This is the second chapter to "Atton and Exile Short Stories." This one is a lot longer than the first one; the next chapter probably won't be so long. Enjoy!

As she stumbled into the Ebon Hawk, she tripped and fell. Mical caught her, and attempted to guide her into the medbay. "No, I'm fine," she gasped. "Just need to sit down."

We gathered around her in the main hold. "What happened?" I demanded. "Why would the Jedi attack you? You didn't harm any of them!" My fists clenched at my sides. Those Jedi bastards…

She looked up at me. "It wasn't the Jedi, Atton."

Suddenly I realized that there wasn't a steady stream of insults coming at me. "Where's Kreia?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Mandalore asked. "She disposed of the Jedi witch once and for all." He touched the Exile's shoulder, careful of her many wounds. "Nice going."

The Exile shook her head. "No- even if I had wanted to, I couldn't have. I have a bond with her- if she dies, I die." She shook her head. "The Jedi and I didn't get a chance to work anything out. Kreia came and wiped them all out. She used the Force to"- her voice cracked. "I have never seen anything so powerful." She shuddered. "Then she did the same to me. Except I recovered."

"How did that frail old woman have the power to destroy three Jedi Masters all by herself?" Mandalore said skeptically.

"She's not frail or old anymore. I think that was just a disguise to cover up her much more powerful- and dangerous- self," the Exile replied.

"What now?" Bao-Dur asked.

The Exile looked unsure. It threw me off balance to see that our fearless leader, the young general, was having an attack of doubt. "Well… there is only one other Jedi still alive. Atris. She may know where Kreia went."

I did not like where this was going. "We just got rid of the witch, and now you want to find her again? Why? It seems like she did us a big favor by leaving. We shouldn't take that for granted."

Mira snorted. The Exile glared at me. "Atton- we don't know where Kreia stands. If Kreia is Sith, than she has to be dealt with. But if she is not, than she might pose an even bigger threat than the Sith alone do. She may not be an enemy at all. We don't know what she is.

"We don't know?! How can we not know?! I considered Kreia an enemy before, but I think she made it pretty clear that she definitely opposing us. Look what she did to you! Lightsaber burns, bruises- WHAT ELSE COULD SHE BE?!?!"

The Exile regarded me coolly. "Be as that may, we don't know whose side she is on. We can't jump to conclusions."

Mical spoke up. "I agree with Atton- I think her motives are pretty clear. Kreia needs to be dealt with."

I looked at him, surprised. I decided that he secretly had some juma juice stashed somewhere on the Hawk, and he was sneaking some when the rest of us weren't looking. That could be the only cause of his agreeable behavior.

She looked at us sadly. "That may be true. We may have to deal with her, one way or another. At any cost."

I suddenly remembered the Force bond. "You don't think"- She shook her head, silencing me. "It doesn't matter. We'll deal with that when the time comes. For now"- she nodded towards the cockpit- "Set course for Telos."

I obliged, and a few hours later we were flying over the Northern Regions. The Docking Bay was already open, although they were expecting us. It gave me the creeps.

Not the Exile. A few hours of rest had left her fully recovered. She clipped her lightsaber to her belt, and walked confidently down the ramp.

I had the urge to run after her. To go with her, to protect her. I sensed, as I am sure the Exile did, that there was a dark presence here. Believe me; I have experienced enough darkness to recognize it when I see it. There was something corrupted inside, something reveling in its own dark power. I remembered when I had felt like that, and Jaq threatened to overtake me. I fought him back down inside me, and I concentrated on meditating, trying to see what was going on inside the snow academy.

I'm not sure if I fell asleep, or if I actually had a vision, but either way, a picture of what was going on formed in my head.

The Exile and Atris drew their lightsabers. Atris's mouth formed what looked like a battle cry, and charged at the Exile. The Exile blocked her blows, but Atris succeeded in burning the Exile's side. Her face twisted into a pained expression, and she lunged again. Exile blocked the blow of her lightsaber, and struck back. Electricity shot from the Exile's hand, but just enough for Atris to drop her lightsaber in defeat. The Exile began to question Atris, who was clutching her side. Atris seemed to think the Exile would kill her at any given moment, but she didn't. Atris stood up and walked over to the Sith holocrons that lined her chamber. After a brief search, Atris activated one of the holocrons. A man clothed in black appeared, and began speaking while the Exile and Atris listened patiently. When he was finished, Atris deactivated the holocron. The Exile used the Force to heal a few of Atris's wounds, gave her a nod goodbye, and walked out of the chamber. A voice appeared in my mind.

"Relax, Atton. I'm coming back."

The voice startled me out of my trance. I shook my head, and went to meet the Exile. I was curious to know what Atris had told her.

I found her in the cockpit, reprogramming our destination. I sat down in the pilot's seat, and casually began to fiddle with the controls. After a few moments, my curiosity got the best of me. "Well?" I asked. "What did Atris have to say?"

She glanced at me. "Didn't you hear?"

I shook my head. "No, I could only see what was going on."

She nodded. "I meant to congratulate you on that, by the way. Force visions are often very hard to obtain. Some are never very good at it. At the rate you're progressing, however, you should be able to see and hear everything that takes place, more often than others."

I shrugged. After a minute, I tried again. "So? What did she tell you?"

She sighed. "Nothing I didn't already expect, unfortunately."

I wasn't sure whether to press the issue or just let it be. "Which was?"

She sighed again.

I waited.

"If Kreia dies, I die."

I gaped in disbelief at her.

"Well, isn't there some way we could get around it?" I asked hopefully. Please say there's another way; please say there's another way…

She started to shake her head. "Well"- She paused. "There is something we could do. I asked Atris if she knew how to sever the bond, and she consulted one of the Sith holocrons."

I nodded. That must have been what the man in black had been talking about.

"It told us that a Force bond cannot be severed"-

My heart fell.

-"It can be transferred to someone else, though."

My heart leaped into my throat. Until I thought of Mical. Or Visas. I wasn't the only force-user on this ship, and either one of them was far more likely to have a bond with her than I was.

"Well, anybody's better than that old witch."

"I learned a lot from Kreia, Atton. She taught me a lot."

I scowled. "Sure. 'How to be Manipulative 101."'

Her face darkened. "You know, Atton, just because YOU didn't like Kreia doesn't mean that I didn't! Sure, she may be cryptic and condescending sometimes, but I learned a lot from her. A lot of things that I taught you, in fact!"

"Oh believe me, sister- I knew PLENTY of Jedi tricks before I met you."

"No, you knew only knew two things: how to kill Jedi, and how to run away afterwards."

She instantly regretting saying it, I could tell. That didn't stop me. Infuriated, I crushed her against a wall, Jaq cheering inside of me. Hell, I may have turned into Jaq. All I knew anymore was my own fury. I growled into her ear. "You're right- that is all I know how to do."

I bestowed upon her one of the worst tortures a Jedi can have. I have never experienced it, but it supposedly makes you feel like every bone inside your body is exploding into a million pieces. Just an illusion, of course, but very effective for interrogations. I released my hold on her, and she slumped to the floor.

Before I could apologize for what I had done, she shakily stood to her feet and walked out of the cockpit. I sunk into the chair. Krest. Way to go, Atton- now she's really going to want to bond with you.

Mira came into the cockpit. Great. Just great.

"Hey Atton."

I looked at the redhead. "Whadda want?"

She was unnerved by my harsh tone. "Oh, not much. Just wanted to talk."

"What about?"

She snorted. "Boy, I sound like the Exile, but I just wanted to get to know you. You and I probably have a lot in common."

Doubt it. "I don't think so."

She shrugged. "Well, more than anyone else on this ship. More than I have with Goldie-Locks.

I snorted in amusement. That was a good one. Too bad I hadn't thought of it.

"What is his deal, anyway? Is he like, going for "Most upstanding citizen of the year" or something?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever it is, it's working for him. The Exile is obviously charmed by it."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"She is in love with him or something."

Mira looked at me as though I was a dancing kath hound. "Uh, no she's not. What gave you that idea?"

"The two of them have a lot in common. I don't see why not."

She laughed. "Jealous, are we?"

I shot her a look. "No."

She laughed harder. When she was able to control herself again, she said, "Look, I don't know what you mean. The two of you have more in common, actually. Both of you have dark pasts, while Mical is a model citizen. If he ever decided he wanted to become a Jedi, they'd probably accept him with open arms."

I tightened my grip on the control board. "Which is exactly why she likes him so much. He is exactly what she wants to be."

She laughed. "Whatever you say, Atton. I'm just going off of what I know."

"Well, what do you know?"

She grinned mischievously. "Well, I make my own… observations. Listen to conversations. I get a little restless, being on the ship with nothing to do."

I shrugged. "So?" I was more than a little curious, but I didn't want to act overeager, or else she might try and up the ante for this information."

"Well, I was talking to the Exile, and I asked her if she and Mical had, you know, 'hooked up a power coupling."'

I nodded. I was very familiar with this lingo.

"She just looked at me as if I were speaking huttese. I asked her later if the two of you had hooked up a power coupling," Mira paused for dramatic effect, "and she turned bright red, and dodged the question." The redhead grinned wickedly. "So did you?"

I hardly heard her. "Uh, what?"

"I asked you if you had hooked up a power coupling."

I thought of all the times I had fantasized about her. How I had dreamed of her being in my arms. How I had imagined what it would feel like to have her lips on mine. We might as well have, since she could see straight into my head anyway. "No," I said, wistfully.

"Oh." Mira seemed almost disappointed. "Well, alright. See you then, Atton."

I went back to playing Pazzak. Double the seven, flip the three…

A few hours later, I was sitting alone in the cockpit, staring out at the stars. The Exile came up, quietly behind me. I didn't realize she was there until I heard her voice in my head.

Are you mad at me?

I was shocked. What did I have to be mad at her for? I was the one who had hurt her. "Why would I be mad at you?"

I guess she decided she was safe, and she walked over and sat down next to me. "Well, I must have said something to make you really mad."

I thought back to our argument. No, you knew only knew two things: how to kill Jedi, and how to run away afterwards. I swallowed a lump in my throat. I wasn't angry any more, just sad. Sad that she thought of me that way, and sad that I had proved her point afterwards. "Well, it wasn't that big a deal."

She shook her head. "No, it was. I said something to upset you, and I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that." Her brow furrowed. "Why did it upset you so much? I have never seen you so angry."

I began to tremble. Tears began to roll down my face. I had never wanted her to see me like that, never wanted her to think that I was some kind of monster…

"Atton! What's wrong?"

I started to sob. "I am so sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I- I shouldn't have gotten out of control like that." I buried her head into her shoulder. She clutched my head into her chest."

"No, Atton, it's okay! I'm alright, see!"

I looked at her. She looked so small, so fragile. Yet she was strong, stronger than any Jedi I had ever met. I don't think I would have been able to break her.

I cleared my throat. "Well, see, I did awful things to those Jedi. Things like what I did to you. I would get information… information for the Sith. So many young Jedi would die by my hand. I enjoyed it too. I got a high from it. While I was working for the Sith, I called myself Jaq. Now he is part of me, and is always threatening to become me again." I swallowed "If I could, I would die a thousand times for those Jedi." My voice cracked, and she hugged me harder.

"Atton…" her voice trailed off. "We all have our own demons to escape. I had to"- She paused. "I had to give the order for thousands of people, of my own troops, to die every day. Their blood was on my hands. Then I would get up, and do it all over again."

I understood what Mira meant when she said that the Exile and I had more in common than she and Mical did. Which reminded me… "Were you able to bond with Visas… or Mical?"

She shook her head. "No. We tried, but it didn't work. I guess I am not as close to them as…" she trailed off. "As I am to you."

I suddenly realized that I was still hugging her. I looked in her eyes, and she licked her lips. Leaning closer, I brushed my lips against hers. Our lips locked together, and she nervously put her hand on my shoulder. Encouraged, I pulled her closer. She opened her mouth to me, and I moaned. The kiss began to accelerate. I felt electricity shoot between the two of us. Her lips burned on mine, her body became hot, yet I pulled her closer still. Our bodies merged, the two becoming one. She gasped, and her hands ran up my neck into my hair.

Suddenly, we fell apart. We were both lying on the floor, on opposite sides of the cockpit, as though some invisible force had pushed us apart. "What- what just happened?" She murmured.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you feel it? The electricity, the heat?"

"Well, yeah."

"And does that strike you as normal?"

I stared at her, trying to grasp what she was trying to say. "Are you saying that we"-

"I don't know." She pondered this for a minute, and then got up on her knees. "Come here."

Happy to be close to her again, I obliged. I followed suit, and crouched on my knees. She reached out and touched my cheek.

Nothing happened. Her hand was cool against my face. She jerked back as though I had burned her. I looked at her, hurt. "It's not you Atton- I can't feel Kreia anymore."

"Well… that's a good thing, right? Now she can be destroyed, and you won't die too."

She jumped up, and started pacing. "No… no! I wasn't- I can't- She threw herself against the wall of the cockpit.

Startled, I stood up. She continued to pace back in forth. Maybe she doesn't like being bonded with you. Jaq spoke up helpfully. I mentally hit him.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She looked very nervous. "Atton… now if I die while fighting Kreia, you'll die too."

I shook my head. "Wait a minute! I'm going with you to fight Kreia."

She shook her head. "You can't. I won't let you."

"What do you mean, you won't? It won't matter. Because if you don't beat Kreia, then I'll die too. If I go with you, we'll have a better chance against Kreia!"

She considered this for a moment, and sighed. "Whatever. We'll deal with it later."

Kind of an unusual way to end it, I know, but I am not really sure where this story is going. Should I write another chapter? I am not sure if I should follow them through the rest of the game, or whether that would ruin it for everybody else. The ending would probably be romantic, and not end with the Exile going off to the unknown regions without Atton.