Kanan knew his reaction was overly impetuous, and he knew he wasn't thinking things through. But when he had first caught sight of the red Zabrak that was identical in every way to the killer and ruthless manipulator that had shaken the Jedi Order so badly back during the Clone Wars, the need to confront him for what he had done had become irrepressible.

It wasn't revenge for all the Jedi he had killed. That wasn't what he was looking for at all – and it wasn't the Jedi way. It was a need for answers, and to find something in what he learned that would allow justice to be served.

"Well?" he demanded. His bright green eyes clouded by cold resentment and the bitter sting of accusation bored mercilessly into Teri's greyer ones.

"Kanan, you're making claims about things you don't understand–"

"Then make me understand. Give me one good reason why you would betray our trust," Kanan spat, clenching the chrome hilt of his lightsaber tightly. "The trust of the people who believed in you."

Suddenly, Teri looked away. There was such pure shame and anguish playing out over the Rebel informant's face that for a second Kanan wondered if he had gone too far. But the notion disappeared just as quickly as it had come, his anger and desire for justice returning to the foreground once more.

The Zabrak Sith Lord moved forwards ever so slightly, curling his lip. The members of the Ghost crew present and the other clients of the bar stood still, waiting to see which party would make the next move.

But Teri extended an arm a moment later, stopping him before he could get too close. Although Maul was clearly conflicted about listening to him, he stood back.

Kanan set his jaw. That's right, you coward. Stay back.

"I heard that," the Zab growled.

"Maddox." Teri's tone of voice had an air of finality to it. "Let's take this somewhere more private, shall we? There's no real love for the Empire here on Rhea, but Jedi still fetch a high price, Kanan..."

Reluctantly, he doused the blade, but didn't put his weapon back on his belt. Nodding to Hera, Teri ushered Jedi and Sith out of the Rusty Tankard, checking once to make sure no one was following them as they walked into a deserted back alley.

"Well?" Kanan prompted, breaking a silence between them.

The dark-haired man sighed, closing his eyes for a moment to compose himself, before he began. "Maddox's Sith Master was the man whom we all know now as the Emperor. But his Master –Darth Sidious – cast him out when he discovered Maddox was still alive. It took a while, but eventually Maddox managed to turn away from the path of a Sith and became merely someone who was more strongly allied with the Dark Side than the Light."

"What are you getting at?" Kanan asked, loosening his grip on his lightsaber slightly.

Maul spoke next, his low, commanding voice echoing around the alleyway. "Now you know my story. Here are the facts – unless they are genetically predisposed to the contrary, the eyes of one directly allied to the Sith or their principles are always yellow rimmed with red. Those of someone who is simply allied to the Dark Side lack the red around the iris and tend to be more golden in color." He took a careful step closer, totally unafraid of the lightsaber pointed at him. "Now look at my eyes, Jedi. What do you see?"

"The eyes of a traitor."

The Zabrak rolled his eyes. "Your stubbornness really makes you a pain to talk to. Just tell me what you see."

Choosing to ignore the snide comment, Kanan looked into the man's eyes, searching them for any traces of red. He found none, and, true to Maul's description, his eyes were a more golden hue that yellow. But the earnestness flashing in the twin honey-colored orbs still wasn't enough to convince him. "And why should I believe you?"

Now Maul simply looked bored, like he was getting fed up with the conversation. "I haven't tried to kill you yet, have I?"

"I guess not," the Jedi intoned carefully, narrowing his eyes.

Suddenly, there was a clatter from around the corner. The three men turned around just in time to catch sight of Sabine skidding into view, decked out in her Mandalorian armor.

"Is it true?" she cried, one blaster at the ready. "Is he here?"

Maul turned back towards Teri. "You did not tell me you had a Mando'ade with you," he said quietly. But he stepped forwards and into the light, regardless of the almost apprehensive look Kanan saw flash across his face briefly.

Then, much to Kanan's surprise, Sabine dipped down swiftly to one knee, murmuring some sort of speech in Mando'a he couldn't understand.

Maul's eyes widened. Apparently he hadn't been expecting the gesture any more than Kanan and Teri had, and he bent down hurriedly, pulling the young Mandalorian gently to her feet.

"How may I serve you, darjetii'alor?" she asked.

The Zabrak smiled gently, and despite everything that he had said about Maul being a traitor, there was something about him that seemed almost... gentle. "You don't need to bow to me, Mando'ade," he said, "nor do you need to recite the vows of loyalty."

"I... I don't understand," she said. "Why not? That's what my family always taught me I had to do if I ever met one of the old leaders."

"I'm not alor anymore. That was in a past life, one I managed to put behind me years ago to start a new one." He glanced meaningfully at Kanan. "Everyone deserves second chances. Now, I devote myself to ner riduur bal ade, instead of trying to take power that belongs to others by right for myself. Aliit ori'shya tal'din, especially if it's the blood of others and not my own."

Sabine nodded, and took off her brightly painted helmet, giving her equally colorful hair a shake.

"Which house are you from?"

"Aliit Wren'Vizsla," Sabine answered.

The tall red Zabrak visibly relaxed. "Ah. One of the Kyr'tsad, then."

"Sabine, you shouldn't be listening to him," Kanan hissed, brushing past him and Teri to stand in front of the young woman. "Maul is a liar. Mark my words, he'll try to kill us the first chance he gets."

"If your fellow crewmembers are as hostile and as much of a pain in the ass as you are – and I doubt that – then yes, the chances of that are pretty high," he deadpanned, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sabine snickered at that, and Teri hid a smile. But the Rebel informant's face took on a more serious light as he spoke again. "Kanan, I need Maddox, for reasons I can't tell you right now. And the Rebellion needs him too. He's been my friend and ally for over ten years and stood by me through many dangers. I trust him completely. But we can't do this without you on board."

Kanan knew what the right choice was. But the problem was that still buried deep within him was an unconditional animosity for those who used the Dark Side to grab power at the expense of others, instilled in him by his Jedi teachers. Agreeing would be betraying all for which the Jedi Order had stood for.

Sometimes he wondered if he shouldn't have stayed out of the way during that whole incident on Gorse. His life had been so much simpler... Maybe not better, since there had been no Hera in it and no real purpose to it except to get his drinking money, but it had definitely been easier to sort things out.

Now, fighting the Empire had made the line between friend and foe so nebulous it was hard to know who to trust and whose head to smash on the duracrete.

He suddenly became conscious that they were all waiting for an answer; an answer he wasn't ready to give. "We'll see what the others have to say," he said finally, keeping his tone carefully neutral.

"Most reasonable thing you've said since I met you," Maul muttered under his breath as they started heading back, just loudly enough for Kanan to hear him. Then he spoke louder, turning towards him. "And my name is Maddox. Maul was what I was known as in the life I left behind – the life of a slave. It doesn't define the future, only the past."

"Fine," Kanan grumbled. He wasn't in the mood to talk anymore.

For the sake of the Ghost crew, he only hoped the two lives Maul – Maddox – kept talking about were as far apart from one another as far as he said they were.

*Mando'a translations are in the author's note.*

The heavy wheezing of Darth Vader's respirator echoed throughout the cavernous room on the Imperial Star Destroyer Retribution. But the amplified sound, which had so often struck fear in the hearts of other beings, had no effect on the hooded figure with whom he was conversing via hologram, who had long since grown used to it.

"What is thy bidding, my Master?" Vader asked, kneeling.

A gruesome smile curled the corners of Emperor Palpatine's lips. "I sense an unusual disturbance in the Force."

"What is the nature of the disturbance, my Master? I have not felt it."

"That is only natural," Darth Sidious said calmly, blinking his sickly yellow and red eyes lazily. "After all, my apprentice, you are its point of origin."

Although the Emperor's words confused him, Vader let nothing on. "I... do not understand, Master."

"You have grown too attached to your Grand Inquisitor. Sending out sixteen search parties in half as many days is far too excessive for one who can be so easily replaced with another."

"Replaced, Master? She is the strongest member of the Inquisitorius. None of the others even come close in knowledge or in raw power of the Dark Side."

"She can be replaced and she will be replaced," Sidious snapped, his patience evidently wearing thin. "I am ordering your task forces to other sectors to fight the Rebels, active immediately. They are a far more pressing concern than one missing operative."

"It was our plan for her to be captured. When we find her, we will surely find the Rebels. The fact that we can no longer find her is only a momentary setback. Her exact location is being shielded from me by an outside source, which means that at least one person with knowledge of the Force is involved with the Rebels."

Vader knew he was treading on thin ice as it was, but what choice did he have? The Emperor had control over everything – he was the only one besides the Grand Moffs who could take away or suspend his authority over the Imperial fleet.

Sidious' eyes narrowed, and his voice became vaguely repulsed. "I hope your past with Inquisitor Sorena is not clouding your judgment, Lord Vader. Despite your allegiance to me above all else, your caring for her – and dare I say loyalty to her – remains. If allowed to continue, it could lead you to decisions you would not make otherwise."

"I do not care for her," he said, denying the Emperor's words immediately. "Anakin Skywalker cared for her in the time of the Republic. He was a fool to expose himself to weakness such as that." Vader paused, wording his next sentence carefully. "I only fear that we will be losing a valuable asset to the might of the Empire if we cease in our efforts to find her."

"My mind has been made. Unless you are prepared to part with troops from your own personal legions, you will leave her to whatever fate is in store for her. I am ordering you to the Onderon system. You have already postponed your departure nearly three weeks, and the rebellious factions based there need to be reminded that one does not tangle with the Emperor and escape so easily."

The Emperor's words left no room for defiance, and Vader ducked his head down obediently. "Yes, my Master."

Sidious nodded in approval and ended the call. As the hologram faded into nothingness, Vader got to his feet and hurried out of the room, his dark cloak fluttering around his feet with every step he took.

He was being redeployed immediately, so there was absolutely no time to lose.

With his long, quick strides, it wasn't long before he reached the bridge. He breezed past the officers stationed here and there, leaving them behind as quickly as possible in case they tried to talk to him. Time was of the essence, and he could not afford to stop to address trivial concerns he could always deal with later.

"I would speak with you," he barked as he was nearing a man decked out in the white armor of a Storm Trooper with the markings of a commander.

The officer offered him a swift military salute, standing to attention. "Yes sir," he said, and followed Vader down a side passage where they could converse more privately. "How may I be of service, my Lord?"

"Assemble your best troops and rendezvous with Agent Kallus and Admiral Konstantine aboard the Relentless. I don't care how long it takes – I want her found."

"Yes my Lord. If I may, will we be allowed to use the special units for this mission? Did we get the green light from General Mohc?"

"He has five squadrons awaiting your orders. But take precautions to assure you move discretely." Suddenly, Vader's voice became softer, losing the edge that he most often employed to scare his underlings into submission and becoming almost pleading. "You must not fail me, Commander Cody. I... I just want her returned to me safely."

Cody nodded beneath his helmet. "Don't worry, Lord Vader. I'll have Commander Tano back before you know it." Then he seemed to realize his misstep. "Uh... I mean, Inquisitor Sorena. My apologies, sir – old memories get the better of me sometimes."

"They do to us all, Commander. Now go. There's no telling how much danger she's in, even right now, as we speak."

"Sir yes sir."

As Cody walked off to begin carrying out his orders, Vader exhaled softly. (Or he tried to, anyway – his voice control amplified the breath up to normal regardless of its true volume.) He could only hope that Sorena would remain true to the destiny she had chosen so many years before and avoid the distractions her current situation was undoubtedly sending her way until help arrived. 

*Kanan has made some new discoveries about Maddox's past and where Teri's alliances lie, as well as those of Sabine Wren. But his close-minded nature still keeps him from seeing it the way the others do, and that prejudice could get him into trouble if he continues to indulge in it. And Vader still does his best to protect his Snips from the harm that his Master could do to her, or sit by and allow to happen to her. But a thirst for power and his affection for what remains of his family cannot coexist for long, and sooner or later, he'll have to let one or the other slide. However, Sorena may not even need the protection he wishes to give her, or want it, once she learns how to open her heart to someone who remained a part of her, even after all the years they were apart...

That moment when you're just about to have supper and you realize you ate most of a box of Oreos for lunch and nothing else... XDDDDD

How's everyone been doing in the long time I've been away? I've been hard at work, unpacking from my trip and preparing updates for your reading pleasure ;)

Anyways, there were some things I really liked about this chapter. For the first part of the chapter, Kanan being an a$$ is always fun to write because he was a very biased POV, and I got to explore Teri and Maddox and Sabine a little more. 

Also, MANDO'A. FUN STUFF. Researching it added about an hour and a half to the writing process, but it was still a cool sort of experience. Here are the translations:

Mando'ade: son or daughter of Mandalore

Darjetii'alor: me combining darjetii (Sith/Dark Jedi) and alor

Alor: leader

Ner riduur bal ade: the phrase "my mate/wife and children"

Aliit ori'shya tal'din: the Mandalorian saying "Family is more than blood"

Aliit: clan/family

Kyr'tsad: Death Watch

(I couldn't find the word 'house' in Mando'a, so I just combined her clan and house in hopes it would look okay XD)

Vader was fun to write too. It's the first real chapter he has on his own without Sorena, and it was interesting to explore his reaction to the fact that, as loyal as he is to the Emperor, Sidious is cutting him off from his family. He's trying to balance out being defensive and aloof, and isn't entirely sure if it's working. I drew on how Vader reacts between Luke and the Emperor, because the dynamic, as I imagine it, is pretty similar.

And WE HAVE CODYYYYYYYYYYY!!! Sorry not sorry, I just couldn't resist throwing him in there. Or was I throwing him in there...? He might have a bigger role to play in the story, but shhh, nobody needs to know that just yet...

Anyways, I had a couple of late nights, so I don't know if I'll end up staying up late enough to finish and post something else, but those other updates'll come soon enough. Next on the list are SatJ, LtLB, UAAT and possibly LB JK. And basically everything else XD

May the Force be with you (and metaphorical brownies to you if you actually read the whole author's note because it was super long),

Sharron

PS: The title may or may not be a LOtR reference... hehehe