Lena watched as Hunter's mouth dropped open in response to her words. She had suspected that Blaze had said something to him before they left but had hoped that it wouldn't have become an issue. Hunter held up the datapad that was resting in his lap, an image of Valor on the screen.

"He's your cousin?" he asked. "This man is part of a noble famly?"

"Noble is a title and nothing more a lot of the time," Lena said. "Not everyone on Alderaan lives by the same morals as Senator Organa and Queen Breha. Valor was raised to believe he's better than others and he's taken it quite literally his entire life."

Lena could sense a small wave of empathy tinged with pride come from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to look at Crosshair. She was filled with confusion as to how he could feel empathy for a man like Valor. His face turned towards her, and she saw his eyes widen a bit as he took in her expression, before his own softened and she felt a second wave of emotion. Regret. Lena quickly turned away to face Hunter again.

"When I returned to Alderaan to plead my case to my family at the beginning of the war, we came to an agreement that led to my reinstatement as the heir to my grandfather's title. Valor didn't take kindly to the news. I suspect his anger at the situation is what led to other disastrous outcomes."

Lena's eyes flicked to Keebo briefly. She wasn't sure how much Keebo had told Hunter as she had only caught the tail end of the conversation.

"Not long after it was finalized," she continued. "He came to me while I was meditating near a mountain pond I had frequented when I was younger. He knew I often went there to be alone and used that information to his advantage."

"He lost his title temporarily, and his response was to drown you?" Hunter asked disbelievingly.

"I told you he was vindictive," Keebo said.

"How did you escape?" Wrecker asked.

"I luckily wasn't as alone as he thought I was," Lena said. "Keebo was nearby and was able to pull him off of me before he could finish his task."

"If we do run into him, take a look at his face," Keebo said. "I gave him a reminder that will hopefully make him keep his distance."

"We won't let him touch you," Hunter said. "I promised your Commander that we would see you to safety and that's what we'll do."

Lena turned around to look at the other men standing behind her. Tech gave her an affirmative nod and Wrecker smiled and gave her a thumbs up. When she got to Crosshair, he met her gaze with a determined expression.

"Nobody gets past us," he said.

Lena gave him a small smile. The feelings she had picked up on before hadn't been empathy for Valor, it had been about the fact that Crosshair believed he and his brothers were better than others. While she didn't approve of the prideful attitude, she appreciated his confidence.

"We'll have to put that to the test when we arrive, won't we?"


A few hours passed before Tech made the announcement that they were approaching Alderaan. Crosshair watched as Lena and Keebo gathered their things in preparation. He had noticed the tension slowly creeping back into Lena's shoulders as they traveled. Now that they were descending into the atmosphere, they were practically meeting her ears. Somewhere in his mind, Crosshair thought of offering her a massage to help her relax, but he squashed that thought flat.

Something about her seemed to override all his common sense. While his hidden charm and suggestive flirting worked well on the women at 79's, he doubted it would work on Lena. Sure, she had been a bit flustered before, but she had regained her composure rather quickly. Not to mention that rather than taking a step towards wooing her, he had put his foot in his own mouth with his 'coward' comment.

Crosshair hadn't had an opportunity to get Lena alone to offer any kind of apology to her for his unwarranted comment. He wouldn't even know what to say to her. She had smiled at him again, which gave him hope that she wasn't holding too much of a grudge against him.

Crosshair could hear footsteps behind him before a hand rested on his shoulder. He turned to see Hunter standing beside him.

"Have you talked to her yet?"

"No."

"Well, she doesn't seem too mad at you and you did help with her hair," he said. "Maybe she's forgiven you."

Crosshair rolled his eyes at the comment about her hair. He wondered how long his brothers were going to hold that over his head. To tell the truth, he hadn't minded giving his assistance. Lena's hair had been as soft as he imagined, and he knew that was going to be the only chance he had to touch it. The stupid part of his brain that kept imagining himself in soft situations thought of how nice it would be to have the privilege of helping her with her hair on a regular basis. He inwardly cursed himself for thinking that.

The sooner he got away from this woman, the better.

Once the Marauder set down on the landing platform they had been directed to, they all made their way to the door. Tech was staying behind on the ship to run his usual diagnostics and work on some other project he said he had. Crosshair, Hunter, and Wrecker had agreed to escort Lena and Keebo to Lord Orim and be on the lookout for trouble.

As the group descended the ramp, Crosshair's gaze landed on a figure waiting for them at the edge of the landing platform. He saw Lena stiffen in front of him and her steps faltered for a second before she began walking again. Crosshair turned to look at Hunter and opened a private channel between them.

"I thought you said she wasn't afraid of him?"

"That's what Commander Blaze told me," Hunter replied. "I think he may have overestimated the situation."

"Do you think she's seen him since he attacked her?"

Crosshair saw Hunter shake his head in response. Their conversation was brought to an end by the approach of the man waiting for them. Hunter moved to stand behind Keebo's right side and Crosshair mimicked his movement to stand behind Lena's left. Wrecker stood large and imposing in the center behind the two Jedi. When the man reached them, Crosshair noticed that he had four long scars running down one side of his face.

"Welcome home, cousin," Valor said, spreading his arms wide in greeting.

"Valor," Lena responded. "I wasn't expecting you to be here to greet us."

"My father is quite busy, as is Uncle Zenn. I thought it would be nice for you to have a friendly face to greet you rather than some random underling."

Crosshair scoffed under his helmet.

Who was this guy kidding?

"I see you have a rather unique necklace, cousin," Valor said, gesturing to his own neck. "Much different from that tailhead inspired trash you normally wear."

Crosshair's eyes flicked to the side and saw Keebo take a step forward, her lips curling in a snarl. Lena's hand reached out and stopped her padawan's movement and he heard her quietly say something in the language they had spoken to each other before. Keebo stepped back into her previous position.

"A gift from one of our Separatist enemies," Lena said. "Who has been dealt with and will hopefully not be causing any more trouble."

"Let me guess. You peacefully took his life in retribution."

"Actually, he'll soon be sitting in a jail cell serving time for his crimes. If fate is merciful, maybe he'll retain the use of his arm."

Valor raised his eyebrows in surprise before turning to look at Keebo with disdain.

"Did you bite him?" he asked.

Keebo lurched forward again, Lena's arm shooting out to stop her as before.

"Maybe you didn't learn your lesson the first time, Valor. Should I give you another one?"

"Keebo, be mindful of your anger," Lena said quietly before turning back to Valor. "The man standing behind me shot him when he attacked me, saving my life."

Crosshair tightened his grip on his firepuncher and glared at the man before him. He had only been in this man's presence for a short time and he already felt the overwhelming urge to shoot him as well. He would even settle for hitting him in the face if he could get away with it.

Valor's gaze moved over the three clones, taking in their appearance.

"These three aren't part of your normal squadron of meat-droids, are they?" he asked.

Crosshair ground his teeth together under his helmet at the meat-droid comment. He wished he had a toothpick to fiddle with. He felt a gentle touch on his mind, a soothing influence being pushed towards him. He glanced down at the woman beside him. She hadn't moved, but he had a feeling that she was trying to help him stay calm.

"No, they aren't. They're part of a special squad that is not afraid to take risks. They also are very skilled at taking out threats."

Crosshair's scowl transformed into a smirk at her words. She had phrased it as a compliment, but the underlying threat was clear. He wondered if that was something she and her own squad were skilled at.

"If you'll excuse us, I believe Keebo and I are expected. Clone Force 99 has their own duties to attend to, so we'll be on our way."

"If they have somewhere else to be, I will happily escort you," Valor said.

Crosshair saw Hunter step forward, placing himself between Valor and the Jedi. Sensing what his intent was, Crosshair gave Lena's arm a light nudge before subtly tilting his head to the left. Lena seemed to understand his meaning and started walking in the indicated direction, pulling Keebo along by her hand.

"We have orders to see the Jedi all the way to their destination, sir," Hunter said. "We won't be leaving until those orders are fulfilled."

"Nice to see you again, Valor," Lena called over her shoulder as they all boarded the transit shuttle.

Crosshair boarded last, keeping his gaze focused on Valor until everyone was onboard. He wasn't going to give the man any opportunity to pull something. Once Lena's back had been turned, Valor had dropped all pretense of hospitality. His impassive face had twisted into a scowl that rivaled Crosshair's before he turned and stormed off. Once he was a good distance away, Crosshair joined the rest of the group on the shuttle.


Lena sat with her hands clasped tightly in her lap, taking deep breaths to try and steady her rapidly beating heart. She had told herself that she wouldn't have an issue if they ran into Valor, but despite her strong front, anxiety and fear washed over her. An orange hand reached into her lap and grabbed one of her own tightly.

"He's gone," Keebo said. "You're safe, master."

"I know. I thought it would be easier than that is all."

"I'm sorry for not keeping a firm hold on my anger," Keebo said, her eyes downcast. "When he said those things, all I wanted to do was claw his eyes out."

A cough captured the attention of the two women, and they both turned to look at its source. Hunter had removed his helmet and was looking down at Keebo's hands.

"I'm assuming those scars on his face were your handiwork?" he asked.

Keebo nodded, holding her hand up to show off her sharpened nails.

"He got those when he tried to drown her. I had hoped it would scare him off, but he's got more guts than I gave him credit for. Either that or he's just a slow learner."

"He seemed very sure of himself for someone that's tried to murder the person he's talking to," Crosshair said from behind them.

"That's because he believes I don't remember what happened," Lena said.

"I thought you said that you tried to report what happened?" Hunter asked.

"I did. To his father. The problem is that the wounds Keebo gave him were used to twist the story into one where she attacked him unprovoked."

"Titus has never been my biggest fan," Keebo said. "He told one story, while we told a different one. The other members of the nobility were split on who they believed. He wasn't even there to plead his case, his father did it for him. Once it was over, Titus asked me to maintain a peaceful façade and let Valor believe I didn't remember what happened."

"If Valor has a history of violence, why would they believe his story?" Hunter asked.

"Because I have a history of not keeping my word. At least that's how they view it," Lena said. "He's more desirable as the future of the nobility than I am."

Lena heard Crosshair scoff from behind her, which she wasn't sure if she should take as a compliment or not.

"You're certainly a lot nicer than he is," Wrecker said.

"I'm afraid they don't take that into account, Wrecker. He's purer in their eyes, while they see me as tainted. My grandmother wasn't from Alderaan, and wasn't fully human, even if she looked it. Not only was I born out of wedlock, but my status as a Jedi makes me even more different in their eyes. The only heir I can provide isn't from Alderaan and isn't human. All of these things lower their opinion of me more and more. That makes Valor more desirable."

"You weren't kidding about noble being a title and nothing more," Hunter said. "I hope I never have to deal with these people. I've met some pretty entitled senators, but I figured that was just a politician thing."

"Ironically, our senator is one of the kinder people in a position of privilege here on Alderaan," Lena said with a huff of laughter. "As is the Queen. I only wish the others were like them."

The rest of the shuttle ride passed in silence as they made their way across the hilly landscape. Before long, a large mansion came into view and the shuttle slowed as it made the final approach.

"Woah," Wrecker said, his mouth falling open in amazement.

"Welcome to my family's home boys," Lena said.


Once the shuttle landed on the edge of a large pavilion, the group exited one by one. Crosshair scanned the area, searching for potential threats, but Lena seemed to finally be at ease so he figured they were safe for now. He took off his helmet and followed the group across the pavilion. The air around him was calm and filled with the sounds of rushing water from a nearby river and the songs of birds. Crosshair had never been in such a peaceful place. That peace didn't last long before it was pierced by high pitch voices

"Lena! Keebo!" cried a pair of young girls that were running towards them.

Crosshair watched as the two Jedi bent down and held out their arms to the approaching children and caught them as they flung themselves against them. Lena spun around with the child in her arms before she settled her on her hip.

"Hello, girls! Did you miss us?" she asked.

"Of course!" the two girls shouted together. "It's been so boring here without you!"

"I doubt that," Lena said with a chuckle.

Crosshair could feel himself staring at Lena's bright smile, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. All signs of exhaustion and her anxiety from before had disappeared. The glow he had noticed the first time he saw her had returned. He was starting to understand why Chip had been so defensive of her.

"Cross? Is something wrong?" Wrecker asked.

Crosshair tore his eyes away from Lena and turned to his brother, shaking his head.

"Just taking in the scenery."

He heard a mutter of "Scenery? Yeah right," from Hunter, which earned his other brother a glare. When he turned back to Lena, he saw a woman hurrying up to the two Jedi, exasperation clear in her expression.

"I'm sorry, Lady Lena. Once they heard you were coming, they ran as fast as they could to greet you."

"That's alright Kalora," Lena said, setting the girl back on the ground. "Run back to whatever you were supposed to be doing, girls, before your mother gets after you."

The two girls ran back in the direction of the mansion, laughing as they ran. The woman threw her hands up in the air.

"I wish they had that much energy when I ask them to do things."

Lena laughed at the woman before she stepped forward and enveloped her in an embrace.

"It's good to see you."

"You as well, m'lady. Although, I'm not overly fond of those marks on your neck. Why hasn't that handsome medic of yours done anything to treat them?"

"They're just bruises Kalora, they'll fade on their own with time."

Crosshair was getting tired of the bruises on Lena's neck. The sight of them alone bothered him, but the fact that people kept mentioning them made him irritated. Maybe she wouldn't have them if he had acted quicker in his job as lookout and had taken out the Separatist before he had grabbed her.

Lena turned in his direction, her eyes flicking to him for a second before she looked back to the woman she was talking to. Crosshair could feel the soothing influence pushing lightly on his mind again. His eyes focused on the back of Lena's head, narrowing in suspicion.

Was she trying to help pull him out of his guilty thoughts?

Crosshair didn't know why she would do such a thing for him. Maybe his emotions were starting to get on her nerves. Tech had said that she had empathy-based powers and was likely tuned into everything he was feeling. He wasn't sure how he felt about her interference with his emotions.

"Your grandfather is waiting for you in the conference room with Mr. Titus," the woman named Kalora said.

"Alright, thank you," Lena responded before she leaned in and said something that Crosshair couldn't hear.

"I think we'll be alright to walk from here boys," Keebo said.

"I won't feel satisfied until we see you to your end destination," Hunter said.

"Follow us then," Lena said.

The group walked across the pavilion and entered the mansion through a large set of elegant wooden doors. Crosshair imagined that Tech would be disappointed that he missed out on seeing this building. Before long, they reached another set of doors that opened into a large conference room. Two men sat at a large wooden table and looked up as they entered.

"Lena!" one of them said as he moved to stand.

The man was short in stature and had graying hair with patches of red lingering. As he approached Lena, Crosshair noticed that he wasn't much taller than she was. He embraced her before pulling back to look at her, his hands lingering on her waist.

"How are you, my child?"

"I've seen better days, Grandfather, but it's nice to be home."

Crosshair watched as the man's eyes drifted down to look at Lena's neck, widening slightly, but he didn't comment on the marks. He was grateful that someone had the decency to not say anything. The older man released Lena and made his way over to Keebo, leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek.

"And you jun eswo?" he asked her.

"Rackus ael see nu," Keebo responded. "Su nu juma passi spiritku?"

"Tuklii luhak nu su circaa, ka."

"You've been practicing!" Keebo said before returning his gesture, gently kissing his cheek.

The older man smiled at her before turning to face Crosshair and his brothers.

"And who are these fine gentlemen?"

"These are three of the four members of a squad called Clone Force 99," Lena said. "Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair. Their fourth member, Tech, is still with their ship at the landing platform."

"I appreciate you escorting my granddaughter back home. My name is Lord Zenn Orim."

"It was our pleasure," Hunter said. "Now that she has been returned to you, we should be on our way. Our commanding officer is waiting for us on Coruscant."

"I'll see you out," Lena said, gesturing to the door.

The three of them turned around and walked out the door, Lena following them. Once they exited the large room into the hall, Lena closed the door behind her.

"It was a privilege to work with you boys, and I wish you luck on your next assignment. Hopefully, I will see you again in the future."

"It was nice to have you around, even if it was just for a little while," Wrecker said.

"I asked Kalora to prepare some food for you to take back to your ship with you. I imagine you get sick of rations and wanted to make sure you got some decent food before you head off on your next adventure. She will meet you at the shuttle when you leave."

"Thank you, General," Hunter said.

Crosshair smirked at the disgusted face Lena made at Hunter calling her 'General'. He let his eyes wander over her face, memorizing her features. He knew it wasn't likely he would ever see her again, so he wanted one last good look.

"I'll forgive you for that this time Sergeant," Lena said.

"Apologies," Hunter said. "Thank you for the food, Lena. I'm sure Wrecker will appreciate it greatly."

"I know I will!" Wrecker said with a broad grin. "See you around, Lena!"

"Say hello to Cody for me," Lena said, raising her hand in farewell.

They turned to leave before Crosshair was stopped in his tracks by Lena saying his name.

"Thanks again for saving my life," she said. "Both times."

When he looked at her face, she was smiling brightly up at him. Crosshair felt his lips twitch up in a half smile.

"Anytime, Sunshine."

Crosshair felt the soothing touch in his mind again, only this time it was mixed with gratitude and affection. She may as well have kissed him on the cheek with how the rush of emotions made him feel. He could feel his face heating up in response. After a moment, the touch receded, and Lena gave them all a final wave before disappearing back into the conference room.

Crosshair turned to his brothers to see them looking at him with amused expressions. Hunter was clearly trying to hold back a laugh and Wrecker seemed to finally realize the reason behind the random shutdowns of his mental faculties.

"Oooo, Crosshair's got a girlfriend," Wrecker said followed by a loud laugh.

"Kriff off," Crosshair said, shoving past his brothers and pulling his helmet onto his head to hide his face.

When they left the mansion and were walking back across the pavilion, Crosshair heard someone yelling from the door. He turned around to see Keebo walking towards them.

"Hey Ram'ser!" she shouted. "Wait up a sec!"

She increased her speed and was soon right in front of him.

"I'm so glad I caught you before you were gone," she said.

"What do you need from me?" Crosshair asked.

"It's about Lena. I'm sure Chip probably gave you the 'hurt her and I'll kill you' speech before we left, but I'm not here to do that. I wanted to tell you to do something about it."

"Do something about what?"

"I know you like her, or at the very least find her attractive. If you ever get the chance again, pursue it. You might be surprised with the results."

"Have a lot of say in your master's love life, do you?"

"I wouldn't go that far, but all I know is that I want her to be happy."

"I'm not really the 'make them happy' type, kid. Sorry to burst your bubble."

"Well, if you change your mind, remember what I said."

Crosshair watched Keebo walk away, thinking over what she had said to him. Despite what he had said to Hunter about liking a challenge, he hadn't thought of pursuing Lena in any way. It was too much trouble. He didn't want a relationship; he was fine with one-night stands or mutually beneficial arrangements. As a Jedi, he knew Lena was unlikely to see him in that way anyways, so it would only be a waste of time.

The image his mind conjured of her smiling at him had him leaning in a very different direction. All the things he had thought about: helping with her hair, making her smile, dancing with her, making her laugh. They all brought a fluttery feeling to his heart that he was very unfamiliar with. The lingering feeling of her soothing influence and how her skin had felt under his fingertips sent shivers down his spine.

Maybe he could make her happy.

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

Ryl Translation:

Jun eswo- my beloved

Rackus ael see nu- happy to see you

Su nu juma passi spiritku- are you in good spirits?

Tuklii luhak nu su circaa, ka- now that you are here, yes