The Final Stand

[Corstar]

The world had almost a fourth quality, Kieran had decided. A fourth dimension. Everything was lucid with color and vibrant life in the Force. Every flavor of emotion was to be sampled on this wonderful world as the joys and horrors of civilization came crashing down upon the luxury planet.

Effectively one giant casino, with a mining operation on the side, Cloud City was one giant mass of people. As the cloaked Jedi stumbled through the crowd, almost overloaded by the senses surrounding him, he was simply shoved aside to the edge of the corridor. Going with the flow, he found himself in a fancy hotel slash casino.

He smiled and nodded, not really listening as a happy looking clerk explained the pros and cons of the betting tables and what the highest odds of the day happened to be. The man was clearly a master of economics and a good salesman, as the remainder of Kieran's money went from his pocket, to the man's hand. A look disappointment seemed to run across the clerk's face. Kieran took a moment to remedy the sorrow with the Force, it was the least he could do after all...

-----

"A JEDI did this?" Captain Eltash looked at the scar marks on the walls, covering the corridor down to the elevators. The still smoking remains of a pair of security guards were tossed aside as if ragdolls.

"Yessir." The second in command grimaced at the smell. Instant cauterization and the ozone smoke from the blaster fire in a confined space was enough to make anyone want to throw up. "He wandered from the front desk area for a few minutes, from there he simply went through the kitchens and into the service corridors. He killed or mangled anyone in his way. All we have to go on that it was even human is the security camera footage."

"What can he access from that location?"

"Everything."

The blood seemed to drain from the Security Officer's face. His collar seemed to cut at his throat as he reached up to loosen it. If a saboteur tried to make his way down into the repulsor lift bays and successfully disabled only a portion of them, Cloud City would glide like a rock into the gas giant below.

"Get the riot squads out now. We need to contain him. Lock those corridors down and overpressurize them if you need to. We need to stop this before it gets out of hand."

"Overpressurize?"

The man gave his XO a look.

"Yessir."

-----

Kieran stumbled as the lights turned off. The Force was leading him to one location. Calling with a fervor that nearly overwhelmed the plethora of emotions that raised from the Casino city. As he stumbled through the darkness, he ignited his lightsaber. His heart nearly stopped as in the distance, a light appeared. A single blade in the darkness.

Looking to his own silver blade, and the yellow blade that was in the distance, he checked several times to make sure it was no reflection. Before he could react, he heard running footsteps and the blade disappeared, as if around a corner.

Pulling upon the Force, Kieran lept into action, running through the corridor. As he rounded one corner, the blade would disappear around another. Refusing to halt to catch his breath, his breath came in painful gasps as he ran. Unused to the extreme exercise, hours seemed to pass as he seemingly chased the phantom blade. As he ran, he heard doors slamming behind him. Pushing the thoughts of a trap aside, his oxygen starved brain pushed his body forward.

He could feel the difference in the room, more than see it as he entered the cavern. His lightsaber lighted a small area around him, giving the metal a soft white glow. Only a few dozen yards away, a yellow lightsaber was pointing towards the ground in an alien stance.

"Who ARE you?" He gasped out. He remembered his connection to the Force and drew upon it, re-energizing himself.

The blade slowly came up into an En Garde stance, lighting the character's features. An athletic figure stood before Kieran, greying brown hair, with dark eyes. The man seemed brooding as the fire of the Dark side danced within him. It was as if an eternal roar had been let loose as the man released his presence to the Force. Letting loose the cloak that he had hidden beneath, the horror of the Darkside drove a spike of fear towards Kieran's heart.

"I am Kieran Eitan, Master of the Force, who ARE..." Kieran stopped for a moment, as he heard the man repeat the words almost at the exact same moment. The lights flickered on for a bare moment as time seemed to stop. Neither man making a move. In that split second, Kieran saw a face he remembered.

A face that he saw every day. The face that he woke up to. His own.

The yellow blade spun in a flourish around the man's body as he ran forward. In an almost instinctual parry, Kieran deflected and came around with his foot, acting to kick his opponent's feet from underneath him. The doppleganger jumped over the kick and answered with a wave of the Force that defined the word push.

Kieran slammed into a metal casing hard enough to feel it dent beneath his weight. Falling to the ground, he deactivated his lightsaber to prevent falling on it.

The yellow blade charged yet again.

Coming up to his feet in a swift movement, Kieran allowed himself to flow into the Force. The man seemed to falter as Kieran went on the attack.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Bah. She was tired. Tired of chasing down any slight link that might lead to this blasted smuggling ring. Really...what was a person supposed to do? Ysalamiri negated the force, absorbed it, made it vanish from around them, and Sihara had been chasing these force phantoms for nearly two months. It just wasn't easy to get hold of anyone who might be smuggling them because of that effect. No, today she was on her way back to Coruscant empty handed...again.

The ship she had managed to book passage on, only came as far as Bespin and so, obviously, she was in need of a new way back to the temple. This was why she found herself here, amongst the giddy travelers milling around Cloud City who were trying to 'get rich quick'. Leaning casually...or perhaps 'tiredly' would have been more accurate....against one of the walls of the many corridors, Sihara closed her eyes a bit and sighed allowing her consciousness to expand outward through the city. There were so many people here so tightly packed together, it made her anxious.

As if on cue, something hit her...or perhaps, she hit it...another force user. The problem wasn't that it was a dark jedi, no....but there was something WRONG about what she felt. Opening her eyes, she blinked at her surroundings and saw a group of armed men hurrying along the corridor in the direction of the presence she felt. Lifting herself from where she was leaning, she followed them like a shadow, her presence masked slightly, and her mind working to avert eyes from her. As they reached a casino/hotel, she darted around the people scurrying out of the place as she followed the men through the kitchens, and into the service corridors where she came upon two men speaking. Only then did she stop pushing all attention away from her. As she let go of this most simple of tricks, the togruta woman would seem to materialize there to the two men.

What happened here gentlemen?

She asked simply, her voice calm and smooth as she surveyed the damage to the people and surrounding area.

[Corstar]

The Captain was tired, to say the least. He had been up for hours after a drunk had pulled a gun in a casino. When the Jedi came to town, it did a good job at ruining his entire day. As he finished his briefing with his XO, he turned to see a stranger standing in the corridor that he knew should've been secured.

Bringing his hand up to his face he looked at his XO and back at the alien and shook his head.

"Someone is really fired today. He thought as he sighed. "Miss, this is a restricted area. We have a possible security threat on the loose and we can't have civilians walking around here, it's too dangerous. If you would return to the upper decks with the Lieutenant, I'd be much obliged."

The Lieutenant blinked and rubbed his eyes before moving to pull the alien out of the corridor, towards the exit.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Before you make any hasty actions Captain...I believe you are a captain...I think that I should perhaps speak to the man down there. He seems troubled, and I doubt your men would do good against a force user as....torn.....as him.

She stated simply, not bothering with a mind trick...yet. If her robes didn't give her away as a jedi yet, she didn't know what would. Perhaps she should take out her lightsaber and start swinging it about? With that thought, the rusty colored woman smiled just a bit. No, best not to cause any more trauma here.

I think leaving a force user to another force user would be the wisest course of action, sir.

Sihara added, holding the man who was about to pull her away where he was, using the force to aid her strength so his attempts to move her were futile. She was a rather stubborn woman at the best of times. Blinking at a shift in the force below them, she gazed down at the floor and sighed. There really was no time for this.

Captain, this situation is precarious at best, I suggest you allow me through immediately to prevent further harm to your city. I would hate to inform the Jedi Council of a high number of casualties on this city because you are refusing to allow me to pass.

[Corstar]

"I...uh..." The Captain looked at the Lieutenant, who gave a small shake of his head. The older man sighed and looked at the ground, pointing towards the door. If she died, he'd disavow any knowledge of her.

As she walked by, the two men looked at eachother and the security detail began cleaning up the mess.

"Why me?" The Captain wondered aloud as he picked up a hand.

----

Melee combat had been the prime method of killing another being for millions if not billions of years. If it had at least three limbs, some form of language and a brain it most likely would try to beat up another one of it's kind. Overall, it does not differ largely from time to time, simply the weapons change.

Kieran leaned down for a moment at the break. Sweat was dripping off his face as he held the lightsaber in a reverse stance. The blade ran along his forearm, coming out of the bottom of his hand. A modified version of Soresu, it was more effective at blocking quick swipes and blaster bolts than heavy fighting. They had long progressed past attempting to hit eachother however. The other man didn't seem to be doing much better.

General melee combat can last for hours, depending on training, species, motivation and other odds and ends, but one common trait between all fights are the little pauses for breath. A collective gasp for air is retrieved and a temporary parlay is accomplished while both parties gather the wits to bash each other into the ground once again. Sometimes accomplished by various acrobatics through random tunnels, Kieran was more than happy to stay in the room he was in. His opponent didn't seem to care one bit.

Energy almost crackled across the dark room. In some cases it rained. Damaged panels gave out bursts of light as electricity sent sparks showering to the ground. Heavy dents and torn metal panels litered the walls from where objects had been repeatedly slammed into the walls. Mainly human objects.

The Jedi stood up, spinning the silver blade in his hand. He took a quick stance then beckoned with two fingers. Like a lightning bolt, the doppelganger crossed the room in a few bare seconds, slicing towards Kieran's head with the orange blade. As the two connected, a sonic boom cracked the room as the sabers clashed. The Force roared between the two men as they struggled to push the other off balance.

Kicking his foot out, Kieran kicked the other man's feet out from under him. Jumping over a swipe that would've cut off his legs, he slashed where he felt his opponent would move to. Catching a piece of the man as he tried to retreat, his lightsaber was slashed aside and flew out of his grasp.

Moving in with his hands and feet, Kieran dodged back and forth losing a layer of skin on his face as the orange saber came close enough to momentarily dazzle him. Letting himself go into the Force, he slipped past the outer guard and grabbed his opponent's lightsaber. The vicious blade swung dangerously close to his face yet again. He cursed under his breath as his sweat vaporized with a sizzle from hitting the energy blade.

The Corellian yelled aloud as a fist slammed him repeatedly in the center of the back. His elbow struck out and connected with what felt like a face and the lightsaber tumbled free. The two disengaged from each other and span to face one another only a half a dozen steps apart.

A flicker in the Force was all Kieran had time to react against as a massive wave of energy was generated then directed at him. He felt his feet slip as he rode the wave out and absorbed what energy he could. The telekinetic push he sent back was somewhat considerably more powerful than he had considered. The metal flooring rippled and tore as the wave struck the doppelganger and sent him through the wall into the storage room next store.

Kieran raised his hand and called his lightsaber to his hand. Still ignited, the Battlemaster went to finish off his foe.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Nodding to the men as she passed, she slid down the ladder of the elevator shaft and landed deftly on the metal below. It was dark, too dark, down here, and it pulsed with force energy...both light and dark. It unnerved her greatly. Sighing, she braced herself for what was to come and darted down the long corridors. The further into the bowels of the floating city she went, the more uneasy the togruta felt, until she came, at last, to a room littered with debris and sparking wires.

Blinking twice, she shuddered at not only what she saw...but what she didn't see. Two men stood there, facing each other...sabers drawn and lit...one light, one dark...but, her montrals, the force, they both told her that there was only one man there...just one, very confused, man. Dopplegangers. The Force. Something was very wrong here. Very wrong.

Stop! Please Stop!

She shouted with every fiber of her being, every ounce of the force that she could pull in. Drinking in the dark and light auras around her, she expelled it all in those three words and stood there, her mind railing against what she saw.

I don't know who you are, but there's only two people here....you and me. I can see him too, this other you...but he isn't real! You have to understand this! If you continue, you'll bring the entire city down!

She called, her hand on the hilt of her saber, but she didn't dare draw it. This was too dangerous a situation to go barging in, lightsaber blazing. The odd and eerie glow of the silver saber the man held cast a freakish glow on her red skin, causing her to blink more often. The sparks that flew from the cut wires landed on her skin, montrals, and leeku causing her to flinch ever so slightly with every burn they caused.

Please. Stop for a moment and talk to me...

Sihara said, ready to leap into action should the man...men...before her try to attack her.

[Corstar]

The fake Kieran had brushed off his wounds and come back into the main room, getting ready to attack when the Togruta entered the room. He blinked at the presence of another Force user on Bespin. Was this where the Force was leading him all...

He didn't have time to think. The first piece of metal was just scrap, it hit him from the side and numbed his arm from the elbow down. The prosthetic! Kieran ran through the mental commands to restart his metal arm. Falling to the ground, he rolled and slashed out at another shard of metal meant to hit him in the head as he came into a kneeling position. Shards of molten metal struck him in the chest and he grunted. Standing, he leveled the blade at his enemy.

"No. This ends now." Kieran took a step forward and deflected another piece of flying debris. Drawing upon the Force, he took a deep breath as he hit the opposite being with as much energy as he could muster. The bolt of blue lightning cracked through the air and hit the other man square in the chest, slamming him into the opposite wall yet again, keeping him pinned against the onslaught. The shadows seemed to scream and the Force seemed to bristle as the being screamed.

"You have taken my oath."

He took a step forward, directing the lightning with his lightsaber.

"You took my wife."

He took another pair of steps. The Battlemaster had lost his sense of the surroundings.

"You've destroyed my friends. I am Battlemaster Kieran Eitan! You will not defeat me!"

Letting go of the Force, his silver blade flickered for a moment as he allowed every ounce of anger and passion to fuel his remaining desire. The doppelganger attempted to stand, it's body smoking. He slammed it into the ground, using the Force to grip it in place. The darkness flickered at the edge of his vision. Going against years of training, he did the one thing the Jedi never thought he would see himself do. He embraced it.

He cried at the top of his lungs, a shout of despair. His tumble through the abyss had cost the man dearly. Once a proud Jedi of a prestigious order, reduced to nothing by simple temptation. The scream of realization echoed through the halls, piercing the ears and shattering the cameras watching the situation. It was a scream of anger. One of fear. One of love. Survival.

Revenge.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Watching the debris fly at the rogue, Sihara gasped. Thinking swiftly, she deflected what scraps of metal she could allowing the man to rise to his feet once more. Perhaps not the best idea seeing as he proceeded to attack his doppelganger viciously with crackling lightning. The pure hate that began to radiate from the man nearly rooted the 28 year old to the ground. Never...NEVER...had she seen such a thing. Noticing his prosthetic arm was limp, she drew on the force and pulled on a set of sparking wires leading them to the mechanical arm of Kieran as he stood over his foe, ready to strike him down. Before he managed to strike the force apparition, she allowed the wires to touch the arm, sending volts of electricity through it and into his body.

STOP NOW! In the name of the Order of the Jedi and the Republic, I demand that you end your actions.

Without further thought, she sent herself flying toward the man, using the force to not only speed her motions, but to lift all surrounding debris from the battle around her, creating a shield of sorts. What Sihara lacked in telepathic training and talent, she made up for in telekinetic and she used it to her advantage at every opportunity.

Slamming into the man, first with plates of metal, then with the force itself, then her own body, she made sure he would be downed, if only with shock at the sudden motion. Leaping up and away from him, she ignited her purple saber, the violet glow of it outlining her face as she landed deftly on her feet opposite of him.

Harness your demons Sir! The dark side is not your nature, don't let it control you in such a manner!

She snapped at him, her sharp incisors glinting as she spoke her mind. What a fool he was to give in to hate in such a way. With a flick of her wrist, she attempted to wrest his saber hilt from him with the force, something she had quite mastered over the past years. As she did this, she also readied another volley of scrap metal, allowing her consciousness to will the force to lift it off the ground and shield her if need be. Wires snaked across the floor toward the man ready to wrap around him should she give the command, her near mastery of the force in this arena apparent as she stood looking like some huntress from the wilds of her ancestors on Shili.

[Corstar]

It had been a bad day Kieran had decided. More like a bad week. Or even a bad month. From the destruction of the temple on Kashyyyk to the mugging on Nar Shadda, he had been getting the short end of the stick repeatedly. As another piece of metal hit him, he rolled with the blow, lessening the hit. The wires had been a bit of a shock. At first he thought the doppelganger had released them. Then he realized he was being attacked from another angle.

As he attempted to push himself off the floor, he slammed down into the ground once again, sliding across the rough metal plating as the woman blindsided him.

Kieran's eyes narrowed as he pushed himself off the floor into a half kneeling position. Holding the silver lightsaber in his off hand, he leveled it at the Togruta. Having used up a majority of his energy in the previous battle, he relied on strength, more than the Force to hold onto the lightsaber as she attempted to tear it from his grasp.

"You're going to need to do better than that unfortunately." He stood up carefully, taking a stance in Soresu. The world seemed to spin for a moment as he allowed the Force to flow through him.

"Demons? What demons? I think you may be getting delusional, Jedi." The doppelganger seemed to speak in the same voice as the Battlemaster as he calmly stood up and walked towards Kieran. Kieran's eyes flickered between the alien and the copy. The doppelganger slowly dissipated into nothing and Kieran felt a source of new strength. All he had to do is destroy the Jedi in his way and he would never be tired and weak again.

He nodded as if to an unheard command. A cold smile crossed his lips as he watched the Jedi's mouth move. She had proven adept with telekinetics. It was time to take away her toys. All self conscious beings trained in the Force have similar brains. While some were more or less complex than the human brain, they're all in effect, the same when it came down to the Force.

The room around them seemed to flicker then disappear. A howling wind buffeted Kieran as he ducked backwards into the snow flurry. Hoth was a cruel mistress that Kieran had visited several times. His memories of it's blizzards were no less colorful as they assaulted the female Jedi.

The Hoth blizzard cut the contact between the two Force users as it became nearly impossible to see through the snow planet's fury. While she was disoriented, Kieran began to move to get behind the alien Jedi.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad day.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Sihara readied herself for an attack, but instead, he spoke...or more like it, the man's illusion spoke for him. She had been about to reply when the world around her changed drastically, her skin freezing as snow swirled around them. No...this was another illusion. Her montrals told her so, the room was still around them, the constant thrumming of the lifts that kept the city afloat echoing through her sensitive horns as the vibrations echoed through the room. Just as the room was still there, so then, were her makeshift shields. Keeping hold of the force, she pushed what seemed to be a non-existent metal plate toward his arm that was holding the saber.

Don't give in to the darkness in you! I'm not your enemy! Come to your senses! The man you were fighting...did you not realize he looked exactly like you?! Why? Why was that?! Why, suddenly, are you feeling the need to kill me?! This is the dark side speaking through you! You can't allow it to control you like it is now!

She stated, pleading to his light side...the part of him that she knew was still there....somewhere. Barely moving out of the way as he came at her, Sihara tossed another 'non-existent' metal piece at the man, aiming to hit his shoulder. Though the snow seemed to blind her, Sihara relied instead on her montral to guide her around the room and not back herself into a corner or into a cramped hallway.

This is all an illusion and I know it. This is an illusion, just like that man you were fighting. Can't you see what's happening? Something inside of you is fighting to gain control...trying to keep you from who you really are! Come back to the light...you're a jedi just like me! Don't go down a road you will be unhappy following! If you continue this way, that is just what will happen!

Please, oh please let him listen to reason this time around....I don't want to have to hurt him. Sihara thought, keeping her distance from the almost rabid looking man. This was like trying to reason with a rancor...while not impossible, highly unlikely.

[Corstar]

Kieran grimaced. He disliked aliens. Humans were easy to manipulate, their thought patterns were similar to his own and easy to change the illusion to. When affecting an alien, he had to take into account senses he could not access himself. It required a precision that he simply couldn't muster.

Ah well.

He heard a vague ringing in his ears and a strong headache overcame him as he moved closer to the Togruta. He blinked for a moment, opening his eyes just in time to see a metal plate. He had begun rolling backwards before it had completely made contact, completing the back flip precariously. As he came once again to his feet, he stood unsteadily in the guard position, spitting out blood and a tooth.

He cursed under his breath, "I'll show you an illusion. It's called reality." Reaching out, he grabbed ahold of a cable that was hanging from the ceiling. Slicing it in half with his saber, he closed his eyes to the sparks flying everywhere. He grit his teeth together and took control of the Force. Walking into the cable, the first second felt like pure hell. Every muscle in his body spasmed to it's extension point as thousands of volts slipped through his body. Five seconds in, the pain cut off and he felt almost re-energized. Converting the electricity into Force Energy was no simple task, but he did almost unconsciously.

Releasing the the alien from the illusion, he raised his hand and made a simple gesture. Battering the floor yet again, the remaining floor plates not fastened to the metal grates were ripped off the floor as a massive kinetic force sped towards the Jedi.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

This was the end...she could see it coming as soon as the illusion vanished. With a slice of his saber and after immersing himself in the electricity, she watched, horrified, as he moved away seemingly unscathed. Time seemed to slow as her pupils constricted while she watched what he did next. There would be no escaping this one. It was over. That swiftly. Sihara had been blown back against the wall, despite her bringing the metal she had gathered together before her to act as a buffer. If anything they only did more damage.

Hitting the wall behind her with a sickening thud, she cried out in pain as the scar on her back spasmed, she winced and slid down the wall, the metal pieces hitting her various times, leaving her with bruises, welts, and bleeding cuts. Groaning, she noticed that her lightsaber had flown from her hand as she had hit the wall, sent clattering along the ground and down one of the openings left by the shattered ground. Well, it was time to make a new saber it seemed...but that didn't help her now.

Panting from having the wind knocked out of her, Sihara struggled to get to her feet at least. Each time she tired, however, she was met only with a new stab of pain that shot down her back keeping her immobile.

[Corstar]

Kieran deactivated his lightsaber and placed it back on his belt. Walking lightly, he whistled a slight tune over the howling wind. One of the generators was making a loud whirling sound as it worked to compensate for the sudden change of air pressure in the room.

Using the Force, he caught the Jedi's lightsaber before it fell into the abyss, drawing it towards his hand. Catching it deftly with his left hand, he studied it for a moment and shook his head as he walked to the jedi, deactivating the saber as he walked. Kneeling down, he looked her over and looked back towards the hole in the floor.

As she tried to get up again, he gave the Togruta a swift boot to the side to keep her down.

"Just don't know when to give up do you?" He shouted over the wind. It wasn't horrible yet but the scraps of the fight and random assorted objects began scooting towards the holes in the ground. The superstructure of the generator room was pressurized to deal with the height at which Cloud City hovered. As it equaled out, Kieran felt his ears pop.

Working his jaw to ease the pressure on his ears, he rolled the Togruta over, placing the lightsaber against her chest. As he placed his thumb on the activator plate, he looked into her face and froze.

"Ashla?"

He felt the lightsaber drop from his fingers as he stumbled backwards, falling to the ground.

"You're DEAD! I saw you die!"

-----

There is no emotion. Only peace

Kieran yelled as another rock ricocheted away. His lightsaber flew from his grasp, dancing into the darkness. He reached back to withdraw his second blade and was rewarded with a crunching sound. He didn't feel pain, but he knew his prosthetic was crippled, possibly permanently. Each breath was a labor. As if climbing a mountain, he found himself at the top and all alone. Completely alone.

There is no death, only the Force.

He cursed under his breath as he was lifted off the ground. A telekinetic grip seemed to hold him steady for a moment. He blinked to regain his senses, then slammed into the far cave wall. Falling to the ground, he grimaced. He had been in worse. He couldn't remember when, but he was sure it had been worse at some point.

...only the Force.

As he came to his knees, he looked up at the Sith standing before him, crimson blade ready to strike.

"Kneel."

Kieran looked at the ground for a moment, his conscious nagging. A whisper cried to his senses, urging him to follow the command. A warm powerful embrace seemed to wrap itself around him, promising to stay if only he follow.

If only he follow.

As he raised his knee up, unsteadily, Kieran cradled his broken arm against his chest. Bowing his head to the Sith Lord, it was the last thing he could remember before the descent into the Darkness.

Shadows danced. He saw a damaged ship limping away from a tortured planet. A single body reached out from the void. A distinctly alien face smiled at Kieran, her eyes full of sadness. A lightsaber had cut through her robes, leaving a clean cut across her chest.

Ashla.

-----

"Wh..." Kieran looked towards the Togruta on the floor, his vision haunting him. The withdrawl hurt more than he could ever believe. He grimaced as his body cramped up. The Darkside called, willing to take the pain in trade for power.

He gripped the floor with a fevor to keep it from spinning away as the world seemed to dance around him. The rogue jedi bit his lip forcing himself to come back to reality. He needed to.

He had to.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Feeling the boot to the ribs, Sihara groaned again. Something had cracked with that one...wonderful. The man had been about to kill her, he held her own saber to her chest, his finger ready to ignite the amethyst blade, when he spoke. A name? A name...wait...the grandmaster? He saw the grandmaster die?! Worse yet, he thought SHE was Ashla?! Opening her emerald and golden colored orbs, the togruta blinked at the man above her as he seemed to be fighting against something, reliving some memory. What had happened? Nothing had ever been explained.

Seeing him drop to his knees and grip the floor...or what little there was left of it...Sihara winced and reached for his hand. Despite her pain and her fear of being killed, she pushed warmth and comfort toward the man. She hated seeing others in pain and suffering and she could feel it rolling off in waves from this tortured soul.

Not Ashla....Sihara.

She spoke into his mind. Her thoughts were fuzzy with the pain of her ribs and her back, and as she tried once more to move, she finally pulled in enough strength from the force to crawl the short distance to him.

There is no emotion....only peace.

Sihara allowed the words to flow from her mind to his, like a peaceful breeze on a bright day.

There is no ignorance...there is knowledge.

A new wave of words, accompanied by images, memories of the council as she had seen it, the temple, the younglings there in.

There is no passion...there is serenity.

Images of falling water, the plants from the jedi gardens, the peaceful feeling of meditation.

There is no chaos...there is harmony

She could feel herself reeling from the pain kneeling like this with him brought her. Despite it Sihara buried her own physical pain and emotional uncertainty and pushed her belief in the words she offered to him through that link she had managed to establish somehow. Images of volcanoes ashes and destruction leading to a beautiful and rich tropical forest.

There is no death...there is the force.

A deep pain welled up in her heart, the memories of her padawan being murdered before her eyes coming unbidden to her...and though she tried to stop them from flowing to him from her, she wasn't fast enough. However, she pushed her feeling of hope....hope that this was indeed true. That one day, after her own eventual death, she would see her padawan again.

Tears streamed down her eyes as she knelt there with him, but it was all she could do now to stay upright, the impacts upon her body and the unceasing pain down her back and in her ribs causing her vision to dim at the edges.

...Please....come back to the light, lost soul....

[Corstar]

He sat in meditation. It was a tact that he had learned from the monks of Kashyyyk. His eyes were half shut as he released his will to the universe. The plain white wall before him had no blemish, no obscurity. Nothing of note and that was the idea. There was absolutely nothing to focus on.

He had never felt such peace.

The gardens of Coruscant shined with a vibrant life. The distant call of the birds to their mates. A pushing breeze pushed it's way into the old fashioned hut, designed for a singular purpose. The faint chimes of window ornaments toying with the wind caught the Jedi's ear.

The Corellian smiled as he opened his eyes. As he stood up, he brushed off his green and grey robes. He touched the wall with the tips of his fingers. It was radiating a warmth he had never felt before. Turning, the Jedi walked into the light of a brand new day.

-----

Kieran gasped for air, partially wishing he hadn't. Choking on blood, he gagged and spat onto the ground. His eyes watered up as he coughed. He rolled over and stared at the ceiling as the world came back into focus. Looking down at the hand attached to his own, he followed it to the Togruta. The face of the Grandmaster seemed to fade away as he looked at her.

Looking around the room, he ignored the windflow. He had just gone through a fight. With whom or what he could not remember... Studying the markings on the wall for a moment, he tried to discover the source of destruction, but could not find it. His right arm didn't seem to be functioning and his left was in blazing pain from the wrist up. Most of his body seemed to be in a rolling wave of pain in fact. It was good to be alive.

Pushing himself into a sitting position, he grabbed a hold of the other Jedi. She was nearly spent, weaving back and forth as if drunk.

"Thank you." He yelled as he looked into her eyes. Looking back over his shoulder towards what he thought was the door, he tried to help her stand, putting an arm around his neck in an improvised fireman's carry. Pulling upon the Force to regenerate his lost energy and dull the pain he did his best as he half walked, half dragged her to the door.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Sihara opened her eyes, praying, perhaps, for a miracle. She couldn't do any more and she knew it. If he decided to come back to the light she would be safe...if not...she would be dead sooner rather than later. Hearing the rogue gasp for air, she looked down at him. Blood...she winced, hating that she had caused him that pain. She didn't know exactly what it was that had happened, but she knew it had been caused by her actions. Watching him flip onto his back and seem to take stock of his situation.

By this time, she was really feeling the injuries she had from just the little fighting they had done against each other. He had to have been a battle master...there was no other way he could have done so much in so little time. Her bruised back and cracked ribs made breathing difficult, and she felt the room spin around her for a moment as she swayed on her knees. Only barely processing his words, shouted over the escaping wind, Sihara only managed to nod as reply. Thank the stars he hadn't followed his previous dark urges. She would live another day it seemed. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.

Either way, she allowed his help as he pulled them both to their feet. She winced and groaned slightly at the action, as her scar once more burned like a flame because of the movement. With his help, they would manage to get out of the lower levels and back up to the deck were the guards still were.

Go...fix your city. Everything has been resolved.

She stated to the baffled captain, resting her hand on him for half a moment. The man simply nodded slightly, giving in to her suggestion, and started going about the process of seeing what the damage was. Turning her head to the man who was helping her, Sihara managed a slight smile.

We should leave as soon as possible, but we both should rest first.

This statement wasn't just a fact, but rather an opening for suggestions on what to do next.

[Corstar]

Kieran gently set the Togruta down in a service elevator. Being that they were several hundred levels down, he had no desire to climb the stairs. Leaning back against the wall, he hit the button that simply marked "15" and slid down into a sitting position.

Turning his hand over, he opened the small access point, ignoring the small shower of sparks that dropped in his lap, he tinkered for a moment.

"We need to leave for Coruscant as soon as possible. We'll drop by the med-bay on the way out. Uh...I hope you have a ship. I don't have any idea where mine is. It's only a one seater anyway..." He grimaced as he pulled out a small piece of wiring and blew on it. Making a mental note to make a redundancy system when he returned to Coruscant, he dropped the bit of wire in his pocket and pulled out his second lightsaber. Thirty seconds later, he had a functioning arm and a paperweight shaped like a lightsaber. Clipping it back onto his belt, he looked up at the alien and offered his now functioning right hand, with a smile.

"Master Kieran Eitan of the Jedi Order."

He rarely gave away his real title. Although at this point he wondered if he still held it. Or his rank of Master, for that matter. A question that could only be answered by the Jedi Council.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Sihara groaned slightly as he helped her sit. She hadn't felt this beaten since Tatooine when....sighing, she shook her head to clear it of those thoughts. Watching the other man's actions with a carefully practiced disinterest, Sihara listened to what he had to say. Yes, she agreed...they DID need to get back to Coruscant as soon as they could, but no, she didn't have a ship. That would be of little concern, however, seeing as she had eaten only sparingly, knowing she would have to save some credits for a return journey. Watching him fix his arm, she tilted her head slightly and blinked again. She was never that good with repairs...she doubted she ever would be...but right now that was of little concern to her. Instead, she focused on drawing in the force to help ease her injured muscles into a slightly more swift healing than was natural.

Sihara Horula, Knight.

She replied, shaking his hand a bit. Frustrated at the pain she felt from just that slight motion, Sihara sighed heavily, but managed a slight chuckle.

You have a hard hit Kieran...remind me not to fight you again.

Rubbing her wrist slightly, she pulled her sleeve down more fully, hiding the tattoo there.

I don't have a ship, unfortunately, but I should have enough credits left over from this mission to get us both back to the temple. I hope you don't mind traveling in a crowded passenger ship, though.

Hopefully he didn't, if so, he might be stuck here for long enough to find his own ship. Leaning forward slowly, she grimaced as she stretched out the tightened and burning muscles of her back and neck.

How long have you been gone? From the Order I mean. I don't remember your face...though...I don't pretend to remember every face I come across either.

She questioned, turning her head to the side just enough to look over at him where he was seated.