I don't own Star Wars. I wish I did.

A Nautolon's Quest for Memories

The lost Nautolon

Ben Mibak slowly navigated his ship through the junk field, desperately looking for something of value.

"Why do I even do this," he wondered aloud. He asked himself this question every time he was out here, and each time the answer was the same: he had nothing else to do, and he refused to sell his ship. "One day, I'll find something worth something here, I don't care what anyone says. The recyclers always miss something, and one day they'll miss-"

His train of thought was interrupted as he spotted a white capsule of some sort slowly spinning through the debris. It was the size of, and looked like, a coffin. He locked on to the item and used his tractor beam to pull it into his cargo hold. Excited at the thought of having found something modern-looking (and therefore expensive), he ran through his otherwise empty ship to inspect his find. It was a cryogenic hibernation capsule. Rescue capsules sometimes had them when the ship they were in went to remote regions where the pilot might not be found for months or even years, but he'd never heard of one here. Someone, presumably the occupant, had hastily scrawled a message in Basic on the side.

I am Kulon Taimo, PLEASE HELP ME

This felt like a very stupid thing to do. Stroking his hands over the smooth surface of the rescue capsule, he finally dared to look through the little window.

What he saw shocked him somewhat: "What the HELL are you?" he almost screamed in exclamation. "You're almost like a Twi'lek, just... not."

He was right, almost. The creature in the capsule was a Nautolan. He had many more tendrils than your average Twi'lek, and his forehead was larger. He was a lighter shade of green than the infamous Bib Fortuna for example, and the tendrils were brown in part. His body was sensationally muscular and he obviously had strong hands. Could fetch quite a price as a slave, thought Ben before quickly dismissing the thought as immoral. His unexpected passenger wore nothing, but this was normal for cryogenic freezing. You didn't want your clothes to get stuck to your body or cause some sort of horrifying problem. "let's take you home."

-----

Normally, one would have had to worry about the ship being stolen, but a combination of bribes and the appalling state of the spacecraft meant Ben didn't have to worry too much. Unfortunately this time he would have to somehow hide his find from Laxal, the Rodian who always took 50%. And would probably shoot me in a heartbeat for that cryogenic freezer, he mused. By now he usually just went to Laxal without the Rodian ever looking through his ship. The main reason for this was that he was never particularly successful and the 500 credits or so cuts he got just weren't worth the effort to the gangster; he had other Karstags to flog who were far more profitable.

No problem, just pretend today was really bad, he figured. It wouldn't be the first time. He took out 300 credits he had kept to buy a present for his daughter Dada with. Sorry princess, you'll have to wait... again.

He entered the bar where Laxal spent most of his time collecting "protection" money. Ben hated it there. The smell of deathsticks, burn wounds and vomit wasn't the worst part about the place. No, the worst part was the clientèle. They were all local thugs, members of the Rodian speeder bike gang who roamed the slums in search of money, drugs and women. In that order. It seemed that none of them had ever heard of a good scrub either. They knew him well enough by now and let him be as he walked up to Laxal's sabacc table. There he was: dark green, ugly elongated face in the red jumpsuit he wore every single day.

"Mibak! Finished already today?" he asked in heavily accented Basic. He obviously found it hard to speak, the sh-sound always having been a particular problem.

"Yes Laxal," answered Ben. Some trouble with my ship again, but I managed to find a slab of durasteel that fetched an alright price. Here's your cut."

Ben handed over 200 credits. "That's it? Don't cheat me you womprat! Give me another hundred or there'll be trouble!" shouted the Rodian angrily. It was always the same and Ben knew it. That's why he hadn't handed everything over the first time. He put the rest of the money on the table. "Now leave! You've wasted enough of my time already. I should shoot you for your cheek!"

Ben turned and left, hearing the roars of laughter coming from the table as the Rodians mocked the pathetic human.

-----

He felt cold. Very cold. He opened his eyes and a shot of fear ran through his body. I can't see, he realized quickly. Or move. He tried to shout. No can do either.

Voices. He could hear arguing, but it felt so far away. He tried to move his head sideways to hear better, but he couldn't. The voices became clearer.

"What do you mean you spent your savings on saving him? Are you out of your mind?" screamed a woman. "We barely have enough food to eat and you go spending money and not working?"

Someone was being very apologetic but defensive. A man. Suddenly there was a high pitched beeping very near to the listener's head. It was deafening.

"He's thawing!" shouted a younger female voice. "This is so exciting! I wonder what his story is! A Nautolan drifting through space in a cryogenic hibernation capsule..."

"That's what he is? A Nautolan?" asked the man. "I thought they kept to themselves?"

"Well usually they do," she answered. "But some travel around. Some, like this guy. I can't wait to talk to him."

"Talk to him? We're dumping him at the nearest clinic! Right, now!" shouted the older woman.

The heat gave a pleasant tingling feeling, but it burned like hell at the same time. Suddenly, his body jerked up and took in a huge breath of air. The pain was excruciating. There were three screams of surprise.

"Look at the teeth on this guy!" someone shouted. "Hey! Kulon! Can you hear me? Answer me. Can you hear me Kulon?"

I'm not Kulon, I'm... who am I? I don't who I am! Suddenly he felt as if he were being blinded by a projector an inch from his eyes. The pain! Darkness overcame him again. This cycle went on several times, although for how long Kulon had no idea. He had decided to adopt the name for now, until he found something more suitable.

The younger female voice had turned out to be called Dada. She was the one who was there nearly all the time, dabbing a cold towel on his forehead when his fever was too strong. "Who would have known that cryogenic hibernation was so dangerous?" she asked once, to nobody in particular. She was busy staring at his scary-looking black, open eyes.

"Everyone. That's why we use Bacta tanks," said the older man, who Kulon had identified as Ben. "What do you expect? You're freezing your body. Many people have died. Plus, if the machine screws up the wake-up process, you can be paralyzed for the rest of your life." He gave a short pause. "The capsule said he'd been in hibernation for three decades. This is going to be a fun wake-up, if you ask me."

Kulon was shocked at that revelation. It obviously showed. "He just twitched! He moved his finger! Do it again Kulon!" shouted Dada.

Aha! Progress! Let's give this another try. His right index finger moved.

"Yes! He's awake! This is so cool!" shouted Dada excitedly.

Over the next couple of hours, Kulon and Dada practiced moving different fingers and toes. After a while he could do them with no effort at all, and the blood started flowing in earnest. The feeling he had when moving his limbs – even if only very slight – was one of euphoria. His vision started coming back and even if it was still very blurry, he could now distinguish different shapes. He now knew he was in a small Grey room with a light on the ceiling. When he managed to turn his head for the first time, he got his first sight of three humans. His tendrils were awake now. He could smell their presence, the mother's fear, the man's nervousness and in Dada he could tell a mixture of joy, fear and... menstruation? Exhausted, he went back to sleep after being given some water for his very parched throat.

"Good morning!" said Dada as she woke him from his slumber. He groaned in response – progress! - and his eyes focused almost immediately. The sleep had obviously done them some good. "Here, let me get you into a more comfortable position."

She tried to pick up his upper body but he was too heavy, so she returned with her mother. Together, they lifted him up and put a pillow behind his back, allowing him to sit up. "This is the last time I'm picking him up," said the mother with obvious disgust. "Now get the poor guy something to eat. I'll go make us a bit of money."

With that, she left Dada and Kulon alone. During the whole day, she fussed over him and tried to help him talk and move, but there wasn't much progress.

A week went by like this, and since Kulon couldn't talk she just told him about her troubles when she wasn't practicing moving body parts with him or letting him rest. He could only reply in grunts. Suddenly during the second week, his condition began to improve dramatically. He could move his limbs again and even stand for a short period of time. To Dada, the sight of such an obviously powerful Nautolan learning to walk again was heartbreaking. She told him so.

"You sure talk a lot," he said back. He had a gruff, male voice and it obviously hadn't been easy to say the words, but he had done it. In her excitement she jumped up and hugged him, her tiny frame in stark contrast to his naked mass of muscle. He fell back in surprise and lost his balance, landing hard on the floor. He sensed her pheromones with his tendrils. It was the pheromone that signified worry and regret in humans. He still wondered how he knew this. She obviously cared a lot for him, but probably mostly because he had broken the monotony of life in the Nar Shadaa slums. Ben explained to him how he'd be found, but Kulon was even more confused. He knew facts, he knew how to calculate and talk, he could list mechanical parts off the top of his head, but he couldn't for the life of him remember learning these things or any other part of his life. It hurt him.

"Tell me Ben, how can I ever pay you back for saving me?" asked Kulon. It was a genuine question, for he felt indebted to the man. By now he had regained almost all his strength, but hadn't been out of the house yet.

"Well, for starters you owe me the 300 credits I paid Laxal to get you through without him noticing anything. Counting rent and food, I'd say that'd make 500," answered Ben, calculating his head.

"I don't have any money to give, you know that. I can find a job I guess..." started Kulon. "But I wouldn't know what or where." Although at least I have clothes now. They were cheap, but better than nothing and he felt comfortable in them. Dada had given them to him as an encouraging gift.

Dada rescued him again: "Father, he could help me get the groceries today. The bikers have been getting touchy-feely again and taking stuff every time I go. I don't think they'd dare with him at my side."

Ben liked this idea. The thought of his daughter being molested by these... scumbags was enough to convince him that any protection would be better than none. After all, Kulon cut an impressive figure: he had broad shoulders, huge muscles and, although he wasn't very tall, he was scary. Dora, his wife, had refused to be in the same room as him since he had stood up. "Alright. It'll give you some of our moon's notorious fresh air I guess, and maybe you can find something to do. I'll see you later."

With that, Ben went to work, and Kulon and Dada went to get food. The smell when they left their little house was overpowering. It wasn't so much a house as a two-room apartment in a gigantic complex of apartments. Dirt was everywhere and rodents happily ran around the path, knowing they were far too toxic to eat. Kulon felt his eyes burn a little and he blinked – something he hadn't found himself doing since he'd awoken the first time.

"This is where we live. Not really that nice huh?" Dada started. "Well, it is home though. Everyone who can leaves, so all my friends have," she finished sadly.

"Why haven't you left?" asked Kulon, interested.

"Because I don't have the money, have no skills to offer in return for my first ride away, and don't want to leave my parents alone."

"Well how did your friends learn something useful?"

"They didn't. They're either dead, or they joined a gang, or they signed a contract promising to be slaves for 5 years and get a lump sum of money at the end," she finished angrily.

They continued walking, and after a minute to calm down, she continued: "I'm learning to be a droid mechanic, but I can only go when I have enough money to pay a lesson. The guy's nice, but he's poor too you know..."

"I could probably help you with that. Every broken item I see in your house I get the desperate urge to fix. I haven't yet, but I probably won't be able to resist for ever..." he said, opening himself up more than he'd meant to.

"Why resist? That'd be how you can repay Father!" she exclaimed excitedly.

At the shop, she showed him the assortment of root vegetables, leaves and synthfoods on offer. They were all very cheap and not very healthy, but they made you full and kept you alive. She decided to give him a good meal and bought some of the more expensive items on the list. He carried the bag for her and they chatted. Suddenly, her face went dark.

"Watch out for those Rodians there in the black jackets," she warned, nodding her head towards four of them leaning against the wall. "They're the ones who bother me usually."

Kulon just nodded. He straightened his back and flexed his muscles. As they got nearer, the Rodians moved from the wall to block the path. The one in the middle started:

"Woooh, Dada, who da noo boyfweind? You don like me no moh?"

"Leave me alone google-eyed barve!" she answered. "I never liked you Wappo, and I never will, no matter what you do!"

Kulon decided to speak up. "You heard her. Leave her alone and get out of the way."

The four Rodians looked at each other and sniggered then turned back to look at him, vibroblades pulled. "You gonna wegwet bein so diswespectful, Jactna. Let's cut a tendwil from his head as a lesson."

Kulon stepped back and gave the bag of groceries to Dada. "Take a couple of steps back," he whispered to her. "Hey boys, you don't wanna do this, come on. Let's be friends eh? I'm sure I can help you out with something." Although he was trying to reason with them, he knew it probably wouldn't happen, so he got ready. He smelled Dada's fear, he smelled their arrogance. Not to mention their disgusting odor. "One last chance guys, back off!"

"Back off? You dweamin man, 'ight boys?" Wappo turned to the others, who nodded their heads in agreement. "Give us you money and we think about it."

"Don't have money..." he shrugged.

"Then you be losing a tendril! Bekk, get him!" ordered Wappo.

The inexperienced Bekk moved forward, slowly and carefully, holding the vibroblade ready. Kulon looked at him nonchalantly, smelling the young Rodian's fear. Poor guy, he can probably be redeemed. I won't kill him. Suddenly, the Rodian decided it was time to strike and lifted the blade up and brought it down towards the Nautolan, who easily grabbed his wrist and stopped it there. Kulon gave a vicious kick to the Rodian kneecap, dislodging it instantly. Bekk screamed, as his leg gave and he started to fall, but Kulon didn't let him, preferring to turn him around by twisting the blade-holding arm around his back and pushing him back to his friends.

"Never take your eyes off your opponent's feet. Now leave us alone," said Kulon. Bekk was screaming in pain, supported by a fellow gang member. He dropped his vibroblade, and Wappo looked stunned.

"You gonna pay for this Jactna. Let's get him!"

He and his friends were obviously vastly more experienced than the poor Bekk, who was by now leaning on the railing on the side of the path they were on. It was a long way down if someone was flipped over the side. He limped over to the wall of the building on the other side, where at least it would be safer for him.

The three Rodians faced the Nautolan, wary of their opponent. They were waving their blades about, trying to bring him off balance. Okay they won't stop until I'm dead. Attack is the best defence in this case. Kulon jumped to the enemy on his right, who tried to avoid the large fist about to connect with his face at high speed without success. The impact gave a sickening splat as he was hit in the right eye, bone fragments from his brow piercing the eyeball. The Rodian screamed and went down, blood pouring from the wound. Kulon rolled as he landed, picking up his defeated opponent's vibroblade as he went and got back up.

Dada was shocked at the efficiency of the display and gasped as she saw the actual leader of the Rodian's gang watching the fight from a balcony on the opposite side with interest. One of his Rodian cronies began to take aim with a blaster, but it was batted away by the Twi'lek boss who was obviously enjoying this.

The three fighters left in contention faced each other, vibroblades ready. Wappo and the other Rodian tried to attack simultaneously, but Wappo was kicked back by Kulon who then ducked underneath the other's swinging blade, grabbed the wrist above him and drove his vibroblade through the armpit out the other side before pulling it out again. The Rodian screamed as Kulon pushed him away from the fight. Wappo had obviously decided that cutting off a tendril was no longer an option and started pulling out his blaster.

His eyes looked more shocked than anything when he saw the blade spin towards him through the air and implant itself in his chest. He dropped his blaster and reeled back to the railing, where he flipped over it and fell into the slums 200 meters below, landing with a crunch.

Kulon looked at Dada, who was staring at him in shock. It hadn't been two minutes since Wappo had spoken to her, everything had happened so quickly. They walked home together in silence, and up on the balcony the Twi'lek Vreau Moola smirked. He had finally found a diamond in the rough...

tbc

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