Roland Wann was waiting for them in the docking bay as the submersible breached the surface and settled on top of the docking pool. He stood there, hands clasped behind his back as Juhani and Bastila carried Venar from the watercraft. Roland motioned for his medical teams to assist the Jedi. They lifted Venar onto a hovering stretcher and began checking his vitals.

"What happened down there?" Roland asked.

"Your Selkath scientist was correct, General," Bastila said. "There was a giant Firaxan shark that seemed to have telepathic abilities. It drove the Selkath insane."

"The recent installment of the Kolto harvesting machinery and construction disturbed it's nest," Juhani explained.

"I see. Well that would explain that part. We picked up a massive explosion at the construction site," Roland said. "Please tell me the harvesters are still intact."

"I destroyed them," Venar said before stifling a cough.

"What?" The General asked. "Why in the stars would you do that?!"

"It was the... only way. The shark was just protecting it's young."

"You just doomed the Republic's entire operation here! That facility was going to give us a major edge in the war! Now that its gone... the entire war might be lost!"

"Sir, we need to get him to a kolto tank," one of the medics spoke up. "He needs medical attention and rest."

"Fine," Roland said, trying and failing to hold back his obvious anger. "Get him stable and fit for a courtroom."

"A courtroom," Bastila protested. "Surely you can't mean-"

"The Ahto High Court has summoned him," Roland explained. "We weren't the only ones who detected the explosion. The Selkath monitor their world closely and they're very interested in why you've put their precious Hrakert Rift in jeopardy. I suggest you have a good explanation."

With that, the medics ushered Venar away out of the docking bay and down the hall to the medical ward. Bastila and Juhani were with them every step of the way.

Venar winced as the medics cut open his robes to allow access to the wound from Bandon's lightsaber. They applied a transparent blue-green gel to the wound which sent fresh pain searing through his shoulder. He was unable to stifle the agonizing groan that resulted.

A clear breathing mask was placed over his mouth and nose. The last thing he saw before he drifted off to sleep was Bastila's worried face looking down at him, surrounded by the white lights of the medical ward.

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Bastila whirled through the air twirling her saberstaff and bringing it down hard against a crimson blade. Sparks flew as the lightsabers clashed. She could feel the darkness emanating from her opponent.

She saw her own eyes blazing in her reflection on the visor of his mask. Her face was twisted in an angry scowl. Her thoughts were on the Jedi Knights that had accompanied her on this mission. All dead, defeated so easily by the Dark Lord before her.

They had been too focused on maintaining their balance in the face of fear, and not enough on him. He found a weakness, and seized it before they could react, lifting them in the air and choking the life out of them. Darth Revan would pay for what he had done, she would see to it personally.

She pushed her lightsaber back against his, sparks continuing to fly. In a blur, he grabbed her by the wrist and began applying pressure. She felt her grip on her weapon loosen.

She kicked out her foot swiftly into the armor on his abdomen, augmenting it with the Force. He slid back along the dark cold floor a few paces, absorbing most of the blow. It was all she needed to break free of his hold.

She went on the offensive, leaping again into the air, aiming her momentum over his head to land behind him. She was seized with the Force and stopped mid-air. Before she could break free of his hold she was slammed hard onto the hard floor.

She gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of her. She brought her lightsaber up just in time as the red blade of her opponent came down hard aiming to deliver a fatal blow.

The two glowing blades clashes, sending sparks raining down around her, bouncing along the hard floor of the command deck. She looked up at the man looking down at her. Even though she couldn't see his eyes she felt his cold stare as the glow of the lightsabers danced in the reflection of his visor.

Time seemed to slow down as she drew herself deeply into the Force, blocking out everything except her own heartbeat and her opponent. She searched for a weakness in his guard. She could sense the hatred and anger pouring from him, yet there was something strange about it. Some of it felt like... another presence?

Just then an explosion rocked the command deck as laser fire breached the shields of the flagship. The view ports shattered and the vacuum of space began sucking the air and everything that wasn't bolted down out of the room.

Bastila seized her opportunity and kicked up striking him in the leg and breaking his balance. As both of them were pulled backwards by the vacuum the broken windows had created she launched herself from the floor and spun her weapon.

It made contact, the end of the blade swiping upwards along the right side of his mask. Sparks danced off the Mandalorian beskar, the lightsaber resistant metal taking the brunt of the impact, but a deep gash was left behind in it's wake.

Revan flipped over backwards through the air as he was launched out of control and heading towards the open viewport and the dark expanse of space...

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Venar woke with a start, sitting up suddenly to an empty room lined with medical equipment and monitors of all sorts. One of the monitors began beeping rapidly and he instinctively reached out and crushed it with the Force.

The door to his room hissed open and Bastila came running in, her expression full of worry.

"Venar! It's ok!" She rushed to his side and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It was only a dream. Just one of my memories."

"It felt so real this time..." He settled back, resting his head against the pillow. "It almost felt like I was there."

"We share a powerful bond," she said averting her eyes for a moment. "My memories are like your memories."

"I still don't understand how this Force Bond works or what caused it."

"As to what caused it I can only guess. We are connected through the Force in a way that's very rare for two people," she explained. "Some call it a Dyad in the Force. Two that are one. Our fates are linked. We are stronger together than we are separate."

"I hope so."

"Something else is bothering you," she said looking into his eyes.

"How did Darth Bandon find us?"

"I don't know. I admit that's been puzzling me as well."

"First Calo Nord, now the apprentice of Malak himself," he said thoughtfully. "Does Malak know of our mission?"

"I admit it's a possibility," she replied, "though it could still just be Malak trying to track me down. He fears my battle meditation."

"True but then why send you on this mission at all? If this mission is so important why send the one Jedi they know Malak will be looking for?"

"I- I confess I don't have a good answer for that."

"I'm not saying I don't want you here I'm grateful to you. I'm glad I'm with you it just doesn't seem wise to me."

"I admit I sometimes have my doubts about the decisions of the Council. There's usually a reason for what they do I've come to appreciate. Usually one I can't see. It could be in this case the value of our bond and the insight we're getting through the Force simply outweighs the risk of putting me on the mission. An added benefit could be with all the jumping around we're doing it will be hard to pinpoint my location."

"I guess that makes sense. There's still something about all of this I don't like." He sighed and sought to calm himself in the Force.

"I agree. Once you're discharged we should send a report to the Council and inform them of the possibility that Malak could know our plans." He nodded. "Until then..." She placed a hand on his arm. "Relax. Calm yourself. We have a long day ahead of us. Possibly several."

"What do you mean?"

"The Selkath apparently know of our involvement in the destruction of the Kolto harvesters at Hrakert Station. They've summoned us, specifically you. You're being brought before the Ahto High Court for a hearing."

"We don't have time for that! If Brandon found us then the Sith know-"

"I agree. We should play our cards carefully here. We need to appease the Selkath quickly and get off planet. The others are out gathering intel on the High Court. We may need leverage if the Courts rule against us."

"Would they really rule against the Jedi?"

"Remember," Bastila cautioned, "We are guests on their world. Not the other way around."

"We can't afford to be detained here."

"I know," she said reassuringly, "However this plays out, we must trust in the Force."

Venar was discharged from the med-bay an hour later but was required by the Selkath authorities to remain within the Republic Embassy until summoned. Bastila was able to have T3 bring Venar some fresh navy blue Jedi robes. The food rations in the embassy were military grade, but they sufficed.

Each member of the crew had taken a different angle to gather information. Carth had visited the mess hall to talk to the other troopers. His reputation had preceding itself. Mission had gone to the local swoop track to converse with the seedier side of Manaan, which as it turns out, is pretty tame. Canderous asked around the local bounty office and Juhani had returned to the ship to secure the new coordinates they had gotten from the ancient star map.

They had all gathered together in a conference room in the embassy to find that each and every one of them hadn't found anything useful. The Selkath were extremely wary of outsiders and no one talked about the workings of their government to anyone who wasn't Selkath.

"The Republic forces here don't know anything either," Carth said. "I'm afraid we're going to have to just see this one through."

"We must trust in the Force then," Bastila conceded. "Now if you'll excuse us we must contact the Council and inform them of recent events."

Carth and the other non-Jedi members of the crew exchanged uneasy glances as they prepared to leave the room.

"No." Venar said suddenly.

"What?" Bastila said a challenging tone in her voice.

"They should stay," Venar said. "They're as much a part of this mission as we are. We wouldn't have gotten this far without their help. There's nothing that we have to tell the Council that they can't hear. They deserve to know the risks."

For a moment everyone was silent and no one moved. All eyes shifted from Venar to Bastila, awaiting her response.

"I... suppose you're right..." she said carefully. "Fine. They can stay but the Mandalorian leaves." Canderous grunted.

"He stays too," Venar said. "They're all apart of this team. A team the Council themselves put together. If the Council trusts them so should we."

"I cannot argue with that logic," Bastila sighed. "Fine. I hope you know what you're doing."

Carth and Venar exchanged a quick nod. Bastila keyed up the holo-projector in the center of the conference table. Everyone settled into their seats as the transmission went through to Dantooine.

A holographic image of the four Masters stationed on Dantooine displayed in the center of the table. Masters Vandar, Vrook, Zhar, and Dorak sat in their respective council chamber seats. Vrook as always displaying a serious scowl.

"Greetings, crew of the Ebon Hawk," Vandar said, "How goes your mission?"

"Greetings, Masters," Bastila said with a short bow. "We have made significant progress on Manaan. We have recovered the star map from bottom of the ocean."

"More there is?"

"Yes," Bastila nodded. "We fear that the Sith may be aware of our mission."

"You fear or you know?"

"My Padawan encountered none other than Darth Bandon shortly after recovering the star map." Venar felt all of the eyes of the council shift to him.

"Darth Bandon?" Zhar exclaimed. "Are you sure it was him?"

"Yes..." Venar said. "I narrowly escaped him on the Endar Spire just before we launched in the escape pod. He killed my bunkmate Trask Ulgo."

"Hmm... and what did Darth Bandon have to say to you?" Vrook spoke up, sounding skeptical.

"Nothing," Venar said, "It seemed he sustained some sort of injury to his jaw. He was wearing some kind of apparatus. I don't think he could have said anything even if he wanted."

"Perhaps he had found disfavor with his master," Dorak said, "After all it's long been rumored it was Revan who once removed Malak's jaw."

"It's unfortunate Darth Bandon couldn't have been captured instead," Vrook said. "He had Intel we could have used."

"All due respect, Master Vrook," Bastila spoke up, "But Venar was fortunate to escape with his life."

"And what of Darth Bandon?" Vrook's gaze was unwavering.

"Dead," Venar said. "He got me pretty badly though."

"Applaud your efforts, the Council does," Vandar said. "Troubling though, that the Sith may be aware of our mission."

"We should withdraw them to Dantooine and send a Master in their place to finish the mission," Vrook said.

"No," Vandar said decisively, "Chosen by the Force, they are. We would be wise to let them take their course."

"Excuse me, Masters," Bastila said. "There is another matter."

"Hmm?"

"In order to retrieve the star map here on Manaan," she explained, "We had to make an excursion into a secret Republic kolto harvesting facility at the Hrakert Rift."

"Yes, we are aware of this facility," Zhar said.

"In order to retrieve the star map the kolto harvesting machinery had to be destroyed."

"This is unacceptable!" Vrook spoke up in clear displeasure.

"Tell us what happened," Vandar said. The four Jedi Masters didn't say a word as Venar and Bastila related the events that transpired in Hrakert Station.

"Hmm... an easy decision for you this was?" Vandar asked.

"No," Venar said, trying his best to calm his growing frustration with the Council. Vrook, in particular. "At the moment I thought it was best to protect Manaan's ecosystem over the war effort."

"Perhaps you don't understand the value of that facility," Vrook started in. "That kolto facility is a huge reason why Malak hasn't been able to push into the Core Worlds in the first place. You jeopardize the freedom of the entire Galaxy!"

"Respectfully, Master Vrook," Venar responded relying on the Force to deliver an even tone, "There are more ways than one to win a war. This ecosystem is delicate it could take hundreds of years to recover if toxins were dumped in it. Not to mention the rare species that live in it. How valuable is your war to you that you'd jeopardize the balance of a priceless ecosystem that provides the Galaxy with a rare healing substance that you yourselves are using in this war?! Would you rather me destroy a small portion of that supply or the entire thing?"

"Such arrogance! Such defiance!" Vrook shot back. "Are we sure this one hasn't already fallen on the dark path?!"

"I, for one, agree with Venar's decision," Vandar said, his eyes momentarily glancing sideways at Master Vrook.

"As do I," Zhar said.

"I agree," Dorak said. "I believe Venar handled this situation admirably."

Vrook still wore a scowl, but did not comment further.

"We, however," Vandar said, "cannot help you with the Selkath authorities. We do not hold any power to intervene on Manaan. To do so would be overstepping our bounds. I'm afraid you must handle this on your own."

"Understood, Master," Venar said.

"May the Force be with you."

With that, the hologram dissipated ending the call with the Jedi Masters. Venar hadn't realized it but he had been wearing an unflattering frown since his brief clashing with Master Vrook.

"Sheesh, that Master Vrook sure is a charmer," Carth said.

"You have no idea," Venar said letting out a sigh of frustration.

"What do you plan to do about the Selkath?" Mission asked, a worried tone creeping into her voice.

"I think in this case it's best to just tell them the truth," Venar said. "Nothing about our mission. Just that the Republic sent us down to investigate the base. I think they may appreciate our efforts to preserve their planet over our own interests."

"I agree," Bastila said. "We must appeal to their desire to protect their planet. I must admit I'm curious to see how this secret deal with the Republic to establish a base will come into play."

"Sounds like this could just all be a formality then," Carth said. "I mean if the Selkath are willing to secretly aid the Republic to give them an edge over the Sith than surely they'll be willing to let a few Jedi go free."

"I hope it's that simple," Venar said.

"Let's get going."

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The Ahto High Court building was located towards the center of the city and was perhaps the prime showcase of Selkath architecture. On the outside it looked like a massive steel bubble compared to the rest of the buildings. The top of the bubble was open with a large glass window allowing natural sunlight to stream down into the courtroom.

Once inside, Venar, Bastila, and Juhani checked in at a reception desk. They had to check their lightsabers and comlinks and go through a weapons scan before entering the main floor. Venar found himself focusing on the webbed fingers of the security guards, remembering the poisonous retractable claws that were hidden underneath.

After the security checks were done, they were escorted through a set of double automatic doors that opened up into the main floor. Just as the outside of the building looked much like a bubble, the inside continued that pattern but in the reverse. The walls sloped down inwards, with stadium seating going all the way down to the bottom where 5 desk-like booths faced the seats.

Those booths were where the ruling members of the Selkath Court of Justice sat and judged the different cases brought before them. Despite all the seating, the courtroom was empty except for the five Selkath Justice members sitting at the booths.

Two security guards escorted the three Jedi the long way down the steps to stand in front of the presiding judges. All of them were dressed in long blue robes with white trimming. Another Selkath walked out from a back room behind the judges and walked around to stand in front.

When they reached the bottom of the staircase and came to stand in front of the judges they stopped and gave a short courteous bow. The five Selkath judges stood up and gave a small bow of their own.

"I am Chief Justice Shelkar," said the Selkath in the middle booth, "The other judges are Kota, Duula, Jhosa, and Naleshekan." Each time he said a name the corresponding judge bowed in acknowledgment.

"We are honored to meet you," Venar said.