Chapter 37

Carth Onasi

The exhaustion was cruel, but Carth could not escape from it. No sooner would he lay his head down then he'd begin obsessing about Revan's last nightmare. He couldn't let go of the terror with which she had screamed Malak's name.

But awake was no better. All he could do in those hours was worry helplessly about Dustil and Revan. He ached to be with both of them. Yet his feet had been nailed to The Raptor as a babysitter. Though the appearance of the the strange hooded man two nights ago might still change that role into bodyguard.

Carth scratched his cheek absently yawning. The growing beard was starting to itch. He'd shave it off before Revan returned he promised himself. She liked a bit of roguish stubble but was not a fan of more.

Today he would see Tanner Korr, his second meeting with the young man. Tanner was trying to establish the identify of the man who had been lurking outside their ship. So far there had been no luck. While the man was only watching them there wasn't much else they could do but watch back. Carth tried approaching him last night and he'd taken off at a sprit.

What he needed was a shower though. Rising to stretch Carth shuffled away from the pilots chair. The years must be catching up to him. He could still recall a time when passing the night upright, heels planted on the console, hadn't rendered him so stiff. It surely wasn't all that long ago he tried telling himself.

At a shamble Carth crossed the ship headed for the fresher. Sitting in the hold with a bowcaster in his massive furred arms was Zaalbar. They were at least taking a precaution of going armed just in case their mysterious watcher decided to make a move. The Wookie glanced in Carth's direction, tossed his head in acknowledgement but said nothing. The most he could manage in return was a wave of one hand.

Alone in the fresher Carth stripped off the clothes he'd been wearing since Revan had left. They stank. Then again, so did he. His lips pursed and the corners of his mouth turned down. Five days and Carth had bothered to shower only once. It just hadn't mattered to him when he'd been worrying so much about Revan and Dustil. The others must have thought him a mess.

He propped one arm against the wall of the shower and leaned his head into the crook of his elbow. Closing his eyes Carth let the ultrasonic vibrations work. The grime of the last week was fading and Carth carefully kept his thoughts neutral.

"Carth?"

At the sound of Revan's voice crackling from his communicator Carth dived out of the shower cubicle. He'd dropped the thing the pile of clothing after getting undressed. Frantically he went tearing through shirt, jacket and trousers for it.

"Revan!" he grabbed the device and held it like a relic.

"You are missing a beautiful sunrise right now. Seriously, top five of the ones I can remember," Revan said and Carth grinned like a fool to finally hear her.

Revan

In the hour before dawn Revan scaled up the rocky slope of a cliff that had been the base of their nights camp. There had been nothing but static over the communicator for the past week and she'd hoped there might be better reception on higher ground. The weak light of predawn, along with the Force, was enough for Revan to scramble up to the top.

"Have you found anything?" Carth asked her, his low voice washing over her warmly.

"Not yet, but I have a feeling we will today," Revan said. It had been a difficult search. The jungle was dense and did not willing surrender its secrets. But she'd awoken this morning with the certainty they would locate something.

She watched as the rising sun scorched the ink of night from the sky. The blackness faded to deep indigo which paled again as shades of red and pink licked at the clouds. Shifting on her rocky perch Revan closed her eyes and lifted her face, feeling the warmth of Wayland's sun on her skin.

"We may have a problem," Carth said. The worry in his voice shattered the moment of peace. Revan straightened sending a few small pebbles tumbling over the edge.

"Don't keep a girl waiting," she remarked tensely.

"Someone's watching the ship," said Carth. She listened to Carth describe the situation. Revan sucked in a breath, narrowing her eyes as the implications of it unfolded in her thoughts.

"There is a possibility this is someone hired by a bounty hunter to monitor your movements," Revan explained. "Which means you have time. Tell Tanner I want Pulla stashed away somewhere safe and find a way to smuggle him off so this observer is none the wiser."

"And the rest of us will keep pretending he's still here, taking turns on watch and staying armed," Carth added completing her thought. Revan smiled, despite the concern she felt. There was something deeply pleasurable in having Carth on the same wavelength.

Still though, this plan would leave Carth, Mission and Zaalbar at risk if there was a bounty hunter in the shadows. "Maybe I'll send Jolee back - "

"No! I don't want you alone out there. Give me a little credit gorgeous, I think I can hold things down here. The Republic probably wouldn't have promoted me to admiral otherwise," Carth quipped. It sounded strained though and Revan closed her eyes and slipped her mind into the soft pulse of the Force.

Making telepathic contact with someone who wasn't capable of wielding the Force was difficult. But it was easier, if like Carth, they were sensitive to it. The intimacy of their relationship helped. Her brow knitted in concentration. White knuckled she clung to the communicator. This distance separating them didn't make it simple. At the other end of the line there was a faint but audible gasp from Carth. All too briefly their minds connected and Revan heard her name over and over in his thoughts.

"I love you too Carth," she said aloud as that connection slipped away from them. The sun was finally slipping the bounds of the horizon. With regret Revan terminated the comm link and began the careful climb down.

Carth Onasi

"I can't find anything on this guy," Tanner said when Carth slipped into the booth. The young man paused and made a close inspection of him. After a moment the corner of Tanner's mouth twitched into a grin. "Nice to see you showered."

"I've had other things on my mind," Carth half growled though inwardly he was embarrassed by the observation. Resting his elbows on the table he leaned forward dropping his voice. "It would be safer if Pulla Vaga was off the Raptor. Do you have anywhere safe we can stash him until Revan gets back?"

"Uh, no," Tanner said his eyes going wide with disbelief. With a snort he slouched in the booth draping one arm over the back.

"What happens to that datapad if Revan gets back to find some bounty hunter has killed Vaga? I don't think she'd be as inclined to hand it over if you couldn't uphold your end of the deal," said Carth with irritation. That got through to Tanner and his face scrunched into grim acceptance.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. The best I can do is put him up at my place, there's a loft above the workshop," Tanner sighed.

"That will work," Carth said.

"Have you spoken to your friend, Revan? She find anything out there?" Tanner asked hopefully. Briefly Carth thought of his earlier conversation with Revan. The gentle presence of her thoughts in his was still fresh. It left him too choked up to do anything but nod.

"The datapad?" Tanner tilted his head in anticipation.

"No, uh, she's close though. If Revan said she'd find it, she'll find it," Carth managed.

He looked around the seedy little cantina and thought of Tatooine baking under the twin suns. The cantina in Anchorhead had been similar, small and dimly lit. Revan hadn't been on speaking terms with him by then. Not after the horrible things he'd said to her at the Jedi enclave. That cold silence she showed him had cut him deeper then expected. He never thought he would miss her badgering him with constant questions, but he had.

"So, this friend of yours, Revan - anything between her and that merc she was with earlier?" Tanner was asking, severing the memory just as it had unfolded.

With a furrowed brow Carth looked at Tanner. He was still a kid, a few years older then Dustil perhaps. Thin and gangly with a swaggering sense of pride. Smiling Tanner leaned across the table and nudged Carth's shoulder.

"Come on, don't hold back. I just want to know if its worth taking a chance," Tanner urged. "She's a bit older than my usual type. But those legs and that rac - "

"You mean my fiancée?" Carth interrupted in a flat tone.

Under the older mans unfriendly, almost hostile, glare Tanner flushed scarlet. He shrugged and sheepishly sank back to his own side of the booth. Meekly Tanner raised his glass and said, "Cheers. That's one hell of a catch man, don't let her go."

"I'll make sure Vaga is delivered to your place," Carth said standing. He pointed a finger at Tanner's chest. "Now, I suggest you plan on staying in tonight so you don't miss him."

Carth thought he heard Tanner mutter something about Jedi not being allowed to marry, but he was shoving his way through the crowd to the exit. There was enough on his mind he didn't need to discuss his personal life with some punk. Though Carth made a mental note to mention Tanner's crush to Revan. She'd probably find it amusing and he could tease her a bit about it.

Outside it was getting hot. He was thankful not to be wearing his uniform or armor, but the humidity was oppressive even in civilian clothing. After a few minutes sweat was beading down his back. With a sigh Carth stripped his jacket off and carried it over one shoulder as he walked.

He wanted to get back to the Raptor and see what Mission had to suggest for sneaking their Rodian friend off the ship.

Revan

"Stop letting your mind wander!"

Revan flinched and swallowed hard, startled more by the bark of Jolee's command then the freshly beheaded vine snake dangling before her face. Somehow she had missed the deadly serpent preparing to drop on her. Before Revan even had time to react Jolee was swinging his lightsaber. The heat of it passed closely to her left ear and Revan spun away in time to see the snakes head bounce in the dirt.

Flicking his weapon off the old Master beheld her with an expression like thunder. Suddenly she was a student again, nervous and shaking in the face of authority, and a forthcoming scolding. Jolee stared at her for a long and silent minute.

"No stories, please," Revan said spreading her palms. She didn't need to be dressed down. The hammer of her heart was enough to remind her of her foolish distraction. Just because she felt comfortable out here in the wildness didn't mean the jungle was her friend. It was dangerous to let her thoughts go the way she had, getting lost in notions of marriage.

She tucked a loose strand of hair back unnerved by the lack of Jolee's response. "I get it, I lost focus, this is a danger of forming attachments."

"What?" Jolee pulled back, bushy brows rising on his forehead. But his surprise gave way to defeat. He sighed and shook his head. "Eh, what's the point? You never were a good listener."

"I'm a fine listener," Revan protested. She put her hands on her hips and leveled a steely look at the older Jedi. But there was a smirking play of her lips which lightened her next statement. "I've been listening to your ramblings since Kashyyyk."

"You badgered me for stories," said Jolee. "Me and the rest of the crew if I remember right young lady. And very pushy about it to boot."

Revan rolled her eyes but had to silently admit he was right. Looking overhead first Revan started forward again. Jolee followed, silent and thoughtful. She had a feeling he was working his way up to another parable. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed it. His jaw was working, mouth closed but lips wagging. He was testing it in his own head before speaking it aloud.

"Your distraction has nothing to do with attachment, its vanity," Jolee finally said. Revan sighed and stopped. She had pushed a large waxy leaf from the path and kept still, holding it in her hand. "You can't stand - "

"Jolee," Revan said, her voice somewhere between a command and a sigh. She nodded to the trail ahead. The sweet-sick smell of rot watered her eyes and she stepped aside for Jolee to look.

"Poor kid," Jolee said.

They dug a shallow grave for the remains of Tanner's friend. It was more a hollow depression clawed out by hand then any real grave, but there were enough large stones around to build a cairn out of. Not much was left of the body, but Revan felt the little there was deserved to be rightfully interred.

Carefully they sorted the contents of the backpack that had been shredded and strewn about. Jolee discovered the datapad beneath a shrub. Revan held her breath as he turned it on. The screen was cracked into a web of fragments but it still powered on.

"Fancied himself some kinda naturalist," Jolee sighed switching the datapad off. He passed it to Revan who slipped it into her pack. They had read one of the owners journal entries, at least what could be deciphered from the shattered screen. Revan hummed agreement but could offer nothing meaningful so she kept quiet.

The body, scarcely more than mangled meat clinging to a bones, was moved to its final resting place. As an afterthought Revan placed the torn backpack and its contents beside the skeletal form.

With sweat dripping from their brows, they built up a mound of rocks over the remains of Tanner's friend. Even in the shade of the overarching canopy the suns heat was without mercy. The air was heavy and damp in their lungs. When the work was completed Jolee fetched his canteen and rested against a tree. Revan mopped the sweat from her face and stood panting, eyeing the grave. After a moment she fetched her canteen and pulled a long drink from it.

Revan approached the stones wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. The young man they'd buried was a stranger, but he'd died alone and probably in fear and it bothered her. She didn't know the customs of his people or what last rites he would have been given. But something more was needed. Briefly Revan frowned searching for the words. In a quiet voice Revan recited the oldest form of the Jedi code.

"Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force."