Ilum, a cold planet of ice and snow. For years, little had lived on it's harsh and unforgiving surface until a boarder war spilled over, causing the planet to be claimed in the name of the Onyxian Commonwealth. Now, a military listening post, resupplying point, and the like had been set up, and the planet was under the vigil of Consul Logan.

Swooping towards the planet, the Jedi shuttle recieved hails from Commonwealth forces in the area, but the presence of an Azguard and confirmed Jedi seemed to ease any fears, at least enough to allow them to head towards the planet unmolested.

"Okay..." said Ian "If you want me to land this thing, you better give me some coordinates."

"Where does the Force wish us?" said Dolash, turning to the Seer (much to the irritation of Shillia). "With your vision, can you tell us where we must go?"

Oblox briefly descended into trance, tracing his fingers over the screen, and Ian did his best to follow the mystic's wobbling course.

"So let me just check this, okay?" said Proq "What we're going to do is land on a ball of ice, because this Seer is so sure the Force wants us to go there of all places in the galaxy?"

"You are filled with doubt." said Fwar, who patted him heavily on the shoulder. "You should trust more in the Force, my friend, for it has guided us this far for a greater reason. We were drawn to Dolash, Dolash to Kessel, then to Oblox, who is drawn to Ilum. Do not dwell on the short-term troubles that might arise to face us, instead, look with anticipation at the glorious wonders that may wait for us at the end of this mysterious series of connections."

There was a brief pause.

"I still hate the cold..." muttered Proq.

"Perhaps then" said Jubaz "it would help you to stop complaining, in an overall effort to conserve energy and body heat?"

"Hush, now." said Dolash, pointing out the window. "I think I can see what he is guiding us to..."

The shuttle had descended according to the guidance of Oblox, through the atmosphere and now even closer to the surface. In the midst of a raging blizzard, one particular rocky peak stood out most of all, the front face ornately carved and inlaid with symbols that bore the wear of age. At it's base, jagged rocks were hurled around and buried in snow. The whole place appeared as though nothing but the wind had disturbed it for years.

"Bring us down." said Dolash, who smiled and clapped Ian and Oblox on the back proudly (Also knocking the Seer out of his trance rather rudely) "It seems to me that that there is what has drawn us here, so it's about time we find out what's so important!"

The ship touched down, buried deep in a drift of snow. Getting out was a problem, and Proq agreed to stay behind to watch the ship and Oblox - albeit from the vantage point of under a half-dozen blankets. The rest of the Jedi put on as many layers as they had, and set out towards the mysterious cliff.

Dolash took point, and scanned the frozen wastelands.

"Well." he said "At least we can be confident of our target - there's hardly anything else here."

"Ilum has almost always been uninhabited." said Katria, who spoke from her knowledge of history and geography. "The only people ever known to reside here were the Jedi, who were believed to have a temple here once, but it was lost during the Clone Wars. It's location, keepers, and almost all information on it was destroyed, in fact the only evidence of it is a few rescued files in the Jedi Archives. In recent times the Commonwealth - under the banner of the Coalition - have taken interest, but even they haven't done too much exploring or resource collecting."

Dolash stepped forwards, and heard a crunch that made him pause. Bending in the harsh winds, he found that what he had trod on was the broken head of a droid, horrifically rusted and ruined by exposure. He picked it up, and showed it to his fellows.

"What's this?"

"A droid's head?" said Shillia, dryly.

Dolash sighed. "A little more detailed description, anyone?"

Ian took the head and examined it briefly. "Nothing I'm familiar with. It's got a lot of old Baktoid battle droid parts, but the design seems pretty unique."

As they moved about, they found the ground littered with similar pieces of droid, scattered around and buried under the snow for years - remains of some battle.

"This is perhaps a mystery for later." said Dolash, pushing through the snow towards the ruins "For now, I suggest we secure the area at the base of the cliff."

They continued through the whipping ice that stung with fierce cold, heads bowed to the wind until they finally found themselves safe in the cover offered by the cliff wall.

"Thank the Force for that." said Shillia, shaking snow from her fur. "This place is just wretched, if the Jedi ever came here it was probably just those who'd gotten on thier master's bad sides."

"Not really." said Katria, thinking back "If I recall, the last known keepers of Ilum were Master Luminara and Barris Oaffie - is that how her name was pronounced? I guess it doesn't matter too much now. Details are sketchy about what happened to them - well, beyond them getting killed, obviously."

Dolash maneauvered around the large, jagged rocks that littered the ground around the entrance, as between them was an archway - an entrance deep into the ground. It was buried by a cave-in, and snow had even settled in some places, but Dolash could clearly see that someone had dug a tunnel down into its dark, lightless depths. The Jedi crowded around in silence.

"...You first." said Fwar, his usually stoic demeanour replaced with a sort of queasiness at the sight of tight corners.

Dolash, sighing, took a rope from a supply kit at his waist. He tied one end around his waist, and gave the rest of the length to the Jedi.

"Wait." said Jubaz "Surely I, as the lightest one here, should go down into that hole? Dolash is practically the largest of our number!"

"True" said Dolash, evenly "But of our number, I am perhaps best suited to a cave, my people coming from a planet of mountains and tunnels, meaning I possess claws that could allow me to climb out again in an emergency."

Jubaz shrugged "Fair enough."

He was lowered slowly into the depths, down the entire length of rope. Soon, they couldn't let him down any further, and still he could not see the bottom, instead suspended in darkness, the rock walls too far to see. He flashed a flashlight, and the walls lit up with a thousand tiny stars, making him feel as though he was in a galaxy of light, although he did not know what it was that was causing this.

It was there, in the silence, he thought he could hear weaping.

"...Is somebody there?" He called, and the echoes filled the chamber. Then there was complete silence.

Then - something. Like a splitting headache, like double vision, like blinding light and deafening sound. Something unfocused and hazy. A flickering blue ghost that seemed made of billowing smoke instead of a steady image shrieked out of the depths, completely faceless and unidentifiable to Dolash, his world filled with that mind-splitting scream. The scream that was silent and yet filling his mind.

It passed straight through him, giving him a feeling of draining and agony, and as Dolash squirmed he could barely discern the cries of panic from above. The rope had come loose, and Dolash was falling...

Falling...

Falling...

Dolash wasn’t sure when he stopped falling, he just knew that he was at the bottom. All around, debris, crystals, and the ruins of an underground temple were littered about, and as Dolash rose to his feet he began to feel the weight of the Force that infused this place. The terrible apparition was gone, for now.

He closed his eyes, allowing the Force to flow through him and carry his minds to it’s ethereal depths. It was always a strange experience, reaching out, as if he had left his body and simultaneously was still there. The experience was compounded by the division of his minds, meaning it was much more as if three of him existed at once, moving about in three dimensions.

Finally, he managed to focus his minds to task, and touched the shoulder of Fwar to tell him that he had landed safely. He was not communicating with words, it was more empathic then that, and so Dolash could feel the relief of his companions.

Quite suddenly, he was ripped from this trance by the return of the blinding pain as the apparition returned.

It was a shrieking, billowing, cloudy banshee, and as Dolash tried to feel for it’s presence amongst the ruins he realized that it also possessed the Force - no, it was the Force, made of it, pure Force energy. Like water must be held in a glass to have form, so too must the Force be felt within something to give it shape and substance, but this was different, it was like ice. It was solid, and it was held together by it’s will.

Dolash braced himself as it flew by again, and leapt to one side to avoid it’s draining effects. He rolled, regained his footing, only to have to roll again as it passed again. Dolash realized he was trapped with this thing, and sooner or later it would wear him down and kill him. Climbing a rope was pointless, since he wouldn’t be able to dodge the apparition’s flybys and would surely lose his grip as his spirit was drained bit by bit.

The spirit shrieked again, and Dolash staggered back, groaning and covering his ears. He had to think of something.

It was then that something landed in a lump of snow nearby with a whoosh. Looking down, Dolash saw a lightsaber - Fwar’s lightsaber, and he sighed in relief, making a note to thank his friend once he was free. Picking the lightsaber up, he took up a stance and engaged it’s blue blade. The instant the hum rose, the apparition froze in it’s tracks. For a second, the two were still, silent.

Then, screaming again, the apparition charged Dolash, and quite suddenly ignited a lightsaber of it’s own - also blue. Dolash was shocked to find the blade solid, and met saber to saber in the tiny confines. His slashes weren’t nearly fast enough, however, and he found himself ever driven back.

Finally, shortly before he reached a wall of collapsed rock, he slipped while stepping back on a chunk of rubble, the lightsaber falling from his hands. The apparition’s shriek became the harsh cry of victory as it lifted it’s blade above it’s head, Dolash’s hand grabbed for anything to defend himself with.

Taking up a sliver of crystal, and without thinking, he hurled it at the spirit. The blade came down just as the crystal made contact, and Dolash closed his eyes tightly.

A terrible moment passed.

Then, slowly, Dolash realized that he was still quite alive. He opened his eyes, to find the blade frozen mere inches before his face, the apparition appearing to glow and shudder.

Slowly, it drifted away from him, and Dolash could see that the crystal was suspended inside her - yes, her, for as the spirit moved away it began to take form and solidify. Through the Force, Dolash could feel something as if all the drifting Force energy in the vicinity being drawn together, breathed in by the crystal and shaped into a young woman in Jedi’s robes. As the feeling subsided, and the crystal stabilized within the ghost, Dolash saw before him the dark blue, transparent form of a Jedi woman bearing robes that suggested a time before the Order’s decline, her lightsaber now disengaged and held idly in one hand. Her face was no longer smoky and furious, it was featured, and held a horrified expression that suggested great fear and disgust in equal measure.

Finally, she collapsed in a heap in the middle of the cave. The crystal remained suspended in her center, and yet she seemed completely unconscious. Dolash slowly rose to his feet, and approached her - he tried to touch her on the shoulder, but his hand moved through it, as insubstantial as mist.

Coils of rope unrolled to either side of him as Jubaz and Ian slid down to the bottom of the temple. Immediately Ian leapt down to where Dolash was and looked him over “Are you all right? We were worried...”

Dolash shook his head “No need for panic, Ian, I’m perfectly all right.” He scooped up Fwar’s lightsaber and walked over to where Jubaz knelt, just next to the fallen spirit.

“Do you know this woman?” said Jubaz, clearly curious. Dolash shook his head.

“Whatever she is, she doesn’t seem to be dangerous with that crystal in her. Without it, she goes mad.”

Jubaz gently reached through the Jedi Ghost’s body and held the crystal. Lifting it caused the whole spirit to move with it, and he nodded. “At least we can move her.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” said Ian, more then a little uneasy in the deep confines of the temple. “Should we really take her with us?”

Dolash shrugged “She is of the Force, and the Force lead us to her. I can only imagine it was for a reason. Let us get out of this dark place and decide our next move from the comfort of the ship.”

The Jedi sat about the ghost, unsure of what to do next. In silence, they observed with mounting curiosity the transparent blue figure, curled up and 'asleep', yet still drifting an inch above the floor of the shuttle. Slowly, Dolash reached out and prodded Oblox on the shoulder - the seer awoke confused and mumbling.

"Wuzzit now?" he groaned, and sat up on the bunk.

"We found this spirit deep in the caves of the planet, I believe in the former site of a Jedi Temple." said Dolash, with a deadpan expression "As you are a seer, I wish to know if you could tell us any more about her."

Oblox squinted at the ghost, then mumbled "S'a Force spirit o'course." and drifted back to sleep.

Dolash gave him a prod, but he just sullenly rolled over. Finally, impatient, Shillia rose from where she was seated and lifted the squirming seer from where he lay. "A little more detail, if you will?"

Irritably, he said "All right, all right. She's a Force Spirit, practicing a rare and difficult technique where someone manages to separate themself from the living force after they've died for brief periods at a time. Usually it's only for a few minutes or something to relay an important message, although a few Sith have been known to practice this ability so they can come back to life by feeding on the Force Energy of a possessed host. Usually only a Jedi Master or Sith Lord could be powerful enough to do it, she doesn't seem like either though."

"I know about those..." said Katria "They haven't been seen for years, the last unconfirmed case of Force Ghosts was when Obi-Wan came back to advise Luke Skywalker, and even then that's pretty insubstantiated. But Dolash said this ghost was smokey and vicious at first, and only became focused and calm after he threw that crystal at her... what could it have been?"

Dolash seemed to come to a decision. "We're returning to Naboo. Whatever this temple and this ghost means, they're beyond our ken. The Force is at work here, although in what way I do not know. Perhaps the masters at the Temple will. Someone dig Proq out from under those blankets, Ian, set coordinates for home."

The ship's crew leapt into action, leaving the ghost alone. In the silence, it curled tighter around it's crystal, and carefully opened one eye. It was safe, for now.

(Note: This scene takes place before Dolash meets Trazu or Marek)

The ship landed on Naboo gently, and much to Oblox's discomfort, the whole crew set out to the temple to meet and discuss about the mysterious ghost they had discovered. After a discussion about proper protocol, Katria became the one to carry the crystal which the Jedi ghost hung feebly on to, still seemingly asleep.

Dolash was somewhat surprised when he saw the temple again - it wasn't that he'd been away for all that long, but it had certainly felt like a lifetime ago. Nevertheless, it was all exactly as he had left it. Katria placed the ghost in an old meeting room, currently unused, where they sat and waited for a sign.

Dolash didn't know quite what they was waiting for, or why, but they did nonetheless.

Oblox, however, was less content "It's been a while since I've seen civilization - well, I've Seen it quite a lot, but I wouldn't mind getting a chance to do a walk-around for once, y'know?"

"And I wouldn't mind getting into an actual bed, for a real sleep." said Proq "I mean, I know it's important and all, but can't it wait until - "

They were both silenced as the ghost slowly stirred, drifted, and then finally stood roughly an inch off the ground, looking as if she had just woken from a deep sleep. Her image grew into slightly clearer focus, as she began to take in the room.

"...Wait..." said Katria "I wasn't sure before, but I am now - I know that face! That's Barris Offee, she was the guardian of the temple on Ilum when it was attacked, and one of the youngest Knights of the Order, yet one of the highest ranking, when it was destroyed."

"Destroyed?" said Barris. Quite suddenly, the atmosphere changed, and everyone turned to fix their gaze on the ghost. She merely seemed to be thinking, searching, trying to remember. Dolash watched as her facial expression slowly changed from thought to remembrance to terror and finally sadness, before she fell to the floor again "They killed me! They killed me from behind! I can't believe they did that!"

The atmosphere was, really, one of awkwardness. I mean, what do you say to someone who died fifty years ago and was only now finding out about it? Dolash decided direct truth was better, and crossed from a chair to where she was despairing.

"It has been nearly fifty years since the end of the Clone Wars, Barris. The Clones were ordered by Palpetine to turn on the Jedi to destroy the Order so that he could ascend as Emperor of the galaxy - and he succeeded. You and every other Jedi were slain. The Emperor then ruled the galaxy for more then twenty years, with Anakin at his side as a new Sith, Darth Vader. Yoda and Obi-Wan survived, however, and raised a new Jedi - Luke Skywalker - who went on to topple them. However, since that day the Galaxy has been split in a neverending, decades-old civil war." He paused "More or less."

For a few seconds her stare was fixed on Dolash's face, only then to turn slowly away, as she gently curled up and stopped moving entirely, now gazing into eternity. A minute passed.

"...I think you broke her." said Shillia, who waved her hand before Barris's eyes, getting no reaction. "Way to send someone into a catatonic state there, Dolash."

"It's a lot to take in at once..." said Fwar "Maybe she just needs time?"

"Or the ghost of a straight-jacket, maybe?"

Dolash nodded. "I'll stay for now, to keep an eye on her. Is there anything the rest of you want done in particular?"

"Well you guys managed to wreck most of my technical gear." said Ian "So I'll be having that fixed."

"I've got a few things to do as well." said Proq. "Now that we're back, I think it's only right to celebrate through the ceremonial imbibing of fermented beverages."

"If you're going for drinks, I'll join you." said Oblox.

"I'm still curious about this ghost." said Jubaz "On the other hand, she will only speak when she wishes to, so for now I will join in on these promised drinks."

As the others filed out, Dolash seated himself again, and waited in the silence that followed.

Eventually, Barris did indeed rouse herself, apparently coming to some sort of internal resolve. "You lie." she said, firmly. "I can remember, I was on... Felucia, I must have been captured. I remember a pain, and then a feeling in the Force that I... I felt once before. But I know it can be recreated, and that's what happened! You won't get anything from me."

Dolash nodded. "Except... that you know I am no Separatist interrogator, you know this is not Felucia, and you know that that sensation you felt could have only meant one thing - you had died."

She shuddered, and almost fell again, but caughter herself and instead drew herself up again. "All right then, if I'm dead, then what am I doing here? Where am I?"

Dolash nodded "Fair enough. You're on Naboo, the site of the only temple of the New Jedi Order. As for why you're suddenly no longer part of the Force, that's what we were hoping you could tell us. There's been suspiscious ghost-like activity as of late, for some reason a lot more spirits are seperating from the Force, some apparently even involuntarily or unintentionally, like you."

Barris managed to nod, and then hesitated "So... everything you said was true? Palpetine, he became Emperor?" Dolash nodded. Suddenly, a flash of remembrance passed over Barris "And Zonder? What happened to Zonder?"

Dolash's brow furrowed, and she sighed "Zonder was my Padawan, he'd only just begun his training when we went to Felucia. He wasn't there when... I'd hoped that maybe..."

"Anything is possible, the records of that time are understandably piecmeal as a great deal were destroyed in the fighting, lost in transfers, deleted by either side, or otherwise hushed up. So far as we know, the only official Jedi to survive the purge were Obi-wan and Yoda."

"Wait... what about Anakin?"

This was what worried Dolash, but he tried to push ahead "Depending on where people stand, he's seen as both a redeemed hero and a self-centered monster. I'm guessing you're going to think more towards the monster end of the scale. Palpetine turned him to the darkside, and from what's been gathered he was directly responsible for the Order that went out to kill the Jedi - er, you as well. After that, however, his children grew up and became Jedi dedicated to overthrowing him and the Emperor, and at the last he turned on the Emperor and cast him to his death."

Barris's face contorted with rage. "I knew he wasn't strong enough! I always knew! That damn stupid self-confidet arrogant - " she felt helpless frustration and kicked uselessly through the table.

Dolash nodded "It hasn't gotten much better since then. The Empire has faced off against the New Republic, each claiming to be the legitimate successor of the Old Republic. Once the New Republic was destroyed and the Empire reestablished, the Coalition formed to oppose them. As it stands, the galaxy has become a patchwork quilt of loyalties and nations, the two strongest being the Empire - which still employs Sith and carries the taint of the Darkside - and the Coalition - which supports the lightside but doesn't offer official and direct support to we Jedi. As for us, we've been left to survive on the wayside, accomplishing what we can in a galaxy now overrun with the darkside. And now you."

Barris seemed in control now, understanding on her features. "Now what?"