Revan stepped out of the shuttle, followed by Meetra, Selena, and an even quieter than usual Bastila. Revan looked at the Padawan, and thought, 'She's been awfully quiet ever since she kissed me two days ago. I wonder what's bothering her. But, she won't even look me in the eye, and she's put a block on the bond.'
"Hey, Rev," Meetra said, "What's on your mind?"
"Nothing." The Knight said, scanning the hangar.
"Yeah right." Selena said.
Revan shook her head, and said, "I'm not really in a talkative mood right now."
"Yeah, 'cause you totally turned down someone who was coming onto you just because she's a minor." Selena said.
"Can we not talk about this?" Revan asked, rubbing her forehead.
"No." Selena said.
Revan shook her head, when a short man with greying hair said, "I see you have arrived in good health. But, was there not a third Jedi?"
"Padawan Alek is... going through a difficult time currently. I believed it to be in his best interest that he be kept in isolation to give him time to think." Revan said.
The man nodded, and said, "Very well. You are aware of the difficulties of the mission?"
"We need to find a missing team. Search and rescue. I'm guessing behind enemy lines, since it was a spec-ops unit."
"That would be correct. We need a small team to go in, and find either them, or what happened to them. Before you go, introductions are in order. I am Admiral Saul Karath. Knight Revan I have heard of your exploits both on and above Cathar. Seeing that experience, and with the vouching of Grand Master Sunrider I have decided to place you in command of the Search and Rescue unit."
"I am honored, Admiral." Revan said, "Who beyond my companions from Cathar will be joining me on this operation?"
"Carth, who you have already met, as well as Corporal Williams and Staff Lieutenant Stevens. Their experience will serve you well."
"Got it. Where do we need to start looking?"
"This way. A map of the planet they were on will be most useful for debriefing you and your companions." Saul said.
After a few silent minutes, they found themselves in a small war room. Saul enlarged a map of the planet, and highlighted a twelve square mile area. He said, "The team was operating in this area, which has been under mandalorian control for nearly a month. They were trying to find a way to break through the enemy defenses. But, nothing was found."
"Why only send a small team?" Revan asked.
"Our resources are spread thin. To keep the rest of the planet we have had to garrison men inside the cities behind large shield generators."
"That's a terrible strategy to use against mandalorians. They'll use whatever force is necessary to break through those shields. By putting your men there all you are doing is putting civilian lives in danger."
"I am aware of that." Saul growled, "But, it wasn't my decision. Some idiot in the Senate insisted that it be done. I was given two choices. Do as he suggested, or give up my position. I knew whoever would take my place would be worse, so I let him have his way. That way someone incompetent doesn't get my command role."
Revan sighed, and said, "That's why you don't let politicians run wars."
"Try telling them that, Knight Tremaine." Saul said. Before turning back to the map, and while pointing at a location in the highlighted area, "This is where you will be inserted. It's where we lost contact with the team on the surface. With any luck, there will be something down there that will give you an idea as to what has happened to them."
"That's a large operational area, Admiral." Revan said, "It'll take us several days to check it all."
"I know it will take a while. I'm hoping your Jedi abilities might help you speed things up."
"We will do what we can, but do not expect any miracles. In all probability, your team is dead."
"Yes. But, they could still be alive. So, go down there and find out what happened to them."
"We'll move out immediately." Revan said, when suddenly the map blinked, and Saul sighed.
"What's the matter?"
"It's night in the area you'd be going in. The risks of mandalorian attack quintuple at night. It helps their cloaking systems hide their approach. It'd be too dangerous for you to go down there now. You'll have to wait until the sun rises on that part of the planet."
"I understand, Admiral. Please inform me when it is time to move."
"I will. Captain Onasi will lead you to your rooms." Saul said, as he motioned for them to leave.
The group stepped out of the room, and were greeted by Carth saying, "This way."
Revan and the others nodded. As they walked down the corridor, the soldier asked, "So, I heard you guys are going to be helping with the search. Is that the case, or did Revan just piss Dodonna off?"
"We were moved here per the request of Grand Master Sunrider." Revan replied, "I haven't talked to Dodonna since I got here to agree to let my fellow Jedi and I to finish our time in the field."
"How long is that?"
"We only have a few days remaining. Our total time away from Dantooine is meant to be three weeks. We will have to leave in a couple of days so that we will have time to give our reports to the High Council on Coruscant before leaving to get back to Dantooine." Revan said.
Meetra sighed, and said, "Great. Thanks for the reminder, Rev."
"No problem, Meetra." Revan replied.
Carth then said, "This will be Shan's quarters according to the manifest Saul gave me. Tremaine, yours is the room opposite it. Surik, yours is the room to the right of Tremaine's. Sergeant Jade, you have the room opposite Surik."
"Got it." Selena said, heading to her room.
Revan nodded, as Bastila and Meetra headed to their respective quarters. Once they were in their rooms, The Knight shook her head. "Something wrong?" Carth asked.
"Bastila's been acting weird lately." Revan replied. "Have you ever had someone kiss you out of the blue, say they're glad you gave off information that would indicate a lack of interest, then suddenly completely shut you out?"
Carth laughed, and said, "I've never had that happen. And, I can see why you said that it was complicated over Cathar."
"Yeah." Revan said, sighing. "Do you have any idea why she'd shut me out after kissing me?"
"Outside of the obvious that you shot her down when she made a move on you?" Carth asked.
Revan shook her head, and said, "That can't be the case."
Carth shook his head, and said, "And Morgana told me when we first started dating that no woman was that oblivious when someone was coming onto them."
Revan said, "It just couldn't be the case. Bastila... she couldn't have any interest like that in me."
"What makes you so certain? From what you described, it sounds like she's interested in you."
Revan sighed, and said, "Because she would think it's wrong. She thinks that Jedi shouldn't fall in love."
Carth said, "People's opinions change all the time. So, did you turn her down because you aren't interested. Or, because you don't think she's actually interested?"
"Neither. She's not even eighteen yet."
Carth nodded, and said, "That must be... awkward."
"Immensely." Revan said.
"What even made her do that?"
"It's a long story."
"Everything is a long story with you Jedi it seems." Carth replied.
"True. Well, to keep things short, we had to break into the estate of Davik Kang to rescue a Jedi he had captured for looking like her twin sister who was the one his people were actually looking for. Our cover required several of us being thought of as slaves.
"Bastila had been chosen to be one of the slaves. I argued against it, wanting to make sure that Davik's people didn't do anything to her. I offered to take her place, but I had spent some time in the dueling ring. That made it impossible for me to take her place.
"So, instead I made it seem that I wanted to be the one to have the first go at her. Davik was skeptically, so I ended up having to kiss her. I blocked the psychic bond between the two of us when I did to hide the fact that, despite the fact that she's not an adult yet, I enjoyed kissing her."
Carth said, "You live a very interesting life."
"I'd rather things were simple." Revan replied.
"I suppose that's the curse of being a Jedi. You can't just sit back and relax."
"I'm sure the Council would prefer it if I did." Revan said.
Carth nodded, then asked, "Why did you even bring up your romantic issues? You don't know me very well."
"You're the only real option I have. Meetra's an absolute lecher who would turn everything so dirty that I'd probably end up shocking her just to get her to stop. Jade has the same issue. I can't talk about it with Bastila for obvious reasons. I couldn't talk about it with any older Jedi because they'd either disapprove or not want to get involved.
"My parents are dead, so I can't turn to them. If I have any extended family I don't know who they are, so that's not an option. And I know anyone else in the fleet at all."
"What about that bald guy?"
"He and I are not on speaking terms at the moment."
"Did he make a move on your girl?"
"If that were the case he wouldn't be alive." Revan said. "No, the issue is that he wants to go and hunt down an incredibly powerful fallen Jedi. One who could easily kick his ass. He's been put into Force restraining shackles to keep him safe. Give him time to cool his head."
"Why'd he want to go after someone who it would be suicide to go after?"
"This particular fallen Jedi killed his parents. So he wants revenge. I get that, but I didn't see a point in letting him throw his life away seeking revenge he isn't powerful enough to get."
"Seems reasonable to me." Carth said.
"He wouldn't listen. Insisted that I let him go after the man who killed his parents. So, I distracted him while Bastila put the shackles on him."
"Why did she just have those on her?"
"They were developed in the Exar Kun war. After their effectiveness was proved, they were made standard equipment for Jedi to carry. In case they came across either a fallen Jedi or they were around another Jedi who was in danger of falling."
"Makes sense. You should probably go talk to Shan. Clear the air between you two. You'd be surprised how much it helps."
Revan sighed, and said, "You're probably right. But, before I go in there... I have a question for you."
"What?"
"How do I clear the air without making things even more awkward with her by telling her how I feel?"
"That one I don't know." he said, walking away.
Revan sighed, and said, "Wish me luck, I guess. Hopefully I don't blow this one so badly that there's no way to salvage my relationship with her." before knocking on Bastila's door.
When she received no response, she knocked again and said, "Bas, is something wrong? You've been much more quiet than usual."
Again, no response. The Knight knocked a third time and said, "Bas, did I do something to upset you? I said I was sorry about what I had to do on Taris. It was the only way to keep you safe from those bastards who worked for Davik. Or Kang himself."
For a fourth time, Bastila did not respond, and the block on the bond remained. Impenetrable, nothing coming to Revan from Bastila on the end.
Revan said, "Bastila, could you please open the door? I hate feeling like you're shutting me out."
-=0=-
As Revan's word came through the door, Bastila sighed. Part of her wanted to open the door. To open it and talk with Revan again. The other part was afraid what would happen if she did let Revan in. 'You knew that it was a foolish idea to kiss Revan in the first place. Now you can't deal with rejection, so you're completely locking her out.' she mentally berated herself, 'You should have known that Revan didn't have any interest in you. She'd always denied it. What made you think that she would have any interest?'
Bastila sighed, as she continued to give herself a lecture of how idiotic she had been to kiss Revan.
-=0=-
Revan sighed, and knocked on the door a fifth time. And for a fifth time, no response came. The Knight said, her voice filled with concern. "Bastila, are you okay in there?" As the Padawan did not respond, Revan knocked on the door, this time with much more force, and asked, "Bastila are you okay?"
The Knight sighed, concern overwhelming her common sense, and she pulled out a security spike. As she connected it to the locked door panel of Bastila's room, she began working her way through the firewalls. A few moments later the door beeped that it was unlocked, and Revan opened it.
Bastila was sitting on her bed inside. Just staring out into space. Revan ran over to the Padawan, and said, "Bas, are you okay?"
When she did not respond, Revan placed a hand on her shoulder, and asked, "Bas are you okay? Talk to me!"
The Padawan continued to look into space. Revan grabbed her by the chin, and moved her face in both directions.
The Padawan winced, and said, "Did you have to do that, Revan?" as she pushed the Knight's hand off of her chin.
"Sorry." Revan said, blushing. "You wouldn't respond, and I couldn't sense anything through the bond. I was worried something might have happened to you."
"I just need time to think. I blocked the bond so that I wouldn't sense anything coming from you that might be a distraction." Bastila said, looking away from Revan.
Revan nodded, and said, "Alright. But don't scare me like that again. You had me really worried there."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."
"Well, when you're holding deathly still, I can't help but be concerned." Revan said, smiling softly at Bastila.
The Padawan sighed, and said, "I'm sorry I worried you. I should have just told you I'm fine when you knocked."
Revan nodded, and as she pulled Bastila into a hug, said. "It's okay. We all make mistakes."
Bastila sighed, and said, "True."
"And, Bas, please stop blocking me out. It feels like you're trying to push me away. If something's bothering you, you don't have to deal with it on your own. I'll do what I can to help."
"I know, Revan." Bastila said, still desperately trying to look at the Knight who was holding her close.
"Then why are you blocking me out?"
"It's just... something I feel like I need to work through on my own. And, I don't want to bother you with it."
Revan nodded, and said, "Bastila, you can come to me with anything. It would never, ever, bother me if you came to me with something." but silently added, 'Unless you came to tell me that you thought you'd fallen in love with someone other than me. I know it's selfish. But, I don't want anyone else to touch you. To love you.
'Even if you did end up with someone, I'd want you to never do anything with them. Maybe that's just me being selfish, but the thought of anyone else being with you makes my blood boil. The thought of you being with someone else makes me want to find and kill them before they can lay a finger on you.'
"Revan, what's got you so irritated?" Bastila asked.
"What?" the Knight asked, looking Bastila in the eye.
"Your face is all scrunched up. As if something has you angry." Bastila said.
Revan sighed, and said, "It's nothing."
Bastila said, "You're a pretty awful liar, you know that, Rev?"
"You know you aren't supposed to call me out about it, Bas?" The Knight said.
"I'm sorry." The Padawan said, resting her head on Revan's shoulder.
The contact brought a smile to the Knight's face, as she ran a hand up the younger woman's back. A few moments later, Bastila looked up at Revan, and the Knight saw that there were dark bags under her eyes. "Have you gotten any sleep in the last three days, Bastila?"
"Not much."
"You should try and get some rest. You're going to need to be at your best in a few hours."
"I know." The Padawan said, lowering her head back onto Revan's shoulder, and closing her eyes. A few minutes later, her breathing became much more stable. As Revan felt the Padawan's breath on her neck, she smiled slightly, before repositioning Bastila on the bed, and leaving the room. Careful to not wake her friend as she closed the door.
Standing outside was Meetra, who said, "That was sweet."
Revan just sighed, and said, "I am so confused right now."
"Why?"
"You know why." the blue-haired woman replied.
"Because you can't see the obvious fact that Bastila has feelings for you?"
"Because, I think that she does, but I know that I shouldn't. I know that what I should do is just do what I can to make so that I can forget all about having feelings for her. It would be for the best."
"You don't really think that, Rev." Meetra said. "What happened to your talk about how love is a good thing?"
"My feelings for Bastila will only lead to sorrow." Revan replied. "If I can move on, forget everything about loving her, I can find a person to love who I actually have a chance with."
Meetra laughed, and said, "If you are ever looking for someone to love who you have good chances with, you're looking at your best bet right now."
Revan shook her head, and said, "I could never see you as anything but a sister. Sleeping with you would be... no. Just... no."
"Okay." Meetra said, nodding. "I'd say that she does have a thing for you, Rev."
"Haven't I already told you not to try and get my hopes up?"
"She kissed you, then when you did what could only be seen as a rejection, she shuts you out. Seems obvious to me."
"She couldn't." Revan said. "I mean seriously. What is there about me that would ever make me appealing as a girlfriend for her? I'm reckless, I put the lives of those around me in danger on a frequent basis while trying to keep them safe. I have killed a horrifying number of people for someone of my age. I have, in front of her, killed someone who was once my best friend. With what I've done, there's no way that she could have feelings for me."
Meetra sighed, and said, "Rev, you could see it that way. But the way I see it, that I'm pretty sure she sees it, is that you have been fighting to protect those who matter to you. Yes, you killed Nicole. But why? Because she was threatening Bastila. As for the reckless part... the only times you ever act recklessly are when someone either hurts her, or is going to. I mean, a lot of women like someone who will protect them. I know you don't like that because you feel guilty if someone you care about gets hurt. You feel like you should be the one doing protecting. But, a lot of people aren't that way."
"It always seemed strange to me. The desire to be protected, instead of actually doing the protecting."
"It's just how some people are." Meetra said, "But, Rev. You may see why you would be terrible for someone. But, you're the only one. You're strong, smart, wise, caring, and one of the hottest women I've ever met."
Revan laughed, and said, "Get your head out of the gutter."
"Alright alright." the older Knight sighed. "Do I have to?"
"Yes." Revan replied.
Meetra pouted, and said, "Aww. You're no fun."
"If you're so concerned with what I know you're calling 'fun' you should go see Selena. I'm sure she's interested too."
"And you say my head is in the gutter. You need to get laid, Rev. Find someone to hold you off until Bastila's legal."
"Meetra..." Revan sighed, "There's no way it could work between me and her."
"Really? It seems like it would work out to me."
Revan just sighed, and said, "Don't try and get my hopes up." Before opening her door, and stepping into her room.
Meetra said, "You don't have to be so moody, Rev."
"I know. It's just..."
"You feel like Bastila is pushing you away? That since you did what you had to, she doesn't want anything to do with you?"
"Yeah." Revan sighed.
"You really shouldn't worry about it that much. You've never been anything but nice to Bastila."
"Except when I first learned about the bond. Or when she asked about what happened to my family, then said I should just get over it."
"Numerically, the times you have done crazy stuff to protect her outweigh the two times you weren't kind to her."
"What about a few days ago..." Revan asked.
"That... was a bit awkward. And, you may have been rude, but you were trying to make it easier for her to accept your death. You were trying to get her to hate you to protect her. So, while your methods there could have used some work, your intentions were good." Meetra said.
Revan nodded, then said, "Do you actually think I have a chance? Or are you just saying I do to make me feel better?"
"I'd say your chances with Bastila are very good. But, you might want to stop acting like she's the last person in the galaxy you would be with."
Revan laughed, and said, "Well, in a sense she is. Because, if I got with her, I'd never even consider anyone else."
"Yeah, just don't say that she's the last person in the galaxy you want to be with. Even if it is a whole, 'first and last' thing." Meetra said. "She might take it differently."
Revan said, "I'm not an idiot, Meetra."
"You sure have been acting like one. Seriously, you're acting guy levels of oblivious about her interest."
"Did she tell you something that I need to know?" Revan asked, "Because you seem way too certain that she's interested in me."
Meetra said, "If she did, she would have asked me not to tell you, Rev."
"What did she tell you?" Revan asked.
"Did you not hear what I just said? If she came to me to talk about something, it would only be because it was something she didn't feel comfortable coming to you with. I'm like the second-string person to go to for advice for her."
"Meetra, just tell me what she said." Revan said.
"If she said anything, she did so under confidence that I wouldn't tell you." Meetra replied. "If you told me something, under the condition that I'd keep my mouth shut, would you be happy if I told someone else?"
Revan sighed, and said, "You make a valid point. So, did Bastila say anything to you that should make me get my hopes up?"
"Quit trying to cheat the system." Meetra said.
"You are no help whatsoever." Revan replied, scanning the room.
"Let me just say that if I were you, I'd feel confident in my chances." Meetra said. "Beyond that... my lips are sealed."
Revan nodded, and said, "Thanks. Since it seems pretty clear that she talked to you about something, I'll take your word that my chances aren't completely abysmal."
"Way to be not as much of a pessimist as usual." Meetra said, patting Revan on the shoulder. "But seriously. Cheer up. Your chances are pretty damn good, from my point of view. And Selena's too."
Revan smiled and said, "Thanks. I'm gonna go get something to eat. If you want, you and Selena can come along."
"Sure." Meetra replied. "Just let me grab her."
"If you grab her I don't think you two will show up before I finish eating." Revan said, with a small grin.
"True. I'll just tell her to come join us."
"That would probably be for the best. Don't want Karath realizing what's going on between you two. He seems like a real stickler for regulations." Revan said, as she walked down the hallway towards the mess hall.
"If he has a problem I have a very convincing argument for him to mind his own business." Meetra said, walking over to Selena's door.
-=0=-
Saul said, "Carth, the Jedi. You have spoken with their leader on multiple occasions. Do you think that she would be useful to the Republic war effort?"
"Sir, from what I have seen she is quite capable. She seems to be able to examine a situation, and see exactly what is going on in a short period of time. Though with other matters she has given off information that would indicate she is less adept."
"What other matters?"
"Earlier she spoke to me of the Padawan who was so quiet that you were suspicious of her, sir."
"Do you have any further information that would provide details on her strange behavior?"
"There is... an awkward situation the leader of the Jedi has found herself in."
"I do not have time for you to be elusive, Carth. What is going on?"
"From what Revan said to me, I think that the Padawan who was quiet has feelings for her. And while Revan shares those feelings, she cannot make that clear due to the fact that she is a minor."
"Did she say why she trusted you with such a personal matter?"
"She said that she didn't have any other options. That the other Jedi and Sergeant Jade would merely give her difficulties."
Saul nodded, and said, "So, do you think we can trust this quiet Padawan?"
"From what Revan said, yes. It's just a matter of an awkward situation between the two of them."
"Very well. Prepare your comrades to move. We need to have them ready to move as soon as the sun rises."
"Understood, Sir."
The Admiral nodded, then also said, "As for your request to be allowed to return to your homeworld for your son's first birthday... consider it granted."
"Thank you, Sir." Carth said.
"It is not a problem. Tell Morgana I say hello."
"Of course, sir." Carth said, heading out of the room.
-=0=-
Revan sat down in her room, fiddling with a deck of pazaak cards. As she lay them down on the table, she heard Alek say, "Revan."
The Knight jumped to her feet, and grabbed both of her lightsabers. "How the hell did you get out of where you were being held?"
"I managed to talk a guard into letting me out. I came to say that I was wrong on Taris. I should have trusted your better judgment."
"Damn right you should have." Revan replied, "I know what Venerus is capable of. I've fought his apprentices and they are strong enough to defeat you. So, he has to be exponentially stronger than them. Otherwise, they would overthrow him, as is the Sith way."
Alek nodded, and asked, "What's our next mission?"
"Go down to the surface and search a twelve square mile radius for a missing spec-ops team." Revan replied. "You should go see Admiral Karath. You seem stable, so there's no reason you can't make yourself useful."
The Padawan nodded, and said, "I'll do that." before walking away.
A few minutes later, as Revan returned to fiddling with her deck, she heard another knock on the door. She looked up, and saw Bastila standing there. The Knight smiled at her, and said, "Hey, how are you?"
"I'm okay." the Padawan said. "How long was I asleep?"
Revan checked the time, and said, "Around four hours. Are you feeling better know?"
"A bit." the Padawan said, smiling a bit.
"Is there something you want to talk about?"
The Padawan rested her head on Revan's shoulder, and said, "No."
Revan smiled at her, and said, "Don't fall asleep again. It would be awkward if I had to carry you back to your room."
"I'll try not to." Bastila replied, "But it's pretty comfortable."
As Revan laughed softly, she said, "I've never heard that before."
"It is comfortable." Bastila said.
Revan was silent for a moment, then said, "I think I should say thanks. But, I, uh, don't really know how to respond properly to that."
Bastila laughed, and said, "Strange. I thought you always knew what to say."
"I try to, but some things are just... weird. It takes me a while to figure out exactly what to say."
"I never would have thought the day would come when you didn't know what to do in response to something I did."
"Well, to be honest, I didn't really know how to respond when you kissed me the other day."
"Why?" Bastila asked.
"It's complicated." Revan replied. "But, I'll cut you a deal. I'll tell you why if you open up the bond again."
The Padawan said, "Sounds good." as she lifted the block on the bond.
Revan closed her eyes for a moment as she felt the barrier fall, then said, "I didn't really know how to respond to you kissing me because first off, I never would have seen it coming. And second, you were actually a really good kisser. At least according to what Meetra says."
"Do you really want to believe anything that Meetra says about romantic matters?" Bastila asked.
"It was something she said when I was younger, and didn't know to ignore her when she talked about that kind of stuff."
Bastila nodded, and said, "So, are you saying that you actually do like me in the way the others have been saying?"
Revan blushed, and said, "No, I was not saying that. If I was, I wouldn't be go about it in a way that was that indirect. I suppose you could view it as me saying that the line between the affection for a friend, and something more than that is starting to get blurred."
Bastila laughed, and said, "So, you're saying that you might maybe, potentially, in theory have some kind of feelings for me?"
Revan said, "I suppose you could view it that way. But, I think that would make things awkward. I mean, it's not like you have any interest in me, at least not that kind of interest."
Bastila did not respond, then asked, "You know, sometimes I wish I'd never met you, Rev."
"I'm hurt." The Knight said, looking down at Bastila.
"My life would be so much simpler if I hadn't. I'd just have to worry about doing so extremely well at my training that it was good enough for Quatra. Now I have to worry about the outcome of wars, deal with Meetra's inappropriate insinuations, and a psychic bond with someone who half of the time just seems like she's trying to kill herself in a way that would technically not be suicide."
"Hey," Revan said, her voice soft, "I didn't start this war. And I'm not trying to get myself killed. I'm just trying to keep those close to me safe, even if it costs me my life."
"I know." Bastila said, "But I still worry you're going to die."
"I'll do everything I can to stay alive. But, if it's my life or that of someone who I care about-as a friend- I'll choose my friend's every time."
"There's always another way, Rev. You shouldn't have to make that choice."
"Sometimes there is no alternative. I'm not saying I'll go looking for one of those situations. I'm just saying if I'm thrust into a situation like that, I know who's life I'm going to save."
"Please don't sacrifice yourself, Rev. Despite the fact that my life would have been so much simpler, which seems like a luxury now, if we'd never met, I'm much happier having you as a friend."
Revan laughed, and said, "I remember when you said that you'd done just fine without friends."
"True. I could get by without you, but I just, I feel safer around you."
Revan nodded, as Bastila shifted so that she was now just sitting beside the Knight. "Thanks." Revan said, as she looked Bastila in the eye. Then, as the thought of admitting to Bastila what she was really feeling crossed her mind, she heard Saul say,
"To all search and rescue personnel, the sun will be rising on the operational area in approximately seventy-two minutes. You need to get ready to move."
"Sounds like we have work to do." Revan said, as she stood up.
"Yes." Bastila said. "See you in the shuttle, Rev."
"Yeah." The Knight said, as she grabbed her lightsabers and put them on her belt.
-=0=-
A/N: Thanks for reading the latest chapter. I really hope you enjoyed it. And, if you did, please leave a review. Oh, and also please follow/favorite if you haven't already. That is also greatly appreciated.
Oh, and also, I know that this romance is taking forever to actually have the two people it's a romance of get together. That it may seem like they're not going to get together until the end of the story and you're not going to get any time to enjoy them being together. If you have that fear, let me tell you this, there is no need to fear that. While the scene I have planned for when Revan and Bastila get together is going to be at a relatively early point in the story. It could easily work as the ending point of it, with what it is. But, I know that I hate it when I'm reading fanfics where the main character only gets together with her chosen woman in the last chapter. So, I'm not going to do that. I won't spoil what's going to happen either, because that would weaken my plan.
However; I do think that this is an improvement over my other stories, where all the stuff of them coming to care for each other is handled in the backstory, and not shown. I think this helps give you a better feel for the characters. But, at least in my opinion, this isn't a love story or romance. It's a story with a romance sub-plot. The mandalorian wars, Revan's fall to the dark side, her betrayal at the hands of Malak, the stuff that happened in KotOR, and some stuff after that is my primary focus.
But, that's not saying that the romance isn't a major subplot. It's just not my main focus. I know this chapter was very heavy on the Revan/Bastila stuff, but that's not always the case. Quite often it isn't. Okay, now that I feel like I have made that clear, to re-assure myself that I'm not some feminine male who writes love stories instead of tales that are more along the lines of what Star Wars was(Talking about the original trilogy/KotOR.) than a romance.
Also, I am half-furious, half-pleased that KotOR is non-canon. Part of me is like, "NO! You bastards! KotOR was awesome! Canonize it!" the other part is, "At least KotOR II and SWTOR not longer count either. And it gives this just as much validity as the games. Since both aren't canon. It's just a matter of this is a fan-story, while the other one was a professional one." because I really didn't like the way they took Revan's story. (I thought the true Sith storyline was bullshit.) Anyways, my editing of this paragraph has made it long and confusing in my attempt to get my point across. I apologize for that.
But, anyways, that's right. This fanfic is just as canonical as KotOR. Think about that for a second, please. … Okay, good. Now, thank you very much for reading. Until next time.
