Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply.
A/N: Finally finished another chapter. Sorry for the delay, I've been really busy later. Anyway hope you all enjoy and thank you for reading :)
3 Years later
I walk aimlessly through the corridors of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. I find the general hubbub to be very calming and I allow my mind wander like my feet. I nod politely at a couple of Jedi Masters as I pass them; they smile and return the gesture.
Eventually I end up at the Temple's hangar. I didn't set out planning to come here; it's just where my feet took me. Since I'm here I decide to have a look around. I head to where the Nalod Swan is docked. As I get closer I hear quiet voices followed by laughter. Immediately I know who it is and smirk to myself.
I use the Force to leap and land softly on roof of a nearby ship moving stealthily closer to the sound of the voices. Once I am above them I drop down directly behind them.
"I'm disappointed Master, normally I can never sneak up on you."
Falcon yelps and spins to face me whilst Aria laughs and gives me a quick hug.
"Hey Kat, it's good to see you again." She says to me before turning to Falcon. "It seems like you're losing your edge Fox."
"Either that or you just distract him too much." I grin.
"That's true." Aria replies "So, which is it Falcon?"
"Neither! It's not like that!" Falcon exclaims. Aria and I share unbelieving looks and Falcon slumps in defeat. "I hate it when you two join forces; it never ends well for me."
"Take it easy, we only mess with you because we care." Aria laughs. Falcon tries to look annoyed but I can see a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.
"Do you need anything Katja?" Falcon asks me trying to change the subject.
"Not really." I say sitting down on a nearby crate. "I was just wandering aimlessly and ended up here."
"Have you finished your morning mediation?" he asks.
"Most of it..." I mumble.
"Most of it?" Falcon repeats disapprovingly.
"Leave her alone Falcon, she'll get it done later won't you?" Aria defends me. I nod and smile at Falcon
"Alright then, just make sure you do." He scowls but lets it slide for now.
"So how've you been Kat?" Aria asks me "It feels like ages since we last spoke."
"I'm doing good thanks; Falcon's been keeping me pretty busy. How about you Aria?"
"Surviving." She replies with a shrug. "Damaged ships come in, I fix them, and damaged ships go out. That's about it."
"Sounds exciting." I mutter sarcastically.
"I don't mind too much. I find ships to be more interesting than people anyway, present company excluded."
"Thanks Aria." Falcon says with a grin.
"I wasn't talking about you." She laughs, quickly deflating him.
"I do wish you'd stop showing me up in front of my Padawan. She's going to lose all respect for me." He pouts. I do respect Falcon, but it seems like his brain has a complete meltdown when it comes to Aria. If I didn't know any better I'd think she was able to use Jedi Mind Tricks on Falcon.
"Okay I'll stop. For now."
"Great." Falcon mutters.
"How's Vaas doing?" Aria asks me ignoring Falcon. "Is he still being dragged around the galaxy with old bore?"
"Didn't you hear? Vaas passed the Jedi Trials last year; he's a fully fledged Jedi Knight now."
"Wow! That's fantastic news, you must be so proud of him."
"Uh-huh." I mutter.
"Really? You don't sound too proud."
"I am. I just worry that I'm getting left behind. We grew up together, came to the temple together, but now it seems he's pulling ahead of me."
"Buck up." Aria says giving me a hug. "You'll be a Jedi Knight before you know it, won't she Falcon?"
"I will enter her for the trials when I believe that she is ready and no sooner." Falcon replies with an uncharacteristic sternness.
"Katja," he then says to me. "I know it's tough but you must trust in my judgement. To allow you to take the Trials early it could be dangerous for you, not only physically but you also risk falling to the dark side."
"But Master, I'm ready. I've passed every test that you've set me."
"Almost all of them." Falcon replies.
"What haven't I done? What more do I have to do before you'll consider me 'ready'!?"
"If I told you that it would kind of defeat the objective of the test."
I open my mouth to argue but before I can a messenger droid approaches carrying a datapad.
"Katja Dilana." It says. "I have a message for you."
I take the datapad and skim through the message. When I see that it is simply signed 'T' I hand it back to the droid and thank it. It turns and leaves without another word.
"What was that?" Aria asks
"Oh... that was just Master Maar. She wants me to stop by one of her classes this afternoon to help with a demonstration. May I?"
"By all means." Falcon replies. "As long as the rest of your training still gets finished."
"Then I guess I'd better go finish my morning meditation." I say
"See you around Kat." Aria says.
"Yeah, bye." I mutter distractedly and quickly leave the hanger by the nearest exit. Once I'm out of there I head not a meditation chamber but to the Temple's main gate. A guard stops me at the gate and asks where I'm going.
"My master has asked me to take a message to a local merchant." I lie. Not having any reason to doubt I am let through. I wince internally as I tell yet another lie, I am growing increasingly concerned with how easy it is becoming.
I do my best to shrug off the guilt and work my way to a small cafe not far from the Temple. I am first to arrive and taking a seat at an unoccupied table I order a non-alcoholic Jawa Juice and a Corellian Ale. He arrives just as my order arrives.
"Hey, thanks for meeting me." Tyandas says sitting down opposite me.
"I ordered for you." I tell him nodding at the Corellian Ale. He thanks me and takes a long draught before studying me carefully.
"What's the matter?" He asks me at last.
"What do you think sending me a message like that?" I hiss angrily.
"Don't worry about it. If anyone else read it all they would have found was a discussion on the aerodynamics of the Vor."
"But why didn't you contact me on the comlink?"
"I tried that but you didn't answer."
"Maybe that's because I was busy."
"I guessed as much but I needed to talk to you right away."
"Yeah whatever." I mutter
"Look Kat I'm sorry." He says with a sigh. "You know I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't important. It won't happen again, I promise."
"Alright, you got me here now, what do you want?"
"I wanted to let you know that I have to go away for a while."
"What do you mean?" I ask him, my anger suddenly disappearing.
"I can't really tell you any details." He tells me with an apologetic smile. "But it means that we won't be able to talk."
"Not even through messaging?"
"I have to go completely off the grid." He says with a shake of his head.
"For how long?"
"It's hard to say but it shouldn't be much more than a few months."
"Months?" I repeat in disbelief, "When are you going?"
"I really should have gone about five minutes ago actually." He says after checking the chrono on his wrist and standing up.
"Oh." Is all I can manage as I join him. We walk out of the cafe together where Tyandas pauses.
"Kat?" he says softly.
"Yes?" I ask turning to him. I am surprised when all of a sudden my lips are captured by his in a kiss that takes my breath away. His hands come up to cup my face, his touch surprisingly delicate for such large callused hands. I am too shocked to react until eventually he pulls away leaving me breathing heavily.
"Just in case." He says brushing my cheek with a thumb before turning and leaving.
"In case of what?" I ask finally finding my voice but Tyandas has already disappeared into the crowd.
With a faint smile on my face I murmur to myself "My first kiss... that mynock stole my first kiss."
In somewhat of a daze, as I make my way back to the Temple I reach a hand to my lips remembering the jolt I felt run through my body when we connected and the softness of his lips on mine except for a bump where one of his scars passes through them.
We have been meeting up secretly for almost three standard years now, ever since the mission to Tatooine. After we left Jabba's palace I told Falcon everything that had happened to me (leaving out the dream with Taarbuck). After a brief chat with Tyandas, Master Ray announced that he would like to take Tyandas before the Council so they could ask him a few questions. Tyandas granted the request but once we hit Mos Eisley he excused himself into a cantina, claiming he needed to use toilet, but once he was inside he disappeared.
I thought that would have been the last I ever saw of him but when we arrived back on Coruscant, we were grounded for a couple of weeks whilst my wounds healed and I recuperated. It was during this time that one day I returned to my room to discover a comlink with a pre-recorded message for me on it. The message was from Tyandas; he apologised for leaving so suddenly and asked if we could meet. He left me a time and date and said that he hoped to see me there.
Against my better judgement and went to see him. He explained that he still had some bad blood with the Jedi Order and couldn't afford to be brought before them so he had no choice but to run, but that he still wanted to see me and the truth is, I wanted to see him as well.
So that was how it went, anytime that we returned to Coruscant in between missions all I had to do was contact him on the comlink he gave me and we'd meet at the cafe to talk. I just told Falcon that that I was training whenever I went out. I didn't like lying to him but Tyandas made me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone that he was on Coruscant.
I knew I shouldn't have kept on doing it but I felt myself drifting further from Vaas, even more so once he became a Jedi Knight and I found this new friendship filled the hole quite nicely. Or at least I thought it was a friendship, but after that kiss I don't know anymore.
I am still pondering Tyandas' actions when I reach the Temple.
"Something the matter?" I hear a voice ask as I pass through the gates. I whirl to see Falcon leaning against the wall.
"Were you waiting for me?" I ask suspiciously
"You're avoiding the question." He replies. "Has Tyandas done something?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." I reply but I know I've been made.
"I do wish you'd stop with lies Katja, they're becoming most tiresome." Falcon sighs.
"How long have you known?" I ask my shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Pretty much from the start. You're not as good a liar as you think you are Katja."
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Well actually I was hoping that you'd admit it to me on your own eventually. I'm only bringing it up now because you seem upset and if it's going to get in the way of your training then I'm afraid I can't allow these meetings to go on any longer."
"You don't have to worry about that for a while. He's gone, just like that."
"And you're upset that he seems to have left so easily."
"I suppose." I shrug
"Kat, you cannot afford to form such emotional attachments. If you're not careful it will take you down the path of the Dark Side.""
"I know it just doesn't seem fair." I complain. "We are told to care for all living beings in the galaxy but then are told not to care too much."
"It isn't fair," Falcon agrees "but it is our job to ensure that everyone gets equal treatment. We can't do that if we put one person above another. That is the reason we can't get too close to one person."
"I guess that makes sense." I acknowledge
"I know it's hard sometimes but you should take this time apart to try and put some emotional distance between the two of you. When he gets back, if you feel that you can maintain this distance then I see no reason why the two of you can't continue your friendship."
"Really?"
"Of course, there's nothing in the Jedi Code that prohibits friendship."
"Thank you Master." I nod when a thought strikes me. "Hold on a minute, if you weren't here to confront me about Tyandas, why were you waiting for me?"
"Ah yes! We have been given another mission by the Council, we leave immediately."
"Where're we going?" I ask
"To Ord Mantell. I'll give you the full mission briefing on the Swan. Let's go, Aria should have finished warming up the ships engines by now." He starts walking to the hanger with me trailing behind.
"So if you're all right with my friendship with Tyandas, does this mean I'm not in trouble?" I ask him as we walk.
"Oh you're in trouble." Falcon tells me.
"But you said..."
"I know what I said Katja, but it doesn't change the fact that you lied to me. For that you must be punished. For starters you'll add an extra 500 push-ups to your morning exercises and one hour extra mediation each day."
"You're kidding right?" I laugh nervously.
"Of course I am." Falcon replies and I breathe a short-lived sigh of relief until he adds. "It's actually 1000 push-ups and two hours meditation."
It is his turn to laugh as I am stunned into silence, inwardly cursing my decision to keep Tyandas a secret.