A/N: Sorry about the delay in updating - slight case of writer's block. This will be the last chapter, as unfortunately the romance pretty much fizzles out after that kiss (until the end of the game, of course).

A quick word for those who asked about my other stories: 'A Beautiful Friendship' sets out Revan and Bastila's previous relationship, which I mentioned in the last chapter. 'Hiding' takes place after the Star Forge, though it's too short to explore many of the issues surrounding their relationship; I may write more chapters or a follow-up at one of these days, but I'm not promising anything.

"I must thank you, Jacob Sora." The reinstated Wookiee chieftain looked proudly around his hut, now empty of everyone except Jacob's crew and a few guards. "The battle is not over yet, but with Bacca's will we will drive the Czerka slavers off the planet. They will never take another of my people, I swear it."

"Don't mention it, Freyyr. I'm glad we were able to help." Jacob's eyes fell on the dark, ominous stain where Chuundar's body had lain on the wooden floor. "But I'm sorry this had to end in bloodshed."

The old Wookiee nodded. "I am saddened that it had to come to this, but I could not allow it to continue." He laid a heavy paw on Jacob's shoulder. "In return for helping us, you and your friends may remain here as long as you wish. My guards will protect your ship."

Jacob could feel Bastila's eyes on the back of his neck. "That's very kind of you, Freyyr," he said, "but we need to leave tomorrow."

"As you wish," Freyyr conceded, shrugging. "But is there no way I can reward you? Nothing can adequately repay the service you have done for us."

Momentarily thanking his lucky stars that Canderous couldn't understand Shyriiwook, Jacob shook his head. He was about to tell Freyyr that it wasn't necessary, when Zaalbar took a step forward. "I have a request, Father... if Jacob does not mind."

"Go ahead, Zaalbar."

His friend nodded gratefully, and continued. "Father, I would like to have Bacca's sword, if you will allow it."

"The sword of Bacca?" Freyyr looked shocked; then his expression softened a little. "That is quite a request... but perhaps it would allow me to make amends for having misjudged you so badly." He lifted the blade from the shelf where it had been lying, turning it over in his hands so that it flashed in the light. "Do you understand what this will mean, Zaalbar? It is the legacy of our people, held by chieftains... and future chieftains."

"I understand," Zaalbar growled. "I will bring it back one day, Father, I promise."

"I have no doubt." The old chieftain took up the hilt of the sword and held both parts out to Zaalbar. "Very well, let the two halves be made one. My son shall hold Bacca's Sword."

-----

The small procession made its way slowly back towards the Ebon Hawk – Zaalbar at the head, holding Bacca's Sword aloft in triumph; Mission running alongside him, chattering nineteen to the dozen; and the rest of the following on behind. Jacob hung towards the back of the group, flanked as usual by the ever-faithful HK. "A most satisfactory evening, master," observed the droid, his eyes lighting up gleefully at the memory of the numerous kills he had made that day.

"Hmm..." The Jedi was preoccupied by the sounds of renewed fighting on one of the walkways far below. It wasn't difficult to guess who was winning; most of the Czerka employees here were low-paid researchers and technicians, hardly trained for real combat. He hoped that some of them, at least, had managed to get away...

His attention was diverted by the sound of soft footsteps approaching from behind, and he looked around to see Juhani coming up alongside him. She gave him a shy, hesitant smile, her yellow eyes shining in the dim light.

"Thank you for doing this, Padawan," she said in a low voice. "I know that we have other duties, but... I could not bear the thought of leaving these people at the mercy of slavers."

Jacob returned her smile, secretly thankful for her support. "It is not a problem, Juhani," he replied. The words were barely out of his mouth before it dawned on him that he had spoken in Cathar – broken, heavily accented, but still very recognisable Cathar.

Juhani's mouth dropped open. "You – you speak Cathar?" she faltered, staring at him in amazement.

"Only a little," he stressed hastily, almost as surprised as she was. "Just a few phrases."

She shook her head, still incredulous. "But... I have met almost no other humans who speak my language, even amongst the Jedi. Where did you learn it?"

"Well, I..." he began, then hesitated. Where had he learned to speak Cathar? He supposed that he must have run across Cathar refugees on Deralia, but the strange thing was that he couldn't for the life of him remember having seen any, let alone got to know them. He had met people from scores of other races – Hutts, Mandalorians, even Wookiees fleeing the Czerka slavers – but when it came to Cathar, his mind was a complete blank.

"I don't actually remember, to be honest," he admitted. "We got all sorts passing through the Deraila system. I guess I must have met some other Cathar when I was younger."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, perhaps that is so. But how strange, that you should not remember..."

Meanwhile Bastila, who was walking a little way behind, found her attention drawn to their conversation. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she saw Juhani standing close to Jacob, gazing up into his face with an air of wonderment – and a sudden, violent spasm of jealousy rocked her entire body, so intense that it was almost painful. For a moment she stood frozen to the spot, hardly able to breathe; then, as quickly as it had arrived, the sensation faded away.

She shook herself angrily as she realised how ridiculously she was behaving. What was wrong with her, for Force's sake? Fifteen years of Jedi training, and here she was behaving like a lovestruck teenager – even though she knew perfectly well that there could be nothing going on between Jacob and Juhani, or indeed anyone else. Honestly, she would even be getting jealous of Mission at this rate...

As usual, Jacob must have sensed that something was wrong, because he drew away from Juhani and walked over to her. "Everything OK?" he asked, with a hint of concern.

"Yes, of course." She looked away to avoid meeting his eyes, and shuddered slightly as she perceived a bloodstained Czerka pouch lying forgotten in a dark corner. "Do you think we did the right thing?" she murmured.

"I hope so." For once, Jacob's usual self-assurance was lacking. "I... would have preferred to avoid anyone getting killed. But at least the Wookiees are free now..."

He sounded as if he were still trying to convince himself. Bastila sensed his twinge of guilt and pain through the Force, and whereas she might once have felt the urge to lecture him, at this moment she felt only tenderness towards him. Before she realised what she was doing she had slipped her hand into his, a silent gesture of affection and support.

He looked down at her again, surprised and grateful, and gave her a smile that melted her heart into a puddle. Yet again she found herself thinking how like Revan he was – not just in terms of looks, but in almost every way she could imagine. A slight frisson of excitement ran through her; she could practically feel the sparks between their fingers as they touched... And then he was turning away once more, and she was suddenly back in the real world, wondering what could possibly be happening to her.

This can't go on, she told herself. It has to stop, before things go too far...

-----

Though Jacob had many things to think about on his return to the Hawk, somehow his mind kept slipping back to his conversation with Juhani. Despite his best efforts, his still couldn't recall ever having met another of her race, and for some reason this made him deeply uncomfortable. What made it even stranger was that he clearly remembered his surprise on first meeting her – how unfamiliar and alien he'd found her, with her sharp, feline features. Yet who but another Cathar could have taught him their language?

He would have preferred to have been left alone by the others on re-entering the ship – but Jolee, who had returned to the cabin with him, seemed determined to engage him in conversation. "So you chose to help Freyyr, I see," he remarked, an odd expression on his face.

"Yes. I didn't really see how I could do anything else." There was something about Jolee's smile that set Jacob's teeth on edge. "Do you think I should have done things differently?" he enquired icily.

The old man shrugged. "It's not for me to say. I wanted to see how you would handle it." His eyes twinkled with faint amusement. "I've been keeping an eye on you, young one."

Oh, wonderful. First it was Bastila 'studying' him, now this old coot... For the third time in as many days, Jacob found himself wondering if it had been a good idea to let this crazy old hermit join his crew. "So what do you think of me?" he asked, forcing himself to keep his tone polite.

"I don't know." For once, Jolee's reply was entirely straightforward. "I'm not sure what to make of you, to be honest. You've a great destiny before you, certainly – and yet..." He paused. "There is something very dark about you, young man."

"Dark?" Jacob asked sharply. Jolee hastened to placate him. "Oh, I'm not talking about the Dark Side, not necessarily... but there's something about you that I can't quite get a handle on. When I look at you, I feel like my eyes are playing tricks on me..."

Jacob, who had hardly been in the best of moods to start with, was getting heartily fed up of this. "Well, I don't know," he said shortly. "I used to be a smuggler; maybe that has something to do with it?"

"You were? Hmph, so was I. No, I shouldn't think that's it." Jolee shook his head and stood up. "Well, I wouldn't worry about it. You're a fine young lad, no doubt about that." He walked over to the door, then briefly turned back to Jacob. "I hope things turn out well for you, kid."

Jacob was left slightly mollified, but still vaguely unsettled. What could Jolee mean about there being something 'dark' about him? He couldn't think of anything he had done since becoming a Jedi that might lead to the Dark Side. Perhaps an hour or so of meditation would help him clear his thoughts...

He had only been meditating for a few minutes when a sudden jolt in the Force caused him to lose his concentration. Moments later Bastila appeared in the doorway of the cabin, looking flushed and decidedly anxious. "Jacob?"

"Bastila?"

"I must speak with you." Her agitation was palpable, greater than he had ever seen before. "I simply can't keep this to myself any longer. Please, will you hear me out?"

He nodded eagerly, secretly relieved to have something to take his mind off his own worries. "Of course. What's the matter?"

"It's just... this is wrong!" she blurted out. "With all my training I should know better, but..." Suddenly the dam burst and the words came tumbling out, so fast that she could barely control them. "You're not anything like I expected. I find myself watching you when I don't mean to and thinking about you when I don't want to. It isn't supposed to be like this!"

Jacob stared at her in confusion, a tiny spark of hope and excitement beginning to flicker inside him. "What is it supposed to be like?" was all he could manage.

She shook her head helplessly. "I don't know. It shouldn't be so hard not to think of you – I should have discipline! But every time I try to call on all my teachings to calm myself, they fail me..."

"Bastila – "

She held up a hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be telling you this. I need to be away from this bond of ours – I need to weaken it. If I could only return to Dantooine..."

Even though the thought made him wince, he forced himself to say it. "You could leave, if you really want to. I can look for the Star Maps by myself."

"But I can't," she said desperately. "Malak must be stopped, my own feelings are nothing to that. But I know this could affect our mission if we don't resolve it now..."

The agony in her voice cut to his heart. He grasped her by the hand, looking directly into her eyes. "Bastila," he said gently, "you must know by now how I feel about you. If there's anything I can do to help you, I'll do it."

She sighed and nodded, a rather wistful look crossing her face. "You continue to be there for me, don't you?" she mumbled. "Oh, Jacob, I don't know..."

"I'd like us to be together, Bastila." His voice was a barely audible murmur.

"I don't know," she repeated. "I need time to think about this. Could you... could you meet me on the walkway outside, around midnight? I'll give you an answer then, I promise."

He nodded silently. Bastila hesitated for a moment; then, realising that they could be caught together at any second, she hastily turned and hurried out of the room.

-----

Naturally, the thought of his upcoming tryst with Bastila drove almost everything else out of Jacob's mind from then on. Even the looming confrontation with Malak seemed small and far away compared to this. What would she have to say to him, he wondered – could it be that she was finally ready to confess her own feelings for him? The thought of it set his palms sweating and his heart racing with exhilaration.

That evening seemed to last for ever. Jacob lay stiffly in his bunk for hours, waiting impatiently for the others to drop off and praying that they wouldn't wake up when he left. At long, long last it was close to midnight, and he could finally be reasonably sure that all the others were asleep.

Doing his best not to make a sound, he got out of bed and stole over to the door with the greatest possible caution. He almost made it out of the room; however, it was his misfortune that Jolee was a light sleeper, and heard the faint hum of the cabin door as it slid open. "Going somewhere, kid?" he muttered, raising his head sleepily.

Jacob spun round hurriedly. "I... I just thought I'd go for a walk." He did his best to sound nonchalant, but the effect was not very convincing. Jolee looked at him through narrowed eyes.

"You said her name in your sleep last night," he observed quietly. "Did you realise that?"

Jacob's heart jumped, but by now he had got a grip on himself and was determined not to let Jolee perceive his discomfort. "Whose name?" he said coolly, and turned away.

Once outside, he strolled a short way away from the Hawk and looked out across the forest, marvelling at the enormous wroshyr trees that stretched above them as far as the eye could see. At length he sensed Bastila approaching, and turned to meet her as she walked out of the ship. She wore her Jedi robe over an ankle-length white nightdress, her long, dark hair falling in thick waves around her face. In the soft light of the lanterns that bordered the walkway, she looked so beautiful that Jacob could barely contain his desire for her; however, his only action was to hurry up to her and grasp her warmly by the hands.

"You had something you wanted to say to me, Bastila?" he prompted her.

She nodded slowly. "You have been patient with me, haven't you? I suppose you deserve an answer. But you have to understand how difficult this is for me to say."

"Just say it. Please."

She nodded again, raising her eyes to his with a look of grave sincerity. "You're stronger than I am," she said quietly. "And there's no point in telling me otherwise. You will be a great Jedi some day... I hope."

Jacob felt himself tense with irritation. Why couldn't she just get to the point? "Bastila," he said tersely, "could we just get one thing clear? Is it me you're interested in, or my ability to use the Force?"

She sighed. "The Force is a part of you, certainly... but no, that's not what attracted me to you. It's more than that. I think the bond we share gives us a certain... intimacy."

"And?" His pulse was beginning to quicken, and he felt a faint tingle of anticipation in the pit of his stomach.

"And..." She turned her head away slightly, her eyes no longer quite meeting his. "Well, I've been thinking about this for a long time. And I now realise that my... feelings for you are simply part of the bond we share, and nothing more."

For a moment Jacob felt as if he had been struck on the head by a passing meteorite. He gaped at her in disbelief, hardly able to believe his ears. "What?"

"The Council surely realised that my loyalty to the Order would be tested during this mission." She spoke in a careful monotone, as if she were reciting something she had learned off by heart. "By facing – and overcoming – my feelings for you, I have learned a valuable lesson about control and the dangers of emotion. This is an important step in understanding the Force."

Slowly, painfully, her words began to sink in. Jacob clamped his mouth shut and sucked in a long, hissing breath, his initial shock rapidly giving way to anger. "I see," he said with forced calmness. "So I was just another stepping stone on your path to becoming a Jedi Master?"

She flinched. "Please, don't say it like that! You make it sound like I was using you. Don't you realise how difficult this has been for me?"

"Difficult for you?" He could barely contain his anger. "And what do you imagine it's like for me? You play around with me, get my hopes up, and now you're telling me that's it? It's all over?"

Now she herself was starting to lose patience. "Well, you've only yourself to blame," she snapped. "I tried to warn you, but you would keep pushing forward – "

"I kept pushing forward?" Jacob almost exploded with indignation. "Did I ask you to meet me out here tonight? Was I the one who told you I couldn't stop watching you and thinking about you?" He grabbed her roughly by the arms, forcing her to look into his face. "I've been trying for weeks to avoid saying what I felt, because you said it wasn't possible – and then, this evening, you practically admit you feel the same way and ask me to meet you in secret. What did you expect me to think?"

Bastila had turned white, but she made a heroic attempt to speak calmly. "But I don't feel that way about you, Jacob. I've told you so already."

"You're lying," he said flatly. "I know you're lying, Bastila. If you really don't feel anything for me, why did you ever bring this up in the first place?"

"I don't know – I was confused. I needed time to think..."

"No, you needed time to come up with an excuse." Jacob shook his head wearily, unsure what to do. Could this be how Revan had felt, all those years ago? He stared down at the young woman, seeing the flicker of fear in her eyes, and suddenly he began to understand.

He relaxed his grip on her, holding her more gently, but still firmly. "You're afraid of me, aren't you?" he muttered. "You think I'll hurt you the way Revan did. Or maybe you still feel something for him?"

"No!" Her denial was almost too swift and vehement. "No, it's not that. It's not you I'm afraid of, it's myself." She shook her head in frustration. "How can I stay focussed on stopping Malak if I allow myself to be blinded by my feelings for you? We can't allow ourselves to fall in love, Jacob – it's too dangerous!"

"And if we're already in love?" he said quietly. She was silent. "What's the point in denying it, Bastila? Are we supposed to just ignore it, hope it'll go away?"

She sagged a little, lowering her eyes once more. "We have to try, Jacob," she muttered wretchedly. "Nothing is more important than defeating the Sith – surely you must be able to see that?"

"We will. We will defeat them." He grasped her even more tightly, desperate to make her understand. "We'll do it together, Bastila – we'll help each other. Remember what I said before?"

Bastila stiffened again, and a shiver ran through her. "You mean it, don't you?" she whispered. "But how can I be sure you're right? If – if all this fails because of me, I don't think I could bear it..."

She looked so miserable that for a moment he was almost inclined to give in – but he couldn't stand the thought of this slow, torturous game continuing throughout the rest of their mission, stretching on endlessly into the weeks ahead. It needed to be settled now, one way or the other. "Look," he said softly, "if you really don't want this, just tell me so. Look into my eyes and tell me. I'll understand."

"I..." She struggled to say the words, but they stuck in her throat. How could she claim not to want this, when in truth she longed for it more than anything she could imagine? She couldn't do it; she couldn't bring herself to look him in the face and lie to him. Tears of dismay and confusion stung her eyes, and she angrily blinked them away, disgusted by her own weakness.

Jacob was gazing down at her with an expression of mingled weariness and compassion. "Bastila..." He raised a hand to her cheek to brush away the tears, then slipped it under her hair, drawing her face close to his. Oh, gods, I've been here before... She forced herself to look into his eyes, terrified of what she might find, but there was no trace of the darkness she had seen and felt in Revan – only love and longing. "You know I won't make you do anything you don't want," he murmured.

"I do want it," she burst out, before she could stop herself. "But I can't – Malak will..." She got no further before his mouth was on hers, warm and hard and sweet.

She couldn't move; nor did she want to. When she made no attempt to resist, Jacob slid his arms around her and pulled her close, clutching her against him with a fervour he could never have expressed in words. Everything else seemed to fade into the shadows as they stood there, lost in each other, barely aware of time. And high in the trees above, a pair of curious Wookiee scouts exchanged mystified glances before setting off back to their village, eager to report the latest exploits of the mad outsiders.

The sudden tremor in the Force was no more than a ripple, but it was enough to jolt the pair of them back into reality. Bastila's eyes snapped open and her face turned pale, as if she had only just realised what she was doing. "Oh, no," she gasped. "We shouldn't have done that. It was wrong..."

Jacob's heart began to sink once more. Surely they weren't going back to this again? "Did it feel wrong to you?" he challenged her.

"No, I mean – " She wrenched herself away from him, breathing heavily. "Jacob, I know we both wanted it, but we shouldn't have given in to our desire. Jedi are not allowed to fall in love!"

He groaned. "Bastila, we're going around in circles here..."

"I'm sorry." Her tone was much firmer now. "I don't blame you, but... we can't act like this. Not while we still have to deal with Malak." She hesitated. "Maybe... after the mission is over, we can discuss this again, but not now. Please, try to understand."

Jacob heaved a sigh of frustration. He felt like a child who'd been given a delicious sweet by a friend; now that he'd had a single taste, he craved for more. However, loath as he was to admit it, he knew that she was right – there was danger ahead, and the last thing they needed was for this to become a distraction.

"All right," he said reluctantly. "I see your point. We'll wait until the mission's over."

"If we're both still here then..." She tried to make it sound light-hearted, but her voice was choked with fear. In spite of what they had just agreed, Jacob caught her in his arms again and pulled her into a quick, fierce hug.

"We'll be OK," he muttered, kissing the top of her head. "We'll be OK." And just for a moment, she allowed herself to believe that he was right.

-----

Darth Malak stood alone, as he often did, on the darkened bridge of the Leviathan. Admiral Karath could see the outline of the towering figure as he approached from behind, silhouetted against the stars. "Lord Malak?" he said quietly, addressing the back of Malak's head.

Malak continued to stand with his arms folded, staring out into space. "You have news for me, Admiral?" he enquired without turning round.

"Yes, my Lord." Saul took a few steps forward, with the same slight uneasiness he always felt in the Dark Lord's presence. "I believe our agents have traced Revan and Bastila to the planet of Kashyyyk, the Wookiee homeworld."

"Kashyyyk..." Malak swung round, fixing the Admiral with a steely glare. "Is it certain?"

"Not entirely, Lord Malak... but the eyewitness descriptions certainly match." He paused. "Besides, there have been certain... disturbances there of late. It appears that the Wookiees have risen up against Czerka Corporation and driven them off the face of the planet."

"Is that so?" Malak let out a deep, throaty chuckle. "How very typical of Revan. Setting off a revolution when he's supposed to be on the run..."

"We can't be sure that Revan was involved, Lord Malak," pointed out the Admiral.

Malak smiled again. "Admiral, I have known my former Master since the two of us were children. If there is any trouble within five light years of Revan, I can assure you that he will be involved in it somehow."

Saul nodded. "As you say, my Lord. What action do you wish me to take?"

Malak fell silent for a moment, considering. "Hmm. Dantooine, Tatooine, Kashyyyk... I believe I am beginning to see a pattern here." He raised his eyes to Saul's once more. "Would it be possible to intercept them before they leave the planet?"

"I doubt it, sir. There are too few of our forces in that sector at present. Though I could make the attempt if you wish," he added hurriedly.

Malak shook his head. "No, I have a better idea. Set a course for the main hyperspace route by the planet of Korriban." His face twisted into an unpleasant smile. "Somehow I have a feeling that they will turn up there, sooner or later..."

"Very well, Lord Malak." Saul Karath bowed to his commander before turning to depart, leaving the Dark Lord alone with his thoughts.