Four Months Later

Kennex

They lied about their little hovel, the sun piercing through the thin windows. The sounds of the outside called to them, voices of all kinds of dialects and sexes coming through along with the light. It was like some sort of song, urging them to come out and enjoy the livelihood.

It should have been normal. Perhaps it was, on some other planet Kennex had no idea existed. But on Ommas, it had never happened.

And it was why they remained inside.

Something slammed against their ancient wooden door, creating probably another crack. The sounds of jeering came from outside; he realized what he thought to have been a song for calling them outside was nothing more than indescribable mob mentality. Fed up, Kennex leaned off the cool counter he had been sitting on and angrily went to the door. Before he could open it, however, Adelia caught his arm.

"You know nothing good will come from it," she said almost sadly.

"And maybe if I finally tell them, they'll budge off," he replied smartly. He took his pale arm out of her hand before she could reply, and with a theatrical waving off to the others, he opened their door.

Two bodies immediately spilled in, wrapped in an intense fist fight. Despite having arrived only two months ago, Kennex already knew them more than he wanted. Bodey the human and Tusk the Trandoshan. Apparently they were rarely seen outside their home system, but Kennex hardly cared about that.

"Get out of our home!" he roared, putting on his largest presence. But it did little more than to perhaps increase the frantic calls for fight right outside the door; many more faces peered through the open doorway, watching as the two beings hit each other in a warped mess.

The rest of his family had gotten out of their seats, clearly disgusted. Gallis alone looked concerned, no doubt not wanting them to hurt each other at all like the pacifist he was. It was a wonder he hadn't seen him pull out that blaster back in the mine…

Magnus moved forward and surprisingly managed to pull the adult Bodey off Tusk. "You want us to bring Chief Folen down on you!?" he shouted. "We told you we don't want you round he-"

Bodey replied by smashing a drunken fist in Magnus's face, and the crowd roared with delight. Kennex gave the others an exasperated look; Adelia gave him a flat look with the obvious 'I told you not to' look on it.

The Trandoshan was up, as equally drunk as his opponent, and swayed towards him with his reptilian claws splayed. He swiped and missed, falling to the ground again.

It would have been funny, had it not been in their own home.

Kennex dug his sharp fingernails into Bodey's shoulder, making the man yell in pain and he flailed helplessly. The Firrerreo lugged the large man to the door then finally tossed him outside. Right behind him, the others had taken his lead and had rolled the Trandoshan out of their hut. The other small mining huts that had sprung up around them covered them in shadow from the hot sun.

One of the people in the crowd, a Sullustan, spat a disgusting piece of saliva at him. "Nyu seyu nara!"

"Get out of here," Kennex seethed, not understanding a word. Basic had always been the language of Ommas, namely because it was the only thing everyone could speak. But since hundreds of miners had funneled into Cindra, the frustration of alien languages was now a real problem.

The Sullustan probably didn't know what he said either, but regardless he walked away, and most of the crowd dispersed with their fun over. Bodey and Tusk rolled in the ground, trying to find their feet but instead flopping about.

"And stay out," he said, knowing full well they would simply spend their next paycheck on more beer, and the process would repeat. No amount of theatrical spellweaving would keep these… barbarians out of their life. With a sigh, he waved everyone inside, and shut the door to the encampment.

XXX

Adelia

They had learned night was ironically the quietest time with their new neighbors. After spending several hours digging up the plastoid, the newcomers were often too tired to do anything else. They would slouch back into their " overnight shacks," - what Kennex had dubbed them for how they suddenly seemed to spring up while they slept- and often just sleep.

Vash's garrison also liked to patrol at this time. Adelia couldn't even pick her flowers and herbs anymore, because she couldn't grasp the new schedule. There were simply not enough stormtroopers to cover the whole town of over a thousand, and thus Vash had to give sporadic patrol times so crime couldn't develop at certain times in the day.

It infuriated her, and all of them. No help when the miner's started having their little betting fights, but of course they arrived when there was nothing going on.

Quietly, they snuck out of their hut, leaving behind all their devices. She made sure to bring her mother's cleavers; this was the season the Moonless Rubies grew, a delicate red flower that had to be cut, not pulled, so that the precious juices in the stems wouldn't spill out. They were good for bruises, which were becoming common amongst them.

The clanking of one of the AT-ST's could be heard a few yards away, along with some idle trooper talk. "Run quietly," Kennex whispered, beckoning with a hand. Adelia took to the middle, so that her glowing orange eyes might be shielded by the other's more blendable bodies.

The secrecy wasn't needed, really. The stormtrooper's liked to stay to the center, where Vash had already broken four underground spice operations in the huts there. But the rings grew like weeds, and so his men stayed close to it.

The miner's grow like weeds, she thought with some amusement, though there was nothing very amusing about it at all. Precious little was funny these days; Kennex snapped at the smallest things, Magnus gotten infinitely more serious, Gallis seemed to have grown timid, and Cecilia depressed.

And they had not heard from Lysander since the events at South Tip.

She hoped he was okay. Kennex often broke the silence in their hut with praises of how quiet things had become with him gone. But the silence often stretched too long because of that missing member. Whether the others had liked him or not, Lysander had filled a niche, and with him gone no one was ready to replace it.

They would often see Chief Folen with the troopers, looking tired but alert. They would often stare him down, and he at them. Sometimes, the officer's would go to his shoulder where the old wound was, and his eyes would seem to target Kennex, but the Firerreo would look back unfazed. Where is Lysander? She thought desperately at him. What did you do to him? Where is our brother...?

They raced up the rolling hills that fed into the valley the Moonless Pool lied in. None of the miners or soldiers seemed to have discovered it, and thus had become an even greater place of refuge than before. Sometimes they would huddle up and things would be like before, talking and joking, as if the water washed away their queasiness.

"Race you to the top." She turned; Gallis gave her a small smile, keeping pace with her.

It was so childish for a moment she thought to laugh at him. But then she took in his face, how young it was. Then she remembered she wasn't even eighteen yet, and her body tensed. We're too young to be going through this.

Gallis hesitated. "It's okay if you don't, I-"

"See you at the top!" she said, then bolted. She heard him thudding after him, with Magnus quickly placing a bet on his brother and Kennex and Cecilia calling for her to keep the lead.

She ran, outrunning her troubles for the moment as the wind slapped against her bright blue face.

XXX

Cecilia

The dark blue waters battled with the bright green grass on the hillside. The levels had risen very quickly, ever since the Imperials had started mining the glaciers in the higher mountains for water for the miners. A small, icy river now fed into the pool constantly. Tonight, the waters were too cool for even Magnus and Kennex to brave.

She sat at the water's edge while the others threw flat stones, trying to hop them, or large rocks to see who could get if further.

Cecilia tried to sound excited like she had when Gallis and Adelia had raced, but couldn't even do that. Down here, unmoving, the stars of the infinity hung much clearer.

If the ship had been there, I could be counting them instead of how many times Gallis loses.

Part of her wanted to believe that Vash and Folen had simply moved the ship out of the area, and were still hiding it somewhere. The other half knew that there had never been a ghost of a chance. It was that half that made her watch the starry sky tonight, regretting having been fooled so easily…

Adelia sat down next to her, tired of throwing or maybe being an annoying mother. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah. I think."

"You think?"

She brushed some hair from her face, lied flat against the grass. "We're we close to getting up there, do you think? Like just imagine if a ship had been there."

"There was never a chance. That's such old news, Cecilia, come on! I always see you and Magnus watching the transport ships come and go, but Is that really what's bothering you right now?"

"But don't you just think of what could've happened?"

Adelia hesitated. She thinks I'm crazy or something. She doesn't care like the rest of us. "Don't you want to find your mom?" she asked instead. "Out there, in the Alignment somewhere?"

"I do everyday." The female Duro twirled a thin green flower in her hand, with petals the color of blood. Both their eyes seemed to fixate on it as they spoke. "Even without knowing about the ship at all, I would still wish and think about it, that one day I can find her… show her how much I've done and learned." She looked at Cecilia with a small smile. "Show her my new family, maybe."

Reluctantly, she smiled back. She doesn't care like she should. She looked over at Magnus, who was outperforming his brother by a long shot. He sometimes came to watch the Imperial transport ships with her. But he did it only to see what other Imperials were like, not for the hope they represented. Not even Magnus cares like me. "I'm going to get to the stars and see everything," she declared, mostly to herself. "I won't let Vash or Folen or anyone from the Empire stop me."

With the words, a great weight seemed to leave her shoulders, and Adelia laughed. "Feel better getting that off your chest?"

Not really. Not until I make it happen. "Yeah," she said sweetly. "Thanks for talking with me, Adelia, I feel better now." She brushed herself down, went up the water's edge to put her feet in. They chilled instantly, but it jolted her into a fully awakened state. She looked up at the lights above again. Nothing is going to stop me from getting out there.

Kennex called out: "Alright guys, let's head it home and get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll need to get more food from our wonderful neighbors."

XXX

Magnus Iscander

"What are you reading?"

He pulled it down from his face. Kennex stood there, looking calm for once. The day had started in good spirits, at any rate. The miners had gone to South Tip, the patrols following them. The doors would be locked, but they would find their way in. Kennex seemed to find relief in raiding days like these.

"It's the Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide. It was written by the old Joint Chiefs of Staff to document the Empire's philosophy, tactics, and history."

"How do you find this stuff interesting? Where did you even learn to read?"

Magnus frowned. "I taught myself. And it's good to understand one's nation's history."

Kennex laughed. "This is the Argos Alignment, not the Galactic Empire. The Empire is long dead- I would know, I was born the year it was defeated!" He laughed again and shook his head, much to Magnus's charingin.

"The Alignment is the Empire's successor state," he said stiffly. You had to ask this, now? During one of the few chances we have for actual silence and I can read? The miner's were often so obnoxious, or the clanking of the AT-ST's so loud he could hardly concentrate on the books. It had grown infuriating to him now. He swallowed down his anger. Let's try not to upset the little man. "In case you didn't notice, we have stormtroopers and All Terrain- Scout Transports walking around us most the time."

"Why don't you just join the garrison, then? Bet you a loaf of bread you'd know more than even crackpot Vash."

Silently, he agreed. He doubted anyone on this rugged planet cared as much for what the Empire had been as much as he did. Most the troopers were conscripts, anyways, not even having proper training. The academy on Argos had been developed after Jakku, so the proper protocols weren't even installed. It was whatever the Alignment wanted the troopers to know, and that was it.

He set the book down and crossed his arms, no longer caring if he made Kennex upset. "You're the son of two Rebels, so of course you don't care like you should," he said decisively.

The other's left eye twitched. "Who cares," he jeered. He pushed Magnus aside, exposing the other books stacked there. "Look at all these: The Imperial Dossier of Battleships, Imperial Vehicle Maintenance Handbook- ha! Even a Stories of Glory: Children's Version?"

"I used to read that to Gallis when we were first starting out on our own," Magnus snapped, now irritated. "You hate the Imperials so much, why don't you just go shooting at them again?"

Kennex's face went the color of sour milk. His hand dipped into his worn cloak, and for a moment Magnus thought he would pull out that very pistol. Let him, he goaded silently. Go on, I'll take you down faster than you can blink…

But it came out with Seron's lockpick, which they would be using in only a few minutes. "You can stay behind this time," the other said between his needle teeth.

"For what?" Magnus laughed. "Winning your insult game?"

"For pissing me off." He stalked away to the couches, where the others were talking excitedly about the coming break-in.

Magnus stared at the other's back. He's such an uptight little git, he thought darkly. Thinks he's such a hotshot because he shot back at the stormtroopers. Yeah, what a hero… you're lucky Vash didn't kill you on the spot like a real Imperial commander.

Clucking his tongue, he hoisted his book back up and went back to reading the perfect squad mentality and discipline as described by General Tagge.

XXX

Gallis Iscander

In broad daylight, Kennex fiddled with the homemade lock placed on Bodey's home. No doubt the other was wanting to take his revenge for the incident yesterday.

Gallis did to. It felt good to finally be getting back at all these newcomers who had pushed them around. He still remembered when the first dozen huts had sprung up literally overnight. Kennex had led them over to one of them, asking who they were, why they were here. The man, a brutish thing with muscles large from years of mining, had instead asked what a bunch of children were doing in the new mining encampment.

Well, they all knew how being referred to as a child affected Kennex. The day ended with the Firerreo tending to a bloody nose, and Gallis and Magnus taking several punishing blows trying to end the bigger man's beating.

And Vash had done nothing. He seemed to no longer care about the robberies, or even them after their clash in South Tip Mine. He was always meeting with the Governor-General now, who had created an outpost in one of the closer mountains. The garrison Commander looked sicker and sicker everyday, as if each day ate away at his sanity.

Serves you right, Gallis had initially thought. But now, he felt only pity for the man. He had only been doing his job, trying to keep them out of the mine.

At least he and Magnus hadn't needed to confront the group about their dilemma. That would still be for another day-

"...something more happened here…"

Not now, come on we're breaking into this guy's place for star's sake! He shook his head, shaking the echo away and refocusing on the matter at hand.

Magnus had stayed behind; Kennex had told them with some satisfaction that his brother had questioned whether doing Bodey's house was a good idea at all, much to their charingin. Gallis couldn't believe Magnus would say that when he had been injured in the brawl as well, but Kennex had assured him it was just a one time thing, and he would rejoin them for the next raid.

With a jarring click, the lock completely fell off the door. Kennex laughed. "Too stupid to even secure it to the door properly. This guy is just asking to get looted."

"Let's get in and out quick," Adelia said hurriedly, looking up at the Sun as it crossed the sky.

The hut was tiny and reeked of vomit and rotted meats. They scrounged some bread, a handful of dried vegetables, and a wicked looking knife with a curved blade that Gallis was presented with by Kennex. "In case he comes home early," he half-joked, half-warned.

Gallis swung it around a little getting a feel for it with his good arm; not even Adelia's herbs could speed up the process, it was taking it's time healing naturaly. The handle was just rope tied around the hilt, and the blade was maybe six inches long, just a little longer than his middle finger. He imagined himself the villain of one of the old stories Magnus used to read him: a violent Jedi criminal being hunted down by a heroic stormtrooper, seeking to restore order to his town. It was one of his favorites, but not for the reason Magnus liked it. Personally, he thought the Jedi was a pretty cool guy, with a lightsaber and everything!

"...something more happened here…"

No. Stop this! And it did, and he continued to resolutely play with the blade.

But the miner never came home; no one did, until Vash kicked them out of the mine an hour before dark. Then they would lug their goods over to Rellius's estate, where his quartermasters would tally weight and pay accordingly in either credits or food rations.

From there, who knew where they went? A large transport ship would come every two days and cart all it off, and that was it. Cecilia and Magnus sometimes watched the ships, the former remaining silent and the latter complaining that the classic white paint was scorched and peeling, or saying the guards were talking instead of actually doing their jobs.

How does he get her attention, he thought desperately. All she wants to do is laugh at me or just ignore me!

"Gallis!"

"Wha-huh?" He snapped out of his thoughts; he tended to do that more, he thought with some embarrassment. The others were at the door, Cecilia laughing at his airheadedness and Kennex looking impatient.

"We got that Trandoshan to do next, and we need to put this guy's lock back."

"Right, sorry!" He rushed out the small hut, grateful to be out of the smell and his thoughts. He swore to himself not to allow himself to be sucked into his own head anymore. But even as he did, that strange… feeling came back to him, like it did whenever he tried to think to himself.

"Why do I feel like something more happened here?" His own words to Magnus, those six months ago as they left the mine. Sometimes they came to him without him even thinking it, a ghostly whisper that somehow seemed to come from someone else. He hit himself in the side of his head with the butt of the knife, shaking the words away. What's wrong with me?

"Stay awake, Gallis," Adelia said kindly behind him. "Won't do any of us good if you fall asleep in their food food storage."

"Just keeping myself alert," he reassured her, then hurried his step, determined to keep watch with all his senses…

"...something more happened here…"

XXX

Lysander "Cody" Folen

He put his fork on the empty plate. Completely clean, down to the last gorja fruit and slice of waroo meat. He looked at his father, who looked at him blankly. "Oh, you can be excused now," he said.

"Can I be excused to go outside?"

"No. Wash your dish then you can do anything inside the house."

Lysander gave the room a mocking wave of the army. "Sure, I'll count the cracks in the wall." That wasn't even an exaggeration; he knew all two-hundred and -twenty-two fractures in the marble, born through age. Such was the lack of things to do besides read boring military manuals.

Pacem Folen frowned. "We can go out in the speeder in ten minutes?" he suggested. "Just let me finish eating."

"You mean go to the station for you to work?"

"Asinus is watching over things tonight." His father hesitated, as if unsure of what to say next. He was often like that, every time they spoke, as if some invisible barrier blocked his basic communication. Lysander had grown to detest it, among almost every other characteristic his father had. "I did it so we could go do something tonight," Pacem said finally. "As a family, you know. Your mother always liked us to-"

"Mom wouldn't keep me locked in the house except for school and trips to the garrison!"

"Is that what's bothering you?" His father latched onto the subject awkwardly. "Problems at school? Are some of the kids there bothering you?"

"No! I want to go off on my own for a change- I'm seventeen!"

Father leaned back in his seat, one hand going to his temple. "You're not going out alone, not anymore," he said sternly. "Now that I know you were ditching your classes to go be with those rowdy orphans-"

His anger, not very far from the surface these days, came out of his mouth like a spilled glass. "I'd been ditching classes before I even started hanging out with them! Why did you have to suddenly get so interested!"

Pacem stood up from the table, starting to look angry himself. "I'm your father, and it's my job to protect and keep your interests at heart!" The older Folen licked his lips, then tried speaking more calmly. "You could have died down in the mine- those stormtroopers are trained to kill! You should never have gotten involved in a firefight-

Lysander laughed wildly. "Isn't that what you keep pushing me towards, being in the garrison? Or have you just been dropping me off at Commander Vash's so you wouldn't have to deal with your own son!"

"That's enough! Go- go up to your room, we're not going out at all tonight. And don't you ever go near those kids again, you hear me? You do, and I'll make sure they don't get off as easily as they did before!"

Furious, Lysander went to the sink and threw his dish in, which miraculously didn't shatter. He stormed his way up the stairs into his room. He opened the window to let some fresh air in, but it opened only a foot; his father's precaution after he had tried to sneak out of it the first day after that night in South Tip.

He sighed, his anger fading away. I'm sorry, guys. I let us all down. With nothing else to do but wait for his father to roust him out of bed for school tomorrow, he lied down on his bed and drifted into sleep.