No, as a matter of fact, he did not sound convincing, and Cere's expression got more gentle as she sat down next to him. "Cal, Greez and I have been talking over the last few days, and we think it actually might be a good idea if you stay here," she said. "And before you start arguing--" because hi, she'd known him for more than a few minutes, "--we're not saying you're completely wrong, and we're not happy about being apart. But taking a break here could be good. The Empire hasn't been sitting and waiting, we barely knew you were missing."

"And there's no telling how the time thing works because this place is all screwy," Greez said. "But if you get time here and it's not so much time there, that all works out."

"You've got to start thinking about yourself," Cere added. "Our world is better with you in it, but the Partisans don't need you. You can only give so much of yourself before you run out of anything to give at all."

"Plus, laying low for a little while might be safer for all of us. Your bounty's starting to get so high that our allies might be tempted to turn you in themselves," Greez said, looking defensive as Cere shot him a dirty look. "What? I thought we agreed to be honest with him?"