Kaiyah, Ailurah, and Becky paid for spaceport tickets and boarded a ship to Tatooine.

"Becky, you know I'm now all for doing this, but do we have to go back there?" Kaiyah asked Becky. "That wasn't one of the destinations on the list; and I'm pretty sure he didn't do, whatever it was he did, on Tatooine."

"We're going to need every possible clue we can get if we are to fully understand everything going on."

"What do you mean?" Ailurah asked.

"It's not a simple, childish magic trick that Ephraim has a doppleganger. This is some heavy force use; we can't use it ourselves without knowing any consequences."

"I'm starting to understand, but it still doesn't answer my question." Kaiyah said.

"To have successfully performed something like that, Ephraim must have studied the ways of the force and prepared for it for a long time. He was the most experienced of everyone there, so I'd suspect as much."

"I'm not comfortable going back there." Kaiyah mumbled.

"I'm not either, but we made this choice to follow Ephraim's footsteps; we have to be willing to do whatever we can to do so. We have to do whatever we can for him. Right?"

Kaiyah nodded slowly.

"We must overcome our demons, Kaiyah."

"Wow." Ailurah said quietly. "Why haven't I hung around you?"

"It's all but a memory, Kaiyah." Becky told Kaiyah.

"Alright, alright. I get it. I'll stand it."

Calista brought Ezra and Sabine to Bennar, who was pacing around in his room. Once they entered, Bennar said, "Please tell me you have news." Then he processed that Ezra and Sabine were there too. "What's this?"

"Ben, you've been more stressed than usual, and it's worrying me. Jedi Master Bridger is here to assist."

"Jedi Master," Ezra mumbled with a chuckle. "Just 'Ezra's fine. Or, 'Mr. Bridger.' "

"Very well." Calista muttered. "Mr. Bridger is going to help you."

"I don't need help. I just need the head of the sith on my wall." Bennar said.

"Ephraim has been one of us for years; he doesn't deserve to die." Calista pointed out.

"He's been a sith his whole life!"

"Everything he's done was for the Republic. Becasue of him, we were able to destroy the superweapon."

"All a ruse. His master is still out there, and we have no idea where he is!"

"First off, what makes you think it's a ruse?" Ezra asked.

"The fact that everything that happened only enabled the sith lord to escape should tell you something."

"That's not really saying much; Bando chased him away."

"I don't trust Bando!"

"I don't trust him either, but after all he is my friend. He does everything he does for a reason, and his plans are very much flawless. His goals are always reached, and they're typically for the greater good."

"For a 'good' guy, he sure seems to scream vigilante."

"The point is: Ephraim does the same. Whatever is done, is done for the right reason. It's not always our way." Ezra said.

"You mean we're not right?" Bennar quizzed.

"Not always. At least, as far as I know."

'Are we?'

Jo steadied himself as he faced -what he thought was- his former enemy. Ben kept approaching, but Jo stood still.

"Ben, what are you doing? Why are you dressed like that again? I thought you didn't have that lightsaber anymore."

"After all these years... I thought you would've gotten smarter."

"I thought you were less confusing."

"I'm not real." Jo understood then. "I am merely an illusion."

"What are you doing here then?"

"I'm here to show you an alternative."

"To what?"

"To avoid this." Ben replied as he looked around the cave.

"I don't see how I could avoid this; I'm already here."

"You could've avoided this easily."

"How are you staying on track? You say you have an alternative to avoid this, which doesn't make sense; then you say I could've avoided it. I thought you would be less confusing."

"You could've avoided this one way; you can still make that decision."

"Enough riddle-speaking, if you don't mind."

"Do you remember?" Ben asked. Jo was about to rant again, then took to note that Ben was sharing a memory. One of Ben's memories of which Jo needed to remember.

'A shared experience.' Jo thought, then he remembered. 'Oh heck no.'

"Are you still salty about my decision to leave the First Order for the greater good?"

"That wasn't it. It partly was, but there was also an alternate for that."

. . .

"What?"

"There is a way." Ben paused for a moment. "There is a way we can go, live alternate lives."

"What alternate life?"

"One. Free. Free of war. Free of pain."

"That's the alternate to the First Order decision?"

"We take the crystal as our own; conduct our own experiments; become the most powerful people in the galaxy."

"What happens if that happens? What experiments?"

"We unlock secrets of the force, and make an army of undefeatable Jedi, and we rule the galaxy."

Jo was doubtful. "Jedi?"

"Yes."

"You were a servant of evil. If we took the crystal as our own, why would you make an army of Jedi?"

"You'd have to find that out on your own."

"Still, how can I make the decision to stay with the First Order? That was years ago. There's no turning back."

"What if I told you, there is a way to go back?"

Exar thought he had gone in a circle, because he had ended up in the same room as he was just in, only the lights that filled the room were not glowing. Then he noticed the door he went through wasn't there either.

'What is this now? Did I do something wrong?' He asked himself.

"You did so much wrong." Exar heard, making him jump out of his skin. What particularly scared him was that this voice was very familiar.

"Aang? You there?"

"Yeah I'm here. Jo's here too."

"Where are you? I can't see you." Exar said, looking around.

They appeared behind him, and they didn't look happy. Exar was relieved to see them at first, but his look soon disappeared as he saw theirs. "You guys okay?" He asked.

"We are, but you're in deep." Jo answered.

"What do you mean?" Exar asked. He felt his stomach start to ache; he had a bad feeling about what was happening.

"We talked it over, and we both agree. The secrets kept inside your head, aren't worth the team's loss." Aang said.

"What does that mean?"

"So far, your secrecy has kept us from victory. You always have more up your sleeve; if this is going to keep going on, then we don't need you."

It's just as Exar suspected. He figured the condition of the team's trust would lead to something like this. He was hurt; however, he wasn't hurt too badly. He had dealt with betrayl and mental pain before; this was nothing new, but it still hurt.

Then, he felt something. Something else. Something he had never felt in this type of hurtful situation. He had experienced this before, and he was tired of it. He wished it would stop. Then he realized it. He was angry. No. Furious.

He had a painful past. He had to let go of his life before he found the team. The team helped Exar build a better life off of the bitter memories of his past, but there went the team, stabbing him in the back. He had ran off in panic earlier, and this is what happens the next time he sees them. He needed this to end.

"I'm gonna stop you right there. I've heard all this before, you know?" He snapped. Aang and Jo then were curious. "I've been backstabbed before; I've been cast out before. But I realized something. I realized, that every time I get cast out, I end up with a surrogate family better than the former." Exar approached them with a twitching mouth and nose. "If this is the way it is, then I'll be happy to leave you. You never truly accepted me."

"I was right not to. You kept secrets, and it has cost us a ton. I had my doubts on hiring a Zabrak to the team, and I was right. I blindly trusted you, and now the galaxy is in danger."

Now, Exar hadn't been profiled like that before, and he was purely offended. He grabbed Aang's throat with his mechanical hand, and squeezed. Jo approached Exar, but Exar faced him, glared, and force-pushed him into the rock wall.

When Jo recovered, hew witnessed Exar's eyes glow green and misty. Exar then twisted his metal hand and broke Aang's neck and angrily approached Jo. But before Mirtis got to Jo, he noticed Jo start to flake away, just like Heceowa. He turned to Aang, and saw it happen to him. 'This was a vision?' Mirtis concluded before he calmed down, and Exar returned. Exar fell to his knees in mental despair. 'What was that, though?'

"That, was, a sneak peek. Into their minds." The voice said.

"They think that?" Exar wondered.

"The Besalisk thinks that, but doesn't act out. His Jedi side knows better, so he keeps on. What you saw, in general, was his dark side. And you lashed out with yours."

Exar sighed, then with a shaky tone, admitted quietly, "I did."

"You have proven yourself powerful to overcome others' dark sides. You are a force to be reckoned with, Mirtis."

"My name is Exar- wait. Was this a test?"

"It was."

Then a door -just like one he had gone through earlier- opened up on the other side. Exar heard it, stood up and slowly approached it. "What will I see when I go through?"

"The greatest challenge everyone faces. You have deemed yourself worthy of taking this test, unlike few others."

"It'd be a shame if I stopped now." Exar said as he walked through.

"Indeed."

Ezra and Sabine finished their conversation with Bennar and were talking to each other about it.

"He has a point." Sabine said. "If Ephraim pledged himself to both sides; he can be trusted by neither."

"But then again, the Empire doesn't know of his secret. So we have an advantage."

"But nevertheless, he's still dangerous to us. Who knows the kind of stuff the sith in charge could do to him?"

"Maybe. But now, he's helping look for lost Jedi. I think that might speak for itself."

"I hope you're right."

"Kaiyah, we're here." Becky shook Kaiyah awake. Kaiyah got up, rubbed her eyes, stretched, then looked out the windows. Tatooine was right there.

'I still don't have a good feeling about this. But it's for Ephraim.' Kaiyah thought.

The transport arrived at Mos Eisley Spaceport, and it landed in the docking bay. The pilot droid announced the arrival, and people started exiting the craft. As the three were the only other ones left, Becky swiftly deactivated the droid and took over the ship. She immediately lifted the ship off the ground and glazed over the surface of Tatooine.

"Is this legal?" Ailurah asked.

"Is anything we've done legal?" Becky retorted.

"Touché."

"How far away from here is it?" Kaiyah asked.

"Not very far by ship." Becky answered.

Kaiyah just hummed in response, then continued staring out into Tatooine's plains as they flew. They flew silently over the sand, and passed a Tusken Raider camp.

They flew into the middle of nowhere, above the hidden gate that opened to their secret hangar bay. The three of them used the force to open the door, and they descended inside to the landing pads.

They exited their ship, and Kaiyah and Becky had next to no enthusiasm. They explored the complex with much distress, but it didn't show in their physical attitudes and appearances. They looked around the halls, at the walls that had blood stains and chunks of rock taken out.

"Seems like a massacre." Ailurah mumbled. "Where exactly are we headed?"

"Where Ephraim could study the force on his own." Kaiyah answered.

"His room?" Ailurah asked.

"One of two options." Becky said.

They found Ephraim's room and looked around; it was almost empty. All there was, was a single drawer. Kaiyah opened it up and found a book inside. It wasn't very thick, but it looked as old as it should as a journal of Ephraim's. Kaiyah flipped through the pages and saw not much information written on the pages; there were many blank pages in the book, which confused her.

"This can't be all." Kaiyah said.

"No it can't be." Becky said also unnerved.

Kaiyah dropped the book back in the drawer, and felt a weight drop in her chest.

"Kaiyah." Becky called, but Kaiyah didn't move. "We didn't come all this way for nothing. This," She gestured to the book, "Is nothing compared to the revelations we may soon uncover. Now, are you sure you'd like to continue?"

"What else is there?" Kaiyah asked.

"This home of ours is hidden from Tatooine's surface. Who's to say there isn't something hidden from this surface?"

"Random theory. Where could we find anything to lead us there?"

Then, the drawer started going down, and the floor panel under it descended as well. Kaiyah and Becky looked at Ailurah, who was poking at a small hole in the wall. Ailurah jerked her head in their direction when the drawer moved.

"Well I think we can all agree this seems a little convenient." Ailurah said.

Becky and Kaiyah looked back at the secret passage, and looked down. The passage was dark, of course. Kaiyah made a torch with her hand and took a step. Taking another consideration, she shot a line of fire through the tunnel, and they saw several spider webs hanging all over. The fire seared through the middle of the webs, and many spiders fell from the roof of the tunnel.

"Oh heck no." Kaiyah said. She created a bigger fire burst and burned the floor, killing the spiders.

"Kaiyah. Stop. We don't know how long the tunnel is, and we don't want to burn anything on the other side." Becky said.

Kaiyah immediately stopped. I got em a good distance through. Let's go." Kaiyah said as they went down the short stairway and walked through. As Kaiyah spotted spiders, she sent a fire bolt its way and sent it to the ground. "It's a wonder how tiny insects or bugs find their way into hidden or tiny passages." Kaiyah said.

"One of the many mysteries of life." Ailurah said sarcastically.

"Guys." Becky said, stretching her arms out, stopping everyone. "There's something here."

"Like what?" Ailurah asked, concerned.

"Technology."

"Oh." Kaiyah relieved.

"Kaiyah. Light up the room." Becky said. Kaiyah lit up a bright flame, and they beheld a big room ahead of themselves.

"Now I know I can learn much from subtle clues, so I'm not one to waste questions. You said you were the fabled Galen Marek; but if that's true, then you are -or were- mortal. I'm curious how you came across all this. My next question is: are you the spiritual inhabitant of this cave? Or are you here in place of something else?" Aang asked.

"Certainly a perceptive one you are. I cannot give a direct answer without explanation, and you are not to have asked that question wastefully."

"I have time."

"Very well. My story is: I was a scientist in the days of the First Order; I was a breakthrough for them, and a reason for most of their success. My codename was Starkiller, hence their naming their super weapon after me."

"Starkiller Base."

"Precisely. I thought it was a bad idea, and I openly stated that if we repeated former plans of galactic domination, then we would be defeated the same way. And I was right. So before anything had a chance to happen, I fled from the Order and gained popularity within the Republic Senate. I was popular with the council of the Order, which kept me secret from the outside world. That made it easy for me to fit in with the Republic. With a hand in both sides, no one could do anything about what I did. I became an unbiased scientist. I was well-known all over the galaxy for what I made, and I created much that improved the lives of everyone across the star maps. But I wanted to do more; I wanted to involve the force, to unlock mysteries of it, and more. But my doing so cost much. I paid the price for my dealing with what I could never fully understand.

"Were you imprisoned here?"

"I was, but some of the knowledge still remains."

"Is there anything you can tell me?"

"I've been waiting for someone to come along so I could tell him. This is the most important thing you could ever know, so pay close attention."

Aang wasn't sure how it happened, but the voice gave him knowledge like it was whispering to him. Before, the vice was always clear and audible, but this felt more like a whisper in his head. And Aang was suddenly ecstatic and fired up, excited at what he was just told.

"Don't freak out." Galen's voice said. "Take a moment and let it set in."

"I had always wondered if that was true. But, tell me that last part again."

"I've been trapped here ever since. Whatever the chunk of brick I gave you has, is a clue to what will enable my escape. Then, I will be able to help you save the galaxy from the coming threat."

"But if we can get to the sith beforehand, it won't happen. When you come out, the galaxy will be peaceful again."

"The first comer is one very powerful. You must know him to defeat him."

"First comer? Where i-"

"Ah! Ah! Ah! That'll count as your third question, and you are no match for him. We can't have you dying before your time; there's more you need to understand before leaving."

"Alright. Talk; I'll listen."

"I have to go back to Kamino." Bennar said as he began packing. "I need to be in better hands if I'm to sort myself out."

"The Chancellor." Calista figured out.

"Yes." If anyone can help me, the Chancellor can."

"What about the Supreme Emperor?"

"No one knows where he is; he was only in office a little while before he disappeared. He had reportedly messed with the force, and had suffered consequences. No one has seen him in ages. It was actually because of his absence that the drought endured in Coruscant. We've yet to state that he died or didn't. That is the only reason the Chancellor hasn't been promoted to Emperor yet."

Bennar finished packing and headed to a docking bay. He prepared himself a ship. But before he boarded, he felt Calista grab his arm.

"It feels like you just got back, and now you're leaving ag-"

Bennar interrupted Calista as he closed the distance between them; and it felt like as soon as it had started, his intimate gesture was cut off; and Bennar hopped into his ship with a smile. "I'll be back soon. I promise." He assured his wife, to which she smiled back. "With someone like the Chancellor, I know I'm going to be in good hands."

In the next moment, the canopy was closed, and Bennar was gone again; but this time, Calista was left with a grin, and a tingling in her lips.