Bastila and Jolee's fears were validated just over a month after leaving Rakata Prime. When the Ebon Hawk landed on Coruscant, Bastila, Jolee, and Juhani went to the Jedi Temple, and Canderous took off to see if he could reunite the Mandalorian clans. After Carth and Kenna's wedding.
"I'm stayin' for Revan, not you, Republic," he snarled when Carth gave him a questioning look. Carth sighed and didn't bother to correct the man--again. Revan was the side of Kenna Canderous was happier with, so he would probably always call her that.
It wasn't a fancy wedding. Kenna shuddered at the thought of 'fancy', despite Bastila's pleas. Plain but beautiful, that was all she wanted. Just like you, Carth couldn't help thinking. Only the crew of the Ebon Hawk was there. Try as he might, Carth couldn't find where Dustil had gone to. So they went ahead without him.
That was the most blissful day, and night, of both their lives. There were no words, in any of the multiple languages Kenna spoke, to describe her heart-about-to-burst happiness. So neither of them tried.
Two days after returning from their--much too short--honeymoon, Carth got a message from his son. I'm on Citadel Station, if you want to talk. That was it.
"Well, I guess I should be grateful he kept his word. And that I get a second chance with him. I just wish he would have surfaced in time to come."
"Me too," Kenna agreed, plopping herself down in his lap. "Do you want me to come with you? Or is this something you need to handle alone?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his.
Carth ran one hand through his hair. "I..." He sighed. "I don't know. Could you come to Telos, and we'll see when we get there?"
Kenna nodded. "Sure. Mission mentioned something about looking for a friend on Telos, someone she knew on Taris. Big Z and I could help her with that while you meet with Dustil, if you want. Or I can come with you and just Big Z could help her."
"Like I said, can we decide when we get there?"
"Of course." Kenna kissed his temple. "Whatever makes you happy."
"I like the sound of that," Carth said with a grin.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Plans were changed before they touched down on Citadel Station. The Ebon Hawk's engines had started making not-quite-right noises. Kenna opted to stay on the ship and see if she could ferret out the problem. "I might not be able to fly her as well as you yet, but I can fix her. And you need to meet with Dustil. I'll be fine," she assured Carth. "Besides, you know I can take care of myself."
"And you know I like to worry," he returned, kissing her forehead. "Unless you forgot already."
"No, memory issues are a thing of the past. I think." Kenna laughed at the unintentional humor in that statement.
"Okay. See you later, baby. Love you."
"Love you, too, hon." Kenna watched them leave, surprised Mission hadn't made some comment about the mushiness being too much for her. Maybe she learned to deal with it, Kenna reasoned with herself as she stripped off her outer tunic and pulled open the engine compartment.
Carth split off from Mission and Big Z as they neared the cantina, surprised at the lack of traffic. He would have through the cantina would be more popular. Mission and Zaalbar decided to go talk to the TSF and see if they knew anything about her friend, Tellan.
"Be careful," he warned her.
"How many times do I gotta tell you I ain't a kid? 'Sides, I got Big Z. Nobody's gonna mess with a Wookiee. You're the one meeting one on one with an ex-Sith who's still kinda mad at you," she shot back, shrugging off the potential danger.
"I know, I know. I'm just--"
"Paranoid," Mission finished for him with a grin. "I believe 'paranoid' is the word you're lookin' for."
"Go," he laughed, pointing in the general direction of the TSF office before heading inside the cantina. And I married an ex-Sith, missy. Carth took a deep breath as he scanned the room for Dustil. He was incredibly nervous about this. Part of him wished Kenna was there, the other part was glad she wasn't; if things started getting ugly she didn't need to be in the middle of that. He spotted Dustil and headed for his son's table. Here we go.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Kenna was halfway buried in the engine compartment, cursing some particularly stubborn gears, when the comlink burst to life. "Kenna, pick up!" Kenna slid out of the engine and reached for the grease rag to wipe her hands off before she picked it up, still grumbling. "KENNA?" It was Mission, and something in her voice scared Kenna.
She snatched up the comlink, repair issues forgotten. "What wrong, Mission?"
"I-I'm s-sorry, Kenna! I couldn't d-do anything!" Mission babbled, choking on hiccup-inducing sobs. "I--"
"Mission, calm down." Kenna ignored her own suddenly racing pulse. "Calm down. What happened?"
An explanation tumbled out of the Twi'lek, but all Kenna caught was, "Sith assassins... ambush...Carth...hurt pretty bad." It was all she needed to hear, as Bastila and Jolee's warnings welled up in her ears. "If one of the dark Jedi senses the feelings between you… For all his skill, Carth is only a soldier. There are ways to render combat skills inconsequential." Her pounding heart almost drowned out the echo of what she'd concluded after each of those conversations: "I could get him killed."
"Oh, Force, please, no!!!!" she begged aloud. "Don't take him from me now!" She swallowed her fear and squeezed the comlink. "Where are you, Mish?"
"Medical center, residential module 083." Kenna dropped the comlink to the floor grates and bolted for the boarding ramp.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"Ow! Watch it!" The protest floating out from the back room was music to Kenna's ears. If he could gripe, he would be fine. She headed for the door way.
"They aren't letting anyone back there," a voice said from behind her. "I'd wager they'll be especially reluctant to let a half-dressed mechanic in." Kenna first looked instinctively at her clothes--she did look like a mechanic, and had barreled down to the med center in just her undertunic and old flight pants--before whirling to look at the man who had spoken.
"Even if I'm family?" she demanded.
"Family?" There was a raised eyebrow in the young man's voice even though his face remained expressionless. "You?"
Oh, Force. Kenna wanted to slap herself, or disappear, as she realized who it was. "Dustil?"
He scowled. "How do you know my name?"
Kenna sighed and scrubbed off some of the engine grease smeared across her face. "Pretend I'm wearing Jedi robes, instead of looking like a mechanic." His frown deepened, then both eyebrows arched upward.
"Revan?" He sounded unsure, even though he obviously recognized her. She nodded. "Wait, he married you?"
"It's Kenna, and yes, he did. About three weeks ago." Kenna crossed her arms and stuck out one hip. She knew arguing with her--gulp--stepson was not the best way to start off, but she couldn't stop herself.
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"Did you give him a chance?" She tried to keep her voice level, tried to embody peace, like a 'good Jedi'. An accusatory tremble slipped in anyway. "Or did you just tear into him like you did on Korriban?"
"He deserved that," Dustil protested. He sighed, raked his hand through his hair in an all-too-familiar motion, and closed his eyes for a second. "I'm sorry. I'd had a lifetime of watching my mother pace and worry, and listening to them argue about how much he was gone, and wondering why my father was never home, capped off by four years of training that I should nurture my anger and use it as a weapon. He did need to hear a lot of what I said, but...I guess I-I could have said it different." He shoved his hands in his pockets.
Grateful one of them had defused the situation, Kenna joined him leaning against the wall. "What happened?"
"Well, I didn't see everything..."
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"C'mon, Big Z. Let's head back to the ship. Maybe we can help Kenna or somethin'." Mission's shoulders drooped as she and the Wookiee left the TSF office. There had been no record of anybody named Tellan, or even many refugees from Taris. She knew he may have used a different name, but since she didn't know what that may have been, it didn't matter. As they rounded the corner to pass the cantina, it suddenly dawned on her that there was no one else in the hallway. No one. There had been only a few earlier, but not this total lack of people. This felt wrong. Mission felt goosebumps prickle on the back of her neck, and spun around.
A man and a woman, clad in head-to-toe black stood in an alcove Mission would have sworn was empty when she passed it.
"What do you want?" she demanded, fighting down fear and wishing desperately she hadn't left her vibroblade on the Hawk. She heard Big Z growl behind her.
"That one sounds dangerous," the man commented, nodding at the Wookiee.
"He'll tear your arms off if you touch me," Mission warned.
"No, he won't," the woman replied. She pulled out a blaster and shot him.
"NO!" The scream tore from Mission as she flew recklessly towards the space slime who had just shot her best friend. The man just pushed his hand toward her and sent the Twi'lek flying backward. Sith, she realized as she crashed into a wall. She struggled to her feet as several of the cantina's patrons stepped out to see what was going on.
"Mission?" Carth grabbed her arm as she almost tumbled back over, head still spinning. "What happened?" A blaster bolt from the woman's pistol slammed into the wall behind them, and Carth's own blaster was out and recoiling from his return shot before Mission had a chance to say anything. "Never mind." Carth smiled grimly when he saw the woman was dead.
"She shot Big Z."
"She attacked you alone?"
"No, there's--" Mission's jaw dropped. The man was gone. Figuring it was a minor disturbance, the rest of the patrons returned to the cantina, and their drinks. This felt even more wrong than before. "Carth, there was ano--" Mission's warning was interrupted as the man reappeared and sent them both flying back into a wall. Mission crumbled to the ground, and Carth reached for his blaster.
The assassin kicked it father away, pulling out his vibroblade. "Hey, Hero. I'll tell your pretty Jedi friend you helped me earn my lightsaber." A mix of pain and rage as the blade sliced into his flesh gave way to numbing, welcome darkness.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"They would probably both be dead, except I started wondering what was taking Father so long to come back in to the cantina. Went back out there, saw the assassin, and shot him in the head," Dustil finished, shrugging when Kenna shot him a respectful look. "He was distracted. Not like it was a hard shot."
"So, why didn't the TSF come running at the sound of blaster fire when the assassin shot Big Z? The cantina's right near the office." That was the only thing about his story that confused Kenna.
"The assassins sabotaged the door controls. It wouldn't open." Dustil frowned. "I want to know how they planned all of this out."
"You and me both," Kenna agreed. "Carth only got your message about a week ago, and we came straight here. But, I've learned not to underestimate them. It wouldn't surprise me if they knew about your message before Carth and I did. Oh, where's Mission? Is she okay?"
"Far as I know. Probably has a record breaking headache and some bruises, but she seemed alright. Physically, at least," he added under his breath as Kenna marched toward the door and respectfully demanded to see the Twi'lek.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Kenna couldn't help but smile inwardly as the door guard let her in. I didn't even have to use the Force. She could feel Dustil's respectful gaze on her back as she made her way back to the room where the man said Mission was sitting. It looked almost like a morgue, and she shuddered involuntarily as she entered. "Mish?"
A sniffle was the only reply.
Kenna stepped further into the dimly lit room."Mish? Are you--"
"No! I'm not okay!" Mission shrieked, accompanied by the sound of something metallic connecting with the wall. "My best friend in the whole damn galaxy's DEAD! How can I be okay?"
I was afraid of that. Kenna groaned. She hadn't asked Dustil in the course of his story if the woman killed Big Z or just wounded him. Apparently it was the former. "Oh, Mission." She crossed the rest of the distance between her and the distraught Twi'lek and wrapped her arms around her friend. "I'm so sorry." Worried as she was about Carth, Mission needed her more right now, so Kenna held her tight and let her cry.
"He didn't even do anything!"
"She knew he would do something if they tried to hurt you. Sith don't play by the rules, Mish. Trust me, I know. She saw it as neutralizing a threat before it fully became a threat."
"She killed him!" Mission sobbed.
"Yes. She did," Kenna agreed quietly, fighting the urge to add 'sweetie' on the end. For all her talents and skills, Mission was still a kid, but this was not the time to engage in one of those debates.
"I want him back," Mission whimpered, storm of sobs dying away faster than Kenna would have thought possible.
"I know," Kenna murmured, not adding the 'you can't' both of them knew was the simple answer to Mission's heartbroken plea.
"I wish we hadn't come. I wish we'd stayed on Coruscant, or gone to Kashyyyk, or somethin' else."
"You had no way of knowing this would happen," Kenna soothed, desperately begging the Force to give her the right words. "It's not your fault."
"Feels like it is," Mission muttered, wiping away the tears. "If he hadn't come with me--"
"Then you would be dead, and Carth would be beating himself up for not doing something, and Big Z would be moping that he should have come because he could have protected you. I'm no stranger to feeling like what happened to someone else was my fault. Malak and Bastila's turning to the dark side, any time Carth almost got killed, I had to fight that off. While it's okay for you to grieve Big Z's death, don't blame yourself. Alright?" Kenna tilted Mission's face toward her.
The teenager nodded. "Okay. Could...could I be alone?"
"Sure, Mish." Kenna let go. "I should probably make sure Carth's behaving himself, anyway."
"He saved my life, y'know. Those Sith were gonna kill me."
Kenna nodded. "I know. And then Dustil saved both of you."
"Yeah. Maybe he's not as ticked at Carth as I thought."
"Well, you never know." Kenna stood. "But I'll leave you alone for now. I'll let you know when we're leaving."
"'Kay." Mission hugged her knees into her chest as Kenna left the room.
One down, one to go, Kenna thought, running one hand through her hair as she went in search of Carth. The volume with which he was informing the med tech to just leave him alone helped a lot. Kenna shook her head and sighed. I was afraid of that. Behave yourself, Carth Onasi. She found the room and leaned against the doorframe. "So, is almost getting yourself killed going to become a habit?"
"Maybe." Carth looked like he was just about ready to explode. "Maybe next time I'll let them kill me. Would save credits on doctors' bills." He winced as the young med tech cleaned out one of the angry red gashes on his chest. "Ow."
"But I would miss you," Kenna pointed out. "Maybe just don't let 'em get you next time."
"Soldier versus Sith Assassin? Yeah, I can really see myself emerging unscathed from that, beautiful." The heavy dose of sarcasm was all the proof she needed that her husband was more than a little put out.
"I think you're selling yourself short." Kenna crossed the room and kissed him on the temple.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kenna, but look what just one managed to do to me," he pointed out.
"Well, then, I'll just have to keep you prisoner in our house from now on, won't I?" she teased before turning to the med tech. "Did you check for poison? More than half the time, Sith poison their blades."
The young man nodded. "I checked, but nothing came up."
Kenna frowned as she looked at the two gashes. They came up clean, but the redness flaring around the edges... She gently brushed her fingertips against the longer of the two, and Carth flinched. "Check again, please. Normal vibroblade wounds shouldn't look like this."
"Yes, ma'am. I'll check." The tech left the room to run the test again.
"Think I'll live?" Carth leaned back to look up at her.
"Yep. You're stuck with me," Kenna teased. "Though if you ever scare me like that again, I may have to think of some way to punish you."
"Well, then, I'll do my level best to not get ambushed by invisible Sith ever again. The experience is not one I want to repeat," Carth replied with a wry chuckle. "Though my jacket got it worse than I did." He gestured to where the familiar orange garment lay draped over the hard chair in the corner. Kenna picked it up and looked at the two rending marks that corresponded with the gashes on Carth's chest.
"Oh, dear. Well, maybe I can fix it for you," she offered.
"You sew?" One eyebrow shot up in unison with the note of skepticism the crept into his tone.
"Not yet. But how hard can two straight lines be?"
"You're welcome to try. It's not like it can get any worse." Carth shrugged, then winced.
"Sorry I can't do anything to help with those," Kenna said apologetically, gesturing towards his wounds. "But here I'm just Mrs. Onasi, who--as far as they know--is an ordinary human being, not a Jedi. I can heal them once we're on our way, but not here."
"S'alright, sweetheart. You don't really look like a Jedi at the moment, anyway," he teased her.
Kenna rolled her eyes. "I was fixing an engine. You don't exactly do that in your good clothes."
"Mm-hm. How's Mission doing?"
"Better than I expected, but she's still taking it hard. I mean, Big Z was her best friend. She told me to tell you thanks for saving her life."
Carth scoffed. "Dustil deserves that more than I do. We'd still both be dead if it wasn't for him."
"Guess he doesn't hate you anymore. Did you two get much of a chance to talk?"
"We did. It's going to take more then one talk to work through everything, but it's a start. And maybe next time we won't get interrupted by an assassination attempt."
"Could he come back with us?" Kenna suggested. "I could fly the Hawk so you could talk more."
"I don't know if I trust you that much with her yet, beautiful."
Kenna huffed and glared at him, but his teasing grin eventually had her smiling, too. "You..."
"You what?" His grin widened. "C'mon, Kenna. You know I can take it."
"Let me see if I can think of one I haven't tried yet." Kenna pretended to think for a minute. "Nope. I've tried everything. Sorry. I know better than to try anything like that anyway."
"Coward," Carth ribbed.
"Coward yourself, hairless Wookiee," she shot back in spite of herself.
"I thought you knew better."
"I do." Kenna crossed her arms. "I just can't help myself sometimes. You have that effect on me." She grinned and leaned over for a kiss.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Sorry it's taken so long to update! I was away for the weekend, and returned to find a storm had knocked out my power and I lost a bunch of stuff for Perceptions and Aftermath(which I should be updating soon as well) that I had to retype. Curse thunderstorms! Plus I had reading to do for school that I had to do before writing.... but anyway, here we go. Let me know if anything in here is too out there, or if I accidently used someone else's material. I don't think I did, but let me know if I'm wrong. Thanks as always to anyone still reading! There's more to come!