A/N: On with the show!

Responses to reviews are as follows:

AnarionRising27: Hey, thanks!

I was a bit worried the previous chapter would end up being a bit of a disappointment, seeing as how the one before it featured such an important moment. I'm glad you really enjoyed it, and the next few should be really interesting given what I have in mind for them.

Chapter 21: Planning

"Time to wake up, big guy."

Rassen grunted as he blearily opened his eyes. Blinking a few times, he noticed Kasumi standing nearby, a smug look on her face.

"Sorry," the thief shrugged apologetically, "but Shep wants to get things underway. As cute as the two of you are, he does have a point."

Two?

Rassen was suddenly aware that something warm was pressed against his side, a weight also resting on his chest and shoulder. Glancing down, he couldn't help smiling at the sight of Shaela as she continued to sleep, her body partly draped across his own, one of his arms holding her around her shoulders. Even though the familiar glow of her eyes was missing, the Jedi could tell the unconscious quarian's expression mirrored his own.

"Tell Shepard to give us another couple of minutes," he replied, looking back at Kasumi as she nodded once, smug look still in place. After a few moments, she still hadn't moved, causing Rassen to arch an eyebrow at her.

"What?" he finally asked.

"I still want to find out what happened between the two of you," the thief grinned. "We both know a lot more went on than just talking, Ras. You and Shaela were giving each other all kinds of different looks earlier."

"What occurred is none of your concern," Rassen muttered, returning his attention to the still-sleeping woman next to him, whose only movement was the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed softly.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that. I just really want to know."

Force this woman is stubborn!

"Maybe I will tell you later," he quietly replied, pretending to give in slightly in the hope the thief would leave and inform Shepard that he and Shaela would be along shortly. Instead, Kasumi made an unconvinced huffing noise that caused him to close his eyes in annoyance. Opening them after a moment, he looked back at her before frowning as he noticed she was now fiddling with her omni-tool.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously.

Kasumi didn't glance up as she replied, but he got the feeling it was more because she was engrossed in what she was doing than anything else. "I realised earlier it would probably be a good idea to whip up some grenades, if I can find right file, wherever it's got to" she said as though it were the most natural thing in the world. "I haven't found any on the ship, and we are pretty badly outnumbered."

Rassen stared at her. "And you can create explosives using your omni-tool?" he asked in disbelief. "Where are the components?"

Kasumi looked up, an expression of surprise on her hooded features before it was replaced by a look of understanding. "Oh, right. You might not have picked up on it yet, but omni-tools have an in-built fabrication module, Ras. With enough omni-gel, you can make pretty much anything if you have the time. Well, anything within reason."

"What is omni-gel, and where do you get it?" Rassen asked, staring at his wrist in disbelief. He remembered marvelling at the translation capabilities of the device there when he had first acquired one, but never had he guessed it also possessed a function like the one Kasumi was describing. He was so distracted considering all of the different possible uses of the technological marvel that he almost missed the thief's reply.

"I always carry a small amount with me. It was great back in the day, when you could open virtually any door by applying some of it to the lock. I always preferred to do it the old-fashioned way, you know, keep my skills sharp. Still, it was nice to have it as a backup, just in case." Kasumi apparently realised she still hadn't answered his question. "You can convert pretty much anything into omni-gel, but armour and weapons normally make the best choices. It's basically a substance you can turn into anything mechanical provided what you want isn't too big, meaning it's ideal for repairs."

"So if I wanted to make something with my omni-tool, I would just need to acquire a sufficient amount of omni-gel first?" Rassen muttered, thoughts racing.

"Yep," Kasumi nodded. "You can't create anything from scratch, though. You'd need to start with a detailed scan of the thing you wanted to make."

He nodded, trying to supress the surge of excitement he felt as he began to realise the possible implications of his omni-tool's newly revealed ability. "And could I obtain such a scan by using the omni-tool itself?"

Kasumi nodded again. "That's right. Why are you so interested, though? Do you have something in mind?"

Rassen allowed himself a knowing smile. "Tell Shepard that Shaela and I need two more minutes," he repeated. "I will need your help later. You will find out then."

The thief opened her mouth to argue, but she closed it a second later, apparently realising he wasn't going to budge. "Okay, then," Kasumi replied slowly. "I'll give you a hand… but only if you tell me what happened between the two of you."

"Very well," Rassen nodded, feeling a small amount of satisfaction as Kasumi did a double take at how easily he had relented. "If we are able to successfully replicate what I want to replicate, you have my word I will tell you what you want to know."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that," he confirmed.

"Wow," Kasumi managed, stretching out the word. "Now I'm almost as interested in what you want a backup of."

"Like I said, that can wait," he said calmly, finding it difficult to conceal his enjoyment as he saw the thief scowl. "Now, I believe—"

"Yeah, yeah," Kasumi waved a hand, already turning away. "I'll tell Shep to give you another couple of minutes."

Smiling to himself as the thief left the room, Rassen turned his gaze back to the quarian in his arms. She seemed so peaceful as she lay there resting that a part of him hated the idea of waking her. His smile widened, though, as his eyes suddenly picked up on something he hadn't noticed before.

He couldn't feel it on account of where Shaela's hands were, but the quarian was gripping onto him tightly, fingers tensed around the edge of his chestplate as she slept. It might have been years since she had explained it to him, but he remembered it like it was yesterday. The Palisoi'Jalo, or 'Lover's Grip', as it roughly translated, was a state where a sleeping quarian might hold onto someone they loved with such force one could be fooled into thinking they were still awake. Seeing it in action once again only made him more reluctant to wake Shaela.

But they had people waiting on them.

"Shaela," he said quietly, only for her to not so much as stir as she remained sleeping. "Shaela," he tried again, voice closer to its usual volume. Frowning as she still did not so much as shift, Rassen gently nudged her, causing a hitch in the quarian's breathing. Watching her as her eyes slowly opened, he smiled back at her as Shaela's gaze lifted to meet his own, her smaller form still lying partly on top of his as she raised her head from where it had been resting on his shoulder.

And then she sneezed.

"Ah, no," Shaela exclaimed, her normally soft and melodic voice much rougher than normal. "I knew this… knew this…" she trailed off as she sneezed again, this time so violently she jumped slightly off him, causing Rassen to wince as she came back down. Sniffing, the quarian looked back at him, only for a third sneeze to rip through her with the same violence as the previous one, causing him to burst out laughing.

"Stop it," Shaela complained, half-heartedly beating a small fist against his chest, which only caused him to laugh harder. "My nose is so blocked I can't breathe through it and my throat is killing me!"

Rassen was roaring with laughter now as the quarian continued to fume more and more, pulling herself off him with an annoyed grumble before climbing off the bed, crossing her arms, and turning her back. Regaining some control over himself with difficulty, he likewise clambered to his feet and stood up, only for Shaela to move away from him, back still turned.

"I'm sorry," he managed, well aware he certainly didn't sound sorry. "You just… the expression you had when you looked at me… You looked like at me like it was entirely my fault."

"It is your fault," Shaela mumbled, but there was no anger directed at him in her voice, though she certainly sounded frustrated. "I'm sick because of your bacteria. Damn it, why did I take my stupid mask off? I knew this would happen, and I still did it!"

Realising now the quarian was genuinely annoyed at her condition, Rassen walked in front of her before gently lifting her head up so he could stare into her eyes. "I'm sorry," he apologised, actually meaning it this time. "I should be able to help you with that." He began to reach out to the Force, the warm sensation of allowing it to flow through him as comforting as ever. Raising a hand, he almost didn't hear the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him.

"Shep's about to come down here himself to see what the delay is, you two. You should come before he gets too annoyed."

Rassen turned to Kasumi as she shrugged slightly. "We better not delay any further, then," he said reluctantly. He looked back at Shaela. "Can you put up with it for a little while?" As the quarian muttered an affirmative, he once more turned his gaze to the thief. "Why does he keep sending you?" he asked. "What keeps stopping him from coming himself now he can walk again?"

As he stood in the ship's medium-sized cargo bay surveying the wide variety of differently sized crates before him, Shepard felt a little better knowing they were well-supplied. At the very least, they wouldn't have to worry about food, water, or ammunition being an issue. That being said, he would have gladly traded in more than half of what they had at their disposal for detailed intelligence on their enemies. Not knowing how many there were exactly or how close their nearest units were to their current position didn't sit easily with him.

He glanced up from where he had been checking a crate of thermal clips as Kasumi entered the room, Rassen and Shaela in tow. Giving the three of them a nod, he began to answer the unspoken question he sensed the latter two were about to ask as they looked in surprise at the containers that surrounded them.

"While the two of you were sleeping, Kasumi and I decided to put together a complete inventory of everything on the ship. We have enough food and water so that we don't need to worry. They even have tubes of dextro nutrient paste for some reason."

"Probably the batarians' doing," Kasumi mused as she leaned against a nearby wall. "I wouldn't put it past them to try and sell a few at extortionate prices to some desperate turians or quarians."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "We have plenty of thermal clips as well." He eyed the silver and black cylinder at Rassen's side. "Are you sure that's as useful as you said while you were explaining where you come from?" he asked dubiously.

"I'm certain," the younger man replied. "Are any of these containers full of omni-gel?"

Thrown for a moment at the change of topic, Shepard nonetheless quickly recovered, pointing at a medium-sized box only a metre or so to the Jedi's right. "That one has a small amount inside," he said, frowning as Rassen instantly walked over to the container, the Jedi tilting his head curiously. "I take it you want to repair or make something?" he asked.

"Make something," Rassen confirmed, turning back to face him. "Kasumi has very kindly agreed to help me, given I am more than a little unfamiliar with this particular aspect of omni-tool usage."

"For a reasonable fee," the thief chimed in, her expression causing Shepard to give Rassen a sympathetic look. Whatever he was giving Kasumi in return, she was too enthusiastic about it for it to be anything too simple.

"Rassen?" Everybody turned to look at Shaela as she asked the question only the Jedi knew the answer to. "What do you want to make? You haven't mentioned anything about this before."

Shepard frowned as Rassen deliberately avoided giving the quarian a straight answer. "That would be because I only had the idea just before you woke up," he explained. "It might well not work anyway, so I would like to try and create it first before getting anyone's hopes up."

"Except for mine," Kasumi chirped, the same look of satisfaction on her features as before causing Shepard to feel another pang of sympathy for the room's other male occupant. "Obviously, I'll know before it's complete, whatever it is. Of course, should I not receive the agreed compensation for my time, whatever it is may suddenly and unexpectedly stop working at an unknown point in the future."

"You will get what you want," Rassen muttered, the look of irritation he was unable to disguise telling Shepard instantly that, if anything, the other man deserved even more sympathy from him than he had first expected. With whatever the Jedi had promised Kasumi being almost as intriguing a mystery as what he wanted to create, Shepard's curiosity was beyond piqued now, which also seemed to be same in the case of Shaela, though she too didn't press the issue for the moment.

"We can worry about your project later," he said, indicating the assorted crates that littered the floor of the room. "We might not have a supply problem, but we still need to decide how to proceed. Any thoughts?"

All eyes turned to Kasumi as the thief activated her omni-tool, a screen flashing to life above her wrist as she selected a file. "Mandalore wasn't lying," she said, tone professional, none of her previous light-hearted attitude on display. "Calling for help now they're looking for us would obviously tell them exactly where we are, and they've also definitely cut off all long-range communications." The thief waved everyone closer and began playing a short video clip, causing Shepard's eyes to widen after a few seconds as he realised what he was watching.

Directly in the centre of the screen sat what he recognised to be a comm buoy, the object's main body being roughly spherical, with a number of aerials of different lengths protruding from it in all directions. Scattered at uneven intervals along the device were glowing red lights which signalled the buoy was active, the pinpricks of red rendering it just about visible against the blackness of space.

The buoy grew larger and larger as the ship the camera which had captured the footage was attached to moved closer. As it began to fill just over half of the screen, there was a brilliant flash of bright blue light. Several others followed as a series of shots were fired by the ship, the attack silent on account of the vessel being in space, the projectiles heading directly for the unprotected buoy. As Shepard watched, the communications device was blasted apart, a couple of the aerials being sliced in half before a shot caught the buoy directly in the centre, its spherical body cracking open like an egg before the machine exploded. The footage ended a second later, leaving everyone except Kasumi stunned.

The thief shrugged as she pointed at the still-active screen. "When I was looking for your location inside the base, Shep, I decided to have a look at what else the batarians and Mandalorians have been up to. Remember when Mandalore said she wanted to provoke a response? Wiping out the colony on Horizon and destroying all of the comm buoys nearby gives the Alliance no choice but to investigate why the area has gone dark, but it also leaves them blind, giving her the edge."

"Have they managed to destroy all of the ones in the area yet?" Shaela asked, the quarian still looking at the area above the thief's wrist.

"This was the last one," Kasumi nodded, "but they only managed to hit it a few hours before we escaped. You and I sent out calls for help before then. If they get through in time, then maybe the Alliance ships that turn up to investigate will be on their guard. Communications were bad in this area for days before we all met up, though I didn't know why until we reached their base, but we should have still just about managed to get through. Only—"

"You have no idea how long it will take the messages to actually reach a functioning comm buoy, and from there others that are still intact and finally their destinations," Rassen interrupted. "The Alliance ships that arrive might be aware of the danger and so avoid as many casualties as possible, but that could still be long after we have already been found."

Kasumi nodded silently.

"All right," Shepard muttered. "So while we know someone will at the very least come to investigate, we have no guarantee they'll arrive in time. Is there any chance we could find an opening and make a run for it?"

Kasumi shrugged. "There might be if we knew what kind of patrol and search formations they're using," she explained, "but the only way to find that out would be to activate the same systems we shut down to keep ourselves hidden. It would take a while to monitor their movements for long enough to work out what they're doing, which means they'd find us before we had enough information to work with. Besides, I don't think Mandalore was lying when she said they had locked down the relays. On the bright side, she can only stop us from leaving this system except to go back the way we came, not prevent anyone else from entering from the outside. The relays near this one are still under the control of the same people as they were before the Mandalorians and batarians decided to work together."

"So we don't know when help will arrive and we can't run," Shaela summarised.

"Basically," Kasumi admitted. "Still, they haven't found us yet, and we should still have a while until they do. Hopefully that will be long enough for Alliance ships to arrive, but I'm not willing to bet on it."

"Damn it," Shepard grunted. "There has to be something we can do beyond just sitting here and hoping we don't get found and blown to pieces."

"Actually, there is."

Everyone turned to look at Rassen as he began to explain. "Mandalore wanted to hunt us," the Jedi began. "If she had wanted to simply kill us, we would never have made it this far. Assuming she survived whatever it was you fired at her, trying to destroy the ship with us inside it seems too easy. I doubt she will want to let us off so lightly after you put such a dent in her plans."

"What are you saying?" Shepard asked doubtfully.

"I'm saying that from her perspective things are now much more personal. Mandalorians are not above using torture to get information or against those who cause them enough trouble. Ironically, you blowing up as many as you did may have convinced her to capture us or at the very least kill us herself, rather than simply attacking the ship."

Shepard frowned thoughtfully. "That would mean the Mandalorians and batarians have to overpower us first, assuming Balak goes along with Mandalore. They have numbers, but we still might have a fighting chance of holding them off for a while, since there's only one way onto the ship. " He gave Rassen another doubtful look. "Are you sure she won't just order us to be fired on as soon as they find us?"

"Death is not in and of itself punishment in the eyes of a Mandalorian," Rassen explained. "It is considered honourable to engage and kill a worthy foe. As I said, torture is normally reserved for special cases. It would be the more intelligent course for them to simply blow our ship up, but rage causes people to make mistakes."

The Jedi shrugged before continuing. "If I am right, then we may have several hours longer for help to arrive than we thought… if we can hold out for a while. Since we honestly have no other option than to hope that is the case, we need to prepare first. All of us need to be ready to fight with everything we have at a moment's notice. Speaking of which…" Rassen turned to Kasumi, causing the thief to give him an expectant look.

"Do you need to make it right now?"

"Ideally."

"Okay." Kasumi began to issue a series of commands into her omni-tool, only to stop as Rassen shook his head.

"We should do this in the storage room," he said, causing Shepard to frown in confusion.

The thief, however, didn't seem phased by the request. "Makes no difference to me, let's go." She headed for the door, Rassen behind her, only for the Jedi to turn to face Shaela as the quarian made to follow.

"Rassen, what is it?" Shaela asked, sounding as confused as Shepard felt.

"Just… wait here," the Jedi said after a moment. "Trust me," he added quickly, clearly picking up on the quarian's growing frustration. Without waiting for a reply, he motioned for Kasumi to leave the room, exiting it himself a moment later. Shepard leaned against a stack of crates, taking some of the strain off his still-recovering legs as Shaela turned to face him, radiating awkwardness.

"So," she began, "you're, um, Commander Shepard."

"All right," Kasumi said as they arrived at the dimly-lit storage room, folding her arms as she looked over at Rassen, who walked past her towards a workbench situated just before the far wall. "What exactly is it you want to make a copy of?"

She frowned as he didn't reply, curiosity getting the better of her as she began to walk over to the Jedi, whose back was turned to her. Before she had taken more than a couple of steps, though, Rassen held out a hand behind him, stopping her in her tracks.

"Give me a moment," he replied, deep voice giving nothing away.

Frown deepening, Kasumi watched in interest as Rassen gently picked up a tool, not that she could see what it was from her current position, before presumably beginning to use it on something he had just placed on the workbench, not that she could see that either. The sound of metal clinking against metal filled the room as the Jedi Knight began to disassemble whatever the mystery object was, causing her to rock back and forth on her heels as she tried to work out what it could be.

"Won't you at least give me a hint?" she asked. "I already know it must be something pretty complicated if it needs to be taken apart; you're only doing that because it's made up of lots of different pieces."

The clinking stopped, there being a moment of silence before there was a quiet clang as whatever Rassen was working on presumably split into two halves. Replacing the tool and picking up another, Kasumi squinted but still couldn't make out what the second one was, he resumed his work, further noises of metal on metal reaching her ears. Curiosity now unbearable, she took another step closer, only to freeze as Rassen's voice stopped her.

"No."

She stuck out her tongue at his back. "You're no fun, Rassy," she sniffed. "I'm going to find out in a second anyway, so why the secrecy?"

The room's other occupant didn't respond for a moment, only doing so when the object he was working on presumably separated again with the same clanging sound as before, although it sounded as though several pieces had separated this time. "Because this is delicate work," he replied slowly, voice giving away his attention was mainly focused on what his hands were doing. "I do not wish to break anything, so please give me another few seconds."

Kasumi began to count inside her head, preparing to make a snarky comment when Rassen no doubt took much longer than he had suggested, only to give a start as he suddenly waved at her to approach, eyes still on the workbench in front of him. As she walked over to stand at his side, the workbench's surface, coloured a light grey, became visible, as did the pieces that now littered it.

Staring at them in confusion, Kasumi attempted to picture what they looked like when they were all connected. Several of the pieces looked as though they sat on top of one another, while others looked like they were contained inside the body of the object itself. Some of the components were completely unfamiliar to her, causing the thief to pay special attention to those ones. One of them in particular caught her eye, drawing a gasp from her as a few seconds of staring at it caused the penny to drop.

No way.

As she followed Kasumi to the storage room, Shaela quickly picked up on the human woman's excitement. She practically bounced as she walked, frequently shooting knowing glances back at the quarian and making no effort to conceal the quiet giggles she let out almost as often. Shaela began to feel a little uncomfortable as she tried to work out whether the other woman's change in attitude was the result of whatever it was she had helped Rassen make or whether she had finally figured out what had occurred between the two of them while she had been sleeping.

"Kasumi," she began, the human's constant looks and noises of amusement finally proving too much, "what's going on?"

"Oh, nothing," the thief replied, waving a hand dismissively. "You'll find out soon enough, Shaela. All good things come to those who wait."

Feeling a stab of irritation at the shorter woman's response, Shaela felt her annoyance only grow as she sneezed violently, prompting yet another giggle from Kasumi. She was about to tell her to stop laughing, only to notice they had reached their destination, Rassen turning and beckoning for her to come over. Frowning slightly, she started to walk over to where he stood, most of the workbench that stood behind him hidden from view.

"I wanted to see if it would actually work before getting your hopes up," he said, tone so serious Shaela for a moment was afraid something bad had happened. "However, if anything, my expectations were exceeded." The Jedi turned his attention to Kasumi, who Shaela now noticed had chosen to linger at the room's entrance rather than following her further in. "Thank you for your help, Kasumi."

"No problem, big guy," she replied, shooting a mock salute his way before turning on her heel and beginning to leave, much to Shaela's surprise. "Good luck you two, and if you decide to celebrate…" she turned around, grin causing the quarian to shift in discomfort as Kasumi let a moment of silence linger, clearly enjoying the sight of her squirming.

"… Then you better keep the door closed."

Cheeks flushed, Shaela opened her mouth to demand just how the thief had found out, only for the other woman to dart through the doorframe before pressing her hand to the haptic interface on the other side, giving an exaggerated wave before the door slid shut, leaving her alone with Rassen. Feeling a small amount of anger, she turned to the Jedi, who at least had the good grace to look a little sheepish.

"You told her," she said accusingly as she continued to make her way over.

"I did," Rassen shrugged. "I would have preferred not to, but I needed her help. Besides, she would have found out eventually, given how persistent she was about knowing."

"Uh huh."

The human if anything looked more embarrassed as she crossed her arms while continuing to glare at him. "She mentioned she was happy for the both of us," Rassen said quietly. "As much as she can be more than a little overbearing, I really do think she meant it, Shaela. She also told me that what we have is special, and that I should never let you go again."

Shaela swallowed, the pain that resulted from her sore throat going ignored as she felt her anger evaporating. "And what did you say to that?" she asked gently, finally reaching him.

"I told her the truth. That I already know how lucky I am and have no intention of leaving you again," the human replied, the conviction in his voice causing her to smile brightly as attempted to look round him. Smiling back at her, Rassen stepped aside, revealing what lay on the workbench.

A large number of small components sat there, none of them immediately familiar. Staring at them carefully, Shaela noticed there was one of each kind of object on each side of the workbench, leaving both sides symmetrical.

No, not quite symmetrical.

On the left-hand side there sat an object which lacked a duplicate on the right. It was small, so small in fact she could have easily held it between her forefinger and thumb. It was coloured a beautiful sapphire blue, the exact same colour as…

Keelah!

"Is this… are you…" she managed, unable to put her thoughts into words. Swallowing heavily, she tried again, pointing at the left-hand side of the workbench. "Is that your lightsaber?" she asked breathlessly.

A small smile appeared on Rassen's face at her reaction. "Yes," he replied. "I assumed I had to take it apart and replicate each component individually instead of trying to copy the whole thing. Besides, one of the trials a Jedi must undergo during the course of their training is to build their own lightsaber."

"Build my own…" Shaela felt faint, and it had nothing to with her being unwell. "I can't, Rassen. I'm not a Jedi. I can't even feel the Force if you're not nearby. I don't… I don't deserve this." She dropped her gaze towards the end, refusing to look at the neatly arranged pieces of metal any longer.

"And why not?"

The quarian looked up to see Rassen staring at her, an intense look in his eyes. "Jedi are supposed to help those in need, especially the innocent, and you did that on your own while I was gone. Jedi also battle the allure of the dark side without giving in. Many fail to resist its influence, but you managed to on Querra. You may not have the normal years of training, Shaela, but you have accomplished so much without it. You have already passed the equivalent of almost every trial. You have the heart of a Jedi and the determination. This is the only barrier left if you want to become one."

"I'm still not sure this is right," Shaela insisted, trying to ignore how the room was spinning around her now.

"Are you worried I am only doing this because of our relationship?"

"Are you?" she asked.

Rassen's smile was gentle as he replied. "No," he said calmly but firmly. "The thought crossed my mind while Kasumi and I were working, but I dismissed it quickly. You deserve this, Shaela, for everything you have accomplished. The decision is yours, however. If you do not want this, then that is your decision. You know I will support you whatever you decide."

"If I do," Shaela began, voice almost a whisper, "will you teach me like before?"

"Do you see another Jedi around here?"

"Rassen!"

"What?" the human asked, small smile turning into a grin before his expression became serious. "A long time has passed since then, Shaela. If you no longer want to learn about the Force or would prefer to—"

"No," Shaela said firmly, stepping closer and taking both of Rassen's hands in her own. "I still want to learn, Rassen. I… I want to become a Jedi, if you are okay with teaching me, I mean."

She gasped as the human pulled her closer, before sighing happily as he embraced her, returning the gesture immediately. As they broke apart, she looked down at the various components, unable to fully ignore the nervousness that began to pool in her stomach. "So, um, how do I…" she trailed off, pointing at the workbench.

"Ah, I cannot help you for the most part," Rassen shrugged in reply. "Each Jedi constructs their own lightsaber. Trust your instincts and there will be no problems. Typically each one has a unique appearance, but unfortunately yours will have to look exactly like mine aside from one difference." He picked up the blue object that had caught her attention earlier, holding it up in front of her. Now it was closer, Shaela could see it was some kind of crystal, the way the light struck its surface highlighting its contours.

Rassen slowly placed the crystal back onto the workbench before moving one of his hands into his robe. Shaela was about to ask what he was doing, only to stare in shock as the human withdrew his hand, opening it to reveal a second crystal, its beautiful emerald colour and its shape causing it to catch the light in the same entrancing way as the first. Speechless, the quarian could only watch as the human placed it on the other side of the workbench to his own crystal.

"Every component on this side," Rassen explained, "is a direct copy of the original, aside from the crystal. Remember when you asked what I found on Zaressh's body, and I said I would tell you later?"

"It belonged to him?" Shaela asked in disgust, glaring at the green crystal as she began to see it in a whole new light.

"No."

Rassen's voice had taken on a sombre tone now, causing her to look at him worriedly. "Do you remember back a few days after we first met, when I explained to you about the first time he and I crossed paths? I told you he defeated me, of course, but also that another Sith killed my… my mentor, Master Dorass. Her lightsaber was damaged beyond repair. Zaressh took its crystal, perhaps as a trophy, or perhaps simply because he could."

Shaela's mouth was dry as she turned to stare at the crystal again. "So this was…"

"Her lightsaber crystal, yes."

"I can't," Shaela shook her head quickly. "I can't accept this, Rassen. Even though we need every advantage we can get, I can't use it. It's not… it's not…" she trailed off as the human placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him.

"She would not have wanted it to simply gather dust locked away somewhere," Rassen said firmly. "She would have liked you, Shaela. Your determination, your intelligence… and your ability to challenge me when I need it. As much as Jedi are not supposed to form romantic entanglements, she would probably have approved of us being together as well, given how you have managed to bring the best out of me."

"I..." Shaela took a deep breath. "Okay," she whispered. "If you're sure this is right."

"I know it is," Rassen whispered just as quietly, leaning closer before kissing her gently on the top of her helmet. "She may be one with the Force now, but I know she approves." The human turned his gaze back to the workbench. "Let me reassemble my lightsaber, and then you can get started on your own. It might be best not to try and activate it until I have had a look at it though; chances are you might not set the crystal properly."

"Can that happen?"

"It often does. That is the part I can assist you with. A Jedi Knight or Master normally checks to ensure the crystal is properly in place once their student has finished."

Turning her back as Rassen quickly put his lightsaber back together, Shaela forced herself to try and keep her breathing even. She was still very nervous, but more than that, she was excited. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't help shifting her weight from one leg to the other and back again, almost jumping a foot in the air as the human ignited his reassembled lightsaber much sooner than she had expected, the snap-hiss the weapon made taking her completely by surprise.

"Sorry," Rassen apologised, although his smirk made it clear he had enjoyed her reaction. "I will wait outside. Take as long as you need and call when you need me to check the crystal's placement." She nodded back at him as he deactivated his lightsaber and began to leave, her nervousness increasing as he reached the door and opened it before stepping through. Maybe this was wrong. Maybe she shouldn't have a lightsaber. It was his teacher's old crystal—

"Shaela."

She looked back over at the doorway to see Rassen standing on the other side, the door itself still very much open. "I love you," the human said simply.

"I love you, too," she replied, smiling widely as her doubts seemed to fade away.

Rassen grinned back at her before pressing his hand to the interface, the door closing between them, but not before his last words reached her.

"May the Force be with you."