Rel'lan Grey, Dark Jedi

About a year before the events that occurred in Episode I

Two adversaries dance back and forth exchanging strikes. Flashes of light linking crossed lightsabers, lingering only in the retinal afterimages of the onlookers who were both captivated in awe as well as in terror.

It was more than a spectacle, Rogue Jedi Knight Allynna Soverith, a self proclaimed Jedi Master had engineered the event. The two foes lock their sabers again, sabers hissing furiously. Allynna's hooded adversary leans forward pressing his mass upon her sense of balance. She shifts perfectly to account for the change. However, her adversary had intended this as a feint. The hooded Jedi quickly shifts his balance, rolling the saber and his weight against her blade moving upward and forcing her to compensate by lifting her guard. In a sudden motion, her assailant thrusts the locked saber violently upward. She compensates, but her assailant is already driving low, rolling his blade in and under her guard, bringing his saber up and across to parry her inevitable downward strike.

She compensates again, almost perfectly, bringing her blade down hard upon her assailant's. But her assailant, lashes out with a vicious angled kick which with a loud and sickeningly wet snap shatters her kneecap. The maneuver itself does little to shatter her calm, as she is infused with the darkside. She barely notices, however, her body responds in fashion with the buckling of her leg, folding backward unnaturally. It was the leg she was placing her primary support upon. As she began to fall, her adversary drove her saber away and snapped back his other arm launching it immediately into her face at a downward angle. He crushed both nose and cheek bone in an incredible, force infused strike that threw her to the ground tumbling in a mess of limbs. She hit the ground so hard, with arms flailing, her saber arm bent and broke and drove her ignited saber through part of her back and side. She screamed, for the first time.

Her adversary, then ran immediately to his master. Kneeling beside his broken and lifeless form. He pulled back his cowl, revealing a rather handsome young man with the braid of a padawan. "No, it was not supposed to be this way." Rel'lan murmured "The damned council said she was no match for you... You wouldn't listen, I knew something was wrong. I could sense it... Damn you and your Jedi arrogance." Those last words dripped off his tongue filled with spite. "You were a fool, and so you deserve your fate. All of the Council are fools. Arrogance..." He stood slowly, turning once more to his adversary.

Allynna Soverith was struggling to rise. Her wounds healing to some extent. Rel'lan could feel the surge in the Force as she attempted to heal herself, and shield the pain. Rel'lan walked casually up to her, his saber still ignited. It began to drizzle and drops of rain fell upon his blade sizzling and emitting light wisps of steam. "No, you do not have the right to stand." Rel'lan brought his saber up and at attention, spinning it in a full circle once with the second circuit he extended his arm cleanly severing both of her legs at the thigh. She began to scream and then fell silent. People looking straight into his eyes saw no remorse, no fear, no hatred, only a calm filled with purpose and a look of disgust. "You are deadly, no matter how wounded you are. Now, I am to bring you before the Council. However, they do not deserve the right to break you. What would they do?" Rel'lan asked

"They would see me die, quietly, for my crimes." Allynna croaked out "Kill me, spare me that fate."

"Killing you would be too easy, 'master' Soverith. No, though I hold the Council in ill regard, I shall return you as is my mandate. You are but a cripple, a broken creature who has had but a taste of the suffering you have wrought upon the galaxy. I do not blame you for your failings, only for the foolery with which you pursued your goals. The Council made you, they are to blame. I will let them deal with their own creation. You... Well, you will enjoy the suffering and pain I have visited upon you for the three day hyperspace journey to Coruscant. Be thankful, I have a Class 1 hyperdrive." Rel'lan then reached into his cloak and drew a dart, flicking it with his wrist it hit her in the throat. The virulent strain of sedative would be enough to dull her abilities so as to prevent any more foolishness.

In the crowd, a man in his mid to late fifties watched with incredible enthusiasm. His hair had receded and was white. Senator Palpatine stepped forward. He stopped by the body of Rel'lan's fallen master checking for a pulse, feigning concern. "Padawan Rel'lan, we all here have you to thank to delivering us safely from that mad woman. You have my eternal gratitude." He paused looking at the Padawan as the young jedi turned to regard the Senator

"Though I appreciate your sentiment, Senator, it is unnecessary. I was simply following my...orders." Rel'lan struggled a bit with the last part.

Not acknowledging Rel'lan's faltering, but recognizing it immediately he said "How is it that one of your talents is the Padawan and there lies your master?" he said with genuine concern

"You would have to ask the council. I suppose you can attribute it to my being a late addition to the ranks of the Jedi. I picked up my skills after joining them at..." he pondered for a moment "I believe they called it an 'alarming' rate even though I was five years older than their beginning students and more akin in ability to the Academy's junior padawans. That was ten years ago. My master was ...." Rel'lan sighs with frustration "He was my master."

"Fear not, Rel'lan Grey, I will speak to the Council on your behalf about your heroic deeds this day." Palpatine said

Events transpiring during the Battle with Darth Maul

Jedi Master Plo Koon eyed Mace Windu warily "Do you really believe this to be a wise decision?"

Mace Windu "There is no other way. To send anyone else... It would be like signing their death warrant."

Master Plo Koon shook his head "Master Windu, you are knowingly asking one of our students to murder his father. Do you realize the depth of what might truly happen?"

Mace Windu "Master Koon, respectfully, it is a matter of tactics. The boy will likely succeed in killing his father. Though he does not know this rogue Sith is his father, his father will likely falter and make the mistake of lowering his guard. After all, Phelan was the one who 'identified' Rel'lan Grey to be become a padawan. There is no other Jedi with Rel'lan's training. He has been our most effective tool in silencing rogue Jedi in our ranks. His loyalty is unwavering and he most recently successfully returned a Dark Jedi to us who had bested and killed his master. There is no one else. Master Yoda and I have other matters to attend to."

Master Plo Koon "Master Windu, you trained Phelan yourself. The burden should fall to you. Rel'lan is a poor choice for this task. Better that he never knows the truth..."

Mace Windu looked to Yoda and then after Yoda sighed heavily and nodded to him he continued "Master Koon, as you are well aware, unions of Jedi and outsiders are NOT condoned. Rel'lan will accomplish this... Final, task and return to be dealt with." The words came a bit too well planned and worked out to his lips.

Yoda sagged a bit at Windu's statement, though you could tell that as reluctant as he was to agree with Windu, he was thinking the same thing.

"This is madness! He is a boy!" Master Koon argued forcefully

"Yes, a boy he is. Unable to be sensed through the Force, he is. Something not right, indeed. The mark of the Sith he bears upon himself." Yoda managed to croak out wearily "Close your mind Master Koon. The boy will be here soon." Moments later an attendant commed up to the tower signaling Rel'lans near arrival

"Rel'lan Grey, step into the center of the room." Mace Windu said and Rel'lan complied "Rel'lan Grey, it is the wish of the council that you are hereby elevated to the rank of Jedi Knight. Your actions have distinguished yourself as an effective member of our order. We have a mission for you, which your new authority will facilitate." Windu said this ovbiously closed from scrutiny

Rel'lan knew something was very wrong. All the Masters in the room were actively using the Force to shield their thoughts. He was not attempting to pry, but the recognition of the force signature and techniques was all too apparent when six of the most powerful Jedi in the Galaxy were present and performing the same sort of masking. Rel'lan had always been fairly unreadable, so he maintained his composure even though his inner turmoil was screaming at him to do something.

"It is an honor to accept this title, what is it that you would have me do?" Rel'lan stated

"Are you familar with Jedi Knight Phelan?" Mace Windu asked

Something deep inside Rel'lan broke, he suddenly had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"yes" is all he responded with

"Jedi Knight Phelan has been seduced by the Dark Side of the force, more so disturbing is that we believe he was lured to this path by Sith teachings. You're mission is find him, and kill him. You will not be bringing him back to the academy for questioning. You are uniquely suited to fighting darksiders. You have experience, which unfortunately none of us currently possess. This is a dangerous mission, one only you can accomplish." Mace finished unflinching

Master Ploo Koon studied the young Jedi, he could see but not feel the boy's conflict. He said nothing though.

Rel'lan looked into the faces of all the Masters assembled. In Master Ploo Koon he saw nothing like the others, however, Master Koon shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Even with his inner conflict, he understood. There had been a heated debate here. he was not likely to survive the mission.... or he was not expected to return.... Or, possibly, no. No, it couldn't be... was this his end?

"Is there a problem Rel'lan?" Windu asked

"Yes, there is a problem. Phelan discovered me. He is the reason why I am here. He had a hand in my training before you assigned me a new master..." Rel'lan began

"He is dark, your path is clear. We and all of the Council are counting on you. You will assure your seat at the council when the that day comes." Windu finished "Now go."

Rel'lan struggled with the last part. A statement of confidence in reaching the mark of 'master' was nothing the council stated lightly. But it was too soon, we was just being made a knight. Even though the offer obviously meant it would be many years before the title would grace him.... That statement was out of line. Other masters shifted uncomfortably. IT WAS A LIE. He could not hesitate... He had to act and swallow the welling uneasiness and accept the mission. ONLY after he left these chambers and had Coruscant FAR behind him would he be safe to relax enough to review these events.

"I go, Masters." And Rel'lan departed

when he was gone from the temple the Masters watched his Jedi Starfighter depart

Master Ploo Koon addressed Windu as he departed "You will have your hands full with that one when he returns and I will have nothing to do with his blood on my hands..."

"As you wish Master Koon." Was all Windu reponded with

While in transit to orbit Rel'lan received a comm "Message from Senator Palpatine" the inbox chimed

Rel'lan played the message, which was a statement of actual concern from the man. Rel'lan instantly commed him back

To his suprise the Senator picked up immediately "Ah, padawan Rel'lan, what a pleasure. What's that noise?"

"I'm leaving Coruscant on a mission for the Council in a Jedi Starfighter" He responded

"Leaving, a padawan?" Palpatine Asked

"I have been given the title of Jedi Knight Senator" Rel'lan responded

"Excellent my boy! I am pleased they finally came to their senses after almost a year. Congratulations!" the senator said

"Thank you, senator, though I must tell you something in confidence. I may not return from this mission." Rel'lan said

"Why my boy?" palpatine asked with genuine concern

"I'm hunting Jedi Knight Phelan, the jedi that discovered me. He's gone dark.... sith...." Rel'lan struggled "I shouldn't have even told you that, please forget what I just said."

Palpatine's mind was racing. Another SITH! How! he MUST know what was going on and this one, Rel'lan, was promising. "I have heard tales of the Sith my boy, they are nothing to be trifled with. I will meet you at the Golan defense platform. One to congratulate you and another purpose to impart upon you something I have found in my travels, it might help you."

Rel'lan could use the break, to see someone who had become somewhat of a friend would be a relief. "I will wait for you there." Rel'lan responded

"You won't have to wait long, I promise" Palpatine said

to be continued

On the Golan defense platform at the edge of the Coruscant system

Rel'lan didn't wait long, the Senator was true to his promise

He arrived quickly and was obviously unsettled. he wore his emotions openly, something Rel'lan was not accustomed to.

"Knight Gray, let us move to this conference room." Palpatine pointed to a nearby meeting chamber typically reserved for tactical briefings

The entered. "I congratulate you, Rel'lan. However, I am unsettled at this recent news. I can do little for you, save offer a small piece of advice and this." the senator produced a small box from under his cape

"My advice is to trust your instincts. From what i know the Sith hide their emotions well and will use yours against you. The gift is a holocron I found on a distant planet while I was in my youth studying abroad during my university years. I have never been able to unlock its secrets, however, I have heard tales that such devices can be unlocked by a Jedi." Palpatine stated with some level of frustration

"I am familiar with such devices. The Academy has at least one in its archival vaults. I am familiar with its operation in some capacity." Rel'lan said astonished

"I was told that access to such relics was forbidden, because the knowledge contained within is as ancient as the jedi's soul that is bound to the device. Abilities and secrets that are beyond our understanding..." rel'lan added

"I think that you will find, Rel'lan, that you will require all the secrets that this device holds to stay alive. It is obvious the Council expects you not to return. This is all the help I can give you. A matter has arisen on Naboo that I must attend to." Palpatine responded

"yes, the blockade. have you raised the army to break through to Amidala?" Rel'lan asked

"No, but I have what I need to get on world. Go now my boy, learn what you can. I hope it keeps you alive." Palpatine said and shook Rel'lan's hand

They departed

En route to the first leg of his journey Rel'lan activated the holocron. Its secrets were wondrous, though none seemed to hold information that could keep him alive. He became frustrated, pouring through the teachings of the long dead alien jedi. Eventually anger replaced the frustration, anger toward the council, the lies and the mission without support. Hatred for the mission to kill the man who found him. Albiet briefly manifesting that hatred before he mastered it, it activated something deep in the holochron and a higher level of 'education' was unlocked. These abilities astonished him, powers of hatred, casting lightning and many more unfolded before his eyes. He knew it was all wrong, but the tutor told him he would die without, at least, a basic understanding of the abilities. So, he began to study their abilities. Before the end of his first leg of the journey he would have mastered at least one power.

"If I am to fight you, Phelan, i will suprise you. You will never see this or me coming." Rel'lan didn't realize how true that statement was indeed, nor would the Council expect what would happen when he returned...

Rel'lan had temporarily abandoned his quest to study the holocron in more detail. There was simply too much to absorb within the tight confines of the Jedi Starfighter. He landed on a farming community in the Core. the planet was en route to his final destination. there he stayed with hours turning into days, days to weeks and weeks to months.

"My secrets, my knowledge, cannot help you if you refuse to practice and master them. You must know these abilities in order to defeat a Sith." Baast stated

Rel'lan had already toyed with Force Lightning "No. the ability while interesting in sheer terror factor is inadequate for Jedi combat. Conventional methods with a clear mind will prevail..." Rel'lan fought the alchemist's words

"Jedi... If the being you face is superior, you will perish without any contest. To destroy a sith adversary you must either overpower them or must negate their abilities and then dupe them into making a mistake. their hatred will overwhelm you. You possess no hatred for your mark." Baast responded

"how? could you know that? No one can read me... how could a construct such as yourself see my emotion!?!" Rel'lan stated startled

"I see it as clearly as day, your ritualistic tatoos are the clear sign. Those markings predate the knowledge base of the Jedi. Not even Darth Sidious knows of their meaning. Only you have unlocked access to this core knowledge of alchemy." Baast stated

"What? Someone accessed your archives recently?!" Rel said with absolute astonishment

"yes, child of the sith, my archives were accessed 11.3 years ago by the being who delivered me into your care" the words shook Rel to the core. More lies, from a friend no less. Perhaps, though, the lies were well founded in this case. The Council would have had him killed if they had known.

"Darth? what is that? what does it mean?" rel asked

"Darth is a title of prominence assigned to Sith for a level of mastery and achievement. In its purest form it is like being called a Jedi Master but of Sith teachings." Baast responded

Reluctantly at first Rel opened up to the teachings and learned the principals of the life force tattoos. Not inherently evil, not in the sense the ones he bore had been created. However, the life force infused in them had been permanently stripped from another living being...

Time passed and he poured over the information, once he had absorbed all he could the holocron sputtered out and failed. It became inert, its spirit travelling from the holochron to Rel'lan infusing him with energies he only dared to imagine.

Two years later, Rel'lan departed that world and completed his journey to the world of his birth. the place where Phelan awaited, on Bastion.

Rel'lan strode boldly through the streets of Bastion. It had been some time since he had been tasked with killing Phelan. The mission was long overdue to commence. After disembarking from his starfighter he walked casually out of the starport. A pair of Jedi awaited him.

"You abandoned your mission. Windu sent us here to make certain you completed it. We were told that if you deviated from your task we were to investigate." the obvious Jedi Master stated with his Knight at his side

"You need to get out of my way fool. I'm here, at last to complete my mission." Rel said

"How dare you address me in such a common tone. You rank has been stripped. You are to submit to our interrogation and..." Rel interrupted him

"I will do no such thing. Stand aside imbecile or die." Rel said without emotion

the master looked to his ally and said "Take him"

Immediately the knight began to close with Rel. Rel casually lifted the Jedi Knight from the ground choking him, then he hurtled Force lightning into the stunned knight and pushing him high into the air. Force Lightning vomited from the Jedi Knight's Eyes then as suddenly as the assault began The Knight's sharp neck snap resounded across the starport tarmac.

Rel kept walking right at the Master whose eyes had grown wide "You have turned!" he screamed "Noooooo!" as he watched his student die as Rel effortlessly killed him in a matter of seconds

The Master ignited his saber as Rel approached, he took a standard defensive fighting posture. The Jedi Knight fell lifelessly behind him in a gruesome tangle of smoking limbs. Rel collapsed the roof of a nearby hangar and threw its torn debris at the Master with the force. The master sprung out of the way at the last moment. Force lightning exploded from Rel's left hand, the right drawing his saber. It's blue blade matching the force lightning's intensity. The master parried with his saber. "I am prepared for you." the master responded

"No, I think not." Rel said and he boiled the master's eyes out of his sockets leaving him screaming dropping his saber. As Rel passed him he spun his saber, reversing it and drove it through the kneeling Master's back. It punched through his chest. Rel was still moving and he casually flicked the blade upward dragging its deadly energy through his throat and then splitting the master's head in twain. He kept moving.

So, this is what my house looks like... Rel mused, he had almost forgotten. As he strode up to the gates of the massive property of a Noble woman once known as Cherila Namassa now Cherila Grey. He casually opened the gates with the force, easily breaking the locking mechanism and grinding them open.

The followed the path to the front door, it was a long walk and images of a childhood assaulted him slightly breaking the grip of the influence the alchemist held on his mind. The front door was open to the mansion and he felt a powerful presence inside. It was not his mother, though she was there. Her presence was oddly diminished. These abilities of sensing power clearly showed that his mother was a Force user. She was weak and the Alchemist dismissed her as he commanded Rel to enter.

through the foyer and out the back into the beautifully tended garden. there Phelan awaited him.

"We come full circle, you and I. Father and son." Phelan stated but it was not in his voice

"You are neither my Father nor my son" Baast's voice replied from Rel's lips

Phelan turned to regard his son for the first time, an inhuman light in his eyes. "You are NOT Rel'lan. I demand..." The presence started to say

"You are in a position to demand nothing! I see where the boy's power comes from now. I will dine upon your divine essence." Rel's body stated

Somewhere deep inside, Rel was screaming inside his mind. He didn't know how he had missed it all these years. Phelan, his father, or rather Phe'lan his father. The True name echoed in his mind.

Somewhere deep inside Phe'lan was screaming inside his mind. He was going to kill his son and there was not a damned thing he could do about it.

There was an ackward silence as each spirit sized the other up. Neither wanting to act first. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity the Alchemist using Rel as a host unleashed a blast of malevolent energy that withered the bushes as its passed and then struck Phe'lan with violent force. He screamed, or rather the entitity possessing him screamed in an unearthly song of agony and pain. The alchemist Baast had long awaited the day when he could be free of his prison in the holochron. Darth Sidious was too powerful, but the boy was easier prey.

After but one assault it was evident that the Alchemist was FAR more powerful than the entity that was inhabiting Phe'lan Grey. Another withering blast of Sith Alchemical magic evicted yet another unearthly wail from its spiritual adversary. "This is too easy. Prepare yourself, this is going to hurt as I consume your host's body." The alchemist stated with delight

A surge of power deep within Rel'lan shattered whatever grip the Alchemist had on Rel. On a purely emotional level rage, hatred and raw anger boiled out of Rel'lan as he expelled the spirit. Rel dropped to all fours as the spirit screamed "Noooooo!" Rel then forced himself to stand, gripping his lightsaber in both hands, he ignited it and called upon the force NOT the darkside this time. Pushing everything he had into that singular strike he connected solidly with the still vaguely corporeal spirit of the alchemist and tore it in half. The Alchemist screamed for seconds as it completely unravelled, destroyed by the only pure thought Rel managed to conjure. Then he collapsed.

"Awake my son" Phe'lan said looking down at his child who he had carried to a bedroom in the mansion. Rel stirred, looking up to his father. Only to see his father's weakened inhabitant leave him and enter Rel. He screamed for hours as the spirit attempted to feed upon his lifeforce to replenish its power. Phe'lan lay spent on the floor. A spirit he had carried all the days of his life having left him for the first time. An impossible amount of time went by as Rel fought endlessly with the lifeforce feeding on him. Finally, three years later, the spirit which was growing ever stronger wailed again as it was ripped from Rel's withered flesh. Yet another life force was pushing itself into Rel's body. This one, however, Rel did not fight. He could not fight it. It felt like 'home'. In a sense, it was. His mother's life force, all that was left of it flooded into his shattered body. His skin returned to normal, the scars of age and thrashing about for years on an intravenous liquid food line eased away and light once again filled his pure white eyes.

Rel's mother was looking fondly down upon him, tears rolling from her eyes. She smiled fondly at her son and then her body disintegrated as she poured everything into her son. Rel'lan rose, ripping the intravenous line from his arm. Turning just in time to see the spirit crawl its way painfully back into his father.

"You and your mother have bought me time. Now pick up your lightsaber and kill me. I have forever bound the spirit to my lifeforce. When I die, so too does it. Kill me, do it now." His father pleaded

"What the hell is wrong with you! This is insane. All of this is insane!" Rel screamed, he picked up his lightsaber and igniting it approached his kneeling father. "I... I can't..." rel said his mind was reeling

"You must. I may hold sway for now and I likely will for an eternity, but this is no existence. Kill me, please." Phe'lan begged his son

"No, answers, I want answers. Then I will give you your release." rel said

"Fine, I owe you that much." and Phe'lan began to recount his tale. when he was finished he looked to his son "now kill me"

"No, enjoy your own personal hell. You have ruined my life. First you enslaved my mother then you killed her. The council tasked me with killing you, I studied Sith teachings to prepare myself and was possessed by a sith alchemist who's memories now haunt my mind. I possess knowledge both new and old. I am no longer myself, thus I am not your son. Your son died a long time ago. I know the ritual you used, I can remember what the alchemist said. You will, indeed, remain in control. However, the balance is tenuous. It leaves you crippled, effectively. A fitting fate for a freak like you. I have other things to do. The Council and I have a long overdue appointment." rel said

"No... NOOOOOO!!! you can't leave me like this!" Phe'lan screamed

"Yes I can. You are harmless, and doomed to live forever as a husk. My job is done, my father is and has been dead for many years." And Rel'lan walked away

Rel'lan Grey left Bastion, never to return.

Five years later, he returned to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant only to find that Mace Windu and Yoda had gone and taken the majority of the jedi with them to Geonosis...

"Surrender Rel'lan Grey, it is your only option." Another Jedi Master said to him as he walked into the Academy. The Master had assembled many Jedi to encircle him.

"Stop me, if you can you arrogant fool." There was no one who could stop Rel'lan Grey present at the Academy that day...

For the past three years Rel'lan had been very active. He assumed the role of sole heir to the household of the Namassa wealth. He had his mad father committed to an institution for the dangerously insane. He even sold off the majority of his families holdings. However, all of this he turned into capitol for building something much greater. Having witnessed the coming darkness first hand he put into motion the foundation to fight it. Three industrious years later he had the groundwork for an underground resistance and in a matter of speaking, a hidden refuge for Jedi that did not adhere to the path of the Council. The man who once hunted the outspoken among the Jedi ranks had become their savior.

He started this movement small, with a core group of idealistic individuals. These people had been denied their desire to work with the Jedi out of the Council's arrogance. People who believed in the Jedi as not just the paragons of justice carrying it out any way they wanted to. They saw the Jedi as real people who required real support and could work together to build something more tangible.

So, when Rel'lan walked into the Academy on Coruscant he was not alone.

Jedi Master Darrin Arkanian glared at Rel'lan Grey "You must submit to the will of the Council Rel'lan and answer for your crimes."

"No, I no longer answer to the will of a Council that willingly sent me to my death. Nor for the Master and Knight I killed. I would love to explain that incident, however, I feel that none of you would believe the tale." Rel responded

"You are surrounded, it is eight against one." Arkanian smugly responded

"You are wrong." As Rel stated that, a quartet of stun blasts rolled over the ranks of Jedi flanking Rel. Caught unaware, they dropped to the ground. "Bind them." Rel stated to his allies

"What treachery is this?! Sith Magic?" Arkanian half yelled

"No, fool, droids." Rel was shaking his head. A quartet of battle droids emerged from the shadows. They had been modified in some minor fashion, with rubberized foot pads so as to avoid noize and add traction.

"You focused on me. Your attention was on me, idiot. It has always amazed me that the Jedi never installed holo cams here... Ignorance, I say, the force does not "feel everything"."

"You are still outnumbered. A knight, a Padawan and myself against you." Arkanian responded "Your droids will be easy prey now that you have shown your hand." the last proclamation came off smugly

Rel'lan reached out with the force to the Padawan and easily lifted her off the floor. Arkanian and his Knight began to move "Ah, no, move and she dies." Rel stated with force lightning playing off his hand and crackling and rolling off the floor. That gave them pause. Enough time for Rel to fling the padawan into a pillar, knocking her unconscious but doing nothing more to her.

"You are consumed by the Dark Side!" Arkanian yelled, his and his Knight ally's lightsabers igniting in unison.

"Again, you are both idiots. If I was dark, I would have simply killed all of you." Rel stated as he ignited his saber and met their charge

In the moments just prior to entering the fray with Rel, Arkanian had to agree that Rel was right. His hesitation at that last second was all the opening that Rel required. Rel grabbed one of his dorids and whipped it into Arkanian as he locked sabers with the Jedi Knight. Arkanian went flying, the Knight was slightly distracted. Rel held the saber lock, sweeping a leg behind the Jedi Knight. It was a maneuver that the Knight thought was to topple him, however, Rel merely held the Jedi locked into place while he rolled his saber down the five inches of his adversaries blade and severed its emitter. Rel, then struck the Knight several times until he had dropped from the pummeling. Again, another Jedi beaten but other than bruises to his ego and flesh, unharmed.

Arkanian was recovering as he tossed the shattered droid aside. he saw it had been holdign a deck sweeper, a non lethal blaster with a wide firing arc.

"So, how do you want to do this Arakanian? Do I have to kill you? Or can we just be civilized?" Rel asked closing his saber and holstering it.

Reluctantly, Arkanian closed his blade as well. He, for the first time saw the futility in facing Rel. Especially, alone, since he was outmatched. He was facing a Jedi Knight/Padawan with more power than most of the 'Masters' the Council appointed including himself. Not to mention he had been trained to hunt other Jedi and the rest he had learned fighting people that went dark. It was more experience than he or most of the Jedi assembled had.

"What do you propose?" Arkanian asked

"Let me get my things, from my quarters and I will leave." Rel said

Arkanian was looking, even sensing for the deception bout could find neither. "Fine. Rel'lan, get your things and you have my word I will not harm you. So long as you keep your word and do not harm any of us."

"Thank you, Master Arkanian. I will only be a few minutes." Rel said in a calm and level tone and then he was off, moving fast to recover his belongings.

Arkanian realized that Rel had addressed him formally. Perhaps, he and the Council had made a serious mistake in regards to him. While it did not excuse his killing of a Knight and master, it spoke volumes about his stability that the Council truly had not gone into detail about. He would have to talk to them at length when they returned.

After picking up his belongings and grabbing some extra Jedi issue equipment from the field gear storage lockers Rel stopped by the data archive to retrieve the information he had really come to obtain... Information as to the whereabouts of all the Jedi that had defied the council. He dumped the master list and all requisite information pertaining to them, as well as his training information and some other miscellaneous force techniques. Finally, he pulled a roster of worlds that were shielded from force intrusion and then deleted all the information from the archives. He inserted a virus, that had been rather costly to procure, that eliminated all fingerprints of his access and all traces of the data he took. Finally, the virus would destroy itself leaving no trace of its passing.

Rel walked out into the main chamber "That wasn't so bad now was it?" as he passed Arkanian

"You're not coming back are you?" Arkanian asked

"No." Rel said picking up his broken droid.

"May the Force be with you, Rel'lan Grey." was all Arkainan said

The words gave Rel pause, he felt a level of sadness and regret as he looked around the halls of his former home

"My the force be with you as well Master Arkanian." And rel walked out of the temple never to return

Rel left the Jedi Temple behind making a quick run to his starship he stashed the information and gear he had just recovered from the Temple. With the Jedi host largely out of "town" a unique opportunity presented itself to Rel'lan. It was time to go and visit an old friend. It would not be a very nice and cordial meeting. It would be one full of violence and death. He had forseen as much, in visions in the years leading up to his visit to Coruscant. So, he had prepared, these last few years, for the unknown.

He disguised himself by donning a simple robe he had picked up from the Jedi Temple. His journey into the Council chambers went largely unchallenged. It wasn't until he reached the outer sanctum of his old friend. Once a senator, now a Chancellor of the entire Republic. Palpatine had a lot to answer for. The Chancellor had precipitated his fall from grace, for the confrontation with his father might well have gone quite a bit differently had he not been a tainted monstrosity. Granted, the Jedi Council had betrayed him in more than one way. His mission, while doomed to fail, could have been a lot different. A lot of things could have been different. Now, he would be hunted by the Jedi for the remainder of his days. "Why not add one more reason to their list of grievances" he thought to himself as he approached the Chancellor's chambers with lethal intent.

Two blue armored guardsmen of the Republic stopped him just outside the long hallway that led to the final door to enter into the Chancellor's chambers. He knew there would be at least two more inside. It was protocol, so he would simply have to get past all of them.

"State your business Jedi" One Guardsman challenged.

"My purpose is none of your business, my business is with the Chancellor and the Chancellor alone. Do not bar my path or you will suffer the consequences." Rel stated on a level tone, one neither dripping with hate nor aggression. He had to keep his calm to pull this off.

"Your suggestive powers do not work on us, Jedi." The other spoke a bit too soon

Rel was just standing there with his head shrouded by his hood, watching the placement of their feet and their stance which was fast easing since his "suggestion" had no effect.

"I don't make suggestions idlely, you imbecile. I don't have mastery of that power. So, to put it simply for your morons, I was merely hoping that you might see reason. However, that was too much to ask..." Rel lashed out grabbing the first guardsman's force pike. Rather than stripping him of it, he used the guard's startled reaction to his advantage. The guardsman snapped the pike in toward himself to break Rel's grasp. However, rel didn't let go. He let the strength of the guardsman drag his mass across the smooth floor then, inside the guardsman's guard he struck the man in the testicles with a knee, spun him and slammed his head into a table in the center of the room and struck even quicker driving a a fist in a folded fingers motion at the back of his neck instantly dropping him unconcious. He was a blur of motion, for he may have been good with a lightsaber, but he was even better with his martial prowess. The second guardsman reacted to move in towards his fallen comrade... "Fool" Rel'lan thought, he must be a raw recruit. Because a trained guardsman would have made it his first priority to sound the alarm. The guardsman stopped short of Rel'lan and began to turn, realizing his error. The mistake was telling, as Rel was upon him before he even made the second step. A trio of precise jabs between hidden armor plates behind his cloak staggered the guardsman and elicited a gagging grunt from him. Rel immediately followed the assault by grabbing the guardsman's shoulders, lifting off the floor and then immediately driving both of his feet into the back of the guardsman's knees. This dropped him to the floor and Rel grabbed his helmet by the plumage, pulled up and to the side and repeated the manuver which dropped his comrade.

After stashing the unconscious guardsmen bound and gagged in the secure holding room (which was actually a conference room adjoining the central chamber), Rel moved to the first door with both of the guardsmen's secure keys swiping them simultaneously in their places. The doors opened, once inside after the doors closed behind him Rel placed four shaped charges at the edges of the doors. Nothing with the force to kill a man, but with precise explosions that would lock the doors in place if they were opened by any means. The "explosives" would instantly fuse the metal at those four points. It wouldn't stop a Jedi, but it WOULD stop any of the Chancellor's retinue long enough for him to make good an escape. The next step would be less subtle, it would be direct and brutal. He approached the final set of doors. Thanking his mother silently, for the gift of "Invisibility" to Jedi it was appareent that no alarm had arisen. He reached out, pinpointing the locations and positions of the two guardsmen inside the doors. They stood at attention on either side of the entry. He probed no further, taking pains to only look for their specific signatures. He spun placing his back to the right side of the wall and ignited his saber spinning it around and driving it through the wall. The blade easily pierced the inner wall, armor and flesh of the guardsman, killing him instantly. Rel drew the blade out and then double handedly slashed in a 45 degree arc across the fast opening doors. Cutting through metal, force pike, armor and guardsman. The guardsman fell into pieces smoking on the floor, he never even had a chance to scream before he died. Rel stepped out of the doorway and into the meeting room of the Chancellor. Palpatine was wide eyed with suprise, however, after recovering (which happened almost immediately) he wore a look of satisfaction.

"I was wondering when you would finally come to me Vilesek Baast, it has been too long. We have much to talk about." Palpatine stated calmly

"Ah." Was all that escaped Rel's lips. His mind was racing. Palpatine, his "friend" had anticipated this. However, he had NOT anticipated that Rel had both survived that encounter and defeated the Sith Alchemist.

"You look shocked, lore keeper, that I always knew you would return. I can simply destroy you, or I can offer you power and knowledge beyond your wildest imaginings. It is, your choice make it now before I loose my patience." Palpatine stated flatly

It is likely that Rel could have played along with Palpatine's game. In fact, it is almost a certainty due to his having touched the Alchemist's mind. However, Rel had no stomach for games anymore. Thus far, everyone had betrayed him. His friend as well as the entire Jedi Council... Anger began to build within Rel'lan, something that happened with relatively seldom frequency now that he had regained much of what had been lost to him from the madness of the darkside and Sith teachings.

"The answer is No, old friend." Rel began "I was much stronger than Vilesek Baast and I destroyed him. I am Rel'lan Grey, son to Jedi Knight Phe'lan Grey, son of Cherila Namassa. I am the Jedi my father was and more. I am the Monster you created with the Alchemist's possession. I am held accountable for the Murder of a Jedi Master and a Jedi Knight. I called you 'friend' at one time, its is apparent that the concept of such is completely lost upon you." Rel carefully made an accounting of his footwork as he stepped about the room, guageing distances and looking for deceptions. His guard was fully in place, as he raised his active blue lightsaber in a classical defensive posture. Much like the Jedi Master whom he had killed had. Palpatine's face drained of all humor, save for the laughter that rolled off his tongue. Not humor but disdain and disrespect and a disregard for his feeble 'skills'. Palpatine stood, walking carefully around his large desk, arms wide he smiled with renewed vigor and more of the false kindness graced his features.

"Rel'lan, I can explain. I had thought you still possessed by that being. I only wished to lure him into a sense of safety before freeing you." A statement conveyed with the image of honesty but his wording now vs. before was off. Not to mention the words carried the weight of a Jedi's suggestive powers. Rel brought his saber up, which had been lowering, point out toward Palpatine warning him off. "NO! DAMN YOU! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Rel screamed giving into rage and hatred. Palpatine was WAY too powerful for him to play this one by the book. The risk of falling again.... Damn it all to hell... The Unexpectedly powerful levels of compulsion and waves of power rolling off Palpatine could not be beaten back by his calm, not this time, not alone facing someone unnaturally powerful. Rel hoped he could reclaim himself after this, if there was indeed anything 'after this' encounter... The hatred and rage blotted out Palpatine's compulsion. "Goood, haha, good, Rel'lan you are learning." Palpatine said "I have learned more than enough you bastard!" Anger, Hatred and Rage touched with Fear entered into Rel's words. He pushed the Fear aside, he had to concentrate. Feeding off of hatred and rage could be controlled, but not the fear. He could and would have to use the hatred and rage, he could not use the fear its would break his concentration. Rel almost instinctively lunged for Palpatine, anything to break the grip of fear that was threatening to crush him. Palpatine didn't expect the move, and responded immediately and defensively instantly drawing a crimson lightsaber from a fold in his robe. He parried quickly and ferociously. The strike from Palpatine's parry alone threw an already off balance Rel'lan to the floor a few feet away. It dislodged the fear from Rel's heart and anger replaced the loss of footing. Rel used it, not questioning it and recovered launching himself and their sabers locked like an 'x and y axis'.

"You are no match for me. Even your hatred cannot destroy me!" Palpatine snarled as they maintained the lock "Join me boy and I will only take a bit of you for this affront and the death of my guards."

"DIE!!!! YOU-MUST-DIE!!!!" Rel screamed giving into everything he had fought to diminish. Their blade lock ended as Rel slammed a fist into Palpatine's mid section with Jedi force. The blow threw Palpatine into the far wall with a resounding crash, priceless artwork disintegrated under his impact. There was about a second before Palpatine responded, perhaps less than a second. Debris and other priceless statues blew off of him, the statues and all the debris hurtling at Rel'lan who parried some, cut others and tried to redirect more with telekinesis. Still he was pummeled until he threw himself into the adjoining room and pulled himself behind the wall. Rel's head cleared, he was bleeding from dozens of cuts and was bruised heavily. He pushed the pain away furiously looking for more rooms. He was in an adjoining ante chamber with some sort of grotesque artwork fitted into the wall from floor to ceiling. He stood, brought his saber up and parried a viscous overhead blow from the Chancellor that staggered him. He gave ground immediately, attempting to weigh in his opponent's form and style. Which, unfortunately, was nothing conforming to anything he had studied. Mace Windu's style might match his on a fair footing, but only without Palpatine using his hatred and rage which is what this style seemed to be based off of anger and flaring passions. Rel was good, but Palpatine was better. Rel was barely keeping out of the deadly red blade's touch. The saber form was like... Seconds raced by with Rel diving this way and that doing everything he could to put distance between himself and Palpatine as they came around in an almost full circuit of the upper chambers... That was it, FOCUSED anger and rage. It was a FOCUS for Palpatine's anger and rage. It was something you could only see if you had touched the darkness and perhaps only something you could spot if you knew something of the Sith... Kenobi might be able to last a while... Windu would eventually get brutally murdered fighting this guy... Rel had to break the cycle if he expected to live through the next thirty seconds.

"I can't let you live. I'll tell the Council, they'll know everything! I will expose you!" Rel screamed as he backed to the last room before they made their final circuit of the upper chambers. Palpatine paused, laughter erupting into his dialogue "And WHAT EXACTLY prey tell will you tell them Boy? You have murdered their kind. You carry the burden of darkness. They will never listen to you before one of them cuts you down where you stand." His laughter continued, this was exactly what Rel had been looking for. It was a momentary pause, a breath or two to look for a way to flee. Not fear, just simple life preservation. He was WAY outmatched by a man who could never be THIS powerful... "I'll make them understand then!" Rel responded in desperation as he scanned the room for an exit. Then he saw it, the door built into the wall to the adjoining room where Palpatine's desk sat. It was a recessed door so it was not immediately noticeable. "You are an enigma boy. You are easier and harder to fight at the same time when you are in the throes of passion. Then when at peace you are impossible to determine. I will enjoy picking apart your genetic code for the fingerprints of your creator. You are unnatural." Palpatine smiled as Rel reached out and activated the door. He dove through it, while ripping one of the large padded chairs off the floor and hurtling it at the opening from whence he came. There was a resounding smack of a body against soft leathers and a tumbling noise accompanied by a "Oof!" Again the recovery of Palpatine was unnaturally fast, and the hatred and anger was unmistakable because it exploded off him after the embarrasment he had just suffered at the hands of a novice. All of it bought Rel the two or three seconds for him to get into position, or at least attempt to get into position. He had one, last, card up his sleeve. He activated his comlink three times, shutting it down on the final action.

The Chair blasted outward as Palpatine closed with speed and fury in a leap spinning through the air. Rel matched the fury screaming with hatred, parrying the diving strike down, away and hard rolling into a turn he grabbed Palpatine's arm and slammed his head into the floor. Using the momentary distraction he swept his lightsaber backward and severed the emitter of Papatine's lightsaber, bringing his own up in an arc and bringing it back down in a sweeping arc intended to bisect Palpatine's midsection on the floor. Palpatine sprang up like a spectre, levering unnaturally off his toes coming completely vertical to avoid a lightsaber stroke that never came. The blue bladed lightsaber was still falling as Re'lan's flurry of rapid fire punches saturated Palpatine's midsection. It winded him, for a second, as Rel followed it up by bringing his right arm up and around behind Palpatine's back and slamming his elbow into palpatine's shoulder driving his face into Rel's knee. Up and over Palpatine flew as rel scooped up his lightsaber and began to turn toward the panoramic window. He was lifted up in mid air by a telekinetic force and slammed so violently into the panaromic window that it's protective enhanced matrix spider webbed then a split second later exploded outward. Rel dropped to his knees stunned. He was bleeding from his eyes, ears nose, mouth and back of his head from the force of the impact. Moments later, he coughed up a large volume of blood from internal injuries. He stood, with incredible effort enhancing his resistance to the pain, with blood and spittle spilling from his mouth and running down his chin. "Now Jedi" Palpatine spat blood from his ruined face "You will die." And Palpatine screamed as a massive volume of Force lightning erupted from his twisted finger tips. Rel brought his lightsaber in line with the savage attack, countering much of the ferocious attack. The remainder of which threatened to cripple his arms as this fingers and hands began to blacken from the sheer volume and spillover of Palpatine's continual vomiting of dark energy. The assault drove rel to the edge of the ledge. "Just---a---little---more----" Rel, actually, audibly croaked out.

Plapatine paused for a moment "What was that boy?" A wide smile on his lips "I haven't had this much sport in ages."

Rel thought he heard the whine of repulsors through his shattered ears "THIS---IS--GOING--TO--HURT...AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" He stuttered out followed by a blood curdling scream as he launched his lightsaber at palpatine who had renewed his Force Lightning assault. The deadly electrical fire passed Rel's thrown saber ripping into his body as he screamed even louder. Rel's lightsaber would fall short, save for the fact that he had never intended it to make it that far. Rel reached out with everything else he had and used telekenisis to split the lightsaber's housing, ripping it away from the delicate components inside. He drove the power cell directly up into the emitter array and plasma stream unleashing a blinding flash and a concussive explosion that spewed liquid plasma the temperature of the sun in every direction after the instant loss of its contanment. Rel sprung off the ledge backward and he fell, then landed hard on his hip in the speeder piloted by one of his battle droids. That impact alone shattered his hip. "Go" Was the last thing he managed to say before blacking out. His speeder disappeared into the skyline. Passing through low hanging clouds and into a transport waiting there.

The End

Ten Years before the events of Episode I

Rel'lan, a boy of 8 years, stood among the counter parts of his class. He was fully four years older than any of the other children. Having been a late inductee which typically did not happen. However, the Jedi Masters could not discount his potential. He was behind in his training but had raw potential that outstripped the majority of students easily five years of age his senior. This was uncanny, his proficiency was uncanny. The council tentatively allowed his training even given his advanced age. The process of which pitted him in training commensurate with that of children. It was Master Yoda's decision to test the boy to see the level of both his commitment as well as the level of his calm. If he showed tolerance and accepted his fate, Yoda would move the boy upward in the class system. Rel'lan was something of an Enigma. Everyone had trouble reading him, thus they had left him for the past two years in the child education bracket. Rel'lan never questioned his place. Even though Yoda was waiting for a sign that he chafed under the decision to place an older boy with children Rel'lan never complained. Actually, he nurtured and led the children becoming a natural leader. It was the commencement ceremony for Rel'lan. He was being promoted to a tier of training that would place the 8 year old boy with 15 year old children.

Master Yoda addressed the children "Today my younglings, you must say goodbye to one of your own. Rel'lan will be moving to a higher tier of training. I have one last test for all of you. Rel'lan, you will hide yourself somewhere in the temple and we will look for you. The longer you stay hidden the better. Close your mind, as you have been taught. It is an important exercise that may save your life in the future some day." Rel'lan ran off to hide

Minutes became hours and hours became days as a ever growing sense of frantic and concerned search for Rel'lan ensued. No one, at the academy, including Master Yoda himself could find the boy...

**Thirty years Later**

Wind swept past a scarred landscape, blast marks dotted the surroundings where a proud city once stood. Only its shelled and charred remains stood in a mockery of the planet's one time prosperity. An aged man, with a commanding bearing strode through the streets. His white mane and beard a stark contrast to the blackened remains of the city as well as his dark black and crimson garb. He walked with purpose carefully scanning shadows and places where his prey might be hiding. His crimson lightsaber of unorthodox construction hummed constantly in his hand. The weapon was bent at a 30 degree angle near its emitter. Count Dooku was alone, that much was certain. His guards and and retinue had been slaughtered by a rogue Jedi named Rel'lan Grey. The very Jedi that he was stalking now. He knew fear, for this man was more a ghost and a legend than anyone would openly admit. Dooku himself knew of no man that had faced Darth Sidious, shame him, and managed to live to tell the tale. It spoke volumes for the skill and the uncanny abilities of his prey. "No" he thought to himself "I am his prey" and then he knew true gripping fear.

For three days the man had haunted his holdings here. Rel'lan had appeared onboard a Victory Class star destroyer called the Spectre. The ship itself was what some would call a ghost ship. Appearing only on sensory ghost readings from time to time. However, when it had appeared over Dooku's private holdings it was more than a sensor ghost. It's shelling of his holdings was all too real. Concussion missiles and precise turbolaser fire had shattered the four warships that held vigilant watch over his refuge. Those four ships had been reduced to space dust in a matter of minutes. Then the ship proceeded to shell his holdings, forcing Dooku to go to ground. That was three days ago. Three long days, he had thought that he was relatively safe in his bunker. Angered and shamed by the same ghost that had faced Darth Sidious toe to toe. As the story goes, Rel'lan might have even killed Darth Sidious if his lightsaber had been just an inch or two farther out before he detonated its plasma containment. The boy, Rel'lan, might very well have changed the face of the entire conflict if he had succeeded. It would have been Dooku in control instead of his dark master... Rel'lan must have dropped on world during the shelling, for he was inside Dooku's base and had been killing his guards and dark jedi allies one or two at a time while he had holed up there.

Then, the shelling stopped and they came out of their hole and pursued the lone rogue Jedi. Rel'lan bled him and his retinue until it was just him, now, as he fearfully walked the streets of his shattered holdings.

"I assume you have some sort of demand!" Dooku yelled into the shadows

"You presume too much" came a reply echoing upon the wind errily

"If you wanted me dead, you would have killed me already..." Dooku let that one hang in the air

"I suppose you are, indeed, correct" Came the reply disembodied from no one direction in general

"Name your price dark one" Dooku responded closing his lightsaber

Rel'lan stepped out of a shadow just behind Dooku, for Dooku had just stepped into position "Of course, I should not have kept you waiting"

Dooku turned slowly "What makes you think I cannot destroy you, here and now, where you stand" looking into the eyes of his adversary for the first time. Hatred dripped from every word.

"You can certainly try. However, your danger senses have failed in telling you that you are standing upon the warhead of a proton missile shaped for a tight pattern of destruction. If you kill me, so too, do you die." rel'lan responded

Dooku's eyes drifted to his feet, scanning the ground and then he saw it... How had Rel'lan lured him here? it defied logic. he recieved no sense of danger...

"I see. You..." Dooku swallowed hard "You have a point. Again I emplore you to name your price"

"I want your list of Jedi that you have assembled. The one which you have not yet turned over to Palpatine." Rel'lan stated flatly

"I do not have an alliance with Palpatine. He is the enemy I fight against in the Republic..." Dooku began

"Don't play games with me you fool. Palpatine IS SIDIOUS." Rel'lan activated the proton warhead "Now, about that list that you have withheld. the one with the names of Jedi not on the Council's watch list. The one I know you're keeping as an ace in the hole for the day you attempt to kill your master."

Dooku's eyes snapped to the warhead at his feet unconciously. Sweat began to bead on his brow and a rivulet of it ran down his temple "OH... THAT LIST." He exclaimed "Well, why didn't you just ask for it in the first place?" He attempted to reply coyly through his sheer terror. Dooku produced a small data disk from one of his belt pouches. "How do I know you won't kill me after I give you the data?"

"You don't. However, in the war of shadows the statement 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' sounds rather appropoe does it not?" Rel responded

"Agreed." Dooku said swallowing hard. He tossed the disk to Rel'lan who caught it and pocketed the data then bagan to walk away.

"What about the... er... Warhead!?!" Dooku half screamed

"After I check the validity of the data, I'll consider releasing you... Or at least giving you a 'fair' chance." Then Rel'lan disappeared

Roughly three hours later the warhead began to whine up in a pulse-ing frequency. Dooku, who's legs were already cramping looked down in horror. This was Rel'lan's 'fair' chance!?!

Dooku crouched, then unfolding his cramped legs he threw himself with alarming ferocity off the warhead into a blast crater. moments later the warhead detonated. True to rel'lan's word, the blast would have incenerated Dooku. This man, Rel'lan Grey did not mess around. However, he was also true to his word. Instead of merely vaporizing Dooku, its shaped charge funneled the blast up and away. Dooku lay there, his legs spasming. He hoped he would never have the misfortune of facing the rogue again.

***Thirty years earlier at the Jedi Temple***

It had been three weeks since the search for Rel'lan had commenced. It was only by happenstance that a utility droid had found his somewhat emaciated body slumbering in a ventilation shaft. Though the boy's trigger was to only awaken to a Jedi's mental touch. He was placed on an I.V. and awakened by Master Yoda himself. The boy of 8 years old looked up feebly to the kind green alien "Did I do well? he croaked out.

"Indeed. Done well you have. Rest now. Your training begins in a few days time." Master Yoda left and with a look of concern mixed with apprehension he entered a heated debate over the future of the boy's life with the Jedi Council.

The End

The Spectre, a modified Victory Class Star destroyer sliced through the cold and dark of space. She was something to behold, a vessel that would never again see her equal. She had been a gift to Rel'lan by Rendilli Star Drive for saving the son of an upper echelon corporate officer. Rel'lan had saved the man's son from being slaughtered at the hands of General Grevious. His son, a Jedi, had been reunited with him after over twenty years. Rel had staged the young man's death and whisked him away to safety.

The Spectre, a one of a kind warship. Slave Rigged, requiring a crew of no more than 500. An easy task for Rel'lan's flock. His retinue numbering just over this figure. All the men and women he commanded were of common birth, meaning none of them were gifted with Force potential. He liked it that way. It was a balancing act, Rel'lan would be nothing more than a nuisance to Palpatine without them. He needed them, however, he took pains to make it known that they did not need him.

"That day is upon us..." Rel'lan began

"No, dear friend. Let me just stand here with you, let us pretend for a while that there is still time. Let us bask in the beauty of the depths of space together." he paused for minutes. "The ship is prepped, and our stores will be full. We will take her out into the unknown as far as her heart will carry her. Away from this death and destruction, to the location only we know of. But you should join us, you will be welcome there." Captain Fallon said looking to his troubled friend

"You know that can never happen." Rel said

"Yes... But it would be nice to have you. You will be missed." fallon said

A genuine smile touched Rel'lan's lips, something altogether rare and increasingly uncommon these days "The Outbound Flight Project failed James. I don't want a repeat of that travesty. No one can know. That is why the Jedi all enter a state of suspension before your jump. I don't want Sidious tracking an exodus of Jedi potentials away. I know, at least, I can feel that bastard had a hand in the Outbound Flight... Not this time. This galaxy is dangerous. There has to be a time and a place for a new beginning, and I am not in that picture. I am tainted and scarred. You will lead the journey my friend. It is all you have worked for. Four years, in hyperspace, though the dangers of the unknown will always be present you will prevail. This ship, the only one of her kind is perfect for the journey. Time is my enemy, and it is about that time..." Rel'lan began to push himself from the viewport

A hand placed upon his shoulder stayed his departure "Stay, friend, and bask in the stars before us. Though you will not accompany us, I know you will always keep us in your heart. Without you, this day would never have come." Fallon said to his friend of the past twenty years "I know you. I know your heart. I know your destiny does not hold fast to this conflict for long."

Rel looked over to his friend of countless battles. "Time for me to go my friend. Jerec awaits me."

"He is not to be trusted. You know this. Why then? Do you go to join him?" Fallon asked

"It is my destiny. I have forseen the necessity of the alliance. He will help me when the time cones, to repay the favor I go now to bestow upon him. He will repay it, then he will betray me. Such is the life of a Fallen Jedi." Rel said and then turned to depart

"I can tell you where we are going..." Fallon emplored Rel'lan

"No, you cannot." Rel said resisting the urge to read his mind, he longed to join them to start anew. If only it was that easy. If only to start over... What a beautiful possibility. However, an old Jedi like himself. Shattered and rebuilt. Possessed of Sith magic and a wielder of said powers would only doom the mission to fail. A new beginning, that is what his followers would have. It is what they had worked for all these years. One apart from the politics of the crumbling Republic. One far and away from this new abomination calling itself the Empire. Rel'lan Grey walked to his Red Thorn Scoutship, the journey through the halls of his beautifully crafted warship. he ran his hand along her lovingly crafted walls as he walked.

he had failed. he could not stop Palpatine's rise. No one could stop that bastard's rise... Even Master Yoda had failed...

All was not lost. Some Jedi, untouched by hatred and rage. Jedi on board this ship would find a new world, one far and away that had been charted in the centuries before the Republic's golden era. It was a paradise world. May the Force Be with them...

As he entered the main hangar deck some six hundred men and women stood at attention. They snapped blaster rifles up in a salute precisely as he passed. Roughly two dozen Jedi that owed him their lives stood at attention looking upon the man that had saved them.

He was unprepared for the spectacle before him. His steps faltered, as he paused to regard all before him. A cry rang out "Jedi Knight on Deck!" and all assembled snapped their weapons smartly to attention. The precision shook Rel'lan to his core. Tears began to well in his eyes, it was something that had never happened before. There's a first time for everything... He began walking again. He came to the loading ramp for his Red Thorn, her name lovingly etched by the deck crew on her bow "Firebrand" it read. On her port side he spotted his venerable Jedi Starfighter. A pilot manning her cockpit. Fallon walked up to attention

"Your escort sir. he will remain behind with you." Fallon said

Rel looked at his friend, words choked in his throat. "I cannot expect..." He began

"No, the word is given. He is your escort. You are being sent off with honors. I have an R1 on the Red Thorn standing by. The R1 is the best we have, he's a bit too willful for the likes of the engineering staff. I thought you would like him." Fallon said

"He'll do, friend, he'll do nicely." rel said as he looked up to the polished droid trundling to attention at the top of the ramp.

they locked arms and as rel turned to go Fallon called loudly "Jedi Knight Rel'lan Grey departing!" and the entourage all saluted in unison. The Jedi present bowed.

Rel'lan's Red Thorn pulled away on manual. rel'lan at the helm. His starfighter escort rolling perfectly into place. He used to fly that ship. Starlines stretched out before him as his Red Thorn entered a hyperspace corridor, the Jedi Starfighter at his side. The Specter jumped away after pausing momentarily, she would fly for just under four years reaching her destination in record time. She would then disembark crew and equipment to start a new life, far from the ravages and politics of war and strife. The ship itself would become the permanent guardian of that world. Holding silent vigil over her, the sole defender until the colony began to thrive and once again develop their own means of industry.

Two days later Rel'lan dropped out of hyperspace stopping momentarily by a small planetoid

"Jerec, lets go." rel said to the blind jedi

"Where's your ship?" Jerec asked

"She was destroyed. the final engagement decimated her when we were jumped by a legacy class star destroyer near the Elrood sector." the lie easily rolled off Rel's tongue

there was an unclassified Victory that was destroyed there and the story would hold up, at least long enough that any formal inquiry would be too late to discover the actual fate of the Specter.

The two jedi jumped away with their escort...

On a Bail Organna's Hidden Asteroid Base Just after the Padmae Amidala's death

The once proud Jedi Master Yoda approached Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi's personal quarters. He had one last mission for his friend. A mission of grave importance...

He reached the door and activated its arrival system. A chime rang through the chamber. Master Kenobi stirred from a troubled slumber. He rolled himself up and levered off the sleeping bench with ease. "Come" he exclaimed to the door. Kenobi was still wiping the exhaustion he felt from his eyes when Yoda strode into the room with a look of grave purpose upon his shoulders. "Master Yoda. I thought you had already left..."

"No, one more mission Have I for you my dear friend." Yoda said "It is a mission I should have sent you on long ago. Never should I have entrusted this path to Master Windu. His folly is, perhaps, why we have reached these dark days..." Yoda said troubled

"What are you talking about? Master Windu died at the hands of Palpatine. He died a hero." kenobi said

"No, he did not die. I did not feel his passing. He is not one with the force... However, his folly and my mistake is exactly why I have come tonight. I made a terrible error in judgment about twenty years ago..." Yoda didn't speak in his melodic reversed riddles this time which spoke volumes for the gravity of his guilt.

"What are you talking about Master? What troubles you. All of us have made great mistakes in the near and distant past..." Kenobi stated thinking to his own failures with Anakin

"mmm..." yoda came up and hopped onto the bed slab next to Kenobi and placed a hand upon his shoulder "Do you remember, from your training days a boy joining your advanced classes of about eight years of age." Yoda simply looked forward at this point poking at a pillow that had fallen off the bed with his cane.

"Rel'lan... His name was Rel'lan. He was a prodigy... At least a prodigy before we had identified Anakin." Kenobi said "is he still alive?" The question rolled off his tongue but he already knew the answer

"We sentanced him to a fate worse than death. We made him face a path that led to his fall. WE are the ones responsible for his corruption. It was Windu's call since he trained his father. it was a bad call indeed..." Yoda kept poking the downed pillow

"Then I suppose you have a story to tell, my friend. Perhaps you should start from the beginning." Kenobi said to his Master

"Indeed, the beginning... Discovery, Windu was upon. The identification of new and prospective younglings..." And the story trailed on

"We found the babe on a remote planetoid. he was the only living thing there. Windu had come across the place during his travels. The child slumbered alone, having been left behind for reasons unknown. Later we would understand that he had been left there on purpose. When Windu made planet fall he felt an unnatural presence, albiet briefly, then he whisked the babe away. There was a note written in Old Corellian, the babe's name, Phe'lan. We thought nothing of this, however, we renamed the child Phelan for simplicity sake. He was an apt student of the force, easily matching Windu's fervor for his lightsaber form. A match for his master any day at any time. His abilities were uncanny, much like those of his son...

As the pressures of command and responsibility weighed in upon Master Windu... He abandoned his vow of training Phelan. Leaving his student alone and on his own to fend for himself. It was a mistake, one that wounded Windu to the core in later years after his apt student fell to the wiles of darkness. Phelan, you see, could have gone either way. With the proper training he could have defeated his own daemons. However, with the emergence of Anakin, we refocused the meaning of the prophecy. We left the young boy in Phelan to the fate of his very own prophecy. It is one, which I had studied at length some three hundred years prior to the events that have just transpired. I had not made the distinction until Phelan fell. Windu made the identification of Phelan's child. The elusive Rel'lan was indeed his child. The boy had been fathered by Phelan on one of his missions with Marcus Throne, his Padawan learner. Getting ahead of myself, I am...

Phelan endured a trial of horrors in the bowels of our Temple on Coruscant. He was assaulted by the spirits of ancient Jedi Masters. As he walked that old and long forgotten part of our temple. Artifacts from a time before which we had transported with us from Ossus and other long forgotten worlds. These spirits were at odds with the dormant malign being that hid within Phelan. It was a Sith prophecy about a boy who would one day master his daemon and rise to a prominent position of understanding the darkness and possessed of the means to combat a great evil. I believe that his true journey would have pitted him against Palpatine, however, we failed him. The spirits awakened the being too early within him, and battered him relentlessly. The being destroyed many of the spirits. This process weakened it driving it deep within Phelan. When he emerged he was alltogether changed and on a limited time table. We did not see the shift. It was too late, we had already made great errors in his training.

Windu had made the title of Master, when he had he thrust Phelan into the trials too early casting his friend, and student, aside. Sometime before we discovered Anakin Phelan sired his child. After Anakin was discovered we had all but forgotten about Phelan. One day Phelan returned with an older boy by the name of Rel'lan Grey, who we only later found was possessed of a false name. The name Grey was based upon the shadowy nature of Phelan's own dreams. Or so, at least I am led to believe. Rel'lan was a special child, not possessed of his father's own taint. He is the anathema the jedi have sworn never to create... His training and natural aptitude pitted him in an advanced learning regimine. Fate put him on a path to defend our order. However, we treated him with disdain akin to an outcast. For the task of hunting fallen jedi was not the most prestigious of postings in the order. People feared him. I beleive, that due to his treatment he eventually developed a disdain for the order itself. He easily saw right through to the very heart of our own arrogance. Our own downfall.

Phelan went missing. He only reappeared to wreak havok within our ranks. he was possessed of dark arts that defied his training and crushed all those who attempted to stop him. I recounted the tale of Phe'lan at that point realizing the ancient prophecy's signifigance. Windu was of a single minded purpose and sought out Rel'lan who was the natural target of his ire. It was obvious as the boy stood before us. We all knew who he was. We all thought we knew WHAT he was... We were wrong, so very wrong." A tear welled in the corner of Yoda's eye and rolled down his face

"Only Master Koon was opposed to our decision. It was his compassion that we should have heeded in the end. For it was indeed this decision that led directly to Rel'lan's corruption. We sent the son of the father to destroy his sire." Yoda said sighing heavily

"Why did I never hear of any of this?" Kenobi asked in shock

"It was not our finest hour... Secrets, my friend, the Jedi have always held many secrets. We held them from the public and... and from ourselves..." Yoda reluctantly stated

"What happened then?" Kenobi Asked

"Palpatine had managed to gain some level of influence over the boy. He was, obviously interested in the child due to his uncanny abilities of his elusive nature. A protective Sith magic of sacrifice that had been etched upon his skin. It was not inherently evil. The process by which he had obtained them was not evil either. It was destructive to be certain, but his mother willingly sacrificed her own potential to imbue them and keep him safe. Rel'lan is a child of genetic Sith heritage. Not innately evil. The tatoos do not make him evil. His path did nto make him evil. he was approached by Palpatine on a Golan platform just after we sent him to kill his father. There Palpatine gave him some sort of Sith Artifact that possessed him. The artifact very nearly drove him insane. I saw in visions as that entity, a Sith Alchemist, used his body as a vessel to destroy the Jedi Master and Jedi Knight that Windu had sent to kill him. It was not Rel'lan's fault... Failed him, we did, like his father before him.

Somehow, against all odds, the boy prevailed against his own father and the being that held sway over his father's soul. The boy trapped the being inside his father and had his father locked away in a place where he could cause no more harm. Rel'lan watched his mother die before his eyes... Yet he did not give in to the evil. He knows all of this. His father's heritage, why he was here in the first place. How his father had failed and how his father's corruption had corrupted and destroyed his mother."

"But he came back here. he assaulted the Jedi Temple" Kenobi stated flatly

"Yes, remember do you, that he did not take a single Jedi life. It is an oft forgotten facet of his passing. If possessed he still was, then bloody would have been his path." Yoda stated

"After the emergence of Plapatine as the Emperor, I had a vision. One that had remained elusive and completely obscured. An event transpired the day Rel'lan returned to the Temple. He went alone to face the Chancellor. To confront his betrayer. There he battled with palpatine. They fought for hours. The battle was devastating. rel'lan was no match for his adversary. So, he turned to his dark side and drew from the principals of the Sith to fight a Sith. He mastered his Hatred and Rage and focused it to fight his adversary. No Jedi in the history of ythe order has been able to do what he accomplished that day, even me. He shamed Palpatine, in his own house, and lived to fight another day. Through all of this, he maintained a semblance of his soul and was able to redeem. Today, Rel'lan Grey, stands strong a Jedi Knight once more. Perhaps, if the order had survived he would be called 'Master' by now."

"I cannot believe what I am hearing..." Kenobi stated shocked "He used the darkside and you are telling me he is one of us!"

"Yes" was all yoda said in response

"You wish me to seek him out?" Kenobi asked

"yes, he is a friend. Though persuading him may be difficult." yoda stated and then slid off the bed and turned to leave

"Good bye, Master Yoda." Kenobi said

"Good bye Master Kenobi, mind what you have learned. Help you it will." Yoda said and then he was gone

Rel'lan looked to Jerec as the man paused before leaving for the coordinates that Rel'lan had given him

"You know, it doesn't have to be like this..." Rel said

"Like what? Friend." Jerec said

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. We could fight him, together..." Rel was referring to Palpatine

"As I recall, you did not fare all too well in your last encounter with the Sith Lord. I have to give you credit for your confronting him, but we need time. The time to act rashly has ended. Now is the time for building. Our agendas have to remain just that, our own for now." Jerec responded "I owe you a debt of gratitude for your aid in my survival. The clone regiment Palpatine dropped on Boonta would surely have ended my life had you not found me."

"Now, you go to the man responsible for attempting to kill you to offer your fealty..." Rel'lan shook his head in disgust

"Someone has to be the first to do so. I have to get inside his organization in order to bring it down. You know that, my friend." Jerec responded

"What I know is that once you are in, our friendship is at an end. The pressures you will face, the horrors you will be tasked with in his name... It will change you. You are underestimating the man." Rel said

"No, you are underestimating me Rel'lan. However, I must admit one thing to you. I never found the balance you tread upon. I have a different destiny. My path... My choices will bring us at odds once this is all over and done with. If I survive, that is." Jerec admitted

"I wish I could persuade you to follow a different path, however, I know that is folly. i would wish the force to be with you, but I cannot. Go, now, before I strike you down myself." Rel stated taking a more aggressive posture

"I have but two favors to bestow upon you Rel'lan Grey. One: there is a ship enroute carrying a very skilled Jedi Master of a departed order. Deal with that situation you must. Two: I will help you in the future for your kindness. However, you well know that there will be a cost." Jered said and then turned and left

"Yes, there is always a cost when dealing with a Dark Jedi... I well know the cost my friend" Rel said to the departing ship of one of the last Jedi he would ever save... There would be but one more... a son.

Rel'lan stood on the hilltop with his back to Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi as he approached cautiously from behind. He turned hishead to address the man. "There is no need for apprehension master Kenobi, I knew you were coming. I know why you are here. The answer is, simply, NO, until you change my mind." Rel'lan turned to face the Master with his blue bladed lightsaber humming in his hand

Obi Wan closed his saber and clipped it on his belt, looking for a different approach to the encounter.

"See, that's better now. Perhaps, we can be civilized about this meeting. Good choice Kenobi, I applaud your Control. Now, what is it you wish of me?" Rel stated on an even tone

"Master Yoda seems to think you are my ally." Kenobi Began "Though I am uncertain. I know your tale, and I am sorry..."

"You know nothing. I am a ghost. I died long ago." Rel responded

Yes, this was going to be much more difficult than he had expected. Kenobi could not fight this man. he had to win his heart... Yoda was right, but this battle of words and truth he waged here today would prove to be more difficult than his battle with Anakin. Where to begin?

In an unexpected move, Rel'lan setup a field table from a pack and set up two chairs. He produced a insulated decanter and poured hot tea into two field cups. he then took the first sip "needs a hint of sugar and honey. Please sit. I have grown weary of standing all these years." The two sat and began to discuss life and loss and experience in earnest

Rel'lan was a soul who wanted to belong after all these years and he had made the first step, to Kenobi's disbelief, toward peace and friendship.

To be continued

It had been hours since Obi Wan Kenobi had sat down to speak with Rel'lan. There was seemingly no end to the wordplay. It was almost akin to swordplay. he would Attack and Rel'lan would parry. Often times he would find Rel'lan would riposte and the edge to his words could not be denied. This was a man who knew all too well the folly of the Jedi of the Council.

"When did you know? When did you know of Palpatine's role in all of this?" Kenobi asked at last after several hours attempting to deflect the seemingly futile conversation he was having with Rel'lan

"I knew when I faced him as an adversary, the day I visited the Jedi temple for the last time. By then, it was too late. I made an error. I underestimated my prey. His guards assume roles as token warriors. They may have training, but they are unnecessary. His power was vast, so much so, that I don't think any number of Jedi combined could assault him and survive. Only the most Adept, with experience fighting dark Jedi would even have a chance." Rel'lan said with great gravity associated to his words.

It was the first straight answer Rel'lan had issued in response to a question in hours. Kenobi now knew more about who the man had been, where his life had taken him and who he was now more than he liked to admit. he was a man of principle as well as one who balanced his life upon a hair trigger. The fact that he had never been consumed fully by the darkside spoke volumes for his level headedness.

"We've been back and forth, Kenobi, while I must say this has been fun... I have other matters to attend to." rel'lan said

"What matters? There are few options remaining for those of our kind. In a short time, after I perform a handful of tasks for the Alliance of Free Worlds I will depart. My years are numbered here, I will go to await the coming of another. So, where do you go?" Kenobi Asked

"That's a good question. I am a man without a 'country' and I have no true allegiance left to adhere to. I have, nothing, as my fate has sealed my destiny already. I have grown weary of all of this. I think I will walk off into the sunset and simply fade away." Rel'lan said

"What if I could give you a noble cause?" Kenobi asked him

"There is no noble cause left worth fighting for. I have had my own hand in one or two over the past twenty years. What could you offer that would accept me as I am, a very flawed man possessed of burdens and shattered dreams?" Rel'lan asked as he rose from his chair.

"Fight for the Alliance of Free Worlds, it seems they have a vacancy in the place where I once sat. They will be needing counsel and a man with a good sword arm. You are perfect to fit into that place, I have a calling I cannot abandon. Someone I must watch out for. Perhaps, the position will give you some release. if you are indeed as Yoda described you, then you will pose no real threat to the Alliance of Free Worlds. The Emperor will not be able to track you, and thus you can directly work for them in my stead." Kenobi stated plainly

"That's it? We've exchanged barbed words for the past three hours and that's all you have to say?" rel'lan asked

"I have nothing left to argue about with you. You have been right on all counts. Your arguments against the Council and your stance in the wars while interesting is at an end. What have you to loose?" Kenobi asked

"Nothing" Rel'lan said as he took off his gloves and ran a scarred hand through his silvering hair. In fact, both of his hands were scarred from what looked to be old burn wounds. Wounds that had healed and left his hands functional yet scarred beyond all comprehension. rel'lan noticed Kenobi's alarmed gaze fall to his hands. "These hands of mine" he held them both up presenting them to Kenobi "The price I paid when I faced Palpatine. I was a week from Bacta treatment when my transport recovered me."

Kenobi noticed finally that Rel'lan stood out of sheer force of will and Rel'lan said once more "There are other tolls I paid in my blood when I faced him. Though I would do it again if I ever found someone with the strength to help me end that fight." rel said

"There are people with that kind of strength. This is a time for building, not one of rash action." Kenobi ststed bluntly

"You know, or perhaps you don't, someone I know used those words" Rel said "Well, it would be an honor to take your post." Rel said at last

"That's it? All I had to do was ask?" Kenobi said in disbelief

"Yes, all you had to do was get to the point. I will take your place. Though I have seen that I will not linger long in that posting. All part o fmy destiny. However, I will extend all of my knowledge to the posting for the short time I will be there." Rel said

"How can you be certain of the brevity of your stay?" Kenobi questioned him

"I have forseen it, and all of my prophecies concerning myself have come to pass. This time will be no different. let us go, now, Kenobi. You will have to introduce me to this psoting."

And so, Rel'lan joined the Alliance of Free Worlds, eventually making his way to Alderaan. Just like that...

These events transpire immediately after Rel'lan accepts the title of Jedi Knight, prior to his departure from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant

Rel was walking down a hallway on the way to the hangar, he passed a training room with its door opened.. There was a man in there sparring with other Jedi in training. Someone whom Rel recognized. He paused in the doorway and leaned in against the doorjamb.

Marcus Throne was fighting/instructing a padawan in the Jedi techniques of their own mixed martial arts form. The padawan was loosing terribly, but learning a lot in the process.

"You should pick on someone more your own size, Jedi Knight... Marcus... That's your name, right?" Rel said with a bit of disdain in his voice

In a final finishing move, Marcus grabbed the padawan by the scruff of her neck and slammed her backward onto the training mat. Air exploded in a rush from her lungs. Marcus then stood and turned to regard the person who was heckling him. He turned and froze. His eyes locked in an image of shock as he beheld his old, fallen, master. The man was now leaning in the doorjamb, casually regarding him with that same fire in his eyes. However, gone were the playful features of Phelan. No... something was not right... yet something so damned familiar...

"You appear as if you have met your maker! Perhaps, you have!" And with a flourish, Rel pivoted off the doorjamb and dropped low into a crouch and launched himself into the air right at the man. Marcus was the very padawan that had accompanied his father on so, very, many missions. Rel knew exactly who Marcus Throne was, just not the relationship. He wanted to know more about his prey and who better to pry it from than Phelan's former padawan. He certainly didn't know Phelan was his father, not yet... He would not learn that facet today... It would have explained a great many things. Perhaps, even, the horror locked on Throne's face as Rel slammed shoulder first into him. The impact threw him like a rag doll across the room.

Throne flew through the air, his body was twisting from the angle of the impact and he slammed face first into an immovable object... the wall. Throne hit the wall with a SMACK! He bounced off and landed on the floor in an unceremonious tangle of limbs. Rel then turned his attention to the girl who was still laying back down on the training mat, in awe, at what Rel had just done. "Child, here" Rel said to her, forcing a gentle smile to touch his face. It was not something he often did, the display of emotion. He bent his knees and leaned down to offer her a hand. Without reservation a dumbfounded girl of no more than nine years of age took the offered hand. Rel pulled her up and brushed her clothes straight. "Now go, child, I have some business with your taskmaster." Then he tustled her hair and sent her off with a swat to her back. The children around the mat just giggled at that act. Tension immediately releasing, visibly from everyone present, in the room.

More than two decades later...

"My boy, take my hand." An older, wiser and tormented Rel'lan Grey leaned over his son. Offering him his hand. His son, Sol'lan accepted the offered hand. "Throwing your opponent in close combat is much easier than what I just demonstrated on you. You must look for signs of distraction and hope like hell your opponent does not have a lightsaber handy." Rel said as he picked up his son of no more than nine years of age. "Performing a leaping, body slam, is an acquired skill that requires the best of timing, speed and reflexive placement of the strike. See that you are unharmed, merely winded, however I could very well have shattered your ribs in the initial impact. It takes some practice to NOT injure your opponent or yourself for that matter." Father and son then renewed their combat stances and began to spar again in the Jedi forms of their own, now long unused and forgotten, mixed martial arts forms.


Marcus picked himself up gingerly, having enhanced his strength at the very last moment, just before he hit the wall. The force of the blow was not meant to injure him, that much was certain. However, the wall...well... That was another story. Jedi sparring got pretty interesting with certain adversaries from the Order. Now, looking up to regard his sparring mate, Throne knew whom he was facing. It was Rel'lan Grey, perhaps one of the most feared jedi padawans in the order of the Jedi. Fear not in the sense of the Darkside, but more an apprehension because of his... profession. He hunted other Jedi. Now looking up, he noticed immediately that Rel'lan was missing his padawan braid... That explained his audacity, for a padawan would never provoke a fight with a superior... They were now equals, both of them Jedi Knights.

"Well, Jedi Knight Grey, then let us attend to what you have learned. We shall see what kind of Jedi you have become since I found you with Phelan all those years ago." At the mention of Phelan's name the two other Jedi Knights in the sparring room turned to look upon their peer with severity. He had just uttered the name of a disgraced warrior, something that was forbidden.

"Yes, lets do that. Perhaps, you will learn a few tricks from me as well in the process Throne." And the two faced off and began to spar. Their fighting became something other than a mere jovial match. It took on all the aspects of the pain Rel'lan held inside for his current mission. All the pain Throne held inside for having borne witness to the failings of his one time master Phelan. Hints of anger played across Throne's features as he sparred, as he desperately tried to control those emotions of betrayl that he held inside. Rel'lan was fighting the man who had learned everything from his prey and he sized him up with every strike as if he, Marcus Throne, was his prey.

Their fight became heated, the exchanged blows after each of them found the rhythm to one another's combat forms. This process took a LONG time in the typical duration of their professional and ancient hand to hand form. Typically, they would have dispatched any other foe long before reaching this point. However, both were amazingly competent fighters and they probed each others defenses relentlessly as they circled one another on the mat. When the actual exchange began, they were more than twenty minutes into their fight. their focus and concentration on one another was absolute. Gone were all other distractions. Not even the arrival of over half the academy to see this spectacle could break their respective focus.

For the first time, in a very long time, blood was shed in the halls of the Jedi Temple as two Jedi Knights struggling to contain their emotions blooded one another. Lightning fast strikes and HARD parries that literally reverberated throughout the room shaking fixtures where they hung due to the force enhanced blows. Seconds became minutes and minutes ran on in the fight that seemed like hours. Jedi rarely ever refrained from dialogue in battle. This fight was different. Jedi against Jedi, maximum focus. Throne's anger actually got the better of him at one point and it broke his concentration momentarily as he snapped out of what was going on and regained composure forcing the darkside out of his thoughts. It was all the opening that Rel'lan needed. His passive face revealed no turmoil, though a raging inferno of questions was ravaging his heart inside him. It hurt him to fight this man. He saw the opening, and with a blinding flurry he pounded Throne's arms high, then legs low and then backed away panting.

Throne stood there, for a moment. The impacts having slammed him this way and that. How he managed to remain on his feet was something of the miraculous. Throne had refocused enough to bring his arms and legs in the way of Rel'lans strikes. However, as he stood there his limbs began to shake and he realized his error. Rel'lan WANTED to hit his parries! He had intended to do so from the beginning! Damn! Rel was faster than Phelan... Rel had hit him precisely in the arms and legs repeatedly at certain EXACT pressure points. Throne hung there for a moment before his limbs splayed wildly, as if a mad puppeteer had gained control of his strings. Throne hit the floor, landing on his posterior. It was all he could manage as his limbs spasmed and jerked from where Rel had repeatedly hit his nerves. He was crippled, yet Rel did not move to finish. He backed away, offering mercy. Not something you would expect from a jedi with a ruthless reputation. Perhaps, his reputation like so many others had spon wildly out of control.

Rel then bowed to Throne "Excellent forms Marcus. I have learned much. Let us call this a draw shall we?" Rel asked

Throne's mind was racing "I am obviously beaten, finish it." He stated bluntly

"No" Rel stated "You are not beaten. You just gave up. You could not envision the possibility of victory. You are NEVER beaten. There is ALWAYS an alternative." Then Rel walked up to his sparring partner and laid his hands on Throne's arms first and then his legs and the spasms stopped. "You could have easily enough accelerated your healing or pushed the pain away and regained control of your own body. That is why I retreated. One, I gave you quarter out of respect, you are NOT my enemy and two, I expected you to use your fallen state as a Feint to finish me."

Throne was not thinking clearly because Rel'lan's explanation of what he COULD have done was almost elementary. However, he knew of NO other Jedi that thought as Rel'lan did. The man would NOT accept defeat, at least easily. Whereas, he and the vast majority of the other Jedi would have happily laid down to die "accepting their fate in honorable combat to a superior"... Yes, it was clear why the Council of Masters had chosen Rel'lan to perform the unpopular tasks that he attended to. He had the will to win against all odds.

Throne stood, and he and Rel realized for the first time how very many of the academy was at attendance. They were all stunned into silence. Even the masters there, looking upon the two bloodied opponents were stunned by what they had just witnessed. "Let us take a few minutes" Throne regarded Rel'lans attire and then spied Rel'lan's gear bag, one only used for missions, near the door. "and talk of better times, as well as, of those who are 'unpopular' in the memory of anyone but us."

The crowd parted for them as they walked to the door, Rel collected his gear bag and headed toward the hangar with Marcus. As they walked down the hallway, their wounds healed and they wiped their blood from their brows and noses and mouths. "You know, you remind me of a man named Phelan. He was a great man, a long time ago..." Marcus remarked looking to Rel'lan. Tears welled into the back of his eyes as he looked away. He was ashamed of his not being able to tell Rel'lan the truth. He wanted to tell him he was Phelan's son. He wanted to warn him. He wanted to do so very many things, however, his oath to the order prevented him. he was sworn into silence about his knowledge. So, he did the best he could to tell Rel anything he could about his father without telling him he was his father. Blinking the tears away, as he wiped blood from his eyes Rel missed the outburst of emotion.

Less than thirty minutes later Marcus stood near the edge of the hangar as his eyes tracked Rel's Athersprite moving up and into the sky. Rel banked smoothly upward toward space. "I'm sorry, Rel'lan, so very sorry..." tears began to flow freely from his eyes "May the Force be with you." He said as he turned slowly, head held low, the pain finally flowing out of him. Jedi were taught to be paragons of every aspect of life. However, Twi'lek, Wookie, Trandoshan... It did not matter. They were all "human" when it came down to the very core of it all.

Day turned to night as Rel'lan's starfighter pierced the veil of space and he reached forward to check his comm messages. Suprisingly, there was a message from Senator Palpatine. He hit the sequence to play the message...

The End

"An Alliance of Conflict"

Rel was seated in a chamber of an abandoned mansion on Alderaan. He was not alone. There was a heated debate between two members of the Alliance of Free worlds. Two very prominent figures of that alliance were struggling to maintain composure at the secret conference.

The man was almost overbearing as he stated his case and the merits of his plan. While a woman sat on the other end of the table constantly dismissively shaking her head even before all of the facts of the man's plans were conveyed.

This had been going on for almost two hours. Nothing like the conversation Rel had with Kenobi just three months ago. No, Kenobi was an approachable man even though he had just faced Anakin Skywalker in a battle of principle, conflict and failing brotherhood. His conversation with Kenobi was, at least, amusing and true. This debate was pointless with Mon Mothma instantly dismissing all of Garm Bel Iblis's arguments and presentations.

Even Bail Organna just sat there giving the two "combatants" a wide berth. He was still rubbing his temples after the pounding he took from Mothma for speaking out of turn. On an aside note, you could see Bail's wife just in the next room peering in intensely at Mothma after her scalding rebuke of her husband. Deeper in the Mansion Leia Organna was being cared for by droid nannys. That child had a gift that Rel was helpless but to see. However, he doubted it would ever see light in this kind of environment. Rel just shook his head.

"I need an Army detachment from the remains of the Corellian Fusiliers, just one detachment of our best men and this will all be over.." Iblis, exasperated stated. "No, this is not the time for rash action. This is a time of securing assets and moving quietly. We must stay the course." Mothma concluded with anger seeping into her voice

Rel stood, "If this is diplomacy then I see why Kenobi wanted me to head it up... I should just kill both of them now and save Bail from having a blood clot in his brain..." He thought to himself. Mothma was normally ever perceptive, however, she was so focused on Iblis that she didn't see Rel rise. Iblis, however, noted it with a bit of trepidation and a darting glance which alerted Mothma who turned her body but not her head... finally after what seemed like hours she turned to regard the distraction. Her glance gave her pause as she retreated a slight step. That movement was telling, because it announced to everyone that they actually feared him in some capacity. Perhaps it was his stellar reputation as a Dark Jedi in past conflicts... or his demeanor of impassive gestures... or perhaps his black gloved hands resting on a lightsaber and a blaster as his cloak fell away from the front of his body as he moved up to the edge of the table placing himself between Mothma and Iblis perfectly in the center of their debate.

Everyone in the room perked up. Bail Organna seemed relieved and amused at the same time. He had never seen the two combatants stunned into silence before. Rel had talked to Bail at length in the past months. He was a very likable guy, with a kind wife and a growing family. No need for him to take the pounding he did today. However, it looked as if he might take a few more unless Rel stepped in and that is exactly what he was doing.

Rel regarded everyone at the table. Everyone he regarded, he did so prior to even acknowledging Iblis or Organna. he gave everyone else their due respect, as they had been largely ignored. He focused on Bail and then nodded almost imperceptibly before continuing. It was something Bail caught right away, and he seemed to "grow" a bit in his chair. Leaning in with interest as Rel finally looked to Mothma first and then Iblis. Then he began with a flourish of his hands taking them off his weapons.

Rel regarded Mon Mothma first , "I have leave to speak my mind, no?" then he turned to Iblis and winked at him with the back of his head to Mon mothma. Iblis relaxed a bit but kept enough of his demeanor so as not to alert Mon Mothma of any exchange. "Your counsel is always welcome Master Grey" Mon Mothma managed to state regaining her composure and standing as tall as she could. Rel began again "Excellent. Then I should start by saying that your words carry their impact well and it is a sentiment that rings true in all of our hearts. This sentiment rings even in the heart of Senator Garm Bel Iblis, of that I am certain. However, I do indeed see his turmoil as you too must attest to. His Corellian Fusiliers were hit hard and almost decimated fighting the rear guard action which allowed much of your current retinue to continue breathing and actually attend this meeting. Granted, that battle was some time ago you must see the value in his men returning the favor to the Empire for the price they extracted from his men's heroic and noble efforts." Rel paused letting his words sink into both of them. he could feel Mothma preparing another assault, however, he began again before she could even part her lips. The Force, in this instance, was an unfair advantage which Rel used quite well easily reading her surface emotions and taking into account that Iblis was weary of the endless argument. "I have a solution for this dilemna. It is one that will bring justice and redemption to both Senator Iblis's people's sacrifice as well as to your desire to maintain the status quo."

Rel had both of them confused. Mothma had no words as she waited to hear Rel's next perplexing statement. Just as Iblis relaxed he tensed up again and the confusion was mirrored. Iblis was thinking that there could be no solution but to allow his men to make the strike. A well planned manuver, that he had devised for over a month and was suited for his hand picked squad of 12 of the most elite men and women he had ever served with.

Looking to Iblis and then stepping backward from the table meeting each member's gaze and allowing him to see both Mothma and Iblis at the same time. "The task is elementary, as Iblis has laid out the plan in exquisite detail. He is a true master of tactics as well as of the placement of his troops. However, Mon Mothma is concerned that your men will draw attention to Corellia and endanger civilians as a reprisal. She too is warranted in her concerns. This there is a simple solution."

"We will use senator Iblis's plan and we shall heed Mon Mothma's warning by not using the Corellian Fusiliers for the mission. We will use an agency that is neither a direct link to any of you and will achieve both goals." Rel paused regarding everyone and accepted the raised hand of Bail Organna 'Please Senator Organna, you have a question?"

"Yes, Master Grey, I do. How will we achieve the goal then? Any of our members will draw too much attention to our movement." Bail stated a bit confused himself

"Your concern is warranted. But there is an agency of all of us that can perform this mission easily with the help of Senator Iblis's well laid out plans." Rel was fencing again with his statements

"What agency, might that be esteemed Master?" Mon Mothma added the "esteemed" as more an affront than a compliment but she revealed her utter confusion.

"Naturally, the agency which has no known ties to you. I, alone, will complete this mission. My whereabouts are unknown to the Empire. They have never been able to track my movements and I am known to be a Wild Card to even the Emperor himself. If none of you know, I have faced the Emperor. I faced him alone, and I lived through it. he hates me and the feeling is truly mutual. I shall pay the Empire back for the blood they spilled of the Corellian Fusiliers and for any injustice I can be presented with. I have been here only a short time and while my involvement may become apparent some time in the future, my actions can be attributed to my acting independantly for this one final act." Rel el stated at length "I will be hitting multiple targets and allow the Empire to hunt me, or at least they can try. I will need a list of other places from all of you that you would like my to disrupt." Rel said "And perhaps, this will put an end to any of your fears as to where my loyalties lie. I have cast my lot with all of you. Kenobi would not have come to me if this was not the case. I am not Kenobi, so allow me to pay the Empire back in kind for your anguish on your behalf."

**Two hours later after the conference was over**

"How did you know Mon Mothma and Senator Iblis would agree to your plan?" Bail Organna asked "You are too valuable for your counsel... to loose you..." Rel stayed hsi objection with a hand on his shoulder. "Mothma never liked me. In fact, she objected to Kenobi's passing the "torch" to me. I was 'given' the title of master by Kenobi for assuming that role and she clearly never has respected me for gaining it in such a fashion. However, seeing as all the jedi are dead I see no other way to truly pass a title save for a resignation of one to another. She would be happy to see me die for my 'alleged' actions during the clone wars." Rel said

"I know those stories are just that, stories." Bail said

"Stories have power and there is a certain truth in those stories my friend. I was, I am or rather I can be terrible when the need requires me to be. I am not Kenobi, but I am a friend. She fears me because I have the power to trump her arguments by using her arguments against her. I 'cheat' by reading her surface thoughts, which is something Kenobi nor Yoda for that matter would ever do. Iblis is easy, he tells you what's going on. Mothma is a masterful politician not a warrior first. She is guarded and leads with 'peace' and such. Iblis told me that if I'm not dead after this he's sending me a case of his oldest Corellian Brandy. Something I'm looking forward to sharing with you when I get back." Rel said

"I don't understand, why me?" Bail said

"Because you needed me, just for a while. Don't let them push you around. You have more of a say so than they do, because while they both were running you were fighting and it is YOU who saved Master Yoda. It is you who setup the first bases against the Empire. It is because of YOU that any of this is even happening. YOU gave the resistance a chance. Not them." Rel said then he turned and left

"Good bye, my friend, may the Force be with you..." Bail Organna said, stunned after Rel's words sunk in but Rel was already gone.

"He Flew A Pale Ship, And Hell Rode With Him..."

An old courier ship cut through the Hyperspace lanes with grace and ease. The ship was as white as a corpse, only marred here and there by some recent blast markers from the last engagement. It had been a little rough on the last target. None of these missions had anything to do with Seantor Garm bel Iblis's Plan. Indeed, it appeared as if Rel'lan was hitting targets at random. The last three had been grouped closely together, within mere parsecs of one another and thus the Empire had and was able to respond in greater numbers.

The Logical fourth target would be Sullust, however, there was no sullustan representative present at the Free Worlds Meeting. Thus, Rel'lan, would hit that target last. Why would he even go to Sullust at all? There was a Jedi Master, one Darrin Arkanian, whom Rel'lan owed some form of payback/justice. He had duped him some 10 years before when he walked out of the Jedi Academy on Coruscant with a lot of information and a lot more gear than he should have. Rel'lan figured he caught some heat over it all, it would be a payback for a civil and honorable acquaintance. He would stir up some nastiness against the Empire for this Sullustan or at least in his memory.

No, his next target was not close. However, his courier was making excellent time due to its rather slow Class One Hyperdrive. Rel regarded it slow because he had flown on faster ships when money was no object during the Clone Wars. Now he had to make up the time by plotting impossible astrogation jumps with the Force, because his skill just wasn't there on the raw mathematical end of the spectrum. he was smart but cheating now and a gain, as he called it which was 'using the Force', put him well beyond even the best master navigator.

Brental was gateway to the Core Worlds. It was a place he typically visited on his way to a holding locale he had setup after selling his Family estate and all of its assets in the Core. Garm Bel Iblis had lost a lot of really good men and women pulling Mon Mothma's retinue 'covertly' out of the Core, specifically pulling them out of Coruscant long after she had already fled. The Corellian Fusiliers had taken a beating moving through the Bastion jump corridor. Bastion would be the last hurrah for his courier ship, he had great plans for the ship. The 24 meter long vessel was perfect for his singular purpose. Her hull was tough, having been re-enforced over the last 100 years of her service. She was fast and had good shields. Plus the remote turret helped Rel keep some fighters at bay, all but the most determined and of those he took out a few. he would have to pickup a snubfighter with some legs for his next target.

Rel'lan's Force astrogation had him jumping well into the gravity well of Bastion. It was something, he well knew, would likely gut the hyperspace engine as well as the engine itself. It would be a spectacular entrance as Iblis's plan called for a covert insertion. However, Rel'lan added the twist to the plan on his own. Knowing that some information eventually might reach the Empire if they had a traitor in their fledgling resistance. His contact on Bastion would either be real or be an Imperial plant. The Empire's agents were everywhere. Actually, Rel would make contact with the woman only to ascertain her loyalty. He had his own resources on Brental. Twenty years of setting up lockers and hiding holes across the galaxy had its merits, hell, he even had a locker at a public tram station on Coruscant just in case. Though he never planned on returning there...

The Corellian XT-3100 ripped out of the fabric of hyperspace. Its emergence in the upper atmosphere of Bastion caused something of a lighnting storm and his entrance velocity was more akin to sublight speeds that could only be obtained by a racing fighter going all out. he was moving at something like 60 space units for the first couple seconds, at least until the ship was slammed to and fro. Hitting the atmosphere was nothing like standard entry. Rel instinctively raised his shields, double front with jedi reflexes. Even with the additional shielding they folded moments after his ship's repulosrs whined to life at maximum strength carrying him at a more reasonable velocity of 1200 hm/h past the radius of the planetary shields. There was a massive tearing noise, a screeching that signalled metal breaking free. His internal inertial dampners were dialed to 110% something no pilot ever did because you lost the "feel" for flying at that point. However, it was all that kept him from being turned into a smear along the cockpit and the hallway leading to it. As it was his cockpit's nose compacted and the leading elements of the sides of his forward hull tore free. The space hardened and re-enforced class of his cockpit spider webbed and half of his console disintegrated. He would be flying on manual from here on out.

"Huh, the ship feels lighter somehow." Rel smiled as he saw his space engine shoot past the XT-3100. 'I think Garm will enjoy my modification to his plan." Rel had emerged next to where the planetary news net capital broadcast ship usually sat. He knew they got it all, as it splayed across the monitor he had tuned to that station. He also knew the news signal would be piped to dozens of worlds before the Empire was even able to clamp down. As their default parameters had them relaying holonet media to dozens of worlds for Coruscant. Plus, they could not have anticipated this. With a nudge of the Force the space engine from his XT-3100 redirected slightly and slammed into an Imperial Skipray Gunboat that still had its atmospheric wing configuration deployed. The Skipray detonated in a blinding flash of light and engine plasma. "That will make for some really GREAT news. I think Garm will like the touches I made to his plans. Ohh, too bad... Hey, honey, I made the news... He would have probably said. Too bad he had to die for an evil Empire to make the news..." Rel said as he clearly saw an Imperial uniformed officer's body spinning out of one side of the Skipray.

Rel knew the XT-3100 was dying. Apparently her batteries had taken a bit more damage than he had expected. He had moved a couple of them forward in the ship just in case. The lights began to flicker, so he cut all axuiliary and nonessential systems. He did this by bashing the console with a hydrospanner because the technological components of his controls, simply, were not working. "I've always wanted to do that! I hate flying ships bigger than a snubfighter." The XT-3100 rocketed in as most defenses were minutes away and ground based turbolasers would be tens of seconds to respond if the crews were really that good. But today, they werent. In the future, they certainly would be. for attacks that would never come... Nice to redirect the Empire's forces and take a little heat off the other plan Garm Bel Iblis was running this very moment unknown to Mothma. It was something Rel read in his eyes and lifted from his thoughts. It was also, something he failed to share with Mothma. "Sorry, lady, you're way too noble for me and besides you don't like me anyway. So, why would I do you any favors?" he smiled to himself again as his target came into view.

The Imperial Moff for Bastion had just awoken and was lazily getting out of bed. He walked to the panoramic window of his billion credit home stratching out and blinking away the light of the sun's rays. A shadow superimposed itself over the window of the beautiful vista and garden he had that stretched for at least a kilometer. He opened his eyes, a stunned and glazed over look took him as the Burning XT-3100 came down right into his window and home.

Rel had the compensators dialed well beyond spec, which drained the forward batteries at an alarming rate. It didn't matter, 200% Ineritial dampening should be enough. For good measure he triggered the quad laser cannon's only remaining charge. It sprayed fire into the Moff's military housing cutting the building in half and causing secondary detonations almost immediately. Rel stretched out with the Force, straining, he lifted the Moff up and pushed him back as the XT-3100 ripped through one side of the 20,000 square foot mansion and then ripped through the other side. Rel threw himself backward into the corridor leading up to the cockpit as the nose of the ship slammed hard into the ground and compacted like a fizzyglug can being stepped on HARD. All without releasing the Moff. Looking out the gunwell he released the Moff and set him gently on the crushed cockpit. The heat searing the man's bare legs. He was screaming, but he would live. rel cut a hole throught the gun well glass with his new Crimson bladed lightsaber.

"My Dear Moff" Rel began as he pulled the man off the cockpit with the force and set him down squirming on the ground "let me attend to your wounds" Rel healed his burns. He wanted the man to feel pain and fear. "My generosity carries a price, you will go to your Emperor and you will tell him in PERSON that I am most displeased that he has not died yet. tell him that I am coming for him. I am Rel'lan Grey, Jedi Master and murderer of Dark jedi." Rell knew full well that the Moff would likely die in a fit of Palpatine's rage, however, the paranoia alone would have Palpatine redirecting forces and assets to his defense as well as the additional time that would be required for the fledgling resistance to secure assets they otherwise could not have gained. Namely, the rest of the loyal Incom engineers that they could not reach until this point.

And Rel was gone, already moving, stealing a speeder bike he was on the move and lost within the main starport city of Brental within minutes.

The End

Mon Motham sat horrified staring at the viewscreen, in fact, every one of her news net viewscreens displayed the same data. Rel'lan Grey had achieved the impossible and he was still, somehow, alive.

"Damn him" She silently cursed under her breath. The spectacle of Rel ramming the courier into the Moff's estate was being splayed across almost every news net. There was further news of an emergency meeting on Coruscant, with closed doors and an audience attended by only the upper echelon of the Empire. No senators were called to the meeting. That meant the Mothma's request for attendance had been summarily denied.

**Elsewhere**

Military forces were already being redirected to Coruscant even before the former Moff of Brental's body hit the floor. "Lock the capitol down! I will not have an upstart Jedi 'Master' coming here to disrupt what I have built!" the Emperor screamed

"Is he that much of a threat!?! How could this one be more powerful than Kenobi or Yoda for that matter?" Vader questioned

"You fool! He is neither light nor is he dark! He wanders on the edge of light, and dabbles in darkness when it suits him. The darkness never overtakes him, nor does the light hold sway. He is a very dangerous individual, and an adversary that vey nearly killed me some ten years ago. What he lacked in power he made up for in resourcefulness. I had hoped he was dead! Now! That whelp has had ten years of conflict, ten years of power consolidation and ten years of anger building inside. No, my apprentice, I already sense your request. You cannot, and will not, pursue him. He would never face you in an open fight. He would cheat. You would loose that fight, because he would never allow you to face him as you desire the most. I have trained you well, however, he is an adversary that was trained by the council to hunt US!" The Emperor argued angirly

"No, we will await him here, together. When he comes we will be ready." Fear gripped the emperor's words

"This whelp, as you call him my master is no match for the dark side." Vader reaasoned

"You idiot! Did you not listen to my words? He shamed me in my own home! Even if you were to face him, he might very well kill you with his bare hands. Even disarmed, as I know you would beat him in a duel... He would likely beat you to death. His skills in hand to hand martial prowess are unmatched. He nearly killed me with his bare hands. If not for the power of the dark side, every blow he landed upon me would have shattered my bones and pulverized my organs. You are the best warrior of them all, however, he... He murders dark jedi for pleasure! The man is a legend." The emperor stated

"All legends die to reach that level of achievement." vader commented

"What? You have a plan? Please, do tell my apprentice."

"My master, I shall activate our agent on Brental. She is one of the first individuals I found with loyalties to the resistance. She came to me, actually. We will use her to ensnare and kill this Jedi hunter."

**Brental**

Rel was making his way through the city streets on foot. His contact, or rather the contact that Mothma had told him to reach out to was just ahead in the next building. Something elusive flitted on the edgesof his mind. Rel had thought he had seen some level of premonition concerning this meeting. Somehting was not right. Something was out of place. Traffic was thinner here. People were moving out of the way. They knew he was coming. Plain clothes Imperial agents were normally hard to spot. However, if you had field experience during the clone wars... You knew a clone when you saw one.

"That was a mistake that I will exploit" rel muttered as the Jango clone scanned the crowd. As his gaze swept his way, Rel stepped into the shadow of an archway. "You'll be the first to die, then I will follow suit..."

To be continued

If there was one thing Rel knew well, it was how to pander to an audience. Just one of the many things he had learned from Brandl. An acquanintance he had saved from certain death a long time ago. "It has to be believable", Rel mused as he covertly slipped into the building. Security was getting tighter here by the moment.

Making his way into the reactor chambers of the building he found what he was looking for. Ah yes, the incenerator/recombination room. Rel looked into the large vault like structure, the opening big enough to accomodate human sized beings right up to the point of mollecular recombinationa and particle breakdown. Every "high end" apartment complex had one. It was the ultimate word in recycling. A shielded conveyer belt "fed" the apparatus. Nothing on that belt survived the anhilating energies unleashed by the device. However, if you weakened the power lines feeding the device... A Jedi, MIGHT, be able to weather the release of energies. The other side of the energy field had the conveyor belt running into the city power grid and a "refuse" pile that was emptied by city workers. Thus, anything not destroyed by the lethal energies would be dumped into a pit and emptied once every couple months to be re-fed into the machine.

Though he really didn't want to know what was down there... And the fact that there was an armored door leading into the maintenance shaft... It was nothing a Jedi couldn't handle.

Rel walked up to the apartment doow way without any form of announcement. The door was locked, however, it was an elementary task to light cut and then close his lightsaber in rapid succession. He casually opened the door and strode in to find a half naked woman in the process of pulling her clothes on as rapidly as possible.

"What is the meaning of this!" Briann'a demanded

"Obviously, Agent Briann'a, I am here for your aid in getting off world." Rel paused, he could sense the man just behind the bathroom door on his right. "Is anyone else here?" Rel Asked

"No, don't be absurd" She looked at him convincingly

"Alright, I'll take you at your word." Without breaking his statement or pausing he whirled out his lightsaber, igniting it and drove it through the bathroom door. This instantly killed the clone trooper standing behind it. Opening the door Rel looked down "I told you, you would be the first to die." The clone just looked up at him as the light went out of his eyes, not understanding what he was saying. The slight whine of tibanna gas entering the chamber of a holdout blaster crackled audibly to Rel's enhanced senses. With a wave of his hand, not even looking in her direction Rel ripped the gun from her hand and threw it through an open window. He then lifted her off the floor with the force and slammed her spinning and upside down into the wall she was dressing in front of.

"Do you take me for a fool?" Rel violently grabbed her face and twisted her head to meet his eyes. "I knew we could never trust you. You would have killed the team if they had come here... I however, have the luxury of premonition." Rel paused and then spun his hand which caused the woman to sweep around slamming her head into the ceiling. He then released her and she fell like a sack of potatos on the floor. "Get dressed, you're coming with me."

"You'll never make it out of here alive." She said

"You've got that right." Rel said then he roughly grabbed her and re-ignited his lightsaber drragging her into the hallway.

"Fire!" a squad of stormtroopers began to volley fire in his direction.

rel parried the fire, but the volume was getting a bit thick. We stepped just out of view with the girl and threw her into the turbolift doors. Spinning his lightsaber, he released it and cut a hole through the doors around her. Slamming her with the force she fell down the shaft on the circular hunk of metal. Rel dove after her. Just before impacting at the basement level, Rel lashed out grabbing hold of her and he reached out with his other hand and grabbed an out stretched metal beam. With enhanced strength he stopped their descent. then he dropped the 4 meters to the basement level and cut another hole in the door. He could sense the presence of more troopers and blew the hunks of metal outward which crushed and smeared those who did not dive out of the way.

Again the volume of fire was so great that he could not handle it for long. He and the girl backpeddled into the opening of the "recycler"

'Are you insane!" she screamed, followed by a cry of pain as a blaster bolt tore through her leg. Rel had simply failed, on purpose to block the shot.

"Mind your words, traitor." He grabbed her by the arm and backed into the chamber. One of the stormtroopers flipped the switch for its activation. Rel took a deep breath, focusing, channeling the hate and rage out of his body. He touched the light side of the force and called upon its strength just as the anhilating energy touched them.

**About a day later**

A small but formidable starfighter pulled away from Brental. "They always betray, the Sith do." Rel stated to his wounded copilot

"I was told that I would be rewarded. However, they tried to kill us both." Briann'a said "Why?"

'Because you had served your purpose, you were a tool" Rel said

"I am their puppet no longer. It took a dark jedi to show me that..." She mused aloud shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

Rel leaned over, laying a hand on her wound. The moment he did, the wound began to knit itself back together and it was healed in moments 'I am no Dark Jedi, not anymore..."

the girl looked at him astonished, with a helluva lot more respect.

The starfighter jumped away

Nothing ever changed. Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis were still in a heated argument, as always. Bail Organna wearily rubbed his temples.

Bail had just lost a friend. Someone appointed by Master Kenobi who had become greatly missed in the short time he had been gone. He had been killed on Brental. Apparently, first betrayed by their contact there and then he watched the vid footage as both Rel and the betrayer were incenerated in a flash of energies that no one could have possibly survived.

"Stop this pointless bickering! I will not stand for this any longer. The both of you are impossible children! We have work to do, and Master Grey gave his life to allow us to breathe justa bit longer. I will not have you mucking his memory this day..." Bail shut both of them up and everyone else looked his way with astonsihment. Rel was right, they "actually" deferred to him.

**Several Hours later**

Bail Organna sat in his home looking down at his new child, Leia. This was just the beginning, and things were getting harded by the day.

"Cute Kid, sometimes I wish I had the fortune to have found someone to live and love with." A familiar voice said from the doorway to the child's bedroom

Bail turned to face his "dead" friend. "How?" he said astonished

"Suffice to say, it was magic. I have a bottle of Corellia's finest to share with you. Compliments of Garm Bel Iblis." Rel Stated

Bail smiled. "Thank you for not dying, my friend. I could use a drink." The two walked off down the corridor as Leia's nanny droid took over "What do you think Mothma's reaction will be?" Bail asked

"I'm not certain, however, I left a holo image from Brental's Moff's estate on her desk. It was an image of the Emperor and the Moff smiling and shaking hands. I thought it an appropriate souvenir." Rel said with a wry grin

Bail choked and almost spit out his drink. The two shared a good, long, laugh.

**Later in Mon Mothma's office**

"I wonder what this is, a gift?" Mothma mused as she looked at the wrapped present on her desk.

She opened the package and just stared at that holoimage for a long time. There was a slight, maddening twitch in one corner of her mouth.

At least one of her political aids would comment later that she could swear that Mon Mothma screamed somehting un-intelligible around the same time Rel and Bail were sharing that drink.

Rel'lan had been haunted by visions for years. Perhaps a premonition, however, he felt that it was more a lingering punishment for Jedi that he had killed both in the name of the Council as well as in the heat of Sith infused delerium. As always, he stood "center stage" clad in that same haunting armor. The suit was functional in more than one way. It conveyed lethality and ease of movement, strength and grace as well as all the trappings of a dark past.

He was "dead" to this new Empire. It was about time he started acting like it. Thus, he went about collecting the fragments of his dreams and reassembling them directing one of Bail's Armorers in the task of its construction.

"Lets base the design off a Versatex Survival suit. It's about the only 'off the shelf' armor that is functional and easily maintainable. I'll need either a clone trooper helmet, Stormtrooper helmet or something with about that level of integrated design. I think Jump Boots, will add nicely to the whole ensamble. We'll integrate the Jedi Utility belt as well as combat webbing and some pieces of a stormtrooper utility belt to form a robust array of sustainability. The combat webbing will allow me to hang various items, weapons and accessories. Since the Versatex has a light back pack, we'll fill her with the trappings of a survival pack." Rel stated to the man

"Wow, Master Grey, do you want a kitchen sink too? Honestly, I'm just joking. I'm assuming you want the optional armor plates to be fitted to the suit as well." Came the armorer's response.

"Yes, the armor plates will be essential. I want the finished suit to be a single piece, minus the plating and Jump boots of course. However, the astetic feel has to look like my drawing. I want the controls for the jump boots rerouted into the arms. The helmet has to be reshaped into the imagery I have provided you. Also, I want the antenna to be something functional like a motion sensor array either from a Cresh Luck Suit or an off the shelf model." Rel responded "The overall suit has to be easy to don. Naturally the boots and armor plates will be the last pieces to drop into place. I want the armor to easily slide over a Shipsuit. Naturally for functionality of course."

"What you are asking is actually a lot more feasible than what I would have expected. I'll make the suit as modular as possible. Thus, you can replenish supplies and materials in the field from Stormtroopers and the like by snap fitting the belt modules and swapping armor plates. The helmet will be a bit trickier. You'll have the same components, however, you will have to take more care and time in replacing them." The Armorer said

"Naturally, I expected this. I want the blaster holster to be featured on the opposite hip. I require you to fashion a suitable holster for my lightsaber in the blaster rifle's customary location. I have the specifications here, so that it can accomodate a variety of lightsabers and still allow for a smooth draw while also securing the weapon>" rel said

"Anything else?" The armorer asked

"Yes, lets add a few pouchess on the legs for extra Jump boot charges, not to mention the adaptive color shift capsuls." rel said again

"So you want the camo ability integrated after all the cosmetic mods. That will take a bit more time to work it around the modular nature I had envisioned, however, it is not impossible. It will likely take me weeks to assemble the suit. Is this acceptable?" The armorer queried

"It's not an issue at all. The administration is not likely to allow me to go anywhere for some time." Rel stated

Once a dream, the armor began to take shape

"Well the money you gave me has really paid off. I was able to take your drawing a step further. Here" The armorer said "Put on the rough draft of the helmet" He handed Rel the shaped protective helmet.

Rel took it and placed it upon his head "Well then. This has some level of the trappings of the helmet from a Katarn suit" Rel Marveled

"Yes, well, I only used off the shelf components. So, naturally, you can repair it with the right parts. However, the heads up displays are replaceable. Now, note that I took your suggestion on the antenna a step further. It acts as a 360 degree field of vision in the uppermost display band, thus you will be hard to suprise. Furthermore the motion sensor array is integrated into the helmet itself and I reprogrammed it to compensate for your own movement. You'll get a limited 'friend or foe' functionality out of it after you 'lock' signatures of any companions you have. You can tag anyone within 10 meters as friendly and anything beyond that will register more prominently. Finally, I'll be adding a 2 more motion sensors that you can place in areas that are tied to the basic sensor package of the suit itself. Nothing truly expensive, however, you'll get a warning from them for anything distubing their 50m effectiveness out to about 150m. I added a chronnoeter to the suit in the arm and it ties to the hud. So you'll get atmospheric readings, temperature, time, and basic comlink uplink features as well. You'll have an extra comlink on your belt too for backup. Almost every aspect of the armor will have a redundant, separate device in your belt. I ruggedized the basic design even more so than the Versatex by adding a layer inside the suit, just under the adaptive color capilarries. These layers can be peeled out of the suit and replaced like a body glove and they are relatively standard for explorers. So, naturally I took some cues from Scout armor, though the added protection is about half as effective. Combine that with the armor plates and the helmet and your suit shoudl provide at least the level of protection that any bounty hunter armor does." The Armorer said

"Excellent. Thank you for taking your time on this. I'll need you to go over the maintenance of the suit in detail so I can repair it as easily as you say I can." Rel said

"in time. I'll be working on this for a while. You can expect a couple more suprises before I am done." the armorer said

"What did you do before all of this? What were you a part of?" rel Asked s he marveled at the work performed.

"I was the lead designer of both the Katarn armor projects as well as dabbling in a lighter 'scout' armor. They dropped the Katarn design due to cost, however. I left because I had ties here on Alderaan and Bail graciously took me into the fold.

"That explains a lot..." Rel said