Chapter One

There was some type of singing or humming in the not too far distance. It moved fluently and lightly through her ears. The voice was soft and melodic. It wasn't anything in comparison to her mother's voice, but to the alarms that still seemed to ring in her ears it was a pristine beauty.

There was warmth. Not a warm of blazing heat and pain, but something of a soft warmth like a settling cloud. There was something soft against her skin too, almost light and slightly fluffy yet somehow heavy against her body as she laid down. She seemed to be laying on something rather soft too. Not like what was on top of her or under her head as it was soft, but almost like a soft crate.

She didn't understand. She was on hard metal ground. She felt that. Where was she now?

There was a slight tightness around her head and on her arm. There was a tightness around her chest, not like before but…like something was wrapped around it.

Mira forced herself to open her eyes and she immediately groaned slightly and shut them again. It was too much stimuli too quick. There was a small light beside her, something soft that glowed, but it was too much from the darkness she had known before and that had hugged her so tightly for who knows how long.

Hearing some steps coming towards her sparked Mira to go on the defensive and open her eyes again. No matter how much it hurt, her eyes and seemed to send a stinging pain to her brain, she looked around. It made her realize that the voice was real and not just in her head. Someone was around her.

It was dark but it wasn't as dark as the engulfing smoke had been. Mira noticed the windows first and saw that it was dark outside. However, there were small lights around a small room. It was this realization of lights that she was in a small room; and not at all one that she recognized. It was small, very small. The room was slightly smaller than her room on the Starbird, but with the wooden walls and in the dark it seemed more closed in. There was some type of closet and inside were shelving units with clothing stacked on them as well as things hanging from the top. The room was bear, a small table with some things on it, but Mira couldn't make out the details.

The only quick way out would be the window. She didn't see anything to open it. She would need to break it if she wanted to get out that way. She looked for something that she could use to break—

Where were her lightsabers?

She looked around, wondering if the person who took her here placed them near her, but she couldn't find them anywhere. Maybe they weren't even in the building. That was also a possibility.

Before Mira had the chance to find another weapon she could use, she saw an older human woman walk into the room. Mira sat up quickly, ready to fight the unknown person but she instantly regretted it. The instant Mira sat up a sudden burst of pain shot all up her chest and head. It went down her legs and arms and electrified her veins. She let out a loud cry in pain and in shock she fell back down on the bed. She whimpered, the after effects of the pain still coming, the electric pain pulsing through every muscle in her body.

"Easy, young one. You're going to end up hurting yourself again," the woman told her.

Mira rested against the pillows on the bed, laying still to try and ease her pain, though the hard pants made her chest ache. Her eyes were still squeezed shut. Every thought that raced in her head told her that she should be on the defensive, to run, but there was so much pain. She couldn't run. She must have broken a rib or two somehow. Maybe a dislocated shoulder. She wasn't completely sure but there was too much pain for her to be able to do anything. If she tried to get up she knew that she would pass out.

Mira heard the footsteps coming closer and she felt a little on edge again, so she reached out in the Force. She needed to know at least if this woman could be trusted.

But Mira was surprised to feel that the woman felt familiar. She was more than sure she had never seen this woman before, but there was a familiarity to the woman's Force signature. There were motherly feelings mixed together, but strong and warm like a morning's cup of caf. There was concern and kindness and yet there was still spirit. It was a flame that was not bright, but a flame that was still there. Just like how she felt so many other signatures, there were parts of her that seemed to be coloured strokes all moving together, however this woman's signature was one of the most colourful that she had ever sensed.

But, importantly, Mira realized that this woman would not harm her. She didn't know how she got in this room or who this woman was, but she knew that she was safe. The more aware Mira was, the more aware she was that there were wrappings around her. Her chest was wrapped, pressure against her arm and head. Her shoulder and arm was in a bind too; how she didn't know that was beyond her. She must have been too high on adrenaline. If the woman did this than she had been taking care of her. This woman wasn't a threat. In fact, Mira was starting to believe this woman was a saint.

"Are you thirsty?" the woman asked her.

Mira opened her eyes and looked over at the woman. She sighed and nodded, answering weakly, "yes please."

The woman nodded and walked back out of the room. Mira relaxed in the bed again. It was comfortable, at least a lot more comfortable than where she was before. It was almost a minute before the woman came back with a dark green, metal canteen in her hands.

"Where am I?" Mira asked.

"Raada," the woman answered, walking over to her and giving her the small canteen of water.

Mira stared up at the woman, carefully taking the canteen in her good hand. Slowly, Mira moved it to her mouth. She told the woman, the canteen almost right at her lips, "I've never heard of it."

Taking a drink, Mira felt the water move in her, the refreshing feeling of something moving through her veins, making her chest feel alive again. The water was almost therapeutic. Mira instantly felt lighter, her chest not so tight.

After finishing the canteen, Mira brought the canteen down from her lips and onto her lips when she heard the woman answer her, "I'm not surprised. We are a small moon in the Outer Rim. We have a very small population…I'm not even sure if the Empire keeps records of this planet anymore. I'd doubt if we were even marked on new system maps."

Mira nodded. She held out the canteen to the woman and the other walked forward again and took it back. After, the teen looked down at her left shoulder, she noticed that it was all bandaged up with old, tying bandages, not the ones with bacta. They were like small wraps that went around her over and over to hold the shoulder and upper arm in place. She also had her arm in a sling to make sure that the arm wouldn't move too much to irritate the shoulder. Mira was so confused. She was sure she didn't have this before. And her chest felt too tight. She realized that the bandages that were around her shoulder also must have been wrapped around her chest over and over as well. She was in the clothes she wore under her armour. So that was gone too.

"What happened to me?" the teen asked.

The old woman looked at her in disbelief.

"I was hoping you would know. Do you not remember how you crashed?"

The shock and fear that sprouted in Mira was quick and ruthless. It was a level worse than the pain she felt when she had tried to move. Her mind was racing with fear drenched thoughts. Her stomach immediately dropped and she felt like she was going to throw up.

"A crash?!" she asked, her voice rising. She got up slightly before the pain in her chest forced her back down, "was there anyone else? What was the ship model?!"

Where were her parents? Her family?! Was it The Starbird or The Ghost?! Were they dead? No, she would have sensed that, right?…Right?

Mira didn't realize she was starting to hyperventilate. Her hand was twisting the covers of the bed. The woman came closer, fear and surprise sparked across her features as well. The woman didn't think that Mira's colour would immediately turn grey and that she would look like she would pass out.

"Easy, easy," the woman told her, "I think Kori said it was some type of auxiliary starfighter…a VCX series I think he said. He wasn't too sure. There were changes to the model."

Mira's mind raced. A starfighter…

Her mind came to some ease. It was The Phantom. There may have been others in the crash, but at least it wasn't the Ghost or Starbird. Then she would know something terrible had happened. She felt like she could breathe again. The woman noticed colour returning to the younger girl's face. Her entire family may not have been able to fit on the Phantom, nor if they had the two other ships would they be in there in the first place. Not the Starbird or the Ghost.

The Phantom…

Wait…

Grandpa?!

"Was there anyone else?" Mira asked, her fear starting again.

The woman shook her head, keeping her voice level and calm to try and help her.

"No. You were the only one on the ship," the woman told her.

Mira nodded, taking in deep breaths again. She was sure her grandfather was with her on the Phantom. But what had happened?

The First Order? Most likely.

But then how did she get so far out in the Outer Rim?

Mira was brought out of her thoughts when the woman asked her a question.

"What's your name?"

Mira stared at her, wondering if she should lie. Although this woman had taken her in and seemed to have taken care of her, Mira still did not know this woman. But there was something in her, perhaps a part of the Force and her signature that she sensed, that told her it would be okay. The Phantom's model was known to the First Order. If this woman wanted to turn her in or report her, she would have done so. What would change if this woman knew her name?

"Mira…Mira Bridger-Wren," the teenager answered.

The woman nodded.

"Well, Mira, you were in quite the accident. You have two broken ribs, two fractured ones. You also broke your collar bone. That will take some time to heal. You also had a small head wound. You lost a lot of blood, but you seem okay now. It's just going to be the matter of the larger wounds healing," the woman explained.

Mira nodded. That explained why she felt her chest was wrapped and why her shoulder was in a sling.

"Thank you," Mira told her. And she meant it. She didn't know the state of the Phantom, but if she knew that her injuries were bad enough that the 'crash landing' could have killed her.

"We're glad that you're alright. The controls were on fire. You could have very easily died," the woman told her.

The control panel was gone? That wasn't good. She wouldn't be able to contact the Ghost or Starboard if the control panel was completely destroyed.

Her parents…where were they? What did they think happen to her?

"Do you have another ship I could use? Or a cross systems messaging system?" Mira asked.

The woman shook her head.

"No…unfortunately we don't. This planet is not…wealthy," the woman explained.

Mira gulped. The woman could see her fear rising again as Mira's skin colour was fading again.

"Don't worry about that right now. You need more rest first. I'll help you figure that out soon, but…"

Mira cut her off.

"No, you don't understand. My family will be worried," Mira told her. She could only wonder the fear they were feeling. If Mira didn't know where they were and they weren't here with her now then they had no idea where she was either. If the Phantom was so destroyed then any tracking on it would have been lost. They may not even know she was in the Outer Rim…were they even in the Outer Rim?

"Rest first," the woman insisted. "In your condition you can't go anywhere. It's too late to try and contact anyone for help. We can do that tomorrow."

Biting her lip, Mira thought about it. As anxious as she was, this woman seemed to be right. She couldn't do anything right now in her condition if this woman didn't have anything herself. Perhaps tomorrow she could try and see the Phantom to find out if there was anything she could take from it.

Mira sighed and looked down at herself. She was helpless, at least for now.

"Where's my armour?" Mira asked.

The woman got up and went to a drawer. She opened it and held out Mira's orange breast plate.

"In here…I didn't have anywhere else to put them," the woman answered, "all of my baskets are being used for the harvest right now."

Mira nodded. As long as her armour was there.

"You're Mandalorian, aren't you?" the woman asked.

Mira stared at her. What was the point of hiding that if the woman already saw her armour. It wasn't like the First Order couldn't piece that information together either. Everyone who knew her name knew what she was.

"On my mother's side," Mira answered.

The woman nodded, "I recognized the armour…although I must say the paint job is not traditional I believe."

A smile tugged at Mira's lip.

"Yeah…that would be my mother."

The woman smiled from Mira's smile. It was a sweet soft smile, one that was a soft glow. It wasn't flashy or big, but it still was bright and infectious.

The woman opened the drawer a bit more and Mira saw her pull something else out. In the soft light of the room, Mira saw the metal shine and glaze against the light. Mira knew exactly what the two things were.

"I found these with your blaster…" the woman said.

"They…" Mira tried to find something to say, "they aren't finished. It's another blaster project I'm working on."

The woman smiled softly.

"No need to lie, young one," the woman told her, "I know what these are. I just thought you would like to know that they are safe. We recovered them from the crash too."

Mira gulped, "I…I don't know what you think those are but…"

"It's alright," the woman told her gently before setting the lightsabers down again.

The woman seemed to have a longing look in her eyes.

"I knew a Jedi once…a very long time ago. I know what those are," the woman explained gently, looking over at Mira. The teenager listened intently. So she knew what lightsabers were then she knew what Mira was. Mira wouldn't label herself a Jedi…at least not yet.

The woman was looking at her, but Mira noticed that her voice was more far off. She took in a deep breath before clearing her voice, "you can trust me. I never told the Empire on my Jedi friend even after they left but still wanted to investigate. I won't tell the First Order about you."

Mira stared at her. She didn't know exactly what to think. But if this woman was telling the truth, and Mira had no reason to believe she wasn't, then Mira knew she was safe. At least while she was here.

Before Mira or the woman could say anything else, they heard a door open. Mira's eyes immediately went wide and the other woman took a couple of steps closer to her, knowing that she needed to calm the younger girl's fears.

"It's alright. It's just Kori," the woman told her.

Mira didn't look any less cautious.

"Hello?" a male's voice called out.

"In here," the woman answered, her voice calm.

Mira raised her eyebrows, watching as a male Togruta walked into the room, a type of data pad in his hand, but it was an older model. He was wearing a thick coat to show that he had just been outside. He was tall, yet wasn't too many years older than her. His skin was a dark red, almost brown in colour but it could have been the soft light. She noticed that he had horizontal white, diamond markings over his eyes with two small circles at the top outer ends of the diamonds. He also had a small stripe that came to a tip at the bottom of his cheek bones. His montrals also came out and up like some of the male Togrutas she had met in the rebellion. The tips of the montrals were a blue colour with non-symmetrical likes. His lekku were the same. There were lines, almost like stripes where near the top of his head they stopped at edges, but hotel longer they went down, the more symmetrical they became as they just wrapped as large strokes around the lekku. His elk were also longer than what she had seen male Togrutas have for their front two lekku. Maybe he was special…genetically speaking.

His piercing green eyes saw her and he smiled a little. She reached out in the Force and again was surprised to sense his familiar signature. This one seemed more familiar than the old woman's.

"Ah, I see our patient is up," the Togruta said.

"Who are you?" Mira asked, suspicious.

The Togruta looked between her and the woman. In her peripheral vision she saw the older woman nod. The Togruta nodded as well before looking back at Mira, offering her a comforting smile.

"Kori Kiitt," he answered her. "I was actually just looking at your ship. We were trying to figure out what happened."

Mira nodded. She sighed. If this woman could trust him then so could she.

"Do you know anything?" Mira asked her.

Kori looked down at the data pad and he answered, "umm…well I think you just went through hyperspace, but I can't be sure. It is consistent with the travel time, but it was done…precariously. Did you sustain an attack on the ship before going through hyper space?"

Mira stared at him. That…was familiar. Or something she thought she should know. Her own voice was echoing in her mind.

Grandpa?

The Ghost was there. not the Starbird but the Ghost.

Mira thought for a moment and answered, "I…maybe. I think so…"

Kori nodded before looking at the data pad again.

"The ship's system is pretty…damaged. But I think you fell out of hyperspace. That's what caused the crash. The hyperspace journey caused problems for the ship. It was damaged when it came to the system," Kori explained, "or at least, that's what I found in what was left of the system information. I could only get bits and pieces."

"Was the messaging system intact at all?" Mira asked him, hopeful.

Kori stared at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"It was completely fried. I couldn't get anything from it," he answered, "I'm sorry."

There was a slight stillness in the air. The two others watched Mira for a reaction. Finally, after a minute or so, the teen nodded, defeated. At least for now.

"Okay," Mira answered weakly. She could find another way. She would find another way.

The older woman walked over to her and carefully put a hand on her shoulder.

"Get some rest. We'll know more in the morning in the light," the woman told her. "You are safe here."

Mira nodded, comforted by the woman's touch. The other woman smiled softly and carefully got up.

Mira's brows furrowed and she asked her, "wait…I didn't get your name."

The older woman looked back from the doorway and gave her a smile, "sorry, Mira. It slipped my mind. It's only fair. My name is Miara Larte."

Mira nodded.

"Thank you, Miara," she told her.

"You're welcome," Miara told her with a smile.