I leaned back, marvelling once again at the swirling, seemingly chaotic energies of hyperspace as Raven raced through the faster-than-light dimension, taking us back to the Gaia system. I’d left Coruscant the evening of my resignation from the Order, wanting to be clear of the planet before either Chancellor reached out, or before word of my choice to leave the Order reached the ears of my friends within the Jedi.

  Serra was the only member of the Order who was aware of what I planned before I’d met with the Council, and while parting from Serra wasn’t just painful—it felt like severing a lifeline. But if I stayed, I’d rot alongside the Order. They were blind to the threat of the Banite Sith, to the many failings of the Republic that had occurred since the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, and to the chaos that was slowly engulfing the galaxy. Now, much of that chaos might have occurred even if the Sith were destroyed at Ruusan, but the fact the Order chose to not intervene, to not act in seeking the best solution for the majority and instead acquiesced to the desires of the Senate, and the various corrupt individuals that supposedly served the people of the galaxy, was a sign of the Order’s corruption.

  That two Banite Sith now ruled as Co-Chancellors without the Order’s most powerful and seemingly infallible members realising it was another sign of their corruption. Perhaps even that the Force had abandoned the Jedi, at least in their current form, and realised that the only way to counter the threat of the Banite Sith was the creation of Anakin. And, at least in this dimension, the insertion of myself into events and the acceptance of my presence in whatever the Force considered the best path towards balance.

  Now, I wasn’t arrogant enough to believe that I alone could stop the Banite Sith and the rise of the Empire, but I understood that the path the galaxy was on was one that I could help influence. The Republic was too deeply flawed and broken to be allowed to survive. For the good of the galaxy, it had to fall, and as the Order was tied to it, then it too had to fall. Or at least break free of their requirement to serve the Republic. On that, perhaps Fay might be of use.

  I had not heard from her since she’d left, with Satele Shan’s holocron, to rediscover Tython before Naboo, and I often wondered how she would feel about the choices I’d made since we’d last spoken. I knew I wasn’t fully following the path the Force wished for the galaxy, and thus not committing to the Force as Fay did. However, Dooku had, even when I’d been the Padawan of both, displayed opinions that ran counter to those ideals and both Jedi Masters – or former in Dooku’s case – weren’t ones willing to blindly trust the direction of the Council.

  That said, the path I had walked, and was now committing to wasn’t one I felt she would approve of. Perhaps not even slightly. I hoped we never found ourselves on opposing sides of any upcoming conflict, but I couldn’t discount the potential for it happening. Still, with all that said, I held out hope that her desire to rediscover the ancient world where the Je’daii had spawned from was successful, and those who wished to study the Force free of the Council’s and Republic’s demands would move there. At the very least, it would remove a group, no matter how small, of potential combatants that could be forced by the Order to fight in the coming war or be sent in theory against me.

  A sense of impending change emanating from Raven drew me from my thoughts, and a moment later I saw the consoles and displays alerting me we’d reached our destination. The ship slid gracefully out of hyperspace, exiting in a minor system a little off the Nanth’ri Route. That hyperspace route ran from the inner edge of the Outer Rim to Hutt Space and it was along this hyperspace route that I had to travel to reach the Gaia system and the Lokella, however, I wasn’t there yet. No, for what I planned, I had chosen to move off the route somewhere between Antar and Gyndine emerging in a minor system that was, according to the star charts, uninhabited. Not even remote mining was done here due to the lack of solid worlds.

  The star was a white dwarf, and while Raven adapted to the new energies radiating from the older stellar object, I guided her into the system. With no one with me on this voyage, Dooku had arranged a different route from Coruscant to suggest that not only were we leaving the Order, but that we were heading our separate ways, I felt this was the best time to do something that I’d wanted to do ever since Dooku had managed his first trip to gather holocrons and other items from the Vaults inside the Jedi Temple.

  It was only a matter of time until someone at the Temple noted the missing holocrons and other items, and that Master Saa would realise that I was the one who she’d sensed using the Dark Side on Kiffex to defeat and kill Karkko. While they wouldn’t link me to the theft of the items from the Vaults, it wouldn’t take much to suggest that my departure from the Order alongside Dooku was linked to those thefts. As I was free of the Council and not the faintest intention of returning to Coruscant anytime soon, there was little they could do to recall me so we could speak. However, there was a chance that they might send someone after me to question me over the missing items, and if they determined I’d been involved and had fallen – in their eyes – to the Dark Side, try to capture me.

  That would be a problem. I knew I would have to face off against the Jedi sooner or later, but the longer I had to prepare, and the more I learnt before that occurred, the greater my odds of victory would be. Particularly against a Jedi Master. I was getting closer to being capable of doing that, the spar with Dooku before we left the Order was proof of that, but I knew I wasn’t quite ready, and with the time to kill before I met with Dooku on Mtael’s Gift – Raven’s 0.7-rated hyperdrive once more proving a blessing – I had decided on this stop to expand my knowledge.

  Once Raven was deeper in the system, settled into orbit around an icy gas giant that had no name, just a serial code, I stood. “Alert me if anything threatens us, but otherwise remain here,” I said to R2, the astromech responding positively with his customary series of whistles, bells, and pop.

  As I exited the cockpit, I reached out to Raven, asking her to watch out for ships entering the system and to allow R2 free access to her systems. She accepted the request with a hint of reluctance as while she was fine with the astromech helping to monitor her mechanical systems, she preferred when it was me watching over her systems. At a push, she could accept Simvyl or Anakin as Raven, even if she had some mechanical components, preferred the presence of organics over droids at her controls.

  Moving through the corridors of Raven, I once more lamented at how quiet it was. Apart from R2, no one else had come with me to Coruscant. The others had been left with the Lokella, though Fenrir had been deposited on an unsettled landmass on Gaia so he could hunt and prowl to his heart’s content. Anakin, Simvyl, and HK had remained on Mtael’s Gift, along with Quinlan and Aayla.

  The pair of memory-damaged Jedi had chosen, at least for the time being, to remain with the Lokella. I wasn’t sure if they would choose to take their own path forward or allow me to help with their retraining, but I was reasonably certain already that they wouldn’t be returning to the Order. The bond between them was one they were both relying on during their recovery from what had happened to them and while I hadn’t done so overly, I had played up the high probability that they would be separated for retraining by the Jedi. I was manipulating them for my purposes, but it made sense to do so as I needed more Force users willing to follow me, and Dooku approved as he saw it with similar logic to how he had worked on retraining Vosa.

  However, determining the exact path the pair of former Jedi would take could wait until I returned to Mtael’s Gift, for today my focus was on the objects that Dooku had acquired for me from the Jedi Vaults. Or more accurately, the holocron that had resonated with me the moment I learnt of its existence.

  Once in my quarters, I sealed the door ensuring that I’d only be reachable in an emergency, and then opened my Inventory. A moment later, after extracting it from its slot, I sat at the table in the room and looked at the small, red triangular pyramid of the holocron of the former Sith Lord, Darth Malgus.

  According to the records that I’d read before Dooku had acquired the holocron, it had been created in the latter years of the conflict between the Republic and Jedi and the Sith Empire, after the fall of the Eternal Empire. At a point when Malgus had left the Sith and embarked on a campaign that served neither the Sith nor the Jedi. That, along with the connection he held to my family via my grandniece (I remained uncertain how many ‘greats’ I should add to that) Satele Shan, had drawn my attention, and then the shifting of the Force as I read the details about the holocron and its creator had ensured it was the first item added to the list of artefacts that I wanted. The others remained inside my Inventory, ready for me to use and research when I felt the time was right, but for today, and at least in the near future, the holocron of Malgus would be my focus.

  I couldn’t help but compare the holocron before me to that of King Adas. Adas had crafted his, the first Sith holocron, not long after defeating and driving back the Infinite Empire when they tried to conquer Korriban, using technology taken from them to do so. It had the same triangular pyramidal shape that all Sith holocrons had, but unlike the one before me now, it lacked some of the finer external details I could see on Malgus’ holocron.

  Now, that wasn’t to say that Adas’ holocron was in any way simple-looking, or unfit for a sentient who had ruled for hundreds of years. It was just a statement of fact that as his was the first Sith holocron, it lacked the refinement and intricate detail that came with later iterations, such as Malgus’.

  Adas’ holocron was still richly adorned with gold and other rarer metals, as would befit a God-King, however, while Malgus’ had less such metal applied to it, what was there was placed with more apparent care. That made clear the refinement that had gone into the design during the millennia that passed between the creation of the two holocrons.

  I closed my eyes, and after calling the Force to my side, reached out for Malgus’ holocron, curious as to how accessing it and awakening the Gatekeeper would go. For Adas’ holocron, I’d had a cheat sheet in the form of the Interface filtering the Force, meaning it was easier than it probably should have been. Malgus’ would be harder, yet as my Force presence met a wall in the Force, hard as obsidian; generated in the Force by Malgus’ holocron, I realised just how big of a cheat the Interface had been for me to access Adas’ holocron.

  The force with which the Gatekeeper met my probe was impressive. Terrifying—if I hadn’t been ready. Yet even though I was aware of what I was attempting, and expecting it to be difficult, the sheer force of will that not only met my probe but shattered it with contemptuous ease and drove my mind back out of the Force shocked me.

  Opening my eyes, I leaned back and looked at the small device on the table, marvelling at the power displayed by the Gatekeeper of his holocron, and pushing aside my irritation at how easily it had resisted my attempt to force it to open. While the Gatekeeper had gone silent in the Force, the way it just rested there, unconcerned, and unmoved by my presence taunted me, causing my irritation to grow ever stronger.

  I channelled that irritation inward, focusing it away from the chaotic rage that it had been slowly growing into and refining it towards a stream of solid, defined power under my command. I realised that brute force wouldn’t work with this holocron, nor I understood as I reviewed what I knew of Malgus from the historical records, should it.

  While still an Apprentice, he had spearheaded the attack to retake Korriban for the Sith Empire. A signal to the Jedi and Republic that it had returned and was as powerful as ever. That attack had seen him clash blades for the first time with Satele Shan and kill her first Jedi Master in the battle for the system. The pair would clash again during the war, but perhaps Malgus’ greatest achievement while a member of the Sith Empire was leading the taking of Coruscant and the sacking of the Jedi Temple.

  Beyond the number of Jedi, including one of the most notable Jedi of the time, Ven Zallow, killed, the attack saw the capital of the Republic fall to the Sith. The only time in history that had happened. The fact the Sith sacked and all but destroyed the Temple, and killed the Supreme Chancellor during the attack only added to Malgus’ fame and infamy.

  Later in life, after the emergence of a third party, the Eternal Empire, Malgus split from the Sith Empire, choosing to walk his own path. That was, I felt, why I was drawn to this holocron so heavily. I was seeking a path that was different from the Jedi and Sith, or at least the Banite Sith of this era. The galaxy would call me Sith. Let them. I hadn’t fallen—I’d chosen. I knew that to emerge victorious, and ideally, able to enjoy the fruits of those victories, from what was to come, I might well have to draw on every scrap of knowledge and power I could get my hands on. Learning from one who had turned away from the Sith, but retained the ability to draw on the power within him was something I couldn’t ignore. The issue was that accessing this holocron was going to be far more difficult than I’d expected.

  Closing my eyes again, I dove inward, seeking the well of power that I kept deep inside myself. From that contained cauldron of rage and fury, I gently pulled forth a thin thread of that power, seeking to harness it carefully. The Force reacted around me, as I brought more of my fury into play, tightening the power that came from it inside while leeching off energy from the Force around me. Time slipped away as I worked on focusing the force and my emotions inside myself, seeking to refine them into the tools I would need to prise the holocron open as I proved my worth to the Gatekeeper.

  I remembered well the need to prove my potential to Adas when I’d first opened his holocron, and knew something similar would be needed with Malgus. However, a faint, almost imperceivable ripple in the Force suggested that the former Darth and commander of the Sith Empire wouldn’t want to see a display of raw power. No, instead I felt he would test me, and demand proof of my control and mastery over the Force. For that, I would need control and preparation.

  Eventually, after an untold amount of time, I opened my eyes and stared at the Holocron. The Force around us was bent to my desires; ready to do my bidding. With that command over it and the fact I could feel Raven’s presence at the edges of my thoughts offering help if needed, I pushed forward and reached out through the Force for the holocron.

  A grunt slipped from my lips as the Gatekeeper inside responded to my new probe, driving back the attempt to gain access with the Force. This time, however, I was ready for the defensive assault, and focusing my thoughts drove through that defensive counter. The gatekeeper pulled back as if reconsidering me as I displayed control over my power and hinted at the depths of what I could do. I knew this was but the opening gambit of the battle to wrest the holocron open, but it pleased me that I had emerged from it victorious, and had seemingly impressed the Gatekeeper within.

  That pleasure was short-lived as the Gatekeeper responded, coming at me through the Force, seeking to smash through my defences and gain access to my mind. The attacks were crude and unrefined. Entirely not what I expected from Malgus’ holocron. They were, of course, simple to not just drive back, but reach out and crush in turn with my command over the Force.

  Again, there was a grudging hint of respect in the Force from the Gatekeeper. However it was short-lived, and I was soon under assault by the presence within the holocron again.

  This time, the probes from my mind and my control over the Force were more refined. More what I expected of Malgus. Incredible power pushed against my command of the Force, seeking to test me in ways I likely didn’t yet understand or anticipate. In my mind’s eye, the Force swirled around as the Gatekeeper and I fought for dominance over it; seeking to prove whose mastery and control of it was greater.

  I could feel sweat forming on my brow as I fought with the Gatekeeper, determined to convince it I was worthy of what secrets it protected. This was not a test of my ability to draw on the Dark Side but of my capacity to command, control, and harness it with precision and power. A test that I had no intention of failing.

  I gasped as, within my mind’s eye, the swirling vortex of the Force shifted. Images began to form. Shapes slowly emerged from the darkness, taking the figure of sentients. The shapes came at me, seeking to strike me down and to counter them I created a mental representation of myself. The creations of the Gatekeeper would not deny me.

  The red and black of my blade ignited in this mental battlespace, and the lightsaber moved around gracefully’ striking at the figures as they neared. Some moved to defend, others rushed onwards uncaring of my defences, but each that my blade struck faded into black shadows that dissipated into nothingness even as I turned to strike the next target.

  The assault continued, the figures growing more numerous and aggressive, coming at me faster with each passing nanosecond. My blade danced around me, keeping back the onslaught, as I glided around the mental landscape, easily demonstrating my mastery over this battlefield. What I was facing was less than what I had expected from the Gatekeeper, and far below the first push that had driven me back from the holocron and hinted at the power held within, and I knew this was just one battle in the fight to prove my worth to the Gatekeeper and learn what it knew.

  The battle raged on in the empty landscape that existed on the connection forged between myself and the Gatekeeper; the shadow creatures easily dispatched no matter how many came at me. Yes, there were many of them, almost too many to count, but with my power, I was easily able to move in this psychic combat and prevent any of them from even brushing against me.

  The Gatekeeper, either realising this or feeling that I had passed this challenge, pulled back, and the figures stopped. Around me, they swirled, merging into one continuous wall of darkness. That wall slowly moved inward, seeking to close upon me and crush me within its blackness.

  I stood my ground, pulling on my power and prepared to push back. The wall, which swirled around me as if I were trapped in the eye of a hurricane, grew ever closer; tightening the gap that I existed in upon this ground as it sought to destroy me. My thoughts turned inwards, pulling on the deep well of emotion that lay at the bottom of my soul. With that latched onto, I pushed the Force outwards from my skin.

  Around me the wall stopped, and flickers of grey emerged in it where my command of the Force slammed into it. I growled, pulling on more power and pushed the wall back, slowly working to shatter and dissipate it to regain control of the warzone in which this battle was taking place.

  The blackness fractured and then splintered away, leaving me standing alone in the empty space created by the link between myself and the Gatekeeper. As it prepared its next challenge for me, I breathed deeply, recentring myself for the next onslaught. One that came not long after.

  The black masses rose again, forming into figures around me. Yet this time, I watched cautiously as they took on more distinct forms, and then saw lightsabers of assorted colours ignite in their hands. Not wishing to remain on the defensive, as I knew that was not something the Gatekeeper wished to see, I moved forward, my blade ready to strike down these phantom challengers.

  The figures around me moved, reacting to my attacks. Their blades flicked and swept out, seeking to strike me. I glided through and around their attacks, my weapon – an extension of my soul – moving fluidly as it sought and found openings in their forms. Each shadow that was clipped, no matter how fully, shattered and fell away, though, for each that fell, two more took its place.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  I flowed around the battlefield, bending, twisting, and contorting the mental image of myself while continuing to move. These apparitions might outnumber me, but I was the one in control. I was the figure attacking and all of them were just targets for me to remove with elegant ease.

  The battle continued, each shadow that I struck down replaced by more to fill the ranks, yet I kept moving. I could feel my body reacting to the strain of this mental conflict; I knew that I would need a shower afterwards to wash away the sweat of this engagement. However, I remained committed to the battle. If I fell back now if I retreated then I knew instinctively that the Gatekeeper would never allow me access to the holocron, and that was something I would not tolerate.

  My blade moved around as an extension of me, perfectly intertwined with my desires and body. Pained, unnatural screams emerged from one of the shadows as I struck it down; the sounds echoing through my body – both in this mental hellscape and as I sat in my chair. Yet I persisted, not allowing the Gatekeeper to stop me. I would emerge victorious from this confrontation and gain access to the knowledge I sought.

  More shrieks and screams came, now rising from every shadow as it was struck down, filling the air with an unholy symphony of anguish and pain that reverberated through my soul, but onwards I pressed. This mental image of me blurred as the Force bent to my demands, ensuring me that I would emerge the victor from this challenge.

  As the figures began to grow so vast that I couldn’t see where one ended and the next began, I realised that for all my power, for all my command over my blade, I could never strike them down fast enough to avoid being overwhelmed and consumed. Pausing, I shifted tack, and pulled the Force from around me inward, harnessing it for what I was considering.

  Sensing weakness, the shadows advanced. Their blades grew ever closer, and I fought off the urge to flinch as the first touched my mental skin. Vicious howls of delight rose from the shadow figures as they saw I wasn’t fighting back, and they swarmed towards me, seeking to devour my presence and soul. That, however, was exactly what I wanted.

  I roared as I pushed the Force that I had gathered from my body; the air around me turning a dark, malevolent violet. The shadows froze in shock, and then as the closest to me were consumed in the crackling sparks of energy that erupted from me, those further away pulled back as if seeking solace in numbers. It would do them no good, however, and the wave of power that rushed from me engulfed everything around me, consuming and obliterating the figures.

  Pained shrieks erupted from whatever passed as mouths on the figures, and I savoured the terror I heard in those sounds as my power obliterated everything else in this mental hellscape. The air raged purple as my power swept over the place, ensuring that no shadow, no hint of the Gatekeeper’s presence remained here. This was my domain, and my power controlled it. Yet, for all that the energy dancing and crackling around me might appear chaotic, I was in complete control. The darkness, the full fury of the Force, was at the command of my fingertips and nothing the Gatekeeper, or anyone else for that matter, could do would remove my control over it.

  With the Gatekeeper’s presence driven from this battlefield, I opened my eyes and looked at the holocron. I blinked in surprise, realising that I had risen to my feet during the mental engagement, yet as the holocron began to glow, I felt my legs weaken.

  As the small creation on the table pulsed with power, and the first shimmering light was projected above it, my legs gave. I fell to a knee, gasping for breath. The mental fight had taken more out of me than I’d realised, and as I breathed deeply, trying to recover before the Gatekeeper saw me, I understood that the power it controlled, or at least that which Malgus had once wielded, was on par with anything I’d sensed from a Jedi. Potentially even rivalling Yoda and Windu with what he had once been capable of.

  A faint, almost unheralded sound of someone grunting in apparent annoyance reached my ears, and as I looked up I saw the Gatekeeper – a perfect representation of Malgus as he was after the Battle of Alderaan – I saw he was looking down at me. While it was only a reflection of the former Sith Lord, the Gatekeeper seemed both irritated and impressed with my actions.

  I stood, not wishing to remain on my knee before the Gatekeeper, and thus appeared either as a willing servant to it, or weak in its eyes. My limbs were tired, and as I stood I glanced at the chronometer in my room, noting that far more time had passed fighting to unlock the holocron than I’d believed. Almost two hours in fact.

  “You have potential,” the Gatekeeper said slowly, his eyes seeking something from within mine. “Power lies within you, and you can harness it. However, you still have much to learn.” I stayed quiet, letting the Gatekeeper speak; curious as to what else it would say.

  “Listen closely,” It continued, its voice distorted by the mask it wore, “for I shall reveal to you truths long buried. The path to power that has been concealed by thrones and hidden by councils for countless millennia in a war with no true victor. I have seen visions of the future – of the galaxy in flames, and offer you a chance to wield the power to emerge from those flames.

  “The Jedi will tell you that to seek power is to embrace darkness. The Sith will teach that power is the reward for deception. They are both wrong. Power belongs to those who are unafraid to wield it openly. The Sith and the Jedi, dishonourable tyrants and councils of fools, have controlled the galaxy for far too long. It is time to break free of their lies.

  “With my teachings, you will never again have to bow to a Master. Never will you allow another to rule over you. Learn from me and I shall reveal the path you must take to break free of the chains the galaxy has forced upon you without your consent. Fire and destruction will light the way for the strong to rise, and through the wisdom I offer, I will show you how, as the galaxy burns, to light the way to a future worthy of those willing to grasp it.”

  A smile had crept across my face as I heard Malgus’ words. “I am willing to learn, but I won’t bend the knee to anyone ever again,” I said slowly, feeling that was the correct way to phrase my response.

  “As well you shouldn’t,” Malgus replied as he looked at me. “You have power in you, and the skill to wield it as more than a mindless fool in servitude to others. I sense that you have the teachings of both Jedi and Sith within you, and with my guidance, you can complete the journey I began countless years ago.”

  … …

  … …

  I watched as Matel’s Gift came into sight, and as I transmitted my clearance codes to the nearest military vessel, I reached out through the Force.

  It didn’t take any time at all to sense Anakin. His presence, while naturally clouded from those not looking for it, was like a beacon to me within the rippling currents of the Force. I knew what I was searching for and locating him through the Force was no harder than walking from my cabin to the cockpit. As much as I didn’t wish to admit it, the incident with the Trandoshans, and my hunt to locate Anakin before the worst happened, had made it far easier for me to sense his presence even when there were sectors between us. I could sense Dooku at a distance and suspected I could also sense Fay, but not at the same range. However, Anakin was a vergence in the Force, and that sort of power, no matter how constrained and slowly being tempered after around two years of training with myself and others, was simple for those who were aware of it to not just sense but if they held a connection to it, use as a beacon that could, in theory, light a path from one side of the Republic to the other.

  After assuring him via our bond that I was back, and that he’d be leaving with me when I next departed the system, I reached out and quickly found Fenrir. The tuk’ata was on Gaia, below Matel’s Gift, and while he felt sated – meaning the roughly two weeks I’d been gone had been enjoyed – I sensed he was eager to travel again at my side. Something I was also looking forward to as having just R2 on Raven made the place feel empty.

  Raven wasn’t massive, and her presence was continually around me, but not having anyone else bar her and R2 to interact with had been more mind-numbing than I’d expected. The only upside, at least during the return from Coruscant, was that it had allowed me time to commune with Malgus’ holocron. Something I’d done heavily since passing the initial test so that the Gatekeeper would ordain to speak with me.

  The last few days had been spent with the holocron. I hadn’t yet learnt anything, but that was what I expected after first opening Adas’ holocron. Yes, that holocron had taught me one specific power not long after I’d first opened it, but otherwise, the time had been spent conversing on the philosophy and ideals of the Sith Lord that created it.

  Malgus’ holocron was doing much the same, and while there were similarities between their ideals, there were stark differences as well. As one would expect given the fact they lived in different eras and were different sentients. Malgus spoke heavily on learning to not just harness the rage and fury that lay inside oneself, or in using it to control the Force, but in focusing and refining it so that, at the drop of a hat, one could call upon it for a task, or push it back until it was next needed. One was not, in Malgus’ mind, to become an untamed beast unleashed on a battlefield. Yes, there was a time and place for brutality and ferocity, but such behaviour should only be used when required, and never without control and discipline.

  Much of that I agreed with, and already in my own way, and through Adas’ teaching, had adapted. What Malgus was saying, among other things that I hoped he would teach me in the coming years, would help to refine my control over my emotions and the Force so that I could retain control of myself in the most desperate of situations while able to call upon my rage with the barest of breath turn the embers of my well of emotion into an inferno with which to scorch any who dared challenge me.

  Like him and Adas I desired to be in the thick of battle, and not commanding from the rear. To do that I had to be able to control myself fully so that an explosion of rage didn’t overwhelm and consume me, and theoretically cost me a fight. As it had done against Vosa, and would’ve done against Maul if not for my armour.

  Focusing back on the station, I felt the presence of Quinlan, Aayla, and, as much as I wished I didn’t, Komari Vosa. At the distance I was from the station, I couldn’t be certain, but it felt as if she were nearby to at least one of the mind-ravaged, and if my plans went as intended, former Jedi. Or at least was in the same general section of the Lokella base.

  Beyond letting the pair of former Jedi know via the Force that I had returned, I saw no need to speak further with them from such a distance. We would converse once I arrived, and I would learn if they had decided on their fates or not.

  Closing my eyes, I sensed the Force shifting as I neared the station; a reminder that the fate of the pair was as yet uncertain. However, with my path now determined, I knew what I wanted the pair to do, and how I wished for them to move forward. What I would need to ensure was that they walked the path I intended for them, and did so willingly.

  Allies were needed for what was coming, and while the support I had among the Lokella, and with some Mando’ade was a good base, none were capable of taking on a Force user and emerge victorious. At least not ones with the power that I knew I would need to face and defeat in the coming decades. For that, I needed others strong in the Force who were willing to not just follow me, but learn from and adapt what I wanted to teach them.

  Yes, I was doing that with Anakin, but that was more because I had made a vow to myself when I’d adopted him, and understood from the various visions that had been granted to me by the Force that for my plans to succeed, we needed to stand together as one. However, even with all the power we did and would command, two against a galaxy were odds that not even the most deranged gambler would accept. I needed elite warriors, ones trained in the use of the Force and with the will to act and do what was required for the greater good.

  I reached down into the eddies of the Force, demanding a hint of how I should approach the meeting with Quinlan and Aayla. The Force, I felt, agreed with me that their paths weren’t bound to the Jedi’s. Or at least there was potential for them to become something far greater than they could be if they remained chained to the narrow-minded and corrupted ideals of the Order as it was now.

  However, the Force wasn’t willing to grant me the knowledge I desired at this moment. At least not more so than it had already hinted at, and not without me having to actively bend it to my demands. I knew I could do that, however, I understood that this wasn’t the moment or place to do that. Not in regards to the two mind-ravaged former Jedi at any rate. I knew what I wanted to achieve, and it would be up to me to do so once I arrived on the station, not the whims of the energy field that encompassed almost everything.

  When I opened my eyes, I saw the looming towers of the station; leftovers from when it had been a cathedral ship during the Pius Dea era. That a vessel designed to exterminate and enslave non-Human races was now used as the command centre for a group of predominantly alien former slaves from which they struck out at slavers carried an amusing sense of irony that always made me smile when I thought about it. The great ship would never fly the stars again, but the modifications the Lokella had done on it, along with the addition of defence platforms and warships nearby meant that it was safe from any small or medium assault by those who might seek to destroy what the Lokella stood for.

  Even as Raven glided into the bay assigned to us, I sensed Anakin rushing through the station, eager to catch up with me, and as the last remaining Sekot vessel in the known galaxy touched down on the landing pad, I saw him emerge through one of the doors, a smile that beamed with delight on his face.

  “Come on,” I said to R2 as I stood and left the cockpit. The astromech beeped and rolled along behind me, and as we walked, I dragged my hand along the wall, once more savouring the connection I shared with Raven. There would come a day, as much as I wasn’t looking forward to it when the small biomechanical vessel wouldn’t be suitable for me to use as anything more than a personal transport. That day, however, was many years away. Or so I hoped.

  “CAM!”

  The screech of my son and Padawan – though I was unsure if I should call him that any longer – had me grimacing as I moved down the ramp. A moment later, the eleven-year-old boy was wrapped around my waist, hugging me tightly. “I worried you wouldn’t come back,” He said gently as I patted his head and allowed him the moment.

  “Why would you think that?” I asked as I saw the door he had emerged into the bay open again, this time admitting HK. I gave the droid a nod but otherwise kept my focus on Anakin even as R2 rolled past us.

  Anakin didn’t respond, at least not at first, choosing to tighten his hug. For a moment, a frown slid onto my face though by the time he relaxed and deigned to look up at me, it was gone. “I… I felt something in the Force. Like when the ground shakes because of a krayt dragon,” he began slowly. “I, I feared that something had happened to you on Coruscant. That the Council didn’t like what you and Master Dooku had to tell them.”

  “They didn’t,” I replied with a chuckle, “but in the end, they accepted our words.”

  “So?” He asked when I stopped and didn’t continue. “Why did you go to them? Did you learn something about the Sith?”

  I chuckled and ruffled his hair as I felt Quinlan and Aayla moving closer. Vosa was with them, and I prepared for having to face her without Dooku present. He was still a few days away from arriving as the transport he had hired couldn’t come close to matching Raven’s hyperspace speeds, even when one considered that I stopped for several days to first open Malgus’ holocron and then converse with the Gatekeeper.

  Before the doors through which I knew the two former Jedi and Vosa would emerge opened, I sensed Vosa stop. It seemed that she understood that being in my presence would be dangerous for her, and decided to avoid any potential confrontation particularly without our former Master present to mediate. A wise choice.

  I moved towards the door even before it opened, giving the Kiffar and Twi’lek nods as they came through. They returned the gesture, and as the door closed, I saw Vosa lingering there, her eyes seemingly not on me but on Quinlan. My brow creased at seeing that, wondering if perhaps the way she watched him, and the subtle shifts in the Force around her as she did so, might be something to investigate at a later date.

  “I hope your meeting with the Council went well?” Quinlan asked cautiously once he and Aayla were closer.

  “It did, though perhaps not in the way any of you expected,” I replied slightly cryptically. My smile grew as I sensed ripples of confusion from all three. “After several years of contemplation, both Master Dooku and myself have resigned from the Order.”

  The trio went silent as they processed my words, their minds processing what I’d said and shock rippling from them just as much as it spread over their faces. Interestingly, Anakin was the least surprised by my decision, though I sensed some remorse from him.

  A gentle push at the thread in the Force revealed that he disliked the fact that now he’d never get to see the inside of the Jedi Temple or train against other Padawans there. Understandable, but I knew that his path lay as far from the Jedi, Coruscant, and Sidious as I could take it. The Jedi Code wasn’t something that had or would work for him, and like myself, his path now lay away from the Order and the Republic. The trick I faced over the coming weeks was ensuring that he understood and accepted that.

  “Why?”

  The question came from Aayla, her eyes narrowed as she stared at me. “I mean, from what I remember, you never quite fit in with many there, and saw things differently from others, but I sensed you had connections to the Order. Or at least your friends there.”

  I nodded, intrigued that enough of her memories were returning that she could have that sort of insight. “I do, and for those I could meet while there, including Serra, I hope they understand my choice.” I paused for a moment, letting some of my lingering disappointment that she hadn’t chosen to leave with me vibrate through the Force. There was no point in denying that I wasn’t happy about her staying behind, but it was her choice, and we were still friends. In time, I prayed, we would recover what had slipped away, but until then our paths had diverged. “However, for years, even, as I’ve come to realise, before Naboo, I had a feeling that my journey was one that I couldn’t take while a member of the Order. After Naboo, and during the last twenty-odd months that Anakin and I have explored the galaxy training with other force sects, that feeling only grew stronger and more pronounced.”

  “Was this why you didn’t insist we return to the Order after we saved Aayla?”

  “In part, yes,” I replied honestly to Quinlan. “When we first met during your search, I could sense your hesitation about returning to the Jedi, and the concern that they wouldn’t have helped you find Aayla. Something that I also believe. However, I didn’t allow that to influence my actions or words. At least entirely.” I paused and looked at the pair as Anakin stood at my side. “If you wish to return to the Order, then not only won’t I stand in your way, but I’ll transport you to a major system so you can secure passage back to Coruscant.”

  The pair looked at each other, and I sensed the faint shifting of the Force as the pair likely communicated telepathically. Them returning to the Order was the last thing I wished for, but I had to appear willing and honest to accept that they might so as to further cement their opinions and trust in me. Underhanded perhaps, but I knew what the best path for them was, and I would ensure they took it.

  “For now, we would like to remain here,” Aayla said with a small smile. “The time will soon come when we have to make a final choice, but for as long as the Lokella will have us, we shall remain.” She was the Padawan, but because her memories, while still jumbled, were clearer than Quinlan’s I had noticed even before heading to the Jedi Temple that she was often the one to voice an opinion or decision the pair would follow. An interesting shift in their dynamic, and one that made it clear to me – even without access to the Force – that she was the one I had to convince that returning to the Order was unwise.

  “I’m sure that can be arranged, even with the extra Force user present,” I added with a small probing smile.

  Aayla looked at Quinlan and her smile widened. The Kiffar became a little uncertain as we looked at him. “It turns out that we…” he shrugged. “Well, you know the link between us and Komari Vosa,” he continued with what was meant to be a disarming smile but it failed as I could sense his discomfort – and Aayla’s amusement – through the Force.

  “Yes, I remember my time with her,” I commented, keeping as much of my issues regarding that stay, and the torture I’d endured, buried deep within. Something was happening between Quinlan and Vosa, and it seemed that it might be of use to me. At least that was the inkling I gained from the Force as I gently pulled what I could from its eddies without alerting the two before me that I was doing so.

  “Yeah… Anyway, Ko.. Miss Vosa is interested in learning what happened to us, and well,” he shrugged as if the matter wasn’t as important as I was slowly beginning to suspect it was, “with both you and Master Dooku gone, she had no one to speak with. At least none that could use the Force.”

  I smirked, sensing there was more he could say but wouldn’t. The smile worn by Aalya only heightened my suspicions. However, this wasn’t the moment for me to prod for more details. If Vosa had taken some odd interest in Quinlan, that was fine by me as it meant I had less chance of having to directly interact with her. I knew one day I would have to do so, but the longer I could delay that, the better I felt the meeting would go. Not least as I knew she retained an interest in me, one that she also had in Anakin though thankfully in a far less sadistic way.

  “So,” I said, letting whatever was developing between Quinlan and Vosa fade away for the time being, “what have you been up to?” I asked Anakin.

  The rather puzzled, and slightly disappointed expression he’d worn ever since I’d told them I’d left the Jedi faded away. In its place, a wide, proud smile spread over his face. “I spent time with Lia, and did my training…”

  “He’s an impressively fast learner,” Quinlan offered with a smile of his own; seemingly glad I wasn’t probing about Vosa any longer.

  “… and Baalta had me helping fine-tune the newest Head-hunters they’ve acquired,” Anakin finished, speaking over Quinlan to a degree.

  I chuckled and ruffled his hair. “I’m sure that’s not all you’ve done, but so long as you’re mostly keeping out of trouble, good.” I knew he’d have spent time exploring the station or the planet below, looking for unfamiliar places to uncover. He had a drive to know as much as he could and wasn’t one to sit idly by for more than a few hours at a time. A trait that I had shared when I was younger, but that I had thankfully almost entirely grown out of. At least enough that I wasn’t getting into adventures that I was unprepared for as often as I had been while I was a Padawan.

  “Mostly,” Anakin replied with a nervous look flashing over his face.

  I laughed again and shook my head. “Please tell me you’ve not broken someone’s ship trying to improve it again.”

  “That was one time!” He snapped back in annoyance, pushing me as he spoke. Or at least trying to. “I didn’t mean for the environmental system to catch fire.”

  “You what?” Aayla asked slowly, confusion and curiosity spreading over her Twi’lek features while her lekku gently shifted. “How is that even possible?”

  Anakin glared at me, annoyed at the topic being brought up, before turning to face Aayla. His face shifted when he did, and I felt a slight vibration in the Force. He was too young to be developing feelings for the Twi’lek, but it seemed he enjoyed her attention a touch more than he perhaps ought to. “Well, it was when we were on this fuelling station a year ago,” he began slowly, seemingly over his embarrassment at me mentioning the topic and happy to share it with Aayla. Given she seemed to have a knack for machines and starships, though not on Anakin’s level, it made sense he would be comfortable talking with her about such things. That said, based on what I’d just sensed within the Force, I just hoped that the feelings he had held for Padmé in the other timeline weren’t shifting to Aayla.

  The age gap was far greater there and, if I was being honest, I still had some intentions to bed the Twi’lek. Something that, at least before her memory loss, I felt she might’ve been receptive to if not for the fact that we were Jedi, and I was extremely close to Serra.

  My thoughts again drifted to my oldest friend, and I looked up at the ceiling of the bay wondering how she was doing. No doubt others had asked her about me as news of myself and Dooku leaving the Order would be running like wildfire through the Temple. I just hoped that when Windu had spoken to her, she had not mentioned much of what we’d talked about before I’d faced the Council. I had made mistakes in revealing much of my current situation to her, not least that I’d taken Anakin as my Padawan and son. I had faith she’d honour her word, respect our friendship, and not reveal that information and others unless directly asked about it, but there was a chance that her loyalty to the Order might supersede her feelings and commitment to me.

  As Aayla moved off with Anakin, listening to him tell his story, I offered Quinlan a smile, and we walked behind the pair. Elsewhere in the bay, the droids were communicating while members of the deck crew worked to refuel Raven. That was useful as I didn’t intend to spend long here, at least not for now.

  I had to head to Mandalore and speak with others there. It was time to begin solidifying the alliances and friendships I’d built over the last decade into something that, if all went well, would one day become a force that might be able to stand against the GAR, CIS, the Jedi, and the Sith. War was coming, and I intended to be ready when the final spark that ignited galactic conflict flared into life. War was dangerous, but in it, there was a hope to find a better path, and for those willing to try and change the order of things to rise.

  … …

  … …