The journey back to Coruscant was both short and uneventful. In the two days it took to go from Karath's branch of the Republic Fleet to the capital of the Republic the four returning Jedi worked out their story regarding their actions.

Though Meetra and Bastila suggested simply telling the truth, Revan and Alek convinced them that it would be suicide. They said that "The Council would never accept our actions as necessary. They would see it as a direct defiance of orders and protocol. They won't care about the extenuating circumstances."
Despite their misgivings about lying to the Council, it only took half a day to convince the two women to tell the false story. When they landed on Coruscant, and were called into the Council Chambers Revan said, "Leave the talking to me unless they request input from someone other than me."
Bastila nodded, and said, "Okay."
Alek just shrugged, and said, "If you insist."
Meetra, on the other hand, said, "Oh come on, Rev, you don't have to worry about any of us not sticking to the story."
"I don't doubt that you will." Revan said, shaking her head, "But if the lies ever come out and any of you talk, you'd be more culpable than if you simply held your peace. If need be, you could even through me under the stampede of bantha that is the Council and say I threatened you to do it."

"That's horrible, Rev." Meetra said, "Don't you think there are other ways to get us out of that mess if it happened?"
"I guess I could throw myself in between you and them. Say that I forced you to agree to it."
"Any ways that don't involve the Council doing horrible things to you?" Bastila asked.

"I don't think I could fast talk them into leaving you alone if they find out."

"Really? No way to maybe, explain, why it was necessary to lie to them? Maybe explain how their paranoia and such are what necessitated the lies?" Bastila asked.

Revan laughed, and said, "Bastila, that would work if they were paranoid droids without emotions. Emotional life forms would see it as a personal attack, and would react defensively. I'll have to teach you how to push the right buttons on people, and not just the ones that would make a bad situation worse if pressed."
"Thanks?" Bastila asked.

"You're welcome." Revan said, "It'll help you out. If, say, you have some guy coming onto you and you aren't interested, you can manipulate him into hassling someone else without using the Force. And, he'll still think it was of his own decision."
"Couldn't I just point out that I'm a Jedi?"
"On most people that would work. But there are some particularly persistent ones who don't care. With that kind of person you have to read their personalities quickly, and alter your behavior to be what they find unappealing. For example, some of them are more interested in pursuing a hopeless cause than going with what would be easy."

"That doesn't make sense." Bastila said.

Meetra said, "The main time that stuff happens is when the person doing the pursuing has more than a casual, 'let's go fuck' interest in the pursued."
Revan shook her head, and said, "This is irrelevant. We have a report to give. Remember, let me do the talking."
"We know, Rev." Meetra said. "So, go in there and tell them what happened and why."

"Let's hope it's enough." Alek said.

-=0=-

Two and a half hours later, Revan stepped out of the Council Chambers, and said, "We're in the clear. They have accepted our actions as necessary."

"Great!" Meetra said, "So we can get back to our lives?"
"Yes." Revan said. "Bastila, Alek, and I are to stay here for one more day."
"Why?" Alek asked.
"Give us a bit of time off to recover from our time out in the field."

"Sweet." Meetra said, "So, what do you want to do on our day off, Rev?"
"I have to go check something out." Revan replied.

"What?" Bastila asked.

"Something I have to do alone."
"Is this about that thing you mentioned on Dantooine a few months ago?"
"No." Revan replied. "You guys have fun with your time off. If you need me you know how to contact me."

"What's going on, Rev?" Bastila asked.
"Don't worry about it." she replied, "I'll be back in a few hours."

"What are you doing, Revan?" Meetra asked, "You're never this secretive."
"It's private." the Knight replied, walking over to a speeder. "Don't worry about it."

"When you're this secretive it makes me nervous."
"Nothing horrible is going to happen. I'm not going anywhere dangerous."

"If you aren't going anywhere dangerous, why are you so secretive about it?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Revan replied as she sat down in the Speeder. "You guys have fun."
"Rev, do you even know how to drive?" Meetra asked, "You've always taken a taxi before."
"I know how to fly a speeder. Whenever I have to do this, I don't take a cab."

"Wait, this has happened before, how'd you keep it secret?"
"I know how to be secretive." Revan replied, as she activated the speeder, and flew away.

"Great..." Meetra said, "she's starting to lose her mind."
"No, this is something she does... frequently." Bastila said.

"Wait, you can use the bond to read her mind?"
"No, it's just that I can sense through the bond that she does not understand why her actions around this time of year are strange."

"So... she's confused about why we're confused? And this is an annual thing?"

"It looks that way." Bastila said.

"Whatever." Alek said. "I'm going to get something to eat. See you two later."
"Bye." Meetra replied, as he walked away. "So, want to go hunt Rev down?"
"That wouldn't be right. I think if we followed her, she'd be very angry."
"Great... I really don't like this. Revan's acting strange."
"Do you know of anything that would make her act strange today?"
Meetra was quiet for a moment, then said, "No. Deralia wasn't at this time of year, and her rescue from Nar Shaddaa is in a couple of months. And, I can't think of any other big things in her life that this would be an anniversary of. And Revan wouldn't be acting weird if it was just an x number of months after she met you. I'm really concerned."
"Don't worry about her." Bastila said. "I'm sure she'll be back to normal in a couple of days."
"She'll also be gone in a couple of days." Meetra replied. "Well, I won't be able to see her in a couple of days."
"Fair enough."
"Be good to Rev. She may be tough, but she still has a few soft spots."

"I wouldn't do anything to hurt Rev."

"Good. If you did I'd have to kill you." Meetra said.

"Uhm... I don't think that's in line with any version of the Jedi Code."
"Yeah well sometimes you've just got to say fuck it, this is more important than any code."
"Should I be afraid that you're willing to kill me if I do anything that hurts Revan?"
"No." Meetra said, "'cause I really doubt that you are going to."
"Then why the threat?"
"It wasn't a threat, it was a promise."

"Okay, why the promise that you'd kill me?"
"Because, I've been wrong about people in the past."
"Samantha?"
"Yeah. I thought that maybe she could help make me not madly in love with Revan. But instead she cheated on me, and called me an old fashioned idiot."

"That must have been difficult."
"Very. But, as always, Rev was there. And she just sees me as a friend." Meetra said, sorrow clear in her voice.

"There are other women out there." Bastila said.

"I know, it's just none of them seem to hold even a candle to Rev."
"Just because they don't initially appear as appealing as someone you've known and loved for years doesn't mean that they can't end up being more appealing."
"When did you start spouting things that sound deeper than they actually are?" Meetra asked, a smirk on her face.

"I'm just trying to help."

"Fair enough. So, want to go get a drink?"
"No. I'm underage."
"Eh, don't worry about the rules that much. It's not like anyone really cares if you drink while under age."
"I don't want to break the rules. It's not just a Jedi thing, it's also the Republic."

"Fine, buzzkill." Meetra said.

"Sometimes I wonder how Revan manages to stay sane, with you as her best friend."
"She's got a thick skin for my sense of humor."

"I see. Why are you like this?"
"Just the way my brain is hardwired."

"That sounds like a copout."
"It's a very long story. One you would find incredibly strange."
"Knowing how you act currently I wouldn't be surprised."
"Well, I'll keep it short. When I was younger, I realized I liked other girls. That combined with the fact that I was a Jedi which meant according to the Code I was supposed to be celibate led to me having a bit of a mental breakdown. And, during that time my Master had to go and train another student. In the end, I only got over it by hiding pretty much everything with dirty jokes. I figured it was better than having people judge me for who I am."
"Do people really still have an issue with two people of the same gender being together?"
"Some do. You can never tell until they're getting on your case."
"Will Revan and I have that issue?"
"You'll probably encounter a few assholes who are like that, but while you're with someone like Revan, they won't really bother you for fear of angering her."
Bastila sighed with relief, and said, "I'm going to go and read some stuff in the library."
"Have fun." Meetra replied, walking away. "The Kama Sutra is typically held in the back."

"The what?"
Meetra laughed, and said, "Your innocence is hilarious."

"Figures it's something inappropriate." Bastila replied, as she walked into the temple.

-=0=-

The next day, Revan stepped out of the temple, the small bag she'd bought the day before rattling slightly in her pocket. As she entered her car, Bastila, who was still half asleep, asked, "Where are you going, Rev?"
"There's just something I have to do. I'll be back later."
"Could I come with you?"
Revan smiled, and said, "I'd rather do this alone. Maybe next time."
"Alright. Be careful. If you need any help, let me know."
"I will, Bas. Get some rest, you look like you need."

"True." the Padawan replied, yawning as she walked back to the temple. As Revan watched her form retreat, the Knight thought, 'Force, these are going to be the longest ten months of my life.' As she entered the speeder she had used the day before.

She flew the vehicle through the skies of Coruscant, the sounds of traffic around her keeping the Jedi on high alert. She kept checking the vehicles around her to ensure that none were following her. Then, as the speeder's navigation system beeped, she cut the power, and began a slightly controlled free-fall.

As she fell through the skies of Coruscant, she watched everything around her, guiding her vehicle with the Force so that it didn't collide with any of the vehicles around her. As she fell, she saw citizens turn their heads to observe what surely looked like someone who had accepted that they were going to die.

Then, a few short seconds before her vehicle crashed into the ground, she reactivated the speeder, and as the engine roared back to life, she slammed her foot on the accelerator.
The descent quit, as the speeder flew forward. Then a few minutes later, Revan landed the vehicle on a small ledge that no one knew about. She exited the vehicle, and walked towards the wall of the building. She placed a hand on the cold metal, and said, "I wish there was something more I could do to keep this place a secret. Other than just hope that no one follows me and no one discovers it on their own." before she hopped off the side, and landed on another, slightly larger platform. As she landed softly on the small patch of metal on an otherwise earthen platform, she turned around to face a pair of grave stones.

She sighed, and said, "I don't know why I keep coming her every year. You two are dead and gone. And your bodies aren't even in the ground in front of these two rocks.

"I've always questioned why I do this. Is it just that I'm not willing to move beyond what happened all those years ago? That I can't accept that you two are dead and gone? Coming back here doesn't really make that much of a difference.

"It's not like you can see me here any more than you could anywhere else. If you're still out there, one with the Force, you can see me anywhere else just as well as here. Yet I still come back here every year on this day, and on mom's birthday too.

"Why do I do this? If you're dead and gone, you can't hear me. And if you aren't gone, you've never shown yourselves. I guess it could just be that you weren't Jedi, so your spirits can't manifest after death. And maybe I'm coming here hoping that something will happen. That I'll be able to see you again. Maybe I think that if I do, everything will go back to how it was before Deralia fell."

"You know that isn't the case." a faint, but distinct, voice behind Revan said.

She turned around, and said, "Dad?"
He nodded, and said, "It isn't that we haven't been able to appear before you, Revan. It's that we knew it would only cause more harm than good."
"Then why show up now?"
"Because you've grown older. You've grown wiser. And, you've grown stronger."
"Not really." Revan replied, as she shook her head.
"You aren't dwelling on the past anymore, but are rather looking to the future."

"There's a war out there. And I know that I could end it."
"True, you could bring an end to the Mandalorian Wars. But the Jedi Council is a bunch of terrified old fools who would destroy your very mind if you did so. You'll just have to be patient, Revan."
"I know..." she sighed, "But it's frustrating, Dad. I feel like I'm wasting my life by staying behind. That I'm being selfish by not going out there and stopping those mandalorian animals."

He simply laughed, and said, "If not going out to fight a war made someone selfish, then pretty much everyone would be."

"You know why I'm staying back."

"So that the Council and the rest of the Order don't think it's just about revenge."
"You know the real reason I'm staying behind."

"Is there something you want to tell me, Revan?" he asked.

"Are you really going to act like you don't know?"
"Is there something you want to tell us?" Revan's mother asked, as she appeared.

"You two have to know the real reason."
"Even if we do, Revan," her father said, "say it anyways."
Revan sighed, and said, "Alright, fine. I've kinda fallen in love with someone who isn't even eighteen yet. So, I'm waiting until she's eighteen to tell the Council to shove their delays up their asses."

"I don't remember us ever teaching you those words, Revan." John said, his voice stern.

"It's just how I talk now, Dad." she replied, "And you're a ghost."

"Does this woman you're interested in approve of you talking like that?" Miranda asked.

"It bugs her a bit. I'm working on getting better. But, it's not instant."
"You should probably get your language in check before you make your interest known."

"If you ask Meetra, I've already made it painfully obvious."
"If you ask that woman it would be painfully obvious that Kreia is madly in love with Oraka. She often jumps to conclusions." John said, laughing.

"Yeah, but she did realize I have feelings for Bas before I did."

"Tell us about this girl who you're so enamored with." Miranda said.

"You'll be here all day if I keep telling you things that you already know. And besides, this isn't about me. I just came here because it's Dad's birthday."
"No it isn't."
"I could have sworn this is your birthday."
"Your father is messing with you. This is his birthday. Though now that we're dead, it doesn't matter that much." Miranda said softly.

He laughed, and said, "I am. You could have made the place that is symbolically our final resting place a bit less secluded."
"I put it here to make sure no one would do anything to deface it. To keep your final resting places in pristine condition."
"Who takes care of this place when you aren't around to keep it in good condition?"

"HK-6." Revan replied, as she tapped a button on her datapad. Then, a small cube on the ground folded out to reveal a small droid which moved on wheels.

"How long have you been building these things?"
"Years. At first I thought I'd use them as an army to kill all of the mandalorians, but then I got a bit more stable and decided that bipedal models would be more effective. That, and an army of assassin droids to kill off the mandalorians would be nowhere near efficient enough. So I kept building them just to remind myself of the good times we had, before everything went so horribly wrong."
"I never meant for that to happen. I was just looking to protect the family." John said, shaking his head. "I've never blamed you, Dad. There was no way you could have known the mandalorians were coming for Deralia." Revan said. "And, I also got you something. I know it doesn't mean much since you're a spirit, but I still feel like I should get you something for your birthday." as she reached into her pocket to get the small bag out. When she pulled it out, she opened it to reveal a single droid part. "It took me a while to find it, but I did."

John smiled, and said, "The internal combustion manifold to enable a droid to last for a potential endless period of time without having to go through a power-down cycle. How did you find one, they were discontinued ages ago in the event of a droid rebellion. Give them an intentional weakness."
"I had to go through a second-hand black market shop. And even then it was difficult to get them to sell it to me."

"Please tell me you didn't spend too much on it."

"Of course not. I intimidated the shopkeeper into giving it to me."

"How?"
"I just informed him that I knew what his shop did, and that if I could find him so easily, that there are others who could do likewise. Others who were more likely to put him away. Especially if I told them where he was and what he did."

"At least you saved some money and weren't acting like an extortionist."
"I would never be an extortionist. I still have some morals."
"True." John said. "What are you going to do with the manifold?"
"I was going to leave it here with you. Since 6 is frequently in a shut-down state he can use that to recharge his fuel cells. I figured, just, let it rest in peace with you."
John smiled, and said, "While that's very sweet, you should keep it. You'll have more use for it than I."
Revan nodded, and said, "I'll put it to good. When I finally perfect my HK droid, I'll put it in him. In memory of you."

John smiled and said, "That's my baby girl." as he began to flicker.

"What's going on?"
"We can't stay like this for extended periods of time. It's just how this works. We'll always be watching over you, Revan. Never forget that. We love you, and will always be there to support you, even if you can't see us or feel our presence."

"I know, Dad." Revan said, tears starting to fill her eyes.

"Don't cry, Revan. You have a bright future. And a beautiful young woman who you love, and who loves you too. Don't waste your chance at a future with her. Even if it means abandoning the Jedi and your current life. Love is worth it." Miranda said, as she and Johns disappeared.

Revan blinked away the tears, and said, "Bye Mom, bye Dad." before jumping back up to the higher ledge and telling HK-6 to return to stasis mode until the grave site needed to be tended to.

-=0=-

Meetra walked out of the temple, to see Revan leaning on a guard rail. There was no one around her, so the older Knight walked up to her friend, and said, "Hey. You get what you needed to do done?"
"Yeah." Revan said, a small smile on her face.

"So, how did it go?"
"Better than usual."
"So this is a frequent thing? Where do you go?"
"Somewhere that the only person I'll ever tell about is the one I marry."

"Why so secretive about it?"
"Because, it's a very personal place for me. A place that I'll want to hold as my own until I've found someone that I want to share everything in my life with."

"I guess that makes sense. So, you'll only ever tell Bastila about it?"
"If things work out the way I would like them to, yes. But, Bastila and I are both still young. Things could change."
"Rev, you love Bastila. I've never seen someone who has loved someone else as much as you love her."

"We don't even know if it's a shared love, or one way."

"Odds are in favor of it being shared."
"Probability may be on my side, but the human heart is a strange thing. It could just be a farce. We'll have to wait and see."
"Yeah. But, it's only around nine and a half months now." Meetra said.

"I know. You don't think I'm counting down the days to her birthday with about as much impatience as there is in the galaxy?"
"I think you are counting down to it. I also think you're a bit embarrassed by the fact that you are."
"Of course I am. It makes me feel a bit like a lecher."
"You aren't a lecher. You're just madly in love."
"I'm counting down the days until her birthday just so that I can tell her that I love her. So I can hopefully hold her close and kiss her. How doesn't that make me a lecher?"
"You aren't fantasizing about more than just kissing."
"Only due to enormous self control."
"Whoa, moving a bit faster than I thought you would, Rev. What's got you so horny for Bastila?"
"I... saw her in what that slaving bastard Davik put his slaves in."

"Wow. You have more self control than I. I had difficulty not just tearing that thing off Selena when she was wearing the same thing, and I wasn't madly in love with her."

"Meetra, it's tough enough as it is. Please don't try to get my mind stuck in the image of Bastila wearing that."

"Okay. I'm guessing you don't want me to try and fill your mind with images of her lithe naked form beneath you?"

"Meetra, I swear to the Force if you keep down this path of conversation, there will be severe consequences."
"Are you threatening me, Rev?"
"No. I'm just saying that nothing good could come from you going down that road."
"Alright alright. So, what you want to do? Go catch a flick? I hear there's something about a guy who gets his mind implanted into the body of a wookie?"
"That sounds stupid."
"You have no sense of humor, Revan. It's a romantic comedy."

"That sounds not only stupid but horrible. What does he fall in love with a wookie woman or does he have to convince his lover that it's really him despite his wookie form? And there's some villain trying to take his woman by putting his mind into that body?"

"According to this spoiler-filled review it's the later. How did you guess that?"
"You said it was a romantic comedy. They're more predictable than a movie by that one guy who makes all the movies with the explosions, short skirts, and no plot."
"That is cold. And you really don't remember his name?"
"I barely remember his movies, it's just seeing a bunch of impressive visuals move in front of you for a couple of hours."

"Fair enough." Meetra said. "Do you remember what happened, when you destroyed that mandalorian?"

"No. It wasn't conscious action. It was all instinctive. I was in a blind rage. That bastard wanted to kill Bastila."
"So, you'd do it again?"
"In a nanosecond." Revan replied.
"You have no problem with it?"
"Why does it matter so much to you?"

"Because, Rev, it isn't like you. You may have been willing to kill, seeing it as necessary, but you were never able to condone brutalizing the enemy. You always said make it quick and painless."

"That was before the enemy made it personal."

"They killed your parents and sold you into slavery!" Meetra shouted, "Trying to kill someone you have a crush on isn't making it more personal than that!"

"Why does it bug you so much?" Revan asked, her patience starting to wear thin.

"I know you, Revan, and I've never seen anyone getting hurt affect you that much."

"If that shot had been a bit more accurate Bastila would have died!" Revan growled.

"But she didn't. And instead of making sure that she would be okay you go straight for revenge. Why? It isn't like you. You weren't acting like yourself."

"I still don't get why you're so upset by this."

"Because you aren't acting like you. You were acting like some bloodthirsty psychopath. And you don't even have any remorse!"

"Because it was necessary. An example had to be made."
"You think that it won't have put Bastila in more danger? You've made it painfully obvious that you care for."

"She'll be far enough away from them that she'll be fine."

"They were able to get at least one of their men on Coruscant."

"She'll be on Dantooine. The mandalorians don't even know it exists."
"You can't be certain. They did have that traitor."
"That information wouldn't have been important to Mandalore. He would have been more focused on weaknesses in the Republic that could be exploited to facilitate victory. Republic codes, commanders who could be turned rogue, ways to sneak past Republic defenses to put assassins in a position that could take out key targets."
"And you aren't worried that one of these assassins would be able to get to Bastila?"
"She'll be fine. And, the mandalorians said that they aren't looking to kill her, but take her prisoner. To blackmail me into making bad decisions on purpose to save her."

"Would you?"
"I would probably try to get them to give me 'time to come to a decision' and use that time to track her down via the bond. If the bond is blocked, I'll have to depend on my own skills to find her. Have a look-alike stand in my place to make the mandalorians think that I'm still just considering their proposition, while I'm actually looking for Bas."

"You realize they'd probably catch on to what you're doing, and say that you have to make your choice immediately. And if it isn't what they want, that she'll die, right?"
"If they caught on I would have to play along for a short time, while having someone else determine her location. Probably you. Or, I could give her something that the mandalorians would keep at the facility that she's held, but not with her. That way I'd know the general area to look, and it wouldn't take very long to find her."

"Any long range transmissions would be detected by the mandalorians."
"I'd use a quantum entanglement communication device that transmits its location to its quantum pair, which I would have."

"How would it keep track of its location?"
"Simple tracking system like I've been putting in droids since HK-3. They're tiny, reliable, and would never be obvious. I'll just have to think of a good cover for the transmitter."
"How much would this transmitter cost you?"
"Not too much. At most a couple thousand credits"

"Do you have that many credits?"
"Yeah. I've sold all my previous HK models for a good amount of cash. You'd be surprised how little changing in the code it takes to make them not seem like machines which were designed to stealthily and efficiently kill a lot of people. Just think they're a unique model of protocol droid that just happens to know languages that no one else does. Like the language of the Sand People of Tatooine."

"Why would you program that in? And how?"

"It took a year and a half of work to find any means of translating their language into Basic. But, once I did, it was pretty simple. Just had a couple HK units work it out. They were happy, then I wiped their memory cores, modified their programming to not be assassins. Never once did I hear a story of them going nuts and killing people. That and I removed the actuators responsible for the assassination protocol.'

"How many times are you going to make an HK unit?"
"Until I perfect the design. Then I'll mass produce 'em, have my own personal army. Better than any organic military force due to infinite loyalty, no fear, higher durability, and no need for training. You give them a weapon, and they're ready to kill anything you deign hostile. Well, anything, I, their owner/creator declare hostile."

"Why am I not surprised that you're looking to build a personal army?"
"Because you know that I'll want at least a dozen bodyguards for Bastila when I'm not around."
"Uhm, two things Rev, I think that would make it obvious to the Council that you have feelings for her, and two, I think she would be bugged by having a bunch of robots following her around everywhere she goes."
"Safety matters. And I'd have it for more than just Bas. I'd have millions of 'em, a dozen guarding every Jedi in the order. That way it just seems like I want an excuse to build a lot of droids."

"You think they'd believe that, or let you do it?"
"I don't think they'd let me do it, but it would be a good misdirection. Or, I could say that I'm using her protection as a test of them."
"You really think that they'd believe it?"
"I know they would. After all, I'm the most skilled student they've ever had."
"You really think that would be enough to let you build an army of murderous guard bots?"
"They wouldn't know the droids are murderous."

"You are the strangest person I've ever met." Meetra said, shaking her head, "But I still can't believe you okay with how you killed that mandalorian."

"What do you want me to say? That I regret killing him?"
"That you have some feeling about how you killed him!"

"I feel like I went too far, but I don't focus on it. It's not like I can go back in time and undo what happened. What's done is done, so let it go, Meetra."

"Alright, alright." Meetra said.

-=0=-

A/N: Here's the latest chapter. Again, I'm sorry about being so horrible and slow. I don't know what's gotten into me. Anyways, thank you for your patience and reading this. I hope that soon I will be back to my normal writing self. Eventually everything will get back to normal. I don't know when though. It'll happen.

Anyways, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please leave a review/follow/favorite. Maybe that'll get me back to writing properly.