Hello everyone! Welcome back. Now, normally this would be the part where I apologize for updating so late followed by a "Tune in next week" line that, let's face it, I am garbage at keeping up with. So, I won't do either. I am sorry I was so late but it would do nothing to keep making promises that life won't let me keep. Now, I do feel compelled to tell you why I took so long. Over the past few years my life has changed dramatically. I had my heart broken which taught me what real rage was. My family nearly destroyed itself. Then I fell in love again. We will be married in 2024. But the most important thing for you to know is that I have managed to land my dream job. A year ago, I was hired as a professional writer. This means that soon, you will get to experience my work in a new way. I promise to give the details when I am allowed to do so. Until then, let's get back to Jinn and his friends.
Don't forget to Favorite, Follow and Review.

-W.P.

Jinn wasn't even fully in the pilot's seat when the engines roared to life. The Class 720 Freighter jolted into the air knocking Thar and Uadda to the steel deck.

"Oi! What the hell are you doing, Kreed?! This is my ship, and I'll be damned if it gets stolen twice in one day!" Thar bellowed, struggling to get to his feet. Uadda was up first and helped the cyborg stand.

"My master is being held prisoner on this planet. And she..." Jinn whirled around to shoot an accusatory finger at the Twi'lek thief, now bound in restraining cuffs to a sliding door that lead to the ladder well. "Was helping the bastards who've got him. Now you can either get in the co-pilot's chair and help me get Tophta back, or you can sit quietly outside and wait for me to drop off the ship." Thar was stunned. He glanced down at Uadda, still holding onto his Prosthetic arm. She looked from Jinn to Thar and back.

"Jinn," She began. "We aren't even sure where Master Tophta is." Jinn was still punching in commands to get the freighter fully airborne.

"No, but she does." He replied. His voice flat and full of malice. Uadda looked to the thief where she lay cuffed to the sliding hatch. The lock had been broken before and was now little more than a hole with a thin metal strip through the middle which the cuffs had been secured to.

Thar finally made his way to the co-pilot's chair and sat with a gruff and rather irritated noise. Uadda took the seat behind Jinn meant for the system's operator. Finally, the ship sailed at an upward angle. They hit a comfortable cruising altitude and Jinn stood up again making his way to the Twi'lek on the floor.

"Alright, start talking. Where is the Jedi being held?" He growled. The girl hesitated. Jinn leaned in close to her face. His voice low.

"I'd get talking before I decide to put this ships airlock to good use." The girl winced at the threat.

"He is in a compound 400 clicks due east." She answered quickly. Jinn narrowed his eyes.

"Give me coordinates." She did so with no hesitation.

"Anything else?" She shook her head quickly. Uadda watched her friend intently. While the Grey were no stranger to emotion, she noted his anger and how easily he'd let it slip. It was unlike him. As Jinn stood, she diverted her gaze to the operations panel in front of her. Thar was less subtle about his staring and watched the young Force user make his way back to the pilot's chair. The cyborg continued to stair long after the boy had taken his seat. Jinn ignored his gaze and input the coordinates for the compound.

"You mind explaining what the hell that just was?" Thar asked. Jinn ignored him still.

"Jedi don't use fear as a tool, Jinn. Even I know that." He continued.

"You were singing a different tune a short time ago when she tried to steal your ship." He answered curtly, not taking his eyes off the horizon.

"That was because I was the one doing the threatening. You are better than that. Jedi don't use fe-"

"I am not a Jedi! The Grey will use whatever tactics necessary to get the job done. We are not bound by the same feeble code as the Jedi counsel. My master is my only concern as of this moment. I have the ability to save him and so I will do whatever is within my power to do it."

There was a long quiet pause with only the sound of the engines to fill the space.

"Power blinds without the serenity to see." Uadda spoke the words quietly as if even in speaking, she hadn't decided whether or not to say them. Thar turned his gaze to the smaller blue padawan. She hadn't moved, but something about her posture told him she was in total control.

"What's that?" He asked. A note of genuine curiosity punctuating the question. Uadda turned her seat to face him.

"It's our code. When we are lost, we look to the code to remind us who we are." She explained, a hint of a smile danced at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were soft and smiling, but there was a flicker of worry and sadness behind them that Thar recognized. Had she been someone else, he'd have wanted to comfort her. Instead, he asked,

"Is it a secret?"

Uadda shook her head.

"May I hear it?"

She smiled and looked at Jinn who had not moved. Then as if it had been planned and rehearsed all along, the two Grey Jedi spoke in unison.

"Flowing through all, there is balance.

There is no peace without a passion to create.

There is no passion without peace to guide.

Knowledge fades without the strength to act.

Power blinds without the serenity to see.

There is freedom in life.

There is purpose in death.

The Force is all things and I am the Force."

Another long silence filled the cabin before finally, Jinn Kreed took a deep breath. He seemed to relax. His shoulders sank and he leaned back. A moment later he looked at Thar, his face open and young once again. No longer the rage and hard lines it had been seconds ago.

"Sorry about stealing your ship, Thar." Thar snorted.

"I can't really blame you. In truth I would have..." He trailed off for a moment, then his face twisted into a cross between a scowl and a grin.

"Nah, screw that. Get outta my chair." He stood and pulled Jinn out of the Pilot's seat with one hand. Uadda was startled and was about to protest until she saw the smiles on their faces. Jinn took the Co-Pilots seat and cast a look at Uadda. He said nothing, but she heard him all the same.

Thank you.

She smiled back. The rattle of steel cuffs on the floor reminded the trio they were not alone.

"Alright, let's get the ship thief back to her master so we can go home with yours." Thar announced and pushed the throttle forward. The ship lurched and there was a small startled sound from the thief as she slid backward as far as the restraints would allow.

Less than 1 local hour later, the Freighter was nearing its destination. The trio could just barely see the compound appear on the horizon. Below them, a forest of crystalline tree-like formations whipped by at a dizzying speed.

"Do you feel that?" Jinn asked. Uadda nodded, then remembering she was behind him spoke up.

"Yeah. That's him, isn't it?" Jinn nodded.

Suddenly, a blaring alarm screamed from the control console.

"What's that?" Jinn asked. Thar jumped into action taking the ship out of auto-pilot.

"Anti-air missiles incoming!" Uadda shouted. It took a moment for the viewscreen to activate its HUD. Five small targets appeared and were locked on showing missiles heading straight for the ship. In a second, one of the missiles exploded beneath the ship, setting off a chain reaction in the remaining four, and a second warning signal wailed to life.

"Entry hatch door has been damaged!" Uadda announced.

"Activate forward deflector shields and get on those guns!" Thar commanded. Without hesitation, Jinn dove for the Gunnery Station across from Uadda.

"Deflector shields on line. Six new missiles incoming!" She called. The Twi'lek screamed as her body was bounced and twisted as Thar did his best to out maneuver the incoming threats. The broken hatch she had been secured to threatened to dump her into the ladder well below but she managed to pull the door shut again. Jinn tugged on a view finder and connected it to the display screen in front of him. Less than a second later, laser cannon fire joined the symphony of chaos around them. It took a few tries, but Jinn eventually managed to shoot down three of the incoming missiles. A second blast shook the hull and jostled everyone inside.

"Shields at 73%." Uadda reported. Jinn fired another salvo at the missiles, only to have one get through his barrage and knock out one of the four turrets he controlled.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." He howled to his friend's above. Another missile exploded near the cockpit viewscreen.

"Shields at 51%." Uadda called out.

"Damn! What are they packing in those things?" Thar asked rhetorically. He jerked the flight controls to one side Tipping the ship nearly onto its side. At the same time, another missile exploded nearby. The sound deafening and drowning out even the screaming alarm. The blast knocked into the top of the ship practically slamming it back into the horizontal position. Thar brought the ship low, nearly scraping the hull against the crystal formations below. There was a loose clanging sound from behind them that no one could afford to pay any attention too.

"Jinn, see if you can't take out those launchers. With them around, we'll never get close enough."

"I'm trying. The damn things are set too far into the crystal. The scanners can't get a reading."

"Damn the scanners! Use your eyes! Uadda, how are those shields?"

Uadda glanced at the ships display.

"47% and holding steady." She called back. Jinn did his best to find the missiles origin but was too distracted with the incoming danger every second to focus. His aim was getting better for sure. Another missile came in from above. Jinn aimed to take it out but the trigger wasn't responding. He looked at the HUD on his viewfinder. He must have lost the topside cannon with that last bast.

The missile exploded against the ship's hull, shoving the freighter further into the crystal forest. The ships alarm system signaled the loss of an engine.

"Everybody, hang on!" Thar barked. Jinn dropped the gunner controls and white-knuckled the straps to his safety belts. The ship jerked forward hard as it slammed into a thick crystal formation. The power inside the ship died. Another collision slammed Uadda into the sides of her own seat. Terrified she let out a shriek of panic. The ship knocked about and tumbled several times before finally coming to rest at an odd angle. Jinn slipped into the cool dark of unconsciousness.

It was difficult to tell how long he'd been out but a few things were certain. First, Jinn's head throbbed harder than it ever had in his short lifetime. Second, the sun had set leaving the freighter in total darkness. And third was that Uadda had to have been alright considering the fact that she was currently straddled over him and shaking him awake.

"Jinn! Jinn! Come one wake up!" She cried. Jinn groaned. "Oh, thank the Force you're ok." She sobbed and dropped her forehead to his chest. The mild impact sending a brand-new pain through his body. He yelped once and opened his eyes. Her forehead had a nasty gash over her left eye which was bleeding rather profusely.

"Uadda, are you alright?" He groaned. She nodded and wiped away a mixture of blood and tears. She stepped off of him and helped unfasten his security belts before lifting him to his feet. Each motion allowing a sharp gasp of pain to escape from the young man's lips.

They staggered to the front of the cockpit and found Thar, still in the pilot's seat. His eyes were closed and his face was a mess of blood. The glass viewscreen had been shattered during the impact and some of the shards could still be seen embedded in various parts of his body. But the worst of his was the crystal. A massive shard of ice blue rock thicker than Jinn's arm had pierced its way straight through his right shoulder and out the back of his chair. Jinn sensed he was alive, but the chances of Thar surviving the night were about as high as him walking through a magma pool on Mustafar unscathed. Jinn felt a twang of guilt. If he'd taken his own ship, Thar would probably be in a cantina somewhere enjoying another drink.

"Come on." Uadda whispered. "We have to save Master Tophta." And she led him to the ladder hatch at the back of the cockpit. The hatch had a large smear of blood near its opening, but the Twi'lek thief who had been there was gone. Her restraints were still locked in place. Jinn wondered if she'd gotten away after all. Then Uadda gasped at something in the corner of the room. A single blue hand lay severed in the corner. Jinn quickly put two and two together and cast his eyes to the floor. Two lives lost and it was all his fault.

Outside, the entry hatch had not only been damaged, but blown completely off the belly of the ship. Jinn decided then that if the Twi'lek had been alive when she fell through the ladder hatch, she was most certainly dead after falling into the crystal forest at breakneck speed. The ship itself was more akin to a crumpled pile of scrap than any other piece of functioning equipment. Jinn hobbled alongside Uadda as the two slowly made their way away from the wreckage and closer to the compound. Between Jinn's injuries, Uadda's recovering state of mind, and the vast distance between them and the compound, it was going to be a long night.