Picking the hilt up, Jonas turns it in his hands, examining it.

"It does indeed appear to be so," he finally says, igniting it and trying it out against a tree trunk. Though it does damage it, it neither slices through it nor burns it as readily as an actual lightsaber would do. Turning it off, he gives it to Kovin with a smile.

"Always ask first, talk first. It is extremely difficult to do after hostilities begin," he continues and adds, "and impossible when the other person is dead. And misunderstandings can indeed kill people. Better to avoid them."

"I appreciate that, but I was, I was confused. Scared," he drops his voice lower. "I didn't know what to do, so I ran."

Maya's sad smile sunk. I told you! I'm not a Sith! Dusk was my master, but not like you're thinking. I was his slave.

She shivered and hugged herself as she allowed the fresh wounds to re-open. For as long as I could remember, I was in chains. Before he bought me, it was the Trandoshans. I don't know how things are in the Core, but here on the Rim, people who can touch the Force are bought and sold like droids.

Maya laughed mirthlessly I was prized most of all. You'd be surprised how many credits a little girl who could predict the weather can fetch Finally, her voice became low and even. As evil as they were, the Sith were right about one thing. The Force freed me.

While on transit, I had a vision of a planet lit like a beacon in a void of darkness. I woke from my dream with an idea. I stole some gear from my master's sparring room, grabbed what little credits I could find, and stowed away in one of the escape pods.

She managed a small smile and turned Kovin. That's where you found me.

Kovin is deeply concerned by this whole string of events, they've left him quite shaken up. He takes a step back, preferring to defer to the wiser masters, aware that his emotions are overcoming him.

"So you've had plenty of time to observe three Jedi, Maya," Xan observes. "And you've experienced serving under a Sith, who you ran away from. But running away is a temporary solution--sooner or later, you have to stop, face what you've done, and make a choice."

Xan points at the sky. "Sith shot down our ship," he tells her, "which means they're here. And they will come for us, sooner or later...either they'll make sure they're no survivors from our crash, or we'll find them seeking the same thing we are. And when that happens, there will be no neutral parties."

Xan looks at Kovin. "I believe Kovin has made his choice," he says. "I believe he wants to be a Jedi. We are happy to accept him. I will train him, unless Jonas or Seifer wants the honor, in which case I will defer to their wishes and Kovin's as well. And that means he will likely end up fighting Sith alongside us soon."

He turns his gaze to Maya. "And now you have to make a choice," he says gravely. "You can cast your lot with the Jedi, and stay with us. Or, if you prefer the Sith, you can go now and look for him--I suspect given your powers, you will find them, or they you. Jonas and I will let you go in that case, but next time we meet things may not go so well. Or you could choose neither and simply leave us, but in that case I suspect you will be merely delaying the inevitable."

He sighs. "What you cannot do is stay with us without deciding. The Sith will make that decision for you when they show up, and I don't want you with us then unless I know where you stand."

He looks at Jonas. "We will leave to let you discuss this in private with Kovin if both of you wish it," he says, "but when we return, I expect you to lend support to our cause, at least while we are on this planet, or be gone."

"If you want to talk, I'd happily speak to you alone," Kovin looks reassured, now that the wiser master has spoken for them. "I don't want to have to leave you, but if our destinies lie along separate paths I must respect that."

So that's my choice. Become a Jedi or die here on this planet. She didn't intend to sound as bitter as she did, but she was speaking without considering her words. I'm not going back to the Sith. I hate them and I want to see them gone as much as you.

She calmed herself and nodded to Firan, who was neither Jedi nor a Sith. To her, he seemed practical. Not blinded by a Dogma that neither one of them understood. For that, he was also the one person in the new group that Maya respected. You've been quiet. What do you think?

"No," Xan says, shaking his head. "I did not say you had to become a Jedi. I said you have to commit to assisting us while on this planet. When we are finished and find a way off, you can go where you will."

He sighs. "I guess you haven't been listening to me, since I already told you the Jedi Order doesn't exist anymore...there's just a few half-trained survivors like me hoping to one day rekindle the Order, something which probably won't happen in my lifetime even in the best case scenario. What do you think we're going to do, Maya? Lock you up in our secret indoctrination center? Even if they Jedi had had one, it wouldn't exist anymore. We don't have the numbers or the resources to go around forcing the Force-users we encounter to do our bidding...I recruit them as best I can, an endeavor I often don't succeed at."

He gives her a penetrating look. "And one more thing...you claimed the Jedi were worse than the Sith, yet I just gave you the opportunity to walk away in peace and even rejoin the Sith if you like. Would your Sith Master have been so generous? You think I'm as dogmatic and bad as them? I understand you've been a slave and have good reason to be distrusting, but your bitterness does not serve you well now--it merely blinds you to truths which are right in front of your face."

"I'll respect your wishes, Maya. What I will not do is be stupid. I am not going to fight the Sith with you when I suspect you might decide midway through the battle that you'd have a better chance of survival by changing sides and stab me in the back. Yes, I realize your actions would be guided by pragmatism and not any love for the Sith, and maybe even you'd do it to save Kovin, which is noble in a way, but even so we end up dead. I'm not taking that risk. I want you to make clear where you stand."

"My enemy is the Dark Lord, Revan. You've helped us so far, the color of your glowstick doesn't change that for me." Firan says, his rifle in his hands but held up to his chest, pointed at no one.

Deep down, his trust is shaken a little bit. Not because of any personal prejudices, but because of how shaken some of the group has become. If Maya had become a threat, he would not hesitate to put a blaster bolt in her chest, but as things stood now, she has shown no threat to the group. Perhaps he will keep a closer look on her.

The group realized that they were near the edge of the forest. The trees were thinning out, and the cold wind, albeit dry, could be felt more clearly in the night air. The recent revelation had put somewhat of a damper on things, but despite the choices now to be made, their original goal was still ahead of them.

"Look," said Kovin. "Let's just put this whole thing aside for now. We can hardly exile Maya, there's nowhere much for her to go and leaving her here is cruel. We've still got a temple to reach, and if she wants to come along with us for now she can. But Xan, Jonas and Seifer are pulling the strings for now."

Maya gave Firan a respectful nod; then, to Kovin in agreement.

However, she now regarded Xan with as much caution as he would her.

She had already committed herself to helping her new companions. That still hasn't changed. But now she was forced to consider what she would do once they escaped Tython. All her life she lived as a slave. Always there was someone telling her when to eat and how to act. She knew nothing of the larger part of the Galaxy.

Maybe she could find her family? The idea did not comfort her. She neither knew their names, where they live, nor what they looked like. She didn't even have a clan name to go by.

She looked to Kovin, who was still holding the training saber she stole from her master. She considered asking for it back, but decided she didn't want it. It already caused her more grief than she imagined such a small object could inflict.

May ashivered. Tython suddenly felt cold. Colder than the cells on Korriban. With a heavy sigh, she bound herself in her robes, and pressed forward.

Xan holds up a hand. "And we will leave presently," he says, "right after Maya answers my question: where do you stand? I'm a Consular, Maya; I can sense emotional states, lies and deception in the Force as you can get glimpses of things you seek. I sense your anger and mistrust towards me...I already gave you reasons why such feelings were not based in truth, and told you how your bitterness blinds you. I would hear your response before we set off together."

"And as Kovin has correctly noted, we have little time, so please don't stall any further. Where do you stand?"

Xan holds up a hand. "And we will leave presently," he says, "right after Maya answers my question: where do you stand? I'm a Consular, Maya; I can sense emotional states, lies and deception in the Force as you can get glimpses of things you seek. I sense your anger and mistrust towards me...I already gave you reasons why such feelings were not based in truth, and told you how your bitterness blinds you. I would hear your response before we set off together."

"And as Kovin has correctly noted, we have little time, so please don't stall any further. Where do you stand?"

Pressing Maya like this will cause Xan to accrue 1 conflict.

So noted, but it's what he would do. And given the fact that we're looking for old Jedi relics and are the survivors of a Jedi Order that's been nearly hunted to extinction by the Sith, I don't think Xan's caution regarding a former Sith who's flatly stated she considers the Jedi worse than the Sith is unwarranted or unusual.

"Xan, you are being... difficult," Jonas interjects with a shake of his head and a half-hearted smile. "Push a little and things simply bend your way, certainly. But push too much and they break." He shrugs. "She has only helped us so far, so I should think we do not want to break her, do we now? I suspect she has had enough of that in her life so far."

He turns to look at the Togruta girl. "Am I correct?"

"Let us allow the matter to rest for now. We cannot simply abandon her after all, even if she is not quite ready to commit herself in the way you want her too," he continues. "And if it will make you feel any better, I will keep an eye on her. Deal?"

"The only 'commitment' I asked of her was to explain why she suddenly wants to assist a group of Jedi she claimed earlier were worse tyrants than the Sith...and this is coming from a person who claims she was their slave. And in case you forgot, Jonas, there's likely a group of Sith somewhere on this planet either looking for us or what we seek, and Maya's already displayed a willingness to lash out with the Dark Side when angered. Are you so certain you won't end up on the receiving end of that?"

Xan turns to Maya. "I don't know where you and Jonas are getting this idea that I'm demanding you swear everlasting fealty to me or the Jedi, but let's make this simple, Maya, and turn the situation around. Let's say you belong to an order of force-users who are your family and your whole life, but the cruel, villanious Jedi Order has killed nearly all of them save for a small band that includes yourself. While on a mission to retrive artifacts belonging to your order that could assist in its survival, you are shot down by treacherous Jedi, upon which you meet a survivor on the planet's surface. This survivor is secretive, and claims it is the Jedi who are the real victims, and your order the oppressors. Later, you find out this person was enslaved by the Jedi, yet when you offer an alliance simply by asking them to assure you they will not betray you, they lash out by claiming you are trying to forcibly recruit them into your order. When you then state again that, no, you are not doing that and simply want assurances they will not stick a knife in your back, they refuse to answer, and you sense nothing but distrust and anger eminating from them."

Xan raises an eyebrow. "So tell me, Maya, are you going to invite this individual to come with you on your secret mission to find hidden artifacts of your order? If you can give me an honest 'yes' and a logical rationale to back it up, I'll drop the issue."

Yeesh. Clearly Xan never had a teenaged son or daughter.

Maya had resigned herself to observe her companions. She wanted desperately to press forward and be left alone, but the more Xan pressed his points, the more angry she got. By the time he was done backing her into a corner, she was furious.

I only said that I thought the Jedi had oppressed the Sith. Dusk told me a lot of things I don't think I could trust. I wanted to gage his word versus yours.

Earlier, you told me 'I can cast my lot with the Jedi, and stay with you or I can go look for the Sith' So DON'T, Maya pointed a finger accusingly at Xan, accuse me of lying about your words.

I don't know what's true anymore. I heard so many stories of both the Sith and the Jedi. None of it may be true. But it's clear to me that the Jedi are not as great as your campfire stories were leading me to believe.

Tears once gain began to line her cheeks. She lowered her tone, but the anger refused to resign. You asked me what my choice is, the last of her anger subsided, leaving only sadness I just want off this planet. I don't care about your war or your faction. Kovin trusts you and I trust Kovin. You have my help if you want it.

"'Cast my lot with the Jedi' doesn't mean forced servitude, Maya--it means to acknowledge that our fates are linked. When the Sith find us, they will surely kill you as quickly as they do us if they see you aiding us. I want to make sure you know that. I want to make sure you will not change your mind. I want to make sure you have a reason to stand by us. I want to to make sure I am not making a mistake bringing you with us."

"Your inability to grasp such simple concepts as trust and loyalty is troubling, Maya. Your inability to even give me a vague reassurance that you can be trusted without my forcing the issue so is disappointing. And spare me your victimization narrative and your clumsy attempts ar revisionism... I heard what you said, and as such I don't care what you think about the Jedi. And millions have lost their freedom, futures and very lives to the Sith--you got off lightly by comparison. When you stop wallowing in self-pity and start thinking about what you can do to stop others from suffering so, then maybe you'll find the purpose that you're looking for, even if you don't realize that's what you're doing yet."

"Still, I sense no deception in your words, so I will drop the matter. But remember this, Maya: when you start feeling sorry for yourself regarding all those terrible things that mean Jedi Xan said to you, understand I said nothing that the circumstances you find yourself in aren't going to make clear to you in the near future. And thank the Force you didn't have my teacher as your mentor; he said harsher things to me most days before breakfast."

She screamed in her head how terrible of a consular he was - how wrong was his read on her. Maya bit back the barbs she longed to say. But instead - as she took her steps words their next challenge - she looked to the others to see how they reacted to Xan's aggressive and misinformed judgments. Judging from his words earlier, at least Jonas found his companion's behavior discomforting. Maya clung to that. Maybe it was just Xan who was insufferably narrow minded.

For the third time, she stifled her anger, her sorrow, and her sense of loneliness. Those feelings were useless if she had nothing to direct them towards.

"Oh would you stop this?" Kovin suddenly stepped forward, practically shouting to be heard. "Your intergalactic ideological kark-waving is giving me a headache. Can we please just move on from here?" Hoping that the tension had deflated, he turned first to Xan. "I can vouch for her. I've known her for weeks now, and she's done nothing more treacherous than wake me up early in the morning. We can stay here all night and argue, or we can move on to the temple and try to accomplish something. And you," he turns back to Maya. "We should talk later. But you should know that when this is done I'm going with the Jedi, and if you want to follow you'll have to cooperate with them."

The young Togruta smiled a tiny, but pleasant smile. She took his blustering as a sign that he didn't completely hate her. But trust would have to be earned and re-earned.

Yes. I think we should talk. But you're right, now is not the time. If the Sith are on our tails, I don't want to wait around for them to show up. I think I can help.

She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She began to feel the maelstrom of emotions that has plagued her over the past moments, but she set those aside. Normally, they gave her focus, but this time they served only as a distraction. She thought of the moments after finding the bloody dagger, in how her visions came quicker and clearer when she emptied her mind, rather than directing her emotions. So she did the same in this case.

Rather that willing the Force, she moved with it; trusting it to give her a vision that may aid her companions.

Foresee: 3eF 3 Light Side, 1 Dark Side

I'll flip a destiny point, suffer a strain, and spend a lightside pip for vague hints up to a day in the future.

Ugh. I need to invest more in Foresee to get some detail

Maya's eyes fluttered open. Unlike her vision with the dagger, she looked neither disturbed nor distraught.

To the group at large she said, The Force has shown me another vision. Eight rocks, arranged in a circle. She furrowed her brow and stared at the ground as if she was willing it to move. The arrangement was familiar. Like I've seen it before. It might have been a Sith monument. I'm not sure. It doesn't make any sense. They where covered in sand. This planet is mostly Jungle and wetlands. I don't recall seeing any beaches or deserts. Unless the vision was not of Tython.

As the night wore on, the companions decided on a course of action. Their goal was ahead of them, through this forest, their datapad still pointing the way.

Xan sensed the rage coming from Maya which, surprisingly, she bit off. While that was surprising restraint on her part, it changed nothing--the girl's psyche was split in two, unable to come to grips with the harshness of the universe she lived in, and determined to find villains to fit her personal victimization narrative. And while in most circumstances such could be healed through time and compassion, they had neither to spare. Maya was strong in the Force, had already showed a willingness to kill, and was going to be put into that situation again in the very near future. And truth be told, her attitude irked him.

That was an un-Jedi like thing to admit, but then again, as Xan remembered once again, he wasn't actually a Jedi...he'd never faced the trials that would have awarded him a knighthood, a chance the Sith had taken away. But then again, there was no guarantee he would have passed anyway...and he, for the last few decades, had always secretly feared that perhaps the Sith had done him something of a small favor. If he had failed, and the Jedi had cast him out, where would he be now? Maybe it was only because the Sith had wiped out the Order that he was granted the illusion of pretending he still represented the Jedi, somehow.

He turned his lightsaber over in his hands, something that usually reassured him. He was a fair duelist...but not much of anything else. (And, in the one fight the group had faced since arriving here, he had immediately been neutralized by a net and unable to do anything for the rest of the battle...some fighter he had proved to be.) What other successes had he wracked up since the Order fell? He killed a Sith? Talked a few groups into allying with the Resistance?

Was that it? That wasn't enough to be a Jedi.

He put the lightsaber away. There were no answers to be found here.

The girl had a vision which the others were listening to...well, for all her faults, she at least had something useful to contribute, which was more than he could say for himself.

He followed silently as the night wore on.