Thanks for the encouraging comments guys. Your feedback is very, very welcome. I'm glad you like the details Tim, they're pretty fun to make up. As always, I look forward to any comments or constructive criticism. What you specifically liked or didn't like is particularly helpful. Anyway, on to the show…

Chapter 6: A Slight Detour

Cold fury rippled around Min as she advanced slowly on Carth. Her arm throbbed with a heady blend of power and pain as she tightly gripped the dark sword. She was impressed. He stood his ground, even though he was afraid of her.

She spoke softly, barely above a whisper. "I ordered you to leave."

"You know I don't leave people behind."

She cocked her head inquisitively. "Do you know what I do to people who disobey me?"

Min lifted the steel blade and the vision clawed through her.

Revan's boots clicked on the metal deck as the Dark Jedi strode down the bridge of the new Sith Interdictor ship, the Leviathan. Subordinates and underlings saw the cloaked figure approach, and scrambled to get out of the way. As force bind as they were, they could feel the cold fury of the Masked One.

Malak stood in front of the large viewing windows watching the Sith fleet converge. Revan's own flagship, the Nightwind, loomed over the other ships. Sleek and deadly, it waited for her to return.

Malak turned towards his Master. "Ah, there you are. I am pleased to report-"

Without breaking stride, Revan stretched out her hand and lightning shot from her gloved fingertips. Malak screamed. She enveloped him in a stasis field and forced him to his knees, so that by the time she reached him, he was completely helpless. He tried to overpower her with his will, but the effort was futile. Although Malak was the better swordsman of the two, Revan had always been more powerful.

"You disobeyed my orders, Mal." Revan spoke at a near whisper, but the force projected the sound throughout the entire bridge. The crewmen were completely silent, transfixed by the interchange between the two Dark Jedi. None of them dared to make a sound. They knew better than to interfere.

Malak was the only one on the bridge who wasn't afraid of Revan. Not yet anyway.

He tried talking his way out of trouble, the way he always had. "You ordered me to recruit Karath. I did. You ordered me to take out the orbital shipyards. I did. "

"Yes. But I specifically ordered you to stay with the fleet. You left and bombed Telos."

"Saul needed to be tested."

"Which could have been accomplished in a hundred other ways. Other ways that didn't include wasting resources on an insignificant non-strategic target. Other ways that didn't leave my left flank open to a Republic attack."

"But you crushed them anyway."

"Yes. While you were off having your fun, we could have lost half our fleet. That's unacceptable."

Malak started to sweat, finally realizing that he was in serious trouble.

"But do you know what is truly unacceptable? The fact that you disobeyed me and still lost. You bombed an unarmed world and still managed to get run off by the Republic. You lost a third of your squadrons and you didn't even try to keep it. You scampered away like a frightened Gizka at the first sign of resistance. And you brought me nothing of value."

The scent of fear bloomed around Malak, and Revan was intoxicated. "You count on our friendship too much. No more talking. No more excuses. You've disobeyed my orders for the last time."

She touched his cheek with the tip of her index finger and slowly caressed the outline of his jaw. Inch by inch, Malak's jawbone popped and crunched underneath Revan's touch as she ground it to dust. Malak tried to scream, but choked on blood and teeth and bone. Blood dribbled from his mouth, streaking down his grey skin. She could hear some of the bridge crew retching.

When she was done, she released the stasis field and Malak pitched forward onto the metal deck. His entire body shook from shock, but he was still alive. She crouched down next to him.

"If you make it to the door, I'll let you live."

Malak began to crawl….

What's going on?

Carth braced himself for Min's attack, trying to figure out how to get the weapon away without hurting her, when her eyes went completely blank. The ship pitched, and he fell back against the wall, hitting the back of his head. Min, still several feet away, fell to her knees and clutched the dark blade.

Jolee crouched near Min, hands outspread in front of him. While his dark face was tight with shock, his voice was steady. "Drop the blade kid."

Her face clenched and tears streaked down her cheeks. "It hurts."

"I know. Let it go."

Seconds ticked by. Finally she dropped the blade. It hit the floor with a loud clang. Carth tried to go to her.

Jolee stopped him with an upraised hand. The old Jedi kicked the sword over towards Carth and metal scraped on metal. Jolee grabbed a towel from a nearby countertop and threw it over the blade.

"Wrap it up and flush it out the airlock. Don't let any of the others touch it."

Although he was reluctant to leave, Carth did as he asked. As he stepped into the corridor, the smell of vomit filled his nose and he saw his son slumped against the wall. Mekel was still retching. Bastila, her face pale, but composed, brushed past him into the medical bay and the door swooshed shut behind her.

He took a second to check on his son. "Are you alright Dee?"

Dustil nodded mutely and stared at the wrapped up blade, mesmerized by something Carth couldn't see. I'd better get to the airlock.

In the common room Juhani was helping Kel to the couch. Canderous stood in the middle of the bedlam and looked as confused as Carth was. The Mandilorian followed him to the airlock

"What happened out here?" Carth asked, as he placed the blade into the airlock and sealed the doors.

"I don't know. I was in the common room when everyone's face went blank. The ship rocked and then one of the boys started puking on my boots." Canderous scowled down at his soiled footwear. Carth pressed a button and the airlock opened. "Why are you shooting a sword out of the airlock?"

"I'm not sure. Let's go find out."

Bastila and Jolee emerged from the med bay and found everyone in the common room waiting for them. A subdued silence hung in the air.

"How is she?"

Bastila didn't need her empathetic abilities to know that Carth was deeply worried. His jaw was set in a hard line and his arms were crossed. They'd had to kick him out of the med bay. "She was hurt badly, but she will recover."

"So tell us Princess, what the hell happened?" Canderous demanded.

Bastila rubbed her temples; her head felt like someone had taken a dull hatchet to it. She clenched her teeth and fought for control. She hated that nickname, which was, of course, why Canderous used it at every opportunity. "Min and I had a vision."

"Yes, we know young lady. You broadcasted it to every force sensitive on this boat." Jolee said.

She was truly shocked, and looked around the room for confirmation. "Is this true?"

Dustil and Mekel nodded dumbly; Kel just stared at the wall.

"Yes it was…most unpleasant." Juhani replied.

Bastila struggled to keep her composure. The implications of this terrified her. Before she could come up with a response, Jolee spoke.

"I believe that the sword acted as an amplifier to Min's already considerable abilities. When she had her," he looked Bastila directly in the eyes, "vision, it traveled through your bond and your mind was unprepared for the power of it."

Bastila looked at the old Jedi as her mind started to bubble with panic. She kept her face carefully blank. He knows!

"So it spilled over, like a power surge?" Carth asked.

Jolee answered. "Essentially, yes."

"But why would she have a vision about Malak losing his jaw?"

Bastila knew that Carth would not let it rest until he got some kind of answer. The man could be maddeningly tenacious. "I am unsure. Jolee tells me that the sword was Ajunta Pall's. If that is true then it was a relic of very dark power. Perhaps that was why."

"You're very lucky sonny. To a Jedi, that sword was poison, and she could have easily killed you. I'm actually surprised that she dropped it."

Carth digested this information but Bastila could tell that he was still not satisfied with the answers they had given. But he was unable to ask anymore questions as Jolee took charge of the situation.

"Well, this old man has had enough excitement for one night." Bastila's shoulders slumped in relief as she watched the old Jedi herd the young men out of the room and into the port side sleeping quarters. He apparently had no plans of outing her secret tonight.

How long he will stay silent?

"Give me back my Pazaak deck you little punk!" Mission snarled. Her head tails swung as if she was going to smack Dustil across the face.

They squared off in the port side crew quarters. The fact that she was almost a foot shorter than him didn't stop her. She looked up at him and barred her teeth. Kel and Mekel lounged in their bunks, and watched the show.

Dustil reveled in petty satisfaction. The Pazaak deck sat snugly in his back pocket. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Big Z says he saw you take it off the table. I know you got it. So hand it over."

"He's lying."

She looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you calling my Wookiee friend a liar?"

"Yup."

"You ain't that smart are you?" Mission declared. From the looks on their faces he could tell that Kel and Mekel agreed with her. It just spurred him on.

"I'm smarter than you, you ignorant little cantina rat!"

Mission cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "I can't believe that someone as nice as Carth could have such a spoiled pansy creep as a kid!"

Jealousy overcame Dustil. "You don't know anything about my father!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

The person in question appeared in the doorway. "What's going on in here?" The authority in father's tone demanded everyone's attention; his mother had called it his Captain's Voice. No one answered, but Kel and Mekel worked really hard on becoming invisible.

Carth pinned his son with his gaze. "Well?"

He stared defiantly back at his father. "Nothing."

His father turned to Mission, and Dustil gnashed his teeth when his father's expression softened.

"Mission?"

She looked at Dustil, and back at Carth. Although she was still flushed with anger, she mumbled, "Nothing."

Shooting Dustil one last dirty look, she tried to walk out of the room. Carth caught her by her shoulders, and turned her to face him. He clearly didn't believe her. "Are you sure?"

The Twi'lek looked torn. She sighed, and nodded. "I'm sure. It's nothing." Reluctantly, his father let her walk out of the room

She's protecting him! He hated her more.

"What the hell is your problem Dustil? You've been an obnoxious brat to Mission since we left Korriban."

"Why are you assuming that I did something? Maybe she did something to me?"

His father pinned Dustil with his eyes and the look of disappointment stung. "If you've got a problem with me, then take it out on me. Leave her out of this."

But Dustil couldn't leave her out of it. He'd been angry since he saw them playing Pazaak several days ago; the two of them had a closeness that was obvious. And when he'd found out that his father had been giving her flying lessons, he'd gone ballistic. He'd never once gotten a flying lesson from his father.

"Since you like her so much, why don't you go spend time with her?"

"Dustil. I've tried spending time with you. But every time I try, you blow me off. I am not trying to replace you with Mission." His father took a deep breath and Dustil wondered if he was going to finally lose his patience. "You're my son and I love you. But right now you're acting like a jerk."

Dustil stared at him in stony silence.

"I would apologize for whatever you did. Trust me, it's not good to tick off a girl with a Wookiee."

His father left him to chew on his words.

Carth pressed the call button on the starboard crew quarters and waited impatiently for Min to answer. He hadn't actually been in this room yet and he was curious as to what it looked like. Shortly after Taris, Bastila had demanded that the men and the women have separate quarters. Everyone complied, mostly because they really didn't care one way or another. But now that there were three teenage boys on the ship, Carth was very grateful that they had split the quarters that way.

Carth knew that she was in there, and that she was awake and alone. He'd sent Mission in as his spy over ten minutes ago. He hadn't seen her since she woke up last night. He knew she was avoiding him and had a pretty good idea why. At least this time, it's not my fault.

He pressed the button again, this time leaning on it much longer. He was about to just open the door when she finally answered.

Her voice was resigned. "Come on in, Carth."

He jumped. It still was a little strange when she did that. Jedi powers. Right.

While the port and starboard quarters were structurally mirror images of each other, they couldn't have been more different. Carth took in the strange mix of femininity and weaponry. Of course they had a lot more space, only four of them to the current seven that occupied the other half. It also smelled a lot nicer.

It was obvious where each woman slept. Juhani and Bastila shared one side of the room. Both bunks were neat and tidy, beds made and shelves uncluttered. The shelf over Juhani's bed held mostly weapons: exotic knives, practice swords and her lightsaber. She also had a handful of beautiful dark blue meditation crystals arranged in a plain ceramic bowl. Her bed was made with military precision; the brown wool blanket stretched tightly over the corners. As a Captain, he'd inspected bunks that were a lot less tidy and he wondered if he could bounce a credit off the bed. I bet I could.

Bastila's bunk was just as neat and other than a few basic toiletries and her lightsaber, her shelf was completely empty. If she had any personal effects, they were hidden in the drawers under her bed.

On the other side of the room, Mission's area was a colorful rumpled mess. The floor near her bed was covered in clothes and the drawers under her bed were half open. They'd looked like they'd been ransacked.

Her bed wasn't any better. There was a patched quilt that was shoved to one side and her Pazaak deck was tossed haphazardly on top. Her self was crammed with objects: security spikes, a stealth field generator, flight manuals, crystals and a blaster pistol. There was also a holocron, which he knew was the only thing that Mission had of her brother Griff. She'd showed it to him one night while they were playing Pazaak. Carth had promised himself that if they ever found her core-slime of a brother, he'd give Griff an attitude adjustment. With his fists. Her prized armor hung from a peg on the wall.

Min was propped up in her bunk on some fancy fringed pillows. Her legs stretched over a light blue wool blanket thrown casually over the bed. Her shelf was stacked with data pads. There were also jars, a hair brush, a jewelry box and a candle. Her brown leather satchel sat next to the wall; her belt with her lightsabers draped over the top.

She tossed the datapad that she had been reading to the side, but avoided his eyes.

Carth sat down on her bunk facing her. "How long were you planning on hiding from me?"

"Oh, I don't know. Until I could figure out a way to say, I'm sorry for almost killing you, without sounding like an idiot."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

She looked up at him. "You don't get it. I was so angry. I wanted to hurt you. And if that vision hadn't come, I might have killed you."

"But you didn't."

"You don't get bonus points for not killing your friends. That's kind of a given."

"You do if you're a Jedi," he joked. Seeing that she was not amused he grew serious. "I know you, Min. You wouldn't kill me. And I'm not going to discuss this with you."

"But-"

"I will say one thing, however. We've come a long way with your help. Whether it's the Force or fate or just dumb luck. I'm glad you're here. We probably would have never made it this far without you. I should have said this long before, instead of doubting you. I, ah, hope you can forgive me."

She stared at him. Finally, she found her voice. "Forgive you? For what?"

He frowned. He thought he had been pretty clear. "For being a suspicious jerk."

"We already talked about this, didn't we?"

"But you never actually forgave me Min, and I'd like to be."

She was still staring at him. "I don't believe you!"

With his pride wounded, he became indignant. "What am I supposed to say? I was wrong. I was a stubborn fool. I have trouble admitting it when a beautiful woman has my number, okay?"

She covered her eyes with one of her hands and her body began to shake and bit her lip. Carth panicked, he didn't think he could stand it if she started to cry. He tried to comfort her by putting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry Min. I guess I'm a proud man. I don't admit things like this easily."

She looked back up at him and he realized that she was not crying at all. She's laughing at me!

Her face lit up in a bemused smile and she touched his cheek, "Carth Onasi, what am I going to do with you?"

He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't. Not when she looked at him like that.

"I almost kill you and you won't let me apologize for it. Instead you insist on apologizing for something that I'd forgiven you for weeks ago." She shook her head. "You really are too good."

He flushed. "Oh. So, you do accept my apology. Huh. Good. Good. I'm glad."

She dropped her hand, but arched one saucy eyebrow at him. "Well, I don't know, now. Maybe you should work for it, a bit."

Carth realized that they were sitting very close, that his hands were still on her shoulders and that they were sitting on a bed. He smiled playfully. "Oh? I don't know if I like the sound of that."

She leaned closer and placed her hands on his chest. He could feel the warmth through his shirt. She murmured, "Don't you want me to accept your apology?"

His throat went dry. "I don't know," he rasped. "What am I going to have to do for it?"

Min's gaze dropped to his lips. He couldn't help it. Carth leaned forward and brushed her lips with his. He was just going to tease her, he figured she had it coming, but it was her softness that did him in. He was caught completely off guard.

Carth pushed her back into the pillows and kissed her. Hard. Min's fingers curled into his shirt as she pulled him closer. He could feel the heat radiating from her skin as his hands slid up her shoulders and neck. He buried them in her hair. When they finally broke apart they were both panting. He felt like he'd been hit by an exploding power conduit.

Carth was overwhelmed by a mixture of desire, need and painful guilt. But he really didn't want to let her go. "I...heh, I really think that we should, ah...."

He wondered if he looked as shaken as she did. Her lips thinned in exasperation. "You'd better go. Things are about to get very ugly in here."

They moved apart as the door opened. Bastila marched into the room. Disapproval radiated from her.

"The bond?" he asked, relieved that her irritation wasn't with him.

Min and Bastila exchanged icy glares. "Yeah."

"Captain Onasi, if you would excuse us, I have something I wish to discuss with Padawan Avery." Carth had a pretty good idea what she wanted to discuss with Min, and he wasn't about to abandon her to Bastila. Besides, the audacity of the young Jedi really ticked him off.

"I don't think so."

Bastila turned her glare on him and gave him her best dismissive gesture. "This is Jedi business, Captain."

Carth was completely unfazed. He wondered if she was going to try to order him out of the room. Not that I'd go. "No it's not. It's none of your business, Padawan Shan."

"She is a Jedi. It makes it my business. It is part of my duty to give proper guidance to her."

"She's a grown woman and I think she is capable of making her own decisions."

"You do not understand. Emotional entanglements can be dangerous. They can impair rational thought, they can lead to outbursts of uncontrolled emotion. A Jedi must be above such things."

"Like you?" The thought of Min becoming as cold and detached as Bastila made his stomach churn.

"You saw what happened in the med bay."

"Yeah, I did. She fought the dark side and won."

Bastila didn't deny it. "Fighting the dark side is not something you do once. It is something she has to do everyday. You have no idea the danger you are to her."

He didn't buy it. Not for a minute. "I'm putting her in danger?"

"Relationships are fraught with powerful emotions. Such extremes are to be avoided. Anger and hate are the worst, but even love can lead to folly-"

Min finally stepped in. For the first time ever, Carth saw the flush under her brown skin. "Enough. Bastila, you can lecture me later. Now please, go."

Amazingly, Bastila relented and left the room.

"She's unbelievable."

Min sighed. "She really does think she's helping."

Carth stood and put some distance between them, because he was afraid that if he stayed where he was he would start kissing her again. Torn between guilt and want, he simply didn't know what to do next.

"Carth, it's okay. I understand."

"You do?"

"You feel guilty, about your wife…among other things."

He nodded. Are we really that transparent to each other?

"I think it's only natural," she said.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You haven't. Look, I realize you're not ready for this," she ran her fingers through her hair, "whatever this is. To be honest, I'm not sure I am either. Anyway, I'll be fine." She stood and headed to the door. "I'm hungry; do you think there are any leftovers from dinner?"

He allowed her to change the subject. "Not with three teenage boys and a Wookiee on this ship."

"Good point." She considered. "Maybe if I whine enough, Juhani will cook for me."

Carth shoved his disappointment to the side and followed her from the room.

Dustil, Kel, Mekel and Carth waited in docking bay four. Like everything else on the upper level of Cloud City it was absolutely pristine. It was hard to believe that the giant floating saucer city, was actually a mining facility.

By a mutual decision between Min, Carth and Bastila, they'd decided to drop the boys here instead of booking passage for them from Tatooine under the theory that the less the boys knew, they safer everyone was. Even if they'd wanted to come with, taking along three ex-Sith teenagers was not really an option.

They had easily found a transport ship that was leaving today for Coruscant and booked three tickets for the boys. Carth wasn't shocked when Min had presented them with first class tickets.

Mekel and Kel looked out the big glass window overlooking the spectacular view of the great gas giant underneath. Kel goggled like a backwoods tourist, while Mekel tried and failed to maintain some kind of cool detachment. Dustil seemed oblivious to his surroundings.

"So, have you decided what you're going to do once you reach Coruscant?" Carth asked. He'd tried to convince Dustil to go and stay with his brother's family on Coruscant, but Dustil was reluctant to do so. Carth resisted, with great difficulty, to tell him what to do.

"No, not yet. Mekel and Kel want to see if the Jedi Order will accept us." A goofy smile spread across Dustil's face. "They say they want to find out if all Jedi girls are as hot as the ones on your ship." Carth's lips twitched. The relative good looks of each of the Jedi women and one blue teenage Twi'lek had been discussed in great detail by the boys on their journey to Cloud City. Mekel's obsession with Mission had prompted a lecture from Carth about what the phrase 'jail bait' meant.

Dustil sobered up again. "I'm not sure I want to join the Order. Maybe I'll go back to Telos. I don't know."

Carth was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his son was force sensitive. "The Jedi Order, huh? Just promise me, if you join, you'll watch your back."

Dustil looked surprised. "I'd thought you'd be happy."

"I don't trust the Order. They're better than the Sith, but they can be a bunch of manipulative bastards when they want to be."

"What about the Jedi on your ship? Do you trust them?"

"Only Min."

Dustil spoke tentatively. "About her…."

Damn. Carth kept his voice very bland; this was not a conversation he wanted to have right now. "What about her."

"There's something not right about her. I mean, she's only been a Jedi for a couple of months right? I heard what happened on Kashyyyk, she shouldn't have been able to do that. Not that she's not powerful enough, because she is, but it takes a level of concentration and control that should take years to master. Not only that, but she beat both Master Uthar and Master Yuthura, and at least seven other students, by herself. I'm strong, and I've had several years of training. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have done that."

Carth gave him a nod, and Dustil was encouraged enough to continue.

"She is the most powerful Jedi I've ever seen and the way the force moves around her is like a constant storm. The only other person I've seen that comes close is Malak."

"You've met Malak?"

"Sometimes he'd come to choose an apprentice from the Academy. Last time he picked a guy named Bandon, he was a real prick. It's hard to believe that Saul wanted me to take Bandon's place." Dustil's expression was unreadable. Carth couldn't tell if his son was flattered or scared.

Dustil's file had been very enlightening. Killing his friends had only been the beginning of the Sith's plans for him. Carth thought that he hated Saul before, but discovering that Saul was planning on using his son to curry favor with Malak brought his fury to a whole new level.

Dustil continued. "I always thought that all the talk about destiny was, well, dumb. But when I look at your friend, I'm not so sure. The other Jedi, they have to know how strange this is. For a while, I thought she was lying, but I don't sense any deception from her. She's not well trained enough to hide any lies from me," he added as an afterthought, "but I'm kind of good at the empathic stuff. I'm pretty sure she has no idea how powerful she is. You'd think that her girlfriend would clue her in."

Carth choked. "Her girlfriend?"

"Jedi Shan."

"What…uh, makes you think she's um…."

"Their bond. Normally Force bonds happen between Master and Padawan or you know, lovers over a long period of time. Since they're both Padawans, I thought…they're not?"

"No!" he stated, more forcefully than he meant to. I think you need to work on your empathy Dee

"Well that's even weirder. Maybe they're just good friends."

"I don't think that's it either."

The transport ship started to board. Mekel and Kel gave Carth a friendly wave and walked up the ramp.

"Can you tell if Jolee, Juhani or Bastila are lying?"

"It's hard to say. They're so well trained." Dustil actually seemed worried for him. "I think maybe you're the one who should watch his back."

"Thanks for the heads up." They stood for an awkward minute.

"I should go. They're boarding."

Carth could feel his last chance with Dustil slipping away. "Dee, wait. I'm proud of you, for leaving the Sith. You aren't hanging onto a lie after you see it for what it is. Not everyone could do that. And I know that if your mom were here, she'd be proud of you too."

Dustil's face scrunched up as his voice thickened with grief. "I, um, I never showed her my drawings. I wish I had."

"I did."

"What?"

"After you went to bed, I took her up to the tree house and showed them to her." That wasn't the only thing they'd done in the tree house, but Dustil didn't need to know that. "She was very proud."

Dustil looked as if a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders. He nodded at his father and took a deep breath. "Maybe after this is over, we can talk. I'm still not sure about us, but I'll listen. Maybe we can get back to where we should have been."

Painful hope swelled in Carth's chest. "I'd like that."

"I'll let Uncle Ivan know where I am so you can find me when you're done with your mission."

Carth nodded. He wanted to pull Dustil into a hug, but he knew that would be pushing it. Instead he clasped his son's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Goodbye, dad."

"Goodbye, Dee. Good luck."

As usual, Min felt him approach before she saw him. She and Mission had spent all morning in a decadent shopping spree in Cloud City's upscale retail stores. Although Cloud City was basically a mining town, its spectacular views and luxurious Casinos, which were outside the Republic's jurisdiction, brought in a surprising amount of high class tourists seeking a private getaway from the unwashed masses.

Watching Mission spend all her money on everything from a glow in the dark Gizka shaped lamp to some seriously wicked knee high boots, had been very therapeutic for both of them. It had been a rough couple of weeks, in large part due to both Onasi men, and both Min and Mission needed a break. In a moment of sheer spite, Min had bought Mission the latest music chip of a popular Rodian punk band, after extracting the promise that Mission would play it only while Bastila was in the room. She hoped it would drive the Jedi Princess up the wall.

Min's irritation with the Bastila had culminated in a shouting match the day before and was compounded by the fact that the young Jedi showed no signs of remorse. The lectures on the Jedi code and proper Jedi behavior, which had been absent since Kashyyyk, had started again. And this time, Bastila showed no signs of letting up, which was why she was not invited on the shopping excursion.

Mission had abandoned her once she'd found out that Min intended on spending more than five minutes at the data book store. She and Zaalbar, who had been roped into coming despite his best efforts, had wandered off, promising to meet back at the ship in an hour. Min who'd spent the last forty five minutes in literary bliss, gathered up the data chips. After paying the cashier, she picked up her bags and headed into the corridor.

He stood along the side of the corridor, hands shoved into his trouser pockets, wearing the orange leather jacket that he had bought back on Taris. She'd toyed with buying him another jacket, that wasn't orange, but had been horrified to discover that it had grown on her. Now she couldn't picture him without it. Be honest, it's not the jacket that's grown on you.

Unsurprisingly, he looked worn out. She resisted the urge to touch him. It was just too soon.

"How did it go?" she asked.

Min blinked in surprise as he took the bags out of her hand and strolled down the corridor.

"Better than I hoped. Not as well as I wanted. I don't know if he'll be my son again. He's so full of anger and hate. I wasn't expecting him to be like this. But I should have been." He sighed. "I've been a terrible father."

"I think you're probably being too hard on yourself."

"I was gone so much."

"But I bet when you were home you made the most of it. Being around all the time does not make someone a good parent. You at least give a damn about your kid." She was surprised by the bitterness in her voice.

He raised his eyebrows. "Speaking from experience?"

Where did that come from? Min couldn't remember any time that her own parents had been unkind or uncaring, but she couldn't deny the raw anger that she felt. "I'm not, just an observation."

She cut off whatever he was about to say. "Look, maybe you made mistakes, but you're a good man. You aren't going to convince me that you were a bad father."

"Well, maybe we can work it out. I hope so. I guess I'll have to wait and see. Thanks, by the way for all your help."

"You were the one who talked him into leaving. I didn't really do anything."

"Don't be dense woman! Without the files you found he'd be on his way to becoming Malak's apprentice." His eyes grew cold and hard. It was painful for her to watch. "When I think about what Saul did…he's going to die a very painful death."

"And then what?"

"You mean after I kill him?"

"Yes. What happens afterwards?"

"I never thought about it. I suppose I always assumed that I would be dead once Saul was."

Fear trickled through Min, like ice water dripping down her spine. She stopped in the corridor and grabbed his shoulder. "Why? What kind of risks do you plan on taking?" she said. It was almost a yell.

"Understand that whenever I envisioned taking on Saul in the past, it was always as the captain of my own ship or alone. In those cases I would risk everything. I'm not in the same situation, now. I wouldn't risk hurting you, or the others. If I saw Saul, however, if I had the chance, I don't know what I would do. I really don't. I mean his death has been my entire focus for so long."

"Well, you'll have to find something else to focus on. Like, you know, your son!"

"Well, that's easier said than done. Whether or not I want him to be, Dustil's a man now, I'm not really sure he needs me. But I know you mean well." He tried to reassure her and completely misinterpreted her concern. "I promise you I'll see this mission through. No matter what. As for what comes afterward...well, let's wait until I know that I'm around to see it."

By this time, she was livid. "Onasi, you'd better be around to see it!" She snatched the bags out of his hand and strode off down the corridor, leaving him standing bewildered in the hall.