A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Garek Tanis stood behind the co-pilot's chair as the Republic Cruiser soared through lightspeed on its way to Yavin IV. He stared blankly at the blue vortex just outside the windscreen as he contemplated the mission ahead.
His brother, Kyler, had been sent to the small moon to confirm that there was a Sith threat in the system. Just days before, Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn had been killed by a Sith, and that sent the whole Republic into thinking the Sith were out to create another empire like that of nearly three thousand years ago.
Although, Kyler hadn't checked back in with the Temple when he was supposed to. The Jedi Masters quickly sent Garek and his Master, Makya Vaal, and another Jedi team that he didn't know to find his brother.
Garek started to fade off when the pilot spoke. "Sir, we're almost ready to pull out of lightspeed."
"Thank you, Captain," he said as he pulled his comlink from a pouch on his belt. "Master," Garek spoke into it, "we have almost arrived."
"Alright, I'm on my way up," came a reply.
Garek looked back out the windscreen again to see the vortex go to streaks to stars as the pilot pulled them out of lightspeed. The red gas planet loomed in front of them as his Master entered the cabin.
"Good," Makya said as he stood behind the pilot's seat. "So, what was Kyler's last known position, Garek?"
Holoprojector already in hand, he activated it, and a miniature of the forest moon appeared. "He was sent to the south western hemisphere about twenty clicks south of the equator, right next to that mountain range." A red dot appeared at the location of Kyler's landing site along with a string of coordinates.
"Then let's go see if we can find him," Makya said. "Captain, once we reach Yavin Four, take us to sector three two seven one one three eight."
"Total blue milk run," the co-pilot commented.
In short time they began descending into the atmosphere of Yavin IV.
As they were passing through the cloud layer, Garek suddenly sensed something wrong.
"Master, there's something that's nagging at the back of my head, but I can't tell what it is."
"Relax, let your mind flow with the Force and you will find the problem. But you are right, there's something out of place," Makya said thoughtfully.
Garek put all he could into his concentration. "I can't find it," he finally said. "Where the answer should be, all I'm getting is a haze."
"Yes, I'm getting the same thing," his Master contemplated. "Well, we can't keep Kyler waiting. Captain, how close can you get us to the landing site?"
"The closest I can land to those coordinates in this ship is a clearing a few clicks away, so you'll have to walk the rest of the way."
Quickly consulting with Garek's holoprojector again, Makya said "That'll do. Take us down, please."
The pilot expertly landed the ship and lowered the loading ramp. "Captain, I would like for you and your co-pilot to stay here with the ship. If you need anything, don't hesitate to contact me."
"Yes, sir."
As they walked down the ramp, Garek took a deep breath of the warm humid air. Makya pulled out his comlink and pressed a couple buttons.
"I can't raise him on the comlink. Can you feel him through the Force?"
Garek looked around, using the Force as his guide. There was wildlife all over, and it was difficult to pick his brother out from everything, but he managed to find the right life form. "Yes, I found him, and he knows we're here. He is exceedingly happy. He is in this direction," he said, pointing northwest.
"That is one benefit of you two being brothers and going through most of your training together," Makya said as they began walking. "Your connection through the Force has grown stronger than any other I have seen."
Garek didn't say anything. There seemed to be something very wrong here. Kyler had been sent because the locals were stirred up because they thought there was a Sith here. But something was out of place.
"Everything alright?" his Master asked after moments of silence.
"I don't know," he began, "there just really seems to be something missing that I can't quite put my finger on."
"I agree," Makya said, his brow furrowed. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"You can say that again."
It was several more minutes before they found Kyler crawling out from the underbrush of the jungle. "Thank the Force you've come!" he was saying. "I was starting to think I would be stuck here forever."
"Are you alright?" Garek asked. "What happened?"
Kyler shrugged. "I'm fine, I just don't really know what happened. I was sent to these coordinates where there was supposed to be a settlement, but as you can see, there's nothing here."
Suddenly the wheel clicked into place in Garek's mind. "That's it! It just came to me!"
"What? What did you figure out?" Makya asked.
"Why would we be sent here to help settle down the locals if there are no locals to settle down?" Garek said almost a bit too excitedly for the situation.
Makya thought for a short moment. "Then that means this is a trap… Get back to the ship!" he exclaimed urgently.
The three took off for the cruiser. Makya hailed the pilot on his comlink. "Captain, get the ship ready to take off immediately! We need to get out of here quick!"
"I'm not sure that will be possible, sir," the worried voice of the pilot came back to them.
"What is it?" Makya demanded.
"There appears to be something going on with the fuel lines, and-"
He was cut off by the sound of an explosion, and off in the distance through the trees, Garek could see the fireball rising from where they landed.
"Sithspit!" Makya cursed.
Another thought came to Garek's mind. "Wait, Master, what about the other Jedi team coming that we were informed about?"
Wasting no time, Makya tapped his comlink again and began speaking into it. "Jedi Knight Leola Kardal, this is Makya Vaal, do you copy?"
Garek heard a strained female voice come back through the device. "Yeah, I copy you, Makya."
"Do not land on the surface, I repeat, do not come down here!" Makya demanded.
"I don't think we have a choice," Leola replied. "Something is damaging the ship's systems and bringing us down! The pilot is doing everything he can!"
"Blast!" Makya cursed again. "What's bringing you down?"
"I have no idea!" Leola said with an attitude that would have been sarcastic if her life weren't on the line. "Your guess is as good as mine!"
Garek heard a younger female voice that sounded completely terrified exclaim "Master!" before the connection fizzled out. Barely even a second after that they heard a roar from overhead as they looked to see the cruiser, engulfed in flames, and on a collision course with the surface.
Once it became quiet enough for them to hear anything, Makya said "We have no time to lose!"
They wasted no time to start running towards the very-soon-to-be crash site.
The three Jedi followed the trail of smoke overhead. They froze for only a moment when they heard the cruiser crash into the ground and heard it smashing through trees.
"We need to keep moving, they could still be alive," Makya said. They continued running through the trees.
Only moments passed before they found signs of the wreckage. As they ran through the newly created clearing, Garek heard a loud snapping noise. He stopped and looked up while the other two kept running.
A large tree was beginning to fall down in their path. Makya and Kyler stopped and turned around towards him.
"Run! Go!" Garek called to them.
They looked and saw the tree falling and continued running and got out of the way.
Using the Force to boost his speed, Garek took off running. Quickly calculating his time, he knew he wouldn't make it. Timing it just right, he leapt into the air straight toward the falling tree. At the same time he pulled out his lightsaber, ignited a deep blue blade, and threw it at the tree.
Guiding it with the Force, he sent it towards a thick branch and cut it and surrounding branches off and away from the tree. He began to feel himself falling down. As he called his lightsaber back to him, the Force guided him straight for the clearing he just made. His boot connected with the stump and he leapt into the air again.
The tree crashed to the ground short moments after Garek hit the ground with a roll and he got back up running with his Master and brother. Just ahead they could see the other cruiser, still in one piece mostly, but very damaged, several places burning.
They stopped as they got around to the right side near the front. "This does not look good," Garek said.
"Are they still alive?" Kyler asked.
Makya concentrated on the cockpit area. "I'm not sure. I can sense life forms in there but their Force auras are very weak. They must be unconscious."
"Then we have to find a way in," Garek said, lightsaber still in hand.
Knowing there would be no other way in, Garek leapt up and landed on top of the cruiser.
"He is straight-forward, I'll give him that," Makya said.
"Yep," Kyler agreed. "Always has been. Always will be." With that he leapt up to join his brother, followed shortly by Makya.
"This should be the compartment behind the cockpit," Garek said before plunging his lightsaber through the metal to begin cutting a hole.
After a minute of cutting, Garek finally had a hole that they could get in through. Garek jumped down through first, then Makya.
"What a mess," Garek said as Kyler jumped down.
"We don't have much time," Makya informed. "Let's get going."
They approached the door to the cockpit through the rubble. When they got close enough, the door tried to slide open on its own, but it screeched to a stop after only a couple inches.
Garek and Makya glanced at each other and used the Force to slide it the rest of the way open. The door gave way with a shower of sparks. They went inside.
The two Jedi, a human female and Zabarak female, were slumped on the floor behind the pilot's seats. Makya checked the vitals of the pilots while Garek checked the Jedi. Kyler waited just outside the doorway, unable to fit in.
"These two are still alive but unconscious. Not sure about the severity of any injuries if they sustained any," Garek said.
"Neither of the pilots survived," Makya said sullenly. Gesturing to the two on the floor, he said "Let's get them out of here. The structure of this ship is losing integrity." He picked up the Zabarak Jedi who had black hair, presumably Leola Kardal, while Garek picked up the younger Jedi with brown hair, similar to his own.
Kyler stayed outside the cockpit, helping each of them as they came through the doorway, Jedi in arms. Makya leapt up through the hole created earlier, followed by Garek and Kyler.
Once they were outside and on the ground, they made sure to get a good distance away from the cruiser. They laid the two down, still unconscious.
"You two stay here with them and tend to their wounds," Makya ordered Garek and Kyler. "I'm going back in to see if their comm board still works and try to send a message to the Jedi Temple."
"Be careful," Garek called after him. He turned his attention back to the two Jedi on the ground.
The younger one looked to be about his age, later teen years or early twenties. Her hair was about mid-shoulder blade length, done up in an elegant braid, which laid off to her right. She was actually somewhat attractive, but Garek pushed those thoughts to the side. No time for forbidden thoughts on the mission.
"Any clue who they are?" Kyler asked.
"To be honest, I have never met them before in my life."
As they began working on the injuries, Garek spared a look behind him to see Makya jump down through the hole again.
They worked on the two Jedi in silence for a couple minutes, wrapping cuts, applying bacta to bruises, and Leola needed a splint on her left arm, Kyler sensed it was sprained pretty badly.
Suddenly a loud groaning split the air. Garek turned to see the cruiser beginning to implode on itself. "Master!" he yelled, standing.
Among the dust that was being kicked up out of the hole, Garek saw a dark shape jump up with it.
Makya did a flip in the air as he tried to get away from the cruiser, and he hit the ground running for a few steps, then stopped to see the ship collapse on itself.
Knowing his Master was now okay, he turned back to the two Jedi.
The brown-haired one had woken up and was looking around very alarmed. Garek kneeled down to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, you and your Master are safe. You need to take it easy, you were injured during the crash and you may have a minor concussion," Garek tried to calm her down.
She looked at Leola, and sighed as she lay back down. Looking at him and Kyler, she asked "What about the pilots?"
Garek shook his head. "They must have died during the crash. They were gone by the time we got there."
At first she looked speechless. Coming back to reality, she said "Oh, sorry. I'm Saena Kasra. My Master's name is Leola Kardal."
"I'm Garek Tanis, this is my brother, Kyler, and this here is my Master, Makya Vaal," he finished as Makya joined the group. "Speaking of Masters," he continued, turning to Makya, "how'd it go before you brought the house down?"
Makya glared at Garek for a second, but then smirked, knowing he liked to mess around like that. "The panel was working for a short time, but I don't know if I was able to get my message off in time before it died."
"And that's when the ship collapsed?" Kyler asked.
"Yes."
Garek saw something move in the corner of his eye. He looked to see Leola beginning to wake up.
Makya went over to her to make sure she would be ok, but before he could say anything, she sat up abruptly, an alarmed look on her face.
"What is it?" Makya asked. "Is everything ok?"
Leola sat there for a moment, thinking. "Yeah, I'm fine, it's just…" She hesitated for a moment before saying "I sensed a disturbance."
Becoming interested, Garek stepped forward, asking "What kind of disturbance?"
"I sense the Dark Side here."
"Well," Kyler began, "this is Yavin Four, and it was Sith controlled a long time ago."
"I know that," Leola said. "I sense it in a person."
They all glanced around at each other and their surroundings uneasily.
"Can you identify who it might be and where they are?" Makya asked.
"I can't tell who, but they are a long distance away," she replied.
"Is this being coming towards us?" Garek asked.
"They are too far away for me to tell if they are moving," she replied.
"Well," Kyler spoke up, "if they don't seem to be moving, then we shouldn't have to worry about it, right?" He looked around at all of them, almost hoping someone would take his side.
Makya shook his head. "It is still important to know what this being is doing, but we do have more pressing matters at hand, such as setting up camp. We may be stuck here for a few days."
Garek used the Force to drop a fresh log onto the fire they had going.
Night came quick, so they had been forced to set up camp even quicker.
Although it was a great opportunity for them to all get to know each other. Garek learned that Leola and Makya had actually known each other since they were Padawans, and were often in friendly competition with each other. Garek didn't understand how they kept score, but apparently Leola was winning.
Garek and Saena, being similar in age, were able to connect on many things. They both enjoyed the same things, such as relaxing in the Room of a Thousand Fountains back at the Temple after a mission, and realized that they had actually seen each other a number of times in there.
"Okay," Makya began, getting all of their attention, "we will need to have someone at watch at all times during our nights here. We don't need to be attacked by any local creatures or this mysterious Dark presence."
"Agreed," Kyler said, nodding.
"Whatever the order will be, we will have to change at one our intervals. And the rotation will repeat as necessary," Leola said.
Makya sat up a little straighter to get comfortable on the uneven terrain. "I think it would be a good idea if I go first, then the Padawans, and then you can go, Leola."
"Sounds legit," Garek said. "I'll go in the middle."
"I can go after Garek," Saena said.
"I guess that means I'll be the first Padawan up," Kyler said.
"Alright," Makya finished. "Should anything happen during any of our watches, you are to wake the rest of us up. Now, the rest of you go ahead and get some sleep. And may the Force be with us these next few days."
The other four Jedi readied themselves for bed while Makya began his shift.
Garek knew these would be long nights until they were found.
The night actually went much shorter than Garek expected.
About midmorning he found Kyler sitting in a grassy area staring at the sky.
"Well, there's still no sign of rescue," Kyler said.
Garek thought for a second. "But then again, it would take a while to get here in the first place. And that's also considering whether they got our distress call or not."
Makya approached the two, Leola and Saena behind him. "I think we have a good opportunity for a training mission here," he said.
Kyler stood. "What kind of training mission?"
Makya turned to Garek. "Remember a few years ago we went to Ragoon 6? We had to search for Wren Honoran?"
"Yeah," Garek said. "I rather enjoyed that. Are you saying we do something like that here?"
Makya nodded. "Yes, except for the obvious part that we don't have Wren here to search for. So instead, you Padawans work together to find us two Masters.
"This sounds like fun," Saena said.
"Yeah, it will be," Garek said. "But I can guarantee that we will get frustrated along the way."
"Me and Leola will get ourselves prepared. Once we leave, you must wait one standard hour before you set out searching for us," Makya instructed the three.
"Sounds like a plan," Garek said.
The two Masters did not take too long to get ready. As they began the hike into the jungle, Garek called out "Don't make it too easy for us!"
"You're gonna need all the help you can get in order to find us!" Makya said.
"May the Force be with you," Garek said.
"Trust me," Makya said, "you will need the Force more than I will!"
The two Jedi disappeared into the trees. The Padawans sat and mulled around for the first five minutes in silence.
Finally Saena broke the silence. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like?"
Garek and Kyler exchanged glances. "Excuse me?" Garek asked.
Saena cleared her throat. "What life would be like if we weren't Jedi. A couple years ago me and Leola had been sent on an undercover mission and we had to live like normal people in order to bring down a small crime syndicate on Coruscant. Although by normal people, I actually mean we had to pretend to be criminals for them to accept us and we then brought them down from the inside. But for that short time, we weren't Jedi. I wonder what it would be like to live as a normal person."
"And by normal person, you don't mean criminal, right?" Kyler asked.
"Naw, I want to be a criminal," Saena said sarcastically. She leaned back against the tree she had been sitting in front of. "I wonder what it would be like to be a normal civilian with a normal job and a normal life, not having to worry about constant missions and lack of sleep and the fear of losing an arm or a leg."
Garek walked over to her tree and leaned against it to her right and looked down at her. "Seems like you've had a lot of time to think about this normal life."
"Almost too much time," she said, looking up at him. "Haven't you ever wondered anything like that?"
Shaking his head, Garek replied "Not really, no. I trust that the Force has led me here instead of some other place for a reason, and I don't question it's reasoning."
Garek realized that she was staring at him intensely, and he had to look away. When he looked back at her, she wasn't staring at him, but she was still looking at him with glances away every few moments.
Suddenly he realized just how attractive this girl really was, if she could even be considered a girl. She seemed to be more like a woman, mature but still having that fun aura about her.
Something in his mind told him to snap out of it. He couldn't begin falling for this person. It was forbidden for Jedi to have these emotions. He broke eye contact and looked out onto the grassy field.
The rest of the hour passed in near silence.
Several times Garek caught himself looking at Saena and forced himself to look away.
"Can we go yet?" Kyler asked, whom was lying on the ground looking straight up into the sky, the most bored expression on his face.
Garek looked at his chrono. There were still two minutes before the hour was up. "Close enough," he said. "Let's go." He needed something to take his mind off Saena.
Garek found the clues started off easy, much like Wren had done years before. A boot print in the dirt here, freshly snapped twig there.
Progressively the clues became more and more difficult, and were also misleading.
After hours of searching, they suddenly found a bunch of easy clues again.
"This doesn't seem right," Garek said.
"What do you mean?" Saena asked. "Maybe they got a bit sloppy here."
"No," Garek said, his face set. "Makya never gets sloppy, even on a fake mission like this. He is up to something."
"Well," Saena said, ignoring what he had said, "I'm going this way and I'm sure that I will find them."
She didn't wait for an answer from the other two before starting down what Garek was sure to be a false set of clues.
Suddenly Kyler began following her.
"What are you doing?" Garek asked in disbelief.
"I'm on your side on this, but we can't just let her wander off and get lost."
Garek saw his point and grudgingly followed suit.
"I thought you said you weren't coming this way," Saena said from ahead of them.
"Well, we decided we wanted to see where this path went," Garek said.
Saena stopped and turned around to face them as they approached her. "Right," she plainly stated. "You don't want me to get lost. You do care about me."
"No, well, yeah I care, but I'm not worried about you getting lost," Garek stuttered.
"Yeah, okay," Saena said as she turned back around and continued walking.
"No, I don't mean that," Garek said as he caught up to her. "I don't want you to get lost, but I'm not worried about it because I'm sure you can handle yourself if you did get lost."
"But you do care for me," she said, giving him a look of interest.
"Well, I do care… But not in the way that you're thinking there," he added when he caught her look.
"If you say so-" she began to say before she tripped over something.
Trying not to fall, she grabbed Garek's arm, but in doing so dragged him down with her.
They both fell into a muddy pond that had been disguised by dead leaves.
Garek sat up and cleared the mud away from his eyes. He saw Kyler reaching an arm to him. He grabbed the arm and he was hoisted up out of the shallow pond.
Standing once again, he turned and saw Saena clearing the mud away from her face. "Need some help?" he asked, offering her his hand.
She took it and he pulled her up. "Where did that come from?" she asked, looking at the pond in front of them.
"Most likely a trap that Makya and Leola set up for us," Garek said. "And knowing my Master, he would have wanted to watch us fall into it, so he can't be far!"
Garek reached out into the Force, scanning the area for signs of life.
He sensed several different life forms all around, but he felt a particular presence observing them from a nearby cliff.
Not even hesitating, he took off in that direction, the other two following him.
In moments they arrived at the cliff, which was small and easy to jump on top of. Barely even a second after they landed, Garek heard the familiar voice of his Master.
"Well, look at what the rancor dragged in," he said with a chuckle.
"I do have to admit, that was a pretty well laid-out trap there," Garek said.
Saena elbowed Garek in the side. "And you didn't want to come this way. Ends up if we hadn't, we wouldn't have found your Master."
"Yeah, well now we need to find your Master," Garek said.
"But first," Saena started, "I want to wash this mess off in that waterfall over there."
Garek followed where her finger was pointing to see a small waterfall pouring into a small lake.
"At least this water looks cleaner than the pond back there," Kyler said.
Garek sat alone in the dark of night, during his shift. His lightsaber lay in pieces in front of him.
During the remainder of the training mission, they concentrated solely on searching for Leola. When they were close to finding her, Garek had tripped, and his lightsaber managed to get loose from his belt and landed on a rock, rendering it useless until he got it fixed.
For hours before nightfall he was trying to find what the problem was. Right before it was time for rest, he found it was because the power crystal stabilizer was misaligned.
When he woke back up for his watch, he immediately got to work fixing his lightsaber. He also decided to make a modification.
On a recent diplomatic mission to Dantooine, Garek had been given permission to explore some of the caves there. In one cave he found a room that had several crystal formations. His Master had told him that it was these crystals that the Jedi used to power their lightsabers and it also gives them their distinct color.
Garek found many different colors, but there was one crystal that stuck out for some odd reason. It was whitish in color, but it almost seemed to have a haze, almost like fog was trapped inside it, swirling around. He held on to it, but forgot he had it until this night.
He was just about to pull out the new crystal when he sensed something moving. He turned to see Saena quietly moving towards him on all fours.
When she was close enough, he whispered "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she responded. "Just restless. I also thought you might want someone to talk to," she added.
"Yeah," Garek said after a moment of thought. "This is pretty boring, just sitting here doing nothing."
Gesturing towards the disassembled lightsaber, Saena said "That doesn't look like 'doing nothing.'"
"Oh, this?" he said, looking at his lightsaber. "Just getting it fixed. And I was also going to put a new crystal into my lightsaber."
He pulled the crystal out of his pouch, and could instantly see that Saena's expression had changed.
"Whoa," she said, completely stunned. "Do you know what kind of crystal that is?"
"No," Garek started, "but with that reaction, I imagine it's quite some crystal."
"That is a silver crystal! The rarest kind of lightsaber crystal in the galaxy! Only Jedi that are very balanced in the Force have been shown the way to find them! How did you find one?" Saena spoke in a rush, almost forgetting that others were sleeping.
Garek began relaying the story to her. "A couple weeks ago, Makya and I had been sent to Dantooine on a political mission, had to make sure that peace was kept during some negotiations. Well, Makya knew that one particular meeting would be long and boring, so he allowed me to explore, and he told me to check out the caves there. And in one cave there was this room that was filled with different crystals. Makya told me that there were rooms like this, and that they were all lightsaber crystals. This crystal happened to catch my eye for some reason, so I kept it. And I'm just now getting around to putting it in."
"If you ask me, I would have put it in first thing I found it," Saena said with a laugh.
Garek had continued working on his lightsaber. "Well, I also didn't exactly know-"
He was cut off as his lightsaber sparked brightly, making both of them jump. "Oops," Garek said. "Must have crossed a circuit."
The following minutes went on in silence as he finished rebuilding his lightsaber. Finally, he clicked the last piece into place.
"There," he said, satisfied at his work. He picked up the blue crystal laying at the tip of his boot and placed it in the pouch on his belt. "Save it for later in case I need it. And now," he said, holding his lightsaber with a firm grip, "let's see how this looks."
Garek ignited the lightsaber and a brilliant silver blade sprung to life. Both the Padawans become speechless.
Garek tentatively spared a glance for Saena, who looked very attractive in the light of his blade. She returned the glance, but they both looked away from each other. After another moment, he deactivated his saber.
They both sat in silence for another moment.
"Are you beginning to have feelings for me?" Saena asked.
Garek remained silent as he thought of different things to say. He could tell her the truth, that he was, but he knew that he couldn't, it was forbidden for Jedi to have affection for others.
"I thought so," she said after he didn't respond.
"Hang on," Garek started, "just because I don't say anything doesn't mean-"
"Then what does it mean?" Saena interrupted him.
"It doesn't mean anything," he said, turning away.
"Uh huh," she huffed, staring at the back of his head. "I can sense it in you."
Without turning, he said "You're bluffing."
"Nope," she said matter-of-factly. "I have practiced the technique of mind reading for several years. This is no bluff."
Finally turning back towards her, he started "I highly doubt-"
They both froze as one of the others stirred in their sleep. Garek recognized the soft grunts of his brother settling back in to his deep sleep.
"I highly doubt that is even a such technique," he said, much quieter.
Saena just sat there and stared at him.
"I don't have any feelings for you," Garek said, attempting to bluff himself.
"Why do you keep denying it?" she asked.
"Deny what?" he asked in turn.
"The truth."
"How can I deny a truth that isn't true?" he said in a defensive tone.
Again, she stared at him in silence.
With a sigh, Garek finally gave in. "Fine, it's true. I have feelings for you."
"Exactly," Saena said, satisfaction in her voice. "Even though it's forbidden for Jedi to become attached to someone?"
Garek hesitated. "Yes."
A short moment passed between them before Saena moved over to him and kissed him deeply. Once the shock wore off, Garek broke away from her.
"Wait, I can't do this. I can't bring you down with me." He said, uneasy with himself.
"Why not?" she asked. "You do realize it was me who kissed you."
He hesitated again. "Yeah, that is true."
Saena hesitated this time. "And for the record, I was bluffing when I said I could see your thoughts."
"I knew you were," Garek said.
The two began another kiss, not knowing that only meters away, Makya was lying awake, listening to the whole thing.
Garek woke the next morning feeling uneasy. He was unsure if it was the Dark presence on the planet, which did seem to be getting closer over the couple days, or if he was feeling guilt from the events of the previous night.
But when he saw his Master, he was sure that it did have to do with what happened the previous night. He slowly approached Makya, who looked as cross as ever.
"Master?" Garek tentatively said.
Makya looked at him with a glare and stood up and began walking away. "Come with me," were his only words.
Garek knew he was in trouble this time. His Master rarely used that tone of voice, and it was when he was most angry about something.
As he began following Makya, he spared a glance for Saena, who looked upset and full of sorrow. She knew what was coming.
Garek heard Kyler ask her "What's up with him?"
Saena responded getting up and leaving to be alone.
Garek and Makya walked about a kilometer from the camp, not a word between them. When his Master finally stopped, Garek waited for the first lashing.
"You know why I'm upset," Makya said, still facing away from him.
"Yes," Garek said quietly, his head down.
Makya slightly turned his head. "You broke a very important Jedi rule. Do you know what that rule is?"
"Yes, Master."
"Why did you break it?"
Garek had no response.
Makya finally turned to face his Apprentice. "Why did you break it?!" he yelled.
"Why does that stupid rule even exist?" Garek asked, not even thinking.
"Attachment leads to jealousy, and distraction in the field. You would fall to the Dark Side unless you got killed before that!" Makya rebuked.
"That doesn't even make any sense!" Garek fought back. "I would find attachment to lead to a clear mind! It would give me something to fight for!"
"Peace is all the motivation you should need!" Makya exploded, emphasizing each word.
A tense moment of silence passed between them, and Makya turned away from Garek again.
"Do you even know what it's like to love?" Garek finally asked. "To feel the way I do for Saena?"
Makya sighed as he turned back around. "Yes, I have loved someone before. But it nearly cost me my life and my position in the Jedi Order. I lost all chances of being accepted onto the Jedi High Council. I had to do what was right. I was... Am, a Jedi," he corrected himself. "I later learned that she had died to a blaster wound. If I had left and gone with her, maybe I could have saved her. But I would have missed out on so many things. You are one of the most gifted students I have ever seen among the Jedi, and it is an honor to train you. It is my duty to train you to and help bring peace to this galaxy. You have a choice to make. Either leave all your life's work behind to be with her, or stay with the Jedi Order, which, especially in this day and age, it is nearly impossible to find students like you. You are more balanced than any other Jedi your age. Don't ruin it."
Leola sat quietly, formulating exactly what she would say to her Padawan about the night before that Makya had informed her about. But she found herself having a hard time staying focused. Something was nagging at the back of her head, and whatever it was, it refused to leave her alone.
Something was wrong. She felt a constant tingle in the Force. There was danger nearby. She jumped up, lightsaber already ignited with a yellow blade.
Nearby, Saena was quick to have her own purple blade activated. Kyler had his lightsaber in hand, but it was still deactivated.
Leola took off in the direction that Makya had led Garek off in only minutes ago, the other two following behind her.
Garek was deep in thought when the Force alerted him to another presence. He unhooked his lightsaber from his belt. A look of confusion crossed Makya's face for only a moment before he had his green saber ignited and blocking the red Sith blade that would have gone straight down his back.
Garek jumped to the side of the two and ignited his silver lightsaber. The assailant, whom he recognized to be a Pureblood Sith, became distracted, allowing Makya to kick him away from him.
Garek barely had a moment to note that the Force was flowing all around him, more stronger than he had ever felt it before. His lightsaber had a different feel to it altogether.
The Sith warrior, having regained his balance, pulled out a second lightsaber and ignited it with a dark menacing orange glow. Makya attacked, and the Sith deflected his attack with ease.
Garek made his own attack, swinging his blade around backhanded, and it collided with the orange saber, driving the Sith back. Again, Makya went to attack, but the Sith still deflected it with little effort, despite the power that Garek was still driving his attack strong. Lightsabers locked, the Sith was forced to bring his red saber around to aid his defense, allowing himself to balance on his feet.
Finally Garek was pushed back as the Sith had to defend himself against a charging Makya. The Sith threw the orange saber, deflecting Makya's blade in mid-air, giving time for the Sith to leap at the Jedi Knight, his boot connecting with Makya's chest.
Garek came at the Sith, who had barely gotten a chance to land on his hands and knees. Garek buried his lightsaber into the ground where the Sith had just rolled away from barely a second beforehand.
The Sith rotated himself, still on the ground, and kicked Garek away, who stumbled backwards and he collided with Saena, who was with the other two. They all were just about to join in the fight when Garek's life changed forever.
He stood up to see the Sith's red blade bury itself into Makya's gut, a pained expression on his face. The four of them stood in shock.
The Sith grabbed Makya's throat to keep him from falling as he taunted him in front of the others. "You didn't even stand a chance," the Sith said with a deep but smooth voice. "You won't be the last to die at Nevran's hand today."
He pulled the saber out of Makya and let his body slump to the ground. "One down," Nevran said, then looked at the other Jedi, "four to go."
As Nevran approached, Garek readied himself, feeling the Force working in dark ways around him.
Next to him, Kyler took a step back. "Master?" he said, sounding confused.
"What?!" Saena asked, surprised.
"Yes, Kyler, it's me, your old Master," Nevran said. "Join me, and we shall defeat these traitors together!"
Kyler hesitated, but he began walking toward Nevran.
"What are you doing?!" Garek asked as he grabbed his brother's arm.
Kyler quickly pulled away. "He's right, you have all become traitors! The Jedi don't even know what they are fighting for!"
"Don't you even realize that you're falling into a Sith trap?" Saena asked, taking a step forward.
"She's right," Garek said. "And I'm your own brother! How can you betray your own blood so easily?"
"I can because you're not my real brother!" Kyler said, and he attacked Garek with his dark green lightsaber.
Nevran clicked his two blades together, making a double-sided lightsaber. Saena and Leola quickly had to defend themselves from his attack.
Garek felt the Force moving through him as he blocked each of Kyler's blows. "I don't want to hurt you," he spoke between attacks, "but I will if you force me to!"
"I would very much like to see you try," Kyler said as he pressed his attack.
The two continued to exchange blows, the other fight fading into the background. Garek remained on the defensive, not wanting to harm his brother. Kyler made a heavy attack, but Garek sidestepped it, causing Kyler to falter and lose his footing.
He turned and sent a Force push towards Garek. He caught it with ease and sent it back towards his brother. Kyler was sent flying towards a tree and was knocked unconscious.
After checking through the Force that his brother would be okay, Garek joined the other battle.
"I may have lost a temporary ally," Nevran said, Garek's silver blade locked with his red one, "but I would have killed him anyway. Just as I will kill you!"
"Yeah?" Garek said sarcastically. "I'd like to see you walk away from this after killing my Master!" Garek pushed against the red blade, causing Nevran to stumble. Leola took the opportunity to cut his hilt in half.
"Run!" she gasped. "Save yourselves!"
Saena continued to fight. "I won't leave your side, Master!"
"I'm not leaving either!" Garek said.
"Then it's a bigger triumph for me when I kill you all!" Nevran laughed as he kicked Leola in the head, knocking her unconscious.
Garek wasted no time in cutting the tip off of one of his lightsaber hilts, leaving Nevran with only the orange blade.
The battle went on for several more minutes, each side pushing the other back at times.
Nevran finally gained the upper hand by Force pushing Saena away and using the Force to choke Garek.
As his body hung in the air, Garek dropped his lightsaber. Nevran put his own saber on his belt.
"You will die for killing my Master," Garek barely gasped out, both his hands on his neck.
"And how do you plan to do that?" Nevran asked. "I am a Sith Lord. You are merely a Padawan." He used the Force to bring Garek's lightsaber into his hand. "True, you have a silver lightsaber, but even that won't help you now." He ignited the silver blade and held it close to Garek's neck.
He could feel the hair on the back of his hand beginning to burn from the heat. "How ironic," Nevran continued, "you're going to die by the blade that made you special." The blade got closer, and Garek flinched as his skin began to burn on his hand and neck. "Unless," Nevran said, pulling the blade slightly away, "you decide to join me. How does joining the Dark Side sound to you? It is much better than the life of servitude that the Jedi have. You are free to have whatever you want. Free to love whoever you want."
Garek tried to calm himself. Nevran's voice began to fade out as the Force moved through him. Concentrating hard, Garek found Makya's lightsaber lying next to his body not far away. Using the Force, he called it spinning towards him.
Last second, he ignited it as it was still flying through the air and it cleaved off Nevran's choking hand right at the wrist.
The Sith's red face filled with surprise and pain. He dropped Garek's lightsaber and clutched at his other arm.
Garek barely hit the ground before he caught his lightsaber and drove the silver blade into Nevran's chest. "That was for my Master," Garek said, staring into the eyes of Nevran, and he deactivated his lightsaber.
The Sith hit the ground dead, the surprised look still on his face.
Garek ran over to Makya, who's breathing was shallow.
"Master?" Garek called, his eyes filling with tears as he kneeled down. "Makya!"
Makya opened his eyes and looked at Garek. "Garek, I wish I... could have been... a better... Master for you," he managed to gasp out between breaths.
"Don't say that," Garek said, trying to hold the tears back, "you have been the best Master I could ever have."
Makya coughed, a slight bit of blood on his lips. "You have been... a great student... You deserve that silver crystal... I wish I could... be there to see you... become a Knight."
"No, don't say that," Garek begged. "You will be there, I'm going to get you out of here!"
"No, it's too late... for me... I'm sorry... Garek." The last breath left Makya's lungs.
Garek was speechless. His Master could not be dead. This was impossible. But it was true. Makya just died in his arms. Garek lowered his head, still trying to hold the tears back.
He felt Saena's presence coming up behind him. She kneeled next to him, and embraced him in a hug. Whatever composure he still had was lost as he let the tears loose, and he turned and hugged her, crying into her shoulder.
They sat there in silence for several minutes.
The sacrament pyre burned high into the night sky as three Jedi stood by watching the Jedi Master burn away.
Garek still had tears streaming down his face, and Saena stood right next to him. Leola stood with her eyes closed, mourning the loss of a friend in her own way.
Garek didn't care to realize that Kyler was nowhere to be seen. All he knew was that he had recovered and wasn't trying to kill him anymore.
He still found it hard to accept that Makya was dead. The weight of the situation finally pushed him down, and Saena kneeled with him.
Apart from his tears, Garek's face remained emotionless. He simply continued to watch the flames and ashes dance into the star-filled sky.
The next day, Garek had gotten over the shock, but he still felt numb all through his body.
Kyler had returned after disappearing the previous night, and the first thing he did was he approached Garek.
Not sure what to expect, Garek had his hand ready by his lightsaber. Kyler noticed and put his hands up at chest-height in a defensive gesture.
"I'm not here to try to kill you," he said, then thought of his next words. "Garek, I need to tell you something." He hesitated, then continued. "I have decided that I'm leaving the Jedi Order."
Garek only stood there bewildered. "What? Why?" he finally managed to ask.
"I fell to the Dark Side." He sounded defeated. "I was too weak to see past his lie. I failed the Trial of Insight. How could I have fallen for such a thing? I was there when my Master died. He- he died in my own arms!" Kyler was on the edge of breaking into tears himself.
Garek put his arm around his brother. "Well, that is one thing that we both have an understanding about."
"I'm sorry," Kyler said, and he calmed himself down so that he could continue. "But I have failed. I've failed myself, the Jedi, you, and most importantly my Master."
"Well, as your older brother, I disagree with your decision. It's a mistake to leave the Jedi in my opinion. But it's not my choice to make. Just remember that, as your brother, I will always be there if you need anything, despite what happened yesterday."
"Really?" Kyler asked.
"Of course, Ner Vod," Garek replied.
They were just about to embrace when the sound of repulsorlifts could be heared and a Republic Cruiser flew overhead, looking for a place to land.
"Rescue," Garek said.
"Finally," Kyler added.
Within the hour they were all loaded on board and Coruscant-bound.
Garek found the room that Kyler laid claim to and entered.
Kyler was sitting on his cot holding something in his hands.
"Hey," Garek said as he got closer.
"Hi," Kyler said, standing up. After a short moment, he held out his hand, clenched into a fist. "I want you to have this," he said.
As Garek got closer he saw he was holding a necklace with the claw of a gundark hanging from it.
"Are you sure?" Garek asked. "You found this on our first mission together."
"Yes," Kyler replied, "I'm positive. If something happens to me, I can still be with you through the Force." He put the necklace into Garek's hand and closed his fingers around it.
They embraced, and Garek realized that this could easily be the last time they see each other.
"In case we don't get to see each other before we get back to Coruscant and go our separate ways, may the Force be with you," Kyler said.
"And with you, my brother."
Garek sat in the Room of a Thousand Fountains in the Jedi Temple. The rippling water echoing throughout the chamber and the soft green hues of light helped calm him down after the events of the past few days.
They had gotten back just hours before. Kyler was quick to make is resignation and gather his things. He was gone before Garek could say goodbye. But through the Force, he knew that they were on good terms.
The gundark claw necklace hung from his neck down underneath his tunic. The claw hummed slightly with the Force and felt warm against his skin.
He looked down at his hands, where he was holding Makya's lightsaber.
Throughout all of his years as his apprentice, this was the first time he had been able to hold his Master's lightsaber.
As he studied the artwork that Makya had put into such an elegant weapon, he could hear his Master's words as if whispers through the Force.
'You are one of the most gifted students I have ever seen among the Jedi, and it is an honor to train you.'
Garek fought back the tears as he heard footsteps coming towards him.
He looked up to see Saena walking towards him. He offered her a weak smile, and she returned it with her own, which appeared more brighter than his felt.
She sat down next to him. "This is my favorite room in the Temple," she said.
"Yeah?" Garek said. "Mine, too."
"I would sit in here for countless hours just to be here. And it also makes for a nice relaxing spot for studies."
They both sat there in silence. Garek finally spoke up, more hushed than they were before.
"So, you understand what we must do?"
"Yes," she said, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "The Jedi would never allow it."
"Exactly. I'd like to at least keep a friendship between us, but our feelings for each other need to end right here," Garek said.
"We should have never let our emotions get away from us like that," Saena conceded.
"So," Garek concluded, "we continue on in the ways of the Jedi."
For my Master, he added to himself as he looked at Makya's lightsaber again.
Thirteen years had passed since Garek Tanis had last spoken with this person. Since he had even seen her. But there she was. Saena Kasra, so much older and more mature-looking than he remembered.
She was gracefully walking down the landing ramp of the Cruiser that just landed in front of him on the planet Rodia.
The galaxy was at the height of the Clone War, and tensions were higher than ever. The Rodians felt they weren't getting complete protection, so they were debating on joining the Separatists again, despite the consequences they faced from the CIS last time they went to join them just a couple years previously.
Not wanting to lose the Rodians to the Separatists again, the Republic decided to send someone to settle the conflict. Several representatives thought that Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo should go, but she turned them down, saying she had enough on her plate. The next best choice was Senator Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia. He accepted under the stipulation that he be sent with Jedi escort and no clone soldiers.
Garek hadn't known who the other Jedi would be until this moment. He felt all the memories of their time on Yavin IV and the month following come flooding back to his mind.
"Garek?" he heard Saena's voice break through his thoughts. "What are you doing here?"
"I was sent here to aid in the negotiations," Garek said. "Why are you here?" he asked before he could stop himself. He already knew she was here for the negotiations as well. Why else would she be here?
"Same reason as you," she said. An uneasy moment of silence passed between them. "I haven't seen you since-" she started to say before Garek cut her off.
"I'd rather not talk about it right now," he said. "Let's get going.
He could see a flicker of disappointment cross her face, but he couldn't start feeling those emotions again.
Throughout the negotiations, the two Jedi hardly spoke to each other. When Senator Bel Iblis would ask their advice on something, they would collaborate with each other to formulate the best option, but no more than that.
Garek found it difficult to concentrate. He kept experiencing flashbacks to when they first met, each one of them crystal clear.
"I don't have any feelings for you," he said. He could hear the bluff in his voice.
"Why do you keep denying it?" she asked.
"Deny what?" he fought back.
"The truth," she stated simply.
Defensively, he continued. "How can I deny a truth that isn't true?"
She simply stared at him silently, her gaze seeming to pierce into his soul.
He sighed and said "Fine, it's true. I have feelings for you."
Satisfied, she said "Exactly. Even though it's forbidden for Jedi to become attached to someone?"
Hesitating, he heard himself say "Yes."
Without warning, she moved over to him and kissed him. After a short moment, he broke off, saying "Wait, I can't do this. I can't bring you down with me."
"Why not? You do realize it was me who kissed you."
He replied a short moment later. "Yeah, that is true."
"And for the record," she said, "I was bluffing when I said I could see your thoughts."
"I knew you were," he said, then they kissed again.
Garek snapped out of it, quickly glancing around to see what was going on.
The senator was still in debate with the Rodian representatives. He looked at Saena, and caught her worried look before she turned away.
Before he could help it, he found himself fading into another flashback, this one from a month after he had met her.
He approached her as she sat in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. She opened her eyes and greeted him with a warm smile, which killed him inside, considering what he was about to tell her.
"You made it!" she said, excitedly. "Now, about what I wanted to tell you-"
She stopped when he raised his hand. "Is something wrong?" she asked with concern.
"Listen," he stammered, "I think we should stop talking to each other."
She started to look crestfallen. "I don't understand, is it something I said?"
"No, it's not you, I just think we need to keep things between us to a minimum."
"Why?"
"I- I can't talk about it," he said a bit too harshly as he stood abruptly and walked away from her.
Before the vision faded, he saw something that he hadn't seen after this discussion from years ago: she began to sob softly.
Garek came out of it, realizing that Garm and Saena were trying to talk to him.
"Sorry, I'm, ah, I'm fighting a bit of a headache," he half-fibbed.
"Alright," Garm said. "I'll let it go this time. You can get yourself something to drink if you'd like."
"Thank you, sir," Garek said. He looked at Saena before leaving. She knew he was going through something. He could see it in her eyes that she knew.
Saena watched him leave, concerned about what he may be going through.
Although she was also curious about what she was going through. The last time they spoke, she had wanted to tell Garek about a vision she had seen the previous night, but she never told him, as he had put their friendship to rest.
Where she was now, with Senator Garm Bel Iblis, the Rodians, and Garek before he left, this was exactly how it had been in that vision.
And if her vision had actually been a glimpse into her future, later today the two of them would be on a shuttle, where they would get a transmission from General Kenobi about something terrible that had happened, but she didn't know what that thing was.
She knew now that she couldn't tell Garek of her vision, because if it didn't happen, he would surely think she was crazy.
But so far the first part of the vision had come true, so how accurate was the rest of it?
Garek spent nearly half an hour trying to find the nearest location that sold refreshments of any sort. He finally decided to go to a small café outside the building. He ordered a caf and sat down at a table outside.
Despite it being fall, this area of the planet was quite warm temperature-wise. He sipped at the caf, trying to clear his mind.
Garek knew just as well now as he had then that Jedi cannot have these feelings. It was forbidden. He couldn't resume the feelings he had for Saena. Especially if it meant his fall to the Dark Side and the destruction of the galaxy.
But it was a huge struggle. She had become so much more attractive, her hair hanging loose and smooth, compared to the braid it had been thirteen years previously.
He was just about to take another sip of his drink when his comlink beeped. He pulled it out and activated it.
He listened to the drab computerized voice, but the expression on his face changed. He cross-checked it to make sure it wasn't a scam, but sure enough, he found the Jedi crest tagged with the message.
He quickly finished the caf and tipped the female Rodian waitress that served him with a smile and bolted for the government building.
When he found the room, he burst in so suddenly that they all looked up in surprise. It was evident by the looks on their faces that they had not gotten the news yet.
Garek walked past Saena, who looked as worried as ever, and went straight to Garm and spoke with him quietly.
When he finished, Garm remained silent for a moment. "I see," he finally said, and turned to the Rodians. "My Jedi friend has informed me that the war between the Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems has just ended.
Saena looked at Garek in surprise. What? she mouthed.
I know! he mouthed back.
"My Jedi friends here have been ordered to return to their Jedi Temple on Coruscant, but I feel confident about our progress here that I will be fine without them. On that note," Garm turned to the two Jedi, "you are free to leave as you wish."
They shook hands with Garm and the Rodian representatives, and quickly made their way to the landing pad.
"The war is really over," Saena said, almost as if in a trance.
"Yeah," Garek said. "But something just seems, I don't know..." His voice trailed off.
"What?" she asked.
He formulated the words in his head. "It seems like there's something going on. Something not right."
"Like the Dark Side?" she suggested.
"Almost," he said. "But it doesn't feel good whatever it is."
He glanced at Saena, and saw concern on her face.
Several hours later, and longer than Garek would have hoped, they finally got through customs and were Coruscant-bound on an Eta-class shuttle.
During the return trip, Garek tried to rest, but his mind was in too much of a rush to get any rest.
The hours dragged on, and Garek found himself becoming more and more restless. But as his anxiety rose, so did the feeling of dread. As they got closer, he could feel Darkness imposing from nearly every direction.
He finally heard the chime alerting him that they were about to leave hyperspace. He quickly made his way to the cabin and settled into the pilot's seat, Saena right behind him.
He eased back on the throttle and they were soon faced with the busy atmosphere of Coruscant.
And the Dark Side seemed stronger than ever.
Instantaneously the comboard lit up, and Garek pressed the button. A small holographic image of Obi-Wan Kenobi himself appeared in front of them.
"This is a private priority message for any Jedi returning to the Jedi Temple with the end of the war. You must turn back now. The Sith have come out of hiding, and everything we knew was a ploy. The Sith we have been looking for was actually Chancellor Palpatine and the clones have been ordered to turn against their Jedi commanders. Returning to the Temple is a trap. Go into hiding, and don't come out. I don't know how long this message will be transmitting before they catch on. May the Force be with you."
Garek and Saena sat there, dumfounded. Finally, Garek yanked hard on the controls and sent the cruiser in a new heading away from Coruscant. He quickly put in new coordinates and sent them into lightspeed.
Once safe again, they both continued to sit in silence.
Finally, Saena broke the silence. "How is this possible?" she asked herself.
"I honestly have no idea," he replied.
She looked confused for a moment. "No, not this," she said. "Remember that day thirteen years ago how I had wanted to tell you something but I never did?"
"Yeah, I've thought of that day a couple times today. Why?"
"Well, I was wanting to tell you of a vision that I had. What we're going through now, this was that vision. Except I wasn't shown what exactly happened, I just saw that something would happen."
Garek sat silent for a moment, the Force guiding him to a revelation. "I had a vision, too. But it was very different than this," he finally said. "I had seen the fall of the Jedi, and the galaxy was falling to pieces around us, but the cause was me, not this Darth Sidious. I had fallen to the Dark Side because I had fallen for you."
Saena sat there, lost for words. "So, what do we do now?" she asked, finding the right words.
"We go into hiding," he answered.
"Where?"
Garek thought of what she had asked. "I have this friend on Mandalore, he lives in Kyrimorut. I met him a few years ago on a mission. I had discovered that he helps run something like a refugee camp for clones that deserted the war and such."
"Can we trust him?" Saena asked tentatively.
"He has promised to always be a friend of the Jedi, and I'm sure that with explanation, he will completely understand," he explained.
"And maybe we can help guide other Jedi to this place," Saena said, hope in her voice.
"If things go well, that will definitely be an option." Garek agreed.
He pulled back on the throttle and reset the coordinates for Mandalore, and they were off again.
Saena looked at Garek, and he recognized the look in her eyes. They had the same look on that night on Yavin.
"Well, I guess that our lives as Jedi are coming to a close," she said.
"Yeah, it sure would appear that way," he said.
"I'm ready to start a new life, and I want to start it with you."
"I wouldn't want it any other way," Garek said.
They leaned in and kissed each other.
Twelve years later.
Garek Tanis stood on a porch overlooking a large lake surrounded by trees and other vheh'yaim huts like his own.
Over the years he had learned about the Empire's rise to power, Darth Vader seeking out the remaining Jedi, and all the while hoping that he and his wife would never be found here.
His friend had assured him that there was nothing public that was linking this city to being a refugee camp for former war deserters and Jedi alike. The Empire would never find them here.
He heard a footstep behind him, and turned to see Saena Kasra Tanis walking towards him. She wore a simple white tunic, and the abdomen area bulged out slightly in her early stage of pregnancy.
"I was just thinking of you," he said as she joined him on the porch.
"Yeah?" She sounded almost as if she had just been in deep thought.
"Everything okay?" Garek asked her, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
"Yeah, I'm fine. The baby's fine, too. I was just thinking of what we're going to name him," she said, her arms on top of his.
"Well, what kind of a name were you thinking?" he asked her.
Saena twisted her head to look up at him. "I was kind of thinking of naming him Zayne."
"Zayne Tanis," Garek said aloud. "I like the sound of that."
"I hoped you would," she said, a smile on her face.
"I love you so much," he said, staring deep into her eyes.
"I love you, too," she replied.
They kissed each other, every thought of the Empire forgotten.