Their eyes met. Reath had wanted to say goodbye and had thought Nan might, too. However, as he looked down at her—clearly struggling to find the right words, unwilling to meet his eyes—he realized that their brief time as companions might’ve meant more to her than it had to him. That the way he’d acted might’ve come across as romantic interest, at least for anyone leading a more normal life. People on the frontier didn’t yet understand the Jedi, which meant they didn’t understand the limits on those relationships. Too late, Reath comprehended that he should’ve been more careful.

But there was no need to be unkind. He said, “It was a pleasure getting to know you, Nan. I doubt our paths will cross again, but I wish you well.”

“Paths will cross,” she repeated absently, then straightened. She met his eyes steadily, as though making a vow. “You saved me from being kidnapped. That means you’re responsible for returning me to my people. I don’t take that lightly.”

“Any Jedi would’ve done the same.”

“It wasn’t ‘any Jedi.’ It was you, and I will tell them so.” Nan looked into his eyes with great solemnity for a long moment—then smiled, her cheerful self once more. “Thanks for telling me so much about the Republic and the Jedi. The galaxy is changing, and you helped me understand it.”

Reath felt happy to have done so, but also happy to eventually report this to Master Jora. Then she would understand that he wasn’t just rejecting the people of the frontier out of hand, which meant his reasons for wanting to return to Coruscant were completely objective. “Glad to be of service.”

They parted ways at last. He glanced back over his shoulder once to see her go—the same moment she’d turned to look at him. When their eyes met, Nan raised one hand in farewell.

I’ll see her again, Reath thought. He knew it as surely as he knew anything. The Force declared it.

Chapter Thirteen

“This hyperspace lane might’ve been cleared for transit, but that doesn’t make it smooth sailing.” Leox shook his head as he studied the nav coordinates. “Geode, can you triangulate the vortices…except, look here, it’s already done. Should’ve known you’d be one step ahead of me.”

Geode had the good manners not to rub it in, for which Leox was grateful. His moods had been on edge of late, and he was not a man whose temperament reached the edge very often. He was no Force user, but he did not doubt that the universe had spiritual dimensions, and on this station, those dimensions were seriously out of whack. Call it the dark side, call it whatever: Leox would be glad to see the back of it.