The Ebon Hawk landed on Lehon after the Star Forge exploded, the crew members resting and relaxing for a few days.

The Republic planned a celebration due to the defeat of the Sith, which all the crew of the Ebon Hawk was required to attend. Katrina Turmen, once Darth Revan, received a Cross of Glory, the Republic's highest honor. She hung around and smiled for a while, completely uncomfortable with all the people staring at her and calling her "The Heroine".

Once the actual celebrating started, Katrina slipped away from the crowd, heading down to the beach. She didn't want to be surrounded by people. She didn't want to talk to anyone if she could help it, actually. All she wanted was to be alone and remember.

Her heart ached as she thought about the battle she had just waged on the Star Forge, her eyes filling with tears. She had killed Malak, once her best friend in the galaxy. She didn't remember any part of their friendship, but something in her chest hurt all the same.

Something else hurt, too, that hurt outweighing the thoughts of Malak. It was guilt and her own limitations on her heart. All those times that she had lied about her feelings… She knew Carth was definitely attracted to her, but she didn't return the feeling. Someone else had her heart, and Katrina wasn't sure she'd ever be able to reveal her true feelings.

She heard the sand crunch beneath someone's boots and looked up, surprised to see Bastila walking toward her tentatively. A concerned expression was on the younger woman's face.

Katrina looked up and managed a small smile, her eyes still showing her inner despair.

Bastila walked up to Katrina's side, hesitating and gazing out at the ocean before speaking. "Kat… What you did up there… Thank you."

Katrina nodded, shrugging it away. "It's okay. I couldn't bear to see you so… mangled. He'd nearly killed you, Bas, while he was training you for fighting me." She looked at her friend's face, touching Bastila's gaunt, pale cheek, a lasting symptom of Malak's torture. "I just had to save you, to make you better. I wasn't going to let you die like that."

Bastila's face fell as Katrina touched her cheek, her eyes flashing with curiosity a moment later. She looked up at Katrina for a long moment. "What made you save me? No one else would have tried for so long… Even the Masters would have given up."

"Because, if…." Katrina sighed. "If you died, a piece of my heart would have died, too. Besides, you've saved my ass more than once, and I'm going to repay that debt if it kills me."

A strange look passed over Bastila's face. "A piece of your heart?" she repeated quietly. She reached out and touched Katrina's arm when she turned away.

Katrina looked at Bastila's hand on her arm, her gaze following the woman's arm all the way up to her shoulder, then looking up into Bastila's striking grey eyes. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Okay, fine. Listen, I… I'm not exactly your stereotypical Jedi. I'm Revan, for Pete's sake. And… I'm just… I'm having feelings I'm not supposed to have…" Her head drooped. "Bastila, I'm a lesbian." She didn't open her eyes, plowing on before Bastila could say anything. "I figured it out when you joined me and Carth on Taris. I couldn't hardly keep my eyes off you. I dreamt about you almost every night."

Katrina blushed a light pink, swallowing and continuing. "And when I found out you were going to be the Jedi that watched over me on the mission, I was thrilled. I had thought you were going to leave us. Leave me. And… And I came to care for you, Bas. All those long talks we had at night when everyone else was asleep, the training sessions we had, and finding your mom and seeing you struggling to do what was right… Somewhere in there I fell in love with you, Bastila. That's why I had to save you. I couldn't let you die; I love you too much."

Bastila's face paled a few shades as she listened to Katrina's confession. "Kat, I… I had no idea," she stammered. Something strange flashed across her face. "Katrina-"

Katrina turned away, all sorts of horrible emotions sitting heavily on her shoulders. She walked a few meters away and crossed her arms over her chest as tears filled her eyes. Katrina bit her lip, fighting off the tears, not wanting to cry in front of the woman she loved.

Suddenly, Bastila was in front of her, the look on her face full of nervous urgency. "Katrina, please listen to me." She grabbed Katrina's arms, trapping her there so she would hear every word Bastila had to say. "Back when you were Revan, I always looked up to you. You and I… we were friends, but I always wished we could have been closer. You seemed like such a good person and you always made everything seem… better.

"But when Malak came along… I was jealous. You spent all your time with him, and I wanted to keep you around me and make sure that nothing bad happened to you, though I would never have admitted it. I just had this feeling that you had a huge destiny, and everyone could tell that there was going to be a war. I knew that must have been what you were supposed to do, but I was just so afraid for you."

Bastila paused and swallowed, obviously clearing the awful emotions that came with the memory out of her mind. "I thought you were going to get yourself killed, and I knew I wouldn't be able to stand it if you were gone. But then you left and fell to the dark side… Oh, Kat, that broke my heart. I cried for days."

She drew a breath and continued. "Master Zhar started organizing the strike team, and I was very first to volunteer. I made sure that you were going to live by bonding our life forces before anyone else had even realized we'd been attacked." Bastila closed her eyes for a moment, wetting her lips before opening her mouth again. "Do you know how I created our bond, Kat?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Katrina shook her head, a dull curiosity in her eyes.

"I kissed you." Bastila blushed, a weak smile on her face. "Kat, I didn't realize it until then, but I loved you since I first met you, way back when we were just kids. I loved you this whole time, but I couldn't say it. We're Jedi, after all, but I just… I couldn't say it. I think I was just too afraid that you might not feel the same."

Bastila let her breath out in a rush, her cheeks a lively pink. She looked relieved to have gotten so much off her chest, and looked into Katrina's eyes expectantly.

Katrina stared back at Bastila, her mind absorbing all that Bastila had just said. A split second later, she dissolved into tears, her guilt gone. A feeling of amazingly pure love settled on her shoulders as Bastila took her into her arms and rocked her, soothing her tears away. She wiped her eyes on her sleeves, looking into Bastila's eyes with a genuine smile on her face. "Oh, Bas," she choked, putting her arms around Bastila's neck and burying her face in Bastila's shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Bastila whispered, kissing Katrina's cheek tenderly.

They stood on the beach and watched the waves come in, their arms wrapped around each other firmly. A sense of peace that neither of them had known before swept over them like the waves over the sand.