Hey Force Fans!

Thought I'd make a quick update as this chapter is a bit shorter.

Enjoy, and may the Force be with you.

Chapter Seventeen

Aedan sat on a sofa in a white walled hospital room. He hadn't slept at all, even though the force-enhanced surgery was fairly draining. There was a consistent beeping noise resonating throughout the room. That beep had kept him up for the past six hours.

He had almost lost her.

He clinched his teeth, and violently turned his head to the side, trying to rid himself of the residual feelings of dread that pervaded his turmoiled mind.

His sudden movement woke the bat-faced creature that had fallen asleep on his shoulder. "Oh," she chirped, jolting upright. "I'm up, I'm awake," Mayva said.

Aedan sighed, "Sorry, Mayva. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Oh, no worries," she replied cheerily. "Did you know us Chadra-Fan only need three hours of sleep a night?"

Aedan looked down at his little brown friend, "No, but I'm assuming that's part of what makes you so good at what you do."

"Yep!" she beamed, "Gives me all kinds of time for intelligence gathering." She then glanced at the person in the hospital bed fast asleep. "She still hasn't woken?"

Aedan shook his head, and then refocused on the slow, rhythmic beeping noise. He closed his eyes, and let the sound reverberate in his head-could even feel it in vibrate in his chest.

"She's going to be fine, Master Kahl. The doctors patched her up. The three of you Jedi did your weird wizardry thing. Then they gave her that drip, drip, drip bag, and now she has your blood. She'll be back to normal in no time."

He nodded. "I almost lost..." he huffed. "Mayva, she almost died. She could have died."

Mayva lowered her eyes to the ground, staring at it for a few moments. "Did you know the average life-span of a Chadra-Fan is forty standard years."

Aedan regarded her solemnly, "I didn't."

"On Chad, in our culture, the most important things in life are finding our purpose and finding our spouse. Since life is so short for us, time is that much more precious, and we can't waste a moment of it with anything minor or trivial. And once we find those two things, we put everything we have into them. Absorb all we can from life with them. And then death," she shrugged, "Isn't so bad, because we know we didn't take a second of life for granted." The small, furry creature with the high-pitched voice, gestured with her head towards Kyra. "That's what she was doing. She was born to be a Jedi. That is her purpose, and she was doing it to the very best of her ability. The risk of death is irrelevant, and so she, I believe, had come to terms with her mortality."

Aedan's jaw had dropped seconds ago, and it still hung open. Schooled by a rodent. "Mayva, when did you get so wise?"

She squeaked, "I told you, I only sleep three hours a night. Do you know how much reading I get done by only sleeping three hours a night?"

"A lot."

"A. Lot."

They both stared at Kyra as she slept, leads were still attached to her upper chest, temples, and wrist. Bandages were wrapped around her shoulder, and there was still bruising showing on her jaw. Aedan put his head in his hands, the sight of her was ripping him to pieces. He listened to the beep, basking in the glorious audible sound that represented her heartbeat. What he would do to ensure that beep continued.

Mayva cleared her throat next to him, which sounded more like a very high-pitched hiccup. "But I think I know why you're so upset."

"Yea, why is that?"

"Her purpose is being a jedi," she said. "But your purpose...is her."

Aedan opened his mouth to respond. To Deny it. But he had no rebuttal. No remedy. No answer. The truth sometimes has a way of abolishing nonsense.

The beep sped up, and a quick exhalation sounded to their right. The human and the Chadra-Fan were instantly on their feet, and at Kyra's side, as her eyes fluttered open. Mayva grabbed her hand, while Aedan, unsure of what to do, crossed his arms in front of him. He realized that looked ridiculous, so he let his hands fall down at his sides.

Kyra's blue eyes looked between her two visitors. "Ma-Master," she said, "Mayva."

"Yes, it's us, you're alive and well, and as beautiful as ever," the Chadra-Fan said cheerfully.

Kyra smiled widely, then grimaced. "Ow," she said. "My jaw hurts." She closed her eyes, wincing, "Actually, everything hurts."

"They fixed you all up, the doctors and Jedi did. And they gave you a few bacta injections." Mayva said, "Pain should be gone in a day or two. Kyra, you were amazing. You followed that monster and his goons all the way to the lower city. It was incredible."

Kyra shook her head, then looked directly at Mayva. "Mayva, you saved my life. I...I don't know how to thank you."

Mayva didn't respond, just rested her head on Kyra's good arm.

"Padawan, you were amazing, and I am very proud of you."

Kyra lethargically turned to him, her eyelids drooping. She nodded wearily.

"Sleep now, Kyra," Aedan said, "We'll see you in the morning."

Her eyes shot open, "You're-you'll be...nearby right."

"I won't leave your side."

She smiled faintly, eyes closing, and she nodded off.

"Goodnight, Kyra," Aedan said.

The next morning, they were back onboard the 'Guile, traveling through hyperspace, returning to Tython. Aedan was alone in the cockpit, dreading the confrontation that was quickly approaching. Kyra was angry with him—she had every right to be—and he could feel that anger coming off of her.

His padawan was not an angry person, so he knew what this was doing to her. She was so full of light, that even the act of being mad at someone knocked her world off its axis. He sighed, better confront the nexu now.

He exited the cockpit, walked down the long neck of the light freighter, footsteps echoing off the durasteel floor, and made the right into the lounge. There he saw Kyra on the couch in the corner, her back against the bulkhead, her arms wrapped around her knees that were pulled up against her chest. She was staring down at the circular dejarik table, which was turned on, the assortment of creatures projected onto the surface. She wasn't playing, merely staring at the animations.

Aedan grabbed a blanket from one of the storage compartments, and brought the soft Nubian fabric to Kyra, offering it to her. She still didn't look him in the eyes, but accepted the blanket, and laid it out over her legs.

Aedan sat at the opposite end of the semi-circular couch, and leaned against the bulkhead, mirroring her posture.

"Why did you dismiss me like that, Master? Why hold me back on this mission?"

Aedan leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and burying his face in his hands.

"You don't think I'm capable, or ready to handle a mission?"

He sighed.

"I've done everything you've asked of me. I've excelled. I've improved. What more do you want of me?"

He pushed off his knees, leaning back now, letting his head fall back against the bulkhead.

"You don't believe in me."

He reacted to that. "No, that is not it."

"Then why, Master? Why sideline me?"

He huffed, completely unable to come up with a legitimate response.

She got off of the couch in a rush, the blanket falling to the ground. She stood tall; head held high. Defiant.

"How is this going to work if you can't trust me? And if you can't trust me, then maybe we should head back to Coruscant, and you can find a better padawan." She turned, and stalked off towards her quarters.

"I couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt," he finally said.

She turned around, her eyes wide, eyebrows raised, mouth open, "What?"

"I couldn't bear to see you hurt. And losing you, well," he shook his head. "Losing you would be the end of me." He rose off the couch, and walked toward her, eyes never leaving hers. "Truth is, I do believe in you. I trust you with my life. And what you did yesterday was incredible, but I wasn't surprised. You are excelling faster than any jedi ever, and soon you will be teaching me. I held you back because of my own selfishness. But I see now that it only hurts you and holds you back from your true path in life. You were born to be a jedi. This is your purpose." He stepped closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes were still wide. Mouth still hadn't closed. "I am sorry, Kyra. I have let you down, but I promise to do better. You deserve better." Without waiting for a response, he walked past her, and into the Master Cabin, turning in for the night.

His heart was pounding, as he lay down on the bed, hands behind his head. He had revealed a lot, but the more he seemed to say, the more he seemed to discover. And now, he realized there was an entire galaxy to explore within his own heart and it absolutely terrified him.