Chapter 7


Drexal Connick opened his eyes to the blaring Coruscant sun shining through the office window. He lifted up his neck to be greeted with a crick in his neck, courtesy of his position on the sofa. He looked down at the ebony curls that belonged to Nikala Jordana. Her head rested peacefully on his chest. He savored the moment of bliss for a brief moment. Who knew when he would experience it again?

After they found the entrance to the abandoned factory, they rummaged through the rest of the floor and found an enclosed office. More likely the former owner had been a manager or a foreman. Inside was a desk and to the side against the opposite wall was a small sofa. It was barely large enough for the both of them. After they cleared the debris and chased the critters away, they laid down together. Both of them fell asleep immediately.

When he awoke, Drex was surprised that he could sleep at all with all that had been going on the previous day. The homemade lab that Jacen Solo and Luke Skywalker helped him set up was gone. More importantly, the research into the mysterious genetic protein was gone too. Add to the fact that X-Tec, his former employer, had their own private militia who were now hunting them. He was forced to admit that this was their life now. All of those years of his living the quiet mundane lifestyle were ruined by the discovery of a secret lab he found at X-Tec. The real secret was that the company was using the lab for secret experiments that involved injecting a Force-infused DNA protein which created Force abilities into people with no Force potential. Eleven volunteers had been injected. The twelfth was himself, though he suspected his was not planned. Nine of the volunteers had been killed from the counter effects of the protein. X-Tec made their deaths look either accidental or by natural causes.

Despite everything Drex had on his mind, there had been one constant in his life for the last two years. Nika. She had stuck with him. In many instances since he came home early from work that day he found the lab, Nika had helped them escape. Always in surprising ways. How she knew to do the things she had done since they left Taris was a mystery to Drex. He knew she was raised on the street, but nothing this extensive. She never liked to talk about her past much. Now that he gained Force powers, he could sense that she was holding back large chunks of her past. She gave him small details but never enough to understand the real her. Maybe he was never supposed to.

Without warning, Nika let out a yawn and lifted her head off his chest. She took her hand to massage her neck. "Oh, that wasn't the best position."

He uttered, "Guess I don't make a good pillow."

She reached up and planted a kiss on his lips. She pulled back and said, "I was referring to my awkward position I slept in. If not for you playing the role of a cushion, I would have never gone to sleep." She sat up and lifted herself on the couch and started stretching. He repeated the action without stretching.

She let out a big sigh and uttered, "Oh, what I wouldn't give for a large hot cup of caf right now. I'm sure the caf in those break room machines are rotten."

Never one for small talk, Drex asked her, "So...what's our next move?"

"I told you yesterday during our escape."

"Oh, the escape that involved a speeder chase, a crash through a restaurant sign, and a drive through a dangerous conduit?"

"Boo Hoo. You're still alive. You're welcome, by the way."

"You mentioned getting off Coruscant."

"That I did."

"We'll have to book another star cruiser flight. Would we use the same scheme you used on Taris?"

"No. We won't be able to use the same public transport as we did before."

"Why not?"

"Well, Drex, there's a huge difference now. We were unknowns then. We could still use our own ident cards. I'm sure our pictures and names are plastered all over the space ports on Coruscant by now. We need new looks and credits. We'll have to use my stash."

"You mentioned that last night. Where is it?"

"Hopefully in the same place I left it. Lower Coruscant."

Drex gulped. "Lower Coruscant?" Drex started pacing around the office. "Are we sure we can't contact Luke or Jacen?"

"The Jedi? We've done that and look where it got us. The X-Tech militia still found us and defeated the Jedi who were supposed to protect us. They killed one guard to do it. No, we can't go back to them. That would be an open invitation to X-Tec to say, 'Here we are.' Unless, of course, you feel the need for another Force lesson."

"Don't patronize me, Nika. You don't know what this is like for me. It's unknown to me."

"And we both know how much you hate the Unknown."

"Yeah, well, sorry for my need to know how and why things work." He let out a breath of frustration. "Look, let's not fight. I don't have the energy. Let's just keep going."

"Fine," she said as she started to gather her items into a small carrier. After a long pause, she said, "You do know that we have no endgame right now except to survive."

"I know. I don't care at this point. All of the research Cilghal and I did is gone. We were at a stand still at finding out what this protein is and how it was produced. Not to mention what X-Tec plans to do with it. Our little adventure last night made me believe that X-Tec will stop at nothing to find us. So, as of now, I say the plan is to keep ourselves alive."

Nika froze in place and asked mockingly, "All right, who are you and what have you done with the real Drexal Connick?"

Drex seriously answered back, "Like a nucleus of a DNA strand, I evolved."

She smiled, which made his morning complete. She picked up her carrier and said, "All right, Mr. Evolution, let's go run and survive."

The lower Levels of Coruscant were always dark. The deeper the Level the darker and more dangerous. The Yuuzahn Vong had affected some of the Underworld of Coruscant. Since the Reconstruction most of it had been cleared of the dangerous spores the Vong had spread around the planet. The seedy areas of entertainment and crime were slowly returning close to normal. Only the major cantinas and casinos of the upper Underworld had been reconstructed. Human and alien alike went back to their gambling and partying, yet there was an underlying sense of dread knowing that the Vong's pods were not entirely liberated.

As Nika and Drex walked through the dimly lit streets, they passed by many of the establishments that were darkened with abandonment. Ghosts of their former glory. There were a few places that returned. Not nearly as many that Nika remembered. She just hoped there was still one place in particular that was still open. Drex had been to Coruscant years before the Vong invaded. He attended a Genetics Convention during his previous life as an X-Tec employee. But that was held in the bright lights of Upper Coruscant. He would never dare set foot near the Underworld. He was too afraid of the unknown. Now he was part of the unknown. Now with his ability to use the Force, he could sense the fear of the beings around him. It was strange to him that he was now starting to purge his own fear.

Just like a Jedi.

"What, Drex?" Nika broke his thoughts.

"What?"

"You looked like you were somewhere else. Distant. This place too much for you?"

"Actually, I was thinking the opposite."

"Guess that's good. This place used to be so crowded. Thriving with nightlife."

"But it's still morning."

She chuckled. "Down here, Drex, it's always night. You sure you're all right?"

"Yeah. There's just a lot on my mind."

"Understood. All I can tell you is to be patient."

Drex said, "That sounds like something a Jedi would say."

She laughed. "Oh, savor that irony. I'm no Jedi."

"I don't know, Nika. You are confident. You are patient in a crisis. Yet..." He stopped speaking.

"Yet, what?"

"Nothing."

She stopped walking to look at him. "No, what were you going to say?"

"Maybe later. Let's just get going. Where are we going anyway?"

She continued to walk. "It's just up ahead. If it's still there."

After a few more minutes of walking, they came upon a large establishment that looked to be a combination of cantina, casino, and an office. Even at this early hour the place was almost packed with humans and aliens. They were either busy at the Sabacc card tables or at the bar drinking. Nika breathed a sigh of relief. "This is it. Glad it's still here. Now let's see if they still have my box."

"Box?"

"You'll see. Come on."

She started to head towards the left end of the place where it looked like an office. There was a counter with a yellow-skinned Twi'lek attending it. His eyes were glued to a nearby HoloNet screen. Behind the counter was a closed doorway.

Drex looked around and asked Nika, "What is this place?"

"A place for all your sinful needs. You have your gambling, betting tables, and card games. I see there's some sports games going on. Of course, the bar is full. No shortage of drinks after the war. But I'm headed over there. The lockboxes is where my stash is."

"What kind of things are in your stash if you have to keep it in a place like this?"

She turned to him with a raised eyebrow and a mischievous grin and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" She took her arm and locked it around his and said cheerfully, "Let's go find out, shall we?"

She approached the counter with Drex beside her and she had to slap the surface to get the Twi'lek's attention. And then Nika did something to add to the list of many surprises she performed since he left X-Tec that day. She started speaking Ryl, the Twi'lek spoken language. The Twi'lek didn't acknowledge her though. She spoke again in Ryl. Her tone sounded like it was a question.

No reaction.

Nika then lifted her carrier on the counter and fiddled inside of it until she found what she was looking for. She slapped what looked like a strange data card with a jagged edge on one side onto the counter. She started shouting in Ryl again but this time the Twi'lek interrupted her. In Basic.

"All right, that is enough. You made point! I speak Basic. And you cannot speak Ryl worth damn."

Taken aback by his insult, Nika explained, "I was asking if you still carried security lock boxes here."

"No, you ask if we secured hairy dishes here."

Nika shrugged and smiled sheepishly, "At least I got one out of three words right. Sorry, my Rylothean is a bit rusty."

"It is fine. I knew your meaning. Especially with that old codekey. That is model we use before those space bugs invaded."

"So my box is still intact?"

"Of course. Nothing can penetrate our security door."

"A hint of confidence. I like it. Now, if you would be so kind to lead me to my box, please."

"Yes. Three-hundred credits."

"What? Where did you pull out that figure?" cried Nika.

"I figure you have not seen box in long while, which means you have not paid monthly rent to keep it. Three-hundred is generous."

Nika countered with, "Two-hundred."

"Three-hundred."

"You're supposed to negotiate and say two-fifty."

"I know not of this rule. Three-hundred."

Nika hesitated and finally said, "Fine." She then took out the money and handed him the right amount.

The Twi'lek took the credits and said, "And many thanks for your patronage. This way." He turned and fiddled with the side controls on the wall and the door slid open. Nika and Drex had to go around the counter to follow him inside. Past the doorway was a small corridor that led to a dead end. In front of them was a large safe door. He turned to Nika and said, "Place your codekey in slot next to safe door." Nika did as he instructed and he typed in a code on a console near him on the wall. Then the heavy thick door started to raise open. Beyond this door was a small room consisting of lock boxes of various sizes fitted on each wall. He led them to one of the larger boxes on the end and said, "Here is your box. Your codekey will open it. I will be at front desk if you need me."

"Excellent," said Nika. After the Twi'lek left she inserted her codekey in the lock and the lockbox lid opened. Inside was a much larger case than her current one and she pulled it out. She set it on the floor on its longer side and entered yet another code on the front. The case opened.

Drex looked inside and saw various items. Clothing of multiple fashions, disguises, wigs, fake prosthetics were inside one side of the compartment. On the other side were a series of small blasters, several credits stacked in neat piles, and various pass permits and ident cards-probably all illegal.

"What is all this?" he asked.

"One of my survival kits." She grabbed the pile of credits and a few ident cards. She handed Drex the cards. "Here, be useful." She then grabbed some of the disguises and clothing. She set them aside and reached into the case for a few blasters. She placed one in her outside pocket of her shirt and the other she hooked onto her belt."

"You think we need those?" asked Drex.

"You never know. Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them." She placed the clothes and the disguises in her smaller case and closed the larger case to put it back into the lockbox. "Let's go."

"Where to now?"

"Now we find a hole in the wall motel. Shouldn't be hard to find down here."

They exited the cantina and returned to walking on the streets. They came across a small marketplace that was selling jogan fruit. Nika stopped and bought two and threw one of the purple and white-striped fruits to Drex. "Here you go. Happy breakfast." They ate and continued to walk. Finally, Nika stopped in front of another building and looked it over. She tossed her jogan core away on the ground and said, "This will do."

Drex finished his fruit but dropped it in a nearby waste can that hadn't been emptied since before the war. Probably the Galactic Empire war, Drex figured. He looked at the building and said, "This is a dump!"

"Sorry, hun, no suite this time. Come on." He followed her inside as she went to the counter. This time a human male was attending. "We'd like a room."

Without a word, the dark-haired man tore himself away from the HoloNet to pick out a cardkey on the wall behind him. Before he handed her the key, he said, "Fifty a night."

Nika sneered, "Wow, such a bargain. Do we get room service?"

"There's an old food dispenser on the 2nd floor."

She handed him credits and said, "How quaint. We're only staying one night."

He took the credits and handed her the key. He glanced at Drex and grinned. "We, uh, do have a special for an hourly rate."

Nika scowled and went into character. "Hey! That's my brother! Who do you think we are?"

The man shrugged. "Hasn't stopped some."

"You space nut," she cried. She turned to Drex and said to him, "Come on, brother, let's go." She was about to turn to leave but she just caught the man look back at the HoloNet screen. He watched for a while before his eyes went wide. He quickly glanced down at her. She then heard the HoloNet newsman announce, "Nikala Jordana and Drexal Connick. They are wanted by Taris authorities and are considered to be armed and dangerous. If you spot them, please contact the authorities at the comlink code on your screen."

She immediately acted before he could. "Oh, and another thing." She quickly approached the counter again and said, "We do not want to be disturbed for any reason." She quietly set a generous pile of credits on the counter and said, "Understand? Just act as if you never saw us." She eyed him and made sure he followed her eyes as she looked down at the blaster on her belt.

He grinned and slid the credits into his hand and said, "Saw who?"

She nodded and walked back to Drex and they proceeded to their room. They took an ancient turbolift to the second floor. They found their room and entered. It wasn't much better than the factory office they slept in the previous night.

Drex looked around as Nika set down her carrier. "Not exactly a suite. The bed looks more comfortable than the sofa last night."

"Drex, a bed of vibroblades would be better than that sofa."

He flopped backwards onto the bed. "Ahhh. And much softer. Not to mention less critters and insects."

"Don't be too sure about that."

He lifted up from the bed and said, "Nika, I can feel that you are exhausted. I know you didn't get much sleep last night. Come over and get a good rest."

"Can't. Have to set up. We need to dye your hair. And change mine."

"Right this minute? Look, I heard that announcer too."

"Yes, our appearance on the HoloNet. X-Tec must have taken over the HoloNet's jurisdiction. Nothing the Jedi can do about that. I guess Skywalker's influence didn't help. We're fugitives again."

"How long do we have to keep this up?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I never timed any of my escapes before. I just ran on the fly. No sense of time." She stopped and went over to the bed to sit on its side. Drex sat up beside her. She said, "Drex, I'm used to this sort of running. Or at least I was. I'd run a con or pickpocket my way into trouble and then I'd be off. Hiding. Disguises and living in run down places like this were a part of it. I know you're foreign to this life. As long as X-Tec and their own militia keep after us, we keep running. You just have to trust me."

Drex paused for a beat and then smiled. "It's amazing, Nika. I've known you for the past few years. I've always known you were holding back your past. I only knew what you told me. Orphaned at an early age. Bounced through several foster families. Lived and survived on the streets working as a con artist. It's funny that the con refers to confidence. But I think you're confusing confidence with arrogance. And arrogance is the illusion of confidence." He paused and continued. "Now with all of these new Force abilities I can feel your emotions. You can't hide them from me anymore. You can run all you want and they'll still be there. I don't need the Force to tell me that you are lying to yourself."

"Maybe you're right, Drex. After I ran away from my last foster home, I was on the streets. I knew the basics of pick-pocketing. One day I swindled the wrong man. Another con artist. He became sorta my mentor. We teamed up on all kinds of schemes for quick money. And for many years, that's how I lived and survived. It gave me confidence with the skills he taught me. That was the arrogance in me, as you said. But I never thought I would be free of that life. I never could pin down how I could escape it."

"Nika, since all of this started I've seen your skills. Yes, they helped us get where we are now. You show that you're strong on the surface. But deep down you are really afraid. And that is the real reason why you keep running."

With watery eyes, Nika responded, "I know you keep wondering why I've stayed with you these past few years. It wasn't just your determination to find the truth in things; not just in science. You have such a strong passion for science and finding out how things worked. It makes you so grounded. I never knew how to be set free of the street life. Until I met you. You never have to run. You already know how to be yourself. You are the most confident man I've ever known."

Without a word, Drex reached in and planted a hard kiss on her lips. She returned the kiss and they both laid back on the bed. They had time together like this on Taris but not for a long time. This was a newfound passion for each other. This passion was doused in truth.


Coruscant General Hospital

Jacen Solo fluttered his eyes open to whiteness. He finally focused on an image of a face looking over him. Uncle Luke. Jacen let out a sigh. "All right, who kept hitting me with the extra large load lifter?"

"Glad to see your humor back," said Luke. "Good sign."

"What else is good?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"I thought the load lifter comment pretty much summed it up." Jacen took a moment to breath deep. "Well, that's a good sign." He tried to lift himself up. And was treated to a searing pain. "Ow..ow..ow. Pain in my abdomen. That's not a good sign."

"You have bruised ribs on that side. Whatever hit you it was only on your side. Those will heal in time."

"Time I expect we don't have. How is Cilghal?"

"She's fine. She was knocked out and has some burns from the fire in the lab. She's awake now. Told us some things."

"Burned lab. Nothing left?"

"Ashes and burned out equipment. And zero data found. Cilghal told us as much as she could for now."

"Sithspawn! They destroyed it all."

"The Taris security force?"

"Try the X-Tec corporation's militia. Their leader identified himself as Ciser. His men tried to take me down but I was able to do it to them first. They hit us quick and hard, Luke. Almost like they knew where to hit us."

Luke nodded. "The Taris lawyer hinted that to us as well. I tried to have Corran get here in time, but we were too late. By the time we got there we only saw you and Cilghal and no Drex or Nika."

"You were too far away. Let me guess. The rep chose the location."

"Actually, I did. I thought an obscure tapcaf would be away from the public."

"Which was exactly how they expected a Jedi to think."

Upon realizing Luke shook his head. "And I played into it."

"Luke, how can a scientific research corporation afford its own militia?"

Another voice in the room suddenly answered, "Securing their research for profits."

"Oh, Aunt Mara. Didn't know you were here."

Mara Jade Skywalker got up from her chair in the corner of the room and came up to the side of Jacen's bed. She gave a sneer of a smile. "That means I still have the silent touch."

Jacen noted, "Don't read much into that. I'm not feeling much in the Force right now. Must be the good drugs."

"Don't want you in too much pain," she said.

"Of course not. What did you mean about research for profits?"

Mara explained, "X-Tec may be a small unknown science research facility but they have made millions in profits over the years. Quietly, too."

"Illegal?" Jacen asked.

"No, nothing that can be proved anyway. But the science of genetics leads into clone territory. Bio weapons like chemicals for poisonous toxins can be used in biological warfare. Not to mention the practical uses like applications in medicine, industry, and agriculture. All of that can make a pretty chunk of revenue. Security for that kind of competition can be intense."

Jacen followed. "Enter a private military to protect their secrets."

Luke said, "Except in the case of Drexal Connick, the security breach was from within the company."

Mara replied, "That's usually the irony when a company tries to conceal a gigantic secret."

"Which is why they want Drex and Nika captured and silenced," Jacen said.

Luke said, "You don't know the half of it. While you were out, the Taris government bought a temporary license to broadcast their names on the HoloNet's Most Wanted List."

Jacen winced. "With which the Jedi have no jurisdiction to stop. So much for the Jedi protecting them." He snickered. "That plan literally went out the window."

"What's that mean?" Mara asked.

Jacen answered, "Nika appeared outside the suite in an air speeder during the attack. Right after my body met the wall hard several times. She shattered the viewscreen with a huge Blas-Tech canon so Drex could escape. He made that jump with the Force. I felt it in him."

Luke noted, "Impressive. Almost too impressive how he's taken to the Force so quickly."

Jacen said with pride, "I taught him some methods before the attack."

Luke agreed. "Very good. Of course, once Nika took it upon herself to escape with Drex, their Jedi protection ended."

"Where are they now?" asked Jacen.

"Not sure right now," Luke admitted. "Last report was that there was a chase on speeders that stretched into the Industrial sector. There was unconfirmed intel that their speeder was destroyed under the toxic mist and they perished."

"Do we believe that?"

Mara answered, "With Nika in charge I'd doubt it. My guess is that they're both rummaging through the Lower Levels by now. Probably trying to find an unchartered cruiser or salvage transport to get off Coruscant."

"You sure," asked Luke.

"Positive. She's quite the resourceful one."

Jacen eyed his Aunt. "Remind you of anyone?"

Mara flashed her green eyes at her nephew and said, "Hardly. She's just a life long con artist."

"Con artist. Assassin. What's the difference?"

"Survival versus duty, Jacen. Look it up sometime."

Being familiar with changing subjects between his wife and nephew, Luke stepped in to ask Jacen, "What do you know about this mysterious DNA protein that Drex and Cilghal found?"

"Not much more than what Cilghal could tell you. A protein that can alter the DNA of a non-Force user and creating Force abilities in them. That would be something that X-Tec doesn't want out in the public."

Luke questioned, "Are they anything like the power from the Valley of the Jedi?"

"Not sure. I don't think so. It seems to be more permanent." Jacen hesitated.

Mara asked, "Did you find anything more on the people on that list from X-Tec?"

"All we could confirm were their identities and that nine of the eleven were dead from 'accidents' or mysterious sudden illnesses."

"Anything on the missing two?" Luke asked.

"Drex confirmed they are Adan Wari and Jan Thorn. Both were X-Tec Computer Technicians with droids and various equipment. And there's no sign of them."

Mara noted, "Computer techs? Meaning excellent slicers. More likely they've changed ident cards and disappeared by now. I can get Ghent to look into them. Maybe those two can shed some more light on all this."

Suddenly, Jacen groaned in pain. "Ah, I think I need some more of those good drugs."

Luke assured, "Well have O1B get them for you." He padded Jacen's shoulder gently and said, "We'll let you rest. You've been through enough already. We'll check back with you later with an update."

Before the Skywalkers turned to leave, Jacen called to get their attention. He beckoned Luke to come closer. He whispered, "You never asked what hit me to put me here."

Luke shrugged. "I assumed they had some kind of battle droid that rammed you."

"Close. The Head of Security; Ciser. I couldn't feel him in the Force. Neither could Drex. It confused him but I knew. It was confirmed when Nika used that same Blas-Tech canon to blast him direct in the chest."

Mara gasped. "That should have killed him."

Jacen shook his head. "I was down but I could see burnt wires and circuitry where he was hit."

Luke uttered, "A droid?"

"Worse," Jacen said. "A Human Replica Droid. I believe you encountered one long ago courtesy of Prince Xizor."

Luke nodded. "Guri. Never did defeat her officially. Can't believe X-Tec could get a hold of an HRD."

Mara considered. "Well, they are a science research facility."

Jacen said, "True. But Guri was built decades ago. No telling what advances they've added today."

After a small pause, Luke said, "We have to find Drex and Nika. They're in more trouble than we thought."

Lower Coruscant motel - late afternoon

"Whoops, now we're in real trouble," cried Nika.

Drex answer was muffled from under the running water of the refresher sink. "What? What is it?"

"You are now officially a blonde," Nika said.

"I'm honored."

Drex and Nika tore themselves from the bed after a few hours of being with themselves in that time. Though Nika considered the time practically wasted, at the same time she cherished the time spent with Drex nonetheless. Love was hardly ever practical. It was their first intimate moment in quite a while.

Once they were both up and back to facing their reality, Nika went to work on Drex on his disguise. She worked the dye in his hair to make him a platinum blonde from his usual dark brown color. Next, she reached for the cutters inside her small kit and used them to form a buzz cut look to his hair. She took a towel to dry his hair and then reached for a looking glass. "Here. Check out the new Drexal Connick."

He took the glass and looked into it. "Wonderful," his sarcasm dripped. "Definitely not me."

"That's sorta the point, Drex."

"Did you have to cut it that short?"

"Hey, don't insult your stylist." She took the cutters to tweak her work. "I think I missed my true calling. I've got quite a skill here."

"Among many others. A Jill of all trades, but master of none, right?"

"But better than a master of one. No one ever finishes that phrase. And you would be surprised at what I'm a master of."

"Not anymore, I'm not." He glanced over at the set of multi-colored pants and shirt lying on the bed neatly. "You're not expecting me to wear that, are you? A bit flashy for me."

"Of course, it's flashy for you. But not for Tash Danigo, a popular HoloNet entertainment producer on Zeltros."

"Zeltros? The party planet? Not exactly my style and more of yours."

"Again, Drex, the point. Believe me, your usual drab color scheme would stand out more than this one." She helped him into the colored suit.

"And the name is just as flashy. Where did you pull that one from?"

"Just one of several ident names I made up."

"A male name?"

"It was for a former partner."

"You mean a fellow con artist."

She sighed. "If you must place labels on things..."

"I suppose you have a role in this scenario. A stoic, serene woman? Playing against type?"

"Of course. Danigo's assistant has to be serious." She adjusted his suit accordingly and stood back as if to admire her handiwork. "There. Now don't you look spiffy?"

"I feel like a new man already," he deadpanned. "What is your assistant's name so I can memorize it? Don't want it look like I don't know my own assistant's name."

"Drex, you're learning. That's actually scary. And it's Miash Rendar. A serene but professional aide to Danigo from Borleias. Unfortunately, a bright red strand of hair is unbecoming of Miash."

He pivoted to look at her and gasped, "You're not going to cut it off, are you?"

"No." She handed him the cutters. "You are."

They switched places as she wet her ebony hair under the water in the sink and then she dried it. Drex still looked hesitant with the cutters. She gathered the red strands to separate them from the dominant black and it was ready to be cut. "Be careful. Make sure you cut it close to the roots so no red is showing."

"You sure about this? You've had that strand since I met you."

"Being on the run pays a great price. Do it."

Drex snipped off the red strand as close to her scalp as he could with an audible clip. He held it in front of her. "There you are. You want to have it framed?"

"No, I'll take it," she snapped. She tied it up and placed it in her container. She proceeded to reach for another item from her container along with a few hair clips. She was busy tying her hair into an intricate braid in the back that she made into a side ponytail. She took the end of the braided strand and wrapped it around itself. She took a hair clip to hold it in place. She now looked the part of a professional assistant.

"Nice," Drex said. "But you still look like you."

"Not for long." She opened the first item she grabbed from her container and placed them on her face in front of her eyes.

"Spectacles? That's your whole disguise?"

"You would be surprised how well a pair of dark spectacles can hide a person. Besides, the disguise isn't just physical." She reverted to a more distinct Borleias accent and added a professional monotone to her voice. "It is most assuredly made up of a mental aspect to the masquerade."

Drex raised an eyebrow. "Very well, then. What's next?"

"Well, I have a business suit that I took out but it's delicate. I won't wear that until we're ready to leave. Right now, we need to find transport off this rock. Uncharted travel." She sat down at the HoloNet computer and started typing. "So we can't choose any commercial star cruisers like we did on Taris. Those spaceports tend to ask for ident details that I'm positive the X-Tec slicers can track easily. We need unregistered transports that barely glance at ident cards as long as the price is right. Which reminds me, we need to watch our finances, too."

"You had an abundance of funds from what I saw."

"Won't last long if we keep bribing people and survive. I have a great amount but not enough for two. You have to remember, I collected all of this with only my survival in mind."

"Sorry to be such a burden for you."

Nika sighed and said, "You are not a burden, Drex. Please tell me when your pity party is over."

"That wasn't pity. That was reality."

"Drex, what each of us perceive as reality are two different things. Ah! Here's a salvage ship that takes passengers. For a price that's of course not advertised. It's going to a bantha fodder of a system, but we can get a better cruiser once we're away from here. And it raises ship late tonight. Great. The later the hour, the more inconspicuous."

"So this is what our life will be like now? Endless underground meetings and hitching rides among the salvage and savages? Running from killers."

"Arrggh, not this again. Thought we went over this before we went to bed together."

"Oh, we did. I'm actually not complaining. I'm just saying it out loud for me to believe it more. I've accepted our fate. So much so that I think I may need lessons in your survival techniques."

She turned to face him. "What are you talking about?"

"I think I need to learn the con game, since we'll be surviving for the rest of our lives."

"Don't condescend me, Drex."

"I'm not. I'm serious."

"It's not like you can take a crash course. It took me several years and several more trials and errors before I could learn the con."

"I learned to use the Force in such a short time. Maybe my new abilities can help."

She feigned inspecting him and said with a great deal of sarcasm, "Funny, you don't look like a Dark Lord of the Sith, but that attitude is definitely there."

"Not funny, Nika. And hardly relative. I'm not a Jedi nor a Sith."

"But a corrupt view of how to use the Force can lead to becoming a Sith. Or the Dark Side of the Force, like Jacen Solo and his uncle says."

"Maybe it won't come to that."

"That's a mighty big old Maybe." A silence fell between them as Nika seemed to consider something. She keyed in a last entry on the computer and mentioned, "The salvage ship is leaving at zero thirty tonight. Or rather tomorrow morning on Coruscant time. Think we'll pay in person. I don't trust entering credit data over the HoloNet. Way too many flags for X-Tec to follow." She shut the station down and turned back to face Drex. "All right, we have some time to begin."

"Begin what?"

"Your crash course in Con Artistry 101. A mini crash course. Basics. First thing to know when you begin any con no matter how small or large is why a con scheme works."

Drex shrugged. "Stupidity of the victim?"

"Mark. A victim is the mark. And it doesn't always have to be stupidity, though it helps. Two things that work against the mark together. The mark's greed, and the ability of the con artist to gain the trust of the mark to manipulate that greed. The con artist creates a situation where he seems vulnerable to the mark. The mark usually cares enough to help. Then, once the mark perceives that easy money can be obtained through that help, the con artist has them hooked before the mark realizes it."

"What if the mark can see through that trust? Or they aren't that greedy?"

"Well, that's why the mark is chosen carefully. Some picks take a few seconds and some schemes take weeks of preparation. And before you ask, we tend to avoid any Jedi or Force users for obvious reasons. Any con artist who tries that faces disaster."

"So you would never make me a mark."

She tilted her head and smiled. "Of course not. Especially now with your new Force abilities. A con depends on the mark's greed but there also has to be an element of surprise."

All of a sudden, there was the chirping sound of an incoming call from Drex's comlink.

After a moment of them listening, Nika smiled and cheered, "See? Surprise!"

The comlink continued to chirp in a series of long and short bursts, waiting for someone to answer. Drex looked at Nika with a raised eyebrow. "You did destroy the chips last night that can trace us."

"You saw me do it."

"What if it's Dr Kenzeel. Or his pet human droid, Ciser? They know where we are."

"No, they can't trace the signal without the chip."

"The Jedi? What if it's Master Luke?"

"I only gave them my code for emergencies. But they don't know I took the chips out so they wouldn't risk it." She paused to listen to the chirping. "Besides, that isn't a call coming in. That sounds more like a pattern to a encrypted message. Hand me the comlink."

Drex reached for it on the bedside table and gave it to her. "Who is it from?"

"Shh, be quiet a moment." She closed her eyes to concentrate on the sounds. "It's a series of numbers. The first set are coordinates. After that, I can't make out what the rest of the numbers mean. Hand me that piece of flimsi and I can write the numbers down."

"You can manually translate an encryption code?" He handed her the flimsi and she gave him a look. "Of course you can. Is there anything you can't do?"

"Shockball. Complete mystery to me. Now, be quiet again." She began dictating the numbers down. She stopped and said, "It just repeats itself. I don't think whomever is sending this knows where we are. But they reached through to your comlink code somehow." She turned to work the computer again and started to type. "As I said, the first set are coordinates. This will give me where."

Drex glanced at the numbers she wrote down. He studied them for a moment until his eyes widened.

Nika noticed and asked, "What?'

"I know what these last numbers are. They're X-Tec login codes."

"Oh, kriff! They do know we're here!"

"No. I've seen these logins before. They were on that list of employees who were subjected to the protein in the lab. Remember, we found nine of the eleven employees were dead."

"And the last two disappeared," Nika finished.

"The X-Tec computer technicians. And excellent slicers. Adan Wari and Jan Thorn. We found them."

The computer beeped, indicating it found the coordinates. Nika stared at them for a moment, not believing them. "Drex, these coordinates are here on Coruscant. A few blocks from here." She turned to look at Drex. "I think they found us."


Chapter 8 coming soon