A deep, amazed breath filtered into Alexandra's lungs as she stepped of the Forgotten Star's ramp and saw the green field around them.

"Its beautiful" she whispered taking in the green field where they landed, the tall cliffs with waterfalls filtering into the same river and the forest to the east of them.

Liliana stepped off the ramp and stood next to her, "Yeah it's a nice place" a small curve at the corner of her lips.

Alexandra took a few steps forward into the verdant field in front of them, the tall grass coming up to her waist.

"You won't find a place like this on Corellia".

Liliana walked after her, "Another perk to being a smuggler I can visit a lot of…" her eyes were captured by Alexandra's hips half concealed by the tall grass, "Good looking places".

Her comment which would usually make Alexandra blush went right over the young girl's head, she was too captivated by the amazing world around them. Of course Liliana couldn't blame her when she first landed on Tython it was to escape a group of pirates, but when she settled down and saw this world she was just as taken with it as her friend. A quiet world in the deep core where the conflict of the ongoing war could not reach a trait that would appeal to anyone by now.

"Don't get too excited" Liliana told Alexandra, "It's just a field of grass after all".

"Maybe to you" Alexandra shot back playfully, "I've never seen a place like this…Its beautiful".

"You really need to get out more" Liliana laughed, "Well once Hondo and I make our exchange we can take my spare speeder bike and have a look around".

Alexandra's eyes snapped to her, "Can we?"

Liliana shrugged, "If you want to, after all I wouldn't mind being alone with you for a while".

Alexandra's face turned red and she turned away with a small, nervous smile, "You're really straight forward with that kind of thing aren't you" she noted.

Liliana laughed again, "What are you blushing for I never specified what kind of time I wanted to spend with you. You're doing that all yourself" she stepped closer to her and ran her finger down her spine causing Alexandra to tremble.

"Why?" she asked nervously.

Liliana shrugged again, "Felt like it. Cute girls like you blushing make me…" she set her hands on her shoulders, "A little handsy" she finished with a whisper.

Alexandra's body jumped and tensed becoming frozen like stone until Liliana's hands left their perch. Exhaling her held breath Alex took a step forward and looked up at the open sky, she had never seen a sky that wasn't crowded by skyscrapers or ships a sense of wonder and freedom washed over her. This world or at least the part she was seeing right now was breathtaking unlike anything she had ever seen. Spotting movement to their left and Liliana in a single step pushed Alexandra behind her and grabbed one of her blasters.

"What are those?" Alex asked seeing the large shaggy hair covered animal, curved horns jutting from the side of its head with spines running down its wooly back.

"I think they're called Uxibeast" Liliana answered partially shielding Alexandra behind her.

"Are they dangerous?" she asked her curious as to why she suddenly stepped between them.

"They can be. From what Violet told me they're easy to agitate and can be aggressive".

One of the three of uxibeasts looked at them and Liliana's hand tightened around her blaster and slowly eased as the beast snorted at them before continuing on its way.

A relieved sigh as Liliana released her blaster and stood straight, "That's a relief…at any rate they're herbivores so unless we do something to piss them off we don't have anything to worry about from them".

"Are they approachable?" Alex asked her.

"I'm not sure" the smuggler replied falling silent for a moment, "Wait here" she said walking over to the pack of mammals slowing to minor steps with her hand extended in an unthreatening manner.

The three uxibeasts stopped to graze and one turned to Liliana as she approached, huffing a snort her way before returning to its patch of grass. Taking a deep breath and swallowing it as she took another step closer calmly muttering reassurance to the large mammal in front of her. Again the beast looked up to her now fully cautious of her presence another deep breath down the smuggler's throat as she made the final step toward the large, horned beast and rested her hand on the side of its head.

"Its ok" she said calmly probably more to reassure herself than it.

Slowly she ran her hand over its wooly mane lightly scratching with her fingers and to her relief the beast nudged its head to the side and a light, pleased growl showed its approval.

"Alright so you like me now…or at least you don't plan on goring me" she turned and waved Alexandra over.

Hardly containing her nervous excitement Alexandra approached the uxibeast which seemed to preoccupied with its massage to notice her, the beast was massive compared to her and Liliana towering almost a full two feet over them and had to be at least eight feet long. Slowly placing her hand on the side of the mammal's neck she was amazed at how rough its shaggy hair was. Its smell was bad, but its surprisingly docile attitude toward them overruled that as they continued to happily scratch around the base of its horns, Alex daringly moved one of her hands and massaged the length of its snout. The uxibeast gave a low growl of pleasure gently turning its head in her direction as she continued to run her hand over its nose.

"Alright that's enough for me" Liliana said stepping back, "I'm afraid I can only handle that smell for so long".

The uxibeast groaned as the smuggler's hands left its mane and despite Alexandra's still being present began walking away joining its group as they continued across the field.

"I think you hurt its feelings" Alexandra laughed as the uxibeasts started leaving.

"I'm sure it will get over it once it finds something to stuff into its stomach" Liliana said looking down at her hands, "Yeah let's wash our hands before doing anything else".

Alexandra looked down at her hands and felt her face twist, the smell was horrid. She was so caught up in petting the gentle giant that she completely ignored its odor.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea".

Returning to Liliana's ship they washed their hands in the ship's head and returned outside with Violet meeting them at the ramp.

"Liliana the pirate Hondo has contacted us claiming he will be arriving within the hour".

"Thank you Violet" the smuggler nodded, "Be sure to arrive me once his ship is detected and keep the disrupter signal on I don't want them or anyone else finding the ship".

The protocol droid nodded, "As you wish".

"What's a disrupter signal?" Alexandra asked following Liliana off the ramp and back to the field.

"It's a counter radio signal I use to keep my ship from being detected. Basically I have my on board computer constantly putting out conflicting signals that block and distort each other. Eventually they end up cancelling each other out and in the process reflect any other incoming signals so nothing shows up on a ship's radar".

"That sounds pretty cool" her companion smiled, "Is it like that thing you gave me when we were surrounded by droids?"

Liliana recalled the day she first met Alexandra, the day the Separatists attacked Corellia. She was with Ahsoka when it happened and they had found Alexandra hiding from the droid patrols who had attacked everyone in sight. The three of them were cornered on a rooftop waiting for an evac ship to save them and the situation didn't look good. Determined to at the very least save Alex's life Liliana gave her a small device that resembled a comlink, the device emitted a small centralized jamming signal that would keep the holder from being detected by most forms of scanners.

Liliana nodded and held up her comlink the device resting against her wrist, "Yeah, its something my dad made. I'm sure things like this have existed in history before, but they're not used very often".

"So how does it work?"

Liliana lowered her wrist showing her the device sitting right next to her comlink, "Basically once it's turned on it sends out a small jamming signal that covers the immediate area around it, only a few feet worth in every direction just enough to conceal the size of an average adult. Security cameras, droid optical sensors most forms of sensors can't detect me as long as I where it though there are a few that can".

"Like what?"

"Thermals, sound detection sensors, motion sensors and trip wire like sensors".

"I see" Alex said looking up to the sky, "That has to be useful".

"Very" Liliana agreed, "This thing has saved my life several times and helped me escape some pretty tough spots".

"So what should we do until your pirate friend arrives?"

Liliana looked back to her ship, "Follow me" she told her leading her back into the ship and then into the cargo hold.

Pulling a large dark green tarp away Liliana gestured Alex toward the speeder bike that was just covered. Motioning for her to sit behind her as she got on Liliana lowered her ship's rear ramp and handed Alex a spare helmet.

"You ready?" the smuggler asked her over the rumbling engine.

"I think so" she answered nervously, "Don't go too fast".

Liliana revved the bike's engine, "I promise nothing" she yelled before hitting the throttle and flying off the ramp zooming through the open field ahead of them.

Alexandra's arms tightened around Liliana's waist as the bike zipped through the air only a foot and a half off the ground. The smuggler's hair trailing in the wind behind her, the roar of the wind filling her ears as they flew over the area. She looked over her shoulder seeing Alexandra's head tucked down against her back holding on for dear life and she smiled at the frightened teen before slowing down to a cruise.

"Better?" she asked loudly.

Alex loosened her grip around her waist and sighed, "Better" her hand were trembling, but she managed to smile up at her friend, "Sorry I've never been on one of these before so I'm a little nervous".

"Wow" Liliana scoffed, "Did you have any fun growing up?"

Alex frowned at her, "Of course I did. I had a lot of fun just nothing like this".

"So boring stuff?" Liliana concluded.

Alex's frown turned into a glare, "Fine if that's how you're going to be then let's see what you got".

Liliana grinned evilly, "Be careful what you wish for".

The engine revved again half a second before the bike lurched as its speed suddenly jumped. Once again Alexandra's arms tightened around Liliana's waist holding on while the terrain passed them by in a flash. Half a minute and Liliana slowed down again turning the bike around and stopping.

"So how was that?" she asked Alex.

Alex was panting as she let go of her, "Piece of cake".

Liliana gave her a look like she was being challenged, "Alright time to upgrade you".

"What do you mean?" Alex asked her as Liliana stepped off the bike.

Liliana waved her hand, "Scoot up, you're driving us back".

"What?" she gasped, "I don't know how to pilot this thing".

"Don't worry, I'll teach you".

Hopping on behind Alex and nudging her forward she leaned in close and grabbed her hands as they rested on the handlebars. She began explaining the basics to her while the engine was off, showing her how to squeeze the throttle to go faster and how to ease up to slow down, the brakes the acceleration everything she needed to know. Alexandra tried listening, but the feeling of Liliana's breasts pressing so roughly against her back made it difficult, she could feel her face heating up to a boiling point. She swallowed a lump in her throat before telling Liliana she was sitting too close to which the smuggler just smiled. With a seductive chuckle Liliana leaned back and moved her hands around Alex's waist and locked them together telling her to start the engine and move slow until she got the hang of it.

As she was instructed Alexandra started the engine and moved forward a few feet before the bike turned and leaned to the ground causing its driver to panic. Liliana's hands flew from Alex's waist to the handlebars covering the hands already on them and giving them a gentle turn and squeeze putting the bike back on course.

"Its ok" she whispered to Alexandra, "Stay relaxed and hold straight. Don't be afraid of it turning. If we start leaning calmly pull it back".

Alex nodded, "Ok I think I got it…" her face red again from Liliana sitting so close to her.

Taking another breath Alex was ready to try again steering the speeder bike in a straight line, Liliana's hands still covering hers. The wind gently caressed her as they glided across the field the teen felt a sense of freedom riding through the open plain. Even after growing up and living on Corellia for her entire life there were times when she would feel claustrophobic being surrounded by towering skyscrapers in all directions, but now that she was in this open field just flying through at a leisurely speed this felt like pure freedom to her.

Keeping the vehicle straight Alex began laughing as she felt she was getting the hang of it, she pushed the throttle speeding up a bit. Liliana's hands left hers and returned to her waist, but she remained close against her back, this time however Alex didn't seem to mind. Sure of herself now and comfortable with her driving she turned the bike first into an eased curve and then pushed into a wide turn bringing the bike in a full circle before slowing to a stop.

"I did it" she said happily looking over her shoulder to Liliana.

Liliana smiled at her, "Good job. You're pretty good for your first time. You seemed to be enjoying yourself".

Alex smiled and looked ahead of them back to the ship, "It feels amazing almost like I'm flying through the sky itself…I feel free".

Liliana choked back a laugh, "Don't get too carried away now. Let's not go jumping any gorges".

"All you do is tease me" she said her smile vanishing.

Liliana's locked hands loosened and moved up from her waist to her hips, "Not maliciously I just really love seeing that beautiful blushing face of yours".

On cue, Alexandra's face turned red and she tried to hide it, but Liliana already dialed in on it. The smuggler contained her desire to laugh instead leaned forward and rested her chin on top of her shoulder.

"Don't mind me" she told her, "All teasing aside, I'm having fun with you" Alexandra's face grew brighter, "I mean that".

Alex continued hiding her face her voice starting as a whisper, "Could you…move your hands please…you're really close to…" he voice stopped too nervous to finish what she was saying.

Liliana didn't even notice it, she had moved her hands further up Alexandra's body now resting just below her breasts, "Sorry" she said retreating her hands and sitting up straight, "I guess its become a habit…didn't even notice I did it this time".

"That doesn't make it any better" Alex said unable to hide her face anymore than she was, "I'm beginning to wonder if you just like messing with me or if you really…"

"I do like you Alex" Liliana admitted sincerely smiling at the back of her head, "I'm not sure how far that goes, but I know at the very least you are my friend so I would never do anything to hurt you or make you to uncomfortable" she laughed, "Now nervous and a little red that's a different story, but that's just part of who I am".

Her hands returned to Alexandra's hips, "How about this then. If you start to feel too uncomfortable with my teasing or flirting, just tell me and I'll relent".

Alexandra managed a small smile and lifted her head, "Alright…I'm sorry I just…" she shook her head, "No it doesn't matter I'm really having fun".

Liliana continued to smile at her, "Hondo will be here soon…Think you can get us back to my ship?"

Alex nodded and once again turned on the engine and driving them back to the Forgotten Star as Violet contacted Liliana telling her that Hondo's ship had been detected. The pirate's ship appeared overhead starting as a small dot soon becoming larger as it got closer stopping above the nearby mountain range.

"And here I thought we were friends" the Weequay pirate's voice came form Liliana's comlink, "Why is it every time I come to pay you a visit you set up that jamming device of yours?"

Liliana chuckled as she raised her comlink to her lips, "Now Hondo while I trust you more or less, I do not trust any of your gang I can see you just fine from here now I want you to come alone just like that time on Vjun".

Hondo laughed, "There are some good memories on that world for us. Well at least I won't have to wear one of those hazard suits this time. I'll be to your location soon".

"See you in a few then" Liliana told him switching off her comlink.

Running inside her ship to grab what she owed Hondo she returned outside and stood next to Alex.

"Alex" she began calmly, "Assuming anything happens I want you to go inside the ship and stay there".

Alex gave her a concerned look, "I thought you said you trusted Hondo".

"I do" Liliana told her, "Like I told him it's his crew I don't trust. They don't share his views on a lot of things. So assuming he doesn't show up alone or someone else shows up I want you to go inside immediately. I'll be fine on my own I just don't want to risk anything happening to you".

Alex nodded, "Alright, hopefully nothing will happen, but I'll do it".

A lone swoop bike stopped in front of them a trail of dirt and dust behind it, a tall male with tight wrinkled brown skin riding it. He stepped off and began dusting at his long red and grey duster cloak before looking at Liliana with a smile and removing his goggles.

Throwing his arms out he cheerfully called her name, "Liliana it's so good to finally see you again face to face".

"It has been a while" Liliana admitted stepping forward and handing him a square bottleneck bottle filled with a pale yellow liquid, "Unopened as promised. I think I've had it for…five months now and the unlucky guy before me had it for…six or seven months I can't remember".

"Ah then it has aged well" Hondo said accepting the bottle, "How did you acquire such a rare drink I wonder?"

"Same as most things I get" Liliana shrugged, "Some poor sod put it up as an ante in a gambling den and lost it to me. Along with two…no, three…whatever a lot of credits anyway its all yours now".

"Well one day I'm sure your reputation will get around" Hondo chuckled giddily, "You do have one hell of a poker face. I'm curious, what was Stagg doing with Death Watch?"

"Oh he was hiring them to kill you" she said rather bluntly.

"What?" Hondo yelled, "Why that dirty coward he has no sense of" Liliana cut him off.

"Hey rant later, besides I've already taken care of it".

"What do you mean?" the pirate asked her, "You're not about to tell me you".

Liliana held her hand up, "I didn't kill all of them, but they have agreed to leave you be. Don't know how, but I managed to gain some respect out of their leader…I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not anyway the important thing is they won't bother you".

Hondo groaned as he scratched his chin, "I'm placing my trust in your words Liliana let us hope they turn out to be true" his eyes moved to Alexandra who was standing behind her, "You must be Liliana's new friend" he held his arm across his chest and bowed forward, "Hondo Ohnaka at your service it is a pleasure to meet you Ms?"

"Wolf" Alexandra said, "No offense, but I'm not entirely sure I wish to have a discussion with a pirate".

Liliana chuckled as Hondo pretended to be hurt, "Come now there is no need for that. I may be a pirate and sure I may occasionally do some bad things, but I'm a nice guy once you get to know me".

"I'm sure you are" Alexandra said, "But as for right now I don't have any intention of getting to know you any better".

"You'll have to forgive her Hondo" Liliana continued chuckling, "She doesn't have anything against you she just doesn't really trust you yet. Maybe another time, but for now the invitation for you to visit is only temporary" she moved her hand down to her blaster, "So I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave now".

Hondo grinned, "Well it was short, but it was pleasant and quite profitable. Next time we see each other we should do some catching up. Let me know if you're ever in my neighborhood or if you need a quick job".

"Will do" Liliana smiled back as the pirate hopped back on his swoop bike, "I see your still taking care of my old bike" he yelled to them as he started his bike, "One day I'm going to win it back from you".

"Doubt it" Liliana said after he drove off to return to his ship.

"That used to be his?" Alex asked her looking back at the bike they were riding on.

"Used to be" Liliana admitted, "I'm sure he stole it from someone, but I won it from him in a card game and he's tried to win it back twice failing and owing me a lot of favors in the process. Hmm, I just realized I never called in any of those…Oh well".

"Do you really trust him?"

Liliana shrugged, "A lot more than most of the people I know and that's a lot" she stretched her arms out, "Well I'm hungry how about you?"

Alexandra's stomach did jump a little, "A little, I don't mind having lunch if you want to".

Liliana laughed again, "I've gone two days without eating before, but I was kind of in a prison cell at the time".

"What did you do?"

She laughed again as she led her back into the ship, "Well I was on Ando Prime at the time. I had the misfortune of matching a description to another criminal and was arrested for a couple of days after insisting my innocence they decided to lock me up until I caved. Of course I got away on day two made my way to the nearest diner for a quick meal and got back to my ship and got the hell out of there, all in all I'd say it was fun".

"Being locked up was fun?" Alex asked her with a suspicious smile.

Liliana nodded, "A little there was this one guard though…she was pretty kind of made me sad to leave".

Alex's face turned red, "Well I bet you say that about a lot of girls".

"True, but…" Liliana looked at her from the corner of her eye, "Compared to all the others I've seen you definitely rank in the top three".

Alexandra's face glowed a bright red and her shoulders tensed as she hugged her arms, "Top three huh...I guess that's a compliment".

"I never said where in the top three you were" Liliana told her, "Remember Ahsoka?" she waited for Alex to look at her, "Ahsoka is in the top seven".

"So you think I'm prettier than Ahsoka?"

Liliana smiled down at her, "Definitely" she gestured for her to sit when they returned to the common room of the ship, "I'll go make us something do you have any preferences?"

"No" Alex answered managing a slight smile, "I'm ok with anything really".

Liliana nodded and left for the small kitchen on the ship returning every few minutes to pass the time before disappearing into the kitchen again. Half an hour later returning for the final time and presenting their lunch for the day.

"Wow this is good" Alex gasped after trying what Liliana called Ashford's Star, a pasta-like dish lightly saturated with a sweet cream and dark green flakes of seasoning.

"Glad you like it" Liliana smiled, "I can't cook much, but enough to where I don't get tired of something".

"It's sweet" Alex said her cheeks puffing out a little, "It almost tickles my mouth".

"Sweet like the person eating it" Liliana mutters just loud enough for Alexandra to hear her.

The girl blushes and slows the pace of her meal, now savoring each sweet bite. Once their lunch was finished the two of them went back outside to see an orange sky signaling the halfway point of the planet's rotation, night would soon come to visit, but for now the bright sky was mesmerizing.

"Wow" Alex whispered looking up at the sky, "Check it out".

"What are you waiting for?" Liliana called to her sitting on the speeder bike and waving her over, "Come on I know a good place".

Jogging over to the vehicle Alex hopped on behind the smuggler, "Where are we going now?"

Liliana didn't look at her after starting the engine, "You'll see when we get there".

Pushing forward on the throttle Liliana leaned forward allowing Alexandra to hold on as the bike took off. Just like before they were zooming by the landscape everything flashing by them in near blurs slowing only for a few seconds as the bike made a wide turn. Within a few minutes the bike slowed and stopped and Alexandra laughing off the rush of speeding through the air stepped off and stopped in mid step as the breath was taken from her lungs.

They were standing on top of a large hill overlooking the entire field their ship landed in. She could see the Forgotten Star below them probably three quarters of a mile away and the length of tall grass where they encountered the uxibeasts. They were pretty high up and the wind brushed passed them in a gentle, caressing breeze shaking the limbs of the nearby trees.

"How's this for beautiful?" Liliana asked her.

"Its amazing" she answered, "I never thought of it before, but to actually see that worlds like this exist in the galaxy…" her words trailed as she stepped forward to the edge of the hill and sat down casting her view out over the entire area.

"Over there" she pointed far to the west near a lake, "There's that group of uxibeasts".

"Good eye" Liliana chuckled covering her hand over her eyes shielding them from the sun, "So" she sat next to her, "This is a view worth seeing right?"

Alexandra nodded, "It's beautiful".

Liliana's smile actually seemed shy as she looked at her friend, "It's even more beautiful now".

It was either from the glow of the setting sun or her embarrassment from Liliana's words, but Alexandra's face turned bright almost matching the orange glow of the sky. She turned her eyes back to the field below them to see so much from a single spot, she could only wonder what the rest of the world was like. Another hour and the first day of their little get away would come to an end and they would have to return to the ship for the night, but for now they sat there at the edge of the overlooking hill taking in the view letting it engrave itself into their memories.