Hey guys! I do want to apologize for the long wait. I'm sure by this point everyone knows and - in some way - has been affected by the virus that plagues the world. It has been crazy and I've had to do more things in the last ten months than I ever have in my life to make sure that things can keep on going. It's been rough and tiring, but I'm finding my groove in writing my stories once again. This isn't mean to be an excuse, just to say life is rough and I'm sorry. I do hope you continue to enjoy reading!
Chapter 6
What We Never Look For
"Nessun buio senza luce. Bast bilanciare. Maxwell, tu chi sei? Tu. Chi. Sei?"
Max woke with a start.
Those words were new. The voice was new. It was all new.
He sat up in his bunk aboard the shuttle he and his sister had convinced Mara to let them aboard. Currently, if Max remembered correctly, Mara and Luke were still in the cockpit.
He cast a look to the other side of the room where another bunk was carved out in the wall. In that space was his sister, Lexiah. She was curled up in a ball, sleep trapping her within its sweet embrace.
He sent out a wave of comfort to her, not expecting a response. However, once the message was received, it was given a reply: one of equal peace and tranquility. Which only meant that she was awake too.
"You okay, Max?" Lexiah whispered, almost too quiet to hear. Her face was turned towards him but her eyes remained shut and her tone communicated that of someone still trying to rest.
"I'm fine." Max said softly, "Just had a weird dream."
Lexiah opened her jade colored eyes slowly to see her twin, "What kind of dream?"
Max gave a half-shrug, "Not really anything I can picture. Honestly, all I heard were these words in a language that I don't know."
Lexiah blinked twice, "Scientifically, you can't dream of a language you've never heard. Even gibberish in dreams is just mangled languages already known."
Max rolled his eyes, "Thank you, Doctor Lexiah."
Lexiah gave a small smile, "You're welcome. Did the dream feel foreboding?"
"No." Max said, "It just felt…I don't know. I guess random is the word I'm looking for."
"Maybe." Lexiah said, yawning, "It was just a dream. Just because we have the Force doesn't mean that every dream we have is a warning."
Max nodded, pulling the covers back up on his body, "Yeah. You're probably right."
Lexiah closed her eyes again, "Most of the time, I am."
"Go back to sleep, Lex." Max said, sending a small Force push to shove her slightly in her bed. She took the blow and rolled slightly then readjusted herself, letting sleep take her once again.
Max closed his eyes and fell back into that same slumber, this time no dreams haunting him.
When he awoke the next time, Lexiah was gone. Her blanket was folded neatly at the end of the bed.
Max yawned, stretched his arms and legs, then walked out of the room. He made his way down the hall until he was at the refreshment area. He opened the cooling unit and pulled out a ripe muriti fruit. As he bit into the sweet, delicious delicacy, he saw Lexiah walk into the room in her normal attire and not her pajamas.
"Hey." He said, mouthful of fruit. "Was wondering where you went."
Lexiah popped her left arm, "Went to take a sanisteam."
Max nodded, taking another bite. After swallowing, he nodded towards the cockpit, "What do you think they've been doing for the last three hours."
Lexiah smirked deviously, "Probably swapping spit."
Max made a gagging noise, "Not something I wanted to picture in my mind."
Lexiah shrugged, lekku swinging slightly, "You know, it doesn't really bother me. Sometimes, I wonder when it's gonna be my turn to find a person to share those things with." Her voice had turned incredibly soft.
Max sometimes forgot that even though his sister was one of the strongest individuals he'd known with both the Force and a saber, she was also a girl. And, sometimes, she was a girly girl.
There had been a couple of students at the Rebirth Temple who had tried to make a move on his sister. Those guys had also found themselves nursing a bruised pelvis due to the fact that they were coming on aggressively. Max knew they were just immature. Very immature.
Some of them were also put on refresher duty by their father.
"Let's just make sure they aren't…" He smirked at her and made a pinching motion with two hands, "…grabby."
Lexiah's face turned from light orange to red. She crossed her arms across her chest, "That was one time. And, if I remember correctly, you're the one who gave him a beating afterward in the gravity chamber."
Max laughed, cracking his knuckles, "Only a few bruised ribs."
Lexiah smiled, "Always got my back."
"What are twins for?" Max smiled back, holding a fist out, to which she bumped it.
Max was about to take the last bite of his fruit when his senses were alerted to someone entering the room. And, in that instant as well, he realized that the sub-light engines had stopped rumbling far below deck.
Max looked forward to the door that would lead to the cockpit, expecting to see either Luke or Mara walk out. When no one appeared, he looked back to Lexiah. When he did, he was surprised to find someone standing behind her.
"Ben?" Max asked.
Lexiah turned around, a big smile on her face, "Ben!"
Benjamin Kenobi was standing there, a grin on his lips. He was dressed in his normal Jedi robes as always with his lightsaber at his hip. His dark brown robe was draped across his shoulders.
Lexiah leapt to give him a hug. Ben returned the embrace, then laid a hand on the top of her montral, giving an affectionate squeeze, "Hey, kid."
Ben was five years their senior, but for some reason it felt like he was a friend of their own age. He was mature when called for, and he was jovial when able to. He was someone who they looked up to and learned from. Lexiah had thought of Ben as someone who would be very good if he was designated to teach a class at the Rebirth Temple.
"How did you get on board?" Max asked. He hadn't seen Ben board the ship and he himself was the last one in. He remembered closing the hatch.
Ben grinned, "I just walked in." Max blinked a few times before Ben continued, "I used a Force technique that uses light reflection to make me almost invisible, then I just added that ability your father all taught us."
Lexiah leaned back, smiling wide, "Concealing your presence?"
Ben nodded, giving her a pat, "Good deduction, Padawan."
Max saw the color spread across Lexiah's cheeks. He knew that his twin had formed a girlish crush on the Jedi Knight, but it was nothing more than looking at an attractive actor in her favorite holo-magazine. He knew that she knew that. Regardless, sometimes he found her reactions to be very silly.
He chuckled to himself. One moment, he reflected to himself, his sister was one of the most terrifying entities that could ever exist and the next moment she was a pile of goo for a cute boy. He'd never been like that with girls.
He knew that his father had been fourteen – just as Max was himself – when he had met Ahsoka Tano, who would then become his wife and Max's mother. Their bond had been forged through blood, sweat, tears, and love. Against any foe, they stood by each other's side. He knew Lexiah yearned for something like that, but, secretly, Max did too.
But, he wasn't any gummy bear.
"Do the others know you got on?" Lexiah asked, breaking Max's thoughts.
Ben nodded, "I just came back from talking with them."
"Any idea where we are?" Max asked, crossing his arms.
Ben took a step back, leaning his back against the nearest wall, his hands now in opposite sides of his robes, "We've stopped somewhere outside of the Outer Rim, not far from Geonosis."
"Geonosis?" Max raised his eyebrows, "Why?"
Ben shrugged, "Mara said that this is where something is calling from?"
"Wasn't Geonosis the site of the start of the Clone Wars?" Lexiah asked rhetorically, "The source of the voice is coming from here?"
"We should get to the cockpit." Max said, moving to exit the room. The others followed him until they were standing behind the other two Jedi Knights.
"What's the holdup?" Lexiah asked, leaning on Mara's seat.
Mara cast a glance back, "The echo leads here."
Luke looked at the scanner, "Nothing is coming up on the scopes."
"Yet." Mara quipped.
"Yet." Luke agreed.
Max looked out into the darkness of space, dotted by small white blips he knew were stars. Some of those stars, he knew, had already exploded and died but their light could still be seen due to the time lag of space between two points.
He reached out with his senses and felt…nothing.
"How far are we from Geonosis exactly?" Ben asked, leaning over to peer at the galactic map.
Luke took his finger and drug it from their current location to Geonosis, "One small skip jump and we would be there. It's strange that the voice isn't emanating from there instead."
"Yeah." Lexiah said. "There is nothing out here."
"Just because you can't see anything doesn't mean that there is nothing there." Mara said, closing her eyes and reaching into the Force as well.
Max reached back into the Force, spreading out his senses to encompass the entire ship and the space beyond. His presence wafted through the deep void before he felt a tug at his senses. It was brief, almost imperceptible, but it was there.
"Mara." Max said. "Did you feel that?"
Mara looked to him, "What?"
"Did you feel that?" Max repeated. "For just a second I felt…something."
Lexiah turned to her twin, "I didn't feel anything, Max."
Luke nodded his head, "Nothing here either."
"I'm sure I felt something."
Just then, the Force brought forth a vision.
Double Vision: three light cruisers of an unknown origin would drop out of hyperspace. In her haste and confusion, Mara would instinctively activate the power switch which activated the turbo-lasers. The three cruisers would open fire almost immediately after, disabling the ship in an instant without killing them. That would leave them open to be boarded…
The vision ended and Max threw his hand forward, the Force wrapping around the power throttle that controlled the entire power supply for the ship. He yanked it down, lights and displays winking out in an instant. Just because the power was down, however, didn't mean that the life support had been shut off.
Before anyone could protest, the three cruisers that Max had seen in his brief vision appeared before him. Now, he could get a good look at them. They were modified Gozanti-class cruisers, but their dorsal engines had been split into six instead of four, allowing for quicker ignition and speed with shorter wait times. There were also quite a few more batteries peppered across the bottom hull.
"What in the world?" Lexiah muttered, peering closely out the viewport. She turned to her twin, "Max? Did you know they would be here?"
Max shook his head, "I just got a three second vision from the Force and I took the initiative. No time to clue you in."
"I'm glad you didn't." Luke said, his face slightly taut, "I would hate to think what would have happened had we fired upon them or ran immediately when they entered the system."
"We would have been shot down." Max said matter-of-factly.
Mara nodded, looking up at the ships, rubbing a hand across her wrist. Her holo-watch lit up and a hologram of the three ships appeared in a 3D model. She spun the models around, looking closely at the vessels.
"I think these are pirates." Mara said, her voice going slightly dark, "But, the feeling of the voice is coming straight from the main ship."
Luke sighed, "I was afraid of that."
"What's the next move?" Lexiah asked. "We contact them?"
"Bad idea." Max said. "Something tells me they won't want to talk much."
"I mean, if that's where the voice is coming from then they want Luke dead." Lexiah commented, crossing her arms.
Ben nodded, "Indeed. Bad choice."
"Can't just stay here floating in space." Mara muttered, zooming in on the lead ship. She pointed at the bridge, "Here."
"You sure?" Luke asked.
Mara nodded firmly, "Yeah. I'm sure."
Ben leaned forward over Mara's shoulder, tapping the bottom side of the hologram. The lead ship turned over on its backside, the main hanger being visible. Right behind the main hanger there was a small sub-station with a docking port connected to a ventilation hatch.
"If we can get there, we can get in without anyone knowing it." Ben said.
"We can't control the ship without power." Max said. "And we won't be connecting without adjusting our position."
"So, let's use the Force." Lexiah suggested.
"They would feel that." Luke pressed a hand to his chin in thought, then he snapped as an idea formed, "But, what about the air jets."
The shuttle that they were in had been designed by Anakin Skywalker himself, so it had a few tricks up its sleeves. On each side of the ship were eight, small, pressurized air jets that could push the ship in any direction without using a large amount of power. In the case that they were in, the cruisers before them wouldn't have enough of a signal to track.
"Hey guys." Lexiah said, her voice empty, pointing a finger out the viewport.
They all looked up to see the middle cruiser coming to a half where it was. The other two started to veer off in opposite directions just as the middle one started to rotate. The side of the ship was almost fully in view before Max realized why it was turning.
"That's an ion cannon!" He exclaimed.
Mara threw the power switch forward, turning the ship back on to ready status. She took control of the yoke and yanked the ship backwards, sub-light drives flashing to life in a heartbeat.
Lexiah grabbed the back of Mara's seat to prevent flying off her feet at the sudden maneuver. Ben used the Force to hold himself in place as did Max. If their attackers knew they were there, no use in hiding in the Force.
Mara tapped the keypad to her right, "Set coordinates for a small skip jump away from inhabited zones!"
Luke nodded and went to typing just as the whine of the ion blast soared towards them.
"It's just like the Malevolence!" Lexiah exclaimed.
"That blast will reach us in a matter of seconds!" Ben said. "We have to jump now!"
"We can't!" Mara said, exasperated, "We might crash into a star!"
"Well, that ion blast is definitely gonna hit us if we don't jump right now!" Luke said, voice stern and concerned.
But, it was too late.
Max looked down at the control panel just as the wave of immobilizing energy overtook the entire ship, shutting down all electrical systems within a nanosecond. Then, he felt his skin prickle with danger sense as his head became swampy, thoughts seeming to melt away into nothing. He reached out towards Lexiah to ask what was happening, but he only saw her slump against the side of the wall, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. He quickly turned to the others and saw that they had also lost consciousness.
Then, just as they had, he fell into black oblivion. As he faded away, he asked himself how they had been rendered unconscious. The blast from the ion cannon should have just immobilized their ship not knock them out. Before he was able to ponder further, blackness overtook him.
When he opened his eyes, he was still teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. But, there were people moving in front of him. He couldn't tell their gender or species for that matter, but he knew that they were there. And, just as he was fading back, a hand felt his face and said.
"Hello, young one. Sorry that this has to happen but worry not because it won't last long."
When Max came to his senses, he was on his knees with his hands pressed together with special electro-binders. The harder you pulled them, the tighter they became as well as sending a jolt of electricity through your body. It wouldn't cause permanent damage, but it would hurt like hell.
As he regained his sight, he looked around the room. To either of his sides were the rest of his companions. Luke and Ben were farthest away from him while Mara and Lexiah were directly to his right and left. Lexiah had her head down still as did Luke and Ben, but Mara was already wide awake.
In front of them stood three men, all human, with blasters in their hands. They were modified DC-15 blaster rifles. Their clothing was simple but effective, and Max automatically found himself transported back in time to when his father first went over how to identify targets' weaknesses and strengths.
He could tell from just their appearance that it was a farce. They were trained. Their backs were taut and strong, showing that they were combat ready in under a second. Max and the rest had the Force, but even that had its limits. He couldn't dodge three blaster bolts coming from three different directions at once.
Obviously, his lightsaber was missing along with all the others' weapons as well. He couldn't even tell where it was at the current moment, and something inside him knew that if he was to try to find the crystal within the saber using the Force, he would regret it. So, he sat there, head lowered to give the impression of still being under the influence.
"Mara." He whispered almost silently.
Using the Force to strengthen her hearing, Mara replied, "You alright?"
"Yeah." Max said. "You?"
"Peachy."
"What happened?"
Sending a mental shrug his way, Mara rolled her eyes slightly, "Still trying to figure that one out."
"Am I interrupting?" A voice called out from in front of them.
Both siblings looked up to see a woman walk into the room. This woman, young and beautiful, had red hair and piercing green eyes. For an instant, Max thought it might have been Mara's long-lost sister or something of that magnitude. They didn't look too much alike, but their other attributes matched almost exactly. However, the woman in front of them had red hair that was a darker red than true redhead.
"Nope." Max said, smiling wide at the newcomer. "We were just discussing what type of dinner we're gonna eat when we go home."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible for the foreseeable future." She said. "I don't plan on letting you leave for quite some time."
"We might have a say in that." Mara retorted swiftly, "I'm afraid you don't know who you're messing with."
"Oh, trust me, Mara Jade, I do." The woman said, a sinister smile on her lips.
To his left, Max saw Ben start to stir awake. When he fully came back, he looked to Max, then to Mara, then to the woman in front of them. He raised an eyebrow.
"Still trying to figure it out." Max grumbled. "Who are you again?"
In one swift motion, the young woman swung her hand towards Luke, palm open. The Force surged fiercely before his body flung itself backward to slam back-first into the bulkhead. His already unconscious form spasmed on contact as he slunk to the floor.
Horrified, Mara turned to him, "Luke!"
Using the Force, the woman pulled Mara's gaze back to her, "Who I am, Mara Jade, is the voice you've been searching for. I am Shira Brie."
Mara's eyes widened, "It was you?"
Max's eyes matched Mara's, "Why? What do you want?"
"Young Jedi." Brie tisked, "We will get to that in a moment, but first we must make sure that all the guests have rooms prepared." She held a hand up and a man in a simple uniform stepped forward, "Captain Femnar, take Skywalker to my chambers." She pointed to a group of guards standing by, "Take the Togruta and this young Jedi to cell block A and D. Jade will go to torture chamber delta."
"Yeah." Mara said, gathering the Force inside her, "Not gonna happen."
Ben spoke up for the first time, "Let's go!"
Max nodded and leaped to his feet, kicking his foot out in a vicious strike, sending the guard nearest to him flying away to crash into another man just a few feet behind. One of the next guards raised a blaster and as the bolt flew towards him, Brie tried in vain to alter its trajectory.
Max smirked and raised the cuffs just as the bolt reached him. The electric lock that binded his wrists together exploded into shards and he found himself free at last.
Mara rolled backwards, kicking her leg down to catapult her to her feet. Then, a moment later, she found herself staring at the glaring form of Shira Brie. From her waist, Shira ignited a lightsaber of golden energy.
Ben was already on top of the situation, shoulder-jecking the guard nearest to him. The blaster dropped from the man's hands and Ben swept his leg out from under him. The blaster flew into Ben's hands as he switched to stun, blasting two more guards in quick succession.
Max was halfway to Shira when her lightsaber came to life, but that meant nothing to him. He could feel the Force flowing through every inch of his being. With that life-giving power running in his veins, he made his move. He launched himself through the air, foot outward aimed towards Brie's head.
Brie realized it a second before impact and leaned forward, letting Max soar past her body. He recovered quickly, reflecting himself off the wall and back at her. This time he made contact and kicked the lightsaber out of her hands. Then, he drove his elbow towards her face.
To his utter surprise, she caught the strike and used his momentum to slam him face first into the ground, his face erupting in pain as metal met skin. Mara attacked, the Force blasting out of her palm in a single burst of energy, but Brie created a shield around her, the Force push merely deflecting off her wall.
Then, Brie sent her own blast at Mara. Caught unaware, Mara caught the blast in her chest, flinging her against the wall with a crash. Her body landed next to Skywalker, unmoving.
Max felt anger flow and he punched the ground with a hand covered in Force energy. The entire floor panel seemed to turn to jelly for a moment, losing all physical integrity. Brie lost her hold on him for a mere moment, but that was enough time for him to turn his body around, kicking both legs into Brie's chest and sending her up towards the ceiling. Max jumped to his feet, rearing his fist back to deliver a decisive blow to her face. That would end the fight, he was sure. However, just as he was about to make contact, a sharp awareness sparked in his brain. He couldn't stop his body as he followed through with the punch, but Brie had already recovered. She caught his fist with her arm and swung him around until he found himself flying head-first into the wall. Darkness crowded his mind until it was all there was.
Ben saw both his friends go down and shot two more guards, leaving him alone with Brie. He shot his own restrains with an actual bolt of energy. Brie pulled her lightsaber back to hand, holding it towards the Kenobi. Ben held the blaster up to her in response.
She gave him a look, "You must be joking, Kenobi."
"Try me." Ben said, steel in his voice.
For a good thirty seconds, both combatants stared at each other, wondering who would make the first move. Neither one displayed intention into the Force, so both were waiting on action alone.
Ben's heart froze as he felt the muzzle of a blaster pressed to the base of his skull. Captain Femnar had regained consciousness, picked up his blaster, and had him in a pinch.
"Well," Ben muttered, dropping his blaster, "damn it."
"Should I take care of him, Commander?" Femnar asked, priming his blaster.
Brie shook her head, "No. Take the others where I said to, Kenobi will stay here with me. He has intrigued me."
"As you wish."
From her position on the ground, Lexiah stirred awake, looked around, then frowned, "What did I miss?"
Femnar promptly stunned her a moment later. The guards filed out, a body slung over each shoulder. Ben's ire rose as each of his friends were taken away.
"I sense great fear in you." Shira murmured, moving behind the young Jedi and running a soft hand over his shoulders. Her hands were gentle, but Ben knew the danger behind them. He knew what she was.
And, so, he wasn't swayed.
She shoved him to his knees.
"You're failing, you know." Ben said defiantly. "You do not frighten me."
Shira gave a small laugh, squeezing his shoulders as she leaned down to his ear. Her breath tickled the back of his neck as she spoke, "Not the fear I'm sensing."
Ben closed his emotions down with the Force, pushing her out of his head. He hadn't realized it at first, but, in that instance, he did. She had been trying to crawl into his mind.
"I know you don't fear me." She whispered, "But, it's the fear for your friends that I sense."
Ben's muscles tensed, and he closed his fist tighter. He cast a look around, but there was no way he could take out Shira and her four bodyguards before he was shot down. They didn't need all of the group, just some of them. He didn't want to shorten their numbers. It was bad enough they were already divided now.
"Tends to happen when you kidnap us and split us up." Ben growled, his heart pumping quickly now.
Shira smiled to herself and leaned back, taking her pistol out and placing it at the back of his head. She cocked the slide back, and pressed it into his skull, "You wouldn't understand. And, if I wasn't so direct, how else would you have cooperated with me?"
Ben clenched his teeth, fear trying to creep into his mind. He pushed it away, "You could have asked nicely."
"You take me for someone willing to talk." Shira said, her finger ghosting over the trigger.
Ben took a deep breath, "There's got to be some type of negotiation here."
Shira smiled sardonically, "The son of Obi Wan Kenobi wants to negotiate. Now, that's very funny. Your father's nickname during the Clone War was 'The Negotiator.' Did you know that?"
Ben nodded, "I know everything about my father. And, I know everything about the Clone War. My parents have taught me well in that regard."
"You claim to know everything." Shira spat. "So boldly spoken for one so young."
There was a malice in her words that didn't belong to her. Yes, she was speaking. Yes, she did mean it. But, no, it was not from her own thoughts. That anger came from an outside source.
Ben could clearly see that.
"I could say the same thing to you." Ben said, gesturing to her, "You don't seem that much older than I."
"I have a handful of years on you." Shira pressed the pistol a little harder forward, "But, you do not know everything about the Clone War."
"You presume to know my upbringing." Ben replied calmly, "You do not know about what I have learned."
"I know you are mistaken."
"Enlighten me then, Miss Brie." Ben suggested. The more he could learn about her the better. If she was part of something bigger than her pirates, then it was something that the Jedi Council needed to know about. He just hoped he could get her talking before she wised up and shot him in the head.
In all honesty, Ben knew that Brie was far more dangerous than first thought. She had captured them using Gozanti-class cruisers from the Clone Wars era, which meant that Mara and the others were in the prison cells far down below.
Mara was a smart woman, but she was also very impatient at times. He knew that when she saw her moment, she would break out and it would be an all-out war until she reached the bridge. However, someone might have been killed in that time, and that was something the Kenobi did not want.
Especially if one of those casualties was one of the Marko twins.
Explaining that to Master Blaze would be a nightmare, not to mention the death of two people he considered to be his own family.
It was all up to the will of the Force.
"Oh, I shall, Kenobi."
Maxwell Marko woke from his slumber, slightly confused. It didn't take him long to realize that he was in the prison cells of one of the Gozanti cruisers.
Remembering his defeat, he rubbed his sore cheek, "That hurts."
A quick inspection of the cell showed that there were Force-inhibitors built on the outside of the cell, meaning that any physical-based Force abilities were useless. That wasn't common tech, but he could hardly be surprised. This Shira Brie had abducted them and was careful, smart, and prepared. She had already said she had been the one calling out to Mara the whole time. What else was she capable of?
He looked around the cell and didn't see any of his friends or his sister and could only assume they were in different cells. However, he wasn't alone. In the corner of the cell, wrapped in her own arms, was a teenage girl.
"Well, hi." Max chuckled lightly, trying to lighten the dreary mood, "Guess you'll have me as company for a little bit. Till we decide to break out, that is."
The teenage girl looked back at him, as if processing his words in her head. She blinked her eyes a few times, then returned her gaze to the ground.
"My name is Max." Max said, taking a cross-legged seat in front of the girl. He noted her tattered clothing, "You been here a while?"
Silently, the girl nodded.
Max reached out with the Force, his presence enveloping hers carefully. However, at the slightest contact, his presence was pushed out. Not only was the connection severed, but the fact that it was severed meant that her connection to the Force was strong.
But, he had felt something in that single second of connection.
Strangely enough, the girl didn't seem to be affected by the connection in the slightest. He wasn't even sure that she had felt anything at all. She was most likely oblivious to her own potential. That, though, wasn't what he felt.
The familiarity of her chemistry could only be described in one word: similar.
He gave her a sideways glance, then blew out a sigh, "Do you know if they have any more ships besides this one and the other two?"
The girl didn't move.
"Okay…do you know what planets they may have stopped on?"
Again, silence.
"Are you human?"
Absolute silence.
Nothing is happening at this point. Max thought exasperatedly. They have regulators for our abilities, but that won't stop us from getting out of here. The problem is, we don't know what they might sick on us.
Best bet was to wait for an opportunity to present itself.
Mara would contact him somehow and let him know when to make a move.
For now, he was with the girl.
"What is your name?" Max said finally. "I mean, you don't have to talk to me constantly but if I can get a name then it would be easier to address you."
The girl looked back up to him, her eyes a light violet color. Her gaze, he now noted, was extremely tired. There were bags under her eyes and it looked as if she was kept on the brink of insomnia as well as malnutrition. Her clothes looked dirty, but there was no odor.
She shuffled for a moment, then spoke, her voice soft but hoarse as if she hadn't used it for some time, "Vey." Her accent was heavy. In a way, her voice resembled Obi Wan's accented cords.
"Vey?" Max repeated. Then, he thought back to what he felt in the Force. "Do you have a last name?"
"Vey is my name." She said tiredly, "The name I made."
"What happened to your real name?" Max asked, his mind starting to flare in the back of his subconscious. There was something about this girl that made him start to wonder about her past more than usual. There was something different about her, but something that made him feel a similar presence. She was connected to the Force, that much was a fact, but her presence was different.
The girl, now Vey, curled up away from him, "She's gone."
Max scratched his head, "Why?"
This time, Vey whipped around to face him, landing on the palms of her hands and knees, her face pointed to his. The second of bravado suddenly melted away into fear at the consequence, and she slipped backwards, her eyes downcast.
"She had to go." She whispered. "I'm a good girl. I'm a good girl."
"Who are you?" Max asked again, this time with a bit more seriousness than usual. His carefree attitude and smiling face were replaced with one of focus and determination. "I feel it. Even with the Force being suppressed, I can feel it in you."
Vey looked up to meet his eyes, "So, it is real?"
"Is what real?"
"The Force."
"Of course, the Force is real." Max said, confused, "Why wouldn't it be?"
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Vey whispered. Her voice was even more hoarse, as if she was fighting back tears. Pain radiated through the Force, so strongly that Max grabbed at his head.
"Yeah." Max grumbled, pushing the feeling away. "I'm sure I would."
Noticing his wince, Vey blinked, "Did that hurt you? I…didn't mean to."
"No. It's fine." Max gave a disarming smile, "You just don't know how to control it. But, don't worry, I'm sure my dad will teach you when we get back."
There it was: hope.
Vey turned to him a bit more, "What do you mean?"
"Me and my friends are going to break out of here at some point, and you're gonna come with us." Max said. There wasn't a way he was going to leave her with the pirates.
Plus, Max thought, I have no doubt that this Shira Brie is more sadistic than just harsh.
Vey brushed the sentence away, "You're wasting your time."
"I get why you think that." He smirked, feeling pride, "But, when your father is Blaze Marko, you tend to get out of stick situations."
"Marko?" Vey echoed, "Marko..."
There had been a handful of instances where Max couldn't give an explanation beyond what was said. This, it seemed, was such a time.
Max frowned, putting pieces together in his head, "I find it hard to believe that even in here you haven't heard of my dad. Everybody and their mother knows about him."
Vey shrunk back, "Well," she said, "forgive me for being out of touch." Her eyes misted suddenly, pain flooding once again through the Force. Sadness was the heaviest of them all. A sense of loss.
"No." Max said, pondering further. Then, it sparked. There was a question he hadn't asked yet. He had asked who she was, what she was doing here. But, he didn't ask her the last one. "Where did they take you from?"
Vey paused. Silence took over the air between them, and Max could feel a chill run down his spine at the sudden, awkward silence.
"You wouldn't know what the planet is." Vey whispered.
With anticipation nipping at his heels, Max nearly blurted out, "Was it Earth!?"
Vey's violet eyes lit up with recognition and with desperate hope. She leaned forward this time, landing back on her palms, then crawled over to where Max was, making him lean back a bit as she came within a foot of him.
There it was. That was his way to get answers to his questions. There was a connection there! That was the familiarity that he had felt once before.
"You know of Earth?" Vey choked on her words, tears starting to stream down her face, her breaths becoming rapid.
Max didn't know how long she had been in such a ragged state, but he could only guess that getting emotional wasn't good for her. Gently, he nodded, "Of course, I know of Earth. My father is from Earth."
Vey gave a watery smile, followed by a breathless laugh, "Y-Your dad? He's…he's from Earth?"
Max smiled, "Yeah. And, I promise to tell you the story, but only after you answer my questions. Deal?"
Vey nodded her head, then her stomach growled loudly. Quickly, Max reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a granola bar that his dad always gave him. He handed it over, to which Vey took it graciously. She munched it down within seconds, the first real smile adorning her face.
Kindness she hadn't known for some time he was sure.
"How long have you been here?" Max asked as she finished.
Vey swallowed, her eyes downcast but accepting, "Ten months. This ship landed over in England – which is a large country on Earth – and took a total of twenty people prisoner. I didn't think it was real. I had read books, watched the movies, and even written some stories, but I didn't think this stuff ever existed." She took a shaky breath, "Five people died within the first month. And, then numbers kept dwindling till it was just me. That was five months ago. Honestly, I'd just about given up hope of ever seeing anybody ever again. That is, until today."
"I'm the first person you've seen for five months?" Max echoed, his stomach turning in disgust. Instinctively, his fist clenched. There was nothing that made his blood boil more than evil people getting away with wrongdoings and making people suffer.
"Yes." Vey said. "And, my name – my real name – is Alexandria. Princess Alexandria Dantez of England."
Max fell on his hands, his face almost touching hers accidentally, "You're a princess?!"
Vey nodded, "I was."
"You were taken from your home." Max said gently. "You were forced to be someone you weren't."
"Put it on the back shelf." Vey let out a small cough. "I knew the gravity of my situation. I had to do something. Be someone else."
"And, just like my dad, you created a name for yourself." Max said more to himself than anyone else. "You chose Vey. He chose Blaze. Master Rey chose Ziv. Everyone created someone else."
"Wait." Vey stopped him, "How many people from Earth are here?"
Max adopted a thoughtful look, "Well…five. There used to be more, like my grandparents, but they died during the Shadow War."
"I don't remember that in the lore of Star Wars." Vey said. "I'm sorry about your family."
"I never met them." Max said softly, "I wish I could have. And, as for lore, my dad changed all that when he ended the Clone Wars. That's why there is no Empire. That's why there's no Vader."
"Your dad made a real impression then. He changed history." Vey smiled. "I just thought I was too out of range to know about the current state of events. I didn't know that was possible…and, I'm so glad I'm not alone anymore."
In that moment, Max focused on Vey's face. Even though there were signs of malnutrition, he could see her high cheekbones and smooth features. Her eyes shone brightly with hope, and her smile was captivating.
He found himself staring.
And, Vey caught him.
"I'm sorry that we have to meet like this." She joked, "I'm not in the best shape, I know."
Max shook his head, "No. Don't apologize. I'm sorry they've treated you so badly." He slowly got to his feet, turning to the laser shield, "I'm sure it won't be much longer now."
From behind him, Vey spoke, "How old are you, Max?"
"Fourteen." He said simply.
"You're very mature for your age. You talk like a leader, and you have a warm heart." Her voice said softly, "Thank you."
"No thanks necessary, Vey." Max said, swallowing heavily. "I'm a Jedi. It's what we do."
"And, I'm a fifteen-year-old ex-princess of a planet that has no idea where I am." Vey said, getting to her feet with a wobbly stance. She hadn't felt contact with another person in any way other than negative. Slowly, she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso as he turned to face her, her face buried in his tunic. "Thanks."
Max let out a breath, raising a hand to lay it over hers gently, "You're welcome, Alexandria."
"Here, I'm Vey." She whispered against him, tears again streaming.
"Okay, Vey."
As Vey rested against him in that moment, he couldn't help but think about what Lexiah had said when they were aboard their ship. And, he also couldn't stop wondering what his father would say if he knew his son went down so easily.
Max would make sure he never found out.