not before shooting at Zarev's chest.

''F-****.''

"It's Zarev. Something happened to him and now he's using his force powers against us. He's already taken out our laser cannons and now he's trying to take out our concussion missle launchers."


"Zarev's attac-" Corsail was interrupted by the ship lurching sideways sending him flying off the chair he was in. He grunted in pain as he slammed agianst the ships floor. Looking up he saw Zarev outside sending waves of wreckage and debris towards the Shan.

Seeing Avriela standing on the ships ramp he unholstered one of his blasters.
"Hey Sith!" he shouted, "Use this!" He tossed her the blaster and unholstered his second one, just incase.

He tried to take aim with it but he was in a very bad angle and position. Just then Traver stumbled in. Where has he been all this time? He wondered.

Roof of Republic HQ
Balmorra

Zarev heard the sound of a blaster shot and moved instantly to the left. The bolt barely missed him. He didn't turn away from Varik though and unleashed another powerful wave of force energy at Varik.

"Hey Sith! Use this!"

Avriala knew that her lightsaber wasn't the ideal weapon for this battle. Even though she knew quite a few force tecnniques she knew that they wouldn't do much good against the seemingly posessed Zarev. She caught the blaster and immediatly pointed it at Zarev's hands.

"Sorry about this Zarev." She muttered. She began to rapidly fire the blaster repeatedly at Zarev trying to get his attention away from Varik.

Zarev was forced to turn around and began to deflect the bolts away from him.

"Varik! Nows the time to get Kif! You and Light need to get him now!"

Avriela ran down the ramp and unleashed a blast of force energy as she landed as she continued firing the blaster with one hand while reaching for her lightsaber with the other.

Per'dra Yllari dashed into the ship and quickly located a hatchway that would allow her access to the Shan's exterior. Climbing up the long metal ladder, she knew she didn't have much time to stop Zarev and his damage to the vessel. Thus, when she reached the outer hull, her vantage point was above him and all of the havoc he was causing. Perfect. He won't suspect me from up here... Using all of the strength and ability in the Force that she could muster, the Jedi Knight raised her hands high and concentrated. I tried to use a stasis field against Master Lenina Karos when I fought her in our final battle. It didn't work then - she was too powerful - but I hope it does now. Come on... She squinted her eyes tightly and felt waves of energy drain from her body.

Slowly but surely, Zarev began to freeze. His muscles clenched taut, and his hands balled into fists. His mouth, once grinning in triumphant revelry, was now sculpted into a grimace of fear. His weapons were now useless, because the stasis field was rendering him immobile - at least for now. As for Per'dra? To the people on the ground, she shouted, "Go! Go! I can hold him! Go!" However, could she fulfill her promise? "I'll die trying before I release Zarev!"

As Varik was going to advance on Zarev, he was knocked backwards by a pile of debris. Getting up, he was about to advance again when he was knocked backwards - again. He saw blaster fire from Avirela and Traver, and Traver collapsing shortly thereafter. Where the hell has he been?, he thought to himself.

"Varik! Nows the time to get Kif! You and Light need to get him now!"

"No way! You can't hold him off with just a blaster!", Varik shouted back, just before Zarev was trapped in a stasis field. Even then, he didn't budge. He didn't want to risk him breaking free. He walked up to him and held his lightsaber upwards, right behind Zarev's back. If he moved, his spine would be incinerated.

"Just to be safe.", he added, nodding to Light to get inside and get Kif.

Light nodded back, having only just gotten air to return to his lungs. He took off, with his sabers in his hands. They were not ignited and through a combination of dodging and taking cover, he knocked out enough troopers to allow him access to the compound.

Once inside he found that they were actually quite close to the med-bay, and followed a couple of arrows to arrive at the door to the room containing Kif. However, as it opened, he found that it also contained five troopers, one of whom was tampering with Kif's kolto tank.

Light pushed the first two, low. This forced their legs out from under them, and, since their hands were on their guns, their faces smacked the ground. They were knocked out. He moved up, ducking the next soldier's shot. Then he swept the soldier's leg and grabbed his throat, slamming him to the ground.

Two more soldiers left, one of whom seemed to be unaffected by the events as he continued to work on the computer. Light grabbed the gun of the first as he fired a few shots, kicked him in the gut, and slammed his saber's hilt into the back of the computer-using soldier's head.

Accessing the computer, he set the devices to release Kif, who then slid out of the tank, flat on his stomach. He started to go over to him, when one of the soldiers started to get up. He delivered a kick to this one's face, and went back to Kif.

"Can you hear me? Now would be a good time to get up..."
Light heard more soldiers on their way, and belted his saber and pocketed the Sith's. He started to pick Kif's groggy body up.

((I'll post again once Kif is on the Shan. :) Zarev is going to pull off one incredible trick later.))

"Just to be safe.",

An internal battle was being fought within Zarev but his true mind was steadily being overwhelmed. The presence within his mind was rapidly overcoming his own mental defenses. On his own, he knew that he was going to lose this mental battle within a few minutes. He knew that at the moment the others were safe from the presence that was controlling his mind. But he knew that sooner or later the presence would be able to break through the stasis field that Per'dra had hit him with.

"I'll die trying before I release Zarev!"

She must think that i'm a traitor to the republic. He thought. A part of him would rather die then have Per'dra think that he had turned on her.

No Jedi. I highly doubt that they would ever trust you again even I did release you from my control. No...The Dark council member that you ended up killing was to be my weapon but now that he is gone I will take a new body to control. Your first act will be to kill these fools.

No...I won't hurt Per'dra...I'll die before I do that!

You forget yourself Jedi. You will kill her and the others because I command it. Go ahead...try and resist.

And Zarev did try. But he simply couldn't break free of the control no matter how hard he tried. But he did have one thing that he could do. He went through his memories and recalled the memories that he had with Per'dra. He took them and the emotions that were brought up with him and used them to create a shield...a barrier that was able to barely hold back the presence wthin his mind.

Hmph. An interesting trick Jedi. It may hold me back from total control, but I still have total control over your body.

The sith was able to break free of your control even if it was only briefly. I will break free even if it kills me! Zarev mentally shouted as the presence within his mind started to gather the force around his body as Zarev fought against the presence. Zarev's body began to break free of the stasis field as the presence pushed his body's abilities dangerously close to the limit.

Balmorra, Republic Base

"Can you hear me? Now would be a good time to get up..."

"Wait what? What's going on? Am I having a hangover?", Kif got up and tried walking, only bumping into a steel wall. "Oww. Hey, why can't I see? What happened?" Kif was having amnesia, and being knocked out for a few hours, he was rather groggy. He was also dripping with kolto.

Balmorra, Base Exterior

Not paying attention to Zarev slowly breaking out of the stasis field, Varik looked up at Per'dra.

"So how's the weather up there?", he asked in a light manner.

Per'dra gritted her teeth and hissed, "Excellent!" through them. She continued clenching her fists and keeping the stasis field active, or at least as much of it as she could. Whatever this presence was, it was stronger than she, and her former Master had taught her well. The Force barrier would soon be broken, and Per'dra feared that Zarev would kill her then. He was clearly possessed, and the Jedi Knight tried one last time to touch his mind.

Zarev. I don't know whether or not you can hear me, but I don't want to lose you. Against the Jedi Code, I'm beginning to fall in love with you, and don't see how I could ever want to stop. Even now, I pity you, and don't want you to fall under the complete control of this monster. Whoever he is, we'll defeat him together. No one has to know--no one MUST know--but keep faith in me!