Last time: A group of Sith attacked a Jedi Temple and took a holocron.

Now: We meet our heroes. Welcome to Vestora

Part 1- Chapter 1: Vestora

A blue crystal, with a fine lattice of gold around its edges in the shape of a three sided pyramid. The late afternoon sunlight streamed through the office window on its path toward a sunset on the other side of the space port and caught the facets in a way that showed the perfection of its manufacture, even though its age was unknown but had to fit somewhere between antique and ancient. Oppie had considered it often over the years, knowing the importance its former owner had held for it, and for that reason he always kept it with him. In quiet, thoughtful moments like this, alone in his office or other such times, he would pull it out of the pouch he used to hold his spare credits and other daily items and idly roll it in his fingers while he puzzled through whatever confounded him.

To anyone else it might have seemed like a trinket or bauble, maybe a family heirloom. Oppie had to smile a little at that thought; in a way it might be considered an heirloom, left to him by a father on his deathbed. The fact that that deathbed had been in the heat of battle and at the hands of the 94th Ranger Platoon of the Grand Army of the Republic fifteen years previous made no particular difference he supposed.

Oppie Xiv was a young man around thirty years old. He was a tall guy with a strong build about him. He has short cropped brown hair and a small well groomed beard and mustache combo on his face. He was a good looking fellow, just a little shy about it. He wore a dark shirt with matching pants and boots, hanging over the back of his chair was his dark brown jacket he usually wore over top.

A casual knock at the door preceded its opening, Oppie flashed the crystal into his palm and closed his hand as his security deputy, Greer stepped into the room. "Hey boss." he said as he leaned on the door jam. "About ready to call it. Pretty slow day, only two brawls at the cantina, and one iffy freighter license."

Oppie sighed lightly, he could leave the brawlers to the cantina owner. "Were they trying to sneak spice through?" Their outpost was a quiet little one, mostly a stop over on a spacelane from the Outer Rim to the Core Worlds. Pilots and their passengers would usually stop in to get out of the ship for a little while, stretch their legs, stop at the cantina, have a few drinks, maybe stay overnight in accommodations that were more comfortable than their bunks. Lately, though, there had been an uptick in smuggling activities in the sector. One of the datapads on his desk was about that very subject, in fact, a notice from the imperial navy that was sent to security throughout the area to up their inspections, and, worrisome to Oppie, a notice of increased patrols in the sector. He liked the outpost sleepy and quiet, he'd chosen it for those very attributes and kept his security efficient but fair to make sure it stayed that way and kept away from the notice of the Empire.

"'Yeah, you might wanna talk to the kid at the port again." Greer mentioned delicately.

"I'll talk to him, first chance I get."

"Sure, sure." Greer said congenially. "I don't really mind, no skin off my nose. Just that if he keeps his uh… 'creative oversight' up it might arouse interest, ya know?" He nodded his head to the datapad on Oppie's desk, also having read the same notice.

"All too well, yeah." Last thing either wanted was an Imperial presence here, as garrisons were being set up through the galaxy, expanding ever outward from the core. Oppie had a far more vested interest than his deputy in wanting to keep them out, last thing he wanted was for him and his wards to have to uproot again and move further out towards the rim. "I'll have a chat with him, and if he won't listen to me then he'll listen to her."

"And stay out!" Viran heard the shout from inside as he dodged two ruffians flying out the door of the cantina with great speed and no volition of their own. They landed soundly in the dirty street and slowly started to get up in a drunken stupor as he went through the portal.

Viran Zeb was a young man around twenty-five with buzzed short auburn hair and hazel eyes. He was a fairly fit guy with a handsome face, at least according to his best friend whose opinion he did care about the most. And he was a little shorter than most clocking in around one hundred and seventy five centimeters. He wore a maroon jacket with a dark grey shirt and black pants with black boots and brown spats over top. Strapped to his hip was his blaster and a pair of fingerless flight gloves that came in handy working around the spaceport.

As he entered, he saluted to the beautiful woman working behind the bar. His best friend, Sasha Monroe. "Hey, Sash!" He said, stepping up to the bar "So was that the third or fourth brawl today?"

"Third. And you know we are not supposed to use those names in public." Sasha replied as she lightly smacked him upside the head.

"Oh yes… We really have to worry about security around here," Viran said sarcastically as he rubbed his head with one hand and gestured to the fairly empty bar with the other.

"Ha, ha. What do you want?" Sasha asked as she grabbed the two drunkards glasses from the bar and cleaned it down with a cloth. "Shouldn't you be at work right now?"

Viran sat down at the bar with a sigh. He ran a hand over his face, smearing some left over grease on his left cheek. Sasha sighed and handed him a napkin.

"I'm here 'cause I pissed off the boss," Viran said as he took the napkin. "Again…" He then looked at the napkin, confused.

Sasha tapped her left cheek. "You have grease on your face."

Viran's eyes widened for a second. He then took the napkin and scrubbed his left cheek, gingerly. While he worked on removing the grease, Sasha poured him a cup of Jawa Juice to the rim of the cup and slid it with ease across the bar top to Viran without spilling a drop. A skill she had acquired over the years she had worked behind the bar.

Viran watched her as she did that. Sasha was a tall, athletically built young woman that was the same age as him and just about an inch taller than him with long brown hair that was neatly pulled back into a ponytail. She had this natural beauty about her and striking brown eyes that she didn't need to hide behind make-up. Which made her a popular target for creeps at the bar. Thankfully, she was strong enough to handle them on her own. She was wearing a black and white half jacket with a purple shirt and black pants with black knee high boots. And strapped to her hip was a simple blaster that comes in handy when working in a cantina from time to time.

As Viran caught the drink with his free hand, Sasha raised an eyebrow at him.

"You let another unlicensed yahoo land again, didn't you?" Viran turned red and hid his face behind his drink as he brought it to his lips for a drink. Sasha sighed in annoyance as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Are you trying to get arrested?"

"You only get arrested if you get caught," Viran said with a cocky grin as he lowered the glass to the bar top. He then lowered the napkin from his cheek, crumbled it, and tossed it into the waste can behind Sasha. It landed right in the middle of it as he continued talking. "Besides, it was just another shipment of Bacta. I overheard that the medical center was running low again." He frowned.

Sasha frowned too as she sighed. With as much trouble Viran would constantly get into for letting unlicensed people land, he only did it with the purest intentions. It was something Sasha couldn't feel too mad at him about. Oppie took convincing from time to time, but eventually, he would just give Viran a warning and tell him to be smarter about it.

Their train of thoughts were interrupted when the Holonet projector in the far side of the bar switched from the music channel it had been set to. It changed to an incoming Imperial message. Sasha and Viran straightened with, worried glances on their faces. There was hardly ever good news on the Holonet these days.

"Today the valiant forces of the Imperial Army successfully captured yet another Jedi traitor." They both winced at the mere thought of yet another Jedi being lost to the Empire. "Their continued vigilance has ensured that another traitor has been brought to justice and that the Emperor is truly keeping this galaxy safe. In other news…"

Sasha slammed her hand on the switch for the Holonet. It shut off the Holonet projector and cut off the reporter. Since, it was only them and like one bar bum in the back, no one complained about her doing that. However, her body shook with anger and disgust. So many lives lost at the hands of the Empire. So many Jedi…

"Hey! Have you seen the new VT-16s?" Viran asked after a moment of silence, attempting to change the subject.

Sasha turned her gaze to him. Her face was pale, but stern.

"Viran, this is serious," She said in a hard tone. She then lowered her voice for only him to hear. "Jedi are being hunted across the galaxy. And it's getting worse with each passing day." She lowered her head and clenched her hands into a fist. Her nails digging into her palms, very likely to draw blood. "We need to tell Oppie."

Viran frowned. He hated seeing her like this. He reached over the bar top and placed a comforting hand on her arm. Sasha glanced up at his hand then at him.

"He already knows," Viran said in a soft and gentle voice. "He is the head of security. Besides, we are safe here and no one suspects a thing." He nudged his head to the bar bum, who was now staggering out the front door. That made Sasha smirk as she waved the patron out. She looked back to Viran. "Oppie would have told us if it wasn't."

Sasha nodded as she loosened her fists. She took a deep breath and ran her hand through her ponytail. She then looked at her hands to see the red marks from where the nails had pushed against the skin. Some of the marks even lined up with the scars on her right hand from when she had broken one of her glasses during an incident on Empire Day. She dropped her hands and leaned against the bar.

"I know. It's just everytime I hear of another Jedi… dying," Her throat tightened on that last word. She could feel the bile slithering up her throat. She managed to swallow it down before it was too late. "It makes my stomach turn. And I know we are safe here. But for how long? How long until stormtroopers or Vader himself walk through this door?" She exclaimed in an almost panicked tone before gesturing to the main entrance right behind Viran.

"Look, we will have plenty of warning before something like that happens. And if it does, Oppie will know what to do." Sasha nodded, distantly. "How about we call it a day and I'll walk you home?"

That made her sigh. It was pointless having this conversation here and making herself sick with worry. They were safe. They were fine.

"You're right. Let me lock up and then we can head out."

With that, Sasha wiped down the bar top, counters, and tables. She then gathered the dirty glassware from the tables and placed them into the dishwasher in the back. Usually she stayed until they were done to put them away, but tonight she just wanted to get home. She could come in early tomorrow to take care of them.

Once she was done, Viran followed her out of the bar. She then locked up, and they started down the road toward home.

Sasha and Viran returned to the apartments they were living at about ten minutes later. This apartment was not anything big or fancy. It was just a simple little living environment that was a couple of stories tall and housed a few of the residents in Vestora. To make rent cheaper, Sasha and Viran shared a two bedroom that was just across the hall from their friend, mentor and fellow Jedi, Oppie. That's right. They were all three Jedi on the run and hiding from the Empire. For the last fifteen years, they have moved from planet to planet, small town to small town, trying to stay hidden from Emperor Palpatine and his right hand, Vader. And this apartment on Vestora was just their current home and refuge.

In the beginning of their journey together, they primarily camped out on the outskirts of many towns until they were able to afford their ship the Forerunner. Once they got their ship, that had become their new home for so long until one day they had decided to start actually renting out small little houses or apartments in these towns they stayed in. And majority of the time, Oppie had his own space as he was older than the two of them, and Sasha and Viran would share a two bedroom set up. But on some planets, there were instances where the three of them would get crammed into the same little place that only had two rooms as they couldn't afford more. So in those instances was usually when Viran and Oppie would share a room and Sasha would get her own. However, no matter the set up, they always made sure to remain right next door to each other just in case they needed to flee or someone was unwell or they just wanted to enjoy a nice meal together.

They arrived at their place, dropped off their gear, and freshened up before heading across the way to Oppie's as every night they tried to have a meal together to catch up on the day. Sometimes though, Oppie would have to work late or Sasha would at the cantina, so whoever wasn't working would gather for dinner until the third would arrive. As soon as they were ready, they exited their apartment and walked across the small hall towards Oppie's. Approaching the door, Viran placed a firm knock.

After a moment Oppie opened it. "Hey guys." He said with a smile. "I hope you're ready for an experiment." He stepped aside to let them in.

Viran stepped through first, followed by Sasha who gave him a nervous look.

"That word should not describe dinner," she said as she entered.

"I've been cooking all day." He said with mock hurt. "Well the oven has been going all day. I made ribs." He said sheepishly. "We'll see how they turn out."

"Ribs?" Viran asked as he sat down on the couch in the small living space of the apartment. "What kind? Numa? Reek? Nexu? Puffer Pig?" With each animal he named, his mouth seemed to water at the thought of food.

"That's the experimental part." Oppie said with a grin, "Vestora's not big enough to get what we want, just has what we need. So it's whatever the butcher had yesterday. I think he said it was from a cahow." Oppie said, trying to figure out how to pronounce the word as he said it.

Sasha walked over to the oven and opened it just slightly to catch a glimpse of the ribs. The aroma filled her nose as she opened it. It smelled heavenly with spices and a sweet tang. "Oh, that smells amazing, Op," she said as she closed it and straightened up. She then looked at him. "Do you need any help with making the rest of dinner?"

"Nah. You guys want to get the plates and stuff?" He said, moving over to get a towel so he could bring the ribs and the potatoes out of the oven now that Sasha and Viran were here.

"On it," Sasha said with a nod.

"I'll help too," Viran said as he moved from the couch.

Sasha pulled out the plates and utensils while Viran grabbed cups and napkins. Together, they moved over to the small four person table and started setting everything out. As they were finishing up, they both reached over to set something down at Viran's spot at the same time, their hands brushing just slightly. Viran froze in place as he stared at their hands. Sasha hesitated for a moment.

"Oops, sorry, Vir," Sasha apologized as she pulled her hand away. " Go ahead."

Viran's cheeks were a tad red as he recovered from what just happened. He set the napkin down and finished setting the rest before she even got the chance to lay down the utensils for him. Sasha raised a brow at him on that and then finished with the rest of the table.

"Alright, done," Sasha said as she straightened up with her hands on her hips.

Oppie brought the plates of food over and set them down. "So I was thinking about our conversation yesterday, Vir, and if the battle droids had lightsabers they might be fast enough to deflect a blaster bolt, but I still don't think their programming was fast enough for it." He said, picking up their debate from yesterday, "the B-1s were kind of rickety. The Commando droids, maybe."

"Okay, I can agree with you on the Commandos," Viran said as he sat down at the table. "Those guys were insane and if they had lightsabers, they would have been a menace. But with the right programming, you can get a droid to do anything. But what about Super Battle Droids and Destroyers? I think they could be programmed to be fast enough to wield a lightsaber."

Sasha rolled her eyes at them as she grabbed her cup and went to go fill it with water.

Oppie thought for a minute. "The Super Battle droids were slow and lumbering, I don't think they could have done it. The destroyers…" Oppie said, trailing off, trying to remember when he had faced them. "They didn't even have hands, they just had blaster cannons." He said with a smirk.

Viran smirked at that. "Then just replaced the blaster cannons with lightsabers. Boom. Problem solved," he said.

"You two are idiots," Sasha said as she came back over to the table to take her seat, now with a cup of water.

"Yes, but we're your idiots." Oppie said to Sasha shooting her a glance, before looking back at Viran. "When they were deployed they were really slow but…" He paused, "ugh, if they had been rolling around with lightsabers sticking out they would have been terrifying little death balls." He brought a hand up to his chin, considering the scene.

"See? I mean that would have been a pain for the Republic, but it would have been so awesome to see in action," Viran stated with a dumb grin.

Sasha shook her head and started digging into her food.

"I suppose." Oppie said, as a few memories came back from his time in the Clone Wars, "I remember one time the clones got a destroyer with a droid popper when it was still in ball mode, they tried to play some kind of weird version of kick-ball with it." He laughed, "they ended up with a few broken toes." His laugh fell to a troubled smile as other memories of clone troopers came back. "But yeah that would have been a sight to see one of those deployed with lightsabers for hands." He agreed. "Probably wouldn't have worked well with the shield though." He commented idly.

Viran nodded in agreement to what Oppie said as he started on his meal. "Yeah I guess," He said before taking a bite of rib meat. "Oh these ribs are good," Viran complimented.

Sasha frowned as she noticed Oppie's reaction. It made her think back to the holonet feed at the cantina. She looked down at her food and poked at it as she got lost in thought.

"Yeah, I'm glad it worked." Oppie said, "how was life at the Cantina today? Kick anyone interesting out?" Oppie asked Sasha with a smirk.

Sasha perked up at the question as it pulled her from her daze. "Oh um… yeah," she started as a smirk came to her face. "There were a couple times I stopped some idiots because of brawling. But these last two drunkards I kicked out thought it would be funny to mess with me and the bar. I told them to knock it off or I was going to throw them out. They didn't listen and ended fighting each other over who would marry me. I honestly don't know where that came from. So I threw their asses out onto the streets."

"Yeah, and almost right into me," Viran added with a chuckle.

"Then duck next time," Sasha said a chuckle before taking another bite of her food.

"Well," Oppie said teasingly. "Either of them good suitors?" He asked with a grin.

Viran shot Oppie a side glare as his face contorted into a small scowl. Sasha shook her head with disgust.

"Ugh, no," She said. "One, they are both way too old for me. And two, I'm not going to date someone who hits on anything with legs at a bar. While also being drunk, might I add."

"Good for you, Sash," Viran said with a nod. "Those guys seemed like losers anyway. Besides, you're a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a guy like that."

Oppie shot Viran a glance and hid a smirk. "Yeah, well you know how the Jedi order is about attachments, too. I don't know if that applies to random barflies, though." He mused.

"I don't know, and I really don't want to," Sasha said with a shudder. "Besides," She looked at both Oppie and Viran with a smile. "The only guys I need are you two."

Viran blushed at that as he returned her smile. "Thanks, Sash."

"I know, who else could have such a stellar, engrossing dinner conversation as us?" Oppie asked.

"Indeed, speaking of interesting conversation," Sasha started. "You should ask Viran about work today." She smirked as she took a bite of her food.

Viran looked at her with a dropped jaw. "Come on, Sash! Why do you have to call me out like that?" He asked, hurt.

"Oh. Yes." Oppie said, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Greer said that you had some more 'creativity' while overseeing the ships coming into port?"

"You could say that," Viran said sheepishly. "But I didn't do anything wrong. The town needed the supplies."

"The bacta yes, the spice not so much." Oppie said as a friendly admonishment. "Be careful about stuff like that, if it happens too much it draws attention past the local law enforcement." Which was him and Greer, for the moment.

"Yeah, I know," Viran said as he looked away.

Sasha reached over and placed a hand on Viran's arm, giving it a comforting pat before returning to her meal. He smiled at her on that.

"No worries, Vir. Just be careful." Oppie said as he took a bite.

"I will," Viran said looking to Oppie.

"So what about you, Op?' Sasha asked. "How was work today?"

"Quiet." He said, "Except for three bar brawls and some smuggling activity at the port." He said, looking between the two of them with a grin. "But I knew the girl at the Cantina could handle it, and I just care about the other thing." He said with a smirk.

Sasha beamed at that. Viran pouted.

"What is this? Pick on Viran day?" He asked.

Oppie looked over at Sasha, "Is it ever not?" He asked her, quizzically.

"I thought everyday was," Sasha said, sharing the same confused look.

"Oh, you both suck," Viran said as he shoveled food into his face. His grumpy face.

Sasha and Oppie both laughed at that. And after a moment or two of trying to stay mad, Viran inevitably ended up joining in the laughter.

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