A/N: A quick update, thank you to those who took the time to review, RadicalCat, WindGoddes Rune, as well as the two guest reviewers.

Disclaimer: Star Wars and all it's iterations are owned by LucasFilm and Disney.


Chapter 2

The steady rhythmic breathing from the bunk told Ezra that Tyber was fast asleep. Walking as gently as he could, bare footed to where he lay. His boots, pants and jacket were neatly arranged on the floor, near the foot of the bunk.

Creeping to the bundle of clothes, Ezra stopped for a moment, his heart stopping when Zann stirred in the bunk. But whatever had caused him to stir, it seemed to of passed and he settled back down to sleep. Ezra letting out his breath as quietly as he could, inched towards the pile of possessions, his heart racing in his chest was the only sound Ezra could hear, and he was half certain his pounding heart would give him away. Taking a deep breath, remembering his training, he calmed himself, and lowered his heart rate to resting levels.

Sneaking a look back at Zann, making sure he was still asleep, which he was. Turning back to Tyber's possessions, Ezra pulled the boots away and set them aside to get at Zann's pants. They were covered in pockets, which Ezra rifled through with the skill of a life time thief, finding nothing on interest. He hadn't really expected to find anything but he didn't want to leave any stone unturned.

As Ezra pulled the jacket up to examine, a fairly large box dropped out of an inside pocket. Ezra, with lightning quick reflexes, caught it before it hit the ground.

Holding his breath, Ezra looked back to Zann, to make sure he was still asleep. After confirming he was, Ezra took the box and tried to open it, but to his disappointment, it was locked.

Suppressing a huff of disappointment, Ezra looked at the locking mechanism. Depending on the type, he could probably pick it or hack it. But if it was.

"Sith spit." Ezra muttered to himself. It was a print scanner lock. He was going to need a verified finger print to open it, and there was only one person on the ship who could possibly have it.

Turning to Zann, Ezra tried to figure out a way to get his print scanned without waking him up. He didn't want to touch him, not only to avoid waking him, but something about him just make Ezra want to avoid any contact with him if he could.

Struck by an idea, Ezra raised his hand and slowly levitated his left hand a few inches above his resting body giving Ezra a narrow, but doable position.

Slowly, Ezra brought the container into the range of Zann's finger's. With as gentle a touch as he could managed, Ezra nudged the container onto Zann's thumb. With a whirring click, Ezra knew the locking mechanism had been undone.

His heart rate rising again. Ezra pulled the box back to himself and set it on the floor. Flipping the two remain latches, Ezra started to lift the lid open.

Before he could finish however, a vice like grip closed around his wrist. Looking up in shock, Ezra's gazed was not meet by the eye's of and angry Tyber, but a rock hard fist colliding with face between his eyes, sending him with surprising force across the room into the door.

Ezra rolled onto his back onto his feet, head still spinning, as he watch Zann planet his foot on the contained, shutting it, with a click.

"You try to steal from me!" Zann shouted in a voice that sent chills down Ezra's spine, it was different than his normal speaking voice. This sound more animalistic, uncontrolled and the look in his eye was murderous.

As he stepped to forward to hit Ezra again, on instinct, Ezra reached out to the Force ,and threw Zann across the room.

"Another one." was all Zann muttered to himself as he rose to his feet. Advancing foreword first raised to strike again, Ezra tried to get ready for the attack.

However before they could come to blows the door flew open, and the rest of the crew rushed in their sleep wear. Zeb and Kanan tackling Zann to the floor, while Hera checked Ezra over to make sure he was okay.

Sabine had a blaster drawn and pointed at Zann as Zeb and Kanan restrained him.

"Calm down!" Kanan shouted as Zann fought to get loss from the two rebels. "Calm down and tell me what happened or I'm going to have Sabine put you down now!"

Despite all his thrashing, Zann seemed to hear this as his eye's fell on the pistol aimed between his eyes. He in response , stopped struggling. Which, in response Kanan and Zeb let him go, slowly backing away ready to jump him again if they had to, Sabine however keep the blaster aimed at Zann's head.

"This is how you treat the victim?" Zann said, his voice returning to his cooler more suave tone.

"Victim! Look at my face!" Ezra shouted indicating his now swelling eye.

"Ezra get back here and let me have a look at it." Hera said pulling him back to her, acting like the surrogate mother she had become to him.

"You broke into my sleeping area to steal from me!" Zann said pointing an accusing finger at him.

"I wasn't gonna steal anything! I was just gonna...ya know take a look."

Kanan and Hera both gave Ezra a look he hated. The look that told him he had done wrong. Feeling his shame causing his face to burn, he looked down at his feet trying to make it look like he was stretching them.

Zann looked daggers at Sabine, who was just now lowering her pistol.

"Okay, Ezra, go get something cold on that eye, then get to bed and stay there until we dock." Hera said, with a mild scolding tone in her voice. Ezra, sulking off, feeling like a chastised child, didn't look at any of them, trying especially hard to avoid Sabine's gaze.

Kanan spoke next. "Zann, I'm sorry for Ezra's behavior, he can't help his curiosity some times, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to break any of his bones."

Zann merely jerked his shoulder in response. Instead he bent over and lifted the box and placed it on the bunk, clearly intending sleep with the box from now on.

"We're going to be stopping for fuel in few hours, after that we're going straight to Ryloth." Hera said to Zann as she turned to leave, trying to impress on him and everyone else present they wouldn't be staying in each other company for long.

Hera left with this, Kanan looking over his shoulder and followed her out. Zeb, looking away and looking back for a moment, then left. Leaving only Sabine in the room with Zann.

As she turned to leave she heard "Hold on one moment."

Stopping she turned to see Tyber walking towards her, a surprisingly kind smile gracing his features. And it was in this time she noticed that, without a scowl or leer gracing his face, he was actually a very handsome man.

As he closed the distance, he keep the smile. When he was inches away, he reached past her and hit the panel to close the door.

"What was he thinking?" Sabine thought as the door slid shut with a hiss. Sure he was good looking but he was a criminal, and nearly twice her age. But that wasn't all, something about him was off, she knew it.

Tyber turned back around, his smile still gracing his face, as he closed the distance between them until he was a hand breath away, Sabine felt her heart race and her face start to flush.

Before Sabine knew what happened her right arm, the one still holding her blaster, was twisted down into an odd angle, with a and iron grip covering her hand and blaster, forcing the barrel of the blaster under her chin while Zann's other hand squeezed her shoulder, forcing her spin around and pushing her back into the wall, with Zann pushing right up close to her, his face less than inch from her's his nose almost touching hers.

"Shhhh, shshshsh." was the first sound Sabine heard come from his mouth, his smile hadn't broken the whole time.

"You're not gonna yell, or fight, and if you listen, you'll leave this room completely fine." his voice coming out smooth and suave, he charming smile not breaking.

Sabine had been taken completely off guard by the sudden outburst and his total lack of forecasting the attack.

"You and me." he whispered "Can either be very good friends, or the worst enemies, it's really up to you." he said in a tone that made it sound like he was being the most reasonable being in the galaxy. Sabine just locked her jaw and glared at him.

"I've known more than a few Mandolorains, and I respect your culture, your warrior ways, and I could always use a few Mando's in my employ." he continued in a whisper of a tone. "You were the only one of the crew prepared to use lethal force on me, no nonsense, cold, lethal force, the only truly effective means to stop someone who can't be cowed, I respect that in soldier."

Sabine didn't say anything in response, but just continued to glare at him. Then Zann leaned in even closer, and put his lips right next to her ear, and whispered so quietly that even at this distance Sabine could still barely hear him.

"But...if you ever point a blaster at me again, it better be with the intent to use it, because if you don't fire, I'll make sure you wished you had." the whisper sent a child into her very soul.

Backing away enough look her in the eye. "Now, I'm going to let you go." he said releasing her right hand, but taking her blaster. His smile still gracing his face. "And you, will keep this little talk to yourself, you wouldn't want to cause more trouble for your friends when he get to Ryloth would you? Jabba does so hate to see his 'friends' being harassed." his tone shifting ever so slightly into a something sounding like a pouting child in the last sentence.

Sabine nodded, not because she didn't intended to tell Kanan, but because it was the only thing to that could said. With that Zann backed away, still smiling, before flipping the pistol around in his hand to hand it back to her, barrel first.

Sabine looked from it, to him, his face not portraying any of the pathology he had just exhibited, and if Sabine didn't know better, she'd of thought he looked like a regular person with a kind disposition. Looking back to the hand holding the pistol, she took note, for the first time, of at tattoos on his forearms, and that on his left arm extended to his hand, they looked almost like bracers had been inked into his skin, as if he had willed a level of protection be permanently attacked to his body, if only in image.

Taking the pistol, perhaps a bit to quickly to keep him calm, she looked him in the face again, his smile still had not left.

"He's crazy, that's it." she thought to herself, that's what she had felt was off about him. "No sane man would give me my blaster back after that type of incident, I could kill him right now." she said looking at him, the smile still gracing his face. How could she of ever thought it was pleasant?

"Run along to bed now." he said, in that infernally smug voice. How could he be so certain she would tell Kanan or Zeb? Or just blast him herself? Was he really just crazy or was he really so certain Jabba the Hutt's name would protect him?

As she backed out of the room, a third idea came into her mind. Could he really read and understand people well enough to know what they'd do? That he could accurately judge her from know virtually nothing about her?

No, she put that thought out of her mind. That was ridiculous, he wasn't force sensitive, he'd wouldn't of needed to handle her the way her did if he could use the force. He was just crazy or supremely over confident in his master's name to protect him.

Sabine went back to the cabin she was sharing with Ezra and Zeb, the latter having fallen back to sleep in short order and the former clearly faking sleep to hide his embarrassment from her.

But as she climbed into a the bunk, she realized, in what every way a hazing sleeping mind can, that she just wanted to think he was crazy or overconfident, because the third option, that he could just read people so naturally without the force, was just too scary to think about. Because he was right, she wouldn't hurt him or tell Kanan or Zeb. Maybe not for the reasons he thought, or maybe he did, she wasn't so sure now, but at the very least she didn't want to admit that she had dropped her guard around a crime lord, that she had been flustered by his charming smile, that he had her dead to rights and her life in his hand. It was shameful and humiliating that she allowed herself in the situation, and at any rate, nothing had happened and she had resolved to be more cautious around him in the future.

With that, Sabine fell into an turbulent sleep.


"Ezra, wake up I need you and Zeb to go get supplies while were docked!" Kanan's voice rang through the vale of sleep and Ezra slowly woke up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"What? Huh?" he stood up, his pack slightly stiff, and his eye still pulsating from the shiner Zann had given him.

"We're docked, go with Zeb to get some food alright." Looking at the door Ezra saw Kanan moving out of view. Groaning Ezra got dressed, and made his way to the ships exit, where Zeb was already waiting. On his way he passed Sabine, but looked down as he passed. Had he looked up he would of noticed that for once she was also avoiding his gaze.

Zeb waited taping his foot impatiently. "Come on, I don't want to be here longer than we have to, Hera's almost got the ship full and we're going to leave as soon as we get the supplies, so let's go!"

Ezra, still not completely awake, just groaned in response as they headed down the ramp. Before they could get all the way down, a increasingly familiar voice floated in behind them.

"Hold on, I'll come with you, you'll probably buy pure swill and slop without someone showing what's what." Tyber came up behind them, a smile, surprisingly pleasant smile Ezra had not expected to see gracing his face.

"Besides, I do feel bad about last night Ezra, but you did take me by surprise, and Jabba would not be happy if anything happened to that particular item." his voice sounding, much to both Ezra and Zeb's surprise, genuine.

"Come now, time is money." Zann said heading off towards the market before Ezra or Zeb could protest.


Ezra wasn't sure what to think of Zann, his personality seemed to be totally different from the brief insight he had seen last night. Now he was friendly, outgoing and despite all haughty behavior, educated Ezra and Zeb on the best food in the market and best drink. Granted Ezra doubted that they'd ever have use for this knowledge, and frankly is was boring as all get out, but it was better than the raging crime lord he had encountered in Sabine's cabin the previous night.

"No you see, the best cut's have this type of marbling pattern, now granted no two are ever the same, but the general idea remains consistent." Zann said gesturing at several cuts of meat at a butcher shop Ezra didn't think sold any type of meat he had ever eaten.

Zeb, had a blank look on his face. He didn't care so much about quality, to him quantity was always priority. Zann, had spent about seven times as much on the food as what they normally would have and probably only maybe a fifth of what they would normally bring back. This was the last stop, and if Zann hadn't been paying himself, Zeb would of raised objections already.

After getting the right cut of meat, Zann handed it to Zeb, who loaded it on the cargo trailer of a rented speeder.

"Good." Zeb muttered, "Now let's get..."

"Oh, no we have one more stop." Zann said, raising his burnt out blaster. "Must get this fixed my friends, shouldn't take more than an hour, I know the shop, good reputation, especially if you come with the right recommendations." he said with a smile, Zeb's shoulder's slumping, he just wanted to go, but it seemed like there was always "one more stop."

"Oh you don't have to come with me, you can Ezra can go the local cantina, get something to eat." he said tossing a fairly large amounts of credits to Zeb, much to both Ezra and Zeb's surprise.

Zann walked off, while Zeb and Ezra gave each other questioning looks, then Zeb gave a feeble smile. "Maybe we were wrong about him?" Zeb said in more of a statement than a question, but Zeb never turned down a meal if someone else was paying.

With that both of them went off to the Cantina to wait for Zann.


Approximately one hour later, Tyber waltz in like his owned the place, smirking. "Well, I hope your done, I do believe we are all set, we should be on our..."

He as cut off by a shout "Zann!", causing all three to turn to see a Imperial officer walking towards them, a blaster pistol raised at them, or more specifically Tyber.

"Tyber Zann, number seven on the Empire's most wanted list." The officer said, he clearly had been drinking, his uniform was in disrepair, and he swayed slightly on his feet. "Capturing you will get me a nice promotion, I dare say a good bonus as well." he said, a smile starting to crease his face.

"Well, looks like you have me don't you?" Zann said, reaching behind his back, the officer, in his stupor and excitement didn't notice.

"That's right Zann, Thrawn will be so pleased, I bet I'll get my own command!" he was now smirking in a near insane fashion.

"Well I better guess." Zann started before stopping himself, and producing what he had been grabbing for, a large glass bottle, and whipped it at the officer's head, where it shattered to piece's, stunning the officer while cutting his head open.

Taking the opening Tyber rushed forward, grabbed the officer and threw him into a table where bounced off and slumped to the floor. After a moment, he placed his hand on the table to try and bring himself back to his feet. However as he did Tyber had already closed the distance, grabbed the man's forearm and planted a long knife into the top of his hand, pinning him to the table.

The officer screamed as he gripped his arm while Zann pulled back his head and said "Tell Thrawn, if you get the chance, I still haven't forgotten." and with that he smashed his head into the rim of the table, and knocked him out. "Keep the knife."

Ezra and Zeb, were shocked. Not at the fight or the way Tyber had handled the man, he was clearly intoxicated and a twelve year old could probably of taken him, but by the simple fact that no one in the bar seemed to of cared or even paid attention to the scene that just occurred.

"Empire isn't popular at this Cantina." Zann explains and they got up to leave. "This poor fool." Zann said kicking the man's unconscious body. "Picked the work bar in the sector to try and make a move on someone."

This explanation, did not have the desired effect of easing the thought's of either Zeb or Ezra. But now it was time to go, and with a brisk pace, the climbed into the speeder.

Ezra was now certain that something was lurking beneath the image Zann portrayed, he sensed it last night and again when he took out the officer. It was like and animal lurking beneath the sands of Tattoine, like the near mythical Krayt Dragon, rarely seen but ferocious when meet.

This man was dangerous, he already knew, but he hide it well, and was downright charming and friendly when he wanted to be, and that was worse in his opinion. A thug was dangerous, but you knew what to expect from them, and could, within reason predict their behavior. But Zann was worse, he was just as dangerous as any hired muscle, but impossible to predict and he could manipulate people, as he was starting to do with Zeb, who in contrast to Ezra's misgivings about how Zann had handled the Officer in the bar, was rather impressed, not with the feat, but the cool under fire he showed.

As the Ghost came into view, Ezra considered going to Kanan or Hera on his feelings, but second guessed this idea, after the incident last night, he doubted that they'd be willing take what he said at face value with no proof. Sabine may listen, but he wasn't ready to look her in the eye yet after the embarrassing incident.

No for now he'd just keep his distance, keep an eye on Zann, they would only have to deal with him for another day, then they'd probably never see him again.


"What is all this?" Hera said in confusion at the type of food they had brought back. It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with it, but it was all extremely expensive and probably only two day's worth.

"Tyber picked it all." Zeb said before quickly adding "payed to, didn't come out of our fund."

Zann waved his hand, as if to say "no big deal."

Hera looked from the food to Zann. Perhaps she had misjudged him, she had after all had maybe ten minutes of interaction with him, but remembering what he was, where he resided, she forgot such notions. But a new, more immediate problem presented itself. "Does anyone know how to cook any of this?" she said looking at Zann.

With short but certain look that showed disgust at the thought of cooking for himself Zann simply shook his head and said. "Most of this doesn't require much knowledge to cook, it's more what it is than how you cook it." this, was a bull face lie and Tyber knew it, but it wasn't a total lie. The quality of the ingredient and food he'd purchased would turn out good in the hands of a moderately competent cook.

"Well, I think it's Zeb's turn to cook tonight..." she pulled out a list, to check "yup, Zeb, it's your turn."

Zeb growled something about having something about having to get the food the first place. With that, Hera went to the cockpit to monitor the autopilot. While Zeb grumbled about having to cook and Kanan pulled Ezra off to meditate.

Sabine, was avoiding the sitting room, although Tyber thought that may be his presence. However with everyone otherwise preoccupied, Tyber drifted off to the cockpit.


Hera was going over the jump calculations, not needed but rather just busy work. They were going to arrive at Ryloth within a day. But she needed the quite to think, and the cockpit was the best place at the moment. Ryloth was the Twi'lek home world, her home world. And it did not fill her with happiness or nostalgia, but dread and apprehension.

Ryloth was one of the slave trade center's of the Outer rim, Twi'lek females in particular were popular export. She herself had never suffered this fate, but that did not ease the distaste the idea left in her mouth. What really hurt her was that more often than not, it was their own kind that sold them to slaver's and Crime Lords.

Tyber owned a palace on Ryloth, he had said so. As an under boss to Jabba the Hutt, Hera knew what this was likely to mean for Zann himself. The thought of a slaver being onboard was hard to deal with, but soon he'd be gone.

With a hiss Hera heard the door to the cockpit open. Turning she noticed Tyber standing there with an expression on her face, was it pity? Compassion?

"What do you want Zann?" she said briskly turning back to the control panel.

"You hate me don't you?" his voice sound sad or melancholy.

"I don't have any opinion on you one way or the other." she said briskly, he mind still on the slave trade.

"I know you are uncomfortable going to Ryloth, the slave trade still flourishes on the planet, despite rising Imperial presence. You must assume I'm a slaver, given it's my base of operations."

Hera didn't responded, but continued with her busy work.

"I don't agree with it personally." he said taking the seat next to her, a note of compassion in his voice. This caught Hera by surprise, and she looked up from her work to look him in the face. Hera considered herself excellent at reading people's body language and facial expressions. What surprised her was Zann's body language didn't portray a lie or his face either. But he was a crime lord working for a Hutt, that didn't make sense.

"Don't mistake me, I don't oppose it solely on moral grounds. While I don't like idea of a sentient being forced in servitude, but also from business stand point. The Empire's crackdown in the outer rim drying up the market for slaves, even if Ryloth still experiences it."

That was more like what she expected, business first, but still better than what she expected from a crime lord.

"Jabba has promised me Ryloth if I can get this package to him." he said producing the container from his jacket, which Hera suspected he had taken to carrying around with him. "Well as far as terms of criminal rackets I'd run for him. I plan on doing away with the Salves trade all together, keep the Empire off my back."

Hera was surprised and confused by this. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked with a raised brow.

Zann smiled and shrugged "Maybe to put you at ease" he said standing "But it's probably your natural charm?" he said with another smile, before turning to leave.

Hera was used to men trying to charm her, and Zann's attempts did nothing to faze her. No what she thought of his claims of stopping the slave trade on Ryloth if he took it under his control. She wanted to believe it, and frankly it was believed, at least in terms of if it could be done, the Crime Lords were the real power in most outer rim worlds, if they wanted something done on a planet they "owned", it happened, but the Empire was expanding it's influence to the outer rim, and of all the things the empire did, one of the only thing's Hera approved of was the anti-slaving laws it held over from the days of the Republic.

But was it believable that a crime lord would end slaver? She desperately wanted Zann to be telling the truth, to end her people's abuse at the hands of the slavers. If he was being honest, then it was now of the up most importance that the cargo and Zann reach Ryloth in as quick a manner as possible.

But what could possibly be worth and entire planet that would fit in such a small container? This only worked in two scenarios. First was that whatever Tyber was carrying was extremely valuable, whatever in the galaxy could be worth that much eluded her for now, although she expected to find out sooner or later.

The second was Ryloth, once a jewel for a crime lord to own, was drying up in terms of its profit's margin, perhaps Tyber was telling the truth, that the slave trade was suffering as the Empire expanded into the outer rim.

She didn't want to get her hopes up or get side tracked. She was devoted to taking down the Empire, and as much as she wanted her home world free of slavery, it was one world vs. countless others. Whatever the truth was, she certainly had a good deal to think about.


Tyber sat on the bunk that was temporarily his, looking at the container, frowning. He needed to watch himself, he's gotten careless with the boy and girl, he's let them glimpse pass his facade, the girl in particular had seen him in his truest sense. He shouldn't of tried to terrorize her, although it seemed to of worked towards his desired end, he had been foolish to do it. But his pride could stand the indignity of having a child, a teenage girl point a weapon at him, and for her to think she'd controlled his actions for even a moment.

The boy had only caught glimpses in the their scuffle the previous night and his handling of the Imperial Officer, but he was force sensitive, and Tyber was certain he was picking up more of his true self, the boy's master as well may be wise although Tyber suspected he was ready to put off what he had seen as heat of the battle reactions.

The Lasat would never be warm to him, but he seemed to of achieved a neutral ground with him, he wasn't the most analytic being in terms of observing and understanding other beings.

The Twi'lek, however he was certain he had charmed onto his side, and she was arguably the most important one to get on his side, she was the pilot and owner of the ship. Oh, he had delusions of getting her attracted to him, she was clearly head over heels for the Jedi, no, but her ideals of freedom combined with her home world, combined with his ever convincing interpersonal skills.

Smirking, his plans were moving along nicely, if not ideally, but he could make anything work to his advantage when he had to. Sliding his thumb over the print scanner, he opened the metal case to observe his treasure.


A/N: Okay end of chapter two, a very quick update, but there you are.

please leave a review to tell me what you liked, if anything.