Chapter 42: The Role Model

"Okay, kid, let's see what you can do."

Jas watched warily as the two began to circle. Vess' brow was furrowed with concentration, the glowing training daggers in her hands hummed on their lowest possible setting.

Mirax Fallenstar had a sly manic grin on her face. She had chosen a short training sword for this bout, the type of weapon that an Alderaani noble might favor in a one-on-one honor duel.

Jas Dar Bynn frowned.

He had watched Fallenstar train back on Peebee; she didn't like to hold back. Of course, those had been against training droids, not people.

She knows enough to pull her punches, he thought to himself…

at least…I think she does.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Hotshot?"

Char Valenthyne watched nervously at his side. The protector had only been really back on her feet for about two days now. She should have been bedridden for another week at least, but the genetic enhancements granted her back on Bantoon more than compensated for any injury she had suffered.

Even Jas had been impressed.

Val…was not entirely happy about Mirax Fallenstar's presence in House Rist. She might have trusted Cooper, but that didn't mean she was not concerned with the bounty hunter that was now living under their roof, former Jedi or not.

She has nothing to worry about, Jas thought, Fallenstar is under contract right now, Coop hired her to help him protect Vess. Plus, Fallenstar's sense of justice would not allow her to harm someone she saw as an innocent. He thought that Vess qualified, at least…she seemed to.

He sighed.

That should've been enough to ensure her loyalty…

…emphasis…on should.

"Yeah," he said to the protector, "I think."

Val shot him a cold look.

"You think?"

He shrugged and gave her a sheepish grin.

So far, Fallenstar had done nothing but live up to her contract.

He hoped that she continued to stay that course.

Val was shocked to learn that Vess had been training with the other woman for almost a week. As her protector, she would never have allowed that, or at the very least tried to talk her young charge out of it.

Sadly, she had been unconscious when the choice had been made. Jas had done what he could to warn her, but Vess had a mind of her own, and a queen's confidence.

He could only advise, and though she had listened to that advice, she had elected not to obey.

It had been a fairly simple beginning, she and Fallenstar had started working out together, it wasn't until about three days into her service here that Vess had asked the other woman to spar with her.

Which, of course, brought them here, to the training room beneath House Rist.

The bounty hunter had agreed, and now…it was time once again.

Jas had sat in on all their previous bouts, just in case; this would be Val's first time watching one of these fights, and her concern was clear, even if one was not Force sensitive.

"What if she decides to hurt Vess?" Val had asked him before they had come down here, "What if she decides to try and collect whatever reward Queen Adira is offering?"

"She wouldn't do that," he assured her, "Fallenstar is many things, not all of them good, but she does keep her word. It is one of the few Jedi traits she still possesses."

Val trusted him, but that didn't mean she would not be watching this duel closely.

She didn't know Mirax Fallenstar.

She would be damned before she let her hurt her mistress.

Dressed in a combat suit, Vess radiated both confidence and caution in the Force. The training she had received from House Rist had been extensive enough to know that against a Force sensitive, she was at a disadvantage, she would need to be clever. She would…

She attacked.

One minute the two were circling, and the next…Vess was up in the other woman's face, her training blades flashing.

Fallenstar back pedaled, but Vess was already inside her guard, her reach advantage with the short sword didn't even come into play.

Vess' flurry was impressive, as was her speed. Jas had worried about her during her first fight with Fallenstar, but had learned not to underestimate the young queen.

Lady Rehanna was a very good teacher, he could see that in the way that Vess moved, how she gave even a former Jedi pause.

It was impressive, seeing how fast she was with those knives.

He shook his head.

Maybe this would not be such a lopsided fight after all.

The bounty hunter managed to escape their first exchange, and dance out of range. She extended her training blade, just enough to keep the young queen back, to make her rethink continuing the flurry.

Fallenstar smirked at her.

"Naughty, naughty, missy," she said, "You almost drew a little blood there."

Vess grinned at her.

"Almost got you, Miri," she purred with a confident smirk.

"I'm getting closer."

Fallenstar giggled.

"Closer isn't good enough, kid," she replied, "In a real fight, you either close the deal, or stay out of it."

Vessaria Istillo nodded.

Good advice from the bounty hunter, Jas thought.

Val still looked about to jump between the two, but Jas put a gentle hand on her arm. She looked over at him, a worried look on her face.

"Vess has this," he murmured.

"Trust her."

Val nodded, but still didn't look happy about it.

Despite her sense of worry, Jas was happy that Val was here, and grateful that she was on the mend. He had spent the week she had been in a coma worried.

He was grateful she was finally back on her feet.

He welcomed the chance to be close to her, the Force hummed contently between them when they were together. He might have taken comfort in that, but was also aware that any comfort that he felt wasn't…entirely natural.

You did this, his conscience chided.

You…did this.

Now that he knew what he was looking for, he could feel the link between them, the link that he had created years ago, on accident.

I'm going to have to tell her about it.

That particular thought was not a pleasant one. He was worried what Val might say or do when she found out.

Would she feel betrayed? Would she assume that he had taken advantage of her, and would now seek some kind of recompense?

He had never intended to manipulate her, and feared what she might do if and when she found out what had happened.

You still have to tell her…

…she deserves to know.

She did, but…

No buts.

He sighed.

He didn't want to lose her, her regard, her friendship…

…yet…the Jedi in him feared it was already lost.

He would tell her…eventually, but now…he simply wanted to be there, he wanted her to continue to think he was still a good man.

He said nothing, simply offered his support as they watched the duel between Vess and the bounty hunter.

He did need to tell her…

…just…not yet.

Fallenstar frowned as the two women began to circle again.

"Watch your footwork," she advised Vess, "If I was to strike when you were still moving into position, you might just find yourself on your back. Take it slow, don't rush it.

Jas nodded.

At that moment, Fallenstar sounded more like the Jedi she should have been, rather than what she was.

He was…impressed.

It seemed that Fallenstar was not completely devoid of wisdom.

Surprising.

Most surprising.

IOI

When Fallenstar had arrived on Alderaan a week ago, Jas Dar Bynn wasn't sure what Coop had been thinking. She was skilled in combat sure, but she was also unstable.

Half mad, some might say, but you couldn't doubt the bounty hunter's skill, he had experienced that first hand.

He still remembered their duel back on Corellia how close she had come to killing him. He didn't hold a grudge for that fight, but that didn't mean that he was not wary of the bounty hunter, not after what she did to her former partners that day.

She was dangerous, undisciplined, and emotionally…a mess. He had watched her back on Peebee, back when she had first joined their organization. When she was not on mission, she spent most of her time either training herself almost to the point of exhaustion, or blasted drunk in her quarters. The Jedi she might have been surfaced sometimes, but then it would fall silent and the girl who was Mirax Fallenstar would go back down into the abyss.

He pitied her on some level. He understood now why Mondar had let her go back on Corellia. She retained some of her Jedi traits, she had a sense of honor and justice, it was a bit twisted, but it was there.

Plus, he could not forget what she had done to Boss Tyntas, or rather…what she had likely done to the man.

Assassination was not the Jedi way.

True, the more pragmatic part of his mind knew, but at the same time, what other response was there to what Tyntas tried to do to Randa? It was not like he could simply be arrested and charged in the galactic courts?

That was a fact, but it was also a fact that Mirax Fallenstar had almost been a Jedi.

How could a Jedi, or former Jedi, justify such an act?

Normally, Jas tried not to judge anyone too harshly. Though he didn't know all of the details of her life, he did know that Fallenstar had suffered. That suffering had turned her into something dangerous, both to herself and to others.

He promised himself not to let either Vess or anyone else in House Rist be hurt because they had let Fallenstar get too close to them.

It seemed like an easy enough goal. Fallenstar was hardly the type to endear herself to those in power. She was skilled, but she had a rebellious streak a parsec wide, and she had little or no respect for those that saw themselves as authority figures.

Strangely enough, the bounty hunter had surprised him…again.

Mirax Fallenstar had been a Jedi once, after all.

It seemed that she had not completely forgotten her training.

When introduced to Dorma and Errol Rist, she had been both polite and respectful, and remained that way until the matter of Vess' security had first come up. The former Jedi had pulled no punches in pointing out the weaknesses in House Rist's security, and had been quite verbal in her description of its failings.

"I've worked on Alderaan before," she had said at one point, "I've heard the tales of House Rist, your reputation is well-earned, but…it could also be a weakness if read by a skilled hunter. House Rist uses that reputation to intimidate both their allies and their rivals, but if half of what I've heard about this Sunset Collective is true; they won't be intimidated. These people are zealots, and will not be afraid to use your reputation; to them…it is a lever to manipulate you."

Fallenstar shook her head.

"When you think no one will cross you, that is the moment that you are at your most vulnerable, a skilled enemy will know that is the exact time to strike, because you won't be expecting it. Your pride will blind you, and you won't see the knife in your enemy's hand until it is too late."

She had offered a plan to keep Vess safe, focusing mainly on the people around her. Considering what had happened in the past, she wished to limit the number of servants that had access to Vess, and to vet those that were until they were absolutely sure of their loyalty. it sounded a bit extreme to Jas but it also sounded viable.

"You have less than a week until the Republic arrives, it may be a bit of an inconvenience, but it will keep the girl alive."

Her suggestions did make sense, in Val's absence, it had all seemed like a good choice.

At first, Vess had chafed a bit under the new restrictions, but after observing Fallenstar for a day or two, she had changed her tune about the bounty hunter. Fallenstar could be rude and unstable, but she also knew the fringe elements that moved on any world, and was not afraid to speak her mind if she thought someone was wrong, even if that person thought themselves her better.

Her attitude and her strength had impressed the young queen. Which of course led to Vess and her friends coming up with a single conclusion about Mirax Fallenstar.

She was the most amazing young woman on Alderaan.

Soon…Mirax was the talk of the town of the noble sons and daughters of Alderaan.

It was for this reason that Vess had sought her out, asking to train with her. The hunter's rebellious spirit was different from what Vess and her friends were used to. He expected that in a month or two, the girls in Vess' circle of friends would be wearing armored leather jackets and growing their hair out into the style the Fallenstar favored.

The young girls were quite taken with the hunter.

They admired her strength and attitude.

Jas had smirked when he had happened to hear what the girls were saying about her.

"It seems you have become something of a role model to them," he informed the hunter.

Fallenstar had snorted at that.

"I'm here to do a job, nothing more," she replied, "Besides…"

She sighed.

"No one should want my life. I would not wish it on anyone."

Jas Dar Bynn was not sure how to respond to that.

In that moment all her could sense was bitterness, regret, and pain from her. It was a moment of vulnerability that surprised him.

For that briefest of moments, the Jedi that Fallenstar could have been shined through, but was gone just as quickly. She pulled a hip flask from her belt and took a long swig of some foul-smelling liquor.

"There are still some changes that need to be made around here," she informed him.

"We have work to do."

IOI

Vess' fondness for her had only grown in the days that they trained together. In Char Valenthyne's absence, Fallenstar had found herself fulfilling the role of both guardian and mentor.

It was a role that had an effect on her.

Being here, away from the criminal element that she was used to, it had awakened something in the failed Padawan. She was no longer drinking as much as she once had, and she was actually speaking more of the past, her history with Vima Dodonna, her Jedi Master.

Jas took that as a good sign.

Char Valenthyne, now awake and ready to resume her old position, was not as impressed as her queen was, but was at least willing to give the other woman the benefit of the doubt.

"Do you trust her?" she had asked him.

"I trust that she will remain true to her contract, and her sense of justice."

As for Fallenstar herself, Vess had started to win her over, as she did most of the people she met. They responded to the young queen, and in Fallenstar's case, she even started to lower her guard a bit. She had even come to accept the nickname that the girl had given her.

"Ready for another go-around, Miri?" Vess asked her.

The hunter smirked.

"Ready and waiting, kid," she replied.

"Let us see what you can do."

Again, Vess darted inside the other woman's guard, her daggers moving extremely fast, and again the hunter back pedaled, avoiding the spinning blades.

"Rehanna trained her well," Jas said to Val, "she is really good with those things."

Val frowned.

"She is getting cocky," she commented, "she is lowering her guard. If she is not careful…"

BZZZTT!

Vess gasped and fell to her knees. Fallenstar had caught her across the right shoulder with her training blade. Had it been a real sword, the young queen might have lost her arm.

Val was at her side in seconds getting between her charge and Fallenstar, not that the other woman continued to attack.

"Vess," Val called out, "Are you okay?!"

"It's alright," she called out with a groan, not wishing to have her protector fuss over her, "Just a burn."

Jas could see that, the angry red welt on the girl's arm, where Fallenstar's weapon had found its mark.

The bounty hunter lowered her weapon.

"You were dropping your guard," she commented coolly, "You were giving up safety for the chance of a killing stroke; it wasn't smart, missy. Had this been a real fight, I could have finished you off right now."

Val glared up at her.

"You wouldn't have the chance."

"Whoa there," the hunter said lowering her blade, "I wasn't trying to hurt the girl, merely educate her on what she did wrong."

Jas joined them, making sure this didn't escalate into a confrontation between Val and Fallenstar.

He leaned down and inspected Vess' wound, it was not bad.

"We will get you a kolto patch," he said, "It will take care of the pain."

"No," Vess said.

"My queen?" Val asked.

"It is fine," the girl insisted, "I'll feel it for a day or two, but it will be fine."

She looked up at Fallenstar.

"Pain can be a good teacher, Lady Rehanna says that, it will remind me not to make the same mistake again."

The hunter nodded.

"Smart lady," she said.

Vess nodded. She smiled, it was a bit pained, but it was there.

"That flourish at the end was surprising, I didn't see it coming."

"I'm used to close quarters combat," Fallenstar replied, "A lot of people think getting inside a Force sensitive's guard is the only way to beat them. So far…I've proven them wrong."

Vess giggled. Her eyes shown with respect for the other woman.

"Your skill with a blade is quite impressive, Miri. Your master would be proud."

Fallenstar's smile fell away, her eyes widened slightly.

In that brief moment, all she radiated was pain, and…it looked…like she was almost ready to burst into tears.

"Thanks," she replied, her voice cold and monotone, "I…um…ah…excuse me."

She turned quickly without another word, not quite running but walking very fast.

Trying to escape, Jas realized, she had dropped her training blade without even a second thought.

He frowned.

Sadly, he knew, you couldn't run fast enough to escape yourself.

Vess looked at Jas as Val helped her back to her feet, the girl radiated concern through the Force.

"Mister Jas," she asked, "Did I say something wrong? I…I didn't mean to insult her."

"She wasn't insulted," he assured her, "She was…well…I'm not sure."

He turned back to Val, who was still inspecting her young queen's arm.

He turned to Vess.

"You sure that you don't want a kolto patch for that?"

"I'm sure," she said smiling gamely, "It will give me something to talk to my friends about tomorrow."

Val snorted and shook her head with amusement.

"I think your friends need to find less violent things to talk about."

Jas excused himself, Vess was clearly okay, and had Val there to attend her.

He was more concerned for Fallenstar in that moment. What he had felt through the Force.

Such terrible pain!

He decided to follow after her, and make sure she was okay.

He didn't want her doing anything crazy, and given her sense of instability.

He thought it wise not to leave her alone, not right now.

If she told him to leave her be, so be it, but…

It never hurt to check.

IOI

He found her on the landing pad, checking over her ship. For a second there he had thought she had been prepping it to leave, perhaps to flee even farther than she could on foot.

She sensed him in the Force, and shook her head angrily.

"What do you want?!"

He shrugged.

"Vess was worried about you," he said, "She made a simple compliment, there is no reason for you to be angry with her."

Fallenstar refused to meet his gaze, she kept her head down, focusing on the connection to one of the cargo pods on her ship.

She took a shuddering breath.

"I wasn't angry at her," she hissed, "I was angry at…at…I…I don't know."

He remained where he was, he could feel the conflict in the bounty hunter. He could have left her alone, but thought it unwise.

In the state she was in, he was afraid she might try to hurt herself. Being here had definitely stirred something up within her, she might even have started to regret taking this job.

She took another shuddering breath, it felt like she was trying to hold something back, but that that something had been caged for too long, and would no longer be bound or hidden.

"Master Vima would NOT be proud of me," she said flatly, "Nor should she be."

"I didn't know her, sadly," he said with a shrug, "Despite everything that has happened, it is clear that you still respect her."

Fallenstar nodded.

"She was a true guardian of the Republic," she said wistfully, but then, the anger within her reared up again.

"She was also a blind fool!"

Jas had nothing to say, he hadn't known the Jedi Master, and only read a few reports on her, reports that he had had clearance for.

After their first meeting, Mondar had let him see what the shadows had on her, just in case she tried to collect on his head again in the future. Before she had vanished, Mirax Fallenstar had been seen as a perfect Jedi candidate. She had been all but raised in the Jedi Temple, and had never really shown any sign of deviancy or instability.

As for Vima Dodonna, the Jedi Master had been a picture of statuesque beauty and self-control. The one holo Jas had seen of her had given him no clue that her apprentice would turn out the way she had. Dark skinned with beautiful braided black hair, Dodonna had been a poster girl for what a human Jedi Master should be.

Her apprentice had appeared equally up to the task. It had been strange seeing that holo of Fallenstar, she had looked like a completely different person. The girl in that holo had a sense of innocence in her eyes, her long blond hair flowing down to her waist, her expression one of blissful calm.

It was hard to believe that that girl had turned into the unstable woman that he now faced.

Mirax Fallenstar turned away from her ship. Her eyes cold and furious, that anger was not directed at anyone, it was just there.

"What do you know, Jas Dar Bynn?" she demanded, "What have the Jedi told you about us, my master and me?"

"Very little," he admitted, "I've seen holos of you and your master, the temple file ones, beyond that…little else."

"Of course," she sneered, "No point in telling the truth, not if it is not relevant in their eyes."

She turned away again, he could have left, but he got the sense she didn't want him to.

She needed to do this, he thought.

She still needed to talk.

She shook her head.

"What did your precious files say about us? What did they say about our last mission together?"

"Not much," he replied, "Only that you had been sent out into the colony worlds to mediate a dispute and that you had both disappeared."

"Disappeared," Fallenstar snorted, "That is one way to put it."

She turned to Jas again, her eyes had that mad look he remembered from Corellia. It was the same look that she had had when she had shouted at him to kill her.

"Negotiations would be short," she said to him, "that is what my master told me. The planet we were on was having issues with one of the crime syndicates. They were trying to set up shop on the world, it was close enough to the Corellian trade spine that they could do business with little oversight. The man in charge of the colony was out of his league. A spoiled princeling from Coruscant. Someone who had no real business being a leader on a new world."

She shuddered in revulsion.

"We met with the governor on Coruscant, before we came to his world. He was quite taken with me. I could feel his regard, his curiosity. I should have said something to discourage him, but I held my tongue. I didn't wish to alienate him; we were there to help after all."

Fallenstar laughed.

"We were there to help," she snarled, "Yet, it was us that should have been calling for help. We didn't know that the little Murglak had already made a deal with the syndicate. He was already in their pocket and ready to cooperate. They asked only one thing of him, proof that he was willing to do what needed to be done."

She shook her head.

"I didn't find out until later, but he had informed the council that we had never arrived, our ship had never landed, and that he had no further need of the order. The matter had sorted itself out. He had made sure to be far away when we first arrived, he spoke with my master only on holo, and promised to be back the next day, in the meantime, we were to be his guests. His droids would see to our needs in the meantime."

Jas said nothing, he didn't wish to interrupt, he didn't want to take the chance of Fallenstar closing herself off again. She was finally talking, he thought it in her best interest to continue to do so.

He thought this might be just what she needed to find her way back.

"I can't say for certain what happened to my master, only that she died. I can say however what happened to me. My last memory of that mission was having dinner with my master, the governor's droids had brought us food, and we ate without a single thought that something might be wrong. Droids don't radiate malice in the Force, they simply do as they are programmed…"

She shuddered, her eyes seemed far away, distant.

"The next thing I remember I'm waking up in an alley, I didn't remember who I was, or how I got there. I had been dumped on the outskirts of the colony my head shaved, and wearing next to nothing.

She shook her head.

"It was snowing when I woke up, I had been left for dead, maybe they thought I was dead when they dumped me, or counted on exposure to finish me off, that or the dregs that called the nearby spaceport home."

"I should have been dead, but the Force had other plans. The spacers that found me were not as bad as the other crews that the syndicate employed. They took pity on me, and brought me aboard, took me to their medical droid.

They took me with them when they left, their kindness likely saved my life. They cleaned me up, and nursed me back to health. According to the Em-Dee droid, I'd been given enough pure spice to kill a Bantha, if not for the Force, I would have died in that alley."

She shivered at the memory.

"I remember laying on the medical table, as the droid tended to me, my memory had slowly started to come back by that point. I remembered my name, but little else.

"When the droid told me what had happened, that brought it all back."

Jas winced.

He was pretty sure he could guess what had happened.

"I had been…violated, that is what the droid called it. I appeared to have tried to defend myself, but given the amount of spice in my system, I wouldn't have had much of a chance. Hearing that, the shock I felt quickly morphed into anger, and that did the trick. I remembered who I was, and what I had been doing on that world. My first thought was of my master, how I had to go back and rescue her. The people that had saved me tried to convince me not to go, to contact the council and tell them what had happened, but at that point all I could think of was my master. I wasn't thinking. I certainly wasn't being rational, it was all compulsion. I had to get back."

"I left the ship and the people that saved me, tried to book passage back to the colony. I had no idea what world I was on, and I didn't care, all I knew was that I had to find my master. I had no credits, and didn't know how to get any. I had no real understanding of how the galaxy worked. It is amazing that I survived that first night, I would spend the next week wandering the port, trying to find a way back."

She laughed coldly.

"I had never really been out of the temple before, never been cut off from the resources of the order. I didn't understand, and was still confused from the spice overdose that almost killed me. I had gone out looking for the passionate Republic I had been told about in the temple and instead found the real galaxy waiting. I did what I could to survive. I stole to feed myself, slept in an alley. I…I didn't recognize the galaxy I found myself in; everything was so dark. Where was the Republic that I had learned about at the temple? Where was the beacon of hope for all, the light in the darkness? I had been so naïve. Master Vima had been naïve, we had both been fools."

"Why didn't you try to contact that temple?" he asked.

"I don't know," she admitted, "As I said, I was still confused, sick, afraid, and angry. I ran into a pair of bounty hunters near the star port, they were trading blasts with some fool that had skipped bail. I used the Force to restrain him, not really understanding what was going on, thinking I was helping law enforcement."

She smirked at the memory.

"They took me to the nearest cantina and bought me a drink, that was my first introduction to the bounty hunter trade. I spent another week at their side, earning credits for passage back to colony. They introduced me to the guild master on planet, and soon I was a registered member, my powers more than enough to buy my way in."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"One of the hunters who helped me tried to get a little fresh with me one night. I put him in his place, finally starting to understand what the Force could really do for me outside of the order. I left him alive, but he learned not to be so grabby."

"I returned to the colonies with new eyes. I was no longer the innocent padawan that I had been. I could see the suffering of the people there, how the governor and his friends were exploiting them. I asked around, expecting to find that the Jedi had sent someone to look for us. It had been almost two months since we had vanished. You can imagine my surprise when I learned that no one knew anything about us. No one from the order had come to look for us. It seems that they hadn't even cared to ask around.

"I was angry in that moment, Jas. So angry, and I felt betrayed, my master and I both…we had been betrayed!"

"My anger grew as I snuck back into the governor's house. My skills were more than up to the challenge of hiding from the bully-boys that his criminal friends had sent to protect him."

She shook her head.

I couldn't sense my master, but I did feel something. I was drawn to it. I found my way to the governor's office, I found our lightsabers there, in a case, trophies that the fool had taken."

She pulled her weapon from her belt, looking down at it.

"I'm not really psychometric, but when I touched my master's blade, I felt it…an echo of what had happened. I think…that is the moment that it happened."

"What happened?"

Mirax sighed, a single tear ran down her cheek.

"I think that that is the first moment that I wanted to die. My master…she had tried to fight back, but…they had cut her down, the very people we had been sent to protect killed her."

She looked at Jas, her eyes cold and furious.

"I went straight to his bed chamber, the governor, I found him with some girl, and pulled him out of bed, I could feel his shock and terror when he realized it was me, when he saw the lit lightsaber blade, and the fury in my eyes. I was in a cold rage as I dragged him out of his home. His thugs tried to stop me, but I cut them all down. They were animals, and got what they deserved. I dragged the fool out of his home and into the street, the whole time he was sobbing and begging, offering me anything to spare his life. He swore up and down that it had not been his idea, what had happened to me."

She smiled slightly, it was a cold and ugly thing.

"Did you kill him?" Jas asked her.

"No," she said, "My life wasn't in danger, so no. I felt a strange kind of gratitude for him in that moment, he had showed me what the galaxy was really like."

The security forces that he had employed recognized my lightsaber, and they were hesitant to try and save their employer. You get what you pay for, I guess. The crowd that had gathered was curious what I wanted, and what I was going to do with their leader, the man who had sold them out to the syndicate."

"I shouted out both who I was, and my intentions. I was Mirax Fallenstar, Hunter of the Bounty Hunters Guild, and that I had claimed this hard merchandise as my own, but was willing to part with it for a fair price."

Jas nodded.

"You offered him to his people?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"They were the ones that had truly been wronged, they deserved justice, what I wanted was simple revenge, their claim came first."

"I see," Jas said nodding, realizing now where Fallenstar's unstable sense of justice had begun, and started to understand why it was so important to her.

"How much did you ask for him?"

She giggled.

"I showed the fool how much his life mattered to me, his true worth. A single credit note was all I required. Once paid, I turned him over to his people, and dared the security forces to try and step in; none of them did."

She smirked.

"The people's justice came swift for him, but I stayed close, to make sure that no one interfered. The people deserved to see justice done, the kind of justice that a magistrate from the core wouldn't have offered them."

"Kind of harsh, wasn't it?" he asked.

She merely shrugged.

"True justice often is."

"The rioting started soon after my friend the governor was introduced to true justice. The colony fell apart a few days later, but that was no longer my affair or concern."

She looked up at the True Justice, her ship.

"I found this on the governor's landing pad, I think it belonged to one his guards. I needed a ship to conduct business, so I took it, and left the planet. I stopped at the first core world I could find, the first one with a guild office. I needed to find a job."

Mirax Fallenstar sighed and shook head.

"I'm no role model," she said flatly, "Make sure the kid understands that. I'm not here to impress anyone or make them proud. I'm simply a girl trying to feed herself and make my way in the galaxy."

Jas smiled at her.

"Sometimes when we are simply trying to make our way in galaxy, that is when we truly find it," he said.

"Find what?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"Ourselves, as you said, the Force was not yet done with you, Mirax Fallenstar. It has kept you alive this long for reason. Maybe coming here, maybe that is the start of a new path for you."

She sneered at that.

"I'm not a Jedi anymore. At least I can be honest with myself about that. The Force has no say over my life, not anymore."

"We'll see," he said walking away, giving her time to digest what he had said.

"Thank you," he said, "For telling me what happened."

She sighed.

"I don't know why I did it."

"We all have things we need to talk about, when the time is right. Facing such challenges are the first steps on the road back. It is the first step towards redemption."

"I'm not looking for redemption."

"Are you certain?"

She glared at him.

"You are wrong about me." She called after him.

"I was," he agreed, Now…he could accept that.

"Now…I'm not so sure."

There was more to her than what she thought.

Mondar had been right.

"I'm no hero, damn you!" she shouted after him.

"I don't want to be saved! I don't deserve it!"

Maybe, not, he thought to himself.

We will see.