Disclaimer: All the credit goes to George Lucas and anybody working for and affiliated with him. Comprendo?
A New Beginning
Wake up. Ran, wake up. Ran Melisk came to consciousness. The same horrific memories had returned. "Ran, are you all right?" Rydia placed her hand on his shoulder. "You're sweating like crazy."
He shook his head to clear it. "I'm fine."
"Is it a nightmare? Certainly seemed like it."
Ran nodded slowly. "Bad memories. They've been recurring recently." Rydia sighed and stretched out in bed. The tips of her toes stuck out from the end of the sheet. "There are eight other cabins on this ship. And you had to pick mine to sleep in?" he said.
"You didn't stop me." He laughed and gave her a kiss. After she released him, he said, "We'll be at Umgul in about twenty minutes. We'll spend the day shopping for you. Maybe a blob race tonight?"
"If we are not otherwise occupied, it sounds delightful." Being otherwise occupied sounds delightful to me, thought Ran. Nydia stepped out of bed and stretched. "Mmm, I don't want to put that party dress back on."
Ran gave her a pop on the butt. "You'd better or you'll be arrested for indecent exposure." She yelped, then ran off laughing.
As soon as they were dressed, they landed the Dark Angel and took the commutube into town. Taking her to Umgul's most expensive shopping mall, the Decadent, Ran watched as she went through the different clothes, trying them on, modelign them for her. As he watched Nydia laugh and prance around in the different clothes, he saw a wonderful person. She was not like Darina, which helped Ran with the memories. Darina had been fun-loving and playful, but Nydia just seemed different. An overall happier person, with a love for life and a vibrant aura around her.
If her father finds me, he'll have a fit. Though I don't think that's going to happen soon. Tapping Nydia on the shoulder, he said, "Nydia, I'm going to go down to the equipment store for a minute. I'll be back. Do you have my comm number?"
She nodded absent mindedly, and he left with a smile. Strolling along the moving walkways, he stopped at Frendor's Equipment Emporium. Ran stepped inside. Looking around, he located what he was looking for: a set of sensor tags and a tracker.
Walking up to the counter, he paid the one hundred and fifty credits and walked outside the store. he turned his head as he left and saw a pair of secuirty guards talking to a police officer. Ran listened to their conversation.
"This is the man we're on the lookout for. Murdered his wife in the Tapani sector, on some forest moon. Anyways, the Sector Rangers have been assigned to drag him in. The alert is only for the Colonies, so most of the Mid Rim security agencies haven't been alerted. We can't arrest him, but we can give information on his whereabouts. Just keep an eye out for him."
"Will do, sir." Melisk looked the other way as the police officer walked past. They've found Darina. I wonder who discovered her. Well, now I'm a fugitive. He walked past the security officers briskly, and pulled out his comlink. "Nydia, finish your shopping immediately."
"Why?"
"Don't ask, just do it." He walked quickly to the department store. She was waiting by the door. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"You'll find out once we get back to the ship. I never told you what my former job was, did I?"
"You said you were a 'freelance entrepreneur.'"
"Yeah, well that means I was a mercenary."
"A mercenary?" she asked, incredulous.
They began heading out of the Decadent. "Yeah. I had a commando team of sorts, and we went around doing nasty things to people for money."
"So what's that have to do with it?"
"I think that one of my operations made somebody mad, so they sent out a bounty on my head. It appears to have resurfaced. I saw a police officer talking to some guards about it."
By now they were in the parking lot. "So you live on the edge of the law?" she asked, a bit overwhelmed by all of this.
"I used to. Besides, it was Imperial law. Doesn't really count now. But still, fringers don't care if the Imps are defunct. They'll do anything for cash. We've got to skip planet."
Ran started the rented speeder and pulled out of the parking lot, driving for downtown Umgul City. "Will being on the run from the law be a major part of our relationship?"
He shook his head. "Not at all. I've never really been in trouble with the law, just other fringers." Nydia placed her hand atop his in a way that seemed to give and seek comfort. Soon they stopped in downtown Umgul City. He wheeled the speeder up to the gate of the rental place. An Ithorian hammerhead waddled out. He checked the license number, then said, "Two hundred forty credits." Ran counted off that amount in bills and handed it to the Ithorian.
Driving the speeder into the parking deck, he cut the engine and they both stepped out. "Grab your bags. We need to get back to the ship." She pulled three shopping bags out of the trunk, and handed one to Melisk. Ran suddenly noticed that she no longer wore her silver dress. She was dressed in a black sweater, with a blue blouse, well suited to the wet, foggy climate of Umgul.
Suddenly, the air crackled, and the rear engine of the car exploded. Ran tackled Nydia and held her to the ground. He pulled out his heavy blaster pistol and looked around. Advancing up the ramp was a man and six blaster wielding droids.
"I know this guy. He's a hitman for one of the noble houses in my sector. Stay down." Moving up to the speeder, he stuck he gun over the top and loosed a shot.
The red bolt struck a droid and blew it backwards, destroying it. The hitman turned his own blaster rifle at Ran and fired several shots. They smashed into the side of the car, raining sparks around Melisk. Popping up again, he took a pair of shots at two droids, but only one hit home. A flurry of blaser fire rained down on top of the speeder. The car took the pounding well, but it wouldn't hold for long.
"Ran! What are we going to do?"
"I've been in worse situations then this! Trust me! Just requires some ingenuity." Pulling a pair of spare power packs off of his utility belt, he wrapped them together with some tape. The repulsorlift engines on the speeder began to fail, and it started to settle to the ground. Removing the dowels in the power packs, he chucked the homemade bomb over the car. He put his body over Nydia.
A defeaning explosion, followed by a wave of heat swept over them both. Shards of metal fell around them. Finally, Ran and Nydia looked up. The speeder had been blown out of the way, and all of the droids were eliminated. The hitman lay on the ground, coughing blood.
Melisk stood up and ran over to the man. "Zond! Zond, who sent you?! Who is trying to kill me?!" He shook the dying man. Zond simply smiled his last smile, blood trickling from his forehead. His eyes glazed over and his head fell backward. Ran stood up and cursed.
"Nydia! Are you alright?"
She got to her feet. "Just a little stunned."
"The cops'll be here soon. Lets go." They walked past the demolished gate and went underground, into the commutube station. Hopping aboard the tube, it left the platform, speeding along. Ran suddenly noticed that they were covered with debris and smelled of smoke. People threw curious looks their way, but Ran's counterstare threw them off.
Soon the commutube stopped at the spaceport, and they quickly entered the spaceport. "Ran, there's customs. If your gun is scanned, they'll pick up that it's been fired. Plus all of the explosive matter on our clothing."
He dug inside his wallet. "Never thought I'd have to use this, but I have to. Word of advice: always carry multiple fake IDs." Brushing himself off, he pulled out his hologrammed card and walked importantly up to the security guards at an employee's-only gate. Giving his card to them, Ran said in a grave voice, "Felx Hadjan, Deputy Director, New Republic Intelligence. I need to pass."
The two guards looked at reach other, then keyed in the entry codes for the gate. Nydia and ran walked right through and Ran chucked the card in a wastebasket. "Why did you do that?" asked Nydia.
"It'll be reported. If the real Deputy Director finds that his name is being used, then he'll canvas the galaxy looking for me. The NRI has vast resources." Soon they were at Docking Bay 368. Opening the door, he let Nydia in first. Getting into the ship, he started the engines and requested clearance to leave. As soon as it was granted, they lifted off.
The were on a course for a jump zone a few hours off-planet, so Ran went back into his cabin. Straightening things up, he found a hologram of Darina, smiling, beautiful. He reached for it, drawn for a glimpse of her in happiness. His hand knocked it and fell, shattered on the hard metal deck.
It was too much for Ran to handle. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he began sobbing quietly. He sat down on his bunk, and held his face in his hands. Tears streamed forth, pent up by the agony of the past several days. I am so torn. I kill Darina, and then find another woman to take her place. Just as bad as her forgetting me for Lippil. Ran, what have you done!?!
"Ran, where are you?" called Nydia. Melisk tried to make himself stop crying, but he failed. "Ran?" Nydia came into the cabin. "What's the matter?"
Ran stopped crying and lifted his head. Tears had formed a tiny puddle on the floor, one that rippled from the engine vibrations. "I have done something that can never be corrected," he said hoarsely.
"Does this have to do with your nightmares?"
He nodded solemnly. "Do speak a word of what I am about to tell you to anybody else. Is that understood?"
Nydia nodded. Her blue eyes looked into his, searching. "A week or so ago, I was at home, and I received a message. It confirmed what I had thought. That man at the party the other night, Vangross Lippil?"
"Yes?"
"My wife was having an affair with him. I felt as though since we had unconditional love for each other, only the other would hold a place in our hearts. When I found out about this affair, I became so mad that . . . I wanted to punish her for what she had done. I truly regret it now, and I would never do it again. It has ruined the rest of my life."
Nydia could sense what was coming. "What happened."
"I killed her. I stabbed her with a knife. Murdered her in cold blood." It all played before his eyes once again. The lifting of the dagger, the plunge, Darina's futile struggle against death. He felt his hands shaking uncontrollably. And now I have lost my other love. Nydia will leave me for this.
Nydia was silent for several minutes. "Ran, I can understand your motives. I think the same way. I want unconditional love from you. And that's what I have. But murdering your wife . . ."
He looked at her, his face grey. "It was rage. Sheer rage. I trained for some many years for combat . . . stabbing her came automatically to me. I had given myself an order . . . and I carried it out."
Ran turned and took her hands in his. "Nydia . . . do you still love me?"
She gazed into his eyes, and wiped a tear from his cheek. "I believe in judging a man not by who he was, but by who he is. I know you would never do such a thing again. I will never stop loving you." She hugged him, squeezing him tight. He hugged her back, feeling his soul return.
After a minute, Nydia looked at Ran. "So where do we go now?"
Ran thought for a moment. "Home."
"Didn't you leave home?"
He shook his head. "That was never home. Home . . . where family exists. For me, that's on Corellia."
"Corellia it is then." They hugged again, their relationship already stronger. I feel cleansed. A new life beginning. To love another person again without fear of betrayal.
Now I must complete the final link in the chain. My family. Only then will I be truly free.
A New Beginning
Wake up. Ran, wake up. Ran Melisk came to consciousness. The same horrific memories had returned. "Ran, are you all right?" Rydia placed her hand on his shoulder. "You're sweating like crazy."
He shook his head to clear it. "I'm fine."
"Is it a nightmare? Certainly seemed like it."
Ran nodded slowly. "Bad memories. They've been recurring recently." Rydia sighed and stretched out in bed. The tips of her toes stuck out from the end of the sheet. "There are eight other cabins on this ship. And you had to pick mine to sleep in?" he said.
"You didn't stop me." He laughed and gave her a kiss. After she released him, he said, "We'll be at Umgul in about twenty minutes. We'll spend the day shopping for you. Maybe a blob race tonight?"
"If we are not otherwise occupied, it sounds delightful." Being otherwise occupied sounds delightful to me, thought Ran. Nydia stepped out of bed and stretched. "Mmm, I don't want to put that party dress back on."
Ran gave her a pop on the butt. "You'd better or you'll be arrested for indecent exposure." She yelped, then ran off laughing.
As soon as they were dressed, they landed the Dark Angel and took the commutube into town. Taking her to Umgul's most expensive shopping mall, the Decadent, Ran watched as she went through the different clothes, trying them on, modelign them for her. As he watched Nydia laugh and prance around in the different clothes, he saw a wonderful person. She was not like Darina, which helped Ran with the memories. Darina had been fun-loving and playful, but Nydia just seemed different. An overall happier person, with a love for life and a vibrant aura around her.
If her father finds me, he'll have a fit. Though I don't think that's going to happen soon. Tapping Nydia on the shoulder, he said, "Nydia, I'm going to go down to the equipment store for a minute. I'll be back. Do you have my comm number?"
She nodded absent mindedly, and he left with a smile. Strolling along the moving walkways, he stopped at Frendor's Equipment Emporium. Ran stepped inside. Looking around, he located what he was looking for: a set of sensor tags and a tracker.
Walking up to the counter, he paid the one hundred and fifty credits and walked outside the store. he turned his head as he left and saw a pair of secuirty guards talking to a police officer. Ran listened to their conversation.
"This is the man we're on the lookout for. Murdered his wife in the Tapani sector, on some forest moon. Anyways, the Sector Rangers have been assigned to drag him in. The alert is only for the Colonies, so most of the Mid Rim security agencies haven't been alerted. We can't arrest him, but we can give information on his whereabouts. Just keep an eye out for him."
"Will do, sir." Melisk looked the other way as the police officer walked past. They've found Darina. I wonder who discovered her. Well, now I'm a fugitive. He walked past the security officers briskly, and pulled out his comlink. "Nydia, finish your shopping immediately."
"Why?"
"Don't ask, just do it." He walked quickly to the department store. She was waiting by the door. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"You'll find out once we get back to the ship. I never told you what my former job was, did I?"
"You said you were a 'freelance entrepreneur.'"
"Yeah, well that means I was a mercenary."
"A mercenary?" she asked, incredulous.
They began heading out of the Decadent. "Yeah. I had a commando team of sorts, and we went around doing nasty things to people for money."
"So what's that have to do with it?"
"I think that one of my operations made somebody mad, so they sent out a bounty on my head. It appears to have resurfaced. I saw a police officer talking to some guards about it."
By now they were in the parking lot. "So you live on the edge of the law?" she asked, a bit overwhelmed by all of this.
"I used to. Besides, it was Imperial law. Doesn't really count now. But still, fringers don't care if the Imps are defunct. They'll do anything for cash. We've got to skip planet."
Ran started the rented speeder and pulled out of the parking lot, driving for downtown Umgul City. "Will being on the run from the law be a major part of our relationship?"
He shook his head. "Not at all. I've never really been in trouble with the law, just other fringers." Nydia placed her hand atop his in a way that seemed to give and seek comfort. Soon they stopped in downtown Umgul City. He wheeled the speeder up to the gate of the rental place. An Ithorian hammerhead waddled out. He checked the license number, then said, "Two hundred forty credits." Ran counted off that amount in bills and handed it to the Ithorian.
Driving the speeder into the parking deck, he cut the engine and they both stepped out. "Grab your bags. We need to get back to the ship." She pulled three shopping bags out of the trunk, and handed one to Melisk. Ran suddenly noticed that she no longer wore her silver dress. She was dressed in a black sweater, with a blue blouse, well suited to the wet, foggy climate of Umgul.
Suddenly, the air crackled, and the rear engine of the car exploded. Ran tackled Nydia and held her to the ground. He pulled out his heavy blaster pistol and looked around. Advancing up the ramp was a man and six blaster wielding droids.
"I know this guy. He's a hitman for one of the noble houses in my sector. Stay down." Moving up to the speeder, he stuck he gun over the top and loosed a shot.
The red bolt struck a droid and blew it backwards, destroying it. The hitman turned his own blaster rifle at Ran and fired several shots. They smashed into the side of the car, raining sparks around Melisk. Popping up again, he took a pair of shots at two droids, but only one hit home. A flurry of blaser fire rained down on top of the speeder. The car took the pounding well, but it wouldn't hold for long.
"Ran! What are we going to do?"
"I've been in worse situations then this! Trust me! Just requires some ingenuity." Pulling a pair of spare power packs off of his utility belt, he wrapped them together with some tape. The repulsorlift engines on the speeder began to fail, and it started to settle to the ground. Removing the dowels in the power packs, he chucked the homemade bomb over the car. He put his body over Nydia.
A defeaning explosion, followed by a wave of heat swept over them both. Shards of metal fell around them. Finally, Ran and Nydia looked up. The speeder had been blown out of the way, and all of the droids were eliminated. The hitman lay on the ground, coughing blood.
Melisk stood up and ran over to the man. "Zond! Zond, who sent you?! Who is trying to kill me?!" He shook the dying man. Zond simply smiled his last smile, blood trickling from his forehead. His eyes glazed over and his head fell backward. Ran stood up and cursed.
"Nydia! Are you alright?"
She got to her feet. "Just a little stunned."
"The cops'll be here soon. Lets go." They walked past the demolished gate and went underground, into the commutube station. Hopping aboard the tube, it left the platform, speeding along. Ran suddenly noticed that they were covered with debris and smelled of smoke. People threw curious looks their way, but Ran's counterstare threw them off.
Soon the commutube stopped at the spaceport, and they quickly entered the spaceport. "Ran, there's customs. If your gun is scanned, they'll pick up that it's been fired. Plus all of the explosive matter on our clothing."
He dug inside his wallet. "Never thought I'd have to use this, but I have to. Word of advice: always carry multiple fake IDs." Brushing himself off, he pulled out his hologrammed card and walked importantly up to the security guards at an employee's-only gate. Giving his card to them, Ran said in a grave voice, "Felx Hadjan, Deputy Director, New Republic Intelligence. I need to pass."
The two guards looked at reach other, then keyed in the entry codes for the gate. Nydia and ran walked right through and Ran chucked the card in a wastebasket. "Why did you do that?" asked Nydia.
"It'll be reported. If the real Deputy Director finds that his name is being used, then he'll canvas the galaxy looking for me. The NRI has vast resources." Soon they were at Docking Bay 368. Opening the door, he let Nydia in first. Getting into the ship, he started the engines and requested clearance to leave. As soon as it was granted, they lifted off.
The were on a course for a jump zone a few hours off-planet, so Ran went back into his cabin. Straightening things up, he found a hologram of Darina, smiling, beautiful. He reached for it, drawn for a glimpse of her in happiness. His hand knocked it and fell, shattered on the hard metal deck.
It was too much for Ran to handle. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he began sobbing quietly. He sat down on his bunk, and held his face in his hands. Tears streamed forth, pent up by the agony of the past several days. I am so torn. I kill Darina, and then find another woman to take her place. Just as bad as her forgetting me for Lippil. Ran, what have you done!?!
"Ran, where are you?" called Nydia. Melisk tried to make himself stop crying, but he failed. "Ran?" Nydia came into the cabin. "What's the matter?"
Ran stopped crying and lifted his head. Tears had formed a tiny puddle on the floor, one that rippled from the engine vibrations. "I have done something that can never be corrected," he said hoarsely.
"Does this have to do with your nightmares?"
He nodded solemnly. "Do speak a word of what I am about to tell you to anybody else. Is that understood?"
Nydia nodded. Her blue eyes looked into his, searching. "A week or so ago, I was at home, and I received a message. It confirmed what I had thought. That man at the party the other night, Vangross Lippil?"
"Yes?"
"My wife was having an affair with him. I felt as though since we had unconditional love for each other, only the other would hold a place in our hearts. When I found out about this affair, I became so mad that . . . I wanted to punish her for what she had done. I truly regret it now, and I would never do it again. It has ruined the rest of my life."
Nydia could sense what was coming. "What happened."
"I killed her. I stabbed her with a knife. Murdered her in cold blood." It all played before his eyes once again. The lifting of the dagger, the plunge, Darina's futile struggle against death. He felt his hands shaking uncontrollably. And now I have lost my other love. Nydia will leave me for this.
Nydia was silent for several minutes. "Ran, I can understand your motives. I think the same way. I want unconditional love from you. And that's what I have. But murdering your wife . . ."
He looked at her, his face grey. "It was rage. Sheer rage. I trained for some many years for combat . . . stabbing her came automatically to me. I had given myself an order . . . and I carried it out."
Ran turned and took her hands in his. "Nydia . . . do you still love me?"
She gazed into his eyes, and wiped a tear from his cheek. "I believe in judging a man not by who he was, but by who he is. I know you would never do such a thing again. I will never stop loving you." She hugged him, squeezing him tight. He hugged her back, feeling his soul return.
After a minute, Nydia looked at Ran. "So where do we go now?"
Ran thought for a moment. "Home."
"Didn't you leave home?"
He shook his head. "That was never home. Home . . . where family exists. For me, that's on Corellia."
"Corellia it is then." They hugged again, their relationship already stronger. I feel cleansed. A new life beginning. To love another person again without fear of betrayal.
Now I must complete the final link in the chain. My family. Only then will I be truly free.