Chapter 19

The Will of Fire

Four figures entered the anchorage, hooded and cloaked in baggy black robes, their faces completely obscured to the artificial light. The sun was just rising on their half of Nar Shaddaa, and beams of light were streaming through the windows. Work seemed to have temporarily come to a halt, most likely due to a shift change between the engineers on deck.

Dass watched as the four figures walked through the security perimeter with ease, like they belonged there, and he could feel it through the force that at least three of them were Jedi. He recognised Aayla's force signature, as well as another two signatures that he found familiar but couldn't pinpoint. The fourth had to be Naruto; he was sure of this.

The crew watched as the four continued walking until they were within arm's reach of them, looking a little nervous until they lowered their hoods, exposing their faces. The sights of Aayla and Naruto safe and sound were a visible relief to the majority of the crew. The other two they didn't recognise, but Dass did.

"Master Tholme, Master Vos," he greeted with a surprised smile as he bowed his head, "It brings me great joy to know that the two of you are safe and well."

"We feel the same, Master Jennir," Vos returned the greeting with a smile of his own.

"Order 66 took too many of us. It truly is a relief to see others," Tholme added with a nod, before his serious facade partially collapsed into a slight smirk, "You appear to have gathered some allies during your sojourn."

"Mm," Jennir nodded his head, before raising his right hand to introduce the crew, "May I present to you the crew of the starship Uhumele:Her captain, Schurk-Herren, her main pilot, Crys Taanzer, her guards and main fighters: Ko Valkier, Bomo Greenbark and Mezgraf, and her engineers, Ratty and Reza Greenbark."

The two masters bowed before the crew, much to the surprise of some. Tholme began to speak. "We thank you for offering shelter to our brother and sister. We are in your debt."

"I hear from my former apprentice that you have one hell of a pilot," Quinlan added, looking up to the blonde haired woman. "One of the best she has ever seen."

Crys blushed a little before bowing her head. "Thank you for your praise."

"I also hear that you protected her when she needed it most," he added, bowing lower, "Words cannot properly express my gratitude for what you have done for her, and what you have been forced to go through."

"I feel a little embarrassed," Aayla muttered as she leaned her head against Naruto's arm.

The blond smiled and chuckled as he placed an arm around her shoulders, "Don't be; you have no need to."

The crew did notice the exchange, but decided that there would be time for questions later. They looked back to the two Jedi Masters as they raised their heads to examine the number of people before them.

It was the older who spoke, with sadness in his voice. "Many of you have suffered, it seems."

Some flinched, but others stood firm. Schurk-Herren, one of those who stood firm, nodded in confirmation, "Indeed, though some worse than others."

Tholme nodded his head, "Many have suffered, but in my experience, dark roads do not last forever. We can only apologise for whatever suffering we caused. We thought we were doing what was best, but our own errors were great."

"There is no need," Crys spoke up, waving her hands in front of her in dismissal, "Everyone here has suffered; laying blame and pointing fingers won't help anyone."

"We have been told there was another Jedi here," Vos said after a moment of silence.

"There is," Celeste said as she stepped forward, the crew allowing her space as she advanced on the Masters wearing a simple cream coloured tunic and dark pants with knee high black leather boots. The black haired woman bowed her head in a show of respect to her superiors before she introduced herself, "I am Celeste Morne, Jedi Shadow of the Jedi Order."

"So it is true," Tholme spoke up as he stepped forward. "You were placed into stasis during the era of the Mandalorian Wars?"

She nodded, "Yes, I was."

"It must be difficult for you," Vos noted with regret.

"It is, but I have found friends who were able to hold my hand." Celeste replied with a small smile. "I do not think you should worry about my well-being, Masters. I am among friends here, and I feel that with time I shall recover."

"It seems that you are already well on your way to recovery," Tholme smiled. "However if you ever require any additional aide, just tell Aayla, and she will tell me."

"I am humbled, Master…and honoured," she replied with a bow of her head and a grateful smile.

So this was how unrelated Jedi talked to each other. Naruto watched the exchange and sighed; it was all too formal, too…rigid and unemotional for his taste. Way too much respect for people that they barely knew. He had a feeling of the characters of Tholme and Vos, but he also knew that Morne and Jennir didn't know them personally. For Morne it was easy, stuffed in a stasis pod for a few millennia, but for Jennir he guessed that the white haired rogue didn't run in the same social circles when the Jedi were still active.

Aayla caught onto his discomfort, and gave him a light tap on the shoulder, smiling cheekily as he looked over at her with a mock-frown. "Don't fall asleep now."

Naruto gave her a wry look before looking back to the exchange, "Poor Celeste looks like she's going to blow out of her boots."

Quinlan made a sound of supreme annoyance, much to the surprise of all others present. "I'm sorry, but all of this respectful talk just doesn't suit me. Lady Celeste, may I call you Celeste?" Vos asked, to which Naruto found himself smirking satisfactorily; if anything, he found Quinlan Vos to be a bit of a kindred spirit: bit of a maverick, believed respect to be earned instead of given, but could absolutely be depended on when it came down to it. Naruto mused that he wouldn't mind having a guy like Vos watching his back in a fight, and believed that Vos looked at Naruto and instinctively felt the same way.

Celeste overcame her surprise quickly, and nodded in obvious relief, "Thank you, Master Vos."

"Just Quinlan is fine," the younger of the human males waved off.

"Quinlan," she repeated before offering a grateful smile. "Yes, that will be fine. From now on just call me Celeste."

"Then just call me Magus, though I do like being called Tholme," the elder added.

"Tholme it is, then," Celeste smiled.

"Under normal circumstances we would like nothing more than to talk to you about history, maybe we will before you decide which path you will choose," Tholme added as he took her hand in his, a simple greeting, "You have suffered, but remember that although the Jedi are divided and weakened, there will be some who will help you, should you need it."

Celeste smiled softly, "Thank you Mast…err, Tholme; I'll bear that in mind, but I believe that I have already found all the help I will need," she finished while looking over at Aayla and Naruto.

"That is good to hear," Tholme replied with a smile of his own.

Any other words were drowned out by a certain female Nosaurian shouting in an excited voice, "AUNTIE!"

Aayla turned just in time to catch a very lively little reptilian female, smiling softly as the girl hugged her legs and returning the affection by effortlessly picking her up in her arms and hugging her tightly, "Hey Reza! I'm so sorry for scaring you."

The girl hummed as she hugged Aayla tightly, smiling, "You're back now, it's alright! I knew Naruto would find you, I just knew it!"

Aayla laughed lightly at her enthusiasm and childlike faith as she returned the embrace while asking in a low voice as though it was their little secret, "He does have a habit of doing that, doesn't he?"

"Mm-Hmm," the little girl hummed in delight, hugging her tightly.

"There's something a little different about you, Aayla," Bomo said bemusedly as he stepped forward, "You seem a little happier…more carefree?" he ventured.

"Really?" she asked with a wry smile, chancing a glance at Naruto who himself was grinning like a fool, but he was her fool.

"Yeah," he said even more bemusedly, narrowing his eyes to show that he knew she was drawing this out.

"Let's just say…" she began, trailing off before taking Naruto's arm in hers and leaning against him, closing her eyes and smiling contentedly as his hand clasped onto hers, "…that I've decided to go a little rogue."

"Oh," Crys was the first to notice, and she broke out into a knowing smile, "Well! I'm certainly glad to hear that!"

"What, what?" Reza repeated, pouting in that she had been left out of something, "What happened?"

"The two of them decided to…well…become a couple, little one," Her father said with a grin.

The child looked up at her father quizzically, "But weren't they always together?"

Naruto and Aayla looked at each other for a long moment before bursting out into laughter. Naruto managed to speak through the heaves as he nearly collapsed from laughing so hard, "Maybe we…were and…we…just…didn't know it! Reza…you're the…smartest…one…ah-here!"

Tholme shook his head lightly, chuckling at the now-hysterical new couple before turning to his former pupil, "Quinlan, could you help them with their business? I would like to speak to Knight Morne for a moment more."

Vos bowed his head slightly, "Of course, my friend, consider it done."

Tholme smiled as he turned his attention to Celeste, giving her a reassuring look before he led her away to one of the many side-offices in the Rangers' new hideout. Quinlan didn't watch them go. He looked to both the crew of the Uhumelethen to Naruto and Aayla before offering a smile, "Maybe with a few Jedi among you it might be easier to sell that stolen shuttle, eh?"

"They're being a little conservative about price," Schurk allowed.

"Believe me they will want that shuttle, as long as it is the type you said it was," the Jedi replied as he folded his arms and led them towards the main hanger, obviously looking for the leader of the cartel which was the Antarian Rangers, "It's just a matter of seeing what you can get for such a valuable vessel."

"Master, hold on a moment," the voice of his former apprentice made him stop and turn, looking over at Aayla inquisitively before nodding his head. The other members of the Uhumelealso turned to look at her, who was standing beside Naruto, "I have something I need to tell my friends."

Quinlan hesitated for a moment before nodding his head, "By all means."

"Thank you," she smiled a little nervously before turning to the crew, "Everyone, Naruto and I have been talking and we have... we have decided to part ways with you from here."

You could have heard a pin drop within the vicinity of the crew, all that could be heard were the noises of machinery and people in the background. All were silent and surprised by this sudden change. The first one to speak was not Schurk, nor Bomo, nor even Crys. It was Valkier. The tall Blood Carver looked at them closely, before speaking his mind to them.

"Why so suddenly?" he asked a simple question, but it was a question that was on the minds of the entire crew.

"You've seen what kinds of sentients are in the game now," Naruto spoke up in place of Aayla, knowing that this was hard for her to do. The crew of men and women before them were not just some acquaintances anymore; they were a family, and family took care of their own. Feeling this same sentiment himself, Naruto continued, "It's only going to get worse from here. Already we have been hunted by the deadliest of bounty hunters and had a run-in with the Sith. Our luck has held out until now, but it won't last forever."

"Your ship has been refitted, right down to its name and we believe that this is the best chance for you all to get out of this before our luck runs out and one of you dies," Aayla added as she stepped forward, eyes welling with unshed tears, finishing in a voice that began to break, "I wouldn't be able to take losing anyone else."

She opened her eyes to see Crys stalking over to her, and was prepared for almost anything. She wasn't prepared for a hug, and for a while she stood there, completely stunned and unable to react before her hands rose shakily to return the act of affection. The blond haired woman spoke to her softly. "Are you sure about this? I mean, really, absolutely sure?"

Aayla sniffled as she tightened her grip on the blonde woman, as she responded in the affirmative, "I am."

"Then I have no right to stop you," Taanzer replied in a tear-filled voice, giving Aayla a squeeze before bringing her out to arms length and looking her over, allowing a sad smile to cross her lips, both women now crying freely, "Part of me always knew this day would come, but I still want you and Naruto to stay with us."

"There is a part of me that wants to stay here, with all of you, as well" Aayla admitted.

"Then why leave?" the pilot asked, "We'll work something out."

Aayla shook her head, "No, Crys. It's because we love all of you that we've made this decision. It will only get more dangerous from here. The Empire will stop turning a blind eye to us eventually, and if we do stay, it will make the rest of you walking targets for every mercenary and bounty hunter from here to Coruscant and back. On top of that, there are enemies that are hunting us that are far more dangerous than any mercenary or bounty hunter. I wouldn't be able to live with putting you or anyone else in the crew in that kind of peril…knowing I could have prevented it…"

Bomo sighed, patting his daughter's head as she gripped onto his shirt and looked at the scene with big, tear filled eyes, "I knew this day would come…" he said sombrely, "…I just knew it."

"No," Reza mumbled, and Aayla heard her. The Twi'lek offered Crys a sad smile before disengaging the embrace and walking over to the tiny Nosaurian, crouching down as she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "You can't leave, Auntie!"

Aayla offered her a wan smile, "I have to, sweetheart."

"Why?" she sniffled.

"To protect you, and your father, and everyone else…" she replied, reaching out with a hand to push back one of her clawed hands, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you were hurt because someone was after me and Naruto; it would be too much to bear."

"Auntie," she sobbed. Reza ran into the taller woman, latching her arms around her as Aayla fell into a sitting position and hugged the little girl back. All that could be heard from the two was the child crying and Aayla quietly shushing her, whispering into her ear as she cradled the sobbing reptilian.

Shurk looked over at Naruto, "You're both sure of this?"

Naruto nodded, "We are. Thank you - all of you - for everything. But we can't drag you all any further into this."

Bomo growled as he folded his arms, "I don't like this one bit."

"Neither do I, my friend," Naruto replied before looking over at Dass, "Help Crys find her son, and protect these people with your life."

Dass sighed before extending his hand, watching as the taller human gripped onto his wrist and shook, "I don't like this, Naruto."

"Me neither," Naruto admitted in a resigned fashion.

"The same goes for you, you know," the white haired Jedi Master replied as he looked over to Aayla and Reza.

"You don't even need to tell me," Naruto grinned.

Darth Vader knelt in his personal balcony, not looking up until he saw the flickering of light which signalled his master's appearance before him. The Emperor looked exactly as he remembered, hooded and cloaked. The features upon his face that were not shadowed by his hood were pale, wrinkled and scarred. Vader bowed his head, waiting for his new Master to notice his presence.

"Rise, my apprentice," the old man beckoned, and the Dark Lord did so, "What news of the rebellion on Utapau?"

"Quelled, my master," Vader replied, head still bowed before the hologram, "The Pau'ans and the Utai fought well; it took the annihilation of five major settlements before they agreed to unconditionally surrender."

Sidious nodded his head, a smile ghosting across his face, "Very good. Your job there is done. Now, I have another assignment for you, Lord Vader."

"What is thy bidding, my master?" The Dark Lord replied, bowing his head.

"We have been having problems on Jabiim," the Emperor said.

"I thought Jabiim was completely subjugated?"

"As did I," his master replied. "But circumstances seem to have changed. We have lost just over forty clones in the last month, twelve of whom were of the ARC Division. The circumstances behind their deaths remain a mystery, but they all seem to have been killed in the same manner…by one man. A complete briefing awaits you upon your arrival to the Jabiim System. I will be sending a new detachment of warriors there, and you are to lead them, and investigate who is killing our troopers."

"And if I find this man?"

"If he is unwilling to speak, dispose of him," Sidious said simply, "With this one I sense a disturbance in the force, a power which I have only felt once before now. You should know this well Lord Vader. This is similar to the one you failed to capture a few weeks ago."

Vader remembered, and he silently cursed his master for reminding him, "Yes, my master."

"I sense he is not as strong as the one before, but he should still prove a challenge even to the likes of you, my apprentice," Sidious continued in a grandfatherly voice, "Do not hesitate; I would rather this person be brought before me alive, but I will accept a body."

Vader nodded, "I will leave at once, my master. I will not fail you again. I will bring this one before you either in chains or dead."

"See that you do, Lord Vader," Sidious said with conviction, "I will not accept failure again."

"If I may ask," the dark lord spoke up, catching his master's attention. "Who is it that you will be sending?"

"It is simply an experiment, Lord Vader…" said Sidious, with an ominous smile, "…an experiment under your command."

He was gone, hologram fizzing out of existence in an instant.

Vader stood, spun on his heel and exited the chamber, back towards his own quarters on his personal flagship. His mind continued to go through just what this presence his master felt was, and how powerful it was compared to that blond-haired man he had fought barely a few weeks ago; a man who had devastated him in a few moves; a man who, if he used his full power, could rip apart a few battalions worth of soldiers before he was stopped.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Vader could not mask his interest. Was this Uzumaki as powerful as they came, or was he simply a typical example of what those who called themselves Shinobi were capable of? It was an interesting question. Naruto could have killed him in that chamber, but he chose not to, and the dark lord wondered why. It wasn't out of a sense of mercy, or maybe it was, but Vader felt something more, like he meant what he said when he stated he was in a hurry. There was someone more precious to him that meant so much more than finishing off an opponent.

He cared for one of two Jedi in that room and he could guess that it was not the male and definitely the other, the one he himself knew as a friend and comrade once, not so long ago. This Naruto Uzumaki was worried for Aayla Secura. Vader's mind began to explore the possibilities. She would be his weak point, and something he could take advantage of in the future if he was given even half the chance. A piece of him buried under the darkness and turmoil protested to this, protested to hurting her. She was his friend, there for him when she was able, a true friend.

Vader buried this voice deep within his subconscious. None of those who called themselves Jedi could truly be his friends, and even if they were, he wasn't one of them. Not anymore. Anakin Skywalker was dead and gone. Now all that remained was him: Darth Vader. He was all that remained, and the Jedi were his enemies from now till kingdom come.

Cristo sighed as he leaned against the chair, showing Schurk-Herren, Aayla and Quinlan the small duo of data-cards sitting within the confines of a small black case. "These cards are completely independent; untraceable to Imperial security systems. Deposited within each is a lump sum of one hundred thousand credits each, one for you Mr. Herren, and one for the Jedi."

Schurk nodded as he plucked the small device from its place, looking it over before smiling over at Quinlan, "My thanks to you, my friend."

Vos nodded before turning back to Aayla, who was holding her own credit chip between her slender fingers and looking it over, "So what do you two plan to do, now?"

"Haven't thought that far ahead, yet," she replied.

"You can still travel with us," Herren offered.

"And put you all in even more danger?" Aayla smiled softly back. "Thank you Schurk, but this is for the best."

"You could travel with us, you know." Vos said.

"Can't do that either, four Jedi and a Shinobi would bring too much attention, and I won't be putting you, Khaleen or my godson in any danger."

"Then what areyou going to do?" Vos sighed in exasperation. "This is not like you Aayla; you usually have some sort of plan."

"I haven't had the chance to come up with one yet," Aayla shot her master a slightly annoyed look.

"Then why not buy a ship?"

The four in the room looked over to see Naruto leaning against the doorway. It took Vos to come up with a reply, "A what?"

"A ship," Naruto repeated. "You have Aayla who is a first class pilot, and me who ain't too shabby. If we had a ship we could keep ahead of the bounty hunters and Imperial goons."

"It is a good idea," Schurk allowed.

"It is," Aayla allowed for a moment, before looking over at Naruto, "But there is one little problem with your prognosis."

"And that is?"

"You're not a pilot." She stated flatly.

"I'm hurt by that remark. I could do a barrel roll in an Imperial shuttle," Naruto shot back lightly.

"It's not your flying that's the problem."

"Then what is the problem?"

"You can't land," Aayla said bluntly.

"I can," he replied stubbornly.

"Hitting the ground is not the same thing as landing, Naruto."

"It is the same. We're on the ground aren't we?"

"Yes, but we wouldn't survive a nose dive into the dirt," Aayla sighed. "Then there's the problem with having no income to maintain whatever ship we may buy."

"We'll get money somehow, maybe through smuggling."

"Smuggling?" Aayla asked wryly.

"You want a way to undermine the Empire and stay out of its clutches at the same time, right?" Naruto grinned broadly, "Then spit in their faces, smuggle whatever you can through their defences, and make them look like morons! If you don't like smuggling we could try independent work, transport, bounty-hunting, mercenary work. Become an outlaw! I hear it's fun and pretty productive."

"Is he serious?" Vos whispered.

"I'm afraid so," Aayla replied as she watched her love continue with his rant, smiling a little in mirth. "Mercenary... his Shinobi blood is talking."

"I've made a mistake," Quinlan quipped in sarcasm. "I should have kept him away from you."

"Too late," Aayla chided before turning her attention back to Naruto.

"Plus we are already talking with someone who deals with starships. I'm sure we'll get a decent ship," Naruto added, broad grin remaining in place.

Cristo looked at Naruto for a moment before switching his field of vision back at Aayla. "I think I have a ship in mind. I'll part with her for forty thousand Imperial credits. She's pretty basic though."

"Oh yes," Naruto smirked in triumph.

"Let's see what the ship is first before we throw our money at it," Aayla said as she pocketed the data-card and stood up.

"So I take it your going with his idea?" Schurk asked with a mirthful shake of his head.

"Only as far as buying a ship," Aayla responded. "We'll see what we can do from there."

"You mean buy a ship and just wing it?" Vos asked with a chuckle.

Aayla sighed, not liking the prognosis but knowing that was basically what they were doing, "Yes…we'll just wing it."

"This just seems to be one outrageous surprise after another," Tholme muttered as he sat in his chair, looking over at an apprehensive Morne. First, there was this Naruto character, who was not a Jedi nor a Sith but who was able to use abilities similar to, but not entirely of, the force, and now there was this woman sitting across from him, a woman who had been imprisoned in a sarcophagus for a few millennia, who had been forcefully taken by a long dead Sith lord and who would have probably died or gone mad had not the aforementioned "character" stepped in to save her.

"I can understand if you don't believe me," Celeste said, sighing as she leaned against the chair. Remembering the past and forcing herself to retell of her ordeal seemed to be difficult for her, Tholme had even told her that she could stop at any time, but she continued on regardless. She told him everything, every single piece of her ordeal from her first meeting with Zayne Carrick until the moment she had been freed of the Murr Talisman.

"I believe you," the elderly Jedi Master said, gaining their attention. "During my last year at the academy I did a dissertation on the life of the young man you mentioned, Zayne Carrick. You are the spitting image of Celeste Morne, and I sense that you are not lying. Your story also checks out, that you were trapped in a Sith sarcophagus built by Dark Lord Dreypa, your description of that stasis pod matches that of his creation exactly."

"I see," Celeste allowed before exhaling a sigh of relief. "If I may ask, how did Zayne... "

"How did he live?" Tholme finished for her with a wry smile.

"Yes…I wish to know," she replied softly.

"There isn't much information on him after he left the Jedi for good…" the elderly Jedi master allowed, "…but I was able to uncover a photograph of him later in life. He married an Arkanian offshoot named Jarael, and had two children. I was able to find nothing else on him."

"So he had a good life," Celeste allowed herself to smile, "I'm glad to hear that."

"So what do you plan to do now?" Tholme asked, watching as her dark eyes met his.

"I don't know," she allowed, looking down. "This is not my time. I know no one and I put those I may travel with in danger. I have no doubt this Darth Vader still believes I have the Muur Talisman. He will continue to look for me to claim it."

"But you cannot just disappear alone," Tholme said, "I will not allow it. You are a young woman who has been put through a great ordeal. At the moment you do not need solitude, and simply disappearing to live in a lifeless wasteland will do you more harm than good."

"Then what am I to do?" Morne asked as she clasped her hands together and leaned her forehead on them. "I'm still tainted by Muur and his power; I would be a danger to anyone who travels with me."

"No, you wouldn't," Tholme replied firmly, "You are not that weak a person. If you were then you would have been unable to successfully repulse that Sith lord's advances upon your mind. You are not as weak as you believe yourself to be; not nearly so."

Morne looked up at him with a smile. Her eyes were shimmering with tears yet to be spilled, "You are a good man, Master Tholme."

"You are too kind," the elderly Jedi replied with a good natured smile.

"But even so, I am still a danger."

Magus sighed, "You are a stubborn one. You'll fit in with our band quite nicely."

Celeste could only blink. He wasn't going to let her do what she felt she needed to do: vanish into the wilderness so she couldn't hurt, or be hurt, by anyone else. Celeste, at this moment, felt that she would just be extra baggage to anyone who took her in; that anyone who showed her any kindness would be in danger of being targeted by the Sith and their new Empire.

"The crew of the Uhumelewould be delighted to keep you on," Tholme consoled, "I doubt they'd let you go to wallow in your own grief."

Celeste saw the faces of the crew of that freighter, and smiled, before shutting her eyes and shaking her head, "No, I can't. My presence would only bring pain and loss to them. I cannot put them through that."

'What you really mean is, "I don't want them to hate me," isn't that right?'Tholme mused to himself as he sighed, knowing that was exactly what she was thinking and feeling. He knew from experience that such thinking was poisonous to the mind as well as the body.

Bearing this in mind, Tholme didn't let up, "Then why not travel with us? We are Jedi like you and we will not allow one of our own to suffer needlessly."

"One of your companions has a wife and child, and my staying with you would put them in even greater danger. I could not live with myself if any of you were hurt because of me," Celeste replied with a shake of her head, "Thank you for your concern, Master Tholme."

Tholme sighed and growled in frustration before offering her another alternative, "Then what about Naruto and Aayla? They will be leaving the Uhumelecrew and striking out on their own. They would probably be more than happy to take you along."

Celeste looked up at the old master in surprise, unaware that those two would be splitting from the main group. A part of her, deep down, wanted to go with them, wanted to stay with Aayla and Naruto, who had saved her from both the talisman and her own feelings of guilt and suffering; who were there for her when she needed someone to just hold her and tell her that she would be alright.

"I can't," she shook her head again.

"Why not come with us?" It wasn't Tholme who spoke this time. Both Jedi looked over to the door in time to see Naruto walking into the room, giving the woman the most piercing look one would ever attest to seeing.

"Because all I would do is bring you grief," she replied after a moment of silence.

"Bullshit," Naruto answered quickly and smartly.

"What?" Celeste asked, surprised at such an answer.

"I said bullshit," Naruto replied with a small smile. "I am not willing to leave you alone after what you've gone through. Aayla feels the exact same way. The last thing you need is to isolate yourself from the world."

"Naruto, I-" Celeste tried to speak, but she couldn't utter another word.

"I'll make it easy for you," the blond said as he took a step forward, oceanic eyes not leaving her dark orbs, taking and holding them in place. "You either come with us willingly, or both of us come to you and drag your sorry ass onto our ship. It's your call, but I would rather have you walk onto our new tub willingly and on your own power instead of being dragged kicking and screaming."

That was another surprise. Naruto wasn't going to take no for an answer, he either took her with him and Aayla or they would drag her along for the ride and Celeste could see in his eyes that he wasn't messing around with her.

He meant every word.

He smiled, "We're friends now, right?"

"Yes…" she uttered before she knew it, but she wasn't surprised by her response. It was what she had wanted but attempted to hide. She wanted friends now more than anything, "…yes, we are."

"Don't friends help each other when they're hurting?"

"Yes, they do," she allowed.

"Then let us help you," Naruto almost pleaded, "You may think you can do this alone, but take it from someone with experience: You can't get over this alone. Let us help you."

It seemed like an eternity to Celeste before she answered, for the longest time imaginable she had been fighting for control of her sanity and her mind. She had thought all hope was lost. Naruto and Aayla had taught her differently. Here were two people who wanted to help her; not only that, but they both knew a thing or two about loss, Naruto, most of all.

"Alright," she allowed after a moment, allowing a smile to grace her lips. Maybe there was hope for her in this new galaxy after all, "Alright, I'll go with you."

"That's my girl," Naruto smiled, "We'll be in the main room, looking over that YT-1300 freighter, if you're not there in five minutes we will come back to drag your sorry ass on board."

That surprised her. He talked as if he were talking to her through a comlink or a holo-wrist. "What?"

Naruto could only smile before he vanished in an explosion of smoke which made both Jedi jump from their chairs in surprise. The smoke cleared quickly, leaving only the two Jedi in the small room. Tholme could only continue to stare at the spot where the Shinobi had been.

"What in the name of the force was that?"

"I think that was a clone," Celeste murmured in response, before smiling, "I think I'll take him up on that offer."

"This is a hunk of junk," Bomo growled as he listened to the reports sent to him by Crys, Ko and Mezgraf. They had reported that the ship was pretty new and in good nick, but it was as basic as it could get. All of its systems were basic, its engines were factory standard and there wasn't a single weapon on her besides chaff and flares.

"Watch your mouth," Cristo growled a little. "She may not have many gadgets but she is a new ship."

"Couldn't you have at least armed her a little though," the Nosaurian scoffed. "No torpedo tubes, no defensive laser turrets... heck she has little more than basic ray shields. One blast from a turbolaser turret would reduce her to ash."

"We only got her recently, and it's the only ship we're willing to part with," the Colonel shot back mildly in irritation. "You can wait for us to do such defensive modifications if you like, but it'll cost you another twenty thousand credits and it'll take a month to do. We're a little low on money ourselves you know."

Bomo growled at the man.

"We'll take it."

Bomo looked over to see Aayla smiling as she looked over the freighter from a distance, a grinning Naruto by her side. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Aayla replied before looking at Cristo. "She is in mint condition?"

"Of course," the Colonel replied.

"Then we'll take it." Naruto added, grinning as he looked over the ship.

"You're going to have to find a place to upgrade her," Bomo sighed.

"Then we will," Aayla replied before looking at the Colonel. "Do you know anyone willing to upgrade a freighter without leaving much paperwork?"

Cristo smiled. "I think I could give you a couple of potential engineers."

"Great, then let's get her started up," Naruto smiled before something happened, his eyes became dilated for a split second as his dispelled clone returned his memories to him, then he grinned.

Aayla knew what that look meant, as well as Bomo who was smiling, "Well?"

"She said yes," Naruto replied as he wrapped an arm around his loves shoulder and pulled her in for a half embrace. "We have a third crew member."

"How long did you give her?" Aayla asked with a knowing smile.

"Five minutes before we find her and drag her along," Naruto shrugged. "That's plenty of time to get here."

"This really is it, isn't it?" Bomo asked with a sigh before giving the couple a wry look. "Don't forget to write. It'll mean a lot to Reza."

"I won't forget," Aayla smiled, "If you ever need help then just call."

"Always," Bomo grinned sadly, "We'll miss you, both of you."

"So have you decided on a name for her?" Quinlan asked as he looked over.

Aayla thought for a long moment before looking over at her love; her mate, "Naruto, you have the honour."

Naruto smiled as he looked at the ship, thinking for a moment before his smile intensified to a grin, "The Will of Fire."

Aayla looked at the ship for a moment before smiling, "I like that name."

Author's Note 1: Alright I've tried to do it, I've tried to keep to a schedule, but now I have made a decision, to hell with a schedule. I'll just write them up, have them beta-read and then upload them after I do a second read. So here is the next chapter of the Good Left Undone, a day earlier than last week.

Author's Note 2: Right so I've received a lot of reviews on the Lemon topic I brought up last chapter, and the responses have been fairly positive, albeit with a lot of advice for caution and patience to make sure I get this right.

The poll itself now has a total of 136 votes, these are split into 116 for, 7 against and 13 not sure, so that makes it pretty clear what the people want. I should keep the poll up for another week or so, so if you haven't voted yet it'll still be on my main page.

The reviews and PM's, while also edging to the positive, were mainly asking me to go with my main idea, which is uploading the uncut chapter separately from the main story, to make sure that if I can't cut it as an erotica author then the main story won't be ruined, so that is what I am going to do. Personally I think I can do it, but I may need to consult a few erotica writers on this site beforehand.