[SpringsSong]

"That's... impressive, and terrifying," Lana said, her jaw hanging open for a few moments after saying this. "That must take an incredible amount of restraint to use and not go mad with power," she said.

"It does," Xyshari said. "I've only ever used it twice - once when I learned it, another when my team and I was taking on a huge battle droid. I had to ensure that my allies were clear of the affected area, however."

[SpringsSong]

"I'm guessing it isn't customary for there to be casualties on missions?" Lana asked.

"We're to avoid it if at all possible," Xyshari said with a grin. "It isn't the Jedi way to murder one's associates, no matter... how tempting it can be, sometimes," she said. "However, with Kovach, it was... different."

"Had you contacted me, I'd have asked you to deal with him as you saw fit," Lana said, placing a hand on her wife's shoulder. "Theron was... very concerned about the fact that you killed him on an open holofrequency."

[SpringsSong]

"I've been sick of Saresh's meddling since Makeb. She actually reprimanded me - the Barsen'thor of the Order, member of the Council - for saving civilians and promising them aid when we thought their planet was dying!" she said. "She had only wanted to help the citizens because the planet had value because of Isotope-5."

"She would have fared well in the Empire," Lana said with a distinctly bitter tone. "She sounds more like a dictator than a proper Republic politician."

[SpringsSong]

"So to hear that she had managed to plant a spy in your ranks, and had no interest in the delicate situation we were trying to preserve on Ziost and just wanted open warfare with the Emperor and the Empire as a whole," Xyshari said. "Even to this day, I doubt she understands the magnitude of the problems she caused by interfering."

"It was not easy to watch you execute her in such a calculated manner," Lana said. "But it wasn't undeserved."

[SpringsSong]

"Several troopers from the Republic told me she got what she deserved, given the times we were in and the severity of what she had done. Her punishment would have been a firing squad anyways," she said. "I know any Imperial would have executed her simply because she served as one of the figureheads of the Republic."

"You're not wrong," Lana said. "I was more worried that she might have hurt you, however."

"Always worrying about me," Xyshari crooned, peering out over the bow of the ship.

[SpringsSong]

"In all seriousness, Acina and I bonded over that experience. It wasn't all bad," she said. "It's amazing what barriers can come down when you're willing to just talk."

"Acina did say that she respected your ability to be decisive and even ruthless when the task called for it," Lana said. "I told her it was something that I admired about you when we were dealing with the Revanites."

"I still have no regrets supporting her on Iokath over Malcolm, even if it tore Theron up," she said.

[SpringsSong]

"Theron's always had..."

"I can hear you, you know," the man said in a sour tone.

"...parental issues," Lana said, more quietly. "Grandmaster of the Jedi for one parent, Supreme Commander of the Republic Military for the other. No doubt the expectations for his future were set very high."

"I know Satele hoped dearly he would be Force-sensitive," Xyshari said. "And I'm sure it vexed Malcolm that he went into the SIS instead of the military outright."

[SpringsSong]

"My parents always hoped I would end up in the military, or as a Sith. Every parent in the Empire hopes that, since Force sensitivity isn't necessarily inherited," Lana said. "So, when my latent talents were discovered..."

"I'm guessing there was a grand celebration before you were sent off to Korriban?"

"More or less, but it was also a somber day. Not all who are Force sensitive cut it as Sith," Lana said. "They were preparing to lose me."

[SpringsSong]

"...doesn't sound too far off from what happened to me," Xyshari said. "My family knew they would likely never see me again when the Jedi took me. After all, the Jedi aren't really big on families."

"A mistake, if you ask me," Lana said. "Which reminds me..."

"We've never met each other's families, I know," Xyshari said. "I wonder how they'd react to me having a human mate that is female..."

"I wonder how mine would react to my wife being... well, first of all, a wife instead of a husband; second of all, a Cathar," Lana mused.

[SpringsSong]

"They're not... anti-alien, are they?" Xyshari asked hesitantly.

"They supported Malgus' idea that the Empire should be more accepting, even if they didn't support him directly," Lana said. "They would be surprised, to be sure, although I think their surprise would be more towards the fact that I have a wife and not a husband."

"Will you two quit talking all domestic-like? I think I felt something hit the ship," Theron snapped. "Whatever it was, it's big..."

[Hunt Complete]