Whatever It Takes

[Trenton Vinh]

Him.
The single word hung in the air for a long time after it had hit Drake Paladin. The realization had been as powerful as a blow, causing him to stumble off the cushion he had been kneeling on, deep in meditation. He was amazed he had not seen it earlier. He had even been present when it had happened.
When the young boy, fearing and unwilling to accept the death of his Jedi Master, had accessed The Force in a way that had shaken the entire Galaxy.
Every Force-User in the Galaxy that was remotely attuned to The Force had felt the wave of Power, building up and being released, like a sun going supernova.
Him.
It was him? He was the one? Trenton Vinh, the darkest son of the Jedi Order?
The Holonets had referred to him as the "Darkest Knight", although, in all respects, the boy was more than a Jedi Knight. He was more than a Jedi Master, more than any Force User in The Galaxy.
He had ascended the ranks of the Jedi due to his raw power, his ferocious combat style, and his efficiency as a problem solver.
He may not have been the best Jedi, but he was certainly the strongest. Ever.
Years ago, during the Clone Wars, moments before the rise of the Empire, Drake himself had struck down Jet Sumner in combat. The man lay dead on the floor, a lightsaber wound in his chest. Trenton Vinh had cradled the man in his arms, and, in a fierce display of previously untapped power, sent Drake and his allies flying backwards, and then revived his dead master by channeling The Force into him.
Drake had never realized what had really happened, until now. He had known Jet Sumner survived, but the Force Powers Trenton had used to knock Drake back had rendered him unconscious.
But now he knew. The Force had been guiding him through the Galaxy for some time now. Years in fact. He had fruitlessly turned over every mental rock possible. Until now. He had found the secret to immortality. Locked within the mind of Trenton Vinh, the Jedi who hated the very Order he was apart of.

And now, Trent would become a Sith. If Drake's vision came to pass, that is.
Drake Paladin stood up, his knees slightly shaky. He was sweating. His robes felt heavy. He reached for his communicator. He had two messages to send.
The first, went to Raeph Sunder, and Drake said,
"I have found him. I will fill you in on the details later, but prepare us a shuttle to take us to..." Drake took a moment to look on the star chart he kept in his chambers, "Kessel. We will be setting up a temporary base deep inside the mine shafts. Be ready within the hour."

The second message, went to Lady Nefari. Drake had some disdain for the woman, her self-preservation somewhat of an annoyance to him. But he showed no sign of it, unlike Raeph, who insisted on displaying his hatred for the other Sith every chance he got.

"Lady Nefari. As you recall, the boy we discovered on the Kylantha's Jewel questioned his loyalties to the Jedi. The time to capture him and turn him to our side is now. Get your bounty hunter to take him to Kessel. Raeph and I will be setting up a temporary base there, I suggest you join us. But, I need you to get your hunter to leave a trail. One that will lead the Jedi to us. We will destroy them, and slowly begin our rise to power."

He did not tell her the details of his discoveries, nor that he needed Trenton to come specifically. Trent would come, as long as Cyrus left a trail. Trent would come, and Drake would turn him. He knew it would happen. The Force had told him so.

Not much longer now. Soon the Sith will reign supreme in the Galaxy.


*****

Jet Sumner was, as too often the case, arguing with Trenton Vinh.
Jet had taken issue that Trent was teaching Ben Force Abilities beyond the norm of the Jedi Order. The arcane and dangerous Force Abilities, as potent as they were rare, were NOT something a Jedi should experiment with. Especially not a Jedi Padawan.

Trent had not heated up, and remained as calm and cold as ever.
Jet was frustrated, but doing his best to keep his cool, "We serve a higher cause, Trenton! Life, calm, progress toward a fair and serene future. Self-interest and this kind of pragmatism that sacrifices innocent lives doesn't motivate us. You are endangering everyone by teaching young pupils abilities they are not ready for."

Trenton shook his head, "Hypocrasy. History shows that Jedi often demonstrate self-serving and destructive impulses. They just stop calling themselves Jedi."

Jet prodded Trent in the chest with two fingers, the younger man didn't budge and Jet said loudly, "You are not at liberty to teach my Padawan these kind of powers. I am his Master, not you."

Trent sighed, "You are too blinded by your attachment to him. He has been ready for the trials for far too long. Tiverian as well."
Jet yelled, "Don't act like you know that! I've known those children since they were kids."
Trent smirked, "And do you forget who found them for you? Who led you to their little moisture farm with a Force ghost?"
Jet seemed beaten for a moment, but Aundria Fenix stepped beside him and seemed to help bolster his confidence. Jet said,
"Leave my Padawan alone. I do not want you talking to him anymore."
Trent shrugged, "Fine."

Ben, next to his brother Tiverian, seemed to try to shrink deeper into the corner of the room. Jet looked at him and said, "No more experimenting with things like this. Its dangerous, and not the Jedi way. If you want to take the trials...you will not waver from the path. Ever."
He glared down the boy for a moment, and Ben stared at the floor, shamefully. But Trent could feel a twinge of defiance beneath the guilty feelings.
He resisted smiling proudly. Ben could make an excellent apprentice. But not yet. He was still a bit to tainted by the Jedi ways. Not much longer.
Soon.

While Ben and Tiverian returned to their training, Trent slipped into his chambers, and retrieved his Holocron. He quickly used some of the Temple's databanks to copy the knowledge of the Holocron onto a duplicate. The technology was rare and expensive, and using the resources necessary cost him severely. The Temple did not charge its occupants for food or housing, but if a Jedi wished to build several Holocrons, it cost thousands of credits.
Trent had enough money to last him, he received copious amounts of credits for his work with the New Republic, and with the economy on booming, he was doing well for himself.
He packaged the new Holocron into a small box, and slipped into Ben's quarters while the boy was still at his lessons. He left the box on the boy's bed, and smiled as he left. The boy would learn the Force at his own leisure, Trent would not allow one of the more gifted Apprentices the Temple to be held back by the dogmatic Masters.

Trenton's patience for the Order was growing thin. With Roth gathering other like-minded Force-Users in his spare time, there was little use Trenton had for the Jedi at this point...

[Ghev Dralin]

Nefari listened to the message, without leaving her meditation.
She sat on a metal pad set into the floor of the antechamber of her quarters. The pad was electrified, and the current steadily increased, wracking her body with pain, setting her nerve ends on fire.

She dispelled her pain through the Force. It was a simple enough process, diverting her own pain and redirecting it into other recipients. The recipients happened to be everyone else in the Temple, dispersing her agony through them. Due to their sheer number, nobody would notice much more than a slight tingle.
As the transmission ended, she spoke, without breaking her trance.
"My resources are at your disposal. Establish the stronghold quickly, it will not take Cyrus long to find the boy. He's an expert at his job" she said, finally blinking and standing. She covered her naked form with a simple robe, and moved across the room to activate the camera on her comm unit.
"I'm sending my apprentice to join you, until I can travel to Kessel myself. I have affairs to set in order at the Temple" she said, not elaborating, nor showing any sign that she would.

***********

Cyrus hadn't needed to be told where to start. Sooner or later, the Jedi would return to Coruscant. It was simply a waiting game.
But waiting also provided him with a chance to plan the hunt.

He'd needed to hire muscle for the first stage of the hunt, to provide a distraction and serve as bait. That cost him a considerable amount of credits, but Nefari would cover his expenses. She always did. The Nameless One of the Krath always made good on her promises.
He'd handpicked mercenaries from the Coruscant underworld, people who wouldn't be missed in the event they lost their lives. He'd also hired low-level Black Sun terrorists, disposable thugs who's deaths wouldn't affect anything.

Next, he'd had to get his hands on enough explosive to create a scene worthy of attracting the Jedi. That was the hard part, though the easy part had been selecting a viable target; but of course, the choice had been obvious once he'd discovered it.
The Coruscant Academy of Arts and Science, a luxurious building located to the West of the Jedi Temple, and home to no less than three thousand students between the ages of 11 - 17. An explosion in a science school wouldn't be seen as an oddity, but would create complications enough to bring in the Jedi.

Finally, he'd needed to house his hired mercenaries and the highly illegal materials, close enough to the Academy so that they could act at a moments notice.
His comm chimed, and Cyrus put it through on the holo unit.
"Cyrus, the time has come. I have additional instructions" Nefari said. Cyrus studied her, his helmeted head not moving. He was totally unintimidated, cool and level headed.
"Bring the boy to Kessel. You'll receive co-ordinates when you arrive".
"And my payment" Cyrus reminded her.
"That too".
Cyrus paused, looking through the canopy of his landed ship, at the distant Jedi Temple.
"Anything else?" he asked. He didn't admit that, thus far, he had no idea how to lure Ben - according to one of his informants, that was the boy's name - out of the Temple in order to witness the explosion.
The last thing he wanted was to draw meaningless Jedi from their home.
"Master Paladin suggested leaving a trail. Humour him, and leave one, but nothing too obvious. We don't want Trenton sniffing out the trap before he walks into it" she said. "Besides, I want our guest to become settled before Trenton arrives" she smiled. She had plans for him.
"The boy's name is Ben" Cyrus muttered. To him, it was an unnecessary luxury, but to Nefari it mattered.
"Ben" she repeated. "Very well. I look forward to meeting with you after your success".

Cyrus cut the connection without a similarly courteous response. He had a job to do.
Disappearing into the cargo hold of his ship, he unlocked various storage lockers, and began equipping his weapons. A lifetime ago, Cyrus had been a renowned scientist with a different name. Now, he applied his science to his game.
Nerve-gas dispensers, darts loaded with a paralysing agent, blinding substances pumped from his gauntlets, nearly-invisible fiber wires, electrified nets... all necessary for the hunt.

Satisfied he'd armed himself appropriately, he left his ship and activated the security system. Now he had to find a vantage point, and the true wait would begin. From there, it was upto his hired thugs to complete their task, and hopefully get themselves killed in the process.
It was simple. All they had to do was their jobs, but badly enough to be seen. Cyrus would take it from there.

[Trenton Vinh]

Ben found the small gift on his bed when he returned to his quarters. The Holocron was beautiful, sleek angles and fine lines.
It was different than any other Holocron Ben had ever seen. Jedi Holocrons tended to be cubic in shape, while Sith Holocrons tended to be pyramidal. This one was spherical. It barely fit in Ben's palm. It was warm to the touch, and it radiated with Force energy. Ben wondered if it was similar to Jedi holocron's in the way that it would limit his accessibility to its knowledge, or if it was similar to the Sith ones, with no such limits.
He knelt on his bed and lay the Holocron in front of him. He took a moment to push the Holocron down on his pillow a bit, to keep it from rolling off the side.
He took a slow, deep breath. Then, it came to life before his eyes.
The holographic being in front of him was Trenton, looking as powerful and enigmatic as ever. The Holocron gatekeeper, in the image of Trenton said simply, "Greetings, Ben Joreth. Are you ready to become immersed in The Force as never before?"
Ben was speechless, and could only nod silently.

*****

Drake Paladin's lips curled in a smile, revealing his sharpened teeth. The temporary base was looking well. It had taken two days, but he and the others had managed to find a cave that was perfect.
Its entrance was relatively narrow, ten feet wide and tall, traveling at a shallow downwards slope for about five hundred meters.
It was an old mine shaft, and once the cave widened a bit, it had a rail car system that carried its occupants for dozens of kilometers under the surface of Kessel.
The low gravity of the planet remained, and its atmosphere made it impossible for one to remain outside without a breath mask for more than a day.
Drake didn't wear a breath mask, he had no need to. He used The Force to give him the oxygen he needed.

The rail car system was a foot wide durasteel beam that twisted and turned for kilometers through the mine shaft. After a few kilometers of sharp turns, it opened up into a massive underground chamber. The walls were moist and dripping, stalactites and stalagmites hung and sat on the roof and floor, and there was a small pool of water in one corner. The rail car was open-roofed with no seat belts, so its occupants had to hold on to a thin bar to keep themselves inside, as the cart trolled along its beam, a dozen meters above the ground.

From the large chamber, a dozen smaller tunnels ran off, with multiple rails stretching into the darkness. Drake had no idea how the huge chamber was lit, but it was dim enough for one to just barely see all of it.
Some of the railways ended abruptly, with no braking mechanisms or stops. Drake had chosen a path that let the rail car take its passengers all the way to the bottom of the mine shaft, another trio of kilometers from the large room.
He set up a small area here, with several tables, chairs, and various materials they would need. There were a few air tanks and breath masks laying about.
He looked around, the easy part was completed.
Drake said to the others, "We are ready to turn the boy. Any idea how long until he arrives?"

He didn't mention that Trenton would come soon after, and didn't mention his intentions of turning the rogue Jedi. He didn't tell anyone of his discovery that Trenton could heal the dead, and didn't tell anyone that Trent was the key that would make the Brotherhood unstoppable, or that he would be the one to destroy it.

*****

Jet Sumner held his blade an inch from his Padawan Tiverian's throat, pushing with all his might to make the blade meet flesh.
Tiverian had his eyes closed, sitting cross legged and silent, looking calm. But a single bead of sweat slid its way down his forehead, showing the intense focus the boy had.
Tiv was using The Force to literally hold Jet's blade away from his skin, a display of extreme telekinetic prowess.
Jet tapped into The Force, and felt it empower him, his muscles becoming twice as strong. He pushed as hard as he could, and the blade still did not budge.
Tiverian opened his eyes as Jet shut down the training lightsaber and dropped to his knees, kneeling in front of his Padawan.
"Perfect, Tiv. You're doing exceptionally well."
Tiv smiled proudly, but stifled the emotions, trying not to seem too pleased with himself.
Jet allowed him to indulge, "Feel proud of yourself, Tiverian. Don't hide it. You did something some Jedi are completely unable to do."
Tiv let his smile grow and nodded, "Thank you, Master."
Jet nodded back, reflecting that at Tiv's age, he couldn't have stopped a fly from landing on his nose.

[Ta'hok]

Leah found she liked their new base as well. Especially the rail car system. That looked hugely entertaining or at least it would be when she forced some terrified passengers to take a ride and fed of their panic. She walked up to Drake a breath mask in place around her delicate features. She was amazed at his strength. Truly she wished she didn't have to rely on technology to protect her weak mortal body but she hadn't spent any time in her life working to attain such skills focusing more on what could be used for torture and heightening her own pleasure.

"Master Paladin, please forgive my intrusion, but I could use some help with my meditation. It's not one of my strengths but is the only tool I have available to me to find one that I need to find. Someone I failed to kill. Will you help me?" She felt so stupid standing there asking for help like a child but that was what she was compared to him. A foolish uneducated child.

[Trenton Vinh]

Drake Paladin looked over Leah carefully. His dark eyes seemed as dark and impenetrable as The Maw, a cluster of black holes not too far from Kessel.
He nodded slowly. Leah was a part of the Brotherhood...not officially, but she would be soon.
It would do well to have a Sith that wasn't proficient at Meditation. Most Sith Lords didn't need sleep, Meditation replenished more energy than sleep would.
He led her into a sub-cavern, a long dead-ended cave that was currently serving as a temporary barracks for the Sith at the makeshift base.
There were cushions strewn across the dirt floor.
He knelt upon one, and motioned for Leah to do the same.
Drake closed his eyes, hands resting on his knees.
He began by stating, "For thousands of years, Force-Users, Jedi and Sith alike, have used Meditation to enhancing emotional control over ourselves, to gain a better connection to The Force, and to relax in a state beyond that of thinking beings. One must learn to clear their mind of conscious thought, and let The Force take them somewhere they can find comfort. Some find comfort in pain, others find comfort in peace and quiet. Many Sith prefer to Meditate upon their emotions, looking inwards to find inner reserves of strength and fury. Many lingering emotions can allow us to gain better control over ourselves, harness more power, and can become a much more powerful weapon than a Sith that does not Meditate."

He opened his mind to The Force, he felt the floodgates open and he was immediately taken far away. He could see a shadowy vision of a fiery planet.
The fires of Shola. he thought absently.
He continued, "Some find their comfort in the vacuum of space, others find it in the middle of a raging volcano. I know several Force Users who have modified their ships to allow a small transparisteel bubble to detach from their ship with them inside, allowing them to drift in a completely silent, completely peaceful environment.
"Other Force-Users," He went on, "Have Mastered an ability known as 'Moving Meditation' which allows them to perform simple tasks while deeply immersed in The Force. Many practitioners use this ability to repair or fix damaged equipment, levitating small objects and the like. Many have done this when building their lightsabers. However, most do not find it as calming as others. Some Force-Users perform floating Meditation, which allows them to float several inches off the ground while Meditating. Some Force-Users prefer to Meditate while sitting, standing, laying down, walking, and more."
He opened his eyes to watch Leah carefully, then closed his eyes again and added, "Meditation is not just sitting on the ground and not thinking. It is not even necessary to sit. Any Force-User that engages in combat uses Meditation. It is simply closing one's mind off and letting The Force take over. Some also use Meditation to close themselves away from the physical word. Hunger, weakness, fatigue, wounds and injury are all able to be ignored and avoided for longer periods of time using simple techniques. Some, you've probably already mastered."

[Ta'hok]

Leah listened carefully to what Drake was saying not wanting to allow her mind to wander even the slightest bit. When it seemed he himself was opening to meditation she attempted to do the same thinking of any number of things to try and foucs on. She started with fire or other similar things and found herself getting distracted so she tried space. That to didn't work. She was finally able to find a good focus when she concentrated on her breathing. She focused on the speed and depth until it was perfectly even. Almost like she was asleep but she realized she was still fully aware of what was happening around her. She allowed herself a small and brief smile of success as her mind became more and more open.

[Ghev Dralin]

"Some, you will never master" said a voice, somewhat disembodied. A jet-black creature, long and almost canine, emerged from the shadows of the cavern entrance. It's fangs glittered in the dim light, each ending in a double-point. It's orange eyes glanced to Drake, then to Leah.
"Unless taught properly, of course" it continued, scampering up the rocky wall, then vaulting off into the darkness.
Konnor stepped out, petting the Gurlanin, which had resolved into a somewhat friendlier-looking creature, and curled around his shoulders.
He didn't strike a very intimidating figure; infact, there was something almost child-like to the glint in his black eyes, and the smile that played across his lips.
"I wasn't aware you'd been brought along" he said; rarely did Konnor speak directly, often choosing to let Xavier, the Gurlanin, speak for him. "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Master Paladin" he said, looking at Drake, then back to the woman. "I'm intrigued by your lesson. You teach in such a different way to... other masters" he said, smiling and taking a seat.

He licked his teeth, as though picking something out of them with his tongue, all the while staring at the woman.
"I find it easiest to meditate amidst chaos" he said, as she attempted to centre herself. "Just a suggestion".

[Ta'hok]

Leah wanted to hit this boy. 'Brought along!?' What was she baggage to be carted or dropped at another's whim!? And she had been so close to actually achieving something more then a trance like state. She opened her eyes fixing him in that crimson stare. She kept her expression blank masking her emotions perfectly, showing nothing. She felt nothing, was nothing, became a total blank. "Really? That's very interesting. Perhaps you should go find a place of utter chaos to lose yourself in. Just a suggestion." Her voice was flat almost deadpan. Let him figure that out. She added a small crooked smile before slowing her breathing once more. She was hindered by her barely subdued frustration and because of that her thoughts were still on what he had said.

Images of battle began entering her mind but it was a few moments more before she realized that it was the force that was showing her these things not memories. She began to pay closer attention observing the chaos beneath her. What were these strange creatures that were swarming the planet. No, not just any planet, Naboo. She peered closer. Going to Naboo would not solve her problem she sensed the force had more it wished to show her. She found herself drawn towards a certain peak. She didn't know the name but she figured it didn't really matter she should be able to find it again once she got there. On the peak were what looked like civilians running about her attention was drawn to a Corellian Corvette. Three men were nearby two using blasters one using a vibrowhip. A strange choice of weapon for a young man. She smiled both in her mind and physically. This boy was the key, that missing link to finding her prey. The images faded as she came out of meditation. She would have to work on honing her skills later.

"Thank you for your help Master Paladin. I don't mean to be rude or abrupt but the Force had at last shown me where I must go. I'm headed to Naboo should you need me. I have lose ends I must tie up." She swept out of the corridor headed for her ship.

[Trenton Vinh]

Drake raised his head towards Leah. He had no real reason to care about where she was going, as long as it didn't affect his plans.
He nodded to her, and said simply, "I hope my Meditation will aid you. Good luck on your journey."
Drake's eyes wandered to the newcomer, eying him carefully. He nodded silently, frowning.
Once Leah had left, he stated, "You intentionally tried to anger her."
It wasn't a question, and demanded no response, but Drake had the feeling the boy would explain his actions anyway.

[Ghev Dralin]

Konnor smiled, though was careful not to appear too arrogant toward the Sith Master.
"Yes, it was intentional, Master" he replied. "I wanted to see where it led her, whether or not she could control it. If she is to achieve calm even in the most chaotic of storms, she has to master her emotions, anger or otherwise" he explained. He wasn't lecturing Master Paladin, but elaborating on his view of meditation.

He breathed in sharply, and Xavier's ears perked, the Gurlanin's head raising and peering into the darkness.
"She's here" Konnor said.

**********

Nefari's ship settled in the makeshift hangar, and she exited without an escort, her breathmask secured in place.
She wasted no time in scouting the place, looking for a suitable location to make her nest, her private little web to hold Ben in and turn his mind to reflect her vision for him.
The asteroid was the perfect location for this operation, and she couldn't deny Drake's intuition in this decision. The two Sith didn't often see eye-to-eye; infact, she'd begun to suspect their mutual disrespect was evolving into something more.

She'd deal with it later, though. The first order of business would be to convert Ben, without revealing herself as Sith. Should she fail - the future was so uncertain - she couldn't afford to risk the exposure of the Brotherhood before it was time.
And Trenton would come, it was clear. Even had it not been the intent of the other Master, it would have happened anyway. The bond between Master and Apprentice was strong, but with a Jedi such as Trenton, the attachment wouldn't allow for him to simply submit to Ben's fate.
Whatever Drake had in mind for Trenton, though, Nefari didn't care. She'd invested too much in Ben's future to care about nursing a bitter rivalry between Drake and Trenton. Ben was the future of the Brotherhood, the key to their ongoing reign. She could feel it in her blood. And it would mean destroying Trenton. Drake wouldn't like that... but she was interested in the bigger picture.

**********

Cyrus had the patience of a strill, stalking it's prey and waiting for the right moment, but even he had his limits. He'd waited and waited, hoping the boy would simply find reason to leave the Temple.
Now, he'd have to gamble. He could order his hired men to rig the explosives and blow the Academy of Arts and Sciences to high hell, and hope Ben would be one of the responding Jedi. It would be a risk, but a calculated one.
If Ben didn't respond... Cyrus figured the Temple's best masters would. It would leave the Temple considerably less dangerous, and considerably easier to infiltrate. But that was an eventuality he'd prefer to avoid.

"Okay" he said into his comm. "Rig the explosives, but don't set the charges until I give the order".
He zoomed in on the Temple entrance again, as he had been doing since he arrived.
An idea came to him. It was theoretical, perhaps stupid. He didn't even know if the young Jedi would sense it indirectly, but it was worth a shot. As a scientist, Cyrus had learned that the best results come from trial and error.
"I want you to think of this Ben, while you set up the explosives" he said.
"Excuse me?"
"Just do it. Make it seem like this explosion is an attack on him. A malicious, hateful attempt to rile him".
"Erm... okay, you're the boss..."

Cyrus snapped the commlink closed. It was a long-shot. It wasn't even the best of ideas, but he didn't have time to craft a more elaborate plan. The Sith wanted Ben, and they wanted him as soon as possible.

[Trenton Vinh]

Drake nodded slowly, listening carefully to the newcomer's words. He took a slow, steady breath, and was about to respond, when Raeph entered the room, holding his double-bladed crimson lightsaber in one hand.
Drake raised an eyebrow, both at the sight of the ignited blade, and the fact that Raeph was wearing a breath mask.

Raeph, sensing Drake's puzzlement, shut off the energy blades and said in a muffled voice, "I just finished carving a piece out of the rail-car tracks from a useless side-tunnel. I figured it may come in handy to have a few large objects to hurl around once the fighting starts."
Drake nodded slowly, pondering Raeph's choice of words. 'Once the fighting starts.'
Drake wondered if Raeph had had a premonition, knowing there would be a battle, or if it was merely a precaution. He didn't ask. Instead he focused on Raeph's breath mask, and, with a surge of Force energy, ripped it free of Raeph's face.
Raeph gasped in surprise, inhaling a lungful of the low-oxygen atmosphere.
He made an odd guttural noise, and took a step towards Drake, looking livid.
Drake raised a hand and stilled Raeph with The Force. The man halted, unable to move closer to Drake.
The Sith Lord said calmly, "Calm yourself, Raeph. Steady yourself. You can survive without a breath mask. You are strong. The Jedi will be more fearful just by the mere fact that you don't need the extra oxygen. You can survive this. But you need to calm yourself."

Raeph seemed to deflate slowly as Drake spoke, and he slouched a bit, slowing his breathing and taking deep breaths. In a minute, he was fine.
Drake smiled, his sharpened teeth showing, and said, "See? You are strong enough to not need to rely on such technology. And, once the Jedi arrive, if it comes to a confrontation, he won't be able to use it as a weapon against you."

Raeph nodded, silently fuming. Drake let his smile dissipate slowly. He always took pleasure in seeing how far he could push people before they snapped. It let him see their limits, and the extent of their power. Raeph was angered, not because of what Drake had done, but because Drake had proved Raeph to be foolish. For a man that prided himself on his combat skills, he had not even realized that relying on a breath mask would only weaken his effectiveness. It would, after all, make for a target of opportunity. In the heat of combat, when one was out of breath, having one's air supply torn away could prove disastrous. But by mastering the ability to breath the thin air of the planet through minimal use of The Force, he could turn the weakness into an advantage.

[Ghev Dralin]

Konnor watched with mild amusement, though he hid it well. He himself had discovered an ability to breathe here quite by accident, when he simply forgot to wear a breath mask while travelling the asteroid base.
He stood and departed, after bowing to the Masters, then sought out Lady Nefari. He imagined she'd want to see him upon her arrival, and in any case, he wished to see his Master.

She found him first.
Saving his neck by a mere second, Konnor ducked as a beam of purple-tinged red energy swiped over him. He sprang forward, rolled, and held his arms to a side, the lightsabers housed in his gauntlets snap-hissing to life.
"Vigilance" Nefari murmered, holding her weapon in an offensive posture. She'd learned to master the Saber Lance, a variation of a polearm with a lightsaber emitter built into the end. Wielded like a spear or a lance, it afforded her a longer reach with her weapon, and favoured stabbing and parrying.
"I've improved" Konnor warned her, crossing the blades before him, then parting them in a form of salute.
"Show me" Nefari ordered. Konnor was a blur, his blades more-so. He wheeled his arms, twin blades cycling toward her, but she deftly deflected his onslaught by parrying one blade into the other, and pinning them to the floor.
He brought one arm back, his blade sliding across hers until it was free, and stabbed out at her face - or rather, the air where her face had been. She'd since ducked, and spun, ramming the metal hilt of her polearm into his abdomen. As he doubled over, she slammed the length of her hilt into his face, and he sprawled.

Normally, the sparring session would have ended here, but Nefari wanted to see how he'd 'improved'. She relinquished her grip on the polearm, sending it soaring like a spear to her downed apprentice. Konnor, who's hands were left free by the use of his gauntlets, extended a Force-push at the incoming blade, sending it spinning blade-over-hilt back toward Nefari.
Typically, the Sith Master caught it, blade pointing toward the ceiling, and when he sprang to his feet and swung both blades at her neck, she'd already strafed to the side and used the considerable length of her weapon to put her out of harms way, while blocking his strikes.
Their blades locked, and both Sith stared each other down.
"Is this how you profess to destroy your enemies?" Nefari asked, her black eyes meeting his.
"Actually..." Konnor said, and Nefari felt something punch into her gut. He'd telekinetically slammed her, throwing her backward by surprise, and it was by sheer determination that she managed to stay on her feet.

He was on her like a razorcat attacking it's prey, faster than she'd expected. He'd been feigning weakness, purposefully fighting slowly and with bad reflexes, until now. She cursed herself, and matched his speed, though at close-quarters the length of her hilt proved to be cumbersome. She parried and deflected his blows, but his style required him to use his arms rather than his wrists; it was an unorthadox form of combat, and what would normally deflect a blade to one side simply caused his to bounce away, the momentum setting up his next strike.
It felt like dancing, each step bringing them closer to death. Nefari's blade scored a mark across Konnor's side, glancing from him and leaving his tunic burned, the skin beneath gashed and instantly cauterised.
He gritted his teeth through the pain.
"Use it" Nefari instructed. "Fight with it, not against it".
Konnor let out a roar and struck at her, his blades crossed and stabbing at her neck, so that the point where they joined would snip her head off.
She brought her blade vertical between them, then twisted to a side, angling the polearm between his legs and tripping him forward.
This time, he stayed down, as a projectile of Force Lightning struck him in the spine, throwing him into agony.
"I said, fight with it" Nefari hissed, this time pouring energy into him, blue lightning arcing between her fingers, across her palm, and into Konnor's body.

The boy screamed, thrashing on the floor, his sabers switching off to save him the embarassment of injuring himself with them.
"S-STOP! Please...." he panted, his body twitching uncontrollably.
"You know how to make it stop" Nefari crooned. She was lecturing him. He'd hate her for it, and demand to know why she'd tortured him. But in the long run, it would serve him better.
"I... can't..." he whimpered, clawing at the dusty ground, pinned by the lightning that gushed from his master.
"You're weaker than I thought. So... fragile, and enslaved to your pain. It controls you like a puppet..." she hissed. Then came the moment she'd hoped for. She felt him fighting her, struggling to his feet, breaking through his own failing pain threshold and facing her.
"I'm... NOT WEAK!" he yelled, and he drove his own body into her like a missile, wreathed in lightning. Both Sith fell to the floor, and the in the sudden silence, Nefari smiled.
"No" she conceded, "you're getting stronger".

********

Cyrus gave the order, and waited for chaos.
It sometimes amazed him, how casual he could be while ordering the deaths of thousands. He'd done it many times, and thousands had died at his whim, whether by his hand or his will. In order to get a job done efficiently, it was necessary to sacrifice a few innocent lives. It happened everyday in war; civillians caught in the crossfire. One second, oblivious. The next, dead.

And the hunter's job was a war, but on a smaller scale. Nothing could be allowed to get in the way of total victory, not even remorse or morality.
So he'd given the order. Set your charges and blow up the Academy. The men knew the remainder of their service; wait for the Jedi to arrive on the scene, and allow themselves to be pursued.
He just hoped for their employers' sake that they picked the right Jedi. Black Sun and Tergo the Hutt would pay dearly if they supplied him with men who'd mess this up.

[Trenton Vinh]

Ben was delving ever deep into the depths of Trenton's Holocron, when he was suddenly distracted by something.
The image of Trenton, an interactive hologram, stopped his speech about the use of The Force in combat, and asked, "What do you sense?"
Ben didn't bother to ask how the Holocron knew he had sense something in The Force, and passed it off as another one of the thousands of secrets Trenton Vinh had at his disposal. Ben answered quietly,
"I sense danger. But...it has to do with me."
Trenton's holographic image fuzzed briefly, and asked, "You specifically?"
Ben nodded and replied, "I feel like something is going to happen...And it will be to get to me...or something. Is it you?"
The hologram of Trenton shook its head, "I am merely a gatekeeper. Just an image stored with Trenton's personality. The real Trenton, however, is a bit more direct. While he can be subtle, he has no reason to be when it comes to you. It is something...someone, else."
Ben nodded and said, "I should go see."
The image of Trenton nodded, "The lesson will be completed later. Follow whatever path The Force leads you down, and and do so with purpose."
Ben nodded once more, then waited for the holographic image to dissipate into nothingness, leaving his room much darker than it had been before.
He pocketed the Holocron, picked up his training lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. At his age, Padawans were usually considered mature enough to make their own lightsabers, but Jet, being as overprotective as he was, had not let Ben and Tiverian do it yet.
So, for now, Ben was stuck with a training lightsaber, in the shade of green. It could have its power turned up to full, which would make it just slightly less effective than a proper blade. It could cut through skin, but bone and metal would take a bit longer to burn through. It was fully capable of deflecting blaster bolts, which he figured would be the worst case scenario. He doubted he would need it, but as Trenton had taught him, precautions should always be made, as long as they were realistic. He didn't want to become paranoid, but being cautious always paid off.
He started towards the entrance to the temple, when a distant rumble made him jump. He sensed hundreds of lives disappear, and he bolted towards the doors of the temple.
As he ran, he sensed more than saw a few other Jedi running as well, none that he knew.
Ben got to the external doors, and vaulted the steps leading up to the grand entrance doors.
He looked to the left and right once his feet hit the catwalks of the Coruscant streets, and to the left he saw a plume of billowing smoke. Sirens already had begun to blare.
His first thought: An explosion.
He took off towards the smoke, knowing that it was his duty as a Jedi to act and try to help in any way he could.

[Ghev Dralin]

HoloNet News had been surprisingly quick on the uptake, though predictably dumb on the details.
"We're heading to the site of the accident now. What appears to be an explosion has, just moments ago, torn through the Coruscant Academy of Arts and Sciences" the reporter was saying; Cyrus enjoyed tuning in to HNN's live reports at times like this, to see how many details they were mistaken on.
"Although it's too early to say, it would seem an experiment gone wrong has blown out the foundations of the building and brought it crashing down. No word yet on the number of casualties..."

Cyrus turned it off. He'd indulged himself, but now was time to return to todays order of business.
He changed screens on his wrist-mounted holoprojector, so rather than watching the HNN feed, he was watching the view from his surveillance droid.
The foundations of the academy had, indeed, been blown out, splaying the building across several walkways and levels, before the final explosion had scattered the debris wider. You've surpassed yourself this time, Cyrus, he thought to himself. He considered himself something of an artist, particularly on such wide-scale operations as this. Most hunters would make things so much more simple, but Cyrus... he liked to leave his mark in the most profound way.

Blowing up a building of innocent students, just to kidnap one Jedi Padawan, was testament to that.
"Okay, wait for him to show up. If you mess this up, pray to whichever deity holds your faith that you die in the process" he said into his comm.

********

Four Weequay, two Nikto, a Klatooinian, a Duros and a Human. The dregs of Tergo the Hutt and Black Sun's combined forces, the lowest of the low, but with enough skill and self-preservation to pull off the task Cyrus had set.
They received his message loud and clear, and knew enough about the hunter to know his threats weren't idle; the last person to mess up one of Cyrus's operations had met a sticky (and well publicized) end.
"Okay, remember, keep out of sight til the Jedi gets 'ere" the human huffed, despite the fact the mercenaries were already hidden. All gripped the steering yokes of their stolen BARC and Arakyd speeder bikes.
"We are out of sight" the Duros muttered, casting an orange-eyed glare at the human.
"Okay, uh... good job" the human replied, trying to take authority. The Duros slapped him across the back of the head.
"Just don't do anything stupid 'til we have to".

[Trenton Vinh]

Ben arrived at the scene, surprised by the damage caused. He looked around, seeing people running and panicking.
Ben's first worry was that it was a terrorist attack, but why would terrorists hit a school?
They most likely wouldn't, so Ben ruled that out. He reached out with The Force, trying to ignore the feelings of horror, pain, and fear that were emanating from the area. He searched for the cause of the explosion, but realized that wouldn't get him anywhere. He searched through The Force for guilty feelings now, and sensed nothing. He tried looking for feelings of triumph. Nothing. Satisfaction. Nothing.
Pleasure. There was something.
Malice...There were several feeling malicious.
Multiple people. This was no accident, then.
He used The Force to home in on the people emanating the feelings, and took off.