I must apologize to all of you, probably not for the first OR last time, sadly. This chapter proved very difficult to write... and I turned into a horribly lazy person while at university. Normally my laziness inspires creativity- and it did, just creativity to work on blogs and artwork and songwriting instead of fanfiction. But I will attempt to have the next bit done in a week- next bit is the good bit. I mean, the really good bit, that reveals the main plot twist. Anyway, I'll just leave this chapter here to placate you readers.

They'd found a parking space of sorts on Corausant- a place to land the ship and spend the night, although on a place like Corausant, one really couldn't tell the difference between night and day. There were so many buildings, buildings on buildings on buildings, that one could barely see the sky, and that sky was gray with cloud cover, moisture with nowhere left to go, since most of the lakes had been filled in and built on, and there wasn't a spot of bare ground that hadn't been blacktopped. At night, there were so many streetlights, that the same dim color surrounded everything. Why anyone lived here, Asajj didn't know. The Temple had been here before the planet was like this, and Asajj suspected it was the only reason the entire Order didn't leave. There was no life Force here. Despite the billions of people milling about the streets, the place felt dead.

It was odd, Asajj thought, how she'd felt so much more life before, when it had been her, Kenobi, and stars. Out among those globes of fire felt more alive than this rock ever had- although she may have been remembering the stars that shown in the Jedi's eyes.

"If anyone knows anything about a missing Jedi," Asajj interrupted her own disgustingly sentimental thoughts to speak to the man gazing out at the planet around them, "They'll be here. The higher class cantinas."

"Higher class?"

One corner of her mouth jerks upwards. "Let's just say the lower class ones aren't a place to go unarmed. Legally, you aren't supposed to bring a weapon into some of them, but I'd bet there isn't a soul inside without something on 'em."

He's quiet for a moment, contemplating. She gives him his time- in some ways, he's a child, with an entire galaxy full of things he hasn't seen and doesn't understand. And yet, mentally, he's still an adult, and an intelligent one as well.

"The people in these sort of cantina will know about missing Jedi, be interested in finding them, and fork over information for a decent price."

"So we're going in?"

"Hardly. I'm going in. One sight of you and we'd have more of the law on our hands than I care to meet in a few lifetimes."

"So I wait."

"Mmm hmm."

"Alone." There was a slight edge to his voice- he hasn't been alone since she found him, naturally. The bounty hunter sighed, turning her chair to face him.

"Has to be, Kenobi. Now you listen to me- anyone starts asking questions, you tell them it's official Jedi business. Understand?" He nods, eyes wide in the rather hauntingly hollow face.

She was at the verge of leaving when he suddenly whispered, "I am afraid."

There was a moment of dead silence inside the small ship, as she turned to look back at him, standing tall but almost trembling. Ventress took one step towards him, noticing the flinch at her movement but ignoring it. "You were the bravest man I've ever known, before all this happened."

Her arms slowly extended, almost of their own accord and took hold of his shoulders. "And you still are."

He laughed, very slightly: nothing more than a 'hmm' and subtle twitch at his lips. "I don't feel very brave."

"And I've never felt very kind. I suppose we're both discovering things about ourselves."

The Jedi nodded and the woman left, taking her… presence with her. He couldn't fully understand, but there was a certain feeling about her, something he can sense. It'd become his comfort, the sole thing convincing him that this was not all some glorious, feverish dream. The Force- it had to do with his status as a Force-user. As a Jedi.

Jedi should not be afraid.

And yet he was. He could make it through, though. After all, what could possibly happen in the few minutes Asajj was away?

Fortunately, nothing did happen, nor did anything happen while she wandered into the second, or third, or fourth bars. It was the fifth bar where they found trouble. When the door slid quietly open, his first assumption was that she had returned. However, it was someone else who had forced the door, someone who was slipping into the ship and glancing around warily. He froze where he sat, in the co-pilots chair, in the shadows of the cockpit. It was time for him to be brave.

She returned just in time to see all of it. The intruder had stepped towards the cockpit, and he'd turned towards her, a bit of indignation in his eyes. "You're on my ship." His voice was exactly as she remembered it- filled with the calm, the composure, and the buried rage she knew he had.

"You're a Jedi."

"Correct, but irrelevant."

"You're a mess. You get captured by th-"

"Irrelevant. I'm on official Jedi business. I ran into a scrape of trouble, but it's all fine now. Off the ship, if you could."

The intruder was lowering one hand towards her gun holster on her hip. "And what if I'd rather not? You're run down and in bad shape, even for a Jedi."

"Get off my ship." Asajj could feel the very slightest hint of Force persuasion in his voice- did he even realize he was doing that? Either way, she was impressed. With his composure, his use of words… The emotion she saw in his eyes. Yes, fiery Kenobi lived on.

She finished the job for him, leaping onto the thief and pinning her before the woman ever knew what was happening. "You heard the man," she hissed, looking down into frightened eyes. "You will leave, and you will remember nothing of either of us."

"I will leave, and I will remember nothing of either of you." The woman stood up, freed from the former-assassin's grip, and walked calmly out of the ship, wandering off into the streets, looking only a tiny bit disoriented.

It was only after they'd finished watching her go that eye contact was established between the two of them. He was afraid, but the fear was fading as he started to smile. "That was…"

"That was… good. That was very good." Her intense delight with how he'd settled that matter was shining in her face, and she needed to say no more.

"I was going to say terrifying." He stopped speaking for a moment as Asajj wrapped one arm around his shoulders, standing by his side in what was an obvious gesture of approval and affection. "But good...I'm glad you thought it was good."

Review, if you could, if only to prove to me that you aren't all gone away forever ;_;

Also, if you're interested, I've got a Tumblr. It's aleatoryw because I'm original that way.