"No, Vixen 2, we did not just get eaten."

"Are you sure because I saw a giant gaping mouth and we definitely went in."

"It was a tractor beam."

"Are you sure it wasn't a black hole? Or like one of those cosmic storms that show up out of nowhere?"

"Cosmic storms don't 'show up of nowhere. It's a result of plasmic energy that's been gathering for of centuries at least. Plus, that's only happens in the unknown regions."

"Jeez Fahili, how do you know all of that."

"Team, keep your eyes open."

"For what? it's not like we can see anything in here anyways. It's pitch black."

"We should get back in our ships and get the hell out of here."

"Not possible."

"What?"

"We're in hyperspace, and our TIEs aren't hyperspace capable."

"So, we are going to die in the dark in the belly of a ship that we just got conned into flying towards? This is officially the worst mission we've ever been on."

On the floor, lights lit up, dimly illuminating the room while highlighting a path that lead to the unknown. "Yeah, that's not creepy at all," Adara muttered.

"Let's get a better look at our surroundings since we have at least a little light," Fahili said as she scanned the room, which they knew was the docking bay they'd been tractor beamed into. They didn't get a very good look at it before the giant doors behind them had closed. Now she could see that the bay was just large enough for about two dozen small fighter craft.

The group of five was huddled close, each of them with a blaster, save for Ahsoka who held one of her unignited lightsabers in hand. Evaan accessed her wrist comm. "Glaize, this is Vixen Leader, come in."

He didn't respond.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Assata said as she scanned the room. As if to punctuate her statement a noise like metal fingers tapping the floor sounded somewhere in the bay. The women paused.

Ahsoka spoke low. "Stay calm, whatever it is we-" A metal sphere sailed in from the darkness and clanked on the ground, right in the middle of their little group.

"Detonator!" Evaan shouted even as they all began to scatter. The explosion elicited a dull pop and a spume of gray, further obfuscating the already dark room.

Evaan coughed as an acrid tasting pepper filled her eyes, nose and mouth. She raised her blaster but if something was there, it would be impossible to see it. To further sharpen that point, suddenly her weapon was snatched from her. Even as she reached out frantically for what may have done it, she knew the efforts were futile. At the speed of thought she decided it better to escape the gas cloud.

Assata kept her eyes open despite the burn, blinking only to combat their furious watering. When the figure showed itself, she fired her blaster. But it moved slick as some feline creature, and caught her arm, twisting it in a cold metal grip, and using its other hand to remove her blaster.

To her surprise, she saw her weapon seem to break down, collapsing in on itself as if being deconstructed. Then in the same motion the arm of this being seemed to expand to overcome and accept these deconstructed pieces. It was then that she realized that though she couldn't tell its color, and could only vaguely make out it's silhouette, even right next to her, that it was some sort of droid. The thing released her and slipped back into the smoke cloud.

Both Adara and Fahili cried, one after another as the droid did its work, disarming them like the others. With his stealthy assault, there didn't seem to be much they could do about it, until...

"Enough!" Ahsoka shouted. With a wave of Force, the cloud was suddenly dissipated and with a power crackling hiss, one of her sabers ignited. The droid was standing before her with one arm raised in the form of a blaster rifle. Ahsoka's eyes were closed, suggesting that they had been since the wave hit, but her brows furrowed. "Go 'head and try it." She opened them to reveal that they had only been affected by the gas in minor fashion. "I want you to."

"And turn a room filled with beautiful people into an ugly situation? We wouldn't want that, now would we?" It was Glaize's voice.

Ahsoka's gaze darted to her left and there she saw a figure cloaked in heavy armor from head to toe with a waist cape hanging from his hip, holding Adara from behind, with a blaster aimed at her head. "You gonna call my bluff? Even a stun blast at this close range would do some serious damage to her brilliant little head." He flicked something on the blaster with his thumb. "But in case you were wondering- it is not on stun."

Ahsoka's hand shot out an the blaster was yanked from the man's grasp before he could pull the trigger. But half way to her, it stopped, as if being pulled back in the opposite direction by an opposing force. That's when Ahsoka realized that Glaize himself was holding a hand out. "Oooh, weren't expecting that now were you? That was good. A natural reflex for you wasn't it? You didn't even have to call on the Force, you just acted on one accord."

Ahsoka's eyes widened in surprise "A Force user?"

Glaize hit a button the neck of his armor and the sleek looking helmet cascaded back to reveal a human male, maybe in his early 30's, a smirk on his face, long brown hair, and a stubble that said he hadn't shaved in a week or so. "Nah it's more that I'm one with it, and it's with me. Ya know, like a partnership." The weapon quivered in the air and Ahsoka strained against his pull.

She then noticed that in her peripheral, several other figures were stalking out of the shadows. At least three came out, all of them looking like trained combatants. "Now Master Jedi... I'm sure that a person of your skill could take us all down by your lonesome, but I can't say that a few of these lovely ladies wouldn't get blaster bolts to the head in the process."

Ahsoka glared at him, still holding the weapon with the force, other gripped around her ignited lightsaber. "I'm not a Jedi."

"Oh?" he said. Suddenly the weapon she'd been grabbing for whipped towards her. She dodged out if its path and it clattered several yards behind her. "Well then that means you aren't so locked down to some high honored cause that you can't have a drink then?" he asked with a shrug.

***********

"I don't get it. Why does he get to be cute? Adara asked after swallowing a huge gulp from her mug. "And then he has the nerve to serve one of the best Corellian Cocktail's I've ever had! Kidnappers aren't supposed to be this charming."

"We weren't kidnapped" Fahili said. She'd been nursing her own glass- something more classy in color. "Evaan accepted his invitation on board, remember?" The pub they were in, wasn't even a pub. It was more of a room with a counter and a few tables. Its occupants were Vixen Squadron, Ahsoka, Glaize, the killer droid- which was later found to be called HK-777- and Glaize's crew of three. They were the only people on the ship at all.

They were riding in a cargo hauler. Very big, and very slow... or it would've been without their modifications. One of Glaize's guys was an engineer named Sanji Rayn. He'd been the one who'd upgraded the ship to move twice as fast and had apparently given HK-777 his tech assimilation upgrades. The women still hadn't gotten their weapons back, and Fahili didn't think they ever would. She still had her staff though, and that was more than enough to defend herself and the others if she needed to.

"You ladies are safe with us. Big man is all about helping whoever is against the Empire. It's pretty clear that that's you." The man was a large Iktotchi, red of skin with large horns that curved down each side of his face, from the sides of his head. Despite how imposing he looked, he brought an air of comfort with him, like an old wise man. "I'm Geniin Fren."

"Hey, Geniin! So does your boss always kidnap the people he's trying to keep safe?" Adara asked.

"I-..." before he could figure out what to say, mad laughter had broken off in the corner, and Assata- who was holding a full flagon of something alcoholic- was slapping her leg and howling at the top of her lungs. HK-777 was making a repeating beeping noise that must have been laughter as Sanji and the short, handsome, white-haired assassin named Sage, had also hinted a smile on his otherwise stolid face.

"What in the galaxy is so funny over there?" Adara asked.

"You know how Assata is after she has a few in her." Evaan said as she approached from around the bar. She had her own cup of Alderaanian Ale. "And it seems that Fulcrum and Glaize have found some common ground," she added as angled her head towards the one table in the corner.

"Oh my stars, no!" Adara exclaimed.

"Calm down, Adara." Fahili said with a small smile.

"No! Ahsoka is way too cute for him. What kind of game is he trying to run on her?" Adara said with narrowed eyes.

Evaan cocked an eyebrow before her expression melted into something softer. "I don't think it's like that, Adara," she said, putting a hand on the Miralian's shoulder. "I think it's about something deeper."

Ahsoka's drink sat next to her, untouched. She had both elbows on the table. Glaize sat across from her leaned back so far in his seat that it was a wonder that he hadn't fallen over. He was on his third ale and didn't show any signs of slowing. "Not a Master Jedi, but you have sabers like them. And the attitude... I like that in a woman."

"I was a part of the order before, yes, but I've since taken my own path," Ahsoka said. Not even a hint of amusement had crossed her face for the entire conversation. "Why did you invite us on your ship and then attack us?"

"I invited you on my ship... and de-armed you."

"And then threatened us."

"I don't know...igniting a lightsaber seems pretty high up on my threat list. I'm thinking it was the other way around," Glaize made a motion with his finger to illustrate the point as he leaned somehow even further back and downed the rest of his current cup.

"I want to know how you were able to hack our network, and the Empire's, and steal their ships before we did."

"Secrets, secrets, secrets, my alluring Togruta friend. I am an enigma."

Ahsoka glared at him. "Stop that. Stop those ridiculous passes, and stop being obtuse. I. Want. Answers."

He leaned back far enough that Ahsoka was certain he was falling until suddenly she heard a series of chiding chirps and beeps, and then he was being lifted. From behind, a floating droid that looked something like a circular metal plate was apparently fussing at Glaize for his behavior. Then a second one arrived, joining in, in the same fashion. "Alright, alright, I'm fine!" Glaize finally conceded. He glanced at Ahsoka and then back at them "Slicer droids. I made 'em. TH-1 an TH-2 can do just about anything engineering wise... at the expense of my nerves."

Ahsoka almost smiled at that, if only because I was his turn to experience some annoyance. "Well, it looks like they have your best interests at heart," she said. A moment passed then she asked, "How did you learn to use The Force like that?"

Glaize leaned forward on the table, perching his chin upon a fist, grinning like a child who's favorite past time was revealing forbidden secrets. His eyes were large and almost seemed to sparkle, though Ahsoka guessed that had something to do with the extent of his recent imbibing. "You really want to know?"

Ahsoka just stared at him, in answer to his question.

"I don't." The words sounded like they should've come with a shutting door. Ahsoka could feel her patience waning further. Then, he continued on. "You don't use what you are. What you are simply is. Are you your Saber? Your hand? Even your body?"

"They are extensions of who I am." Ahsoka said, as if reciting an answer directly from the Jedi handbook.

"But The Force?"

"Is with me," she supplied curtly.

"And you are one with it." Glaize said with an approving nod.

Ahsoka's brows furrowed, trying to remember where she'd originally heard the phrase. Then realization dawned and her eyes squinted further in skepticism even as she tentatively posed her next question. "You were a Disciple of Jedha?"

"Guardian of the Whills, in fact."

Ahsoka recoiled, head turned in disbelief. "You, were a Guardian? And you left?"

"You left the Jedi Order, didn't you?" When Ahsoka didn't comment he continued. "Same thing, isn't it? Why did you leave?"

Ahsoka averted her eyes. "It wasn't what I thought it was."

He leaned forward, slapping his hand on the table. "Exactly!" He was beaming now. "The Jedi, Sith, hell even the Disciples of Jedha don't understand the Force. It wasn't what you thought it was because they don't know what it is." He shifted to lean on the table again, motioning with hands to better make his point. "You see this idea of commanding or even using the force is all wrong. That's because in our heads we are still thinking of it like some weapon to put under our control, when in actuality it is an ally, a symbiotic entity that bonds with us and not only is it with us... It is us. That's what the Jedi nor the Sith ever seemed to fully understand."

Ahsoka raised an intrigued eyebrow. As much as the ale seemed to have him, there were no allusions about his beliefs. "You really were a disciple, weren't you? I... I've been questioning a lot about what I've learned from the Jedi about the Force. Fundamentally, I know that they were doing what thought best."

"Mm. Best intentions? Yeah, they get the best of us. "

"Some of the best men and women I knew were Jedi." Ahsoka said, trying to hide the defensiveness in her voice.

"Ah yes. The truth and justice!" he stiffened his poise and deepened his tone into something that would mock a super hero's when he spoke. He slumped again, hand on his cup to continue. "But it's those very concepts that they themselves have attempted to define."

"Because someone needed to establish order."

"Hubris."

"It's what's right!" Ahsoka nearly shouted, but caught herself. Glaize just stared at her. She let out a breath. "It's what they thought was right," she amended.

Glaize took another gulp from his cup. "What do you know about the Light Side, Ahsoka Tano?"

"If you're going to try to convince me that the Light Side of the Force is somehow evil-"

"Just... try me," Glaize said with a wave of his cup.

Ahsoka stilled herself and reached back to what past years had taught her about the Force. "The Jedi... champions of the Light believe in serenity, peace, compassion, and the non-avaricious pursuit of knowledge. The Light promotes an inherent oneness with reality and harmony with the Force."

"How poetic... and yet so... unrealistic."

"Excuse me?" Ahsoka made an expression that looked like he'd just called her mother out of her name.

"Ah! there! " he said motioning at her. "That again."

"What?" she asked, confusion rifling her features.

"Emotion."

"Yes? And?"

"While The Jedi don't necessarily rid themselves of emotion, because of their heady alliance to the ideals of the Light, they do severely discourage the idea of feeling too much," he said. "Passion, anger, fear, love, pride... all strong proponents of the Dark Side.... and all perfectly valid." He'd numbered the words off with his fingers.

"But if one becomes consumed with any of those things..."

The same as if one becomes too consumed with the pursuit of knowledge, which is very thinly veiled from power, or even believing that the only way to true peace and serenity is their way?"

"We are far from perfect, but to dwell on darkness is to invite suffering."

"And to dwell on the light is to blind yourself to the fact that the dark exists. That's a dangerous game, wouldn't you say so, Ahsoka?"

Ahsoka stilled herself and focused herself inwardly. The man was saying several things that she had thought about, both during and after her Jedihood. Perhaps it was the sting of hearing it from the lips of another that put her on edge. "I left the Order because I recognized that even at the highest level, they'd lost sight of what they were supposed to represent. Politics betrayed their judgment. The smog of war clouded their intentions. I knew that to understand the Force truly, I would have to go on my own path."

"We are all on a journey, Ahsoka. A pilgrimage. That journey is a constant struggle of knowing peace, but understanding that we must feel pain; having pride in your power and knowledge but tempering it with humility; indulging in passion, but having a oneness with ourselves that informs when it clouds our judgement."

Ahsoka found herself nodding. "We are all mortals. We cannot and should not expect perfection. That is why we must feel. That is why we must embrace our emotions, anger, love, fear or otherwise... and still seek peace and serenity." The words were so unlike the Jedi's and yet so familiar to their ideals at the same time. She felt like somehow, she'd found some shred of truth in her conversation with this drunken disciple.

"That's the key. The Jedi, Sith? Too black and white. I prefer the Gray."

"The Gray..." Ahsoka repeated, and she thought to her crystals... the blazing white they'd become when she'd purified it of darkness. A color that represented purity and truth, rather than the ideals of one side or another. "Balance."

"That balance is what I intend to find, no matter what." Glaize sat up somewhat. "I believe you wanted to know why I requested your presence."

"I don't know if 'request' is the word I'd use, but go on."

"Ever heard of a holocron?"

"I used to drink Corellian tea with Jocasta Nu."

"Quite the braggart, aren't you? These holocrons, these repositories of knowledge and raw information are what hold the truth about The Force and everything about the history of our galaxy and beyond. There's a myth that the first holocron taught force sensitives the true nature of balance. That it opened the doorway to truly convening with the Force. You said you were on your own path... so am I, and I think this is where they intersect."

Ahsoka couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or his passion, but Glaize seemed genuinely invested in wherever his path lead. "Where are you taking us?"

He smiled and motioned for one his droids. TH-1 hovered over and cast a hologram on the table. What it displayed was unlike anything Ahsoka had ever seen. It was a ship, but its scale was... enormous. Certainly, bigger than any of the Star Destroyers she'd seen. "This is the Eclipse-Class Star Destroyer. Only one if it's kind. Never been seen because it's not done being built yet. The Empire has employed someone simply codenamed 'The Engineer' to oversee its production. We're going to blow it up before it's production is complete."

"There's a catch isn't there?" Ahsoka asked.

Glaize snorted. "We're going to blow up a ship, you think we need any more of a catch than that?"

Ahsoka continued to stare at him.

"Okay, yes. There's a catch. The holocron I told you about? I think it's there. And there isn't much security, in the way of numbers... but the logs say that it is protected by a Sith... someone off the books that the Emperor didn't want anyone to know about, and if you know anything about the Sith..."

"And that's why you need me." Ahsoka said, understanding in her tone.

"Precisely."

"But with the Jedi wiped out... wait, how did you even know-?"

"The Force is my Ally," Glaize said as he smiled and leaned back in his chair. "And I am one with it."