Chapter 2 up. Let me know what you think so far. Thanks for reading.

Nikka Drucos POV

"I don't know, Risha." I said again, reading over the long list of modifications Risha had drawn up for the ship. It included an adjustment to the main engine core, a re-calibration of all stabilizers and a total overhaul of the hyperdrive. I really wasn't surprised by the request. Risha didn't do well with idle hands and was always finding improvements and modifications to make to the ship in her free time. We'd had a lot of free time, as of late.

"We need this upgrade, Captain, and honestly, I think this is probably the best time to do it, considering everything is finally quiet, for once. We have both the money and the time."

"Perhaps, but this list will be expensive and will take months of time dry docked to complete." I replied, knowing my answer was weak, at best. Risha was a master mechanic. She had made modifications to the ship, on the fly, on multiple occasions. She could do magnificent things when given the proper tools and the time she needed to do the job right.

Risha actually snorted. "You're currently out of enemies, with Skavak and the Voidwolf dead and Rogan being your new best friend. And don't even talk about the cost. You're the richest smuggler in the galaxy and I've seen you spend thousands of credits on things far less important than this ship. I'm sure you remember at least some of our last trip to Nar Shaddaa. Not to mention we have no work lined up, at the moment. It's the perfect time. I know you hate being dry docked, so do I, but I don't understand why you're being so difficult."

"How long will it take to get what we need to start?" I asked, giving up my fight. I honestly didn't know why I was giving Risha a hard time in the first place. It might have been simply a part of my personality. I enjoyed giving people a hard time. Some people collected things, some people played sports, I annoyed people. Everyone has to have a hobby and I seemed to have a natural talent for being irritating.

"Once we get to Port Nowhere, probably a week, maybe two. Once I get what we need, it'll take a few months to get everything installed and running, as long as Corso stays out of the way. It'll be nice to have the luxury of time, for a change."

Corso walked into the engine room. "I heard that."

"I'm not trying to offend you, Corso, I'm just being honest. You know your way around weapons, but when it comes to starship upgrades, you'll only slow me down." Risha said, rationalizing her statement.

If I were being honest, I agreed with her. My husband has his strengths, but detailed starship modification was not one of them. He could keep the ship working if he needed to, so could I, but improvements were still a few steps above his knowledge base. Not that any of us could tell him that. Corso was easily rattled.

I walked up to Corso and placed my arms around his neck. "Besides babe, I can think of a few things you'd much rather be doing with your time while we're dry docked." I made my voice sound as sultry as I could manage. I was pretty much a tomboy at heart, though I was attractive enough to get away with flirting my way through some situations, particularly where Corso was concerned.

Risha rolled her eyes, but restrained from making the sound of disgust I knew she was fighting not to make. She didn't like thinking about what Corso and I did during our private time, but in this case, I was doing my best to help her and she knew it.

"You have a point there. I'll leave the work to Risha." Corso said after what I had said sunk in, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me once on the lips, then on the forehead. "I'll go back up front, let the two of you sort this out."

We watched Corso leave and Risha audibly sighed when he was gone.

"I honestly don't know what you see in the farmboy, Captain, but I'm grateful."

I chuckled. "Sometimes I'm not sure about that myself. He's definitely not my usual type." I shrugged. "I guess some things can' t be explained." I handed her list back to her.

"There are some questions in life I'm perfectly happy not knowing the answer to. You're happy, so I guess that's enough."

"Don't go getting sappy on me, Risha." I turned to leave. "Do whatever you need to for the upgrades. I'll leave it all in your very capable hands."

I headed down the corridor and into my room. I was honestly looking forward to a nice long dry dock. I was a spacer at heart, but it was nice to plant your feet on solid ground once in awhile. Besides, in this case, solid ground was Port Nowhere, so I still considered it being on a starship. A very large starship, but I was counting it as being in space.

After finally ridding the world of Skavak, making peace with Rogan the Butcher and doing the Republic a solid by ending the tyranny of the Voidwolf, I was ready for a vacation. The last bit had earned me the title of 'Republic Privateer', but as far as I was concerned, I was still a smuggler. Always had been, always would be. Going respectable wasn't my style and it certainly wasn't any fun.

If I wanted to live by a set of rules thrown down by a faction, I would have joined the military, like my older brother. He had managed to finagle himself into the command position of Havoc Squad, the Republic's most decorated special forces unit. He was good at being a soldier and I was more than happy to leave him to it. I personally wouldn't be found dead saluting a superior officer, who was only my superior based on the opinions of others. Besides, I had never been very good at following rules.

There was also the potential of becoming a Jedi that I've spent my life ignoring. I was Force sensitive. I had never been trained or tested, but I knew. It was nothing much more than a very good intuition when it came to the sincerity of others. I could have just written it all off as luck, if I hadn't accidentally flipped a switch to a security alarm with my mind once, while I was desperately trying to get off the space station I was actively trying to rob. No, I was Force sensitive alright.

If I didn't like the idea of being in the military, I sure as hell didn't want to throw in with the Jedi. I had done my research when I was younger and learned I wanted nothing to do with them, either. They had more rules than the military and Jedi weren't even allowed to have personal relationships. I, personally, enjoyed my personal relationships. That was one thing I never wanted to give up. A girl has needs. It made me wonder how the Jedi managed to survive without an outlet for physical release. It was unhealthy to bottle up that kind of thing.

Nope, I was a smuggler and I was perfectly content with remaining that way. I was in a good place, at the moment, and didn't want to do anything to mess it up. My finances were in top notch order, since coming into Nok Drayen's lost fortune and my recorded history was squeaky clean, since I had an acquaintance scrub it for me a few years back. True, squeaky clean records usually flagged people as either hackers or criminals, but I was comfortable with that. Not all my business dealings were legal. I could be called a criminal, but no one could prove it. You were only a criminal if you got caught.

To top it all off, I was also happily married, which shocked the hell out of me. Corso Riggs was not the type of guy I normally found myself attracted to. Typically I was very much a 'guy at every port' kinda girl. I liked men, and the occasional woman, who shared my sense of adventure and lived along the fine line between legitimate businessman and criminal. Corso wasn't like that. The word wholesome defined him quite nicely. Don't get me wrong, he was a good guy. He was very old fashioned in his treatment of women, even those who did their best to kill him. Basically, not my type at all, but something about him made me happy and that's what counts.

I laid back on my bed and look up at the ceiling. I slowly started to drift off to sleep. I was startled awake by Corso over the intercom.

"Hey, Captain, you got a call coming in from Tython." He said. I could tell by his voice he was slightly confused by the origin of the call. It wasn't like I got calls from the Jedi homeworld everyday. He didn't know about the request to be trained I sent to the Jedi council a few weeks earlier. I decided not to tell him until I received an answer. For some reason he was a little bit flighty when it came to the Jedi, particularly after finding out I was Force sensitive. He never told me why and I never pressed the issue.

I reached over, pressing the intercom button located on the wall at the head of the bed. "I'll take it in my room, Corso. Send it through." Moments later, the holo began to beep. I sat up, trying to make myself look just a tad more respectable. I had requested to be trained in the use of the Force. I needed to look like I could play the part.

"Captain Drucos speaking."

"I'm Grandmaster Satele Shan, leader of the Jedi council. I'm calling in regards to your request."

Holy shit! The leader of the Jedi was calling me. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing.

"I didn't realize my request warranted a call from the leader of the council." I replied, pretty much at a loss of what else to say. I wasn't used to talking with legitimately 'important' people. Even I had respect for the Jedi grandmaster.

"We'd like to speak with you on Tython, at your convenience."

"...Yes, of course. I'm on the other side of the galaxy right now, but I can be there in a couple of days."

The Jedi nodded. "We'll speak then."

The holo went dead and I sat back down. Now I was really confused. If they were rejecting my request outright, they wouldn't have had their leader give me a call and request my presence on Tython. So, it wasn't a no, but it certainly didn't feel like a yes, either.

Honestly, I really didn't know why I made the request to be trained in the first place. I didn't want to be a Jedi and I didn't express any desire to be one in my request. True, being able to use the gifts I was born with would probably give me an advantage in my business dealings, but that wasn't the reason I contacted Tython. Not really. Being trained just felt like something I needed to do.

I sat quietly for probably a half hour before Corso knocked and poked his head through the door. Even though we were married, he still kept his things in a separate bunk. He slept in my room most nights, but he said he felt better having a little separation between us, considering I was also his captain, as well as his wife. I tried to convince him otherwise, but didn't push the issue. I had more important battles to fight than convincing my husband to live with me.

"What was that all about? I didn't know you knew anyone on Tython." He said. I could tell he was worried about the call. I would be too, if I were him. He didn't know that I made contact first and this was just a reply.

"I don't know anyone on Tython, not directly. As to what this is about, I have an idea, but I don't know for sure. They requested I meet with the council on Tython. Is Port Nowhere still parked in the same place?"

Corso nodded. "Just confirmed the location before we started heading that way."

"Good. We'll be flying right passed Tython." I sat, thinking for a moment, then stood, smiling a Corso. "I'll have you drop me off on the planet before heading to Port Nowhere without me."

"There's no way we're just dropping you off and leaving you there!" Corso said, with far more aggression than the situation warranted.

"It's not like you're dropping me off on some backwoods planet, full of cannibalistic natives. We're talking about the homeworld of the Jedi. True, Jedi aren't the greatest of company, but I'm sure I'll be perfectly safe, if not slightly bored. I need to go, Corso."

He sighed, entering the room fully and sitting on the bed. I sat next to him.

"Is this one of those times when your intuition is telling you to do something?" He asked.

My intuition was how we referred to my Force sensitivity. Every so often I'd do something totally out of left field, all because it felt like the right thing to do. Every time, the action had panned out with the best possible outcome. I learned to trust my intuition, even if Corso didn't like it much. He didn't like the idea that some mystical force was telling me what to do.

"I think so."

"I'm going with you."

I looked down at my hand, then back up at Corso. "I think I need to do this alone."

Corso stood up suddenly. "How did I know you were going to say that! What's going on, Nikka? What are you keeping from me?" His voice was louder than normal, but not quite a full yell.

I said nothing, just waited for him to calm down. Corso didn't raise his voice often. It wasn't in his nature. When he did, he usually regretted it shortly afterwards and I had picked up the habit of staying quiet until after that realization. No need to start an argument when I knew he'd apologize for yelling without me saying a word.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as he paced the room. After about five minutes of this, he stopped pacing and knelt in front of me. "I'm sorry. There's nothing calling for me to yell like that. I'm just worried. It's not like you to keep things from me."

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

"You know I do. With my life."

I placed a hand gently on his cheek.

"Then please trust me on this one. I promise, when I know more, I'll tell you." I hated keeping things from him, but I just had a strong feeling that I needed to keep this Force thing quiet. At least for now. I hated that I was allowing this annoying gift of mine to actually influence my decisions, but every fiber of my being was telling me this was the right thing to do. That made it annoy me even more.

Would I allow the Force to potentially hurt my marriage? Apparently, the answer was yes.

To Be Continued...