3.12 A Change in Path 1

  ... ...

  As the speeder bike raced through the swamp on Kiffex, I accessed the feed from the HUD to look behind me. Thick, black smoke was rising into the air rapidly; a sign that the explosives Simvyl and I had planted in Karkko’s former prison-turned-command centre had done their job and that there’d be nothing there for T’ra Saa to locate. Now, we had perhaps used a touch too many thermal detonators – I had depleted the twenty-five I’d carried in my Inventory – and I had reduced Karkko’s body to ash before leaving the complex, but there was no such thing as overkill in my mind if it kept the truth of what I’d done, and more importantly how I’d done it, from Master Saa, and thus the Jedi High Council for a little while longer.

  The only item taken from the complex was Karkko’s lightsaber which hung proudly at my hip. According to Observe, there was nothing particularly impressive or special about the lightsaber, but it was a trophy of my victory over someone who had once been a member of the Jedi Council millennia ago. It was a nice ego boost to consider that I had defeated someone who had once been a member of a Jedi Council, however nothing about Karkko’s combat form suggested he was anything particularly impressive and as such, I was reluctant to consider my victory over him as a sign that I could defeat more than perhaps one or two members of the current Council.

  Nothing else of value had been found in the complex in the brief time we had to search it, though I had downloaded what I could from the place’s databanks in the hopes there might be something useful that I could discover later. Currently, even before we’d left the complex, I’d been actively hiding my presence in the Force in every way I knew how to prevent T’ra Saa from both trying to track me and giving her any additional information about the Dark side user who had fought and defeated Karkko before she arrived at the smoking ruins of his former prison.

  Still, for all that I had moved to hide myself in the Force, and that my Force signature had altered considerably since taking Natural Selection and then training with various Force sects and studying from Adas’ holocron, I knew it was only a matter of time – likely no more than half a year at an outside – until Master Saa was able to piece together that I was the one who’d defeated Karkko, drawing heavily on the Dark Side to shatter the illusions that the Anzati Dark Jedi had favoured. The Anzati had skill, I would give him that, but for all his abilities, he had only dabbled in the Dark Side in his later years, which given he could considerably have been centuries old before turning to the Dark Side, meant his mind had remained influenced by his time as a Jedi from being a Youngling until turning from the Order after serving on the High Council.

  “What’s the plan?” Simvyl asked through the secure comms as he and HK followed along behind me on their speeders, the droid monitoring the movements of any feral Anzati that were tracking us.

  Those who had survived my duel with Karkko had been half-following, half-pursuing us since their master’s death. From what I could sense from those that had gotten close enough to allow me to pick up on their feelings – at least before they were summarily killed – it seemed the beasts felt that because I had killed Karkko, they should transfer their loyalty to me. I had no interest in that, as they were little better than untrained kath hounds. However, their continual need to stay close enabled HK to keep thinning their ranks as we raced back to Deadend, fulfilling one of the conditions of the Lost Apprentice quest.

  “Getting off this pathetic planet,” I replied bluntly, not bothering to hide my irritation with being here even as HK used a semi-silenced blaster to take out a trio of Anzati that had popped out from behind cover in the brush around us. “But before that, I need to speak with Aayla.”

  “Observation: From examining the recordings of your duel with the Twi’lek meatbag, there was little there that impressed me, Master. Addendum: That said, any Force user that fights for your cause has greater use compared to the average meatbags that infest the galaxy.”

  I smirked at HK’s blunt assessment of Aayla’s form, and the even cruder comment on the wider galaxy. “You’re not wrong, HK, however, my focus on Aayla for now is as her friend. She’s one of the first I made at the Temple in fact.” As I said that, I glanced skyward, my thoughts turning to my oldest dearest companion in the Order: Serra.

  As with every other time memories of her came to the forefront of my thoughts, I couldn’t stop myself from wondering how she was doing. By now she should’ve moved on from the death of Master Drallig, the closest thing she had to a parental figure, and committed to whatever training Master Windu had her undergoing. However, I had no idea what all that meant for us.

  I cared deeply for her, loved her even and would always carry a flame for her in my heart. Yet, since Naboo I had come to realise that my path was leading me away from the Jedi – and more importantly, from her – faster than I had anticipated. The path I was choosing, the one that saw me use the Force to defeat Karkko by demanding its obedience instead of working with it as a Jedi would, was a path I wasn’t sure she could, or even would, choose to follow.

  The fear that she would reject me for the Order if forced to choose was one that often constricted around my heart, fuelling many restless nights I’d endured over the last roughly two years. I knew even before agreeing to help Quinlan that things were going to come to a head, but with events here, it seemed that that shift in direction was going to arrive sooner than I had expected.

  T’ra Saa would report what had happened here, and what she had felt, to the High Council. The challenge for me was to leave the Order before she realised that I was the one who had killed Karkko. If I didn’t do so, or she realised the truth and reported it before I formally left the Order, then I would likely see a team of Jedi sent after me. If it was one composed of Knights, then unless they ganged up on me and I was without allies, I wasn’t overly concerned. However, if even two Jedi Masters were on any team sent after me, then I would have to be far more cautious about when and where any battle took place. The more experienced and skilled the Masters, the lower my odds of survival, never mind victory, became.

  As much as simply going to the Temple and resigning was something to consider, doing so had many risks. First and foremost, I had Quinlan and Aayla with me, and taking them there would see the Order learn that I was the one who killed Karkko inside a day. The other major issue was that Dooku’s long-gestating idea of gaining access to many restricted items in the more secure holocron vaults and keeping them after leaving the Order would be complicated. At least when it came to me.

  Dooku, as a Jedi Master, could enter those vaults. I, however, couldn’t. Not legally at any rate. Yet Dooku had been clear that he felt that I should have some of those items in the vaults as well as him. For him, it was an oddly sentimental decision, but one I hadn’t complained about any time he had brought up his thoughts, and one that now appealed greatly given I had to leave the Order.

  Before I could speak with him, however, I had to converse with Quinlan and Aayla, and after informing Sheyf Tinte of what happened on this world, ensure they didn’t return to the Order. That line of thought brought me to the A Change in Path quest, and how I could use it to influence the direction the pair head.

  When the Interface had created the quest, I had thought it was an odd one. Yet after Karkko’s defeat, I realised that the Interface could, if not see, then at least predict the likely outcomes of my completion of the Lost Apprentice quest, and how the fates of Quinlan, Aayla, and myself were, at least for the time being, intertwined.

  A Change of Path had several paths, from letting the pair return to the Jedi, to taking them under my wing and training them. That last option would generate a new quest, and until very recently was the one I was leaning away from the most. Now it held appeal because as HK said, having Force users on my side was extremely beneficial. Any Jedi was a Force multiplier, even with the way the Order limited its members in what they could do and learn. Two trained by me, using the ideals I’d gained from Adas, and whatever else I might learn from holocrons that I and Dooku could acquire from the vaults in the Temple, could turn the tide of many a battle that I knew existed in my future.

  Already there were murmurings on the Holonet of growing discontent across the Outer Rim, with a handful of reports suggesting worlds and sectors from the Mid Rim through the Expansion Regions and into the Inner Rim were growing disillusioned with the Republic. Interestingly, for all those reports that I had seen on the Holonet in my travels when I had gone near the Core, they seemingly vanished. I had no proof that the Banite Sith were behind that, but it wouldn’t take much to downplay a few stories here and there in the media to manipulate and deceive the masses. It was, after all, a tactic I knew had existed in my former life, and with the Republic being over twenty thousand years old, something that would exist here as well.

  I had yet to catch any mention in the reports of a central figure stirring up anti-Republic sentiment, but there had to be someone doing it. Dooku hadn’t become Darth Tyrannus, but the Banite Sith would find another fool to use as a pawn to generate the war they wanted. I just had to wait until that figure revealed themselves, and then see if an opportunity might arise to remove them before the war broke out. Provided, of course, that choice didn’t in some way make things worse for me in the coming years.

  The approaching walls of Deadend drew my focus back to the here and now, mind shifted back to Aayla and Quinlan. I could sense both with ease as while they were masking their Force signatures slightly, I knew what to look for and had their presences locked in before we were even halfway back to the settlement.

  I would need them off-world before Master Saa sensed them and then sought them out. Ideally, she wouldn’t recognise the pair’s signatures before we departed, but if she did, then it would cause some amusing confusion in the Order. The Council would know from Master Saa that neither was the source of the Dark Side energies that had swarmed around Karkko’s former prison before I defeated him, and the Order would be seeking the pair out for answers. Which was another reason for me to ensure the pair didn’t return directly to the Order.

  I watched as the gates of the settlement opened without a challenge, smirking at the gentle tremors of fear I sensed from those on the walls. They knew who I was, remembered what I’d done to Zaga and then the feral Anzati that had attacked here, and they were wise enough to not risk angering me in any way. Exactly what one would expect of bottom-feeding scum such as them.

  Nearing the Black Hole Cantina, I wondered where Master Tholme might be. He was Quinlan’s former Master, and would undoubtedly be looking for his old Padawan. I would rather avoid running into him currently as he was one of the Jedi Masters I felt I would struggle against. Perhaps one of the most dangerous given Dooku had often spoken of Master Tholme as one of the few in the Order who respected the Old Ways and was regarded as one of the best Makashi practitioners in the Order. Not on Dooku’s level, but close enough that I highly doubted I could take him in a straight-up duel.

  As I powered down the speeder, my thoughts shifted to Anakin. He would be in Kiffar with Sheyf Tinte, and I was looking forward to having him back at my side. As much as I was now leaning towards at least having the two Force users inside the cantina before me come with me, if I had to I would drop them in an instant. Beyond his role as the Chosen One, Anakin was my son, and I would sacrifice almost anything and anyone to keep him safe from the clutches of the Banite Sith and Jedi. Eventually, I knew they would learn of his existence, but with me now settling on leaving the Order, their ability to attempt to take my ad from me was slipping away rapidly. Still, it would not stop the Banite Sith – and possibly certain elements in the Order if they learnt of Anakin’s Force potential – from attempting to kidnap my son, and I would burn entire worlds to keep him from any of their clutches and ensure that he never rose to become the Banite Sith Lord Darth Vader.

  Just before I pushed the doors to the cantina open, I pulled my helmet off, and as I stepped inside, my other hand rested on the hilt of my saber. Aayla was awake and seemed calm, but given what she had endured for the last few months, there was always the chance she might lash out at me for killing Karkko. I didn’t plan to draw my saber, but it was always wiser to be prepared, which was why the anti-Force user weaponry in my gauntlet and replacement limb was powered up.

  “And how is everyone this fine evening?” I asked as I moved into the main room of the cantina. Around me the noise fell away as those present, those lucky enough to survive first my battle with Zaga and then the attack by the feral Anzati, understood that I was not one they wished to mess with. From the general sensations in the room, I could sense glimmers of hope mixed in with the general unease and fear, which would come from the need of some to know if friends or loved ones survived their capture by the Anzati. If they had questions, they could direct them to Simvyl and HK as the pair entered behind me.

  My focus was on the two Force users, and potentially former Jedi, that were sitting on two smaller, and frankly comfier-looking seats beside the raised seat from where Zaga had ruled before I’d cut him down the day before. I was sure Zaga considered it his throne, but while it did grant clear views over the entire cantina floor, it was little better than a large, high-backed chair, and as I moved toward it and the two Force users sitting at its base, I knew it was where I’d be resting until I left this kriff-hole of a planet.

  As I neared the pair, I noticed Aayla’s head turn to look at me, fire in her eyes, while Quinlan tensed, as if fearing his Padawan might try and attack me. Her eyes stared into mine and I made sure to hold her gaze before the gentle movement of one hand drew her attention to Karkko’s lightsaber as it swung at my hip. To further ensure she didn’t try anything, I allowed a mere fraction of my power to slip out of the cloak I was using to mask my Force signature.

  The others in the cantina all went still, their minds filling with amusing terror, but my focus was on the pair I was approaching. Quinlan’s eyes widened as he looked between me and his formerly lost Padawan, but I swore I felt acceptance from him at my display of power. As if I had the right – not that I needed his permission – to display my prowess after defeating Karkko.

  Aayla’s reaction was far more telling. She froze as my presence engulfed the cantina, which was as far as I was projecting my aura before there was a shift in her demeanour that I couldn’t quite place. Acceptance that Karkko was gone for sure, but there was something more primal and instinctual underneath it. As if she felt I was some form of apex predator that she couldn’t hope to challenge.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked her as I neared, ignoring the rest of the sentients in the cantina, even Quinlan, as stepped closer to her.

  “I..” She blinked, her eyes shifting from my face back to the extra lightsaber at my hip. “He’s dead?”

  “Reduced to ash,” I confirmed with a touch too much amusement. I lifted Karkko’s lightsaber from my hip and held the hilt out for her to see. “Along with his former prison, and I hope, most of the feral beasts that had served him.”

  She focused on the lightsaber as I settled into Zaga’s former seat. A sigh slipped from her lips as her shoulders drooped, and I felt the concern she’d been holding onto, the fear that Karkko would return, fade away into the Force. “Thank you.”

  I smirked at her words. “Not the first thing I expected you to say after I confirmed his death,” I commented as I handed her Karkko’s lightsaber, sensing in the Force that she meant no danger to me. Her eyes looked at the lightsaber cautiously, and I felt a sliver of trepidation from her before she took the ancient weapon from my grasp.

  “If I had just recovered from you making me sleep, then I might not have accepted your words. Not even with this,” she lifted the lightsaber slightly, “in my hands. However,” her gaze shifted to Quinlan, “after I awoke, and remembered I knew him as more than the man who slew my uncle, we… talked.”

  “Talked?” I asked. “Or talked?” I added, gesturing at the hilt in her hand.

  Quinlan chuckled. “The former. It seems that while my memories are fragmented, if not gone forever without access to everything I might have touched in my life, Aayla remembers much of her… of our time as Jedi.”

  “Yes, but everything is jumbled,” Aayla added, “like a puzzle for which I lack the instructions. One with sensations and,” her cheeks darkened slightly as she looked away from me, “emotions attached to them.”

  “I assume your lekku helped you remember what you do?” The twin head-tails that extended from her skull contained parts of her brain, giving Twi’leks greater memory retention along with it seemed, the ability to recall memories even when their mind was meant to have been wiped. That, along with her powerful connection to the Force, was likely why her uncle had dosed her with glitteryll every day.

  “Yes. From them, I remember Quinlan, how he saved me as a child, and how he started training me as a Jedi.” Quinlan smiled at hearing her say that even as Aayla looked back at me for the first time since the earlier mention of emotions. “I remember you, Cameron. We were friends, were we not?”

  “We were.”

  “There is another I remember when I think of you. A human with brown hair and eyes. One you are remarkably close with.”

  I gave her a melancholy smile. “Serra,” I said, providing the name. “And yes we are close. Or at least, we were. We haven’t spoken in a few years, not since…” I paused and closed my eyes, pushing aside my feelings for Serra lest they become clear to the pair before me. “Not since a battle where she lost her Master. I hope that we’re still friends, but her Master was there because of her, and she was there because of me.” I pushed aside other thoughts on Serra and removed the pain and regret from my smile. “But you’re right to say we were friends, Aayla, and I still consider us to be so. If that is fine with you?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  She looked at me for a moment, her head tilting slightly to one side, and I felt her reaching out in the Force, trying to get a read on me. With my barriers up, hiding my presence she couldn’t sense much, but I made sure my sincerity was there for her to find. “Yes,” She replied after a short time, holding out Karkko’s lightsaber for me, “I would like that.”

  I took the hilt with a smile and reattached it to my belt. I wasn’t sure what else to say, though a gentle cough from Quinlan drew my attention along with Aayla’s. “We… we aren’t sure what we should do. I mean after we speak with my aunt.” I raised a single eyebrow, wanting to hear more from him. “I know we should return to the Jedi, and resume our training with them. However,…”

  “I’ve done horrible things,” Aayla said quietly. “I’ve killed many and captured others in the service of Karkko. I… I watched him drain the life force from others and revelled in the dark delight of getting revenge for my uncle’s death. Revenge I now know was unwarranted, but still, I… I enjoyed those feelings.”

  “I too have done things since losing my memories. Things the Jedi would not approve of,” Quinlan added as I felt the Force reacting to their words. “Things I fear they might imprison me for. I can accept that, but I won’t let them punish Aayla for my failings.”

  As Aayla turned to her former Master and placed her hands on his arm, I closed my eyes. Reaching out into the Force, I sought a hint of what I should do. The Force, however, was unwilling to provide one, and thus I exerted my will over it, demanding insight into the paths that lay before the pair. Unsurprisingly, what I saw aligned with the options in the A Change of Path quest, but as I pulled more information from the Force, and bent it to provide me with the knowledge I sought, it became clear to me that returning the pair to the Jedi was, perhaps, the worst path they could take. At least for me personally. Not just because of how it would constrict the timeline of Dooku’s idea of liberating knowledge from the Holocron Vaults, but because the pair would highly likely become complications I would have to remove in the years, or even decades to come.

  Perhaps the pair would return to the Order at some point, but I knew now that I had to ensure they remained away from the decadent capital of the Republic for at least a while longer, at least a quarter-year. That, from what the Force was revealing to me, would grant Dooku and me time to enact whatever insane plan it took to unshackle holocrons from the Order. Yet, I felt that the longer I could keep the pair from the Order, the greater the chances that I would gain allies for the wars to come; allies that I would need.

  Opening my eyes, I offered the pair a soft smile, hiding what I’d just gleaned from the Force from my expression, or from projecting my desires into the Force for them to sense. “We can discuss that once, as you say, we speak with Sheyf Tinte. I, for one, long to get off this kriffing world and return to my Padawan and ship.”

  Aayla gasped. “You have a Padawan?” she looked at Quinlan as he chuckled.

  “Yes. A young boy named Anakin. He is… impressively smart and has a passion for technology. Something, from what I can recall from the flashes I had glimpsed of our past, you share as well.”

  “I… I think I do,” Aayla replied with a small smile for her Master before looking up at me. “I have no memory of your Padawan.”

  “Nor does any member of the Order. Save my former Master, and now you two,” I replied with a smirk. I stood, noting dismissively how everyone in the cantina who wasn’t a friend or ally tensed at my movement. The people here, whatever their crimes had been, were scum; far beneath me and those with me. The sooner I was away from them and this pathetic excuse for civilisation the better it would be for all. “I’d be happy to introduce you to him, Aayla, but to do that we need to get off this world,” I added, looking at Quinlan, knowing only he could summon a Guardian vessel to collect us.

  Now, if push came to shove Anakin could get Raven here without too much effort. Haran, Raven could likely manage the flight without a pilot if forced to do so. However, I had no reason to reach out to the pair and request they do so. It would cause issues with Sheyf Tinte, and I sensed I needed her help in ensuring the Jedi remained unaware that Quinlan and I had been on this world.

  “Yes, we should depart from here at once,” Quinlan agreed with that look hinting the Force was pushing him in that direction. He stood, and after giving Aayla a nod to assure her he would be back, moved towards the door of the cantina. I watched him go, my eyes drifting towards the nearest bar. It was unlikely that they had anything on tap that would be enjoyable, but I wanted something to celebrate my victory.

  “How did he die?” I stopped after taking a single step down from the raised platform where Zaga had sat when he had ruled here and turned back to Aayla. “Karkko. I sense you defeated him easily.”

  I grunted in amusement. “I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it was simpler than I’d expected.”

  “He was powerful.”

  “Aye, he was. I, however, was more so,” I answered, letting some pride at my victory seep out as I spoke. There would be far harder battles to come against other Force users, but when faced with my first challenger, I’d emerged victorious with relatively little effort. That was something to be proud of, though I was wise enough to not let my ego grow too large from the victory. “I’m going to get a drink, but if you want I could detail the battle to you while I do so?”

  Aayla nodded, and stood, taking my offered hand. As I guided her towards the bar, I wondered how she would react to learning of how, in the end, pitiful Karkko had been, and what effect it would have on her. Aayla was a powerful Force user and a pretty one at that, and if I could sway her into not wishing to return to the Order, I knew Quinlan would follow. His loyalty to her was something I could exploit for my benefit.

  … …

  … …

  As Quinlan spoke with Sheyf Tinte, detailing everything that had happened on Kiffex, I leaned against a pillar in the large, open area where the leader of the Guardians of Kiffu ruled from. As Tinte listened, I appeared to be idly watching movement through the large floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed an almost three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the planet’s capital city. What I was actually doing was, as it had appeared just as Quinlan handed over the bag containing the badges of the fallen Guardians we’d discovered on Kiffex, looking over the information of the completed quest linked to events on Kiffex.

  Quest Completed!

  The Lost Apprentice [?] [?]

  Objectives:

  :a: Find where Aayla Secura is inside half a year. [Yes]

  :b: Ensure that Aayla Secura is saved. [Yes]

  :c: Make sure that Quinlan Vos survives. [Yes]

  :d: discover what happened to the Guardians on Kiffex and report back to Sheyf Tinte. [Yes]

  Ensure all dead Guardians are given suitable burials/send-offs. [Yes]

  :e: Discover why Aayla Secura is working with Anzati. [Yes]

  :f: Eliminate the Anzati horde on Kiffex. [954/1167]

  :g: Survive the assault on the settlement named Deadend. [Yes]

  :h: Eliminate the threat posed by Volfe Karkko [Yes - Killed]

  :i: Locate and rescue any taken by the feral Anzati. [No]

  Rewards/Penalties:

  :a: 1500XP (+300XP)

  :b: 2500XP (+500XP)

  Passed test of Friendship with Quinlan Vos

  A Large increase in Reputation with Quinlan Vos

  :c: 2000XP (+400XP)

  A decent increase in Reputation with Quinlan Vos

  A variable increase or decrease in Reputation with Aayla Secura.

  :d: 1500XP (+300XP)

  A decent increase in Reputation with Sheyf Tinte

  Decent increases in Reputation with every current member of the Kiffar Guardians.

  :e: 750XP (+150XP)

  :f: 9540XP (+1908XP) (+combat XP divided under party mechanics)

  :g: 1250XP (+250XP)

  :h: 6000XP (+1200XP) (+combat XP)

  :i: Variable losses of Reputation with those sentenced to imprisonment on Kiffex.

  Passed a Test of Friendship with Quinlan Vos.

  A minor increase in Reputation with Sheyf Tinte

  ...

  LEVEL UP!

  Level: 31 -> 32

  PerkP: +1

  STAM: 65

  SP: +4

  SKP: + 45

  ...

  While my face remained passive, internally I was smiling. Just the base objectives had been enough to carry me to Level 32, which brought with it a new Perk Point. The combat XP from fighting the feral Anzati, and then the nice bonus I’d gained from taking down Karkko – which, doing some mental calculations, I discovered carried a large bonus because he was an active Force user – took me a decent amount towards reaching level 33.

  The Perk Point had already been spent. The Perk list hadn’t carried any new options this time around – I was only expecting that to happen from Level 40 onwards – and I had held a clear favourite from the last Perk Point I’d gained at Level 30. As such, Stat Boost had been taken, which lifted my combined physical stat limit from 65 to 75.

  The Interface provided some details on what that meant, and a little extrapolation meant that I felt I now had the potential to move beyond what a baseline Human was capable of, even at their peak. I was now in the domain of those born with genetic modifications, such as the clones of Jango Fett if I had to guess, and a handful of alien species that held higher physical limits such as, potentially, the Cathar.

  While I could take Simvyl if I used the Force to enhance my body, even when he used what he had learnt from the Matukai to do likewise, if we went without boosts, he had the edge in every way. That wouldn’t come instantly, however. Not unless I dropped the 8 Stat Points – 4 each from Levels 31 and 32 – I had in reserve. However, while that was an option, as I could almost always ensure I could draw on the Force, I preferred to work on lifting them naturally, which was why, when I’d looked at my Stats, I’d barely managed to hide my amusement as Strength, Agility, and Vitality, had all gone up by one already.

  It seemed that by having them maxed for beforehand, the moment room existed to raise the stats, the Interface had done so. An interesting, but relatively minor benefit I would have or remember if I ever discovered another way to raise my physical stat limits or another if a perk like Stat Boost was offered.

  As I mentally closed the notice for the completion of the Lost Apprentice quest, my thoughts turned to the A Change of Fate quest and what to do about Quinlan and Aayla. It had only been about a day since I’d defeated Karkko, but after what I’d deducted from the Force in Deadend, I had begun subtly suggesting to the pair that returning to the Order wasn’t in their best interests. I’d yet to openly offer them the opportunity to travel with me, at least to speak with Dooku as the Gaia system was where I was heading next, but I felt the pair were open to the idea of at least travelling with me for a short time. I’d prefer if they would commit to longer, but I wasn’t going to push them currently.

  “Cameron Shan.” Sheyf Tinte’s use of my name drew my focus, and I shifted my stance slightly from a fully relaxed pose to one that made clear she had my attention. “On behalf of the Guardians of Kiffu, you have my thanks.” She lowered her head slightly, a gesture that I returned. “Not only have you helped one of my clan, but you have dealt with a danger the Jedi failed to alert us to until you and Quinlan Vos were already on Kiffex.”

  I smirked as I moved closer, coming to stand near Quinlan, my helmet resting under one arm so she could see my face. “I have discovered that, while they are indeed wise, the High Council is great at making decisions about Force users without considering how it might affect those outside the Order, or even warning them of potential dangers they might face.” Yes, I was painting the Order in a bad light, but this was another little moment where being honest, in a sense, allowed me to colour Quinlan’s perceptions of the Council in my favour.

  Tinte chuckled at my words and gave me an odd smile. “I had never expected to hear a member of the Jedi be so openly frank in their agitation towards their leaders. It is refreshing to hear and see that you don’t all follow the orders of your Council blindly.”

  “Those of us with an understanding of the wider galaxy are more open-minded, Sheyf,” I remarked, making her smile grow further.

  “Yes. Know that for as long as I am Sheyf if you ever require it, you will have safe harbour on this world and the support of the Guardians in this sector. At least so long as you are not wanted by the Republic for crimes the Guardians would consider enforcing.”

  “Thank you, Sheyf,” I replied slowly, bowing perhaps a touch more than needed. There was still something about her I disliked; a sense in the Force that she was hiding something about Quinlan. However, that was a matter between them, and the chance to gain, if not new allies, then at least people willing to help me was something I could see a use for in the coming years.

  Tinte nodded and then returned her focus to Quinlan. “I should tell you both that the Jedi sent one of their own, without informing me of doing so, to Kiffex. An action for which I have issued a formal complaint to the Office of the Chancellors over.”

  I nodded and brought a hand up to scratch my chin. “Ah, that explains it. I swore I felt the presence of another Force user on the planet, but I couldn’t get a good read on who it was or why they were there,” I explained. Or at least, I explained in a way that hid the full truth within the partial truth.

  HK had sent me the logs of his efforts to delay T’ra Saa while I fought Karkko. Nothing he had done was intended to be lethal, which was as I instructed. That said, while Master Saa emerged unscathed from the encounter, and unknowing of her assailant, there was much from the encounter that HK was using to update his combat profiles for the Jedi of this era.

  One thing that was clear, and reinforced my decision to cloak my presence after killing Karkko had been a wise one, was the way Master Saa moved. I could tell she wasn’t yet pushing herself to her fullest, yet from the recording I knew I’d struggle to survive an encounter with her, never mind emerge victorious. That wasn’t a surprise, as Dooku and Fay rated Master Saa very highly as a combatant and Force user, but it was a good reminder that while I was powerful, I wasn’t ready to take on the uppermost tiers of Force users in single combat. Not without rigging the battlefield heavily in my favour first.

  “I have been informed, via the Senate and not the Jedi, that they have dispatched a team to help handle the matter with the prison they left on Kiffex without telling my ancestors about,” Tinte added, her venom towards the Order laced freely in her words. “Will either of you, or your Padawan, Quinlan, be staying to await their arrival?”

  I chuckled and shook my head. “No. Not only do I feel the Force guiding me away from Kiffu, but I have found that the less time I spend around members of the Council, some of whom I know will be on that team, the less complicated my life is.”

  Tinte smiled at my remark, though Quinlan looked a fraction confused. Understandable given his lack of memories regarding the Order. “Yes, I can appreciate such a sentiment,” Tinte said. “The politics of leading the Guardians is taxing enough for me. Dealing with the Jedi Council, to say nothing of your connections to Chancellor Palpatine, can only make everything that much more… unappealing.”

  “That’s one way to put it.”

  Tinte’s smile grew as she turned her full attention to her nephew. “And what of you and your Twi’lek? Will you return to the Jedi, or might you consider remaining here on Kiffu with your people?”

  I didn’t need to look at him to know Quinlan was conflicted. My words over the last day, as subtle as they had been, had helped sour what little goodwill he held towards the Order, and I could sense the doubt and confusion radiating from him into the Force. Each time I felt that I had to remind myself that while now untrained, Quinlan was strong in the Force and any attempt I might use to actively convince him to leave the Order risked being sensed by him as a self-serving ideal.

  “I am uncertain,” he replied slowly, taking care with his words. “When I encountered him on Coruscant, Master Windu offered to retrain me. I suspect, no, I know that offer still stands and extends to Aayla. However, returning to the Order would see us split up for retraining at best.” He looked at the floor, sighed and shook his head before continuing even as I felt the Force swirling around him; tempting me was an opportunity that I could take. “I was the one who found Aayla, who brought her to the Order and trained her. At least before everything that happened on Ryloth. I know in my heart that it was my destiny to train her to become what she is meant to be, yet if we return to the Order, that will not happen and I find myself… fearful of that, and what repercussions the Order might have for us given our actions taken since losing our memories.”

  The Force was all but calling out for me to intervene, to take advantage of the situation but I didn’t. I knew there was more Quinlan wanted to reveal to Tinte and me, and I understood that I needed to let him continue before I made my offer and used the situation to my benefit. My eyes closed as I reached into the Force, pulling on the strings I sensed in it, readying them for the moment when I would act.

  “Just as you have sensed around me, I… I have felt and called upon the Dark Side, aunt, during my quest to find her. There have been times when I have used my rage, my desire to find her to keep going and survive whatever dangers and obstacles appeared in my way. I know that these actions, and those taken by Aayla while serving… him, would not meet with the approval of the Jedi and I… I fear what the repercussions might be.” As I opened my eyes, I saw he’d lifted his head and was meeting Tinte’s gaze firmly. “Aayla is not of our blood, but she is my family. I would move planets to protect her if I must.”

  Tinte took a few seconds before she responded. “As I told you when you first came home looking for the Twi’lek, there is darkness within you Quinlan; one that I now sense risks consuming you if you aren’t careful. If you believe that similar corruption exists in your Padawan and that the Jedi will not accept what you wish for, then I must agree with you in saying the Jedi are not the best option for you.”

  Tinte looked at me for a moment before she continued. “I could offer you both sanctuary on Kiffex, and I would if you asked for it, but I am uncertain if the Jedi who are coming here would accept that.” Her gaze shifted fully to me. “Nor I suspect, would they like what I sense from you, Cameron Shan. You hide it well, but I have spent my life around the more dangerous elements of the galaxy serving as a Guardian and now Sheyf, and I know one who works within those pools. However, unlike my kin, I feel you are not at risk of being devoured by the Dark Side.”

  I held her gaze for a moment, a flicker of concern that my barriers weren’t as strong as I suspected shooting through my thoughts. Tinte isn’t particularly strong with the Force, but it seems she has, as she said, experience with the darker nature of the galaxy. “I’ve always had issues with my emotions and letting go of them,” I began honestly. “My Masters understood this and helped me control my baser desires and wants so that they weren’t what drove me. They still exist within me, however, which is something most Jedi wouldn’t approve of given it takes me dangerously close to violating the Jedi Code.” Or, as had been the case over the last few years, times and places where I’d abandoned the Code completely. “Since I’ve always had opposition in the Order about my presence as a Jedi, due to how I arrived at the Temple and the lineage I carry, I’ve learnt to accept people questioning my motives and drives,” I continued, glossing over my past even though I felt a spark of interest from both Kiffar.

  I turned and looked at Quinlan carefully, the Force vibrating around us in a way that I took to mean this was a moment where I could alter his destiny. “Quinlan, I’m not saying you should return to the Order, nor am I certain that walking away from the Order entirely is the right path for you and Aayla. However, I can offer, for as long as you wish, another option. You could travel with me for a while,” I made sure to keep my words gentle, concerned that any intentional usage of the Force to influence him was something he and Tinte might sense. “I intend to visit my former Master, Dooku, once I depart Kiffu. While he will not be interested in retraining you, he would be willing to help me guide you towards a new path.” I raised a finger as I sensed Quinlan was about to respond. “I should warn you that what we might teach would be considered…. heretical by some of the Order.”

  That was putting it mildly given a good part of how I was training Anakin was created from me distilling what I had learnt from Force cults outside the Order and Adas’ holocron, and Dooku had never been one, at least for as long as I’d known him, to place great significance in the Jedi Code for himself or those he taught, feeling that it was a guide designed for lesser Force users.

  Quinlan nodded slowly as I finished my warning. He then took nearly a minute to think about the offer before responding. “I feel there is more that you’re not telling me, but at the same time, I sense that your offer might be the better one. For both myself and Aayla.” His eyes narrowed as he looked at me and I felt a very crude mental probe into the Force emanate from him. “You are… different somehow. I know this, yet I cannot say how.”

  “My presence in the Force is more isolated and distant than most,” I explained with an open smile. “I’ve always been this way, and while it doesn’t hide my force signature, over the years I’ve learnt to alter that enough that those who try to read me within the Force remain… unaware of the changes I’ve undergone. Something I find beneficial when dealing with the Council and other members of the Order.”

  Quinlan nodded as he listened. I doubted he fully understood, but there was enough of a grasp of what I was implying that he seemed at ease with my explanation. He then turned back to Tinte. “When will the Jedi team arrive?”

  “From what I was told, they departed Coruscant late last night on a diplomatic cruiser.”

  Knowing the ship in question, and the travel times for a ship with a 2.0-rated hyperdrive, it only took me a second to determine how long we had before the arrival of the Jedi. “Assuming they take the fastest hyperlanes, they’ll be here by late evening tomorrow.” A nod from Tinte confirmed my figures as she’s already had that worked out by others. “Because of that, and assuming the Jedi on Kiffex isn’t collected before the other Jedi arrive…”

  “They will not,” Tinte offered with a slightly amused smile. As if she was happy to leave the unwanted Jedi on a world with criminal scum.

  “… then I will depart no later than noon tomorrow.” I turned to face Quinlan and smiled. “If you choose to not come with me, I understand, but the offer will remain open to you for as long as I am able to make it.” I needed him and Aayla to come with me, but I knew I couldn’t force the matter. I felt I’d done enough to have the odds heavily in my favour, but I couldn’t be certain until I departed, and the pair were onboard Raven. Yes, it would make things a little cramped, but we’d manage. Still, if the group I was gathering grew much more, I’d have to see about purchasing a second vessel for others to travel on. Raven was, beyond just being an extension of me in many ways, my home and I disliked having too many house guests. “As I mentioned to you and Aayla, I owe you both deeply, and consider you friends.” I’d not gone into details about my time with the Bando Gora – mainly as I didn’t want them sensing the deep well of hatred those memories were attached to – but I had made clear I owed them heavily for saving me several years ago. Something both accepted at face value.

  “Which we are,” Quinlan agreed. I smiled at him, and after nodding to Tinte, turned and left the chamber. The pair, I sensed, had more to speak on that I didn’t need to hear, but as I slipped from the room, my helmet still held at my side, I felt that things were going to head in my favour. Not just long enough for Dooku and I to rob the Temple, but perhaps for long enough that the pair could be trained in similar ways that I was teaching Anakin.

  Yes, I intended to use them for my plans, but if they stayed with the Order, then Aayla was likely to die in Order 66 as she had before. I didn’t know Quinlan’s final fate, but I felt it wasn’t likely he was one of the handful that had survived the fall of the Order. No, it was better for them if their destinies were altered, and if I could make that benefit me, then all the better.

  It would also add more Force users for Anakin and myself to train with and against. In the brief time that Quinlan had been with us, he and Anakin had seemed to get along, though given Quinlan’s lost memories I couldn’t be sure if that would last. Still, Aayla held some interest in machines and technology, and while I was certain she wasn’t anywhere close to Anakin’s level, having someone else who shared his passion would do wonders for my son.

  He was the Chosen One, but I knew my role in coming events was almost as important, and I wouldn’t fail the responsibility I’d taken on by adopting the boy. Together we would do what we must to ensure that the Banite Sith didn’t rise to power and that the galaxy emerged from the coming conflict in a better place than it had been in the other timeline.

  … …