Ren opened his eyes. Almost instantly Kalethian's control over all the others was shattered. He himself was mentally overwhelmed by all that had just taken place essentially over the course of a fraction of a second, and he could find no power to speak. All it seemed he could do was fall to his knees and look up into Neeka's eyes.

"I can move!" one Mandalorian shouted in the background.

"Look at the Sith – he's hurt!" another one shouted.

The Force warned Ren of an immensely powerful weapon powering up to attack him, and his eyes shifted to Dalvin. At the same moment, Cathock's great body was readying to attack, and Malanctha whipped out two concealed weapons from her dress.

"Wait!" Neeka shrieked. She leaped at Ren, grabbing him with one arm and holding up the other to stop everyone. "This isn't Kalethian!" she shouted.

A fraction of a second later Ren's mother was there, kneeling in front of him, gazing at him with her eyeless sight. "My son!" she shouted, and she whirled around, both her crimson blades out in an instant. "Lower your weapons now!" she shouted, and her voice hissed of murder.

"I can confirm that Ren is in control," Dalvin's voice said, and then he muttered: "though I have no idea how."

"You did it!" Cathock bellowed. He gave Ren's mother a respectful nod and she allowed him to pass to Ren. He clapped Ren on the shoulder. "By the gods of oblivion, how the hell did you do it?"

"Yes," said Malanctha, moving slowly toward him, hands raised in a display of non-hostility to Ren's mother. "How in the world did you wrestle control away from the three thousand year old Sith god? Or is he just toying with you, or us, in some way?"

Regaining some of his strength, Ren stood up. He gazed at the mandalorians. They had all more or less followed Cathock's lead and at least for the moment none of them had weapons trained on him. "It is alright, everyone. Kalethian is contained."

"What does that mean?" said Malanctha, her voice cold.

"It means that I am in control, and he has been pushed away into a deep recess of my mind."

"Again, how is that possible?" said Malanctha.

"I'd like to know that as well, actually," said Dalvin.

"Can we go somewhere quieter to discuss this?" said Ren.

Ren's mother turned and gazed at the mandalorian ship. Then she turned to Cathock and said: "Order your soldiers out of that vessel."

Cathock bristled slightly at her sharp, aggressive tone with him, but he lifted his wrist-com and said: "I want every soldier off the ship. This is a direct order."

A moment later the piloting crew exited the vessel, and Ren, Cathock, Neeka, Dalvin, Malanctha, and Ren's mother all stepped inside. Cathock led them to the computer room, where they found empty seats around a long computer and holo-table. They all sat around one another, and all eyes, as well as his mother's face, turned to Ren.

"I am Kalethian, or at least a part of him," he said.

Neeka, who was seated next to him, Reached over and took his hand in hers and squeezed.

"What do you mean?" Ren's mother asked.

"Splintered consciousness," Dalvin muttered. "After thousands of years he developed multiple aspects of himself. Currently, you're in control. It seems odd that you didn't know you were one when we met you, unless you were lying to us."

Ren sighed and told them the story of how, within Kalethian's consciousness, he formulated his own role in the plan to create a new body. He expressed how little he understood his specific past and evolution within Kalethian up until the last century or so, when he had become truly independent and free to think and act on his own.

"So there was good even in the most evil being in the universe," said Cathock.

"Well, there was me, for whatever it is worth," said Ren.

"But you have not defeated him completely," said Ren's mother. She sat still as a statue in her chair in her usual perfect posture.

"No, he is still inside – a part of me," said Ren. "I can feel him right now, burning to take control."

"And you have only a fraction of his colossal power," his mother said.

"I suppose I am much stronger than when I came to this planet, but the vast majority of dark knowledge is tied to his half of our shared mind. He keeps it from me, believing it to be his leverage – that there will come a time when I will have need of his power, and that I will need to turn to him."

"The temptation must be unbelievable," said Malanctha. She stared across the table at him, her cold, reptilian eyes showing what seemed to be suspicion.

"Perhaps," said Ren. He turned to Dalvin. "I know the logical thing to do at this point would be to try to kill me." He felt Neeka's hand squeeze his.

"Yes, that would be most prudent, considering the fate of all life in the universe," said Dalvin plainly.

"I managed to stave off Kalethian's hold on this body partially with the threat of death, but in all honesty I'm not sure what would happen if I actually attempted suicide. My hold over him is extremely delicate, and even if I have not inherited all of his contempt and callous, selfish nature, I do possess an extremely developed survival instinct." He stared into Dalvin's eyes. "Any truly potent attempt on my life, made by myself or anyone else, might only serve to shatter the control I have over the demon inside me."

"That makes you the most dangerous being in the known universe at this moment," said Dalvin.

"Agreed, but I really have no idea what to do about that except to continue to exist as I currently am."

There was silence in the room. No one, it seemed, had a clear idea of how to proceed. Finally, Neeka broke the silence, saying: "What will happen to the Krell now?"

"I don't know," said Ren. "Kalethian made them so well that they can exist independently from him. They have even evolved to procreate."

"Are they truly alive?" said Malanctha?

"I don't know," said Ren. "Are droids truly alive? They are conscious, intelligent, and they feel. I plan to leave them to their own devices."

"Some other Sith might harness their power," said Dalvin.

"No, the portal that brought us to this point in space will collapse soon without Kalethian's guiding mind. It was only ever a very well controlled distortion in the space-time-continuum in the first place."

All but Dalvin and Ren's mother cast nervous glances up into the sky.

"It is alright," said Ren. "We have a few weeks before that will happen."

"How can you tell?" said Dalvin.

"My mind is open to the Force as it has never been," said Ren. "

Ren's mother smiled. "It should. You have all the potential that Kalethian ever did, my son."

"There is no need for Ren to go after that kind of evil power," said Neeka. She stood up and stared into the cloth where Ren's mother's eyes would have been. "You can see it, can't you? Ren didn't win through power. He won because he was able to walk away from power – because he was better than a Sith."

"A Sith like me?" said Ren's mother. She sounded almost amused.

"Yes," said Neeka. "But he made even you better. He can overcome your dark side of the Force."

"I agree," said Ren's mother. "It is something wholly unprecedented – so far as I know. But any Force adept, whether Sith or Jedi or anything else, understands that power either grows or atrophies. There is no static place within the Force." She cocked her head toward Ren. "If your father had lived, he might have taught you more of the light side."

The words stung at a wound Ren had managed not to consider since his return to his body. Within that sting though he sensed wisdom. "I must learn more of the light side. The Jedi council won't teach me – no, not this council."

"What do you mean?" his mother whispered.

Ren shut his eyes, letting his senses lock on to a faint impression his subconscious mind had already begun to feed him. "There are other beings in this universe who have ancient and powerful knowledge in the Force. Kalethian wanted to fight and kill them, but I want to find them and talk to them – learn from them. Perhaps they can help me learn to control my dark half, or even purify him." His eyes shifted to his companions. "It is something I believe I must do. I have an incredibly long and dangerous path ahead of me. I won't ask any of you to go with me."

"I'll go," said Cathock.

"As will I," said Dalvin.

He looked at them both. He had been to wrapped up in everything else that had been happening to comprehend the depth of friendship that had opened up between them and himself. There was loyalty burning within both of them. He had been accepted into the tight circle of the family they had formed with one another.

"For a time, I shall travel with you as well," Ren's mother said. "But I cannot walk in the light as you do. I am too old and too deeply a Sith, my son."

Dalvin's eyes shifted to Malanctha. "I don't suppose you will be gracing us with your reptilian presence?"

Malanctha looked at Ren rather than Dalvin as she spoke. "You are the most remarkable person I have ever met, Ren Blakthar. If I were several decades younger, I might indeed follow you to the ends of the universe. But I have old foes to kill and and debts to pay." She tilted her head slightly and gracefully in the direction of the treasure lying outside. "I played only a small part in this adventure, but only a small percentage of the spoils is enough to forge an empire."

Ren's mind flashed back to the instant Malanctha's face had appeared above the planet's surface and she had done what no one had done in centuries: caused Darth Sakar to retreat. "Take as much as you like," he said.

Malanctha subtly smiled, bearing her incredibly thin, white fangs. "I shall, most certainly." She drew back from the table and turned to Neeka, and then to Cathock. "I shall say my goodbyes to you later, dear friends."

Cathock nodded.

"Where will we go, Ren?" said Neeka after the reptilian woman had gone. There was a look of excitement and wonder in her eyes.

"I have no idea," said Ren with a small chuckle. "The Force will guide me. It has become extremely cooperative now that my darker half is not manipulating me through it."

"I can see it," said Neeka, looking into his eyes. "Part of your mind is different."

"I'm different," said Ren. "In one respect, I finally understand who and what I am. In another, I have perhaps the most dangerous being in the universe trapped within me."

"You're stronger," Neeka said, her face and her eyes seeming to glow with faith.

What Ren saw as he gazed at Neeka affected him both mentally and physically. He could feel the peace and the confidence of being the man she believed him to be. Her belief almost made it so somehow. "Thank you," he said.

Neeka's face smoothed into a knowing smile. There was no need to explain anything he said to her. Her hand tightened around his. She had been the first person ever to see his humanity except for his mother, who had viewed it as a liability to be disposed of. Did Neeka realize how special she was? As girl, she had managed to find and inspire the souls of a biologically formulated super-killer and a man who had had much of his brain amputated and replaced with machinery. The instant Kalethian had decided to destroy her beautiful life was the instant Ren knew he was going to win. He had to win. No version of reality where Neeka did not exist could be allowed to transpire.

"What about the mandalorians?" said Cathock.

"They have become useless," said Ren's mother. "Kill them. They will not suspect if we act quickly."

All eyes turned to Ren's mother in astonishment. Ren felt something from her in that instant that he had never before perceived: humor. Her hard face contorted ever so slightly into a smirk and she let out a single laugh. "I know none of you are capable of the kind of cold efficiency that I am. You should understand though that they cannot come with us. They are brutish fools who cannot help but make open, clumsy war on whomever they come in contact with. Additionally, it is dangerous to let them all go. They will expect their fair share of the treasure outside and, when their pockets are lined to the excess that hord shall bring them, most of those idiots will indulge in excesses of alcohol and death sticks and whores and any other fool's delights they can imagine. Their tongues will grow even looser than they are now, and they will tell everything they know about each of you." She turned to Ren, and he could feel her mind's eye boring into him. "Your story will be known my son. Perhaps altered, perhaps dismissed as galactic legend by many, but you will be known. That is a dangerous state for one such as yourself. Both Sith and Jedi will be driven to seek you out. You are an unpredictable and unprecedented factor in this galaxy's fate. Each side will become frightened of the other getting hold of you. Both will consider you supremely dangerous to their ultimate goals. You will be hunted as you were when you were in my charge, only by more cunning and dangerous enemies. And what is it Kalethian wants? He desires that moment when you are face to face with death – when your dear friends are face to face with it – so that you are Forced to call upon his power. That is your fate if you do not slaughter those imbeciles, as any Sith would."

"You will not touch them," said Cathock in a low, threatening tone.

Ren's mother stiffened ever so slightly spoke in a soft whisper: "Control your pet, Ren, else I shall kill it."

Cathock's hand went to the hilt of his sword. Ren shouted immediately: "Enough!" His emotion alone sent a shockwave of Force energy that struck everyone, causing Dalvin to stumble half a meter back and causing everyone else to tense and bare the power. "The mandalorians live," he said, looking directly at his mother.

"I thought so," she said. She sounded amused. "I shall be fascinated to see where this philosophy you have acquired leads you."

"So shall I," said Ren. His mother had made some very unnerving points, but he knew he could not slaughter men who were his allies for self-interest. Such an action went beyond a mere debate of morality. If he let his soul become torn and conflicted, his ability to hold Kalethian back would slip away.

"Use the Force to persuade them not to talk about you," Dalvin said. "You can do that, can't you?"

Ren turned and stared at his cybernetic friend. The idea he had suggested probably should have been obvious, but he had been so caught up in the morality of his decision that he had not viewed it through the lens of simple logic.

"Force persuasion is not entirely reliable, particularly in the long term," said Ren's mother.

"It's something," said Ren. "It's very possibly enough. My mental powers have developed significantly since I came to this world."

"You'll need to make them forget all of us," said Dalvin. "Don't forget that Neeka, Cathock, and I are essentially some of the most valuable military technology in the known universe."

"I'm not technology," said Neeka, giving Dalvin a playful frown.

"I'll wipe all information on us out of their minds," said Ren. I'll install a new collective memory that these men fought and killed a very small band of Sith and took some treasure."

"We should not give them too much of that treasure, and certainly not anything that noticeably should have come from the tomb of an ancient Sith Lord, lest they will raise too much notice in the galaxy," said Dalvin.

Ren's mother sighed. "At least you people have some capacity for rational thought."

"I suppose we should get started," Ren said. He stood, already focusing his mind on the upcoming task. As he did this, his consciousness reached out and he realized that something immense was happing just outside the ship. He cocked his head toward his mother. Her senses were only a fraction of a second behind his, and immediately her hands whipped to her lightsabers.

"What's happening, Ren?" Neeka said, clutching his arm.

Dalvin answered, the blue cornea in his metallic eye flickering: "Violence. It's the krell."

All of Ren's companions readied weapons at once, preparing to kill, but he only whispered: "Wait," and held up his hand. The Force tugged hard at his consciousness, warning him not to allow any violence.

"Ren," Dalvin hissed, "there are over twelve thousand of them outside this ship and more and more are emerging every second and converging on us."

Ren let his mind reach out to these shadows of his and Kalethian's combined consciousness. Almost instantly he understood what was happening. "I inherited all of Kalethian's power over the krell," he said. "They responded to my concern about the mandalorians." He shut his eyes, shifting through a great mosaic of thought and images that leaped into his mind from his children. Slowly, he whispered: "They have taken action."

Motioning his companions to follow, Ren stood and walked out of the meeting room and down the ship's ramp onto the surface of the world his other self had stolen thousands of years ago. As he did, he saw the swarms of gray beings – men, women, and children – all around him, surrounding the ship in every direction. There were indeed thousands of them, and they were all staring at him in perfect silence. The mandalorians all lay unconscious on the ground in what almost looked like a pile.

"Master," a cracking voice called from somewhere within their numbers. An old man who looked somewhat like Satral pushed his way though the crowd and came toward Ren. His movements were jerky and nervous, his eyes filled with awe and fear. He bounded up to Ren and knelt in front of the boy, lowering his head and whispering: "We come to serve you, my lord."

Ren gazed down at this being, and then over at the mandalorians. He knew instantly they had been rendered unconscious by the Force. Further, their minds had been tampered with.

"What did you do?" Ren said.