Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Strong Winds

Chapter Ten

I used to have a ship myself, The Tabula Rasa.

The name was something I didn't choose so the hypocrisy that would most likely pointed out by the careful observer was nonexistent. The Rasa was a scavenged Republic hammerhead - an old model from the Exar Khun wars perhaps. There I served under the captain - who was the woman that named the ship - until I took over myself.

As we went down the halls of Davik's Estate I couldn't place the name of the woman that raised me as a smuggler. I couldn't really believe myself, after all she had been an important part of my life...how could I just forget her name? She was an old hag, too old to continue the smuggling business. Most of the crew was scared by her witch like appearance and strange ideals even though I was fascinated by them.

A brush on my shoulder and I woke up from my reverie.

"Stop daydreaming. We're trying to escape here," Carth said lowly.

We were before a door that led to the torture chambers - I mean "guest" chambers. Canderous mentioned that the pilot of the Ebon Hawk had skimmed some spices on the last flight he took so he suffered under droid tortures. I mean, that was a little extreme I think. Spice wasn't really rare what with all the smugglers out and about stealing from the Republic's supply. Maybe on Taris though now that I think about it. They've been blockaded...what, three times already?

Carth was still staring at me and I sighed, standing up. I was the rogue in this little group right now after all. I knew how to slice into doors that Davik apparently didn't know how to protect properly. Beside for his precious Hawk of course.

After slicing into the door, Bastila walked past me with her lightsaber fully drawn and lit. Two dark torture droids shot out at us with stun blasters and the Jedi easily took them out. Out of all things, droids just couldn't resist lightsabers what with their wires and all. The damn things were stuck on the ceiling they had no hope of surviving to begin with.

Canderous peered in after the firefight and walked towards the computer with a poor man in a cage, slouching in a fetal position. He was muttering a few words that I couldn't understand after the mando turned off the system.

The warrior groaned, lifting the poor man up and shoved him roughly against the wall.

"Tell us the codes to open the shields guarding the Ebon Hawk or I will cut you open here and now."

"Y-You're that mandalorian. Please...don't hurt me!"

"I'm going to have to if you don't hurry up and give us the codes."

Bastila was walking quickly towards the brutal mandalorian and shoved him aside, holding the poor pilot up so that he wouldn't fall over in pain again.

"Ignore him. But please, give us the codes before-"

An explosion. A few rumbles from far away. My eyes widened as I peered away from the prisoner and up into where the sky would be. T-They were really bombing the planet? My mouth went dry as I realized we didn't have much time before the fleet was above us so I stomped towards Bastila and the prisoner.

I raised my blaster up to his face, grabbing him by the collar and shoving Bastila aside. It seemed as if Carth was the only one staying behind with the droid.

"Give us the codes or I swear-"

"A-Alight! I will...I wasn't going to say no..."

And so, after the spice addicted pilot punched the codes into T3-M4, he made a run for it when the mandalorian pointed his repeating rifle at him. Another bang and I made to run in the opposite direction of the addicted pilot, ignoring Bastila and Carth who were following me.

"Was that really necessary?" Bastila shouted at me.

I wondered what she was talking about but I didn't get the chance to ask her when we got to the hanger. T3-M4 opened the door quickly and without hesitation, beeping a nervous complaint. Force damn, hurry up toaster! I really felt like kicking the damn thing.

Carth had the face of a soldier during battle and Canderous had the face of a bloodthirsty psycho. I wasn't sure what expression I preferred but it sure wasn't calm. For Bastila, she was always angry looking as her default. No matter what.

Finally, the droid opened the door and we were met with a deep red sky. I almost thought the atmosphere above us was bleeding but in fact the Sith ships were sending nuclear bombs and chemical waste onto the surface. They were heading towards us from the south fortunately...our apartment was much further north and we still had a chance to get Mission and the others.

A few ships stood vigil in the hanger. One stood out of course, the only one that had shield pillars surrounding it. The Ebon Hawk looked fast, faster than the Rasa. I sort of grew jealous when I saw the ship and glanced towards Bastila who appeared understandably impatient. The computer beside the shields was glowing blue, two figures standing beside it.

"What do you mean you don't know the codes, Calo? You've flown on this ship before!"

Davik was shouting at the bounty hunter who had a scowl deeper than any Outer Rim canyon.

"You sent the pilot to the guest room, Davik, not me."

The crime lord looked like he wanted to kill his own mercenary before he caught sight of us. He grew smug at our appearance, raising his blaster rifle.

"Look at what we have here, thieves in the hanger."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't pretend you aren't one yourself, Davik," I said.

Not that I wasn't one either. Oh well.

Finally, the Sith were close enough to hit Davik's Estate. Everyone of us bulked when the lasers hit the floors above us, the metal beams shaking. Carth finally unholstered his blasters, smirking. I did the same, eyeing the crime lord and his pet.

Calo snorted. "I knew you were going to betray us someday Canderous. I'm not surprised."

"I'm sorry it had to come to this pal," Ordo retorted.

The bounty hunter raised his own weapon as he glanced towards me.

"I find it ironic how you've decided to join him though. I guess all enemies become-"

"Save your breath Calo. You won't have much left when I kill you," the warrior shouted.

Another shot from the Sith yet...this one was precise. So precise that the shield guarding the Ebon Hawk reflected the laser and hit...

And so ended the great crime lord Davik. Rather anticlimactic.

I wasn't expecting the laser to hit the crime lord so precisely. Fate was out to get him apparently. Calo Nord rolled away from the debris that was now Davik Kang, shooting at us. I cursed when the shot almost hit me directly and began my own attack, walking closer to get a better shot. Unfortunately, the building was shaking too much for my hit to be precise. Canderous and Carth made the same vain attempt while Bastila reflected the blaster shots coming from the bounty hunter.

I made another shot when I saw that Bastila was our shield and was able to hit his arm squarely. I smirked and almost made the killing shot when Calo Nord raised a hand, a detonator flickering in the red lights.

He wheezed. "You kill me and no one gets the Hawk."

My eyes widened along with Bastila and Carth's. This man was crazy. He was going to destroy the Ebon Hawk in spite if he died. I eyed Bastila and gave her the signal to use the Force on his ass but she didn't see my expression and instead extinguished our only protection.

Another rumble from above. The Sith sent out another nuke and the light was almost blinding as the skyscrapers were consumed in fire. T3 shouted in horror and I held my hand up to my face to shield myself from the rays. A few unprotected ships were destroyed and I even noticed some flying ones being disintegrated by the damn automatic turrets.

"Wes!" I heard Carth shout.

I flinched when I saw something in the corner of my eye from above. The roof! Damn it! Metal from the hanger ceiling began to descend on Calo Nord as I stood there in complete awe. I didn't even notice a beam heading my way. Calo wasn't going to be the only victim here.

I took a few steps back but that wouldn't be enough. Calo Nord looked frightened himself as he struggled to stand up fully but he would never get the chance to run.

I felt a strong force pull me away when the beam collapsed. Another flash in my peripheral vision and I was dragged to the ground by the large force. White pain from my leg barely registered into my senses when I gazed up into Bastila's eyes. She was like an angel of death, truly. It was mesmerizing yet...also frightening. I think Carth was beside me as well with Canderous standing close behind him. The droid was rolling towards the computer that was surprisingly still intact.

The red world around me suddenly slowed down.

I was dying...suffocating...dark.

I sat up quickly and realized what was wrong. Part of the beam had trapped my left leg and I couldn't get up never mind escape. The shimmer of the Ebon Hawk's shield drew my eyes away from the worried people beside me. Bastila was trying to move the beam manually along with Carth who didn't look hopeful at all.

I groaned myself, not exactly sure what I was going to do. I was trapped, probably dead now, and these two dumb-asses were trying to save me, a sinking ship by all means.

"Get out..." I muttered. "Both of you...!"

I...don't even know why I said those words. I liked my life after all. I wasn't going to risk it for these annoying people. But still...I would hate myself if Bastila and Carth died for me. I didn't deserve it.

For some reason, my words only strengthened the Jedi's resolve. Her hard grey eyes gave me a puzzled stare that I returned in kind, Carth pausing in his rescue attempts.

"He's right. We need to go. Now," he said. "You're the only hope the Republic has, Bastila."

You know, I'm so glad that Carth found me so important to this mission that it wouldn't take him a second to ponder leaving me behind. I knew the damn soldier hated me.

I peered up and spotted Canderous who was lowering the Ebon Hawk's incline.

The ground shook again and I knew we only had a few minutes before the Sith fleet was right on top of us. I swallowed, prepared to die I guess. I definitely did not like the prospect but what was I supposed to do? I couldn't move at all! This whole thing...it had been doomed to failure from the start.

I just knew that my good fortune would catch up to me eventually.

Bastila glared at Carth. "We aren't leaving him behind," she muttered lowly.

Wait...what?

The Jedi suddenly moved, sitting in a meditative like pose. I gave her a curious look as I suddenly felt warm...as if I was beside a nice fire. Carth was giving the Jedi a look when the beam suddenly moved. I raised an eyebrow when the whole thing began to float off towards where Calo Nord's dead body probably was. Damn...how did she do that? Was the Force really that powerful?

Yeah, I wouldn't know since I'm not a Jedi.

"Come on we have to go!" Canderous shouted.

I was pulled up to my feet roughly by Carth and winced as he practically dragged me after Bastila. I didn't even want to look down at my mangled leg...I didn't want to know how bad it was. And I knew that it would begin to hurt if I saw the damage.

Fortunately, the pilot didn't seem concerned about my pain because as soon as we entered the ship the whole roof collapsed. If I had been slower well...both of us would have died.

I didn't really get the chance to observe the ship since Carth was still dragging me forward like a dog. I saw a speeder...a medbay...a few rooms with beds and a bathroom... then the bridge which was barely big enough to fit all of us.

I was finally released at the bridge and sucked in my teeth, leaning my body against the wall. I finally saw the bloody damage and almost fell down completely when I saw what used to be my leg. Bastila was giving me a concerned look but Carth was all business, shoving the mandalorian aside and started up the Hawk's engines.

"Out of the damn way," he shouted quickly.

Ordo groaned in response, stepping back.

"You Republic soldiers and your damn ships," he muttered.

I finally couldn't hold my own weight up and had to sit on the ground. I...know I should have gone to the medbay but what was happening now was too important. Pain wasn't a big deal anyway. Not when we still had friends on the ground.

Bastila had a comm out, I could hear Mission's frightened voice on the other side.

"People are getting crazy down here! You have to be careful when you come. They will do anything to climb on board with us."

I suddenly felt my heart sink when I heard those words. Taris was a sinking ship as well...and the rescue pod named the Ebon Hawk only had enough room for the "special" passengers. The injustice was so enormous...that I felt like screaming right then and there. This was happening...just like Deralia.

I rarely thought about my home world...after all I wanted to try and remember the beautiful and happy things from my childhood. That still had to remain, no matter what. I would remember my parents smiles despite the fire that took them away.

The Ebon Hawk shook as it was struck, the shield flickering and cracking. This ship was indeed fast and Carth was focused entirely outside the window, weaving around falling skyscrapers like they were asteroids. I saw that Canderous still had the smirk on his face as if the destruction of billions was a riot and Bastila was hurrying to type something in. Probably coordinates? I didn't know...my mind was too clouded with pain to really pay attention to what was going on.

A few stray red lasers hit the Ebon Hawk that caused my heart to beat even more rapidly. I eyed Bastila and she looked just as horrified. How could these Sith do this to a planet? To any planet?

And I could feel something...like a million people screaming in my head. They were pleading for mercy...some of them holding dead children in their arms. The images were...too strong and I had to shake my head a few times to get them out of my mind. But they were still clear as day...every explosion I could hear screaming. The pain was greater than my own leg as I sat back, feeling sweat coarse down my forehead as I closed my eyes.

This was just...too unreal.

I suddenly felt a presence beside me and glared at it. The brunette Jedi was out of the copilot seat for some reason and was standing before me. It's like...whenever she looks at me now she's worried.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

I paused, trying to process what she said after realizing that she was out of the copilot's seat to begin with. What in all hells was she doing? She had to help Carth! I moved sharply causing her to cock her head slightly.

Don' t tell me...she was reading my emotions with her damn Jedi powers again. Force...

"Do I look like I'm alright?" I half shouted over the explosions.

Another laser beam hit the Hawk and Onasi cursed as the shields flickered. I could tell where we were now so we were getting close to our apartment. The explosions were getting milder yet they were still present.

Bastila sighed before getting to her knees in front of me.

"No...you don't look alright at all."

I narrowed my eyes and glanced towards Canderous who for some bizarre reason still had his heavy weapon out as if the damn window was going to kill him.

"Shouldn't you be, I don't know, helping Carth with getting us the hell out of here?" I said bitterly through the pain in my leg.

She ignored that comment as she took a look at my leg. I lashed out when she touched the crushed thing that it was now.

"Don't...touch...it..." I growled through my teeth.

"You probably will have to be on your feet again helping us soon. I want to know if you can take the strain for a bit longer."

Canderous snorted and regripped his repeater rifle in his hands, rolling his dark eyes at the Jedi before stomping past T3 who beeped a suggestion. Wait...the droid wanted to help? I'm not sure if that would be such a good idea...

And...why did she save me anyway? We all could have died if that whole Force thing didn't work out. I don't really think I owed her much. In fact, I just wanted to sit here and not do anything-

T3-M4 rolled up to Bastila and produced a...kolto bandage? Where did he get one of those? I'm pretty sure that T3s weren't a medical droid model - they repaired ships not people.

I gave the droid a strange look before he beeped again, rolling away towards...oh. The medbay. I really must have been out of it to not realize that T3 stepped out for a bit.

I took in a sharp breath when the Jedi wrapped the bandage around my obviously broken foot. I wondered if I would ever be able to walk on the damn thing again. Well...it sure felt like it.

I could see people running around the apartment and a few figures standing out in the balcony. The only crazy ones to remain in a skyscraper never mind strolling around on one of the balconies were Mission, Zaalbar, and the kid.

The kolto stuck easily on my bloody leg as I stood with Bastila's help. The pain was beginning to numb a bit however I knew that I wouldn't be able to help a seven foot wookie never mind a little frightened boy. So, I sat beside Carth in the copilot seat while Bastila and Canderous helped the three on board. I didn't like sitting back and watch the action happen but for once I was grateful that I could at the very least sit down.

I saw the unfamiliar coordinates Bastila put down and ignored them, calling T3 over so that we could finally put in the codes and escape. Carth eyed me as he concentrated on hovering over the apartment complex, sweat beading down his forehead as he eyed the coming fire.

Zaalbar practically threw the poor slave boy while Mission jumped aboard with a hand grasping her wrist. While they were busy being rescued I spotted a few figures at the corner of my eyes.

They were...the Uppercity dwellers. Most of them were aliens due to the fact that the apartment was very low class and many of them spotted us rescuing our teammates. A laser beam rocked the apartment and all of the figures...every single one of them...became space dust, vaporizing into worthless nothingness. The janitor was dead now along with that suspicious neighbor we never bothered investigating or those shopkeepers that provided us with the crappy food for days.

I could hear the screams again and when Zaalbar finally jumped on board, the ship rocking with his weight, I saw Carth give the controls a stressed smirk.

"Hold on," he muttered.

Bastila stomped in, eyeing T3 who beeped a sigh of relief. I was quick to stand, not really into being Carth's copilot never mind sitting close to the soldier. The Ebon Hawk glided up quickly, passing through explosions and fire wakes, diving past fallen skyscrapers.

The Sith fleet was pointing all of their guns at the planet so none of those dangerous blasts directly hit us. Bastila took the seat again, reluctantly I noticed, and began turning on all of the Ebon's space systems. I leaned against the wall again but didn't sit down, the pain was gradually fading away despite how terrible it looked.

We were soon in space, rocketing past the automatic turrets like they were nothing and headed towards the system's star. Out of all the smuggling heists and getaways...I have never been this close to death before. And I have been close to death.

The Sith fleet was still very close, close enough to notice that a ship was getting away.

"Shit..." Carth muttered, swerving the Hawk.

Hundreds of small fighters began to head in our direction and I blanched at the reaction Malak had to us leaving. We were not an army! We couldn't fend off hundreds of fighters like nothing!

But still...

I limped away, Bastila calling out, asking where I was going again. The ship had a confusing layout, not like normal Republic ships. The halls twisted on each other and I had to stop when the ship rumbled, some of the fighters catching up to us.

I finally found them, the Ebon Hawk's manual turrets. We might as well fight them till the end.

When I finally climbed in, after cursing my damn leg to Hoth's tundra, the comm beside me buzzed on.

"You are insane, you know that right?" Carth said, grunting when one of the fighters hit our ship. I pulled the triggers out quickly and the things just shot on. I haven't used a turret since...well I've never used a turret gun in my life. There are many firsts I suppose.

I painfully smirked. "Yeah...I know I'm crazy. You don't need to tell me twice."

The thing began to circle around and I realized that the gun had a tracking system installed on it, the red crosshairs hovering over the Sith fighters. How advanced was this Ebon Hawk anyway?

I shot out at one of the fighters, missing by a hair and grunting when they hit the Hawk's shields in retaliation.

I knew that the Hyperdrive had to take a few minutes before we could jump so I had to fend off these annoying bugs until then. I became determined, turning the manual turret to face the dying planet. The thin line that had been Taris' skyscrapers had become a row of flames and I almost didn't react when a fighter began shooting directly at me.

But, when I finally did react, he became a trash compactor's lunch.

Despite the victory, I didn't rejoice since at least five of them replaced the one. I swung the triggers around to follow the path of the annoying fighters, wincing when I felt the pain in my foot again. Was I putting too much strain on it? I couldn't tell because I was too focused...

"We're ready to jump!" I heard Bastila shout in the comm and I grew to love those words.

We were going to escape. I just...couldn't believe we actually did it...We did the impossible.

However, I couldn't celebrate with them when the fighters shot a large volley at the Hawk. The force of the tremor and the jump shook me so much that I released my hold on the triggers, my head smashing into the metal behind me.

W

A tall figure stared out at me with dark eyes, metal encasing his chin. The room we were in was dark yet I could see this tall man clear as day in the darkness. His eyes were humored and his laugh reverberated through the machine. Normally, it would be a deep rumble but this man resembled more of a machine than man.

As if he was programmed to continue his chaos-

"So...you're alive."

My eyes flickered open to a white room, the florescent lights blinking as quickly as I was.

I felt a small amount of weight beside me, the dark haired boy snoozing quietly at my side. I paused, lifting my head up slightly to give him a better look. A figure walked by the medbay - that only consisted of one bed - and Bastila appeared with raised eyebrows.

"You're finally up? Good."

I rubbed the back of my head. This was, what, the third time this week my head has gone through abuse? No wonder why the damn thing hurt all the time...

This little boy stirred quietly, lifting his head like it weighed a ton. When he saw that I was up he jumped at me.

"Mar'e!" he shouted.

...He spoke mando'a too? Who was this kid and how many damn languages did he know? He was confusing the hell out of me.

I waved a hand, placating him. "Yes, yes, I'm alright. You didn't have to worry."

He began to speak rapidly in another language that I didn't understand and I wondered...had this boy been raised with a combination of many dialects or was he doing this on purpose? Bastila was giving the boy a strange look as well before shaking her own head.

I pursed my lips as I ignored the boy and gave the Jedi my own look.

"Where are we going by the way?" I asked.

She crossed her arms. "Dantooine. There is a hidden Jedi refuge that we can hide out in until the Sith leave the Outer Rim. We were...heading there before the Endar Spire had been destroyed."

I narrowed my eyes before looking at the poor boy smiling at me. This Jedi wanted to do her little "mission" but I wasn't going to have it anymore. Not after witnessing Taris' destruction. I knew what I was getting myself into and I wasn't going to have any part of it. To go on would make me a complete idiot. I had nothing to gain helping the Republic so why should I?

I stretched, groaning, my left leg numb from the pain relievers.

"I guess that will be where we part ways then. It's been nice knowing you but I have better things to be doing then risking my life. You understand."

Her raised look told me otherwise.

"There is still your strange affiliation with the Force."

I groaned. That again? True...events have been a bit strange of late and that I have been able to do things that are supposedly dubbed "impossible" but that didn't make me a Jedi. Her little council wasn't going to hear from me and I wasn't going to hear them.

She saw the defiance on my face... so she sat down like a parent reassuring a little kid that it was just a nightmare. I gave her a hooded look that I reserved for her and she gave me a similar look back.

"You sensed Taris, didn't you? I could tell. It wasn't just your leg that pained you back there."

My eyes remained stationary.

"How do you know that?"

"So you did?"

Damn it, she was learning...

I groaned, flinging my feet over the side of the bed only to be reminded why I was injured in the first place. There were more wrappings around my leg and the salty smell of kolto almost wanted to make me vomit. We really needed a proper medical droid, didn't we? I doubted T3 knew the necessary programs...well I'll just have to fix that later now, won't I?

Well...not that it mattered since I was leaving this group the second we landed in Datooine. And no one was going to stop me. Not even a damn Sith fleet.

Bastila was waiting for an answer so I groaned again, this time out of annoyance.

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked sharply.

She gave me a second look as if I confirmed her hypothesis.

"Then you will have to see the Jedi Council on Datooine before anything else. An adult this strong in the Force is...abnormal."

I huffed, using the bed as support when standing. The Jedi took a step closer to me, worry on her face. Yes, my damn leg hurt and no I didn't need anyone's help. Especially not some Jedi that was trying to convince me to join her little cult.

The little boy jumped down as well, eyeing me carefully. I decided to limp down the hall, using a crutch that popped out conveniently from the medbay wall.

Bastila was still following me when I entered the main foyer of the Ebon Hawk. A holoprojector sat in the middle and instead of the normal function of displaying figures, the mandalorian sat tapping his fingers on the glass.

I could never escape these idiots. They were everywhere.

Canderous looked up, smirking. "A nice display there Wessy. You might want to check what's behind you next time."

Force...that nickname was spreading like wildfire.

I laughed twice - with sarcasm of course - and limped past him to go to...I had no idea. This ship was a maze. The halls would be just fine I guess...if the Jedi wasn't still here. The little boy had crawled away somewhere else.

"Stop following me."

"Don't you want to answer your own questions? Don't you want to know if you're Force sensitive at all?"

I stopped and turned around, pointing at her with my right hand.

"I don't actually. To be quite honest I would rather return to the galaxy while avoiding the Sith relaxing in my own ship in the middle of nowhere. Alone." I turned around. "Now, excuse me but I would like some peace and quiet without some nosy Jedi-prick walking all over me. I still have to figure out how many credits I need to get the next ship transpor-"

Something like wind tripped me and I fell flat on my face. My leg was not spared and I had to suck in breath in order not to shout a curse at this stupid woman. Why wouldn't she just take my answer as is? Didn't the Jedi not accept adult trainees anyway? What was she trying to do exactly?

"What was that for!" I shouted at her.

"For being a selfish nerfherder. And to stop you from walking away again."

I wasn't sure if the Jedi would approve of the Force being used for such nefarious purposes. She might join Malak if she keeps this up.

"Well, now I'm crawling away. Thanks a lot," I muttered.

But instead of crawling, I tried to stand up again only to find another hand helping me up. Force...why was she trying to help me when she was the one who used her damn powers to trip me in the first place?

This woman...

"Look, you are only making things difficult for yourself. You've seen what you were able to do on Taris. What if you hurt someone on accident someday? Would you want that on your conscious?"

I snorted. "Well, I was going to avoid people for the most part."

Bastila still hadn't released me.

"And what are you going to do? Just sit around and do nothing about this?"

...Now that she mentioned it, sitting around the Outer Rim with no one around sounded very depressing and lonely. I was a man of adventure after all...not one to sit around playing Pazaak all day. I... just couldn't justify risking my life for these people anymore. And Taris...the billions of people that died...the chin masked man...I just didn't want to think about it. I lived by a code, if the buts were worth the credits then it would feel worth the trouble.

I doubted the Jedi had a livable salary. What did they live on anyway?

So, I shook the Jedi's hand away.

"Sure, why not? Better than dying."

She didn't bother following me again. Fortunately...I think.

I limped around the Ebon Hawk before I heard small sniffles. Pausing, I listened carefully before heading towards one of the small rooms. Mission was there, bent over her bed looking like a complete mess. I wasn't exactly sure what to think seeing this poor teen in a state, crying. No matter how many times she professed she wasn't a kid...I think the fast maturity damaged her unknowingly.

She looked up, probably hearing the clacks of my crutch. She looked away quickly before sighing, rubbing her eyes.

"Go away," she muttered.

I shrugged. "If you really want me to..."

Before I could turn around fully and walk away however, the twi'lek stood. "Why did this have to happen? Zaedra...Gadon...they're all dead! Because of her. If Bastila had never been on Taris-!"

I paused before sighing, limping closer to the saddened girl.

"You probably hate her too...but the Sith were the ones to drag the Endar Spire to Taris in the first place. I don't really think...you should blame Bastila for that."

Funny since I blamed that Jedi for everything right now.

Mission's face softened as she wiped a stubborn tear away from her face, sighing sadly. Her anger drifted away almost to nothing when I said those words and she nodded, sitting down on her bed. I think I was beginning to see what Carth meant. No kid should see the destruction of her own planet.

"Yeah...I guess you're right, Wessy. I guess...it's just...this whole thing is so unfair! I was raised on Taris, the place was my only home ever. My brother brought me there when I was little. I thought that by following you...I would be able to find him again. Instead...I just escaped from my own planet, leaving my other friends behind."

I smiled sadly. "Hey, you still have Zaalbar," I raised my eyebrows, "and you have a brother?"

I never saw him anywhere around Taris. I'm pretty sure blue twi'leks are a rare bunch.

She nodded her head, sniffing.

"His name is Griff...you've been around the galaxy, right? And you're a smuggler? Have you seen Griff anywhere? Anywhere at all?"

Whoa wait. Why did she assume that I would know this Griff because I was a smuggler? Was he a con too?

I shook my head and she deflated. Worried that she might start crying again, I rushed to speak.

"But that's normal for me. I don't really...explore the planets I go to."

In fact I just pissed around in the cantinas drunk. I doubt I would remember anyone really, even a blue twi'lek. Mission sighed before leaning back, looking off into space.

"It's all because of that bitch Lena. If she didn't take my brother away...well." She paused. "I probably wouldn't have met you guys and escaped."

I didn't really know what to say about that. To be honest...I didn't want to become emotionally attached to any of these people before I left. I didn't know most of my crew before they all exploded and for good reason. If any of them talked to me as a person...or thought of me as a friend...I don't think I would have been as successful as I was. The cold distance gave me room to think really. Enough room to use my crew to get as many credits as humanly possible.

Damn it...

I decided to sit next to her, my leg killing me. She eyed me lazily before looking off into space again. I frowned.

"You know what I say? The what ifs and the should have beens really don't matter." What, was I trying to convince myself of this? I shook my head. "You know...you sort of remind me of myself kid. I...well I went through a similar situation that you did when I was younger."

Her sad eyed looked up at me. "What happened?" she asked.

...I really didn't want to talk about it. No emotional attachments. Remember that Wes.

But for the sake of this kid...

I sighed. "My home planet, Deralia, was taken over by the mandalorians near the beginning of the war. I haven't returned there since...around twenty years ago now I guess? I haven't really been keeping track. Anyway...you aren't alone Mission. That's what I'm trying to say. And...what matters now..."

Is the Sith. They destroyed a whole planet rendering a strong girl like Mission Vao crying and regretful. All those billions of people, why shouldn't I do it for them? For Taris, for Telos...and maybe even for Deralia. I've been running for years...going to different planets on the Outer Rim to avoid what I truly cared about. Maybe I should stop running? Would that really hurt? I haven't tried for years after all...

I shook my head again. "What matters now is that Malak pays for what he did to Taris."

Mission looked up.

"Really?"

I eyed her and nodded with determination, standing up.

"I have nothing else better to do...and I can't just leave your 1,000 credits hanging around. I need to collect someday, you know."

I grabbed my crutch, limping away without really looking back at Mission again. Before I left, I ran into a wookie who looked down at me thoughtfully. I raised an eyebrow before walking around, heading towards the bridge.

I had to tell Carth that he owed me a hefty sum as well. With interest. After all, I didn't expect him to pay me back immediately.