Memories

by Bast the bard

When Aamay Mundal goes looking for a mysterious figure known as The Outsider, she expects to find answers to the mysteries that surround her childhood. What she finds instead is a man with a story that could shake the galaxy to its core. The epic saga of a soldier during the Clone Wars. A saga of pain, betrayal, bravery, and an undying loyalty to someone who can never return.

I, of course, don't own Star Wars or anything associated with it. I only own my original characters.

Chapter 1: The Outsider

The small grey ship emerged from hyperspace with a jolt, throwing its pilot violently against the controls despite the inertia-dampeners built into the engine. The pilot grunted as her head forcefully slammed into the dashboard. The pilot inhaled sharply and rubbed her forehead, gingerly poking the area where she smacked against the throttle. She winced and put her hand down, then took a moment to survey the space around her. Her eyes widened when she saw the small green and blue planet in front of her, spinning silently all alone in the farthest corner of the galaxy. Her grey eyes took it all in, the clouds, the mountains, the vast oceans and forests. Without taking her eyes off the planet before her, she thumbed a button on the dashboard and cleared her throat.

"Computer, confirm location," she said in awe. There was a whir, then a short beep of confirmation. The girl's expression of awe didn't change, but her eyes sparkled with joy. "Finally..." She breathed. She tilted the throttle of her tiny ship forward, and her ship crawled a few meters forward before the engine gave out with a wheeze.

"Come on baby don't quit on me yet," she pleaded as her fingers danced across the controls, frantically trying to coax some life back into the old fighter. The engine sputtered, but didn't start. The girl sighed and pushed a strand of brown hair back into place. Gently laying her head against the controls, she slowly caressed the cockpit of her ship.

"Please just a little further," she whispered. "We're so close to the end, I promise I won't work you so hard anymore. Look over there, you can see where we're headed. You can rest once we get there, and then I'll finally give you that tune up that I've been promising you. But only if you go just a little bit further-" The girl stopped mid sentence as the ship's engine finally coughed to life.

"Thank you," the girl said with a smile, tilting the throttle towards the planet. She took it slow towards the planet to preserve the engine, but she would have traded her left hand just to be able to open up the throttle and get to the surface as fast as she could. The girl circled the planet before spotting a small oval-shaped island in the middle of the ocean. In the middle of the island was a small pond, which gave the island the appearance of an eye staring up into space.

"There it is," she said. Once she was close enough the girl began to slowly descend through the planet's atmosphere towards the island. Despite the agonizingly slow rate of its descent, the ship still shook and struggled to stay in the air as it made its way down. The girl gripped the throttle with white knuckles, silently willing the ship not to crash. The engine began to cough and whine as the ship continued its descent, threatening to give out thousands of feet above the surface. Not wasting any time, the girl chose the softest looking area of sand on the beach surrounding the island to land her ship. She gingerly brought the ship lower to the ground, then landed as gently as she could. Breathing a sigh of relief, the girl hit the release on the cockpit and jumped out the side, landing with a thud in the sand. The girl turned and gave the battered landing gear a hug.

"You did it!" She said to the fighter. "I knew you had it in you!" The grey ship was silent for a moment, then promptly burst into flames in response, orange fire flaring out from the engine. The girl yelped and leapt away, hitting a small button on her wrist gauntlet as she did. The homemade automatic fire-suppressing hoses she installed snaked out of the ship and sprayed chemicals on the flames, putting them out in seconds.

The girl rubbed her face with her hands and groaned. It would take forever to clean the scorch marks off the hull. And where was she supposed to find parts for the engine on a deserted planet?

"You better hope the info that bounty hunter gave us was legit," she told the ship. "Otherwise we're gonna be stuck here for awhile." The girl waited for a response, then sighed and patted the wing of the ship.

"I'm gonna go look around," she said to the ship, heading towards the treeline. "Don't go anywhere." With a chuckle, the girl crossed the beach and walked into the forest. After just a few yards the undergrowth became too dense to walk through, and when the girl tried to pull the brush aside with her hands she pricked her finger on the needle-like thorns that hid under a layer of leaves.

The girl swore and sucked on her fingers, pulling a stray thorn out of her index finger with her teeth. The girl spat the thorn to the side, then drew a vibroknife from the scabbard attached to her hip. With a hum, the blade cut through the brush and cleared a path for the girl to move further into the woods.

The girl combed the forest for almost an hour, growing increasingly discouraged as the minutes ticked by. She had hoped to find some clue that her goal was here on this planet; a trail, a fragment of metal, a piece of cloth, anything. But the forest was devoid all signs of intelligent life, seemingly untouched by foreign creatures. The girl let out an exasperated sigh and pressed her back against the trunk of a tree. She slid down until she was sitting down with her legs out in front of her.

"Seems like a good spot to rest," she murmured to herself. She took a deep breath and fiddled absent mindedly with a tree root that was sticking out the ground at her side. Pinching it in her fingers, she tugged on it gently and grunted in surprise when a piece tore off easily in her hand.

She scrutinized the piece carefully, poking its brown bark to make sure it was actually wood. Holding it close to her nose, she inhaled and the tang of citrus filled her nostrils. She tentatively bit into the root… then closed her eyes and smiled, chewing the root slowly in order to savor the sweet but tangy taste.

"I could live on this if I get stuck here," she said blissfully. The girl leaned back against the tree and sighed. The sun felt so good on her face, and the breeze felt great on her grimy skin. The tangy citrus smell from the trees filled the air and she could faintly hear the surf from the beach. She leaned back and closed her eyes. She could use a short nap, she hadn't slept in days and the adrenaline shots she had been taking to keep herself awake had left her fatigued.

"I'll only close my eyes... for a few…" the girl was asleep before she even finished her sentence.

XXXXX

The girl was being led by the hand down a narrow, dark alley. She could hear heavy air traffic buzzing overhead and the faint clamor of throngs of people. The city air reeked of decay and mold and the girl wrinkled her nose in disgust. Her short legs ached from walking all day and she wanted to take a break. She heard a low growl from a grate to her right and she whimpered and clutched the hand of whoever was leading her tightly for comfort.

"Shh," a soothing voice crooned. "Almost there dear." The girl looked up at the figure who was leading her. The figure was wearing a brown cloak with the hood drawn so her face was hidden and wore high brown boots and a white tunic. At their waist hung the shiny silver toy that she was forbidden to touch. The figure radiated warmth and love and the girl felt absolutely safe by her side. The girl felt herself smile and she whispered to herself…

XXXXX

"Okay mom." The girl stirred and she opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. Night had fallen and starlight draped the forest in silver and blue. The girl rubbed her eyes and was surprised when they came away damp.

"Stupid dream again," she sighed. The girl stood up and stretched, cracking her neck and back with her hands. Deciding that sleep was no longer an option, she pulled a glow rod from her belt and continued her search.

As she walked, she pulled another piece of the sweet bark off a tree and chewed it, savoring the tangy flavor. Swallowing the bite, she reached for another piece...and froze. The girl stared at the tree she was reaching for, eyes wide with shock.

The tree was missing a piece of its bark.

The girl took a step forward and saw that the bark had been sliced, not tugged on, and that a diamond shaped piece the size of her palm had been cut away. Her pulse quickened as she stared. There was no mistaking it, someone with a blade of some kind had done this.

The girl whirled around and held her glow rod high above her head, searching the trees around her. Seeing no other trees missing a piece, she turned and headed further inland, scanning from left to right to left. She went about 100 yards before seeing another diamond shaped hole. Upon further inspection, the girl saw that it was identical to the first hole she saw.

"This is it," the girl whispered excitedly. She searched frantically now, darting from tree to tree, scouring every one down to the last branch. It wasn't long before she found another hole...and another...and another.

Hours later, the girl was crouching behind a bush, staring at the dark mouth of a small cave. The trail of holes had led back to this cave (she triple-checked just to be sure). Whoever was here on this planet had to be in there. All the girl had to do was stand up and look in…

But she hesitated.

Years of searching had led up to this moment. Countless sleepless nights. Dozens of planets. A handful of fights, and more tears than she cared to admit. But it would all be worth it as long as he was there…

'But what if he isn't there?' She thought. What if the info she had been given was wrong and he wasn't here? What if there was no one in the cave and she was marooned on a deserted planet on the furthest rim of the galaxy? What if there was someone else there? Someone not so friendly? Or, what if he was there, but he was-

The girl shook her head violently. Now wasn't the time for those thoughts. She had sacrificed too much to be having doubts now. No matter what the outcome, she had to go look in that cave. The girl pushed the hair out of her face and took a deep breath.

Taking one last look at the mouth of the cave, she stood up and made her way across the clearing. She stopped before going inside, taking a moment to squint into the darkness for any signs of life, but the cave appeared to be empty.

The girl took a hesitant step forward and flinched, not knowing what to expect but knowing whatever it was would hurt.

But nothing happened. The girl slowly relaxed, silently berating herself for being such a coward. Drawing the small blaster pistol at her hip, she moved further into the cave. She hugged the wall, taking short and slow steps on the balls of her feet. She kept her breathing even and bent her knees slightly to lower her center of mass. She looked around the cave using just her eyes, keeping her head straight in order to reduce movement.

To put it simply, she was sneaking.

As the girl snuck deeper into the darkness she began to notice two things, the first being that the cave was starting to slope downwards. Her second observation was harder to detect than her first one, and at first she brushed it off as wishful thinking. But when the anomaly persisted, she stopped for a moment and bent low to the ground, rubbing the floor of the cave with her hand.

Grinning in the darkness, she straightened and kept moving.

'The floor is worn smooth,' She thought. 'Someone definitely lives here.' The darkness was absolute in the bowels of the cave, but the girl dared not use her glow rod. She didn't even hold a hand in front of her in case she needed both to defend herself.

That's why she walked headfirst into the black durasteel door at the bottom of the tunnel.

The girl saw stars and fell backwards onto her butt, the blaster flying out of her hands and going off when it hit the ground. The bang was deafening in the small space and the girl faintly heard herself cry out in pain as her eardrums recoiled from the sound.

The girl looked around blindly for her blaster and was blinded when the door slid open and bright white light flooded the tunnel. She felt hands grip her arms painfully tight and she was dragged forcefully out of the tunnel into the space behind the door.

The girl was thrown across the floor as a figure in battered white armor slammed a button on the wall, causing the door to slide back into place. The girl held her hands in front of her face and cowered as the figure aimed a customized blaster rifle at her, the barrel pointed between her eyes.

The girl wrenched her eyes from the barrel of the rifle and stared up at the figure. His white armor looked old and well-used, with black decals and dozens of scratches and blaster marks. The figure had on a white helmet and T-shaped visor with a white ridge on the top that extended out an inch or so off the back off the helmet. It was impossible to see what the person looked like behind the black of the visor and the white plasteel of the helmet.

But that didn't matter. The armor the figure wore was impossible to mistake. She had seen it in countless holograms and on-screen videos, in artist depictions and museums. It was so similar to that worn by the imperial stormtroopers, but with a few discernable differences. The girl felt hope blossom in her heart as she gazed at the figure wearing the unmistakable armor of a clone.

"Who are you?!" the armored figure demanded. Their voice was slightly synthesized due to their helmet, but the figure was definitely a man. He took a hard step forward and flicked a switch on the grip of the rifle, activating a blue laser which appeared over the girl's heart.

"I won't ask again, who are you?! What are you doing here?!" The girl held her hands up.

"Please don't shoo-" With a deafening report the man fired his rifle and the girl felt the bolt sizzle past her face before dispersing against the wall 2 inches to her left.

"You have three seconds to state your name and business before I put the next one between your eyes now ANSWER MY QUESTIONS!" The figure roared.

"MY NAME IS AAMAY!" Aamay yelled. "AAMAY MUNDAL AND I'M HERE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE!" The armored man was silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable behind the tinted visor of his helmet. Aamay's heart pounded painfully in her chest as she waited for a blaster bolt to rip through her.

"...your last name is Mundal?" The man finally asked. The girl nodded wordlessly. The figure was silent again, but Aamay saw his rifle quiver and lower a tiny fraction. Aamay felt a spark of hope flare again in her chest. The man recognized her last name! Maybe he was who was she was looking for.

It took all her self control to keep her passively fearful expression from changing into a grin of joy. She resisted the urge to say something to the man and simply sat there and gazed at her surroundings.

Aamay and the man appeared to be in some kind of staging room. At the man's back was the thick durasteel door with a large handprint scanner, retinal scanner, and an outdated number keypad. There was another durasteel door built into the wall at Aamay's back with another set of scanners and a keypad. The walls and floor were made of the same earth-colored stone as the tunnel and had been smoothed and so that the walls and ceiling appeared to be made of brick and the floor was waxed to look like tile. A soothing yellow lamp was built into the ceiling to give the room light, and a series of hoses and nozzles of unknown purpose were built into the walls and ceiling.

The man gestured with his rifle towards the center of the room, underneath a small black orb that was built into the center of the ceiling.

"Stand up slowly and keep your hands above your head," he ordered. "Move so that you stand directly under the scanner. If you do anything that I did not order you to do I will kill you. Understood?" Aamay nodded mutely and stood up, moving to the center of the room under the scanner. The man mag-locked the rifle to his back and drew a blaster pistol holstered at his hip and aimed it at the girl with his right hand while his left made a series of taps and gestures in mid-air.

'Holographic keyboard installed into his helmet's HUD,' Aamay thought appreciatively. The man clearly valued his privacy. After a moment the man brought his two hands together and held the pistol with both hands, keeping it leveled at Aamay's head.

The scanner booted up with a whir and a soft green light moved up and down Aamay's body, searching for any hidden weapons, surveillance equipment, or tools. Once the light reached the top of Aamay's head the light turned a soft blue color and scanned Aamay again, this time searching for any infectious diseases that Aamay could have brought with her. As the light reached the top of Aamay's head again it changed colors one final time, this time becoming a harsh red light. The light gave the man an x-ray view of Aamay so that he could determine if she had any kind equipment implanted in her body.

Once the light reached the top of Aamay's head for the final time the scanner beeped once and shut down. Aamay heaved a sigh of relief as the man holstered his blaster pistol, gazing at the young human girl.

"Right," he began. "I guess you aren't an imperial spy, and even if you are you have no chance of killing me while unarmed and with no special enhancements, so it doesn't matter. "

"I'm not a spy!" Aamay protested. The man scoffed.

"Isn't that exactly what a spy would say?" He asked. "You could be lying."

"I'm not lying," she said.

"Would you lie to me?" The man asked.

"Never!" Aamay answered immediately. The man sighed.

"That's a lie. You would lie to me if it was in your best interest, as would any other sentient being in the universe." The man said. "But I'll take your word for it this time. Now if you'd be so kind as to move over to the door on your left we can go inside and get some food and you can tell me who you are over breakfast."

Aamay nodded and strode over to the armor plated door, but hesitated when it didn't slide open.

"I don't know the password," she said.

"I'll give it to you," the man said. Aamay waited a moment, but the man didn't move from where he was standing. Aamay shifted and cleared her throat.

"Um...sir?" She said inquisitively. The man shushed her and was silent for a second.

"Alright the password is 74859200927," the man said, reading off the numbers as they appeared in his HUD. "Don't bother memorizing that code, the password automatically changes every time it's used."

Aamay whistled. "You really don't want any one getting in here do you?" Aamay asked.

"That would be putting it mildly," the man answered. "Go in."

Aamay took a hesitant step forward and the durasteel door slid open, revealing a furnished living area carved from the same stone as the staging room. The same series of tubing and hoses from the staging room made a web across the ceiling and the large, open room was lit from the same yellow light. In one corner of the room was a large round table with booth style seating carved into the walls and two stools along the outside. On the other side of the room was a small kitchen area with a cooling unit for food and several kitchen appliances. Pots and pans hung from hooks along the ceiling and a knife stand held an impressive collection of knives on the surface of an island that extended from the wall. In the middle of the room was a sitting area with a gray shag rug and two comfy looking-sofas, each facing the other with a wooden coffee table in between them. On top of the table was an odd looking hand carved board with a series of small figurines on top of it. But what really caught Aamay's eyes were the walls.

The walls were decorated with paintings and photos, each arranged randomly along the walls and at varying heights. Some depicted landscapes of beaches, jungles, forests, oceans cities, and of space. Others showed battlegrounds, pictures of Pre-Empire Republic cruisers, old clone wars-era gunships, and along the back wall hung a large picture depicting a group of soldiers wearing the same white armor as the man standing behind her. They were in varying exaggerated poses of mock-fights, passionate embraces, or dancing. In the center of the group was a beautiful young woman wearing a brown hooded cloak and white robes. She had startling blue eyes and long white-blond hair. The woman was smiling and laughing at the soldiers around her and was resting her hand on the shoulder of a trooper wearing the same armor as the troopers around him, but he had a strange red white, and blue rectangle painted on the left shoulder of his armor, and he had black decals painted along his armor in a criss-cross pattern. The same armor worn by the man standing behind her. At the waist of the women hung a silver cylinder about half a meter long, the same cylinder Aamay had seen in her dreams countless times before.

Aamay gawked at the picture for a few seconds, her mouth wide open in shock. She abruptly strode over to the picture and lifted her hand to the picture.

"Hey don't touch that!" Aamay heard the man yell, striding towards her but she ignored him, all her attention focused on the woman.

"...Mom…" Aamay whispered, lightly touching the face of the woman in the picture. Now it was the man's turn to gawk as he stopped and stared at Aamay.

"You...know that woman?" The man asked hesitantly. Aamay nodded without taking her eyes off the photo.

"She was my mother," Aamay answered.

"Mundal…" The man whispered, his voice low enough to keep the girl from hearing him. "You really are her daughter." Aamay didn't answer, continuing to stare at the picture. The man blinked and shook his head slightly. He poked the girl in the back with the barrel of his blaster and gestured to the couches when she turned around.

"Sit," He ordered. "We have a lot to talk about."

XXXXX

An hour later the two were sitting on the sofas with steaming plates of shellfish and vegetables laying on the short table in front of them. The man had removed his helmet so that he could eat, but he hardly touched his food, instead choosing to stare at Aamay while she hungrily woolfed down her food, hardly coming up for breath. In between bites Aamay stole glances at the armored man in front of her. He was young, Probably no more than thirty years old, but he looked older due to lines of worry on his brow and his darkened eye-sockets from lack of sleep. He had dark brown hair buzzed down to the scalp and dark brown eyes. When he opened his mouth to take a bite Aamya noticed he had straight white teeth. A scar ran across his face at a diagonal starting from just under his right eye, running across his nose and ending on his left cheek.

As Aamay finished her plate the man leaned back into the cushions of his couch and cleared his throat.

"Was it alright?" The man asked.

Aamay nodded and grinned. "Where did you learn to cook like that?" She asked.

"A very close friend of mine taught me," he said. "And it is one of the many things that I'll never be able to thank them for." Aama nodded as the man fell into somber silence. The two were silent after that, each looking around at anything but each other. Aamay decided to examine the paintings along the walls and she noticed that some of them looked like they had been done recently.

Aamay looked back at the man and saw that he had started to stare at her again. Aamay shifted in her seat and cleared her throat.

"So," she began. "You wanted to know why I was here?" The man nodded, his face growing serious once again.

"And don't lie to me," He warned. "If you do I'll know." Aamay opened her mouth to protest, but the look in the man's eyes told her that it wasn't such a good idea. Aamay gulped and leaned back into the couch. The man may have fed her, but he was still a complete stranger and obviously extremely dangerous. Aamay needed to be cautious until she knew if this man was who she was looking for.

"Like I said before, my name is Aamay Mundal," Aamay said. "And I'm looking for a man called The Outsider." If the armored man recognized the name he made no sign of it, continuing to stare at Aamay with the same intensity he had the whole time.

"...Why are you looking for this 'Outsider'?" The man eventually asked. Aamay took a breath.

"Because he knew my mom," Aamay said. "And I think he can help me find her." The man didn't say anything as he leaned forward, gathering up their dishes in his arms. The man stood up and Aamay moved to follow suit, but the man snapped his fingers at her and pointed back to the couch. Aamay sat back down as the man strode over to the kitchen and began placing their dished in the sink, methodically cleaning and scrubbing them.

"I'm sorry," The man eventually said. "But I can't help you. I don't know who The Outsider is. You can spend the night here, but first thing in the morning I'll send you on your way."

The man continued to talk, but his words fell on deaf ears. Aamay could feel herself falling into a deep pit of despair as the weight of the man's words fell on her like a blow from a rancor. She had come all this way, given up everything, for nothing. She had lied, stolen, and fought her way across the galaxy in search of this man. Only for her search to come up with nothing. Aamay felt the hot prickle of tears in her eyes and she scrubbed them furiously.

Aamay sniffed hard and lifted her head, and as she did her eyes fell on the picture of the soldiers and her mom. Aamay couldn't help but smile as she looked at her mom. She looked so happy standing there with those soldiers, as if she was with family. Aamay eyes then fell on the soldier standing next to her mother, the one she had her hand on. The soldier has his helmet on so it was impossible to see his face, but their body language was relaxed. Aamay rubbed her eyes again and set her face in determination.

'This is going to be a gamble, but so has every other decision I've made in the past few years.' Aamay thought, gulping.

"You know, you should follow your own rule," Aamay said. The man looked up from his task, surprised at the sudden steel in the girl's voice.

"What are you talking about?" He replied. Aamay took a breath.

'This is it…'

"I know you're lying," Aamay declared. "And I know that you're The Outsider." Aamay pointed at the picture behind the man. "That's my mother." Aamay said, pointing at her mom and then moving her finger to point at the soldier standing beside her. "And that's you, Outsider."

The man didn't reply as he finished scrubbing the plate in his hands, his eyes meeting Aamay's. He placed the plate in the drying rack and calmly drew a knife from the knife stand. He held it in hands for a moment, turning the blade over a few times. Suddenly, the man's arm blurred as if Aamay's eyes had gone out of focus for a moment. A fraction of a second later Aamay squeaked in surprise as the knife he had thrown buried itself in the table, barely an inch from where her hand was.

Aamay stared at the knife for a moment, then looked back up to where the man was standing in the kitchen. Except he was now standing right in front of Aamay, barely an arm's length away.

'How did he-' Aamay thought in a panic, lifting her foot to step away from the man. Aamay didn't see the man move, but suddenly his hands were around her throat, holding her in place a few inches above the floor.

"Who told you about me?" He growled, his face inches from hers. "How many of you are there? How did the Empire track me down?"

"My mom told me about you!" Aamay spluttered, clawing frantically at the man's armored hands as she felt more and more oxygen leave her lungs. "And there's no one else! I came alone, I'm not with the Empire!" Aamay squeaked again as the man began to squeeze harder, cutting off her oxygen completely. She kicked her legs spastically and pawed at the man's hands.

"Puh-please…" She gasped with the last of her air. Aamay felt the blood roar in her ears as her body began to shut down from the lack of oxygen. Her struggles became weaker and weaker, and darkness began to eat way at the edges of her vision.

'...mom...I'm sorry…' Aamay thought, closing her eyes. Suddenly, Aamay felt the vice around her throat fade as the man dropped her to the floor. Aamay gasped and began coughing violently, sucking in huge gulps of air.

"I believe you now," The man said, helping Aamay back onto the couch. "You really are her daughter, aren't you…" Aamay nodded, still coughing as she rubbed her neck. The man sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Well...your search is over, Aamay," The man said. Aamay's eyes widened.

"So...you're really The Outsider?" Aamay murmured, her voice scratchy from his chokehold.

"I haven't heard that name in a very, very long time. But yes, I was once called The Outsider." The man said, nodding his head once.

Aamay felt tears well up in her eyes and she smiled so hard it hurt. She had done it, she had found him. After years of searching, she had finally done the impossible. Aamay's heart soared with joy as tears of happiness streamed down her face. Her shoulders shook as she cried in relief and happiness. The man stood stoically in front of Aamay as she cried, years of anxiety, worry, hopelessness, and grief falling from her eyes.

After what seemed like an eternity, Aamay's tears began to slow, then finally stop. She felt completely drained as the last tear fell, and the main stepped forward and caught her head as she fell forwards, exhausted.

The man chuckled softly as he lowered the sleeping girl's head onto the couch.

"You've had a rough go of it, haven't you…" He whispered, straightening up. The man suddenly screwed his face up and stumbled a half step back, hand clutching his chest armor above his heart.

The man crept out of the room and made his way through another door and down a hall before opening a door and going in. Once inside his room he closed the door and sighed heavily, his heart still paining him. He took off the rest of his armor and left it in a pile at the foot of his bed. He left on his black undershirt and briefs and sat on the edge of the bed, massaging his chest. Suddenly, the main lowered his hand, still grimacing in pain. It was pointless to keep on massaging the area, he knew the pain wasn't physical.

Without looking the man reached back with his left hand and grabbed one of his pillows. He turned it over in his hands before taking the hidden seam by the hand and slowly unzipped it, reaching into the pillow and taking out a small framed painting. The painting was a portrait of the man and Anaiell. They stood side by side as the sun sank beneath the waves of the ocean of some planet. Both of them were smiling and they looked absolutely happy and content.

As he stared at the painting the man let the emotions he had been holding in during his interactions with Aamay finally flood out and he wept softly, clutching the painting to his chest. He stayed that way for a long time, lamenting the pains of his past and the scars her departure left on his soul. And for the first time in over a decade, he allowed himself to be lost in the memories of his life.

Hey you awesome people who made it this far, Bast here. This is actually my second try writing this story, so let's see how it goes this time around. I'll try to update this story as often as I can, but I won't set a specific calendar for myself as my other story will be taking precedence over this one. Anyways thanks so much for reading the first chapter of Memories and feel free to comment, follow, or like the story as you see fit. All of your support means the world to me and I hope you enjoy my story. See you all soon, may the force be with you.