Short authors note:

Hello, Fanfiction. This is one of the many series written with the character Tessa that I have made, this one not involving her partner in crime (and sometimes lover) Jamie. Some other worlds Tessa has been teleported into are Dragon Age and Supernatural.
I hope you enjoy reading this. It was my first What if? fic I ever made.

Pain hit me so hard I thought I would puke. Tears burned at my eyes and only added to the mind-boggling confusion I felt, followed very shortly by horrific fear.

I wasn't home. There was no fan going off in my room like there normally was. There was no soft light emitting faintly to my right from my younger sister's window drapes. There was no warm atmosphere that my home in Colorado had. No. I wasn't home. I could feel the difference in the air, and not just from the slight chill I was given by the cold room I was in. It was a difference in the fact you could feel darkness rolling off of the people living in the vicinity.

The familiar smell of home didn't reach my senses, but the disgusting stench of death and decay filled my nostrils. I struggled to keep my face neutral at the smell, the distraction almost steering me away from the pain in my skull. Thoughts ran to my head in an organized order, just as I had been trained to do. Be calm. But being calm didn't stop the horrifying fear from painfully running up my spine. More tears welled up, and not from pain.

Well, I thought. I'm obviously not home. I wasn't woken up last night in my sleep, so I can only assume I had been drugged to be moved to wherever I am now. The question is... Where exactly is, "Here"? Dare I open my eyes? If I open them, my capturers might know I'm awake. They probably already know by now anyway, but it's worth a shot to be stealthy. I felt myself suddenly feel very tired. Just who are my capturers? I gulped what felt like a rock down my throat. Could war have finally..? But then.. Where is my family?

I listened for any sign of life. I didn't hear what I expected to: Voices muffled by masks speaking in a foreign language. I heard faint buzzes of what sounded kind of like a motorcycle or an automobile, only... lighter, kind of. It sounded sort of like something you'd hear in a Back to the Future movie, or maybe The Fifth Element.

Now, what in tarnation would make THAT noise?

I listened further. Muffled voices came from what sounded like behind a wall or door.

"You intend to just let her stay here?" Asked a crispy feminine voice, sounding a little beyond irritated. I was immediately enthralled with it. It sounded particularly familiar, though I wasn't quite sure where it was from.

"We can't just leave her out in the streets, Zaerdra. Who knows what those Vulkers will do to her." Replied a deeper voice, full of the authority that a father would have.

I now froze completely, breathing and all. Both voices sounded familiar, yes. But that wasn't what I was stunned spitless about. Did he just say Vulkers? I tried to piece everything together.

I already knew the conclusion. I just didn't believe it.

This is some kind of joke. I told myself. I couldn't actually be ... No. I should get some more information before I jump to silly conclusions.

My musing's were interrupted by the woman named Zaerdra. "You should have just left her to die in the streets like everyone else." She said, voice holding no real emotion. A shiver ran down my spine at this woman's cruelty. I didn't deserve to live any more than any other person, but I couldn't help but feel the want to live. To survive.

"And be like the Vulkers, Zaerdra?" The man's scowl was evident in his voice. "I will never let us fall to that."

Even if it was only to not be like these 'Vulkars', I was grateful the man spared me.

At that moment I decided to ignore the rest of the conversation and finally open my eyes. If what I thought was true, then I was going to have alot to do. It's just a dream. I assured myself. Sure does feel real, though.

I opened my eyes and was met with a cement ceiling. Yup. Definitely a dream. No way I'd have fallen asleep on my back.

All fear vaporized, instantly replaced by curiosity and a hunger for adventure and knowledge. I forced myself to sit up, trying to ignore the pain jabbing my skull and leaving me a headache.

The scene in front of me was partly what I was expecting. A counter that could serve as a shelf containing medical supplies and a few parts for what looked like a droid, a footlocker hugging the wall to my right, and a door to my left that definitely didn't look like it belonged on earth. A chair hugged the wall directly next to the door, accompanied by a small end table with a cup on it containing some type of liquid.

I nodded. "I'm definitely dreaming."

I looked around once more before I felt a familiar tug lifting corners of my mouth. "Might as well ride with it. Dreams like this don't last long, anyways. May as well savour it while it lasts." I stood up with a little bit of struggle, my leg's being a bit wobbily. My eyebrows drew together in a cautious, disapproving glare. Now that's not normal. Usually I have all the strength I need to carry myself from place to place in dreams.

I decided to ignore the minor setback and see if I could get anything from that footlocker.

"Erm..." I stared at the white container, confused. I placed a hand on my head and ruffled my hair a little bit. "I, uh.. I guess I never really knew how to open one of these thing's." I said to no one but myself. It was then that I felt the crusted liquid my fingertips skimmed over. A bit alarmed, I drew my hand back in front of my face to see what it was. There was no liquid, just a faint imprint of red. I gasped and recoiled my hand back to my head. "Blood?" I asked myself in a coarse whisper.

Realization dawned on me cruelly as I knew this wasn't a dream. I would probably never see my parents again, I would probably never see my little sister again, and I would probably never see any of my loved ones again. Heck, I'd probably never see Earth's dirt again.

I sat down in front of the Footlocker, eyes wide, not really grasping the situation fully yet. If I'm in a Star Wars universe, and if I'm on Taris... I broke off, a million thoughts coming to my head at once. Joy, excitement, lament, and depression all came bursting through to me. This is so cool! I'm.. I'm.. I'm living my DREAM! I've always wanted to be in a Star Wars universe! Maybe.. Do you think.. Do you think I could become a Jedi? This is so cool!

My face contorted into an unbelievably sorrowful expression after the excited thoughts. I... I don't know how to get home. I.. I'll never see my family again.. I could feel a massive headache overlapping the one I had recieved earlier. Tears stung my eyes before flowing freely as I accepted the truth. I choked down sobs and tried to stifle the sound of my crying.

I looked up at the footlocker and did what I always did when enormous amounts of emotional pain stabbed at my heart. I pushed away every thought of the cause and focused on something else.

Wiping away my tears, I was about to try and figure out the white cube when another realization dawned on me. Malak is going to destroy Taris! And I'm ON Taris! Crap. CRAP.

I got into a firm sitting position and prepared myself for a panic attack that never came. My face rose up into determination. I have GOT to find Revan. That's my only chance off this backwater planet.

I took a moment to wonder to myself. I wonder what Revan is actually like... I mean, it's not as if I'm the one playing the character now. This isn't a game anymore, and I'm not the former Sith Lord. Is Revan going to be a male or female? I mean, male Revan was canonical, but.. Bah. What am I sitting around wondering for when I could be finding out for real?

My face again rose up into a smile, my former tears and sorrow long forgotton. I covered my smile with my hands, trying to suppress a giggle. I'll bet I find Carth, too. This time I couldn't help a giggle. I let my hands slide down into my lap and I shook my head, mentally slapping myself but still holding a smile. C'mon, Tessa. You're acting like a five-year-old fangirl. I bet he's much older-looking in person. I mean, what is he? Like, my dad's age? A grin penetrated my attempts at a neutral face. Although, I did always say I was going to marry Ewan Mcgregor. And he's even older than Carth or my dad. Heh! I looked around and listened for the people outside my door. My eyebrows once again drew together, a serious expression taking place. Time to get down to business.

I looked down at the footlocker that I had yet to open. "Well, I should be able to just press this blue button right here and it should open." I mused. Doing so, I congratulated myself when the lid flew up, revealing some supplies and a few other thing's. My eyebrows shot up as I saw a padded uniform-type outfit.

I held it up in front of me, examining it. "No way. This is exactly what I wore in the game. Defense bonus: Five." I set it down in my lap and looked at it as if it were something from a different planet. Hah, joke's on me. "There's no way that could actually work now, is there? I mean, a real blaster would just cut right through anything I'm wearing." I gulped, that statement really hitting me.

This new universe is alot more deadly than the one back home. A bullet shot I can heal from, a blaster shot will go straight through me and probably leave me dead. I'll have to be extra careful.

I looked through the footlocker some more, finding a few metal capsules with what looked like a needle on the end. I raised an eyebrow. "Stimulants?" I asked.

I sighed, already knowing the consequences this galaxy would have. "I never needed them in the game, but I'll probably need them now. I am a non-force-sensitive human stuck on a foreign world, after all." Again, another shot to the gut.

Facts are I probably won't end up being a Jedi. This really makes thing's alot harder.

I looked through the footlocker, specifically looking for something. A triumphant smile made it's way onto my face when I saw exactly what I was looking for: A bag. I quickly stuffed all the stimulants I could find into a pocket, hesitating when I looked at the light armor.

"I most likely won't be able to move as well in the armor, not to mention if blaster holes are just going to penetrate me anyways, what's the point? I'd rather be able to move than be some big stump of a target."

The wooshing sound of air unlocking something and the sound of metal rubbing against metal made me freeze.

"You see? She's a thief, Gadon!" Said the female voice. I bit back a sigh and prepared myself to face the unknown. I turned around, still crouched down, and looked into the faces of my capturers.

Apparently I must have looked like a dear caught in the headlights, because the Tw'ilek's face faltered for a second before returning to the hardened bodyguard expression.

Great, I thought. Two second's in meeting the people and they already think I'm some helpless kid.

I stood up and raised my hands on both sides of my head, indicating I was of no threat.

"Hey, I'm not here to steal anything." I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. "But it'd be nice if I could get some information." I lowered my arms and walked slowly and cautiously towards the people, eyes on the blind man named Gadon.

He frowned. "Now hold on a second. We're the ones asking questions, here. You give us what we need and we'll just send you on your way."

I forced myself to nod in response, knowing only as an after-thought that he couldn't see it.

Don't really know what information I'll be able to give, but go ahead and ask. Interrogate at will. I stopped and made a face. Great. I sound like Carth.

I suppressed a shake of the head and prepared to be bombarded with questions.

The partially-purple Tw'ilek shook her head, glaring at me. I took a moment to just look at her, hoping I didn't look like some confounded idiot. I mean, an alien? Not normal. At least not in my world. This was something I would have to try and get used to if I were to 'fit in'. I mean, as much as I'd probably fail, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try and be inconspicuous.

Her face looked that of a human, besides the abnormal coloring. But I thought the shades of purple and pale skin coloring only added to her natural beauty. Her lekku came down to her shoulders and ended at her chest, creating an elegant-looking atmosphere to her bodyguard exterior. Her skin looked much like that of a human, except softer. Her lekku had a glossy shine to them, the lights bouncing off of them freely. Her body looked like a regular woman would, clad in light armor full of weapons galore.

What I wouldn't give to have a few of those on me. I mused.

Gadon's voice broke my examination of the newfound wonder. "Do you have any idea what you were doing in the Lower City? Judging by your appearance you don't look to be from here, not to mention if you were you probably would have been able to handle yourself with those Vulkars."

I looked up at him, trying hard to keep my face void of emotion. Masks of monotone were not my specialty.

Good. It's just some regular questions. I knew I couldn't possibly hold any information of actual value. Besides that subject, he obviously doesn't think I'm that young. That or he's got some weird views on younger people.. I thought back to his view on Mission and came to a conclusion. Yep. Definitely weird. He thinks young people are capable. Er... Not that I'm an incapable young person.

Determined to back up that last thought, I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped when I realized I didn't have an explanation. I closed my mouth and looked at him helplessly. What could I possibly tell him? "Hey, I'm from an alternate dimension where you're just pixels on a screen!" That'd go down real well.

As much as I didn't like lying to people I knew probably wouldn't harm me, I had no other choice. And honestly, I got the feeling I would be doing alot of lying in the near future. The best I could do was stick to answers that didn't give much away.

"I don't know what I was doing in the lower city, really. I don't even remember anything before I woke up here. I do know that I'm not from here, though." I decided to ignore replying to his remark about me not being able to handle myself. "In fact, I was hoping you would be able to tell me a little bit about how I got here."

There's definitely no underlying message there. I sarcastically said in my mind. Not like they'd know anyway.

Gadon nodded lightly and casually felt along the wall until his hand met the arm of the chair seated next to the end table. He seated himself and leaned back in his chair, looking directly through me. "The Hidden Bek guard at the front door saw you running from a couple of Vulkars, and as any good Bek would do, shot them down before they could cause anymore strife. Unfortunately, you were shocked with a Bothan stunner before the last Vulkar went down,"

I snorted and smiled while shaking my head. "That would do it," I muttered.

His dead-looking eyes lowered in a boredly condescending manner. "Yes, well, the guard brought you in here and we took you in, healing your injuries."

I raised an eyebrow, the sharp pain in my skull suddenly returning. "That doesn't explain how I got this," I said, pointing to the injury.

Gadon shrugged as if it didn't really matter. "You probably got knocked over the head at one point or another."

I mirrored his shrugging. "Guess it doesn't matter now, does it? Either way I still got a ghash on my head."

He let out a low humorless chuckle. "Guess so. Do you remember anything before that time?" He asked.

I lowered my eyes and looked him straight in his, even though he couldn't see mine. Yep. Last night I was on the computer until four in the morning writing about Star Wars, a.k.a. your dimension. I listened to Bach last night, too. Love the Cello. I was also reading about Bao-Dur, a Tech that's probably somewhere talking with Ithorians right about now; setting up something for the new Telos Restoration. At least, it's new right now. In about four or five years it'll be one of the most common thing's ever, and won't have any real success until a certain Jedi Exile shows up.

"I don't," I told him, contemplating just exactly what I should do. "I think that maybe some memories might come back if I just simply wait it out. Until anything comes back, I don't really have a place to go." I hinted. I could clearly see he knew what I was going to ask. "Do you think I could stay here for a little while?"

His brows furrowed, but he nodded. "Yes, you can stay here until your memories return. But until then, you can pay it off by working."

I understood where he was coming from, but that didn't mean I liked it. The thought of 'work' in general was enough to bring out my inner laziness and simply decline. But the thought of working alongside Star Wars people caught my interest.

"You can't be serious, Gadon! We can't trust her." Zaerdra spat.

Gadon threw her a disapproving glare. "Calm down, Zaerdra. It's only for a little while. Besides, it's not like she's going to try something in my own base."

I would have given him a grateful smile, had it not been for the growing memorization he couldn't see me.

He stood up. "Our private Cantina is just down the hall if you're looking to unwind, and the refresher is right next door." He gestured - a little off-kilter - to a door next to the bed I had been sleeping on.

"The Kitchen is a few rooms away from the Cantina, and if you ask the cook I'm sure he'll be willing to feed you. When you're ready to begin your work, come see me. I'll be in the common area with Zaedra going over a few work issues."

I gave him my thanks, and with that, he was gone.

I sat cross-legged on my new bed and closed my eyes. If I'm going to get off this planet before the Jawless Wonder bombs the place, I'm going to need a plan. Force knows Carth won't just let me join the crew, and I don't even know what Revan is going to be like. I could see if I could go talk to Mission, but what good would that do me? I most likely wouldn't be able to forge a strong enough bond with her for me to tag along when she joins Revan. Zaalbar is out of the question. Canderous only joins with Revan because he needs the help. What good would an inexperienced kid do him? That leaves the only remaining crew member on this planet. I opened my eyes.

Bastila.

/ / / / / /

I don't think I could ever remember a time where I had so much fun simply taking a shower. The unknown complexities of the supposedly thought simple shower system was fun to play with, not really knowing what I was doing but deciding to have a go at it anyways. I ended up being knowledgable in the ways of the shower system and successfully cleaned myself. It took me a few moments to find where they stored their towels, and I was thankful they still used them instead of an automatic dry-cleaning system.

Clad in only a towel, realization took it's course as I looked down at the clothes I had been found in. I didn't have anything to change into. But worse than that, I only had one bra and one pair of underwear! I was going to have to find something else to wear soon. I didn't have much hope for a bra, seeing as how almost nowhere on Earth held my breast size. But hey, you never know. If I ended up traveling with Revan, there were quite a few planets to choose from for clothing variety. Then again, there were no clothing stores in the game. Just how closely would this timeline follow to the game at home? I guess I would find out.

I looked around and furrowed my eyebrows after making a conclusion. "Where's my shoes?"

I sighed. When I woke up I had no shoes, either. I wore the outfit I had fallen asleep in: My fishnet stocking's with my dark shorts that I wore all the time over them, my blue tank top, my black necklace with a cross hanging down from it that could probably serve as a choker, and a belt wrapped around the shorts. Around my wrists were many hair bands, all various colors.

Being in the cold, cement rooms of the Hidden Bek base, I suddenly wished I had been wearing something that covered me better.. Or at least have been allowed to bring a sweater. Although, if I knew I would be in an alternate universe at all, I probably would have packed up my family and planned to never come back to Earth.

I redressed myself in the clothes I had came in and returned to my new temporary room.

I sat down - shoeless - on my bed, cross-legged, and closed my eyes.

Time to put my magical thinking skills to work. I need to figure out a plan off this rock, and quick. Bastila is probably the only one I'm going to be able to work with, and not just because she's the only one who will probably listen. She's a Jedi, and if she's anything like the person she was in the game, she should know what's going on enough to know I'm needed here.

I opened my eyes and looked to the side, as if someone were staring me down to pry open the truth. Well, partially needed.

I laid down - leg's bent towards the ceiling - and relished the feeling of relaxation. I can help in the way of knowing how everything plays out. Lightside or Darkside, I know what happens. And maybe my knowledge is exactly the key to getting with the crew. I couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto my face as I thought of the possibilities of new beginning's and ending's. I closed my eyes. They're real people now. I wonder how much different they'll be.. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I still have yet to make a plan.

I smirked at myself. Gee, for someone on a planet scheduled to be blown up, I sure am calm. Probably because I don't entirely believe in this whole charade yet.

I put my hands behind my head and began to do crunches. Well, it's obvious if I want to get to Bastila in time, I'm going to have to do it before the Swoop Race. Which means I'm going to have to actually find Bastila. A good place to start would probably asking some questions. I'm sure Gadon knows at least something. In the game he said, "..The only way to get your friend back is to win the swoop race.." But he never said anything about where she might be stored. If he does know something, I'll have to ask specifically. If he doesn't know anything, I'll ask around Javyar's cantina. If that fails, I can always go for the direct approach. I shook my head and frowned, still doing crunches. I doubt I could take down the entire Vulkars base. But who say's I have to? I may only need to remove one bodyguard to get to the person I need to. If I manage to get past the guards blocking the entryway in the Lower City, then the room with the Green Tw'ilek is only a few steps away. If I can get to him and get him to talk to me without killing myself, he could possibly know something too. I don't plan on 'rescuing' Bastila. I'll leave that headache to Revan. I just need to simply talk to her.

I laid down again, stomach muscles tired from my daily exercise. I don't know if this'll work. But I know if I don't try, then I've lost the game anyway. I snorted. How ironic that sentence was, now.

I got up and walked over to the footlocker. "Time to fix my excruciating shoe predicament."

I rummaged through the box, and found many shoes, but none my size. I huffed and stood up, deciding Gadon would probably know best.

I almost fell over in exasperation when I realized I didn't know how to open doors, either.

"Grrrr..." I grumbled. After a few moments of examination, I decided to just press a random button on the small console in the middle of the metal doorway. Much to my luck and appreciation, it opened.

"Note to self: Press that button again when you need doors to open for you in the future."

I triumphantly strode across the room, happy with my newfound knowledge on the complex system called 'doors'.

Upon my arrival, Zaerdra glared at me. I didn't return her glare, but instead smiled almost in pity. There was no use hating someone who was going to die in the near future.

I turned to Gadon, who looked like he knew of my presence. "Gadon, I was wondering if you had some shoes I could borrow. I looked through the footlocker in the room you gave me and found many, but none that fit. Can you help me with this?"

The older man looked like he was about to chuckle, but instead nodded in the general direction of his Tw'ilek bodyguard. "I'm sure Zaerdra can find someone to help you with that." He said.

I said a silent 'thank you' to him before following the purple-skinned wonder.

None too soon after we had turned a corner, she turned around to face me with a look deadlier than a starving vicious T'ukata on the loose.

"I don't trust you for anything," She spat, acid overflowing in her voice. "One wrong move and I have the clearance to shoot you dead. Understand?"

I nodded my compliance, deciding my voice probably wasn't what she would be looking for at the moment.

"I dare you to make a wrong move. It'll be your last."

I looked up into her eyes. As a protector, it's your job to make sure something bad doesn't happen, not ensue it. But of course I would never tell her that. She wouldn't take words like that from someone like me.

She pushed me in front of her, obviously not trusting me at her back. I sighed softly. This relationship between us probably won't get better with time, will it? Not that we have a lot.

We finally made our way to the designated area, needless the Tw'ilek behind me practically had her blaster to my back during the trip. An Ithorian was hovering over some type of workbench, lost in his work.

"Aarrom!" Zaerdra cried. I jumped at her sudden outcry. What, is he deaf or something?

The Ithorian bobbed up and turned around, obviously startled. "Zaerdra! You mustn't startle me like that!" The Ithorian named Aarrom stated.

The Tw'ilek beside me grinned. "Gotta keep those senses sharp, old man!"

I stared, flabberghasted, at the two aliens. Forget your little reunion! I just understood what he said!

I looked, shocked, from one foreign face to another, mouth ajar. Suddenly the Ithorians eyes flitted over to me, and made an expression to which I can only guess would be an eyebrow raise on a human.

"Who is your companion?" He asked.

Zaerdra's grin faded as she looked over at me with obvious disgust. "Just someone Gadon took in. She needs some shoes."

The Ithorian glanced at my shoeless feet before returning to look at Zaerdra. "I see." He waved me over to follow him. He looked through numerous footlockers in the room before finally coming to one he decided he liked. He opened it and picked out a pair of semi-tennis shoe hiking boots by the laces. He squinted at them before handing them to me.

I smiled my thanks and eagerly sat down on the cement floor. These actually look really comfortable. And considering I'll probably be doing a lot of traveling, comfort is exactly what I'm looking for. I stood up in them and grinned, ignoring Aarrom's plea's to sit me down in a chair. They are comfortable!

I looked up at him and my smile faded. "What do I owe you?" I asked.

He looked at me disbelievingly. "Nothing. Any friend of Gadon's is a friend of mine."

It was now my turn to stare at him disbelievingly. "Really? Thank you!"

I've always liked Ithorians. I thought fondly.

I turned back to Zaerdra. "Can we go back now? I'm officially ready to start proving my worth."

She rolled her eyes and motioned to follow her back, obviously thinking I didn't know the way. And let's be honest, any sane person would. But I did know. But no one else knew that, of course. Although, her letting me be behind her was an improvement from a few minutes ago.

When we got back, Gadon directed his bodyguard - and my new tour guide - to show me the way to the swoop engine mechanics. Zaerdra, of course, threw a fit about it, but in the end obliged.

A low-patience but friendly green Tw'ilek named Boc showed me how to work a Swoop bike. Not that I would be using one anytime in the near future, but whatever. It was still pretty cool. He then showed me how to make the brakes on a Swoop, then allowed me to attempt to make one myself. I wasn't quite sure what I would need to make Swoop Brakes for, but I did so anyway. In the end he chuckled and thanked me, putting my work in a 'parts' bin for some people to pick up later.

After Boc told me I was free to leave, I headed back to where I thought Gadon might be. I wasn't exactly sure what I had really done to prove I was trustworthy, but I thought I'd just ride with it.

When I got into the common room my heart almost stopped. There stood a blue Tw'ilek, alongside her a Wookiee. Both were casually talking to Gadon.

"Yeah," Mission said, voice dropping an octave at the end of the word. "We ran into some people I'd never seen before in the Cantina. They'll probably come here later. Said they were lookin' for a friend." She glanced up at Zaalbar before leaning in to whisper to Gadon. "Big Z here didn't get to finish his food, and you know how he get's when he doesn't get fed properly. Do you think we could sneak in the kitchen and get us some grub?"

Gadon chuckled. "Sure. Go on ahead and get whatever you need to. We wouldn't want an angry Wookiee, now would we?"

I swore I heard Zaalbar grumble something about 'Mission's fault'.

Guess that means I can understand Wookiee's too? Yay to the multi-lingual me! I can't help but feel something's off, though. Other people take years to learn language's I already magically know. And I'm not even from here!

Mission and Zaalbar left to go to the kitchen, not even noticing me. And if they did, they showed no sign of it. I couldn't help but stare after them a bit longingly. I mean, I already knew them both. They just didn't know me.

I suddenly felt very alone.

Once they were completely out of my sight, I swallowed the loneliness and trodded up to Gadon.

"Boc said I've finished my work. Is there anything else you need me to do?" I asked.

He looked in the direction of my voice and stared through me. "Nothing that I can think of. We never really needed your help, anyway. But we needed something to pay off your debt, now didn't we?"

I suddenly felt very leery of the man I was beginning to respect. "Er... I.. guess so." I replied.

"Say.. How well can you use a blaster?" He asked. I didn't like where this was going. Not the blaster part, of course. I was fine with that. But what he might be suggesting I do for him was what was starting to worry me. I put my thumbs in my pockets and leaned a little heavier on my right hip. "Well, I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty dang good." A partial truth. I've never shot a blaster before, but I've shot various types of guns. And yeah, I am a pretty dang good shot.

He looked pleased with his new discovery. "Good." He drawled out the 'oo' part, making me stifle a creeped-out expression. He may not be able to view it, but I'm sure Zaerdra would have something to say about it.

"You see, a few day's ago-" He was cut short by a certain Blue Tw'ilek waving to Zaerdra. "We're headed down to the Undercity, Gadon. See you later!" She said enthusiastically. I smiled at her knowingly, trying to focus on her happiness and ignore the fact that Zaalbar would be captured very soon. She looked at me oddly before turning around to face Zaalbar, following him outside the Bek Base. Yeah, I imagine it'd be a little odd for her. Second person she's seen today that she doesn't know.

I turned back to Gadon. "Like I was saying, a few day's ago The Vulkars stole from us an important artifact - A prototype accelerator."

I resisted a face palm. Don't you even tell me he's going to ask a kid to go get it for him?

"This Accelerator aids a Swoop Engine. A bike with the Accelerator can best any other bike out there! The Vulkars are planning to use it to win this year's Swoop Race." He said, practically glowing with pride for the mechanical object.

I shifted my feet and leaned on the other hip. "Okay, so? It's just a yearly Swoop Race. Is there something special about it this year?" I already knew good and well why Brejik wanted to win the race. Bastila, of course. I was just trying to stall long enough for Revan to get here. The sooner Revan got here, the lesser of a chance I would need to do this chore. But that also meant less time for me to get to Bastila.

Gadon's brow furrowed in annoyance. "Besides the fact we Bek's want to win? Yes. There's a Republic Officer named Bastila for the prize this year, And I'm willing to bet those Vulkars will stop at nothing to keep her."

I glanced over my shoulder to check if a certain former Sith Lord was walking in before sticking both my hands into my pockets. "What's so special about her?"

I obviously said something wrong, because Gadon looked at me like I was unbelievably stupid. "She's a Republic Officer!" He said, his voice matching his expression.

I nodded as if realization had dawned on me. "Ohh, yeah. Okay. I see now. Big money on the slavery market, right?"

He nodded. Zaerdra's expression turned cold and her stance took on caution. I almost smiled, because I knew that meant that behind me stood my possible future. I turned around and felt my heart speed up to a million miles an hour.

It's female! Was my first thought. There stood a woman with a semi-hardened expression, piercing crystal blue eyes, and milk chocolate brown hair that stood in a french braid that fell to her waist. She had a partial-muscular build that was covered by Scout's clothing. A stray strand of hair fell on her forehead. All in all, she was breathtaking. I examined her clothing further. Something was off...

"Are you Gadon?" She asked, after raising an eyebrow at me.

I looked beside her. This time I was sure my heart was going to shoot out of my chest. Lo and Behold, there stood Mr. Carth Onasi; Clad in Orange Jacket and all. Stress wrinkles outlined his face from past experiences, and wrinkles from many laughs and smiles were beginning to form from new ones. I could only smile involuntarily as my thought's lingered to how far along Revan and him might be in their relationship. I mean, since she's female there's no stopping a relationship from forming. I frowned sadly. But if a relationship does form, he'll have to go through all that trauma when she leaves..

By now pretty much everyone was giving me an odd stare, though still lazily entertwined with their own business. I looked around before my eyes locked with Carth's brown ones.

"Er... Right. Sorry." I stepped back to let Revan and Carth more easily speak with Gadon. I looked at his un-seeing eyes before glancing back to female Revan, to only return to him. "Visitors. Maybe you can tell me later...Although you won't have to." I whispered the last part. He raised an eyebrow at my mumbling's, but didn't say anything further.

I stood next to Zaerdra and listened to the all-too-familiar conversation. Nothing really caught my attention until Gadon said something along the lines of, "I lost my eyesight in a Swoop race awhile ago. I rely on these artificial replacements to see, now."

Well. I thought, astounded. THAT'S certainly something I missed before. I suddenly felt an itching guilt creep up on me. All this time I've been neglecting showing him proper thanks because I thought he was blind. He probably thinks so little of me..

I looked over at him, not missing his glance in my direction. He knew exactly what I had heard, and I knew right then that he didn't hold anything against me. I bet it probably happens a lot..

The guilt still stayed, though.

"So what do you say?" He asked. Revan glanced back at Carth as if to contemplate with him. He gave a curt nod and she turned back to Gadon. "Okay. Uniforms in exchange for the papers."

Gadon grinned smugly. "Excellent." He drawled the word out, with that weird voice of his. "Now, there is one condition," He said, after they had exchanged the cumbersome equalities. I looked at him, eyebrows drawn. I don't remember any condition's before the Vulkars base.. This is new.

He looked at me, the same smug expression on his face, before turning back to Revan. "I want you to take someone with you."

Carth was well and ready to retort, but Revan stepped in before him. "Besides Mission?" She asked, full of attitude.

Gadon nodded and gestured to me. "It'll be safer if we send someone with you."

Me and Zaerdra reacted at the same time; saying in unison: "WHAT?"