Ardana Ny'yerees walked beside Master H'darr as they traveled through the tomb of the ancient Sith lord. Ardana had forgotten the name of the dark Force user who lay buried within the ruins they were investigating, she had never cared much for this never ending struggle between the Jedi and the Sith. In her opinion, the Jedi should leave the dead Sith to rest in peace, but it was not her place to question orders. As she had been reminded so many times.
     “I don't like this, Master.” She murmured in Ryl as she gazed around the dark tomb, “The dead should be left to rest, and I've heard stories about spirits of the Sith.”
     “There is no need to be worried, my apprentice.” Riema H'darr responded in Galactic Basic, “You should be practicing your Basic, Ardana, you need to be able to communicate with more than just me and other Twi'leks.”
     “Yes, Master.” Ardana softly spoke those two words in Basic that she had come to know best during her time with the Jedi.
     Ardana glanced around the tomb, uninterested by the ancient stone and dark artifacts. She instead watched her master, admiring her rare shade of turquoise skin and long, shapely lekku. She knew it was an inappropriate emotion for a young Jedi, but she envied her master's beauty. Back home on Ryloth, a Twi'lek's lekku, or head-tails, were looked on as a mark of beauty, and Master H'darr's were exquisite. Ardana ran her fingers self-consciously through her auburn hair, she had never felt quite like she belonged on Ryloth, even knowing that her family loved her despite the fact that she wasn't a Twi'lek. The young girl didn't even know what she was until the Jedi showed up in the little village where she was raised.
     Arkanian offshoot... What was the use of knowing what you were if you didn't even know the first thing about the culture you were supposed to belong to?
     “Ardana,” Master H'darr interrupted her very un-Jedi thoughts.
     “Yes, Master?”
     “Calm your mind, child, and pay attention. We are approaching the inner sanctum where the Sith Lord is buried. Remain alert and guard your mind, use breathing exercises if you need.”
     “Yes, Master.” Ardana drew in a deep breath as they approached a great door set in the stone walls.
     Master H'darr cautiously approached the door controls and examined them. “Primitive, but it appears to be untampered with and untrapped.” The Jedi noted as she looked over first the controls and then the door itself. Confidently, she reached out and tapped a few buttons on the control panel. There was a loud grating sound, as though over the centuries the doors had settled too deeply in their place and did not wish to move, but the masses of metal slowly drew aside.
     As the doors opened, a gust of air passed from the outer chamber to the inner one, tugging at Ardana's hair and robe as it went. Master H'darr entered the room slowly, her eyes sharp and searching. Ardana followed warily, feeling the taint of the Sith whose body was housed in this place. It made her flesh crawl.
     “You look around that side of the chamber.” Master H'darr pointed to the far side and then turned her own attention to the closer wall where there was a pedestal with a large sarcophagus.
     Ardana's heart sunk as she was sent her own way, she did not like being far from her master's side in a place like this. She had heard too many stories of Sith spirits manifesting when their resting place was disturbed. The young Arkanian sighed and began exploring the things housed in the tomb.
     It was like walking through a small museum. Items were stored in glass cases against the wall and on pedestals erected in a grid-like pattern. There were many kinds of objects, most of them she had never seen before, but there were some mundane objects like weapons and holocrons, each radiating the taint of the Dark Side. She gazed at the objects, trying to find a rhyme or reason to the way they were displayed, she was supposed to find any objects that appeared to be displayed with more reverence or emphasis than the rest, but the only thing she could think of was a peculiarly shaped holocron that seemed to be placed in the center of the group of items.
     A chill climbed up her spine as she slowly approached the pyramid-shaped holocron. She forced her mind to calm and focus, reciting the Jedi Code under her breath,
     There is no emotion, there in peace.
     There is no passion, there is-
     A presence cut sharply through her thoughts, tearing into her mind with a voice filled with contempt and ageless malice. And with the voice came a vision.
     Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
     Ardana saw herself as a woman, in the arms of a man, their bodies writhing and entwining.
     Through passion, I gain strength.
     Through strength, I gain power.
     Through power, I gain victory.
     Then she saw herself standing over the headless body of another man, a Jedi Master.
     Through victory, my chains are broken.
     The Force shall free me.
     With that last line, she saw herself sitting in the co-pilot's seat of a small starship, the first man beside her as they made a jump through hyperspace and into the unknown.

     When Ardana woke, it was to the sound of the wind and her master's voice speaking in Ryl. “Ardana, wake up, child.”
     The young Arkanian groaned as her eyes fluttered open. Master H'darr's face filled her vision, obscuring the cloudy sky and the swamp behind her.
     “Are you alright?” The Twi'lek asked her Padawan. Ardana had never seen so much concern on that turquoise face.
     “I...I think so.” She groaned, sitting up slowly. The truth was, she had a splitting headache, but she knew that a few breathing exercises could help that.
     “Tell me exactly what happened in there.” Master H'darr bid her, reverting back to Basic.
     Ardana thought for a moment about how the story ought to be told in Basic and then began her broken speech. “I look for important artifact, I see holocron, it look important. When I start to look at it, I recite Jedi code to stay calm, but...” It was then that the girl realized that she could remember every word the voice had said. Each one was ingrained in her memory as vividly as—more vividly even—the Jedi code. “I hear a voice. 'Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.'”
     Master H'darr's face paled slightly as Ardana recited the words. “The Sith code.” she murmured. “Ardana, you must never repeat those words to anyone,” She said, placing a hand on her shoulder, “You must try to forget them. Burn them from your memory, child, they are the words of darkness and corruption.”
     Ardana nodded silently, her blue eyes frightened. She didn't know if she would be able to erase those words from her memory. It was as if they had been seared there by the spirit of the Sith Lord himself. The worst of it was that there was a part of her that did not want to forget them.
     Master H'darr helped Ardana to her feet and lead her away from the tomb as rain began to fall. “I have already sent a short report to our escort in orbit. We will travel a ways from here, I do not want you anywhere near this dark place, and then we will make a camp for the night. In the morning, we will return to the ship and leave to formally report our findings to the council.”
     Ardana followed her master, silently reflecting on the words that still played through her mind, and the images she had seen with them. She was so consumed in her thoughts that when Master H'darr stopped, Ardana nearly ran into her. The girl looked past her master, searching for the reason for her abrupt halt, and saw a small figure wearing a coat over a full suit of armor armor sitting in the middle of the path.
     “Where is the rest of your clan, Mandilorian?” The Twi'lek asked.
     The small Mandilorian stood and spoke in fluent Basic, cold and formal. “My Tribe is dead. Killed at your hand, Master H’darr. I am here for your blood as repayment for the lives of my family.”
     Before her master could answer, Ardana felt compelled to speak up, “If you family is defeat, how you expect to win yourself?” She wore a playful smile, something within her made her feel eager for this confrontation. One look from Master H'darr, however, and the smile withered.
     “If you wish to kill me, then why not just attack?” The Jedi Master was confused, but she was on her guard.
     “I am challenging you to a duel, Master H’darr.” The young Mandilorian said, “We Mandalorians have more honor than you think. Do you accept my challenge, or are all Jedi the cowards I was told you are? Hiding behind the force as your only weapon?”
     Master H'darr began to chuckle softly, “The arrogant boy believes he can best me in a duel.” She explained in Ryl in response to Ardana's confused expression. The girl's face cleared and broke into an amused smile as she finally understood what her rudimentary Basic had caused her to miss. “Alright, Mandilorian, I will put you down in a fair duel. No use of the Force, skill against skill alone.”
     Master H'darr drew her double lightsaber and flicked both ends on with a twin snap-hiss. At the same time, the Mandilorian dropped his pack and drew two swords with long, black blades from beneath his coat. H'darr charged the Mandilorian, lightsaber spinning in a blur of light. His movements were casual as he brought his weapons up to parry H'darr's first strike. Ardana watched, entranced as the bright beam of her master's lightsaber connected with the dark blade of her opponent, flared brighter, and flickered out. The girl's eyes were nearly as wide as her master's as the Mandilorian struck Master H'darr in the solar-plexus with the hilt of his weapon, causing her to collapse breathless to her knees.
     The two black blades came to rest on either side of the Jedi's neck as he stood over her, “Did you not recognize these? Have you forgotten your battle with my father?” He asked tauntingly. With that, he slid his blade effortlessly through Master H'darr's throat and watched silently as she gasped for air, succeeding only in drowning herself in her own blood. “You are pathetic.”
     Within seconds of her master hitting the ground, Ardana had switched her own lightsaber on and charged the Mandilorian. She landed a hard blow to his helmet as he was busy wiping the blood from his blade.
     The Mandilorian removed his now ruined helmet and what she saw beneath it made Ardana pause. This Mandilorian could not have been much more than two years older than herself. “You do not want to fight me.” He growled, his eyes hard.
     Filled with anger, Ardana rushed at the boy again, but this time she was met with a helmet to her stomach. She doubled over involuntarily and the Mandilorian boy immediately seized that opportunity to grab her sword arm and twist. Before the young Arkanian knew what was happening, she was on her back in the mud with the boy on top of her, a knee on her chest and her own weapon to her neck.
     The anger disappeared, replaced only by overwhelming fear, “Please...not kill me.” She whispered as tears ran down her cheeks.
     The boy looked taken-aback, “Why would you attack if you fear death?”
     The Arkanian closed her eyes, “You kill master...” To her surprise, the hum of the lightsaber became a hiss and then ceased.
     “If you are not willing to die, then you have no right to kill. Do you understand me?” His voice was cold as he rose to his feet.
     Ardana nodded silently, bewildered by his words and actions.
     Then the Mandilorian did the last thing Ardana would have expected. He offered her his hand, “Come, we need to get out of the storm.” Ardana took his hand hesitantly and allowed him to help her up. “I have a camp set up in a small cave just over there, follow me.”
     The Arkanian did not follow, she stood in the rain, staring mutely at the body of her master.
     “Come. You can collect the corpse in the morning.”

     Minutes later, Ardana found herself seated next to the Mandilorian in a dark cave with nothing but a glowrod and the dimming sun outside for light. The boy rummaged through his pack and pulled out a food ration bar and offered it to her.
     Ardana shook her head, “You not eat, I not trust.”
     The Mandilorian took the bar back and took a bite before offering it again. “See? It's safe, I swear to you.”
     Ardana took the ration bar and took a few small bites, washed them down with water from a canteen that the boy passed her, and then wrapped her arms tightly around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. “Why?” She whispered.
     “Why what?” The Mandilorian responded without looking at her.
     “Why you kill Master H'darr?”
     “She killed my family.” He said, looking her in the eye, “My father, my mother, my brothers, and sister.”
     Ardana's eyes were wide. How could that be true? There had to have been a reason. “Why she do it?”
     “For being the wrong kind of people in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
     Ardana shook her head, “I not understand.”
     “Neither did I, but I do now. People misunderstand other people, and when they do, they fight them.”
     “So you...” The girl thought for a moment, trying to remember the word that the Jedi who took her from Ryloth used, “Orphan?”
     “Yes, I am.” He whispered.
     “I orphan also.”
     The young Mandilorian looked up at her, curious now, “You are an Arkanian, you speak fluent Ryl, but your Basic is elementary. You know my story, now what is yours?”
     “Arkanian,” Ardana echoed. Growing up, she had always believed the name of her people, when she discovered it, would taste sweet on her tongue, like a favorite food that has not been tasted in ages. But the word held no meaning for her. “My family find me on Ryloth. They give me Twi'lek name, raise me like Twi'lek daughter. I not know I Arkanian until Jedi find me. He say I have Force in me, he say I can be Jedi, so I go with him.”
     Ardana had not realized she was shivering until the young Mandilorian moved closer and draped his coat around her. “My name is Kane.” he said, letting his hand linger comfortingly on her shoulder for a moment.
     “Ardana.” She said, pulling the coat tighter around her shoulders.
     “Ardana,” He looked into her eyes, “A pretty name. You are a pretty girl.”
     Ardana laughed bitterly, “Not so pretty. My skin not color, just white. I not pretty as Master H'darr.”
     Kane flinched visibly, “The Twi'lek? She's not human.” he said, his tone nearing disgust.
     “I not human.” Ardana said with a glare, “That make me ugly? Master prettiest person I see.”
     Kane shook his head, “No, I'm sorry. I forget that you grew up on a non-human planet, you were raised with different standards of beauty.” He sighed and reached out to trace the blue marking that ran from the outside corner of her eye down her cheek, “I think you are beautiful.”
     Ardana pulled away, still scowling, and muttered something under her breath in Ryl. “I sleep now.” She said, laying down on the hard ground of the cave.
     Kane rose and moved over to a small crate that sat opposite their seats. When he returned, he was holding a bedroll. “We'll both be warmer if we share the blanket.”
     Ardana rolled over to glare at him, “You armor keep you warm.”
     “Have you ever tried sleeping in armor?” Kane asked with a laugh as he began removing pieces, “It's alright, but not preferable.”
     Ardana rolled her eyes and sat up, watching Kane as he removed his armor. When he finished, he laid out the bedroll and then began to unzip his jumpsuit. The young Arkanian stiffened, a hint of fear touching her face again. She remembered what humans had done to the Twi'lek women of her village when they had come, and the reasons they took some to be slaves.
     “Relax,” The Mandilorian said, showing her a shirt and shorts under the jumpsuit, “I'm not going to do anything. Just trust me, we'll be warmer.”
     Ardana lay hesitantly on the bedroll, watching Kane sharply as he lay down beside her and pulled the heavy blanket over the two of them. He reached over and turned off the glowrod and the entire cave was plunged into total darkness.
     “Ardana,” He said quietly, “I am going to put my arm around you.”
     The young Arkanian pulled away slightly, “Why?” she snapped, growing very uneasy.
     The Mandilorian sighed exasperatedly, “Would you please just trust me? I'm trying to keep us both as warm as possible. The more skin-to-skin contact we have, the more comfortable we will be.”
     Ardana forced herself to relax a little and shifted until her back was against his chest, allowing him to drape an arm over her thin frame. She was uncomfortable at first, wondering what Master H'darr would say, what the Jedi believed about something like this. She should be able to keep herself warm, without the help of someone else. Besides, this boy had killed her master, an here she was, laying in the dark with her back to him. She could not deny however, that she was indeed growing warmer. The Mandilorian gave off a lot of body heat, bringing the temperature under the insulating blanket to a comfortable level.
     After several minuted of awkward silence, Kane whispered in her ear, “I'm sorry.”
     “Why sorry?” Ardana asked, looking over her shoulder, though it was too dark to see.
     “For today. I've taken everything from you. The last thing you had in this world, the last person who cared for you, was your master, and I took that from you.”
     Ardana lay there with tears in her eyes for a few long moments. Finally, she let go, something within herself changed. She reached out and turned the glowrod back on then rolled over to face him, looking into his eyes, “If no today, I never meet you.” She whispered.
     Kane's face softened then more than she had yet seen. His hand moved to brush a strand of her long auburn hair out of her face and then to again follow the bright blue marking down her cheek to her jaw. His hands were rough and calloused, but they were warm and gentle as he lifted her chin, pulling her face closer to his. Ardana's heart leapt into her throat, but any protests or thoughts of the Jedi died the moment his lips brushed hers. She found herself lost in his embrace, not thinking of the tenets of the Jedi, or the life that she had committed herself to, but thinking only of Kane and the sensations that enveloped her. For those short moments, the Jedi meant nothing to her. He was all that mattered.
     The kiss was over all too quickly for Ardana. Kane drew back slightly, staring into her eyes and then sat up. He reached to the side of the bedroll where his armor was neatly stacked and picked up his helmet. “I promise you Ardana, I will find a way to be with you.” He said, offering his helmet to her, “When you graduate from the Academy I will find you and take you away to a place where we can be together. Where you can have a family with me.”
     Ardana took the helmet, blushing, and then reached up to unclasp the pendent that hung on a thin leather strap around her neck. “From Floating Rock Gardens of Ryloth. Father give me after he visit.” She murmured, handing him the prismatic polished stone.
     Kane smiled and fastened the pendent around his own neck. Then, he wrapped his arms around Ardana and kissed her again, laying her back and pulling the blanket up over their heads.

     When Ardana woke in the morning, she was alone. The only trace of Kane was the bedroll that she lay on and the ruined Mandilorian helmet beside her head. The young Arkanian sat up and put her head in her hands. What had she been thinking last night? A Mandilorian? The Mandilorian who had killed her master, no less. But, she could not bring herself to feel remorseful. The very thought of the previous night made her feel warm and caused her stomach to flutter uncontrollably.
     She rose to her feet and left the cave, intent on finding the place where Master H'darr's body had been left. She was relieved to find her master's body unharassed by whatever animals dwelt in the swamp, she supposed that last night's storm had been too fierce for even them. The girl resigned herself to dragging the body back to the little cave where she laid it on the Mandilorian's bedroll. Sitting beside her master's body, Ardana felt a presence nearby. She looked up in time to see a Human Jedi Knight approach the mouth of the cave.
     “H'darr?” The Knight called. Of course, Master H'darr had not called to report in this morning, the ship that they'd come in would presumably still be sitting idle where they left it.
     “She dead.” Ardana's voice was cold as she spoke the words. She found herself unable to feel much of anything for the death of this woman who had been her closest companion for the past several years. Her only reminder of home.
     “Padawan Ny'yerees, I am Master Kel, are you alright?”
     “I unharmed.”

     Ardana followed Master Kel off the shuttle and into the omnipresent crowd that was the population of Couruscant. She looked down at the ruined Mandilorian helmet in her arms, her master's lightsaber laying inside it. She was lucky Master Kel had let her take them, she wasn't even certain how she'd convinced him to allow it. With a sigh, she looked up and took in the familiar spaceport.
     “Remember me. I'll be watching.”
     The young girl looked back over her shoulder. Droids and sentients all bustled about the large spaceport. But the face she was looking for was already gone, faded into the crowd. “Come Ardana.” said Master Kel, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. The Arkanian hugged the Mandilorian helmet to herself and followed the Jedi Master to the shuttle that they would take back to the Jedi Academy.
     Ardana sat on a bed in the new sleeping quarters she'd been assigned, staring at the helmet on her lap, the words of the boy who had given it to her replaying in her mind. “I promise you Ardana Ny’yerees, I will find a way to be with you. When you graduate from the Academy I will find you and take you away to a place where we can be together.” She had hugged the young Mandilorian boy tightly and they had shared a long kiss. The thought of her first kiss, the memory of his lips against hers, sent her heart racing anew.
     She shook her head. She was a Jedi, she was not supposed to be having these thoughts and feelings. But then again, when she graduated from the Academy, when she was old enough and had learned enough to become a Jedi Knight, she would have a choice. She could either take the vows of the Jedi and live the life she had been training for since she left Ryloth. Or she could go her own way and leave with Kane.
     With a sigh Ardana lay back on the bed, what made her think that he would still want to be with her when they were older? It could be as many as five more years before she was considered ready to become a Jedi Knight. What were the odds that a Mandilorian boy would be willing to wait that long to be with an Arkanian? An alien. Apprentices weren’t even allowed to receive packages from outside the Academy. The most likely outcome was that she would never hear from him again. He wouldn’t be able to contact her, so he would give up.
     She walked over to the little mirror on the wall and stared at her reflection. Her skin was paler than any human she had ever met, and next to Kane’s dark olive tone it had looked snowy white. She closed her eyes and traced the blue marking that ran down her cheek, imagining that it was his hand on her face again, remembering how his touch had made her skin tingle and her stomach flutter. Oh why couldn’t she get him out of her head?

     Ardana walked wearily through the door of her room at the Jedi Academy on Couruscant. It had been a long day of training and sparing. Sparing with other Apprentices who were also waiting to be selected as Padawans, and with Jedi who were in search of one. She wandered over to the small wash basin, splashed the cool water over her face, and leaned against the basin’s surface. She gazed at herself in the mirror. It was nearly two months since she had met the Mandilorian boy named Kane who had killed her Master. The Arkanian girl had changed, she now used freely the charms and sensuality that she had learned growing up on Ryloth. She ignored the looks of the males, and the glares of the other female Apprentices, the whispers of “schutta” amongst the Twi’lek girls. She no longer cared much for the values of the Jedi, what mattered to her now was being chosen by a new master and getting out of the Academy, off of Coruscant. Her once white skin had begun to take on a subtle grey cast, and the blue markings on her face, arms, and chest were growing darker. She’d become cold and cynical.
     She closed her eyes and thought of Kane. It seemed that she had been right when she returned to the Academy, she had not heard from him since that day when she heard his voice in the crowd. She opened her eyes and looked in the mirror at the reflection of the ruinedMandilorian helmet sitting behind her on her desk. She spun around and strode angrily across the room, but as she snatched it from the desk and raised it over her head to hurl it across the room the sound of something falling to the floor made her stop. She slowly lowered her arm as she looked down at a small bundle of dried flowers with a piece of parchment rolled around the stems. Ardana knelt down on the floor of her room and unrolled the little piece of parchment, on it was a note written in a language she had never seen before, but she had a feeling it was written in Mandoa’.

     Over the next couple of years Ardana spent much of her free time in the Academy’s library, trying to decode the notes that Kane left for her every month or so along with dried flowers or little odds and ends from far off planets. The library held much information on the Mandilorians, but the resources on their language were few and far between. Still, the young Arkanian worked tirelessly at trying to translate the letters, though she made little progress.
     Three years after leaving Tarris, Ardana’s life changed drastically. Rallan Fane, the well known Jedi Knight visited the Academy on Coruscant and he was looking for an Apprentice. The Padawans were all talking about the tall, broad human whose exploits they had all heard about. They were all excited, all hoping that they would be the one chosen as Master Fane’s Apprentice.
     Finally the day came when the Council gathered the Padawans together. There were several Masters in search of Apprentices, but Fane was the one who everyone wanted to impress. Ardana, now eighteen years old, preformed her best in each test that she was given, and in sparring she excelled especially. Master H’dar had taught her well, and she had retained and strengthened much of what she had learned in her years without a Master. However Master Fane did not step forward to spar with Ardana, or with any of the Padawans. They went back to their rooms, some now with masters, but all disappointed.
     That evening Ardana was sitting in one of the rooftop gardens, pouring over a book on Mandoa’ and Kane’s most recent note when a man sat down beside her. “You preformed well today Ny’yerees.” said the deep voice of Rallan Fane. The young Arkanian woman looked at the man beside her, hardly concealing the awe that she felt.
     “Thank you, Master Fane.” She said bowing her head slightly, “I have had good teachers.”
Fane nodded, “Riema H’darr was a friend of mine, you are fortunate to have had such a good master, even if your time with her was short.”
     “I also refer to one who taught me the most important lesson I have learned.” Ardana said, growing a little bolder.
     “And what lesson is that?”
     Ardana looked the Jedi Knight in the eye, “Only those willing to die have the right to kill.” she said quietly, “Master H’darr was a good teacher, but she did not teach me that. She was not willing to die, yet she killed. She was blind, and in her blindness she killed innocents simply for being the wrong kind of people, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. In the end, that is what killed her.” Ardana held the man’s eyes as she spoke, her voice calm and even as she fingered the edges of the parchment on her lap.
     Fane gazed at the young Arkanian woman for a long moment. Finally he stood, “Ny’yerees, you know why I am here on Coruscant?
     “I do.”
     “I would like you to meet me in the sparring ring in an hour.” With that, he walked away, his long Jedi robe sweeping the floor. Ardana stared after the man as he left, then she smiled.
As she walked down the hall on her way to the sparring ring after dropping Kane’s note in her room, she was stopped by a young Twi’lek Padawan. “Been summoned to spar with Master Fane, have you?” she asked Ardana hotly. Ardana simply nodded and began to step around the girl. “What did you do to convince him to spar with you?” she asked, stepping up close to Ardana, “I’ll bet you wriggled your pretty little body for him.” the Twi’lek used her body to push the Arkanian a little, “Did you cozy up a little?” Ardana was beginning to grow angry, “Maybe even offer him something… You’ve promised to spend private time with him if he takes you as his Apprentice, haven’t you, schutta?” Ardana lost it, she didn’t know what she did to the girl, but her eyes went wide and she covered her eyes and fled. Ardana was too angry to worry about what had just happened, she was supposed to be at the sparring ring.
     Master Fane was waiting in the empty training room when Ardana stepped into the ring, her eyes cold and expressionless. As the muscular human pulled out his lightsaber, Ardana snapped on both ends of her master's old saber, the steady hum focusing her thoughts. Fane’s lightsaber also hummed to life and he stepped towards her. Ardana parried his saber with a flourish and attacked. For several minutes they went back and forth, gaining ground and losing it again, both growing weary. Eventually though, Ardana stopped gaining back as much ground as Fane.
     Strike after strike, block after block, Ardana grew more and more frustrated. Everything was wearing on her, everything from the young Twi’lek Padawan’s words, to her own wonderings if she ever would indeed see Kane again, and her frustrations over being unable to read what he wrote for her. As thoughts and emotions swirled through her mind, Fane began to push her back.
     On the edge of the sparring circle something within her snapped. Suddenly, her vision filled with a red haze, her motions were a blur and her only thought or emotion was a single-minded drive to defeat her foe. She saw Fane’s eyes widen in terror just before her lightsaber cut through him, cleanly severing his head. Ardana stood over Master Fane’s body, as her head cleared and the haze faded. Her lightsaber fell from her hand and powered off as she stumbled back a step, staring in horror at the headless corpse at her feet.
     Snatching up her lightsaber, Ardana spun around and fled the training room. She flew down hallways, avoiding people and stopping short just before the great entry way. She slipped from pillar to pillar, then bolted through the doors before the guards could stop her. The Arkanian raced down the steps of the Academy and disappeared into the crowd. She headed toward the spaceport in search of the first non-commercial vessel leaving the planet.

     Three hours later Ardana sat behind the pilot of the Sign, Ayden, a Grey Jedi who had no connections to the Academy as far as she knew. “Alright, we’re on our way.” the young man said with a smile, “Now remember, in return for transportation, you have to pull your own weight on-board.”
     “I think I would do most anything you asked me to.” Ardana responded quietly. For the moment she didn’t care what happened to her next. Her only thought was of the notes and helmet she had left behind and whether Kane would ever find her now.

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