Chapter 11:

Ari was stumped. It wasn't easy for her to come up with a primary programming for PROXY. She sat in her chair and rested her head in her hands. There were quite a few options. Bodyguard, sentry, assassin. None of them fit. Finally an idea hit her. Picking up her datapad, she resumed her work.

Another hour later, Ari was putting PROXY back together. She had found the perfect programming for PROXY. She was excited to try it out. AS she put the final piece of plating on, PROXY's eyes glowed.

"Ah, I feel so much better." PROXY said and 'stretched'.

"That's a good sign. Now, I want you to state your primary programming." Ari said, crossing her arms, and studying the droid.

"Primary Programming: assist the Master in any Jedi business and help her practice lightsaber training and assist in any confrontations." PROXY stated.

Ari smiled. PROXY could still have the freedom he was used to, but he wouldn't be killing anything. Unless of course Ari told him to. But her biggest joy though, was having her fried back. She wiped her greasy hands on a grimy rag and stepped back. PROXY was still in need of repairs. Mainly to his plating but, the important parts were fixed.

"Well, that's the best I can do. Until I can get better parts, this will have to do." Ari smiled

"Now, are you going to introduce me to your team?" PROXY asked

"Yeah, we're having a team dinner tonight. This will be the last one before the race." Ari sighed. She realized this would be one of the last ones before she left Tatooine.

A knock on the door interrupted Ari's train of thought.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal a tall, blond haired human. He was very muscular with emerald green eyes. He had a very dark tan. He looked to be about 20 in age.

"Hey boss, I wanted to remind you about the meeting tomorrow. I saw one of the officials and he told me to remind you about the leaders meeting." The guy said. His voice was shaky, like he was scared of Ari.

"Thanks, Neku. I didn't forget." Ari smiled. Neku was one of the newest members to the Rogue Riders. He was always a little shy when he joined but when he found out about Ari's Force abilities, he tried to avoid her, even though Ari had never done or said anything to him, that was threatening. She only did that to Fang, Dak and Aurora; only because they knew she was joking and knew her the best.

Neku nodded his head and stepped out. Ari walked over to the cabinet where the avalanche of junk fell earlier. She needed to clean it up. No, she needed to sort through it. She had been piling it up for several years. Most of it was useless junk. As she dug through the pile, she found an old, dusty brown box. On the cover, was the Phoenix symbol, her family crest.

"Huh, I don't remember this box." She said aloud and blew the dust off the cover.

"Ah, I remember it. The general left it for you. He told me, should something happen to him, that I was to give this to you. He said it would be very helpful to you in the future. I think you open it with the Force." PROXY said.

Ari studied the box. There was a lock mechanism on it, but like PROXY said, it could only be opened with the Force. She closed her eyes and focused on the box. She felt a click and knew she opened it. She opened her eyes to inspect the contents. To her surprise, it was full of pieces and parts. The only non metal objects were two small crystals. One blue and one green.

She raised an eyebrow. "What is this stuff?" She picked up the blue crystal.

"Ah, so that is what he left you!" PROXY sounded excited.

"PROXY, what is this stuff. It looks like more junk."

"Those are parts to build a lightsaber. I wondered what the drunken fool was doing before the stormtroopers came that day."

"I can't make a lightsaber! I don't know how. And it's too dangerous to try without someone who knows how to make one." She closed the box.

"Maybe you could have Luke show you when he arrives in a week." PROXY suggested.

"I think I'll wait until we arrive on Yavin IV. She put the box in a drawer in her desk and returned to the pile of junk and began sorting. Ari looked up when her stomach started rumbling. Looking at her wrist chrono, she noticed it was close to dinner time.

"Well, I guess it's time to introduce you to the team." Ari walked out of her office, with PROXY following.

Ari walked through the garage, which was empty except for the swoop bikes, and went towards a door on the far side. Voices could be heard from the other side of the door. Ari took a deep breath and stepped walked in. They were all seated around a long table that ran the length of the room. Food covered the whole table. Fang and Aurora were seated towards the far end. There was an empty chair at the head of the table. That was Ari's seat. She walked to her seat, greeting her teammates as she passed them. PROXY followed silently behind her. Ari sat down and noticed Fang wouldn't look at her. She felt bad keeping the secret of her leaving from him, but She wasn't going to let him be down about her leaving before a big race. He would just have to wait like everyone else.

Fang stands up and speaks. "Hey, quiet down! Boss wants to speak to us!" He booms. He sits back down and looks at Ari expectantly.

"By now, you all know what happened to Dak. Thank the Force, he's going to be ok, but from now on, I don't want anyone going out by themselves. Too much can happen and with us at odds with the Black Krayts, it's dangerous to be alone." She paused to make sure everyone was still paying attention. "Next, The Mos Espa Swoop is in two days. I want everyone on their best behavior. I do not, I repeat, do not want an incident like last year. If you remember, they threatened us with suspension for the rest of the season. So be smart." Ari glared at where Chutta and a few other Rodians were sitting. "Finally, the last order of business. This is PROXY. As most of you know, he was the one who took care of me when my Uncle died. He disappeared a few years ago, but I found him when I was out in Krayt Canyon." She motioned towards PROXY. He made no movements, he just stood there.

"Dude, is that a holo-droid? Those things are rare." One of the Rodians said.

"Yes, PROXY is a holo-droid. He was my parents and was passed down to me." Ari said.

"I thought he was programmed to kill you?" Christophe asked

"No he was programmed to kill my father, not me. When I found PROXY, he thought I was my father and proceeded to attack me. That's how I fractured my hand. But I reprogrammed him, so he won't attack anybody unless I order him to. So, he's pretty much harmless."

"Master, you know as well as I do, I am not harmless." PROXY interjected.

Some of the members chuckled. Others tried to hide smiles.

"Well that was the agenda for tonight, so let's dig in."

Ari sat down and the rest of her team started eating. She looked over at Fang. He was focusing on getting food. She could sense that he still wasn't happy with her. Ari looked at the empty seat to her right. That is where Dak normally sat. She smiled inwardly. He should be released later that evening and then the team would be back to full strength. She grabbed her plate and started eating.

After dinner, Aurora and Ari left to go pick Dak up. They received a call from the medical center when he was ready. Ari was piloting the speedercar.

"Aurora, can I talk to you?" Ari asked.

"Sure. What's wrong?"

"I'm leaving Tatooine. One of the guys who I led into the desert was Luke Skywalker. He offered to finish my training as a Jedi on Yavin IV."

Aurora didn't speak for a moment. She just looked at Ari with her bight sapphire eyes.

"Is that why Fang won't talk to you?" Aurora finally asked

"Partially. He's mad because I won't tell him what was bugging me earlier. But I don't want to get the team down before a race. I plan on telling them after the race is over. But I needed to tell somebody. Somebody I trust."

"Then tell Fang. He's been your friend for years. He deserves to know." Aurora paused "Fang can keep most of his emotions in check. But he has problems with his anger. You know that. If he's angry during the race, he could end up doing something that jeopardizes the team or himself. You're right in not telling the rest of the team of your decision. But at least tell Fang. And maybe Dak." Aurora smiled "He doesn't race, and it's not like he does anything."

Ari laughed at the last statement. Dak actually had a complex job, especially before and during races. To have him injured before a race was a blow, but luckily he would be fine.

"Thanks Aurora. Once we get back I'll tell Fang and Dak. Hopefully Fang will understand." Ari said as they reached the medical center. Ari and Aurora walked inside. Sitting in a chair, covered in bacta wraps, was Dak. He had a mischievous grin plastered to his face.

"Hey sis, hey boss. I knew you were worried about me." Dak stood up.

Dak was like his older sister, very tall. But that is where the similarities stopped. Dak had jet black hair with grey eyes and Aurora had snow white hair and sapphire eyes.

Ari sighed. "Come on. Let's go home."

Dak just smiled and followed his sister.

This time, Aurora drove home, leaving Ari in the back with Dak riding shotgun.

"Dak, Ari has something she needs to tell you." Aurora said casually.

"Is that right? Whatcha need to say, boss?" Dak said turning around in his seat to face Ari.

"Yeah, I was going to wait, nut I guess that won't happen" She shot a glare at Aurora and proceeded to tell Dak about her departure in a week's time. When she finished Dak stared at her in silence. He turned around in his seat and spoke.

"A week? That's how long you have left here! A week!" Dak whispered. "Does the rest of the team know?"

"No, just you and Aurora. I plan on telling Fang when we get back. I'll tell the team after the race is over." Ari waited for a response from Dak. When none came, she spoke again. "Dak, I'm sorry."

"Ari, don't be sorry. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you. But it's just that, you only have a week left with us. After you've left, what's going to happen to us? I mean, this is your swoop team. You're the leader." Dak asked turning around again.

"I'm going to let the team decide how the next leader is chosen. I'm only staying because of the race and so when I step down, there isn't a power struggle."

Another silence followed. By this point, they had reached the shop. Aurora helped Dak into the house right beside the shop. She came back and spoke.

"Fang's not in the house, so I'm assuming he's in the shop. Go talk to him." She then walked back into the house.

Ari took a deep breath and walked into the shop. Fang wasn't at the front desk. Ari searched with the Force and found him in the garage. She walked back to the garage, and found him sitting in his red and black flamed swoop bike.

"As she approached him, Ari could sense he was angry.

"So when were you going to tell me?" He said in a flat tone, which meant he was trying to control his anger.

"After the race was over. I didn't want to affect the moral of the team."

"But you knew I would want to know. I had to corner PROXY after you left. I'm surprised he actually told me." Fang paused to get out of his bike. "Ari, you know, you can be a real pain in the ass at times." He was glaring at Ari now, his indigo eyes boring into her brown ones.

Ari was getting angry now. "Well I'm sorry but I was trying to do what I thought was best for the team! If that means I need to be a pain in the ass, then I will be!"

She noticed Fang was backing away from her, and fear spread through his eyes. Then she realized what she was doing. Her arms were sparking with Force lightning. She quickly relaxed herself and looked back at Fang, but he was gone. In anger, Ari picked up a tool and flung it across the room. It made a loud thud as it hit the far wall.