Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy A Fan Novelization

Epilogue - Six Months Later...

Jaden leaned her head against Rosh's shoulder and sighed contentedly as they sat side by side at sunset up on the Academy's roof. It'd been a whirlwind six months since their first kiss and things were going pretty well for them. But not everything had been easy...

They'd held a funeral for Kalil not too long after returning from Korriban, as well as a few other students who'd become one with the Force that day. Poor Arta-Mess took it the hardest, but hearing Kalil's last words from Jaden had done her a little good. Jacyyn almost never left her side, he'd become such a comfort if not more in their friendship.

They'd held a separate funeral for Tavion. Only Luke, Kyle, Jaden, and per his request, Rosh, were in attendance. Her burial site was only marked with the words: "A sister with the Force. Lost in life, but found in death."

Jaden and Rosh had stayed up late on the roof talking into the night about everything.

"I'm glad she found peace, in a way, it gives me relief," Rosh had said. "I feel like I can finally move on, you know?"

Putting the cult behind him helped as he, Jaden, Kyle, and sometimes Jan, went on several missions, aiding the New Republic with tracking down cult members and capturing Imperial bases that he'd heard about while with the Disciples of Ragnos.

The New Republic surgeons had done an excellent job outfitting Rosh with a cyberbionic left arm. Jaden twined her fingers through his new ones, knowing he could feel it through his artificial nerves, and thought about how quickly he'd adapted to life with a prosthetic limb. He'd become such an exemplary student, rising through the ranks very rapidly under Kyle's tutelage -with a little help from her.

Now that she was a full fledged member of the New Jedi Order and independent of her master, Jaden had become a part of Luke's inner counsel. She took on special missions and occasionally aided in the training of new students that were rapidly coming into the Academy.

But Jaden still cherished the times she spent with Kyle. She knew she'd never have a need to not go to her former master for advice. He'd become such a safe place to pour her heart out to.

And then there was Rosh. He was close to becoming a Jedi Knight any day now. He'd changed so much and all for the better, he even took to growing his hair a little longer. She liked how it softened out his rougher edges and gave his features an overall more mature appearance. He'd truly grown into the man Jaden had always glimpsed him to be.

"Did you hear that Luke asked Kyle to take on a new position now that we're getting even more students?" Jaden said, her head still resting against her boyfriend's shoulder.

"No, really? What position?"

"He's going to be our Battlemaster, or 'Head Lightsaber Combat Instructor'. But Battlemaster sounds cooler, more official. Master Corran's going to be helping him, mostly with Jar Kai instruction."

"I wonder if he'll take on any new students," Rosh mused.

"He said he might, but not for a while." Jaden lifted her head and turned to look him in the eyes at an angle. "We were enough of a challenge for him." Her smile was lightly teasing.

"I'll bet. He'll be studentless soon enough, he told me he and Luke picked a date for my Knighting Ceremony. Oh, and he wants you to join since you apparently weren't 'officially' knighted or something like that. I don't think you've told me that story yet." Rosh raised an eyebrow while a boyish grin played on the corner of his dimpled mouth. Jaden's stomach did a somersault.

She waved her hand away dismissively. "Oh, that. It was after... After Vjun." She felt his body tense next to her, but only for a moment. Old wounds were taking their time to process before they fully healed. "It was... scary. And wonderful, and intimate, just the three of us. It was kind of what I secretly wanted for a Knighting Ceremony instead of being out in the open in front of everybody."