The sun was sinking low behind the Sith Academy, throwing the Valley of the Dark Lords into a premature twilight, when Lord Dralick's ship arrived on Korriban. The landing platform was not the one Kyrian was familiar with, but it shared one important feature: it was connected to the Academy by a winding path past ancient tomb entrances and narrow canyons.

Tombs and canyons that afforded an opportunity for escape.

Not, perhaps, the best opportunity, given the k'lor'slugs (and worse) that roamed the valley, but opportunity nonetheless. Even being eaten by k'lor'slugs would be a more pleasant fate than what the Sith planned for him. It would certainly be quicker.

Kyrian stumbled down the rocky path, trailing as far behind Dralick as he dared. A pair of Dralick's guards brought up the rear, the ominous crackle of their electrostaffs a reminder not to get too close to them, either.

They hadn't bothered to bind him, not when he could barely walk. Dralick had taken full advantage of the voyage for his sadistic entertainment. It hadn't even been revenge—his taunts had made that clear—he simply liked hearing people scream.

A medpac or two, a little kolto, I'll be fine, Kyrian told himself. The damage wasn't that serious, no matter how it felt. When the time came, desperation and adrenaline would give him the strength he needed.

He shuffled along, head bowed, trying to look even weaker than he felt. His boots caught on the rough ground, each stumble jolting a new wave of pain through his aching body.

I only have to run far enough to find a place to hide. He could do that. He had to.

He shivered. His tattered clothing offered little protection against the chilling air. A warm place to hide. Warm enough to survive the night, at least.

But the cool air cleared his head, curing the last of the dizziness induced by Dralick's torture drugs. All he needed was a likely canyon. Small enough to hamper the guards, large enough not to dead end immediately. He would worry about the wildlife, a hiding place, and the cold of night once he'd put some distance between himself and Dralick.

The path curved around a jagged outcrop, overhanging rock deepening the shadows. To the right, perhaps two meters below the path, a black opening yawned, narrow and inviting. The Sith Academy loomed closer. There would be no better chance.

Kyrian leapt from the path, skidding on the loose stones. He plunged into the darkness of the canyon.

The air seized him in an iron grip. It pulled him backwards and upwards, slamming him to the ground at Dralick's feet. He gasped for breath, choking in the dust. No, no…

"Did you really think you'd escape? Did you think I couldn't sense your sickening hope?"

No… Kyrian clawed helplessly at the stone. Another meter, a little farther, and he would've been out of sight. Out of reach.

"Tsk," Dralick said. "Pathetic. All this time, and you still don't understand." He spun one of his guards' electrostaffs slowly, almost casually. The charged ends crackled as they cut through the air. "There is no escape here. No hope."

Kyrian flinched as the electricity traced a burning arc centimeters above his back.

"Your pitiful training will not serve you," Dralick continued. "It will not help you to withstand your fate. You will beg for their mercy. Beg even for death. But there will be no mercy. And your mind will be gone long before they let your body die. Oh, yes, they will break you, a piece at a time." He brought the end of the electrostaff down on Kyrian's right hand.

.

.

Korriban approach control approved Corso's request to land outside of Dreshdae without hesitation, and with a firm reminder that he could expect no assistance from the Imperial troops or the Sith. Jezari followed the landing instructions, settling Savler's ship on a plateau overlooking the abandoned city. A few lights gleamed among the ancient buildings, but most of the settlement was as dark as the canyons they'd flown over.

"Okay," Savler said. She'd tinted her face deathly pale, thick makeup hiding her scar, and painted jagged, blood red tattoos across her forehead and jawline. Corneal lenses gave her eyes a yellow glow, and her black hair fell loose, emphasizing the unnatural pallor of her face. "Last chance for questions."

How is any of this supposed to work!? Jezari wanted to shout. She was made-up just as pale, the natural yellow-tan of her skin giving her an even more sickly undertone. Another set of blood red false tattoos zigzagged across her cheeks, covering her real tattoos.

"It doesn't seem right you're taking all the risks," Corso said. "Me and Bowdaar could-"

"You and Bowdaar guard the ship," Savler said, not for the first time. "I mean it, farm boy. If my ship gets infested with shyracks while we're off saving the Imp, I'm holding you personally responsible."

"Kyrian," Jezari growled. He wasn't an Imp any more, and what the Empire did to traitors… A cold sinking feeling gripped her. Dralick had landed less than an hour ahead of them. It wasn't much time. And the Sith might wait until morning. Dark images clawed at her mind. We're too late. This'll never work.

Corso trailed after them. "But we-"

"Nope," Savler said. "Any other questions?"

Risha and Mako had already guided the swoops down the ramp and out into the night air. The overpowered speeder bikes hummed, vibrating with suppressed power. Even tuned for quiet rather than speed, they would eat up the kilometers between the ship and the Sith Academy in no time flat; a "slow" swoop was faster than any legal bike, and capable of altitudes and feats no legal bike could dream of.

It would take far more than ultra-fast speeders to pull off Savler's plan.

Like suddenly gaining Force powers.

Jezari froze. "We can't do this. There's got to be another way." They could slip in under cover of darkness and… and… "They'll see right through us!"

"No, they won't." Savler tossed her a pair of night vision goggles, and put on her own.

"They will!"

"Jez, relax. We've got this." She turned to Risha and Mako. "Remember: no extra risks. As soon as you're done, head straight back here."

"Got it, boss. Be careful." Mako gave Savler a quick hug and swung herself onto the swoop, behind Risha. Their dark gray maintenance coveralls blended into the darkness, as did the all-important bundle strapped onto the back of the seat.

"Comms working?" Risha asked. "Everybody remember their dissuaders?"

Jezari numbly tested her comm, and the box on her belt that would – should – keep the wildlife away. It wouldn't have any effect on Sith. You can't fight Sith. You can't trick Sith. You can't fool Sith. You can't.

They have Kyrian. His life depended on Savler's impossible plan. It depended on her taking a deep breath, getting on the other swoop, and… fooling Sith. It was that or walk away and let her friend die.

She took a deep breath and got on the swoop.

.

.

The lights in front of the Sith Academy were red tinted, and dim enough to leave large swaths of the area in shadow. The more distant glimmers of landing areas and workshops also had a crimson cast. Savler thought the hue was more for atmosphere than night vision; Sith loved nothing more than being dramatic.

They'd coaxed the swoop down a steep canyon as close to the Academy as they dared and parked it behind a large boulder. Savler left her dissuader clipped to it. The last thing they needed was to come back and find some Sith-warped snake curled up to the leftover warmth of the repulsor engine.

The canyon opened out onto one of the stone paths that ran from the Academy into the Valley of the Dark Lords. A pair of soldiers passed by, heading to wherever the path led. They gave the dark opening no apparent mind.

They'll have a lot more to think about soon, Savler thought.

A hooded Sith passed, muttering.

Jezari's grip on her arm tightened, but the Sith continued on without a sideways glance.

"If they sense us, they'll just think we're hiding from our master," Savler whispered when the crunch of the Sith's boots had died away. "If we're not trying to kill them, we don't matter. This whole place is crawling with failed Sith and escaped slaves."

Jezari swore quietly. "What are we-"

Savler shushed her. A faint electronic warble came from the path, the sound growing steadily louder. There was only one kind of droid that talked to itself that much. She leaned close to the canyon wall, peering carefully up and down the path. No one was close. Only the tiny box of a droid whirring its way up the path.

She stepped out and planted a booted foot in front of it.

The mouse droid backed away with a whine.

"You." She glared down at it. "Bring me an interrogation droid."

It bleeped and sped off, back toward the Academy.

Jezari stared at her. "You said we were gonna spike a computer."

"Yeah, I got to thinking about that." Savler rested her hip on a rock, watching the canyon entrance – and the path – closely. "Not sure they have a central database. Sith are funny about technology. I'm thinking if they don't bother with a proper security system, they're not gonna bother logging their prisoners." Or, if they did, the computer was in the chief jailer's – or chief torturer's – office. "But I bet the interrogation droids know where all the prisoners are."

"Savler..."

"Get ready. It's coming back." She stepped back onto the path to wait. The interrogation droid would draw less attention talking to a Sith than disappearing into a canyon.

Another pair of soldiers – or the same ones, returning down the path – passed her without comment. She ignored them, as a Sith would, her gaze on the interrogation droid following the mouse droid up the path.

It hovered to a stop in front of her, an assortment of appendages folded under its bulbous body, giving it the look of a metallic jellyfish. The mouse droid zipped around her and was gone.

"Droid," Savler said, "I need you."

Jezari reached out of the darkness and shoved the probe into the interface port at the back of its domed head.

The droid twitched, its photoreceptor dimming for a moment. It gave a crackle of binary.

"It's working," Jezari whispered. The faint light of the datapad lit her painted face as she handed it over.

Now for the tricky bit. Savler was sure, however weird Sith were about technology, they didn't need datapads to talk to their droids.

"The prisoner Dralick delivered, where is he being held?" She demanded.

Another crackle of binary and words appeared on the datapad: /Priority three cells./

"Location of-" Savler stopped. That would only get her unhelpful directions. "Map the location of priority three cells on this datapad."

A three-dimensional map of the Academy bloomed to life, a section of the first lower level blinking (in red, of course) with text labeling it as the priority three cells. She grinned and pulled up Mako's program. A few quick selections and the droid would forget their conversation and return to its normal duties as if it had never been interrupted.

"Perfect," she said as the interrogation droid floated away down the path. "Let's go."

.

.

Jezari glowered at the darkness, her gaze fixed straight in front of her, grateful her face was shadowed by her hood and the ill-lit halls. Every time they passed one of the silent, armored guards who stood at attention along the walls, she wanted to flinch.

Sith wouldn't flinch. Sith wouldn't acknowledge their presence, not even with a flicker of their eyes.

This is impossible, a little voice at the back of her mind gibbered. Hopeless. It'll never work. They'll see. They'll know. It's impossible!

No. Sith were hate and superiority and rage, not chest-tightening panic. They weren't afraid. They made other people cower before them. "Trust me," Savler had said. "They're all scared of each other. They just don't want anybody to know it. They're not gonna notice a little more fear."

A tall Sith, masked and cloaked, and silent as the guards, stalked past them.

Jezari fought down a whimper. He knows. They all know! But the Sith's heavy step didn't pause as it faded into the distance behind them.

You're Sith, she told herself. Hate. Rage. Power.

Her heart pounded in her chest, in her ears. Each step she expected to be challenged, to hear the smug, evil cackle of a Sith who'd sensed them, for the silent guardians to come to violent life.

Look like a Sith, act like a Sith, that's all that matters.

The halls were claustrophobic and stiflingly hot. Sweat stuck the shirt she wore under her dark robes to her chest and back. They wouldn't have to sense her fear. They'd smell it.

Savler turned down another corridor, Jezari following a step behind. The corridor was empty, silent except for the ring of their boots on the metal floor. Savler hesitated for a moment and opened a door on the right side.

The room beyond was dimly lit, recessed lights picking out the door, an angled metal table in the far corner (Jezari tried not to notice the restraint straps dangling from it), and two rows of cells – all but one deactivated and empty.

At first glance, the active cell looked empty, too; its reddish-orange force field containing nothing but air. And a dark, huddled lump on the floor.

She crossed the room in an instant.

"Jez! Wait!"

She ignored Savler's whispered yelp. The force field controls were on the upper emitter, nearly out of her reach. Standing on tiptoe, she jabbed the switch to "off." The force field winked out.

She dropped to her knees beside him. "Kyrian."

His bloodstained clothing was too shredded to do much to hide his injuries. His light brown skin was blotchy with purpling bruises and crisscrossed by jagged cuts and welts and a raw network of burns. His face was mostly untouched, his eyes shadowed, dark stubble growing out along his jaw. He was curled in on himself, hunched around his shattered right hand.

He was alive. Conscious, barely. His gaze vacant and unfocused.

"Shit. Kyrian, it's me." She fumbled for the medpac she'd stashed in the robe's deep pockets. It seemed woefully inadequate. "Hang on. We're gonna get you out of here."

He blinked up at her. "Jezari?" It was little more than a hoarse croak. "How?"

"Kaliyo." I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. She'd known it would be bad, but she'd still wanted to believe... "She sent a message. I… I'm gonna get you out of here."

"Huh." His eyes closed.

"No, no, don't do that. Stay with me." She injected him with a small dose of the medpac's painkiller. She longed to give him the maximum dose, but the readout warned her that there were unknown drugs in his system.

"Got the cameras," Savler said, kneeling beside her. "Damn." Her voice softened. "Kid, I know it's bad, but we're gonna see what we can do to get you out of here. Okay?"

He nodded.

"You're gonna be okay." Jezari tried not to look at his hand. There was nothing in the medpac to help with that kind of damage. "We just… we'll get you out of here."

Savler took the medpac, frowned, and handed it back. "Looks like stims are out. Well. Let's try sitting up, drink a little water. That injection should be kicking in."

It took both of them to help him sit up. He leaned on Jezari, breathing heavily, his arm clutched awkwardly to his chest. With her help, he managed to drink some of the water Savler had brought.

"You're gonna be okay," Jezari repeated. He needed a medcenter: a kolto tank, a surgeon, real medical care. Somewhere that wouldn't ask questions. Hutt Space was painfully far away.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Shh. We're gonna get you out of here. Nothing else matters."

Savler stood up. "Go ahead and give him some kolto. Not too much, but it's okay if he's drowsy. Might be better, even."

"What are you doing?" Jezari twisted to see her walk over to the slanted table. "Savler?"

The table was supported on a pivot, held up by a pair of wide supports. Savler circled it as if looking for something. She bent and straightened, holding a small metallic object. She fiddled with it for a moment and the entire arrangement lifted off the ground with the faint hum of a repulsor field.

"Oh no," Jezari said. "We can't."

The table followed Savler back to the powered off cell. "He can't walk," she said. "No one will give this a second glance."

"No."

Kyrian glanced at the table and shuddered. He closed his eyes. "She's right."

"There's got to be some other way."

Savler shook her head. "There's no time. Give him some kolto and help me get him on this thing."

It wasn't a pleasant task, even with Kyrian woozy from kolto. If they hadn't needed him conscious for the swoop ride, Jezari would've given him enough to knock him out completely. His breathing was ragged and too fast, and it clearly took an effort of will for him to let Savler take his right arm to strap him down properly. His whole body jerked when his injured hand touched the metal table top.

Savler grimly strapped him down.

Jezari swallowed bile. This is my fault. I knew we should've intercepted Dralick. Stopped him… Stopped you from ever going back. I'm sorry.

"Jez." Savler's voice cut through her thoughts. "Fix your hood. It's time to go."

.

.

The walk out of the Academy seemed easily twice as long as the walk in. Savler had tucked the interrogation table's remote into her belt as she'd seen Sith and guards do; the table would follow it anywhere.

She hadn't really lied to Jezari. Transporting unconscious prisoners was normal on Korriban – or seemed to be every time she'd visited – but prisoners were far more often transported into detention areas than out of them.

The silent guards in their niches along the walls didn't move as they passed. The few Sith they encountered either paid them no heed or eyed them with something akin to jealousy.

Her half-smirk never wavered. Projecting the confidence and casual cruelty of the Sith was their best ticket to going unnoticed. They were delivering a prisoner from one terrible fate to another. Just another night on Korriban.

Their footsteps rang in the dark corridors, echoing farther than the hum of the repulsor field. Her hood felt too small. It blotted out far more of her peripheral vision than her helmet did. If anyone behind or beside them sensed that something was wrong, they wouldn't know until it was far too late.

The heavy makeup she'd used to cover her scar itched. Even disguised as she was, it would be a long time before she'd risk delivering a bounty to Korriban again. There were some few cameras, even if there wasn't a proper central security system, and someone would eventually work out what had happened.

If the Sith weren't too good for technology, Mako could've covered our tracks.

She snapped her mind back to the present. Focus. If they got lost in the maze of corridors, it would be all over. If anyone noticed the cameras in the cells had failed, it would be all over. If anyone questioned them. If anyone went to the cells expecting to find Jezari's friend. If any of a dozen things there was no way to prevent.

They walked in silence. Purposefully. Calmly.

A lift took them to the main floor and its broader, but still shadowed, passages. There were more Sith there. And more of the statue-like guards.

Savler breathed a small sigh of relief when they emerged from the stuffiness of the Academy into the cold night air. The red pools of light revealed a few Sith on their own night errands.

She flipped back her hood and started up the path, Jezari at her side, the table following behind. A pair of soldiers stepped respectfully to the side to let them pass.

They encountered no one else.

At the entrance to the canyon, Savler took Jezari's arm and pulled her inside. The table followed them into the darkness, the repulsor field gliding smoothly over the uneven ground.

Savler put on her night vision goggles and undid the table's straps. "Okay, kid, we're almost home."

He stirred weakly, hugging his arm to himself.

Jezari pulled off her robe, revealing a decidedly un-Sith-like shirt and pants, and fumbled with it. There was a faint ripping sound. "Help me get this on him."

She'd cut the robe open up the front. He was too weak and dizzy to be much help, but they got his left arm in the sleeve and wrapped the right side around him. He sagged against Jezari, still shivering.

"We've got a swoop." Jezari helped him the last few meters to the large rock. "You just have to stay awake a-"

The Valley of the Dark Lords blazed with light, as if every lamp in front of the Academy and along the trails had suddenly been turned to full power. As they probably had been.

"Go!" Even in the side canyon, the light was enough to make Savler squint.

The shrill wail of an alarm sounded from somewhere in the Valley. And then another. Mako and Risha's distraction, right on time.

Jezari fired up the swoop's engine. Her friend clung to her. Savler climbed on behind him and steadied him with one hand, grabbing a passenger grip with the other.

"Get us out of here!"

Jezari needed no further urging. She spiraled the swoop up, out of the canyon. They roared away from the lights of the valley, alarms blaring behind them.

.

.

Bowdaar and Corso stood guard at the foot of the ship's ramp, weapons at ready. Jezari pulled the swoop to a stop in front of them. Kyrian was slumped against her, only the grip of his good hand telling her he was still conscious.

Savler leapt off. "Help us get him inside," she ordered. "Are the others back yet?"

"They…uh…" Corso waved vaguely at the ramp.

Bowdaar sheathed his sword and carefully scooped Kyrian up.

"This way," Savler said. "Jez, get us out of here. Farm boy, grab the swoop. And don't forget to turn it off when you get it inside!"

Jezari hesitated, fighting the urge to follow Bowdaar.

Corso took the swoop from her. "Captain, what… what happened?"

"Dralick. Sith." Jezari shook her head. Sith. The light. The alarms.

She sprinted up the metal stairs to the flight deck level. The sonic lures Risha and Mako had set up were a distraction and a delaying tactic, nothing more. The wildlife they attracted wouldn't keep the Sith busy for long. And they would do nothing to keep them from contacting the warships in orbit.

Mako was already in the cockpit, going through the preflight. She nodded to Jezari and dropped into the copilot's seat, not pausing in the checklist. "Hydraulics. Life support."

Jezari took the pilot's seat and the last of the pilot's half of the checklist. The cockpit wasn't laid out quite like the Luck's, but it was similar enough, especially after the practice run flying it to Korriban.

The headset she hadn't bothered to put on squawked angrily. Demanding Corso prove he wasn't involved, or ordering him to join in the hunt. She fired up the engines and answered them with her takeoff.

She steered the ship over Dreshdae, curving out into the wastelands, away from the Valley of the Dark Lords and the fleet in orbit above it.

"They'll try to cut us off," Mako said. "There. Set two six zero. I'll have our jump ready as soon as we're out of the atmosphere."

"First we've gotta get there." There was already an ominous blip on their sensor display. Korriban was desolate, with no real cities, no areas of high technology they could get lost over. It was a race. And Savler's ship was slow and sluggish compared to the Luck.

The blip was gaining on them.

"The hell with this." Jezari pulled back on the yoke, sending the ship screaming for open space.

"We're still too close to the fleet!"

"Get that jump ready." There were more ominous blips moving in. A lot more. "Scratch that, get any jump ready. I don't care it's not out of the system!" She couldn't find the internal comm. "Guys!" She shouted. "Weapons!"

Imperial ships filled their windscreen – two large warships and a swarm of fighters. Jezari flew a zigzagging evasive course away from the larger ships. They had to get past them, out of the gravity well of the planet, or they wouldn't be going anywhere.

Their ship rocked as the first laser blasts hit. The shields stayed solidly green.

"What are you doing?" Mako yelped.

"The jump. Get the jump." Jezari spiraled the ship into a formation of fighters, scattering them. Their ship might survive a collision. The fighters wouldn't.

The ship shook and lurched as the fighters peppered it with laser fire. She was too busy to tell if anyone had manned their own laser canons. An alarm whooped. Their shields were flickering yellow.

"Mako!"

"Almost..."

A bright flare of heavier weapons fire illuminated the cockpit, far too close for comfort.

"Almost… Got it!" Mako cried.

Jezari banked around a wedge of ship that suddenly blocked their path and aimed for clear space. Alarms howled.

"Go!"

Jezari pulled back on the lever, and the stars stretched into the chaotic blur of hyperspace. The shield alarm continued to wail. She reached out and switched it off. "How long?"

"Shh!" Mako's fingers flew over the navigation console. "Okay. Punch it again as soon as we revert."

As if on cue, the whirls of light outside their windscreen shifted back to a field of stars. Jezari didn't look around to see where they were, or where the battle they had abruptly left was. She reactivated the hyperdrive, and the stars were gone again.

.

Risha's contacts found them a doctor they could trust. Not a specialist, but as close as they could come without selling their souls to a Hutt clan or the Exchange, or facing dangerous questions at a Core World medcenter.

Though if it hadn't been for the distance, and Kyrian's damning accent, Jezari would have been tempted to risk Republic authority and the Core Worlds. Competent as the Zeltron and her surgical droids seemed, she didn't have the resources of a real medcenter or the innovations of a surgeon on Coruscant or Rhinnal.

But she was a real doctor, and her resources were better than they'd had any right to hope for. Jezari tried to tell herself that was good enough.

Savler checked them into a large suite at a hotel with more than enough automated luxuries to ease taking care of an injured man. She noted with some amusement to Jezari that that wasn't even a coincidence – the mountains outside the city were a popular skiing and climbing destination. It had taken all of Jezari's self-control not to snap at her in response.

They were exhausted, short on sleep, and long on stress. And more than grateful there were enough beds for all of them. (Even if none were quite as long as Bowdaar would have liked.) That it was barely noon by planetary time hardly mattered.

Though Jezari stared at the crisp white ceiling for a very long time before she finally fell asleep.

.

.

Kyrian rested his arm on the balcony railing, mindful of the splint that covered his hand and most of his forearm. The doctor had recommended he keep it elevated as much as possible to reduce swelling. His hand ached. It was probably time for another pill, but that meant going back inside.

The last purple streaks of sunset glimmered on the horizon and the air was still pleasantly warm. He leaned back on the padded bench – it was too hard to really qualify as a couch – and stared up at the sky, watching the stars appear.

The doctor had been clear without being unkind. There was no chance of a full recovery; there was simply too much damage to his hand. She could operate, and he would have a good chance of...mostly recovering. There would be some loss of strength, of dexterity. It would be impossible to know how much until after he healed from surgery. There might be areas of numbness, depending on the nerve damage, or the pain might never go away.

"Please," he'd said. "Try."

He closed his eyes, focused on his breathing. Imperial Intelligence agents didn't cry, even former ones. His training had failed him there. Perhaps if he'd actually completed cipher training. But the missions, the Eagle, it had all been too important to spare the time. Now, it didn't matter.

He breathed in slowly and let it out again, just as slowly. He was alive. The planet – whatever it was – seemed pleasant enough, and was far from the Empire, he hoped. It was all over. He was alive.

The curtain rustled behind him. "Kyrian?" There was a tinge of concern in Jezari's voice.

He sat up hastily and ran his hand over his face. She might take it for sleepiness; he'd slept most of the day. The balcony lamps were off and the curtain blocked most of the light from the room.

She hesitated in the doorway. The bar of light behind her cast her face in shadow. "How, uh… You…" She started again. "You weren't in your room. I just… If you want to be alone…" She turned.

"No." He shook his head. "The view is lovely." They faced the city rather than the mountains, but the bright sea of lights that stretched away below them was appealing in its own way.

She sat beside him on the upholstered bench, a cautious distance between them. "Are you okay? I mean… considering."

Considering… The word left more than enough leeway for a reassuring answer. Yes, I'm fine. It would only be a small lie. I'll be fine. That was probably true. I'll…

"No," he said at last. "Not really." He looked up at the sky, now bright with stars despite the urban glow. "I knew the risks I... No, I thoughtI knew the risks. I was so certain I'd have warning. That Keeper would hesitate, or I'd see something in his manner. In Watcher Two's. Reluctance. Regret." He sighed. "They're loyal to the Empire. I knew that."

Jezari put a hand on his shoulder.

"It was obvious. An urgent summons to an Imperial world? One with few opportunities for escape. I should have realized." He closed his eyes. "Kaliyo knew. She even tried to warn me. I didn't realize that, either."

"I'm sorry."

"I should have listened to you. You were right about everything." He'd been so arrogant; so certain he could fool everyone. Of course a junior field agent can think rings around all of Imperial Intelligence. It isn't as though they have decades of experience spotting lies and treason. "I thought I could protect the Empire, ignore orders I didn't agree with, save people, help you. And not have to choose."

Her grip on his shoulder tightened. "This wasn't your fault."

"All I had to do was have even a tiny shred of wisdom." He could have walked away and saved himself – saved all of them – so much.

"Kyrian. Hey." She shifted on the bench, turning to face him. "I mean it. It wasn't your fault."

"The risk you took, coming there…" He tried to push back the raw memories. Jagged pain. Fear. The cold metal floor of the cell. He concentrated on the angular shape of the railing, a simple dark form against the city lights.

"We're friends. You'd have done the same thing for any of us. Just… Just listen to me next time, damn it."

I will. The words wouldn't form. Always. He needed to say something. Something reassuring. Anything. The dark shape of the railing blurred.

"I'm sorry." She pulled him close. "It's not your fault."

He wrapped his arms around her. She was warm and solid and hugging him far too tightly. He never wanted her to stop.