He was going to caution Aria about going down that particular avenue of thought, but his partner had already made the connection and much faster than he had imagined. It was startling to feel Renso's presence in his mind, the incorporeal "Master" seeming to fill every inch of free space in his skull as he and Aria traded barbs, although the Master didn't seem very interested in verbally sparring. No, instead, it felt as if he were...happy? Benevolent? Conniving? Cutthroat? It was hard to gauge his feelings towards them, but from their intertwined bond, he COULD feel a sincerity to his words that Yerbol hadn't heard before in his dreams when the Master had boldly proclaimed the death of the Force. Speaking of that particular concept, it would be good to clear that up before they proceeded any further. Following up on the cryptic clue the Master provided, Yerbol spoke for the first time since Aria had tugged on Renso's presence:

[i]Wait, wait. You claim this bond is helping you already and that you'll need our continual help. Weren't you the same voice that proclaimed the death of the Force just a few days ago? The same person that assured "Balance" across the galaxy by way of destruction? [/i] 

A light sigh followed Yerbol's line of questioning before a reply laced with regret came:

[i]Indeed, I do believe that harmonization of the Force, of balancing the galaxy around us can lead to the kind of peace I once knew, but Bracknell twisted my words. Death is necessary, a component of ensuring the Force does not become a twisted shell of itself like it has become, but Bracknell twisted my words, as did you. I do not have the ability to explore questions of philosophy now, but understand it was never my intent for Force sensitives and users to die meaninglessly.[/i]

[i]Then what on EARTH were you trying to accomplish with him? And how did I twist your words? Death is pretty straightforward.[/i]

[i]As I've said, harmonization. Balancing. The Force as you both know it has been corrupted and must be set back in order. I cannot answer all your questions now, but as you progress down your destined path, you will both see what I see.[/i] 

And with that riddle inspired statement, his presence was gone. Yerbol strained to grab at the thread that Aria had, but it had vanished completely, leaving the duo with more questions, which was quickly growing to be an aggravating pattern. 
"Destined path..." He trailed off, looking up at the black and blue night sky lit up with twinkling stars in the distance. 
"What does he know about our fates?" He mumbled, looking to Aria with a defeated shrug. 
"Suppose we'll have to find out ourselves." From inside the complex, he heard Neta call out:
"C'MON YOU TWO, LOAD UP, WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY! HAVOC, AT ATTENTION, LET'S GO, LET'S GO!" Her normally boisterous voice had been ratcheted up a few levels, severity of tone increasing, showing off her regression to Specs op leader very quickly. As he helped Aria to his feet, he couldn't help but quip: 
"I have a feeling she's going to be doing that a lot." 

____________________

-Six Months later- 

"WHAT ON TATTOINE'S SANDY SURFACE ARE YOU DOING, JENKINS?!" 
"Ma'am, I..."
"DON'T YOU EVER FIRE A RIFLE WITHOUT SCOPING THE ENEMY FIRST! HIP FIRING IS FOR THE MOVIES, NOT FOR REAL COMBAT!"
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" 
"BACK ON THE RANGE, ALL OF YOU! YOUR AIM IS WORSE THAN A BANTHA CRAPPING OFF A CLIFF!" Their gleaming green and white armor clanked through back of the main hall, past the pop-up tents and communication posts towards the clearing that Bek had managed to make their second week there for Havoc Squad and, as he had called it, "the future armed forces of our insurrection". Yerbol had chuckled at the thought of having armed forces to command, but it was Bek who would be chortling at Yerbol's doubt. In six months, things had drastically changed, so much so that the young Knight felt like he had to take a step back and actually take it all in instead of moving from mission to mission without so much as a drink of water or a stick of jerkey(which was quickly becoming a base favorite). 

Sneaking past Neta and the hubbub of portable terminals, haphazardly placed datapads and hunched over technicians and strategists(Manso among them), he quietly made it back to their quarters and shed his tattered, sweat stained clothing in favor of some cotton shorts and a t-shirt, both of which had been included in the latest supply drop courtesy of their smuggling team(or as they liked to be called "Captains of Enterprise") that had grown exponentially after their second month in. The Alliance was cracking down hard on enterprise across the galaxy, which meant more and more smugglers were getting put out of work. Even the Hutts were getting strong armed by the Alliance, Chancellor Saresh smugly proclaiming that the "Hutt Reign of Terror would not be tolerated" under the new regime. True, the Hutts were involved in some shady practices, but Saresh had flexed her muscles by cutting off Nar Shaddaa and the rest of the Outer Rim with a trade blockade until they gave into the Alliance's demands of total control. In a sense, Saresh out-Hutted the Hutts, a feat that reflected not only the growing solidarity and power of the new government, but also the terrifying potential it held. Many saw the latter and from that group of many, some joined on with their rebellion. They trickled in slowly that first month after the two strike teams managed to leak information about the True Sith on the holonet, but most of it was dismissed as fabrications of the enemy or, as Bracknell has labeled them many times over the past half year: "terrorists of the highest caliber of evil". Many in the galaxy believed the propaganda, seeing as the Alliance combined so many resources that people were actually getting access to more of the galaxy than they ever had before. With no war, Republic and Imperial worlds became open ground for settlers and job seekers, scout teams were joining together to scope out new worlds and the governments that were once separated by ideologies seemed to be coming together. 

It looked so smooth and effortless on the vids, sounded so utopian during interviews that dismissed the "True Sith" and warned the public to not give into "informational terrorism"(a phrase coined by Bracknell). Soon after this "honeymoon period" of about a month, their rebellion had gathered enough forces from both former Republic and Imperial militaries that Neta, who had been put in charge of all things military, decided it would be best to start exposing True Sith leaders for who they really were. 

"They can deny one or two, but five? Ten? Twenty?! We can win this war of attrition in the shadows!" Neta exclaimed in their first strategy session. Yerbol had been wary of playing up to the reputation that Bracknell and Saresh were pumping into the public eye(as were others), but they had no choice but to go on the offensive, which was exactly what they did with surprisingly good results. They broke up supply chains to Galactic Alliance outposts, killed True Sith leaders in the Alliance Cabinet that had been identified in the list gleaned on the True Sith homeworld(now known as Quensu...Roan found that bit out from a scroll) and exposed their dealings with Bracknell as best they could through whatever channels. 

Leaking information to the public began to divide some populations, a few small colonial settlements on outlying planets outright rejecting the Alliance and moving to the planet their main base was on(Zinuthra...again, deduced from a scroll by Roan). Over the past two months, however, Zinuthra was being populated seemingly every day by more and more dejected Alliance forces that wanted nothing to do with the "despotic" and "iron-handed" government that smoothly hid their mass killings, imprisonment of dissenters and overall totalitarian tactics by pointing to the massive successes("No more rogue Force users to plague the galaxy!" "Wealth and prosperity for the galaxy and beyond!") the Alliance had managed to achieve. 

Things were reaching a breaking point, however, and all who were a part of their contingent against the Alliance knew it. Their strike teams were getting intercepted more frequently, smugglers getting thrown off their routes by Alliance cruisers and blown to spacedust and more soundbites were circulating on the HoloNet about "crushing the threat to our wonderful peace" from both Bracknell and Saresh. Their time in the shadows was going to be up very soon. He hoped they were ready for their grand reveal. 

Yerbol sank to his cot, running a hand over his face as a smile crept to his lips when he saw the package of jerky laying in the middle of their quarters, a sticky note on it. He took the package, reading the note aloud: 

"Heard it was rough out there. Know this'll make you happy. See you soon!" -Ari

"You know me so well, my dear." He said with a chuckle, ripping the package open. Indeed, they both had gotten to know each other extremely well over this stressful(to say the least) course of time. Going through training sessions with the makeshift council of Masters to sharpen their bond, walking together through the woods to talk about anything OTHER than war, throwing snowballs at each other on those walks...Yerbol wasn't afraid to say that Aria had become his best friend as well as the best partner he had ever fought with. Missions they went on helped sharpen the clarity of their bond, fighting almost seamlessly now as a pair. They were unstoppable most days, although some of the True Sith leaders had given them quite the headache. Yerbol had underestimated a couple, seeing as their guise as harmless politicians gave way to powerful Force users when fighting. He remembered one particular instance three months ago when Senator Yan Iwoi, an Ithorian of slight build, sent him flying out a window with a flick of his wrist. Thankfully Roan had come with them on that particular operation and saved him. Aria had made a lot of "the bigger they are, the longer they fly through the air!" jokes after that. 

They got old. Fast. 

Speaking of Aria, he knew that she was scheduled to come back from protective detail any minute now. They hadn't seen each other in a couple of days due to her being throttled across the galaxy to protect some important contingent of defecting diplomats. She was due for a hug...