I woke when I heard Luminara scream. I was on my feet in a second, half of my lightsaber ignited in one hand and the other turning on the lamp. She was sitting up, propped on her elbows. Once I saw that no one had invaded our room and the roof wasn't collapsing, I sheathed my blade, dropped it back on the nightstand, and put my hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" I said. She grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me close. She was shaking.

"It was only a dream," she gasped. "Only a dream." She pulled me almost into her lap. She was shaking so hard…

"Nightmare?" I asked, rubbing her back.

"Something like that," she answered shakily. "The children. Are they alright?"

I felt with the force in the area behind me. Three beings, sleeping in complete peace.

"Eh, yes. They're fine."

"Did you ever hear about some kind of Maixan monster…Cryrion, or something like that?"

"Chryr'ion? That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. They were a species of canine that killed Maixans for fun. They were sentient and were the dominant species on Maix for a long time. The Maixans never knew…and never will know…how they ended up overthrowing the hounds. They went almost extinct a long time ago, but my parents used to tell me one last hound still lived in our area and it would kill me if I left my room at night. Scared me to death. It turns out that one did survive. He was going on some kind of serial killer rampage on Maix and trying to leave the planet. He followed Shaak from Maix by stealing a small fighter she had aboard her ship, but he ended up being killed by pirates before she even reached Coruscant. He was shot right before her eyes when she was at a filling station. She didn't think it was terribly important until she told me about it. Why do you ask?"

She pulled me a little closer, tucking my head under her chin. Her pulse was racing. I rubbed the back of her neck, trying to calm her down. "Are you positive that he is dead?"

"Yes. Shaak checked the body. Dead as anything can be. And that's a good thing. He was out of control, according to legends."

"So he never left Maix?"

"He did have periods of time when he suddenly vanished. But he had no way of leaving Maix. They never developed space travel. What are you getting at?" She un-tucked my head from under her chin and looked me in the eyes.

"I had no way of knowing about the Chryr'ion before now, correct? I dreamt of the hound you just talked about. He and a Maixan wanted to become the only heroes in the green room, and so they killed all the others, but then Illiaton killed the Maixan he was with and-"

"Waitwaitwait," I said. "Green room? Illiaton? Others? What others? Slow down, Lumi. Take a breath. You're safe, the building is safe, and the children are safe."

"And you are safe," she murmured. She pulled me close again. Whatever she had dreamt about had really thrown her. "That's all that matters."

I closed my eyes and resumed rubbing her back. "You can tell me about it, if you want," I whispered against her olive skin. "You can tell me anything."

She took a deep breath. "Alright."

When she finished, I ran my hand through my hair.

"It must have been some kind of echo from the past. He is dead, and we are sure." She put her head down on the pillow, grabbing my shoulder and dragging me with her. She was very clingy tonight, but I didn't blame her. It was an unnerving dream. Her eyes closed and she drifted off quickly.

But sleep was slow in coming for me. The mention of Illiaton had brought up an unpleasant memory. I thought back to the day my parents had taken six-year-old me to a concert. A famous band had been playing. I had paid no attention to the concert, off in my own childish dreams. But at the end, when we were leaving, I got separated from my parents.

Four of the band members had cornered me off in the shadows, and told me the story of the Chryr'ions. When I told them I couldn't picture the creature, they'd been so kind as to draw me a picture. On my arm. With a knife. The scars faded quickly. They hadn't cut me very deep. But the pictured had haunted me for years. They threatened to kill me if I ever told anyone who did it. My parents never found out and eventually decided I must have found the knife on the ground and doodled on my arm. Finding one's child drawing on their arm with a knife was not as shocking on Maix as it was to the rest of the universe.

When Shaak had returned to the ship and told me, then ten and ecstatic to be away from Maix at last, about what she had saw, I had felt haunted for days afterwards. I didn't want Shaak and her friends to get attacked by any Maixans that might have followed us. But I didn't share this with her. I was used to no one caring about me but myself. I didn't know how to share my emotions at the time in my life. It had taken my lovely master nearly a year to teach me.

I looked over at Luminara, sleeping peacefully, thank the force. I thought back to another time on Maix. Two girls, a lot like me, had been sexually abused. They were neighbors and weathered the hell the males in their neighborhood put them through together. They were sixteen and seventeen, and very much in love. Even I had seen it, at eight years old. I had seen their public execution, and had no idea what to think. I had seen that their feelings were genuine, not the kind of fake and evil thing the government told us it was. But the government was always right, right? No. I stroked her black hair and smiled.

It would have been impossible for me to be with a man. Even one I trusted, like Boba or Zett. I liked talking with them, eating with them, sparring with them, but I knew if I was ever to kiss a man, all I would be able to see was the ones who had hurt me.

She was perfect. I wrapped the ends of the black lock around my finger. She groaned in her sleep. I smiled and let the lock of hair go. I was glad the Maixans who lived with us on Teth had become more open-minded. Maybe it was because not a single government official had survived. Nor any lawyers, nor business men. It was almost funny. Not a single of the boys who had abused me when I was a child had lived either. All the Maixans spoke basic, so I didn't have to translate anymore. It had taken less than a month to teach them all.

I put my head to the pillow and closed my eyes. I still could not sleep, but I could still let my thoughts go and relax.