Bastila:
I felt horrible. Disappointed and disgusted with myself. Despite Rian's atrocious behavior I should have known not to do what I did. I was supposed to be better than that.
But I had been so angry. So furious that I couldn't help myself. It was completely unacceptable to make her ill. Not that Rian should have been allowed to think that I was nothing but a reserve life force every time she wanted to dull her senses.
Her misery was gnawing at me. I knew it wasn't physical, because I dropped the shields around my life force out of guilt. I admit, I was also troubled and horrified by our nightmares, but my anxiety was nowhere near Rian's current level.
It had to be something deeper. Or more. She certainly wasn't going to tell me anything. I suppose I should have pushed it aside as I had more important things to deal with, but it lingered in the back of my mind.
Careful to avoid the others, I left the Ebon Hawk quickly. Juhani was waiting for me patiently outside the doors to the enclave. The Cathar's hands tightly gripped the hilt of her lightsaber as she systematically disassembled and reassembled the components. Her eyes never left me.
"How are you feeling, Juhani?" I asked.
Her hands suddenly stopped their work.
"That is unimportant," she answered.
I cleared my throat. "We should be leaving as soon as possible."
Juhani nodded and joined my side.
"That Padawan, Rian," she began. "I would like to speak with her. I would like to thank her."
I tried to will the color back into my face.
"I'm sure Rian would love to talk with you," I told her. "But now is not the best time."
"Is something wrong?" Juhani asked.
"Rian is not feeling her best at the moment," I replied. "In her current condition, I'm afraid she wouldn't welcome company."
"If she is ill, I could tend to her," Juhani offered.
"No," I snapped.
Juhani's ears flattened against her skull.
"What I mean to say is that, it's nothing serious," I continued. "Rian's not in need of conventional healing, only time."
"If you feel so strongly on the matter, then I will respect your wishes," Juhani lilted.
When we entered the Ebon Hawk, I quickly directed Juhani towards the port dormitories on the opposite side of the ship from Rian. I could only pray that the Cathar's sensitive nose would not pick up the scent of vomit and liquor from that distance. That was the least of my worries, however.
In the garage area of the ship, both Canderous Ordo and the astromech were smoking. T3-M4's gears whirred madly as the little droid tried to dash out of the Mandalorians firm grip.
"Hold still, you pain in my ass," Canderous grumbled between the cigarra in his lips. "This is for your own good."
T3-M4 gave an irritated bleat.
"Can I have a word with you?" I asked.
"Can you talk over this squealing trash compactor?" Canderous retorted.
"Do you really feel that it's necessary for you to accompany us?" I murmured.
"What?" the Mandalorian barked. He roughly jabbed his hydrospanner into an exposed circuit in the droid's backside.
T3-M4 shrieked.
"I said, do you really feel that it's necessary for you to accompany us?" I hollered.
Canderous set the hydrospanner down and exhaled a plume of smoke.
"No," he replied levelly. "I don't."
"Then you have no problem departing from the Ebon Hawk?" I ventured.
Canderous dropped his hands and the droid zipped away.
"Lady," he said. "If you leave me on this hayfield, I swear I will jump on the first transport out of here and I will not stop tracking you until your head is skewered on my vibrosword."
"Colorful imagery aside, I will not be pushed around by your threats," I warned.
"I'm not leaving this ship," Canderous said flatly.
"That's all I needed to hear," I sniffed. "I'd appreciate it if you kept your hydrospanner away from the droid's memory core in the future."
I heard the Mandalorian snort as I walked away. That did not go well at all. I swallowed my frustration as I headed towards the cockpit.
Carth was staring blankly at the galaxy map, a cup of caffa in his hand.
"Is no one on this ship happy?" I murmured.
Carth blinked and turned to face me.
"Hey," he said. "I didn't hear you sneak up."
"It wasn't my intention to sneak," I replied. "You look troubled."
"I'm just trying to figure out the quickest hyperspace route to take." Carth shrugged. "It's no big deal."
"Carth, anxiety is pouring off of you," I pressed. "Are you sure you don't want to talk?"
He sighed and took a sip of his caffa.
"Do you always do that?" he asked. "Use the Force to read people?"
"How could you say that?" I turned my attention to the galaxy map. "Even a non-Force adept could see that you're miserable."
Carth sat in the pilot's seat and began to punch in coordinates.
"You know things about the Force," Carth said. "Maybe I should talk to you."
I sat in the co-pilots seat. "Very well."
"How powerful is Rian?" he asked.
I blanched. "Why do you wish to know?"
"I just need to know."
"I have never seen anyone more powerful in the Force than Rian," I admitted. "I suspect that that's one of the reasons why the Council chose to train her despite her age."
Carth looked relieved as he nodded.
"What is this all about, Carth?" I asked.
"Could someone be so powerful in the Force that they share a dream or nightmare with someone else?"
"Did you dream of Revan too?" I gasped.
"No," Carth said. "What are you talking about?"
"What are you talking about?" I countered.
"I've been having these dreams, nightmares, for years now," Carth confessed.
"About what?" I asked.
"The content's not important," he growled. "Suffice it to say that Rian started sharing them."
"She wouldn't do such a thing," I muttered. "No, she would."
"She has," Carth corrected.
"It wasn't a conscious effort on her part," I reassured. "The only thing that I can assume is that her own nightmares were so horrible that she retreated from her mind and reached out to a comforting presence."
"Comforting presence?" Carth scoffed. "That's ridiculous. You're trying to tell me that Rian would hop from one nightmare to another?"
"You're not listening to me," I replied. "I said a comforting presence, as in, you. Your nightmares are irrelevant."
"Me?" Carth mumbled. "Why am I a comforting presence?"
I sighed. "That's not an answer that I have."
"Are you ready to head to Kashyyyk?"
I nodded and concentrated on Dantooine's landscape through the viewport. This was going to be troublesome. Jedi were not permitted to form attachments. Not that I suspected that either of the fools would listen to me. Troublesome, indeed.
