StarWars. A Lifetime with Darkness. Padawan

[GorMartsen]

Two hours flew by.

Sitting on the open ramp with a cup of caf in my hand, I watched the left-open main gate. The twi'lek woman didn't have the access code, as the toydarian did, and I wasn't about to create unnecessary obstacles, especially if she had to sneak around.

Which I expected was the case. I honestly didn't know what her deal was. What any of this meant. I just answered a call for help, even if not directly spelt out.

The hooded silhouette peeked into the dock and, finding me watching them, hurried inside. Recognising the twi'lek woman, I rose to my feet, leaving the cup of caf on the ramp end.

"Sorry for being late," she panted, stopping not far from me. Had she run all the way here?

"Don't worry about it. Let's go on the shuttle, and you will tell me everything over a cup of caf," I proposed, already half turning.

"No. No time," she said, reaching under the cloak and presenting me a small pouch. "Please, use this money to buy out my daughter's contract. Taala'Rooshan."

Blankly staring at her extended arm, I felt out of my depth. It wasn't what I had expected.

"She is almost of age, and I am afraid for her fate. She is a good mechanic, I promise!" she added in a rush, pushing the pouch into my hands.

"Buy out a contract?" I asked, feeling the heavy pouch in my hand. "Clan Rooshan?"

The fuck is this?

"Yes!" she breathed out, almost knocking me out with the strong sense of hope in the Force that quickly changed to longing. "Tell her I am fine, and not to look for me."

"What is your name?" I asked, catching her hand. I felt it. It was important.

"No one," she said, gently withdrawing her hand from mine and stepping back. "From nowhere."

No one from nowhere. A clan outcast.

"But before you go, you must know—"

"Wretched woman, that's how you paid me for all I did for you? By stealing?" the toydarian said, gliding into the dock and catching both of us off guard.

"I didn't steal," the twi'lek woman replied, spinning around. "I earned every credit for the hours worked!"

"Your contract is mine. Each credit is mine, too," the toydarian said, slowly drifting closer. "Stealing is a breach of contract. Give me my money, Jedi."

The ugly feeling of dying hope filled the Force, almost suffocating me, and I looked down at the pouch in my hand.

How many credits could broken hope cost?

"I could perhaps buy out your daughter's contract with it," said the toydarian, feeling smug.

"No…" whispered the twi'lek woman, collapsing on the floor, and the Force hit me with despair. "No…"

"It's your fault. If you had thought about the consequences first, none of it would have happened," the toydarian continued, and I had had enough of it.

"Get out," I said through my clenched teeth, boiling cold.

"I will, Jedi. Let me grab my property first," they said, smiling nastily and grabbing the twi'lek woman by the hood, and her eyes met mine, stretching the moment to no end.

"Totto tagged your ship," she said in an almost hysterical voice. "He deals with Hutts."

In slow motion, I saw the toydarian fishing out a small blaster from one of his waist pockets. He raised it inch by inch, but instead of targeting me, the blaster inevitably moved towards the twi'lek's head, and I moved.

Short jump, a hiss of my lightsaber, and the toydarian's hand with the blaster, the cut-off wings, and his still-living body fell to the floor in messy heaps.

The smell of burned flesh filled the docks, and I turned around to face Totto, or what I had left of him.

"What did you do, Jedi?" hissed the toydarian, clutching the stump of his right arm. "You can't do that!"

Deactivating my sabre, I sighed and massaged my face.

"Totto, was it?" I asked. "I thought your name was Jack?"

"I won it fairly, Jedi. It's mine," he grumbled, looking at his stump. "You will pay for this, Jedi."

The Force screamed a warning as Totto pushed something on the vambrace sitting above the stump, and I wrapped myself in the Force, looking for the source of danger. It was inside my robes.

Something exploded there, wrapping me in a cloud of green gas, and I held my breath, blindly searching for the breather in a pocket at my waist.

Smart.

Stepping out of the cloud, I found Totto halfway to the main gate, wobbling on his unsteady feet. A short jump and I was next to him, grabbing him by the collar and throwing him back to the floor.

"Not that fast," I said around the breather. "We didn't finish there."

But even now, he didn't look scared, and most annoyingly, I felt nothing of his emotions in the Force.

"Who do you work with?" I pushed with the Force, waving my hand.

"Mind tricks don't work on me, Jedi," Totto said with an ugly smile.

Right.

My wrist-comm buzzed, and I glanced at it. There was a message.

Unknown sender: [ You butted in on my operation, Knight Lose ]

I glanced back at Totto and the twi'lek, lying on the floor, unconscious, and my wrist-comm buzzed again.

Unknown sender: [ But I can use it. Call Judicals, pass Totto to them and leave. I will pick up from here ]

Jedi Lose: [ Who are you? ]

And where?

The dock bloomed in the Force Sight, and I saw a subdued Force signature, clinging to the ceiling. There was something familiar about it, but who was it?

Unknown sender: [ wink wink ]

As I looked at the new message, the Force shone in a way all younglings knew. Pay attention.

Jedi Lose: [ What about the twi'lek? What would happen to her? ]

Unknown sender: [ What, you laid your eyes on her? ]

It was weird and inappropriate, and quite too personal.

No waaay.

Jedi Lose: [ I will shoot you ]

Unknown sender: [ All talk, no bite. Fine. Just convince Totto to hand over her contract to you, and get out of my hair ]

No fucking way.

Jedi Lose: [ Watch me ]

Glancing at Totto, looking at me strangely, I opened my tattered robes and reached for the old blaster. Or what was left of it.

"You planned this, didn't you?" I said, dropping the wreck of the blaster on the floor and summoning the smaller one from where it lay with Totto's hand still attached.

"I know nothing about it," Totto said, eyeing his own hand as I peeled it off the blaster's handle, finger by finger.

"I think you owe me a hundred wupiupi," I said, dropping the hand and raising the blaster. "And a fine."

"You have no proof," Totto said, looking into the barrel. "You can't do it."

I shot the blaster into the air, missing the hidden Jedi on the ceiling by an inch.

"How sure are you?" I asked, smiling nastily.

"Take the pouch; it should be enough," Totto said, jerking his head towards the pouch I had dropped on the floor beside the twi'lek woman.

"Not yours," I said, shaking my head and levelling the blaster at Totto's feet. "Left or right?"

"The blaster! It's worth more than the old one!" Totto said more urgently, angling away from me as my wrist-comm vibrated again.

"Better. And the fine?" I said, aiming at the healthy arm.

"I don't have any credits on me!" Totto pleaded, and I believed him, almost. But it wasn't money I was looking for.

"Her contract, and I'll leave you to the Judicals," I said, glancing at the wrist-comm.

Unknown sender: [ Taren, you bastard! You almost shot me! ]

Taren.

"You have a deal, Jedi," drawled unhappy Totto, but I saw the hidden gleam in his eyes.

Oh, Totto was in for a surprise.

I doubted Tey, the fierce red togruta I knew quite well from a certain perspective, was hanging out here for no reason.

 

[GorMartsen]

I didn't like the way he looked at me, with that ugly smile on his twisted face.

… Let me grab my property first

Totto's words echoed in my mind unprompted as I was lowering the blaster.

Perhaps losing wings and a hand wasn't enough. Perhaps he needed a stronger lesson.

… Teach him a lesson

"Call Judicals, Jedi," Totto said, watching as the blaster was once again pointed at his healthy arm.

Surely he didn't need his arms, both of them.

"I agreed to your terms," he said, trying to hide the arm behind his back.

"Did you now?" I asked as I pointed at his left foot, and a smile twisted my lips. That would be a nice symmetry with his missing right hand.

… He deserves it.

Someone hugged me from behind, pressing hard against my back.

Tey.

"That's enough, Taren," she whispered in my ear, gently pressing my arm with the blaster down. "Breathe."

"Yes, Jedi!" Totto exclaimed. "The contract is yours!"

Looking into Totto's eyes, I didn't see a hidden gleam, nor an ugly smile. Only a face twisted by pain as he tried to scramble back. And I liked it. I liked it as much as the perky chest pressing into my back.

The desire to turn around, to tear her robes off, and press her hard against the wall hit me, together with memories from the shower. With all we did there.

"Call Judicals," she whispered, laced in the Force with passion, and I nodded.

Raising my left arm, I punched in the emergency line frequency code and put my wrist-comm on speaker.

"Duty officer Tenge. State your emergency," a deep male voice said almost immediately.

"This is Jedi Knight Lose. I have apprehended a suspect at dock D-09, station Z-7. I wish to hand him over to your jurisdiction," I said, feeling a warm breath on my neck and a pleasant shiver down my spine.

"Dock D-09, station Z-07. Sending closest patrol shuttle. ETA one minute. Do you need medical assistance?" the officer asked.

"Suspect is in rough shape, but no life-threatening wounds," I said, feeling Tey's hand on my chest, slowly sliding down.

"Roger that. Is there anything else I can help you with, Jedi Knight Lose?" the officer asked.

"No, that would be all. Thank you, officer," I replied, hanging up the call and covering her hand with mine on my stomach.

"Just wait a bit," she whispered, pressing hard against my back, blocking me from turning. "Soon."

There was a promise in her words, in the Force, but before I forced myself out of her hold to turn around, the dock was filled with repulsors' whining.

Judicals had arrived.

Their smaller shuttle landed next to mine, fitting into the dock with no issues, and the side door slid open, revealing two officers in uniform. They jumped out and rushed towards me, glancing around.

"I'll wait on your shuttle," Tey said, and I immediately missed her warm embrace.

"Jedi Knight Lose?" asked the older officer coming closer, while the younger one went to Totto, but neither of them looked towards Tey, retreating to the shuttle.

"Yes, that would be me," I said with a strained smile, and nodded towards Totto. "Before you take him away, I need him to transfer a contract."

"What kind of a contract?" the officer asked, looking over his shoulder. "Totto Jack?"

Totto only glared back, said nothing, as the younger officer patted him down.

"What are the alleged offences?" the older officer asked, turning back to me.

What indeed.

My comm buzzed, and I looked at the screen, blinking with a new message.

Unknown sender: [ Bring him here ]

"Please, follow me," I said, turning towards my shuttle, and my eyes fell on the twi'lek woman lying on the floor, completely hidden under her black cloak.

How did I forget about her?

Stepping closer, I bent over and, pulling back the hood, pressed my finger to her neck. The pulse was strong, and her breathing was deep.

Sedated.

Scooping her up, I stood, and she felt almost weightless in my arms.

"This way," I said to the officer over my shoulder. He looked worried.

Walking up to the ramp, I began to climb it, looking up. There was LB waiting for me at the top.

"Master Lose, I must object—" the droid began as I came closer.

"Later, LB. Here, accommodate our guest in the crew quarters and make sure she is comfortable," I said, pushing the twi'lek woman into the droid's arms.

"As you wish, Master," LB replied, carefully turning around and walking deep into the shuttle.

"Follow me," I said, stepping between the crates and following the droid myself. We didn't need to go too far.

I found Tey levitating crates there as LB squeezed past her.

"Captain Gandmer," she said, glancing at the officer behind me and then nodding towards the floor under the crate in her Force grip. "Take a look."

"Master Tin," he greeted her, squeezing past me and squatting beside the levitated crate. "It seems you finally found your lead."

They know each other.

"Yes, and now I need you to hold Totto on questionable charges," she said.

"Want to see who will pull strings to free him?" he asked, glancing up at her.

"That too," she said, levitating a strange-looking device and gently landing the crate back.

"What is it?" I asked. I had scanned the shuttle when it was reloaded, and I felt nothing dangerous. But I felt something was wrong.

"That is a false hyperspace beacon," said Tey, scooping it from the air. "In the right place and at the right time, it will broadcast its signal, and the navcomm will drop the ship out of hyperspace."

"He planted a sleeping agent in my old blaster's gas cartridge," I said slowly. "That's how they planned to neutralise me."

"Where is it?" asked the officer, standing up and looking at me. "Should be a good enough reason."

"He already used it against me," I said, smiling nastily. "Didn't help him much."

Tey glanced at me worriedly before resting her hand on my shoulder, and I felt desire shooting through my body.

"Captain Gandmer, I count on you," she said, looking back at him.

"I will take care of it," he said with a nod. "It's even better that it was used."

"The contract," she said, looking back at me. "Take care of that and come back, Jedi Knight Lose. We have something to discuss."

"Of course, Master Tin," I said with a dry mouth and turned around.

The contract. I had almost forgotten about it.

I marched out of the cargo bay, hearing the officer's footsteps behind me. Briefly glancing towards Totto, now sporting bright orange medical gel over the stump, I walked to the old blaster on the floor and pointed at it.

"That would do," Captain Gandmer said, passing me and crouching by the blaster, fishing out a black bag from his belt. "Ten years of mines. Hear me, Totto? Ten years."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Captain," he grumbled.

"Suuuure," Captain said, standing up and showing the bag. "Surely you don't."

"The contract," I said, glancing back at my shuttle. "I am on a tight schedule."

"Hear, Totto? Let's not keep the Jedi Knight waiting," Captain Gandmer said, reaching for something on his belt. "What is the contract registry number?"

—

"What a piece of shite," said Captain Gandmer, approving the contract transfer and handing me the datapad. "I hope you get to the bottom of it. Let me know if I can help."

"Of course," I said, accepting the datapad.

"Well, then, I'll drop a message when I am done," he said, glancing towards my shuttle.

I glanced towards it, too. Feeling anticipation. Soon.

"By your leave, Jedi Knight Lose," said the Captain, weirdly reminding me of my past, and I silently saluted him with two fingers.

He nodded sharply and, turning, jogged back to their shuttle and jumped on board. The shuttle lifted into the air as soon as the door slid shut behind him and was out of the dock with the whine of the repulsors.

Watching the Judical's shuttle leave the dock, I clipped the datapad containing the transferred contract to my waist. But that wasn't what was on my mind. Turning, I walked towards my shuttle, thinking about one specific red togruta, and the things that were about to happen.

Running up the ramp, I entered the cargo bay and saw her, waiting by the airlock. She pushed something on the control panel, and the ramp behind me began to close. Someone was in a hurry too.

"Come here," she said in a low, lusty voice as her robes fell to the ground, revealing a tight-fitting tunic beneath, and she began to untie her belt.

She didn't need to wait long.

—

Lying on the floor on top of our robes, staring at the cargo bay ceiling, I felt guilty.

"What is so heavy on your mind?" asked Tey and blew at my neck, tickling a sensitive spot where my Padawan braid had been before.

R'ana.

"Who is R'ana?" Tey asked, and I closed my eyes, exhaling heavily.

The hell.

"I don't read your mind," she said, echoing the words I had said to the twi'lek woman not long ago. "You just think too loudly. So who is she?"

This is fucking weird.

"A Padawan? You know, it's frowned upon, right?" she asked, propping herself up on her elbow, and, against my will, my eyes travelled down her lek and onto her perky chest.

"My eyes are here," she said, grabbing my chin and lifting it slightly.

"It didn't stop you back then, in the shower," I said, looking into her deep black eyes and trying to ignore her naked body pressing against mine.

"I didn't know," she said, searching something in my eyes.

"Padawan braid," I said. "I had a padawan braid. How could you miss it?"

"My eyes were on something else," she said, letting go of my chin and lying on my chest, her lekku softly tickling my skin. "And you don't act like a Padawan. Now, spill."

Groaning, I rested my head on the floor and looked up at the ceiling. Never in my life had I been in such a situation. I felt like a fraud.

What did I think about?

"A love interest," I confessed, "and I don't understand how I forgot about it."

"Ah," she said, tracing a finger across my chest. "Is she pretty?"

"Really?" I said, looking back at her with raised eyebrows. "Is that all that worries you?"

"No, not really," she replied with a shrug. "But her well-being does."

"What do you mean?" I asked, not really following.

"Back there," she began, jerking her head towards the ramp, "you mutilated that toydarian. Tomorrow, it might be her," she continued, staring into my eyes without humour. "And I will not be around to pull you away from the edge."

"Is that what you call it?" I said, dropping my head on the floor and closing my eyes. Her words worried me.

I would never…

"Pretty much," she said, and I felt her shrug.

Somehow it made me feel even worse. Did she just fuck me to put my head straight? Not even a fling?

"The Dark Side is tricky," she said in a distant voice, and I froze, opening my eyes wide.

Only now, when she had said it aloud, I realised how twisted my mind had been since the moment I attacked Totto. Until—

"If not for learning to channel it into sex, I would have Fallen long ago," she added after a pause.

Oh, fuck.

"It couldn't be that easy," I said, recalling what had happened when I meditated on the Living Force.

"It's not, and it wasn't," she agreed. "But I was lucky enough to find a way."

"You were under the Dark Side's influence, too," I said, realising what I had been missing. "And back then, in the shower, too. Right?"

"You see, that's what I was talking about. Not a Padawan," she said humorously, shifting against my chest.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, lifting my head and catching her gaze.

"Because you need help," she said seriously, all humour gone from her tone. "Does anyone know about it?"

"I had been subjected to the Dark Side mind-trick. It should be in my medical file, or whatever," I said, lying back again.

"But did you tell anyone about your episodes?" she pressed, and I realised that the answer was no, I never had.

Not about my visions, nor about what had happened with the artefact the second time, and only what had happened in the hangar I had put in my report.

"I thought it was all left behind," I said.

And it was; only bad dreams had worried me. Until Totto.

"It never is," she said, sighing and resting her chin on her hand atop my chest. "It will sneak up on you, justifying violence. Amplifying your righteousness, turning it into anger, twisting your desires. And one day your mental shields will fall, and you with them."

They weren't the words of someone who had read them in a book, I realised. She clearly had a history with the Dark Side.

"How do you do it?" I asked, and she looked back into my eyes, searching for something as time stretched.

"I pull it in, channel it into passion," she said with a sigh, beginning to trace my chest with the other hand. "And then release it back into the Force when orgasm hits me."

"That's why clarity hit me only afterwards," I said. "It wasn't just the usual post-sex comedown."

"We have good compatibility," she mumbled, resting her forehead on her hand. But before I asked what she meant, her comm beeped.

"Shit, I have to go," she said, scrambling off my body and reaching for the comm.

Trying not to watch her dress, I turned around, looking for my own pants, or at least trousers.

"Listen, Taren," she began, shuffling with her clothes behind me. "Try to finish your mission without getting into trouble, meditate, and we'll talk afterwards," she continued, pulling her robes from under my foot. "I will try to be back in the Temple by then. If not, wait for me. You shouldn't be doing missions in your state."

"I'll try," I said, pulling the tunic over my head.

"Good. And don't try to repeat what I did," she said, resting her hand on my shoulder. "Promise."

Looking over my shoulder, I found her already dressed, her robes lazily draped over her shoulders, but it was her serious look that made me agree.

"Alright, no trying to repeat it," I promised, meeting her gaze. She searched my eyes for a moment, biting her lip.

"Good," she finally said, slamming her hand on the control panel and opening the ramp. "May the Force be with you, Jedi Knight Lose."

"And with you, Master Tin," I said, feeling strangely sad.

She stepped closer and planted a quick kiss on my lips, slightly biting, and hurried to the ramp. I watched her go, leaning on the crate. Whatever had just happened, it was no longer just a fling.

Reaching the exit, she turned her head slightly, her lekku waving, and I caught a glimpse of a smile on her face.

But if it wasn't that, what was it? And what about R'ana?

 

[GorMartsen]

The stars stretched across the viewport, forming a hyperspace tunnel, and I breathed out in relief, kicking back in the pilot's seat with my eyes closed.

I knew I had to go and check on the twi'lek woman, sleeping in the crew quarters, but I felt spent.

Spent and worried.

Tey with her warning, Totto's twisted face, and R'anna cycled through my mind, and I knew. I fucked up big this time.

I didn't even notice how I shifted from being willing to help the twi'lek woman to tearing into Totto. Or believing that I was in the right.

And the worst of it? I enjoyed it all.

And why didn't I feel the sweet and sticky?

Massaging my tired eyes, I sighed. I was fucked up.

I had no idea what to do. Or how to react to what Tey did. Whatever her technique was, no matter how effectively it had worked, it didn't look like something stable, or even healthy. I doubted it was simple, either.

Meditate, I need to meditate.

Opening my eyes, I reached over to the second seat and picked up the datapad, holding the twi'lek woman's contract.

I remembered skimming over it before signing it, but in that state my mind was on something else. And drunk. Yeah, as if I'd had a few shots of brandy. Brave, easy-going, and stupid-horny. Grimacing, I opened the file, searching for the woman's name on the page.

Then a bit more, flipping back and forth.

But her name was never mentioned. Anything but her name. Member 892-3812 of the Clan Rooshan. Contracted Labourer. Born on the fifteenth day of Elona `155 CRC.

The fuck.

Flipping to the table of contents, I looked for the Termination clause—page forty. Tapping on it, I began reading it.

… terminated at the discretion of the Contractor or the Head of the Clan under whose authority the Contract has been issued

… Where circumstances arise which the Contracted Labourer deems sufficient to warrant termination, the Contracted Labourer may submit an appeal to the Office of the Clan Head for consideration

… Until such determination is issued, all terms and obligations of this Contract shall remain in full force and effect.

Feeling a headache building, I closed my eyes and massaged them again. In no way was I good enough in legalese to understand all of this, but it didn't seem right.

Tey knew something about this.

Tey. Master Tin. The red togruta I first met in the Healing Halls shower. And had sex with. Twice now. The one I was sure was avoiding me, but apparently she was on a mission on Corellia, of all places.

What a coincidence.

It was also her idea to convince Totto to hand over the contract. Not terminate. Transfer. Even when I was impaired, not really caring about the twi'lek woman any longer, she made sure I did it.

Why?

There was something going on, but what? Totto planting a hyperspace beacon on my shuttle, Tey clearly watching him, Hutts. Smuggling? Piracy? Slave trade? All of that together?

Fuck if I knew.

Rubbing my face, I exhaled heavily, releasing my worries into the Force, and, feeling lighter, focused on the current moment.

First things first.

Checking the shuttle readings for the last time, I locked the dashboard and rose to my feet. I had a guest to check on, luggage to sort out and a kitchen to prepare.

And meditate.

Plenty to do before the next exit in the Denon system in about fifteen hours.

—

Walking into the cargo bay, I flipped the lights on, and the heavy scent of sex hit my nose.

Turning to the panel, I checked the settings, but there was no option to force-cycle the air, and venting the atmosphere into space was a bit drastic.

"Come, LB," I said, accepting defeat and walking further between the crates. Perhaps it would go away on its own, with time.

"Yes, Master," LB said, clanging with his feet behind me.

The juicy, spicy wrap I had eaten on the station had long since been absorbed, and I simply wanted to eat more. But going into the cargo bay each time I wanted to eat was just stupid, and moving some rations into the common room was just common sense.

I just didn't plan to do it on my own.

Finding the needed crate with rations, I released the lock securing the stack and lifted the top crate, enhancing myself with the Force, before lowering it on the floor.

It was a bit heavy, about a hundred pounds, and made of plastoid, weathered by time. Releasing the locks, I lifted the lid, tearing off the seal.

The neat rows of ration packages greeted me, promising dinner, and I picked up one. Flipping it in my hand, I leaned closer to the light falling from above, partially blocked by the crates, and looked at the marking.

"Yellow strip means for near-human species," commented LB at my side.

Finding a togruta and bantha outline printed on the yellow strip, I nodded to myself. A meat-only package.

That was simple.

Putting it into LB's arms, I looked for another one with a yellow strip but different outlines.

A leaf, a togruta, a leaf again.

While not exactly what I needed, I still picked up a few of those and piled them into LB's arms.

Aha!

A leaf and a bantha. What I had been looking for.

Taking a few more of those, I added them to the pile in LB's arms. The more, the merrier.

"Let's go back," I said, closing the crate.

Then the idea hit me, and I stepped back, studying the crate.

Levitation had never been my forte before, but I hadn't tried it again after everything that had happened to me.

Extending my arm, I imagined it wrapped by my attention, almost feeling it in my hand. This part was easy, but the lifting had never been.

Exhaling, I lifted my arm slightly and the crate lifted into the air, smoothly and without slipping out of my grip.

Neat.

Levitating it back to its place, I gently set it down, releasing my grip, and smiled, breathing out. At least something good.

Testing how well it sat in its place, I secured the stack again and nodded to myself. That would do. Stepping around the droid, I began walking back towards the airlock leading out of the cargo bay. LB followed me silently, carrying the rations in his arms, awkwardly balancing them.

Bookworm.

Stepping into the corridor, I waved LB towards the common room and, closing the airlock, punched in the access code. It beeped, and the panel glowed red as the cargo bay sealed.

A precaution, really. If Totto had planted another gas canister there, somehow, and we missed it.

Eyeing the lock suspiciously, I stepped back and peeked into crew quarters. The Twi'lek woman was still asleep beneath her black cloak, snoring slightly. Gently closing the door, I stood there for a moment, thinking about that blasted contract again and all that was wrong with it.

It wasn't right, but before acting, I needed answers.

Turning around, I walked into the common room and headed towards the kitchenette, where LB was waiting. Taking a few rations from the top of the pile, I set them aside for dinner and began unloading the rest into storage.

It wasn't the best food—I knew that—but it was efficient and easy to store. Exactly what I needed. Turning the little space I had here into a proper kitchen was out of the question. I would have to be out of my mind to even try. It lacked cold storage, was too small and was never meant to be used that way. Military spaceship and all of that.

Closing the storage, I waved LB into the corner and turned to the caf machine, now properly filled with a fresh caf cartridge. Placing a cup, I pushed a few buttons and the aroma of Corellian blend spread across the room.

Sighing, I reached for another cup. Someone had been woken up.

"Good morning," I said without turning. "Caf?"

"Yes, please. Two sugars, one milk," said the twi'lek woman behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder.

"I don't have either," I said, noting her sleepy face, heavy bags under her eyes and a slight shiver she hid under her black cloak. Side effects?

"You do. I picked out the universal cartridges for you," she replied, meeting my eyes.

Shrugging, I turned back to the caf machine and punched in the new order. It beeped, happily pouring the whitish drink into the cup and adding the smell of steamed milk to the air.

Grabbing both cups, I turned to the table and, putting her cup in front of her, sat on the corner seat of the sofa. With both of us here, the common room suddenly felt crowded.

"How do you feel?" I asked. "Any side effects?"

"Seems fine, just sleepy," she said and tasted the caf.

"Your hand, please," I asked, extending my own.

She obeyed without question, shifting slightly on the sofa to face me. Closing my eyes, I focused on the Force, running a basic med-scan meant for the quick field triage.

The thing I should have done first, back there in the dock. Or better yet, I should have delayed my flight and asked for medical assistance. I wasn't the Healer.

"Seems fine, but better to check in at a med station on Denon," I said, letting her hand go. "Let me know if something changes, alright?"

"Alright. What happened to Totto?" she asked, taking her hand away.

"Arrested by Judicials. I don't think he will see freedom any time soon," I said with a shrug.

"He has his ways," she said slowly. "He will be free in a day or two, and by the end of the week, my bounty will be listed."

"What for?" I asked, studying her emotions. They were mute, resigned.

"Breach of contract, as he said," she said with a shrug. "He promised to sell me to the brothel if I ever talk."

"Slavery is forbidden," I said, taking my first sip of caf.

She laughed humourlessly, took a sip of her caf, and then looked back at me.

"He deals with Hutts," she said. "And has someone in the Judicial Department to keep it quiet."

"Still, you have rights," I said, spinning the cup in my hands. "He couldn't just disappear you."

"Only if the Clan has your back," she said flatly, radiating sorrow in the Force.

"I have your contract," I said, reaching for the datapad and sliding it across the table. "I can terminate it in Denon."

She carefully placed her cup aside, reaching for the datapad with shaky fingers. Silence stretched as she read the file. And read more.

It had taken me many reads to understand some of it myself. This contract was slavery all but in name. Sure, there were obligations on the Contractor, but payment wasn't one of them—only food and shelter—and it was the Clan that received payments on her behalf, once per year.

Carefully placing the datapad on the table, she looked up at me, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"Don't terminate it," she begged me, raw with a mix of hope and fear. "I will repay you back every credit!"

"Explain," I said, sighing and eyeing the datapad.

What did I miss?

"If you terminate it, I will be forced to go back to Ryloth, and only Bright Lands are waiting for me there," she said, and I massaged my eyes, setting my cup aside.

The fuck?

"Are you a convicted criminal?" I asked, recalling whatever I had remembered about Ryloth. It wasn't much. I needed to read that file yesterday.

"I will be, if I return," she said with conviction I didn't have.

"Why?" I asked, taking my hand away from my eyes and looking up at her.

"For disobeying the clan leader," she said, not really answering. "And mothering a child of the clan enemy."

I looked her over again, recalling her age from the contract. Thirty-five standard years. She didn't look a day older than twenty-five, and yet she had a daughter who was almost an adult herself. A child of the clan's enemy. Apparently.

The fuck is this? Santa Barbara?

"Taala, your daughter. Why are you afraid for her fate?" I asked, slightly spinning my cup.

"Because the person who drew my contract is still on the council," she said.

"It sounds personal," I said, looking up from the cup.

"It is," she replied. "He was supposed to be my husband."

 

[GorMartsen]

Studying the cup in my hands, I tried to make sense of what the twi'lek woman had said.

Mothering an enemy's child. An ex-fiancé with a grudge and a predatory labour contract. Exile. Each one was enough on its own, but all together… she had clearly been dealt a shitty hand in life.

No surprise she jumped only at the mere possibility of help, yet asked nothing for herself. Only for a daughter.

But I had promised Tey I would try to stay out of trouble, and dropping her off on Devon or anywhere else before Ryloth felt reasonable. She even said herself that she might end up in Bright Lands. A death sentence, really.

But somehow it felt even more wrong than risking losing my marbles to the Dark Side.

If only I could trust my mind, my own thoughts.

"After the stop in the Devon system," I began, looking up from my cup. "I will continue down the Corellian Run until I reach Ryloth with mandatory stops at Milagro, Mon Gazza and Arkanis." She listened to my words, not trying to interrupt, just looking into her cup with a furrowed brow, and I continued, watching her every move. "When I reach Ryloth, I will look into the situation with your contract and try to find out what is going on with it and your daughter."

I did not miss how she perked up when I mentioned her daughter.

"But first, we are going to have dinner. Do you prefer togruta or leaves rations?" I asked, nodding towards two rations I had left on the kitchenette shelf.

She followed my gaze, and her eyes slightly widened.

"That's military rations," she said, turning to me. "I thought Jedi ate better."

"I was short on time," I said, leaning back on the sofa. "The price was good."

"Did you buy them in bulk or per unit?" she asked, making me raise a brow.

"Bulk order," I said. "One ton."

"Article number, do you have it?" she asked, leaning forward and reminding me who she was.

"LB?" I called, looking at the droid standing in the corner.

"UR-139CRC-300, Master," LB said. "Universal rations, produced in 7139 CRC, 300 ration units per crate."

"What the droid said," I said, pointing my thumb at LB and looking back at the Twi'lek woman.

"Can I see the crate?" she asked with mirth in her voice.

Curious.

Nodding, I stood up, finishing my caf in one go. It was cold already.

Waving her to follow, I left the cup on the table and walked out of the common room. Hearing her hurried footsteps behind me, I turned right and crossed the short corridor, reaching the airlock's control panel.

"Do you have a nickname?" I asked, hiding the code I was entering behind my frame.

"Nuu. Call me Nuu," she said, shuffling with her cloak and radiating loss in the Force.

"Nuu it is," I said as the panel lit up green and the airlock slid into the wall.

Shit. Forgot about smell.

Glancing over my shoulder, saying nothing, I walked in first. Keeping my face straight, I switched on the lights and continued along the crates.

"It's here," I said, reaching the one I had opened before.

Releasing the lock on the stack, I waved my hand, and the crate rose in the air.

"Oh," she said from behind me. "Jedi magic."

"The Force," I said over my shoulder, lowering the crate. "We call it the Force."

"The Force," she repeated, following the crate with her eyes wide open until it landed on the floor.

"So what did you want to see?" I asked, flipping the lid open and stepping aside.

"Right, let me see," she said, leaning over it, and I noticed how her blue skin darkened on her face and neck, covered in goosebumps.

She shivered, tightly wrapping her cloak around her, and I caught a glimpse of her clothes beneath it. Were those the same clothes I had seen her in at the shop?

If I could call them that.

"Found it," she said, pulling out a ration with a purple strip and passing it to me. "Universal means that you have rations for most major races."

Turning it in my hand, I looked at the marking. A wave symbol and some type of plant?

"Do you know what is inside?" I asked, passing it back and accidentally touching her hand. It was cold and dry.

"Yes," she said with a nod, looking down at the ration. "It's seaweed, perfectly digestible by humans and near-human races, except for star-shaped seeds."

"Anything else?" I asked, picking up a few more of the same type of rations. Seaweed. I liked seaweed.

"Don't try black and red," she said, pointing to the one that had just become visible beneath the other rations.

"Poisonous?" I asked, picking it up, too, and studying it. Black strip, triangle and a rock?

"Only if you manage to swallow it despite the taste," she replied with a smile. "It's minerals in a goo-like form."

"Goo?" I asked. "Like a shower goo?"

She didn't reply immediately, furrowing her brows, but then she looked up at me with her eyes wide open.

"Do you mean Bath Products from Zaltin Corp? The same company that manufactured Bacta? That one goo?" she asked.

"Maybe?" I said, unsure, looking at the ration in my hand.

Shower goo, huh?

"Well, it's not the same, but it does taste like soap," she said, sounding unsure, and it was my turn to raise my brows.

But I restrained myself from asking about it, remembering how lightweight she was in my arms.

"Do you need anything else?" I asked instead, grabbing one of the black rations as well. It was worth trying.

If only I had a normal shower on board, too.

"No, no. Just a few of the purple ones. I like the taste," she said, grabbing a few more and shivering again.

"Alright, go on ahead. I will be along shortly," I said, nodding towards the airlock.

"Thanks!" she said with a smile, holding rations to her chest before turning around and hurrying back.

Watching her go, I caught myself thinking that Totto deserved more than I had done to him. If he were starving her, too…

Taking a deep breath in, I forcefully exhaled, trying to drop my line of thought, but it barely helped against my rising anger.

Meditate. I need to meditate.

Looking down at the crate before me, I put the lid back on, locking it and thinking about her clothes. I had to do something about it, but what?

Tucking the rations under my arm, I stood up and, levitating the crate back into place, tried to come up with something, but I got nothing.

Pushing the crate with my free hand, I made sure it was properly set and locked the stack again before walking back.

It was another eight hours until Denon, where I could buy some clothes, but what about until then?

Passing through the airlock, I locked the cargo bay again and stepped closer to the common room, looking through the doorway. Nuu was busy there, simultaneously opening rations and punching something into the caf machine panel. Her cloak was slightly open, showing me I was right. She was wearing the same revealing clothes.

Silently stepping backwards, I opened the crew quarter door behind me and slipped inside. I had to do something about that before she caught a cold or something.

But what?

Stepping to the wall, I opened the storage, where I had left the luggage droid and waved it to come out. It beeped, rolling out.

"Open," I said, closing the storage and turning to it, and the droid split in half, showing me my luggage.

Dropping rations on the bunk, I reached for the trousers I had bought and held them out in front of me, mentally comparing them to Nuu's frame. A bit too long, but cutting was easy, and the belt would keep them at her waist.

Putting them on the bunk, I searched for what else was there and found a civilian-looking beige turtleneck. Glancing towards the trousers, which matched in style, I didn't need to think hard about how it ended up in my luggage. Nuu went above and beyond what I had asked her for, and I had a hard time blaming her for that.

As it turned out, it was worth it. But there was one problem with the turtleneck. It was in my size. Wide in the shoulders and long enough to look like a short dress on her.

Putting it aside, I shuffled through the rest of my luggage but didn't find anything else of use. Only my new boots and the leather jacket, neatly packed in their wrapping. Yet it was even larger than the turtleneck.

Dilemma.

Standing up, I checked the shelves, even though I knew there was nothing there—not even my tattered robes that I had left in the pilot cabin.

Nothing.

Turning to the shower cabin left in its mirror mode, I saw my own frowning reflection. Perhaps Nuu had used it when she had woken up.

Rubbing my chin, I studied myself, looking at my soot-covered tunic and thinking about what to do. Whatever I had found was no use, except for trousers. Unless…

Unless I gave her my tunic.

It was a standard Jedi tunic with its overlapping sides held together by the soft belt. Dirty, yes—but most importantly, it was adjustable enough to fit her frame.

Better than nothing.

Taking it off, I threw it into the shower cabin and turned on the washing mode—a bit of washing was all it needed—then flexed my shoulders and warmed myself with the Force as the cold air bit into my exposed torso. No surprise Nuu had shivered.

Reaching for the turtleneck lying on the bunk, I pulled it over my head. It almost hugged my torso, stretching over my frame and outlining every muscle as I tucked it into my trousers.

That would have looked wrong on Nuu.

Securing my belt low on my hips, I picked up the leather jacket and, tearing off the wrap, put it on before looking in the mirror. And just for a second, I was struck by déjà vu as I saw my old self from Earth staring back at me—but blond instead of ginger.

No, not quite.

A bit taller, perhaps more physically developed and a slightly different facial bone structure. If I had ever had a brother or cousin, he would have looked like that.

The shower cabin beeped, bringing me out of my thoughts. Taking out my old, warm tunic, I turned to the bunk and grabbed the new trousers and the rations. Hopefully it would be enough to keep her warm.

Glancing around for anything forgotten and seeing none, I opened the crew quarters door, and my eyes landed on Nuu across the hall. She was sitting on the corner seat of the sofa in the common room, looking small and staring at the food.

Idiot.

 

[GorMartsen]

"It looks delicious," I said, walking into the common room and heading towards the sofa.

And it did. The way Nuu had set the table, using the utensils I had bought, made it hard to tell that the food was made from rations.

"Thank you," she said, looking down.

"Let's eat before it gets cold," I said, taking my seat and placing the clothes by my side. If I were right and she was hungry, that could just wait a bit.

Still, she waited until I picked up my spoon and tasted what looked like mashed potato with something purple in it.

"What is it?" I asked, taking a spoonful. It tasted like potato, too, but with a metallic aftertaste.

"Potato," she said with a shrug and picked up her spoon. "I mixed it with seaweed."

"It's good," I said, digging in and helping myself to a plain white cracker.

Silence stretched between us as we ate, and I tried not to think about what her life had been like. Or what made her learn to be creative with rations.

"You can eat anytime you feel like," I said, reaching for another cracker. Rice? "And don't wait on me next time."

She froze with her spoon halfway to her mouth, and a complicated mix of heart-wrenching emotions hit me in the Force. But then it all just vanished, replaced by gratitude. So deep and vast…

"Thank you, Jedi Knight Lose," she said, deeply bowing, and I knew. She didn't thank me for the food. No. It was for everything.

I just nodded, missing words, but the feeling of her gratitude? It settled somewhere deep inside me, releasing something twisted there.

—

"How do you like your caf?" she asked, jumping from her spot and beginning to clean the table.

"Please, wait," I said, raising an open palm.

She froze for a moment, then slowly sat back, setting the plate back on the table.

"You need warmer clothes," I began, reaching for the clothes and handing them to her. "We will stop on Denon to buy something that actually fits your size, but before that, try this."

Glancing questioningly at me, she slowly accepted it and began to unfold the bundle.

"It's the only thing I have that won't be loose on you," I said as she separated my old tunic from the trousers. "And feel free to cut the trousers to your size."

"It will ruin them," she said slowly, furrowing her brows.

"I have a spare," I said with a shrug. "Go, change. And don't hesitate to use the shower."

She pressed the clothes to her chest as she stood, but then hesitated, looking at the table.

"LB will take care of it, don't worry. Now go," I added, nodding towards the doorframe, and she finally obeyed, leaving the common room in a hurry.

The crew quarters door opened and closed behind her, and I stood up, still feeling a strange warmth in my chest.

Gratitude. It was worth trying.

"LB, please clean up here," I said, stepping to the door. "I will be in the pilot cabin, meditating. See to our guest's needs while I am at it."

"Yes, Master," the droid said, and somehow it sounded resigned to his fate. Or I was projecting.

Meditate. I needed to meditate.

—

Feeling the vast emptiness, with only a faint glow of Nuu's Living Force somewhere behind me, I kept meditating. The gratitude I had felt from her had long ago shifted to the abstract and vast feeling of acceptance…

I didn't try to pin it down or define more than that. I just breathed it in and out, pulsing in the Force.

It centred me, letting me accept what I had done to Totto, my wrongdoings. My hidden guilt.

The Force flowed gently through my being, washing away a hidden weight and bringing peace.

Time stretched, losing meaning, but somehow, instead of losing myself in it, I felt only sharper. Sharper and calmer. Perhaps for the first time in forever.

Beep-Beep. Beep-Beep. Beep-Beep.

The beeping of the navcomm brought me back, and, opening my eyes, I checked what it was about. To my surprise, it was a five-minute warning. We were about to exit in the Denon system.

Five hours.

I had spent five hours meditating. That was new.

Rubbing my face, I reached the intercom switch and flipped it on.

"Nuu, we are about to exit in Denon. Want to join me in the cabin?" I asked and began checking the readings.

Power, engines, hyperdrive… our approach vector and expected exit point. Everything was within acceptable range.

Good enough.

"Buckle up," I said, sensing her behind me, and she squeezed into the second pilot seat. She didn't waste time or look lost while securing her buckles and adjusting them to her frame.

"You flew before," I said with a sideways glance.

"It's been a while," she replied, but I didn't miss how she looked at the dashboard, jumping from one reading to another. She knew what to look for.

Filing it for later, I glanced at the hyperdrive timer and prepared for the exit.

"Here we come," I said as the hyperspace tunnel broke into rushing stars. The navcomm beeped again, receiving updates.

"Let's see what we got here," I mumbled, looking for the closest space station. "A quick stop at a med station, a bit of shopping…"

"I am fine," Nuu said, laying her hand on my arm. "I already delayed you enough."

There was more confidence in her voice, more resolve, and something had changed in the way she held herself.

"Health is not something to neglect, and you need clothes," I said, meeting her eyes, but her gaze didn't falter.

"I already have one," she said, touching her chest with the other hand. "All I needed was food and sleep. I am fine."

Slowly nodding, I turned back to navcomm to confirm the transit route. She was right. I had lost quite a bit of time on Corellia, and we had yet to talk about Ryloth.

The sooner we were back in hyperspace, the better.

"Milagro it is," I said as navcomm beeped, accepting the new course across and projecting the Denon system on the screen.

It was quite a busy route, with thousands of ships passing through. Thankfully, it was multi-line traffic.

"Do you like flying fast?" I asked, lowering the inertial compensator output and diverting power to the shield.

"It's hard to feel it in space," she said, looking questioningly at what I did.

"Depends," I said with a wide smile and pushed the throttle to three-quarters.

Acceleration pressed us into our seats, somewhere close to two g's, and my smile only widened.

This is fun.

—

Following the curve of the route across the system, I kept an eye on our surroundings.

As we pushed through the traffic at high speed, marker after marker flew by on our viewport display, showing callsigns and ship classes. Civilian cruisers, heavily loaded freighters, personal yachts—all speeding through the Denon system to go further along the Corellian Run.

Like us.

It would have been a bit boring if not for the need to shift aside or change lanes to pass slower ships.

The communication system beeped, showing in the viewport corner a YT-510, callsign Bladerunner, and I accepted the incoming call.

"Amc2, this is Bladerunner. Do you read?" a female voice said over the speaker as a human or near-human woman holoprojection appeared on the dashboard. Her hair was in two ponytails, and she had a pair of goggles on her forehead.

"Bladerunner, I hear you loud and clear," I replied, glancing at the Bladerunner position. It was on our left, slowing down to match our pace.

"Amc2, I see you like speed. Care to race to the exit point?" she asked, giving me a sharp, toothy smile.

"Bladerunner, as much as I am tempted, I must decline. It would be unfair," I said, bringing the Denon system map and our route up on the viewport screen.

We were still halfway through the system, and it was another two hours until the exit. Mostly due to the wide arc around the old battlefield left over from the New Sith Wars. A ship graveyard, really, yet to be processed even two hundred years later.

"Amc2, don't be shy. But fine, I can give you a head start. Five! No, ten minutes!" she exclaimed with a smile that almost reached her ears.

"Bladerunner, I meant for you," I said, zooming in on the graveyard readings, studying the field.

"Prove it," she said, sending a countdown and abruptly ending the call. Ten seconds. Plenty of time.

"Have you been a navigator before?" I asked Nuu, quickly placing marker after marker on the map.

"No," she said in a strained voice.

"It's easy. Look at the screen and give me a heads-up," I replied with a shit-eating grin and updated my course as the countdown hit zero.

Bladerunner flared blue from its main engine, jumping forward. Ignoring it, I double-checked the engines' and shields' readings. Everything seemed fine and ready for what I had in mind.

Here we come.

 

[GorMartsen]

Slowly pushing the throttle past three-quarters, I kept an eye on the readings.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Nuu said nervously, watching the viewport screen.

"Definitely not," I said, shifting the shuttle one lane to the right, where most of the freighters were.

The huge freighter blocked our viewport, and I threw us into a roll around its hull.

"You have six minutes to study the mapped course," I said, flying through a gap between two freighters.

"Madness," she mumbled, and yet reached the controls on her side, bringing a map on her screen.

Zipping between the freighters, passing them one by one, I merged my senses into the Force. The path I had mapped was nothing but a guideline, but she didn't need to know that…

"Senth-Xesh, five klicks," she said nervously.

Raising above the traffic, I cut the thrust and began turning the shuttle to the right, gliding sideways above another freighter. Inertia pushed us both to the left, and I glanced at Nuu. Leaning against the force in her seat, she kept her eyes on the screen, gripping the seat handles. Good.

"And the exit vector?" I asked.

"Um… exit vector Thrill-Xesh," she said, adjusting the map view, and I focused on the readings again, resting my hand on the throttle.

The scanner began outlining the edge of the old battlefield, blinking with marks appearing on the screen. It was a bit denser than I had hoped.

"Remember, no matter what, focus on markers, the distance to them and the vectors to the next mark," I said, feeling Nuu's agitation in the Force.

She didn't reply immediately, but I heard her taking a deep breath and then exhaling loudly.

"Alright," she said. "Three klicks to the mark."

Closing my eyes, I let the Force flow through my body and listened to its warnings. There was some danger there, ahead of us, but it felt manageable.

"Two klicks."

All I had to do was trust the Force.

"One klick."

Easy peasy.

"Mark."

Pushing the throttle to one-quarter, I broke away from the traffic, and we began approaching the ship graveyard—sideways.

"One klick, exit vector… Aurek-Aurek," Nuu said, glancing at me uncertainly, and I nodded without looking.

The sharp beeping filled the cabin, signalling debris striking the shields as the skeleton of a warship slowly came into view.

Time.

I rolled the shuttle until its belly faced the incoming debris.

"Mark."

Drifting into a gap between two ships' carcasses, I tilted the shuttle's nose up and burned the engines, passing the marker.

So far so good.

"Quarter klick, Vev-Resh," she said more confidently, leaning towards the viewport and glancing in the right direction. There was a gap on the left and halfway up.

Tricky.

Adjusting our course, I burst the engines twice and flipped the shuttle one-eighty. Centrifugal force pushed us against our safety belts, and Nuu yelped in surprise. Then yelped again as I burst the engines once more, pushing us back into our seats.

Passing another marker backwards, I banked left and finally entered an open field between ship wrecks.

"Fifteen klicks," Nuu said in a strained voice. "Besh-Besh."

"Keep breathing, sharp inhales," I said, immediately following my own advice, throwing us sideways into a roll.

The scanner screamed a warning of an imminent collision, and a broken, twisted fighter flashed past the viewport.

Close call.

Following the feelings in the Force, I banked, tilting nose and laying a sharp arc around. Then I did it again, further moving away and going around debris that the scanner showed too late.

Shit.

"Vector… to the next marker… after this one," I asked, forced to roll and bank. We were drifting off course as the Force kept flashing with warnings.

"Um… Xesh… Dorn," she said between sharp inhales. "Fifty klicks."

Right. Improvisation then.

Banking left, then right, I found a gap that felt less dangerous in the Force, and threw us there. The shield flared visibly in the viewport, and the shuttle shook, hit by debris.

There was a warship that hadn't been processed yet. Slowly rotating on its axis, it looked massive. Jumping closer to it, I flew along its hull, shifting left and right until we reached a part where the ship was broken in two halves.

Flipping the shuttle one-eighty, I flared with engines, making a loop, and the broken halves of the ship flashed by. The shield screamed as we pushed between them, towards the exit on the other side.

Rolling around the broken frame in the middle, we jumped out, leaving the ship behind. Entering another open field between warships.

"Besh-Cresh… twenty-five klicks."

The Force flared with sharp danger behind us, and I firewalled the throttle. Acceleration pushed us back into our seats, stealing our breath, as a red warning flashed on the viewport screen with an annoying beeping.

[ Warning: Missile launch detected ]

Shit.

The warning turned into a countdown, giving us five seconds.

There.

Banking right, I sharply pitched the nose up. The beeping intensified, but I just pulled harder, circling the arc and fighting for breath.

One.

Two.

Three…

The viewport lit up in a flash, and the beeping stopped. The missile had hit something behind us.

Easing the pull, I rolled one-eighty and pulled again as the Force flared with danger once more. To our right.

[ Warning: Targeting system detected ]

I banked left, pulling and rolling as rapid blaster fire passed us, nicking the shield.

[ Aft Shield: 91% ]

The blaster fire died as fast as it started, and I kept the same course for a second longer, approaching another warship. Eyeing it suspiciously.

If it started targeting us too…

[ Identification request received. Transmitting authentication key ]

[ Successful identification ]

The damaged warship on our course got highlighted green on the screen—friendly forces.

Are they all active here?

Breaking the speed, I glanced at the map. We were almost at the centre of the wreck field, and well off the course I had laid.

"You good?" I asked, wiping away old markers from the map and starting to set new ones. There were fewer valleys leading through the wreck from here.

"Nuu," I called, approving the new course and looking at her. She was blankly staring into nowhere, breathing hard.

Oops.

"You need to focus on markers," I said carefully, placing my hand on her arm. "I will do the rest. Alright?"

She kept staring, not reacting, but when I began to worry, she nodded slowly and, closing her eyes, took a deep breath.

"Good. I've set a new course. You have a minute," I said, turning to the dashboard and beginning to check the systems.

The rear shield was slowly recovering, the top-right engine had a heat warning, but that was it. I idled the engines, letting us drift.

The next marker was behind the ship in front of us, and the scanner showed another open field behind it, filled with debris.

Fun.

"Wesk-Besh, one klick," Nuu said in a low voice, and I nodded. Back into the game.

"Wesk-Besh, one klick," I repeated, pushing the throttle for one-fourth and going under the warship's belly. "And the next?"

"Um… Aurek-Aurek," she said, pausing briefly. "Ten klicks."

"Aurek-Aurek, ten klicks," I repeated, checking the scanners and listening to the Force as we passed under the warship.

No warnings.

Keeping a lower pace, I steered towards the next marker, and we began to cross the open space between the heavily damaged warships. They weren't processed either.

Another verification request popped up on the screen, then another as we drew closer to the wreck of another, barely recognisable warship.

How many of them are still functioning?

"Aurek-Aurek, one klick. Xesh-Xesh, fifteen klicks," Nuu said, calmer now.

Nodding, I turned slightly to arc around another wreck in our path. There was something there… faintly flaring with hidden danger.

Just in case, I arced even further to the left, keeping distance.

"Mark," called Nuu, and I tilted the shuttle, aligning it with the next marker. "Xesh-Xesh, fifteen klicks, Besh-Cresh, one klick."

"Xesh-Xesh, fifteen klicks, Besh-Cresh, one klick," I repeated, but my focus was on the approaching danger. It was different somehow, pulsing.

Time stretched.

I kept circling around the warnings the Force gave me, avoiding debris, and the distance shrank. It was what I had expected at the beginning…

"Xesh-Xesh, one klick, Besh-Cresh, one klick."

Repeating after Nuu, I glanced at the scanner as something shortly blinked on it at the edge of range.

"Mark. Besh-Cresh, one klick."

Setting toward the new marker, I kept my eyes on the scanner. There was something about it, but what?

"Xesh-Wesk, half a klick."

Rolling left, then right, I went around a freely flying piece of a ship's course engine, twice the shuttle size.

"Mark. Xesh-Wesk, one klick."

Pulling the nose up and turning left again, I arced around another shipwreck, its hull shredded with holes. To my surprise, I recognised the model. It was a Sith corsair warship. No, just its front section.

"Beth-Cresh, two klicks," called Nuu, fading into the background as I felt something sweet and sticky reaching me through the Force.

…Come

The image of crystals growing from floor to ceiling flashed before my eyes. They pulsed violet and purple, calling to me.

…Come

"Mark, Beth-Cresh, two klicks."

Shaking myself off, I sharply banked the shuttle to the right and pushed towards the next marker.

Kriffed osik.

"Aurek-Xesh, one klick."

Bursting the engines, I accelerated us, trying to get away as fast as possible. The sweet, sticky feeling stretched, falling away, and danger flared behind us.

[ Warning: Targeting system detected ]

Shit.

I firewalled the throttle again, skipping past the marker before Nuu even called it. Flooring forward and then sharply turning right, we almost scraped along the hull of another ship.

The danger got stronger behind us, echoing with rapidly increasing beeping in the cabin, and I threw us left, behind another wreck. And then another, entering an open field, with a wreck pulsing in the middle.

The fuck is this?

[ Warning: Gravity well detected ]

Shit.

Unless…

I banked left and aimed at the source of the gravity well, picking up even more speed. The shuttle began to shake, screaming warning after warning as we ironed through the debris.

Wait.

Wait.

Now.

Turning the repulsors on, I jumped over the weirdly looking wreck, bouncing against the pull of the gravity well, and overburning on all four engines. The shaking became even more violent as we began to lose speed and I reached for the backup hyperdrive control, listening to the Force. If it didn't work…

The Force screamed as the viewport flashed, turning dark as the shuttle was thrown by an explosion behind us.

Fuck.

Fighting for control, I focused on banking and rolling, avoiding sensed danger, but here and there we kept hitting something. By the time the shield warning stopped screaming, we had barely any shield left.

"You good?" I asked, checking on our position.

Somehow we made almost to the end of the graveyard, riding the explosion. Just a bit below and on the right.

"We are almost there," I said, diverting power from the engines to the shield. "A few more klicks and we are out."

She didn't respond, and when I spared a quick glance, I found her hunched in her safety belts. She was clearly out.

Bantha Osik.

The scanner beeped with new markers, and, catching her lifeless arm, I looked at the screen. There were some ships ahead of us. Two, no, three, scattered among the dead warship carcasses.

Focusing back on Nuu, I scanned her with the Force. Nothing critical. She was just passed out.

The scanner beeped again, showing ships' callsigns—Wrecker I, Wrecker II, Wrecker III.

Damn.

Reaching for the communication panel, I switched it to emergency broadcast mode, checking the map readings.

"Attention all vessels. This is Jedi Knight Lose. Immediately evacuate Zones Cresh, Cherek and Dorn of the Dennon battlefield. I repeat. Immediately evacuate Zones Cresh, Cherek and Dorn. Over," I said and, not waiting for a reply, switched to the Jedi emergency frequency.

"This is Jedi Knight Lose. I had just encountered an active Derriphan-class battleship on the Denon battlefield. Sending coordinates," I said, typing on the comm console and sending data from my scanner and flight recordings.

"Jedi Master Kr'an speaking. I've got your readings. Status?" a deep voice responded, and the holoprojector came to life, projecting a nautolan.

"It's active in the Force and has an unknown weapon system. The most likely power source is purple crystals growing inside it," I said, watching the ships' markers on the scanner. They began to move. Finally.

"I understood, Jedi Knight Lose. Please hold your position. I will contact Denon system officials and the Temple on Coruscant," he said.

The reality split in half, ringing like glass, and in one I saw myself hunching, while in the other I saw an unfamiliar twi'lek woman in Jedi robes. She looked old and tired, standing in the middle of a room filled with beeping machines. And the feeling of hanging by a thread filled me.

Hurry up.

"Jedi Knight? Are you alright?" asked the nautolan, and with the shattering of the glass, realities merged.

Blinking, I felt something running down my chin. Wiping it away, I saw blood on my fingers.

"Manageable," I said, looking at the projection. "I must hurry, Master."

He looked back at me, not blinking with his huge black eyes, and I began preparing the ship for a hyperspace jump.

"I understood, Jedi Knight Lose. May the Force be with you," he said, with a bow.

"And with you, Master," I said, turning off the comm and pushing the throttle to three-quarters, speeding past the last ship's wrecks.

Ready to jump as soon as I felt it in the Force.

[ Incoming call, Bladerunner ]

YT-510 popped up in the corner of the screen, and glancing at Nuu, I reached for the decline button, but changed my mind at the last second.

"I am about to reach the exit corridor. Any last words, loudmouth?" the woman in goggles said, beaming at me.

"Safe travels, Bladerunner," I said, feeling the right moment, and activated the hyperdrive.

The stars stretched, forming the hyperspace tunnel as the call dropped.

I had to hurry up. If only I knew for what.