Even their ship looked impressive. Its gangplank extended itself invitingly to her, and for a moment she thought it might have been the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
Not the scorched metal of a ship that had seen more adventure than she could begin to envy, not the three Jedi who stood respectfully to the side in their muted robes with their lightsabers (she had gotten to see one, hold one, wave one around and loved their quiet hum), not even her closest friend standing next to her with one of his rare smiles on his face.
No, the beauty was in that the gangplank and the ship and the Jedi would lead her away from here, to an entire galaxy that would finally meet her and discover everything she was capable of.
In the distance she saw their house, quiet and listless. Her mother was there, she knew; asleep and in pain.
She couldn't decide whether she hoped her Nura's delirium would last: on the one hand, it would shield her from realizing that her daughter was gone, and would probably not be coming back for a long time.
On the other hand, it would make her happier knowing that her mother was coherent and strong, even if she was angry that her daughter had left without a word.
"So…how long does this Jedi training last?" But he had come to see her off; even though their mother was sick and he was loaded with Junior Committee work, he was here with his arms folded and his face resigned.
Revan smirked at her brother.
"Probably a lot longer than your Committee training does."
"At least mine deals with something tangible rather than all this Force nonsense."
"At least mine does something more than debating."
"At least mine's here," Phineas finished softly. Both brother and sister shuffled their feet awkwardly for a moment.
Phineas stepped closer to them, placing a hand on Malak's shoulder.
"Malak, take care of my sister, understand?" Malak nodded gravely, as if it was a task of monumental importance.
I won't need to be taken care of anymore. I'll be a Jedi.
"And you listen to him," Phineas said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Sometimes you need to be talked out of your own ideas."
She could tell he wanted to talk her out of this one, to be less the responsible older brother and more the domineering politician.
She would miss him. Not the warm wind on her face or the sight of the crimson mountains, but she would miss him.
Revan let herself slip back into her old life for a moment, embracing her brother. His hand rubbed her back.
I'll come back, Phineas.
He released her, straightening her clothing unnaturally, trying to act like the father she had never known. She batted his hands away, glaring at him.
"You'll probably be much better at that look when you come back," he finally said, smirking.
"What look?"
"That Jedi look."
He was proud of her. He believed in her. He would follow her to the end.
Revan turned around, hefting her bag over her shoulder and trying not to look as nervous as she felt as the Jedi nodded to her and began to board their ship.
"Will we come back?" Malak murmured at her side. She turned to look back at Phineas.
He stood tall and motionless on the red earth, older than fifteen, head high and hands flat at his sides.
"When we're Jedi."
"It's really not that bad a place."
Katrina stood in the dock, feeling the wind that the child version of her seemed to have despised, the glow of the sun the child version of her couldn't wait to leave.
It seemed somewhat ironic that now, as an adult, she had been told that she could never return to Anelli even if she wanted to.
She shook her head in agreement, glancing at Dustil who had come up next to her.
"No, no it's not."
But, just like the child version of her, she didn't exactly feel right just leaving it without a goodbye, even though the dock was guarded by several armed security officers, making sure she didn't reenter Fornia.
But what she wanted to say goodbye to was probably still going through the agonies of being stripped of his titles; of his life.
You're doing it again, he had interrupted her thoughts hours ago, after their trial was over and the Committee had returned to give them their final judgment.
Katrina had raised an eyebrow towards where her brother stood on the other side of the room, hands behind his back now only because they were in shackles.
Doing what?
Stop giving me that look.
"The defendants may step forward." It was the soberest tone she'd ever heard, and that made her jump instantly instead of taking the time to sigh, rub her neck, and stroll leisurely towards the spotlight in front of the Committee that had become all but routine by now.
"The Committee has reviewed the evidence you have presented to us, Phineas." Her brother nodded.
"Let it be written as fact in the records that both the late Committee Members Abbas and Sakh were indeed guilty of crimes against the state," the voice continued in that same dry monotone, "Including but not limited to embezzlement, extortion, coercion, assault, and murder. Let it be written as conjecture that both Abbas and Sakh were presumably followers of an ideal associated Sith'ari, considering themselves Master and Apprentice respectively, and that these ideals played a major role in their crimes against the state."
For a moment, she felt sorry for the remaining members of the Committee; completely innocent in the whole plot, deceived and manipulated by two of their highest members.
Three of their highest members.
"Let it also be written as fact in the records," The voice became hard. "That former Committee Member Phineas is also guilty of crimes against the state by his own recorded confession. Including but not limited to extortion, coercion, assault, and attempted murder. By his own admission, he was a follower of an ideal associated with the Sith'ari, taking on the role of apprentice presumably against a Master assumed to be the late Abbas."
Nothing seemed to sting her brother more than the word 'former', and she watched him nod, his head not as high as it was before.
She hung onto the word 'confession' however; it made everything seem less severe.
"The Committee has sentenced its late members Abbas and Sakh to a dishonorable expulsion from our governing body, and to have their names erased from its annals. They are to be entered in the records as enemies of the state, and all their properties and holdings seized if there are no legal inheritors."
They hesitated for a moment, and she wondered if it hurt them just as much as it hurt her brother to pronounce judgment on him.
"As for you, Phineas, the Committee sentenced you to a dishonorable expulsion from our governing body as well, and to have your name erased from our histories. You are to be re-entered as an enemy of the state, and all your property and holdings seized excluding personal effects."
The speaker hesitated again. "Were Abbas and Sakh alive, the Committee would recommend execution."
Did I confess just to die by someone else's hand?
Katrinafrowned, though her brotherwasn't looking at her.
I didn't make you confess. She watched Phineas's shoulders heave as he sighed.
No. No, you didn't.
"However, your crimes are not as severe. The Committee therefore sentences you to exile from the planet of Anelli. Should you return here again, you are punishable by law for failing to follow your sentence, and you will be executed."
Phineas stared blankly at them. Then finally, weakly, he nodded in acknowledgment.
She felt sorrow, but there was no more blinding rage, no more hidden resentment. He was simply sad.
"Jedi Revan." The voice returned to its business-like tone, finding it easier to judge her than one of its former colleagues. "You and your companions have been charged further with your involvement in the deaths of aristocrats Faris and Ruhol, and the charges stemming from the Anellian Mining Corporation incident still stand."
She felt Bastila's nervous breath on her neck and she raised an eyebrow at the Jedi, who moved back a little.
"But in light of the evidence presented and the full confession of Phineas, the Committee has decided to grant you and your companions clemency. You are also sentenced to exile from Anelli, and should you return to the planet in the future, you will be tried, convicted, and sentenced accordingly for your crimes."
She tried not to look as relieved as she felt. 'Clemency', like 'end', was not a word she heard often.
The members of the Committee slowly rose and exited the room one by one until it was only her, Bastila, Dustil, and Canderous.
And Phineas, standing on the other side of the spotlight, rubbing his wrists as the guards removed his shackles and walked away.
There she had left him, escorted back to the Ebon Hawk under the watchful eyes of the security team that now stood at the entrance to Fornia.
"Revan." She looked up from the blank spot in the Hawk's hull she had been staring at.
Phineas stood a few meters away, smirking ruefully at her.
She hadn't recognized him; he looked so different now in the bland gray clothing of the civilians, a bag slung over his shoulder and his hair slightly tousled, like any other traveler.
"Gray's not your best color."
"Insults aren't your best occupation." She bit her lip, trying not to laugh, trying to remember who she was and who he was, and why he was in gray and not his long robes.
"All they let me keep," he murmured, hefting his bag to show her. "None of my awards, of course. Just a few mementos, some food, enough credits to maybe buy some cheap Tarisian ale knock-off."
He sighed tiredly.
"At least they didn't brand me or anything."
"Do they usually do that?"
Her brothersmiled.
"No. But I'm your standard unusual case." He pulled out Sakh's lightsaber, and Katrina noticed it was sealed at the top.
"They made me keep this thing, though. I'm glad they sealed it. I don't think I can stand the color red anymore." Dustil held out a hand to look at it.
"Mine'll probably stay red until I figure out how to repair the damn thing," her Padawan muttered, handing it back to Phineas. Her brother tossed it a few times, sticking it back in his bag.
"You might not want to change it. It'll remind you of a few things every time you look at it."
Phineaspulled at his earlobe, looking sideways at her.
"I didn't want to leave without, well…" Dustil took the unspoken cue and headed off towards the gangplank on the Hawk.
Katrina turned back to Phineas. It was hard to imagine that he had once been a powerful member of that governing body of voices she had become familiar with, that he had once been a tall and echoing shadow passing judgment over everyone. It was just as hard to remind herself that he had once been a Sith.
Now he was just a tall and lanky traveler. Now he was just her brother.
"What are you going to do?"
Phineas shrugged.
"Hop on one of these docked ships, I guess." He laughed with more confidence than she saw in his face. "Do you know I've never been off Anelli? I don't really have the first idea about where to go."
There was an awkward silence for a minute.
"I'd ask you for a lift…" he trailed off.
"I don't think that would work out," she finished flatly. There were some things a simple change of clothing wouldn't make go away.
He nodded.
"Well, I guess…I guess this is goodbye then." He held out a hand awkwardly.
There are some things that never go away. But there is a brother.
Katrina reached out, grasping his hand. In one fluid motion, she pulled him towards her and hugged him.
He returned it immediately, without any hesitation or fumbling for a way to hug his sister without looking like less of a man.
"Take care of yourself," he murmured. "And that Republic whomever you're going back to."
She pulled back from him, nodding.
Phineas straightened, turning around and beginning to walk away.
"Revan?" he suddenly said, turning around.
"That's my name," she replied.
Her brother smiled softly.
"I'm glad you remember."
She watched him walk towards the central docking area, through the guards who watched him carefully as he wove quietly between the people around him; until he blended seamlessly into the sea of gray and tan that made up the busy port, until she couldn't see him anymore.
Katrina turned and headed back up the gangplank of the Ebon Hawk.
Dustil turned from where he had been standing near the workbench.
"Mission and Zaalbar fixed everything the Anellian lockdown had changed. We're ready whenever you are."
"That is," he added with a moment's pause, "Once you tell us where we're going."
"Coruscant." Dustil nodded.
"And then Telos."
Dustil seemed frozen in his position for a moment, head cocked to the side and hands jutting halfway out of his pockets. For a second she saw his father again.
"You might not want to change it. It'll remind you of a few things every time you look at it."
"I can't be her, Dustil." And by 'her' she meant both Juhani and Morgana. "And I promise you I'm not going to try." She gripped her Padawan's shoulder, and he nodded.
"Guess I better get the old lightsaber in working order again,"Dustil murmured, sitting down at the workbench.
Katrinawatched him a moment or two before smiling to herself and heading towards the cockpit.
If Telos is still there. If he's still there. She bit her tongue on 'and if he still wants you'.
Canderous and Bastila sat in the pilot and co-pilot's seats, and she sat down silently behind them. She could feelBastilatentatively crawling around in her thoughts, and she settled back in her chair and offered no resistance.
The Jedi turned to look at her.
"Coruscant then?" Katrina nodded.
"The Council will be very happy with this turn of events, Revan."
"I think we're all pretty happy with it too."
The Jedi glanced up at her again.
"What will you do after that?"
Katrinaglanced out the window, watching a ship take off into the sunset, wondering if her brother was on it, wondering if she would ever see him again.
There is no death, there is the Force.
She had a brother; and he had overcome the Dark Side, and that meant she would see him again, one way or the other. She also had a pilot who had not been dead when she left him. And that meant she would see him again too. One way or the other.
"We'll go home. All of us."