Big Day

[Kana Truden]

[member="Kian Karr"]

Her eyes lingered on her hand. Her legs were crossed, her arm was raised in front of her and her butt was seated comfortably in the grass looking out over the landscapes that surrounded the Katarn homestead. She had been lucky to be able to live in the halls of her hero, she knew that, but the longer she had lived here the more mundane it had become. It wasn’t so much Kyle Katarn’s anymore as much as Gabe and Avalore’s. Which perhaps was for the best. Let the past rest, let the new replace it. That was the idea of it at least, the thing that they had to remember as the passage of time wore them down.

And time had certainly taken a toll. Somewhere along the line Kana had stopped being twenty, thirty, gone into her forties, and now looked at the exit into fifty coming up within the next four years. Some of it good, some of it bad, yet for all that it was worth it had all brought her here in the end. An adult and a jedi healer living on Sulon. There were worse places to be.

Kana’s hand dropped into her lap to let her focus shift to the homestead below her little cliff’s ledge. She had gotten a message earlier that she was expecting a visitor, but when she had asked about it she hadn’t been granted any response. Either Healer Shen-Jon was trying to set her up on another unwanted blind date, or Kana was actually expecting company, and the fact that she could never tell with the woman infuriated her to no end.

So, there she sat. Crossed legs and with her eyes at the skies trying to determine which ship was coming her way.

 

[Kian Karr]

[member="Kana Truden"]

Kian Karr knelt on the hard floor of the training room aboard a Jocasta Class Light Corvette. His eyes were closed and his mind was stretched out before him....he was trying and failing to calm himself, to center himself on the here and now. Jedi Knight Koras Qual and his padawan Soli Baris had just awoken Kian from the bacta tank he had been submerged in. It had been the two Jedi Shadows who had saved Kian from his accidental exile....his prison of the past few years. Kian has missed so much and had barely survived the deadly planet he had been stranded on.

Kian pushed such thoughts from his head however, he did not wish to dwell on where he had been, but rather on what had happened in his absence. Koras and Soli had informed him of the fall of the Galactic Republic, of the loss of so many lives. Kian had asked him of the Shadows and a sorrowful expression had cross both of their faces....

"We've lost many..." Soli had said, tears filling her eyes.

"How many?" Kian had pressed, his stomach turning into a tight ball.

"Almost 3/4 of the active Shadows fell with in the final days of the Republic....those that remain have gone into hiding on the Gnost Dural." Koras had informed Kian. "Ricon took over in your absence and has been working tirelessly to retrieve as many of our missing people as possible." Koras said, speaking of Eliza Ricon. Kian's heart sank at this news...not that Eliza Ricon could not handle the task, but she was far from the most senior of Shadows when Kian had left on his mission, but if she was in command now, she was the most senior left.

Kian had asked for time to meditate and it had been several hours since that conversation. Kian hadn't found any comfort in his meditations however. So many lives lost....so many he had called friends. Koras and Soli had intended on taking Kian to the Gnost Dural, but Kian had insisted on seeing the most senior of the GR Jedi they could reach. While Koras and Soli had informed Kian of much of what happened, he needed to hear it from someone more established in the GR. Koras and Soli were good Shadows, but they were young and still relatively embarking on their duties.

"We've located somone." Soli said, interrupting Kian's thoughts. Kian opened his eyes and took in the young girl before him....no...not a girl. Not anymore. When Kian had vanished Soli was but a padawan learning, newly taken under the guidance of Koras. Now, however, she carried herself with an authority that had previously not existed. In her eyes Kian could see that the realities of war and the duties of the Shadows had aged her. He wished it had not been so. He wished she could have enjoyed her youth as he had been allowed to do on Dorin.

"Who?" Kian asked.

"Jedi Master Kana Truden." Soli said smiling, knowing that Kian and Kana had been friends. "We've made contact to inform them we are coming, but we did not mention you're presence..."

"Very good." Kian said closing his eyes once more and sinking into thought. Kana Truden.....when Kian had heard that the GR had fallen, his thoughts had quickly wandered to those he had held dearest to him. Kana Truden and Corvus Raaf had been at the top of that list. They had been his closest friends and colleagues and news that Kana was alive brought an immense weight off his chest. "Let me know when we've reached her."

~ ~ ~​

​

Kian was unsure how much time had passed but when Soli told him they had landed at their location. Kian had fallen deep into contemplation and had actually achieved something he hadn't in a long time....rest. Standing at the edge of the platform to disembark from the ship, Kian was worried. He hadn't seen Kana in so long....would she be happy to see him or would she feel betrayed by his absence when the Republic needed him most.

As the ship's ramp fell and the bright sunlight blinded him momentarily, Kian took a deep breath and took his first step into the world he once remembered so well.

 

[Kana Truden]

[member="Kian Karr"]

Where was Shen-Jon anyway? Kana looked around the homestead and the people that wandered below. There were more people around than Kana seemed to remember at times, and perhaps it wasn’t as mundane as had thought it to be either, but that didn’t make the routines she took on any less habitual and somewhat boring. While this was once the home of Kyle Katarn, it was now the property of Avalore Eden and Gabriel Sionoma. It was the headquarters of the Healer’s Circle of the Galactic Alliance, and it had been Kana’s home for at least a decade now. Or maybe it was two? When you spent your days meditating and helping others, counting days sort of lost its allure.

Her eyes met with Master Shen-Jon for a moment. She seemed awfully happy about something, and by the tilt of her head she would also seem to and point at something. Something in the sky. Kana turned around and looked up to see the approaching shuttle. Her hand raised to block out the sun’s rays with her eyes squinted for good measure. The landing gears came to view, and soon enough so did the rest of the ship.

And that was when squinting grew harder. That was a shuttle model that was hard to forget. Republic colors and make, a vague presence she hadn’t felt in a while. Her eyes lowered for Shen-Jon again who motioned towards the path leading over to the landing platform. Kana set off and let her curiosity get the better of her. With a slight spring to her step she began to approach the ship with caution. There was a chance that this was a trap, or that this was in fact someone she knew. She heard from afar as the ramp lowered with a hiss. Someone stepped out and covered their eyes to shield them.

A single beat skipped in Kana’s heart at the sight of who it was and the sprint that ensued was hard to avoid or contain as Kana ran up to Kian to force him into a tight squeeze. No smoke, no weird part where she woke up from the dream of the old times then. This was real. This was very real.

“It’s you!” Kana exhaled with a gleeful chuckle, feeling almost twenty years younger in an instant. “It’s really you!”

“Kian Karr, the Master of the Shadows!” Kana pulled him back in again. “You’re alive!”

 

[Kian Karr]

[member="Kana Truden"]

The glare cleared from Kian's eyes in just enough time to make out the image of Jedi Master Kana Truden rushing into him. She wrapped him in an embrace that, despite the slight twinge of pain in his still healing ribs, he basked in the warmth and comfort of the embrace. Kian's concerns of how Kana would feel seeing him were immediately cast aside in her reaction to him. Beneath the mask, Kian was smiling broadly. Stretching his feelings out into the force, he radiated his comfort and joy to convey his feelings as they embraced.

"Kana....I was so glad to hear you were alright." Kian said, his voice catching in his throat a little. "I am so sorry I was not hear to defend the Republic in the end...."

Kian pulled back for a moment to look over the Jedi Healer before him. The years had been kind to her but gone were the days of their youth, when Kian was a young, rising Knight and Kana a Jedi Padawan. As Kian looked on her he realized how much time had passed....and how old he felt. Kana must had been closing in on 40 or maybe 50, which would make Kian....he pushed that thought aside. Smiling sadly beneath his mask, memories of his friends flood into his mind. Kian and Kana had been through much together, either side by side or at least on the same side in many an engagement. They'd fought in the same battles, watched friends perish and worlds lost. There was a bonding, yet sorrow, forever tied to a friendship built on that foundation.

"It has been so long...." Kian said chuckling to himself, though there was sorrow in the laugh. "Can you tell me what has happened?" Kian asked, wanting to better understand this strange new world he had found himself in.

"I was lost for some time....and the picture I have of recent events is....chaotic." Kian said taking his friend by the shoulder and half leaning on her for support as they turned to walk away from the shuttle.

"I've missed so much."

 

[Kana Truden]

Her cheek rested there against his chest in an effort to let the time they had spent apart heal over the course of a few seconds. Eventually they separated and Kana would be granted a proper look at Kian. There was wear and tear, but then there had been tonnes of that in the Republic years as it was. He seemed to be the same man as when she had left, and yet he seemed to have changed as well. She smiled wide even as he apologized for being absent all the way through him admitting to being somewhat out of touch with recent events.

Kana sighed with further relief and ushered him to follow her towards the homestead. It was hard to bring her eyes away from him. It was a bit like walking in a dream except you knew that it was real for once. She had dreamt about this occasion and now that it was here she couldn’t believe that her visions were coming true.

“Don’t worry about the Republic.” Kana would have frowned but it was physically impossible. “The One Sith died eventually at the hands of the Alliance, and then something else came up to replace it within good time.”

“Well, actually, there’s a bit more to it than that.” Kana exhaled and shrugged. “The Alliance has a lot of its roots in the old Omega Protectorate, but there are many resources from the Republic pooled into the mix as well.” She pointed at the homestead up ahead. “I live here at the old Katarn homestead now. It’s owned by Gabriel Sionoma and Avalore Eden, the latter of which was a part of the Republic. You might remember her?”

Hand waved before her to dismiss it as non-important. “Anyway, as far as history goes I can give you the sorta short version.”

Here it came whether he wanted it or not. “When the Republic died, the Alliance rose up to take the reins. It has gone well until recent years when the First Order began to cause problems in the Outer Rim. With recent rumors there is suspicion that the Mandalorians and the Sith might be working together, and together with the Galactic Empire they have caused the Silver Jedi to lose a lot of ground.”

“That means that sadly Ossus is no longer occupied by any recognized major Jedi Order, and the Silvers mainly reside on Kashyyyk now.” And then finally, “And then, well, there’s Corvus.” The frown that Kana had been meant to put on earlier broke forth. A deep breath filled Kana’s lungs with sorrow as she stopped to turn and face Kian. “She’s gone.” She let out an uncomfortable chuckle at the fact. Kana had held her hope up, but just like with a great many other things in her life it had run out. “She left without saying a thing. Nobody knows where she went or when or even why. It’s like she just decided to up and disappear.”

“So I was alone for a while. I made some mistakes, flirted with the darkside,” Literally so. Kian could read between the lines here, Kana had fallen and gotten back once. “And I got burned for it.”

“So I live here where I know that I am at peace with my friends. I also run the occasional errand for the Circle of Healers too, took on a new apprentice as well, but force know where she is.”

[member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Kian Karr]

[member="Kana Truden"]

Kian listened quietly as they walked and talked. Kian looked around the homestead they were at and could understand why Kana had chosen to spend much of her time here. It was a beautiful place, a place for contemplation and reflection. It reminded Kian of his room back on Ossus....the room where he trained Corvus Raaf in the art of telepathy and where he had spent many a day deep in contemplation.

The Republic, gone. The One Sith, gone. The Omega Protectorate, gone. Now the Galactic Alliance was struggling as a new darkness rises once more. Kian bowed his head as he heard the words from Kana. So much loss....when would it end.

"I do remember [member="Avalore Eden"]," Kian said, "She and I never worked closely together, but we were acquainted." Kian said remember the Jedi Master. Kian had heard of the plight of the Silver Jedi as well. He hoped the tide could be turned in that war, and while not a member of their order, he would give his support to seeing it so. Ossus had been Kian's home for many years now, he'd lived more years there than on his native world of Dorin. Hearing that it was no longer in the hands of the Jedi broke his heart.

The news of Corvus though was even harder to stomach. "Vanished just like me." Kian said shaking his head. "I truly wish I had been here." Kian said remorsefully. Kian turned his attention fully back to Kana. All Jedi felt themselves tested from time to time. And some of the greatest Jedi had brushes with the darkness.

"We are all challenged, Kana." Kian said reaching out and patting her shoulder. "It can be a lonely life we live full of challenges and hardships." Kian said, his voice steady and slow. "But as a far greater Jedi than I once said, 'There are gifts to be found, even in death and sorrow, strange gifts.'" Kian said repeated the words of Jedi Master Plo Koon. "We learn from our failings and our losses more than we ever will from our successes."

"Of course," Kian said smiling ruefully under his mask, "if we are suppose to learn from our failures, I feel like the two of us should be much wiser than we are by now." Kian said chuckling in an attempt to lighten the mood. Kian had somehow always had a reputation for humorlessness and seriousness, but had always found his sense of humor in the presence of those closest to him.

 

[Kana Truden]

[member="Kian Karr"]

In the end Kana never held her loneliness against anyone. Kian had been gone, and while it hard hurt she had moved on from it over time. It took her long, it did, but she had moved on. Now here he was and the roots were pulled right out. Kian was alive which only left Corvus as the one big question mark, but Kana had lost hope. Corvus was quite clearly not wanting to be found, and Kana had tried. She really had, and there was not a single trace of her no matter where Kana would think to search. The trail had gone cold a decade ago, and that was perhaps what bothered her the most.

Still, she laughed at Kian’s joke and the smile that she had worn before returned to her.

“Yeah, and don’t get me started on that whole ‘time heals all wounds’ thing.” Kana deadpanned back. “Twenty years and the scars on my shoulders are still not gone. Not sure how long I should be waiting.”

They stepped up to the homestead. Kana waved at the people nearby as they looked at her and Kian. They hadn’t ever seen Kana have a visitor, not really. She had worked a lot over the last few years and kept her peace with where she was. Old, but not forgotten. A bit like the Republic perhaps, depending on who you asked. The newer generation of Jedi had no idea the hell they were spared.

Kana would lead Kian inside the homestead, make the rounds and introduce him to those that were around and then continue leading him to her room. A very small room, but it was big enough for her to keep to herself. It had a bed, a desk and table, a bunch of drawers, a drawer, and a tea set. She really didn’t need more than that. She’d grown up with less after all.

“So, I like the life I have made for myself here and all, but…” Kana chuckled. “Well, I still like my solitude and privacy more than the others seem to care for it.”

The tea was put on, Kana turned back to Kian. “So, I have to admit that I am curious. How has life been for you the last few years? Did you find what you were looking for?”

Better make that two pots. The two of them did, in the end, have a lot of catching up to do.

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian walked with Kana into her private quarters. They were simple but comfortable. They looked like a perfect place to settle down for some peace in a war-torn world. Kian looked at his old friend and his smile spread even wider on his face. Despite all that had happened, Kian was happy to know that his friend had found some peace.

"You always did." Kian said, thinking back on their friendship. How long had it been? How long had the two of them been friends? Kian had been a Jedi Knight when Kana, Corvus, and he had first met....was it the Invasion of Alderaan? So many years had passed he could not remember. Back then they had been youthful and eager....now the years had turned Kian from the young Knight he was then to the aged Jedi he was now. Kana too.

Time may not have healed all wounds....but my how it changed you.

"That, my friend....is a long, long story."

Kian's head began to swim just thinking about it and images began to flash through his mind.

Nightmares....constant nightmares...message sent through the force.

A solitary trip to a distant, unnamed planet.

So much death.

Kian shook his head clearing his mind of the images and looked up at his friend, his voice getting serious.

"Let me see....where to begin......"

~ ~ ~​

​

"And then, picking up the signal I had rigged, Jedi Qual and his Padawan Soli Baris saved me from that place." Kian said, finishing his tale. Sitting back, Kian finished his cup of tea, they had already finished one pot in the time it took him to recant his story. "Once I was retrieved, they began to tell me what had passed in my time stranded....."

"....so much time lost..." Kian said shaking his head.

[member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

[member="Kian Karr"]

“Long stories are my specialty.” Kana smiled and leaned back in her seat to give Kian space to tell his story. She shuffled back and forth, leaned on her knee for support and then back into her seat again as it unfolded, but her eyes never pried from the Master and what it was he was saying. It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but she had long since learned to accept the truth no matter how bitter it was.

The story wrapped and Kana tried to pour more tea into Kian’s cup from the empty kettle. It was an incredible story, and it would explain so much of why Kana hadn’t been able to find Kian either. She frowned, she smiled and then it all faded into a neutral stare into her friend’s eyes.

“I am so sorry to hear that.” She finally opened her mouth to speak. “I understand why there was such a silence then.”

Was silence even applicable? It was more like the radio had been turned off entirely. Her lips burst open at his closing words. So much time lost felt like the most accurate descriptor of her life. Republic lost, Ruusan lost, all of it gone no matter how she looked at it. The somber mood was hard to drop, perhaps because of the company. It was a shared feeling that Kana had grown used to suppressing.

“But there is hope for the future.” Kana smiled again in an effort to lighten the mood. “We’ve seen this before, we know what to do and how to handle it.”

“The balance will always be in motion, it will be hard to avoid. What matters is not what we did, but rather what we do moving ahead. Dwelling on the past is just as dangerous as anything else, I’ve learned.”

“We should focus on what we can do in the here and now instead.” Her head bobbed from side to side as if to make a slight point. “While also keeping the past in mind, of course.”

“But beyond that, there is a lot both you and I can do for the people that need us. Don’t you agree?”

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian listened and smiled warmly beneath his mask. He had brought the mood down and bit and it was unlike Kian to give in to despair or melancholy. The sudden loss of so many and so much had taken Kian by surprise when he returned from his absence. Kana was certainly right. There was much reason for hope if one looked closely enough. The pendulum may have swung in one direction, but it would certainly swing back. In the meantime, they had to do whatever they could to help as many people as possible.

"Of course," Kian said nodding, "thank you Kana for reminding this old Jedi of the importance of hope."

"The question is," Kian said sitting back and running his hand along the spikes on his antiox mask, "where can we best be of service?" It was a big galaxy and there were so many who could be helped by them. On the way here to see Kana, Soli Baris had told Kian about the Republic Remnant, a group of former Republic officials, soldiers, and Jedi who were beginning to establish themselves in Wild Space.

"Where are the Jedi most needed now?"

[member="Kana Truden"]​

 

[Kana Truden]

[member="Kian Karr"]

She smiled at Kian. Hope was all about perspectives, right? The Republic had always hoped for an end to the One Sith, and in the end it had gotten it even if it was posthumously. The Republic died and with it did most of the ties that Kana held to it. Her best friends were all gone except Master Eden. It had made the most sense at the time for Kana to come to Sulon when Avalore made the move, and it still was. To that end, Kana didn’t really have a good answer to Kian’s question.

“The Jedi are needed everywhere.” Kana smiled still as she leaned back in her seat. “Well, no, to be perfectly fair what we need are good men and women who are willing to devote time and effort into a greater good.”

“Regardless, we have different places where we are needed, and unlike me — and feel free to correct me — you wouldn’t be the kind to sit around a homestead of healers, right?” A chuckle burst her smile into a grin. “I think the question of where I was needed the most was the one that kept me up the most during our time in the Republic. Certainly spent a lot of time thinking on it, and eventually I just kind of figured…”

“We are needed everywhere and nowhere.” Kana’s grin managed to grow wider as she leaned forward again. For once, she was the one that was acting like a mysterious, riddle-talking Jedi. “There might be people in the Alliance who could use a Jedi Shadow’s skills in the war effort against the First Order and Sith Empire. There might also be other people outside of the Alliance who needs it.”

“For the time being, you are likely to be a rogue variable in most eyes.” Kana shrugged. “You don’t have any loyalties because those that you had were lost years ago. No ties for the same reason. In this very moment, the entire galaxy and your own fate is in no one’s hands but your own.”

“I got my ties to the Healer’s Circle. I can’t leave, and I don’t plan to either.” She looked at the door for a second and then back at Kian. “So, everywhere and nowhere. You are needed in a great many corners of the galaxy, but you can go wherever you want like a morbid game of pick-and-choose.”

“... That said, there might still be remnants of the Republic somewhere out there. It’s a wrapped chapter for me, but with the years that have passed I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to seek these folks out.”

“Then there’s the Jedi Academy Network. Could always lend hands in there if you have the desire.”

“And then, there is the homestead right here. That is to say me, you are always welcome to come back whenever you want to.”

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian listened quietly to his old friend. He couldn't help but consider the growth of the Jedi before him in the decades they'd known each other. It made him feel old to see how wise she had become....and also immensely proud. Kian considered the various avenues she outlined, and he had to agree they all had their benefits and faults.

"I agree." Kian said, "Though, if I am being honest, I find the new political structure of the Galactic Alliance....troublesome." Kian said shrugging. He had never been comfortable with the Jedi having too much attachment to a political system, and the Triumvirate politicized them in a way that concerned him.

"And the Shadows are scattered....in my absence they were able to hold on to some of our network, but most has fallen." Kian said. "I'll have some rebuilding to do." Kian said laughing.

"And you are correct," Kian admitted, "I was never much for sitting still....and I am a mediocre healer at best!" Kian said laughing.

"I will have to seek out these remnant of the Republic." Kian agreed. He'd served the Republic his entire life, and he would continue to serve it until he became one with the force. "I'm sure there will be other Jedi doing the same....and we can rebuild." Kian said turning toward his friend.

"And as long as I am involved in the Order, you'll always have a place of welcome there should you choose to join us or just visit." Kian said feeling a lump form in his throat. "And I may take you up on your offer, should I find myself in the area." Kian said smiling warmly beneath his mask.

"You should also know, since you helped me retrieve it." Kian said touching his hand to his lightsaber. It was not Plo Koon's lightsaber, which Kana, Corvus, and Kian had found years earlier, but rather his old green bladed saber from his days as a Padawan and young Knight. "That Corvus, you, and I are the only three people who know the location of Plo Koon's lightsaber now." Kian said.

"It is stored in the tomb of family back on Dorin." Kian said, having hidden it ther prior to going on the last mission that saw him lost for a time. "Should anything ever happen to me, you are welcome to it if you wish."

[member="Kana Truden"]​

 

[Kana Truden]

[member="Kian Karr"]

“Come for the Jedi, stay for the friends.” Kana mused quietly as Kian shared his issues with the way that the Alliance worked and how the Shadows had dispersed. Her statement went for both items, of course. The Alliance hierarchy and modus operandi wasn’t exactly why she stayed as much as because of the friends she had made. Kana was pretty separated as it was, partly because of her former fall and another part because she had no interest to get herself involved in something like that again.

There was, in the end, only so much defeat that she could take as a soldier. Her fighting days were over and now she simply craved an easy existence. Even if it was in the shadow of a greater evil. Kian agreed somewhat with what Kana was saying, that perhaps this wasn’t his place but that he just as well wouldn’t be a stranger from here on out. Good news, if not the absolute best.

Her eyes set on the unfamiliar saber in the man’s hands and then at the man himself. It was indeed not the saber she had helped him find. Her brows perked as she gave the man a curious glance as to why that was.

Oh, it was kept safe.

“I will keep it safe.” Kana smiled finally as Kian made his point. “Good thing that you aren’t dying any time soon then. Would be a shame if I had to take you up on this.”

The blonde master laughed at her own joke before looking back at her friend again with a headshake. “I kid, of course. Thank you Kian.”

“I guess though, seeing how things have gone since the last time…” She felt her lip twist into another melancholic frown. “It’s really just you and I who know its location then.”

“Corvus being gone and all.”

 

[Kian Karr]

Spoiler

Sorry for the long wait! I had my qualifying exam for grad school this week so I went MIA for a little bit for prep!

Kian nodded along with Kana's words. With Corvus gone, Kian and Kana would be the only two to know the location of the tomb...Kian had no family left save his close friends among the Jedi and Aria's family had long since been gone.

"Yes, just us." Kian agreed and crossed his arms over his chest. "And, regretfully, none of us know when we will join the force." Kian said smiling, "But I have no intentions of dying anytime soon!" Kian said holding up a taloned finger.

Kian stopped and looked at his old friend, his head tilted to the side and sad feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

"This almost feels like a goodbye doesn't it." Kian said running his hand over his head.

"I'm....getting older." Kian said, not upset by the realization but merely acknowledging the fact. "I know I might not look it....or maybe I do." Kian said chuckling.

"But I feel it." Kian said after a moment of silence. "I do not know how many more battles I have left in me....Kel Dor do not live as long as humans and I can feel the twilight years upon me." Kian said, his words quiet and contemplative. It wasn't the sort of thing often admitted to in conversation but the kind of words that could be spoken without fear among a true friend.

"While I do not know if I will see this place again....or you....I hope I will." Kian said turning back.

[member="Kana Truden"]​

 

[Kana Truden]

[member="Kian Karr"]

“Well, I don’t plan on dying either.” Kana said with a grin. “It’s not goodbye, it’s more of a farewell.”

That didn’t make sense, did it? Kana grimaced for a second, scrunched her nose and shook her head. “What I mean is that we both know that time and space will probably separate us again for a while. In case this is the last time, which it isn’t, it just doesn’t hurt to be prepared, you know? Have the last few moments shared between us be something we’ll remember fondly.”

“Regardless of if you see me in person or as a glowy force ghost, you can count on us meeting again, my friend. We’ve already had this dance before. Time is unending if you let it be.”

“Besides, you look far from your twilight years!” She then squealed in a far happier voice. “Look at me, I mean… I was a spry teenager when I joined up the Order, and the other day I swear I saw a graying hair somewhere up in this mess of a hair.”

Kana dragged her hand through said mess of a hair and gave a quick laugh.

“We’ll both be fine, and we will see eachother again. You can count on that, Kian. You, me, and maybe even Corvus. It’s just a matter of patience, and doing what we have to do until then.”

“Maybe we leave behind a galaxy in peace, or maybe we don’t. What matters is that we try when we still have the chance.”