Star Wars: the Covenant

Chapter 14

Jason approached the bed quietly, so as not to wake his Master. The doctors had told him earlier that she would be fine, but would need to undergo several surgeries and therapy if she ever hoped to walk again. He was satisfied she was safe, but nervous that he and his team would be doing their next mission without her. The door hissed open behind him and he turned to see Helen leaning on the door frame.

"How is she?" she whispered.

Jason moved silently toward Helen, "She should be fine, but it's going to take her a while to recover" he replied quietly. With one last sparing glance at Keelu, he and Helen left the sleeping Twi'lek in peace.

"General Skye wants to speak with us about Theelin" Helen stated once the door shut, "not to mention we need to talk about us. I care about you Jason, but if it means you leaving the Jedi order then I can't keep on knowing that I was the cause of that."

Jason smiled sadly, "Helen, when I went into exile I experienced many things that I never had as a Jedi, such as making my own choices or indulging in different emotions. But when I went back to the temple, it just didn't feel like home anymore. I had experienced life outside the Jedi order. I know where my place is Helen and it's with you." He pulled her close and kissed her, but she pulled away.

"What about the war?" Helen asked, "I can't stand the thought of loosing you."

Jason sighed, "I feel the same, but we've made a commitment to the Republic, and we can't just leave them to deal with the Covenant alone."

"I know" said Helen dismally.

Jason reached out and pulled her into a soft hug. He stretched out with the force and touched her mind, trying to tell her things will be alright. She looked up at him with a shadow of a smile on her face. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek before pulling away once more. She gripped Jason's hand and together they made their way through the Righteous Justice's winding hallways. Eventually they made their way to the bridge where they were they were greeted by Keth, Petria, and an old Mon Calamari who Jason suspected to be General Skye.

"Welcome, both of you" Skye said graciously, "I am sorry to hear you failed in your mission, next time will be different. Commander Petria has just briefed us on our situation. We've come to the conclusion that what you found in that structure can't be ignored."

"We're planning on sending a small force to the Theelin system" said Keth, "and we would like your team to accompany us."

Helen shifted uncomfortably, "with all due respect sirs, I doubt Lord Trepid will be willing to go on another mission. We had an agreement that he would only be required to go on one mission."

"We'll sort something out" assured Petria, "In the meantime, myself, commander Oroli and General Skye here will set course for the Theelin system while the rest of the fleet returns to Couriscant for repairs."

"How did the battle go anyways?" asked Jason.

Skye blinked a few times before answering, "Well we won obviously, but we lost eleven of our eighteen cruisers and four of our seven capital ships. The Covenant also destroyed most of the restoration centers on Abian IV and several cities on Abian V. Luckily the majority of the civilians escaped unharmed, and we were able to evacuate most of them to the Nakida system near the beginning of the battle."

Jason nodded, amazed at how much damage the Covenant had caused in such a short period of time. The two of them listened intently as the three officers continued to outline the mission.

"You and your team will be sent to the planet surface to see what you can find" Keth explained, "While the rest of us will stay in orbit and watch for any Covenant activity. We don't know if they have this data so just in case, Admiral Ordona will be sending her fleet along as soon as she returns from a mission in the mid rim. Any questions?"