If Seth thought dealing with a horde of Czerka guards was tough, he had a whole new meaning for the word once the rest of Rwookrrorro became aware of the ruckus within the throne room. Angry Wookiees aligned with both sides of the conflict barreled through the door, ready to fight for either Freyyr or Chuundar. The battle itself spilled out of the throne room and onto the village's raised walkways. Mirroring the conflict between the two brothers locking blades inside, Wookiees raised their blades against one another across the village. The Czerka battalion, unable to discern the difference between friend and foe due to their already-shallow understanding of the Wookiees, began to attack anyone who wasn't Chuundar, drawing the fire of Wookiees from both sides of the conflict.

As Seth crossed blades with a Wookiee guard near the entrance of the throne room, Zaalbar roared back at him. "[Don't kill my people!]"

The young Jedi shoved his opponent back a few feet with a Force-assisted push. "They're not exactly giving us much of a choice, Big Z!"

The exiled Wookiee ducked underneath Chuundar's blade, reaching back up with his own to parry the blow before responding back to Seth. "[If we kill them we're no better than this fool who's enslaving them.]"

Seth drew back, zoning in on his connection to the Force and sending the offending Wookiee flying backwards into the wall. The native glanced up at him dazedly for a moment before slumping to the ground, unconscious. "Then you'd better figure out a way to get them on your side, because we're not gonna last against Czerka and Rwookrrorro." He ducked out of the throne room to assess the situation outdoors.

Mission had managed to find a quarterstaff in the fray and was using the blunted ends of the weapon to knock back a horde of Chuundar-supportive Wookiees with the assistance of several of Freyyr's allies. T3 was perched higher up the platform, acting almost like a turret as he picked off Czerka agents one by one.

Juhani jogged up next to him, breathless. "These Wookiees sure aren't making it easy on us. Where are Bastila, Carth, and Canderous?"

"Last I checked they were-" he was cut off as two of the Wookiees battling Mission's group split off and barreled toward the two Jedi. He and Juhani momentarily shared a knowing glance before they turned and drew up a massive Force whirlwind that knocked the Wookiees off their feet and left them stunned on the ground. He turned back to the Cathar with a shrug. "They were going to get the Star Map when I left."

"I'm struggling to understand why you thought it'd be a good idea to start this… whatever it is… revolution, I suppose you could call it…. Without them?"

Seth made a show of sighing dramatically. "If I had any choice I would have. Freyyr was coming up here whether or not anyone joined him. I figured I'd at least give you guys some back up so-"

Juhani cut him off, leaping over his head to bring her weapon crashing down on a Czerka guard that had been sneaking up on them. She glanced back at Seth dubiously.

"You're welcome for the back up, by the way," he muttered.

By the time Bastila and the others had reached the walkways, the sounds of battle were audible even from as far away as the lift down into the Shadowlands. She bounced on her heels anxiously as they waited for the second wave of Mandalorian clansmen to make their way up to their location via the lift mechanism. On one hand, it was likely a good thing that they had so many reinforcements to back Seth and the others up. On the other hand, however, the increasingly loud sounds of clashing swords and blasterfire made it incredibly apparent that they had little time to waste.

"You okay, Princess?" Canderous asked, voice low as he peeled away from the Mandalorians that had come up with them in the first wave. "I don't think I've ever seen you as nervous as you seem now… actually, scratch that. I don't think I've ever seen you anything other than the picture-perfect display of calm and emotionless in general."

She fixed him with a pointed glare, and he let a wry smile crack his features.

"Nevermind, I suppose I have seen you angry plenty of times."

"Seth's taking part in a Wookiee revolution and you're taking the time to crack jokes?" she hissed.

He crossed his arms over his broad chest and harrumphed. "I'm taking the time to try and keep you from being so antsy before battle. You're quite distracting, you know."

Bastila couldn't help but let her eyes roll exaggeratedly. "The great warrior of the Mandalorian Wars cannot be so easily distracted, I'm sure of it."

Canderous shrugged. "I may have been one of the best damn soldiers to fight in that war, I won't deny that, but I was also just a kid back then, barely Seth's age. Trust me, there were plenty of times distraction got the better of me."

"It obviously never got the best of you, considering you survived up until the moment you could annoy me at every turn," Bastila hummed, still anxiously waiting for the lift to return with their reinforcements so that they could salvage the situation in Rwookrrorro with as little damage done to their allies as possible.

Canderous slipped past her to lean against the walkway's wooden railing, spinning about to face her and allowing his forearms to go taut as his triceps bore the majority of his weight against the railing. "You know we've faced odds far greater than this. I think this is the first time we've ever even had reinforcements to wait for."

"Just because we've faced greater odds doesn't exactly mean they aren't stacked against us, Canderous," Bastila said pointedly. "Eventually, we'll lose out to those odds."

"Come on, Princess," the Mandalorian growled, irritation biting into his tone. "That's a cheap answer, and you know it. I fought you Jedi for years; I know you lot never leave things up to chance, not when the Force plays a greater role in all this."

"Don't call me that," Bastila muttered, eyes downcast.

"Don't dodge the subject, Princess," Canderous rebutted sharply. "Either you believe that there's something bigger in the works of the Force here, or you're a hypocrite. And I don't think you're the latter, so why not have a little faith that one of the most powerful Jedi I've seen since Revan can hold down the fort until we get there?"

Bastila drew her lower lip between her teeth, chewing thoughtfully as she avoided eye contact. She felt almost guilty for having to be put in her place by a Mandalorian, of all people, but that guilt was a much more manageable feeling than the overwhelming dread and anxiety that had threatened to crush her moments ago. Even now, she felt the impact of Canderous' words slowly sapping the concern from her mind, her resolve returning in strength.

The sound of creaking wood brought her back to the present, and there was a thud as the lift locked back into place against the walkways, the rest of the Mandalorians filing onto the walkway led by Carth and Jolee. Canderous grinned.

"Alright, boys," he said with a sinister smile, "let's go crack some heads."

Mission took a deep breath as another Wookiee fell unconscious at her feet after a considerably hard thwack of her quarterstaff and Juhani's assistance via the Force. "Big Z!" She called as she turned to face another member of a seemingly endless force of enemies. "Any way you can convince these guys to join you? Because it's really hard to incapacitate a Wookiee without killing him."

From outside the throne room, Seth grunted loudly. "Can I just say I agree with that sentiment?"

"[He can't persuade the most loyal of our clan from our most sacred tradition!]" Chuundar roared snarkily as he crossed blades yet again with his brother. "[It doesn't matter how noble your cause may be, I still hold the hilt of Bacca's Sword.]"

The sound of blasterfire intensified outside the throne room, and Mission cast a glance back at the doorway, bewildered. She couldn't see what was going on, but she could see Seth's face split into a grin before he moved from her line of sight. "About time!" she heard him shout, followed quickly by, "wait, no, no, don't shoot them!"

That was about all she was able to pay attention for, because one of the Czerka guards slipped into the throne room from outside, vibrosword raised high to cross with her quarterstaff. Mission only had seconds to react, swinging the quarterstaff about to block the incoming attack. The blade lodged itself into the wood of her staff, the weapon splintering in her hands. With a display of strength that could only be obtained by the disciplined training regimen she'd taken up since joining the crew of the Ebon Hawk, she shoved the guard backward as the weapon broke completely, tossing the quarterstaff aside and diving backward to pick a blaster up off the body of one of the guards Seth had slain earlier. The Czerka soldier charged back towards her, brandishing his blade, and Mission spun to pop a few quick shots off into his chest. His charge slowed as he fell, vibrosword dropping to nick Mission's outstretched leg. She hissed in pain as the blade tore through her spacer's pants and left a sizeable gash across her shin, but her attention was quickly called elsewhere.

Canderous burst through the door, flanked by several intimidating soldiers in full Mandalorian armor, and Mission hardly had a chance to question where the hell he'd managed to find half an army before the battle-hardened warrior lifted a blade high above his head. "Zaalbar, a few of your Wookiee pals mentioned you'd want this," he shouted.

"[Bacca's blade!]" Zaalbar roared in surprise, breaking away from Chuundar in an attempt to retrieve the relic from Canderous.

Chuundar, enraged with fury, swiped low with his sword, catching Zaalbar in the calf and sending him sprawling to the floor. Mission felt her breath catch in her throat as the dark-furred Wookiee cocked his arm back to deliver a death blow, her heartbeat ringing in her ears and drowning out her shouts of disbelief and fear.

The death blow never came.

Mission's eyes went wide as another blade suddenly jutted through Chuundar's chest, an expression of shock freezing on his face as the younger brother crumpled to the floor. Behind him stood Freyyr, who dropped the bloodied sword with a sorrowful roar. Silence enveloped the throne room, and Mission was aware of heavy footsteps as Seth bolted into the room and stopped short to survey the scene.

Zaalbar glanced up at his father, shaking. "[What have you done?]"

"[What I had to do,]" Freyyr replied, his growls and grunts quiet and thick with emotion. "[I had already lost Chuundar, a long time ago. I was not going to lose you, too.]"

"Not to interrupt," Canderous stepped in tactlessly, "but there's still a massive battle going on, and a bunch of Wookiees who now have no leader."

"[They have one now,]" Freyyr said evenly, pulling Bacca's hilt from Chuundar's grasp and handing it to Zaalbar. "[With the hilt, and now the blade, no one will question your rule.]"

Mission watched as her best friend hesitated. "[But I'm a madclaw,]" he said in disbelief. "[An exile.]"

Freyyr took the blade from Canderous and pressed it into Zaalbar's hand alongside the hilt. "[No, you are my son,]" he declared. "[And today… today you are chieftain.]"

Zaalbar stared down at the two pieces of the ceremonial weapon, symbols of leadership that he'd have never expected to hold in his disgraced claws. He glanced up at Freyyr, then over at Mission, who gave an encouraging nod.

"C'mon, Big Z," Seth said gently. "Let's go unite your people once and for all."

With both portions of Bacca's blade in Zaalbar's possession, the people of Rwookrrorro found it much easier to accept the eldest son of Freyyr's claim to the throne. The Wookiees that had backed Chuundar out of a commitment to tradition turned to side with Zaalbar, and the very few that had supported Chuundar and his dealings with Czerka outright were quickly overwhelmed by the majority and swiftly exiled to the Shadowlands.

Tal had taken a small contingent of Mandalorians a few miles down the walkways to the Czerka landing pad with the intention of driving the company off the planet completely. With most of the guards dispatched to Rwookrrorro during the battle, the Mandalorians took the outpost easily.

Seth allowed a small smile to cross his features as he took in the scene before him, leaning against the railing of one of Rwookrrorro's many platforms. A pleasant, lighthearted tribal tune sounded throughout the village, as a group of Wookiees played woodwind and percussion instruments joyfully. The children of Rwookrrorro danced across the wooden surface of the platforms, their mothers watching carefully and joyously.

"Quite the party, huh?"

Seth turned his head with a smile, sliding over a bit to give Carth room to join him at the railing. He paused for a moment, glancing again out over the celebration before him, before looking over at his former superior officer. "Judging by how mellow Zaalbar usually is, I would have never guessed the Wookiees knew how to throw a party like this."

Carth chuckled. "Apparently high-energy victory celebrations are cross-cultural. This reminds me of more than a few assignments back in the day. Though I will say, having the Mandalorians celebrating alongside us is rather new to me."

The Padawan smirked. "Yeah, how exactly did Canderous manage to find half a Mandalorian clan down in the Shadowlands to fight for us?"

"Same way Mandalorians handle just about any diplomatic situation," Carth said with a shrug. "He challenged one of them to a death match."

The younger man quirked an eyebrow at the statement, but said nothing. As odd as the notion may have seemed, it was also entirely believable coming from the Mandalorians. Instead, he turned his attention back to the party, nodding his head in the direction of Jolee and Freyyr, who were chatting away from the bustle of the party on the far side of the village. "What do you make of him?"

"Having second thoughts on letting him join us?"

He shook his head. "No, not really. But I hardly spent an hour with him before coming up here with Freyyr, and now we're about to take him along on our quest to at least two more planets, and off to the Star Forge after that. And I know next to nothing about him."

"I don't know if I've got much of a read on him, to be honest," Carth admitted. "He certainly doesn't seem to have any allegiances or ties to the Sith, but he also doesn't seem to be the biggest fan of the Jedi, either. Just try not to take his opinions to heart."

"You don't trust him?"

The Republic pilot shrugged. "You know me well enough by now to know I'm not generous with my trust, so I'm not sure if that's a gauge to go by. He went out of his way to talk Bastila out of a funk down in the Shadowlands after we found the Star Map, so he seems like a decent enough guy. But we don't really know why he's joining us other than wanting a little adventure. That's hardly a compelling reason to stick around when the going gets tough."

"Maybe he'll surprise you," Seth said, hope edging in the tones of his voice.

"I'm not counting on it," Carth replied, before clapping the younger man on the shoulder. "But maybe. After all, a certain Republic private keeps surprising me at every turn we take."

"I try my best, sir," Seth said with a grin. As Carth slipped away to peruse the food options for something appetizing to humans as well as Wookiees, Seth turned back toward the party, scanning the crowd until he spotted the person he was looking for.

She was crouched low among a group of young Wookiee pups, a brilliant and beautiful smile adorning her features. He could faintly hear her melodic laugh as she grasped the hands of one of the younger Wookiees, dancing with the pup in time to the music as the others also clambered for her attention. Seth couldn't help but let a smile spread across his face as he watched her interact with the children. They absolutely loved her, and she loved them right back. There was a gentle, soft and kind side of her exemplified in moments like these, complementary to the strong, confident and powerful side of her he'd seen in the tougher, tenser moments of their journey. Seth sucked in a deep breath as he considered how intimately he already knew both sides, and yet still he desired to know every beautiful quality and intricate flaw of her character deeper. He felt a twist in his chest, and inexplicable pride just to know this incredible young woman and be a part of her life. In a single moment, the concerns over the Star Maps, Darth Malak, and even his own insecurities seemed to melt away and it was like his entire universe snapped into focus. For a second, Seth found himself unable to breathe, grappling with the almost crippling feeling that threatened to overwhelm him and wondering what exactly was going on in his mind and soul in that moment.

"You're in love with her."

Bastila's voice startled him, and he glanced over to where she'd quietly stepped up next to him. He opened his mouth as if to reply, but shut it again as the revelation of his own feelings washed over him.

"That's what you were trying to figure out, right? What you were feeling?" Bastila asked, her tone suspiciously cool and even.

"How…"

"Surely you can't forget so quickly that we share a bond through the Force," the lady Jedi said exasperatedly. "Especially in moments when your emotions are so… intense, to say the least, it can be quite difficult to ignore."

Seth took a shaky breath. "I'm not sure what to say. I know this isn't… it's not allowed. But I can't just change how I feel."

"Then, for both our sakes, I hope that if the time comes to make a difficult decision, you think with your head and not your heart," Bastila replied coldly. She kept a stern eye trained on Seth, but her eyes softened slightly as she sensed the tumultuous battle of emotions in his head, experiencing him coming to grips with his newfound feelings through the perception granted to her by their bond. "I know that's never an easy decision to make," she said gently. "I myself failed that test down in the Shadowlands while recovering the Star Map. But you must know, Seth, I will be by your side in every decision you make. You're not alone in bearing the weight and responsibility that it takes to be a Jedi, though at times that weight and responsibility seems unfair to bear, especially in situations such as this."

Seth nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Thanks. But as for Mission… I do love her, Bastila. And damn it all if that's not enough motivation to complete our mission in order to make things right in this galaxy. I won't let my feelings for her disrupt our quest; they'll fuel my drive to see it through to completion."

Bastila pursed her lips. "I don't think it's a wise decision. But you know that. I just hope you know what you're doing."

He shrugged. "I don't think anyone really knows exactly what they're doing when they're in love."

"If that was supposed to comfort me, Seth, you really missed the mark on that one."

He laughed and shook his head. "Just trying to be honest with you."

"Are you going to tell her?" Bastila asked, genuinely curious, and his brow furrowed at the thought.

"Not yet," he replied quietly. "I mean… I don't know when you're supposed to say it, but right away seems kind of… I don't know. It's pressuring, I guess. I'm not trying to scare her."

Bastila's comforting hand came in contact with his shoulder almost instinctively, and they both glanced down at it in surprise. She blinked once, twice, then removed it quickly, clearing her throat. Seth laughed. "Careful, Shan, someone else might see you being nice to me," he joked.

She rolled her eyes. "I am perfectly capable of being nice."

"I'm not the one you need to convince," he defended, gesturing out at the crew of the Ebon Hawk enjoying Rwookrrorro's festivities. "I get an inside look at who you really are because of our bond, but everyone else still sees this 'perfect' facade you've put up. And I gotta say, the real Bastila is the one worth knowing. They deserve to know her too."

Bastila laughed quietly, unable to keep a smile from playing at her lips. "Look at you spouting wisdom like you know what's up from down in this crazy galaxy. Maybe you really will make a great Jedi."

"Yeah, yeah," Seth bantered playfully. "Just call me Vandar 2.0." He glanced back over at Mission, that easygoing smile still gracing her features, and felt his heart swell at the sight. He could get used to this feeling. "Hey, Bastila, could you excuse me for a minute?"

She followed his gaze and placed a hand on her hip, trying her best to sound irritated though he could still hear the hint of a smile in her voice. "Go on."

He grinned at her, then pushed away from the railing, trotting down the wooden walkways until he reached the center platform where Mission stood. He approached the young Twi'lek quietly, suddenly feeling uncertain and timid. She saw him through her peripheral vision, and set down the Wookiee pup she'd been holding on her hip to turn to him with a brilliant smile. "Hey, you," she said.

"Hey, yourself," he responded, his eyes lingering on hers as he reached forward to take her hand.

She glanced down at their entwined fingers, then back up at him, as something that wasn't quite tension settled between them. She arched an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Dance with me."

"Here? Now? In front of Bastila?" she asked bewilderedly even as she stepped closer, sliding her free hand up onto his shoulder.

"Right here," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Right now." He pulled her impossibly close. "In front of Bastila," he breathed, dropping his forehead to hers as they began to sway to the beat. The tribal music was anything but romantic, but in this moment, Seth was convinced that he could be dancing with her to anything and it would feel just as perfect as it did right there and then.

"That was quite the revolution you managed to pull off," Mission said with a laugh.

"Well, Freyyr was going to come up here and start something either way," he said with a shrug. "Believe it or not, I came along for the sake of damage control."

She chuckled quietly to herself. "Seth Avery, damage control. No wonder a fight broke out as soon as you got here."

"Hey!" he whined in mock offense. "I'm a man of many talents, but I can't be perfect at everything." He tossed her out into a spin, weaving around behind her to catch her from the opposite direction before pulling her effortlessly back into their rhythm.

"Speaking of talents, where'd you learn to dance like this?"

"It was how we blew off steam back at the academy," he said with a smile. "The music was a better fit back then, though."

"Hey, be careful where you say that. This is probably Big Z's favorite song," she joked.

"After the day he's had, I'm sure my opinion on their music is the last thing on his mind," Seth laughed. He spun her again, his hands sliding around her waist to bring her close once more. She smiled, wrapping both arms around his neck in response and humming contentedly as she dropped her head to his shoulder.

"Thank you for everything you did for him today, by the way," Mission said. "I know Zalbaar's not the easiest guy to get to know, and he's not always the easiest to get along with, either. But he means a lot to me, and I know it wasn't easy to accomplish what you did. I've never seen him this… free. Like this huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders."

Seth glanced over the crown of Mission's head and spotted the Wookiee in question happily clapping his father on the back, and smiled. "I meant what I said when we first got here. Big Z's one of us. I know 'family' tends to kind of be a sore subject for just about everyone on the Ebon Hawk, but we've got each others' backs."

"Never been a part of a family like that before, that's for sure," she remarked, more to herself than anything. "I love Griff, but I wouldn't necessarily say he was someone I could count on. Not like Big Z, Carth, Canderous, you… hell, even Bastila."

"You still think about him much?" Seth asked.

"I mean, yeah," she said with a sigh. "He's my brother, I can't just tune him out of my thoughts. But for so long, I was just waiting. Waiting for him to come back, waiting to start moving forward with my life… and I'm doing something now. Something big." She leaned back, her deep brown eyes searching Seth's. "And I've got incredible people to do that something with. Sure, Griff's out there. And I hope one day I'll see him again. But I've got so much life to live, and I'm not going to sit around hoping he comes by in time to be a part of it before I start living it."

"Well, I'll say it, he's missing out on one heck of an incredible woman." Seth smiled at her, his hand reaching up to trace her cheekbone gently. "But I bet he'd be proud to see who you've become."

"Yeah, I'm sure not the kid he left back on Taris so many years ago," Mission agreed. "You've played a big part in that."

"I don't deserve much credit," he replied bashfully. "This mission's making all of us grow up in some way or another, and we're only halfway through. By the time we find the next Star Map, we'll be looking back on this moment wondering how we changed so much."

"I'm looking forward to it," she told him, leaning her head back against his chest. "But for now, let's just enjoy this moment while we're living it. We spend way to much time fighting for our lives to not allow ourselves to live in the moment when we need to."

He grinned, pressing his lips to her forehead before pulling back. "In that case, I've got a few more moves to show off."

As he spun her round and round, Mission's laugh joined the chorus of Wookiee cheers erupting throughout the treetops that night, and Seth reassured himself again of the absolute perfection of that moment. For a few hours, he felt like a normal teen, dancing the night away with the girl he loved. And he was going to soak up every bit of that feeling for as long as he could before the desert sands of Tatooine called him back to reality.

A/N: Hey, it's been a while. :) Thanks for sticking with me.

Fun fact - Sweet Sixteen is ten years old as of last month. Crazy to think that this story has been moving (ever so slowly) and evolving in my mind over the past decade. For all the busyness of my life, the different fandoms that call for my very little time that I have to spend on writing, the thousands of things that demand my attention on a daily basis... I'm always drawn back to this fic that started it all. This was my first real story I ever felt I had to tell as a writer, even ten years ago as a thirteen-year-old. Granted, my writing straight-up sucked back then, but I'm so thankful to have started this journey so many years ago with Seth, Mission, Carth, Bastila and the others (and I'm also so thankful for the opportunity to re-write the embarrassment of the earlier chapters).

I have no idea when it'll be finished, to be honest. But it will be finished, I can tell you that. You don't spend ten years (on and off) telling a story to leave it untold. So here's to the future. Thanks for being a part of the journey. :)

-DB