Marek had not been in the commons long, when Dolash appeared. Despite his pleasant demeanor, Zolar could see the disheveled anguish that lay painted across his master’s face. He had the look of someone, who hadn't seen a good nights rest in a very long time and the distant look that filled his gaze spoke volumes, something was bothering him. He the decided it best not to bring it up.

"Ah, padawan." he said, somewhat glad for the company. "Restless as well, I see? Nevermind that, tell me, how goes your studies and practice? They will be needed on our next journey."

Marek thought about his response and answered.

"Ever since our arrival home, I've been spending most of my time in the great library reading up on various accounts of historical events along with several teachings concerning, of course, none other than force manipulation and lightsaber combat."

He sighed, then continued on once more.

"I also was finding it very difficult to ease my mind last evening, so I went back to the workshop and constructed this."

He handed the nothing short of a paperweight over to his master. It was very simple looking, just a cylinder with a small switch attached to the upper middle part of its form. It resembled more of a simple toy than anything else.

"It's not nearly the device that I had originally intended on, but it's better than nothing I suppose, If worse comes to worse I could always hurl it at oncoming danger."

A grin slipped from what was a relaxed face, hoping his master caught on to his attempt at humor.

Dolash returned the smile, and said "A Jedi knows that improvisation is a vital skill. I'm sure this will suffice should you need something to throw - or, I don't know, perhaps some paper held down against a slight breeze."

He looked to the sky, judging the position of the rising sun, and said "Still a little early... but then, we're hardly on a fixed schedual. Let's go to the ship, we can make final preparations there. Barris will be our guide, and we will be accompanied by our fellow Jedi once more. The mission ahead takes us to Felucia... and I believe the Force wants us to find a dead Jedi who passed away in battle there. This anomaly is dangerous and damaging to the Force, so it is our duty to protect it - that which harms the Force has the power to harm all life, Marek, for it is part of our very being."

The two walked out of the commons towards the starport, through the lethargic streets of Theed. The architectural wonder was patched here and there, signs of half a century of galactic upheaval, and it drew Dolash's attention from time to time. That had been the work of the Sith, and he couldn't help but wonder if this damage to the Force wasn't their work as well. No. The Darkside was involved, but the Sith knew the Force was the source of their power, and destroying it would only destroy themselves and all they would seek to rule.

"It is a terrible thing, this danger that we seek. I can feel it straining the Force, causing cracks and diverting it's flow. You are becoming a Jedi in strange times, Marek, for not only must we safeguard the Force but the war with the Darkside continues in the secret places of the galaxy. That is even before we account for the civil war that has consumed the once peaceful galaxy that we knew. It means our duty is all the more important - something which you fully appreciate?"

"Appreciate? I don't think I totally grasp the magnitude of it."

Marek knew only what he had experienced on their previous mission and what he had read in the archives, the rest would eventually reveal itself, at least that’s how he reasoned it.

"I try to keep an open mind, but I'm not going to lie, there is definitely something sinister at work here I just hope we can uncover the reason for this disturbance, before our power is diminished."

Zolar was beginning to sound wiser than his years, obviously a product of his long hours spent doing research in the library. He then shifted his verbal responses to the impending trip to Felucia.

"So Felucia is our next destination? I can only infer the fallen Jedi you speak of is Aayla Secura? I've read much about her, one of the unfortunate casualties of what was known as order sixty..something, sixty six I believe. You think she has something to do with this?"

Marek awaited Dolash's response, all the while trying to recall what memories of his readings he had completed on Felucia and Aayla Secura.

Dolash tapped in a number-code into a lock on the starport door, which opened, giving them access to the Jedi's shuttle. "I have reason to suspect. She may be dead, but for some reason her spirit can still be sensed in the Force - in dreams, and half-glimpsed visions. A Jedi must never disregard his dreams, for they are a source of information regarding the Force. I expect we'll know more when we get there."

The two worked for a time, moving boxes into the ship that had been delivered ahead of time - supplies provided for their trip. "The Jedi Order runs greatly on charity these days, and on whatever of worth we might bring back or discover. Best be careful with these supplies then." The work was calming, giving them time to stretch and wake for the day ahead. It wouldn't be long before the others arrived, the group of six Jedi whom Dolash had come to rely on as a solid bedrock of support in the endeavours of himself and Marek.

"Right! I'm pleased you all managed to arrive on time. Marek and I have taken the liberty to loading the shuttle in advance, so unless there's any pressing concerns we can be on our way."

"Yeah, I've got a bit of a pressing concern." said Proq, the Twi'lek garbed in loose, baggy, and heavily pocketed robes "Mind telling us where we're going this time? Only last time I forgot my flash-light and the time before that I didn't have my winter coat. If we all get to wherever we're going and you just give me a funny look and say "Where's your sunglasses?" or some such thing, I'll snap."

"Never fear" he replied "We are going to Felucia, and althought it is an altogether unpleasent jungle, there is nothing I can think of we'll specifically need that isn't already packed."

"Well, then what are we looking for?" said Katria, a young woman with flowing hair and an inquisitive expression. "I do know it's the site of one of the last battles of the Clone Wars..."

"True, true." said Dolash, as the Jedi came aboard "The Force seems to be drawing us to find the remains of one Aayla Secura, a Jedi slain there. Her spirit may yet reside in that place."

"So we seek the remains of the fallen?" said Fwar, a towering, furry Frozian just as tall as Dolash. "A noble goal, to be sure, but how will this get us closer to figuring out what is wrong with the Force?"

"Haven't you been paying attention?" said Ian, an unkempt man with a scruffy black beard and tufts of black hair. He strapped himself into the pilot's seat and said "So far, nothing we've ever done would sound like it'd solve a problem with the Force, so I doubt we'll know until we get there."

It was then that Jubaz, the scarred Rodian in a short robe, arrived bearing Barris's crystal, without which the transparent blue spirit wouldn't be able to move. Behind him, Barris herself followed.

"We are prepared?" said Jubaz slowly, as he passed the crystal to Dolash. Dolash nodded, and the Rodian smiled "Good."

"An early start might benefit us." said Barris "There is a lot of battlefield to search, if my memory serves. Aayla secura always stayed near the front, but even that line ran across a vast swath of land."

"Good for her!" exclaimed Shillia, who was a Devaronian equally as furry as Fwar if not as tall. She smiled, and said "Sounds like girls did all the good fighting in that war! Anakin, the Clones, Dooku, Grievous, and Palpetine all turned evil, and the only thing they all had in common was testicles." she paused, while several of those assembled began to blush "...Except maybe Grievous. Did anyone ever have a chance to find out? Anyways, my point is that it was men who were the bad guys in the Clone Wars."

"Really?" said Barris, rather coldly "I simply must tell you about Asajj Ventress one of these days."

Dolash hadn't been listening, he had been making flight corrections with Ian. Satisfied that their course was plotted, he stood back up and said "All right everyone, prepare for take-off. Our next arrival shall be Felucia." He slapped Marek heartily on the back "We must be prepared for whatever adventure awaits."

The exit from Theeds Atmosphere was bit bumpy but nonetheless exciting. Zolar enjoyed planetary trips, especially to worlds he had never been to before. Not to mention, the possibility of impending doom added its own brand of excitement, the kind that only exists in this sort of operation.

Once the blue haze of the Nubian sky had faded to pitch black everyone had positioned themselves in their respected places onboard the ship, along with Marek, who took up residence in the all too familiar cargo hold with Dolash.

"So Master Dolash, Have you ever questioned the order? I mean, have you ever felt like they've put you into a position that may have compromised your better judgment?"

Marek didn't hesitate for a moment, not even to allow Dolash to answer before he continued his questions.

"What of the Sith? From, my own research, I've found very little about them, and what I have found, just from making inferences, is that they seem to overpower and destroy every Jedi that comes into contact with them, thus, they are the arch-nemesis of the order. How can we present an image of Justice if we can't even defend ourselves from those who, for all intents and purposes are labeled the "Bad Guys." It's been my experience that people follow strength, not weakness."

He paused briefly.

"Don't get me wrong master, I'm no coward and I'm willing to pay the ultimate price for the Jedi, but I have questions."

Dolash nodded, with an attentive ear, for these were important questions - questions every Jedi should ask, sooner or later.

"Well, Marek, I find it important at times like this to-"

There was the sudden, familiar, yet still not entirely pleasent sensation of entering hyperspace. After a temporary imbalance, Dolash continued.

"-To admit that yes, people follow strength, and the ways of our order do in fact weaken our strength at times, and restrict us from the easier solution. In the past, there have been times where I have recognized that the Sith are freer of restrictions, and as such become more powerful. People are more likely to bow to that they fear than that they love or respect, because fear is the greater motivator for most.

"However, you must ask yourself, if we gave up all our restrictions, and drew on as much power as we could, using every means necessary, irregardless of what they might involve - and even if that gave us the power we needed to defeat the Sith, the darkside, and all villains - how then would we know wether we too had become Sith? It is by our restrictions, by our rules, by our code that we are defined from the ones we fight, and our willingness to see the potentially devastating power we can tap into contained rather than loosed on the galaxy.

"True, there have been those in history who have walked the line, but for every legendary Jedi who managed to look into the depth of the darkside and power unrestricted, turn that power against the dark, and come out of it still sworn to the light, there are a hundred more who fell into the dark and never returned, consumed by hate, jealously, or just pure power-lust. There are far too many force-users in the galaxy for us to allow every single one to try that walk, or else almost every force-sensitive in the galaxy would be turned to the darkside - the only real way to keep Force Users largely dedicated to the light is to keep them away from the temptation. Masters face the most corrupting influences, those who have proven to be of the few who can resist even the worst temptations, because they can survive both the battle and the psychological effects.

"That means that our struggle against the Sith will always be uphill, that the Darkside will always seem the easier way. Were it not for the nature of the Force itself, we would have been defeated long ago. The thing to remember when these dark thoughts depress you, or make you question the Order, is that the Order trusts the Force. Even when the Darkside seemed sure of victory, the Force has always provided a savior, or the means to push back the dark. That is why we hunt the mysteries of the Force, for we are truly symbiots with it - it needs us to carry out its' will to survive, and to vanquish the flowing power of the darkside we need to carry out it's will to gain our own power."

It was then that Dolash paused, and blinked. "Carry out it's will... symbiots... wait..." He jumped up "Marek, that could be it!"

Marek was taken aback by Dolash's epiphany.

"Huh? What's it?" he questioned in sheer bewilderment.

"How does us being Symbiots...?" even more confused than ever.

"You lost me."

Excitedly, Dolash turend to Marek "That which hurts the Force... I think I have it!"

"The Force is a symbiot with it, we serve it and it serves us. It is part of life and we in turn follow its' will to keep it strong. When the Force is weak, life is weak. When the Force is strong, life is strong. The Light and Dark are tied into the strength of the Force, but if the Force were to die, we would die with it. We cannot live apart, for it is part of our being.

"All who use the Force serve its' will - the Sith use the Force with passion and hatred, making them blind with emotion and serving the will of the Force's darker elements without knowing it. The Jedi actively listen through contemplation and peace, and thus we hear the lightside. Though the two struggle for influence over the Force, and thus a subtle influence over all life, there could very well be a third possibility.

"What if a highly disciplined Force User were to wield the power of the Force without heeding its' will at all? They would need the determination and control of a Jedi matched with the will and fierce independance of a Sith, but in theory, you could take from the Force without giving back."

His student seemed slightly confused, so Dolash calmed down, and explained it more cautiously "The Force is not infinite power, it is a cycle - part of life. If someone were to discover how to truly master the Force, and take power from it without balancing the power they take in the galaxy, then the Force would weaken. The Force can seesaw between light and dark, and influence life and death, peace and war, but if someone actually hurts it, they could hurt life itself. It's never been done before, the possible results are mind-boggling."

Dolash shook his head. "If this is true, however, it will be hard to find the one responsible. For now, we can do no better than go to Felucia and see what we can find."

Zolar sat dumb-founded as his master went to the cockpit to check the status of their flight, leaving Marek to himself in the Cargo Hold.

Dolash left him with a hell of a lot to chew on. He was basically saying that someone might possibly be killing the force! Marek was having a hard time fathoming it. Examining all the evidence they had already come across, he would never have formulated such an accusation, the truth of the matter was despite what he thought it seemed as though that was the only possible answer.

Then his mind began evaluating the necessary components involved in such an undertaking. First and foremost, who in the world would want to destroy the force? Unless they had no idea they were doing it, but at the same time, how could they not know what was happening? Anyone with ties to the force could feel the disturbance that now emanated from every inch of life in the galaxy. How could one person take on so much energy and not be destroyed? And if someone was powerful enough to get away with such a feat, how did a rag-tag group such as this do anything to combat it?

"Shut-up Marek," he whispered to himself. "You think too much, you know that your suppose to be focused on the here and now, not your conspiracy theories."

He removed the fancy prop that was his ligthsaber, from his belt and examined it.

"So, when will we learn to wield you?" he questioned the device as though it were going to answer him back. "Because if there is someone funneling the energies of the force and we come across them, I want every bit of help I can get if it comes down to him and I."

The ship came out near Felucia, in a quiet region of the Outer Rim. As they drifted closer to the planet, Ian checked their position. "This is it." he said.

"Felucia was known for being colonized by Gossam." said Katria "haven't heard much from them since the end of the Clone Wars, though."

Dolash looked at the ball of green, blue, and a sprinking of tropical colours. "Even from here, the planet looks like an overgrown marsh..."

"It is... and it was." said Barris, who was also watching from the cockpit. "The water isn't drinkable aboveground, and before I died, the water belowground was poisoned as part of a trap set by the separatists."

"Don't drink the water then." said Dolash, firmly. "Don't eat anything, don't touch anything - the sooner we're out, the better."

Something seemed... off... about this place. It could just be felt at the edge of his senses. Something in the Force. On the other hand, what about their mission so far hadn't been like that?

"Barris, do you know where your army was before you died?"

The ghostly apparition nodded grimly, and gave coordinates to Ian. The ship set off for the planet's surface, while Dolash continued to feel for what was filling him with trepedition.

Felucia... had suffered greatly. Rich with life, the posions of the war and the remains afterwards were harming it. The natives had been devastated by the loss of fresh water, and the galaxy had conveniently forgotten about a world they had fought such a fierce siege to take. This strange feeling could have been just that pain, but there was something else as well. Something trapped, behind the pain.

"I'll get Marek." Dolash said "Best that we go through a plan before we go out there, I don't want anyone getting lost."