When the First Order beset on Takodana, Maz Kanata’s castle took the brunt of the assault. Located on the shore of a lake that was owned by the pirate Maz Kanata, it served as a haven for travelers, smugglers and other unsavory characters. Sensor grids and advanced communication gear secured the castle from unannounced attacks, giving its owner and visitors enough notice to flee the scene.

The area around it is rumored to have been the battleground for the Jedi and Sith, being of strategic value for those willing to seek control over Takodana, and is littered with ancient ruins that resemble the structure of the castle itself. Inside, the castle’s gray exterior vanishes into shades of brown, the color of sandstone. Tables and chairs fill the cluttered spaces where travelers could share tales or pursue their own controversial interests. Unfiltered smoke permeates the air, clogging the senses with a sweet odor. Various criminal groups have at some time or another sought shelter in the castle, their passage evidenced by the many-colored banners outside bearing their insignia.

Now, the castle remains uninhabited. Several of its towers have crumbled under the First Order’s assault. Stonework pillars have toppled over, scorched from turbolasers and blaster fire. Other segments lie in ruin, still too new for the forest to have reclaimed the land around the castle.

Kamjin exhaled as he looked up at the billowing banners in the inner ward of Maz Kanata's castle. The multi-color cornucopia of overlapping cloth fluttered gently in the warm breeze.

Taking a deep breath of the fragrant forest air he pushed forward into the den of decadence. He held onto that floral scented gulp of air as long as he could before the dank, clammy, assault of toxic smokes, unwashed aliens, and inconsistent quality of foods and drinks assaulted his nose.

Kamjin surveyed the room and could barely see two tables ahead of him through the haze of humidity and smoke lingering everywhere like a fog rolling through the forest morning. Despite the haze he felt his query was nearby. With a deliberate slowness of his pace, he made his way through the crowd.

As he neared the bar a familiar small hand reached out and grabbed the corner of his robes. He looked down at a familiar orange skinned female with large, knowing, eyes staring up at him. "Take it outside," she said.

Kamjin rolled his eyes. "Take what outside, Maz?"

"Don't play that game with me. You know what. I won't have it in here," Maz said, peering up at Kamjin with those enlarged, black, piercing eyes.

"Maz, how long have you known me? I'm not going to wreck the place," Kamjin tilted his head as if seeking permission to leave.

"That's what you said the last time. I like you Kamjin, you have pretty eyes but you need to take this outside," Maz insisted, pulling him down to her level. Adjusting her goggles she peered deep into Kamjin's olive eyes, scrunching up her face.

"What is it?" Kamjin finally asked. Maz shook her head and pulled her goggles up onto her head. Her tiny black eyes still peered through Kamjin's façade and deep into his soul.

"When you figure it out, come back here," she said solemnly. Shaking her head she waved a bar towel above her head, smacking playfully at Kamjin's rear. "Now go take this outside before I get mad," she said, with her usual loud tone.

Playing hurt, Kamjin hopped away, "Fine, fine...just let me go." Kamjin gave his usual smirking grin and blew a kiss at Maz as he turned back to his task. The exchange with Maz had caused a minor commotion in the bar which helped clear the all encompassing haze. There, in the back corner, Kamjin thought to himself. That should be him.

Seated in a booth along the fall wall sat what from one angle may have been mistaken for a droid if not for the thick black beard, emerald eyes, tattered cloak, and hodgepodge armor strapped to its body. He seemed jubilant in his seat as he dealt from a pack of brightly colored Sabacc cards. He smiled broadly with a gleam in eyes that carried no cares in the world. As he dealt Kamjin could hear a slight grind in his cybernetic arm as his gloved left hand pulled cards from it.

His companions laughed in time with whatever joke or story he was telling as they clutched their dealt cards. Kamjin made his way through the crowd and approached the table. The jovial nature of the table fell deathly silent as if a cold ice bath had suddenly fallen over them. The small female Bothan shivered and dropped her cards, an Idiot's Array in the making by the looks of it.

"Gui Sol?" Kamjin asked, already knowing the answer.

"Perhaps, who's looking?" the reply came from the Ranger.

"Gui Sol, you are wanted by the Chamber of Justice. You're to come with me to appear before the Chamber," Kamjin said, glancing briefly at each of the individuals at the booth to ensure no one made a move against him.

"Chamber of what?" a horned Devaronian asked, looking dumbfounded between the people at the table before resting his gaze at Kamjin.

"Now now, I think you've got the wrong man. I'm a law abiding citizen just collecting things throughout the galaxy," the Ranger spoke, holding up some trinkets he had withdrawn from his cloak. "See, this particular item is from a small ice moon several systems over that was particularly difficult to acquire," he continued, as his cybernetic hand twisted to hold the trinket up to a ray of light cutting through the perpetual twilight of the castle, his gloved hand made an unperceived gesture.

Kamjin reacted before the sound could be heard; spinning around and igniting his blood red blade. Several bottles of liquor at the bar behind them had crashed over. Some shattering while others had their corks mysteriously removed and their delicious intoxicating elixirs began gushing out. The bar patrons responded like roaches found under a rock. Some scattered out of the way of the broken glass while others rushed headlong into the free drinks before the bartenders could recover them.

Sithspit, Kamjin thought. Spinning back around he caught the blur of the Ranger bounding out of his seat and rushing through the crowd. No natural being could move with that degree of speed and accuracy through a crowd of this size. "Gui, this isn't going to help you," he cried after the Ranger. "Make a hole!"

The citizens of the bar, accustomed to fights breaking out, dove for cover as Kamjin gave pursuit. His fiery red blade hummed angrily as he raced through the crowd. The Kiffar several steps ahead of him.

"Kamjin! Take it out..."

"I am Maz, I am!" Kamjin retorted before she could finish as he leapt over a table and raced down the staircase as the tattered cloak disappeared around the corner. He took the stairs three at a time trying to make up lost ground. Leaping up to kick off of the wall to help propel himself round the turn he flew down the last story of stairs, tucking into a roll and coming up running.

As daylight stung his eyes he raced out into the inner ward. "Gui, stop now before I have to take you by force!"

The Ranger spun around, reaching up his arms and with an effort pulling free from the ramparts several banners and sending them crashing upon his pursuer.

Kamjin reacted immediately, slashing with his blade, cleaving the banners and sending them drifting in pieces upon the wind. As his vision cleared from the momentary obstruction he snapped his blade upright, deflecting a blaster bolt off into the wall.

"Gui, you're better than this. Now lower the blaster and come along peacefully."

Tattered banners were swept away, much like Gui's aspirations. In his mind, he only did what he had to do. He did what he thought was best, for himself and his Clan. After all, what was good for him had to be good for the Clan, right? 

If only that were true. 

Alienation had been the outcome of his decisions. While Gui’s peers warned him of the dangers of a selfish mind, he chose not to heed the warning. Why? was the lingering question of the Council. You had it all, you were set to become a great Jedi, one that would rival those who had come before. 

In the wake of his decisions was death, innocents thrust into the nether. Their fate was avoidable. That was what stung so much. Had he only listened to his mentors and followed his instincts, maybe those people would still be alive. 

Regret churned within his belly and for the first time in a long time, his jovial demeanor was but a facade. Years of wandering the Galaxy in search of hopefuls, needing to blend in, somewhere along the way he lost himself. Lost his grasp on his future, clouded his own destiny. 

He knew that the demons he had to face weren't just going to be metaphorical, for in that moment they were buried behind the olive eyes of his reckoning.

"Peacefully?!" Gui shouted. "And what does a Sith know of peace?" 

"There shall be peace through order," Kamjin's brow furrowed slightly. "You are wanted for crimes again-"

"Crimes?!" Gui furiously shook his head. "Look no further than the Council!" 

"Surrender, Gui," Kamjin's tone softened but remained stern. "Your atonement lies with me." The corner of the Sith's mouth curled and contorted into a smirk.

The ping of metal against metal paused the conversation as Gui tapped the barrel of his blaster against the plate in the side of his head. He was pondering the idea, truly giving it a second of thought.

"Nah," he refused, watching as his little PIT droid, Barry, slapped its hand against its round eye from around the corner. Gui shrugged and with an unnecessary flourish, holstered his weapon.

All the while, his conscience was weakening his resolve. 

Kamjin's lightsaber was eager and vibrated with excitement as the bearer reached out through the Force and glimpsed the intent of the young Sol. Inwardly he sighed, but on the surface he was as focused as ever. 

"So be it," Kamjin spoke to himself. In that same breath, Gui leapt forward, his left hand held out. 

Kamjin braced for impact. The dossier of the Kiffar mentioned that he was a practitioner of Djem So, undoubtedly the next series of events would be strenuous to overcome. Nevertheless, the Adept was confident and on paper, should be superior in every way. Except that confidence may have been misplaced.

Just before Gui crashed down like a meteor, the spring-loaded apparatus strapped to his wrist produced a scavenged hilt, a weapon that the guru of gadgetry was quite fond of. Gloved fingers caught it and clamped down. A blade the color of Kiast's sunset snapped to attention, the crystal always seemed so alive in the Jedi's hands, it was a delicate synergy. 

Kamjin lightly snarled and his knees bent as he placed most of his weight on his back leg in anticipation of the impact. 

Propelled by the Galaxy's advanced circuitry, powered by what was known as the Force, Gui landed. But Kamjin was the virus that threatened the system as he managed only to deflect the blow, the power of the young Jedi was greater than he expected. The Adept, however, was equipped with his own bag of tricks and took advantage as Gui slightly stumbled. It was the opening the follower of Palpatine had been waiting for. Flashing his palm, the Force, like a wave crashing against a rock, smashed into the cyborg and tossed him from his feet. 

Gui felt the current of the wave and tucked his shoulder as it knocked him away, rolling with the energy rather than fighting against it and came to rest in a kneeling position, his left foot was planted and his right knee bore his weight. Gui's glowing blade groaned and then shrieked as Kamjin's follow-up was an overhead strike that Gui easily parried before redirecting into a low slash that Kamjin narrowly avoided by straightening himself onto his toes. 

Gui pushed himself up in the momentary break to regain his footing. Before he could settle, the two men exploded into a dance of lethality where neither was the lead. Orange and red became entangled in the struggle but Kamjin took a misstep in the heat of the moment. It was one that Gui instantly noticed as he rolled his weapon to clip the Adept's armor. May the smoldering scar forever be a reminder of the day a lowly Ranger nearly bested an elder, Gui mused. 

The Sith backpedaled with a growl and clamped his eyes shut. Gui smirked, feeling accomplished but his confidence was shut down as his pursuers' lids peeled back. Kamjin's eyes had transformed; they appeared to be stained yellow, tainted by the darkness that overcame him. The Dark Side had manifested and excreted anger that oozed from the Left Hand of the Justicar. 

I am the light in the darkness, Gui mentally recited his mantra and closed his eyes in order to find his center, the light shall snuff out the dark. He could often find courage and comfort in those words. A courage he would need for the coming onslaught that flashed through his mind as vivid as a Holo-feed. But his eyes were forced open by the brief knee-jerk reaction of yet another lightsaber being brought into the fray. He looked up to see that Kamjin's visage was bathed in the light of both and he appeared to be the embodiment of balanced aggression as his left side was washed in blue and his right side red. The mix of color on his face became a metaphor for his personality and Gui could not only feel the transition in his demeanor but he could see it. The Force was like water and the Adept was the moon, it gravitated towards him in an unsettling manner, channeled into an immense power that yearned to be released. 

Ordinarily, Gui would have tried to seek shelter from the coming storm, but today he would brace for it. His life depended on it. He knew that even if he were able to escape, the hound of the Justicar would never relent. 

Gui nodded his head as he emptied his mind of distracting thoughts. He was prepared for war as he raised his cybernetic arm and flipped his hand over so that the palm was facing the sky and his fingers slowly curled a few times to beckon the darkness. There is no death, there is the Force. 

Like a whirlwind, Kamjin spun and flourished his weapons, releasing a roar as he lunged forward. His red blade crashed down into a block while the blue blade feigned to distract. The style of the attacks were foreign to Gui at first, but he managed to keep pace, planting his feet, rooting himself to the cobble-stone pathway. It was only after some prodding strikes did he realize that the form Kamjin was using was the very form he had begun to learn many years ago under the guidance of master Torun. Niman is typically a patient form, maybe that's the trick. Gui processed the movements and at that moment he realized he was being baited as the Adept deceptively lashed out with both blades. The bait was in Kamjin's left hand as Gui's defense was parried by it and the dominant blade snaked through his defense with a stabbing motion. The Kiffar abandoned his counter-attack and sidestepped, allowing the red blade to streak by. 

The human growled as the tip of his blade skated off of the pillar behind Gui and sloppily blocked a delayed retaliatory strike with his blue blade. A skillfully applied riposte put the Jedi in position to deliver the signature strike of Djem So as with both hands, Gui brought his blade crashing down from up high. The Force flowed into his muscles as he hammered through Kamjin's unprepared guard, striking his blade so hard it briefly buried the tip into the ground. Kamjin tried to pull up but Gui’s momentum enabled him to align his blade for his next stroke, a well timed vertical flick. Kamjin winced and threw his hand back as Gui's blade clipped the loosely gripped hilt in his dominant hand. His brow furrowed and the look on his abnormally young features soured. He watched and heard his prized hilt rattle against the stone, rolling away in two separate pieces, but thankful that his hand didn't go with it.

The Proconsul clenched his teeth and his anger grew exponentially, twisting his mouth into a contemptuous snarl. He needed to recapture the advantage, so he began to weave the Force into an invisible hand, one that would tear a banner from its moorings. The Dark Side was a powerful ally as he manipulated the fabric to quickly coil around Gui's torso and trapped his arms before he could struggle free.

“Enough,” Kamjin raged, as the fabric of a dozen multi-color banners coiled around Gui. Extinguishing his remaining blade and replacing it on his thigh, he wove his snare tighter. Kamjin stood like a god coaxing the invisible tempest round his quarry, the fabric bunching unnaturally around the Ranger. “You could have come peacefully, but now you’ve gone and done this,” Kamjin growled.

Constricting his free hand into a fist, he lifted his bound prey into the air. Confidence spread across his face as he extinguished his blue blade, reaching awkwardly across his body to clip it on his right hip. “Do you know what I went through to acquire that Kyber crystal?” Kamjin spat as he stretched out and drew the exposed crystal to his open palm. “Perhaps I should have handled you the same way I handled him?”

Kamjin closed the gap between them and held the raging fiery crystal in the face of the Jedi. Gui closed his eyes and tried to turn away from the anguished, tortured cries calling out through the Force. “Yes, you feel it, don't you? You know who’s soul I ripped apart to create this, don't you?”

Gui indeed felt the pain rippling forth from the crystal. Despite his relative youth he had felt power like this before when he last stood in front of a Grand Master. I’ve got to get out of this, he thought to himself. Perhaps I took this one step further than it needed to. Kamjin continued to pontificate and Gui knew he had a few minutes. Once a Sith started to talk it was usually impossible to get them to stop.

He had to hand it to Kamjin, his cybernetic arm was struggling to give any resistance to the banner tomb he had been encased in. I am the light in the darkness, Gui continued to cling to his mantra. Just a little further, he thought as his robotic fingers fought for each millimeter before connecting with the droid caller on his belt. With a heroic surge against the continued droning of the Sith, Gui’s finger fell true on the activator.

Despite the usual cowardice of the DUM-series, Barry felt the call to his master and knew it was his moment to shine. Steeling up his courage, the little droid, in its characteristic awkward stride, ran out from behind the corner wall. Building his speed like a rushing reek prepared to trample an animal invading its territory, he lowered his domed head to barrel over the Sith.

“...and that is why you will never have another opportunity to. What the?” Kamjin’s ongoing diatribe was interrupted by the minor bump of the pit droid bouncing off his boot. Despite Barry’s best efforts he had only caused the Sith to shuffle his feet to maintain his balance. But as the confused Sith looked at the droid, the momentary break in concentration was all Gui needed.

Gui let the light bath over him as he stretched out his arms until finally the banners began to tear and his cybernetic arm came free. Kamjin looked dumbfounded as the Ranger went to ignite his saber again.

“Nooo!!” the Sith roared at the turn of events. Snapping up his arms, a blast of Force Lightning danced along his fingers before arcing towards the Ranger’s cybernetic arm. Electricity swam along the electronic pathways causing them to blister and pop like water hitting a scorching pan. Gui’s saber dropped from the lifeless appendage. In the blink of an eye, Kamjin had closed the distance. Thankful that his gloved hands blocked some of the heat from the still sparking cybernetics, he twisted Gui’s arm behind his back, kicking hard at the back of his right knee, taking the Ranger to the ground.

Barry tried to rush to his master’s defense but was swatted aside with a backhand from Kamjin. The droid’s head spun as he deactivated from the well timed strike to his bulbous eye. The light shall snuff out the dark, Gui praised the little droid for a third chance. Feeling the slack of the hold on his arm, he lunged forward out of Kamjin’s grasp. As he scrambled to his feet, his vision blurred and stars appeared as the Sith tried to coldcock him from behind. He stumbled on his feet, fighting to control himself. If I pass out I’m done.

“Turn around,” Kamjin shouted. The Kiffar turned and so did the contents of his stomach. Kamjin’s eyes seethed with torturous intent, bloodshot over the sickly yellow of one who had been immersed in the Dark Side. Gui knew he had gone too far.

“Sir, perhaps I’ve been too-” Gui said, raising his one good hand. Wham! Kamjin’s right hook connected with his left cheek bone. His skin tore from the impact and blood oozed over his facial markings. The remaining banners streaked together and he lost sight of the follow-up jabs from Kamjin’s other arm. His head snapped back and by the third jab he felt his nose break.

Gui had never trained for hand-to-hand combat. He groggily tried to raise his hands to protect his face but his cybernetic arm refused to move and Kamjin took the advantage. Two more jabs to his unprotected side and he was staggering back. Hunched over he spit out blood and a tooth.

“Please, I surrender to the judgement of the Chamber,” Gui huffed out.

“Oh, the time for surrender has passed,” Kamjin retorted, raising up his knee to connect with the Ranger’s lowered head, sending him crashing onto his back. Kamjin pounced onto his chest, pinning his arms with his knees as he let loose on the bloodied face of the Kiffar. Blood stained Kamjin’s gloves as they began to split from the abuse. Gui’s face swelled under the onslaught.

As Gui felt bone break and skin tear he found himself at peace. As if a greater Force was calling his spirit away from the torment that had been his life. There was still so much good to do, he thought as he saw beyond the veil. Somewhere in the beyond- or was it the real world?- he heard a blaster shot ring into the air. That couldn’t be, Kamjin didn’t use blasters.

As his vision left him and he drifted off, he thought he saw an orange blur and the voice of a shrill woman berating Kamjin. Telling him that he had to take him in alive or he’d never be allowed back at the castle. That sounds like a good idea, he thought. Let’s take him alive, was the final thought Gui had before the world went black.

In discouraging moments the Jedi were trained to seek focus. Taught to relax in the face of fear, even as death's chilly embrace threatened them with its foreboding grip. 

Gui groaned as his hands and upper body were ensnared by fabric, and he wondered if Kamjin realized the state of the makeshift bonds. Anger had blinded him, a characteristic prominent among those who chose to embrace the Dark Side. Yet, just like anything in the universe, whenever exposed to the elements for extended periods of time, their structural integrity would become compromised. Stone became brittle, steel succumbed to the inevitable rusty cancer, and fabric became frail and would lose it's tensile strength. The latter was what Gui was banking on the most as he rubbed his wrists together and could see the fine threads tearing, some of them easily disintegrating into a fine powder. 

"You can't do this, Kamjin!" Gui shouted. "Not this way." He fell to his knees, inwardly privy to the amount of danger he was truly in, it wasn't as bad as it looked. 

"The time has come, friend. You cannot run from the power of the Dark Side." Kamjin spoke and his pride swelled with accomplishment. 

"So be it," Gui closed his eyes and feigned surrender. "Come collect." It wasn't going to be that easy, many things were said about Gui but one thing that had merit was his level of tenacity. 

As a rock crashes into a still pond, ripples reach out for the bank. It was oddly the same in this situation as Gui was the rock and the pond was the Force. Energy radiated from his core and found the most willing of allies. A loyal friend, whether it was programmed to be that way or it was acting outside of its own function was open for debate. Still, there it was. Barry, a little PIT droid that had become famous in Gui's possession, scurrying from around the corner. 

Kamjin closed in and disengaged his lightsaber. In his mind he had already won. He took a deep breath. Stepped forward, closer to his captive. Reached down to grip him. It was finally over. Then, a distinct clatter of footsteps from behind caused him to whip around. As he spun, he saw nothing until he focussed his attention lower and flying through the air towards him was a mechanical nuisance. Preoccupied with Gui, Kamjin was slower to react than usual as Barry nabbed the hilt of his lightsaber in passing. The droid hit the ground and slid on its belly as it wasn't really a nimble piece of tech, but a resourceful one. 

"Oh, no." Kamjin growled and halted Barry's forward momentum with flexed fingers and superior control. The machine clawed at the ground trying to get away but the burning rage of Kamjin manifested as strands of lightning crackled from his outstretched hand. A sharp squeal broke free from Barry's vocabulator as its circuits were seared by the electricity consuming and encapsulating its frame. Almost instantly it erupted into an explosion of sparks and ionized smoke, then Kamjin quieted the storm. 

"NoOoOo!" Gui shouted. Barry had been his loyal friend since childhood and in a matter of agonizing seconds it had been taken from him. Torn away from him like his family, like the fallen Jedi of New Tython, when a Grand Master callously laid waste to his home and left it in ruin. Jumping up, Gui briefly allowed anger to pound throughout his being and the banner securing him ripped to pieces. Kamjin smirked as he could feel the fury, the raw and untamed potential within the Jedi. However, unlike the Adept, his emotions were unbridled and reckless. 

"That's it, let me see what you're truly made of." Kamjin sneered.

Gui charged as his newfound anger guided him. His heavy cybernetic hand came crashing down but Kamjin slid his right forearm up to block and then rolled the left side of his hip so that it dug into Gui's pelvis. He snaked his left hand around Gui's back and gripped a handful of dreads before rolling all of his weight to the right. The Jedi tried to hold on, but the power generated from his own momentum was enough to slam him into the unforgiving stone pathway. He rapidly blinked, trying to regain his composure but as the fog of a headshot cleared. Gui looked up just in time to glimpse the sole of a boot just before it crashed into his jaw. His beard felt like it shifted two inches to the right as flashes of light transitioned to darkness. Seconds seemed like minutes as he opened his eyes and realized that he was on his hands and knees. He looked down at his hands and coughed, overtaken with the very fear he tried to combat, they became painted with spurts of blood. He pivoted his head to locate the Adept, but again, as he saw him, he only caught glimpses of what was taking place as a fist connected with his temple. His body slumped over and he was left looking to the sky. 

The blue, in all of its splendor stretched out as far as Gui could see. "The clouds," he whispered as he saw them break apart, pierced by Misery, the Justicar's Flagship. If he were able to sigh in that moment he would have as he finally realized the scope of the danger he was truly in. He started to sit up. 

"You should have come willingly," was all that Gui heard before Kamjin used the hilt of his lightsaber to bludgeon his skull with two quick blows. Gui's lifeless body collapsed and settled as the blackness snuffed out his consciousness. 

Engines whining in the distance grew louder until they were right on top of the duo. The Brotherhood skiff descended from the heavens, not like an angel, but a ferry for the damned. Kamjin gripped Gui's body with the Force and plucked him from the ground like a dying flower before lowering him over the railing and onto the deck. Kamjin would follow suit. 

Quietly stirring, Gui could hear the chatter between Kamjin and the shuttle crew. It was muffled at first but became clearer as the engines powered back up. 

Gui's swollen eyelids fluttered open and he assessed what was happening as quickly as he could. He needed to act fast, but he also needed to remain calm so as to not draw attention to himself. 

As he lay, Gui mustered every ounce of strength he had left, siphoning the Force through himself before pouring it out over the tiny vessel. Kamjin's eyes immediately shifted to the pilot as the skiff jerked to the left. 

"What's the problem Captain?" 

"I-I'm not sure." The Duros pilot answered as he tried to steady the ship.

Warning bells chirped and the control panel began to flash which caused the pilot to bang on the screen with the palm of his hand. 

"Captain?!"

"It-It's nothi-" 

In the blink of an eye, the engines of the ship wined down and smoke began to pour out of the console, followed by sparks. 

"Gah-" the Captain pulled back as a jolt of electricity zapped his elongated finger-tips, "this isn't goo-" immediately the vessel dipped and began to plummet with tremendous speed as Maz's Castle grew closer with haste. 

"We're going down!" shouted the Captain as his deckmate was thrown from the skiff, Kamjin clung to the back, and Gui was locked to the deck with a death-grip. 

==============

Maz surveyed the damage of her courtyard and the smoldering droid at her doorstep before she turned and adjusted the focus of her goggles upward. Her eyes grew wider than usual as a tiny ship streaked through the sky "Oh no, no, no, no." she stumbled backwards, scrambling away as the ship, like a battering ram, crashed into her domicile.

Screams filled the air as the visitors that were able, poured out of the Castle and the sky around it became blanketed with smoke. At the rear was Kamjin, bloodied and staggering, trying desperately to maintain his footing and sense of pride. 

"Wh-where is he?!" Kamjin shouted, "Where, Maz?!" 

His old friend looked at him with fear and anger in her eyes. 

"I don't kn-" 

Kamjin roared as he gripped her by the throat and lifted her from her feet. She choked and clawed at the invisible hand around her throat before she was released. Kamjin stopped himself, he was acting out of anger and momentarily lost control of his emotions. 

Maz looked up again and her fear transitioned to terror as she disappeared behind a pillar and seemingly vanished.

"Maz, Maz, I didn't mean-" Kamjin pleaded with his old friend but she was gone. Somehow, so was Gui. Was he tossed from the skiff, did he get smashed beyond recognition? Kamjin couldn't remember as everything happened so fast. 

"Kamjin, report." It was the voice of the Justicar echoing from his comm-link. Kamjin scrambled for it and pulled the device from his pocket, the Adept would have a lot of explaining to do.

==============

"Hey, Greesa," A Weequay fisherman whispered, tapping his Ithorian first-mate's arm, "You hear 'bout dat shuttle that crashed into Maz's place yesterday?"

The Ithorian shook his head as he casually eyed a series of individuals standing at the boarding ramp to a cargo vessel. Often, they would pay the Captains for transport off-world.

"Everyone says they were Jedi."

"Jeedai??" the Ithorian thundered with his characteristically deep voice. 

"Yeah," the Weequay laughed, "imagine that." he said as he continued unloading his shipment.

"Yeah, imagine that." The Ithorian paused and his eyestalks shifted to a cloaked figure limping up the loading ramp right in front of him. Looking more closely, he jumped as he witnessed a line of blood drip from a shiny right arm. "I think I just saw him, Simus!"

"Yeeeah, right, you need to leave that Booba Juice alone." the Weequay laughed.