The room was dark; save for a soft azure glow flickering against the shadows, almost as if it were struggling to stay lit. Darkness attacked it; tried to envelop it, and yet the light stayed true. A young man stood in the room's center, the glow cast from his lightsaber casting garish shadows across his handsome features. His breath was ragged, were it not for the gentle thrum of the blade the room would have been quiet enough to hear the cold sweat drip down his brow and crash against the cold durasteel. Body tense, knuckles white as they gripped the elaborate silver hilt, Jedi Padawan Karth De'Qora stood waiting, waiting for it to come again.

And, not long after, a second blade burst through the veil of shadows, a brilliant golden hue clashing against the blue already painting the walls. From behind the blade, a pair of hauntingly red eyes made themselves known. The training droid circled, its steps measured and deliberate, thousands of different algorithms, different steps, strikes, parries and tricks being processed at speeds equivalent to the sharpest sentient mind. Servos clicked in the same repetitive fashion, every cog, every circuit working in tandem with the processor at the droid's core. In contrast, the Jedi it had almost bested the round before struggled to stay upright, his lithe muscles tensed as he awaited yet another onslaught. To set the droid to such a high level would have been suicide for most; but as Karth's skills increased, so did his training regimen. This particular unit was set to a level of blade mastery to rival Agen Kolar, one of the finer swordsmen of the Order and one of Karth's unofficial teachers in his younger years.

There was a pause, but for a moment, but in that instance De'Qora knew the droid had found its opening. His right foot slid back, skidding to a halt as he brought his blade up, parallel to his bent elbow in the classical Form V stance. It was a ploy on his part, up until this point Karth had fought defensively, now the droid would be forced to react to a dramatic change in tactics. It was time for this to end, and it had to end now. With gritted teeth, the Jedi forced off his back foot, eyes wide and determined as his first blow came down; an overhead strike which the droid easily parried. With a grin, Karth reached out with the Force, sensing the slightest movements of his opponents blade and bringing his own around to bear against the brunt of the counterattack.

Soon it all became a blur to him; strike, parry, thrust, parry, strike; and with a mighty roar Karth found his opening, plunging his sky-blue blade deep within the droids "chest" and slashing upwards. The resulting shower of sparks left his opponent split in twain, mechanical limbs still twitching on the floor. Finally, he could breathe a sigh of relief, cutting short his saber and returning it to his belt as the lights of the training room flickered back on. Silas had commented several times already on the intensity with which Karth had trained since their trip began; it was all he could do to keep from punching a hole in his wall. He'd made a mistake on Bakura, a terrible mistake, and people had paid with their lives. He felt it Silas' greatest gift to him that the Master had withheld the full truth of the incident from his fellow Council members. Had they learned what transpired in its entirety, they might have cast him out of the Order altogether. He cast one last look back at the droid, chuckling in spite of his aching bones, and left the mess behind for the servants to take care of. The hail for him to return to the crew deck had reached him shortly before he began the practice duel; and if Karth knew his Master at all, Silas wouldn't leave his room until Karth came to rouse him.

The bridge was cold; come to think of it, every room on that ship was freezing cold, and for the life of him Silas couldn't understand why. He supposed it would have been simple enough to note that, when in the deep vacuum of space ships were always cold, but he'd assumed that a diplomatic shuttle of such make would have heaters somewhere on board. As it stood, however, he'd simply wrapped himself tighter in his cloak and banished the thought from his mind. He'd received several salutes from the various deck officers on his way up to meet the Captain; and while he'd bowed in response, mainly out of his respect for Republic soldiers, being treated the way he'd been up to this point had always made Silas just a bit uncomfortable.

Captain Ranira Thal was an intimidating women, to say the least, even now as Silas approached her he felt a slight chill settle down his spine. The woman was cold; career-military with a tongue as sharp as her trigger finger. Every crewman on the ship respected her; for while she was alot of things, she was always fair, and she cared deeply for those under her. With an uncomfortable smile, Silas offered Thal a polite bow as she turned to meet him; hand snapping up to return the gesture in a crisp salute. "Hello Captain," he began, waiting for her hand to drop before continuing. "Have you called my apprentice as well?"

Thal nodded, her steel-blue eyes never leaving his own; her gaze was magnetic, Silas felt entrapped by it. "Yes, Master Jedi, I hailed him over an hour ago. Seems to me like he operates on his own time."

The Jedi offered an apologetic smile; running a weathered hand through hair that he'd no doubt had gone gray long before its time. "No, punctuality's never been his strong suit-" his gaze locked for a moment with the ship's tech officer, a beautiful young lady who's gaze said to him 'I've been there, she's not as scary as she looks.' "-But if I know him, and I'm quite sure I do, he'll never apologize for it. So allow me to apologize for him." It wasn't the first time he'd had to play damage control for the boy, sometimes Cairne's patience amazed even him.

Almost as if on cue, the door to the bridge slid open once more; and in stepped a rather haggard-looking Karth, shifting uncomfortably in his robe as he quickened his pace. Silas' gaze was stern, if not unsympathetic, judging from his current state De'Qora more than likely was too caught up in his training to hear the bridge calling him. Still, his lateness would not go without reprimand. "So nice of you to join us, Karth, and here I was starting to think one of those droids had finally got the best of you."

When the only response he received was a slight shaking of Cairne's head, Karth considered the matter settled. "At any rate, I assume I wasn't called up simply for my pleasurable company?" Another grin, and the Padawan pushed off the wall and came to stand next to Captain Thal, peering down at the datapad the much shorter woman held in her hands. She cast a look up at him, and once again Karth found himself subtly shifting away from her, looking back at the door as if he'd needed an escape route. The Captain noticed, hiding a triumphant smile as she turned back to her two Jedi companions, datapad in hand. "Right then," she started, waiting for the two passengers to form up so she could brief them. "Now I know the Jedi Council briefed you once already, Master Cairne, but they've instructed that I re-brief you and your Apprentice before we land."

"Several weeks ago, two of your own: Jedi Master Atrya Kyza'an and Padawan Daneira Farris were sent to Bellassa in response to an attempted assassination of Crasus Gratus; one of the planet's most influential senators. Their initial reports suggested political tension in regards to the upcoming election for planetary governor, yet they'd no factual evidence supporting any sort of foul play. As of 23:45, thirteen days ago, all contact was lost with the Jedi team, and despite their best efforts the Bellassan government has been unable to locate them. Thus, they've requested a Jedi investigation into the disappearance." She finished with a frown, setting the datapad down on her chair and regarding Silas curiously. "What do you make of it, Master Jedi?"

Preferring instead to drop the matter, rather than reprimand his apprentice in front of a command crew that was already well-aware of his grating attitude, Silas simply remained silent. A gloved hand grasped tightly on Karth's robe and pulled the boy back, bringing the shorter lad up next to him; weathered eyes focusing intently on Captain Thal as she briefed them. From the datapad, an image of the missing Jedi sprang forth; and Silas was surprised as how young Master Kyza'an appeared. Judging from her reputation, he'd expected her to be more... experienced, so the sight of a rather attractive Miralukan woman in her early thirties had caught him off guard a bit. Daneira, however, was what surprised him the most. He'd brought the girl to Coruscant when she was just an infant, along with Karth, though unlike his apprentice Silas had never taken the time to monitor her progress as a youngling. De'Qora was, and had always been, the apprentice he was going to train, the apprentice he'd stake his reputation as a Jedi on. The boy's power, while untamed, was tremendous; and in Karth Silas had seen a chance for his legacy to last through the ages.

The brief ended almost as quickly as it began, and in response to the Captain's inquiry Silas stroked the light beard forming at his chin in silent thought. "It's possible their disappearance is entirely accidental, after all, from the reports I've received they did endeavor to travel to Arno spaceport during their investigation. Bellassa's a lovely planet, and a civilized one at that, but its wilderness is still rather dangerous to just about anyone." A pause, and the Jedi Master began pacing, something he'd always felt aided in achieving mental clarity. "However, it's no mere coincidence that their disappearance occurred after they unearthed signs of political tension, and during such an important month for the Bellassan senate, it's quite possible they stumbled upon something they shouldn't have. At any rate, our mission's simply to find them, not to get involved in the election, leave the bureaucracy to the bureaucrats. We'll be landing on Ussa in a matter of moments, yes?"

Thal nodded; "Yes, Master Jedi, we've already sent word to ground control and we've been cleared to land. I was instructed to tell you that Senator Gratus will be greeting you at the ship dock; he's offered whatever assistance he can lend in finding your missing Jedi."

Karth had remained silent; preferring instead to close his eyes and reach out with the Force. His physical body seemed to melt away, all that remained was the pulsations of his heart, the subtle machinations of his mind working tirelessly as he extended his reach. He felt everything then, every crewman on the ship, every bulkhead that suffered under the stress of atmospheric entry. The life force of the bustling city growing steadily in the viewport; the sheer amount of thoughts, of emotions, almost seemed to overwhelm him. To his credit he absorbed the "blow", as it were, his own consciousness joining the millions of others on the surface below; the planet laid bare to him now. Unfortunately; he could not sense any other Force signatures on the planet, none of significant size anyway. For now, the Force would be of little use in locating the missing Jedi Knights..

As the Jedi disembarked, Crasus and his fellow Senators offered a respectful bow, to which he was pleased to see the elder Jedi returned. Surprisingly, the younger Jedi, walking several steps behind his Master, seemed either unaware or indifferent to the greeting, as his head swiveled around as if to gauge his surroundings. Fighting back a slight frown at the Jedi's rudeness, Gratus decided instead to confer with the Jedi Master. "Greetings, Master Cairne; I must say it is truly a pleasure to have you in our lovely city. How was your voyage? Not too taxing, I hope?" His voice was surprisingly light for a man as tall and as intimidating as he appeared; often he'd found himself catching an opponent off guard. Never judge a book by its cover, after all, the same held true for politicians.