"Ephraim!" Aang and Jo recoiled, dropping their lightsabers. Viran didn't say anything, just gave Ephraim and Exar both a look of shock and anger.

"We've gone a long way, and if you let me discuss things, we can stay on our current track and secure the galaxy before you know it."

Aang just looked between Ephraim and Exar. He clenched two of his fists, then used the force to pick up two of his lightsabers, ignited them, and pointed them straight at Exar.

Exar looked at the blades, then at Aang. "I know you better than that." He said simply.

        "You're with them." He said through gritted teeth. Aang felt so betrayed. They had been on a mission to defeat the sith for weeks, but the sith was also a friend of his. Under the hood, Ephraim was like a completely different person. A murderer. He had no idea he had known the galaxy's most powerful and wanted man... but Exar did. Exar not only knew the sith were alive the whole time, but he knew the sith, and was apparently close friends with him. Aang didn't even notice the tear fall from his cheek to the ground.

"Aang... What are you doing?" Exar asked, getting scared. 'He would've backed down by now.'

"Don't do anything you'll regret." Viran advised.

Aang's hands only tightened on his hilts.

"H-h-hey, hey. Buddy. Calm down." Exar said, stepping back slightly, defensively lifting his arms ahead. Erk carefully moved his thumb towards the trigger on his lightsaber.

"Probably should've done this long ago." Aang said, lifting the sabers above his head.

"Hey! Woah!"

As Aang swung down a couple inches, Naktam threw a couple daggars and knocked the lightsabers out of Aang's hands.

Aang just fell to his knees in despair.

"Aang... what was that?" Viran simply asked, nearly speechless.

"He doesn't need to be here." Aang said.

"Being the guy he is, I'm sure there's a very, reasonable explanation for all this." Viran said, looking at Exar

"There can't be. I was a little too acceptant when Exar came along. I should've known a Zabrak on the team would've been too much trouble. They always are." He said, glaring up at Exar, who looked away.

Erk and Sabby each put a hand on one of his shoulders and guided him elsewhere. "Now I realize we may have gone a little far, but we need to plan ahead so we can... you know."

"Yeah. Destroy all evil." Exar said, a little down, he looked over to Aang, still on his knees. "Maybe you should've let him kill me."

"Hey now. Even I sorta understand where his thoughts are coming from, but I know you're not evil. You had no bad intention with all this. Take time, and it'll boil over." Sabby said.

"I'll have a heck of a lot to explain, though."

"Maybe so." Erk said as they went along.

---

"Where are they going?" Jo asked as he saw the three go off.

Aang looked up, anger still written on his face, and was about to go after him; Viran put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't. It's my responsibility." He commed Exar and said, "Exar. Wherever you go, just make sure it's not far."

"Okay. We'll just be outside the port." Exar replied quietly.

"This is gonna be a fun adventure." Viran said quietly, with fake exhaustion.

---

"Alright. You guys got my chip?" Ephram asked.

...

"Exar?"

"Huh? Sorry."

"Did you get the chip?"

"The-the one you 'dropped' on Takodana?" Exar interrogated.

"Yeah that one."

"We got it; Jo picked it up. We used it earlier; if I recall, it might still be in the projector."

"Uh, hold on! Do any Republic officials know about your hideout?"

"Our team's bodyguard, and the Lieutenant Governor."

"WHAT?!" Ephraim and Sabby exclaimed not-so-loudly.

"I said she knows of our hideout, but she doesn't know of the stolen chip. Masters Rye, Erickson, and Viran are the only other ones who know."

"Well good. I believe I don't need to mention what would happen if any big-timers found out of our secrets."

"Please don't. He's mentioned it enough." Sabby said.

"What does this have to do with our next step?"

"Well that's the hard part. Erk's going to have to reveal himself to the Republic, then we'll all have to discuss the Republic's next step in taking out the Empire."

"Alright. How do you think I'll come across?"

"I suppose we'll have to figure that out along the way; I didn't expect anything like that to happen." Erk said.

...

"There was something odd going on with Aang just then."

"The fact that he tried to kill you wouldn't happen to be it, would it?" Ephraim asked.

"No. At one point, he usually would have stood down, knowing he was outnumbered. As he lingered, and raised to strike, I felt something deeper going on. Something dark was taking over." Exar explained.

"Ephraim is this a joke?" Sabby asked.

"What? No. That wasn't part of the plan." Ephraim defended.

"And?"

"Hey, don't put this on me. For the record, I too sensed a strange darkness in that moment." Ephraim confessed.

Exar hummed in deep thought. "Do you remember our fight on Dathomir II? The ghost that interrupted us?"

"Yeah." Erk remembered. "That brings up more trouble. I'd like to know what that thing is and how it was able to interfere with us."

"Sorry, did I miss something?" Sabby asked.

"You didn't even fill your own girlfriend in?"

"Priorities." Ephraim whispered to Exar. "We should head on over to the library afterwards to learn more about this thing."

"Afterwards?" Exar and Sabby both asked.

"The chip you 'stole' has information on a top secret project the new Empire is working on."

...

"I have a feeling I'm not going to be surprised." Exar said.

"Just wait. For now, we need to settle things back on Coruscant." Ephraim said.

"Do you think it's a good idea to reveal that? I heard that you did take down a Republic squad on Kamino."

"Mhm... I didn't necessarily 'take down' the squad. Anyway, no, I don't think it's a good idea, but it's the best one we have right now."

"What do we do about them, though?" Exar asked about Jo, Aang, and Viran.

"Well, let's see if things have settled down."

The three were back in the port, and everyone seemed to be waiting for them.

"First off, I need to clarify that I'm not with them, but they're with us."

"Believable but not too trustworthy." Jo said.

"You're darn right." Aang mumbled.

"Do you guys have a plan or something?" Viran asked.

"We're working on it. Wait, you're, okay with this?" Exar replied.

"Well, if you guys know what you're doing, then I believe you." Viran affirmed.

"If you're gonna reveal yourself Erk, you're gonna need a heck of a lot of protection." Naktam said.

"Yeah he will." Jo said quietly with a mix of laughter.

"Where's he gonna get it?" Aang asked.

"From all of us." Exar answered.

"Better do some thinking, because if there's a revolt against him, then I just might side with the Republic." Aang said.

"I'm with the Republic. Aang, don't tell me you've forgotten all I've done with you guys." Ephraim said.

"Once you remind yourself, you should know you're taking the irrational side." Exar told him.

Aang stared for a second, then started retreating from the group. "I'll be back on my ship."

"We should all be heading back." Viran said.

"Didn't all your ships blow up?" Jay asked.

Aang immediately stopped, then turned and faced him. "Why is that?"

"Because we had to act our part." Jay replied.

"Aang, I thought you -of all of us- would realize something was going on. Erk said he wanted only us three to face him here, or there would be concequences... Think about that. He didn't show us anything he could hold leverage against us." Exar pointed out.

"He was bluffing." Jo said in realization.

"And our battle on Dathomir II. He had his ship parked next to all of ours, but he didn't destroy them, because if he did, we wouldn't have any way off the planet; he had the Zabrak ships disabled so no one else would escape and contact the Republic." Exar said.

...

"Now that I'm thinking about it, I have to congratulate you guys for your impressive ahead-planning. That was a really good plan." Jo said.

"I admire how well and far ahead you two plan, but how do we get out now?" Viran asked.

"We have a ship." Ephraim replied.

"Well, lead the way."

---

Everyone was inside Erk's shuttle-

 and ready to take off. "Is there a holotransmitter on this ship?"

"To take precautions, I had to disable the ship's holotransmitter; I have a personal one you can use." Ephraim said, tossing the disc-shaped object to Viran. Viran left to make his call.

"But I thought you weren't force-sensitive." Jo said. Aang smirked, looking over at Ephraim, waiting for an answer.

"One of the first things we were all taught is how to cloak our sensetivity and signatures."

"I suppose you were all taught to cloak the truth from your closest friends." Aang said.

"Aang, we've explained ourselves; you should not be holding a grudge." Exar pushed.

Erk and Sabby took off the ship and were soaring through the sky and back to base.

---

"I hope what I flew two parsecs into the middle of nowhere for is worth it." Jayko said, annoyed.

"The ball glowed." The scientist told him.

!!! 'What changed?'