Ean clenched his fists and half expected the B-Wing to come to their pursuit even after they jumped into hyperspace. When he finally convinced himself that she wouldn't, he ran his hands across his hair as he said.

"That was… really close."

Londo turned his chair to face Ean.

"Alright, who is that woman, kid?"

Ean spread his hands.

"I don't know! I swear I don't. She came at me in the docks, pointed a gun to me and said she was kidnapping me."

"Wait a minute" Zeryn said as she entered the cockpit and took a seat "You mean to say she had a gun at you and still you turned back and ran away?"

"Well… I kind of confronted her... tried to escape, then she stopped me, but then I did land her a punch, and while she was stunned I ran off. But I don't understand it… I really don't. She said she was taking me with her. Why did she suddenly started shooting and throwing missiles at the Pilgrim? If she wanted me alive, she wouldn't have done it…"

"I think I can answer that" The Pilgrim sounded "Her blaster shots were all in stun setting, and when she shot at us from the B-Wing, all her shots and missiles were ion. She wasn't trying to destroy us, only to disable us."

"Wait a minute" Londo said as he looked up "You mean the thruster and turret damage is just ion? There's no structural damage?"

"Correct Londo. You should be able to repair them without even getting us out of hyperspace."

Londo exhaled like his life had suddenly been spared.

"Oh, good… we need that counter-thruster."

"How did she do it?" Ean asked as he stared repeatedly at Londo and Zeryn "How did she follow us through our first jump?"

"It was a blind jump. We didn't enter any space lanes. She could have found our route by extrapolating on the direction of our jump."

"Yes…" Zeryn said "but how did she know when to stop? I understand she could have entered hyperspace and followed us, but how could she have possibly known when to take her ship out of hyperspace in order to intercept us so close?"

Londo and Zeryn stared at each other like this answer could save their hides.

"Maybe…" Ean said "she used the force? She's a jedi, isn't she? Couldn't she have used the force to do it? I read that in the battle of Yavin Luke Skywalker did something very much like it to destroy the first Death Star."

Londo frowned, but Zeryn nodded.

"She could have" Zeryn said, "She really could have…"

"I don't know…" Londo said, "I like to go over all plausible options before resorting to the explanation of a mystical force that only a handful of people in the galaxy can control or even sense."

Ean looked down. Londo did have a point… for someone who didn't much believe in the Force, but it seemed to him that they should actually consider the Force as a first explanation, as far as the jedi woman was concerned. For all he read about the jedi and the sith, they actually tend to rely on the force much more than would be advisable, so it's just logical that she would use the Force for everything. She might have been using it all through their dogfight. Could the Force make her a better pilot? It sure seems to make her a good lightsaber fighter. Ean would have to look it up on the holonet too.

Zeryn looked around.

"Is there a drink in this ship? I swear I need a drink right now."

Londo motioned towards the corridor.

"There's a bar in the common room. Pilgrim, show her, please."

Ean got up right after Zeryn.

"Can I go somewhere to rest? How long will our flight take?"

Londo stared at him so quickly that Ean took a half-step back. He seemed about to utter some accusation, but when he opened his mouth, spoke like he had just changed his mind about it.

"The Pilgrim's got very nice rooms. Help yourself to any one that's not locked. We will be enroute for about three days, because I want to keep off the main hyperlanes. But don't you think you're off the hook. You will help me repair the damage to the Pilgrim, yes sir."

Like it had been Ean's fault… but Ean thought better than to argue with Londo. He lowered his head and hoped his confusion would be mistaken for acquiescence.

"Alright, Londo."

Ean went to his room, and all the while, even after everything that just occurred to them, one thing Londo said would not leave him alone: "is there someone who is not out to get you?"

Because it seemed that, yes… everyone he meet is out to get him. A droid army tried to capture him and whoever was controlling it had no scruples to kill hundreds just to get to him. A jedi woman just tried to kidnap him and nearly did it. A jedi... with a lightsaber and the Force and everything. Even Londo and Zeryn… they protected him just because he was worth ten million. To top it all… his mother. The so-called Corsair… was definitely hiding something. No only she wouldn't reveal her real name, she wouldn't even tell him his. All of his identity was based on a made-up name in a forged ID card.

Who was he? Why was this happening? Would he ever find out before someone finally offed him?

The only thing he knew, which seemed more and more real, was that he had some sort of connection with the Force. Of that, he had no doubt. He could sense when someone was going to attack him. He did that even from behind, and this feeling allowed him to dodge most blaster shots. He sensed that the jedi woman carried thermal charges, and that one was missing, and not only missing but planted on their ship. Plus, he took three stun shots, twice, without fainting. Sure they made him kind of woozy… but three stun shots could take down even the sturdiest gamorrean.

Yet, when he threw the thermal charge at the jedi woman and tried to use the Force to keep it close to her, he failed miserably. The woman flicked the charge upwards and even all of Ean's concentration couldn't stop it. He needed someone who could help him with that, someone to teach him how this all worked, because if this power was even half as big as the stories went, he would be in murky waters if he tried to find his way by himself.

Threryn station was his best bet for any clarification. So, for now, he would go along with Londo and Zeryn.

Londo did call him the next day to help in the repairs, and, much to Ean's surprise, he wasn't completely useless with that. He memorized the various tools with a first glance, and just by looking at Londo working was able to infer correctly which tool he would need. After they completed the repairs, Ean asked Londo what could he read to better help him in repairing the Pilgrim in the future, and Londo gave him a list of e-books so long his pad had ten scroll-down pages. Nevertheless, Ean took them to his room and decided he would not come out of there until he had a basic grasp on starship mechanics.

That way, he would be able to help them in at least one way.

On the second day, as he finished a reading session and closed his eyes to sleep, the mention of his name in the common room – no more than a whisper – caused him to lie still and strain to hear what Londo and Zeryn were saying.

It was nearly impossible to make out their voices through the closed doors of his room, but Ean found that if he focused on their voices and made an effort to erase all other feelings from his mind, he could hear them speaking more and more clearly.

"on the chest, Zeryn!" Londo was saying.

"Yes, I saw the video from the Pilgrim's cameras. I would not have believed without seeing it."

"And there's more. Right before the crazy jedi appeared, he just jumped at me and threw me down, and at that very moment, a blaster shot passed right where I was. He could not have seen it. The shots came from behind him!"

"So, he saved your life, Londo."

"Yes, but how did he do it?"

"I think you know the answer to this question."

"Don't you say 'with the Force'. The jedi are gone. Sure, there's Luke Skywalker and I've heard he's training some sort of new generation, but that's a long way from here and they must be just a bunch of young people. That woman's what? Fourty, fifty yeards old? She can't be a jedi."

"Well, we've just been attacked by one."

"We were attacked by a woman who uses the Force and has a lightsaber. Yes, we were. That is not the same as a jedi. The jedi were a religion. This woman, she could be anything."

"So what are you saying, Londo?"

"Maybe… maybe we are in way over our heads on this one, Zeryn. Maybe ten million just doesn't cover the trouble of being hunted like we're being."

Ean tried his best not to move a muscle.

"Maybe not, Londo, but this is all almost over. We are nearing Threryn station. We'll hand Ean to the Corsair, split the money between ourselves, and never speak of this again."

It seemed they were drinking, by the sound of ice on glass.

"I hope you are right, Zeryn… I do hope you are right…"

The sound of their steps and of closing doors told Ean they both went to their rooms. Only then did Ean allow himself to roll over his bed and try to sleep.

He also hoped Zeryn was right. He desperately hoped she was right.