It has been an obscene amount of time since I've updated this story... I'm sorry I made you guys wait this long for a new chapter. I could give you a long-winded explanation of why I haven't been working on this story... But I'll stick with just the simple explanation - and that's that the past 6 months have probably been the hardest and most trying of my life and, during that time, I lost all desire to write completely. I had zero inspiration, it brought zero joy, and I also had very little time. BUT, it's been a month now that I've been doing much better and the desire to write has sparked again! So, here is your new chapter. :-) Enjoy...

**Rosalie Storm's POV**

Smoke writhed in the air, a group of Twi'leks played strange air and string instruments while a woman danced, her airy garments swirling around her like visible air. She was slightly mesmerizing, dipping and bowing and flowing more gracefully than a ballerina back on Earth. Servants moved around the large room, filling glasses with something that definitely wasn't water and removing empty dishes to replace them with filled ones. I'd been very selective when eating the food, still not one hundred percent sure if some of it might kill me. Aayla had been helpful, but she was distant tonight, distracted. I didn't blame her, our first destination had been to her her Uncle Po Secura's "plantation" and he raised my hackles the way a bear might raise those of a dog's. But I wasn't sure why.

Pol Secura's mansion headed a small village in the middle of one of Ryloth's cavernous, desert regions. I'd learned earlier that we were really in the valley of a volcano, but that I shouldn't worry because it hadn't erupted in over a decade—that didn't keep me from worrying though. I'd read about what happened in Pompeii after all.

I waved off yet another plate of food and let my eyes sweep our surroundings. Master Tholme was deep in conversation with Aayla's slimy uncle and Aayla herself was staring blankly at her untouched food. I was sure she would have been digging into the cuisine of her home world, she often talked about how much she missed the traditions of Ryloth while at the Jedi Temple, but she had hardly moved all night. I was worried about her. The reappearance of her old Master had pulled her into a fugue state that was frightening. It made me wonder what her relationship with her Master had been, and what had happened to destroy that. My days reading Wookiepedia back on Earth were long past, the details distant and fuzzy. I knew that Master Quinlen Vos had been a powerful Jedi with a temper and a thirst for violence that had gotten him in trouble more than once. But the final straw had been his brush with the Dark Side. He'd disappeared after that and Aayla and Tholme had been trying to find him and bring him back to the light ever since.

With the two Jedi otherwise occupied, I took it upon myself to do a bit of surveillance. I knew Pol was Aayla's Uncle, but he rubbed me the wrong way. Something was a little weird despite the warm welcome and extravagant meal—maybe that's what was weird about it, he didn't seem like a man—er, alien—that would normally do that. He was a businessman, politician, and entrepreneur all rolled into one and I wasn't really sure if that was a good thing.

Pol's mansion was situated on a random hill that rose up in the middle of the valley, the village surrounding it lay at the base of the hill almost in an alien-medieval way. The houses were small and close together, made of brick made from volcanic clay. The vegetation that grew in the village was all self-planted and cultivated. There was some beautiful landscape around the mansion itself. I'd had a chance to admire it as we walked inside from off of the impressive landing pad. I'd also been able to admire Pol's collection of racers and even his own personal starship. That'd been outside though when we first arrived. Now, here in the main area of the mansion, it was a bit different. The room was large and cavernous, built to host many people/aliens for dancing, dining, and whatever else the Twi'leks and their respectable guests did.

There were all kind of aliens with us, and not all of them Twi'lek. I got the impression that Pol's mansion was a bit of a destination for aliens of all walks of life. It was interesting to watch, but also overwhelming. I wasn't strong in the Force and so it was sometimes hard to sort through all of the impute from the various lifeforms. That was the annoying thing about where I was in my Force Journey at the moment; I could get millions of little things from millions of different lifeforms, but when I tried to focus in on just one to get a deeper feel for them, I just wasn't strong enough. That was why I'd opted for simple surveillance while Master Tholme handled Secura.

There was a lot going on, but honestly not much to survey in terms of a possible threat. The servants scurried here and there, tending to the guests and making sure everything was perfect for their Master. The guests themselves lounged on cushions on the floor that surrounded low tables piled with food and drink. The musicians played in the corner while the Twi'lek girl danced, the guests on the floor taking advantage of their low position to look up at her in ways that made my nose wrinkle. Pol Secura sat at the head of one low table, Master Tholme on his left and Aayla on his right, I sat next to Aayla. It reminded me of the alien version of the ancient Romans from back on Earth. It was almost surreal, really.

I leaned over toward Aayla, my concern for her overriding my desire to keep up my surveillance. "Are you alright?" I murmured, keeping my eyes fixed on the people bustling around. Many were carrying weapons, but that was hardly uncommon in this galaxy. I didn't go anywhere or do anything without my small concealed blaster—not even sleep.

She turned to me, her large hazel eyes far away. But the corner of her mouth lifted in a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Rose—thank you. I just have a lot to think about."

"Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm here. You know that, right?"

She smiled a genuine smile this time. "Yes, I know."

The rest of the night went by quickly and we were soon escorted to our rooms for the night. I had gotten so used to sharing a room with Aayla both at the Temple and on missions that it felt strange to be sleeping in a room by myself. It wasn't a large room, but it wasn't shabby either. It contained everything one might need to store clothing, keep things organized, and stay clean, nothing else. The bed was a good size and covered in rich comforters and tasseled pillows. The window looked out to an incredible view of the village below and the volcanic valley beyond. I opened it to let the breeze in and quickly went through my night-time routine.

When I slipped into the bed, I opened my mind to the Force, letting its warmth wash over me as I let myself slip into sleep, my blaster underneath my pillow…

Yellow eyes gleamed at me through the darkness in the room, cold, calculating. But I didn't see the eyes, my back was turned as I surveyed the other side of the room, my little blaster in hand. Normally, I would have felt the presence of another life form right away and whirled with weapon raised. But I couldn't feel the presence of the thing that the yellow eyes belonged to and, so, I was at its mercy as it stalked closer.

It was only until it had come up right behind me, that I felt the heat radiating from its skin and the breath of cool air from its mouth as it whispered, "So… you are the other galaxy one who my Aayla has put such friendship in."

Then I did whirl, choking down the scream rising in my throat at the shock of the creature's proximity. I sprang away, firing my blaster without thinking. The creature didn't even flinch when the laser hit just inches from its head and sparked like red fire against the wall.

"That is no way to greet a friend," the creature purred with a deep, masculine voice. "What if Aayla found out that you killed her dear Master, hm? What then?"

I was slowly backing up as the man with yellow eyes stalked forward, then a dim shaft of moonlight fell across his face and I sucked in a breath. The yellow eyes matched the yellow face paint across his angular face. Long black dreadlocks fell over massive shoulders and a lightsaber swung at his side.

"Quinlan Vos," I breathed and his lips spread into a smile.

"So, you know of me?"

I couldn't help nodding, my blood turning icy now that I knew who my enemy was. One might think it would have been the other way around: that my fear would have lessened now that I knew what I was facing. But Master Quinlan Vos was a powerful, violent Jedi that my best friend had been having nightmares about…

I raised my blaster, causing him to stop walking forward and his smile to turn into a smirk, like he knew it was useless against him. "What do you want?"

"I want to know my Aayla more, don't you think getting to know her best friend is a good start?"

I wanted to trust this crazy, fallen-away Jedi. Aayla loved him like the father she'd never known… but how could I trust someone who played with the Dark Side?

As if reading my thoughts, Quinlan smiled again and said, "I'm not the only one who is tempted by the Dark Side, young one. My Aayla knows the lure it has, it is seducing her with its freedom and power… And it is playing with you as well—you may not realize it, but it is dancing like a temptress in the deep recesses of your mind for it knows your desire to be a Jedi, your desire for love, and, most of all… your desire to go home."

It was like I'd been stabbed with the lightsaber at his side. "What are you talking about? I will never listen to the Dark Side. And this is my home now—the other one might as well have never existed…"

"Don't lie to yourself, little Earthling. You know that what I say is true. Even now you can hear the screaming… the screams of your deepest desires… can you hear them?"

And then I did hear them, loud and shrill and definitely more then just one voice—more then one secret desire. They filled my head, pounding and loud and painful. I opened my mouth to join in the screaming…

And that's when I woke up.

My eyes flew open and my hands shot down to grip the blankets beside me. In the movies, people usually shot straight up in bed like a cannon ball after a nightmare. But that wasn't reality. In reality, you were too frightened, stiff, and overwhelmed to even move once your eyes opened. The most I could do even then was just grip the blankets with my sweaty hands and try to control my breathing.

Once my heart beat had slowed to a more reasonable pace, I sat up slowly, bringing my hands up to tangle in my sweat-soaked hair. What the kriff? Now, not only was Aayla having nightmares about her old Master… but me too? Was that what she had been dreaming about? Her old Master trying to seduce her to the Dark Side? This was more serious than I thought… And if I was having dreams about him now too then that meant he was close—and more fully wrapped in the Dark Side than we had thought.

I needed to talk to Master Tholme. Quinlan had been his old Padawan, maybe he could shed some more light on what was really going on.

I jumped out of the bed and began scrambling for my clothes but, halfway into my shirt, I realized that the ringing in my ears from when I had first woke up hadn't faded yet… and that it didn't sound like the ringing one gets from an adrenaline rush… but screams. The screams from my dream hadn't faded, except that I was no longer dreaming.

I scrambled into the rest of my clothes and then gathered my weapons, inserting them into their various holsters and hiding places. You couldn't be too careful in this galaxy.

Stopping for a moment to open my mind and let the Force flow through me, I opened the door to my room and slipped out into the dark hallway. I started down it warily, watching for guards and servants, and followed the screams in my head through the mansion and outside.

It was cold outside the mansion, the wind biting as it raced down the mountains and into the valley, rushing through the village like a phantom. As I stepped out the door and scurried out of view, I was thankful for the cloak that I had thrown on at the last minute. It was dark outside, the only light coming not from the moon, but solely from the stars. Their dim light bathed the top of the huts that made up the Pol Secura's Ryloth village. The windows were dark, the straw roofs looking silver in the night. Each hut was built close to the other, creating small streets and alleyways that seemed ominous in their silence and darkness. My booted feet made little noise on the cobblestone-like alleys for I'd been practicing my stealth—and the boots were made for silence.

With every step that I took, I was positive that the screaming in my head would stop, that it was really just in my head and I was having PTSD from my dream. I hoped beyond hope that I was just imagining it… but the screams had faded quickly after waking up into just one voice—one voice that was small and young, but full of pain and fear.

And that voice didn't stop. Even when I'd made my way into the deep recesses of the village.

That voice pulled at me with invisible strings, as if it were tugging me in a certain direction.

The Force was tugging at me too, pulling me in the direction that the voice was… maybe they were one and the same.

I crept through the village, dancing around and hiding in the shadows when a guard or a droid passed. I wasn't entirely sure why I was trying so hard to remain unnoticed, but my gut was telling me that I shouldn't be seen outside of the mansion alone at this time of night. And so I listened to it, my gut had always served me well back on Earth and even here.

…your desire to go home…

Quinlan's jibe from my dream ripped through my heart at the thought of Earth. But I pushed it down with a growl, darting out of the shadows and into another on the other side of the street. When I did, I was faced with a cavernous stairwell, and the small scream instantly intensified.

I squeezed my eyes shut. "Kriff." Pulling myself back together, I descended down the stairs, slowly and carefully. It was nearly pitch black in the stairwell, but I didn't dare pull out one of my glow sticks, who knew what or who was down here with me. I took it one step at a time, feeling out where I was going both with my feet and my hands.

With each step that I took downward, the small scream grew more and more. Goosebumps appeared on my flesh underneath my combat suit, chills raced up and down my spine, and a cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck. I was scared… What was that dream? What was the screaming? What was the intense pull from the Force? And why hadn't Tholme and Aayla felt it?

Maybe they had, but just weren't telling me—I wasn't telling them after all.

The stairs led me down, down, down. Into the darkness below the mountain that Pol Secura's village lay on. I felt like Alice, falling down the rabbit hole, or Jonah traveling down the throat of the whale. Then, out of nowhere, I hit the bottom of the rabbit hole. I'd taken a step expecting to go down, but my leg buckled under the sudden stop in my descent. Regaining my balance, I surveyed my surroundings, hoping my eyes would adjust as I reached out with tentative Force fingers to see what I was up against down at the bottom of the rabbit hole.

It was dark, so dark I felt like I could take one of my knives and cut it. There was no noise except the dripping of water from the earthen ceiling and the wind moaning outside, traveling down the stairwell to be lost forever in the darkness. Using my tentative Force fingers, I began to inch forward into the darkness. I wasn't feeling much down here, just the presence of a few animals and the aliens topside. But that scream was still echoing in my head, small and shrill and heartbreaking. That scream was what prompted me to keep going, I had to find out what it was If it was just in my head... or if someone was calling out to me through the Force.

After a few more paces, my booted feet feeling along carefully and my hand braced against the wall, I rounded a bend and the tunnel I was in opened up into a small cavern. The cavern also opened with some light, and I was able to see where I was for the first time. It seemed to be some sort of storage area, crates filled the entire low-ceiling area, covered in tarps that were held down by thick cords. Curiosity filled me and I approached one of the crates, lifting up on my tiptoes to peak over the top. Everything was covered. The tarps were thick and the chords strong, but I managed to lift one corner up just enough to take a peak at what was inside the crate.

Millions of something small that that glittered a dark purple winked up at me from the crate. I stared at it, slightly mesmerized by its beauty and perplexed at what it was. It looked like some kind of string. What was it? Material? Yarn? Food? Metal? It looked slightly familiar, spools of it lay tangled and glittering in the crates.

Glittering…

Then, I knew what it was. It wasn't string or food or metal… it was a drug.

Glitteryll.

An illegal drug that, when consumed, caused memory loss.

And Pol Secura was dealing in it—maybe even manufacturing it—now I knew why my sixth sense had been going off on him. He was a crook, and Aayla and Tholme were sleeping peacefully topside, with no idea.

I reached into the crate, my fingers searching for a spool that I could take back with me as evidence. The Jedi needed to know, this was a dangerous drug and Pol had tons of it in these massive crates. With a lot of straining, I was able to grab a piece of it with the very tip of my fingers, I dragged it out, and then cut the string with my knife. Tucking it into a pocket in my combat suit, I sheathed my knife and started to move out, the screaming in my head hadn't stopped, but I needed to get this glitteryll to Master Tholme.

Then, I suddenly heard voices from the other side of the cavern and my heart jumped into my throat. My first instinct was to slam a Force shield around myself, and the second was to flatten myself against the wall. But when I did the latter, the wall caved in, and I felt myself falling backwards. I didn't even have a chance to cry out, and then the darkness behind the wall swallowed me whole.

I landed hard upon the ground, the breath getting knocked out of me on impact. I lay still in shock for a moment, the voices from before passing right in front of me, but they were muffled because a wall now separated us.

Why was there a wall between us?

I sat up slowly, straining every sense within me both physically and metaphysically. What was this place? It was almost darker than the other tunnel had been. I stood up and pulled out a glow stick, I didn't care if anyone saw me now, I needed to see what I was up against here. At least I'd been able to see a little bit before. In here there was no light at all, but my glow stick illuminated a little bit when I cracked it. It showed nothing but more tunnel lined in some kind of armor to keep the earth in place. I guessed that there must be earthquakes of some sort here for there to be a need to internal structure. I hoped I didn't experience any of those while I was down here.

That was all I saw. There was nothing else but a data pad next to where the wall had caved in and dumped me. I examined it closely for a moment, but it seemed to only be the control for the secret door.

I turned and took a few steps down the tunnel, and that's when the screaming in my head multiplied by ten and I was dropping to the ground, my hands over my ears despite the fact that it was not my ears taking in the sound.

"Kriff!" I shouted under my breath and then I was leaping to my feet. I couldn't ignore that voice anymore, not when I felt in my bones that the scream was real… and the screamer was close.

I ran then, ran through the tunnels as fast as I could, following the pull of the Force toward that young, screaming voice. I decided that if I met with any resistance on my way toward the screamer, then I would dispose of them as quickly as possible.

Almost as soon as I made that decision, the tunnel opened up into another cavern—headed by a Twi'lek guard dressed all in black. I didn't hesitate even for a second, the moment I saw him, I leapt into his line of defense and rammed into him so he wouldn't have a chance to use his blaster. With a few quick strikes to his groin, sternum, and jugular, I stunned him enough to where I was able to sweep his leg out from underneath him, causing him to slam to the ground where I was able to rip his blaster away from him. With one hard blow to the head, he was out cold. Then I stood up to see a sight that turned my blood to ice.

Before me was a massive cavern, and filling it were bared cages filled with Twi'leks of all ages. They turned toward me with scared eyes, their clothes dirty and worn, some splattered with the blood of resistance.

Then someone pushed their way toward the front of the cage, her large eyes glowed luminous in the dim cavern, her orange skin contrasting abnormally with those deep blue orbs. And on her cheeks were three little marks, shaped almost like rain drops.

She was the screamer, the one crying out me through the Force.

And she couldn't have been any older than four.

I can't tell you guys how much I love this story. However, I started it when I was 13 and I just turned 20...! So, because of that, I'm getting a little bled dry. Never fear, though! I WILL finish this story if it's the death of me. However, it might be a while before I start the re-write after and the subsequent sequels.

Looking forward to reading your reviews! They always make my day :-)