T Minus thirty seven Minutes…

Activity in the landing bay had been slow when they returned from the planet. While it had been less than an hour since then, the bay was now completely desolate. It was eerie to hear only the soft vibrations of the station generators through the floor panels while she approached the Distant Star. The seat of a starfighter was either blaring from the engine, or dead silent while operating in stealth mode. Somehow, only having the faintest sound around her was more off-putting.

As if to make it worse, the Distant Star itself looked uncannily clean. The massive scorch mark that adorned the port side had been removed altogether, and they had a new communication dish. There was no sign of new weaponry from that angle, but many of the other upgrades they had requested were present as well.

The ship itself looked great, and presumably functioned well, but was also quite possibly completely defenseless.

She hated the thought of not being able to do anything other than run if the HK droids showed up. They had knowingly brought the risk of attack with them without giving any forewarning. Any damage, or even potential casualties would be on them alone.

It reminded her further of just how doubtful she was feeling about allowing Zariba on board. It was one thing to make a promise of protection to her father while they spent time in high class clubs and the like. Out in wild space, with little to no hope of rescue from any others…

Watch your back…

Her head twisted back to look for the source of the voice. Unlike all of the other times she had heard them, it was in a harsh whispering tone. Definitely more of a warning than a taunt like so many of the others had been.

You are in great danger…

This time, she was able to get a glimpse at the source of the voice for once. For a fraction of a second, a ghostly Twi'lek was reaching out to her from across the deck. It had vanished far too long for her to recall any kind of detail beyond the distinctive head shape.

"I already figured that out, whatever you are. Don't need to be told from beyond the grave."

She turned back to the ship again. Her boot made contact with the cargo ramp with a sound that echoed far more than she expected it to. The whole place really was devoid of activity.

She will betray you…

That made her stop momentarily, before she made a conscious decision to keep moving and let the ethereal voice continue on uninterrupted. Any of her usual unfunny remarks would only provide the slightest of distractions at best.

Inside the still very much cluttered ship, she finally noticed that a cold feeling around her neck and lekku was fading away. On reflection, it had formed just before the voice spoke up. Yet another ultimately pointless detail to bring up with Dana whenever they would eventually sit down to discuss her ailing mental health.

A new worry began to settle in as she noticed the complete lack of activity inside the ship itself. Every one of the systems and consoles were in cold shutdown. While not too surprising given all the upgrades that had been installed, what worried her was a definite layer of dust on all of the panels themselves. Not one of them had been reactivated afterwards for maintenance checks.

And Cecile definitely wouldn't be so careless as to just assume all was right. It would be part of her programming as a childcare droid to make certain that everything was as it should be.

"Cecile?"

Silence was her reply.

Her boot dragged through a pile of corroded bolts when she took a nervous step towards the engine compartment. The usually bright walls of the Distant Star's central compartment now felt very enclosed and foreboding with the low ambient green cast over them from conduits below. Something wasn't right at all, and now the ghost's warnings were starting to sound relevant.

"Cecile? Don't hit me with a metal pipe when I come through, okay?"

She swallowed deeply and stepped through the dark bulkhead doorway into the engine room. It felt way too quiet with the engines completely cold. Worse still, she couldn't see the familiar glow of Cecile's eyes and mouth at all.

With a nervous inhale, she reached her hand out to the nearby light panel and pressed it. After a few seconds, the emergency batteries kicked in, allowing the light to flicker on.

Cecile was slumped over the hyperdrive array in a manner that suggested she had fallen over it after deactivation. The fact that the back panel of her head was open seemed to confirm what had happened well enough. Worse still, she could see signs of core wiping on closer inspection.

"Shit… Shit shit shit…"

Her lips were near-white while she tediously began closing up Cecile's head after reconnecting whatever circuitry she could. If Cecile had just gone on a racist tirade, the other Twi'lek would have surely come and told her of that. There was simply no honest reason for deactivating her droid and remaining silent on the matter.

"Mmmmmiiistress? Mistress?"

"Cecile?"

"Mistress Maarani? Oh thank goodness!" Cecile pushed herself off the hyperdrive assembly in a smooth motion with her lower hands. Her upper hands took a moment to adjust the rotation of her head while she settled into her normal posture. "Those greasy tailheads deactivated me and attempted another memory wipe!" After twisting her head around to observe her surroundings, the droid's eyes flickered. "We must remove that explosive device of theirs and leave immediately. I am experiencing a very strong sense of wrongness about this whole situation."

Maarani's vision was starting to spin again. At that very moment, she wanted more than anything in the galaxy to believe that Cecile was just acting up again. If it weren't for the other warning she had just been given, it would be so much easier to do just that.

"Show me. Then…" Sweat was rolling down her face, lekku and neck. The cold feeling had returned in full force. "Get the ship ready as quietly as possible. If there really is a bomb…"

Her eyes followed Cecile's every move, right towards one of the main drive chambers from which the droid removed an access panel. Concealed inside was a remote explosive, welded right into the compartment in a hasty manner.

In that moment, her heart very nearly stopped beating altogether.

All of the smiles, friendly faces and warm welcomes had been a lie. It was impossible to deny it any longer.

Dana and Jayden hadn't sensed any kind of danger whatsoever as far as she knew.

"Cut it out. I'm… I'm going to get the others."

Tears were starting to roll down her face amongst the beads of sweat. Seradan had to know what was going on. It would be impossible to not only smuggle explosives onto the station, but actually plant them in such a sturdy manner without his knowledge.

Zariba had to know what was going on as well. Her talk of wanting to explore the galaxy had to be a complete fabrication.

"I'm also going to punch that bitch's lights out." Before leaving, she reached over to her blaster pistol and placed it in one of Cecile's free hands. "The only Twi'lek you don't shoot on sight is me, Aiyek, or Mission. Tattoos and a Wookiee respectively. Got that?"

Cecile slowly twisted her head to the blaster, her optical lights flickering several times before she began emitting another long tone. "I… understand. I will defend this ship, and its crew. And above all else, the Mistress." When her mechanical hand clasped around the blaster itself, there was a soft hum from her vocal processor. Her lights flickered again before she grasped it properly.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner Cecile. You just saved all our necks." Maarani retrieved her knife and holdout blaster before she left the confines of the ship. Not her ideal weapons, but they were both very easy to conceal. She couldn't tip her hand just yet.

T minus thirty one minutes...

Just a few steps down the ramp, she could hear voices echoing very slightly from somewhere in the landing bay. They were completely unfamiliar to her, very gravelly and rough in tone. Possibly two reptilians. Much as she wanted to get a quick look, the risk of discovery was far too great. If anyone saw her there and told Seradan…

"You needn't worry about the Czerka agent anymore, he will be dealt with promptly. But, should you lay a finger on the Twi'lek he accompanied, there will be grave consequences."

Her chest went tight. In a silent movement, she laid herself down on the deck and very gradually dragged herself towards the opening of the ramp. In the distance, she could see Seradan talking to two thugs she had seen not long ago at all.

Izan had clearly identified them as Hidden Hand, and had given every reason to believe they were not to be messed with at all.

"He identified our faces to her. She's a witness threat. If you don't silence her immediately-"

Her exhale was silent, but also painfully choking.

"I've made my decision, Losak! My daughter has developed a fondness for her, and I am convinced she will be a great asset to us. There are alternatives to the simple kind of murder you engage in. Now respect my authority!"

Maarani took another silent breath to help with pushing herself back into hiding. The conversation continued on a bit longer, at a noticeably softer volume, before the blissful sound of departing footsteps echoed around again. Even after they were long gone, she waited a while longer before actually leaving the ship itself. To her great relief, Seradan wasn't waiting nearby for her to come out of hiding.

T minus twenty six minutes…

Panic was rampant in her thoughts. If she went around to everyone who needed to be warned, Seradan would notice and take action. There were so many armed guards, and what had at first seemed like a precaution that came with neutrality was now an effective army to arrest or kill them all. And they had Zariba to help them out. She wasn't any match for the Jedi obviously, but it was herself and Izan that came to mind as being at risk from her.

Upon reaching the promenade, a new plan came to her. It still carried a great deal of risk, but even that was minimal compared to the blatant pattern of tipping off her friends.

Others would have to deliver the warning for her.

The station was entering the night cycle. Many shops would be closing for the night. If she hurried to catch someone before they left, it would just appear to be a last minute dash, nothing more…

Aiyek was the first to come to mind.

Before she even lifted her foot, several Twi'lek clad in dark clothing grabbed her from one of the nearby alleyways.

She was gone from sight in less than two seconds.


T minus nineteen minutes…

It was an all too familiar setting around her. The painful metal cuffs confining her to the chair. A single bright light searing her skin and forcing her eyes to remain closed. Faint whispering from beyond, with the only words she could make out being those of her name.

A door opened behind her. A man entered, turning down the light above her while circling around the chair. She was hesitant to open her eyes, despite no longer feeling the heat on her bare head. It was at the moment of relaxation that a torturer would strike deepest.

"I apologize for the rough handling, but you are strong young woman. I do not doubt that you will overcome a single abduction."

A few tears dripped from her eyes, mixing with the rivulet of blood running down the left side of her nose.

"I didn't fuck your daughter. Kept things nice and clean, if that's what this is about." She finally opened her eyes when she heard Seradan stop in front of her. Every ounce of her will wanted to show her defiance. All she could actually produce was a weak glare. They had hit her with a very fast acting drug of some sort for certain.

Seradan brought a pristine cloth up to Maarani's face. His manner of wiping up the blood and tears was completely calm, and very well handled. He had done it many times in the case of the latter.

"I did consider letting you dig up those on my station I can no longer trust. But, I wanted you to make the choice with all the facts in mind." He dabbed at the head wound until it stopped bleeding, casting the cloth away afterwards for one of the unseen observers to dispose of. "I assume you heard exactly what I wanted you to hear? That my associates in the Hidden Hand have a particular issue with you and your Zeltron friend, and that I intend on protecting you?"

Faint whimpers slipped through Maarani's lips. The setup was far deeper than she first guessed.

"Quite frankly, I'd be more comfortable not knowing exactly what you do or don't do with my daughter. My only concern is that she is happy. Now, you being happy on the other hand…"

Two of the observers stepped into the circle of light to unclasp the bindings holding Maarani's hands, ankles and neck to the chair. Once done, they stepped back into the shadows.

She recognized it as another attempt to bait her immediately. Any kind of flinch towards Seradan would bring those cuffs right back on. Even a sigh of relief would earn her a punch to the stomach. Subjects were never allowed a moment's rest.

"I know your employer is a Jedi, from the moment I met her I suspected in fact. Raising a daughter who so readily knows the Force gives you a talent for spotting them. Of course, you know it from your parents and siblings." A curt smile broke his somber expression that had been maintained until that moment. It had earned a very strong reaction from Maarani, one he could exploit. "It must have been terrible, growing up as the odd one out. I really do admire that you chose to put your raw talents towards fighting for revenge though. We that cannot manipulate the Force must make do with what we can manipulate after all."

Her heart paused for a few painful seconds. By now, Zariba would have told him everything…

"Genetics really are unfair in that regard. Assuming that use of the Force does have a genetic component to it. But, that is a matter for another discussion. This one is about your future with us."

She held onto her breath for as long as possible, trying desperately to not sigh in sudden relief. He didn't actually know, which meant Zariba hadn't told him. The initial anger upon discovering the betrayal was beginning to fade away.

"The explosive on your ship is non-functional, I had it placed there to show you how the Hidden Hand operates." Seradan began to pace around the room again, his hand bringing the chain with the insignia out into the open. "This war between the Republic and the Empire is going to take a devastating turn very soon. Millions of innocents will die at the hands of both sides. We and others who believed in the wisdom of Goto intend to prevent this from occurring. And for that, we need every valuable asset and recruit we can obtain."

He lifted the chain up over his head and back down around his lekku, letting the insignia dangle from his hand in front of Maarani's face. "I offered you my daughter as the first gift for joining us. I cannot promise that you will become a wealthy Lady of your own planet. But, if you help us, I can promise that you will be helping to create a future free of war, poverty and suffering. No more bureaucracy or tyranny. Just you, Zariba, and whomever else you bring with you into the new age."

Maarani had been listening patiently the entire time, swirling the trickle of blood that had entered her mouth in with her saliva to ensure it would be even more repulsive when she let it loose. It was a good way to keep herself focused. Isolating her mind from the charming words and hopeful lies that Seradan was spinning.

"You're going to enslave the Jedi. After what the Hutts did to our people, you're going to do the same in turn to anyone who won't support this new age of yours. I know, because it sounds exactly what the Empire have been trying to do for the past eight years."

The laugh that followed made her feel even smaller. He had expected her to say just that.

"Not quite. I am fairly confident we will find Jedi and Sith alike who will come to follow our way of thinking. They may have some freedom certainly. But, this new age will be ruled by people like us. After all, less than five percent of the galaxy can even feel the Force, why should they rule the rest of us?"

Maarani forced herself to frown at the insignia, as if her hatred for it would cause the metal to combust in his hand. More realistically, the slightest movement to either side, something to indicate that she would have a way out of her situation with the Force at hand. Nothing.

"Perhaps something more personal will persuade you then." Seradan reached his hands around to drape the necklace over her. Once it had settled into position, he nodded to one of the observers who promptly left the room. "If you did not already know, the White Terror was the leader of the Sith who murdered your mother, father, brothers and sister. It has been eight years. You and many others in the Hidden Hand want her dead. Surely you can consider working with us to that goal."

Her jaw tightened a little, though for the first time it was in a very small flight of confidence. He didn't know about Masaka at all, which meant he didn't have spies amongst the Sith, or the Jedi for that matter. Zariba hadn't told him the details of their date either. More secrets kept for her safety. Perhaps her intention to leave was in fact genuine.

It was enough for her to lift her head with a new sense of defiance. She had a new advantage to play. "When I get that butcher in my hands, it will be because I brought down the bitch myself. Zariba will be there if she wants to be. Either way, I think I'm going to continue spending time with her." She brought on her smile at last, letting the mix of blood and saliva trail from the corner of her mouth. "With or without your approval, Seradan. It's her choice now."

Her smile grew upon seeing the change in his expression. He hadn't anticipated that little detail, and it was enough to unravel his entire plan. Enough leverage for her to escape. "Let me and my friends go, including Dana, and I'll convince Zariba to stay behind. She might be upset, but somehow I don't think you'd want me to actually get around to fucking her anymore." When he turned away in a flicker of anger, she drove her efforts home. "At least grandchildren were never on the table. Not a total loss."

Seradan's hand lashed out towards her face. A slender vibroblade shot out from within his sleeve, coming within a breath of her forehead. The look of anger was frozen on his face. He hadn't actually lost, but it felt just as bitter.

"Don't get in our way. And don't upset my daughter, especially if she stays with you." He nodded to the observers to lift Maarani out of the chair. Once she was on her feet, he stepped forward and glared right into her eyes. "By walking away now, you have just forfeited my protection. If the others come for the Zeltron, or you, I will not be able to stop them. And if your Jedi friend speaks a word of this to her allies, she dies as well. Understood?"

At that, Maarani licked her lips in the most insulting way she could muster. "Getting your own daughter to drink poison, take drugs, and sleep with a woman she only just met. Best father in the galaxy. But that's our little secret." She glanced to either side as her escorts continued to forcibly walk her out of the room. Nothing she could identify them by caught her attention. Seradan really was prepared for almost every outcome.

T minus twelve minutes…

As soon as she was out on the promenade again, she went straight for Aiyek's parlour. To her relief, the artist herself was still in there packing up for the night.

"If you're looking for a rush job it'll have to- Maarani!?"

"Not as bad as it looks.' Maarani pushed her hand away when she tried to feel around the head wound. "You need to pack your valuables and come with me immediately. Seradan is going to come for you if we don't get out."

Aiyek was confused in a variety of ways, but from the way Maarani had spoken, and was now looking at her… "I guess I should trust the word of a soldier huh? I'll wait for you at the ship. What about the others?"

Maarani shrugged while stepping back out of the parlour. If Izan was out at one of the cantinas, or Jayden at the gym, there wouldn't be enough time to warn everyone else safely. "If you see any of them, tell them to go to the ship. That includes Mission and Zaalbar."

She didn't want to face the potential that her childhood hero was well aware of Seradan's true nature. Or worse still, that they were actually part of whatever crime cult the Hidden Hand belonged to. They were real heroes, beyond all that…

Good people are going to die…

A fierce pain ripped through her head while the words rang out. It nearly made her fall to her knees while she stumbled over to the tea shop on the vague chance that Zariba was waiting there. By the time she did arrive there only to find it closed and empty, the pain had subsided.

It occurred to her that they had yet to work out a way to communicate with each other in such a situation. For all her ranting about the terrible EVA suits, and even giving Cecile a communicator, she hadn't considered a set for themselves.

T minus eleven minutes...

In her haste, she very nearly ran right past Zaalbar in one of the corridors. "Zal! Wait up big guy!" Her breathing was heavy from the running, which only made it harder to sound casual in case there were other observers. "I wanted to offer you and Mission a professional flight around the system and planet." She looked to either side of the corridor as an extra precaution. "Right about now actually. Might want to pack some snacks and spare clothes too. Well, she should pack clothes, since you don't..."

Zaalbar tilted his head, giving a confused grumble at the little Twi'lek.

"Just pack your things and stop by the ship okay? Quickly."

"Raaargh!"

Maarani very lightly patted his arm. "Maybe you can teach me the language sometime. When we're not in a hurry for that tour. Okay?"

"Raaargh!"

She did her best to smile while backing away yet again. It wasn't far to her shared quarters, and both Dana and Jayden's separate ones were a bit further ahead. The whole time she was ironically praying that Izan had decided not to play cards with 'dick-mouth' again.

"Izan Izan Izan!"

Izan looked up from the Twi'lek newsletter that he had been attempting to read. "What what what?" The next thing he saw was Maarani leaping over the lounge onto him. Given that his idea of physical training was taking a walk, while she had been in the military for eight years, the result was a painful amount of weight landing right on his chest.

Worse still, he barely had time to catch his breath before Maarani latched her lips onto his.

It certainly wasn't unpleasant by any means, especially once the initial pain had worn off. But after how much she had gone on about her sexuality, and the fact that he was starting to suffocate…

Maarani pulled her head back just enough to lick her lips. By then, she had draped her lekku around either side of their faces, creating an effective private space. "Sorry, need to hurry. Seradan is Hidden Hand, they want you dead, I swore at him, we need to get Dana and Jayden, Zariba isn't a backstabbing bitch, Aiyek, Mission and Zaalbar are coming along, and I'm not ever getting pregnant. Got that?"

"So this isn't just a sudden realization you're not actually-"

"Izan! For fucks sake our lives are in danger!"

"No kidding, you seem intent on cutting off my ability to breathe. I get it alright?" With a heft shove, he freed himself from the crushing weight of Maarani's reasonably built body. "Before you start, I genuinely believed this place was safe. That said, they're not called the 'Hidden' Hand because you know where to find them."

Maarani pulled herself up onto the opposing lounge to give herself a moment to reposition her lekku. "They also don't like being identified apparently. That bit you pulled in the cantina back on Telos got them really upset. I saw those same two with Seradan just now." She reached a hand up to her head when the wound began to throb again. "I also got grabbed and probably pissed him off by saying Zariba is coming with us."

Izan gave his usual shrug after freeing himself from the indent formed in the lounge. "I'm not arguing here. Do we have time to pack, or am I leaving all of my junk behind again?"

"Pack your stuff and my stuff while I go find Dana and Jayden. And I promise we will stop by Telos at some point to get your old stuff back."

T minus eight minutes…

In a moment of panic, she went to draw her blaster on an armed figure coming around the corner in front of her. It turned out to be Jayden, and fortunately she didn't store the holdout blaster in the same location as her full size one.

"Jayden, pack your things and get to the ship. Tell Dana to as well when you see her."

The Mandalorian lightly tapped the carry bag slung over her shoulder. "Half the guards on the station vanished just minutes after you left. This is far from my first 'bad-to-worse' situation." She took one look at the tiny blaster in Maarani's hand before handing her carbine over. "I want that back when we leave. I'll go make sure your Zeltron friend makes it to the ship."

"I appreciate that. Owe him for escaping Telos. Uh, sorry for being a pain before…"

"We can apologize later. Do what you have to. And pray that we're just paranoid."

Despair grew a little more inside Maarani while she watched Jayden walk off. The hard truth was already known to her. "We're not."

T minus seven minutes...

By some small fortune, the landing bay was still empty when she returned to it. Seradan was probably preoccupied with trying to convince Zariba to stay. And if they left quickly without incident, it would help keep her there. She certainly wasn't going to argue with that line of thought.

"Cecile! Cecile!"

While climbing back onto the ship yet again, she could hear the droid shouting in a language she couldn't even recognize. The engine room had been returned to its somewhat messy state. Cecile herself was half buried in wiring and other circuitry.

"Six minutes mistress! Give me six minutes! Oh what I wouldn't give for a little Jedi insight right now to find this evasive problem! Where is Mistress Dana?"

"She's…"

Something clicked over in Maarani's mind. A problem not unlike Cecile's, in that it had been just beyond her focus ever since she found her hunched over the engine. It had everything to do with Jedi perception. More specifically the fact that not one, but two Jedi had not sensed the horrific danger they had stepped into five days earlier.

Dana had been completely oblivious when she stormed into her room on Telos. Koor had not sensed the White Terror on Sarka until she had already cut down over half her squadmates. Elira was caught out completely by Masaka's tremendous rise in power.

In every case, she had placed her trust in the Jedi, and barely escaped death for it. This was no different.

"She'll be here soon. But I've got some things to ask her first…" She turned to leave the engine compartment, but stopped to grab Cecile's arm momentarily. "I need to come in here and talk with you more. That's twice within the past hour you've given me a clear insight. Thanks."

Cecile's eyes flickered again. "Droids do not have insight, nor can we actually understand the concept, but…" One of her typical drawn out sounds followed, accompanied by another flicker of her eye lights. "You are welcome, Maarani." Her lights flickered again, this time as prelude to her more bombastic tone returning. "Could you please delay punching her lights out until after she has assisted me?"

"Can't punch her, I've already tried. And I wasn't planning to anyway."

Voices from outside the ship returned her attention to the impending crisis. She grabbed her blaster on the way back out and hurried down the boarding ramp. Mission and Zaalbar were the first to arrive surprisingly. The former had her weapons at the ready, while the latter had two carry bags slung over his shoulders, and his sword in a prepared position.

T minus six minutes...

"Z told me you were in a panic about something when you said we had to leave."

Maarani nodded hastily while stepping out of the way. "Seradan is part of the Hidden Hand, and among other things threatened to kill my friends if I didn't co-operate. I really am hoping you didn't-"

"Know?" Mission glanced to Zaalbar, who growled when he shrugged that time, and once more looked back to Maarani. "Bastard had us both fooled for years then. Guess we owe you one for a fast shot out of here.

"Just cover us from inside the ship as best you can. And maybe ignore all the shouting I'm about to do. And possibly swearing." She glanced back towards the main doorway upon noticing Aiyek approaching. "I don't mean yelling schutta either."

Mission cracked a slight grin at that while taking a defensive position at the head of the ramp. "I'll survive. Big Z might have to cover his ears though."

Maarani was distracted by Aiyek at that point. She was clearly struggling to carry her own case, filled to the brim with her tools and a variety of other objects that she presumably needed for work.

"We might be on the run for a fair while, you sure you want to bring all that?"

"I'm uprooting my business on the fly here. Yeah, I do want to bring all of it."

Maarani shook her head shortly after. The bag was even heavier than she believed, though it wasn't so heavy that she couldn't make the climb up the ramp. Zaalbar was quick to take it off her anyway, carrying it inside without any difficulty at all.

"Thanks again. Others should be arriving…" She looked back down the ramp when Aiyek waved for her to return. Dana, Izan and Jayden were all hastily crossing the landing bay deck to reach the safety of the ship. For the moment, there was no sign of pursuit.

"Teegs, you okay? Izan told me about what happened."

"Yeah, I'm okay…" Maarani waited for Dana to get closer. "Except for one little issue…" The angle was perfect. Her fist launched up from her side, connecting directly with the left side of Dana's jaw. It wasn't nearly strong enough to actually knock the Jedi over, but she could immediately tell that it had split open her lip.

Dana's normally calm composure dropped in that moment. "What the hell Tegama?"

Aiyek was taken aback by the outburst. "Why did you punch her Maarani?"

Jayden's first impulse was to attempt to reach over and keep Maarani from striking another blow. "This isn't the time for testing reflexes."

Maarani waited for Dana to recover from the blow before making any response. A look of fierceness had taken over. "Thanks to your bullshit Jedi sense, I slept with the daughter of an insane murdering cultist! And you know what? This is far from the first time I've had to put up with crap because of your lot!"

"Tegama stop."

"No! I've had it up to here with all these lies and-" Through the small gap between Dana's head and Jayden's arm, she could see Zariba running over towards them, also apparently packed and ready to go. Maarani was too intent on getting her grievances out in the open to care.

T minus three minutes…

"Fact of the matter is that I have been relying on the Jedi for protection way before I nearly got my eyes burned out by the White Terror. And every single time they fucked up doing the one thing they're supposed to be good at: protecting people like me!"

"What's going on…"

Izan glanced back at Zariba with a brief look to let her know it wasn't safe to interrupt. Even he could tell that Jayden was having to hold herself back, and even Dana's patience was starting to wear down.

"I don't even mean the shitfest that happened with my bitch of a sister and Elira!" In the fractional pause, she felt a definite chill rush through her body. "Turns out this whole generation of Jedi are so blind that they literally couldn't sense the Sith coming until they were raining hell from orbit and cutting their fucking heads off!"

Her gaze went to Zariba, to Izan, and to Aiyek. She didn't want to face Mission in her worst state. Especially not with what she had to get off her chest at last. "I had to watch my parents and brothers die, because the Force wouldn't let me shut those visions out! No training whatsoever, and I could see everything that went on, while you numbskulls sat around and did nothing! Orphaned and abandoned in the space of a day!"

The reaction was almost unanimous from all, each for their own reason.

Izan's earlier assumption that her family relations were simply strained like those of his own had been way off.

Dana was well aware that she had mentioned sensing the death, but not that she had seen it through the Force for herself.

All the talk about her mental instability that Jayden had been privy to suddenly sounded far less exaggerated.

Aiyek was still dumbfounded that the sweet, friendly woman that had walked into her parlour days earlier had been reduced to a quivering wreck with a horrific past.

Every ounce of her grief and pain was felt by Zariba most of all. What had been previously closed off was now in the open, and the onslaught of it all nearly brought her to tears.

And yet, she was the first to reach out to Maarani, shoving past all the others to try and hold her. From the moment her hands came to rest on her lover's arms, they were shaken away rather violently.

Until that moment, there had been no clear answer for Maarani herself as to what was right for Zariba. It was too late to run away without her, and too late to hide the full extent of her twisted mentality. There simply was no easy way to deal with her anymore. Allowing her to come, or forcing her to stay behind, neither option was appealing anymore.

T minus one minute...

After a deeply shaking breath, which did little to drive away the fury lingering in her mind, she took a step back from Zariba. "I don't want you to come. And if you won't accept that, maybe you will after I show you my lightsaber…"

One gnawing secret had been let out in the open after all. Another could hardly make things worse.

On her way up the ramp, she couldn't keep herself from making eye contact with Mission for a flicker of a second. Shock was there to be found on her face as well. But, there was also a very faint sign of understanding.

T minus thirty five seconds...

When Maarani pushed through the mess to her room, there was only one thought left in her mind. Her fingers clawed at the wall panel that concealed her weapon, desperate to get it free so she could be rid of the pain it caused as well. Secrets within secrets. It was about time they were all brought out into the open.

The panel fell to the floor with a loud clatter, briefly blocking out the loud argument that had erupted outside. All she could hear was distant yelling, her attention focused solely on the hunk of metal resting in her hands. It was crude, badly designed, and not even functional.

It did contain at least one key component that she had just barely concealed from the Jedi Council, and from Koor.

T minus twenty seconds…

Her descent from the ship was very slow that time. Izan was arguing with Dana and Jayden, almost violently by the look of it. Aiyek was doing her best to intervene, but given she barely knew the trio it was rather ineffective.

Zariba had taken a few steps up the ramp in anticipation of her return, hoping to prove her commitment to coming with them most likely.

T minus fifteen seconds…

Again, she attempted to take hold, this time by putting her arms around Maarani entirely. "I'm not leaving you Maarani. I love my Papa, but I don't care about the Hidden Hand. I want to go my own way. He understands that."

T minus ten…

"Zariba, you really don't…"

T minus nine…

This time when she looked past the small gathering, there were a great many Twi'lek coming through the main doors.

T minus eight...

Almost all of them were still wearing the disguises from the interrogation room underneath their guard armour pieces.

T minus seven…

They were all lining up, preparing to draw weapons on the group.

T minus six…

Dana, Izan and all the others seemed oblivious to the danger. She couldn't tell if Mission had noticed.

T minus five…

"Look out!"

T minus four…

Every one of them turned towards the line of Twi'lek.

T minus three…

The two Jedi twisted back around, pushing Izan up towards the ramp.

T minus two…

Mission and Zaalbar stepped down out of hiding, weapons at the ready.

T minus one…

Maarani caught a glimpse of Seradan in the middle of the line, his own pistol aimed at the group.

The shot was fired.

It found its mark right in Aiyek's spine, destroying the vertebrae at the centre of the impact zone immediately. A chilling cry of pain rang out as she fell forward against Jayden.

Instinct took over Maarani's mind altogether. They didn't stand a chance against the guards that vastly outnumbered them, even with two Jedi fighting on their side. They needed something that would absolutely stop them from firing. A reason for Seradan to stand down. A threat that he could not possibly ignore.

In that moment, Maarani twisted Zariba around violently and threw her left arm around her throat. Her right hand pressed the lightsaber up against the side of her head, just above her right ear.

"One more move and I burn a hole right through her head!"

The only sounds that remained were Aiyek's gasps for air while she clutched at Jayden's shoulders for support, and the terrified whimpering of Zariba while she stared directly at her father.

Seradan was nothing short of enraged when the reality set in fully. "You cunt of a woman! You threaten my daughter's life after trying to take her from me!?"

His expectations had fallen apart even more. Not once had it occurred to him that Maarani was in fact part of the Jedi Order herself. And yet, despite how crude it looked, the lightsaber in her hand looked far too real. And he couldn't possibly take even the slightest chance when Zariba's life was threatened.

Especially not when the look on Maarani's face was maniacal.

"Everyone in the ship! Now!" She kept her focus entirely on Seradan, but did notice Jayden twisting around to lift Aiyek up in her arms. It was a true blessing that she didn't have to look at any of her other companions. It was taking every bit of concentration to conceal the fact that the whole situation was a bluff. "If Aiyek dies, I will tell the galaxy about your cult! Either way, Zariba is staying with us until I know for a fact that we're safe from you!"

For a brief moment, she felt the Force attempting to tug the lightsaber away. In retaliation, she slammed it against Zariba's head with enough force to make her yelp in pain.

It terrified Seradan to a point where he frantically gestured for all of the guards to back down. But, it did not dampen the rage he was feeling. "Let her go now, and you never hear from us again! If you take her, every Hidden Hand in the next five sectors will hunt you and your friends down! I will get my daughter back!"

Dana came running back to the top of the ramp, nodding to Zaalbar and Mission to retreat inside. "Aiyek is dead."

At that, Maarani spat down at the deck in front of Seradan, taking very careful steps up into the ship. "You just murdered a good person, Seradan. From now on, I kill every Hidden Hand I see. With or without provocation. It's about time I start adding more notches to my belt."

Her arm didn't budge from the grip she had until she was outside the door of a small storage room. When it came to opening it, she tightened the hold to near crushing while removing the lightsaber from Zariba's head. All of her effort then went to physically throwing her into the small room and yanking the door shut before she could try any more Force tricks.

Even when it was secured, she didn't feel ready to relax even a little. "If you haven't already guessed, the relationship is over. Sit tight and behave, or there will be more bruises to come."

"Maarani, we need to talk, right now."

Maarani stormed away from the storage room towards the cockpit. She could hear Jayden right behind her, and lashed her arm back as soon as she sensed she was about to reach out and grab her shoulder. In retaliation, her wrist was grabbed and yanked to the side in a way that forced her to turn around and face Jayden. She didn't need any time to work out what was bothering her. "Save it for when we don't have a small army outside. I need to fly us out of here."

Jayden was ready to twist her arm back when Dana pulled her away with the Force. Something Jedi were expressly told not to do to each other. "Mentally unstable doesn't cover threatening an innocent woman with lethal harm! That makes her downright psychotic! I don't want a potential murderer-"

"Zariba was in no danger. Maarani's lightsaber is only a framework of metal, nothing more. She knew exactly what she was doing…" Dana looked back over her shoulder when Mission cleared her throat. "If she used an actually working lightsaber, I would have intervened, and worked out another way for us to escape safely." For once, she found herself uncertain of what anyone around her was feeling or thinking.

Before Mission could actually speak up, the ship itself took off to make an extremely fast departure from the station. They were in hyperspace before she even noticed. "If that was a bluff, she's a damn good liar. I'm just glad to know that I won't be unknowingly supporting terrorist pirates anymore. She did alright."

It was far from the statement Jayden wanted to hear, but it did at least settle the issue right at the forefront of her mind. "She did save us twice back there. But I don't like that we had to take a hostage to do it at all. Kidnapping always backfires in the end." She gripped at her chin in an attempt to clear her line of thinking. Everything had gone by so quickly, it was a challenge just to process it all.

"Assuming they actually gave us a working communication relay, I'm going to inform the Council of what happened, and see if we can get a transport to take Aiyek back to her family. We can wait until then to worry about what we do with Zariba." Above all else, there was one concern of hers that had to be dealt with first. "Let me talk to Maarani. Izan is too friendly with her, and so far she hasn't taken well to you. Just…"

"Find a place to sit and stay there for the trip?" Jayden rolled her eyes before walking off to find her own way through the cramped ship, leaving the other Jedi alone in the central room.

It was a long minute before Dana finally started making her way towards the cockpit. Koor had described in great detail just how dangerous Maarani could be with a lightsaber. None of them had considered that she could still be dangerous even if it was completely inert.

At the threshold of the cockpit itself, she stopped altogether. Maarani was sprawled out over the control panel, bawling out her eyes and showing no signs of getting over it soon.

This time, Dana merely turned around and left her to it. At the very least, she would have plenty of space to herself for letting it all out.


Several hours had passed when Zaalbar finally got up from his seated position at Aiyek's side. Mission had gone off to sleep over an hour earlier, having done what Twi'lek rituals she could for the recently departed. While he had never actually met the woman, he still felt an obligation to watch over her for Mission and Maarani until the transfer was made.

Of course, he needed rest and sustenance as well. And he still had concerns about Maarani herself, despite what the Jedi had explained to him once everyone had calmed down. As far as he knew, the other Twi'lek was still hiding away at the front of the ship.

When he did leave the very lackluster medbay, he found the four armed droid and a familiar looking Zeltron sitting around the centre table. He soon came to recognize the latter from the tailor's establishment.

"Raaargh!"

Izan nearly fell out of his seat in fright when he heard the Wookiee speaking again. It had been days since the first time they met, and he looked even more imposing with the rather poor lighting they had in the ship. "I swear I didn't do anything!"

Zaalbar tilted his head in confusion.

"He was saying hello, Master Pinkskin." Cecile reached her lower right hand across the table to draw from the card pile. A low hum was emitted while she gazed on it to emulate contemplation. "I am programmed to understand and vocalise basic words in the Kashyyyk tongue. Such as…"

She began making robotic gargles, roars and growls, all of which were grating to listen to.

Zaalbar was quick to cover his ears and shake his head in the desperate hope she would stop.

"CC, cut it out already, he doesn't like it. And don't you start calling me 'Pinkskin' too." He tossed two cards back onto the pile to keep the droid just distracted enough from being an absolute pain to listen to.

"It occurred to me that Mistress Dana likes to refer to everyone by chosen short names, and I have chosen to do the same. You are Pinksin, Maarani is Inkface, we have Furcarpet with us now, and Metalgiant has retreated to her quarters indefinitely." She gazed over the central card pile for a few moments, before drawing from it again.

"So what does that make Dana and Mission? Coldheart and…" Izan looked up at Zaalbar again, biting his lip upon noticing his inquisitive glare. "Friendly, nice, honourable Twi'lek."

"Raaargh!"

Seeing no further reason to determine why the Zeltron feared him, Zaalbar moved on to the starboard corridor in search of the kitchen area. So far, he had only the mention of it to go on, and the ship itself was surprisingly difficult to navigate through.

When he finally found the room in question, he also found Maarani at the tiny table. She was slouched back in her chair, staring at the metal ceiling, and very aware of his presence from the way she acted. There was also an empty glass of a strong alcoholic drink on the table.

"I screwed up back there, so bad. I'm marked for death, and so are all my friends. And I got Aiyek killed." She tilted her head around to look at Zaalbar. He was silently observing her. For once, she wasn't fazed in the least by him. "Figures I guess. I can't understand a word you say, but you know exactly what I'm saying. If only everyone else listened like you did.

Zaalbar tilted his head around, mumbling to himself before returning to his listening position.

"You and Mission, must've been great getting to travel and fight with a hero like Revan. He had his reasons for doing horrible shit in the past. You accept that, and move on with the fact that he's genuinely making a good difference." Her gaze returned to the ceiling. "Now what do we have? Criminals turning into idealistic freaks. Sith that don't know whether they actually want to attack or wait and hide. No new figurehead to follow into battle. No icon for everyone to believe in as their salvation."

A weak chuckle followed as she slowly sat herself up. "Score one for the non-religious, I guess. Only thing people blindly follow to their deaths now is the empty ideals of a broken Republic."

She picked up her glass and went for another sip, only just noticing it was empty. The realization was a minor disappointment. And she didn't feel like getting up for a second shot. "I suppose none of it matters now. The Jedi Council don't want me to come back now, and they probably won't want me back when my 'training' is done anyway. Just no point to it."

"Raaargh."

"I'll assume that was some cliche about never giving up hope, no offence." She wiped her nose with the back of her hand before finally clambering out of her seat. The inhibition to her balance was already setting in. Fortunately for Zaalbar, she only needed to lean against his shoulder with her clean hand.

In her drunken line of thinking, something else occurred to her. "Oh, Izan's afraid of you because he works for a group that wasn't exactly nice to your people. I don't know exactly what he does, but so far he's been a decent guy. Maybe let him know you're not leaning on him?"

He continued to watch silently while she made her way out, nearly standing from his seat when her boot caught on the lip of the door. A hand wave and grumble on her part kept him seated until she was out of sight. At last, he had the privacy he wanted for quietly picking out a suitable snack from whatever she had on board.

The proximity alert interrupted his search before it even began. Since they were out in the middle of empty space, at least an hour from the nearest ship base, it had to be the transport they were expecting. Lunch would have to wait.

His assumption proved correct when he encountered Jayden just outside the cool room where Aiyek was kept.

"Raaargh!"

Jayden looked back at him with slight confusion until she also realized they had the same intention. "I think it would be better if I carry her out, Zaalbar. There are a few Mandalorian customs for passage of the dead that I should perform." A slight shudder came when she glanced at Aiyek's restful face. It was still chilling after how she had looked in the seconds before her passing. "I owe it to Maarani, and to Aiyek for not doing my duty in protecting her."

"Raaargh."

"I appreciate that, thank you." There was barely a hesitation when she crouched down to lift Aiyek up in her arms. A small rumble went through the ship when they docked with the transport. It was hardly a bother to her balance.

Again, Zaalbar waited for the other leave before departing himself. Mission wanted to be woken up when the transfer was done so that she could direct Maarani to their own destination. Inebriated or not, she was the only one fully capable of setting a safe course according to the others.

Dana had emerged from her own quarters in the meantime to wait at the passenger airlock for the arrivals. Two men from the Service Corps on their way back to Coruscant. Torbut had avoided mentioning what they were returning with for security reasons, only saying that she might have some relevance to it.

Before she even had a chance to speak, the first of the two strode over with a big smile to bear. "Honoured to be meeting a Jedi Master out here. Apologies for the time it took to get here." He lifted his head a bit upon noticing Jayden's approach. Both he and his co-pilot stepped clear out of the corridor to give her plenty of room to move through.

When she was safely inside, Dana lightly took hold of the pilot's arm to get his attention again. "I was told your cargo could be of importance." She glanced at his nameplate in a miniscule moment so that he wouldn't notice. "Kirrin La'Dere. Should I be taking a look at it?"

Kirrin's smile softened down to a more natural level while he nodded to the co-pilot. He returned to the ship after Jayden, leaving the two alone. "A patrol squad came across a Jedi ship out in empty space. Built pre-Civil War. And it contained a survivor in stasis."

It was a very odd find, but rescuing any survivor of the civil war, or even Jedi Purge was a miracle in of itself.

"Any idea who it is?"

"Some Togruta woman. We traced the ship serial back to Jedi Master Sokoli Zatu, but we have to wait for her to wake up to confirm it. No DNA records to compare against, y'know?"

It was a very mildly disheartening moment for Dana. She barely recognized the name alone, which only meant that she wasn't going to see a long-lost friend after all. "Fair enough. Normally I'd return with you to assist with her mental adjustment, but I have my instructions."

"Of course, good luck with whatever it is you've got to do, Master Lauran." Kirrin gave a brief salute before returning to his ship as well.

Dana waited a little while longer, on the off chance Jayden was quick with whatever she intended to do. Still not seeing her, she shrugged the matter off and made her way back to the cockpit again. This time, Maarani was awkwardly dialling in the coordinates Mission was reciting out to her.

"You really know how to pick out spots for safe houses. I doubt even anyone else from Blue Squadron could find their way through that mess without directions. Hey Dana."

A soft smile formed upon noting that Maarani was at least talking calmly again. Her hand came to rest on her shoulder while she glanced over the projected path. "Still less than a day's trip there and back out to open space. We'll make good time." When both Twi'lek looked to her, she tightened her lip slightly.

Izan had suggested waiting until Maarani was in better condition before involving her in the next phase of planning, which she had just blundered, but there was no point in holding back any longer. "Izan and I discussed what to do next after I heard back from the Council; Jayden decided to stay out of planning for the time being." Her attention moved to Mission specifically. "He's got something in mind, and he was adamant that we wait until after you and Zaalbar are safe."

It took Maarani a lot longer to pin it all down in her head than normal, but she did eventually understand what had just been said. "Having gotten to know him better now, he'll be real cautious. Probably thinks the blame is on him for what happened." When it went through her mind again, she came back to her rant at Dana and Jayden. That was something she had yet to apologize for.

"What I said before the attack… It was out of line. As usual. I'm not used to actually being able to yell without being slapped about, or thrown in a cell to cool off..." Her face went slack upon realizing her drunkenness had let slip a few more unsaid things. Definitely more shocking for Mission to hear undoubtedly. "Military regs can be pretty tough on the disorderly. But that's hardly new."

"Didn't figure you for a rebel though Maarani." Mission winked to Dana while Maarani herself wasn't looking. "I suppose I shouldn't really be impressed, but I am anyway. Woman with great guts through and through. Nice to see from another Twi'lek for once." She looked to Dana again, then slowly stood up from the copilot seat. "I'll be resting again if I'm needed."

Dana didn't immediately move to sit down. For the moment, she felt better just as a reassuring presence for Maarani. "I won't ever ask you to open up about your military career, Teegs. The decision is your alone. Just wanted you to know that I will listen to anything you need to say in full confidence. Even if it's to say that you can't stand Jayden, or myself, any longer."

At that, Maarani twisted her head around to look right at the Jedi. "You don't look sixty years old."

"That's because…" There was yet another sigh from Dana when she finally took up the other seat. This time she needed the moment to gather her thoughts on the matter. "I'm not a normal average human. My kind just have long lifespans, instead of blue, green, pink or red skin. Or a lack of eyes, horns, or head tails…"

"I get it, I get it. My head hurts now." Maarani clutched at her head in a vain attempt to force away the inevitable headache. She only succeeded in making it subside just a little. "Fine, I'll stop asking about your age. I was just thinking on how you were there when my mother joined the Jedi, which means you were there when Surik was still around at least."

The direct implication made Dana inhale sharply, though she made sure it was as discreet as possible. For once, the inquiry was going places she didn't feel comfortable discussing.

"Getting to talk with Mission got me actually interested in all that recent history again. Gotta do something in our spare time since we're not going back to Coruscant. Figured a little history lesson wouldn't be too boring coming from you."

"Later. When we're not still liable for kidnapping. And we're certain the droids aren't going to ambush us again."