Lena pulled a brush through her long damp hair, attempting to help it dry faster after her shower. Trying to deal with it one-handed was proving to be difficult. A beep at the door indicated the presence of someone on the other side before the door slid open, and Keebo entered her quarters. She was wearing brown pants and her regular boots with a light blue blouse and teal overdress that matched the purple one Lena was wearing over her own pants and blouse.

"Are you ready yet?" Keebo asked.

Lena gestured at her hair helplessly.

"I'm afraid that I can't put it up with only one arm. Other than that, I'm about ready to go."

"I can help you with it on the ship while we're in hyperspace," Keebo offered. "If I'm being honest, though, it looks really nice when it's down."

Lena shook her head as she tossed her brush into the bag sitting on her bed.

"If I show up without braids, Titus won't be happy."

"Is he ever happy?" Keebo asked.

Lena scoffed at the question. Keebo had a point. Her mother's cousin Titus Morell was not a happy man. Lena had agreed to wear the outfits she and Keebo were currently wearing whenever they were called back to Alderaan for official business, if only to appease the man and make things go smoother. Concessions had been made to allow them outfits that didn't prevent them from fighting when the need arose, or they were quickly recalled into battle. At this moment, she was tempted to go with Keebo's suggestion, if only to see the annoyed look on his face when they arrived.

"Crosshair might like it down too," Keebo said, interrupting her chain of thought.

Lena sighed and grabbed her boots, sitting down to pull them onto her feet.

"I thought we were dropping that subject," she said.

"It will be hard to ignore when we are stuck on a ship with him for several hours. If I can sense how he feels about you, you surely can."

"A lifetime of practice has made it possible to ignore such things."

"Why would you ignore something like that? You've only known him for a day, and I can already sense a strong connection between you."

Lena hesitated as she reached for her bag, her hand hovering over the handle.

"I told you. I already have a relationship."

Keebo clicked her tongue and shook her head, her long lekku swaying from side to side.

"I don't know if what you have with Master Kenobi could be considered a relationship. If the tension between the two of you before he left for Mandalore was anything to go by, it's not exactly going well."

Lena turned to look at her padawan for a moment before her gaze fell to the floor. Keebo was much more observant than Lena would have liked. She could always pick up on the finer details of what was going on between people around her.

"Even if that is the case, I'm not about to fling myself at a trooper I just met."

Keebo gave her a knowing smirk.

"I don't think you'd have to fling anything. A step in his direction would be all it would take. Although, you might need a box to stand on. He is quite tall."

Lena cracked a smile and let out a soft chuckle.

"Alright, enough out of you," she said. "We've kept them waiting long enough. Let's get going."

Lena lifted her bag onto her uninjured shoulder, and the pair of them left her quarters, heading in the direction of the hanger. When they reached the entrance, a voice called out from behind them. Lena turned to see Chip hurrying down the hall towards them. She waved Keebo off, allowing her padawan to join Wrecker and Tech near their ship.

"I hear you're heading for Alderaan," Chip said as he reached her.

Lena's gaze focused on a cup in his grasp and scrunched up her face in disgust.

"Is that what I think it is?" she asked.

Chip handed the cup to her with a pointed look. Lena rolled her eyes before taking it from him.

"You know I hate this stuff."

Whenever she had to go to a planet where there was a danger of lower temperatures, Chip forced her to drink a concoction of his own making to balance the chemicals in her body that helped regulate her body temperature. Unfortunately for Lena, it tasted absolutely disgusting.

"You're already injured," he said. "You don't need to get sick as well."

"Yes, mom," she said with another eye roll before giving him a grateful smile for his caring gesture.

"Be safe," he said in farewell.

"I'll try," Lena said before standing on her toes to wrap her arm around his neck in a half-hug. She felt his arm loop around her back in response before he pulled away, gesturing in the direction Keebo had run off with his head.

"We'll see you when you return. Hopefully, the Admiral will be back on his feet again when you get back."

"I hope so," she replied, turning to walk away.

As she turned, Lena nearly bumped into someone. Looking up, Lena found Hunter standing in front of her. Crosshair stood beside him, his gaze fixed on her as she righted herself.

"Oops. Sorry about that, Hunter."

"No worries," he replied. "We're ready to go if you have everything you need."

"More than I need," Lena said, giving the cup in her hand another disgusted look.

"What's in there?" Hunter asked.

"You do not want to know, believe me."

"Drinking on the job, Sunshine?" Crosshair asked.

Lena turned her gaze to him and let out a small laugh at his question.

"I would rather that be the case than what's in this cup."

"It's not that bad!" Chip called out from his spot in the hall. "Just suck it up and drink it!"

Lena made a mocking face, bringing a breathy laugh from Hunter. Crosshair smirked, his eyes scanning over her outfit before lingering on her loose hair. Lena suddenly felt self-conscious and turned away from the pair.

"We can get going as soon as we load up," she said, walking away from them toward the rest of the group.


Crosshair watched Lena walk away, her hair swaying as she walked. There really was a lot of it. It hadn't seemed like it when she had it braided. He had a passing thought of what it would feel like to run his hands through it and wondered if it would be as soft as it looked. Crosshair shook his head to clear that thought from his mind. There was only so far he could let his mind wander before it got out of hand.

Hunter gave him a questioning look, to which he simply shrugged. As the two of them started to follow Lena, Crosshair heard someone addressing him. He turned back to the hallway that Lena had emerged from and found the reg medic walking in his direction. Crosshair wondered what he could possibly want from him. He turned to look at Hunter, but he had already crossed the hanger and was talking to Lena's Commander. Letting out a huff, he turned back to Chip.

"Problem?" he asked.

"That depends," Chip said. "I've been watching you with her, and I want you to know something."

Crosshair raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"If you have some idea in your head that you're going to add her as another notch in your belt, forget it."

"I don't know what you're getting at, doc," Crosshair said. "I haven't done anything."

"But you want to. I've seen how you've been looking at her."

Crosshair removed the toothpick from his mouth and pointed it at Chip's face. The medic didn't even blink, his stern gaze focused on Crosshair.

"You sound a bit possessive, doc. No need to worry. I'm not looking to steal your precious Jedi away from you."

"I'm not worried about you stealing her. I'm worried about you hurting her. Lena isn't some conquest you can have fun with and then abandon. She's someone that you love. It's what she deserves."

"Sounds like you're in love with her," Crosshair said, pointing his toothpick at Chip again.

"If that were the case, we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

Although vague, the underlying threat in his statement was hard to miss. Most of the time, the regs would back down or simply try to punch him. Chip wasn't doing either, and Crosshair felt the tiniest amount of respect for the man.

"Relax," he said, returning his toothpick to his mouth. "I don't have a death wish. She's safe from me."

Without another word, Crosshair turned away from the medic and walked in the direction of the group gathered at the Marauder.


Hunter had heard Chip calling out to Crosshair and decided to leave his brother to deal with that situation on his own. Maybe he'd learn something, but he doubted it. When he joined the Jedi and his remaining brothers at the Marauder, he heard someone say his name. He turned to see Commander Blaze wave him over. Hunter followed his direction, and they walked a short distance from everyone else.

"What do you need, Commander?" he asked.

"I wanted to fill you in on some information before you left for Alderaan. I know you're only providing transportation, but I have another favor to ask of you if it's not too much trouble."

"I'm listening."

Blaze tapped on the datapad's screen in his hand before handing it to Hunter. When Hunter looked at the screen, he saw the image of a man with long reddish-brown hair.

"That is Valor Morell," Blaze said. "He is a very dangerous man. Unfortunately, very few see him as such, and he is allowed to roam freely amongst the nobility of Alderaan. When you arrive, it would be best if you could ensure that Lena and Keebo are in the presence of either Lord Zenn or his nephew Titus Morell. Do not leave them alone with this man."

"Titus Morell?"

"While his father is not the most friendly or trustworthy man, he does not pose a threat to them like Valor does."

"Surely the Jedi don't need our protection, Commander. Not from noblemen and politicians."

"From him, they do. His status offers him some protection, and there are many reasons why they would not be allowed to harm him, even in self-defense."

Hunter raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Are they afraid of him?"

"I wish they were. That would make things easier. Please just keep them safe. Normally Sparx and myself would be going with them to Alderaan, and it wouldn't be a problem, but since it's different this time, I want to ensure their safety."

"We'll keep them safe, Commander," Hunter assured him.

"The sight of those two might be enough to make him keep his distance," Blaze said, gesturing at Wrecker and Crosshair. "While he is malicious, Valor's not stupid."

"Noted. Anything else?"

"No. Thank you for your assistance in retrieving the Admiral and Sparx, and in the following battle. Cody wasn't bluffing when he said you guys were good."

"Glad to be of service."

Sensing an end to their conversation, Hunter turned away from the Commander and walked over to the Marauder.

"We ready to go?" he asked.

A chorus of affirmative answers sounded in response, and everyone moved to board the ship. Hunter watched as Keebo darted to Blaze's side and quickly pecked him on the cheek in farewell before joining her master on the ship. Hunter chuckled to himself as he saw the Commander's cheeks darken in response to her gesture. He brought up the rear of the group boarding the ship, the door closing behind him.


Lena and Keebo got settled into the seats, strapping themselves in until they were in hyperspace. Leaning her head against the back of the chair, Lena let her eyes drift closed. She felt exhausted and was not looking forward to dealing with the politics awaiting her on Alderaan. Between the worry over Admiral Yung and Sparx, the rescue mission, and the following battle, Lena hadn't had much rest over the course of the past few days. The injury to her arm didn't help either.

She felt the familiar lurch of entering hyperspace and opened her eyes to find Wrecker sitting across from her. He seemed to be taking in her outfit fully for the first time since they had rejoined company.

"What's with the fancy outfit?" he asked.

"Some people would prefer that I look less like a Jedi and more like a noble lady of Alderaan when I attend official meetings."

"I've seen Jedi on Coruscant leave meetings with Senators wearing their normal robes," Hunter said from beside his brother. "Why is this dress code so strict?"

"We're held to different standards due to our positions, which means we have to wear the fancy clothes," Keebo said.

Hunter and Wrecker exchanged a confused glance. Lena's gaze flicked between them before she looked at Tech, who was entering the back area of the ship.

"I thought you guys read my file?"

"I am the only one that read the entire thing. The rest of them just read what they thought was important and formed their judgments based on those small amounts of information," Tech said with a pointed look in Crosshair's direction.

Lena saw him scowl at his brother before meeting Lena's gaze.

"And I was proved wrong, so you can let it go, Tech."

"What was on the file that we didn't see?" Hunter asked.

Tech stopped and turned, gesturing in Lena's direction.

"Our Jedi guest is not simply a General for the Republic, but a Lady of the noble house of Orim on Alderaan."

Lena watched as three pairs of eyes widened in surprise.

"I didn't know we were traveling with nobility!" Wrecker shouted.

"I don't exactly advertise it," Lena said. "Especially since it's temporary."

"How can you temporarily be noble?" Hunter asked.

"When the war first started, and the two of us decided not to partake in the fighting, any status and privileges we had as Jedi were severely limited. In the eyes of the Republic and the Grand Army, we were viewed as civilians. We weren't allowed in battle zones, even as relief workers. In order for us to serve the citizens of affected worlds, we had to take on different titles."

"So you went and became nobles of a random planet?" Crosshair said in disbelief.

Lena shook her head at his question.

"I was born into a noble family, but I gave up my right to the title when I was 16. I had decided that I would continue on my Jedi path, and since I would have no heir to carry on the title, I gave it up. Something I fully intend to do again once this war is over. It belongs in the hands of my mother's cousin and his family, not with me."

"How does that give you a title?" Wrecker asked, pointing at Keebo.

"The people of Alderaan value adoption in equal standing to blood relations," Tech said. "As Lena's padawan, Keebo is legally considered her child by their cultural views."

"Doesn't mean I act like a prim and proper lady, though," Keebo said.

Lena laughed at her padawan's statement.

"Speaking of proper, you promised to deal with this," she said, gesturing to her loose hair.

"Oh right," Keebo said. "Do you boys mind if we turn part of your ship into a mini hair salon for a bit?"

Hunter pointed to one of the chairs by the consoles.

"Knock yourself out."

Lena stood from her flight seat and made her way over to where Hunter had indicated. She sat on the floor in front of the chair as Keebo sat in it, opening her bag to remove the things needed to deal with Lena's hair. Lena crossed her legs and sat up as straight and as still as possible to make Keebo's job easier. Even with years of practice, Keebo still sometimes struggled to deal with hair, so Lena wanted to make the process as simple as possible.

A pair of long legs entered her vision before sitting down in the chair across from them. Lena glanced up to see Crosshair staring at her, moving a toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other. Lena raised her eyebrows expectantly, wondering what he wanted.

"Should I call you Lady Sunshine from now on?" he asked.

Keebo let out a quiet laugh behind her. Lena groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I would rather you didn't. I don't like being called Lady any more than being called General."

"Just Sunshine it is then," he said with a smirk.


Crosshair sat and watched as Keebo braided Lena's long hair into an intricately braided hairstyle. His eyes drifted between watching her work and Lena's face. For most of the process, she had been sitting silently with her eyes closed as her padawan twisted and pulled at different strands of her hair. As he observed her, Crosshair could see the exhaustion on her face as plainly as he had earlier. He was surprised she hadn't fallen asleep sitting on the floor.

"You know, instead of staring, you could give me a hand," Keebo said, lifting her eyes from her work to give him a pointed look. "I'm sure those long fingers of yours would be good at this."

Crosshair was taken aback by her words. Had she been listening to his thoughts in the hanger when he had wondered what Lena's hair felt like? Keebo tilted her head at him, indicating the spot next to her master.

"Sit there and hold this section for me while I work on this other part."

"Is that an order, your Ladyship?" he asked in a snide tone.

Lena's eyes flicked open, and she looked up at him.

"I wouldn't fight her on this if I were you. She could rival your bite more than you know."

"I doubt that," Crosshair muttered as he shifted from his seat.

Pulling his gloves from his hands, Crosshair took a seat on the spot Keebo had indicated and took the section of hair she handed him without another word. Sitting so close to Lena, Crosshair got a whiff of a flowery and herbal smell coming from her long hair. If he could smell it, he imagined it was driving Hunter mad.

He sat in silence, doing as Keebo instructed. She would hand him different hair sections to hold or tell him to bring the one he was currently holding to a specific location. After some time had passed, she had begun to hum as she worked. While she hummed, Crosshair noticed that some of the tension in Lena's shoulders had disappeared. Before long, he heard Lena start to whistle. The two of them were doing different notes, but they seemed to match together to form one song that they both knew.

Crosshair's gaze shifted upward from Lena's head to glimpse his brothers standing around them, listening to their impromptu melody. The two women noticed they had an audience and stopped humming and whistling.

"Sorry," Lena said with a light laugh. "Sometimes, we forget ourselves."

"I liked it," Wrecker said. "It sounded pretty."

Crosshair saw Lena smile and felt the corner of his own mouth shift upward at the sight. Beyond her, his eyes caught a glimpse of Hunter's face. He could see his brother smirking at him and shaking his head in amusement. The half-smile disappeared from Crosshair's face, and he turned his focus back to Lena's hair. Luckily, Keebo had reached a point where she no longer needed his assistance. He relinquished the last strand he was holding and stood from his place on the floor. Before he could walk away, Crosshair felt a light touch on his hand. He looked down and saw Lena looking up at him, two of her fingers lightly touching his.

"Thanks for the help, Crosshair."

His eyes focused on where she was touching his hand while he put all his willpower into preventing himself from grabbing it with his own. Crosshair flexed his hand and pulled it away from her, leaving the group without another word. He could feel his cheeks and ears burning and quickly put as much distance between them as he could.


Hunter sat in the cockpit, watching the blue glow of hyperspace fly by the viewport. The datapad Blaze had given him sat on his lap, the picture of Valor Morell on the screen staring up at him. There was a file attached to the image, but it didn't provide much information about the man beyond who he was. Hunter needed more details about the danger he posed to the women in his charge.

A soft knock on the side of the doorway to the cockpit brought him out of his contemplative state. Hunter turned to see Keebo standing in the doorway. Her eyes darted to the datapad on his lap before rising to meet his gaze again.

"Tech said you wanted to speak to me about something?"

Hunter gestured to the co-pilot's chair, inviting her to sit down.

"I would have asked your master, but I didn't want to disturb her."

After they had finished dealing with her hair, Lena had disappeared into the gunner's mount to have a quiet place to meditate. She had said it was the best substitute for real rest she could get at the moment, so the rest of them had been happy to let her have some time alone.

"I assume you want to talk about him," Keebo said, pointing to the picture on the screen. "Blaze told you to watch out for him, did he?"

"Yes. He asked me to make sure the two of you were safely delivered to someone else's company."

Keebo let out a huff of laughter and rolled her eyes.

"We don't need protecting. Especially not from the likes of him."

"Your Commander seems to think differently. Said you wouldn't be able to defend yourself without causing some kind of trouble."

Keebo looked away from him, staring into the glow of the passing stars for a few minutes before speaking again.

"The Sith and the Separatists aren't the only monsters out there," she said. "Sometimes they can strike at you in the place you are supposed to feel safest."

"What has he done? Why is he dangerous?"

"Valor is vindictive and power-hungry. When someone doesn't give him what he wants or gets in his way, he gets rid of them. Lena and I stand in his way, and he is not afraid to take us down. Lightsabers and force powers be damned."

"What does he want that you stand in the way of?"

Keebo turned to look at him again, her fierce defiance from before having faded away. Hunter could see how young she truly was at that moment when she let her guard down.

"The title that neither of us wants. And he's willing to kill to get it. He already has."

Hunter was surprised that someone that was a known killer was allowed to roam free, especially somewhere like Alderaan.

"He's had three victims so far. Only one of them has survived," Keebo said. "His own sister was the first. She was older than him and therefore came before in the line of succession. He poisoned her."

Hunter glanced back through the doorway to look at his brothers sitting in the middle section of the ship. He couldn't imagine hurting any of them, let alone taking their lives. He turned back to Keebo, giving her his full attention.

"The second was his betrothed. Halene. She was a nice girl. Helped teach me how to braid hair. He pushed her off a balcony because she didn't want to be with him anymore."

Tears had started to form in Keebo's eyes as she talked. Hunter reached out and touched her hand gently.

"You don't have to talk about it anymore if you don't want to."

Keebo shook her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Hunter nodded, giving her the go-ahead to continue.

"Lena was suspicious of him before Halene's death, but once it came out what had happened, she was certain he was behind it. We tried to tell someone about it, but no one would believe us."

"The third victim," Hunter said, "the one that survived. Why haven't they come forward to speak against him?"

"She tried," a voice said from the doorway.

Hunter and Keebo turned in the direction of the door to see Lena standing there with a tired and sad look on her face. Wrecker, Crosshair, and Tech stood behind her.

"But nobody would believe that my own cousin tried to drown me."

A/N: Please review and let me know what you think!