Zane Arclyte

Zane froze momentarily as the Jedi Master saved him from another object. He almost didn't have time to thank him before seeing him stop three heavy-looking engines right before they would have easily crushed Kayla into meat sauce. After bringing them down to the ground with a crash, Nom retrieved his lightsabers and went back to dueling with one of the other power-house Force users around. Zane moved closer to Kayla, his lightsaber at the ready, though not aimed at her. "You all right? That was a close call there."

Zane felt the scene slow down momentarily in his mind's eye as he got a broader picture of everything before him. As he concentrated, he formulated a risky but completely possible plan for how to get out of this more effectively. Kayla supplied the first part of his plan by holding back that monstrous construct flying towards him for a moment. With this extra time he jumped on top of the thing, then about half a second after landing leaped to another one. It seemed this one was the highest up in the air any of the things were at the time. First position your pieces, then strike. Kayla seemed to be taking this large object throwing thing as commonplace; her face didn't show an ounce of pain at the wounds she recieved, nor distress at the scenario. Admirable to say the least. The next part of his strategy depended on that. He timed his next jump to land on top of a missle heading for a target just a tad above Kayla, then poised to leap again. Hah, Knight to D6, check. He send a mental transmission to her: Jump now! When she obliged, he jumped off the object he was riding and just barely caught his feet on the edge of one of the few remaining objects in the air. It flipped end over end under his weight, and instead of trying to regain his footing, he brought his lightsaber down along it, slicing it in half. One part flew away, though the other seemed hellbent on hitting his shoulder. He rolled with the hit to absorb the damage but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. The distraction was almost over. Then the fight would begin again. ((And in other news..."Unless of course he was insane and hurling large objects at both her and himself, which she doubted." *laughs at this* XD))

Zane was just about to pull off another move when he noticed out of the corner of his eye a rather disturbing image: the onslaught of large, Force propelled, Generic Objects . This didn't seem like Kayla's style, so he presumed outside interference. Without time to discern the source, he acted on instinct. The object closest to hitting him, he avoided by leaping back from his position in front of Kayla. He skidded back an extra foot, before seeing another object about to strike him. He leaped sideways twice to avoid it, though a part of it flew off when it hit the ground where he was and hit his arm. He kept moving to make sure that he would not be an easy target for the objects.

Zane flowed with the hit better, rolling backwards onto his feet after a brief moment of recovery time. He stayed low, looking up at her with a smile that denied his disappointment at losing his grip on his saber. "Heh. Good job so far. Shows me ta not underestimate you." He held out his hand and felt the Force flow between him and his saber grip. It zipped into his hand and he activated the weapon once again. He held it high, advancing and side-stepping slowly around his opponent. Zig-zagging across her line-of-sight twice before striking her saber, clashing with it, and sent several more overhanded blows against her for her to block. Both their sabers held high, he had the leverage to knock her lightsaber back enough to unbalance her. His aim wasn't to dislodge her grip, just to open her up for another hit, and brought his saber down into her shoulder.

Zane felt the two quick impacts to his face and sternum hard enough for his liking after skillfully blocking. He tasted a minor about of blood in his mouth, nothing to worry about as he had had MUCH worse. You move fast, girl, and you hit a lot harder than I guessed you for. Try this on for size. He telegraphed being more out of sync than he actually was, and when she tried to capitalize with a shot to his stomach, he smirked. Bringing his saber up to block the hit, he led her blade off to his side and let her lovely momentum bring her right alongside him. As one fluid, tight circular motion, he led her attack away, shifted up alongside her, and struck down with his saber, slicing a precise cut along the joints in her ankle. He then Force Pushed her away before she could try anything fancy like strike at him again. He held himself at the ready as he did his saber. He did his best to avoid smirking, as he knew this fight wasn't over yet.

"All right...Y'got some fight in ya." Zane rolled back onto his palms and flipped forward deftly back onto his feet. "But it isn't that easy to keep me on my back." He smirked. He held his saber horizontal, the blade at chest height, and sidestepped again. He moved swiftly forward, cutting left across Kayla's stance at an angle and striking down towards her right arm, expecting her to block and shift her weight over. Then, he whipped the blade around and struck her saber's blade just above the hilt, knocking her further off balance to open up a weak spot on her left arm, which he took full advantage of with a quick thrust, scoring the flesh. He held his lightsaber strong against hers, keeping it down and away from him.

((Awesome. *grin* May the best man or woman win.)) Zane cracked his neck to one side, and breathed in deeply to gain composure. He then grinned. "You ready? Then let's dance." He withdrew his lightsaber from his belt and turned it on, the long, thin, greenish-blue blade sizzling against the air. He held it out to the side for a brief moment, sidestepping to take up his stance correctly, then moved quickly, stepping to melee distance and striking up from hip to shoulder across Kayla's torso with one move, and just as quickly bringing it down along her center line.

Zane smirked. "Anytime yer ready. 'Cause I'm a good sport an' I saw how much of a workout you got back there, I can give you a bit to compose yerself; I'd hate to strain you just for some practice."

Zane felt a rush of air, two in fact, and saw that Scorp and Kayla had passed him up like a dirty shirt. "Well now..." He saw they had stopped for a drink by the Master's ship, and followed the duo. They had moved far faster than he sought to, so it took him a few to catch up. When he did, he came within the same distance of the two as before, making sure he was noticed this time. "That was a solid duel on both your parts," he said, "glad to know the Jedi honor's defended by such capable people. "I don't usually ask for favors, but in the interests of learning a thing or two more than I do now, I'd like to duel against one of you. No obligation, of course."

Zane looked up from his lightsaber's controls at the Zabrak who seemed to be waiting on Scorp as well. "Eh? Oh I'm Zane, Zane Arclyte. You're a tad mistaken on me bein' a Master, though, I'm an apprentice for the moment. "You're looking for someone to train you? Hmm..." Zane thought a moment. "I can suggest that you hang around for a bit; pretty soon, there'll be a couple new Knights who'll be available for teaching, cause some of us are close to takin' the Trials. I'm pretty sure most of the active Masters and Knights are teaching people, but it's not like a Jedi Master never taught two people at the same time. "The Force'll do well by you, long as you do well by the Force. Here's hopin' you do well."

Zane studied in the Temple's Archives, going through some more of the Jedi's history, their beginnings, their politics, the countless splinters and factions. He also looked at more current records, especially concerning the Council and their machinations. He ingrained as much into his mind as he could, because soon he would have to go. He planned on contacting the Council members, Re: his Trials to become an official Jedi Knight. If it wasn't for his nagging dislike of fighting, he felt that, if his master wasn't just being generous in his approximation of his skills, he was ready for them. His master was off doing more important things, after all, and taking the initiative sounded like a good idea to Zane at the moment. Not surprising to Zane, the Council's members split up across the galaxy. All either training other apprentices or dealing with other necessary political things. So looks like the options come down to: 1. stay here, practice my lightsaber tech, get myself good enough to not shy away from combat should it come my way, 2. go off in search of the Council and see about getting that taken care of, or 3. sit here on my hands and study. Hmm... 1 sounds good for now. I'll just keep my ear to the ground about the Council's movements. He picked up his records and replaced them in the shelves. I hate picking fights, he thought, but in order to get knighted, I'll pick my fair share. He remembered hearing about Aryian Darkfire's two-sword power techniques, and of Scorp's form built on distraction and using the environment to his best advantage. Both of them were with their padawans at the moment, though, so patience was still the order of the day. Zane went outside and attempted to find Scorp and Kayla, concentrating on finding their force signatures. Soon, he was able to follow to their position. Once he found them, he waited about thirty paces away so as to not interfere in the training battle. As he waited, he made a few adjustments to his lightsaber.

"Erm..." Zane looked both the woman professing her love for his master, and DJK up and down for a moment. He mentally suggested to Nom and the others present Master Nom, if I may be so bold, why don't we leave these two alone, they've got their catching up to do; he gave me the same respect, so I give him mine, just as I always have. He stepped away from the two lovers, expecting Nom to follow. A lot had happened here, proving that the Dark Side was indeed a vicious animal that preyed on the weak and the strong; it's hold was not an easy thing to break, nor was it ever truly broken, ever truly removed as a threat. Zane resolved to become strong enough to resist those temptations, strong enough to lead others to salvation, strong enough to defeat the Dark Side in any form it chose to appear in. One day, Master, you'll know what I know. You'll know happiness, peace, serenity. You'll know what hope truly feels like. "Master Nom," he said when they were sufficiently far away, "how did your Trials go, when you were an apprentice? Are they different for everyone, or do you have a piece of wisdom you could impart?"

Zane put a hand on Dhan-Jaroe's shoulder, to transfer some of his calm energy to him. He hoped it would do some good at least. "I knew y'would come out of it, Master!" Something bothered him about the suddeness of the rising, something he felt from the area's Force currents, but he shook it off, glad to have his master composed. He maintained his cheerful grin towards Dhan-Jaroe. "All you have to have is a little faith."

Zane didn't wait for his superior in the Order to answer. He was worried about his master's sanity. He concentrated for a few brief moments, to find what seemed to be his master's force aura some distance away, and followed it. When he arrived, he stayed back, close enough to see the carnage, but not close enough to be a threat to his master. His master had broken, his mind lapsed, his body crushed under the weight of his sin. Zane knew his master probably knew he was here, and he slowly but steadily came up alongside Dhan-Jaroe, focusing and channeling the Force into as calming an aura as he could make it. Even Zane could tell the Dark Side was close upon the throat of DJK, and he didn't want it to get any closer. "Master...." Zane covered his mouth at the sight of the headless corpse in front of his master. He remained silent for a long time, watching his master in pieces before him. He wanted to do something, but all he could do was be there to try and use his presense to help calm his master's sorrow.

Zane covered his eyes as the force of his master's accelerated feet kicked up a cloud of dust behind him. "*koff* *koff*" DJK was gone, gone in a dark-side rage, gone in more ways than local ones. "...Damn it..." Zane shook his head. I've got to get him some counseling...not that that man he was about to kill seems any better... "Master Nom, oughtn't we go after him? We have to settle him, before he falls farther than we can reclaim him." He hated to think it, but his new lightsaber may be needed far sooner than he would like.

Y'know, I really gotta talk to Dhan-Jaroe about not kicking my ass when he feels like it. Zane picked himself up, noticing that he had flown quite a ways from the Force Push of his master. He was nearby the blue-eyed woman, in fact, the one his master reacted so strongly to. He glanced over, then over to his master. "Boss, you really don't need to do this. The guy's a newbie, he doesn't know!" He stretched his thoughts towards the blue eyed woman, in hopes she could hear them. Miss, I'm not sure, but you know my master, Dhan-Jaroe Kenobi, right? He seems to know you darned well. "Killin' him won' prove anything! Killin' him isn't the right thing to do!" If you're who I think you are, please, help me. "You can't do this!" Help him. Talk to him. Do something. I feel as though you can save that poor idiot's life.

Zane looked over at his master, and especially the tight grip on his shoulder, with a marginally weirded out look, then gazed around to the blue-eyed woman not too far off. After a moment, Zane blinked a couple of time without recognizing the situation before him. Just as he understood who she was, he also understood that his master was intent on killing someone. He saw the other person get struck against a ship, the sickening crack of bone on metal echoing across the area. The hiss of a lightsaber behind Zane let him know his boss meant business against this slight. "Master! Y'can't do it! Jus' calm down, he didn't mean it!"

Tia smiled over her shoulder at Dhan-Jaroe as she finished up the roast and put it in the oven. "Well I won't disappoint you on the food front. My husband's a fan at least. "An' they don't come much crazier than Zane, that's for sure. He's got one of the shortest attention spans I've ever seen in a man; he gets a bug in his pants anytime he sees somethin' shiny, somethin' exciting, he just runs on after it like a kid inna toy store. I haven't ever seen 'im like this before, though. He...I don't know, feels different?" Her eyes averted to the bedroom door, which was closed, then back to Dhan-Jaroe. "I know he's changed, that's for sure. He seems so much calmer, more focused. I dunno what Jedi use to train their people, but y'all sure helped him grow up." She turned away a few moments, silently coughing. "Feel free to make yourself at home. The roast will be ready fairly soon." ****************** After dinner, and in fact long after his wife had gone to bed, Zane worked tirelessly on completing his saber before his morning departure. He clicked the last parts into place, and took one last admiring look at his handiwork. He had made the grip be curved a little bit, as he had found the straight canister-type grips to be a bother in long duels. He gripped it to test this, and it fit like a glove. He aimed it off to the side, so that the blade wouldn't damage anything, and flicked the switch. A now-familiar hiss, and the room became filled with greenish-blue light. He rolled his wrist to see the balance of the blade, and found it to be to his liking. It had worked. He was ready. Zane turned off the lightsaber, and placed it on the desk. After disrobing himself, he quietly and carefully snuck into bed with Tia so as to not disturb her. That too, worked, and he kissed her on the back of her neck just before he snuggled into sleep against her. ***************** Early the next morning, as Zane and his master were halfway out the door, Zane felt a gaze. He looked over and saw Tia, arms crossed, standing in the bedroom door with a robe on. He turned to face her. "I have to-" She cut him off. "I know. I'm not mad, I understand. But at least take something with you?" "What's that?" She held up a package, a brilliant, though deep blue, wrapped up in string. When he walked to her and took it, he gave her a goodbye kiss. She prolonged it as much as he'd let her, but after a bit they knew they had to let go. "You come back in one piece." He grinned. "Don' worry. I'll be back in your arms in no time." He left her, standing in the bedroom door, though just as he closed the main door he heard a small, muffled cough. He shook it off, and closed the door the rest of the way. "Always breaks my heart, havin' to go away like this..." He and his master got to their ships and headed for Rafa V.

Zane listened well to his master's words. As most everything about Dhan-Jaroe, they were complementary as well as realistic, almost grim. When he was done, Zane bowed to his master. "I'll prove you right about me, Master Kenobi. I dunno if I ever told you this, but it's been a great privilege training with you, an' I feel like I should thank you for all the wisdom you've imparted in me. So, thanks, I mean it. Even for that shot in the leg." He grinned, chuckling. Zane turned to leave, but he looked over his shoulder first. "I think one day, you'll be happy for yourself too." He raised his hand to wave back as he left. "Don't forget to stop by for dinner if yer hungry; Tia has a habit of making more than enough for the two of us!" ********** Zane entered his apartment to the sounds and smells of food being made. "MMM-Mmm! Now that's something I've missed!" He went to the kitchen and smooched Tia on the cheek. "Nice and garlic-y, just the way I like it." He rested his chin on his wife's shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist. Neither of these interfered with her stirring of the sauce for her roasted Corellian rock squirrel. "Oh I see how it is, you love me just to get some of my cooking free!" He chuckled. "We'll have to see about you. Is your master coming to dinner?" "He'll prolly be along sometime. Not sure when." "I'll make a little extra just in case. What'd you talk to him about?" "He said that, long as I remember what he explained about the politics of the Jedi Order, I'll become a very capable Jedi Master, an' that I'll have a hand in training people who will make differences in the Order." "Hehe. Never thought my little Zane would go a gambler and come back some big shot politician-type." "Hah. Gonna be awhile before that happens love, but everywhere I go will be up from here." He kissed her again. "I need to get on my lightsaber building, tell me when dinner's ready?" "Course." He left her side and went into the bedroom, dumping the bits of lightsaber onto the desk in the corner. He took off his coat, draping it over the back of his chair, and put his crystal alongside the other parts. Upon calming his inner self down, he started working.

Tia almost went to stop DJK, but Zane held a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I think he's got somethin' on his mind. He always does. "So! How're things on the old homestead?" He kept a cheerful face towards his wife. He didn't know what was on DJK's mind, but it probably related to the cave incident. He paid little mind to it, and would deal with it later. "Oh, usual routine. Things have been rather quiet, especially compared to the lifestyle of Mr. Big Jedi Knight," she teasingly prodded his more toned stomach. "Almost knight, love, almost knight." The two sat down, and talked about everything. Zane shared all his stories of the last several months away, putting grand geastures into the air with his arms. He told her how he was advancing in the Force techniques, how he had gone to many corners of the galaxy in search of Jedi Masters to teach him, and how close he was to being ready to take his trials. He showed her his crystal, and explained something of what he would use it for. "That's quite a story," she said, a little surprised. "Isn't it? I'm only sorry you couldn't come along." "Hah hah, someone around here has to be practical and give you somewhere to come back to when yer adventures get tiring." "Ah you'd have loved it, y'know you would have. How's the...y'know?" "Oh, a lot better. It wasn't good there for awhile, but it's a lot better now." She nodded reassuringly. "That's great," he smiled, relieved. He kissed her cheek and looked closely into her eyes. "I'm very glad..." "Y'didn't need to go through any sorta trouble after all," she responded almost with a whisper. "I'm better now." "I'm glad I did. I feel like that first moment I laid eyes on you, all over, all the time. Just that peaceful, when I put my mind on it." She smiled some more to meet his. "Are we..." "Yeah. Just like I promised, m'kay? I always keep my promises to pretty girls." "Mm." He kissed her again, longer this time. Her hand ran through the hair on the back of his skull, and her other hand intertwined fingers with his. "...Just like I remembered. Still as sweet." "Mm, mmhmm." She nodded, biting her lower lip. For a long moment, they looked into each others starlit eyes, feeling Zane's force energy run between them through their skin. They didn't say anything for awhile, until after Zane kissed Tia once more and stood up. "I'm going to have to work on that lightsaber project for awhile as long as I'm here," he said, "but I promise we'll make the most out of the time we have before my Trials." "I know. Why don't you call your friend, er, your master to dinner later; It'll be about an hour before it's done." She stood up too, matching his height only by pushing herself up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Sounds good. I'll be back soon then, need to handle a few things." Zane left the apartment once again, seeking to get some things out of his ship and also to find his master again.

The spaceport in Coronet, the capital city of Corellia, was populated with every kind of ship concievable, even some not commercially available anywhere. It was as crowded as hair on the human head, with ships dodging narrowly around each other, nearly scraping hulls in some instances. Zane brought himself into the port in one of the personal ship ports, followed closely by his master's ship. After locking down the Crash Wildfire and sending his registration information to the docking office, he exited and brought his master along to the apartment complex where he had lived with the woman he wore his ring for. It had been several months since last he had seen her in person, sufficing on periodic letters and pictures sent back and forth. This was a present to himself for getting as far as he has. He swiped a keycard across the lock and with a swift shckkk sound and a beep, it opened. "Where's my favorite girl in all the galaxy?" he said into the apartment as he pushed open the door. The flat was modestly furnished, well-organized, and touched with blue everywhere. The furniature, the kitchen, most everything had some form of blue or green accenting it. In the middle of the living room stood a thin woman dressed in a light jacket and a springtime-colored dress who was looking up from picking up something off a table. She and Zane met eyes, both grinning from ear to ear after a moment of this, and impossibly quickly, they embraced. "So good to see you! I was just about to come down to the starport to meet you." "Little ahead of schedule sweetheart. Had to break the laws of physics to get her soon enough to see you." They kissed each other for a moment. "I hope you don't mind, I brought a guest." Zane's wife peeked over Zane's shoulder, and pulled Zane around so they were both facing Dhan-Jaroe standing in the doorway. "Of course, always glad to have guests." She put out her hand to the master Jedi. "Hi, I'm Tia Arclyte, pleasure to meet you. And you are?"

Zane plotted a course from Ilum to his homeworld of Corellia, and right alongside the Crash Wildfire was Master Dhan-Jaroe's ship. Along the way, he decided to send his house a bit of a note as a heads up. Hi Dear! It's me, Zane, sendin' you this message from hyperspace. I'm coming back home for a little while, so put that roast on you know I like and you'll see me right quick and in a hurry. Been too long, I know. But guess what, I'm almost a knight now! I just have to take my Trials, and then I'll be fully-fledged Jedi. Boy, have I got some stories and stuff to show you, you'll just flip when you see what the Force can do with a trained hand. This is jus' a vacation of sorts right now, love. Soon though, I'll come back for sure. Every ounce of love, Zane Arclyte He sent the message and leaned back in his piloting chair. He took out his crystal again, and admired it, turning it in his hand. Soon little crystal, you're gonna be used for one of the most elegant and deadly things this universe has to offer. And I'll be using you. I have hopes I'll only use you for good, for justice...to bring hope to others, instead of destroying hope. He put the crystal away when he got close enough to Corellia to drop out of hyperspace.

Zane looked over his shoulder at his master. He had been fiddling with some of the clothes in his storage closet opposite the cot where he had placed Dhan-Jaroe. "Oh nothin' much, just died. I got better though. Damn, but can the Force ever do some righteous things! "Yeah next time we walk into a Dark Side illusion, we gotta coordinate; this fighting each other while enraged thing is the pits. Way I figure, what I saw was two Sith, one assauting my wife, the other with the idea to kill me at his master's behest. What you saw, I'm not entirely sure. Whatever it was, it made us fight each other pretty fiercely. And at the end, when I was trying to overcome the illusion, y'saw somethin' that gave you a near heart attack. That was right before y'tossed me on that big jag of crystal." Zane turned to face his master with a wry smile on his face. "But hey. All that wasn't for naught." He dug in his pocket and withdrew the glowing teal crystal, holding it forth proudly. "Got what we came here for, heh. Thanks to this, I'll be knighted in no time. That is, if it's the will of the Force." He put the crystal back in his pocket. "I'm eager to get off this planet if y'don't mind Master. Not that I'm afraid or anythin', still, no reason to hang around somewhere you're unwelcome."

"*koff*" "*Koff koff*" I...don't give up...that easily... There wasn't a single part of the cave he could see. There were only a few nerves in his flesh he could use. This was probably for the better, as the last thing he remembered feeling was agony from a jag of crystal severing his spine and crushing several of his organs. A good portion of his brain seemed to be sort of functioning, perhaps on the level of rats or particularly brilliant heads of cabbage. Like any head of cabbage, the first thing through Zane's mind was survival. He couldn't heal as long as there was something in the way of his beloved organs or spine, so he tried to remedy this problem first. He struggled. His muscles didn't feel cooperative, so he focused on moving himself off the crystal. His body slowly was pushed off of the spike with a wavering Force Push, after several moments his body hit the floor like a rag doll. If his theory was correct, the limited number of nerve endings he had left were telling him he had landed on top of the body of his master. I...won't give...up... With nothing jutting out of his chest, he was able to work against the dissoving of his organs. It would be quite some time before his Force powers could allow him to overcome the massive wound in his torso, but he used every ounce of focus he had towards this end. In time, his body began to function again. His nerves became alive, his mind became more and more focused as his tie to the Force brought him back from the grave. His eyes opened, and he could see once more, though outlines were still far from sharp. Patience...It's workin'...I won't give up...Just a little while more be...fore I can move again... He did not beg anyone to drag him from the painful prison he was bound to. He did not ask for help, or for strength from anyone else, he willed his body to be healed; he allowed his flesh to become a transistor for the Force energy he knew and loved, giving his will to that lifestream, and becoming healed by doing so. He understood what he had read about, what he had heard, what he already knew about the Force: his faith, his will to live, had been heard by the Force. I live...I am Jedi...I am the Force. The Force Healing started to slow as he became conscious. His flesh still felt like hell, but it was coming around too. He tested out his handiwork: there was much advancement since the time he was shot by the man who now served as a medical bed. He flexed his fingers, his toes, his more important joints, and although he ached, it was nothing compared to what he had been through. Now for the big trick. I will stand up. He willed his arms to function, and they did. Turmoil riddled his body as the apprentice slowly but surely brought himself up. He steadied himself against the crystals in the wall, and stood up. Now to find myself a crystal that suits me...and bring Master and myself out of this forsaken cave... Zane struggled farther into the cave, sensing forward for a crystal. There were innumerable ones, glttering blue and green. some glittering yellow, others orange, others were too small to be glittering anything. Come on, there's gotta be somethin' unique... Zane went to a small bank of crystals, ones glowing more brightly than the others. One in the center seemed to be slightly off the normal green color. It was blue-ish, but not quite a true blue, too much green. He pulled on it and it came out of the formation rather easily. It pulsed in his hand. Perfect... He found his master again, and tugging his tattered jacket tightly around himself, not forgetting the three lightsabers strewn on the ground (DJK's red, DJK's green, and Tera-Lee's Purple), he dragged himself and his master back to the Crash Wildfire, where he could get something to seal up his frost-bitten flesh and take care of his master as well.

Zane could barely stay alive as every nerve in his body was overcome with agony. Even his blood ached. His nerves were dying not-so-slowly, but not slowly enough for him to not feel it. His eyes barely opened, like those of a newborn baby's. He couldn't feel any urge to be agressive, lash back, anything against the oncoming sith. Despite the pain, he felt more calm than he had been during the entire fight. He was calm enough to feel the difference between the dark side and the light side within the cave; he felt the illusion, he felt the barrier betwen them, and with the last part of his will, he pushed a mental tether of light side energy from his mind towards the Sith apprentice's mind. The light side energy caused the barrier to fluctuate, and the area waivered with it. He knew the truth. The last part of his functioning mind sent a message as plain as day, as plain as his little consiousness could make it. "Everything that went on here was a lie. If you are who I think you are, make me whole again, so I can return for my crystal. "Never give up hope. I never have." His mouth moved unsteadily. "Master..." His body went numb, his world went dark.