On the day of Seth's official induction into the Jedi Order, there was a general chaos that settled over the crew of the Ebon Hawk which closely resembled that of parents and children trying to get out the door of their home for a family outing. Seth was swimming in a set of too-big Jedi robes he'd been given as he crammed himself in the refresher to try and catch a glimpse of his reflection as Carth bent over the sink, brushing his teeth.

"Hang'n a minuff," the Republic captain mumbled around his toothbrush, spitting promptly and rinsing his mouth. "You've got time, no need to crowd me."

"We do not have time!" Bastila called from the main hold, twisting her hair into a bun for the umpteenth time, checking her reflection in a datapad, and undoing the bun again in a frustrated huff. "The ceremony is supposed to start in twenty minutes. And if we aren't at least ten minutes early, the Council may as well consider us late."

"What are they gonna do, start without him?" Mission said with a smirk. "This whole thing may as well be running on Seth's timetable."

Bastila frowned as the Twi'lek entered the main hold, dressed in her usual spacer's pants and vest. "You're not wearing that, are you?"

Mission crossed her arms over her chest and gave an exaggerated eye roll. "If there was a dress code for this event, you should have mentioned it sooner."

"They didn't have any sizes smaller than this?" Seth cut in, gesturing down at the excess material of the robe pooling around his feet.

Bastila pinched her nose in frustration. "Seth, what could possibly have changed between now and the last time you asked that question?"

"I dunno, maybe someone stumbled across a surplus of Jedi robes in the last hour?" He bit his lip under the older Jedi's withering glare. "But these are great," he amended, ignoring the roll of Bastila's eyes as he verbally backpedaled. "They work great."

"I don't see the need for all this pomp and circumstance," Canderous grumbled, wedging a cigarra between his teeth and crossing his arms over his broad chest. "Why can't they just slap a rank in front of your name and be done with it?"

Bastila, now on attempt number nineteen of her bun, didn't bother to look away from her reflection as her nimble fingers made quick work of her hair. "Because, Canderous, the Jedi are not a bunch of brutes ready to send their ranks off to destroy Force-knows-what in some bothersome coming-of-age trial. There are oaths to be sworn, traditions to be upheld, rites to be–"

The Mandalorian cut her off with an irritated groan. "You know what, princess? Forget I asked."

About half an hour later, with no small amount of incessant nagging from Bastila, the crew had made it to the Dantooine Academy Council Chambers to watch as Seth knelt low before Master Vandar. The small green Jedi activated his lightsaber, a flash of emerald hovering over each of Seth's shoulders as he was declared an official member of the Jedi Order. The lightsaber was held with much more precision than Seth would have expected from someone Vandar's age, and he could feel the heat emanating from the blade as it was held close to his body.

As he stood to his feet, Seth was consciously aware of the change this was going to have on his life. He was no longer under the command of admirals and generals, but of masters and knights of an ancient order he both respected and feared.

He wasn't quite sure if he liked the change, but if that was what was demanded of him for the sake of the Republic, he sure wasn't going to be the one to give them no for an answer.

"Now," Vandar's elderly voice cut through the silence, "I"m afraid we must cut short any pleasantries with your induction into our order, although we are proud to accept you into our ranks. The truth is, your rushed training and promotion to Padawan was necessary for us to send you out on a quest to investigate with Bastila and discover the secrets behind these dreams you've been sharing… these visions."

"After sitting down with Bastila and poring over the details of your shared visions, we've identified the likely location that the two of you have been seeing in your dreams here on Dantooine," Master Vrook explained. "While we've believed for years that the location housed only burial mounds, it's possible that things may not be what they seem."

"We've sent another Padawan to investigate, but he has not returned," Vandar continued. "And it is our hope that you and Bastila, with your combined visions and experience, will be able to come back with the answers that he was unable to unearth."

Seth swallowed hard. While he was looking forward to getting out of the confines of the Academy and to move with some sense of directional purpose for the first time since his training began, the fact that he, as the newest member of the Jedi Order, was being sent on a mission that one of the more seasoned Padawans hadn't even returned from was a cause of both suspicion and concern.

Bastila stepped up next to him, now his equal in rank. "We'll look into it, Master Vandar."

He may not have liked it, but Seth knew orders when he heard them. Despite himself, he offered the Jedi Masters a crisp salute. "Right away, sir."

The 'burial mounds' terrified Seth more than he cared to admit. As he, Bastila, Carth, Mission and Zaalbar neared the structure, he felt a cold sweat break out across his forehead. Through the Force, he could feel the darkness that emanated from the space that had so often plagued his dreams over the past two months. He glanced over at Bastila, who was striding purposefully, if not a little stiffly, towards the ominous stone doors that instantly brought him back to his nightmares. "I'm not so sure about this," he whispered to her.

"It's not a question of whether you're sure or not," Bastila replied firmly, not bothering to bring her volume down to the level of discreet privacy that Seth had started the conversation with. Seth winced as he felt Carth, Mission and Zaalbar's eyes level on the two Jedi at the front of the pack. "We follow the Council's orders, not our feelings."

"You can't tell me you're not at least a little wary of what's on the other side of those doors," Seth responded. "You saw the visions too. There's something dark in there. Something that caused Malak and Revan to never go back. Remember?"

"Oh, quit whining like a gizka and open the door," Mission said dismissively, and Seth cringed visibly at the shot she'd taken with her words. "Let's just get in, and get this over with."

With a sigh of resignation, Seth glanced over at Bastila, who gave him a curt nod. Together, they reached out with their hands and their minds to call upon the Force in unison, and the door slid open with rising and falling stones just as their dreams had depicted. It wasn't long before they'd created an open archway leading in to a dark, uninviting cavern. "Well, it's been a real pleasure knowing you all," Seth said sarcastically, unsurprised when Bastila and Mission brushed by him without so much as a passing glance and Zaalbar pushed him through the doorway with a pitying grunt.

He felt a chill run down his spine and goosebumps prick his skin, and as Seth pulled his jacket tighter around himself, he couldn't help but wonder if he was legitimately chilly or if the dark side's cold presence was making itself more apparent now that they'd abandoned the sunlight. As they ventured further into the structure, the long corridor gave way to an open room adorned with deteriorating obelisks covered in strange symbols from an archaic alphabet. In the center of the space sat a disabled, spider-like droid, its timeworn metal frame looking nearly rusted over.

Carth stepped forward to examine the droid, his hand resting cautiously on his holstered blaster. After a quick once-over, he turned to the rest of the group with a shrug. "Looks broken."

Seth let out an unsteady breath. "Good, because that thing really is giving me the creeps." At the sound of his voice, the droid emitted a strange, guttural noise, and the youngest Jedi recoiled sharply, his hand flying to his lightsaber. "I thought you said the kriffing thing was broken!" he shouted.

In response to Seth's raised voice, the droid shifted in tone and pitch, letting out an ear-piercing wail that had Carth throwing his hands over each of his ears in a vain attempt to block out the noise. "What the hell is that?"

"I think it's trying to communicate with us," Bastila responded, following Carth's suit and covering her ears as the wailing died down. "It's cycling through different languages."

"It's too bad it can't cycle over to something we can actually understand," Seth grumbled.

The droid shifted its tone and pitch once more, and Seth's eyebrows shot upward when he caught familiar, albeit incredibly formal, words in the droid's processed sentences. "[I am capable of speaking any of the languages spoken by the servants of the Builders.]"

"Maybe I spoke too soon," Seth thought aloud, turning to Bastila. "I recognize this language."

"As do I," she replied, eyes lighting up in a way he'd rarely seen now that they were making forward progress in the case the Council had assigned to them. "It sounds like an ancient form of the language spoken by the Selkath on Manaan."

"That would explain the variant in dialogue," Seth observed with a nod of understanding.

Mission frowned. "Hold up, why would a droid here on Dantooine be programmed to speak ancient Selkath?"

"It's not a water-based world," Carth added in agreement, scratching at his beard in absent-minded confusion. "The Selkath would have never settled here, even if they did move around in their ancient years."

"It mentioned being able to speak any language spoken by the servants of its' builders," Bastila mused. "Though if the Selkath were ever enslaved, it had to have been ages ago."

"Damn, so this droid must be insanely old," Seth responded, glancing sideways at its rickety framework.

"[My chronological circuits have marked over ten full revolutions of this system's outermost planet around the sun since the Builders left me here to guide their followers to the Star Forge]" the droid responded to Seth.

"Ten full revolutions would take more than twenty thousand years," Bastila said, shock and disbelief apparent in her voice. "If that's true, this droid is nearly five thousand years older than the Republic itself! There must be some mistake."

"[That would be impossible,]" the droid told her, and Seth could have sworn that between the robotic processing of a foreign language and ancient dialect, he could make out a smug undertone. "[The Builders constructed my chronological circuitry using the technology of the Star Forge itself. My calculations are infallible.]"

"That's a hell of a lot of confidence," Carth remarked.

"What is the Star Forge? And who are the Builders?" Seth asked.

"[The Builders are the rulers of the galaxy. The Star Forge is the glory of the Builders, the apex of their infinite empire. It is a machine of invincible might, a tool of unstoppable conquest.]"

"As… detailed as that was… what is it? What does it do?"

"[The… The Star Forge is the glory of the Builders, the apex of their infinite empire. It is a machine of invincible might, a tool of unstoppable conquest.]"

"The droid obviously isn't programmed with the knowledge we seek," Bastila said with a sigh. "It seems as if the Star Forge is some kind of weapon, although it truly could be anything. Either way, I don't doubt that this is what Revan and Malak came here to seek out."

"[The ones who came before you… neither slave nor Builder… proved themselves worthy to seek out the Star Forge and its infinite greatness,]" the droid told them. "[They discovered the secrets of the Star Forge locked beyond the sealed door behind me. But there was another who failed to unlock those secrets, and paid the ultimate price.]"

Seth followed Bastila's gaze as it shifted to the corpse of an older man lying beyond the droid, and through their bond, he felt the weight of her sadness. "The droid must be talking about poor Nemo. The council sent him here to investigate ahead of us… and it cost him his life."

The older Jedi was one Seth hadn't recognized from his short time at the Academy, but with Bastila's pain he felt through their bond, he may as well have been an old friend. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and to his surprise, she did not shrug it away. He heard her draw in a deep breath, expelling the air through her nose as she pursed her lips, before she turned back to the droid. "What must we do to prove ourselves worthy of the information we seek?" she asked tersely.

"[Pass the tests awaiting you in the proving grounds to the east and the west, and the secrets beyond the sealed door will be yours to access,]" the droid responded.

Seth glanced at the doorways to each of the rooms the droid had pointed out, his eyes narrowing just a bit. "What kind of tests are we talking about?"

If the droid had an answer, it did not reveal it as Bastila brushed past them to head for the doorway to the west. There was a small click as Mission flicked off the safety on her blaster, and at the noise, the others drew their weapons as well. A sense of uneasiness passed over the group, and this time, nobody said anything to Seth when he nervously opened the door. The room beyond was deathly quiet and nearly empty aside from an ancient-looking console on the far wall. Seth approached it cautiously, then cocked his head as his eyes passed over an unfamiliar display and a strange array of buttons and dials.

"Uh, anyone have any idea how to even work something this old?"

Mission stepped up beside him. "Taris had a ton of old consoles. Not this old, but old enough that I think I can figure something out." Zalbaar grunted out his agreement.

Seth stepped back, gesturing to the computer. "By all means, then, milady."

She made a show of rolling her eyes at the nickname, but proceeded to press a few of the buttons, attempting to get a feel for the console. The machine beeped and whirred in response to her provocation, and Seth heard one of the noises echo softly off his datapad. Mission, apparently, had heard the noise as well, and she swiped the pad easily from his jacket pocket. He watched as she expertly ran her fingertips along the outer edge of the console, successfully finding a slot in which to insert the datapad. He couldn't help but smile softly as he watched her at work, completely enamored with the confidence and capability she shouldered as she worked.

His smile quickly disappeared, however, when his datapad was pulled into the interior of the console and out of reach. The computer made a few alarming noises before falling silent. He took a cautious step towards Mission. "Hey, what did you do to my–"

"Shh!" Mission cut him off. He reluctantly fell silent, going back to watching her work at the computer and resuming his admiration for her skill with technology. It seemed to come as naturally to her as breathing. Her beautiful brown eyes flicked up and down the computer screen, assessing the situation as she pursed full blue lips in quiet impatience.

After a few minutes, the machine ejected Seth's datapad with a satisfied beep, and the screen flashed with familiar characters as commands and options appeared in Galactic Basic. Mission kept her eyes on the console as she handed back Seth's datapad over her shoulder. He intentionally brushed his fingers against hers as he took it back from her, smirking as he felt her still completely, sucking in a sharp breath. Quickly, she pulled her hand back, typing a few additional commands into the console before taking a step back.

"Looks like it's a pop quiz," Mission said with a casual shrug as Seth moved to get a better look at the words scrawled across the screen.

"What are three life-giving world seed types?" he read aloud with a frown. "It's an agricultural question… why?"

"This is a monument to an empire," Bastila replied. "I'm sure this test is in place to make sure that those seeking knowledge of the Star Forge knew the fundamentals to building a successful empire – having agriculturally healthy worlds to support life and feed their people."

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to file that under 'Things I never learned at the military academy,'" Seth said with a wince. "Anyone got any ideas?"

"Don't look at me," Mission said. "I never went to school, period."

"You guys are joking, right?" Carth said. "It's easy. Grassland, Arboreal, and Oceanic." He paused for a moment, taking in the confused stares of his teammates, before putting his hands up defensively. "My wife used to garden, okay?"

"Uh-huh…" Mission said skeptically.

Seth shrugged, typing the answers into the terminal in hopes that Carth truly did know what he was talking about. An affirmative-sounding beep resounded from the console, and it shut off immediately. He turned to Mission. "That was a good thing, right?"

"I dunno," she responded simply. "Guess we'll find out."

"I suggest we move on," Bastila said impatiently. "Remember, we still have another test to pass."

"Sure," Seth said as he turned away from the computer. "Ready when you are."

The party followed Bastila back through the door into the main chamber, past the droid, and to the opposite doorway. "Hopefully this test is about something more relevant to our knowledge," she remarked as she opened the door.

As the door slid open, two idle combat droids powered up in front of them, the high pitched whine of charging shields and blasters filling the room. "Well," said Seth as he activated his lightsaber, "combat is more relevant to our knowledge."

Mission ducked behind a fallen pillar for cover, firing from behind it only to have her shot disrupted by the droid's shields. "You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?"

"It's not like we would have been prepared for any more agricultural questions," Bastila defended snappily, twirling her double-bladed lightsaber to deflect blasterfire in a blur of golden light.

"I think Carth could have handled it," Mission responded snarkily.

"I'd prefer a straight-up fight!" The captain in question paused to let his twin blasters cool down, taking cover behind a wall. "Can somebody get these shields down? Don't we have an ion grenade or something?"

Four heads turned toward Zaalbar, and the Wookiee simply shrugged. "[Don't look at me,]" he grumbled, raising a hairy finger to point at Seth. "[He's been asking me for nothing but frags.]"

Seth narrowed his eyes at Zaalbar for throwing him under the bus, so to speak, before wincing apologetically as he glanced back toward the other. "Sorry! I figured we wouldn't be facing anything other than Kath hounds for a while." He frowned for a moment, racking his brain for any potential solution to the shield issue at present, before grinning victoriously as one of Master Zhar's lessons came to mind. He rolled out of cover, lightsaber hanging at his side, as he stretched out his hand and tapped into his connection to the Force.

He became acutely and almost instantly aware of the the electrical currents fueling the energy shields of both droids, as if they were physical ropes of electricity laid out before him. Through his connection to the Force, he felt the droids' targeting reticles adjust, locking in on the teenager standing before them. Still, Seth did not rush, as he visualized himself taking hold of each rope of electricity and crushing them in his hands. He let his eyes slide open to see the arc of lightning-like energy dancing between his fingertips and the two droids, similar to what he'd seen in his battle with Xayalith back on Taris. The shields flickered and dropped from around either droid, and Bastila was quick to the scene, both blades of her lightsaber dicing it thoroughly as Carth, Mission and Zaalbar made short work of the second droid.

Bastila wiped a droplet of sweat from her brow as she deactivated her lightsaber, nodding encouragingly at Seth. "Nice work with those shields."

"Nice work with the droid," he replied, gesturing at the scrap heap at her feet with a grin.

Their attention was drawn back into the main room at the sound of the locked door rumbling open. Seth could feel a spike in Bastila's anxiety through their bond, and one quick glance over at her gray eyes fixed upon him indicated that she knew she couldn't hide what she was feeling from him. "Whatever is beyond these doors influenced Revan and Malak as they fell to the dark side. I do not want to see it do the same to you."

"Well, good thing I have you to watch my back," he replied simply with a shrug, a bit surprised when the comment did little to tame the rising concern he felt through their bond. He pressed forward, peering into the dimly lit room beyond, which was bare aside from one three-sided structure little more than a meter tall. "Whaddaya think that is?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Bastila said thoughtfully. "Perhaps some memorial to those 'Builders.'"

"Isn't that what this entire place is supposed to be?" Carth reminded her.

"I don't know, Carth!" she defended exasperatedly. "If you have better ideas, feel free to share."

As the older party members bickered, Seth cautiously padded towards the structure, reaching out with the Force to try and get a sense as to what the strange object was. A sudden, mechanical noise startled him, and he jumped back in surprise, bumping right into Mission, whose arms instinctively wrapped around his waist as she tucked herself against his body. "Um, sorry," he muttered.

Mission dropped her hands hastily, taking a step back to put a good distance between them. "Yeah, me too," she mumbled, cheeks burning pink.

The structure in front of them continued to whir as the three sides lowered themselves to reveal a floating metal orb. There was the sound of servos powering on and gears turning as a holographic map flickered to life. Mission's eyes went wide as she looked at it. "This thing has almost the whole galaxy mapped out!" she exclaimed, reaching out to point to a star system. "Look, here's Dantooine! And Manaan! And Korriban…. Kashyyyk… Look, Tatooine!"

"Is it a map to the Star Forge?" Carth asked, peering over her shoulder.

"I don't know," Bastila murmured thoughtfully. "It seems incomplete. We couldn't find our way to anywhere, Star Forge included, with this.

"Well, that's great," Seth grumbled. "What use is an incomplete map?"

Zaalbar shook his head. ""[It's like a puzzle… quite useful when paired with other maps. I remember Shadowland hunters coming back with stories of ancient alien technology… much like this. I think that each of the worlds Mission pointed out might have our missing pieces.]"

"He's right," Bastila agreed, nodding her head. "We know Malak and Revan went to Kashyyyk and Korriban before their fall. Who's to say they didn't visit Manaan or Tatooine as well?"

"So now what?" Seth asked. "The Council surely doesn't expect us to travel across the galaxy to collect the rest of the information, do they?"

"No," Bastila replied, glancing back at him meaningfully. "They likely expect much more."

Time would prove just how right she was in that moment.

Calo Nord was cool and collected as he stood before Malak's trusted Admiral. A small part of Saul Karath was amused and maybe even a bit impressed by Nord's display of nonchalance before the head of the Sith fleet, especially after nearly getting killed by said fleet in the bombardment of Taris.

A much larger part of Karath was irritated by the flippant attitude with which Nord seemed to be regarding not only his men, but Saul himself. It seemed as if the bounty hunter either didn't know the mercy at which he'd been extended to not only be given safe passage off the ruined planet, but an audience with one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, or, if he did know, he didn't care.

Karath leaned forward across the desk in his personal office aboard the flagship Leviathan, propping his elbows up and steepling his fingers in a move that was intended to reassert his dominance in the space before beginning the conversation. If Calo noticed, he paid it no mind. "I find it curious, Mr. Nord, that you were able to survive the bombing of Taris while your former employer, Mr. Kang, was found dead not too far from where we found you."

Calo shrugged dismissively. "He found himself on the receiving end of a thermal detonator. Bad timing, that."

"Bad… timing…." Saul repeated, a bit unsure of what the bounty hunter meant by that.

"Well, you know, when you've got your prey cornered and suddenly it seems to the Sith like a good time to rain bombs down on the place, things don't always go according to plan." He narrowed his eyes at Saul, cold accusation in his tone of voice. "So, yeah, bad timing, Admiral."

Karath's jaw clenched at the display of disrespect before him, closing his eyes for a moment to keep his mind focused on the task at hand. "My men tell me that you have a lead on some Republic fugitives we're after. You saw them escape the planet?"

"I did. That's the only reason I bothered to come within range of your tractor beam, anyway. I know how badly you and your master want to find them. I've got a score to settle, and you want them dead. So perhaps we can help one another out, for a price."

Saul breathed in deeply through his nose as he considered the option. On one hand, Calo was a devious gun-for-hire that was sure to be a pain in his ass if he were to accept the bounty hunter's offer. On the other hand, his reputation for getting the job done with ruthless efficiency was well-earned. The idea of having someone like that after Bastila Shan, and more importantly, Carth Onasi, brought Saul some measure of satisfaction and assurance that they'd be found.

"All right, Nord. I'll speak with Lord Malak."

"…and here's the women's quarters," Mission said, gesturing to the starboard quarters aboard the Ebon Hawk, turning back to Juhani, who'd been following closely behind for the past twenty minutes as the Twi'lek gave their newest crew member a detailed tour of the ship.

"Thank you," the Cathar woman said gratefully, and Mission smiled nervously at her. The older woman laughed softly. "You don't need to be afraid of me, though I suppose I can understand why you would be."

"Well, it's just that the last time I saw you, you were trying to kill me. So." She swallowed hard, before recovering quickly. "Which, I'm glad you're on our side now, don't get me wrong. It's just… a hard picture to forget."

Juhani sighed. "I don't blame you. I'm honestly unsure why the Council would send me along to search for the Star Maps with all of you, but I'm grateful for the chance to redeem myself and build that trust with you properly."

"Yeah, if one thing doesn't add up, it's the Council's decision-making here. A mission jointly-led by sixteen and twenty-three year-old Padawans, reassigning a veteran Republic soldier like Carth from the front lines, hiring on a Mandalorian merc like Canderous, including a couple of street rats like Big Z and I… and now someone who had a brief brush with the dark side of the Force…" she paused for a moment as her eyes flicked up towards Juhani, who dismissed the remark with an understanding shrug. "And we're following images we're seeing in Bastila and Seth's dreams? Tell me the war effort against the Sith isn't as desperate as this insane mission makes it seem!"

Juhani sighed, shaking her head. "I can't pretend to know why the Council makes the decisions it does. But there are years of wisdom behind those Jedi Masters. In Vandar's case, hundreds of years. I trust their wisdom, and I trust the Force."

"I can't say much of the same, but I do trust Seth," Mission admitted. "Enough to stay on board for this crazy ride."

"And he trusts you," Juhani encouraged. "You've got more say on this team than any random 'street rat' ever would. You're here because you're valued. I can only hope to say the same as I earn my place here."

Mission smiled then, bright and real, as she helped to gather Juhani's things and bring them into the dormitories. "You will."

It was only a few minutes later, as they started to get Juhani settled into her bunk space, that Seth leaned in and knocked on the door frame. "Carth'll be taking us into hyperspace soon. He expects around 10-11 hours of travel to Manaan, so if you need to rest up, now's the time."

"How 'bout you?" Mission asked with a grin. "Is our fearless leader gonna be getting any rest anytime soon?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Actually… I was hoping I could borrow you for a bit, if you and Juhani are done here."

Mission glanced over at the Cathar woman, who sent her off with a wave of her hand. "No need to stay here with me. Thanks for the tour."

The Twi'lek girl gave her a thumbs up briefly before turning to follow Seth into the cargo hold, where he hopped up onto a stack of durasteel crates and took a seat facing her. "So, you and Big Z are coming to Manaan with us?"

Mission pointedly glanced out the viewport at the blue of hyperspace streaking by, then back at Seth with a quirked eyebrow. "Sure looks like it."

He chuckled softly, shaking his head at himself. "I guess that was a pretty dumb question. I just… I don't want you to feel pressured to be a part of what we're doing. If you guys ever want to jump ship, you're free to do so."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Because that's not the first time you've asked me that."

"Of course not," he amended quickly. "I just know we've had a couple of tense conversations these past couple of days and I wasn't sure if it had made you rethink anything."

"Nah, I always knew you were a nerf-herder," she quipped. At Seth's persistent stare, however, she sighed and moved to sit next to him on the crates. "Honestly, while the past couple of weeks haven't been easy, a couple of disagreements aren't enough to make me wanna walk out on you, or on all this. For the first time in my life, I'm a part of something that really matters. My homeworld is gone, sure, but I'm realizing more and more each day that there would have hardly been anything for me to come back to. My place is here." She paused for a moment, brown eyes flicking up to green, before adding, "And despite my best judgement, I still really care for you. Probably more than I should."

She heard his breath catch at that, felt his hand hover for a moment at the back of her neck as if he were deciding whether or not to touch her, to bring her in and kiss her senseless. "You mean that?" he asked breathily.

She answered by closing the gap between them, a hand rising up to knot itself in his hair as their lips crashed together. They pulled apart moments later, breathless, and she flashed him a mischievous grin. "I was never one for following the rules anyway."

He grinned at her, blue skin highlighted by the bright light of hyperspace whizzing past through the window next to them. Whatever Manaan had to throw at them, they were ready to face it, together.