Ania felt horror crash down around her. "She...can't be. I would have felt it," she whispered.

"I'm so sorry. There was nothing we could do." Ezra worked his hands together uncomfortably.

"I should have felt it," Ania whispered again. "It can't be true. She had so much left to tell me and I needed her help with something." Her hands began to shake.

"Ania, please," Ezra began.

"I should have felt it!" The dark guide's voice was laced over hers, instead of the woman's voice.

Ezra's eyes widened as the objects within the room began to shake and lift as the turbulent Force moved around them. He looked back at Ania and quickly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ania."

The objects fell back in place. She loosed a heavy sigh. "It happened again, didn't it?"

"If you're talking about the creepy voice thing, yes."

"That's what I needed Ahsoka's help with." She dropped her head into her hands. "Something is happening and I don't know what."

"Kanan and I will help you however we can," Ezra said soothingly.

"I know you will. It's just, I can't believe she's gone."

She felt the dark cloud fall around Ezra even before he spoke. "We will get revenge on Vader," he growled. "I promise."

Ania put a hand on his cheek and looked him in the eye. "You're different. I sense darkness and chaos around you."

Ezra stood abruptly, eyes darkening. She knew she had hit a nerve. "I'll tell Tolsa you're awake," was all he said before leaving.

Two days passed before the medical droid declared her fit for duty again. Ania gratefully changed from the white med bay suit back into her regular clothes, provided by Tolsa. The Twi'lek was waiting for her when she was ready.

"I'm so glad you're back now," Tolsa grinned, leading Ania out of the med bay. "Jax has been a real pain, trying to get him to follow orders and such."

"Well, we should work that out of him. I'll get clearance for some training runs from Hera. It's about time I was up there with my squadron," Ania replied.

They made their way over to the command center and entered. Hera was going over the inventory list. She set it aside as they neared. "Good to see you up and about," she smiled at Ania. "What do you need?"

"Permission to take R-Squadron out for some training runs," Ania replied.

"I wondered if you'd be doing that soon. Yes, the A-Wings aren't needed today so you can go through some runs."

"Thank you." They moved to leave the room.

"And Ania, I'm sorry about your mother," Hera smiled sadly. Ania swallowed hard and nodded, before following Tolsa out of the hut.

Her pilots were already grouped and waiting beside the A-wings that Sabine had custom painted in orange and blue. Tolsa fell in line with the others. Ania stepped in front of her pilots. "We will be going through several practice runs today. I will be up with you this time. We're a small squadron and many believe we won't account to much. We'll show them that we're the strongest pilots the Rebellion has." Ania snapped her flight goggles on. "Load up."

She jumped into her own A-wing while the rest of the squad prepared. She waited until she got the go ahead from the deck officer, before lifting. They flew a short ways away from the base, before Ania activated her comms. "We're going to pull our maneuvers in the Canyon," Ania said. "We're going to try it going two at a time. If you don't think you'll make it, pull out. I don't want any crashes today."

"Commander, why are we doing this exercise if it's dangerous?" That was Jax over the comm.

"On the battlefield, you might find yourself caught between several large ships. If you can't get out of that spot, you're going to go down and take another man with you. If you can get out of the way, the enemy ships may collide and take care of themselves," Ania explained.

"Yeah, because a mercenary has seen so many star fights."

She heard the muttered reply, but chose to ignore it. They approached the Canyon swiftly. "Tolsa." Immediately, Tolsa's A-Wing was flying beside hers. "We'll show you how it's done and then you pair off and try. Whoever doesn't have a partner will go through with me later."

Ania increased her speed until the Canyon was nearly upon them. Tolsa matched her pace evenly. They came roaring into the Canyon, banking left and right. Ania caught sight of the Needle, the narrowest place in the Canyon. "Steady," Ania cautioned. They drew closer. "Now!" Ania flipped her ship sideways and flew over Tolsa.

Tolsa had also turned her ship sideways, but flew beneath Ania. They came out the other side and stopped. "Do we have to go that fast?" One of the pilots asked.

Ania recognized the Theelin, Razzi Tulei. "No, you can take it slow for right now. After you've gotten the hang of timing, we'll try it faster."

"Better not pair with me, Razzi," Jax laughed. "I'm going through there at lightspeed."

Ania rolled her eyes. Jax had to be joking. "Razzi, I'll go through with you and we'll go first. Jax and Cryl, you go through together."

Ania flew back to the start of the Canyon and fell into place with Razzi. They ran the course through slowly. Ania heard Razzi sigh with relief through the comm.

"Ready, Cryl?"

"You know it," the Zabrak replied.

Ania knew they had started by the cloud of dust that formed inside the canyon. She heard the roar of engines as they approached. "They're coming pretty fast," Tolsa pointed out.

Ania pulled up her scopes. Jax's fighter began to pull ahead of Cryl's. "Jax, stay with Cryl, otherwise you won't get through at the same time."

The dots moved back to the same speed. They were still coming fast. Too fast. They were almost to the Needle. Neither had banked yet. "Bank, now!" Ania ordered.

Jax banked up but didn't turn his ship. Cryl moved correctly. Suddenly, sparks began to singe Jax's wings. They were nearly out of the Needle, but still the walls grew narrower. Ania gasped, realizing what would happen.

"Cryl, reverse thrusters, full!" She ordered. Cryl's ship decreased in speed and shot backwards, back into the canyon.

Jax's ship caught another ledge in the rocks and flipped sideways. The bottom wing smashed into the ground and the ship came roaring out. Ania opened the hatch of her A-wing, watching Jax grow closer. His head rolled. Ania waited until the ship came soaring past. She launched herself onto it and with a flash of her lightsaber, tore the hatch open. She grabbed the human and leaped onto a flatland as the ship went colliding into one of the massive rock formations. It exploded into shredded metal and a plume of fire.

Ania quickly turned to Jax and checked his pulse. Tolsa's A-Wing landed near them with the others in tow. All three jumped out and came running as Jax woke up. He rubbed his head. "What happened?"

Ania stood, fury stealing into her gaze. "I'll tell you what happened! You just destroyed a perfectly good ship, almost killed your wingman, and endangered your own life! What were you thinking?"

Jax leaped to his feet. "So what? The Rebellion can buy a new ship! It's not my fault that Cryl was holding me back! I wanted to get through faster so I did!"

"No, you didn't. You would have died in that explosion if I hadn't pulled you out of there," Ania hissed. "Think of something other than yourself for once!"

"What does an Imperial Tailhead know about selflessness? I bet you're a spy and I won't be taking orders from you!" Jax spit towards her.

"Cryl and Razzi, take him back to base and get him checked for injuries. Tolsa, we're going to get my ship," Ania ordered, steel in her eyes.

She sensed the rock as soon as it left his hand. Ania whipped a blade behind her back, severing the rock in two. She turned around and deactivated her lightsaber. "You should be glad I'm no longer a mercenary," Ania hissed. "And, just so you know, I've never had the luxury of caring for myself. Believe me, there is no way you could hate me anymore than I already do."

She jumped onto the hull of Tolsa's A-Wing and held on until they reached her ship, still sitting near the canyon. Ania wordlessly jumped down and flew her ship back to camp. Hera was waiting when they arrived. Cryl, Razzi, and Jax stood nearby. Jax had a bacta patch attached to his forehead.

"I hear you lost a ship today," Hera prompted.

"Yes, I did. I pushed them too hard today. They weren't ready to learn that maneuver yet. It's my fault, Hera," Ania replied.

"I thought you'd say that." Hera leaned closer. "Razzi told me what happened. I'm sorry. There is still a lot of mistrust about you."

"I'm well aware."

"We're restricting Jax to ground patrols. He won't be going near a ship until he learns to follow orders," Hera stated.

Jax's smug look vanished and his mouth dropped open. Hera walked away with a firm glance towards Jax. Ania sighed. "I'll be practicing," she said to Tolsa, before hopping onto her personal speeder and zooming away.

She stopped near a slope and walked down on foot. A large rock formation stuck out of the ground. Ania drew her lightsabers and began to run through her forms. She closed her eyes, drifting into a form of meditation.

The ground around her rumbled. Ania barely noticed it and didn't break her concentration. The rocks before her shifted and began to grow in size. An enormous presence in the Force settled over her. Ania paused and opened her eyes. She gasped, deactivating her lightsabers.

A giant creature with grey eyes stared down at her. "What a curious manifestation of the Force you are, little Jedi," the creature said.

"What are you?" Ania asked.

"I am Bendu, the Middle. I think the proper question to ask is who are you?"

"Ania Bonteri."

"And what are you? Jedi or Sith?" Bendu lowered his head, inspecting her.

"Neither. I'm not fully Jedi, but I'm not fully Sith."

"Hm. Indeed, you're not. I sense the Ashla inside you. The Bogan is there too, but he is much farther away. The Ashla emanates from you."

Ania raised an eyebrow. "What's a Bogan? And Ashla, I've heard that before. What is it?"

"Ashla is the light and Bogan is the dark. I sense you are unbalanced, young one. One cannot exist without the other. If you are to regain control of yourself, you must reunite the two."

"Do you mean the Daughter? Is she the Ashla?"

"Yes and no. I know of the Force Wielders of Mortis. They once held the balance of the world. Everything has changed now. The Bogan grows in power and controls the planet. The Ashla rests within you. If you do not learn control, they will destroy you," Bendu's strong voice rumbled.

"What must I do?"

"I have told you all you need to know. One cannot exist without the other. You must unite the two." Bendu glanced around. "You have company. I must rest." Almost before she knew what was happening, Bendu had settled back int the ground and appeared as a rock formation again.

"Unite the two. Didn't he say reunite also?" Ania stroked her chin.

"I knew it! You are a spy!" Jax shouted.

Ania whirled around. He fired his blaster and the next thing she knew, she was lying face first in the dirt.