Tension and fear hung about the IEbon Hawk/I like some corrosive fog. Brianna spent all her time in the hold, sparring obsessively with a repair droid that she had scavenged from G0T0's yacht and Bao-Dur had reprogrammed for her. Her cries and grunts were audible all over the ship. She did not interact with the others, even at meals. Mira finally showed up in the hold with a plate with some bread and a carafe of beverage.
"Brianna!" she repeated several times, more loudly each time, until she was rewarded with a haggard, almost hostile look.
"What?" the Echani woman snapped, as she clicked off her lightsaber and the droid went automatically into neutral.
"What is," Mira replied patiently, "you need some rest and nourishment, or you are going to die
in a pool of your own sweat. You won't be any use to him if you work yourself to death."
Brianna collapsed onto her cot and put her face in her hands. "What if he doesn't come back, Mira?" she whispered finally. "What if he is …dead? What use would my life be, then?"
"He isn't dead, Brianna," Mira replied firmly. "You know quite well that we would feel it. He is out there, though I think he is in some mental distress."
"I know. Why didn't he take me? I always went with him, until that horrible ship." Brianna refused to refer to the IRavager/I by name.
"He would have taken you, if he could have, I am sure of that," the little redhead replied comfortingly. "Wherever he went, he had to go alone, he said."
Visas suddenly appeared from the hallway. "Yes," she said solemnly. "He had to face his Master, as I did mine."
Brianna's face flushed with fury. "As I did mine," she mocked in a convincing imitation of Visas' tone. "You didn't face Darth Nihilus alone, Sith, you faced him with my Master, and Mandalore. Without them, you would have been annihilated," she finished in a mincing tone. Mira blinked in admiration. She had not known that the Echani had that talent. She found herself wishing that she could do that, but was interrupted.
"Yes," Visas' voice in turn grew angry. "He helped me face my old Master, as he did you face yours. Either one of us, alone, would have been crushed. We are as children next to him. But, do you not understand? We are, in a sense, his children. We are force-bonded to him, his padawans. If any of us had accompanied him to face Darth Traya…" She noted them both start. "For that is her name. Oh, yes, I have long known it. I was long of the Sith, hating it. Remember what she said to him, that his enemies would strike at him through his allies? Who knows all she can do? He cares for you, Echani. Deeply. Do you not know this?" Brianna numbly nodded, reluctantly. "What do you think Darth Traya would have done, if she had seen you by his side? How would he react at seeing you beheaded? Or disemboweled? He knows this, so that is why you could not accompany him; to a lesser extent, none of us could."
"But, Mira is right, he still lives. As I said, we are bonded. Can you imagine the searing pain we would feel, if he died. I do not think I would survive…"
Suddenly, a step sounded on the entrance ramp. All speech stopped. Another step, followed by another, wearily.
They all rushed to the front of the ship, but Brianna was there first. At the sight of the Exile's face, she made an inarticulate sound and threw herself upon him, locking her arms tightly behind his back. He staggered a bit, for she was a strong girl, but recovered quickly, a small smile coming to his face unbidden. Clumsily, he patted the parts of her he could reach.
"You made it!" Mira cried before anyone else. "Did you…" The unfinished question hung in the air.
"Kreia, or I guess I should say Darth Traya, is dead. By my hand. Sion, too." He added, almost as an afterthought.
"But, the Force Bond!" interjected Visas, greatly daring.
He shook his head in mute lack of understanding. "She severed it, I guess," he finally said. "I just know I felt nothing, beyond sadness." Before anyone else could ask anything, he spotted Bao-Dur and rapped out, crisply, "How's the IEbon Hawk/I"
"Just flyable, General," he replied in his usual quiet tones.
"Where to?" added Atton. "Let's get out of this place. I've got a really bad feeling about this."
"As well you should," the Exile grunted. "Set a course for Iziz. I need to talk to the Queen, and we all need a bit of a rest. I need to think what to do, next."
"Well," Brianna said firmly, "you are not going anywhere without me."
"No, indeed," he replied, "Why would I want to? We have to found, anew, the Jedi Order. All of us will be the new Masters, even you, Atton. But, let us go. I feel this will not be a healthy place for us, much longer."
They all went and strapped themselves in. Brianna, as usual, took the chair beside him, and held his hand tightly as they took off. After the initial turbulence had passed, he turned to look at her and saw her staring at him intently. He smiled, but she continued to glare and tightened her grip. "Ouch," he said lightly. "Do you have a use for my hand?"
She did not smile in return. "I almost lost you," she said in a choked voice. "I could not stand it. Please, promise me that you will never leave me, that we will be together always." A tear trickled down her cheek.
"Brianna, I am but a man," he replied softly. "How can I promise that? But, if it will make you feel better, I will say that I shall never leave your side willingly."
A smile broke through, then. "Good," she said. "How do you feel about children? Because I want some. With us for parents, we could start replenishing the Jedi Order very soon."
"Patience," he replied with a grin. "We will need to be very busy for the next few years. But, yes, I would like children. Your children. They would be beautiful and strong in the Force. That is a combination the Galaxy will flinch from."