Chapter 12

Quiet

"What is the plan for leaving Taris?" Bastila asked briskly. I didn't bother to hiss at her to be quiet. There were no Sith patrols around for once.

"We don't have one yet," I said.

"You don't have one yet?" she practically shrieked. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"We were busy looking for you and staying out of a Sith cage," I answered, reminding myself that she was still a teenager and using that reminder to keep my voice level.

"I see. Now that I'm back in charge of this mission, perhaps we can start doing things properly."

I stopped so abruptly that Bastila slammed into me from behind. Spinning around I grabbed her by the front of her borrowed tunic and growled, discovering that I was a few inches taller than her. "Now listen here, girlie," I growled. "Whatever mission you were in charge of back on the Spire, that's done now. The only thing we need to worry about right now is getting of this stinking rock and back to friendly space. You've been locked up this whole time, you don't know the territory or anything about what's been going on. I do. So if you want to get back to your precious Temple you'd better keep your head down and that prissy little mouth shut, got it?"

Bastila hung by her tiptoes pale faced. She managed to nod, her head bobbing sharply and her eyes clamped shut. I let her go and she plopped back down onto the duracrete. Without giving her a chance to recover I turned and started walking again. Several of the Upper City citizens were giving us odd looks but there still weren't any obvious Sith patrols around. I didn't want to give any of them a chance to show up.

The Jedi teenager stayed quiet for the rest of the walk back to the walk back to the apartment Hestra, Carth, Danika and I had stayed in before we'd descended into the Lower City. Very few of the apartments had been occupied before we'd left and we were hoping that hadn't changed in our absence.

It hadn't. The place was full to capacity now, especially with Mission and Zaalbar in the mix. I gave the little Twi'lek a calculating glance when I walked in the door and saw that she must have used the 'fresher as soon as she'd arrived. From the nervous glances she was shooting my way she probably didn't want a repeat of the incident back at the Bek base. Zaalbar looked clean as well, for which I was immensely thankful. Nothing smelled worse than unwashed Wookie. It was the kind of scent that... lingered.

Good smells filled the air. I sniffed actively at them and Danika handed me an extra-large flimsi-board box filled with take-out. I didn't look too closely at what it was but it tasted like some kind of bird with noodles and sweat and sour sauce, my favorite flavor. I took the proffered fork and immediately dug in, not even bothering to sit down. Mission and Carth stared wide-eyed at the spectacle. "Is she... eating?" Carth asked dubiously.

"More like inhaling," Mission replied with a snort.

"What?" I asked while chewing a large mouthful of noodles. I had to shove it all over to one cheek to speak at all clearly. "I'm hungry."

"She's always like that," Danika said as she sat down at the table with her own small box of food. "Just don't stop her from getting seconds or you'll likely to lose a few fingers."

"Huh. I bet," Mission said. "I've never known anybody but Zaalbar to eat like that."

"Eat like what?" Zaalbar asked. He was working on what looked like his third or fourth large sized box. I was somewhat disheartened to notice that he was standing and holding his food in the exact manner I was. Before I could think about it too much I became acutely aware of the saliva build up in my mouth and shrugged it off in favor of chewing.

Still looking quite abashed Bastila took a box of food for herself. I shoved my pack towards her with my foot and swallowed. "Your lightsaber's in the big pouch, down with the cleaning towels for my guns. You can probably hide it in your tunic if you want." She didn't say anything but grabbed the back and dragged it over to herself with a grateful air about her.

I was working on my fourth box and Zaalbar was on his sixth when the others began to discuss an escape plan. There were still four big boxes of food left, none of which was sweet and sour flavored. I assumed Mission had lobbied to buy them for Zaalbar since the young Wookie hadn't slowed down yet.

"Davik's got a ship called the Ebon Hawk," Mission said. "It's totally good for running the blockade."

"That's great, but we don't want to actually run the blockade if we don't have to," Carth said. "We need to get the access codes if we can."

"And we have to actually lay our hands on the ship," Danika added. "Where does Davik keep it, Mish?"

"In his estate," the teenager answered cheerfully. "It's a giant yacht ship."

Everyone stopped and stood stock still. Even Zaalbar and I froze.

"Wait," I said, my voice muffled by the last of my food. "It's in space?"

"Well yeah," Mission said innocently. "It's not going to fit down here is it?"

Danika and I exchanged disbelieving looks as I swallowed hard and then burst into a fit of brief coughing to help clear the resulting oversized lump in my throat.

"Great," Carth said, visibly drooping. "So all we have to do is get to a yacht in space to steal a starship."

Danika blinked at him briefly and then burst into a fit of laughter. I joined her rather hoarsely. Bastila sniffed at us, clearly in a sulking mood. "I don't see what's so funny," she mumbled.

We just laughed harder.

The next morning saw me renting the caffa machine that belonged to the green Twi'lek who sold energy shields in the hall. He had tried to tell me about all his great deals at first but I was not a terribly tolerant person this early in the morning and he was now huddled in the corner of his stand eying me warily. I on the other hand was sipping my cup of caffa with a highly satisfied air.

I saw somebody approached him from the corner of my eye. I turned my head slightly to observe a thin, seedy looking humanoid walk briskly up to the green Twi'lek, grab him by his left lekku, and pull him close so he could whisper in his ear while he kept an eye on me.

Still relatively happy that I'd gotten my caffa, the caffa maker in our apartment was broken, I left them to it instead of listening in. The chances it had to do with me were slim.

Rubbing his lekku with a pained look on his face the green Twi'lek turned to me cautiously. "Miss?" he called tentatively.

I turned slowly and gave him my most level, most intimidating stare. He gulped, but managed to continue on anyway. "Some guy just told me that Canderous wants to meet with you in the Upper City cantina."

Blinking once in surprise I fished a few ten credit pieces out of my currency pouch and laid them down on the table. "Thank you for your trouble," I said, and then added a fifty credit piece. "He really had no call grabbing your lekku like that," I added and then left him staring quite bewildered at the credit pieces on the counter.

I walked into the apartment to find the others just discovering our caffa maker was broken. "I'll fix it in a minute," I said to Danika, who glared bleary eyed at my full mug. "But first things first, that Mandalorian we met in the Undercity wants to meet with me in the cantina."

"You mean Canderous?" Mission asked. "He works for Davik."

"Really?" I asked as I handed my mug of caffa cautiously over to Danika who was creeping up on me like some amphibian predator. She snatched it away from me and guzzled eagerly.

"Yeah," Mission answered. "I was kinda wondering what he was doing down there."

I listened to Mission with half an ear as I carefully sidled around Danika to the caffa maker to fix it. I had a clear view when Bastila rose up from her plate of breakfast, cooked by Zaalbar it looked like, and turned right back into her old pompous self. "That's of no concern," she said haughtily. "For now we must go and see what this Mandalorian wants. Perhaps he may be of some use in obtaining the access codes and the ship."

"Yeah, I'll just get right on that," I replied as I tinkered with the caffa maker, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Bastila glared at me.

"Eh, she might be useful," Danika said. Her hair was still wild with sleep and her eyes were half lidded but she was highly satisfied. She clutched her cup of caffa like it was a precious stone. "I hear Jedi are better than lie detectors."

I snorted and chuckled in agreement. The caffa maker buzzed and sparked underneath my hand. "I don't think she should go anywhere," Carth spoke up carefully. "The Sith will be looking all over for her."

"It'd be fun to see 'em trip all over themselves," Mission said.

"But not very much to our advantage," I said. I fiddled with a few more wires and then closed the caffa maker. "There, the caffa maker's fixed. I agree with Carth."

"You can't be serious! I'm in charge of this mission!" Bastila cried indignantly.

Highly irritated I took several long strides to plant myself inches from Bastila. I looked her right in her pretty little eyes and shoved my face so close to her face that our noses were centimeters from touching. She paled immediately and froze in place. "You remember what we talked about earlier, Princess?" I asked calmly.

"Yes, ma'am," she squeaked.

"Good." I turned to the rest of the group with a stern look as well. "I'm going alone. I look nothing like Bastila so I shouldn't be fussed with." I waited for someone to say something but no one did. They were all busy looking from Bastila to me with a bewildered expression.

Well, everyone except for Danika. "Good luck, Blondie," she said.

"Thanks," I replied. I had been fully dressed when I'd gone to the green Twi'lek's stand for caffa so I left immediately. There really wasn't any point in delaying.

I had rearranged my gear somewhat. After returning to the apartment in the racing leathers I had concluded that I felt more comfortable in them than not. The jacket was so form-fitting that I had to go without my armor but I didn't mind that as much as I would have thought. And I had to admit looking at myself in the mirror that I was a striking figure in the outfit.

The ensemble showed off my gear much more than anything else I'd worn. My side pistol, my long dagger, and my vibroblade all made sharp contours to my outline now. So would my rifles, but I had left them behind this time. I wanted to make as little of a stir at the cantina as possible.

Unlike the Lower City cantina the bouncer for the one at the Upper City was just inside the door, not outside. He was a heavy-set human male and gave me more of an admiring stare than a hard one. He hardly even glanced at all my weaponry.

Canderous wasn't in the main room so I searched the side rooms until I found him. He was sitting near the back of one of the music rooms with his back to a corner. I smiled to myself, it was the easiest position to defend.

I smiled at the big Mandalorian as I slipped myself into the chair opposite him. It felt right, this meeting of just him and me. It felt like coming home.

He just sat and searched my face for a while, steel gray eyes looking sad. "You don't really remember me do you?" He asked.

My smile faltered and it felt as if the sun had disappeared behind a cloud; my mind tipped on the brink of breaking apart again. I rubbed my face and calmed myself before I replied to him. "Not all the way," I answered quietly. Dropping my hand to my lap I looked up at him again. "All I know is that I'm sure of myself around you, that seeing you is like coming home. I don't want that to end."

"I have a plan," Canderous said. "I know where Davik's got the access codes to his ship, the Ebon Hawk, and I have access to his yacht. The only thing I'm missing is the codes to disable the Sith blockade. There's a good chance the ship can get past without them but there's also a good chance we'll get blown into space dust trying."

"You want me to break into the Sith base," I replied levelly, turning things over in my mind. I'd seen it once while I had been roaming about the Upper City with Carth. "I can do that," I continued, breaking into a broad smile as I did so. "I've even got the perfect droid to break past the security."

"I doubt it," Canderous countered. "The only droid capable of doing that was commissioned specially by Davik. If you go to Janice Nall and tell her Canderous sent you to collect it you should be able to get it with no problems."

I forced myself not to laugh as I explained. "I already have the droid Davik commissioned. I bargained with Janice for it, offered to spiff up another droid to the same specs." I did laugh then, at the face Canderous made.

The Mandalorian broke into a genuine smile then, the sadness disappearing for a while. "That's my girl," he said with a chuckle.

I blinked at his words, so familiar it made me ache. Something flashed against my mind's eye, a flash of skin, a sweet smell. Something stirred in the back of my mind as well, some mild alarm. It chased the other sensations away and remained.

But I knew. In yet another flash of dawning knowledge I knew that I was feeling Bastila as if she was on the other side of a thin filament of spider web. I also knew that somewhere, somehow, Canderous and I had been lovers.

Whatever it had been then, it was more than just that now.

Tears filled my eyes as I got up and went around to his seat. I enveloped his broad chest in a hug. "I love you," I told him hoarsely, tears falling freely. My heart seemed too big for my chest.

Strong, thickly muscled arms wrapped around me in an infinitely gentle embrace. "I love you, too," Canderous answered, his voice just as rough as mine.

"I don't ever want to lose you again," I whispered.

"Nothing can separate us now. We won't let it," he answered, his grip tightening a fraction.

We stayed like that for a long time.

Eventually Canderous and I did have to separate. He had to go put in a good word to Davik so that the Exchange boss would invite me up to his yacht. I hated being apart from him but I understood why and consoled myself with the knowledge that we'd be together again very soon.

There was an extra tick to my step as I walked back to the apartment. Everything seemed brighter, like the universe had reset itself just for me. I was still missing too many memories to count, stuck on a hostile Sith controlled planet, and connected somehow to a prissy Jedi Padawan, but it all felt like it was going to be just fine now. Everything was going to work out.

I had to subdue myself somewhat before I got to the apartment. I didn't want to be shining like a glow light with happiness when I got there.

"-still don't see how we're going to get the codes for the blockade," Carth was saying as I walked in.

Perfect timing, I thought. "As it just so happens they keep those in the base," I said. "And we've got just the droid to crack the security."

Everyone turned to me with a blank look on their faces. Mission was the first to recover. "You mean we get to break into the Sith base?" she asked, her eyes wide with excitement and her lekku utterly still in anticipation.

"Yup," I said with a grin.

Danika gave her slow, sly smile. "This ought to be good," she said.

Hestra sighed and shook her head. "I'm gettin' to ol' fer this shavit," she said.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Danika told her.

"Ooohh, can I come?" Mission asked eagerly.

"No," Danika and I said at the same time.

Her happy expression quickly devolved into a scowl. "I did just fine in the Vulkar base!" she said.

"The Vulkars aren't half as well armed or trained as the Sith are. Besides, you do best with stealth and the Sith's helmets have infrared built in. And I'm not trying to be mean, but you don't follow orders well, Mission. We have to be in and out of there quickly; we have to work as a coherent team. You'll only slow us down."

Mission's face turned purple with anger, but before she could explode Zaalbar put a heavy hand on her shoulder. "I'll be staying here too," he said. "And I don't want to have to worry about you." The teenage Twi'lek didn't calm down exactly, but she didn't burst out into an angry tirade. Instead she stomped to the 'fresher and shut herself inside. Afterward there came a distinct click from the door and the activation panel turned red.

Bastila frowned, a strange mix of emotions on her face. With my heightened senses I could see the ache of an old hurt there and an obscure longing. "You could have been kinder," she said softly.

I eyed her carefully, not failing to notice how she avoided my eyes. "She's very stubborn," I said. "I don't have time to be kind to her, and anyway when I am she seems to just take it as leave to do whatever she wants. The last thing I need is to come back out of the base and find her corpse at the entrance."

Bastila did meet my eyes then and it was I who looked away. There was something hurt there and I couldn't help but feel like I'd been the one to put it there, as irrational as that was.

"Bastila, you should stay here too," Danika said. "Carth, Hestra, Sabine and I will go. Zaalbar, can you keep Mission here?"

"She won't go anywhere," Zaalbar answered.

"Good. Did Canderous tell you when he'd be able to get you to the yacht?" Danika asked me.

"Tonight," I answered. "It won't take long for Davik to get wind that we broke into the Sith base, and he wants those codes just as much as we do. The only catch is that I'm going to be the only one who'll be able to go. Apparently Davik's not a very trusting person."

"Bes' ch'nce we'll git," Hestra said before anyone could object. She turned to glare hard at the others with her moss green eyes. "An' Sab's not one t' l've 'er mates b'hind." I don't know how she did it but that single statement seemed to brook all arguments.

"Alright," Danika said stiffly. "This means we have to get some black clothes. And Carth? You have to lose the jacket for a few hours. You wear that into the Sith base and they'll catch us before we even get back here." Carth gave her an offended look but didn't protest.

"You want to go shopping?" I asked Danika. "You're the best at picking sizes and we all can't go together anyway. We shouldn't be seen as a group before or after this thing." I didn't have to say the last bit for Danika, we'd pulled enough jobs together to know the drill. I'd said it for Carth's benefit.

Sure enough the Republic pilot gave me a calculating look as Danika ruffled my hair on the way out of the apartment. "You've done this kind of thing before, haven't you?"

"Yeah," I answered. "We used to be smugglers, but that wasn't always profitable during the war. And don't give me that look. We only pulled jobs on people who could afford it."

Carth didn't respond, only set his jaw in a hard line and eyed the closed door behind me. I realized with a start that the muscles and tendons in his face were arranged in a mask of worry and longing. I had thought that Danika's attraction to him had been one sided, but Carth was now proving me wrong. Huh, I thought to myself. I wasn't the only one falling in love.

To Be Continued...