He thought about that night, and the three days before the madness of celebration began. They spent it mostly in her cabin, and the rest of their friends didn't intrude. They knew soon enough Carth and Revan would have to deal with the outside world, and were kind enough to allow them time.

What had followed, after the flurry of ceremonies and diplomatic dinners had abated, had startled even him. She had told the Council that she was Carth's lover, and would not stop, and hopefully would be lucky enough some day to be his wife. To say they hadn't liked it was a severe understatement.

"Master Vrook is a complete prude," Revan had raged after she had returned from a Council meeting, called to discuss penalty for her relationship with Carth. "He wouldn't know love if it rose up and bit him on the ass."

"What did they say?" Carth asked quietly, letting her vent and pace.

"They told me that to be Jedi I had to 'devote myself to my duties' and 'not clutter my life with close relations' and cease distracting myself with 'an unsuitable love affair'," she spat.

"And what did you say?" he asked dryly.

"I told them that if by Jedi philosophy, love was wrong, I didn't want to be Jedi," she said grimly. "Master Vrook didn't like that much. I think Master Kavar was more sympathetic, though," she added thoughtfully. Her face turned sober. "They're afraid, you know."

"Of what?" he asked, but had a good idea what she meant.

"Of me. They're afraid if they let me leave the Order, they won't have any control over me at all. And they wouldn't. But more than that, they're afraid I'll turn again," she said quietly. "What they don't realize is they don't have control over me, regardless." Her face grew bitter. "They Exiled Ladria, you know. She had the guts to come back and face them all, and they cast her out."

She had told him about her friend, and he sympathized with Revan over her distress over Ladria's fate. Although, come to that, as Darth Revan she had made a concerted effort to kill her former roommate. He wondered how it would pan out if the two women ever met each other again.

"I don't care what they think," Revan said, coming over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "My place is here. They'll come around."

"I hope so," Carth said, kissing her. But he had his doubts.

A few months later, she came home from yet another council, or as she put it, bickering session.

"They've agreed," she said simply, and his heart leaped.

"To letting us marry?" he asked carefully, not daring to believe it.

"Yes," she said, and launched herself into his arms.

He picked her up and whirled her around, laughing and kissing her all over her face. Her robes swung around them, and were shortly in a pile in the living room, with a trail of discarded clothing leading to their bedroom. Their lovemaking was slow and sweeter for the victory. Later, curled in his arms, she looked at him soberly.

"There's a condition," she said quietly.

Carth went very still. He'd dealt with Jedi off and on in his career and basically agreed with their usefulness and wisdom. But no one can make an innocent deal cut two ways like the Council. The Exchange and Hutts were rank amateurs by comparison. He braced himself.

"What's that?" he asked quietly.

"I have to do one more mission for them."

"When?"

"Four months," she said. "I don't know how long it will take. I've agreed, but partly because I want to find Ladria while I'm gathering intelligence for the council. And Carth…I have to be honest. I would have done this even if it wasn't part of the deal. I've been thinking of it for some time. No one else knows how the Sith infrastructure works as well as I do. No one else could infiltrate their ranks as easily as me. And no one else knows Ladria better. I have to go."

"I know," he said very softly. "I've been waiting for you to tell me for weeks."

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked sharply.

"Head in the sand syndrome; I hoped you wouldn't go," he said honestly. "But mostly because I knew you'd tell me in time. I know you, Rev. You've mentioned several times that the Sith threat is only beginning, really. We captured you, the most immediate threat, and then destroyed the Star Forge, which with Malak controlling it, would have devastated the Republic. But there's still Sith out there, you know it and I know it. Someone has to go and find out what they're up to. You're the best choice. I'm not a fool."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I want to stay with you, I really do. But I can't stand back and let someone else go who won't be able to do what I can. I can make a difference; I can redeem myself for good and all."

"You've already done that," Carth said sharply. "That's not why you need to go; don't fool yourself. You need to because it's who you are. And that's who I love; I don't want to change you. Don't apologize for it, least of all to me."

"We have four months before I go," she said. He knew that she agreed with him, and didn't try to make her acknowledge it. "I want to spend it without interference. I told the Council that I would meet with them the day before I head out, but until then, leave us alone."

"We'll make it count," he promised.

They had, Carth recalled. He took a leave of absence from the service, and they spent their time wisely. Mission was living with them, and eager to go to a real school. They delayed her enrollment so that the Twi'lik girl could spend as much time with Revan as possible before her departure. Curiously, Mission was the least upset about Revan leaving; she was serenely certain her hero would return, and she'd have the happy family again she craved.

Dustil spent a good deal of time with them too, and when Revan finally left, the three of them drew together, became a closer family; partly, Carth believed, because they wanted her to have something good to come home to. Strangely, it was only Carth that had started to believe she wouldn't come back at all; Dustil and Mission had steadfastly refused to consider she was gone for good. Mission hardly spoke to him when he'd been seeing Hava. Fortunately, she was away at university at that time, but he hadn't hid it from her.

As if plucking the thought from his mind, Revan asked quietly, "How are Mission and Dustil?"

"Good," he smiled. He understood why she hadn't asked sooner; they'd hardly had time. And she knew if there was anything serious to report, he'd have said so right away. "Mission has proved to be a mathematical genius, and graduated from university a few months ago. She's working as a freelance systems analyst, mostly with the military. Dustil just entered the service as an ensign. Finished top of his class at the Academy. They're getting married in about six months."

"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed, her face alight. "I knew that was going to happen."

"Nice of you to share," Carth said dryly. "Took me a bit by surprise when Mission wouldn't let me adopt her because she announced she couldn't marry her legal brother."

"Well, you're a man, and already thought of Mission as your daughter," Revan shrugged. "Would you have believed me if I'd mentioned my suspicions?"

"Probably not," he agreed.

"Will they be happy to see me?" Revan asked, looking uncertain and anxious for the first time.

"Are you kidding?" Carth laughed. "You're lucky they're not here now, breaking the door down."

"Why aren't they?...Oh, never mind," she answered her own question. "You didn't want to comm until you knew if I was all right."

"Exactly. But I'd better comm them soon, or I'm dead."

"I can't wait to see them," Revan said happily. "But Carth…I need to debrief what I've learned, soon. I expect a lot of it is useless by now; apparently you knew about Bastila, and that was one of the more explosive bits of intelligence I'd gathered. But I can still give a lot of information that I've gleaned. If you know about Bastila, then you already know about the plot to assassinate Jedi." Her face grew grave.

"I'm afraid we do, yes," Carth said quietly. "Rev…this is part of that mission I told you about, the one Ladria led. The Jedi are all but extinct now; there's only a handful left, including the five Ladria recruited during her mission. Jolee and Ju'hani survived, and Master Stefan Tai'rhi. There's a few more, plus Ladria's Padawan. And Jennet, although she still hasn't really declared herself Jedi."

She stared at him in shock. "The Jedi Order is gone?" She'd felt the disturbance in the Force, but had hardly had time to analyze it.

"The Order, no. Ladria saw to it that the remaining Jedi would rebuild before she left to find you. But the Council is still in a temporary stage, headed by Master Stefan. They've been waiting for Ladria to return, hopefully with you, before setting up anything more permanent," he said gently. "I'm sorry."

"It's just hard to take in," she said, a deeply troubled look on her face. "How many are left?"

"Including you and Ladria, maybe twenty," Carth answered soberly. "We're not sure if there's more in hiding still."

She swore under her breath. "So the five years I've been away…it's nearly useless. I didn't save anyone."

"You don't know that yet," Carth pointed out firmly. "Until we've had time to go over the data, we won't know what you have, really. You know that; the intelligence game is never predictable. One tiny, seemingly insignificant fact is noticed; it leads to a huge exploitation in the enemy's defenses. Or what seems like a footnote in the agent's report turns out to be the most important information of all. You probably carry information that leads to beating back the Sith for good."

"Not defeating them?" Revan looked at him, eyebrow raised.

"I don't think that's possible," Carth said carefully. "I think the best we can really do is beat them to a draw. And keep doing it. This war won't be over. Ever."

"Maybe a few millennia from now," Revan agreed. "But yeah, I agree."

They were quiet for a few minutes. Revan was assimilating what Carth had told her, Carth was just holding her, so very happy she was here, even though they were in the middle of a war that would never end. Finally, Revan spoke again, snagging one of the minor points Carth had mentioned. "Who is Jennet?"

Carth smiled; this was something he had been waiting to share. "Her parents were both Jedi who left the order and married. When she showed signs in infanthood of being extremely Force sensitive, they taught her to hide her abilities, so she wouldn't be taken by the Order for training. She's an incredible woman, and a gifted healer, as well as being so Force strong it's almost scary. Her parents, and Master Stefan, who is her honorary uncle, did a hell of a job training her. And she's Canderous Ordo's wife, and Mate." He added, looking sideways to see her reaction.

"A Mandalorian Jedi?" she asked, clearly puzzled.

"No," Carth said with relish. "Her father was from Telos, her mother, Onderon. Draguel Jax and Miranne Organa. Jennet is a lovely woman, shorter than Ladria, and reminds me a bit of you. Same tendency to speak her mind, and an incredible fighter; I doubt even you could best her one on one. And she's a natural leader, too. She's Canderous' second in command when they join the Republic to fight the Sith in a few of months."

"I've heard of her parents," Revan said slowly. "But let me get this straight. Canderous Ordo, one of the least charming people I've met, married a non-Mandalorian who is his Mate? You mean true Mate, yes?"

"Yes," Carth said, chuckling at her confusion.

"And she's nice? And Jedi?" Revan was deeply suspicious, and let it show.

"Exactly. Ask Ladria, if you don't believe me."

"And the Mandalorians are joining the Republic," she noted, her tone disbelieving.

"As allies, yes," Carth confirmed. "I negotiated the treaty myself. I was even in the wedding. Canderous is Mandalore now."

"Oh, I knew that," she said airily, glad to have one up on him. "I gave him the Helm."

"You did?" Carth asked incredulously. "Where did you get it?"

"I found it the day after Malachor V," she said, shrugging. "It was in an escape pod, crashed on the surface. I didn't know what it was at first, but kept it. And when I did figure out its significance, I hid it. I don't know why, really. But after the Star Forge mission, I knew it belonged to Canderous, and gave it to him."

"Well, it's a lot more than an old battered symbol," Carth said, smiling. "During the wedding ceremony, it glowed, and apparently connected Canderous and Jennet to every surviving Mandalorian in the galaxy. They're united now, under one clan, Clan Ordo. Canderous offered a deal to the Republic, two thousand warriors at our disposal, with himself and Jennet leading personally, in exchange for help developing Dxun and providing transport for the refugees. He voluntarily offered more warriors when it became apparent there's more than double the original estimated Mandoa left."

Revan stared at him, taking in all this. "You're fond of Canderous," she said finally. "You never liked him much before."

"You did," Carth pointed out.

"True," she said, smiling. "His surliness and lack of manners never bothered me."

"You were one of the few on our mission he genuinely liked," Carth said quietly. "Although he had a bit of a soft spot for Mission, I think. I've gotten to know him much better, and he's changed amazingly since he's met Jennet. He's a good friend, and he'll be very pleased you're back. Jennet's been dying to meet you too."

"What of the others?" Revan asked, idly tracing a finger over his chest.

"Jolee and Ju'hani are naturally enough working to rebuild the Council, along with Master Stefan. They're both saddened and genuinely angered that the Jedi ranks have been so decimated, but they're eager to establish a less restricted Order, one that allows more flexibility of its members."

"Well," she said thoughtfully, "at the very least, we won't be opposed by the Council. Ladria's going to have her hands full rebuilding, though."

"Aren't you going to be a part of that?" Carth asked in surprise.

"I intend to, yes," Revan said seriously. "But it's Dree that has most of the talent for organization and uniting people for a common cause."

"Might I remind you that she followed you during the Mandalorian war?" Carth pointed out. "The Council is waiting for your leadership."

"No," Revan said, shaking her head. "I'm happy to be a part of it, but as you've said, most of who are left are already following Dree. A quarter of them were recruited by her, apparently. Too many leaders is trouble, trust me."

"Often, yes," Carth acknowledged. "But in this case, I think you're wrong. Ladria may be keeping them together, but she's doing it for you. I think the two of you need to unite, and talk about who is left and their roles in the Order. As well as recruitment. There's a meeting in a week, and another scheduled a month after that. You need to be at those, I think."

"I just got back; can't I have a little time with you before I have to go be Jedi?" she groused, but without heat; she knew he was right.

"I'm on leave for two weeks, and can extend that up to three months," Carth said with an understanding smile. "I can go anywhere you have to."

"How did you manage that?" she asked curiously.

"Perks of command," he shrugged. "I don't often get much opportunity to use my leave, but when I demand it, they listen. Plus, I have an outstanding aide; it was his idea, actually. This would be sort of a working holiday anyway; no one's going to balk at me taking time off. And my XO is first rate."

"Who are the new recruits of Dree's?" Revan asked suddenly. She meant to ask earlier, but there was just so much to catch up on.

"You know of Atton Rand, which reminds me, he should be here pretty soon. Then there's Mira Starr, a former bounty hunter, Disciple, a soldier who worked for the Jedi in archives, Visas Mar, a Miraluka woman, sole survivor of her race, I believe. Long story there; we'll catch you up on that later. And Bao Dur, an Iridonian engineering genius. Nice fellow, makes me feel short, though." Carth said with a grin.

"Bao Dur?" Revan looked at him in astonishment. "The Bao Dur, who invented the shadow generator? Dree's commander of the engineers?"

"That's the one, yeah. He still calls her General. They're very close," Carth added.

"How close?" Revan asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I don't think that close," Carth laughed. "I did wonder from time to time, though. And I've said too much; it's not my place to speculate about Ladria's private life."

"Next to you, she's the closest person in the galaxy to me, so I make it my business," Revan declared. "I got a flash off her that Atton is…important to her. Bao Dur didn't come through at all."

"Bao Dur adores her, that much is obvious," Carth said carefully. "But I think his interest lies elsewhere."

"And hers?" Revan asked pointedly.

"You'll have to ask her." Carth said firmly.

"I will," she said, smiling. "Later. I have other ideas how to spend my time right now."

"And what would that be?" he asked, rolling on to his side to face her.

"Breakfast, for one, I'm starving. Then I have other appetites that need feeding." She smiled slowly, tracing a finger down his cheek.

He kissed her palm, and she shivered. Throwing the covers off both of them, he grabbed a robe and headed out the door. "I'll cook; I don't want to spend the next six hours cleaning up the kitchen," he tossed over his shoulder.

"I'm better about it than I used to be," Revan protested, finding a shirt in Carth's closet and throwing it on. She padded out to the kitchen, barefoot.

"Not according to Ladria," Carth retorted.

"Hey, I was crazy at the time; I'm better now."

"You can do toast," he said generously.

"Gee, thanks."

They ate, catching up on more of the last five years and laughing at some of the stories they swapped. He could tell she was eager to see her friends again, especially Mission and Dustil, but was reluctant to leave their little cocoon for now. He understood; he wanted her to himself for a while, and for once felt not one bit guilty for being selfish. No one that mattered will blame them in the slightest. He did suggest she take time to make her report tomorrow and transmit it to the higher ups and Chancellor before they decide where to go next, and she agreed.

Mission and Dustil needed to be contacted; they could easily meet Carth and Revan on the Eternity. Then, likely, they would go to Coruscant for the Council meeting, and get things more settled. Fortunately, Coruscant was only a few hours travel from their current location. On the other hand, remaining on board the Eternity made Carth entirely too accessible for real privacy; he would like to get off ship.

"Telos, maybe?" Revan suggested. "The station is small, but decent entertainment. Not that I want to do much more than hole up in the bedroom," she said with a wink.

"Manaan isn't a bad choice," Carth said. "It's beautiful, and the hotel is excellent."

"The Sith are gone, yes?" Revan asked sharply.

"Yeah, they haven't returned since we got them kicked off planet."

"Then that might be an option."

"Let's not worry about it now," Carth said, and pulled her into his arms.

He kissed her slowly, and she leaned into him, making little incoherent noises of pleasure. Gripping her waist, he lifted her up to set her on the table they'd been sitting at. The kiss grew more involved, and he unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing, deliberately teasing open one at a time until it hung from her shoulders, exposing her to his gaze. There was nothing under it but Revan, and he bent to nuzzle her breasts. His tongue and teeth were driving her insane, and she impatiently tugged on the sash of his robe. He kept his hands at her waist, firmly holding her down on the table and she squirmed, trying to get closer. He held her off easily and continued his erotic assault on her breasts.

"Please," she gasped. "Carth, please."

"Please what?" he lifted his head a fraction to look at her, and his eyes were very gray, the gold sparking like points of fire.

"I want you," she said, voice deliberately husky.

"You can have me," he grinned, bending again. "When I'm ready."

He continued to suckle her until she was moaning and half crazy, digging her fingers into his scalp. When he judged her insane enough, he scooped her off the table and carried her back to the bedroom. There, he made exquisitely slow love to her, taking all the time in the world, bringing her to such heights of pleasure she was reduced to incoherent mumblings of love and desire. Making Revan speechless was an art, and he was a master.

Afterwards, they lay sated and drowsy, simply holding each other. At least, he was drowsy; she seemed energized somehow. It had often been like this, but it wasn't uncomfortable for either of them. The five hours earlier had helped, but Carth had spent the last week on very little rest, while Revan had, of course, been out of her mind, but at least getting enough real sleep; Ladria had seen to it. They were simply breathing, not talking, content to be together with no demands.

The intercom buzzed, jerking Carth out of the light doze he'd slipped into. Automatically sitting up and punching the button, he said in his Admiral's voice, "Onasi here."

"I know you ordered not to be disturbed, Sir," came Will Cantor's voice apologetically, "But you did say you wanted to be notified when Jedi Atton Rand was close."

"That's okay, Will," Carth said, the smile in his voice evident. "I did, yes. When is he expected?"

"About ninety minutes, Sir. Docking bay nine."

"Thanks. I thought I'd sent you on leave," the admiral voice was back.

"You did, Sir. It starts when yours does; two days. I'm on hand if you need me until then."

"Thanks, Major," Carth said. "Onasi out." He looked at Revan, who had sat up when the comm buzzed. He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes. "I'd better inform Ladria that Atton's almost here."

"Let me do that," Revan said quietly. "I haven't had any time to talk to her, and you need sleep."

It was a mark of just how tired he really was that he agreed readily. "There's some clothes for you out in the sitting area," he said, failing to hide a yawn. "Help yourself to toiletries and such. I'm sorry I don't have anything for you but standard issue; most of your clothes are back on Telos in storage."

"I'll manage," Revan said, with a laugh. "I'm just glad they're clean. And didn't you say something about a pension? The Republic owes me a new wardrobe, at the very least, don't you think?"

"At least," he agreed, but was dropping off to sleep as they talked.

"Sleep well, Handsome," Revan whispered, kissing his cheek and slipping out of bed.

It didn't take her long to shower and braid her hair, find the clothes that Carth had mentioned, and dress. She reached out her senses, and felt Dree starting stir; not waking yet, but she would be in about twenty minutes, Revan estimated. She left the admiral's quarters and unerringly made her way to Ladria's room, easily managing to unlock the door despite not having the security clearance to do so. Some skills just never leave one, she thought, and smiled as she went into the room.