AN: I do not own Star Wars or Star Wars the Old Republic. I own only the OC and plot. General trigger warnings just in case!

"aaaa"-talking out loud. "aaaa" (bold and italics)-talking through a holo or com. 'aaaaa'-inner thoughts. "aaaaa" -talking through a Bond or talking during a Force Vision. aaaa -Force Vision. "aaaa" (bold)-talking in another language. ("aaa") (bold, italics, and parentheses) - talking through a holo or com in another language

AN: Final chapter!

Total confession. I am really struggling with this series. Partly because it is based on a game and partly because I feel like it is not reaching readers. So updates will be slower and I might even take a hiatus. I don't want to not finish this series, but it stands at 20 stories total so far, but I want people to be excited for my stories and want to read them.

Anyway, onto the final chapter!

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Epilogue: Beyond the Setting Sun

"I've run out of excuses," Zho grimly told Silas. His hands were wrapped around a tumbler of Corellian brandy. He felt that the current discussion required that rare indulgence. The Order like the Sith were desperate to fill their ranks. "My boy is sixteen and still not a Padawan. The Masters of the enclave summoned me and said that enough is enough. Theron is to be tested to see whether or not he can become a full Jedi." Zho took a gulp of his drink, letting the brandy burn as it slipped down his throat.

Silas frowned. It wasn't unexpected. First the war and then the sacking of Coruscant had resulted in a severely decimated Jedi Order resulting in the Order scrambling to find those who could fill their ranks with a badly hidden air of desperation. And it did make sense that some of the traditionalists within the Order would want to get Theron out there and in the public eye. Oh they might worry and fuss about Theron being the next Revan, but another Jedi from the powerful Shan family serving the Republic would serve as a powerful propaganda tool. If people saw Theron Shan on the front lines, it could drive more to join the Republic Armed Forces or those talented few to join the Order.

But Silas knew Theron. The teen was bold, smart, scrappy, angry, passionate, and a fighter. But he was no soldier, no mere follower of orders. Theron favored fighting from the shadows, following only those who earned his respect, questioning orders that didn't make sense, and his loyalty belonged to Esther first then the Jedi and Republic. To his very core Theron was a spy and not a soldier. He watched and listened, helping Esther as she fought in the light, eyes on her and not on Theron.

Sometimes it was scary how well Esther and Theron worked together. For their teachers it could be a nightmare. A part of Silas wanted to believe that the connection was due solely to the bond, but he knew that was a lie. He and Zho had come to accept that even if there was no bond, Esther and Theron still would have found each other at some point and connected. Even if they would have been adults when it happened. They would have found each other and connected because they were both children that were watched and judged because of where they came from and who their parents were, had been.

Esther and Theron were just meant to be together. Bond or no bond.

Silas tapped his fingers on the table near his own tumbler of brandy. "Will they move Theron into a support position if he fails their test?" It was the way of both the Order and Green Jedi. Those who had the Force, but couldn't or wouldn't become full members for one reason or another, could serve as support staff. They could work as security, medical staff, teachers, pilots. Stepping into roles that could not be filled by just Jedi. They had more freedom and opportunities.

But to the Corellian's shock, the older male shook his head. "No. They had decided that it would look bad if Theron fails and yet they still keep him within the Order even as support in case the public would ever figure out who his mother is. You know, the whole no attachments." Both Silas and Zho snorted. In public, the Jedi Order talked often about the giving up of attachments. Yet there was a loophole in place that allowed for marriages and families currently. The public just didn't know about it. "I have been informed that a new guardian has been found for Theron and if he fails the test, that guardian will be taking him immediately." There was pain in Zho's voice as he thought about losing the child he had raised since birth and thought of as a grandson. He was not ready to say goodbye. "And what will happen to Theron and Esther?"

And there was the worry that was at the front of both their minds. They didn't doubt if separated the two would find their way back to each other. But what would happen to them during that separation?

But it was out of their hands and there was nothing they could do.

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"What?!" Esther's shout echoed through the yard. She jumped down from the tree branch she had been balancing on. As soon as her feet touched the ground she was up and tackling Theron. The teenager hit the ground with a grunt. She stood over him, hands planted on her hips. "What do you mean you're going to get kicked out?"

"Ummm…loud," Theron pretended to wince and rubbed his ears. "And I'm not being kicked out right now. Just after I fail the test that they are going to give me." He sat back up and gently grabbed Esther's wrist, pulling her down to sit next to him. "If I fail then it means I am not fit to be a Jedi." Esther nibbled on her lower lip. They both knew that it was very likely that he would fail and that they would be separated. But neither wanted to think about it. She could hear in Theron's voice his nervousness and fear, and could sense it.

But there was also some acceptance. For there was a part of Theron that had always seemed to know he would never be a Jedi and was fine with it. Sometimes when he thought about being a Jedi, it felt like a heavy collar had been placed around his neck and was weighing him down, preventing him from being true to who he was. He had wanted to be a Jedi when he was younger and it had been all he had known. But he had grown older and learned more about his family, the galaxy. He had learned about what it took to become a Jedi and what that now meant. Suddenly becoming a Jedi didn't feel like such a great dream. Suddenly it became a burden, a responsibility forced upon him because of the lofty Shan name and legacy. It had felt like his only choice. That his entire life would be devoted to duty. To serve the Republic and give all his loyalty to it and the Jedi.

Duty and loyalty to the Republic was like a pair of double-edged blades. It had cost his family so much. It had cost him so much already.

But there was another path before him now. One where he could serve the Republic, but his loyalty would belong to Esther and the Force first. Not the Republic and not the Jedi or their idea of the Force.

Theron sat silently, his mind racing with thoughts about his future and the different paths. Esther wished that she could say something, that she could help them. But even though she was young, she knew that this was something that only he could do. That only he could face. Instead Esther sent him comfort. Let him feel the friendship and love and admiration that she had for him. It made Theron smile a little.

They were together as the sun set and that was what mattered.