A Hidden Darkness

Miri Flynn awoke from a light slumber when her commlink started to beep incessantly.
She reached out for it and slammed her fist against it a little too hard
causing it to slide off her night stand; only to land in front of her large
pets paws. Her companion, a large
canine, bowed his head slightly and gently picked up the commlink with his
large mouth.

His teeth closed around it softly and surprisingly did not break
the small metal device. After letting
out a groan of irritation she stood up slowly letting her muscle stretch while
enjoying the feel of the cool air brushing against her skin. She scanned the room lazily as her eyes
adjusted to the light. The small rooms
walls reflecting the light of stars across the floor creating small patterns on
the hard metal floor. In looking at the
lights playful shadows she had forgotten about the commlink that, just minutes
ago, had been warning her of an incoming call.

She turned slightly confused to where the commlink had slid when Pawz came up
behind her and gently nudged her for attention.
Miri turned and looked at the gorgeous animal that was her pet and knelt
down in front of him. She smiled,
knowing full well now that he had what she was looking for, and pushed her hand
forward palms open, requesting her comm from his mouth. Pawz obediently dropped the device at her
request as a submissive action. Swiftly
wiping it on her pants to rid the device of any saliva she looked at the screen
on the commlink noticing the missed call.
It's code came from Corascant, but she didn't know a lot of people
there. She was working with a scientist there but this was not his code. Miri
thought that maybe it was from the smuggler she rented the ship from. It
probably wasn't the best idea to get a ship from a smuggler but at the time it
was her only option if she wanted to avoid the Jedi, including Kess. "Sit
Pawz." she then tossed a piece of cooked hawk bat into the air and watched
Pawz catch it. "Good boy Pawz!" she exclaimed while rubbing his head. She
saw her destination through the window and headed for the bridge. She steered
the ship professionally towards Alima. It took a few minutes to land but it
felt like hours.

The wait was over once the shipped rocked slightly with the
movement of the landing gears scraping the rocky ground beneath. Pawz barked
and circled her leg twice. "Pawz stay, I have to do this one on my own
okay. I will only have to worry about myself and I'm working with prey animals
your scent and presence will only scare them away." She pet his head and
slid the door open. After closing the door and locking it she made sure she had
everything she needed. A flashlight, three matches, an emergency commlink, a
flask of water and food sticks, as long as a tent strapped to her backpack. She started to hike towards the forested area.
Miri was a very confident person and
was usually well aware of her surroundings. Hiking and studying new things was
part of her daily routine. She also sketched the things she studied and was a
wonderful artist. She watched a bird fly overhead and saw a reptile of some
sort basking on a rock in the sun. This was going to be a perfect planet for
her studies.

Kess Rundel was training in the Jedi
temple gardens with one of his best friends Drey Travers.
He had called Miri to see if she would take a look at something for him. It was
a strange insect that was attracted to the edges of his tent. They ate away at
it all night and in the morning each tent wall was flat on the ground and he
was completely vulnerable to predatory animals. He had stitched his tent back
together and then they went away.

He caught a few and brought them back to
corascant but they were slowly dying for he didn't know what to feed them. He
started to wonder if he had made her angry with him the last time they met. She
had been making a story on the lives of Jedi knights and he had started to fall
for her and the council noticed when he started to get frustrated easier and he
became more emotionally unstable. Adi Gallia had chastised Kess for letting his
emotions get the best of his judgment and Miri for distracting Jedi at the
temple. Miri looked so embarrassed and mad at herself for getting distracted.
Kess had made an enemy with Adi Gallia and Miri hadn't talked to him or seen
him since. Her story was also half finished.

He knew it wasn't directly his
fault but he didn't think that she had feelings for him anyways. He finished
his battle with a blow from above and a swift under kick to the stomach. He
then jumped straight in the air, flipped over Drey and struck from behind while
he was bent over. Using training lightsabers Drey let out an over exaggerated
"oooowwwwwww, RUNDEL." Kess
just laughed at him. The training lightsabers stung like crazy and also bruised
and burned if you got them right. And Kess had, there was now a small hole
burnt into Drey's tunic. They both went inside then and sat down at a table to
discuss some new fighting techniques. Drey was still complaining about how he
would have to go see the healers now. Kess picked up a tray of food and started
to eat, he was deep in thought about Miri and couldn't stop thinking of her.

She hadn't answered the commlink and that worried him. "Rundel,
RRUUUNNNDEEEELLL." Hawke yelled. Kess snapped back to attention. He hadn't
noticed that another of his best friends had sat down and was talking to him.
Hawke Andron was Kess's best friend but was more pushy and confident then Drey.
He was also pretty headstrong and had gotten into a lot of trouble with the high
council. "What? Sorry, just deep in thought." "Dude you are totally wacked out you need
a therapist or something. Maybe a little bit of racing will clear your mind,
what is it with you these days. Your constantly distracted, you don't pay
attention, and you zone out for a good ten or twenty minutes at least twice a
day." Hawke was practically
seething with anger. Drey didn't really like how pushy he was but was being at
the moment and was watching the confrontation curiously. Kess finally answered. "Fine if I go see
a healer will you stop getting so mad at me?" "Maybe" Hawke
growled in a low almost embarrassed tone. Kess got up and made his way to the healer's
room. His mind was swirling with thoughts that he couldn't shake.