Quinn returned to the mess hall and told everybody that Darth Tenebra wished to question Theron alone and didn't wanted to be disturbed. Vector and Nine announced that they had to write their reports and disappeared into the conference room.

Vette had just finished her broth as Quinn replicated a noodle soup and sat next to her. Kalda stared on her soup with a worried look on her face.

"Perhaps I should look after Theron?"

"Darth Tenebra was very clear with his instructions," replied Quinn coolly. "And I doubt that Agent Heian is in danger."

"Yeah," concurred Vette, "Badesh was quite friendly before, wasn't he? For a bloodthirsty Sith I mean."

Kalda sighted. "You are right… but the last days have been really crazy. And now you even know about Theron. And it disturbs me that I actually believe you if you tell me that the Dark Council member we just ate supper with isn't going to eat the son of the Jedi Grand Master alive."

"Yeah, he wouldn't – after all he just ate a nutritious stew," said Vette and beamed at Kalda.

"So, care to tell me what you real rank is?" asked Kalda hesitantly.

"Sure! I am Grand Moff Killthemall and this is Admiral Malcontent!" Vette did a mock salute.

Quinn kept his upper stiff lip. "Indeed… Vette tells the truth."

Kalda had a harrowed look on her face. "Please, no jokes. I… can't take it right now."

Vette immediately felt a bang of guilt. At the same time she didn't understand Kalda's objection. "Hey, what's the matter? Everything is going to be right – Badesh said that he could track Revan through the force… and we all got away from that horrible cellar."

"Yes, and that is my problem – I know that it is screwed up, but I start to like you. Even him," said Kalda in a low voice and pointed at Quinn. "You are all so damn likable despite being Imps and that drives me crazy!"

"I object against…" begun Quinn, but Vette just shot him a glare and he fell silent.

"But why? You already knew that the galaxy isn't black and white – we have been over that."

"Of course I know that! I wasn't a naïve little girl when I joined the SIS and I knew damn well that some things I have done to screw over the Empire or rather people who were with the Empire were morally dubious to say the least. I did what I did! But it is much easier when you don't see your opponents as sentient beings with a story or a soul! And now I would go so far as even saying that your Sith has a heart."

"Well… you are right about that – he keeps it on display on his desk in a transparent casing," Vette said slowly and upon Kalda's grim look she quickly spoke on. "But I get what you are saying… There are some things I'm not particularly proud of, but who isn't? We simply do what we think we have to do."

"I think Agent Biss is referring to her patriotism. If you believe in something greater than you it always involves a leap of faith to overlook certain shortcomings of the system if you still believe that it is for the greater good. But you have doubts, haven't you?" Quinn asked pointedly.

Vette almost fell from her chair. Quinn's train of thought unveiled that he had doubts himself – or why was he able to interpret Kalda's words in this way?

"No, I still firmly believe that a democratic system is the only way to ensure that everybody has the same chances in life. But I question my judgement and my ability to carry on working for the SIS. In my experience there are only two types of people suited for this work: fanatics and mercenaries."

Vette took a sip of coffee. It was already cold, but she drank it anyway. "Kalda… I don't mean to be unfeeling, but could you even return to the SIS? They have discharged you and Theron because they think that you were turned. Even when we defeat the Revanites, the charges will still stand."

Kalda stared again at her soup, she had barely touched it. She absent-mindedly stirred her food with the spoon. "I know, it's just… a few days ago I was absolutely fine with the prospect of dying for the Republic – even if nobody ever knew what we had done to protect it. And now I'm thoroughly compromised. By the stars! Look at me, here I sit and whine about my life to you! A bunch of fucking Imperials!"

"Awww, but we are your fucking Imperials, aren't we?" Vette jokingly answered, then she continued in a serious voice. "Listen, Kalda, I know it sucks – I have been there and sometimes I still am. But let me impart my wisdom on you: let your gut guide you. The galaxy is a fucked-up place and there is just one thing to consider, what is right and what is wrong in your opinion. Everything else is too arbitrary to consider."

They fell silent for a moment and Vette got up and replicated three mugs of coffee and brought them to the table.

After Quinn had thanked Vette he cleared his throat. "Your philosophy is too chaotic for my taste, Vette. There has to be a set of rules to follow, a guideline so to speak."

Kalda groaned. "Stop saying things I can agree to, Major! And you Vette – stop being so nice!"

"Would it be better if Quinn was the nice one and I would say reasonable things?" asked Vette and beamed at Kalda.

"I object," said Quinn dryly. Then he glanced at his chronometer, stood up and pulled chess board from a drawer.

"Is it ten o'clock already?" asked Vette.

"It is," replied Quinn and they started to put up the chess pieces.

Kalda just sat there and watched them playing the first few moves. "It this some kind of tradition?"

"Jep, we started it about a year ago. Quinn usually wins, but I had my glorious victories too," answered Vette and moved a pawn. "Badesh also tried it once but he was terrible at it, too aggressive you know, and he got angry as I beat him. He is a sore loser."

ooOOoo

Kalda watched as they played their usual game of chess. Vette wasn't in the mood to play seriously, so she bantered with Quinn instead of focussing on the game. She enjoyed his indignant glances when she made her puns, and registered that Kalda relaxed a little bit, she even occasionally smiled at Vette's jokes.

After about half an hour Vette started to yawn, even with two additional cups of coffee she barely could keep her eyes open. Quinn had just declared checkmate and could barely suppress a yawn. Kalda followed suit.

"Our efficiency is affected," Quinn remarked and suppressed another yawn. "We should get some rest before the briefing."

Vette found the prospect of sleep very appealing. It had been over 24 hours since she had a decent rest, not counting the brief moments in which she was unconscious.

In this moment Badesh stepped into the mess hall and Quinn immediately snapped into parade rest.

"Vette, Quinn – we should start with the briefing," he said calmly.

"Of course my Lord, I will prepare adrenals right away," replied Quinn and Vette suppressed another yawn.

"Adrenals?" asked Badesh visibly confused.

"Yes, our performance would suffer because of our weariness." Quinn was already on his way half-way out of the door when Badesh called him back.

"Malavai, wait… that won't be necessary. We will postpone our briefing until tomorrow. I will use the remainder of the night to trace Revan's force signature."

"As you wish, my Lord."

Vette was relieved, of course she would've functioned with adrenals, but she welcome the down-time. "Thanks, boss!"

Badesh eyed Kalda. "You will stay on the Fury. Agent Heian and you can use our crew quarters."

"Thought as much," mumbled Kalda. Vette was sure that Kalda would have protested if she hadn't been completely beat.

"Come on, Kalda – I will show you where you can bunk." Vette yawned once again.

She shuffled past Badesh and walked down the hallway to the crew quarters. Kalda followed her.

"Ok, as these two beds are taken – but you can choose from these back there," Vette said and gestured towards the four beds in the farthest corner of the room."

Quinn entered the room. "Vette, Nina and Vector have returned to their ship – they will report in at 8 o'clock." He had two packages under his arm, and strode to Kalda to give them to her. "A set of basic clothes, Agent Biss – in case you or Agent Heian need them."

"Thanks," said Kalda visibly uncomfortable.

Vette smiled at her. "Hey, tomorrow everything will look brighter. A good night's sleep can do wonders!" She knew that her optimism was a little over the top, but Vette felt the need to say something uprising to Kalda.

In this moment Theron appeared in the doorframe. Vette registered that he looked somewhat dishevelled. She beamed at him, but to her surprise he avoided her gaze. Quietly he joined Kalda in the back of the room.

Vette sat down and pulled her boots from her feet. "Have you seen the cargo bay? Badesh did quite a number on the training dummy."

"Indeed? Tovee should have cleaned up." Quinn started to unbutton his jacket.

"Somehow I think that Tovee has been busy cleaning up the rest of the ship. Have you smelled the fresh paint in the conference room? Badesh must have gone on a rampage." Vette pulled her shirt and her bra off and threw them in the fresher next to the door.

Of course Quinn had neatly folded his clothes before he put them into the fresher. Vette smiled at this very Quinn-ish habit. Suddenly she realised how quiet Theron and Kalda were. Perhaps she should involve them in the conversation? There has been something that she had wanted to ask Theron anyway.

"Hey Theron – what does it feel like being… you know being force-sensitive?" She turned to the SIS-Agents and realised that they had turned their backs towards Quinn and herself. "What's the matter?"

Vette exchanged a quick gaze with Quinn. They were acting suspicious, what could they possibly be hiding?

"Agent Heian?" asked Quinn with a frown. He had just removed his pants and cautiously took a step toward the shelf his blaster was lying on.

Theron glanced over his shoulder and averted his gaze again. "It's hard to describe. I felt connected with everything, but it was also strange… to feel all these emotions. Long story short – it is confusing."

Suddenly something in Vette's mind clicked. Theron and Kalda weren't hiding anything – they were simply embarrassed by Quinn's and her nudity!

"Oh come on! How old are you?" Vette exclaimed. "Your eyes won't start to bleed just because you see some Twi'lek tits!"

"I can confirm that," said Quinn with his usual stuck-up intonation and put on his pyjama pants.

"Of course not!" answered Kalda. "It just seems indecent to watch."

"Whatever… so, back to the topic: Why do you supress your force-sensitivity? It could be really handy on some missions." Vette slid into her pyjama.

Theron turned slowly. "It doesn't work that way. It is more like an instinct or empathy; without proper training it's useless. It only makes my presence known to trained force-users."

"So, no cool force-tricks?" inquired Vette and started to brush her teeth.

"Most Jedi train for more than ten years before they can even lift a stone. I wasn't that patient," retorted Theron and smiled a little.

"When I was a child, back when I was a slave I always hoped that every old geezer in a robe that crossed my path was some old Jedi Sage who would discover that I was destined to become a great Jedi and would bring me somewhere nice," said Kalda and sat down on her bed.

Vette spit the toothpaste into the little sink next to her bed. "Funny, I never thought about that – as a child I thought that only humans could be Jedi. Until the Brentaal Star I didn't even know that there were Twi'lek Jedi." Vette fleetingly though about Yadira Ban but pushed the mental image of her beheaded body away as soon as it resurfaced.

Vette remembered something else that was unpleasant: As a child she hadn't fantasised about becoming a Jedi but becoming a human. She had hated her lekkus and had pictured how much prettier she would have been if she weren't a 'tail-head'. After she had joined Taunt's gang she had developed pride in being a Twi'lek – but it was very fragile:

About a month ago she had dreamed that she lived with Quinn in a house on Tatooine. They were doing some strange work with commstations, Vette couldn't remember anymore what it was about; but the thing that haunted her since that night was that in their dream-house there was a nursery. She had walked into the nursery to check upon their child… and in the crib lay a pink-skinned human baby with brown hair. Vette had woken up, her heart pounding against her rip cage, feeling nauseous.