They had transferred to a captured ore hauler before reaching Hammer Station, knowing that a Republic military shuttle would most likely be shot down if it got too close. On one of the station's exterior, atmospheric shielded landing pads, the four Republic operatives disembarked and leaped behind a large stack of crates. Nedeser and Alias unclipped their lightsabers while Dren rechecked the charge on his blaster cannon and Moira pulled her blaster pistols from their holsters with spinning flourishes. There were combat droids everywhere and, considering they were still active and patrolling, the Republic heroes knew that they had been sliced and reprogrammed to serve the Advozsi. Moira shook her head and said, "The Republic using a super weapon like this – no wonder it was top secret. The government wants everyone to believe that they are better than the Empire but the reality is that they are the same."

Dren frowned at her. "Not quite. Yes, the Republic wanted a super weapon but they weren't going to use it to conquer every planet and system in their path. The Empire would use it to wipe out each and every planet they didn't need or find useful if that planet wasn't compliant with them. There is a huge difference, Moira."

The beautiful smuggler just chuckled. "Whatever, Soldier boy; anyhow, let's get going. I want to get back to reclaiming my ship."

Alias grinned and leaped at a larger group of droids and Nedeser Thul was right behind him. Half the droids were gone by the time Moira and Dren opened fire – that was until the other droids in the vicinity ran in to join the fight. As the Jedi forged ahead into the facility, Moira and Dren easily covered their backs. Moira wondered if the droids had something defective in their make up or if the Advozsi had inadvertently reduced their combat efficiency when they had sliced the droids. Either way, she and Dren brought them down like targets at a firing range. Alias and Nedeser were sweeping aside the security droids with their lightsabers and the force with great ease. After five minutes of good progress into the facility, the droids stopped coming – at least for the moment. "Whew! That was fun;" said Moira with a grin. "I hope that the war droids the Republic employs on other ships and stations and such are better quality than these tinnies because if not, the Empire will have it a serious disadvantage."

Dren shook his head. "No. The Advozsi screwed up in reprogramming or slicing them. If I were to hazard a guess, I would suggest that they are at less than sixty percent efficiency right now. Anyhow, let's find a terminal and figuring out where we're heading."

Nedeser pulled a datapad and said, "Way ahead of you, Dren. Let's see here…"

He tapped away for a moment and then smiled in satisfaction. "Alright all, gather around. We are here;" and he indicated a section on the map, not far from an open area that was obviously the landing pad. "We need to get here…"

Nedeser indicated a turbolift cluster. "…so that we can get here;" and he indicated an area that was labeled on the map as the command center and firing control center. The others looked at it and Dren said, "That's a lot of distance and a lot of droids, not to mention we'll run into the new occupants at some point as well."

Nedeser nodded and indicated a small marker on the map. "According to the specs I got a hold of before this mission from a very helpful SIS agent, they were beginning to expand the facility deeper into the asteroid. Right here, I believe, we should be able to get into the tunnels and find a quicker, much safer route."

Moira smiled and said, "Sexy and smart – you and I are going to have a very short talk when this is over."

Nedeser chuckled, his face coloring slightly. "Funny, that's what the SIS agent I got this from said. Anyhow, let's go. Time's a-wasting."

They continued through the corridors and came on another group of droids. They were surprised to find that the droids were not carrying blaster rifles but were helping clean up what appeared to be battle damage from a fight. Broken defense droids and rubble were being piled into the large hovercarts. Moira chuckled and said, "Wow. I see why they were so pathetic now. Those droids look as though their primary programming has been overridden. That makes things easier. I'll bet we can just sneak on by."

Unfortunately, she had spoken too soon. One of the droids noticed them and began shrieking in binary. They dropped their tools and grabbed their weapons, attacking viciously. The Jedi leaped in front of their friends, intercepting any blaster bolts that came within reach of their blades, returning them to the very droids that had fired them. Just as before, the droids were little trouble and the four invaders were moving along the passage towards what they hoped was a short cut. After thirty minutes of fighting ineffective droids and negotiating the battle damage of when the Advozsi had taken the place, Nedeser said, "We are almost there; just around this corner and into a side room."

As they rounded the corner, they stopped dead, looking forward in consternation. All down the passage were almost a hundred droids, some of them tri-pedal heavy combat models. Dren looked grim. "Those tripeds are nasty. Judging by their patrol pattern, their programming hasn't been modified at all. Oh joy."

Nedeser pointed to a passage only a dozen or so meters down the hall. "Okay, that's where we need to be. If we go one at a time and make it quick, hopefully they won't notice us."

"Hopefully;" grumbled Dren before saying, "Well, I'll go first and cover you from the other end. Cover me just in case."

With surprising speed and silence, he crept forward and made it around the corner without an issue. Nedeser looked at Moira expectantly. She cocked an immaculately groomed eyebrow and said, "Shouldn't someone with a blaster wait behind to cover you in case this goes south?"

Nedeser chuckled. "Nope. Trust me, if this does go south, having you and Dren in the passage will make things easier. Go on."

Moira pouted and said, "Well damn. There goes my chance to stare at your ass while you sneak forward. Sad day."

Nedeser laughed and replied, "I'm wearing the baggiest pants in the galaxy – the worst possible if one wants to observe the wearer's ass."

Moira giggled and replied, "I have a vivid imagination. It would be enough."

Nedeser's grin only broadened and he said, "Yes but just maybe I want to stare at your ass."

Moira's eyes widened. "My, my, Jedi! I'm surprised. Pleasantly so but surprised none the less; well here goes nothing."

Moira ran forward quietly and, at the corner, turned around and gave Nedeser a sultry wink. Alias chuckled. "Since when do you flirt, Des? That isn't like you at all."

The big Jedi chuckled and replied, "I guess her charm is beginning to effect me. No harm in a little flirting, right?"

Alias shrugged and, with force enhanced speed, blazed down the corridor and into the side passage without even a sound.

Alias, Moira and Dren were in the passage. Dren turned to Moira. "You're really gunning hard after Nedeser, Moira. Why the sudden interest in the Jedi?"

Moira laughed quietly. "Well have you seen his body? It must be glorious! I wonder what he did to make the SIS agent give him and specs for this place AND ask to see him later."

Alias chuckled heartily. "Knowing Nedeser, he probably just asked kindly with a big smile. That tends to get him whatever he wants."

Moira's eyes took on a slightly dreamy look. "Oh it would be more than enough to get me. Those blue eyes are mesmerizing."

"Why thank you, Moira. I've more often been told that it was my physique that brought the most attention to me. It's refreshing to have someone look me in the eye and not just at my chest;" came the melodious voice of the Jedi Consular behind her. Moira clapped both hands over her mouth to stifle a startled eeek. Alias and Dren had to cover their mouths too and Moira glared at Nedeser. "What's the big idea, nerf brain? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Nedeser stifled a chuckled and said, "I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist."

Moira glared for another second before asking, "How the kriff did you do that anyway, Nedeser? I was keeping half an eye on the doorway and didn't see you."

He tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially and said, "Sorry. Trade secret and all. I can't just go spilling them to people. The Jedi Order would be ruined."

Moira went up to him and wrapped her arms around him, pouting and pleading in a seductive voice. "Aw come on, Nedeser – you can't just tell me one little secret? I promise I won't tell anybody."

Alias chuckled and said, "It's because he is a Jedi Consular specialized in stealth and infiltration. They are called Jedi Shadows and they can use the force to bend rays of light around them so that they are invisible. At the same time, they completely mask their presence and bio-signatures in the force. Their primary purpose was rooting out and eliminating dark side force users but, during this time of war with the Empire, they are mostly used to try and track down specific Sith Lords. Now come on, you two. You can finish this after the mission."

Moira was impressed. "It's good to have friends who can vanish into thin air. You're right of course, Alias. Let's go."

They went further into the side passage only to find that it led to a dead end and some abandoned mining equipment. Nedeser covered his face and sighed. "Well this is embarrassing."

Moira patted his shoulder. "You couldn't have known, Nedeser. We'll just have to go back and slag those droids."

Dren set his massive blaster cannon aside and popped open a panel on what looked to be a fusion generator attached to a drill. Alias watched in interest and asked, "Do you know what you're doing with that, Dren?"

The big Correllian winked and said, "I think I can figure it out. During hyperspace I read technical manuals for military equipment and this is a military grade fusion power generator. Don't tell my XO, though. I have a reputation to uphold."

Alias chuckled. After checking a few things, Dren flipped a set of switches and then turned a activation dial. The fusion generator purred to life. Next, Dren checked the drill. "That's military too?" asked Nedeser skeptically. Dren shrugged. "Well, no but how hard can it be, right?"

He began to fiddle with some of the controls and the thing guttered to life. They watched as the drill drove into the wall. Suddenly, a huge section of the passage wall collapsed to reveal another passage behind it. Dren grinned. "Pure Sabacc! Let's go."

He powered down the drill and generator and they squeezed into the passage. Suddenly, they all heard the clank of droid feet in the passage they had just come from. "Shavit!" exclaimed Alias, adding a few other choice curses in his native tongue of Mando'a. The two Jedi placed themselves between the oncoming droids and their friends and ignited their weapons, blue and green shining in the darkness of the tunnel. Dren and Moira angled themselves behind the Jedi so that they could get a good view. Through the opening in the passage poured the droids, lead by three of the large tripeds, their arm cannons blasting away. Alias and Nedeser began deflecting the blasts back at the droids and Nedeser grabbed loose chunks of rock and hurled them at the droids. Unfortunately, they just kept coming. Suddenly, Alias got an idea. "Des, blast them back through the hole."

The two Jedi sent a wave of telekinetic energy that shoved all the droids back through and buying them precious moments. Alias turned to his old friend. "Take Moira and make sure the way is clear ahead of us. Dren and I will keep them back."

Nedeser looked concerned. "Will you be alright, brother?"

Alias grinned and threw his lightsaber into the gap, cleaving through the first half dozen droids that tried to get through. At the same time, Dren began pouring a constant stream of energy into the gap. "Oh yeah, Vod. We'll be just fine, right Dren?"

The big soldier was grinning ear to ear as he fired one of the mortar shells into the gap. The explosion shook the cavern. Nedeser chuckled and said, "Alright. We'll clear the way."

He and Moira loped down the tunnel. As they did, Moira asked, "So how's your mission going, Deser? See anything interesting since the Esseles?"

Nedeser nodded. "Oh quite a few things, actually – some of them I wish I never had to see and hope I never have to again."

His countenance had darkened and Moira looked up at his handsome face. "Hey, you alright? What's wrong?"

Nedeser sighed and said, "I don't really want to talk about it."

Moira nodded. "Well if you change your mind, I'm willing to listen. What else are friends for?"

Nedeser chuckled. After a moment he said, "My master took ill shortly after we got to Coruscant. She started going crazy and tried to kill two other Jedi. Before the Grand Master called, I was trying to find some ancient Jedi technology that could help me find a cure or something that would help her. I'm just really worried about her, that's all."

Moira nodded her head, trying to come up with something comforting to say. After a moment, she said, "I'm sorry to hear that, Deser. I really am. All I can say is that if anyone can find a way to help, it's you. I've met a handful of Jedi in my time but out of all of them, you and Alias are, by far and away, the most shining examples of good - not the snooty, disconnected Jedi 'good' either but true, personal goodness. When I think of what a Jedi is supposed to be, I think of you two – the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. If anyone can find the answer, it's you and if you ever need help, comm me. I'll drop everything to help, even if it means I have to wait a little longer to find my ship."

Nedeser smiled down at her and said, "Thanks, Moira. You know, one of these days, you'll have to tell me a bit about yourself – I mean, when we aren't trying to save the Republic from one catastrophe or another."

Moira hid her misgivings. She had told Alias about her past but that was in a spitting fit of anger. She wouldn't likely want to do so again, especially not to someone she was intent on bedding. With a smirk on her lovely face, she replied coyly, "I'd rather act than talk, honey. Tell you what, you tell me about yourself and we'll see where the night takes us."

Nedeser considered her again, a small smile on his face. "Agreed."

They continued down the passage, still hearing the blaster fire far behind. Suddenly, it opened to a large open cavern. At the center of the cavern was a large quadrupedle droid. Nedeser and Moira looked at it as it wandered back and forth as if lost. "Oh boy;" murmured the Jedi Shadow uneasily. "You can say that again. There is an industrial grade cutting laser on that thing's head and the legs have drills. If they reprogrammed that thing, we are in trouble."

Nedeser nodded. Industrial grade mining and drilling droids were explosive and energy resistant to some degree, though he doubted its tough armor could handle a lightsaber for long. Suddenly, Nedeser's comlink chimed. With a quick flip, he pulled it from his belt and answered it. "Go for Consular Thul."

"It's Alias. We took care of the droids but Dren is low on ammo. He has a two and a partial munitions cells left and two mortar rounds. Neither of us is injured. You and Moira behaving yourselves?"

Moira grinned wickedly and snatched Nedeser's comlink and said in a breathless, sultry voice, "Mmmmm, touch me again, Deser. Oh yes. OH YES! Oh please, baby – OH PLEASE! More! UUUGH!"

Nedeser snatched it back, blushing terribly, and said, "Ignore her. We're just waiting here. You might want to hurry though. There is a massive industrial mining/drilling droid here and I have an inkling that the Advozsi reprogrammed it too."

Nedeser heard Dren grumble and Alias agreed. "You said it, buddy. Look Des, just stay where you are and we'll be there soon."

Nedeser nodded and said, "Will do, see you in a few minutes."

He looked severely at Moira who smiled innocently and fluttered her eyelashes. "I'm sorry. I didn't embarrass you did I?"

Nedeser was still blushing. "No. Damn it! It's getting more and more difficult to focus with you around, you know that Moira?"

The beautiful smuggler sashayed over to him and cooed, "Am I distracting you, Deser? Do I often interrupt your thoughts? Do I disturb your sleep as much as you do mine?"

Nedeser was trying to keep his head on straight, to focus on things that were professional and appropriate but the gunslinger was giving him a run for his credits. "If you're asking if I dream about you, the answer is… once or twice…"

Moira leaned up against him, pressing her body, clad in the body tight armor-weave, against his, dressed in nearly the same. The warmth of their bodies and the silkiness of their garments drove Nedeser's blood straight down, along with his thoughts. Moira circled her arms around his neck and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he placed his hands on her curvy hips. "Really now? And… um… what - did these dreams - include?" she whispered seductively into his ear before nibbling at the lobe.

Nedeser gasped as his blood and his mind went south faster. "Well… um… sometimes it was about our fight on the Esseles and sometimes it was… less violent and… more pleasant…"

"Mmmm… tell me more, Deser. Tell me every exquisite detail."

She continued to nibble his ear, ran her hands up and down his chest and brushed her lips along the pulse point of his neck. "Well this was happening quite a bit;" he murmured, his voice husky with arousal. "Mmhmmm;" replied his would-be lover as she continued. "What else?"

"I don't remember everything but…" and he paused, embarrassed at what he was going to try to articulate. The young Jedi was totally inexperienced when it came to seduction, sexuality and especially wooing a woman. "I think you were the one against a wall and…" and his face burned red and he murmured something under his breath. Moira leaned forward and whispered, "What was that, baby?"

Nedeser looked into her eyes and he said, "You weren't wearing a shirt."

Moira's eyes widened. "Mmhmmm… tell me more, baby."

Nedeser chuckled huskily and said, "Your skin was so smooth as I ran my fingers up and down your sides – so soft. You shivered and your skin got bumps all over it. You moaned."

Moira was beginning to feel the effects of Nedeser's melodious, husky voice. She could feel heat rushing to her very core and a dull ache began to settle there. She gave a very deliberate, sultry moan and kissed his pulse point again, sucking the skin slightly. Nedeser groaned and instinctively pressed his own burning need against her. Moira lifted a leg and ground against him. Finally, regaining a little more control of herself, Moira looked into his blue eyes and murmured, "When we get back to the station, you and I are going to finish this, understand?"

Almost like an eager child, he bobbed his head. In one smooth motion, Moira attached her mouth to the point just above the collar of his armor weave suit and palmed his erection, causing both of them to shiver. Nedeser gasped and he retaliated, gently grabbing the utilitarian tale Moira had her hair in and attaching his own lips to the smooth skin of her neck. His other hand began to snake backward and down until it settled on one of the perfect round cheeks of her rear. Moira moaned as he pulled her tight against him and gave a squeeze. Separating from her, he looked down, blue eyes like the hottest flames. "Later;" he whispered. "Oh don't let us interrupt anything;" came a snide remark from the passage they had come from. It was followed by a deep snicker. They both turned there heads sideways and saw Alias and Dren standing there, leaning against the wall. Alias shook his head severely. "Moira, what did the Grand Master say about molesting her Jedi?"

The beautiful gunslinger smiled impudently and leaned against Nedeser again. "He wasn't complaining."

Dren shook his head and said, "Grab-ass later – now we need to take out that kriffing mining droid. Call is, Alias."

The Mando Jedi studied it carefully. It was big with a cutting laser and a sonic emitter and its legs had drills set into them. Nedeser put in, "Industrial grade stuff like that would be blast resistant, heat resistant and energy resistant but even they couldn't stop a lightsaber, just slow it down a little. Your blasters, grenades and explosives won't do very much. We could try to pin it by causing a small cave in."

Dren winced at the idea. "If we do that, then Moira and I need to be where we will be safe from falling debris before the roof comes down. See that tunnel over there – I think that's the continuation of Nedeser's short cut tunnel. When we make it there, I'll give a shout and then fire my last two mortar shells into the ceiling. Sound good?"

They all rather hesitantly nodded since none of them could come up with a better plan than that. Alias grinned and inched forward before igniting his brilliant blue bladed weapon and crouching down. Nedeser suddenly vanished before their eyes and Alias turned his head, catching his fellow squad mates out of the corner of his eyes. "As soon as I jump, run for it."

They nodded and he leaped. Alias brought his lightsaber down on one of the joints attaching the leg to the body. The lightsaber blade sank less than a third of the way into the metal. As the blue blade struck, Nedeser just appeared and leaped up onto the flat head and attempted to drive his lightsaber into its droid brain. The lightsaber was slowly sinking in when the droid bucked and sent him flying. The Jedi Shadow twisted in air and landed on his feet, his lightsaber stretched out behind him to avoid injuring himself. Alias was avoiding the legs and slashing at them whenever he had the opportunity. Suddenly, out of the mines came strange probe drones. They looked like Republic military scout and recon probe droids but they had sonic charges attached to them. The Jedi's danger sense flared to life as dozens of the things swarmed.

Moira and Dren opened fire on the drones, blasting as many to pieces as they could, trying to keep them away from their Jedi friends. Moira had a fierce look on her face as she squeezed the triggers of her blaster pistols as quickly as she could, directing the bolts with practiced ease and instinct rather than wasting time taking careful aim while Dren poured bolts into the cave the probe droids were coming from. His concentrated fire plus Moira's more precise targeting saved the Jedi from any trouble. Alias and Nedeser continued their assault on the massive droid. While the droid focused its attack on Alias, Nedeser paused and cleared his mind. Stretching out with both his hand and the force, he gripped the droid and lifted. Slowly, the massive industrial droid lifted into the air, its four legs scrabbling for a solid grip on the droid. Nedeser exerted his will and lifted the droid straight up, slamming it into the ceiling of the cavern, causing stalagmites and stalactites to fall. He slammed it on its head into the floor, cracking the stone. The effort left him weak and staggering but he fortified himself and readied his weapon. The droid had many dents and dings in the armored hull but other than that, there was no sign of damage. "I'll be damned;" the Alderaanian Jedi sighed in disappointment. Alias continued his attack on the droid and Nedeser renewed his own. Suddenly, all he could think of was how much he needed a ration bar to eat. Alias was trying to attack the same areas over and over again. He was nearly through two of the legs.

The sabotage probes had stopped emerging from the tunnel and Moira and Dren were caught between helping their Jedi friends and making it to the tunnel. Dren was down to his last two munition cells and mortar rounds. Looking at Moira, he asked, "What do you think - stick to the original plan or give them a hand?"

Moira checked her blaster's power cells and said, "Nedeser looks like his having some trouble, but our blasters are useless against that thing. We need to get to the tunnel and blow the roof."

They ran on towards their destination and when they got there, Dren called out. "Get over here, Jedi. I'm getting ready to blow the roof."

Alias finally cleaved through one of the legs and Nedeser sliced through the other before the bolted towards Dren and Moira. "Fire, Dren! FIRE!"

Obeying Nedeser's command, he fire his two remaining mortar rounds into the ceiling. It had the desired effect and the four companions retreated further into the tunnel as massive rocks dropped onto the massive industrial droid. As the dust settled, they realized that they had cause a larger cave in than they had wanted. The cavern had almost entirely collapsed. Out of the rubble came a muffled explosion. Moira, Dren and Alias started grinning and clapping each other on the back but Nedeser, spent from lifting the droid and slamming it around, groaned and leaned against the wall. "Did anyone think to bring an extra ration bar?" he asked a little sheepishly. Dren tut tutted severely but Moira went over and handed him one, concern etched on her face. "Are you okay, Deser?"

He smiled tiredly and said, "Just give me a few minutes or so. I guess I'm not as powerful as I thought and I'm beginning to feel the effects of that kind of strain."

Dren pulled a canteen from his belt and offered it. "Next time, bring some field rations and water, Jedi. You may have an all-powerful force at your command but even you need food."

Moira comfortingly rubbed his shoulder and said, "Especially you since you're such a big guy."

There was no hint of flirting or mischief in her voice, only warmth and concern and the Alderaanian Jedi appreciated the concern they were showing him. Alias checked a wrist krono. "We need to take a couple hours. Des, I'm going to put you in a healing trance to speed up your rejuvenation. The rest of us need to catch a couple hours of sleep. We're aren't near done with this yet. I'll take first watch."

Minutes later, Nedeser was flat on his back in a healing trance and Dren was sprawled out, snoring softly and fast asleep. Alias sat nearby, meditating and stretching out with his senses. Moira lay there, remembering the conversation they had back at the station before they had embarked on this mission. Turning to him, she whispered, "Hey, Mando. How are you holding up?"

Alias smiled, his eyes closed. "I'm doing fine. You should be sleeping, Moira."

Moira fidgeted and then sat up. "I was wondering if you could put me in a trance like that. I don't sleep very well - not without the help of sleeping meds, which I hate, or alcohol."

Alias's gray eyes opened and he considered her. "Do you mind me asking if everything's alright or if there is anything particularly wrong?"

Moira sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Truth is I never slept very well; not for years now."

Alias understood what she meant but he didn't know what to say. Wisdom was more his large Alderaanian friends area though he had been accused of saying wise things from time to time. Alias sighed and stood, walking over to her and sitting down again. Gently, he took one of her small hands and held it. After a few moments, she murmured, "You know, I told you everything about me but I still don't know too much about you. Since I won't be sleeping much, why don't you tell me?"

Alias smiled at her and said, "That's fair enough. I guess I really don't know where to begin."

Gently, his large, callused hands began to gently rub her small one and a far away look filled his suddenly serious gray eyes. When he spoke, his voice was a little halting. "I'm not aware of all the details of how I was brought to the Jedi Order - all I know is that my father was a Jedi who had been captured by my mother. She was trying to get information out of him but he was a warrior. Nothing she did would get him to talk. While she held him on Taris, a swarm of those nasty rakghouls attacked and he saved her life. Clan Ordo have been known to work with Jedi against the Sith before. She let him go but they soon found that, if they were going to survive on Taris, they would need each other. You see, this was before Saresh was working on restoring the planet and it was even more terrible then than it is now. My father fell in love with her and, when the Jedi found out, they gave him and ultimatum - leave my mother or leave the order. I think my mother's attitude rubbed off on my father because he stayed with her, handing over his lightsaber and even being adopted into her clan. From what I understand, they both died fighting against a rival clan on Rishi. The natives found me and, since I had inherited my father's force sensitivity, they sent me to the Enclave on Dantooine."

The Jedi Guardian paused for a few moments and shrugged. "All I really know is the life of a Jedi but there is so much about the Jedi Code I don't understand. During our initiate days, Des and I followed the code to the letter but then, we realized that certain things didn't add up. We saw our teachers emotional, passionate, angry and all the things the Jedi Code said were bad and yet, they were firmly grounded in the light."

Suddenly, a grin crossed his face and Alias said, "Though Nedeser sure tried the patience of one of our instructors - a Master Lials I believe his name was. Nedeser, myself and our best friend Jaesa Wilsaam got into so much trouble."

He began to laugh quietly and said, "I remember when we were told that Jaesa was going to be taken as a padawan by one of the masters. We were so excited for her that we snuck out and went to a cantina. The three of us got blasted too. Well the trouble started when some Space Marines there on leave began messing with our friend, Jaesa. She was about sixteen at the time and Nedeser tried to be chivalrous and walk them down. Well you know that scar on his nose? That happened that night but man we cleared the Marines out really good. Not only that but Nedeser got the comm frequency and coordinates to this gorgeous twi'lek girl. She was all over him that night, dancing with him, sitting on his lap. If I remember right, she kept trying to get him to touch her lekku."

Moira giggled. "Wow! She must have really liked him. You know, those things are so sensitive that touching them is either a great offense or a sign of great affection. Did he do it?"

Alias shook his head. "Des didn't know that. There were other parts of her body he was keen on touching. This girl promised him that, if he came to visit, he could touch whatever he wanted to. I don't think I've ever seen the man so eager in my life."

They were quiet for awhile - until Moira spoke up again. "You mentioned once that you lost someone. If you don't mind me asking - what happened?"

Alias was quiet for a moment before he spoke and his tone was very hushed. "It was all my fault. I was young and brash and thought that was strong enough to go into the great crystal caves on Dantooine. I was cornered by a swarm of Kinrath and a Cathar Jedi named Draco had to come and get me out. He was the combat instructor and I looked up to him as a father. Because of my arrogance, he died."

Moira's thumb had begun to stroke his rough hand comfortingly and they sat in silence for some time. Dren woke and yawned, saying, "Get some sleep, you two. I'll take the next watch and then we should get moving."

Alias nodded and went over by his oldest friend. Moira stood and walked over. As Alias lay down, Moira wedged herself between the two Jedi. With a deep chuckled, Alias asked, "What are you doing?"

"It's cold in here;" replied Moira. After a brief pause, she said, "Besides, I think this is the safest place I could be."

Within moments, they were both asleep.

Updated 04.12.2017