It was a white blur that moved across the dark grassy plain in front of the temple, moving amongst the attacking Rakata warriors and muddling the minds of the two young rancors with a touch of the Force.

For Atris, the vision of Bastila's ordeal and eventual enlightenment was still fresh in her mind along with her utter contempt for the late Darth Malak and the crass manner in which he had operated. Still, the lesson had been learned, first by Bastila and then by Atris, herself. A new insight into the Force had settled in wherein it was no longer necessary to have the Force dictate one's actions. Instead, it was possible, and perhaps even necessary, to use the Force as one would any other tool, harnessing it's energy and driving its energy before you with one's passions. It was the key to unraveling the mystery of the Sith and to their destruction. It was a lesson her young padawans would have to learn as well, she thought to herself, slicing her blade through the leg of one of the rancors. The creature fell screaming to the ground, and she turned to face the other.

The Selkath, Daarok and Sena followed their leader across the field, clashing with the nearest Rakata, lightsabers cutting through primitive weapons and the creatures alike. For Daarok and Sena, a strange sensation came over them that had them exchanging glances quickly before driving into the pack of Rakata, hacking and slashing with their blades. Adrenaline mixed with something else, something more ethereal flowed through them, and the Force guided their hands to land one lethal strike after another. And the vigor that accompanied it was exquisite, though of course forbidden to a Jedi. It was a thought that occurred to Daarok and Sena as the last Rakata was cut down. They watched the second rancor swipe at Atris, and saw her draw back her blade before driving it up through the creature's chin and out the top of its head. As  its bulk come crashing to the ground where Atris had been standing seconds before, the possibilities tantalized them. Because forbidden was a far cry from impossible or even unlikely. Forbidden was what Jedi padawans were not allowed, but secretly wondered about in the backs of their minds whether it be innocent curiosity or outright desire.

Atris looked over at them and nodded. "You have fought well, My Padawans. When the time comes to face the Sith, you will be ready."

Then the Selkath spoke in its native throaty language, and Sena approached it.

"Do you understand the creature?" Atris asked her.

"Oh yes, Master. I was a Jedi Consular on Coruscant and received language training along with diplomacy lessons. He says our lightsaber techniques are not like yours and that we have much to learn."

"Does he now?" Atris queried, moving towards them and hanging her lightsaber on her belt. "I was not aware that we had another Master amongst us who was qualified to make such determinations."

The Selkath bowed his head as she approached.

"You also have much to learn, Selkath," Atris told him. "But I will require your help in training them. Your own lightsaber skills will serve as inspiration for them. Something to strive for. The three of you, remove these bodies. Burn them. Then I have training for you inside the Temple. Our sister Jedi Knight Bastila Shan left some of her teachings behind." With that, she walked back into the Temple...

It was several weeks later, squinting into the morning sun from atop the observation platform on the Temple, that Atris spotted the Handmaidens' freighter arriving. She made her way down to the courtyard where Daarok and Sena sparred with the Selkath looking on. 

Veloth was his name, and he had become her unofficial training instructor. With the help of Sena she had established a connection with him and also found out of the existence of other Force using Selkath on Manaan. The name of the slain Selkath had been Tosson, and he had been Veloth's former master.

"How can you know that these other Selkath were not slain by Revan along with the Sith Master?" Atris had asked him.

"I cannot know," he'd admitted.

The conversation had been in the foremost of Atris' thoughts ever since.

The hum of their lightsabers became silent as Daarok and Sena de-activated the weapons and turned too look at her.

"They are here," Atris said, looking at Veloth. "It is almost time for us to leave." She turned her attention back to Daarok and Sena. "My assistants will remain with you. There is much they can teach you about Echani fighting techniques. This will be invaluable when the time comes to face the Sith."

"Master, " Daarok said, bowing, "it shall be as you command."

"Continue your sparring."

Daarok and Sena turned to face each other, activated their lightsabers, and began again. Daarok showed more finesse in his techniques, but it was Sena, Atris felt, that had more fully taken to the meditation in the Obelisk chamber. Perhaps it was that the echoes that Bastila left behind resonated more fully with other females, or perhaps it was simply that Sena had been more open to them.

It was a short time later that the Handmaidens appeared from amongst the rocks that led down to the shore. They walked across the grass towards the group, dressed in their familiar white uniforms. "Mistress, it is good to see that you are well."

"I am well. I trust you encountered no difficulties on Telos?"

"None, Mistress," said the lead handmaiden. "But there were rumors of the Exile searching our base beneath the polar cap."

"Of course," Atris, turning her gaze to the sky. "She was hoping to find the holocrons for herself. But she will not have them as long as I still live."

"Master," Daarok said, walking over with Sena. "Should we not consider asking the Exile for aid against the Sith? Is it said she is a powerful Jedi once more."

Atris turned her attention to him, feeling the anger rising within her. "She is no Jedi. She joined Revan but was not strong enough to walk Revan's path, and only then did she return to the Jedi Council to face the consequences of her actions. I have already told you, Padawan. The Exile is not to be trusted. She has an agenda all her own. She is only interested in taking Revan's place. And you would do well not to question me again. Perhaps in meditation you will find the answers you seek." Her voice had taken on a harsh tone that brought a stillness to the grassy plain and which left no doubt in the minds of those assembled as to the advisability of questioning her further.

After a pause, Daarok bowed and said, "Forgive me, Master. It's not my place to disagree with you. I will return to my meditation." He turned and walked into the Temple.

Atris' eyes followed him as he went. "Sena?"

"Yes, Master?"

"Padawan Daarok is having difficulty with the training. I want you to see that he does not fall behind while I am gone."

"Gone? Where are you going, Master?" she asked, a frown crossing her features.

"Voloth and I will be going to Manaan. There maybe Force students there in need of training.  You and Daarok will remain here to protect our new Temple. My Handmaidens will remain with you."

"Very well, Master. I will make sure Daarok does not falter."

Atris looked at the lead Handmaiden. "There is a native species here called the Rakata. They have already attacked the Temple once. They may do so again. If they do, my padawans will need your help. I would also like you to train them in your Echani fighting techniques. They will need such knowledge for the times ahead. First, however, you must secure the entrance to the Temple. We did not have time to do so. But come inside. There is much to be discussed before Voloth and I leave in the morning." Atris could feel impatience rising in her, her urge to be underway almost unbearable..

The next morning found Voloth and Atris in the cockpit of the Handmaidens' ship. They powered up the systems and then lifted off, watching the beach shrink below them. In Voloth, she had found not only an assistant to help her teach, but a skilled pilot as well. With the help of Sena, she's had another long talk with him the night before. Though she couldn't understand his language, it was enough that he understood her. Understood her language and her purpose, and would help her do what must be done. But he would also have to be watched, as she sensed ambition in him though biding his time carefully under his new master.

Once the the ship had cleared the planet's gravitation well and had made the jump to hyperspace, Atris stood and looked down at Voloth. "I shall be in my quarters meditating ," she told him. "Contact me if if you need me." She left the cockpit and  moved down the gangway through the main hold. Beneath her she could feel the hum of the ship's engines, and apart from that was stillness. She slipped into her compartment and kneeled on the padded floor.

With a twinge of unease, she began to slip into meditation. Unease because of the last time she had meditated in this room, right after discovering Vrook, Cavar and Kai-Ell slain on Dantooine. But that traumatic experience was long past now, and that had been a different Atris that had stumbled upon that atrocity. A much weaker Atris, an Atris not prepared for war. The Sith Warrior on Korriban had met the new Atris, and had found himself lacking. She found it necessary to re-assure herself in her private moment of doubt that there was nothing left to fear. That it would be her new vision of the Jedi that would inspire the fear now.  One thing she could count on was that after embracing the Dark Side, rather than fearing it, the shroud that clouded the vision of the Jedi Council had lifted. And with that reassuring note, she closed her eyes and allowed the Force to flow through her, bringing whatever insight it would...

It was most likely the time spent in the chamber in the Rakata temple that spurred the vision that came to her. It was of Bastila, wearing her Sith robes, skin pale, but her eyes were piercing and her determination was fixed in her expression. She was wandering down a passageway, occasionally marked by glyphs at various intervals. These symbols Atris recognized from her time spent in the Jedi Archives. They were long forgotten, seldom seen in Republic space, a hybrid of the ancient language of the species known as Sith and of the common tongue that those Dark Jedi who originally rebelled from the Order took with them. Grey stonework of a crude nature made up the passageway, and Bastila crept along it carefully, moving from shadow to shadow. Clearly it was a place of the Sith, and yet Bastila moved stealthily through it as though not wishing to be seen. This, Atris found puzzling, as Bastila had run off and followed Revan on her descent into madness. But of Revan there was no sign.  Here, apparently were Sith, among which even and Revan and Bastila were not welcome it would seem.

Just then, a pair of Sith Warrior appeared out of a connecting passageway just ahead of her. In a flash, Bastila had her red double bladed lightsaber out and had run the first startled Sith Warrior through, then brought the other blade up, slicing through where the figure's neck must have been.. The helmet dropped to the ground followed by the body. The other Sith Warrior didn't hesitate, but advanced on her lightsaber drawn.  She met its attack with her own blade with a loud crackling as the beams met, and then launched into a furious series of attacks of her own, driving the figure in armor back and back until its back hit the wall. It was then that it's concentration faltered. No doubt it saw the red beam of her blade approaching, but its' response was a fraction too slow. It froze as the beam drove through its mid-section and then was just as quickly withdrawn. Slowly it fell against the wall and down to the floor revealing a blackened hole in the wall behind it.

She saw Bastila grab first one then the other armored figure and begin to drag them down the other passageway. It had been a rather sudden victory, and Atris felt a bit of apprehension move through her at the prospect of eventually confronting her. But Bastila had killed a Sith,  without  provocation and without any words even being exchanged. Nothing to indicate any of the usual personal challenge so common amongst the Sith. She seemed a woman bent on killing them. A woman much like Atris, herself.

Atris watched as Bastila moved down corridor after corridor of an ancient fortress, slipping into rooms decorated with ancient furnishings and past patrolling guards. Among the soldiers she encountered, there was a mixture of old and new armor sets and patterns of Sith robes. Some figures were covered from head to toe, and others were attired to reveal their features. Of these, there were humans with the customary grey skin and  glazed eyes of humans who'd  fallen to the Dark side as well as red-skinned humanoids who could only be the diluted blood descendants of the ancient race the Dark Jedi had found in their exodus from Republic space. They were much as the great Jedi Master Odan-Urr had described them in his journals, but clearly there was a great deal of influence by newer generations of Dark Jedi. It had been though that the Dark Jedi had been wiped out in the Great Hyperspace War. Perhaps some had survived, went into hiding to emerge when the time was right. They carried a variety of weapons, and were of both sexes though with a much larger percentage of males.

It had been reported by the Republic forces who first arrived at Korriban after that world's recent upheaval, that there had been evidence of a departure of several ships most likely during the fighting. In their report to the Jedi Council, they had explained that there had been a great battle in the hangar outside the Czerka outpost there, and that the dock master's logs had been destroyed. Even so, Republic Intelligence felt certain that many more ships had been docked there then simply the destroyed wrecks they found still in their bays. With the equipment smashed as it was, and no apparent survivors, tracking any departing ships would not have been possible.

Bastila had found the enemy, but where? The Sith Empire had supposedly been destroyed a thousand years earlier. If  so, who then were the beings now filling their armor and walking their ancient halls. But Bastila's next discovery yielded new insight as Atris watched her creep down the side passageway and peek over a balcony overlooking a vast cavernous room. Down below, past Bastila, Atris could row after row of Sith Warriors standing at attention. Perhaps a hundred or so in their unique armor, and out of site from beneath the balcony, a loud voice shouting out commands in the ancient tongue of the Sith. Words Atris could not understand, despite her advanced studies of the Sith and their history.

It was just then she was suddenly brought out of her meditation by the sound of Veloth's voice over the comm.

"What?" she demanded, irritated at the interruption.

The universal translator displayed words across the screen of her console as he spoke again. "Master, we are coming up on Manaan."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, seething at having been drawn out of her vision too soon. "Very well," she said between clenched teeth. "I will join you momentarily."  She returned to the cockpit and strapped herself in. The starlines reverted back to the normal speckled blackness of space, and there before them was a blue planet.

It was a short while later that they entered the atmosphere and were rapidly descending to a vast platform floating on the water. Veloth spoke again, and the words "Ahto City," appeared on the screen. It was then that another voice came over the comm which Veloth conversed with briefly, and then they were coming into a landing in a large bay. The powered the ship's engines down and exited the ship. They found themselves on a platform several meters above the waterline.

 As she walked down the landing ramp, Atris pulled her hood up over her head, hiding most of her face in shadow. A pair of doors leading out of the hangar opened for them as they approached. A Selkath voice came over the intercom, and Atris noticed a small surveillance droid hovering up near the ceiling. Another a set of doors opened, and they emerged into a corridor.

The corridor stretched for a long distance in either direction and was lined with stalls where Selkath merchants were offering various wares. Fish, clothing, tech and artwork could be seen on display as they passed by the various stands. Leading the way, Veloth ignored them, offering only a harsh retort to any merchant who stepped forward to meet them. But one spoke suddenly to Atris in Basic as she passed nearby, "Welcome, Human, to Manaan. Might I have something that would interest you?" He extended a hand out toward the display behind him showing.

"No, " she said, continuing to move past him.

"Perhaps one of these?" he persisted, holding out his other hand.

She glanced very briefly from the folds of her hood and noticed what at first she took to be a gem of some sort, but which she quickly realized was a lightsaber crystal. Quixoni to be exact. A very rare crystal.

She drew nearer to have a closer look. "Where did you come upon this?" she asked him in a low voice.

 Just as quickly, the crystal disappeared from sight into the folds of the Selkath's robes.  "As I said, I am curious what your purpose here is," the Selkath, dropping his own voice to just above a whisper. "It is not often that we get a member of the Jedi Council visiting us...Master Atris."

Behind her she sensed an angry Veloth moving up toward them clearly intending to put the merchant back in his place, but she stayed him with a gesture. Strangely, the Force did flow in this creature, despite him having the crystal and knowledge of her. "Our purpose here is none of you affair, Selkath," she said. More of the surveillance droids could be seen floating up and down the corridor. It seemed the Selkath were quite a paranoid race, she decided.

"On the contrary, it may be that I can show you that which you seek here," he told her. "My name is Fensis. I..." But his next word refused to come out, his hand reaching for his throat as he began to gasp for breath, and his eyes suddenly becoming wider.

"I haven't the patience for this," she said to him, drawing still closer.

He felt the choking sensation suddenly gone and replaced with a presence probing his mind and brushing aside his feeble attempts to either stop it or shield his thoughts. His mind became completely opened to it, but it mercifully  withdrew after a short while.

"You surprise me, Selkath," Atris said, finally. "You actually do have knowledge I require. You will show me to the others."

It actually wasn't a very good idea for him to be taking them there, but when she said it, it seemed a very reasonable request. Or was it a command? Either way, the Selkath knew what he must do next. "Follow me, Master Jedi," he said and began leading the way down the corridor. The merchant in the next stall called out to him, but Fensis offered no reply, merely kept walking. Atris and Veloth trailed closely behind.

He led them into another landing bay, this slanted downward until it disappeared into the water. At the edge was moored a strange craft bobbing on top of the small waves that rolled into the bay and splashed against the platform. The craft was in the shape of a W with what appeared to be a cockpit enclosed in a bubble of glass in the center of it. It had been painted in a bluish green patter that blended in with the hue of the water.

Fensis turned to face them and said something to Voloth in the Selkath tongue and then spoke to Atris. "I'd assumed you do not wish to swim to our base. It is only accessible from under the sea. It is because of this that we have a submersible for...guests."

Atris nodded.

With that, he pulled a small device from his pocket and clicked a button it. The bubble on the craft opened. He stepped carefully on to the craft, steadying himself as it bounced up and down on the water and turned to offer a hand to Atris. But she had no problem negotiating the surface of the craft and quickly made her way to the cockpit. The two Selkath followed, and then Fensis closed the bubble over them. He powered up the engines on the ship and then slowly backed it out of the bay and into the sunlight beyond.

"Now, we dive," Fensis said and pushed forward on the yoke sending the ship into a sharp descent dipping beneath the waves and into the depths, where it gradually became darker as they retreated from the sunlit surface. Around her, Atris could feel the temperature drop as they gradually dropped down lower and lower. Outside of the bubble, she could see a myriad of strange aquatic life, both plant and animal move past them, and she noticed that they began moving underneath a section of the city. The cockpit suddenly grew very dark and soft illumination flared to life along the sides of it. Here the fish swarmed in larger groups, scattering as the submersible drew near.

They traveled through the darkness for some time, only a narrow tunnel ahead of them being lit up by the the submersible's lights. Finally, Fensis pushed a button on the control panel and spoke in Selkath into the comm. From above, a crack of light appeared in the darkened framework above them which gradually widened into a large, brightly lit opening. He sent the submersible into a climb and they entered a well lit landing bay. He moved the submersible forward slowly until it lightly bumped into the platform with several Selkath watching. They stood patiently as the two Selkath and Atris exited the ship and stepped on to the platform at which point their hands went to the their lightsabers hanging off their belts. But they froze as they took a closer look at Veloth, their eyes widening noticeably. He spoke to them, and a long, apparently heated conversation followed in Selkath.

"They are familiar with your companion, even if I am not," Fensis explained to Atris as she looked on.. "But there is some disagreement over both yourself and his return. This is the former Sith Base in Ahto City. It was abandoned after the defeat of the Sith by the Jedi who passed through here. Did Veloth make you aware of what transpired here?"

"He did," Atris replied.

A hostile look was cast Fensis' way and harsh word uttered before the Selkath turned its attention back to Veloth.

"And," Fensis continued, "I have been reproached for bringing you here."

"What is Veloth telling them?" she asked.

"He is telling them that you have great power. That you..."

Just then one of the Selkath activated its lightsaber and moved to attack Veloth. But Atris was quicker, throwing a Force push at it which drove it into the wall hard, and then activated her own lightsaber. The other Selkath confronting Veloth moved its hand in the direction of its own lightsaber, but then suddenly reached for its throat as choking sounds could be heard coming from it. With a motion of her hand, she lifted the Selkath into the air with the Force and hurled him into the water behind the submersible. Then she turned to face the one that still huddled against the wall, reaching for its lightsaber and looking up at her.

"Tell him if he does not desist, I will strike him down," she ordered Fensis.

He spoke to the creature who glanced at him and then turned its fearful gaze back at her. Meanwhile two other Selkath appeared through an open doorway and looked over the scene with obvious apprehension, and reached for their lightsabers as well.

"Tell them, that I know what they yearn for," Atris said to Fensis. "That I can teach them that which they wish to know, but that there is a price for such knowledge."

Fensis translated, and then Veloth began to speak to the four Selkath who now had drawn together. There was a brief conversation amongst them, and then Fensis turned to face Atris.

"I see the problem now," he said. "It appears they have mistaken you for someone else. They believe you to be the one who who initially destroyed the Sith here."

Atris' forehead creased. "Explain to them that the Sith who fought here was Revan, and that she is now far from here, beyond the Outer Rim."

Fensis spoke to the Selkath, and another brief heated exchange took place. He turned back to Atris. "They say it was not a Sith, but a Jedi and that she is here in Ahto City."

Atris shook her head. "That is not possible. Had Revan returned, I would have known. And she is no Jedi. I am the last of the Jedi." No, it simply was not possible, she thought to herself. Perhaps one of the Lost Jedi, or even the Exile. But it simply could not be Revan. Or could it? The possibility of her having returned was unsettling. A powerful Sith such as she returning at a time when other Sith threatened the galaxy from afar...there would be no hope for the Republic.

As she silently considered the possibility, it seemed another argument sprang up between Veloth and the other Selkath.

"It is, of course a fact that many Selkath have difficulty distinguishing one human from another," Fensis offered.

She sighed. "Tell them if there is a Jedi here, even if it is Revan, I will deal with her. In exchange they will become my apprentices. Assure them they will have need of such training, as the galaxy as they know it is threatened by other Sith from deep space."

Fensis explained the situation to the Selkath, and they seemed noticeably calmer afterward. One of them spoke to Fensis who translated to Atris. "He says we should discuss this more fully inside. They have accepted your offer, Master Jedi."

At that, the group of Selkath led the way out of the room and down a corridor. Along the walls there was carbon scoring, the evidence that a great battle had taken place there.  They walked through the complex passing the dusty remains of former Sith soldier barracks, various control rooms pertaining to managing the water level around the base and finally past the personal quarters of the Selkath to what Fensis explained had been the personal quarters of the former Sith Master. A small conference table had been set up there, and the arranged themselves around it.

One of the Selkath spoke to Fensis who translated for  Atris. "They wish to know if you are hungry?"

"Why yes, I am," she said.

"And do you prefer your fish cooked or raw? I believe it is the human way to cook their fish, is it not? Fortunately I do have some knowledge of human culture having worked in the Kolto Center for a short time."

"Yes, that would be nice."

Fensis bowed slightly and left the room. While he was gone, Veloth spoke to other Selkath.

Atris closed her eyes and tried to get a feel for the former Sith Master's presence, but there was little she could detect. She rose from her chair and moved around the room and finally into the training room across the corridor. It was there that the brief glimpses of a vision came to her. Images of Revan, Bastila and Juhani appeared in her mind. Of them fighting a masked Sith master of significant power. The battle seemed a furious one, the Sith fighting harder than she would have given him credit for. But Revan and Bastila attacked from either side, and Juhani's attacks from the front were enough to wear him down. In the end,  both Revan and Bastila's lightsabers pierced the man's Sith robes, and his body slumped to the floor lifeless. She continued walking, and throughout the complex there were similar flashes of insight into the battle that had taken place there. It was a short while later that Fensis found her and informed her the food was ready.

Deep in thought over the things she'd seen, she barely noticed the less than pleasant sight of the Selkath eating raw fish. Surprisingly, the dish that Fensis had prepared for her was edible, the fish on Manaan having a richer taste than other types she'd tasted in the past.

After the meal was over, she looked at each of them in turn and said, "Now tell me of Revan..."