Part 2.

Jedi Enclave three days later.

"Well, my shuttle leaves in an hour, Mission," Lena slipped the new dresses she'd bought, with what little savings Griff had left her, into the case on her bed and turned to the young Twi'lek girl watching her. "So, are you going to come and see me off or not?"

"Well, yeah... course I will." Mission flipped the Pazzak cards in her hand into a complex fan, something Lena had realised was a give-away to Missions current emotional state. "I still say ya should stay here, get checked out and relax for a while. Sith knows what they put you at that horrible place!"

Lena glanced across slightly to see the deck furled back into a pack and gripped tightly, until the girl's knuckles whitened. With a sigh, Lena snapped the case closed and sat next to Mission on the bed.

"I've told you, I'm fine. I have to go to Coruscant, there's work for me there and a friend has said I can bunk down in her spare room. I'll be fine. Give me a few weeks to earn some cash and I'll be back on my feet." Lena watched Mission face slowly sink into itself. "What's wrong?"

"If my stupid waste of a brother hadn't jacked your cash and left you on Dantooine then you'd never have ended up on Dantooine and been captured by the Sith." Mission's eyes moistened and the guilt in her voice made Lena wince. "If you'd not been captured by the Sith then..."

"Then I'd have died on Taris, bombed into atoms," Lena said firmly and Mission stared at her face and the tears started to fall. "Mission, honey, I don't, and never have or will, blame you for Griff's mistakes. From what I've seen you're cut from much nicer cloth. To be honest, I have to apologise to you. I should have forced Griff to take you along, and it was wrong of me to leave such a beautiful young girl on her own in Taris. You could've ended up as a slave or worse..."

"Zaalbar took care of that," Mission sniffed and then gripped Lena, who shuddered in surprise. "Lena, it wasn't your fault! Griff left me not you, an.... an I'm sorry for calling you a Hutt slug an everything else!"

Lena laughed and Mission eased back with a grin on her face. "What?"

"Mission, I've been called far worse in my lifetime," Lena grinned. "It was great to see you, no matter what you called me."

"Really?" Mission stopped laughing and blushed deeply. "You were really pleased to see me? To know that I'd escaped Taris?"

Lena sighed and it was her turn to blush. "I... I never had a sister. I wanted one, but my mother died a year after I was born. My father grew distant when she died and he never found another mate. So, I gave up of ever having a sister." Lena glanced at Mission and smiled weakly. "When Griff introduced me to you, I thought you were the cutest, funniest kid I'd ever seen. I really liked you, wanted to know you better. But, you stared at me with such dislike... Still, I tried to get on with you as much as possible. I so wanted you to like me in return."

"You, you wanted to be kinda like my big sister?" Mission stared in surprise as Lena nodded and blushed even deeper. "You mean it? You wanted to be my sister?"

"Oh yes, as much as someone like me could be." Lena sighed and got up from the bed to stare at the beauty of the new enclave garden. "I wanted to take you with us, to show you how good life could be, how wonderful the galaxy was when compared to Taris. But, I suppose that dream's over, you've been to more planets that I have. Hell, you're a hero for the Republic and the Jedi, and a Jedi's best friend. He cares for you, they all do."

"I know they do," Mission smiled. "But I'd love another sis, Lena..."

"Y... you would?" Lena turned around, eyes bright and Mission smiled. "You mean I could be like a, a."

"A sis? Yeah," Mission sighed and flicked her Pazzak deck gently. "It'd make up for Griff leaving me you know? Someone who I knew from Taris, who cared for me for the right reasons?"

"Oh, and didn't Revan care about you for the right reasons?" Lena teased and Mission cleared her throat in embarrassment. "Because it looks like he cares for you as much as I do, as does the furry Jedi, Juhani was it?"

"Juhani, yeah, she's a Cathar... We didn't see any of them on Taris. In fact she was the only one, well, after her parents died. It was really sad" Mission sat for a few seconds and the memory of Juhani wistfully wishing her family were still alive. The memory jolted her and she glanced up at Lena shyly. "Lena? I'd like you to be my sister, if you want to be."

"Really?" Lena felt a sudden tug in her stomach at Missions tender smile. "You mean I can call you my little sister?"

"Sure, after all. With Griff, our home, and our parents gone, we need to stick together. I... I do like you Lena and I wish I hadn't been so horrid to you. Can you forgive your little sister for being a Sith head?"

"Well of course," Lena grinned. "But I don't want to hear words like that spoken around me ever again, clear?"

"As a Jedi crystal sis!" Mission giggled. "This is going to take some getting used to."

"Mmm, but I think it may be worth it." Lena sighed suddenly and picked up her bag. "Come on, my shuttle leaves in an hour. I'll buy you a caffa and we can chat about stuff."

"Classy," Mission murmured and then with a sudden thoughtful expression, she reached into her belt pouch and pulled a micro pad from its recesses. "While you're there, can you take care of these for me?"

Lena frowned and took the proffered pad. Glancing down she gasped at the list of names, and more importantly for someone Missions age, the credits they offered. She glanced up at her 'sister' and shook her head in disbelief.

"Mission, what the..." Lena's eyes yanked themselves back down to the pad and the business side of her brain kicked into action. "There are over twenty thousand credits on offer here. Interviews, book requests, appearances, advertising, party attendances. What is all this?"

Mission shrugged and her young face creased in embarrassed anxiety. "Well, people keep tellin me I'm kinda famous. These things have been appearing on the Hawk's comm system for months. I dunno what to do."

Well, for starters you should think about which ones you want to do. There's enough start-up money on offer here for you to have a comfortable life." Lena watched Missions face struggle with the idea of her fame making money. "Take your time and read the ones already sent. Get yourself an agent on Coruscant and get him to deal with all the messages for you."

"I don't want to trust anyone," She sighed and then a thought struck her. "Hey, Lena. Suppose you became my agent? You could arrange stuff for when I come back from helping Rev. I'll share the money with you, I promise."

Lena pondered for a second and smiled softly. "Okay, I can do that for you. Look, Mission I'll be honest," Lena placed a hand gently on her young shoulders. "You're famous, so you're going to have to get used to it. Fame means agents offering you all manner of deals. I'll deflect as much flak as I can, but they'll still sneak through. So take care, okay? Oh, and don't sign anything until I or one of your Jedi friends has taken a look."

"Sure, Lena." Misson nodded and glanced at the chrono on her wrist. "We'd better hurry if you want that caffa and a chat."

Lena sighed and slipping the pad into her own belt pouch, grinned at the young Twi'lek and strode out the door, her arm wrapped around her new sister.

The Ebon Hawk.

"Try it again, T3." Revan called, his feet poking out of the Hawk's access hatch of the hyperdrive. "The plasma primer was stuck, I've cleaned it out so it should function."

"Beep." T3, his computer probe gently inserted into the main control systems of the Hawk's engine room, slipped into communication with the hyperdrive's computer and a sudden whooshing clank echoed around the Hawk's drive bay. "Beep booip?"

"No, that wasn't it. Hang on... damn, the injector assembly's come away from the housing attachment." Revan's hand snuck out and grabbed a wrench. "Give me a second here..."

"Query: Master, have you ever considered exchanging the Hawk for a less high maintenance vessel? The Hawk is prone to almost every form of hardware failure I am aware of." HK, his rusted red body standing in the corner, cloaked in shadows, stared at the feet of his Jedi Master and continued his observation. "Why do you insist on keeping such an inefficient vessel? A Jedi of your calibre deserves a better mode of transport."

"Well, we've been through a lot together," Revan muttered as the sounds of repair echoed around the room. "Plus, this ship fits me well I think."

"Query: Master?" HK stared in puzzlement at the Master's feet. "How can a fifteen ton space vessel fit an organic mea.... You, Master?"

"Because we're both from, and have, shady pasts HK," Revan slid out from under the hyperdrive and wiped his hands on a rag. "This vessel belonged to a criminal, smuggler and slaver. Now, she's the transport of some fine people. Hell, she took us into, and dragged us to safety from, the battle of the Forge. So, she's earned her redemption."

"Confirmation: Much as you have Master." HK observed his Master's uncertainty over this statement and his algorithms processed as fast as possible. "I can only wonder as to why you feel you owe so much more?"

"I don't think you can understand HK," Revan muttered, as he slowly tweaked the drive's main computer. "It's a human thing..."

"Affirmation: Very well, Master." HK shook his head slightly. Humans worried about such strange things and thought such odd notions. He was sure that even if he lived to his maximum operational life span, he would still not understand them. "May this unit perform a self test? Only with your permission of course."

"Knock yourself out." Revan glanced up at the droid and smiled faintly. "I've done all the tweaking I can here, the rest is up to the engineers. T3?"

The space droid rolled over to where Revan stood and flipped back on it's motivators to stare at him with it's glowing eye. "Beep?"

"You'd better get some rest too. Go and plug yourself into the recharger and offline for a while, you've earned it." Revan glanced at HK once more. "You too HK, you can perform your self test while taking a well earned break. I'll be safe in the enclave."

"Reluctance: Very well, Master." HK shook his droid head in worry. The Master took far too few precautions with his safety. This, in HK's book, would have included the sterilisation of all animal life within ten miles. Meatbags took dangerous risks. "I shall proceed as you command and offline for as long as in necessary to recharge, but only for that amount of time. I shall return to guard you shortly. Please, Master, be careful?"

"I promise HK, now off you go." Revan sighed as he watched HK stride after the trundling space droid and grinned. "Why do I put up with him?" He wondered aloud.

"Why indeed, young Revan?" A familiar voice echoed around the metal room and Revan turned to see Master Vandar standing sideways in the doorway as the droids passed his wizened frame. "I could also ask you why a certain young Knight has managed to 'avoid' the entire council here on Dantooine for the past three days?"

"Avoid, Master?" Revan turned away from the Jedi and began to aimlessly adjust settings. "I've not been avoiding anyone."

"Revan, you cannot simply present something of this magnitude to the council and walk away. Especially when it threatens you personally." Vandar watched as Revan moved around to the other side of the drive. "Is this why your friends have been worried about you? Why you've started to keep your distance when they try to find you?"

"No," Revan muttered never meeting the old Masters gaze. "I've been busy. Since everyone else is taking the time to relax, I thought the Hawk could do with some well deserved maintenance."

"Not the best excuse I've ever heard, young one." Vandar leaned forward on his stick. "I know full well why you've been trying to distance yourself from your friends. The thought of any of them being put in danger for no reason other than being with you is disturbing. With Malak, they were marked the second they met you. But this is different isn't it Revan. You think that by forcing them away you'll keep them safe."

"No, that's not why I'm doing this." Revan's fingers gripped the computers console whitely. "I'm not avoiding anyone, for the last time!"

"Would Bastila agree with you Revan?" Vandar asked him gently and Revan jerked as if slapped. "Will you distance her too? Would she let you?"

Revan turned to Vandar, his voice horse. "What would you do, Master? They want me! Anyone who's with me is just a target for some bounty hunter to pick off and reap the reward. You heard that, that message to those Brotherhood Jedi!" He slammed the casing down and turned to Vandar until the two faced each other across the engine room. "You're the dark lord's friend or ally? Then you're either dead or enslaved. You're the dark lords lover?"

Vandar watched silently as Revan closed his eyes, frightened for the woman he loved and the friends he'd gathered around him. "Revan..."

"If you're his lover, you become a prize! When we fought Malak it was a fight for the life of the Republic. Yes, we could all have died. But, we fought for something far more important... than any of us!" Revan shook his head despondently. "This... personal attack, this is aimed at me. Anyone who gets caught between us is meat for the grinder. I have enough guilt and death on my hands without involving those I care for. If it comes to it, I will keep my distance from my friends, I would lock Bastila in the Jedi enclave to save her!"

"And yet, have you asked them if they feel what they fight for is worth it? Would Bastila hesitate to defend you at the cost of her life? Would any of them?"

"You tell me!" Revan snapped, annoyed at the old Jedi's insight into the thoughts running through his mind. "After all, Master, you made me!"

"Revan, I know that this has shocked you, that you had hoped to put your past behind you and look to the future. You know that we did not 'create' you, we only gave you what you needed to live a full life. Please, will you listen to my advice?"

Revan stared at Vandar, his mind struggling with the soft reassurance in Vandar's voice. Curtly, he walked past the old Jedi Master and headed for the Hawk's main gantry. Even as he slapped at the gantry release he could feel his burst of ire cooling and a sense of embarrassment take its place.

As the ramp clanked softly onto the floor, Revan looked out at the courtyard and saw Juhani walking past the ship. Her arms were caked with mud and a tired expression harrowed her face. He could so easily imagine seeing her face staring at him vacantly on some pit of a planet, a sabre burn in the middle of her chest. Just another life, taken away because of him.

"She and the others are able to make their own choices, young Jedi." Revan sighed and slumped against the metal wall as Vandar hobbled slowly up to him. "It is not up to you, and that worries you immensely. You worry for her and Mission and all the others. In particular you fear for the life of Bastila. Why does it anger you so?"

Revan sighed and licked his lips slightly, nervous. "Master, what am I going to do? I don't want anymore bloodshed. Just for a little while I want to rest, I want them all to rest. But with this appearing, I have to fight the darkside again. I have to put my friends, my lover, in mortal danger." He turned away. "And all because the shadow of who I was plagues us still That is what angers me, my past and its consequences to those who follow me!"

"Revan, the shadows of your past will, I have no doubt, plague you in the future as they do now. The only thing you can do, is decide here and now, how to deal with them. The council needs your input at the meeting tomorrow, we must decide with the council on Coruscant, how best to deal with this new threat. With Telan a traitor and you attacked by her hand, this cannot bode well for any of us." Vandar sighed and hobbling up to Revan patted his arm. "I know it cannot bode well for you and Bastila. So, Look after her, young Revan, as I know she will you."

"Master can I ask one question?" Revan watched as Vandar, hobbling slowly to the ramp stopped, turned, and tilted his head. "What would you do? If you were in my place and valued your friend's lives and knew that the mission being prepared around them could end up with some of them dying.... What would you do?"

"What you have been avoiding, as you know full well what their answers would be." Vandar smiled. "Not because you are afraid to face the future or your past, Revan. You are a good man, and the fact that you know they would provide you with the answer you don't want? That makes you scared, because love is a scary business! Bastila's answer scares you even more, as you care for her even more deeply than the others."

"I'm a terrible person," Revan sighed despondently. "I care for one person more than the others, what does that make me?"

"Human, and in love." Vandar shook his head and glanced up at the troubled Jedi. "You do care for your friends, that is why you have been avoiding asking them the question. Bastila will always be more important to you, there is nothing to be ashamed of." Vandar breathed in, the sweet air of Dantooine helping to calm his mind. "Give them the choice young Jedi, and when Bastila arrives protect her as much as possible. The Force is allied to those who trust it. Trust in it to guard and guide your friends, trust in it to guide you and Bastila both now and in the future."

"The Force is what created Darth Revan in the first place," Revan tilted his head back. "I want to trust in it, but I can't, not yet. I want to protect them all, but I can't do that if they follow me!"

"You cannot protect them young Revan and no, in no way does that make it a failure on your part. They will make their own minds up and it is up to them what they do. Ask them, and protect them, but don't deny them the choice. You know better than that. After all, would you accept any of their decisions to leave you behind and face mortal danger alone?"

"No, Master." Revan shook his head and smiled reluctantly at the old Master. "How do you know to give me the right answer every time?"

"Because I am a powerful Jedi Master, with knowledge that surpasses that of others." Vandar watched Revan's eyes glimmer and he smiled. "Seriously? Do you really think, Revan, that you are the first to ask these questions? A long time ago, a Jedi your age asked the same things to his Master, and he did so for the majority of his life until he himself grew old and became a Master too. It is my pleasure to pass on my knowledge to someone who actually wants it. You, young man."

"Thank you." Revan softly murmured and with a slight shake of his tunic he sighed. "I suppose I should track down as many of my friends as possible and not only ask them something, but also apologise for my absence these past few days."

"That would be best. I take it we will see you at the meeting tomorrow as well?" Revan nodded and Vandar clicked his stick on the metal ramp. "Excellent. May I also suggest that you might want to visit the hanger later on today? Bastila's ship should arrive in three hours."

"Bastila," Revan murmured and he felt his spirits lift. "I shall, Master. I've missed her while she's been gone."

"I'm sure," Vandar shook his head at the thought of all the flak this would create amongst Vrook and the other Jedi members. He hadn't told Revan, but the decision of the Coruscant council had not settled well with some of the new Masters, and especially with one of the three remaining. "I am pleased for you, both in protecting her from self destruction and also for what has been strengthened."

With a bow, Revan glanced at the Enclave. "Thank you, Master. Now, with your permission, I should go and find Mission and the others."

"Before you go..." Vandar raised a hand and Revan paused. "I have a message from the Enclave's tailor."

"Oh?"

"Yes, he would like me to remind you that your new robes are ready to replace those... 'Horrible Star Forge robes, shame as the fabric is quite nice.' I think it was. Regardless, he has them for you."

Revan smiled and bowed. "Thank you Master, I shall go and see him first I think."

Vandar watched the troubled Jedi wander towards the main mess hall of the new enclave and shook his head. Jolee had told him about the way the very Force was focused on his aura. Now, with reluctance, Vandar could see that it had not finished with Revan, in any way. His destiny was still unfulfilled and it worried him.

Even Jedi needed time to relax, to find a centre point to focus on, which was one of the functions for the enclave. However, Revan had been unable to take any time to relax since his arrival. Even with his avoidance of his friends and council members, Revan had still responded to messages left with the Hawk's computer and his droids.

"We can only hope that he will be strong enough to bear what may come." Vandar thought. With a shrug, he walked down the ramp and headed towards his quarters.

Jedi Enclave sparring room.

Selyne watched her opponent from across the room, her own feet poised in battle stance on the strobing red circle under her. She shifted slightly, turning sideways to present as little strikable body mass as possible and ignited her sabre and raised it above her head, the point aimed directly at her enemy.

Her opponents own sabre hissed into existence and Selyne watched as she adopted a defensive stance, her own blade held in front of her across her chest, ready to reflect any laser bolt or sabre blade. She had one foot behind her, to absorb any physical momentum from an attack. Frankly, as Selyne stared at the green blade and waited, she was far more skilled than she had thought a consular should be.

Selyne moved slightly forward and stopped as her enemy flicked her sabre from defensive to slightly offensive in response. She was good, very good. However, Selyne was a Sentinel and a good one... She knew her skills with a blade were superior, and she was also skilled enough not to take that for granted. Her blade flipped slightly to one side, just enough to catch any upswing.

"Wait, wait.... Now!" She ran forwards suddenly, her own mind concentrating her Force powers to enhance her own physical speed and also to absorb as much Force energy as possible if her opponent decided to use her skills. Her own blade swung down, to crash with a spatter of sparks onto the green of her opponents.

She pushed against the green blade, trying to force it down or across so that she could attack freely. However, even as her blade pressed against her enemy and began to pressure it down, she found herself propelled away and her stomach burned. As she landed with a crash against the mat, knocking the wind out of her, Selyne grunted wryly. For all her assurance of not letting her own skill blind her, her opponent had kicked her in the stomach, forcing her away and down. Now it was her enemy's turn.

With a gasp, Selyne rolled along the mat, as the green blade slammed into the area where her head had been seconds before. With a flip, Selyne righted herself and her blade flicked up to catch a slamming swing. She pushed back, her blade crying out as the two arcing energy forms met, and her opponent staggered slightly. She reached out with her foot and with a fast spin, scythed the legs out from under her opponent, who landed with her own huff of breath.

Selyne took the advantage as quickly as possible and, straddling her enemy, slid her yellow humming blade next to her opponents' throat. "Yield!"

Quatra sighed and shook her head with a small smile. "Look down."

With a frown, Selyne glanced down to where the Jedi lay and almost cursed. Despite the fact that she had her sabre blade poised to strike, it meant nothing. Quatra, even though she lay on her back, had nonetheless, due to her years of experience, turned her position into an advantage. For, humming just below Selyne's groin lay Quatra's own blade. The old Master grinned and she waggled her eyebrows at her young opponent.

"Even though you would be able to strike me down, I would be able to return the favour. So, stalemate young one." Quatra's smile widened. "Although, even though we are at stalemate for combat, I have other techniques to call on."

Suddenly Selyne found her blade wrenched from her grasp, the speed of the grip hissing through her fingers making her gasp in pain. Her own sabre streaked through the air and hung in front of her, the point paused in mid-air.

"If you ignore the possibilities of the Force, then you loose a valuable weapon, Selyne." Quatra huffed a tiny bit as she righted herself. "You seem to have focused almost totally on using the blade. How much Force training have you actually done?"

"Enough to be able to quicken my motions, protect myself from harm and most Force abilities." Selyne admitted reluctantly, eyeing the blade. "But I had always been taught that a sabre blade, when properly used, can defeat any Force able opponent."

"Who on earth told you that?" Quatra asked, as Selyne watched her floating sabre extinguish and then flick to hook onto her belt. "Any Jedi who could match their Force training with your Sabre abilities would be formidable. If you had learned equally in both, then your will would have been able to stop me from taking your own weapon from you. Jedi sabres have a... an impression left on them in the Force. With the right training, the weapon becomes irremovable from a Jedi's hand the way I did it."

"I see," Selyne pondered as she walked over to where Quatra and herself had stored their towels and water bottles. "How long would it take to teach myself this skill?"

"Depends on the tutor and the learner." Quatra smiled in memory. "For Juhani? She allowed me to do that three times. Each time, she grew annoyed with me, until the very last. On that final battle I attempted to snatch the sabre from her grip... only to find it was irremovable. Then, just as I was about to congratulate her, I found my own sabre yanked from my grasp and held in front of me. It carried terminal language, and was the first time I saw Juhani look pleased."

"How long did that take her?" Selyne asked Quatra, interested.

"Lets see... between the first time I did it and when she surprised me?" Quatra popped open her water bottle and sipped thoughtfully. "About... two months."

"Two months!" Selyne paled and Quatra smiled. "Two months... oh."

"Juhani always was one for careful examination of my techniques." Quatra grinned and then shrugged. "Personally, I thought it would take her far longer."

"I... I see." Selyne muttered and sucked her water. She glanced at Quatra and frowned. "Master Quatra, may I... I mean can I?"

"What?" Quatra asked with a look of genuine puzzlement.

"Well, it's just that." Selyne sighed and unable to help herself blurted her question out. "Well, are you and Juhani... dating?"

"What?" Quatra's eyes widened in surprise. "No, not at all!"

"It's just I heard rumours about why Juhani turned to the darkside. I... well, I heard it was because you rejected her." Selyne watched as Quatra's face reddened. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, no.... It's alright." Quatra sighed and slumped against the wall. "The short form is that she told me how she felt when we were sparring. I was surprised, not that she found me attractive, but that she had the courage to tell me." Quatra glanced at Selyne and shook her head. "To my shame, I used it to test her defences against the darkside, I was so sure it was passion that drove her, and to my further shame it proved to be her undoing."

"I have to say, it does seem harsh," Selyne shook her head and glanced at Quatra's steadily reddening face. "Why not tell her that you weren't in love with her and leave it at that? That would have been far more... compassionate, more like a Jedi."

"Do you think I don't know that?!" Quatra snapped, only to sigh and sip her water again. "I suppose I was a little surprised and shocked. I knew about Belaya of course, and decided it wasn't my position to stop it. But when she told me that it was me she loved? That was one of the few times I've ever been totally overwhelmed."

She shook her head. "But that in no way excuses what I did. I was so cold when she told me how she felt, and when I baited her about her 'foolish passion' during that day's session... I deserved everything I got." Quatra shuddered slightly. "Let this be a lesson to you Padawan. Even the most learned of Jedi can get things dead wrong! I promise, one day I'll make it up to her."

"It was lucky Master Revan came along, or she could have hunted you down and killed you for betraying her love." Selyne sipped her own water and watched as Quatra gripped her bottle, dealing with the emotions that the conversation produced. "He, changes things... doesn't he. I mean, people seem to loosen up when he's around. With Juhani, he helped her to fight what little darkness had taken hold."

Selyne span the water bottle around in her palm, thinking, "She was lucky I think. I've heard that the dark side is incredibly difficult to resist; especially when it has you in its clutches. The others say Juhani was always quick to temper... that she had strong emotions. So, I think she was very lucky to have someone to help her deal with those sides of her aura."

"Yes," Quatra muttered blushing. "She was lucky, if I believed in luck. But there is no luck, only the Force. I failed her and the Force decreed that Revan would bring her back." She avoided Selyne's gaze. "So, I owe him more than Juhani does. So, I will follow him on this mission, no matter what happens or where we go. "

"Well, where Revan goes I follow." Selyne tapped her bottle against her thigh. "I am his Padawan, so I should follow him into the darkest places where he will need help. However, I would do so anyway." Selyne glanced over at Quatra who raised an eyebrow. "Revan is a sign of the future, a redeemed dark lord. I have to protect him for the good of the Republic and the order."

"Thank you, both of you." A sudden male voice echoed in the room. The two women turned to see Revan, a smile on his face, standing at the entrance to the sparring room. He licked his lips, uncertain what to say. "Look, I'm sorry you've not seen much of me recently. Since I brought that message to the council, I've had... things to think about."

"I'm sure," Quatra murmured at him. "So, I presume you've realised we're coming with you and you'll have to put up with it."

Revan smiled at them both and sighed. "Look, I had come here to ask you to come with me, but having listened to that little conversation..." Revan paused for a second and shrugged, embarrassed. "I think I know what your answers would be."

"Revan, we want to come with you." Quatra glanced at Selyne. "Is that what you've been wrestling with? Your previous friends faced danger as great, or even greater than this, Malak was not someone you trifled with. So, what makes this so different?"

"This is personal." Revan muttered and as Selyne opened her mouth, he waved at her. "I know the Star Forge and Malak were personal as well. But, well I've always considered that as cleaning up after my previous life. This, this is aimed at me... Jedi Revan, no one else. I... I'm not sure that you should follow me. However, it's wrong for me to take the choice out of your hands..."

"I have already told Quatra where I stand, Master," Selyne bowed slightly in front of him. "I shall follow you as a Padawan should. However, I would follow you anyway, I... I like you Revan."

Revan smiled at her and she returned the smile slightly. With a shake of his head, he turned to Quatra. "I know what your answer is. You're coming with me because you think you owe me a debt."

Quatra blushed and nodded. "I owe you Revan. This way, I hope I can someway make it up to you and Juhani."

"You don't owe me anything," Revan placed a hand on her shoulder. "So, you don't have to follow me out of debt. After all, isn't your Padawan waiting for you around here?"

"I've already met him," Quatra sighed and placed the water bottle on the floor. "But he'll have to wait. I said I would come with you, as I owe you. If you won't let me come because of that then I'm coming with you, as a friend." She paused and looked at him with a faint smile "That is, if you'll let me..."

"Thank you," He murmured, his voice cracking slightly at their confidence in him. "Both of you. I... I can only say that I'm proud to have you as friends."

"We Jedi have to stick together, my Master." Selyne bowed again.

"Will you please stop that?" Revan muttered, blushing, and Selyne sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Very well, Master. As you wish."

"Right," Revan coughed and glanced around. "So, I know where Juhani is, I'll talk to her later. I need to speak with Mission. Canderous too, but he's probably in the cantina near the enclave."

"Mission?" Quatra pushed herself off the wall in shock. "Revan, you can't ask her to come with us. It's too dangerous!"

"But she came with us on the supply run." Selyne objected. "How was that any less dangerous than coming with us all this time?"

"That was to take supplies to Taris, her home-world. You haven't been with Mission as much as I have Selyne. If I'd tried to stop her, she'd have signed on with the cargo crews instead. At least when she came with us I convinced her to stay safely on board the Hawk, rather than getting killed defending the cargo. " He sighed. "Look, as I said, this is a personal affair, and I don't want her in any danger because of me. She's too young."

Quatra frowned. "If she wouldn't let you stop her coming with us on the supply run... what's to stop her coming with us on this trip?"

"I don't know..." Revan sighed and smiled weakly. "Maybe if I tell her the truth?"

"Well, that's up to you." Quatra shook her head. "But I doubt she'll let you."

"Thanks... I'll think of something, I hope." Bowing to Quatra, and winking at Selyne, Revan walked out of the sparring room, his face thoughtful as he pondered how to tell Mission he wanted her to stay in safety. Selyne watched him go and with a shrug, turned to Quatra.

"Got time for another spar?" She asked, tossing her lightsabre in her palm.

"Sure," Quatra wiped her brow with her towel and turned to Selyne with a smile. "Lets do this."

Juhani's quarters.

The steam from the shower wafted past the half open door and Juhani guiltily inhaled the scented soap she had purchased while they had visited Coruscant. Spicy and fruity, it smelled divine and she sighed in pleasure. Her first real shower in months, she'd actually missed the large sized Refresher she had in her room. The Hawk's refresher, while practical, was far too small to relax in.

Ever since her life on Taris, amongst the grime of the lower city, Juhani had found bathing to be a deep pleasure for her. Her enjoyment had once unsettled her slightly. The idea that a Jedi should not feel emotion, any emotion, had made, to her, the enjoyment of bathing wrong somehow. So, she'd tried to repress it, while quietly giving in to the feel of the hot water massaging her fur. To compensate, she'd always used the most basic soap as a penance.

Her experiences with Revan had shown her that some emotions could... no, should be felt by Jedi. With Revan, she'd felt compassion, friendship, and an affectionate love from her friends. That had made her realise what she was fighting to protect in the universe and also why she couldn't pretend she didn't have emotions. Her meeting with Quatra, and her Masters apology, had only reinforced this.

So, now she stood in front of her refresher door, and inhaled the soap she held gently in one hand with deep pleasure. The young woman at the counter had seemed surprised to see a Cathar buying such an item. Juhani had thought it was due to the rarity of her race, but the shopkeeper had told her that Cathar didn't buy such strong smelling soap. When Juhani had pressed her about this, she'd shrugged and explained that the Cathari who came in and spoke to her mentioned that they preferred to be clean but not smell of anything else.

Juhani smiled slightly and stared at her yellow-eyed gaze in the mirror. This Cathar was different. The smile faded slightly as her mind wandered.

She would never be able to forget the way she had stank in the lower slums. Always getting into fights with the people, who despised her race, living in their apartment with barely working sanitation, the smoke, grease and other stenches. Juhani shivered and the smile returned. No, this Cathar liked to smell of fruits and spices, and enjoyed feeling clean.

With a sigh, she opened the door and stepped back slightly as the hot steam wafted out into the cool Dantooine air, wrapping her fur in tiny water droplets. Her eyes gleamed with anticipation as she stepped into the warm water cascading out of the fixtures.

With a deep sigh she relaxed against the wall and let the hot water beat her fur and massage the muscles underneath. Slowly, she felt herself begin to unwind, and as she reached for the scented soap she began to ponder.

This shower was the only personal time she'd managed to pull back from a frequently more nervous Yuthura. Not that she minded spending time with her, but even Juhani had desired a chance to shower and change her rumpled clothing.

When they'd arrived, Juhani had walked down the ramp, trying not to hiss in pain from the tight grip that Yuthura had held onto her with. The woman's knuckles had actually been white, as her disturbed mind tried to cope with what was happening. Even Revan's presence was unable to calm her down, and when the healers arrived to help her to the medical wing, Yuthura, once one of the proudest and powerful Sith Masters on Korriban, had whimpered and hidden behind Juhani like a small child.

It had taken Juhani ages to coerce her out from behind her. Eventually, she'd only managed to bring Yuthura to the people who might heal her, by holding her hand all the way to the medical bay.

Juhani sighed and let her head drop, so the water could batter against her tense neck muscles. She was lying slightly to herself; she had to admit it. Every time she saw Yuthura's panicked face, Belaya's last moments replayed themselves in her mind. She couldn't help but give Yuthura as much compassion as she needed, for her own peace of mind.

"Still, maybe there's more to it than just compassion..." She thought slowly, only to growl and open her eyes.

"Nonsense, I'm just helping her as repayment for doing what I should have done." She muttered, her eyes flicking around the refreshers small cubicle as she realised she was talking to herself, worse lying to herself.

She shook her head at her thoughts and, desperate to think about anything else, reached for the scented soap. As the warm water hit the bar, the scent of spices and fruits assailed her, bringing the smile to her face once more. She rubbed it into a thick lather and began to run it into her velvet thick fur. As the soap fluffed her fur into a thick lather and the oils from the spices and fruits began to assail her mind, Juhani's thoughts began to wander once more.

Getting Yuthura to the medical bay had been hard, keeping her there was even harder. When she actually got her to settle into the bed, and stop whimpering as the nurses walked past the door, Juhani found that she couldn't leave. Every time she tried to get up and walk out of her room, Yuthura would whimper and slip out of bed, begging her not to go. Juhani had eventually realised that, as long as Yuthura was awake she wouldn't be able to leave. Eventually, however, the confused Twi'lek would slowly fall asleep, and that allowed Juhani to sneak out of the room to get a meal and some personal time to herself. But, she still returned every day, to keep Yuthura Company.

While she slept, Juhani took advantage of the free time to visit her friends on the Hawk. However, it had been hard of late to keep up with some of them. Mission was spending time with Lena, and it was hard for Juhani to begrudge her. The young Twi'lek was her friend and it had been good to see the closest thing the young girl now had to family, as that slime Griff had run off once more, actually grow closer to her. The downside was that Juhani enjoyed spending time with her and now felt as though she was getting in the way. So, she left Mission alone, hoping that eventually the young girl would come and see her.

Canderous, the only Mandalorian that Juhani could stand to be near, if only for his gruff honesty about his past, was nowhere to be found inside the Enclave. She'd eventually tracked him down to a Cantina in a small town nearby and decided that he probably deserved to enjoy whatever he was doing without any interruption by her.

Quatra had taken a liking to Selyne and had, for the past few days, given her a few pointers about the Force and it's use. Mainly, as Quatra had confided to her one night, because Revan had been avoiding Selyne and herself. Her Master had been worried, Juhani could tell, but she had no words of comfort to give her. This was because the one person she really wanted to talk to was avoiding her as much as the others.

Revan had been almost impossible to find anywhere in the complex, even going to the lengths of blocking his Force aura when he was actually around the Enclave. When she found a fellow Jedi who had seen him, she arrived too late.

Juhani was troubled. Revan had been avoiding them ever since the message that Mission had found on the dead Dark Jedi. Juhani had been desperate to find him, to assure him that she would go wherever he had to, would defend him with her life if need be. She owed him, but she couldn't find him to tell him so.

Juhani sighed into the cleansing steam as the hot water sluiced the lather from her fur. She ran her hands across her body, straining the remaining water from her body and stepped smoothly out of the cubicle. A few moments later she stood in her bedroom, wrapped in a soft towel and on top of the world. Clean and fragrant, her hair fluffed from the shower and subsequent towelling dry, Juhani gazed out of her window at the gorgeous landscape and smiled. This was what it meant to be a Jedi, to be at peace, to enjoy life.

"I have made myself," She thought, as her hands pulled her long mane once more into a tight ponytail and bound it with a red cord. "But only with Revan's assistance to avoid the darkness that almost consumed me. I have to find him, to tell him that he will always have my assistance." An image of Yuthura strapped to the rack they had rescued her from crossed her mind and Juhani sighed reluctantly. "Still, I have other obligations as well. I hope the healers arrive soon, she deserves as much assistance as we can provide. I must see this happens."

She stretched slightly and turned to gaze at the soft bed and it's warm sheets. She had a few hours before Yuthura was due to wake once more, so the medics claimed anyway, so she could catch a few hours of sleep before going to see her again.

Hopefully, Yuthura would be tended to by two of the finest Jedi mind healers that the order possessed. The basic healers in the complex had assured her that they would arrive today, but so far she had seen no sign of them. Without their help, Yuthura would remain unable to associate with the world. Juhani would not allow that to happen, on her honour and Belaya's memory.

"Not because I find her attractive in any way." She added, trying not to think of Revan and Bastila's happy admittance of their love for each other. "I am a Jedi and I do not have a bond with Yuthura as Revan does with Bastila. While they may share such emotions... I must remain devoted to the Jedi ideals."

As her eyes gazed once more at the soft covers of her bed, she was unable to resist their call any longer. Pushing her mixed thoughts away and calling on her Jedi disciplines to calm her mind, Juhani stifled a yawn. She reached to the controls next to her window and, with a single press, the panes flickered and dimmed to a smoky blackness. Gently, she shifted out of the soft towel and slipped between the sheets with a grateful sigh.

"I shall deal with Revan and Yuthura later," She thought slowly, yawning. "Yes, later. But for now, I need sleep."

Slowly, Juhani felt her eyes begin to droop and then close. Even though she resisted thinking of anything, her final memory was the way Yuthura had stroked her face in fascination and the sensation of amusement that had passed through her. Her breathing slowed and soon Juhani slumbered.