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Chapter 1:
 
Jaden Korr awakens in pain and darkness. He has to struggle to recognize the architecture.  It’s Rakatan.  He sees the unfamiliar lightsaber in his hand, remembering he’d made it on Junker because he’d given his original one to Marr.
 
He calls for Marr and Khedryn but gets no answer.
 
The rumbling grows, he hears his name being called and sees a figure holding a lightsaber hilt that glows red.  He knows he’s in the belly of a beast, but ignites the yellow glow of his own saber to reflect the light.
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chapter 2:
 
Two days earlier, Jaden Korr was aboard the Junker, examining his damaged hand, knowing he won’t use Force lightning anymore.  It represents a lack of understanding of the Force and he knows more than he did.  In fact, there’s a joy inside him that he hasn’t experienced since boyhood when he’d made his own lightsaber in his uncle’s workshop and had been enrolled in the Jedi Academy soon after.
 
He remembers shaking Luke Skywalker’s hand and leaving his old life behind.  The uncle who’d raised him died during the Vong invasion of Coruscant.  Some Jedi practice nonattachment by choice.  His is by default.
 
Khedryn Faal tells him there is no trace of the clones on the scanner.  The ship is holding up as well as can be expected.  Jaden will have to report to Grand Master Skywalker not only about this, but about his agreement to train Marr.
 
They both drink a toast to Relin who’d traveled 4000 years into the future only to die taking down a Sith cruiser.  Khedryn asks what he thinks the Lignan ore might have done to the clones that flew through the debris before leaving the moon.
 
On board the CloakShape, Soldier can only assume they flew into some by-product of the Force.  It had made them all so giddy that Runner had trouble piloting.  Seer assured them all that it was a gift from Mother.
 
Hunter cradled her two children, Grace and Blessing, while the ship spun around.  Soldier and Scar had used the Force to keep everyone from flying around the vessel, breaking bones. 
 
Soldier finds Runner nearly passed out in the cockpit, but that’s not their biggest problem.  Most of the clones are screaming while Seer cries out praises to Mother.  Scar and Maker are in agony.
 
It’s the sickness that had afflicted them down on the planet when the researchers had altered their midichlorians.  It affects all but Soldier, but he sees that only the adults are truly suffering now.  Grace, Blessing and Gift seem untroubled for now.
 
He has to fight Two-Blade for the medicine which should have lasted for weeks, but the sickness appears to be accelerated by whatever they just flew through.  Of the clones, only the children accept Soldier as one of them.  He injects them all with medication, reminding Hunter that Alpha, the father of her children, was killed by the Jedi.
 
He asks Seer if she needs anything, but she declines, telling him they are being tested by Mother.  Soldier cannot help but think that if Mother really exists, Scar has failed the test.  She is dying and others will, too.
 
Maker cannot help but notice that Soldier is not sick.  Soldier is forced to defend himself and kill Maker, grateful the children didn’t see.  He urges Seer to take the medication.  She was the last to be bred before him and they hadn’t got the sickness out of her. She is certain, however, that Mother’s blessing will protect her.
 
She knows Soldier isn’t like the others.  He’s like Wry who questioned everything and was turned upon by his comrades.  Soldier had learned to be silent after that.  She assures him she will make him believe.
 
Soldier had learned of this supposed connection through the Force to mother years ago when Seer had preached to them at night after the scientists went to bed.  They had plotted in secret, building lightsabers, though he has no idea where she got the crystals to power them. When she’d told them the time was right, they’d killed everyone on the base and fed their bodies to the altar they’d built to mother.
 
After that was years of little food and much cold where Soldier despaired of ever getting off the planet.  Then, as Seer had predicted, a ship with a Jedi aboard arrived.  Alpha had stayed behind to fight him while the rest stole a ship.
 
He doesn’t know what he will do when Seer finally goes mad with sickness.
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           •    The clones are clones of Jedi and Sith.  Alpha was a clone of Kam Solusar.  Hunter may or may not be a clone of Mara Skywalker. 
 

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chapter 3:
 
On Korriban, Darth Wyyrlok examines a mindspear found on Rakatan and muses how the Master must control the pounding rain here, too.  He had implanted a recording device in the late Anzat, Kell Douro, without the creature knowing it.
 
The Anzat had tracked the Jedi Jaden Korr to a frozen world with a Thrawn-era facility.  Through the being’s eyes, Wyyrlok sees the battle that resulted in Kell’s death.  He recognizes Korr and marvels at the secret cloning base. 
 
As he thinks, he feels the Force growing weaker and weaker before asking how long the person has been there.  Nyss Nenn is an Umbaren, grown in darkness on that shrouded world, attuned to the Force, but in a way that Wyyrlok does not know.[
 
His sister, Syll, like him, has the ability to shut off a Force user’s connection to the Force.  For that reason, they are among the most unique possessions used by the One Sith.  He is shown the recording of the base.
 
The cloning program had never been seen completed by Thrawn who’d died soon after placing the clone on Coruscant.  The One Sith had taken it over and perfected it.  What’s interesting about this recording is that it shows a clone of Jedi Master Kam Solusar.  This means Thrawn used this place to clone Jedi and Sith.  It could also be the place where the Prime was cloned.
 
They need to know more, but Jaden Korr will likely report to Master Skywalker who will send a team.  Nyss volunteers to infiltrate it, but Wyyrlok has a better idea.  Douro ’s ship was stolen by the clones who escaped the base.  There were eleven aboard, now there are nine. 
 
Finding the ship and determining if the Prime is among them is important, but even more so is this Jaden Korr.  During the fight, they see him lose three fingers and nearly launch Force lightning at his opponent.  He is falling.
 
Finding Korr may be simple if he is also going after the clones.  For this reason, the Master wants Nyss to take an Iteration and a Basic with him.  The Iteration has been matched to the identity of the mole.
 
Nyss and Syll are sent off, while Wyyrlok continues the recording, wondering what happened to that strange ship of Sith design seen in the skies above.
 
The being known as Mother doesn’t remember when she became self-aware, only that the power she thought had been her turned out to be the Force. She can sense through it and connect to beings though it, but it is not hers.  She is imprisoned here and has grown to hate it, having no body as the others do.
 
Finding Seer, who has promised to help her, has given her hope, though does not eliminate the hate.
 
Jaden speaks with Luke Skywalker, apologizing for leaving without filing a flight plan, but describing his sense of alienation after Centerpoint and all of his adventures up til now.  After confirming the ancient Sith ship is gone, he tells Luke about the clones he found. 
 
Though he saw only one of Master Solusar, he does admit that he heard voices in his dream of Lumiya, Lassin and Mara.  Luke thanks him for being honest, reminding him that the Dark Side lives in secrets kept.  If he encounters these clones, Jaden may have to kill them.
 
As to the matter of Marr Idi-Shael, Luke reminds Jaden that he is quite old for a student and will never be a full Jedi.  There is a danger in being partially-trained, but he gives his permission.  Jaden warns him that venue for training is a bit unorthodox, but Luke points out that his training started in the belly of the Millennium Falcon.  So long as Jaden is not planning to blow up a battle station or rescue a Princess, he should be fine.
 
He warns Jaden to be careful as he senses more at play here than just clones.  That Anzat was working for someone.  He asks why Jaden turned down a Master role before when he wants to train someone now.  Jaden admits he didn’t feel ready then.
 
Soldier goes to Seer and explains the ship has coordinates in the computer for a world called Fhost.  They have the mix the doctors made so can have more medicine created.  They will not last long without it.  Seer allows them to go there as they will not find Mother before then, but will soon.
 
She asks Soldier if he knows the purpose for which they are created. He doesn’t.  She assures him she does.
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          •    Luke doesn’t think Marr will ever be a full Jedi?  Why not?  How old is Marr?  Didn’t Leia have haphazard Jedi training until she was in her 50s? 
 
 

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chapter 4:
 
Though feeling more confident after speaking with Master Skywalker, Jaden does let Khedryn and Marr know that they are on their own in finding these clones.  They are going to stop at Fhost first, then will have to find the Cloakshape. 
 
Marr points out that there are few places a modified ship that operates that way will go.  He plots a radius at which they could possibly be headed which is a large enough space but is a start.
 
Jaden tells him that his training has been approved, but both he and Khedryn worry about his ability to learn the Force and copilot this ship.  Marr isn’t impressed that they’ve discussed this without him.  He assures them that, unless Khedryn is planning to make a change, Marr is going to perform his duties.
 
In the cargo bay, Jaden hands Marr his lightsaber, telling him to take it apart and put it back together. He explains all the weight is in the hilt and in the hand of the bearer.  The crystal is attuned with the Force and helps make the lightsaber a part of him.
 
He ignites the red-bladed one he took off of Alpha and shows Marr how the taint of the Dark Side is still attached to it.  He takes Marr through basic lightsaber technique, knowing the danger of live sabers, but also accepting that the clones will be dangerous and Marr will need to know how to fight them.
 
He also has Marr practice deflecting blaster bolts until he can do it right.  Jaden tells him to keep the weapon for now, while he uses Alpha’s.  He warns his new apprentice that he’s not yet ready to fight a master swordsman so he should not try to rush into danger to impress his Master.  He can use a blaster just as well.
 
Alone, Jaden removes the crystal from Alpha’s lightsaber and meditates on it, embuing it with his calm and cleansing it until it it turns a clean yellow.  In Relin’s time, a yellow blade was the mark of a Jedi Sentinel.  He wonders at the gift the Force has given him.
 
The Iteration wakes up, hearing voices.  The mindspear inserts the consciousness into the Iteration which has already been programmed with the basic skills of an adolescent.  The Iteration screams when it is filled with pain.  The memories flood in of its youth without parents, his uncle taking him in, building his lightsaber and attending Luke Skywalker’s Jedi academy.
 
An Umbaran awaits him.  He uses a code phrase that makes the Iteration remember that he is a clone of Jaden Korr and an agent of the One Sith.  They’ve awakened him to make sure that the initial transfer didn’t kill him.  He will be put in stasis now for their journey.
 
Soldier misses the structure of the ice base on the moon, but he also hated it.  Now, he just needs to get to Fhost.  Seer tells him that he will see what Mother has for them.  He doesn’t need to be alone.  Soldier tells him he’s not alone, he has the others to protect.
 
She reminds him that he only does what he does for the children.  Seer watches with glee when they go to hyperspace, Soldier hoping that Mother will heal the children.
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chapter 5:
 
When they come out of hyperspace, Soldier checks on the others. The children are catatonic, but Runner seems less afflicted, so he gives them a hypo.  They argue about the best course of action to take.  Soldier explains they need medication and he needs Runner’s help.
 
They will go into a medical facility nearby and take what they need.  Seer tells them they will all leave this ship.  Soldier explains that none of the others can leave.  She believes they will be leaving on a medical supply that Mother will provide for them.
 
Soldier wants to give them all shots.  Seer tells him that only Grace will live to see Mother, but he is welcome to try.  Soldier grieves when he finds that Blessing and Gift are dead, but nearly weeps with joy when he finds Grace clinging to life.  He has Runner carry Hunter.  Seer insists that the dead, of which Two-Blade is nearly one, be left behind.
 
Jaden shows his new blade, explaining that reshaping the crystal is easier than reshaping people.  Marr asks why they hunt the clones.  They are people who didn’t kill Khedryn or Jaden when they left on their ship.  They may have been bred as weapons, but they still have a choice. 
 
Jaden and Khedryn explain the insane clone down in the sublevels of the research station.  If all the clones are like him, they will have to be destroyed.  As it is, Jaden cannot be sure that the biology of the clones will allow them to be anything but weapons.
 
Soldier and Runner carry Hunter and Grace into a med facility where a female doctor tries to examine them.  Soldier explains the medicine they need and the doctor recognizes it as something the Empire used to use to experiment on subjects.  She notes their ragged appearances and becomes suspicious.  Runner blasts out with the Force, damaging the lifts, forcing the two of them to run up the stairwell for what they need.
 
Soldier would have gladly taken Hunter and Grace himself away from all this. He hates his uncertainty, but, if Seer is right, he will bury his doubt forever.
 
When Junker arrives at Fhost, Jaden connects with R6, his astromech, who tells him about an attack at the medical center that’s going on right now.  The attackers seem to be wielding lightsabers.
 
No one wants to believe the clones are here, but it’s possible.  Khedryn offers to let R6 come aboard and wonders if he should arm his ship with something other than a tractor beam.  He finds the medical center as Jaden ponders the insane clone of Kam :Solusar and how they had killed everyone at the research station.
 
Jaden will take one stairwell, Marr the other, Khedryn will remain on the roof with Junker.  Jaden takes a beacon just in case and warns Marr that the clones had their chance to make a good decision.  They’ve killed now which means ethical discussions are over.  He tells Marr not to try to engage them alone.
 
Nyss Nenn and his sister follow a tracking device on the CloakShape.  Syss wonders if they shouldn’t pull the Iteration out.  Nyss thinks that they will just have to wipe the new memories later.  It’s best if it stays where it is for now.
 
They enter hyperspace and wait.

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chapter 6:
 
When the two Umbaran emerge at Fhost, they get aboard the CloakShape to find four bodies.  Neither of the adults are the Prime, the children are a surprise, though.  They are attacked by Two-Blades who will not listen to Nyss’s attempts at reason before he is forced to stab the clone with his vibroblade.
 
He and Syll note the hypos on the deck of the ship and determine the others went to Farpoint for medicine.  They monitor comm. traffic to find the medical center is under attack.
 
A modified freighter that could very well be Korr’s lands on the roof.  Nyss jumps out ready to grab Korr and the Prime, telling Syll the clones are going to hijack the nearby medical supply ship.
 
As Marr and Jaden jump out of Junker, Jaden tosses the beacon onto a med supply ship, then comms R6 to tell him he’s put a tracker on a ship that may try to leave the system.  If it does and they don’t hear from Korr, they are to tell Master Skywalker that the clones may be on that ship.
 
Nyss needs Korr alone so that the One Sith aren’t exposed.  Syll reminds him that, if he dies, this is all for nothing.
 
Jaden runs down the stairs, trying to look reassuring to the civilians who are staring at him in horror.  He finds a clone with ragged beard and wild eyes, tosses the Force out at him and dazes the clone. 
 
Then he spots a man holding a woman and a bald woman holding a child.  The man lets the woman drop and ignites his lightsaber, coming to meet Jaden only for both of them to realize they have the same face.
 
The two battle each other before the other male clone joins them.  The bald female is a clone of Lumiya.  Jaden asks her what they want.  She tells him they just want to go home.  He will not permit that.
 
The other clone, Runner, is a clone of Kyle Katarn.  He sends Force lightning Jaden’s way which he tries to block then is knocked against the duracrete.  When he tries to get up, Runner brings his blade down.  Jaden dodges, then is kicked down the stairwell.
 
Marr finds Jaden on the steps, comms Khedryn and tells him that the clones are going for the supply ship.  He needs to either get it airborne or get everyone off of it.
 
While Nyss sneaks aboard the supply ship, Khedryn, having failed to get the loading droids to do anything, runs aboard to try to get the crew to leave.
 
When Jaden wakes up, Marr tells him that the clones are up on the roof, but that he’s commed Khedryn.  Jaden tells him Khedryn can’t stop them.
 
Khedryn bursts into the cockpit, telling the crew there are criminals coming who are planning to take the ship.  They cannot seal it off quickly enough, but think they should just seal the cockpit.  He pulls his blaster and tells them there’s not time.  He rushes them off the ship and has them hide, all the while, trying to get ahold of Marr.
 
He runs down the stairwell, only to encounter the clones.  Two are holding red-bladed lightsabers.  It’s clear he’s no match for them and runs up, hoping to get back to the ship and take off.  They blast him off his feet, pull his blaster from him and knock him out on the landing pad.
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          •    So Seer is a clone of Lumiya, Soldier is Jaden, Runner is Katarn.  Shall we assume that Hunter was Mara?  If so, who were Maker, Two-Blades and Scar? 
 
 

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chapter 7:
 
Soldier tells them to bring the man aboard so they can find out how the Jedi tracked them.  He has Seer bring Grace aboard while he makes sure the droids didn’t unload the medicine. 
 
Nyss watches to see if he can get the Prime alone, but the woman and the child remain watching from the top of the ramp.
 
After determining that no medication was off-loaded, Soldier heads up the ramp.  Runner gets the ship in the sky while he goes back to find that the inventory contains the medication needed to mix together their treatment.
 
Nyss decides Korr will follow the ship so he can take out both him and the Prime – Soldier- at the same time.  He comms Syll to find that Korr and the Cerean are on the roof of the med center.  He tells her to follow the supply ship.  Korr put a tracking beacon on it so he’ll follow it anyway. Syll asks if she should take the Iteration out of stasis yet.  He tells her to wait.
 
Jaden and Marr run to Junker, find the two medical supply pilots who confirm that Khedryn saved their lives, but was taken aboard the ship by the strange attackers.  They take off in Junker, where Jaden tells Marr about the clones he spotted, one of which is a clone of himself.
 
The math doesn’t work out as Jaden came to the Jedi academy 9 years after the death of the Emperor, four years after Thrawn’s death.  It’s possible that someone continued the program after Thrawn died.
 
Marr finds the homing beacon signal for the supply ship.
 
Khedryn wakes up and finds the two male clones, the female and the girl.  He is stunned to see Jaden Korr’s face on one of them.  The man calls himself Soldier and demands to know how they found him.  Khedryn tells him it was just a coincidence.  They arrived on Fhost and heard about the attack.  They assumed.
 
As to if they are being followed now, he doesn’t know.  Runner wants to kill him.  Soldier suggests putting him in an escape pod.  Seer notes that they have no use for him so he should be killed.  Khedryn won’t accept death by lightsaber and says they can at least give him a spacer’s death through the airlock.  Runner is given the task.
 
Nyss cuts the power to the cargo bay in the rear of the ship so he can bask in darkness.  Runner tries to get the lights back on, then stops and pulls his lightsaber. The blade flickers out.  He is quickly attacked by an Umbaran.  It isn’t until the creature kills Runner that Khedryn thinks to run.
 
He gets to the cargo bay where the Umbaran finds him, makes him cuff himself to a safety bar and says he’ll be back.
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chapter 8:
 
Soldier urges Seer to accept medications.  He sends Hunter after them in the cargo bay, telling her to make sure Runner comes back, too.
 
In the cargo hold, the little girl passes a utility knife to Khedryn who frees himself.  She runs off.  He knows she’s sick and needs the medicine aboard the ship.  The Umbaran appears to want the clones dead.  Khedryn can’t believe he’d kill the child, too, but can’t just abandon her.  Jedi must be rubbing off on him.
 
In the back, Hunter reports that the lights are out before the Umbaran attacks and kills her, too.
 
Nyss sneaks up, using his power to dampen their Force abilities.  Well, at least the woman’s.  The Prime seems quite resistant, but is eventually overcome.  When the child sneaks up behind him and screams, it alerts Soldier who jumps at Nyss.
 
The two of them fight until Nyss stabs him and knocks him out.  The other woman, Seer, fell during the fight and is unconscious.  He comms Syll to tell her he has control of the ship, the Prime and that Korr’s comrade is aboard.  He tells her he’s going to hail Korr.
 
Khedryn finds Grace and tells her to go hide until someone comes to get her. 
 
Soldier awakens to find the Umbaran who tells him he just pushes a little of his world into Soldier’s to dampen his connection.  Soldier is of interest to the Master. 
 
Nyss comms the Junker and tells Jaden Korr that the clones are dead.  He will trade Khedryn Faal for Jaden.  Otherwise, Khedryn will die.  With no other options, Jaden agrees.  Khedryn overhears the conversation.  Nyss agrees to put him in an escape pod while Jaden comes over in a spacesuit.
 
Knowing he could run to the escape pod himself, Khedryn can’t bring himself to abandon the child.  He finds Soldier.
 
Jaden tells Marr to keep an eye on things, make sure to use the tractor beam to get Khedryn’s pod to safety.  They’ll figure out the rest after that.  Jaden dons the hardsuit and tests all systems to make sure they’re working.  They’ll keep a live comm open so Marr can tell him when Khedryn has been retrieved and on board the Junker.  Marr gives him a piece of chewstim for the journey.

With the Umbaran busy, Khedryn uses the knife to cut through Soldier’s bonds.  When he accidentally makes a small noise, the Umbaran swirls around and spots him trying to slide toward the cockpit doors.   Soldier is free, however, and ready to take on the Umbaran, especially when Khedryn throws him one of the lightsabers.  

Khedryn wants to stay and help, but Soldier insists he leave immediately.  Seer may tell him to go after Khedryn after this is over.  He should tell Marr to leave them alone and get out of here.  Khedryn runs.

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chapter 9:

As Jaden is about to leave, he tells Marr to signal the supply ship that he will abort the mission if Khedryn isn’t released now.  He feels something is about to happen.

Nyss can feel Soldier fighting him and knows he must escape.  He and Syll together could cut off Soldier from the Force, but he can’t do it alone.  As soon as Soldier is distracted by Seer’s movement on the floor, he takes off running.

It’s a battle to get to the turbolifts and Nyss is barely able to fend off Soldier with his cortosis blades.  He manages to get into the lift, but the doors close so slowly that he is forced to throw one of his blades at Soldier to slow him down.  Even after the doors close, Soldier tries to cut through them with his lightsaber, but the lift starts to move down.  Just as the lift stops at its destination, Soldier is cutting through the top the lift car.  Nyss races off to the escape pods.

Khedryn barely makes it to an escape pod in time as Soldier pursues the Umbaran behind him.

It takes Nyss suppressing the crystal of Soldier’s lightsaber to keep his own escape pod from being destroyed.  He comms Syll that he’s coming and that the clones have retaken the ship.

Marr is suggesting Jaden abort the mission when Khedryn comms them and tells them he’s in an escape pod.  They assume the Umbaran is in the other one that’s just launched.  Marr then reports another ship has entered the system with its weapons powered up.

Syll tractors Nyss’ escape pod in while he orders her to destroy the freighter and the other escape pod and pull the Jedi in.

The Junker takes a hit before it can get its deflectors up, but Marr is able to have the compromised compartments sealed off.  Knowing that the escape pod does not have the power to withstand an attack, Jaden orders Marr to bring Junker hard to port and then uses the Force to pull Khedryn’s pod toward him.  

He grabs hold of the antenna and, positioning himself, uses his lightsaber to fend off blaster attacks from the scout ship.  One of the deflected bolts hits the cockpit of the scout ship.  Marr is able to get a tractor lock on Khedryn’s pod.  Jaden finds that his suit is leaking.

The tractor pull on the pod is slower than the amount of oxygen Jaden has and he nearly passes out when Marr comes out in his own space suit to grab him.  R-6 is flying the ship.  

When Nyss boards the scout ship, he calls for Syll, goes to the cockpit and finds her dead.  He straps her into the co-pilot’s seat, vowing revenge on the Jedi, his allies and the clones.  Looking out at the system in pain, he tells his sister that the dark is so beautiful.

Soldier runs through the ship, calling for Grace.  He gets angry when he thinks she’s gone, but her appearance fills him with relief.  She’s thin and she needs another hypo.  But they embrace each other.  She asks if her mother is dead; he tells her he thinks she is. She’s already experienced so much in her young life.

She asks where the man with the funny eyes is.  He tells her that he thinks he’s off the ship.  She hopes so; he was nice.

When Jaden comes to, he, Khedryn and Marr go to the cockpit.  The scout ship is leaving, too far for them to catch.  Jaden thinks they can use a beacon to follow it, though.  Khedryn realizes that this is how they found him

The second escape pod had docked with the scout ship, meaning that the Umbaran is aboard.  Khedryn reveals that the Umbaran is Nyss and he had the ability to cut off the clones from the Force.  He doesn’t understand how, but it appears to be something the Umbaran has the ability to do. 

Marr doesn’t understand why the Umbaran wants Jaden.  Khedryn is about to answer when Jaden explains that one of the clones is of him.  He fought him on Fhost . Khedryn explains that it’s a clone called Soldier who is different from the others; less angry, less confused.  He was able to resist Nyss sometimes.  

Jaden says they have to go after the clones.  Khedryn tells him there are only three left and one is a child.  Jaden assures him he would never harm a child, but the clone killed people on Fhost.  Khedryn really just wants to catch his breath.
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chapter 10:

Seer is awake and standing when Soldier and Grace enter the cockpit.  He injects Grace with meds and tells Seer that she needs some, too.  Seer believes that Mother will heal them.  Meanwhile, Mother feels the connection to Seer grow stronger.  She urges them to come.

Nyss finds the coordinates already plugged into the navcomputer to a system deep in the Unknown Regions.  He knows Soldier will go there and so will the Jedi.  

He talks to his sister’s corpse, unable to bear being in the cockpit alone.  He tells her he will awaken the Iteration to help him. 

Jumping into hyperspace, he plots how he will do what Wyyrlok sent him to do. Then he will kill everyone.

There’s not much Jaden and his colleagues can do as the scoutship jumps out of the system.  R-6 brings meds; Khedryn thinks the droid is okay.

He explains that they were looking for someone called Mother on what seemed to be a religious quest.  Since the clone had Jaden’s eyes, maybe he had a Force vision, too.

Mother summons Seer to her, looking for the time when she can finally be free of her cage and take flesh as she has hoped for a millennia.  Others had been used by her, but it hadn’t worked out. Seer would be different.  She knows that Seer hopes for things, too, and that the hope has led her to believe the lies that Mother has passed to her.

Seer has been right about everything so far, so Soldier hopes they will find what they are looking for in Mother.  When they leave hyperspace, his scanners find a beautiful section of galaxy, but with only uninhabited barren worlds.  

She directs him to the largest one. He argues with her, telling her that there’s nothing there, that she was wrong, that everything they’ve done has been futile. She tells him that his scanners won’t reach the far side.  His faith has always been so fragile.  Mother is there; he needs to take to her.

The beacon tells Jaden that the scoutship has left hyperspace in an uninhabited star system bathed in radiation.  There can’t be anything there.  It’s possible that they had a technical problem that forced them to leave hyperspace early, but Jaden thinks there’s something there.

Khedryn won’t leave until he gets some chewstim and is pleasantly surprised when R-6 finds some.

Soldier has to admit he was wrong when a huge station appears in orbit above the planet.  Seer directs him to land. Aboard, they walk through corridors filled with dead bodies of human and nonhuman species alike. He can’t tell how they died.

Seer explains that they are going to see Mother.  She is all around them now, but she wants them to see her face.  They will have to get down to the planet; Mother will guide them.

The Iteration, like Soldier, bares the face of Jaden Korr.  It had been forced into stasis under duress and won’t be happen when it awakens.  Nyss sends out his suppression field, believing it to be more powerful now than it was before.  He’d long considered his sister an impediment to his power.  Now he feels darker, more isolated.

The iteration wakes up, confused that it cannot feel the Force. Nyss admits that he is responsible for that.  He needs the Iteration’s assistance.  As a test, he uses the phrase to turn it into an automaton, then to restore it to consciousness.  It works.

They go the cockpit where Syll’s body remains. The Iteration claims it can help, but Nyss sharply tells it never to touch her.  The coordinates in the navcomputer are still there; Nyss tells him that’s where they’re going.

When Junker emerges from hyperspace, both Jaden and Marr sense something dark.  There are two planets, rocky and uninhabited.  They fly around to see if their scanners are missing something and find asteroids emitting a metallic signature.  

Khedryn wonders if the supply ship hit an asteroid and was destroyed.  Marr explains that the asteroids are not naturally occurring; they show structure, which means they are part of something that has been destroyed.  Jaden points out that it would have had to have been huge and such technology doesn’t exist.  

Marr reminds him that it doesn’t anymore. This could be Celestial or Rakatan by nature.  The Celestials had been an unknown race that had wielded considerable power before vanishing and being replaced by the Rakatans who had used the dark side to conquer sector after sector until their war with the Gree and the Kwa had torn the galaxy apart.  They and their Infinite Empire are gone, but there are archaeological remnants here and there.  Their residual presence could explain the dark side sense they are getting.

Khedryn has always thought that the Rakatan were a myth.  He’s told that not all of it is.  Jaden tells R-6 to put all of this into a packet to send to the Grand Master just in case.

When they turn toward the other side of the largest planet, Khedryn asks what it is that they’re seeing.

Mother continues to summon Seer to her, along with her comrades.  She can sense them, but she is also sensing hostile presences coming near.  Using her power, she reaches out to the burned out remains to assist her one more time while imploring Seer to hurry.
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chapter 11:
 
A large cylinder hangs in space with some kind of tube or tether attaching it to the planet.  Both look as though they are organic with mechanical properties.  Marr believes it might have even been grown.  A type of sadness and despair can be sensed through the Force.
 
The clones’ ship is docked there, but there doesn’t seem to be any other place for Junker to do so.  It’s decided to take Flotsam in for a look.  Khedryn is unhappy that the two Force sensitives want him to remain on the ship.  Jaden reminds him that it’s important that someone be ready to fly Junker at a moment’s notice.
 
When the surface of the cylinder bulges, Marr tells Jaden to slow down.  Jaden is already disengaging the thrusters.  The bulge is providing them with a docking port.  Inside, the corridors seem very organic.  Jaden would rather scientists study them later, but they are stopped by slits in the walls that push out the skeletal remains of bodies that start coming for them.
 
Nyss and the Iteration fly around the station.  The Iteration feels the presence of the Dark Side.  Nyss doesn’t care what he feels as he’ll be a different person in an hour anyway.  When the Iteration does sense the Jedi is not on the nearby freighter, however, Nyss allows that they can blow it up then.
 
When Junker is attacked, it knocks out the ship’s transceiver which makes warning Jaden and Marr impossible.  Khedryn tries to get the ship out of harm’s way instead.
 
Nyss has the Iteration look for the ship’s shuttle instead.  The Iteration finds it docked at the strange station along with the clone supply ship.  Nyss determines that Jaden Korr and the clones are aboard.
 
Jaden and Marr ignite their lightsabers, felling a large number of the corpses which are more of a delaying tactic than anything else.  Jaden decides they need to find out who the clones are coming to meet.
 
When Khedryn realizes that the Umbaran is headed for the station, he decides that he’s going there, too.
 
Jaden and Marr find that the tether is some kind of lift system to the surface.  Here, the Dark Side is so much more powerful and growing stronger.
 
Khedryn docks at the station and goes aboard, looking for his friends.
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chapter 12:
 
The clones find themselves in the heart of the station, a colorful oval chamber.  Soldier realizes that this whole station is Mother.  Filaments reach out to envelop Seer as Soldier implores Mother to heal her and Grace.
 
It’s so beautiful here and Seer looks enraptured, until the filaments begin to wrap tightly enough that Soldier realizes they are injecting something into her.  She calls for him.  He holds Grace’s hand and ignites his lightsaber, understanding that this has all been a lie.
 
Grace doesn’t look at all well.  She tells him she wants to go home.  He tells her they don’t have a home.  The torch lights go out and they are left in darkness.  Soldier picks her up.
 
Khedryn is in the middle of the lift when the power goes out.  His comlink can’t raise R6, he accidentally drops his glowrod and, then, once he breaks his body free of the hold of the lift, he plummets down in freefall, knocking himself out.
 
Nyss and the Iteration each have an unused mindspear that they will use to turn Jaden Korr and the Prime into something else. After Nyss causes them pain for what they did to Syll, of course.  He hears Korr’s voice ahead and tells the Iteration to be on guard.
 
When the power goes out, Jaden and Marr use the lightsabers for light.  Jaden senses a change in the station as if it’s Dark Side energy has diminished and moved elsewhere.  He also senses a hole in the Force somewhere and knows the Umbaran must be here, too.
 
As his connection slips, both lightsabers go out.
 
Something slams into Marr’s head and he falls to the floor, groaning for help from Jaden.  He sees the Umbaran standing over him with a vibroblade.
 
Soldier runs with Grace through the corridors, telling her he knows where they’re going when he doesn’t, fearing that Seer or a manifestation of Mother will appear.  When a corridor opens up to sounds of battle, he tells Grace to stay behind him.
 
Jaden curses his slow reflexes without the Force.  He and the Umbaran fight as Nyss kicks Marr into unconsciousness. They both cause injuries and Jaden is bleeding badly.  Nyss tells him he wanted to kill him for so long because of his sister.  Then he speaks some words that Jaden doesn’t see the sense of.  When Jaden doesn’t seem to respond as expected, the Umbaran is surprised.
 
Jaden resumes the fight, gets a lock on the Umbaran and strangles him.  Then his own vision grows dark and he falls.
 
When Marr wakes up he finds Jaden lying on the floor and a clone standing over him with a red lightsaber.  This is a different clone than the one they’ve been chasing.  The new clone inserts a device into Jaden’s temple that causes his friend’s body to spasm.  The clone tells him that Jaden Korr’s memories will be transferred to him.
 
Marr tries to stop him, reaching out with the Force, finding the calm and peace of it and blasts the clone against the wall.  He turns to his friend and sees his chest no longer moving.  Marr thinks.  He goes to the clone, cuts off three fingers of his hand, takes the device from Jaden Korr’s temple and plugs it into the clone’s.
 
With any luck, the clone’s memories will be replaced with Jaden’s.  He switches their clothing, then feels someone at his back. It’s Soldier.  He wants to know what happened.  Marr notes the child.  The new Jaden Korr stands up, wobbling and starts to move toward the lift.
 
Marr tells Soldier that Jaden knows the way out.  He will say nothing of their presence here.  When Jaden comes to a doorway, there is a large gathering of dark energy there.  Soldier says that it’s Mother.  They need to warn the Jedi.
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chapter 13:
 
Something shrieks behind the door.  Jaden slowly recognizes Marr and the clone he needs to kill.  Marr and Soldier explain to him that Soldier is neither a Sith nor a Jedi.  He just wants to leave with the child and wants to know the way out.
 
Jaden notes his injuries.  Marr tells him he hit his head.  His Master tells them the way out is through that door.  The three ignite their lightsabers and open it.
 
Seer is there, but not as she was.  She looks like a demon wrapped in Rakatan technology.  Jaden tells Marr to protect the girl.  He and Soldier rush Mother with their lightsabers.  She tosses Force lightning at them and Soldier is knocked against the wall, filaments wrapped around him.
 
Marr fires several shots into Mother before she pulls his blaster from him, crushes it and lifts him up in the air, gagging.  He chokes at Grace to run.  Jaden uses the Force to blast at Mother, causing her to drop Marr.  The Cerean runs to Soldier and cuts his filaments.
 
Jaden and Soldier charge her again.  Her body emanates lightning that Jaden must break with a massive power surge from his body.  Dark energy comes at them.  Jaden yells at them all to run.  They cut a hole in the wall and push through it.  She yells that they will not escape her.
 
When Khedryn wakes up at the bottom of the shaft, he finds the backup power operational.  The control panel is working and he’s able to communicate with R6, telling him to patch through to Jaden and Marr.
 
Jaden tells him to get off the station,  Khedryn won’t leave them behind, so Jaden thinks it would be better to blow the clone supply ship and destroy the station.  Soldier protests that Grace’s medicine is on board.  Jaden tells him they are all dead if they don’t get off the station.  If they do, they’ll get the medicine some other way.
 
He warns Khedryn about the dead bodies, telling him the Mother uses them.  Khedryn, having seen only the bodies on his first trip, doesn’t understand this.
 
He finds out when the bony corpses come at him and he has to blast them.  Aboard the supply ship, he sets the engine to overload.  Jaden comms him and tells him they are coming…and so is Mother.
 
The four comrades rush into the lift, Jaden last, using his lightsaber to cut the filaments Mother sends at him.  Khedryn sees the lift open, only to find it’s Soldier and Grace.  Soldier grabs the blaster from him, telling him he’s not his enemy.  Marr follows.  The floor begins to buckle before the lift disgorges Jaden.
 
He yells at them to run, but Soldier will not leave without Grace’s medicine.  He decides he’s running for the supply ship and then will take the Umbaran’s scout vessel.  Jaden hopes he succeeds.  The others run for Junker.
 
When they take off, the station crumbles behind them.  Jaden cannot tell if Soldier and Grace made it off.  They will return to Fhost for the time being.  Khedryn can’t help but ask if the two of them are alright.  They seem odd.  Marr tells him to relax.  Jaden is exactly the same.
 
As Jaden cleans up, he thinks about Soldier and about how much biology did or did not play in the clone’s choices.  He examines himself in the mirror, noting his eyes, his face and the scar that he had since he was a boy that isn’t there any longer.  The wounds on his fingers are newly opened, but that could have happened during the battle.  He had woken up disoriented and Marr said he’d hit his head.
 
Soldier had turned to Seer and the other clones to find purpose.  Having met Jaden Korr, he knows he has a different reason to live.  The Umbaran’s ship is set for dark, but he promises Grace they will reset it soon and find a new home.  He engages the hyperdrive.
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