Second Chances

Legal

Star Wars and associated material contained within works produced or published by LucasFilm Ltd., or its subsidiaries remains the sole property, copyright, and trademark of said entities. No profit is being made from this work. All characters contained within this work are original (with the exception of appearances by some canon characters); and remain the intellectual property of their originating writers.

Acknowledgements

George Lucas - For providing a wonderful universe from which to pull my inspiration.

Brian - For letting me bring Gavin to life.

Craig and Shari - For helping me bring the vision to life.

The Wizard - for being a faithful reader and critic.


It is seventeen years after Palpatine's Order 66. In the intervening years, Darth Vader and his clone army have systematically hunted down and killed those Jedi that they could find. Many went into hiding, others had resigned or abandoned the Order some time before. Several of the Jedi have lent their support to the fledgling Rebel Alliance, and continue to search for survivors or descendants of the Jedi throughout the Galaxy. One such descendant, Callista Gseran, lives on Corellia....


Callista had been hungry for days, and tried unsuccessfully to acquire either money or food. She was desperate. 'The spaceport should be a good place to look,' she thought as she crossed the permacrete, gazing at all the ships. One in particular caught her eye: an old Firespray, battered but well-cared for. She turned in that direction, ducking around the side of the ship as some mechanics passed. It wasn't going to be easy, but she had to try. Cautiously, she reached out with the Force, disengaging the alarm as she tripped the lock. It took a lot of concentration, and she was sweating a little as she crept aboard.

Ships systems started registering through the HUD in Giarc's buy'ce....a girl, a hungry girl at that decided to steal something from the Kin'tya. Giarc knew that soon she'd end up in his hands and he just sat back and waited. Slowly, she made her way forward and into the main area.....and there was her goal...the galley. Cautiously, she crept across the open space, hugging the bulkheads. The galley was ahead of her now, and she slid across the floor to start digging through the storage unit. There was a lot of food...Finally, she just sighed, and grabbed a handful of rations, stuffing them into the pockets of her coverall. Then she turned to leave. Giarc saw her take the rations, and really if he was in her position he'd do the same thing, but this was his ship and now a lesson needed to be taught. He stood up and walked to the main hatch, cutting her off.

She gasped and backpedalled furiously, cursing as she looked around wildly for a way out, but there was none. He had her cornered. "Haar'chak!" Giarc spat and he struck out a quick fist to her stomach doubling her over. "No one steals from a Mando'ad..." She gasped and slid to her knees, trying to sweep his feet as she went down. She could feel his anger in the Force, and it had a dangerous edge. She scrambled backwards trying to escape his assault, but soon found her back to the bulkhead with nowhere to go.

He kicked her in the right knee and he heard it snap as she cried out. He knew he was being rough, but no one stole from a Mando'ad - and her ability to use the Force had to be tested....Xan would be interested in this. She cursed and rolled, trying desperately to protect it. The pain pounded behind her eyes and she ground her teeth together trying to keep from sobbing. She could feel him looming above her and she struck out blindly, her left foot slamming into his shin.

That was the wrong move for someone facing a Mando'ad. His beskar'gam rang with the blow and he knew the girl would be the worse for it. He kicked her in the back for good measure...not too hard but enough for her to get the point. "Perhaps next time you can work for your food, dalyc." Groaning, she rolled over still cradling her knee. She glared at him, but all she saw was faceless armor. She could feel his anger in the Force still and she shrank away from him, coughing as she slumped against the deck plating.

He reached out and grabbed her by her shirt collar, dragging her forcibly to a cell in the Kin'tya and threw her in. "Get used to it...you are going to repay your debt, hut'uun, one way or another." She growled, and beat uselessly against his armor as he dragged her off to a cell. She collapsed to the cold decking, her knee screaming. Slowly she turned over, tears leaking silently from her eyes as she fought the pain. Giarc thought it strange that she didn't lash out better at him. She knew how to use the Force somewhat, but she just seemed to have no will to fight. He decided to get her a backbone the Mando way....perhaps it would help her out in the long run. Slowly she rolled to her knees, gasping as weight settled on the shattered one. She cursed and collapsed again.

Giarc came back to the cell with a pair of restraints and a med kit and he explained, "The restraints are so you don't run away or try to fight back. The med kit is for your injuries." She glared at him, her eyes red-rimmed. Weakly she struck at him, her fist smashing into his armor again. Her hand rebounded harmlessly, but it throbbed as she felt something snap. She shrieked and slumped, moaning as she cradled her hand, her unkempt blonde hair falling to mask her flushed cheeks. "Why would you help me?" she muttered and scooted away from him, glaring.

"I can leave you in pain if you like....but I need you whole soon...you're going to work - whether you like it or not." She nodded sullenly. "Fine..whatever...." She stretched out for him then, resigned. She knew she wasn't going anywhere.

He set to work on her right away, being as gentle as he could with her injuries. He tended them as quickly and completely as he could. When he was done he unlocked her restraints, walking out of the cell and then locked it. "No Bacta tanks here, so a few days you get to rest then you will work your shebs off." She glared at him, but then looked away. "What do you mean?"

"Bacta patches...they take time to work...get comfortable while you can," and he walked off. She sighed, and shifted a little as her knee protested. Finally, she drifted off into a fitful sleep. Her dreams were troubled; half-forgotten memories of her parents, and she mumbled in her sleep.

*************
A few days pass and Callista's injuries have healed so Giarc went to the cell and unlocked it. "Right.... up! You work today." Sighing, she climbed to her feet, her knee protesting slightly. "What do you have for me to do?" She sounded resigned, but there was a slight sarcastic tone to her voice, because she knew she had no choice.

"You are going to clean every single square inch of my ship....inside and out. That will do for a start." She groaned, muttering, "You've got to be kidding..."

"No, I'm not." he handed her cleaning supplies and placed a tracking bracelet on her right arm. "Get going." She slumped a little. "Yes...sir..." She turned slowly, and headed for the main area. This was going to take forever... Setting down the supplies he had given her, she sorted through them until she found what she needed. Silently, she began scrubbing down the bulkheads, conscious of him behind her as she worked. She concentrated on what she was doing and on keeping the dull ache at bay. Hesitant, she reached to the Force for comfort. It was difficult for her to concentrate.

Giarc watched her and every time she dropped her focus he kicked a panel beside her to wake her up. He was going to make sure she did what he wanted. She looked sideways at him, scowling and kept working. Finally, she finished the main area and sat back on her heels, wiping at the sweat on her forehead. "Good....finish this and then get back to work." he set down a meal tray in front of her - Corellian sausages and patates. "Don't want you fainting on me here." Nodding, she set down her rag and rinsed her hands in the galley sink. After that, she sat down on the decking and started eating slowly. She didn't entirely trust him, but she was hungry. She watched him carefully out of the corner of her eye, wary.

Giarc went and did his daily check up on the systems.....he knew he couldn't trust the girl to run so he had the ramp up, but at the same time he wasn't about to kick a nek when it was down. Sighing, she climbed to her feet again and moved to the galley itself. The food prep surfaces were grimy, so she tackled those next. Putting up the food made her hungry again but she didn't dare take anything. After an hour, she finally sat back against the counter. It looked a lot better.

"Good, it's starting to look a lot better....but you ain't done yet...no more for the day though...got to meet someone." She looked over at him. "And what am I supposed to do while you're gone?"

"Relax, sleep...staying in your cell and out of trouble. Either way I don't care - you'll be in your cell and that's all there is to it," he said. She scowled. "Fine..." She gathered up the cleaning supplies and handed them back. He shuffled Callista into the cell, locking it before he walked off of the ship. She frowned after him. What was she going to do? Leaning against the bulkhead, she sighed and slid to the floor.

Meanwhile, Giarc activated his internal holocomm and called Jada. "I think we just got a big lead here, Jad'ika.....I think I found a Force sensitive." Jada frowned. "Are you sure, buir? And if so how did you find her?" she asked. Giarc laughed. "She found me....as Xan would say ...she's a jadacjsha. She tried to steal from me. Used the Force to pick the lock code." Jada frowned again, this time in irritation. "Not a muun'jibar, I hope. If this is a Force sensitive we need her on our side. Mando justice was not required this time." Giarc frowned this time. "I see no harm in it - plus this one is tougher than me....she just doesn't know it yet."

"You just better be sure that your technique is wise, Giarc...this could rebound on you at some point."

Callista leaned against the bulkhead wishing she was elsewhere. Climbing to her feet, she paced the cell, bending to inspect the lock. If she had gotten aboard the ship, she could pick, this, right? She knelt and focused on the lock itself. It was electronic like the first, and she reached out to it carefully tracing the wiring to find the code again. After a few minutes, it clicked open.

Carefully, she crept from her cell, and towards the common areas. Maybe she could find some tool to remove this damned bracelet...Giarc cut the holo soon after and displayed the internal ship view on his HUD and he started laughing to himself. "Clever one......this could be promising...better continue the ruse, though."

Callista didn't like that it was so quiet, but she wasn't about to pass up this chance. She rummaged in the tool storage, but was unable to find something with which to remove the tracking device. Sighing, she dropped the tools back in with a sigh. Nothing to help there. She moved on, and found a makeshift weapon in a length of metal piping. It wasn't much, but it would do. She had to get out of here. Something about this Mandalorian scared her, and she didn't like that. Slowly, she crept towards the main hatch clutching her weapon.

Her stance was tense as she reached for the lock again. Of course ....She almost smacked herself. The code had changed. Frowning, she reached for the lock with the Force. Having only gotten two digits of the code figured, she froze when she heard the lock click over from outside. Backing away, she hid hastily.

Giarc saw it all, including her trying to hack the ship code again and backing away and hiding. He saw where she was in the ship and decided to let her develop a small sense of confidence. He wondered what she'd try next when he got back on the ship. Slowly, she let out the breath she had been holding as the hatch did not open. She pulled at the hatch, pulling it open inward and then she turned ran full tilt down the corridor. She could feel him...

Giarc tried grabbing her as she ran past him but she was too fast and she knocked him off balance. He knew that he couldn't let her get too far without her alerting CorSec; and if she did his mission would be compromised. He cursed and got to his feet and activated his jetpack, desperately trying to catch up to her. She swore and ducked around the corner of the hangar, desperate to get away from him. A roar assaulted her ears and she looked up, gasping as he shot past her. She skidded to a stop and took off to the left trying to get past him.

Giarc activated his liqimesh netting and shot a net at Callista, trying to capture her rather than kill her. She ducked, trying to avoid it but felt it wrap around her ankles. She fell in a heap, cursing. She rose then, swinging at him with her makeshift weapon. Giarc took the blow on his crushgaunts and then delivered a backhanded slap to Callista's face. As she hit the ground he cringed internally. That didn't go well at all, he thought. She stumbled, reeling from the blow and went down, cradling her face. Her vision swam, and she tried to roll over but only succeed in banging her head.

"Not a great move there dalyc, I could've easily killed you." he said standing over her. She just groaned, more concerned with the pain. Her voice was muffled behind her hands as she cursed him in Huttese. Slowly, she edged away from him. He reached out and grabbed her, lifting her forcibly to her feet. "March your shebs back to the ship, dalyc. You can't escape me." She squirmed, trying to break his iron grip but it was no use. She swore at him again and turned sullenly back to the ship, her shoulders slumped.

"Move." he said and took out his beskad and poked her between the shoulder blades to enforce the order. She scowled at him, scooting away from it. "Alright, I get the point....." She moved a little faster knowing that he was behind her the whole way. They reached the ship a few minutes later, and he went over the same routine as before, but this time changing the codes again making sure to note to change it randomly every day. She slumped against the wall as he worked. She tried to look over his shoulder and he kept moving in front of her. The keys and the text on the screen were in a language she didn't recognize.

Giarc noticed her attempts to see what he was doing and turned around, his buy'ce hiding his face. "What exactly do you hope to achieve here, dalyc? Can you read this?" She shook her head. "No....but it was worth a try...." She trailed off uncomfortably and looked away as he continued to stare at her. Giarc growled, "Well when I'm done with you dalyc, maybe you should read up on Mando'ade and our language." She flinched and nodded quietly, wondering what he was going to do now. She could sense his anger again, and it sent chills down her spine.

He deactivated the cell field for a second, long enough to throw a datapad at her. "Here, do some reading up on it now." She caught it in reflex and glared at him. "What do you want with me..?" she asked in frustration. This was a lot of trouble to go to for someone who had stolen from him, she thought.

"Just to know who you decided to pull osik with. That way you tremble in fear next time." he said, meanwhile thinking the last line as well as pushing it. She flinched and backed away, his thought loud enough to feel like a slap in the face. She slid down the bulkhead and rested her head on her knees. Giarc got up and walked to the cockpit, leaving Callista alone with the datapad and her thoughts.

She growled in frustration, and punched the bulkhead beside her. It helped ease it a little, but it also left her cradling her hand for a moment. She leaned her head against the bulkhead behind her, and found herself drifting into a light sleep. She was awoken roughly a few hours later, and saw him standing over her again. "Me'copaani (What do you want)?" she asked, glaring at him. Her pronunciation was very rough, and halting.

"Time for you to finish your chores, and this time I've equipped the bracelet to deliver a stun jolt if you get outside of 50 meters from the ship. Now get going." She scowled again, cursing under breath as she rose. Slowly, she moved past him to gather the cleaning supplies he had given her the previous day. She felt like this would never end, and that she'd be stuck with this Mandalorian. Giarc merely pointed her outside and pointed at the ship. "Work." and he walked off.

A few hours had passed and Callista had reached the point of exhaustion. Giarc gathered up his things including the supplies. He pulled Callista to her feet roughly as he removed the tracking bracelet. "Ba'slanar!" he said and he walked off. She looked after him in shock. "What?"

"Leave." he said without turning back. She gaped at him, not believing him for a second. "You're just letting me go...? Why?"

"Because you're done....And I don't need you anymore." She frowned, not entirely sure she liked that train of thought. She half-expected him to jump her again. He just kept walking and boarded the Kin'tya. He couldn't care less and it showed...or so she thought. She sighed and shrugged, confused. Finally, she turned away. Giarc walked into his ship and blinked twice, his HUD switching to preflight. He sat down and strapped himself in. 'Master Xan will like this one' he thought. He powered up the Kin'tya and streaked away from Corellia.

Meanwhile on Naboo...

"I don't know about this, Weshtiir....these Jedi vanished without a trace. what if I can't find them now?" Xan asked puzzled. Lilly sat down next to Xan and hugged him. "You will, Xamesh, I have faith in you. Besides, you have been gathering intel for years. They need someone with you level of skill. You have gotten a lot of stuff already, they value your ideals."

"Faith is not what bothers me." Xan said. "The Empire is conducting stuff in the Corellian sector ......What if they found out?" Lilly sighed heavily and closed her red eyes. "We can only hope they don't... we haven't been in that area in a very long time, Xamesh. Things could have changed."

"I doubt it; the news is fresh." Xan said and sighed as he walked over to a large window and gazed at his surroundings. The Farm - the one constant his life has had in quite some time....their Farm. "Well Jad'ika said she'd fill me in on something Giarc said." Xan scratched his beard. "Something about a jadacjsha."

"A street kid? What could be so special about a street kid?" She stood, dressed in Naboo-style clothing and started to work on the dishes, thinking 'Unless the street kid is Force sensitive…'

"That's what bugs me. I'm more worried about finding the heir of Halcyon."

"Xamesh... you should focus on the here and now... you always told me that and now I am repeating your lesson. I say you should go and check this out." She dried her hands on the towel and pushed a strand of dark brown hair out of her eyes behind her ear. Her braid was a mess but she had been working all day.

"I'm going, I'm going, jijtchi. Don't rush me," he said smiling.

"I am not trying to rush you... and stop calling me young one. I may be younger then you, but I have grown up a lot since you first found me. I wish I could go with you, but the Alliance needs me to slice some stuff." In truth it was a huge stack sitting against the wall by the door.

"I know....keep me informed. Scramble channels."

"I will Xamesh, I promise. If I see anything worth mention ,you will be the first to hear it. I sometimes wish there was a better slicer then me around."

"You're the best and you know it....I'd better go...May the Force be with you, m'cdi!" (my love). And with you, Xamesh." She whispered in Coruscanii, "Be safe." Xan walked out and headed towards the rented ship and boarded. He powered her up, and after a longer than normal wait the power was sufficient for liftoff. Lilly stood outside and watched Xan power up the ship and take off. Sighing, she headed back into the house to begin the hours of work that awaited her.

Xan's entry into Corellia was via the "back door" as Lilly called it, and he parked the ship near the house Jada was using for cover. Jada walked out and smiled under her buy'ce and waited for Xan to exit the ship. Xan exited the ship and turned to Jada right away, "This had better be good, Jad'ika....you know I don't come into the Core unless I absolutely need to." She laughed and nodded. "I know, Rheff. You will want to hear about this. She walked into her home, knowing Xan would follow.

"Sjpraq." Speak.

"My father ran into a young girl, she... Well, she's quite gifted you can say. Gave him a hard time trying to first steal from him then escaped when he demanded she pay him back by doing work."

"Gifted how, Jad'ika?"

"Father believes she is Force sensitive."

"What did she do to arouse his suspicions on that?"

"She picked two of his locks…" Xan sat back a bit in the chair Jada provided him. "Interesting....a street kid you say?"

"That's what he told me. He said to show you this." She handed him a datapad. He looked at the log that Giarc had made from the Kin'tya, plus his little comments about her. "Ok, now I'm intrigued, where do I find her?" Jada frowned and looked at Xan. "She hangs around the docking area from what I've gathered... she loves to pick pockets there... with all the people; it's easy picking."

"Well I need new parts for this piece of osik....damn drives blew after exiting hyperspace."

"I can have the parts there and installed for when you get back, that's no trouble. I can't get involved with the girl. I think she has a strong dislike for Mando'ade…"

"I need to find them...it gives me a reason to spot this vhrouwen."

"All right, well I will keep an eye on your ship, Rheff."

"If she doesn't like Mando'ade like you said, you'd better make yourself scarce.....Like finding me info on this Imp project."

"I can do that! She laughed. "Good luck, Rheff." She stood and walked out of the house and towards the spaceport.

"And Tell Giarc no side projects....he's not Mand'alor yet." Xan said towards her retreating back. She nodded and waved goodbye. Xan decided that now was a good of a time as any to start looking for parts and he'd worry about searching for the street kid the next day.


Author's notes:

Well, there's a lot of words in here that many of my readers may not be familiar with. The Mandalorian language was created by Karen Traviss and is copyrighted her and LFL, and is used here to add depth and realism. The Coruscanii language is the sole creation of user XanQenadius and is used with his permission. I'll try to translate here, unless the words are translated in text.

For those wondering, Callista is about 5', blonde and blue-eyed, with a slim build.

beskad - a short sword constructed from beskar - Mandalorian iron. It has a curved blade.

buir - Mando word for 'father'

buy'ce - helmet

dalyc - girl, woman

Haar'chak - Damn it

hut'uun - coward

jadacjsha - Coruscanii word for 'street kid'

jijtichi - a Coruscanii word meaning 'young one'

Kin'tya - dagger

Mando'ad(e) - a Mandalorian - (e on the end denotes plural)

Mand'alor - the leader of the Mandalorians

muun'jibar - to educate hard

osik - crap

shebs - butt, backside

vhrouwen - woman