Disclaimer: Yeah, that.

A/N: Keep going guys! Almost there!

Chapter 24: Gideon

After watching Dustil's retreating back for several seconds, Gideon turned to Mission. "Is it just me, or is he getting a bit… ?"

"Obsessed?"

Gideon shrugged. "Not the word I was looking for, but that works too."

Mission nodded. "He's getting closer and closer to the one chance he might have to see Athena again. He doesn't want anything messing it up. If that means he has to do everything himself, he will. He's a lot like Carth in that way. He gets impulsive, desperate, and sometimes violent. He gets easily angry, and his fuse will get shorter and shorter as we get closer."

"We'd better not mess up then, he'd probably kill us in our sleep," Gideon joked.

"Oh, not even in our sleep," Misson laughed. "He'll just walk right up to us and stab us in the face or something."

"Either way, we'd better get to this Ithorian compound. Shall we?"

"Yeah." They started walking, Mission in the lead because she knew where they were going.

"These Ithorians… what do they do exactly?" Gideon wondered aloud.

"They're the agriculture people. They're the ones providing the plant life and such for the Restoration zones. Czerka opposes them at every turn. Based on the evidence, they're vying for the Exile's attention. Both sides want her help, and whichever side gets it is going to pull out of this ahead. That's how it was with… with Caeli a lot of the time."

"Can you… can you tell me about her? Details from the inside? What was it like traveling with her? What were your missions? And who exactly is Athena? What was her role in everything?"

"Whew, slow down there! One question at a time. Caeli was… a leader. You could just tell. I felt it when I first met her in the Lower City of Taris. Then after Zaalbar, my best friend, was kidnapped, and I found her again… I asked for her help. She kinda took us in after that. And she did all these amazing things without even trying. At least, that's how it seemed.

"When she rescued Bastila from the Vulkars… Bastila tried to take over, 'cause it was "her mission". Tried and failed miserably. Caeli was always the leader, she always made the calls, and everyone in the party trusted her to do it. Even Carth. And that's saying something, because at the time, he had major trust issues."

"And where did Athena come in?"

"You know, you're awfully curious about Athena. Any reason why?"

"I just… I'd never heard of her, is all. If we're going to be looking for her, I'd like to know what kind of part she played in the whole thing."

Mission inclined her head. "Fair enough. Like I'm sure one of us told you at some point or other, she was a slave, working for Davik. We broke into his estate to steal his ship, and while Caeli was breaking down all the doors, looting the place, she found this slave. She was going to let her go, but that was when the bombing started. So Caeli brought her with us. I think it was… Caeli felt terrible that the planet was being destroyed, and she blamed herself. She blamed herself because Malak was after her and Bastila, and she blamed herself because she couldn't save everyone. But she saved Athena. And because of that… I guess she felt like at least she did something, you know? Anyway, Caeli was trained as a Jedi on Dantooine, and after that we went looking for the Star Maps. Athena stayed behind."

"But you said she traveled with you-"

"Patience, my young Padawan, I'm getting there," Mission said jokingly. Gideon laughed. "We came back to Dantooine after completing our quest on Kashyyyk. Athena joined us then. Nothing much happened (with her involved at least) until Korriban. With help from me and T3 she snuck into the Sith Academy disguised as an archaeologist. She won over Dustil and managed to rescue Caeli and Carth when they got captured by the Sith. And then we got captured by Malak… Carth found out Caeli was Revan. We all did. And Caeli shut herself away. I mean, we were all pretty much ok with it-with her being Revan… except Carth. And Carth… he mattered to Caeli, you know? So when we got to Manaan, she ran off on her own. We thought she'd come back, but… she didn't. So Athena took over. She took over practically the whole mission. And we made it to the Star Forge, but Bastila had fallen and taken Caeli with her. Athena… she killed Bastila. And then she convinced Caeli just to listen to Carth. And Carth turned her back from the Dark Side."

"So she was… really important."

Mission nodded. "Yeah. Don't know where we'd be without her."

"Then why have I never heard of her?"

Mission shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe you just don't remember. You know, your memory. Is it coming back at all, by the way?"

"Some. Bits and pieces, you know."

"Care to share?"

Gideon's face darkened. "My past isn't really something I enjoy talking about. Sorry. Maybe later, sometime, but now we should-we should keep an eye out for this Exile."

"You know, you can trust us, right?" Mission burst out suddenly. "Whether you don't remember the truth or just don't want to tell us, I don't know. But whatever your situation ends up being… I can pretty much guarantee I've seen weirder."

Gideon laughed humorlessly. "Thanks, but… I doubt it."

"Can you at least tell me something? Anything?"

After an extended silence, Gideon finally spoke up. "Only if you promise not to tell a soul. And also that you won't get me locked up for insanity."

Mission laughed before she glimpsed the utterly serious expression on his face. She abruptly stopped laughing. "All right. You have my solemn word."

"Just be warned, this is not a joke."

Mission nodded.

"All right, here goes…"

A/N: And yeah, you're probably all about ready to kill me going 'what the heck happened to Athena, Athena?' All in due time. Oh, and yes, shit is getting real :)