Voss, A Hiding Hole

Zenith would come around, Sister. Take Riggs…

He was weary and aloof for a bit, but coldness didn't last on the account of having to stand back to back, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip in the last few days. On Balmorra we got the codes for Mantell. Tell Purple Eyes to hop to kicking out the hold-out Imps – I have the coordinates if he doesn't. They are vile and people are fed up, and doing stupid things. Riggs and I… we've shot a few Resistance folk by mistake. Can't stop being bitter about it. They wore Imp unis and didn't identify self as friendlies. Found their leader's old lady. Like everyone on Balmorra she was tough as nails, didn't hold a grudge, just told us to finish his job. When I grow up, I want to be like her… say some upstart shoots graying Riggs in some forsaken corner of the Galaxy- No. Don't want to think about such things.

Then we got to Voss, and things went the usual topsy-turvy way. Voss is your kind of place. I hate it!

See, Rogun buys these brutal sentients called Gormak (from his local crony called Jela). That's about as much as I could figure out. The locals who are not Gormak (the Voss) are the worst kind of snobs. They are under the heel of the local takes on Jedi, the Mystics. The Voss even made me pass a Mystics trial. I told them, I don't have a Force Sensitive bone in my body! No matter, apparently. Turned out I just had to shoot crazy monsters while half-blinded by golden light. Yep, I can do that a big time. Now I am a part of a prophecy? It's all hazy.

Then again, that underhanded no–good Jela made it seem we are smuggling Gormak off planet, and it's a no-no. So the Voss made us outlaws of the worst kind.

In a desperate attempt to get to the real Gromak trader, the Rogun's hussy, I let them freeze us, Riggs and I, in carbonite. To get shipped to her hideout. Golden glow and monsters… Price on our heads... The whole planet against us…. Can you blame me for clinging to Riggs? Into carbonite we went, together. Bet, we made quite a statue! Not of solid gold as I ever wanted, but still a handsome sort.

Now, after being thawed, we found a strange ally in the face of Jela's partner. Apparently he is not overly fond of what Rogun tells her to do to Gormacs. (Bad Things? Makes them viler if at all possible? Fail to see the difference, but I allow there are subtleties and shades to primal hostility.)

Our path led us through the forest with the blood-red leaves rustling overhead. And at that point I couldn't run any more. I sat down and looked at the leaves overhead. Riggs came over asked if I was alight after the carbonite ordeal. Said he's woozy too. And I've asked him if there was any such thing we didn't share yet? Food, drink, now death… or as near to it as one can manage and stay alive. He'd just looked at me, and I knew what he was thinking, what he wanted just then. Wish I had the right thing to say, like you do. But all that came to my mind, with my heart pounding in my ears, was the May the Force… and that little wave you do with your hand. That wasn't it at all.

I blurted out: "Am a Twi'lek…" He grinned: "Ain't you now? I reckoned this was a fancy headgear…" and he took my lek. Never did it before, always kissed like the humans do…. It tensed between us, like a string that is pulled to its max. He barely managed a hoarse: "Just say the word, Jenny…"

And like that it snapped right into my face! I screamed something like: "Riggs, I ain't gonna say please to any man, Twi'lek or—"

He jumped up after me, grabbed me by the shoulders: "Blazes, Jenny, I only meant my name! Why do I always say the wrong thi—"

And then I laughed, and I recall making it to "r", but I can't really vouch for "s"… and definitely no "o"…. I'm not goin' to tell you if it were good or bad or average, only that it was right.

T.