Katie plopped onto her bed, letting out a sigh of relief. That had been amazingly close, and for a second there she'd really thought that this was game over. The look on Mel's face would haunt her for quite some time; the disbelief mixed with horror and some pronounced disgust. Which meant that the cover-up had been worth it. She did wish they (he, really, she didn't do much except run off) had been able to do it without having to use mind tricks.

Which lead to an interesting question. How far was she willing to go to keep this under wraps? Or, more importantly, how far was he ready to go? Katie was capable of being a realist, and she knew that widespread knowledge would be a virtual death sentence. She would become a liability, a target for the Resistance or anyone else wishing to bargain with the Empire. But would she kill to keep the secret? She didn't think so, at least not Mel. But what if they were surprised by someone less important? A simple tech or guard? Would she be willing to kill another to save herself? It was a scary thing to contemplate. No, she did not like the idea of valuing her life so high above another's. But if she were in such a situation… what thought would take over? Primal fight response verse ethics? Instinct or learned behavior?

The saddest part was that this was all purely academic. He would be willing to kill for her, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was an interesting thing to think of, how very dangerous he could be if brushed the wrong way. A bit like sleeping with a tiger, though she was not intending to do any sleeping with anybody.

Putting her head in her hand, she sighed. These were lovely, thorny moral issues she would have loved to discuss with her friend… but she could not. In fact, she was a bit afraid of what Mel would think of her if she knew.

Mel was rather… prickly when it came to love. Its not that she was against it. It's just that she did not want to seem weak. She knew she could live without a man, and was staunchly for doing so… but she wanted to know what love was. It was a difficult balance, the woman-on-her-own and the curious, and it usually meant sacrificing what she really wanted. Not so much for her image, exactly, but to be strong. Mel was the leader of her groups, always had been and probably always would be. It was half her own personality, and half the blessing/curse of charisma. However she felt on the inside, she was strong outside.

Katie knew of 'inside Mel', but it was difficult not to envy the exterior. She'd always thought herself weak, and was just realizing how very true this had been. Was she jealous? Yes, very, though she would never be able to explain exactly why. Part of it was simply envy of how very simple Mel's waking hours were. Mel did not worry about being found out and having a virtual price on her head, about finding time for her misguided love, or for wondering what she would have to do in impossible situations.

Or was it even love? She was all of fourteen, nearly fifteen. She knew nothing of love, or if what she felt was anything like it. Would she ever know? If not, then it did not matter… as did most of what she thought over. Whether she condoned to killing of another for herself did not matter, as she would do what she did when the time came, and what Mel would think did not matter until the other girl found out (if she ever did).

Katie shivered. Why did things have to be so complicated? She'd always wanted some sort of adventure, always wanted to be dangerous. Now she had what she'd wished for… and it scared her.

- - -

"What was going on this morning?" Mel inquired of Obi-wan, looking slightly puzzled. There had been something rather important going on during breakfast, with lots of armed people bustling about in different directions, looking impressive.

"They managed to capture a pair of Rebels in charge of an assassination plot." He answered impartially, though he was rather annoyed at those particular members of the resistance for being stupid enough to be caught.

"Really? Where are they now?" Katie asked, curious. If at all possible, she wanted to talk to one of them. Not that he (or she) would be willing to say much to an 'Imperial'.

"He. There's only one now, and I believe they have him in the Interrogation Rooms." This would be nothing to them, as they probably didn't realize that there were interrogation rooms. That was, of course, the point. He had to protect the interests of the padawans, as well as that of his fellow Resistance members. For once this was a relatively easy balance, but it was bound to get more difficult.

"What happened to the other one?" Katie wished that she had let Mel ask this one. She was afraid she knew the answer.

"Committed suicide right after being taken." Obi-wan replied gravely, face registering no change. He could not express his own heartfelt sympathy without painting a sign on his head screaming 'TREASON', and expressing any sort of satisfaction would violate his own principles.

Katie felt a tad relieved, though felt worse for feeling so. She preferred that the blood be on the hands of others, but a suicide was no laughing matter. "He was devoted to his cause."

Mel nodded, though she was reserving judgment. "That takes a lot, to kill yourself instead of betraying another."

"Does it?" He considered making them think (whether by playing devil's advocate or by whacking them over the head) as part of his duty. "Is it really brave to end your own life?"

"If it is for the better good, I suppose." Mel commented. "But there's always the prospect of rescue… isn't it stupid, if he deprives his own side of someone they need?"

"It depends on the circumstance, I think. If it was a position in which he could not go on, then I suppose it's justifiable. If it is for a better good, than its noble. But if it is just to escape…"

"What if it was to escape the pain? Was that what you were about to say? What if the pain was from a best friend's death. Is that a good reason? Or what if it is to escape physical pain? To escape torture? Its is really fair to burden others with grief at your absence, or to doom a cause so that you can be spared pain?" He paused for a second, half talking to himself. "You say that self-sacrifice is noble. What if you only place burden on those who are saved? If someone died to save your own life, you would feel pressured to make something of it. You also bring up the idea of a waste of a life. If a good citizen dies to save a drug addict, was the first person's life wasted? Or is the simple act enough to redeem them?"

There was a short silence, in which he could nearly hear the cogs of their minds turning. But such a beautifully quiet moment could never last long, and he decided he was bored with it. "Enough moralizing. I want to see how you are doing with your much-abused sabers."

Katie groaned. "Why can't we moralize pointlessly for the rest of the time?"

He flicked her in the head. "Because I said so." He regretted it saying that. It was the sort of thing his old masters used to tell him all the time, and it had always ticked him off more. So he had vowed never to use it against his own padawan… Ah well, so much for good intentions.