Kinnan set the holo-communicator controls to record and relay a message through Olaris Base, using a Jedi-specific frequency.

"Emergency Alert: This is Jedi Master Kinnan Sig-lapp. We need urgent medical assistance and extraction at the encoded coordinates. We are a team of 12 researchers under attack by rakghouls, with at least 8 to 10 of the team infected--including our medic--plus 9 with physical wounds. We've taken up shelter, but are currently pinned down. I estimate that we can only hold out for a couple of hours more. It will require a combat-capable team to reach us. Please respond." Kinnan stopped the recording and initiated the distress call.

"Tangress, how are you doing out there?"

Tangress was being kept quite busy by the onslaught of the rakghouls that kept trying to get past her into the small section of the wrecked ship's fuselage where the rest of the team was hiding. No matter how many she cut down, more of them just kept coming.

"I . . . {slash} . . . can . . . {slash} . . . keep this . . . {slash} . . . up for . . . {slash slash} . . . as long . . . {slash} . . . as I . . . {force wave} . . . have to." Despite her confident tone, he could hear her heavy breathing amidst the sounds of her blade, and could tell that she was slowly getting tired. "But why . . . {spinning slash} . . . do they just . . . {slash} . . . keep . . . {slash} . . . coming?!?"

"Because we're in the right place." he replied. "Trust in the Force, help is on the way."

After 3 long minutes of waiting, the distress call got a response.

"Master Sig-lapp, this is Jedi support ship Reborn Light, Master Dianiss responding. I am diverting course to Taris at your coordinates. E.T.A. is one hour, twenty minutes. Please acknowledge."

Kinnan smiled. "Perfect.", he said to himself and activated the holo-communicator. "Acknowledged, Master Dianiss, and thank you. We should be able to hold on until then, but we are fast running out of serum with so many people needing it. Be warned: this zone is hot. You'll have to fight your way in to get to us."

"Not a problem. Tell your people that help is coming, and may the Force be with you."

--

Tangress, for all of her ferocity, was steadily losing this battle despite the Medic's best efforts to keep her (and himself) going. The fact that she only really had to defend a 4-meter-wide crack in part of the wreckage of a downed ship where the rest of the team had taken refuge was the only reason she'd been able to even last THIS long--and it meant that the team was trapped inside their shelter with only one way out. The hour-and-twenty-minute mark was approaching, and there was still no sign of help coming.

...until the ground started shaking.

Suddenly all of the rakghouls around Tangress were losing their footing as the area around the opening to the makeshift "cave" pulsed up and down, hammering them up and down against the solid turf, injuring them AND knocking many of them unconscious. As a protective bubble of Force energy formed around Tangress, another massive blast of Force energy exploded outward in a wave all around her, finishing off those rakghouls that remained in the immediate area.

Outside, Tangress was just able to see the Jedi who was causing all the commotion, as she felt a wave of healing energy pass over her, causing wounds to heal and cleansing the infection from Tangress' system. It was a young human woman, dressed in a red, close-fitting top and what looked like a matching bikini bottom, brandishing a lightsaber with a uniquely-colored pink blade.

The Jedi in red continued attacking the other rakghouls in the nearby area, using the Force to throw rocks and other metal debris at each one, trying to distract them from making their way to where Tangress and the rest of the researchers were.

It didn't take long for the Jedi to antagonize enough of them that they started to swarm her instead. She held her ground, putting a similar protective bubble around herself and continuing to attack the rakghouls as they approached.

But they were coming faster than she was defeating them.

As more of them approached and got close enough to physically attack her, she kept up the pressure for as long as she could, using the Force to mend her own wounds along the way. Having whittled this second group down from over twenty to about twelve, she had no choice but to focus ALL her concentration on channeling another, stronger protective barrier that kept the monsters at arm's length.

Wounded and getting tired, she looked around to assess her situation, and it was not good: a dozen rakghouls surrounding her, clawing and biting at her shield making it impossible to keep it going any longer than a few more seconds. She steeled herself for the inevitable moment when her protective bubble would fail.

...and smiled.

The bubble didn't just fail. It exploded in a burst of bright white light that blinded every one of the rakghouls, halting their attacks and leaving them dazed and confused for a few seconds.

The Jedi took full advantage of those few seconds to do an acrobatic backflip, repositioning herself to put the entire group directly in front of her. With a heavy exhale and a strong two-handed pushing motion, she projected a powerful wave of Force energy in front of herself, knocking the rakghouls backward and softening the ground where they landed for just a moment so that their feet quickly sank into the ground a few inches before it hardened once again, rooting them all to the spot.

Closing her eyes to concentrate, she used both hands to rapidly attack the immobilized enemies one-by-one, like the ticking of a clock, with fast-moving blasts of pure Force power. Unable to move, they were like stationary targets in a shooting gallery, and fell from left-to-right in a precise pattern.

Tangress watched this spectacle with annoyance. "Show off...." she said to herself with a sneer.

There were still a few rakghouls in the area outside, but now maybe one-fifth or one-sixth as many as when the Jedi arrived. Having cleared the field and bought some time before more made their way to the site, she called out "I'm coming in!", and ran toward the researchers in a Force-enhanced burst of speed.

As she passed by Tangress, the Jedi tapped her on the shoulder and said "Take over."

Tangress suppressed the urge to hiss at her and instead just grunted a reluctant acknowledgement.

"You must be Master Dianiss." Kinnan said when she joined the group inside. He himself was sitting on the ground next to the portable communications gear, looking extremely pale and evidently trying not to throw up. "Forgive me if I don't get up."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Dianiss said, nodding. "Let's get you and your team back on your feet."

As Dianiss removed her red gloves, she sat down in a meditative position and calmed her body and spirit, putting the frenzy of combat out of her mind so she could focus herself on the peaceful use of the Force for healing. After a few moment's rest, she stood again, raised her hands, and caused the whole room to light up with a warm, soothing yellow glow that restored health and energy to the whole team.

She then closed her eyes and reached out with her feelings to examine the team members, one-by-one, starting with the ones that appeared the weakest and most badly wounded. Most of them had injuries that were hastily bandaged, evidently from scratches and bites--and a couple had broken bones as well. She focused the Force's healing energy on those specific areas to stabilize the wounds and set the bones right so that they could continue to heal naturally.

As she encountered the rakghoul virus in each, she acted as a connection between that individual and the Living Force, momentarily boosting her patient's natural immune system with enough strength to purge the virus entirely from the body. Each one sat up and thanked her in turn.

After she had finished, she turned her attention back to Master Sig-lapp, whose color was looking more normal. "Feeling better?" she asked.

"Much. And by the way, I'm pretty sure we've met before. I lectured a group of Initiates on Tython . . . hmmm, . . . over ten years ago now. I seem to recall a girl who came in late and tried to Mind-trick me...."

A wave of realization came over Dianiss' face. "I thought your name sounded familiar!" Her face involuntarily formed into an embarrassed smile. "Yeah, I was quite a brat back then." Her smile morphed into a devilish grin. "Some would say that I still am." She looked at him again with a fresh perspective. "But you . . . you didn't have the occular implants back then."

"No, I didn't, so I'm sure I look different now. You certainly do."

"Well, Master Sig-lapp, we--"

"Please, call me Kinnan."

"Kinnan, . . . we should evacuate and regroup. Those creatures are just going to continue to be attracted to this location if we stay."

"I agree. In fact, we've already gotten what we've come here to collect, so there's no need to stay any longer."

Dianiss took her personal holo-communicator off her belt and activated it. "C3-O2, this is Dianiss. Bring the ship to the location of my speeder and prep for passenger evacuation, twelve passengers."

The droid that appeared in the hologram looked like a slightly newer version of a standard ship's steward droid. "Of course, Master. I trust your mission was a spectacular success!"

"Just . . . do it. Please." Dianiss cut the channel.

Kinnan was already packing up the equipment and directing the team to get ready to leave.

--

Back at Olaris Base, the research team had split up to rest, eat, and recuperate. Dianiss and Kinnan found themselves sharing a table and a drink at the cantina just outside the spaceport.

"I really need to thank you again, Dianiss. You really saved our bacon out there." he said.

"All in a day's work for a combat 'Medi', I suppose." she responded with a smile. "So what were you doing out there, anyway?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked. That wreckage we were holed up in was part of what's left of the Ravager, Darth Nilhilus' ship. It was destroyed in space over 300 years ago by a boarding party lead by a Jedi named Meetra Surik. Not much of the ship survived, but thanks to a holocron that another Jedi, Nariel Pridence, recovered about a year ago, we were finally able to determine accurately where the wreckage ended up."

"What's so special about the Ravager?"

"Well, it's not so much the Ravager, as it is Darth Nihilus. Not much is known about him, but he was one of the most powerful Sith in history, and his similarities to the Emperor are too numerous to ignore. Some historians even think the Emperor IS Darth Nihilus."

Dianiss had a surprised look on her face, but didn't say anything.

"I don't believe it, either." he responded. "But I've devoted my life to studying the Emperor, trying to learn his secrets, hoping to discover a weakness. Any surviving clues we can gather about Darth Nihilus--especially about how he was defeated on the Ravager--could point us in the right direction.

"So I came to Taris, assembled a team, and went out to salvage, well, anything. I brought Tangress along, a couple of archaeology assistants, and recruited a squad of 8 soldiers--since I knew we'd have to deal with rakghouls out in the wild."

"Yeah, you know, about that:" she interrupted. "I've been to Taris before, and I've seen and fought off rakghouls before. But the ones around there were stronger somehow, more dangerous, like they've been warped by the dark side or something."

"Yes, unfortunately, we weren't prepared for THAT--although on the bright side, it did confirm that we were in the right place. We found the site, and did have at least SOME time to explore. We even managed to recover some intact computer data, which I'm looking forward to reviewing. But I think Nihilus must have left a strong impression in the Force there, and it affected the nearby rakghouls--making them stronger and hungrier, like himself. The team came prepared for rakghouls but not for the waves and waves of these nekghouls that started attacking us. We got overwhelmed pretty quickly, and suffered the heavy casualties that you saw. I got pretty badly infected myself trying to bring the last of the wounded soldiers inside."

"I saw."

"And really, I'm a scientist, not a warrior. It's been years since I actually had to USE my lightsaber. Thank the Force that Tangress was resistant enough to the infection that she could keep going for as long as she did. I owe her . . . and you . . . my life."

"Well, I don't know about her . . . but in my book, buying a girl another drink is a great way to say thanks." She gave him a flirtatious smile. ". . . at least . . . for starters."

"Done and done." he said. "Waitress...?"

--

Outside, in a seldom-traveled area behind the spaceport building, Tangress was carrying the team's communications equipment.

She found a spot where some metal junk was already laying and tossed the transmitter into the air just above it. As it came down, she fluidly sliced the box into four pieces with her Cathar blades, then used the Force to crush the pieces together into an unrecognizable chunk of metal and broken electronics--all before it fell to the ground and became another part of the existing pile of debris.

"There. That takes care of THAT." she said to no one in particular.

--

"So, Dianiss . . . you say you've been to Taris before, but have you ever been to Malachor?" Kinnan asked after the next set of drinks arrived.

"Nope, I can't say that I have." She said playfully. "Have they built a new vacation resort or something?"

When he didn't respond right away, she looked at him anew with disbelief. "You're serious." she said, as she realized that he WAS talking about THE Malachor, the system where Revan defeated the Mandalorian invasion of the Republic some 300 years ago. "No one goes THERE . . . not even the Jedi. It's forbidden."

"Well, not forbidden so much as special permission from the Council is required for a Jedi-sanctioned expedition . . . which I have." he said with a confident smile. "One of the perks of being on the Council of First Knowledge."

"Okay, I'll bite. Why would ANYONE want to go to Malachor?"

"Well, I'm hoping that the information we recovered from the Ravager will help us finally pinpoint the remains of the Trayus Academy--where Darths Nihilus, Sion, and Traya trained. A holocron of Darth Traya would be the mother-load--she trained Nihilus early on, then later helped Meetra Surik to defeat him." He reached out and put his hand on Dianiss' arm. "BUT . . . one thing this expedition has taught me is to come prepared, and I could really use someone like you there. There will be far worse than nekghouls to contend with. Interested?"

Dianiss wasn't sure how to answer.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but I don't think I'll be able to do it without you. Say the word, and I'll notify the Council that you'll been attached to my team. It'll probably be the biggest challenge you've ever faced."

"Why Master Sig-lapp, you know what the Jedi teach us about attachments...."

Kinnan blushed. "I think we both know that THAT'S not what this is." he said, disapprovingly. He paused and broke eye contact with her. "But I will admit . . . you're a remarkable Jedi, and . . . I would like the chance to get to know you better."

"Well, . . . okay then. I've never been a librarian before . . . I certainly never thought before now that it would be the most dangerous job in the Jedi Order."

"That's WONDERFUL. I'll contact you in a couple of weeks after I've had a chance to prepare."