Koth shoved his way out of Lem's hold, angry he'd been dragged away like that. "Backstabbing ingrates," he snarled at his crew.

"It was for your own good," Lem said placatingly. "Didn't want you to do anything dumb."

"Or, you know, dumber," Tora snickered. "You might wanna cool off there, hot head."

Koth knew he must have overreacted if that was coming from Tora. "All right, get out of here. I'm going to walk around and clear my mind."

He intentionally walked away from them, wandering the hallways with no real purpose until he saw a familiar figure walking towards him. "Ace," he called out with a smile, waiting for the Cathar to meet up. He was glad to see him, if anyone could help him feel better about earlier, it was the quiet Jedi. Koth was surprised, but grateful, how quickly they'd become friends. If ever there was a time he needed a good one…

"Master Vortena," the Jedi greeted politely, but did not stop walking once he reached Koth.

"I thought you didn't use titles with your friends," Koth asked, falling into step with him.

"I don't," he replied. "I heard of your confrontation with the colonel." Koth felt his gut twist in shame. "What Col. Horner said to you was cruel, but so is what you said to her first. Difference is, you picked the fight but she was able to hit a nerve."

"Are you angry with me?" It surprised Koth how much the idea of that bothered him.

"No," Ace trailed off into a tired sigh. "I'm disappointed. I thought you were a better man than that. Excuse me, I need to meditate." Koth watched his friend walk away, pissed at himself.

"Damn it," he exclaimed, punching the wall in frustration. Stars burst in front of his eyes as his hand exploded in pain, he'd hit the wall harder than he'd meant. Now it felt like he might have broken something in his hand. "Fuck, shit, fuck, fuck, damn," he swore as he cradled it, wondering if things could get worse.

"Koth."

He straightened immediately, not wanting to turn around. He would have known she was standing there even if she hadn't said his name. When Lana was angry, like now, her presence could not be ignored. Steeling himself, he turned to face her. He flinched at the hurt in her eyes. Anger was there too, but it was the knowledge he'd hurt her that had his head hanging in shame.

"Tell me it's not true," she demanded. Her eyes were hard and her voice was cold. "Tell me the story I heard of what happened in the hanger is exaggerated."

"I'm sorry." It was all he could say.

"How could you," she demanded, anger eclipsing hurt.

"Cause I'm sick of being replaced," he answered. "Twice by you, and then just now when I find out she's old war buddies with someone on my crew."

"Koth, no one is replacing you," she softly assured. The pity in her eyes was almost worse than the hurt.

"You did," he snapped before he could stop himself. Voice full of regret, he whispered, "Sorry, that was uncalled for."

"Yes, it was," Lana replied, arms crossed defensively.

"I'm no good at this stuff," he sighed. "I'm sorry what I said in there hurt you." Sorry for how it hurt Ace, he thought. "But you're not innocent in this."

"Me," the Sith demanded, eyes narrowed.

"You betrayed me."

"Koth we've been over this…"

"I'm not talking about that, or only that. Holding back that you were working with Senya wasn't right."

Lana nodded in acknowledgement and replied, "For what it's worth, she was angry with me for not telling her about your crew. We disagreed about that. Loudly."

"Guess that's something," he huffed. Knowing she was protecting his guys helped lessen the pain a bit. "Can we get passed this?"

"I'd like to," Lana answered. "You were a good friend when I needed it, and I don't abandon my friends."

"Just need some space," he offered. When she agreed, he sighed, "Probably for the best. Will you be at the cantina tonight?"

"I planned on it, we all need a break." It went unsaid who she going to go with.

"Well, hopefully I'll see you there," he said, walking away.

Lana berated herself as she approached Aneira's quarters. It had been a mistake getting involved with Koth, she knew it at the time. Lana had always taken pride in her self-control, a trait not usually held in high regard among Sith. That meant she was even harder on herself for giving into Koth months ago.

'You were lonely and afraid,' a voice in her head whispered. She silenced it as quickly as it had come. There was nothing she could do about it now.

Taking a deep breath, she pressed the chime on the door requesting entrance to Aneira's room.

"You can come in, door's open," she heard the soldier shout

Lana quietly entered the dark room. The only light came from the waning sunlight in the large window. Aneira was seated in front of it on one of the few chairs in the room as she looked out over the Odessen landscape. The soldier didn't look away from the view as she entered, and Lana took the opportunity to study her profile. Unlike Brooke, her appearance had changed during her 5-year imprisonment. Her face was thinner, her eyes were haunted and constantly scanning for threats, and her skin had gone pale from a lack of sun exposure. She'd also recently cut her hair, a decision she'd been meaning to ask about, but wasn't sure how to bring up.

"Vaylin liked long," Aneira answered, sensing Lana's question. "Wish I could say I just wanted a make-over instead of admitting to it being because of her, but there it is."

"There's nothing wrong with your reason for changing your appearance," Lana argued. When Rory merely huffed at her, she added, "Besides, I like it shorter."

"Something I can help you with," Aneira asked, changing the subject.

"I heard about what happened in the hanger bay. I came to see how you were doing. You're upset," Lana observed.

"Not that you need to pop the cork with someone in my absence," she waved off, ignoring Lana's raised eyebrow. Facing the Sith, she clarified, "I'm more annoyed you chose Koth. Seriously, there wasn't anyone else? HK didn't have a vibrating option?"

Instead of answering, Lana crossed her arms and glared at Rory's smirk.

It quickly faded as she looked back out the window. "No, I'm not bothered you were able to find comfort with someone else. I gave up on that dream long ago."

"What dream?" The soldier said nothing, just stared off in the distance. "Aneira, talk to me," Lana pleaded.

She said nothing for a long moment. Finally, she sighed, "My family's hunting lodge on Naboo. It was small, well by other officer family's standards. Also, in neutral territory since Naboo is one of the few independent worlds out there. We could've easily settle down and continue our responsibilities with our respective sides. Couple of dogs, couple of kids, no war, quiet…" Her voice trailed off. Shaking her head, she continued sadly, "The thing about dreams is they're a double edge sword. It's nice because it can be whatever you want, but that just makes the realization even more bitter that it can never be."

"Aneira," Lana started, sadly. Clearly, she'd spent a lot of time thinking about this. It was more appealing to Lana that she was currently willing to admit.

"The dream was impossible from the beginning," she waved off. "All of my family's holdings were seized over a decade ago, this war will never end, and everything else… that was just wishful thinking."

A contemplative silence descended while Lana tried to figure out what to say.

"I mean, seriously? Koth? No one? Absolutely no one?"

"Ok, yes it happened," Lana groaned. "No, we're no longer a thing and have broken it off entirely."

"Yeah, I picked up on that in the hanger bay," Aneira snickered.

"I have nothing more to say on the matter," Lana warned.

"That's fair. I'm really not interested in details, if it makes you feel better."

"A bit," Lana confessed.

"Glad we cleared that up," Rory grunted as she pulled herself up with the crutches. "This gathering at the cantina is about to start. Shall we?"

Lana followed the soldier out of her quarters and waited until they had started down the corridor before speaking. "You've been avoiding me," Lana accused without heat.

To the soldier's credit, she didn't try to lie. "I have," she sighed. "I've had a lot of things I needed to sort through and I had to do it on my own."

"Without so much as letting me know how you were?"

"That's what Dax was for," Aneira replied. "I knew if I contacted you I wouldn't be able to focus, you've always been kind of a distraction for me."

Lana felt some of her built up tension melt away, and asked softly, "How are you doing?"

"Well enough to not be a liability."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know," she sighed again, letting her mask slip enough for Lana to see just how worn down she was, "but it's the best I can do for now. And it is getting easier."

"You know I'm here if you need anything, right?"

"I do."

"Good."

"I… may not be able to handle staying too long," Aneira confessed after a moment. "I can only handle large crowds in small doses."

Lana nodded in response, "I'll be sure to run interference if anyone says anything."

"Thank you. It's nice having someone I can rely on again. It's been so long, I'd forgotten what it was like."

They walked in silence for a bit, things feeling easier between them than it had in a while. Taking advantage of the lighter mood, she teased, "You know it's an informal get together, you could have worn something other than a uniform."

"I know," Aneira answered. "I'm hiding."

"Excuse me?"

"Something my father taught me," she explained, her voice going soft at the memory. "Did you know he was terrified of Sith ruins?"

"Didn't he start his career in the Imperial Reclamation Service?" Lana asked, recalling what she knew of the late General. He had spent several years with the Reclamation Service before getting sent to the front lines during the war with the Republic. After meeting Aneira she'd made a point to research everything she could on the soldier and her family. At first, it had just been for any tactical advantage she could find for when they were inevitably forced to fight each other. Later, it was because she was genuinely curious about her.

"He loved archeology and discovering the past, but he had seen too many times what happened around ancient Sith creations. I asked him once how he could do his job despite his fear. He answered he put on a uniform."

"I don't understand."

"At the time, neither did I," Rory answered. "He explained that all soldiers have fear, all have prejudices, all suffer from something as individuals that hold them back. We wear a uniform to hide all that divides us. When encounter an enemy, they don't see individual soldiers, but a unified force."

"I never thought of it that way," Lana said thoughtfully.

"You wouldn't," the soldier answered without malice, "Sith are trained to honor the individual. We have to think different."

"Your father was a wise man."

"Yes, he was," Rory answered, throat tight.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's ok," she assured with a small smile. "I don't get to talk of him often, it's always been somewhat frowned upon."

"Why?"

"For the same reason every Life Day I find an isolated corner and put in headphones and make sure no one knows I'm listening to Imperial festival songs. I may have no desire to return to the Empire, but that doesn't mean I want to let everything about my past go. That said, in my chosen career field, that would have made SIS or Army Intelligence look at me suspiciously, and an accusation of treason is one thing I don't want in common with my father."

Lana wasn't sure what to say in response. She normally had no sympathy for traitors, but to her the soldier next to her was an exception.

Before the silence between them could get awkward, Rory said quietly, "Before I lose my nerve, it's really good to see you." She looked down after speaking, avoiding eye contact as her face bloomed red and she bit at her lip nervously. "I've missed you."

Lana felt heat spread in her chest and smiled warmly at her soldier. "I missed you too. It's been too long since we talked about non-mission related things. Although, it does feel like it's missing something without you causing trouble in some fashion."

"Careful what you wish for," Rory warned with an impish grin.

Lana was going to ask her what she meant, but they'd already made it to the cantina. Rory made her way to the bar and hopped up on one of the barstools. Lana was close behind her as Koth approached from behind the bar.

"Here, on the house," he said to Rory, sliding an already filled glass to her. "Think of it as a peace offering for earlier."

"That's very kind," she replied evenly, looking him over. "It's only fair to return the favor, as an apology for attacking you on the Gravestone. Nicholson," she called out, never taking her eyes off Koth.

An off-duty soldier came running up. "Yes, Colonel?" His accent gave away his former Republic allegiance.

"Can you get a drink for my friend? I'd do it myself, but I'm afraid I'd spill it everywhere," she explained unnecessarily, voice conversational. Lana looked closely between the two, recognizing something was going on, but not sure what.

"Right away," he replied as he took off.

They stared each other down as the soldier got the drink. People were watching them, some trying to be discrete, others not bothering with the pretense, all hoping for some kind of showdown. The soldier was gone for less than a minute, although the tension between them made it seem longer.

"Here you are, ma'am," he said, offering a tumbler of amber liquid.

"Thank you, sergeant. As you were," she dismissed, eyes still never leaving Koth as she slid him the drink. Grabbing the one he'd given her, she raised it, "To forgetting old grievances."

"To new beginnings," he agreed as they lightly clinked their glasses. They both took a drink, never breaking eye contact. There was a palpable disappointment from on lookers when they lowered their drinks and nothing happened. Even Lana caught herself letting out a sigh of relief.

"What did you think I poisoned it, or something," Koth asked upon seeing her expression. "I mean, I did have Tora spit in it before you got here, so that's kind of the same thing."

"That's ok, I arranged to have Nicholson and his buddies spit in yours," Rory replied. Lana glared at both of them at their confessions.

"Woah, we're just kidding," Koth laughed, hands raised in surrender.

"Joke between soldiers," Rory agreed.

Lana heaved an exasperated sigh and left to greet Theron as he made his way down the steps.

"You know I wasn't kidding," Koth said once he was sure Lana was out of ear shot, both of them watching her.

"Yeah me either," she replied conversationally as she picked up her glass. Taking a drink, she made a sour face and hissed, "Tastes like engine exhaust and bad life choices."

Koth was about to reply when he looked at his drink and saw a red liquid swirling around. Looking over the Colonel's shoulder, he saw the soldier who had brought him his drink. There were four other guys with him, one who was eating something covered in a red sauce. They all raised their glasses in salute, each smirking at him.

"No balls," Rory challenged.

"Aw well," he said with a resigned sigh, "I've had worse." He downed it in one gulp, egged on by the cheers coming from the guys at the table. "Your turn," he hissed, liquor burning.

"May you be in Heaven long before the Devil knows you're dead," Rory toasted before chugging her drink to the cheers of Koth's crew. Lana looked at them both suspiciously, but decided it best if she not look too deeply into it.