23 Chapter 3.7: Duel of Fate

(Naboo, Hanger Bay)

(3rd Person PoV)

Slowly Mace opened the cloak covering his armour and reached for his lightsabers. The tension in the air rose as the Jedi did the same, shrugging off their Jedi robes and reaching for their hilts. *Snap* *Hiss* Five Lightsabers ignited, 2 green and 3 blue, as they prepared themselves for the coming fight. Starring at their new opponent they stopped for a moment as they took in the menacing armour that just peaked through the dark robes.

Black metallic boots wrapped his legs and led up to the thin armour leggings that he wore. On his belt sat 3 lightsabers clipped into specific holds of the belt, which then lead to his chest armour. It was a sleek silver and black design that gave off a menacing vibe to the watching Jedi.

Small carvings littered the piece to denote its antique feeling; the dark side that rolled of the chest piece alone put both Master Vos and Jinn on edge, not to mention their Padawan's. Thick Pauldrons sat underneath the robes on his shoulders, but they were rounded off and didn't jut out far from his body.

They sat above the gauntlets that sprawled down his forearm and became thin gloves at his hand. Mechanical in appearance they had studded spikes on the knuckles and groves throughout the piece. Finally to finish the image, a Sith eradicator mask sat on his head and looked at them unblinkingly.

A chill went down their spine as they looked into the slits of the mask and caught sight of the red glow beneath. They had never seen a mask like it before, but something primal, something in the force told them of its connection to the dark side, how it had been dipped in blood and destruction. It made them feel sick just being in its presence.

Mace's hands slowly lowered and unclipped the Lightsabers at his side, spreading his arms out as he finally ignited them. *Snap* *Hiss* All the Jedi focused their attention on the blades as they appeared before them, all becoming dumbstruck at the unique and rare coloring. They had been expecting red as he was a Sith; they had never thought they would see Silver and White!

Qui-Gon frowned as he looked at the white blade. There was only one way for a Kyber crystal to be white in his knowledge and if he hadn't seen the process once when master Yoda performed the procedure he would be completely clueless about its sudden appearance.

A white bladed lightsaber only came about when one cleansed the darkness from a red lightsaber, but they were facing a sith, what was going on? That wasn't the only strange thing though, what was peculiar was the fact that the whit blade had red running right down the middle.

'What did this mean?' Qui-Gon was caught in his thoughts as suddenly the force started to change in the area, the pressure the Sith was giving off started to heighten, pressing on them at an unprecedented rate, as if to suffocate them.

Both Vos and Secura knew what was happening as they had felt it happen before, when they faced Darth Zavros. It had almost completely crippled them at the start of a fight. They started to strengthen their resolve and mind, while Vos turned to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to warn them of the imminent danger. But just as it was starting to become hard to bear, the pressure stop rising and did not increase. Though it was uncomfortable, it did now crush them.

Frowns came to their faces as they looked at their opponent still standing there. It hadn't gone unnoticed by both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan that the Sith that attacked them on Tatooine was lying dead on the ground behind said sith, but they said nothing. They had more pressing matters to deal with.

Finally Mace spoke, he's refined voice slightly surprising the Jedi about to face him, though it sounded bored and uninterested. "This battle will be boring, dull, you have no chance against me. It is not worth my time."

Aayla felt her rage spike as she stepped forwards, but stayed close to the group. 'This is exactly like before!' The thought ran through her mind as she noticed that he hadn't picked up his third blade. She knew it was impossible for a person to use 3 blades but images of her last battle flashed through her mind and she gritted her teeth.

"Then why fight us! Why come here?!" She knew she let her emotions get the better of her, but she didn't care, she wanted to know. Mace turned to her a bit of intrigue in his eyes as he sensed the dark side dwelling deep within her.

Vos stepped forwards, ready to protect his Padawan from him but Mace just turned his head away from her as if looking at something else before responding. "…Because this must happen."

The words confused Aayla as she just wanted a straight answer, but before she could say anything else Qui-Gon stepped forwards. "Then prepare to face your end Sith." Mace turned to him and gave him a leveled stare, getting into his favorite stance. "Better Jedi than you have tried."

**************

(Mace PoV)

My words were a trigger for the fight. I watched them as the two masters looked at each other before rushing forwards, both their apprentices following behind. I entered form 3 to test their attack pattern, I wasn't worried, but it was better to assess my opponents.

The two masters seemed to have worked together before. It was easy to tell from their team work as they moved in. They kept a good distance from each other, one aiming high while the other low. If I were using one blade I might have had to put more effort in, but as I was using two, it was easy to block.

But I kept my eyes on the Padawan's that were closing in behind them; I couldn't stay in place for too long. I took a step back putting the black haired one off balance while I moved forwards slashing at the other.

He moved back as I moved into the Padawan's attacks, they weren't nearly as good with their teamwork as they tried to pincer me. I swept my leg out to force one back while rotating around and deflecting a blow to the back.

Our positions were almost parallel now from where we started. I twitched for a second as the force pulled me in a certain direction. I started to back off in that direction as another barrage of swings came at me. Because of their number only 2 of them could attack me from the front.

As I didn't let them get behind me, it was almost a constant barrage, blocking each blow one after the other, but the blows weren't heavy enough, nor fast enough for me to put in more effort. I felt the force shift and saw the Twi'lek disappear with a subpar force cloak before my eyes.

I put it out of my mind but continued to track her movements as I faced the masters. One used form 7 to pressure me backwards, while the other stuck to form 1 and he was almost a master at the basic strikes. The Padawan I could still see focused more on 3 and 5 when he fought me.

He was nowhere near as skilled as the masters, so he was focusing on defense and counter attacks. I had just blocked another blow from the older master and was going to block the other when I felt the Twi'lek behind me.

I rolled forwards into his body, tripping one to the ground to dodge the blow. The Twi'lek looked shocked for a second before moving forwards. Blocking another blow, I pushed in close to her body and shoulder her chest.

She was thrown off guard as I quickly did a spinning kick directly impacting her head and knocking her to the ground. "Aayla!" One of the masters shouted out as I twisted my lightsaber into a reverse grip and started to bring it down to her midsection.

She would have died had her master not pushed her out of the way. My body tensed when I felt the use of the force, but instead of focusing on me, he moved her struggling body to the side, my saber instead impaling the ground. I hadn't hit her hard enough with the spinning kick to knock her out of the fight, but it would take her at least a minute before she could join in again.

I looked to the side and quickly dodge an incoming swing while turning to face the Twi'lek's master. I could feel the undulation of the dark side as his blows became heavier and stronger, he started to blitz me, his show of strength putting my on the back foot.

Sliding under one of my deflective swings he was suddenly behind me, while the other two Jedi were in front. They had me encircled. I let out a small smile at the tactic they just pulled off. They regained some of their confidence as they got me surrounded, but I would have to disappoint them.

I gathered the force around my body and enhanced my speed as I turned around sweeping at the masters feet. He jumped in the air to avoid the blow which I took advantage of. Pushing out I flung his body across the hanger towards the door the force was dragging me to.

The other two Jedi tried to stop me from leaving by attacking, but I moved out of their way and force charged over to the master. He looked up in shock as I sprung towards him lightsabers at the ready. I felt the force behind me surge and knew that the others were coming to help.

*Bam* My boots impacted heavily on the hanger floor as I landed a crushing blow onto the downed master. He held up his lightsaber in defense and it did stop my blow, but the force behind the hit was too much, the hilt slipped from his hand and flew off to the side.

I prepared a striking blow, but as I was about to deliver it a warning from the force came crashing into my mind, I faltered for a second and that was all the master needed to get away. Rolling to the side, his boot came up to impact my helmet I just had enough time to dodge the blow and roll out of the way of an attack coming from behind.

My chance to kill him had passed and I didn't press it as I moved towards where I had to go. The frown on my face was ugly, the force had stopped me there, did it not want to kill any of them? I let a bit of my anger slip as I crushed the controls to the new room, opening the doors.

I kept my guard up as I backed into the generator complex behind me. It was a big space with sprawling catwalks and massive generators all over the place. The master had retrieved his blade as he looked ready to fight, the Twi'lek joining them.

It was almost as if we were back to the start. I tilted my head as the force pointed me to a specific area.

**************

(Naboo, Generator Room.)

(3rd Person PoV)

The 4 Jedi took a second to catch their breath after the intense first clash. Looking at the Sith that didn't seem to be breaking a sweat, a little sense of dread started to build with in them. Qui-Gon and Quinlan once again initiated the fight and ran forwards.

Mace started to take the fight more seriously as he fired a blast of lightning towards Qui-Gon as he closed in. Qui-Gon stopped in shock for a second as he hastily tried deflected the lightning. He wasn't fast enough though as it slipped past his guard and threw him backwards. "Master!" Obi-Wan shouted from behind seeing his master fall to the ground, he wanted to go check on him, but the Sith was a greater threat, he pushed on, knowing that his master while hurt would be fine. This left Quinlan to move forwards. Without the back up of his fellow master, he found it near impossible to stop the endless strikes from the Sith before him.

He lasted all of a few seconds before he was kicked in the chest and sent backwards. His body flew past Obi-Wan and Aayla as they moved forwards to help. Since the start of the battle there team work had improved slightly, and with quick attacks using form 3 and 5, along with Aayla using her knew Jar Kai they kept Mace at bay.

Quinlan was quick to rejoin the fight and the 3 of them began to move Mace backwards. As he neared the catwalk side, Mace sent a small look over the edge to see what was there. The Jedi pressed their advantage as they moved him closer to the edge.

Just as Mace reached it, he gave a small smirk under his mark and drew the force closer. Suddenly before their eyes his body seemed to glow orange and vanish into the surroundings, He used camouflage. "What?" Obi-Wan spoke out as his guard dropped for a second.

Aayla tried to quickly warn him, as the technique was almost like her own force cloak, but she didn't get the words out as Mace appeared once more, his back to her. He drove a hard fist into Obi-Wan's side cracking a rib or two as his body crumpled backwards.

With another quick turn a force push knocked Aayla to the ground. Quinlan was the only one that had time to react as he brought his lightsaber up in defense. He blocked the initial blow, but was surprised when Mace dropped his other lightsaber and grabbed him by the arm.

The gauntlets clasped tight onto Quinlan's arm, before an immense strength threw him off the catwalk. Aayla watch in horror as her master disappeared from view!

**************

(Aayla PoV)

NOOOOO

My eyes widened as I watched my master, my father, get thrown off the catwalk. I sprung to my feet as I desperately rushed towards where he once stood, but as I closed in he stood in my path, the Sith. I felt my emotions bubble up; he had taken my master from me! I hated him!

I found a new reserve of strength I had never felt before as I started an all-out assault on him…. but…. but. He was mocking me! He was only using 1 saber! Just like her! Why?! Throughout the whole fight he had been using two lightsabers, but now that he was facing me alone he switched to one!

It was infuriating! I racked my body for every piece of strength I had, every muscle memory I had to make him draw his other saber. I incorporated every piece of knowledge I had in form 5 with my new Jar Kai style, but it wasn't working. Why wasn't it working!

Left, right, spin, dodge, block, parry.

He made it look so easy as he moved backwards, one hand behind his back now. I kept grabbing for the new found strength but it was failing me, leaving me… and that was when he spoke. "My apprentice mentioned you." I stalled for a second and almost lost my head as I fell backwards.

"She told me all about her encounter on Tatooine, how it was a disappointing affair." His apprentice? He couldn't be talking about 'her' right? No… but if she was the apprentice… I didn't want my mind to falter at such an important time, but I couldn't help it. I had set her as my new goal and he was her master!

He began to force me back, his blows getting heavier and heavier. Did I even have a chance? "She was right, you are weak." I blinked as I heard those words, blocking another strike and backing off. He didn't follow me this time, giving me room to breathe.

His words sunk into my mind, was I weak? My fists gripped harder on my lightsabers hilts my emotions a mess. No! I would not give up! I would get stronger! I would defeat the Sith! I would make them recognize the strength of a Jedi!

I found myself with new resolve as I drew the force inwards, enhancing my whole body, before moving forwards. I was never the best at form 6, but at this moment it felt so natural to wrap my body in the force and let it help me.

My speed became faster, my attacks heavier, I felt like he was moving slower in my vision, I felt like I had been reborn! Silver and blue flashed before my eyes as a deadly dance of death unfolded before me. We continued the dance down the catwalk and away from the others.

Just as I gained my second wind I heard a small chuckle come from him. His style suddenly changed before my eyes as I came in for another attack. He wasn't on the defensive anymore; he wasn't utilizing the same attack pattern or form it had completely changed.

The moves that had seemed slow before, sped up in real time as he knocked my new lightsaber out of my hand and a fist found its way into my gut. I doubled over in pain as I dropped my other lightsaber at my feet.

"You do have potential, but you have not practiced Jar Kai before. When facing an overwhelming threat, when fighting a life and death battle, always stick to your strong skills." I slowly looked up at the menacing figure looming over me, I wasn't sure if he was giving me advice or mocking me at that moment.

But I was glad, I did get him to recognize me in the end. I closed my eyes as I accepted that I wouldn't make it out of this fight. The other were too far away to help me, I just hoped that my master could avenge me in the end.

Before everything went black I heard him speak. "You have promise don't disappoint in the future now." I just caught sight of the back of a hand before I was knocked out.

**************

(3rd Person PoV)

Qui-Gon sprinted across the cat walk as he closed in on his Padawan. Stopping down to check if he was ok, he shook his head at the damage that could be felt, there was definitely some internal bleeding and broken bones. He looked up and could see in the distance Aayla fighting the Sith on her own and it wasn't looking good.

He wanted to stay and help his Padawan but Aayla needed him. He sprinted down the catwalk to help as Obi-Wan slowly pulled himself up. He would need a few minutes but he would be ready to rejoin the fight soon.

He took a small Bacta packet from one of his pouches and started to drink it to reduce the internal bleeding as Qui-Gon headed to help Aayla. Quinlan Vos groggily opened his eyes and looked around before hearing the sound of battle above. He couldn't see who was fighting but he pulled himself up anyway. Grabbing his lightsaber that had fallen next to him, he quickly infused the force into his legs and jumped to the higher platform.

Noticing that the one facing the Sith was his own apprentice a fire of determination lit in his belly as he ran to help, praying that he would be fast enough.

**************

(Mace PoV)

The Twi'lek slumped to the ground knocked out after the blow to the head. The Jedi were tough though, so it wouldn't take her long to wake up. I had to admit she had potential, the report that Ashara had given of her original fight on Tatooine hadn't told me as much as I had just learned.

The use of the dark side when I threw her master of the catwalk was something amusing. I was sure that if enough buttons were pushed she would be an easy target to turn to the dark side. But, as it was starting to consume her somehow she calmed down. I wasn't sure what caused it, but it happened.

Instead she had found her second wind and attacked with a whole new determination that wasn't dependent on the dark side. Yes she definitely had potential. I looked down at her one more time, deciding if I should finish the job, but well the ringing of the force was telling me that she too was on the list of people I could kill.

I was almost starting to regret my decision to make a deal with it, but I pushed that thought to the side. I turned my head to the side and watched as the two masters made their way to me. Their will to fight was still standing strong.

I turned my back and let the force guide me to where I had to go. I knew the Jedi would follow. Finally I spotted where the force was dragging me, one of the many generator shafts that littered this generator complex.

I leapt up onto the connecting catwalk and slowly walked towards it. It was only a few seconds later that I heard the dull thud of boots behind me. *Snap* *Hiss* The two masters ignited there blades once more as I prepared as well, this would be the last round.

They attacked as I pulled them ever closer to the reactor shaft.

**************

(3rd Person PoV)

Obi-Wan gritted his teeth but ignored the pain that still pulsed while sprinting across the catwalk. He kept his eyes peeled looking for the fight that he could still just hear. Jumping onto one of the catwalks, he spotted the downed body of Aayla Secura and sprinted over to her, her face had the beginning of a bruise starting to form and scratch marks from the earlier blow.

Kneeling down to see if she was alright, he had to dodge back as Aayla jolted awake and nearly took his head off. "Where's the Sith?" Obi-Wan just shook his head, not knowing the answer as he kept looking for the fight. Finally his eyes stopped as he spotted the flashes of green, silver and white happening above.

He got Aayla attention and pointed in their direction. "Up there." Aayla followed his line of sight and just caught sight of both their masters fighting the Sith into some sort of energy reactor, or pit. She struggled to her feet as she picked up her lightsaber. The other one was lost somewhere below and it would be impossible for her to grab it now.

"We have to help them!" Aayla voice was worried, the reveal that Darth Zavros was just the apprentice still shaking her a little. Obi-Wan gave a firm nod. "We will!" The two wasted no more time as they jumped up to the catwalk and sprinted to help their masters.

But they both had a small feeling in the pit of their stomach. 'Something bad was about to happen.'

**************

(Naboo, Reactor Shaft.)

(3rd Person PoV)

Mace blocked another attack and sprung backwards as a red reactor shield appeared between him and the two masters. They starred at each other waiting for when they would come down. Mace stood still as he watched them, while both master got down into kneeling positions. They had already been stopped by one before and knew it was coming.

Qui-Gon and Quinlan both took their time to recoup their energy while Mace just watched them. It was easy for him to tell, that while the one with the black hair was still in his physical prime the other, older one, was not.

They all deactivated their lightsabers and waited patiently when at the other end of the reactor shields, both Obi-Wan and Aayla appeared. They had anxious expressions as they looked at their tired masters. Both were bouncing on their feet ready to sprint forwards as the force whispered in their ears. It was time.

*Tush*The first shield disappeared and Mace retreated into the reactor shaft room, noting that it was a dead end. Luckily he had already prepared for such an occurrence. *Tush* The second shield disappeared and both Masters got to their feet, ready to battle. *Snap* *Hiss* The battle started once again as Qui-Gon circled Mace and they fought back and forth. *Tush* Mace spared a small glance at the retreating reactor shields and knew he didn't have much time.

*Tush* He had moved them to here specifically, all he had to do was make it look convincing.*Tush* As long as no one died the force would be happy. *Tush* A savage smile came to his lips as his eyes glowed a bit redder. *Tush* Mace switched his left hand into a reverse grip as he blocked another swing from behind. *Tush*

Pivoting on his left foot he forced Vos back and slammed his hand on the ground. *Tush* Not expecting the force repulse Qui-Gon and Quinlan were knocked backwards by the force, Qui-Gon slamming into one of the walls, knocking the wind out of him. *Tush* Obi-Wan and Aayla sprinted forwards trying to get through as many shields as possible, they could see the situation was going bad.

Turning to Quinlan who was picking himself up Mace dashed forwards, using speed unseen throughout the whole battle. Vos flinched backwards on instinct and dodged one blow before blocking another. But he was off balance, Qui-Gon was still picking himself up and couldn't help as Mace deactivated one of his blades and spun inside Vos's body.

Shouldering him into the wall he knocked the wind out of him. *Tush* The reactor shield came back up as Obi-Wan and Aayla came to a stop. Aayla felt fear grip her heart as she watched on. Gasping for breath an elbow found the side of Quinlan's head splitting it open and causing blood to pour out.

He tried to struggle free but before he could, his lightsaber was knocked from his hand and something gripped his throat. Vos gritted his teeth as he took a blow from the chin and then a flash of silver went past his vision.

"Noooo!" Aayla screamed out as she watched Quinlan Vos lose an arm, she started to bang her hand against the reactor shielding, but she couldn't get through. Her eyes began to water as she stared fixedly at her master.

He himself didn't seem to register the fact that he just lost an arm before a burning sensation from his right shoulder down sent his nerves into overdrive. Before he could scream out another blow came to the head and knocked him out.

Mace didn't waste his time looking at his downed opponent as he instantly turned around to block an attack from an angry Qui-Gon Jinn. Qui-Gon channeled the force to strengthen him, in an attempt to use form 6, but he was running on empty.

He was gasping for breath as he retreated from blow after blow. Finally his body couldn't keep up anymore as his lightsaber was knocked upwards, a knee hit his stomach causing him to double over before he lost feeling in his right hand.

Before he could think on the matter, his legs were swept out from under him as Obi-Wan's heart leapt into his throat. Qui-Gon tried to recover in his groggy state but a quick blow to the head forced him back to the ground. He looked up with stars in his eyes as he looked at the Sith above him.

He knew that he had lost the moment he realized that he had lost his saber hand, his lightsaber falling off to the side. A flash of white went by his vision as he also lost feeling in one of his legs. "Master!!!" This time it was Obi-Wan that let his emotions show as he watched Qui-Gon loss a hand and a leg in battle.

Mace knelt down next to the defeat master who was still tried to struggle upwards, if for no other reason than to protect his padawan and the galaxy. Mace held his hand firmly on his chest to stop him from moving and Qui-Gon realized that he wasn't going to die that day.

The force whisper it in his ear, he didn't know why, but the Sith wouldn't be killing him. Mace's magnetic voice sounded out so just Qui-Gon could hear him as he leaned closer. "I respect you for trying to continue the fight Jedi. I would, if I could, give you an honorable death, but that is not how this end."

Qui-Gon struggled to keep awake and channeled the force to keep himself stable. A frown came to his lips as he listened to the words. 'What was going on?' "You put up a good fight but you are getting old, even I can see that fighting you now. After your injuries it's better for you to hang up your saber Jedi, maybe take one of those comfy arrogant seats on the Council, maybe that way you could train someone that will one day come to challenge me."

Mace looked at him one more time, before calculating the time in his head. "This is no place for you Jedi." He said the words with such certainty that they shook Qui-Gon to the core. Sure he knew he was getting old, he was no longer in his prime. But he couldn't just trust the words of a Sith!

He wanted to believe that it was some Sith deception, one geared to take a Jedi out in a more malicious way than just killing them, breaking their will. If that was the case Qui-Gon would never bend, though he didn't always agree with the Jedi code, he would always be a Jedi!

But even as those thoughts drifted through his mind, his connection to the force pulsed the words of the Sith seemed to vibrate with it, as if they were an undeniable truth. Did the force want him to sit on the council, give up his active part in the galaxy?

Qui-Gon's mind was a mess as he closed his eyes, he knew he wouldn't die today; he needed to connect to the force, sort out the signals it was sending him. He could do this as another part of the force assured him, no harm would come to the Padawan's. That wasn't what was going to happen today. A small sense of relief washed through his mind as he delved into the force

But that wasn't what it looked like from an outside perspective. When Qui-Gon closed his eyes, Obi-Wan felt like a piece of himself had died. His emotions sky rocketed just Like Aayla standing next to him. She had just turned her eyes off her own downed master and was giving a death glare towards Mace.

Mace stood up from his position as he turned to them. He gave a small chuckle as he felt the darkness of their emotions start to rear its head. They were out for blood. *Tush* The red reactor shielding came down and they came in for the kill. Mace prepared himself one more time, but he had already finished his objective, there was no other reason for him to be there, he would finish this battle fast.

It was 1 minute later when Mace finished. The two Padawan's were groaning on the ground as they nursed a few broken bones while Vos continued to remain out cold. He looked at them for a few seconds, before Qui-Gon opened his eyes again.

They seemed to have a brighter clarity to them now as he starred at the Sith. They both said nothing as they turned to look at each other for a few seconds. Obi-Wan let out a sigh of relief as he saw his master open his eyes, while Aayla moved over to Vos.

They were both down for the count and if anything else she wanted to be next to him at that moment. She pulled herself over to his body and slowly cradled it between her arms. All 3 Jedi stared at the sith as he walked around the Reactor shaft to the exit.

He turned to both the Padawan's as he spoke his final lines. "You both utilized the dark side when you tried to kill me just now, how…. un-Jedi like." Mace cracked a small smile as Obi-Wan and Aayla felt a sense of shame at his omission.

They had tapped into the dark side when they let their emotions run free to try and beat Mace, but in the end they had still failed. Was it worth it in the end? Both of them didn't think so. In the future they would have to find a better way to strengthen themselves.

"Know that you will have to use much more to defeat me. But then again…" he shook his head in disgust sending one last glance at the 4 Jedi. "…The Jedi order has become weak beyond measure, it is not worth my time destroying it as it is. You can rest in your cradle of corruption and continue to grow weaker until you all die out."

Taking a step away from them the force gathered around his body and a flash of purple was seen before he was gone. The 3 conscious Jedi looked at the spot he disappeared at for a few seconds before Qui-Gon took charge of the situation.

"Obi-Wan." His voice was weak but Obi-wan quickly came to his masters aid as he propped himself up, only just keeping himself awake. "Help me get to the nearest holo terminal; the Council must be informed of what has transpired. I feel that the fighting outside has stopped, we must get Quinlan to a medical center as fast as possible."

Obi-Wan nodded gravely as he helped his master up. Aayla did the same for her master and slung him over her back as they made their way out, weary and defeated in both body and spirit.

**************

(Naboo, Phantom)

(3rd Person PoV)

Mace disappeared in a flash of purple and reappeared in his bedroom. He looked around at the familiar bulkheads and reigned in his battle lust, it had been provoked in the short battle, but not fully let loose or sated.

Reaching out for the box on the dresser he slowly unclipped the hilts from his waist and put them gently back into their case. He followed that by taking off his armour and switching to a comfier set of gear. He sent one last look at his gear before he put it away and made his way to the cockpit.

Sitting down at the lead chair he pressed the intercom button. *Beep Beep* It rang once or twice before the rest started to answer. First was Vaylin, who had a small smile on her lips, a few droids scattered behind her, followed closely by Jaesa and Blizz who were sporting happy expression.

It took a few seconds but everyone joined the call and looked towards Mace. Mace looked them all over one time before speaking. "The mission is complete. You can finish whatever droids you see fit, but make your way back to the ship and make sure you are not noticed."

He stopped for a second to make sure everyone got the message before standing up himself. "We will rest here until Ayillh has completed her mission and then set out, we have important decision to make when the crew is gathered once again."

"""""Yes Commander/Master/Mace."""""

Mace nodded once more time before cutting the holo connection. With that done he slowly made his way back to his bedroom and laid down on the bed. The fight played through his mind once or twice as he thought of their tactics and skill set.

Reading a report and actually experiencing the skill of the new Jedi were two completely different things. Though it wasn't a ground breaking battle that had pushed him to the limit and challenged his powers to the extreme it had become an ingrained action to review every fight, every swing, anything to improve.

He would be the best; he would make sure of it.

He entered a sort of meditative trance as his eyes closed and he drifted into his thoughts.