Jirin sat at the controls to his ship, Lien to his right. They'd been looking over the small craft for about an hour. It'd been a little under a month since they had met, and they found themselves occupied by trying to find a way off-planet.

"Are you sure? You know I can't fly this thing alone."

"Jirin, I'm just not a pilot. I don't have any of the necessary training."

"Right, I know. I'm sorry. I just wish we could find a way out of here."

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize."

He looked at her briefly and smiled. She couldn't help but smile back, and it hit him that there was something special about it. He could feel it. His next words came without thought.

"Are your Force-sensitive?"

Her eyes widened briefly with surprise. What do I say? "A little…why?"

"I guess I'm just surprised that other Jedi never found you."

She tried to look embarrassed while a mild panic set in, searching for what to say next. "I wasn't strong enough to be trained and they sent me on my way."

"That's too bad. I'm sure you'd have been a great Jedi."

"I really don't think so," she said softly.

Getting the subtle hint, he dropped the subject. They sat in silence for a while before he felt compelled to take what he saw as a risk.

"Um…if you don't mind me saying," he paused, "I like you. A lot."

Once again surprise came over Lien. "I like you too," she found herself saying. At the same time, she felt a wave of hope sweep over her. A hope that maybe she wouldn't have to live out her life alone as she'd always thought would happen. He smiled again. It made her…happy.

* * *

Several weeks later, they sat together in one of a series of caves they'd found which contained a small spring of fresh water. They'd gone exploring and were now a few days normal walk from Jirin's ship so had decided to spend some time in the caves. The light of several lamps illuminated a few meters and a stash of food from both trees and small game.

"…so when all is dark,

and nothing's quite right,

just turn to a friend,

and receive a little light," Jirin finished up a poem he'd been reciting spontaneously.

"That was beautiful," Lien complimented, "You're a great writer."

"Not really, but thanks. You're really the first person I've put together a poem for. I doubt anyone back home would have appreciated it."

"I never really got along with my peers."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Always ended up a target…" she felt a wave of anger surge from him, mixed with frustration.

"I wish I could have been there for you."

"Why?"

"I care about you too much to hear about stuff like that. You're my best friend."

She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Yet she also knew that it was the absolute truth. And she knew the feeling was mutual. Part of her screamed not to weaken herself to this Jedi. He was a Jedi! She hated Jedi and all they stood for. But she didn't, couldn't hate him. "Thank you. You're my best friend, too. The only real friend I've had."

Lien knew she couldn't turn from what was happening. She needed this. She needed him. She apologized silently for her deceptions and desperately hoped he'd never discover the truth.

* * *

That night, Jirin watched as Lien slept, unable to do so himself. He got up, stretched and stepped out of the cave into the relatively cool night air. Not sure what else to do, he decided to go on a quick Force-fed run. For the sake of "adventure" he started off in a general direction that they'd not yet searched.

He wasn't sure how long he was running, but decided it didn't matter after he almost fell into a hole taking up several square meters. It's large, uniform nature and the assorted basic gadgetry within made it decidedly artificial. This all took a secondary role in his mind behind the sight of a small, fully operational ship several more meters away.

I wonder if that's what destroyed Lien's ship. But where's the crew? Even on an uninhabited planet, I can't imagine anyone leaving a ship completely alone in unknown territory. Odd. I'd better get back. I'll tell Lien in the morning.

* * *

Some hours later, Lien sat in the cockpit of her master's ship. Jirin told her about finding the ship, and wondering if something could still be amiss. He knew when she left the cave that she was going out running, but she just couldn't tell him what she intended, no matter how much she hated lying to him. It tore at her, but she couldn't think of any other way.

She finished the pre-flight preparations, and started it hovering. She sped over to where they'd left Jirin's ship and armed her weapons. Soon Jirin's ship was a smoldering heap of scrap. Her task nearly done, she directed the ship to a spot a little closer to the caves. Bidding her ship farewell, she disembarked and used the Force to hurl it into space.

Now we're trapped here, together. The thought gave her both joy and dread. Only time would tell which would prevail, but she couldn't shake the feeling that her fears were well on their way to coming true.