Coruscant

Carth tried to concentrate on the holovids before him. He knew what he was doing was important but still, ever since he took this desk job he'd been battling his own restlessness. It was easy when she was there, someone to return home to after the day ended. She always had a smile, and more. . If it were up to him, wait it was up to him, but still… if she hadn't asked. Told him to…

Even when he was reviewing some high-level security vids, he could always talk with her about it, since she also had clearance. It had seemed things were going better than expected.

Upon their return, they had been hailed as great Saviors of the Galaxy. There were holo-press briefings, diplomatic events and parties, even a few cameo appearances on popular vid-shows, mostly by Mission. The whirlwind of affairs lasted just over 30 optunian planetary days, a bit too long for Carth, Juhani, Jolee, Revan, Canderous & Zaalbar but a bit too short for Mission and surprisingly, Bastilla, although she would never admit it!

After the flurry, everyone had settled into their new roles easily enough. Mission, at the urging of Revan, had enlisted a scholar to help her brush up her grammar. Although most suspected this was to appear more education on the vid appearances then for her own benefit. Revan smiled though, knowing that no matter what the reasons, it was still a good thing. Zaalbar remained by her side, despite urgings to go back to his home world. "Someday when the time is right" he roared more than once at the members of the Ebon Hawk.

Jolee decided to not go back to staring at trees and instead took to hanging around and becoming somewhat of a lobbyist, both for and against the Jedi order. He drove everyone crazy, but still had enough of a redeeming quality that they actually listened to him…sometimes.

Juhani and Bastilla continued on their training path. Bastilla became everything she was before and then multiplied by 100 percent. As the months passed she continuously tried to understand how she had fallen to the dark side. Even with Jolee's urging she couldn't understand or come to terms with it. While she became stronger in the force, she still had a long way to go before she would ever become more than a padawan.

Canderous stuck around for awhile, but after continued urgings by Revan, who knew he was bored as hell, struck out from the planet. He checked in once in awhile, but never gave much comment about what he had been doing along the way. Revan had always been the one he would confide in, and now that she was gone….

Carth snapped out of his reverie, trying to return to the holo-vids when he realized he just couldn't do this anymore. Not without her, not without a reason. He decided then and there to address the Admiral about changing his position in the Republic. She was out there somewhere, and even if he wasn't on a direct mission to find her, he surely would fair better at least by being 'out there' instead of 'in here'. Decision made, he sent a quick transmission requesting an audience with the Admiral before shutting down his terminal for the night.

Four years, he thought, four long years. I have tried to make the Republic strong, by eradicating threats to security, to ongoing missions, to anything and everything that breathed wrong in the holo-vids that the Secret Consular Republican Echelon Command Honor (SCRECH or Screech as most upper-officials knew them by) had passed along. Dammit, though, that was going to change, he needed to be doing something more active. He never thought the taste of battle would draw him, but that is where he found himself. He could no longer abide by her wishes to make the Republic strong in this fashion, he needed to go out there and blast someone, anyone. He'd lost everything for this ongoing war against an enemy that never seemed to be eradicated. Ta Hell with it, I'm going to take every last one of them down with me that I can. He stomped out of the command center angry as hell, but feeling a bit more satisfied that at least now, he had a purpose.

His thoughts ran wild though, as he tried to come to terms with everything…

The desk job, the job he took for her. To give her the life he couldn't give his previous wife. The life where he was there, not off on some mission, leaving her to wonder if he'd return in one one piece, if at all, before it was complete.

Dammit, how could she! After almost four years he still couldn't understand what had happened. One minute they were Saviors of the Galaxy, hope for a future in their grasp, and the next… she was gone.

"She left without warning, she didn't say where, only that it was TO A PLACE where she could NOT take anyone she loved … I've waited for her to come back for almost four years, it doesn't get any easier"

"There's just this … emptiness where she used to be"

"I would have done anything she asked"

"And when she told me to stay here, to try and keep the Republic strong, that was the hardest thing of all"