Chapter 22

Old Hatreds

Utterly weak and deprived of strength, Elena lay with her eyes closed on a hard bed, her brow drenched with sweat and her chest slowly rising and falling with every breath she took. The sun was shining upon her, filling her sight with shades of red and yellow while her eyelids refused to budge from fatigue. Excruciating pain wreaked her entire body, and she did not even have the energy to call out for her loved ones who were nowhere near her.

What was wrong with her? Was she dying? Elena simply didn't have the answer. All she knew was that she was almost completely immobile, paralyzed with pain and lethargy like she never felt before.

She made an effort to twitch her fingers, and her nails scratched against the blanket which was placed over her body. As she slowly moved her right hand from her side towards her aching abdomen, her eyebrows twitched when her fingers brushed against a smooth, soft and delicate object. It was puny, and seemed to fidget with and squeeze her hand playfully. The soft sound of incoherent mumbles followed by warm giggles and laughs seemed to greet her. Curious, she struggled to open her heavy eyelids to see just what it was.

What Elena saw next was quite possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life.

In front of her was a small baby, a newborn. The sight of his grey eyes and the smile on his face as he reached out his hands towards her was enough to make her heart melt with joy. Her strength seemingly returned to her, and Elena happily took the young boy in her arms and embraced him, laying a loving kiss on his cheek, which he cooed and giggled at. Sprouts of brown hair could be seen on the top of his head, and after more closely looking at the face of the child, Elena exhaled as she realized just who was being cradled in her arms.

Her son. Revan's son.

Elena chuckled as she felt her baby poking at her soft cheeks with his fingers, and she looked around to examine her surroundings. She was in what seemed to be a hospital room, with various instruments and machines around her. A single window was to her left – the source of the light which stirred her awake. Then as she looked just to her right, she saw two figures she had completely missed as she was too preoccupied with her baby.

Side by side stood Revan and Bastila as they smiled down on her. Many months having passed since the three of them left the Order to begin their new life as a family, Revan and Bastila were respectively dressed in simple light-brown and peach-colored clothing. After Elena reached out a hand to them, they came to her bedside, Bastila holding her hand with a smile while Revan reached for and caressed the face of his young son.

Having received ample attention from his mother and father, the baby giggled as he waved his arms towards his aunt figure. Upon receiving the child from Elena's arms, Bastila brought him up to her face and smiled broadly as she marvelled at the sight of his beautiful grey eyes, so reminiscent of the ones she shared with her father. She grinned when the child squeezed her nose and drew his hand away, as if he were a natural at the age-old game played between parent and child. She shared laughs with Elena and Revan as she returned the gesture to the son of the only sister figure she ever knew and loved. All of them were convinced that this would most certainly be the start of a beautiful life together as a loving family.

So they hoped.

-o-

"Elena?" the tender voice of Bastila stirred her from her peaceful sleep in the portside dorm of the Ebon Hawk. Her blurry eyes adjusting to the light around her, Elena saw Bastila looking down at her with a relaxed smile on her face.

"Sorry," Elena said and yawned, stretching her arms in front of her while she turned over onto her side against the bed. "It's been several hours since we left Dantooine. I'm still tired from that sleepless night, I guess."

Bastila grinned and knelt down in front of Elena's bedside. Surprisingly, she looked to be in a more positive mood than expected although it was only a day after she heard about her father's kidnapping. "Judging from the blissful smile on your face, I should be the one to apologize. Just what were you dreaming about?"

Elena chuckled and looked away, staring up at the ceiling. "It's embarrassing…"

"Nothing could be as embarrassing as the fact that I was beaten and captured by lowly street thugs when I crash landed on Taris. Come on, you can tell me." Bastila gave a nudge with her knuckles on Elena's shoulder, encouraging her best friend.

"Well, if you insist," Elena smiled. "I guess I dreamed of the future. The three of us were in a hospital – you, me and Revan. It must have been a short while after I gave birth to my son. I know it was only a dream, but…I never felt happier in my entire life. He took a great liking to you as well; he even stole your nose, I might add." She gave her former student a cheeky wink, and Bastila laughed at the thought.

"Many a child's favourite game," Bastila beamed and then took on a more reflective expression. "It most certainly was mine, back when I was still with my father…"

"Never lose hope, Bastila," Elena said, holding Bastila's hands in her own. "Have faith. Things will turn out fine – you'll see."

"You say that as if you're trying to convince a child that all is not lost," Bastila sighed, her sudden shift in facial expression immediately telling Elena that the conversation was headed for a much more negative turn. "I'm not a child anymore, Elena. You've always been my guardian ever since my former master died, but you don't have to coax words with me. My father's dead, and I've come to accept that. I don't care for my mother. As far as I'm concerned, my family is dead to me."

"Your father's friend said that your mother is still on Tatooine, didn't he? Even if you don't think it'll be of any help, we should at least make an effort to find your mother and speak with her."

"She's the one who drove him to it. In my mind, she may as well be guilty of second-hand murder." The look of anger which etched across Bastila's eyes haunted Elena's mind. She had never seen her long-time friend so upset and full of hate towards another person, and it was unsettling to say the least.

"Come what may," Elena sighed, and then squeezed Bastila's hand again. "But Bastila, no matter what happens on Tatooine, I want you to know that you will always have a family in me and Revan. We both love you, and neither of us want to see you embroiled and tormented in your own rage. I know you'll need some time alone to vent, but don't let it be bottled up inside you."

"Yes, I overreacted somewhat, didn't I?" Bastila said, returning Elena's affections. "The truth is, I've been avoiding you all to some degree ever since we landed on Dantooine. I was afraid that I might unwittingly cause Revan to regain his memories at too quick a pace if I stayed around him as long as I would have liked, and I'm sure it's the same with you."

"Every day we spent on Dantooine strained me unbelievably," Elena sighed. "Every time I was alone with him, I wanted to embrace him and never let go, but I couldn't. Not until yesterday, that is. As much as I don't care about the Council's naïve views on love, the sheer desire in me was maddening."

Bastila chuckled. "I think we both know that you wanted to do so much more than simply embrace him."

Elena puffed and rolled her eyes. "You should try spending two years separated from your lover when you get one, Bastila." Her expression then turned to a strange mixture of confusion and bliss as she leaned in against her pillow. "It's odd, though. While we stayed on Dantooine, I felt fearful and nervous every time I was near him. But now…now I feel free – freer than I ever was before."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you feel it as well?" Elena shifted her head sideways and looked at her. "On Dantooine I felt like a dove trapped in a cage because we were almost always being watched by the Masters and the other Jedi. Bu now I have no such fears. I'm convinced that we don't need the Masters anymore, and that we can act completely independently during this quest. I feel it in my heart, Bastila – now that we're reunited with Revan, this is the last hurdle we must face before we can finally go about our lives as we truly wanted."

"Freedom," Bastila smiled weakly and looked downwards. "That sounds almost too good to be true. I miss our home."

"Of course you do," Elena chuckled. "You always adored that king-sized double bed Revan and I bought you using the money we extracted after busting that illegal smuggling gang on Nar Shadaa." After sharing laughs with her former apprentice, she continued. "But really, I think soon enough, I'm going to have the courage to tell him about his true identity. He'll definitely be upset that such information was kept from him, but…I think he'll understand. I know in my heart that he loves us and will never harm us."

"I'm…I'm not sure," Bastila rubbed her forehead.

"Why? What's the matter?" Elena asked.

"Well, you see, it's just that I…uhh…," Bastila stammered, and suddenly a war within her conscience seemed to consume her if only for a fleeting moment. Sudden flashes of her dark dreams came before her, showing her visions of a distant future where she ruled alongside Revan as his wife and empress after murdering Elena in cold blood on that unidentifiable beach.

You want to reign at his side, don't you?

She doesn't deserve him – she's frail and weak, and you are superior to her in every way.

Why choose a life of peace and happiness when you can have power?

All should rightfully belong to you, including the lives of those who had ever wronged you.

"Bastila? Are you alright?" Elena said, her calm gaze which would always soothe Bastila's heart in times of troubles having no such effect this time.

"I err…," Bastila replied, doing her best to respond as best she could. "I was just thinking that maybe we could tell him the truth at some point after we finish up our business on Tatooine. I wouldn't want him to be wreaked with inner conflict while dealing with me and Mission's families and the Star Map."

"Hmm," Elena tilted her head. "You're right about that. It'll have to wait for the time being."

Bastila shrugged. "I am looking forward to it, though. Us being a family again and all that. And of course, if you dream really does come true one day, it'll be the happiest moment of my life if I were to become an aunt to you and Revan's child."

"Come now – you're not going to remain single all your life, are you?" Elena grinned. "The happiest moment of your life will be when you yourself are married and have children of your own."

Bastila grimaced. "Considering the fact that I tend to attract the gazes of no-one but lecherous scoundrels most of the time, that day will probably be a long time coming."

Now finally able to relax and be at ease following their departure from Dantooine, the two women continued to reminisce about the past and share hopeful thoughts of the future for several minutes more until they were due to relieve Carth and Audrey at the cockpit.

-o-

Despite spending a great deal of his adult life on duty with the Republic fleet, Kael felt uneasy on his feet as the floor of the Ebon Hawk vibrating softly under him. Already he missed the tranquil and peaceful life of Dantooine, despite the walloping human piñata treatment he received from a rather gleeful Bastila during the first week of his training. It was a place he was completely unfamiliar with in previous years, and yet he recalled having an eerie feeling of déjà vu as he set foot on the place, almost as if he visited the planet before.

Shirking off the strange emotions and focusing on the task at hand, he walked past the central navigation computer in the main hold and into the corridor leading to the cockpit. Peering into the communications room as he passed by, he spotted T3 busily monitoring various consoles and screens, as well as backing up numerous fake ID signatures for the ship which were supplied by Canderous. Kael gave the droid a nod and a smile, receiving optimistic toots from it in response, before walking into the cockpit area and seeing Carth and Audrey seated next to each other. His lessons in training now almost second nature to him, he effectively snuck up behind them inadvertently, avoiding even the razor sharp attention of Audrey. Peering down, he couldn't help but chuckle when he saw that the two of them were holding hands while vacantly staring off into the vast blue expanse of hyperspace which streaked past the ship.

"What the…Son of a bitch!" Audrey exclaimed, flustered as she and Carth quickly separated their intimate hold once they noticed Kael standing behind them.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Kael chuckled, resting his hand on the top of Audrey's seat. "Relax. Pretty much the whole crew knows all about it thanks to Mission singing and chanting while skipping around the ship."

"I swear, that girl will be the end of me," Carth laughed softly and spun his seat around to face Kael. "By the way, are you okay? No dizziness or anything like that?"

"Huh? Me?" Kael asked, slightly taken by surprise. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Serious blood loss, remember?" Audrey scoffed almost condescendingly, as if she was mocking Kael for his terrible memory. "I still remember dragging you onto the bed along with Carth, Bastila and Elena. You were a serious mess of blood and dirt. Of course Carth and I didn't stick around for long, seeing as Elena and Bastila were so enthusiastic about ripping up your shirt to check your wounds."

Kael didn't reply, instead puckering his lips and exhaling, discretely letting Audrey know that he was being made uncomfortable by the sudden change in topic.

"Alright, alright, my bad," Audrey sighed and rolled her eyes. "But really, the two of you should really look out for one another in all of this. Mission and I have noticed just how close you guys seem to be, and that's definitely going to be a positive despite what your Council says about attachments, trust me."

As if he was in denial, Kael spoke up. "What was that?"

"You don't need to keep a stiff upper lip about it, you know," Carth said. "I mean, you like her, don't you?"

"…"

"That's a yes. Teeheehee," Audrey giggled as quietly as she could, covering her mouth. "Seriously though, you should just be open with her when you have the chance. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? It's not like the Council is going to kick you out of the Order while we're on this important quest in which your visions are an integral part. And if you ask me, she most certainly takes fancy in you. Are you telling me you never noticed her glancing at you during dinnertime and then quickly looking back down at her food whenever you turn your head towards her?"

Kael shrugged. "Well, she and I did hug yesterday morning after talking through about what happened the previous night."

"There you go, then," Carth remarked. "That's definitely a sign for you to follow. No need to keep your feelings for her secret for too long." His expression darkened, however, as a new topic came to mind. "Although…speaking of secrets…"

"What is it, darling?" Audrey peered at him, momentarily rolling her eyes again at Kael who snickered at her affectionate nickname for Carth.

"I don't know," Carth muttered, rubbing his temple. "It's just been really pissing off lately, I guess. Any time I ask Elena or Bastila about your progress, all I get is a cryptic answer. You're a real talented Jedi – the fact that you mastered in a month what many can't in years is fascinating in itself. But don't you find it strange?"

"Strange? In what way?" Kael tilted his head.

"The academy on Dantooine was filled with many Padawans just like yourself, a few of them virtually on par with you in terms of ability. But unlike you, they're being held back in the enclave as opposed to being allowed to roam like you currently are. And after you almost got yourself killed deeper in that cave, it's just damn nonsensical that the Council would even think of letting you off loose in this mission of ours."

"Carth's right, Kael," Audrey added. "Bloody odd it is, seeing a 34 year-old man like yourself zip through Jedi training as if you were a youngster whose mind is fresh and ripe for learning new things. If you ask me, it's almost as if you were simply learning again old lessons lost in memory – that's what it was seriously like."

Kael shrugged. "Maybe it's the will of the Force, like the masters say?"

Carth sighed and shook his head. "Kael, I was a father once. If there's one thing you learn through parenthood, it's how to pick out fibs and lies told by your child whenever he's done something he knows he should have done, or secretly knows about something that'll have grave consequences if it comes to light. Of course the Council aren't children, but I can still tell apart truth from bullshit when I hear it. They know something we don't, and I don't want to sit around waiting for all hell to break loose before we can do anything about it."

"Please, Kael, we want you to speak to Elena and Bastila and find out what you can about the Council's true motives," Audrey requested. "You saw what happened when we acted on shoddy and incomplete information – Mission almost died! I'd lose my mind if anything were to happen to her."

"We need to draw the line now, Kael," Carth commented. "No more of these damned 'tests' the Jedi keep setting you up with. We play it safe from now on, unless we have no other choice."

Conflict began to stir within Kael, between his heart which unreservedly trusted and believed in Elena, and his head which now began to have second thoughts about reevaluating that almost unconditional loyalty. Understanding and appreciating the just concerns of Carth and Audrey, he nodded. "You're probably right."

Audrey responded matter-of-factly. "Of course we're probably right. Now, if you don't mind, could you please go and check on Mission and Zaalbar? Don't want them rummaging through the food supplies and consuming chunks of the food and caffa. Zaalbar in particular. I also have to train Mission's melee combat skills with Juhani."

Carth gave a request of his own. "While you're at it, could you also tell Elena and Bastila to relieve us in a couple of minutes? We've been sitting here for hours and could really use a stretch."

"Sure thing," Kael took note. "By the way, how long until Tatooine? And have we received word from the main Republic fleet yet?"

"38 hours approximately, I'd say," Carth said, peering at the monitor which displayed the Ebon Hawk's current galaxy co-ordinates and planned hyperspace route. "As for your second question, Admiral Dodonna has authorized for a live feed of the course of the war to be uploaded to the central navigation computer of the Ebon Hawk. Apparently the Sith are wreaking havoc with their undercover spies and saboteurs, interrupting with our lines of communications with mines and sonic disrupters. It's taken some time, but it should come through any moment now. Just hang on and wait for it."

"Alright, let me know if anything comes up," Kael said and departed, leaving the two of them alone while he went off to check on Mission and Zaalbar's activities. Recalling that the last place he saw them was in the starboard dorm, he decided to turn left as he exited the corridor connecting the cockpit with the main hold. But then, the loud rummaging of heavy footsteps storming out of the cargo hold could be heard. An exasperated Canderous walked grumpily towards the garage through the arching corridor, not even paying attention to Kael who stood still in front of the navigation computer as he watched on.

Curious, Kael followed after the Mandalorian and caught up with him as he started to fidget with a pile of parts designed to act as complements to his favored heavy repeating blaster. "What's the matter with you?"

"It's that Cathar bitch you let in on this team," Canderous grunted. "I can put up with the other pansies you've brought along with us, but she's going to be a handful."

Unable to think off the top of his head why such conflict would brew between the two, Kael questioned him. "Just what did the two of you talk about?"

With a single fierce puff of his breath, Canderous grabbed at the mean-looking retractable bayonet complement he used to gut many a kath hound and latched it onto the bottom of his blaster's quadruple barrels. After clicking numerous times on the bayonet switch and ensuring that it was in good working order, he placed his cumbersome weapon on the workbench and turned to speak to Kael.

"You know about the Battle of Cathar during the Mandalorian Wars, right?"

Kael corrected him. "The massacre, you mean."

Canderous grunted. "Same shit. Anyway, the latest addition to your little personal harem thinks that I played a significant role in the massacre of her people on Cathar. I denied it, but the bitch wouldn't hear it. Not one word. Not exactly the best start to a working relationship."

Surprised and confused, Kael asked further. "Wait a second…You mean to tell me that you didn't play a part in that massacre? I thought from the numerous battles you told me about over the past month that you would certainly have been in Cathar, of all places."

"Why the hell would I or any of my clan participate in a pipsqueak cowardly attack on defenceless people?" Canderous narrowed his eyes, as if he were insulted by Kael's suggestion. "Clan Ordo is filled with warriors of honor. There's a difference between hunting down cowards who capitulate or run in battle and rightfully deserve to die, and killing defenceless civilians. There's no honor in the latter. It's beneath us."

"Then who was behind the massacre of the Cathar?"

Canderous looked to the side, his eyes forming a hateful glare as he recalled the events of that battle which remained in his mind as clear as if it were yesterday. "Clan Fett, led by that notorious son of a bitch Cassus."

"Cassus?" Kael's eyebrows rose. "The Cassus Fett?"

"None other," Canderous grumbled. "He was the one who personally led the attack on planet Cathar. We saw that the planet was poorly defended, and so my clan chose to strike elsewhere in the Outer Rim to test ourselves. But for the scumbags in Clan Fett, the prize was too good to resist. They killed the Cathar in the millions by blasting them from the skies using our basilisk war droids. After waves of Clan Fett's warriors landed, they began the wholesale slaughter.

"They killed indiscriminately, not even sparing newborn children. The old, frail and sick were shot through the head, and only few of the men who surrendered and were deemed fit to be sold off into slavery were spared and captured. You can guess what happened to the women. The instant we in Clan Ordo heard what was going on, we were disgusted. The Fetts had brought gross dishonor to the title of Mandalorian with their despicable and undisciplined ransacking of that planet. Our people quickly became known throughout the galaxy not as the peerless warriors we would have liked to be known as, but as pillagers, murderers and rapists. The Fetts would have had their places among our people revoked and then declared dishonorable scum and outcasts, if they weren't such damn effective warriors in combat. Mandalore only tolerated them for their prowess in battle.

"Clan Fett's 'party' continued on for three days and nights. They were drunk with euphoria that they lingered on that planet, scratching the back of the smallest rock for any escapees. Our clan as well as Mandalore's main unit had moved further into the Outer Rim and were growing impatient with the Fetts who lagged behind. In the end, we had enough and decided to send a detachment to recall Fett and his warriors. The detachment never made it back. I hated Cassus's guts for what he did to that platoon I sent. Made me want to pick him up by the throat and throw him into a sarlacc pit…"

The mention of the detachment immediately reminded Kael of the vision he had inside the cave on Dantooine. He could still vividly remember seeing the dead Mandalorian woman with the body of a Cathar child in her embrace as she lay still on the bank of the lake. It made him feel strange – made him want to have been there in person so that he could somehow save her.

Unable to shirk off his curiosity, Kael spoke about the woman. "By chance, did that detachment include a certain woman? Long black hair, stark grey eyes?"

Canderous's eyebrows visibly twitched at the mention. "How the hell did you know that?"

"I had another one of my visions when I went deeper into the cave after the rest of you left. I was a spectator of sorts, watching Revan claim his famous mask from the barren remains of that planet. The mask belonged to that woman; do you know who she is by any chance?"

Canderous turned around, sighing deeply as he leaned forward with his hands on top of the workbench. His head hung low and his shoulders visibly rose and fell with each breath he took. Finally, after several seconds of tense silence, he replied.

"That woman…was my niece."

Stunned into silence, Kael couldn't think of any more words to say to the Mandalorian. He stood there wordlessly, surprised that he was now seeing a side of Canderous that he had never seen before.

Now irritated by Kael's lingering presence, Canderous quickly assumed a more straight posture and began work on further modifying his weapon. "We will never speak of this again, Kael. Now run along and deal with that oversized cat already."

"Right," Kael weakly said and turned, heading for the cargo hold where he could hear the whooshing sound of an object being swung in midair. He left Canderous to his work and entered the cargo hold, where he saw Juhani fiercely swinging in a solo practice session one of the wooden staffs Audrey bought to train Mission's melee skills. The Cathar was seemingly in a fit of rage, not even looking at Kael while she grunted with every powerful slash she took. Her feet were nimble yet firm, not making even the slightest hint of a sound as she leapt about the room, her stealthy and silent steps enviable by even Audrey's standards.

"Juhani," Kael said firmly so that she could hear him in the midst of her training. When it was clear that she was ignoring him, he tried again, louder. "Juhani!"

"What?!" she hissed at him angrily, holding her weapon by her side with a hand that was like a vicegrip. The staff trembled in her hold and her knuckles were sheer white with rage as she looked at with murderous eyes.

Kael stepped forward, confident that Juhani would be able to control her anger. "I've spoken with Canderous about your distaste for him. I know you're angry with him, but I think I can make you understand."

"'Distaste' would be a petty word indeed, considering how much I loathe him," Juhani hissed. "If you have spoken with him, then you must know what his butchers did to my people. How can you possibly 'understand' something like that?!"

"Because Canderous wasn't there."

Juhani's eyes flashed. "What?"

"Canderous told me that his clan took no part at all in the massacre of your people. He said that there was no honor in striking such a defenseless planet, and that it was all done by the hands of Clan Fett. Canderous's Clan Ordo took no part in it at all, and his own niece was killed by the Fetts as she tried to make them stop."

"L-lies!" Juhani shook her head and puffed. "They are animals, all the same! Not one of them has so-called 'honor'. They broke into my family's home and…and—!" She stopped, finding herself unable to go on as tears began to well in her eyes. The staff dropped out of her hands and clanged onto the floor, and she collapsed onto her knees and began to weep for all she had lost.

"Ssh, it's alright," Kael said as he knelt down in front of her and placed his arms around her in a tender hug. But unlike Elena who returned his hug, Juhani instead pushed him on the chest with the intent of driving him away from herself.

"Go away," she hoarsely puffed, then spun around and buried her face against her knees. "Leave me alone."

Determined to help her avoid the darkness which had claimed her once before, Kael stood his ground. "No."

"Did you not hear me?" she spun her head and looked over her shoulder, glaring at him. "Leave. Me. Alone."

"That's not happening, Juhani. The last thing you need right now is solitude. I'm not going to let you drown yourself in sorrow and fear ever again. I don't want you to end up right back where you started when we first met."

Kael's words struck home, and Juhani's tears grew more numerous as she realized just what a disappointment she was. It was laughable that the Council had even bestowed upon her the title of Jedi Knight after believing her to have finally overcome the darkness of her heart, when it was now obvious that it was not the case.

"I will only burden you with my sorrows," she cried, staring down at the floor. "Please, just leave me be."

"You're not a burden, Juhani, and you never will be," Kael said, and then took her hands in his own. To her surprise, he pulled her up to her feet and looked straight into her eyes as he spoke further. "You saved my life after I sustained grievous wounds from your old kath hounds. What kind of person would I be if I didn't repay the favor now by looking out for you?"

"Kael…," Juhani sobbed, still too ashamed to fully meet his gaze as she looked away.

"Look," he said, gently turning her chin so that she made eye contact with him again. "I've already said to Bastila and Elena that I'm not your ordinary Jedi. I don't shy away from my emotions, and I don't expect you to, either. In fact, you can forget all about the first line of the Jedi Code, if that's the only line you ever forget. As long as I'm alive, I'm going to do my best to protect everyone who's currently on board this ship – even Canderous. I've sworn to do that not because some Master or the Code told me to, but because I know that it's the right thing to do. You saw how we all were at dinner last night, didn't you? We've all come to treat each other like family, our little group. I know it's only been about two days since we met each other, but I'm not going to treat you any differently than I do my other friends. We're in this together, and I want you to remember that."

After a few seconds of pondering and thought, the sullen frown on Juhani's face soon turned into a smile of warmth. She wiped away her tears with her hand and look Kael in the eyes as she spoke. "Thank you. Truly."

"Don't mention it," Kael smiled back. "And don't be afraid to talk to anyone else on the ship, especially Mission – she'll brighten up anyone's day in a jiff. And I know you probably won't like the sound of this idea, but…erm…" He rubbed the back of his head, knowing that Juhani wouldn't take to his suggestion with much enthusiasm. "I think you should give Canderous an apology later on when he cools down. He's a stubborn asshole and probably won't budge, so I think you should take the initiative in that regard."

Juhani sighed, making it clearly known that she didn't like the idea of reconciling with a man she despised. "As much as I dislike the thought, I will try. I owe it to you after you saved me from my own darkness."

Kael smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear it, and I'm also happy to have you with us. There's no doubt that you'll be a great help to all of us in the days ahead, not only in combat but also in keeping another pair of eyes on Mission. That girl is everywhere, and it's impossible to keep a leash on her."

Juhani chuckled with Kael, feeling at peace already as he soothed her spirit. It was a sure sign for her to follow any time she felt she was in danger of slipping back into her old hatreds.

Then, suddenly, Audrey appeared at the cargo hold entrance. Her hands lay loose by her sides and her expression was serious, bordering on lifeless. The smiles on Kael and Juhani's faces were quickly wiped away as Audrey's sense of fear began to take hold over their own minds.

"Is something wrong, Audrey?" Kael asked, stepping towards her. The blonde woman's face was much paler than usual, as if she saw a ghost.

"We need you in the main hold. Both of you. Right now," she said softly, as if she was stricken by bottomless fear. "There's trouble. Big trouble."

A/N: I was glad to have finally gotten to do some more development on Canderous and Juhani, as I've been very focused on the main triangle of Revan, Elena and Bastila. I might take out the side quest concerning Jagi altogether and replace it with something that involves Canderous, his wife Veela and the lingering animosity between Clans Fett and Ordo. I was considering having them find Mandalore's Mask, but decided against it in the end because it would be too time-consuming within the plot. Dealing with a Fett insurrection, however, isn't off the cards.

You're probably wondering what the deal with the chapter cliffhanger is all about. I can say now that we're still far off from the space skirmish I wrote about in my previous A/N in Chapter 21. I've been heavily focused on realism throughout this fic (especially on Taris), and so I've decided to also take into consideration the overall course of the war. It made no sense in the game that you could jump planet-to-planet without any worries besides random skirmishes with Sith fighters while the Republic was teetering under pressure from the limitless Sith fleet. The Wookiepedia article on the Jedi Civil War has a map of the war which clearly shows Kashyyyk within the boundaries of Revan's Sith Empire at its greatest extent, and so the skirmish between the Sith and Republic fleets will take part over that planet, with the Republic fighting to break through the Sith fleet so that Revan & co. can land to search for the Star Map.

Once again, thanks for all the reviews, etc, that you guys have given me. It's always great to hear from all of you, and it gives me so much motivation to write.

Until next time!