Hours after the retreat of the shattered Yuuzhan Vong fleet, the capitol city of Hapes was still alive with celebration.

The festivities were even more dramatic than those of the previous celebration, and while the same band seemed to be playing again, the city square was more crowded than it had been before, if that was possible. Dazzling displays of vivid lightstreamers lit up the dark canvas of the night sky, eliciting cheers from the crowd below.

Everyone on Hapes, it seemed, was partying tonight.

Or almost everyone, anyway.

Entering the docking bay with a stack of heavy rations crates in hand, Kyp Durron sent out a short mental query towards the Yuuzhan Vong frigate ahead, and got a wordless direction in response.

Following it, he made his way around to the other side of the living ship and found his companion busy stacking up boxes of supplies herself, but her supplies were of an entirely different nature. Among the ammunition scattered around her, he immediately identified flechette mines, thermal detonators and enough explosives to bring down at least a dozen Hapan palaces.

I see Mara rubbed off on her, after all, Kyp thought wryly, setting the crates down on the floor.

"I heard that," Jaina said, without looking up from what she was doing, which was storing extra energy packs in with the blaster rifles she'd managed to scrounge up somewhere.

"I know," Kyp replied with a smirk. "Think you've got enough artillery there, Goddess?"

"Ask the Vong once we get through with them," she retorted, flashing a feral smirk of her own in return. "Did you manage to find rations?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, leaning against the coral hull of the living ship. "Enough for a few months, at the least."

"Good," Jaina said, nodding in approval. "Nice work."

A sly smile tugged its way onto Kyp's lips. "I think I deserve a reward for my 'nice work'," he drawled. "Don't you?"

Chuckling softly, Jaina straightened and sauntered over to him. "That can be arranged," she murmured, rising onto her toes and lifting her chin to bring their lips together in a long, searing kiss.

When she began to pull away after a few heartbeats, Kyp held her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist, and she sighed, giving in and letting her own arms snake around his neck. Kyp turned them around without breaking the kiss, putting her back against the living ship instead, and she moaned softly against his lips, threading her fingers through his hair.

For the longest time, he lost himself in her kisses, in the soft curves pressed against him and the soaring rapport between them in the Force, and nothing else existed but the two of them.

When they finally came up for air, Kyp was pleased to note that she looked disheveled and out of breath, and he felt a surge of smug satisfaction as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Got carried away," he chuckled softly.

"Mmm," Jaina agreed with a small smile. "That we did."

It would have been nice to get carried away even further, but there were supplies waiting to be loaded into the coral cargo hold of the Trickster, and Kyp was uneasy putting it off any longer.

Not when there was no telling how much time they had.

"You worry too much," Jaina chided.

"One of us has to," Kyp shot back. "You don't worry at all."

"That's because I have you to protect me," Jaina retorted with a dazzling smile, dark eyes full of teasing affection as she turned away to return her attention to their supplies.

Pressing his lips together in a thin line, Kyp gazed after her for a moment, contemplating her words. She'd meant them lightly, but there had been genuine faith underlining them, faith in him and his devotion to her. And he was certainly devoted, there was no mistaking that, he'd turned his back on everything that he held dear, on Master Skywalker's teachings, on the Jedi that he had fought so hard to become... all of it for her.

There was no point in trying to deny the path he'd taken, in ignoring the severity of the choices he had made.

For Jaina, he'd as good as sold his soul to the dark side.

I hope you know what you're doing, kid, an inner voice, which sounded startlingly like Han Solo, told him quietly, a distant, half-heard echo of things he could not bring himself to face.

Banishing the voice, along with the doubts still lingering deep in the corners of his heart, Kyp allowed himself a sigh.

So do I, he thought grimly.

A soft curse filled the air, and he tensed, taking a worried step in Jaina's direction before she lifted her head, scowling, as she massaged her right hand.

"Are you okay?" Kyp asked anxiously.

Jaina looked up at him ruefully. "I was distracted," she admitted, scrunching her nose in distaste. "My finger paid the price. I'll be fine, though, it's just a bruise."

"Try to pay closer attention," Kyp advised wryly.

"Gee, I never thought of that," Jaina muttered, giving him a less than pleasant look.

"What had you so distracted anyway?" Kyp asked, crossing the space between them and crouching down, taking her injured hand in his to inspect it. Just as she'd claimed, it was only a slight bruise, but he rubbed the side of her hand with his thumb just the same, the warmth of her skin beneath his fingers intoxicating.

"If you must know," she sighed. "You."

Startled, Kyp blinked at her for a moment before giving her a smug smile. "Me, huh?"

"Your ego is infuriating," Jaina informed him.

"So is your temper," Kyp shot back without missing a beat. "What's so distracting about me, Goddess? Other than my dashing good looks, that is?"

Jaina snorted, yanking her hand out of his grasp. "You're impossible, Durron."

"Master Durron," Kyp corrected her.

That earned him a rather dark glare from his 'apprentice', and despite himself, he smiled. Force, he loved this woman, faults and all. There was no force in the galaxy that could rival her spirit, her fierce will, and even when it was directed at him, he admired her for her stubbornness.

It didn't hurt that she was, quite simply, the most beautiful sight he'd ever been blessed enough to look upon.

Sunsets on tropical worlds had nothing on Jaina Solo.

"You're broadcasting," Jaina said in amusement, lifting the lid for one of the boxes off of the floor.

"That's all right," Kyp replied without hesitation. "It's not a secret."

Jaina paused for a moment, then secured the lid, sealing it tight, before turning back to face him again. "I think we're going to need to work on our shielding," she informed him flatly. "That's what distracted me a few minutes ago. Even with my shields up, your emotions were still flooding over me."

"Oh?" Kyp's brows furrowed in thought, and now that she'd mentioned it, he had noticed that it was getting more and more difficult to differentiate between her emotions and thoughts, and his own. He'd brushed it aside until now, though, but she had a very good point, such a strong bond between them might prove dangerous if it were to distract one of them like it had while Jaina was simply packing boxes.

Even if it did make other, more pleasurable activities all the more enjoyable.

A rations pack hit him the chest, courtesy of the Force, and Jaina rolled her eyes, trying not to smile. "You are such a nerf-herder," she accused halfheartedly, having picked up on his thoughts.

Kyp flashed her a leering smile in return, depositing the rations pack in with the others. "I don't hear you complaining, sweetheart," he drawled. "In fact, I predict within an hour of jumping to hyperspace, you'll be signing a different tune entirely."

Once, such suggestive words would have caused Jaina to blush, or at the very least bristle in the Force, but now she just batted her eyelashes and smirked. "You keep telling yourself that, Master."

I don't need to, Kyp thought smugly. You tell me with your eyes every time you look at me, Goddess.

Yes, this Force bond of theirs definitely had its benefits.

"Give me a hand with this, will you?" Jaina requested, gesturing to the rest of the supplies scattered about on the floor of the hangar, waiting to be packed up in durasteel boxes. "You're the one who was so adamant that we get out of here as soon as possible, after all."

"Your wish is my command, Great One," Kyp assured her, only half-sarcastic, and she shoved a box in his direction.

They fell into a steady rhythm, working together in comfortable silence that wasn't really silence at all. Jaina's familiar presence hummed beside him, and inside of him, in his heart and soul, in the very core of his being, and he knew that it was the same for her.

For two people who had, until recently, been more alone than anyone could know, it was a strange and wonderful sensation.

About ten minutes later, a tingle went up Kyp's spine, warning of another presence fast approaching, and he nudged Jaina with the Force, drawing her attention towards the docking bay doors just moments before they slid open to reveal that they had a visitor.

Tenel Ka stepped into the room, gray eyes sweeping across the hangar until coming to rest on them.

Instinctively, Kyp's hand slid to the hilt of his lightsaber, and every muscle in his body tensed, anticipating a swarm of guards to flood the docking bay after the Hapan princess in order to attempt to arrest Jaina for the murder of Ta'a Chume.

And he used the word attempt, because they would not succeed.

He would kill anyone who came near her.

But Tenel Ka was, surprisingly enough, alone, and though her rancor-toothed lightsaber was hanging at her hip, as always, she did not appear to take any notice of it. As she looked at Jaina with dull, somber gray eyes, the silence about her heavy and grave, there was no malice or anger within the Hapan princess.

Just a profound sense of sadness.

Some of the tension eased from Kyp's shoulders, and he let his hand fall from the hilt of his lightsaber, but he kept a close eye on Tenel Ka just the same.

Beside him, Jaina slowly rose from her crouched position among the supplies, and he sensed a flicker of wariness behind the calm expression on her face. Despite everything that had happened between them, despite all of the arguments and the accusations and the deception and betrayal, Tenel Ka was still one of her best friends, and Kyp knew that Jaina had no desire for there to be even more bitterness between the two women.

To his relief, Tenel Ka seemed to feel the same way.

"You are not joining Master Skywalker at Borleias?" she asked, her eyes taking in the weaponry ready to be loaded into the Trickster's cargo hold.

"No," Jaina replied evenly. "It's not the right place for us right now."

An understatement, to be sure.

Neither of them wanted to consider how Master Skywalker and the rest of Jaina's family were going to react once word of their escapades on Hapes reached their ears, but Kyp was certain it would not pretty.

Tenel Ka merely nodded, as if she knew this.

"Have you bade farewell to Lowbacca yet?" she questioned, and the smoothness with which she danced around the dangerous topic of her grandmother's death worried Kyp that the princess was up to something. "Or were you going to slip away with saying good-bye?"

Through their bond, Kyp sensed a faint flicker of guilt behind Jaina's emotionless mask.

"I thought it best if I left quietly," she explained flatly. "For everyone."

"Ah, aha," Tenel Ka murmured. "Lowbacca is a loyal friend, he would feel obligated to accompany you."

"Fact," Jaina said lightly, and for a moment, the galaxy shifted before Kyp's eyes as the two women shared a decidedly softer look. It shifted back before he could fully take in the moment, though, and old friends became estranged, distrustful acquaintances once more. "It's for the best if he doesn't know I'm leaving until I'm already gone."

"I will tell him for you, if you like," Tenel Ka offered, silently agreeing.

"Thank you," Jaina replied somberly. "He should be able to get to Borleias without any trouble on his own."

"I will loan him the Rock Dragon if necessary," Tenel Ka said with assurance, and Kyp caught a distant flicker of bittersweet nostalgia from both women, thinking of days long past where they traversed the galaxy with their friends aboard Tenel Ka's ship, with Jaina and Lowbacca at the controls. "I only wish I could join him."

"You're staying to act as your mother's regent," Jaina concluded, an observation rather than a question.

Tenel Ka nodded curtly, her emotions on the subject carefully guarded behind her steely shields. "Until her health returns, it is my duty to rule in her stead."

"I'm sure you'll make a wonderful stand-in queen," Jaina told her, without sarcasm or doubt, only sincere belief in her old friend's capabilities. "Your mother would be proud of you."

"I wish I could say the same in return," Tenel Ka said quietly, but with a steady gaze that seemed to bore into Jaina like a lightsaber through durasteel.

That made Kyp bristle, and his fingers inched towards his lightsaber instinctively, but Jaina waved him off through the Force, not so much as blinking at the Hapan princess' words. "I doubt she would be," she agreed flatly, and Kyp kept his silence at her request, taking a small step back to allow for a more unobtrusive vantage point, but staying close enough that he could react if Tenel Ka tired anything.

"Where will you go?" Tenel Ka inquired, smoothly changing the subject away from such a potentially unstable direction. "Flying an enemy ship, you will not find it easy to secure safe passage anywhere within free territory."

There was sincere curiosity and concern behind her carefully spoken words, and despite the fact that he remained tense and on edge, Kyp was now certain that Tenel Ka did not mean Jaina any ill will. Her grandmother's death was not far from her thoughts, but she did not mourn for the former queen, instead she mourned for Jaina, for what dispatching 'justice' had cost her friend.

And, to his bewilderment, she mourned for him, as well, although for what reason he did not know.

Cool gray eyes flickered in his direction for a fleeting moment, something sad and almost pitying in her gaze, and then Tenel Ka focused on Jaina once more as she answered the question.

"We'll find a ship somewhere," Jaina responded, with a casual shrug of her slender shoulders. "One with a lot of speed, heavily armed and sporting a hold big enough to fit both the Trickster and Kyp's X-wing."

"I see."

Tenel Ka fell silent for a long moment, and though her gaze remained trained on Jaina, it was clear that her mind was somewhere else, somewhere internal, contemplating something, although what that something was, it was impossible to know.

Glancing at Jaina, Kyp gave her the mental equivalent of a raised eyebrow, and she gave him a mental shrug in return, just as clueless about what was going through Tenel Ka's head as he was.

Finally, the Hapan princess seemed to settle something within herself, and her eyes became focused once more.

"In the docking bay adjacent to this one," she said quietly. "You will find a Hapan passenger cruiser, very similar in design to the Rock Dragon, but with a hold designed to carry several large fighters at once. I suspect that it is sufficiently large enough for both an X-wing and your captured frigate to be docked inside."

Taken aback by her offer, Kyp looked to Jaina, who stared at her old friend in appraising silence, eyes narrowed, and he could sense the surprise that she didn't show in her neutral expression.

"Why?" Jaina demanded evenly.

There was no need to clarify that question further.

"I do not agree with the path you have chosen," Tenel Ka said quietly, after a moment's pause. "If I could, I would pull you back from it, by any means necessary, but I know that I do not possess the ability to do so. And yet, I cannot let myself stand by and watch you leave upon an enemy ship, a ship which, if our side does not mistakenly attack it, can lead the Yuuzhan Vong directly to you."

"My gravitic repulsors will keep the Trickster safe," Jaina argued calmly.

"For now, yes," Tenel Ka agreed somberly. "But the Yuuzhan Vong shapers will bypass your device in time."

The two women stared at each other in silence for a long moment, and Kyp could feel Jaina reaching out with a whisper of the Force, probing at the edges of Tenel Ka's mind, trying to seek more truth than what the Hapan princess was giving them.

"It is what Jacen would want," Tenel Ka murmured lowering her eyes as grief twisted in her chest.

"Thank you," Jaina said at last.

Tenel Ka nodded in acknowledgment. "Our paths will not cross again for some time," she replied quietly, a profound sense of sadness seeping off of her in the Force. "But know that my heart still goes with you."

It was clear to Kyp that she wanted to say more, that there was so much weighing on the tip of her tongue, and once she might have been able to say those things, once Jaina might have heard them, but the chasm between them was too great and too wide now.

Many things had changed since their days at the Academy.

Wordlessly, Tenel Ka turned on her heel and swept towards the doors of the docking bay, shoulders back and stride crisp, the only falter one within her spirit as she slapped the touchpad and the doors slid open.

"Tenel Ka," Jaina called, and her friend paused in the doorway, but did not look back. "May the Force be with you."

"And with you, friend Jaina," Tenel Ka's whisper drifted back into the room. "I fear you will need it."

For a long moment after she departed, Kyp regarded Jaina in silence, baffled by the strange mixture of emotions he was getting from her across their Force bond. Bittersweet relief, a lessening of anxiety, stirrings of sadness and regret, tinged with the ever-present undercurrent of cold emptiness that had enveloped her once luminous presence in the Force as of late.

And, interestingly enough, a touch of wry amusement.

"Finish loading these supplies," Jaina said finally, starting for the doors.

"Where are you going?" Kyp inquired with a frown.

"To get rid of the tracking devices she planted on the Hapan ship."