When I come to, the blinding glare of an overhead light greets me, making me cringe. I struggle to sit up but my body is sluggish, my response time completely off, like there's a wet towel wrapped around my brain. Shouldn't I be in pain? I was shot, wasn't I?

Blearily I search my chest for the blaster burn, parting the cross top of the new tunic I wasn't wearing before I lost consciousness. Underneath a square synthetic cloth bandage covers most of my chest below the collar-bone. Knowing I would regret it, I start peeling at the top corner of the bandage to inspect the damage. Focusing on my breathing to steel myself, damn this patch is sure glued on tight, how much skin is it going to take with it.

"If you force me to re-patch you girl, your paying the credits it costs to keep me stocked on Kolto Bandages." An old man suddenly tsked making me jump out of my skin, he smiles kindly as he approaches my gurney from across the vacant clinic. "Sorry to startle you, your safe here, I'm Dr. Zelka Forn the physician for this clinic."

"How did I get here? What happened?" The last thing I remember I was lying on the streets of the Lower City confused, freaked out and in the worse kind of pain I've ever experienced, before I blacked out I remember Canderous crouching over me a strange expression on his face.

"I believe you're in a better position than I to explain what happened. When the Mandalorian carried you into my clinic you had already slipped into shock from your blaster burn and were on the verge of secondary shock from loss of fluids, fortunately he got you to me when he did."

"The Madalorian, is he here?" Canderous carried me all the way to Upper Taris? Holy crap, I almost died my first day on Taris!

Quickly searching the empty gurneys lining the walls of the clinic Dr. Forn confirms what I see, "He stayed long enough for me to remove Frag Mine shrapnel from his body but as soon as I told him you would survive your injuries he refused any further treatment and left." That sounds like Canderous alright, The Canderous Ordo carried me here from the Lowercity!

"Thank you, I uh, you saved my life." I tell him becoming self-conscious. The Doctor did save me, I can't even put to words how grateful I am. I guess since I've never been in this position before I'm not sure what's the appropriate response...

"Just doing my job." He shrugs, probably been through this a dozen times before. Turning his attention to the displays at the foot of my high-tech gurney he kindly asks, "Are you in any pain, how are the pain meds treating you?"

"Making everything slow and muffled honestly. Don't feel any pain at all." Never been on any high-grade pain killers back home, so I can't compare, but this definitely feels like high-grade stuff. "Uh, I can't pay you for this..."

"Then you're in luck as this is one of the few Free Clinics on Taris, besides your Mandalorian friend left an ample donation." He answers typing something on my gurney's screen, making the drugged feeling in my veins slowly ebb, allowing my head to clear. "But it only remains free if I can keep accurate track of how many patients I treat on a daily basis, for the government. So could you help me out and tell me your name?"

"Kylie Fletcher." I answer truthfully while my mind races to try to come up with a convincing story of where I come from and why I have no records, besides "a galaxy far far away".

"And am I correct in assuming that since your scans show you've had absolutely no immunizations or standard levels of exposure to Core Worlds pollutions that you're not from around here?" He looks at me critically one gray eyebrow raised in question.

"Yes," Alright let's go with as much truth as I can, keep things as straight as possible, "I arrived here from Korriban." It was where I woke up at least, after being pulled from my bed, by some ritual The Emperor's Hand was performing.

It's still pretty fuzzy what happened. I just keep getting these images of me levitating in a dark red shroud above the circle, the five Hand members formed below me. Before a Sith woman with dark and haunted features burst in interrupting things, attacking the Hand and collapsing the crumbling ruins we were in, on top of us. I still can't believe I was the only one managed to pull myself from the rubble after she left.

Hugging myself against the sudden chill I get whenever I think about floating there unable to move, unable to think as those disturbing Pure-Blooded Sith were doing who knows what to me... When I finally manage to distance myself from those memories I realized that the Doc hadn't said anything yet. Raising my chin from my knees I find him regarding me with a guarded expression. Real smart Kylie, you just admitted your from the capital planet of the enemy of the Republic!

"I'm not with Malak and his kind!" I add quickly. "I escaped Korriban by stowing away on a freighter, they happened to be stopping here when I was discovered and I managed to jump ship before they got any ideas." I nervously babble the rest of the story as quick as the words can come...

"So are you going to turn me in or something?" I ask nervously after a moment has passed without him saying anything. What would the Republic do with someone in my position, anyway? Probably keep me in detention or something until they're convinced I'm not a threat or until they've gotten every piece of intel they assume I have of the enemy. Could I run now before he calls the authorities, how far would I get, am I completely healed or would infection set in without meds? Where could go from here? Just my luck the freighter landed on doomed on Taris of all places, why couldn't have been Corusant or Naboo?

"Did you train at the Sith Academy? Is anybody searching for you: family, slavers, Sith?" He asks, his gaze and tone softening. He believes me? I know it's the truth, but I'm not even sure I would believe it. What do I tell him, convincing him I was a flunked out Sith Academy sounds like a bad idea even if I had Force powers to prove it. Giving a sob story that I was once a slave, when in reality I had a good life back home just feels wrong, but I can't very well tell him about my parents and sisters without getting into details about how I have no idea how I can get back. Oh God, how am I ever going to get back to them?

"No, anyone who knew of me there is either dead or believes I'm dead..." I answer hesitantly, trying and failing to understand what's going on under that balding head of his. I have still managed to keep to the truth considering I found more than one body part from beneath the rumble as I squirmed, scraped and climbed my way to freedom. The Sith woman must have believed I was one of them cause she wasn't anywhere when I emerged to the dust blown desert in my PJs sweats and tank top.

"...Do you have any family I could contact to let them know your safe?" I shake my head not trusting my voice to answer when I worry not for the first time these past couple of days what's going on back home once they realized my bed is vacant. The house was all locked up for the night would they think I left without so much as a goodbye? Sure I just hit the legal age to be out on my own but they wouldn't think I just run out taking nothing but my PJs and completely bar them from my life, would they?

"How does the Mandalorian fit in? How did you get shot Kylie?" At least his tone is remaining reassuring if a little confused, will he help me out? You may think this is pathetic but I have never felt so alone or uncertain in my life. Sure I was terrified after being almost buried alive, chased off a freighter at knife point and then shot wandering the Lowercity. But now that I've had a moment to breathe and my thoughts aren't centered on surviving the next few moments, I'm left realizing how screwed I am.

"I don't know him," I lie, sort of, I honestly only actually met him when I stupidly decided to jump in and help during that ambush. I had until that point only been following him from a distance too afraid to approach. Until the hidden frag mine suddenly went off as he was walking down an alleyway, and I saw him go down, surrounded by all those armed men jumping from the shadows; I just reacted. Before I knew it I had jumped on the back of the first guy I could reach pulling back as hard as I could with my arm squeezed around his throat. "I just, accidentally ran into a street fight he was a part of, and took a stray blaster bolt."

Course I didn't last long, but how was I suppose to know he didn't need any help and would recover from the blast so fast, dispatching of them so easily while I got the crap kicked out of me before, getting shot. He even finished off the last of them alone as I writhed on the muck covered alleyway in agony, deeply regretting my poorly thought out actions.

"...That's quite a story..." Dr Forn finally responses thoughtfully. Maybe he doesn't believe me after all.

"It's the truth." I answer with as much conviction as I can, trying not to panic at the thought of being turned in as an enemy of the state or something.

"...Better rest up while you can Kylie." He says briskly, leaving my bed for the desk at the reception area, when I hesitate to ask why, he looks back at me as he walks, answering the look on my face, matter- of -factly. "You've got a lot of work to do if your going to earn your keep here. Until you figure out where your going from here."

Does he believe me? I don't know, but it's a light at the end of this tunnel and I'm going to take it. And I'm to exhausted from a combination of pain killers, lack of food or water and running for my life ever since I arrived in this messed up galaxy, to even try to stay awake and question him.

It's definitely going to be temporary though there's no way I'm going to stay here until Malak's fleet bombs the place.

So slowly against my will I slip back into blissful unconsciousness where I can briefly escape the plaguing questions stewing in me: Why did the Hand or Emperor want me? What exactly did they do to me? Who was that Sith woman who inadvertently saved me while trying to kill me?

Was it just a coincidence that I ended up on Taris of all places of the galaxy? Does knowing what will happen here obligate me to try and stop it? Would that even be possible? How the hell am I suppose to get back home?