"Green Eyes"
By: Elisia Melaout - Jedi Padawan
Kace Mordin - Jedi Master

Location: Drogen Shipyards
Date: Selene 20, 3 ABY

***

Kace slipped out of bed and dressed. He noticed, as he was pulling on his shirt, that the bed was empty. Yelara had left already. There was a note though, for which he was grateful. She had some things to take care of, and she'd see him later. He set the note aside and finished getting ready.

He stepped out of his room and went to Elisia's. He knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. Still know answer. "Elisia?"

He pressed the control to open the door. The room was empty, and the bed hadn't been slept in.

Panic hit Kace like he'd never felt before. One thought dominated his thinking. Dargus.

He started toward the vidcom when he glanced at his bedroom door. Memories flooded back of how uncomfortable Elisia always seemed when he mentioned Yelara. What if she'd come home and...? And, what if she thought they were in his room...? A new type of panic hit Kace. He took several deep breaths and then stretched out with his mind. His consciousness drifted around the station, searching for Elisia's mind. Having interacted telepathically so many times, he had no trouble finding her. She was on the ship.

He was still pulling on his cloak as he ran from the apartment. He nearly knocked over a Rodian and Ithorian coming out of one of the cafés in his haste, but never slowed down. He ignored the curses they threw after him as he ran.

The ramp had never moved more slowly than when he finally got to his ship and tried to open it. Finally, after what seemed like hours, it was open enough for him to get inside. He ran up inside, and found Elisia curled up in a tight ball in the center of the main cabin. He moved close and knelt beside her. "Elisia," he said gently.

Elisia groaned and then opened her eyes. "I am sorry, I must have fallen asleep." She looked around at the room she had cleared to work. The sphere still lay on the floor where she had last deflected it. Her saber lay beside her. She sat up. "I am sorry, I will clean up." She stood up, her muscles protesting the workout and the hard floor. She immediately shielded her mind from his thoughts or any possible attempt to read them. She forced a smile to her face. "You didn't come back so I thought I would practice. I must have lost track of time." At least it was truth. She just left out some things.

He studied her for a long moment before he nodded. "Okay," he said. "You didn't come home last night? When I was getting the spare coils, I saw Yelara pass out on the flight deck. So, I was helping her. I'm sorry I didn't let you know. I should have. But, she stayed with me last night. But, nothing happened. I just gave her food, and made sure she was okay. But, nothing else happened." He wasn't sure why he was telling her, but he knew he wanted her to know that nothing had happened between himself and Yelara. "I just didn't want you to start thinking Yelara was my girlfriend again. That's all."

His words she had overheard cut through her once again but she forced her face to remain passive. If he didn't want her to know then she had no rights to question it. She was learning that lesson very well. "It is none of my business Master Kace where you spent your night or who with," she said slowly and evenly. She attached her saber back to her belt and picked up the sphere to put it away.

"Okay," he said, forcing the walls he'd constructed into place. She only really called him Master Kace when something was bothering her, but he didn't know what he could do. "We should probably get started if you're ready. You're getting very close to being able to sense the fork. It won't be long now, I can tell."

She nodded and sat down. She set the fork back into the center of the table. She closed her eyes and tried to sense the fork. She struggled but couldn't do more than mentally picture. She focused her anger and hurt to try to use those emotions to help her see the fork. She felt something tightly coil in her and then she could see it, feel it and then suddenly, it dissolved. She let out a frustrated sigh, her eyes still closed.

Kace sat across from her. "What's wrong, Elisia?" he asked. "I don't understand where your anger is coming from."

"I just want to do this and it keeps slipping away," she said with frustration. "I can't hold on to it even when I get close. What am I doing wrong?"

Kace studied her for a moment, then moved closer along the edge of the table. An idea came to him and he smiled. "Take my hand," he said, holding it out for her. She didn't want to take his hand. It had been holding Yelera. "I don't want to do this right now." She stood and strode to the galley. She knew she was behaving badly, but she couldn't seem to help it. "I am going to go down to the planet," she said, looking for something to eat. They had been eating at the apartment so the pickings were scarce. She found a piece of older fruit and gnawed on it as if it were a delicacy. She didn't look at him.

He nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I want to go alone," she said. She picked up the cloak she had purchased only a couple of days before. "I promise, I will come back." She headed for the gangway. She turned back and looked at him. "I need some space. I am not used to such confinement."

Kace nodded. "Alright," he said. He didn't know what he'd done to make her upset, but he was fairly certain he was the cause. His first instinct was to insist, but he'd rejected it. She needed her space. She needed to get away from him. He knew he was effectively hiding his pain, keeping it from his face. He had grown so used to masking his emotions over the years, that actually showing them required effort. "I'll see you when you get back then. Be safe."

"I have survived this long, I think one trip to the planet won't kill me." She swept down the plank. Now he could go back to his girlfriend and their bed. She would spend the time trying to figure out why she was so angry.

***

After she was gone, Kace sighed and allowed himself a moment to express his grief. Every muscle tensed, eyelids closed tight, his breathing erratic. Then he took a deep breath and let it out. And another. He wanted to cry out, to fly into a rage. He knew he had never been able to do that though. While men like Dargus boiled when they were angry, Kace Mordin grew very silent, very cold.

He could not understand the last time when she'd left. He didn't understand what he'd done, or how he'd done it. He didn't understand why he had expressed his emotions so openly and outwardly.

Dargus. The last time Elisia had left, Dargus had a man following her. He did not trust that the same would not be true this time. He had to make sure Elisia was not followed to the surface.

Kace pulled on his cloak and moved to the ramp. He pulled the Force around him and allowed it to cloak him from sight. He slipped down the ramp and out in the direction he could feel Elisia. He moved slowly, waiting.

He didn't have to wait long before a shadow detached from a wall and pursued. A touch across the surface of the mind confirmed that Elisia was the target. Kace adjusted his speed, moving to intercept Elisia's shadow from the side. She did not see his approach, did not see his hand snake toward her temple, didn't even flinch as her consciousness escaped her. He caught her smoothly and slung her over his shoulder. He stretched his thoughts toward Elisia and found her safely in the elevator down to the planet. And, as he took one last look around, he found no one else pursuing her.

Kace turned back toward his ship. He would have to decide whether the spy should be gift-wrapped or not when returned to Dargus.

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