Dahar Raikanda

"Pain. Death." The Jedi reached out through the Force and felt the horrific things that had happened down here. This part of the academy had collapsed under the weight of the massive explosion that ended the old battle. It had been a tough call for Dahar to make. Many had died because of that decision, both intruders and Jedi who couldn't make it out in time. It had haunted him for quite a while and took years for him to come to peace with the decision. Now that he was here the echoes of the past were all around him. Condemning him.

"Whhhhyyyyy" Dahar felt a chill across the back of his neck and heard the faintest whisper of accusation in the air. The smell was indeed horrific. Old and stale with nowhere to vent. It wasn't just a physical stench though, the taint of the Dark Side brought a sharp bite to every breath he took.

There were a few very-off-limits rooms that only Dahar and others members of the council had access too. One was the sparring ring that Dahar had had his master trials in. He had sparred against Kirlocca, besting the Wookiee Jedi at his own form of Wru'torr and displaying for the first time the Force Torpedo technique that Dahar had created himself. It was after winning the sparring match that Kirlocca had granted Dahar the title of Jedi Master.

Feelings of his old friend's presence started to rush over him in waves. They were suddenly becoming more tangible than just memories. They were messages, delivered purposefully and with intent. The presence Dahar had felt before... Kirlocca was here.

"The ghosts of the past swarm around Tobias. But they are just ghosts. Maybe they can sense where you've been recently, maybe they're angry they can't go themselves." Something way in the distance, beyond the twists and turns of the praxeum, gave a low frequency moan. It wasn't something you could hear with your ears but any one who could touch the Force would have felt it. It gave the illusion of the ground quaking below them.

The two turned at the next corner and caught a glimpse of movement at the end of the hallway. Barbaric sounds and hints of darkness traveled through the air. Three very much alive beings were gnawing on the remains of a freshly not-alive corpse. Like a nexu smelling fresh meat their heads perked up and locked eyes on the Jedi Master and his companion.

"I'm guessing a shiny new speeder?" Dahar exhaled a faint snorty chuckle. "I may be wrong though. Well, either a speeder or some horrific Sith monstrosity." Dahar said this half jokingly. They both knew something was down there, waiting for them, calling to them.

"This is it... this is the way down. I would know this door with my eyes shut."

There was no opening mechanism, it simply took the will of a Jedi who knew why he wanted to get in to open it. Dahar stretched out with his hand and the door hissed open. The steel was bent and wouldn't open fully but it was enough for the two of them to slip through.

"Hmm. Seriously, I can't explain why I think the mechanics are still working, but..." Dahar pushed a button on the keypad. The elevator slowly began to descend. And then... uncomfortably fast.

"Um... I think we should..." Dahar didn't have to finish that sentence before the impending crash with the ground prompted him to reach out with the Force and slow the metal death box's collision into the basement level.

"The inner sanctum of the praxeum..."

A wave of darkness rushed over them.

Followed by an extremely familiar presence, that of an old friend and mentor. It was quite distant but closer than it had been in a decade.

The layout of the praxeum rushed back to Dahar as he explored the charred remains of hallways. There was an extensive amount of the structure that was above ground. This had been the public face of the academy, where the Jedi would entertain guests or dignitaries. The structure continued downward a few levels, although many of those levels had now meshed into one shattered mess of stone and steel.

The Jedi and his friend had separated to look for the entrance to the lower levels. There was only one way in, never on a map, a Jedi would have to use the Force. Dahar remembered the final security system being a labyrinth of hallways with literally thousands of dead ends. It was massive and would take years to navigate without a guide.

"Why can't I find you?" Dahar whispered to himself. He could remembered the door clear in his mind. It was no different than the thousands of other doors at dead ends. But the place was different now. There had been structural damage to the labyrinth that prevented him from finding the place with muscle memory. And, unlike before, the Force was clouded in this place. There was a swirling mass of death that clung to the air. Jedi and Sith alike had tainted this place. Sith spirits who refused to move on and prevented the Jedi from crossing over. All had turned malevolent.

The entity that senses Dahar and Tobais had hidden itself away. Until... Like a sharp blow to the forehead and a pain seized Dahar starting in his head and traveling all the way down. A wave of pure darkness shook him to the core.

He knew where to go. He could see the door again. This time in its present state. Dusty but not destroyed. From the door the path back to him slowly revealed itself. He was able to remember where the labyrinth was and started to head in that direction. At the end would be the door that would bring them hundreds of levels down to the inner sanctum of the praxeum... and whatever was waiting there. The Jedi Master invited in the Force and allowed it to sharpen his senses and guide his steps. He hoped Tobias had sensed the same directions.

Dahar, whom had elected to stay behind, was carefully fitting the cloaking device on the ship. He didn't want it to go missing on them.

It took maybe fifteen minutes of time that Vos had used to check out the area. The Jedi caught up to his friend having made double time with a bit of a spring.

Memories flooded his mind. Some happy, some not. There here bad been a lot of good that had happened here. Countless Jedi had taken their first steps into the Force... Where were they all now? Why did it seem like Dahar and Tobias were alone in the galaxy?

Death. The area had the stale flavor of death in the air. A place once imbued in positive energy was now tainted with feelings of desperation and anger. Reaching out through the Force, or perhaps it had reached out to him, Dahar senses something not-so-dead and not-so-happy in the distance. He couldn't quite tell exactly what it was but the entity sensed him and his companion.

"I feel like it's telling me that I'm going to die..." Dahar trailed off in almost a whisper, not realizing he was audible enough for Vos to hear. "Um, I don't think this is going to be easy. Do you sense it?"

The two pushed through the rubble. Dahar was sure the wall that once protected the depths of the praxeum had been compromised and would allow them a way in.

"Gala was the main stronghold for the Old New Republic. Kind of funny when you put it that way, but that's what the war did. There was a Jedi Academy there, one that I eventually inherited the headmaster position at. That's when I first met you..."

Dahar thought carefully about what to say next. He pondered the past and how it meshed with the present. The man travelling with him, part of him was the same, but for the most part he was almost a new being. It seemed Tobias only recalled bits and pieces before his entry into the Force.

"Well, you looked the same, for the most part, as you do now. But it was a different time back then, everything was different."

"If you didn't want to come back then why are you still here? You said you didn't want it to end. It's not hard to die. Hell, I've done it twice. But I don't remember it like you do. I know that both times I was surrounded by flames and the next thing I knew I was in a kolto tank." Dahar thought back on the odd sensation of waking up in a new body.

"Are you looking for control? Or power? Have you even thought about it?"

The main terminal started to beep signifying they were coming up on their destination.

"All those who gain power are afraid to lose it. Even the Jedi." Dahar spoke aloud, although it felt like the words weren't his own, as if they had traveled thousands of years from their birth and landed in that moment. "But that has been the fault of millennia of misguided teaching. With power comes the ability to maintain order. The Jedi have sought to keep things in order while the Sith have quested for power. The ultimate power comes from balance."

The pair had boarded the ship and left Taris without any problems. They were now traversing hyperspace with the coordinates set for Gala. They sat together in the cockpit as Dahar spoke up.

"I've set the coordinates for Gala. The ruins."

An entire chapter of Dahar's life was spent on Gala. At one point he was master of the academy. The order was different back then. The Jedi were still connected. Then there were many of us, he thought to himself, now there are few. In the end everything came crumbling down after the Sith attacked. The destruction was from Dahar's own hands. As the Sith army penetrated the academy Dahar gathered two key holocrons and then set off the self-destruct. Thousands of the invading force died in the ensuing chaos. It had seemed necessary at the time...

"I can't imagine it was chance that you... found me?" Dahar still hadn't quite figured out how Tobias had come to be at his doorstep. The Jedi Master had felt a great disturbance in the Force, followed by a small, subtle, yet urgent pain he felt in the depths of his being. And then the Kiffar was just there.

"Gala was where we first met, I'm sure I don't have to tell you. I feel like... we're supposed to figure something out. I don't know if you felt it or not, but there was a great rift in the Force as if the order of things had been flung in to chaos. There is a balance out there, a balance I think maybe we can find. Maybe we balance each other?"

Dahar flipped a few switches and hit a few buttons, the usual pilot stuff, "There was a time when everything was so clear. When there were good guys and bad guys... No, but that's what it seemed like. Now everything is whispers and smoke."

The Jedi Master knew there was something not so ordinary going on with Tobias. He looked at him, earnestly asking, "What? Why are you here? Why are we here together?"

The chaos came to a quick halt as Tobias pulled some definite bad-guy moves. Dahar wasn't opposed though. It seemed a bit mean but it obviously worked. The Jedi Master saber hissed away and was soon back at his belt. He approached Vos and the paralytic assassin.

Dahar wasn't an easy man to read. He didn't have a soft exterior as many Jedi did. He was, for the most part, a bit stoic and cold. It was a reflection of the serenity that the Force brought him. It was control. With determined eyes he knelt and said to the man. "Why..." Dahar paused, "are you here?"

It was clear the man wanted to speak. He was terrified, perhaps he didn't know where he was. Maybe he didn't even know why he was there. His mouth opened, and cracked, gasps came out and attempted to form words. It seemed breathing was becoming a harder task.

"What are you doing?" Dahar looked over at Tobias. A trickle of blood started to pour from the man's ear. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed. Motionless. Dead.

"Well isn't this just great." Dahar stood and brushed the dust from his pants. "What do you suppose the chances are the other one isn't gone yet?"

Dahar, who until this point had been kind of calling the shots, wiped his hand across the forehead and speaking to Tobais, "What do we do now? I assume you had a plan in killing him?"

Tobias's display of power roused feelings that Dahar hadn't felt in a long time. He knew the subtle tug of the Dark Side and had answered it's call a few times in his life. He had trained with an old Grey Master on how to keep things in balance, how to know when was the right time to do what. The biggest lesson he learned was to let the Force guide him but never relinquish complete control. The Order were slaves, in Dahar's mind, to a dogma. He still considered them his friends, he still would fight for their cause, but he had been liberated. His old master used to say may with Force be with you and...

"May the Forth therve you well." Dahar whispered nearly inaudibly. Just loud enough for his companion to hear. He waited just a moment to see what their assassins would do. Would they flee? Would they fire? Would they answer questions? No, they weren't going to talk.

The first merc began to gasp for air, air that wasn't available to him. Tobias had already started the project of charging the particles around the man with the Force. Dahar didn't need too much effort to jump off that effect. Their power combined exponentially to envelope the man. The pressure around him dropped as the vacuum collapsed on his heart. Death was instantaneous. It may not have seemed like something a Jedi would do but Dahar knew the man wouldn't leave this encounter alive and didn't want to prolong his suffering.

Shocked and horrified three of the others opened fire at the group. With a swift swing of his wrist one of the bolts reflected back at the assassins, dead in the neck as Tobias has predicted. Dahar reached out across the room with a Force push. Having just performed a fairly complex feat he wasn't completely focused and only managed to hit one merc. He flew into the air, maybe ten feet, dropping his blaster. He collided into the wall and fell hard to the ground, motionless.

In the skirmish one of them, assumedly consumed with grief at the thought of never seeing his family again, made a run out the door and into the hall.

"What, did they not know who they were dealing with? It never thethses to amathe me the arrogance of gunth-for-hire." Dahar nodded towards the door towards the man who had left. "That could be our weak link." He ducked behind the ramp to the ship to avoid the blaster fire of the last man standing. "Do you want to work on thith one?" Dahar made a point to acknowledge that interrogation techniques may come in to play. "And I'll take the family man? Or do you want to thtick together?

"We have plenty of credits my friend, although they're only local currency, it will get us out of here. Interestingly enough, although I have fallen out of contact with the rest of the Jedi Council, I still have access to our account if we were to end up somewhere where galactic credits were needed. You know as well as I do though, Tobias, that the Force is a stronger ally than money."

Dahar knew his way around the city and before long they were at a small hangar. There was a man behind a desk tinkering with some apparent speeder part. Dahar reached into his pocket and produced a small token, it looked kind of like a coin, and gave it to the man. They exchanged a few words in the local dialect until the man pocketed the token and reached for a keycard underneath the desk. "Bay 12B" he spoke in a thick accent.

"This way, Tobias. I told you I had some favors I could call in. There should be a ship here for us with adequate capabilities to get us where we need to go. I sense..." the pain in Dahar's head had returned for a moment but it triggered something, as if the Force was speaking to him. "...that we need to go to Gala. I'm not sure why... I triggered the temple's self-destruct myself, I know there's nothing left." Dahar remembered the Sith attack on the temple all those years ago. He remembered grabbing the two core datacrons and stowing them away, then triggering the destruction of the temple and the Sith invaders inside. He also remembered that was the first time he had met Vos.

The keycard worked and allowed them into the hangar. The ship was there, as expected, a bit beat up looking but still in working order. He lead the two over and they climbed the ramp leading to the entrance. Dahar slid the keycard into the door... but nothing happened. He tried again to no avail. Curious and slightly frustrated he reached out with the Force to open the door, an old classic Jedi trick. He heard the mechanisms click and the door move but it only opened about two inches from the bottom.

"Well, this is unexpected." As the words slipped from the edge of Dahar's tongue his senses picked up a disturbance... behind them. With a quick motion his lightsaber was off his belt and in his hand, ignited, with the Jedi Master's back to the ship and front staring down the ominous party who had followed them into the hangar. Five of them, armored and well armed, the one in the middle looking a little better geared than the rest. Five blaster rifles were pointed at Dahar and Vos.

"Don't move, Jedi scum."

The urgency of the pull had been so intense that Dahar hadn't put all too much thought into the question. He knew he had to leave here. Something had happened far, far away.

"You know, Tobias, I'm not exactly sure. I have a feeling I'm being pulled more towards the core. And I think, although I'm not sure, that it may have something to do with the other Jedi." An ominous chill swept over Dahar, just for a second. "Alive or dead... I do not know."

The two had just entered the outskirts of the city. Dahar knew where he was going, a small cantina owned by his friend Jared. He had initially thought of going straight to the destination but remembered the interesting predicament Tobias was in.

There were crowds, noises, vendors, buildings, droids, animals...

Dahar grinned towards Tobias, gently patting the satchel over his shoulder, "We have a fair amount of credits, is there anything you'd like to do?"

Dahar smiled and looked out the window, there certainly wasn't a ship outside, Vos was right about that. "Hmm, I'm not sure how mysterious it is. An old tattered cloak holding some local tea, let me tell you I've never had anything like it. I don't often get attached to aesthetics but the aroma, flavor, color, ahh." Dahar realized he was rambling about tea... "Anyway, a few rations bars, and a decent amount of local currency. It may or may not be needed where we're going. Which for now is into the city." Dahar lead Tobias outside where the view from on top of his hill was stunning. You could see the city faintly in the distance at the bottom of the valley.

"It's a bit of a hike, but all downhill." Dahar took in the sun and the air around him. With each breath he was filled with the essence of the Force, the molecules going through a constant state of change. Some would call it the process of creation and destruction. But it's really just scrambling things around. "There's nothing new under the sun, Tobias. Not this one, or any other. You mentioned recycled air." Dahar held out his own arm, turning it over and back again. "WE are recycled air. Everything is recycled everything, right? I wonder, are we simply borrowing what we are... Where you went." Dahar had tasted death a few times, this wasn't the original meatbag he was born into, in fact it was the third. "I've been there, or so I think, but maybe not where you were. I don't recall it honestly. I remember the flames, then waking up in a kolto tank. In a pathetically weak shell of myself that took a few years to get back to its familiar shape.

But where you were, even there. Are we unique? Did you feel alone? Or part of something? I wonder if even our consciousness is just borrowed vibrations on borrowed times... bound together through this Force that so many claim to know so well."

Dahar had some interactions with Tobias before. They weren't the types of things you forget, although in this crazy galaxy they weren't all that out of the ordinary. "You know how I sensed you... all those years ago at the temple. I can feel both sides," Dahar paused for a moment, "No. No, that's not right. That's what they call it, but there are no sides, there just is. But I can feel all of it."

Dahar had spent some time training under Master Darkfire. It was during that experience that he was able to cleanse himself of the burden that he though he had, but never really did. Atonement wasn't necessary. There isn't a light or a dark, but there is a right and a wrong.

"I suppose... if I were to run into another Jedi... I would use the term "Light Side", because that is how most understand it. But let me tell you, Tobias, I've had a lot of time to look at, to understand things."

He talked as they worked their way down hill. Together they moved at a steady pace.

"I do have some place I want to go, although I'm not sure where it is. There was, I'm sure of it, an unprecedented disturbance in the Force. Maybe that's what brought you here. But I'm fairly certain that YOU are not the disturbance. I feel it in the farthest depths of my mind, just out of reach, and that hasn't changed with your presence. For now we're going to find a friend of mine who I'm fairly certain will have a decent transport for us."

The thought of disappearing, permanently, had crosses the Jedi Master's mind before. He was pretty secluded here, away from the Order, away from the things that had happened. He had felt the death of some of his former companions. Jedi of that power don't just vanish without a trace. Vapors of who they once were linger in the air and leave the sweet aroma of crossing over. But he could vanish even more, if he so chose. The outskirts were always an option, as was the Rishi Maze, or many places for that matter. The last Jedi Dahar had seen was his old friend Mijae, who had left him this hut.

"I think we've both done enough disappearing, don't you?" Dahar looked around at the place that had been his home these last few years. It was cozy, comfortable, soft. Something a Jedi couldn't afford to become. "I suppose leaving this hut would be a good idea. I don't suppose a ship manifested here with you, did it? We can travel into town, I have a few favors I can call in to get us off this rock."

The Force is a curious thing...Not many people can tell what the next move is, or how the next move is done. Dahar mulled this line over in his head for a moment. "The Force tells us the next move, and how to do it, Tobias. It might not be pleasant, there might be things you don't want to remember. But you are here. Now. Take a deep breath, ground yourself, and focus on the fact that you are here, part of all this, connected to everything around you."

Dahar grabbed a small satchel from the corner of the room, tossed it over his shoulder, and motioned towards the door.

Dahar only identified with a brief bit of Tobias's story. Dahar had died twice, but each time it was only a few hours before the Jedi had summoned his spirit to a clone body waiting for such occasion. He had never spent time walking in the darkness, or the light, or whatever it was. He wasn't sure if it was a better place. From Tobias's reactions it seemed to not be so black and white. He described this realm as the Chaos. Dahar believed a bit contrary, that amongst the Chaos there was order. But perhaps life after this would shed new light on this belief.

"Hmm, it certainly wasn't of my doing. Do you know, for sure, how long you were gone? What was the last thing you remember?" Dahar felt a chill inside recalling this next memory, "Not too long ago there was a great disturbance in the Force. Not your average-everyday-planet-annihilating-disturbance-in-the-Force. No, it felt like a rip. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I bet the Sith felt it too. It wasn't dark, or light, it was just wrong. Maybe our ancestors felt it when they encountered the Voong, it was a momentary and terrifying absence of the Force. Like all the energy in the galaxy was gathered into one spot, not even for a second, but I've never felt so empty."

Dahar looked out the window at the fields that separated him from the city. The Jedi Master had inherited this house from his mentor. "You are right to say that there is light and dark in me. I've realized that it is necessary to know both sides to truly understand the Force. But at one point I wandered a bit too far down the dark path. It's taken a lot for me to cleanse the anger I allowed in. Now I have knowledge, and control. Or maybe just the illusion of control. As you said," Dahar let out a small laugh, "it's all chaos. A friend and I, he was an old Jedi Master, were doing work developing medicine for Taris's sick. He's one with the Force now, perhaps you brushed by him in your travels. And I'm actually thinking it's time to leave. I feel something Tobias, and I know I need to find out what, or where it is."

"The Force both guides and serves, something not all can truly understand."

The two entered Dahar's small dwelling and headed towards the dining area. The house was adeaquate for the needs of a Jedi, with a few modest decorations. A holo-painting on the wall, a hand-woven rug one of the villagers had made him. Dahar got out two glasses and poured Tobias and himself a serving of juice. It was sweet, made from a popularly imported fruit the Tarisians favored.

Dahar sat down at the table, motioning with his hand to suggest Tobias do the same. It was up to him.

"For such a wide galaxy sometimes it can be so small." Dahar extended himself with the Force, gently touching his surroundings. He drew in energy from the room as the plants do from the sun. "What's going on Tobias, what brings you here?"

The question was innocent enough. Dahar wondered if Tobias was high on spice. Probably not. But there was a definite peace to him, a joy. What did Dahar feel? It was subtle yet definite. Something just wasn't right. It could be compared to a rip in clothing, something that starts as a small hole but over time and use spreads until the item is useless. At the same time though Dahar himself was full of a freshness that he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Yes my friend, all of it. Very true. Would you like to come inside for a drink?"

Dahar took a few deep breaths, it helped to calm him as the pain in his chest faded away. But deep in his being he felt an ache, like the chill of wind on bones. He knew it was time to leave. His old friend had been in possession of a ship that he kept docked at the local spaceport, Dahar would use this for his journey. Once out of the planet's orbit he would attempt to reach the order, or what may be left of it.

But as he stood and went over the departure details in his head, he felt a presence. In one sense it was barely familiar, the feel of someone he once knew. But in the other sense it was strong, like a light in the darkness, the beacon of the Force center around a person. A young Kiffar whom Dahar remembered as Tobias. There was a newness to the man, not all too different than the newness Dahar felt in his own being after spending years in cleansing. There was the peace of nothingness about him, although the sound of silence was quickly becoming masked with the haze of being alive.

The Jedi Master stretched out through the Force to pour a wave of calming over the area and the two of them. If Tobias were open to it, he would feel it.

"Tobias... Vos. It's been a long time, hasn't it? Dahar judged that from the strength of what he felt anyone sensitive to the Force might have been aware of the disturbance. He knew, however, that this might not be totally true, the Force revealed what it wanted to.

"Do you feel it to?"

It's a cold morning on Taris, the kind where a Jedi is thankful to have the Force to strengthen him. Dahar had traveled the galaxy and served the Jedi order for a decade. Events had transpired over the past few years that had led him to his solitude on the planet. Granted, it wasn't a true solitude, people lived around him, but it had been many moons since any contact with another Jedi. There were times when he had thought of returning to the Order. He had never truly left. It wasn't as if he had withdrawn for political reasons. His reasoning was his own.

-----

It had been five years since Dahar had dipped his foot in the pool of the Dark Side. He never had gone all the way in, but a Jedi needed to be committed to the Light. It was a sneaky seduction that had lured him. His own failures were the catalyst. Defeat in battle led him to the search for power instead of inner reflection and improvement. But the quick and easy never comes without cost. Dahar had spent a month being instructed in the dealing of the Dark Side. Not by a Sith, not with intention of betraying the Jedi, but with a thirst for knowledge to know all sides of the Force. And that's what gets you. Wanting more, more than you can handle. He was fortunate enough to realize, one night, that what was happening needed to stop. So he left.

It was here on Taris that the Force had lead the Jedi Master to a healer. An old Jedi known as Mijae. Mijae lived in an isolated section the Taris Ruins, enjoying a humble retirement and meditation on the Living Force. His time was nearing an end, but Dahar's coming had been foretold to him in a vision. The two lived on the outskirt together for three years. Some days they joked and laughed while they broke bread. Other days words were not needed. Mijae was an expert at what he did. He knew that a simple appreciation of the life around us was the start to cleansing. At the end of his life Mijae went in peace, knowing that his work was done, leaving the Jedi with a pure heart and renewed spirit. And one last mission. "The people of this planet will need you for a time. They have been good to me, be good to them."

It had been many years since Dahar had completed his training but Mijae was the closest to a master he had. So he knew that his dying wish must be fulfilled.

Dahar had moved into the city and taken up shop as a pharmacist. Through the use of Force driven charisma he made the right friends and secured the right shipments. His shop was small but served many of the impoverished in the city. He employed a young apprentice who, although not force-sensitive, had an obvious gift with medicine. Together they researched new chemicals. When the plague broke out Dahar was the first to act on it. Even the local government was at a loss, but the Force guided him.

Dahar knew that stopping this horrible epidemic had been what Mijae had meant for him to do. His research saved countless millions.

-----

As the Jedi Master stood that morning, his cloak dripping from the pouring rain, he felt a great disturbance in the Force. Something was happening, somewhere. Something big. It was as if an old wound in the galaxy had been ripped asunder. Dahar was overwhelmed with pain for a brief moment, a body numbing pain, which subsided within a few seconds. But somewhere deep in his being a small ache jabbed at him. It poked and poked, threatening to tear deeper as time went on.

Dahar knew his reprieve was done. It was time come out of the shadows.

Some spittle landed on Dahar's robe which he gently brushed away. It surely wasn't the worst bodily fluid ever to tarnish his garment. There wasn't a lot of time and the situation was becoming dire. The man wasn't going to willingly cooperate and seemed to have no regard for his own life. Facing death was easy, pain wasn't always so simple.

Dahar reached deep into the prisoner's mind. With decades of practice in the Force he was able to look at the smallest of things with precision. Master Kirlocca had instructed him in detail about shatterpoints, the smallest crevices in the universe where the Force could flow into. There were exact neurons he was looking for, and found them. His figurative hand held the man's mind. From the perspective of the prisoner the temperature inside the cell quickly turned cold, very cold. Any creature without fur would feel quite uncomfortable inside. It was a dry eerie frigidness, one that left a hint of impending doom in the air. In stark contrasts to the cold the man's body started to feel warm. Well, awkwardly, everything below the neck. At first it would have been a relief from the chill but quickly it became a problem. The heat rose and rose and soon would be the equivalent feeling of being engulfed in flames. It wasn't just his skin, this was happening to the prisoner on a molecular level. Patches of flesh felt as if each cell was bursting from the inside. The blood flowing through his body felt particularly hot in certain places, as if tiny razors were being carried along poking at his insides.

Dahar spoke, but it in a very different manor. His speech seemed extremely slowed, as if time was almost at a stand still. What would have been maybe ten seconds of dialogue to the man seemed to stretch over ten minutes, all the while the pain seared inside of him in real time.

Still very much in control of the man's brain Dahar had created the illusion that he actually had the ability to slow down time.

The Jedi's demeanor had changed. "Are you uncomfortable, friend? You should get used it. If I wanted to I could freeze time just for you. Sure, without your cooperation we will all die, but do you know how long that will take? I do! As long as I want it to! There is no death, only the Force, but maybe a century or two before your demise in this predicament will allow you to reflect on your choices."

Each word drew out with a deafening boom in the prisoner's head. Unfortunately for him the message was still very comprehensible.

"What exactly would you do with a blaster? I could get you one. I don't think it would help much behind those bars. Unless you plan to take your own life? Do you? I could have that arranged."

Dahar carried himself with characteristics that were different than most Jedi. His inner calm allowed him to have a hardness that didn't damage him. The man in the cage only had the power to take life, something anyone could do. Whether one or millions it wasn't special. Other than that he was powerless in his cell.

Dahar's tone changed. "I could help you, if I wanted to. And I don't need to help myself. I am quite comfortable where I am, thank you. If I die I will still be comfortable. You and your type talk about change? What change? What would you do if you had your way? You'd have nothing to fight for and invent something new. Maybe you're just bored!"

"As far as the Order of the Jedi, what do you know? Are you a mindless pawn to your cause? No? You think for yourself? So do I. I am a member of the Jedi, yes, but my alleigance is to the galaxy" Dahar paused and reflected "and to myself."

"You're so smart aren't you? Millions will die at your hands. Very smart. You're no different than those you oppose."

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Dahar felt immersed in the scenario. For all intents and purposes it was real. Master Darkfire had always been a pro at illusions. Dahar let his mind melt into the situation and lose track of the outside world. Slowly his identity became part of the scene.

"Very well," he replied to the lieutenant. The Jedi Master rose and followed the man through winding corridors. The mood was dismal. Whatever conflict they were part of had been going on for a long time. Very few knew of the impending doom awaiting them. Dahar would have been able to sense the urgency. There were however a few men whom Dahar knew were aware of the situation. In them he could feel the dread. Dahar did his best to bring with him an aura of calmness. It emanated from him and pierced those around.

It wasn't long before Dahar was outside the holding chambers. The captives were separated for obvious reasons. "I'd like to see the human first."

The door on the left opened and Dahar entered the room. Behind the flickering beam of the cell a man rose to his feat from a position of rest in the corner. Dahar reached out through the Force and poured waves of himself over the man. Even in this turmoil Dahar was at peace. He shared that peace with the man, feelings of calm and serenity. Hopefully this would ease his nerves and make him more willing to cooperate it.

Dahar stood still for a moment and stared into the man's eyes. "Let me help you."

Dahar nodded in agreement to the shadow master, opening his mind. The Force could weave tapestries that one could easily mistake for real. He knew from personal experience that Aryian was a master of such things. He would keep his wits about him but was curious to see what would happen.

Dahar stood and greeted his fellow expert in the Force. He pushed an annoying piece of hair out of his face to make eye contact.

"Morning is different on this planet. I usually enjoy beating the sun to the new day. I don't think the sun here bothers to show up." He laughed a a bit.

"I am here. Let me ask, you friend, as I'd rather not speculate. What do you do with your anger? I'm sure you much like myself was indoctrinated as of its dangers. But can anger can be righteous? Can you show me what to do with it?"

Jedi were taught to put emotions aside. There is no emotion, there is peace. But clearly there was, Dahar felt them.

It was morning and Dahar remained on Mechis. He wanted to expand himself and his understanding of the Force. He wanted to save the galaxy from itself.

The Jedi Master had a small meal and was soon in a meditation chamber deep in commune with the Force. He had some questions for Aryian whom he was sure would find him when he awoke.

"Well, how do you know whether you are on the line or not? Doesn't the Dark Side cloud you judgement?"

Dahar debated on whether or not to speak his mind. He trusted, and moreso hoped, that Aryian would not disclose what he was about to say.

"Between you and I, Master Darkfire, I would like to learn some of the Dark Path. I know that I could better serve the galaxy if I were to open myself to new ideas. I feel I have been holding back all these years. But I also feel that the resources of the Jedi are nearly unmatched, I wouldn't mean to leave the order."

This simple admission had already pushed Dahar closer to the darkness. Deep inside, unknown to him, he wished for power. Perhaps the power was for the greater good, but he still thirsted for control. The Force, the Order, he could use as tools to accomplish what he thought was just.

The Force was all around Dahar. There were so many different feelings in this place. It was foreign yet refreshing. He wondered if he had struck a chord with Master Darkfire. If only the galaxy was in his heart, they would know how close he had become at various points to completely embracing the Dark Side. But they weren't, and never would be. He had done his best to try and cover it up, and it was obviously working. Both parties here saw him as a cookie cutter Jedi, and although this bothered him, he didn't know why. Shouldn't that be something to be proud of? But he knew deep inside there was more.

Dahar bowed to Aryian, "I meant know offense Aryian, although I feel I may have caused some. That is on you though, my friend, if there is something to be offended by. And if not then I hope the peace you have found is true."

Dahar didn't have to think long before answering, "I would have killed the Sith. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Dahar wondered for a second if he had heard that spoken somewhere before. "I don't know what every Jedi would do, if I had to guess I think they would let him go. But I don't feel that is right. Being the hero is not always doing what may seem popular or right at the time, it is doing what is for the greater good." Dahar knew the things he was saying were straying far from the Jedi beliefs. But he wasn't raised a Jedi, he was raised a warrior. The Jedi had taught him their ways, made him a Master in their ranks, but his loyalty was to the galaxy.

"I know of the Dark Side, I know of the power it can bring. I am aware that many start with good intentions but become consumed in this quest for power. I live only to serve the needs of the people, of the galaxy. Over the past few years I wonder if the Jedi are truly capable of this.

What do you think? Is it possible to use the Dark side without letting it poison you in the end?"