One day later, Mandalore…

The first thing Esinon learned about leave was that she was very, very, bad at it. She was bored out of her mind. There was nothing to do, she'd resorted to sitting on her ship where she felt comfortable. The large ornate halls of Sundari felt so empty, it made her uncomfortable. She tucked her knees to her chest, resting her chin on top, Spinner let out a low whistle.

'When are we going to go back inside? I've spent most of my life on this ship and I want to explore.' he complained, Esinon glanced down at her astromech.

"You can go inside if you want Spinner…. I just need a few more minutes."

'You've been saying that for last twenty few more minutes.' he huffed, she chuckled,

"Yeah, I guess I have,"

'So you gonna tell me what's wrong or are we gonna keep playing 'I spy'?' he asked, she sighed. She'd told Satine she was out here, and as much as the Duchess wanted her to sleep, it was hard sleeping in a bed so soft and in an unfamiliar place. She was debating about just sleeping here tonight, she had quarters with three sets of bunks beds. They had never really needed that many since she and Obi-Wan were normally the only ones who used this ship. Now it was just her…

"I dunno Spinner, it's… it's just this is my first leave without Obi-Wan. And it's for so long, almost two months…" she murmured,

'But the Duchess is here, you know her. And Korkie, Korkie is either at school or at home-"

"He's here, he's on break for the next two weeks,"

'Great, you two can catch up on all those movie nights that never happened. Come on, let's go find him.'

"No, I'll find him, you go to my quarters," she said, grabbing her crutches, Spinner grumbled before obeying as Esinon started into the palace. Her crutches clicked on the floors as she attempted to navigate the palace, she could do this, she'd been to a lot of big places and had done just fine. She gave nods to guards, and different servants as she passed, there were a lot of places Korkie could be, was what she was realizing. She finally pressed her comlink calling Spinner, "Hey, I need you to send me schematics of the palace."

"I told you, you should have let me come."

"Spinner just send me it," she grumbled,

"Fine," a few seconds later a map of the palace appeared on her wrist, with a red dot marking where she was, and a blue one where Spinner was. She'd been looking for Korkie for a while now and was starting to finally get tired. She was about to start for her quarters when quiet music reached her ears, it was that of a piano. She knew she should have just gone back to her quarters, but instead, she followed the music down the hallway to a large unfinished ballroom. Crates and paintings were covered with white tarps, in the middle was a piano, with a certain ginger she recognized at the bench. She didn't know that Korkie played the piano, she stilled in the doorway, listening to the quiet music. She finally decided to enter, since Korkie was too lost in his music. She sat down on the bench next to him, nudging his elbow, he glanced over at her,

"Oh, hi Esinon," he said returning to his music for only a moment before processing that she was actually there. "I- uh- when did you get here?"

"A few hours ago-" she decided to leave out the part where she had been hiding out in her ship for that time. He pulled her into a tight hug, so Satine had not told her nephew that she was going to be coming here. She sighed, tucking her head against his shoulder, she really needed a hug.

"Why are you here?" he asked, they still didn't let go of one another.

"I'm on leave for the next two months," she grimaced as he pulled away, his hand brushing against her wound. Fortunately, he didn't notice,

"Any specific reason?" he asked,

"One I'd rather not talk about," she said, the nightmares of Umbara were more and more vivid every night. One session of therapy and she wanted more, years of war she needed to unpack, but therapy wasn't exactly the Jedi way. You release the emotions into the force, except she had more emotions than the force wanted to take. She shook herself from her thoughts, running her fingers over the piano keys. "I didn't know you played piano," He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck,

"Uh, yeah, my aunt has had me in classes ever since I was little, and I never really stopped playing," he said,

"You sound amazing, keep going," she said, scooting over to give him more elbow room, he continued to play as Esinon closed her eyes feeling the force ripple with each note. Korkie watched her, he had this song memorized, he let his fingers move across the keys on instinct. Esinon yawned, she must be exhausted, she kept her eyes closed at peace with the force and the music… well until she fell asleep. Her head slumped against his shoulder, his fingers stilled on the keyboard for a moment. She stirred, so he continued to play, watching a small smile creep over her face. It was nice to have her here, he could find out the reason later.

That night…

Esinon sighed, letting her head flop down on the desk. The flimsi she had been working on fluttered, her quest to get Dogma, and now his cellmate as well out of prison was more difficult than she anticipated. The Kaminoans wanted money, they considered the clones their property, and if she wanted them, she had to buy them back. The very thought of it made her sick, but she would do what she had to do. Dogma hating her was better than him being dead, she couldn't stand to lose anymore. She pulled out her transmitter,

"This is day I don't know of trying to get Dogma and his cellmate CT- 0116 out of prison. I'm planning on paying the Kaminoans the amount of money they want, my dad is helping me. I'm planning to get them citizenship for them as well, but that's a long process too." she sucked in a harsh breath, she felt so guilty already. The clones didn't deserve to be treated as property. She would do this for Dogma, he could hate her forever but she couldn't stand the thought of him being dead either. "Hopefully I'll be verified soon, they have to screen Dogma and his cellmate, then they have to screen me. It's a long process, but it should be done in a couple of weeks. I might have to leave Mandalore early, but we'll explore the galaxy a little bit! I'll get them settled with jobs and living quarters, and… I'll be on my way. Back to… the war and stuff," she sighed, "I almost don't want to go back to the war now that I'm away. Maybe Mandalore did choose what's best, neutrality." she stared at the transmitter for a minute, before clicking it off.

She looked around at the room Satine had given her for her time on Mandalore, it was a simple room with windows of stained glass depicting a large forest of cherry trees in full bloom, and a soft bed in the middle of the room. To the left of her desk was a fish tank with brightly colored fish swimming around inside it, she ran a finger over the tank, a turquoise fish nuzzled against where her finger was.

She stretched for a moment before recoiling at the tinge of pain that reminded her she was still injured. Why didn't Master Allie just let her stay in the bacta tank?

"Who were you talking to?" Korkie asked, peeking into her room, she almost fell out of her seat in surprise, she cleared her throat uncomfortably at the sudden barge in.

"Uh- no one, it's something for war stuff." she quickly supplied, war stuff. How was she such an idiot? Why didn't she just tell him? How hard was it to say, 'it's a project I'm working on.' She came back to the present to find Korkie staring at her, and suddenly the room felt a lot hotter. "You can come in if you want," she finally offered, he walked in, grabbing the extra chair in the corner and sitting down next to her.

"I don't want to push, and if you really don't want to tell me, you don't have to… but why are you here on Mandalore, really?" She sighed, rubbing the bandages that were bulging underneath her tunic.

"I didn't want to worry you," she began,

"Well in that category you have failed spectacularly, my dear," he quipped, she gave a soft chuckle, he sounded like Obi-Wan.

"I did something stupid, really, stupid. Now the council's concerned-"

"It's about time." Korkie huffed, she sat up a little at her friend's sudden outburst. "You know, ever since…"

"You can say his name Korkie, it's alright," she said, gently placing her hand over his.

"Ever since Obi-Wan's death, I've been in the dark. All I've had is the holo-net, and it's story after story about you and Obi-Wan." He got up and started frustratedly pace the room, "After you stopped calling me for these past weeks, I was terrified you-" he stopped himself, his fists clenched, his eyes sorrowful and angry. She gently reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Korkie, I'm not going to die, ok? And I'm sorry I haven't been in contact with you," she said softly, standing up. She pulled him into a tight hug, they were quiet for a minute, he rested his head on top of hers.

"Can you stay on Mandalore forever? Where I know you're safe," he whispered, she took a deep breath, Korkie always panicked after she got injured. He hated it when she had to run off into battle.

"You know I can't stay, I have duties, and I can't abandon my men," she replied,

"Can't you just do something for yourself, for once? For once in your life, can you please just do something for yourself?" he asked, exasperated, she chuckled softly,

"You know that's not how I was raised,"

"I wish you weren't so selfless sometimes," he said, as they let go. She smiled softly,

"No you don't," she said, with a teasing smile. He dropped his head, grinning,

"No, no I don't," he said, the room went silent for a few moments, neither one of them moving. Esinon finally blinked a few times, stepping away from Korkie. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, his face bright red, "I'll let you get some rest." She nodded and he left the room, Esinon stood there for a minute before using the force to close the door. They were friends, nothing more. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

The next morning…

Esinon blinked a couple of times at the sunlight streaming through her window, she rolled over in the soft blankets. It felt nice to wake up to the sun for once and not the blaring alarms of the Negotiator. She'd struggled to sleep last night, it was too quiet, it was constantly noisy on Coruscant, or the Negotiator, or wherever she made camp during a mission, you'd think she'd be able to sleep anywhere by now, but the bed was too soft, and everything was so unbearable QUIET. Also, her thoughts were very, very, loud, and everyone else's thoughts were very, very loud. She'd spent most of her time putting up her mental shields since no one had any in this stickin' palace. She heard her comlink beep, she used the force to call it to her hand. She could practically hear Obi-Wan reprimanding her about how it was a frivolous use of the force, she smiled sadly to herself getting lost in memories for a minute when her comlink beeped again.

"Hello?" she asked groggily, shaking the sleep from her mind.

"Good, you're finally awake," Satine said, Esinon rubbed her eyes,

"What do you mean finally?" she asked,

"Ad'ika, it's past noon," she shot upright, she hadn't slept that late… well, ever. "I wanted to have a doctor check over your wound." Esinon flopped back into the bed,

"Master Allie showed me how to clean and dress it myself. Besides, this isn't my first time with a severe injury, I'm fine, I promise."

"It wasn't a request ad'ika. Get dressed, Korkie will help you find the medbay." Satine said, ending the transmission. Obi-Wan had always advised her against arguing with the Mandalorian Duchess, he was always a hypocrite in that light. She finally crawled out of bed, Master Allie had said to refrain from using her speed, so getting ready took longer than normal. She finally settled on a navy blue tunic and tan pants, very Mandalorian-esque, she didn't exactly want to notify the entire galaxy she was here. She exited her room to find Korkie leaning against the opposite wall with a very smug look on his face,

"Good morning, or should I say afternoon," he said,

"So are you my escort?" she yawned,

"I guess so, this palace is big enough to get lost in for days," he said, admiring the stained glass on the corridor they were walking through.

"Sounds like the temple," she said,

"So my Aunt is forcing a medical exam upon you?" he asked, she nodded,

"Wouldn't be my first, probably won't be my last," Korkie gave an irritated grumble, Esinon rubbed her arm uncomfortably. After their talk last night, she didn't know, it felt like more than friendship.

"Well, here we are," he said, Esinon sighed staring at the medbay. She could smell the anesthetics already,

"Thanks for walking me, I'll see you after," she said, entering the medbay.

A few minutes later…

"Korkie," Satine said, her nephew didn't answer, running his fingers through the grooves on the wooden table. "Korkie,"

"Hmm?" He finally looked up at her,

"Are you alright? You've been acting strange all morning," she said, flicking through a few reports on a datapad.

"Tired, I guess," he said, resuming his mission of tracing all the grooves on the table.

"Korkie, I know you well enough to know when something's bothering you," she said, ditching her work and sitting down next to him. "Spill," He sighed, running a hand tiredly through his hair.

"I dunno, a lot to think about with Esinon being here," he replied,

"Specifically?" Korkie's face flushed bright red,

"Her injury," he replied quickly, Satine cocked an eyebrow. Her injury, sure. She could see right through her love-sick nephew but was deciding to leave it alone for now.

"You hungry ad'ika?" Satine asked as Esinon made her way into the kitchen,

"The answer to that question will always be yes," Esinon joked, "Master Kenobi used to call me a bottomless pit. One of the cons of being a speedster I guess."

"How'd the med exam go?" Korkie asked, perking up now that Esinon was around. Satine smiled to herself as she began chopping fruit, they reminded her of her and Obi-Wan when they hadn't been arguing.

"I'm alright," she said, squeezing his shoulder, "Wound's healing up nicely."

"That's good to hear, it'll be good to let the wound heal up on its own instead of relying on bacta," he said, she giggled at how formal he was starting to sound, "What?"

"You sound like when I was your teacher," she sat down next to him, his face flushed,

"Sorry," he mumbled,

"It's alright," she replied, grinning at him. Satine passed her the bowl of fruit, it was good the Jedi had let Esinon take a break. She already looked brighter and healthier and she had only been on Mandalore a day.

The next day…

"You've been uncharacteristically quiet," Lagos said, Esinon glanced back at her. It was nice to get to visit two of her only girl friends, other than Barriss and Ahsoka, there weren't many female Jedi in the temple. She'd kept contact with Lagos and Soniee after her time overthrowing the government on Mandalore.

"Yeah, you're usually blabbering our ears off with your crazy adventures but you haven't said a word," Soniee added, Esinon sighed, tempted to pull her knees up to her chest but it would jostle her wound too much.

"Just thinking," she replied, Lagos turned her attention back to her nails,

"You do that all the time," she replied,

"Besides you're on leave, you don't need to be thinking so much," Soniee added, Esinon sighed,

"Do you teenagers always feel this many things all of the time?" she suddenly blurted, Lagos sat up with a big grin on her face.

"Boy trouble?" she asked, Esinon's face flushed,

"No- no. Of course not, I'm a Jedi," she replied,

"But that doesn't mean you can't feel those things too," Soniee added, "So as your girl best friends it is our solemn duty to play matchmaker."

"Or ease your mind," Lagos added, noticing that Esinon was getting flustered.

"All of these feelings are so new," she murmured,

"And completely natural," Soniee said, "So who exactly is making you so flustered,"

"Could it be," Lagos glanced at Soniee to make sure they were thinking of the same person,

"A certain ginger wonder!" They both squealed hugging Esinon tight, she grinned.

"This is perfect!" Lagos exclaimed,

"All he does is talk about you," Soniee said, the hopeless romantic in her taking over. "Just think, Esinon Windcaster, crowned Princess of Mandalore." She made a large gesture in the air with her hand.

"It can never happen, I'm a Jedi remember?" she asked,

"One can dream," Lagos sighed, Esinon glanced at her friend smiling.

"You two would be the cutest couple," Soniee declared,

"Well, that doesn't help me figure out any of my feelings." Esinon sighed, "Not that they matter anyway,"

"Well, it's a complicated thing liking a boy," Lagos said,

"I don't know why I'm entertaining this," Esinon muttered, giving into the talk. "But how do you know what you're feeling? It's all so… complicated."

"You just know, it's a feeling," Soniee said,

"I've got too many of those," she muttered,

"Well it gets sorted out, you know, you just spend a lot of time together and it makes itself right. You just have to be patient," Soniee explained,

"That's not helpful," Esinon grumbled, elbowing her friend playfully.

"Well, it's obvious Korkie feels the same way about you," Lagos said,

"It is?" Esinon asked, glanced up,

"Wow the Jedi really do teach nothing about this," Soniee murmured, shaking her head,

"Well, talk like this isn't exactly encouraged," she exclaimed, giggling,

"Oh hush," Lagos said, "All he talks about is you, you should have heard him going on and on about the miracle girl who rushed in to fight Death Watch assassins." Esinon's face went bright red, a similar tone to Xavier's skin.

"If only, because he won't marry anyone else." Soniee said, "And believe me I've tried," Esinon almost choked,

"Marry?"

"Yes my innocent girl," Lagos said, throwing an arm around her. "That's what happens after you date someone."

"But I'm not dating someone- I'll never date anyone. Still a Jedi, always a Jedi." Esinon said quickly,

"We'll see about that," Soniee said slyly, Esinon rolled her eyes good-naturedly. None of her feelings made any sense, but maybe she'd figure it out. She just had to be patient, right? No. Nope. it was better not to think about it if she really did feel that way about Korkie it would be better not to think about it. Jedi didn't entertain such ideas. She was serious about being a Jedi if Korkie really did love her. He could survive heartbreak, there were a thousand girls who wanted to marry him. He'd find someone else because it was NOT going to be her.

A few days later…

Esinon stretched her tired limbs as she sat in front of the fireplace, her whole body ached for sleep, but her mind had other ideas. Such as plaguing her with nightmares where Rex and Fives died at the hands of Krell, and he proceeded to chase her. That nightmare was promptly followed by another of Obi-Wan, she could see him running in front of her but every time she got close a shot would ring and she would be too late.

"It's a little late for you to be awake ad'ika," Satine remarked, her bare feet padding against the tile as she approached the fireplace. Esinon tugged the blankets around her shoulders tighter,

"I could say the same for you," Satine chuckled, coming around the couch and sitting on the navy blue rug beside her.

"Fair enough, are you simply awake because you wish to enjoy a brisk Sundari night, or is something else keeping you awake."

"The abilities that come with being a Jedi are both a blessing and a curse," she mumbled, tucking her knees to her chest.

"Obi-Wan used to complain about the vivid nightmares," Satine replied, smiling softly at the memories that flooded her mind.

"Glad I'm not the only one," she mumbled, Satine glanced over at the teenager, she could see her eyes welling with tears.

"I have a lot of wonderful memories of Obi-Wan, my favorite memory was when Master Qui-Gon left us alone for the first time. We were in a cave and we were both settling in for the night when we realized we had stumbled upon a venomite infested cave." Satine chuckled to herself, "Obi-Wan 'heroically' carried me to safety and proceeded to trip over a rock. I still have the scar." Esinon smiled,

"Obi-Wan never really liked to talk about his time with his old Master, but when he did, it was fondly."

"Do you have any favorite memories of Obi-Wan?" she asked gently, she didn't want to probe her too far. Esinon nodded slowly,

"Contrary to popular belief, the battle of Christophsis was not the first time I met Obi-Wan Kenobi." she began, "When I was little I played, what I thought was a fun game, where I would run away from Master Fisto and Nadar and have half the temple searching for me in a mass game of hide and seek. I was seven, maybe eight, and decided to go hide in the library in my favorite corner. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best hiding spot since Nadar knew about it and it was usually one of the first places he checked but that's not important. Anyways, I ran into the library and found someone already occupying my favorite spot, Obi-Wan. He knew about the temple searching for me, but didn't tell me that. He sat and read to me until Nadar showed up and promised to keep reading to me when he could if I promised to stop running away." she said, "He kept reading to me right up to the day he died," she whimpered, the tears starting to spill freely down her face. Satine pulled Esinon in a tight hug, careful not to jostle her injury. She could feel tears trickling down her own face, she didn't like to think about losing Obi-Wan, but talking about all the wonderful memories he had graced the galaxy with made her heartache. But it was the good kind of ache, the kind that made her know that her heart had been loved.

A few days later…

Esinon had been on Mandalore for almost a week now and life was good, she was off crutches for now, but there was a problem with her wound. It kept reopening and leaking so they had to start using bacta, but it didn't hurt that bad, she was gonna be fine. She shifted around the inside of her ship, searching for a few tools she could use to fix Satine's transport. She'd offered to do it because she was bored, she wasn't used to all the quiet. Spinner came around the corner holding out the socket plug she had been looking for,

"Thanks, buddy," she said, adding it to the crate, she felt the ship jerk. She grabbed Spinner's head, steadying herself, the ship jolted into the air. "Spinner what was that?"

'I don't know, but it wasn't me.'

"Well, I didn't do that either,"

'Which means,'

"Someone else is on the ship," Esinon whispered, calling her saber into her hand. She crept from the quarters of her ship towards the hull, stalking silently forward. A figure was sitting in the pilot's chair as they pulled out of the Mandalorian atmosphere. A few click clacks and a slide of a lever later, they were already in hyperspace. She grabbed the back of the chair whipping it around and placing the end of her saber to their neck. A pair of terrified blue eyes stared back at her, "Korkie?"

"Esinon, can you…" she deactivated her lightsaber, replacing it on her belt.

"Korkie, where are we going?" she asked, as he turned around continuing to pilot the ship.

"What are you doing here?" he asked,

"It's my ship, what are you doing here?" she asked defensively, glaring at Korkie.

"I… I can't tell you. I have a plan, don't worry," he said,

"No, we're going back to Mandalore. Whatever 'plan' you have, my ship is not gonna be a part of it." Esinon said, edging Korkie out of the pilot's seat and taking control.

Korkie didn't want to do this, he didn't want to hurt Esinon, but he needed to get to Carlac as soon as possible. He needed to get there before Pre Vizsla returned to camp, he needed to get his Aunt Bo alone to convince her to be an informant for Death Watch's movements. It was too late now,

"Esinon, I'm sorry," he said, she turned her head,

"Sorry for-" he grabbed the shock box, shoving it into her arm. She clenched up for a second before collapsing into his arms. He cradled her head,

"I'm sorry Esinon, hopefully, you can forgive me one day," he whispered, he picked her up, setting her into the chair next to the pilot's. Hopefully, she would stay unconscious for long enough for him to do what he needed to do. He didn't want her to get hurt. Spinner came rolling into the room, staring at Esinon worriedly, he beeped at him a couple of times. "Esinon's pretty tired, she should probably sleep it off." Korkie glanced down at her lightsaber still laying at her side, "Spinner could you go grab a blanket for her?" He beeped and left to go grab her a blanket, Korkie grabbed her lightsaber and hid it in the ship, he hoped that if he hid her lightsaber she would stay on the ship and leave him alone to do this. She wasn't meant to be here, why didn't he check the ship before he left? He climbed into the pilot's seat as Spinner returned with a blanket and tossed it over her,

Sunlight streamed in through the window of the ship, Esinon blinked her eyes a couple of times, placing a hand to her throbbing head.

"Korkie?" she asked hoarsely, finally opening her eyes fully, looking for the Mandalorian prince. "Korkie?" He was gone, she looked down in her lap to see her lightsaber missing, "Where is my lightsaber?" She stood up finally looking out the window to see a snow-covered planet with cherry trees in full bloom. It was gorgeous, her breath caught in her throat when she finally looked past the beauty of the planet she saw a dark-skinned man with ebony hair. He turned to look at her, crystal blue eyes piercing her brown ones. "Korkie," she growled, "Spinner, take a look around and see if you can find my lightsaber. I'm gonna go have a little chat with Prince Klaudius."

'Got it,' Spinner replied, rolling off. Esinon was never more thankful she was not in her Jedi robes, she ran to the closet grabbing a winter coat, which was thankfully not Jedi issued. She tugged it over her arms and ran outside,

"Korkie! Korkie, where are we?" she growled, tugging her hat down further, covering up her markings, it was certainly cold on this planet. "And what did you do with my lightsaber?" He turned around, his nose was significantly wider and larger lips. If she wasn't a Jedi, she couldn't tell who he was. How he had done that, she didn't know.

"You should have stayed on the ship," he said, the whistle of a jetpack sounded, as a Mandalorian came down from the sky she shoved Korkie behind her, and soon they were surrounded by-

"Death Watch," she growled,

"Hey kid, you're late," a female voice said, Esinon turned around to see a female Mandalorian standing there. She kept her body in a defensive stance, ready to speed Korkie back on the ship at any second… the problem was she could feel warm blood starting to stick to her ribs. Her wound was leaking, slowly, but that wasn't good. "You get us what we need?" The Mando asked approaching them,

"Yes, and I have the information with me," Korkie replied, what information was he talking about? What was he doing here?

"Who's this?" she asked, motioning to Esinon. Her stomach dropped, need an alias, need an alias, need an alias.

"I'm his…" she paused, "I'm his…" she glanced at Korkie, she slid close to him intertwining their fingers. "I'm his betrothed," She shook Korkie's arm trying to get him to play along, he nodded slowly, getting the idea.

"Uh- right. Right," he said firmly, the female cocked her head,

"Betrothed?" she stepped forward, grabbing Esinon's chin and forcing her to look upward. She wrenched her face away and was thankful her markings were covered up so they wouldn't recognize her. The Mando circled Esinon for a moment, "little skinny, isn't she?" The Mando shoved her forward, she gasped, nearly losing her footing. She whipped around ready to deck the Mando, Korkie jumped between them.

"She serves her purpose," he said quickly, Esinon could see Spinner rolling out from the ship towards her, holding out her lightsaber. She discreetly shook her head, Spinner flashed an 'ok', putting her saber away. All the Mandalorians turned at the arrival of the blue and yellow astromech.

"We leave now. The snow is coming." the female Mando said, walking towards the speeder. As Korkie headed to follow her, Esinon grabbed his arm.

"What have you gotten us into now?"

"It's all under control," he replied,

"These are the Death Watch," she hissed, "You know, the Mandalorian terrorists that are trying to kill your aunt. They'll kill us both."

"I'll explain everything as soon as we're alone,"

"You coming?" a Mando asked,

"Yes," Korkie said, walking quickly towards the speeder leaving Esinon behind.

"I should stay with the ship," Esinon said, turning and walking towards the ship. A Mando grabbed her shoulder,

"Oh no, you're coming too." A pair of Mandos grabbed Spinner loading him into the speeder, she took a deep breath climbing onto a speeder next to the one Korkie was in. She glared at him before turning her head the other way. A few minutes later they arrived at a camp, filled with ships, tents, and lots of Mandalorians. Her stomach clenched up, her last fight with Pre Vizsla coming to the forefront of her mind. If he had almost killed her then, he certainly would now that she was injured. As they pulled into the camp, the sound of gunfire rang as they passed a pair of Mandalorians who were firing at a pair of commando droids, well they weren't commandos exactly… they had all kinds of other droid parts.

"Dance droids, dance!" The Mandos cackled, taking out the droids. Those droids didn't deserve it. The speeder slowed to a halt, Esinon climbed off, still glaring at Korkie. Spinner warbled anxiously as another droid fell underneath fire, Esinon and Korkie walked towards a tent where the female Mando was waiting.

"The boss isn't here right now, but he'll see you in here when he comes back. I'll be back in a few minutes to get the information." Esinon shoved down a sigh of relief, Vizsla wasn't here, there was still time to get out. They both nodded, entering the tent. As soon as she had assured that all of the Mandos were out of earshot, she was about to speak when Korkie spoke up.

"Don't ruin my plan, ok?" he said,

"Plan? What plan? So far all I've seen is you stealing my ship and bringing us to terrorists who'll kill us both. Or worse, they'll use you as a hostage and try to get your aunt to come here." she hissed, Korkie whipped around,

"I have a plan ok, that woman, outside, she's my aunt. Bo-Katan Kryze. She defected to Death Watch, I don't know why, but I know if I get her alone I can get her to be an informant for Auntie Satine and tear Death Watch apart from the inside." He gripped her shoulders tightly, "Is that plan enough for you?" Esinon pushed his hands away,

"Your aunt defected to Death Watch for a reason, and I'm very sorry she did. But this isn't safe Korkie, as soon as Vizsla comes back, it's over. He'll kill us both."

"I knew you wouldn't understand," he mumbled, shaking his head,

"Korkie, we cannot stay here. I know you want to help the Duchess, but this isn't the way to do it." she pleaded, she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Please, you don't know what you're doing," He looked over her shoulder, eyes widening in fear, "it's not too late-" He grabbed her suddenly, smashing his lips to hers. Her first reaction was to scream, but he held her firmly in place, locking their lips together and preventing her from moving. Korkie dipped her in such a way that she could see the Death Watch soldiers,

"Am I... interrupting something?" Bo asked, staring at the two intertwined teenagers. This distracted Korkie long enough for her to shove him off of her, she backed away as far as possible,

"N-no, of course not. We were just um…" Korkie paused, Esinon glanced at him with a questioning look. He looked to her for help, but she couldn't think of anything.

"It's time to talk business," she said, stepping fully into the tent, she pulled off her helmet revealing the classic Kryze features except with bright red hair, several shades darker than Korkie's. "Tell your woman to leave us." Esinon scowled at her,

"Of- course," Korkie replied, she stared at him in shock, no, no, no, she couldn't leave him alone with Death Watch. They'd find out who he really was, they would kill him! She was finally torn back to reality as she was wrenched roughly out of the tent by a Mandalorian soldier. She looked pleadingly at Korkie for him to speak up and let her stay, but he never did.

"Now, give me what the boss wants," Bo growled, circling around him, sitting down on a crate.

"When I know you will use it correctly," Korkie said, sitting down and crossing his arms.

"Don't toy with me, kid." she snapped, "The boss will take you and your woman out if you don't give the info. Now." Korkie's thoughts flashed to Esinon, 'Just hand over the info.' He pulled out a data-card, with false information about the Duchess and her guards' movements.

"This device holds the Duchess and her guard's movements. It'll make her easier to target." he said, handing the device over to his aunt.

"Good, that was painless enough, wasn't it?" she joked, clapping his roughly on the back, 'geeze she's strong.' She pushed him towards the entrance of the tent, "Now let's celebrate!"

The Mandalorian who had tugged her from the tent shoved her roughly to the ground in another tent. Her side was aching, she pushed herself to her feet ready to charge the Mando,

"Try that again, and I will-" she snarled, someone grabbed her hand.

"Shh, don't make them angry." A woman who looked like Master Tu-Anh. "They are far from rational." Esinon chuckled, placing a comforting hand on the sorrowful woman's shoulder.

"Believe me, you have no idea." Esinon looked around to see a room full of women with the same facial tattoos. She sat down on a crate next to the woman who had grabbed her arm. "What's your name?"

"Tryla," she replied softly,

"I'm Esinon," she said, "Where are you from?"

"We were kidnapped from a nearby town. We are a simple people. We trust easily and we were betrayed." Esinon stared at her feet for a minute, thinking about if there was a way she could get Tryla out of here when she was torn from her thoughts by a Mandalorian bursting into the tent.

"We feast! Prepare the food!" he yelled, "Your Masters are hungry," Esinon scowled at him until he left before sharing a look with Tryla.

One hour later…

Esinon shifted around the room holding bowls of soup to the hoards of Death Watch soldiers. She kept her head down, hoping no one would recognize her. She spotted Korkie sitting next to Bo Katan, she walked over to him holding out a tray of soup.

"Hungry?" she asked, her voice laced with sarcastic sweetness, he took a bowl, shooting her an 'I'm sorry' look. "Careful not to choke on your stupidity." she said through clenched teeth, she turned on her heel and strutted away. Korkie whispered something to Bo before following Esinon, he grabbed her hand. She quickly ripped it away, "What?"

"Can I talk to you, please?" he whispered, Esinon rolled her eyes, tucking her now empty tray under her arm.

"Fine," she grumbled following him outside the tent.

"Esinon, please, I've gotten a lot of time to talk to my aunt and she's turning."

"You told her who you are?" she gasped, her eyes wide with terror. Korkie grabbed her shoulders trying to pull her back from her anxious tornado.

"No. As far as she knows Alexsander Teris. A Mandalorian sympathizer from Dantooine." he replied,

"At least you were smart enough to think of alias," she grumbled,

"Of course I thought of an alias, I'm not stupid." he retorted,

"Well, you were stupid enough to bring us here."

"You weren't supposed to be here!" he whispered shouted,

"You stole my ship! What did you expect?"

"Please Esinon, you can't ruin this for me. I'm so close." he pleaded, Esinon was about to respond when the whistle of jetpacks sounded in her ears, she could sense Vizsla coming.

"Get behind me,"

"Esin-"

"Korkie. Get. Behind. Me." she growled, Vizsla and two of his men landed in front of her and Korkie. Esinon could feel her adrenaline pumping through her veins, Vizsla stared at her for a moment.

"You," he growled, "Capture her!" The two men lunged for her, she threw a kick to the first one's chest, simultaneously throwing the tray into the other's head. The first one she had kicked, lunged for her again, tackling her to the ground. She wrestled with him for a moment, he managed to rip off her coat, leaving her bare skin vulnerable to the cold. She flipped behind Vizsla and kicked him in the back, sending him stumbling forward. He grabbed Korkie, placing his Vibro-blade to his neck, "Surrender yourself, Jedi. Or he dies." Vizsla growled, Korkie shook his head, but she could see the fear in his eyes. Esinon held up her hands in surrender, the two soldiers fired their cables wrenching her arms downward.

They quickly ran over and tied her hands behind her back, Vizsla wrenched Korkie's arms behind his back and dragged him into the tent. Esinon was in the middle of the Mandalorians on her knees, she refused to look at him as Vizsla shoved Korkie into the arms of a few soldiers. Even after the brief fight, bruises were starting to form on her skin, as four Mandalorian held cables that were restraining her. She didn't say anything, she simply glared up at Vizsla.

"This does not look good. This does not look good at all." Vizsla said, speaking to the still disguised Korkie. "I asked you to join us in good faith, and you brought a Jedi into our camp."

"She wasn't meant to be here. Please, let her go." Korkie pleaded, Vizsla shook his head, grabbing the darksaber from his pack.

"I'm afraid that's not an option." he said, studying the hilt. "She is a Jedi and she will pay in part for their crimes against Mandalore." He ignited the darksaber, "So you see it's not murder at all," Esinon closed her eyes as he raised the darksaber over his head, she accepted her fate. "It's justice!" He shouted, "Say hello to General Kenobi for me." She heard an electronic chirp and a soldier stumbled, Spinner was here! He went into attack mode, all of the probes flying out of his body and he spun around spitting smoke out everywhere.

"Esinon! Now!" Korkie shouted, shoving Vizsla away from her. Spinner came towards her, handing her her lightsaber.

"Thanks buddy," she said, as Spinner beeped for her to get going. She cut herself free, spinning into action, slashing the chests of the four guards who had been restraining her. She held up her saber in a defensive stance, taking on the classic Kenobi ready position. A few guards stepped forward aiming blasters at her,

"Stop," Vizsla held out his hand, still wielding the darksaber. "The Jedi is mine." She spun her saber a couple times,

"Alexsander, get to the ship." she nodded her head towards the door, she looked back to Vizsla, "You want to fight a Jedi? Well you asked for it buddy," Vizsla crept forward slowly at first, before attacking her with a hard slam of his saber which she anticipated and gracefully blocked. She slashed towards him, one, two, attack and deflect. He slammed his saber down again, she tried to land a kick at his head but he kicked and swiped towards her face. She ducked, the saber almost taking off her nose, she jumped as he tried to take a shot at her legs. He slashed down again and she flipped out of the way and ran up a table. He slammed his saber down again, cutting the table as she jumped off; she didn't need to beat Vizsla, she just needed to hold him off long enough for Korkie to get to the ship. She slowed for just a second, her side aching, she could feel warm blood starting to soak through her bandages. No, no, no, no, not now.

Her brief pause was enough for Vizsla to slash down again, she barely managed to block his saber but she wasn't able to block the kick he landed right to her wound. She crumpled to her knees, hacking up mouthfuls of blood all over the ground and Vizsla's boots.

"You're injured? That's hardly a fair fight," Vizsla cackled, Esinon gritted her teeth, feeling warm blood soak out all over her tunic and fingers.

"Glad you know you're gonna lose!" she growled, swiping her leg underneath his feet, sending him to the ground. She quickly got to her feet, calling her saber and sprinted out of the tent. She was met with the modified droids from earlier, there was even a massive load-lifter.

"I guess Spinner made some friends," Korkie said, motioning to the droids. She grinned, igniting her saber as Vizsla and a group of about five guards came running out of the tent. The droids began firing upon their cruel Masters, blue fire intermixed with the yellow as an explosion went off in front of the Mando tent, she spotted Vizsla getting distracted by the chaos. She leapt into the air, spinning as she brought her blade down on his, he blocked it and shoved her back. He whipped his arm around firing blasts in pairs, she dodged most of them and deflected a few as she stumbled backwards. They went into a quick series of block and attacks, neither of them gaining the high ground until Esinon got an opening and flipped over him, slashing his jetpack midair. The machine crackled with electricity, beginning a countdown to explode.

"Not bad Jedi," he sneered,

"I didn't miss." she growled, Vizsla realized what she meant as she sprinted away. He threw the pack away from him in just the nick of time. Unfortunately, they were both still in the blast zone, Esinon was thrown to the ground, more of her blood staining the snow. She took a second to gather herself and concentrate on keeping her blood inside her body where it belongs.

"Esinon!" Korkie shouted, she scrambled to her feet and flipped onto the speeder Korkie and Spinner were riding in. She held on tightly to the speeder as they raced through the snow, the only warmth she could feel at this point was the blood sticking to her stomach. BOOM! A blast went off, narrowly missing the speeder, Esinon was thrown onto one of the turbines of the speeder, looking up she could see three Mando soldiers flying above them. She quickly got to her feet, deflecting blasts from Korkie, she hit one of the ones on the side, sending him spiraling into the second one. They both crashed, leaving only one left. The third flew down at incredible speeds, tackling Esinon and pinning her to the speeder, both hands around her throat. She grappled at the hands, desperate for air, Spinner fired a splurt of oil into the Mandalorian's visor, he relinquished for a moment trying to wipe the goop off his visor. It gave her enough time to use the force to shove him off of her, she rubbed her neck laying against the cold surface of the speeder. She placed her other hand over her side wound,

"That's two I owe you," she said, focusing on the force to shove the blood back in her body.

'You owe me way more than two.' Spinner retorted, she chuckled softly,

"That's true," she mumbled, black spots starting to swim in her eyes as the forest fire of pain spread through her body. She could see the ship in view, as the speeder slowed to a stop, she attempted to get up and walk to the ship but she didn't make it very far. She crumpled down into the snow a few feet from the catwalk,

"Esinon!" Korkie exclaimed, running over the Jedi who was struggling to push herself back up. "What's wrong?" She grimaced,

"My wound opened back up," Her face was sickly pale, almost gray, but her tunic was an angry red, and so was the snow. He picked her up,

"Don't worry, I'll get you back to Mandalore. Spinner start the ship." he said, she couldn't hide the hiss of pain as her side and legs were jostled as Korkie picked her up. "Just keep talking, don't go to sleep." Esinon nodded, tucking her head against his chest as she shivered, it might have been the blood loss or the hypothermia that was probably setting in but she started talking about Umbara.

"I blamed myself for everything that happened on Umbara. No matter how many times Rex, or Fives, or Cody told me it wasn't my fault, that I couldn't do anything more… I still think it's my fault everything on Umbara happened the way it did." she mumbled, Korkie set her down on her bed in her quarters,

"Spinner! Take off!" he shouted, he felt the ship jolt, he looked over to Esinon who was still awake but struggling to do so. "Keep talking, do you have any medical supplies?"

"Top drawer on left," she mumbled, Korkie quickly retrieved the first aid kit. "Korkie,"

"Yeah?" he asked, as he pulled up her tunic and got rid of the old soaked bandages.

"Why did you kiss me?" she asked, Korkie froze, but quickly recovered as Esinon's body was still spilling blood all over both of them.

"You know why I did that, to get you to be quiet so we wouldn't get captured."

"Yeah I know about that part, but there was more to it." she mumbled, wincing as he started to clean the wound. Korkie paused, there was more to it for him… but did she share his feelings? He decided to turn the attention away from himself,

"Was that your first kiss?" he asked, beginning to slather bacta over the wound. She chuckled softly,

"That bad, huh?"

"No, it was quite a nice kiss actually. Considering the circumstances." she smiled softly, rubbing a thumb over her forehead, smearing blood.

"You didn't do so bad yourself," she teased, nudging his hand slightly.

"Esinon, I-" he cut himself off, romantic confessions of feelings would have to wait because he heard the warning tone that they were coming out of hyperspace. "Don't worry, we're back and we'll get you the proper help you need." he said, clasping her clammy hand tightly. She nodded tiredly, tempted to close her eyes but she had to stay awake. If she fell asleep now, she might not wake up again. "Can I trust you to stay awake, while I land the ship?"

"Spinner can do it," she said, holding onto his hand tighter, her eyes pleading for him to stay. Korkie understood,

"Ok," he sat back down next to her, Esinon's hand relaxing in his.

A few minutes later…

The doctors had whisked Esinon away on a stretcher, and the way she had held out her hand towards him, silently begging him to be with her. The fear in her eyes as they had been dragged apart would stay with him, for a very long time. When Aunt Satine came and yelled at him about all he had done, he didn't remember any of it. All he remembered was whimpering, 'It's all my fault,' before breaking down in her arms.

When Esinon woke back up, she didn't expect to wake up in the palace on Sundari. She expected to wake up to a worried Cody and a frustrated Drummer, not Korkie slumped up against her bed asleep, clasping her hand gently. She blinked her eyes a couple of times looking around the room,

"Korkie?" she whispered, her voice hoarse and scratchy. He mumbled something in his sleep, squeezing her hand a little tighter. He finally woke up, blinking his eyes a couple times,

"Esinon? Esinon, you're awake!" he sat up, "How do you feel? Do you need me to get a doctor?" He asked rising up out of his seat.

"Korkie, Korkie, calm down, I'm alright," she said, gently pushing him back down into his seat. He took a deep breath,

"Sorry… I was worried," he mumbled,

"It's alright, not the first time I've had someone freaking out when I've woken up from injury." she joked, "I've got a lot of older brothers."

"Yeah, they'd probably want to kill me right now," he grumbled,

"No, I shouldn't have let Vizsla kick me, I'm better than that."

"Can you let someone else take the blame for once, instead of putting the weight of the galaxy on your shoulders?" he asked, Esinon sighed,

"Well it shouldn't go on your shoulders either, this is my burden, not yours."

"It's not a burden if we shoulder it together," he said softly, a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. The room fell silent for a moment other than the beeping of her heart monitor. She finally spoke up, there was something she needed to know.

"Korkie… I have a question… and if you don't want to answer it, you don't have to," he nodded as she tried to think of how she wanted to phrase this. "But ever since I've been here, everything between us has felt… like more than friendship. And I may be reading all of this wrong, and I'll look like a big di'kut after this but, do you have feelings for me? More than friendship." Korkie sighed, running a hand over his face. He wasn't going to lie to her, she deserved better than that.

"When I was ten, maybe eleven, I met Lagos for the first time and I thought she was beautiful. I never voiced my affections to her, but that was a crush. Compared to what you and I have, even as friends, it's always been far greater. Ever since that day on Mandalore when I met you, I thought you were the bravest girl I'd ever met. You chased a guy who was shooting at you to protect people you didn't even know. You're selfless, kind, brave, smart, compassionate, funny, and beautiful. You've believed in me when I didn't, when no one else believed in me, you did. You thought I could rule an entire system when I was sixteen, your calm and level head has always been a constant for me. I… I don't think I always knew that I loved you, but… as the Jedi would say, the force guides people together. I think there's a reason that you happened to walk by the tree I was underneath all those years ago on Mandalore. I know that this," he motioned between them, "could never happen because you're a Jedi. I would never ask you to choose between me and the order, but I guess I'm asking you to be open to it? The idea that you could have a life outside of order, that you would have someone waiting here for you."

"Korkie… I- the order is my life,"

"I know, and I would never, ever, ask you to pick… I just want you to be open to it, please?" she sighed, focusing her gaze on her hands in her lap.

"When we first started to contact each other, I loved talking to you. It was so nice to have a friend who wasn't a Jedi, or a clone. I was always in a better mood after I talked to you. And if the question that's hanging in the air is, if I could ever feel the same way about you. I think the answer is... I always have. I just didn't like to think about it, because of the Jedi thing and stuff." She finally looked over at Korkie, both of their faces flushed. Her face deepened a shade when he pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

"I've always wanted to do that," he whispered shyly, "I think it might be time for me to give you a proper kiss, if you want, of course." He wasn't going to rush her into anything she wasn't ready for, she had confessed feelings for him, and that was a step. She didn't say anything, she just kind of nodded, gripping his hand tightly. He leaned in and she did the same, he didn't rush her. The kiss was gentle and careful, he didn't want to hurt her, she was nervous and tentative at first, she'd never done this before. She'd expected it to feel all wrong, but it felt right, every kind of warmth flooded her body, she could feel her heart hammering in her chest, but she could feel Korkie's heart thumping just as quickly as hers. They parted, warm breath fluttering over each others' faces.

"Whoa," she breathed, they both stared into each others' eyes, this time Esinon initiated the kiss. Whatever the council said about attachment, she didn't understand at that moment, because how could this lead to the Darkside? How could all of this warmth and light lead to such hatred and anger? At the moment she wasn't worried about the code, or the Jedi, the war, or what anyone would think of the scandal of a Jedi and Mandalorian prince, the peoples who had warred for years. At the moment she was worried about being in the moment, and it was a wonderful moment.

The next day…

"Esinon, Esinon are you in here?" Korkie asked, peeking around the corner of a bookshelf. Sure enough, she was sitting on the balcony's edge, for a moment he was worried she would fall, but then remembered she could jump this height without breaking a sweat.

"Hi Korkie," she mumbled, one knee tucked up to her chest, her chin resting on her knee. He knew that look, she was thinking, anxiously thinking.

"Are you ok?" he asked slowly, leaning upon the balcony.

"I'm just thinking," A lot had happened in a short amount of time, of course, she was thinking.

"About what?" she sighed, her body curling in further on herself.

"I… I love you. I love you so much, but I'm really scared Korkie. I- if the council finds out, I'll be exiled and I don't know where I'll go!" her eyes welled with tears as she spiraled further down into her anxious whirlpool.

"You'll always have somewhere to stay here,"

"But what about everything with Mandalore, they won't like an ex-Jedi here. And besides, there's a reason that Jedi aren't supposed to have attachments. I could fall to the Darkside and hurt you or anyone I care about!"

"Esinon, Esinon, slow down," he said, tentatively reaching a hand for her shoulder, he didn't want her to feel suffocated. When she didn't move to stop him, he finished the gesture, "I'm not going to push you into anything that you're not ready for, but I am willing to wait. And I will wait as long as it takes,"

"I… I am ready, I'm just scared," she whimpered, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. Carefully he brought her into a hug, a strangled sob escaped her lips. "I-I'm sorry,"

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. If it makes you feel better, this is scary for me too," he said, she nodded into his chest.

"I feel I made the right decision, every time I try to think about leaving you, the force keeps nudging me back." She'd been meditating a lot to process everything, Korkie chuckled,

"Well then if the force is on our side, then it must be meant to be," he said,

"I love you," she whispered,

"I love you too," he replied, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

A few days later…

Esinon didn't really know what started the argument, but it was to be expected, right? They had just made a decision that would drastically shift their lives, so arguments were to be expected, right? But it was still hard, she and Korkie had never argued this much.

"This relationship isn't about only you!" Korkie shouted,

"Well, I'm the one who's risking my entire future as a Jedi to be with you!" She fired back,

"You're the only one risking something? That's rich," he scoffed, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm the heir to the Mandalorian throne, and dating a Jedi doesn't exactly look great!"

"Well, there are thousands of girls on this planet who are all swooning so why don't you go date one of them instead! They won't jeopardize your precious throne!" Esinon snapped,

"I don't want to date any of them! I want to be with you! Why don't you think I've had a girlfriend ever since I've known you?"

"I don't know! I know nothing about dating people, or being in love, so I don't know. I thought you were too young or something." her voice tapered off,

"Trust me, there were plenty of girls who wanted to be with me, but I've only had eyes for you," he said, stepping towards her,

"I... " she ran her hands down her face, "I'm sorry, I- this all is really new, and I don't know what I'm doing. The Jedi don't exactly encourage any of this." she said, "What would Obi-Wan think?" she whispered, Korkie drew nearer, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"I think that Obi-Wan was a hypocrite in the light of no attachments, you can ask my Aunt." She chuckled, head dropping to his shoulder as he fully brought her into his embrace.

"Yeah, he must have been stupid to think I didn't know," she replied,

"It'll be ok, no one is going to find out, we'll be careful," he assured her,

"We just act like friends in public…" Esinon stomach flipped, "We're lying for a good reason."

"Let's not call it lying," Korkie mumbled, "We're protecting ourselves." She sighed,

"Protecting ourselves,"

"We'll be careful,"

"And vigilant," she replied, determination setting into her heart.

"Let's not run our relationship like a battlefield."

"Ok."

Sooooooooooo, for some of yall, your ship became canon *sly grin*

Translations: ad'ika means little one

Any ideas who Dogma's cellmate is? His identity is hidden in his designation number

Next up on let's make this canon corner: Esinon and Korkie's relationship in a nutshell: They're playing laser tag, Esinon pushed Korkie into a corner, kisses him and then shoots him before walking away, leaving her poor boyfriend very flustered

Thank you for reading and make sure to leave a review!