9 years later (Kai – age: 20)

Kai raised a doubtful eyebrow at Ozan as she sat at the controls, tapping her foot in thought. Her fingers moved across a few buttons automatically, knowing which ones to press and which to not. The ring she wore on her right hand glittered in the various lights of the cockpit.
"How do we know this is a good contact, and that this time we'll actually get the supplies we need? We don't want what happened on the Rishi moon to happen to us again."

The incident she was referring to had happened when they had stopped for a meetup with another group nearly two weeks ago and had come close to losing their ship and ammunition in the ambush and firefight that followed. Only Ozan and her own skill with a blaster, and their better cover had helped keep them alive, but their ship still bore some residual marks that needed fixing. Ozan grunted from his chair, and shook his head from where he sat.

"Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing by teaching you to be open and honest." He growled, giving her an irritated but teasing shake of his head. "Now I have to deal with you speaking your mind all the time."

Kai rolled her eyes, and began the descent. For the last couple years, if the mission was considered safe enough, he trusted her to fly them in and out, so she could get used the ship, he said.

"We've been a family for almost a decade. Of course I'm going to speak my mind." She shot back, and he chuckled, as he checked his blasters, and with a pleading look from her, the other weapons they'd use as well, including her own personal blaster. She guided them through the atmosphere, only having to fight the wind a couple different times. All in all, it was a far better landing that she had expected from a planet that had almost no landscape to slow the winds.

They landed safely on the dusty, arid surface of Florrum, and Kai reached above her left shoulder to turn off both of the engines, and lock the landing gear in place. She stood up and shifted so that she could zip up her jacket comfortably, and took her small hand blaster and long knife from Ozan. They walked silently to the storage bay, and he pressed the lever to lower the ramp. When it hit the ground, Kai was immediately greeted with air dry enough to chap her lips and she squinted against wind. It was filled with enough sand to sting her skin, and it occurred to her that was why Ozan had brought his scarf with him. It was already wrapped around his head, and pulled across his face, and she nodded once to herself before simply pulling her scarf up over her mouth and nose. She should have grabbed goggles too but it was too late for that now.
There was a ship right next to theirs that looked to be in equally rough shape, but the owner had already left, sealing the entire place up tight. They started walking to the entrance of the building, and she didn't see a rock so when she hit it with the toe of her boot, she nearly stumbled. Ozan discreetly grabbed her arm, before pulling her upright and muttering a calm but firm "..steady" to her as she kept walking.

She was glad the scarf was there to cover her face, because she was sure someone across the square could have seen her completely flushed cheeks. They reached the doors, and two of the guards stopped her, tall lanky Weequay that stared at her and Ozan with equal amounts of suspicion.

After a short conversation with Ozan, and the bribery of credits that Kai was sure they couldn't afford to give, they were inside. She pulled the scarf off her nose, and breathed in air that was finally not filled with sand. Ozan kept the scarf around his head, but pulled the piece away from his mouth as they walked. She could hear the sound of music playing, and Ozan leaned his head minutely closer to her.
"Stay close to me, and do not drink anything anyone gives you. Watch the bartender make it. Understand? And don't get trigger happy, or we'll end up dead before we draw." He warned, his voice lower than normal. At her surprised face, he grimaced. "This lot tends to be more ready for a fight than not." Right before they crossed the threshold he looked at her and nodded, to which she nodded back, knowing that she had a responsibility while she was here. The same one she'd had for years. Protect his back, and he'd protect hers.

The music was much louder than she had originally guessed, so when they stepped in, she had to turn away from the speakers to adjust. Ozan knew exactly who he was going for, a tall Weequay in a long red coat, the infamous Hondo Onaka. She just tilted her head towards the bar and he gave her a nod, before parting the crowd in front of him as he made his way to the man. She ordered a simple drink, and leaned against the counter as she waited, and when she looked to her left, she was met with dark brown eyes. They stared at her from below a pair of goggles, and they shot her a flirtatious wink.

They belonged to a young Twilek, with dark green skin, and he was dressed in a light cream shirt, and a brown jacket thrown over the top. His boots came up to his calves, over pants made from a coarse material. A long scar ran down the length of his lekku, which were currently over his shoulders, the ends twitching occasionally. He walked over closer as she got her drink, and she stared back at him over the top of her glass. He set his own empty glass down and gave a nod to the bartender, and once his glass was reflilled he tilted it her way.

"Hello." He said simply, his accent thick and noticeable, and she raised an eyebrow back.

"Hi." She responded, hesistantly. "Can I help you?" She asked, and he smiled even bigger, his eyes flashing with his smile.

"No. I was just wondering what a beautiful woman like yourself was doing here of all places." He said, and his face lit up slightly at her laugh that followed. It didn't escape her notice that his head seemed on a very subtle swivel as he watched the crowd.

However, she just chuckled as she took another drink, and shook her head, her ponytail swaying with the motion.
"That line work with the other girls you use it on?" She asked, and he shrugged, emptying his glass, and turning to her fully.

"It usually does, yes. But I take it, you're not like most girls." He quipped, and she raised her own glass in acknowledgement before emptying it. She was jostled as some people walked by, and after she gave a quick glare, she turned back to him. He seemed to watch them closely as well.

"You're right there." She said, and look at him once her glass was taken away. "You looking for someone in particular?"

He smirked with a wink, before leaning forward to rest his chin on his hand.

"Oh it's nothing. It's just some of the people don't like me very much at the moment. That tends to happen a lot." He explained and she gave him a long look before letting her gaze drift over to Ozan.

He and Hondo seemed to be swapping drinks, and haggling something fierce, because she could see Ozan leaning forward with his hands on his knees, his head cocked to the side, his tell. She watched closely to make sure that nothing was amiss, and there seemed to be no blasters drawn, or in danger of being drawn, so she figured he was ok.

The man followed her gaze, and when she looked back, he seemed to give her an apprasing look. "You're with him?" He asked, and when she nodded, he gave a look of approval. "Ozan..he's a tough one. Not many left in the galaxy like him. Bounty hunters are just in it for the money now."
Kai ordered a small plate of crackers and fruit and pushed the plate over his direction. "And you're not, I'm guessing?" She asked, and when he accepted some of the food, he shook his head.

"I'm not. There used to be hunters that did their job for the safety of a better galaxy, but with better creds." He explained, and Kai found that she quite liked the melodious accent he spoke with. "I need the money, but I don't like people being taken advantage of. So" he spread his hands. "Here I am. What about you? Did he rub off on you, or…"

Kai shook her head. "You're really nosy, you know that?" she asked, and when he gave her another one of those smiles, she huffed. "I've been with him since I was 11 years old. So yeah, I'd say that he rubbed off on me." She explained, and he was about to say something about having a drink again sometime, when a raised voice greeted her ears.

"So ungrateful. I give you all that you ask for and you still expect a fair price." Hondo complained, and looked over at Ozan like he had offended everything he held dear in this world, which come to think of it, might not be much. Ozan stared back at him with a level gaze.

"I'm not looked to be ripped off by you this afternoon, Onaka. I'll be giving you the payment," he slid over some credits, "and I'll be taking my supplies. Let's not mess up the business arrangement we have, alright? We get along well enough as it is, and you have plenty of other people to swindle besides me."

Hondo laughed, throwing his head back, and clapped Ozan on the shoulder, who remained as stonefacecd as always. "How right you are my friend. How I have missed your sombor self. You could use some good drink." He gestured to the bar, and Ozan shook his head, while walking over to a pre-set crate of supplies, that she knew held food and ammunitions.

"You know I never drink on the job." He shot back, and Hondo shook his head sadly.
"You need to live one day, my friend. Do something that puts a smile on that drab, lonely face of yours." He told him and Ozan gave him a nod, while pressing his lips together in a way she knew meant he was losing patience.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." He searched the crowd, and when he saw her eyes, he jerked his head towards the door. Kai nodded, and stood up, shifting her gun holster so that it laid more comfortably.

"I'm going to have to take you up on that drink offer some other time…" She looked at him through narrowed eyes, and he stuck out his hand for her to shake.
"Rayfe. Rayfe Lorshoc. Pleased to meet you." He went to shake her hand, but then surprised her and kissed the back of her hand lightly and gave her a wink as he straightened.

Kai snorted as she took back her hand, and shook her head. "Same to you, Rayfe. Name's Kai. Kai Finall. But you'll have to excuse me, because I have to go before we don't get off of this rock with all our goods. It was…good to meet you." She said, tucking her hands into her pockets, before offering him him a shy smile which he returned enthusiastically.

She turned on her heel and walked across the floor, weaving around people until she made it to Ozan's side, who was currently pushing the crate full of supplies.

She walked next to him, and kept a hand near her blaster. "You think we'll make it out of here ok? He seemed pretty set on getting more than we gave him, even though that is literally what everything cost."
Ozan's eyes shifted around, glancing at doorways and other challenging eyes before they flicked over to her direction. "Hush now. We will talk when we get on the ship. We need to unload everything, return the carrier, and then we are gone. Understood?" He instructed, and she nodded, while keeping her eyes roving as well.

They made it about halfway when the sounds of a firefight and shouting reached them. Ozan looked at her, the doorway they had just exited and their ship in one solid sweep.

He pushed the crate towards her and made her take it when he let go. He pulled out his gun and put his back to her.

"Take that to the ship. Now. Quickly." He told her and they jogged over to the ship. After she had it unloaded, they made the decision not to take the lift back, opting to set it to the side. As the finished up carrying everything in, she saw three groups of people run for different ships. It seemed a massive firefight had broken out, and anyone not native to this dust rock were getting out in order to save their own skin. The fighting was still intense over at the entrance.
The first group of people made it to their ship, as well as the second, when Kai gasped. She recognized the person running in the third direction, her left. It was Rayfe. He ran as fast as he could, and it seemed like half of the compound was running after him. He jumped over a crate and when he landed, a blaster bolt caught him in the shoulder, and another caught him on the chest.

Rayfe hit the ground with a groan and rolled onto his stomach, writhing in pain his run for safety halted.

"We have to help him, Ozan!" Kai yelled and he looked over at her, his golden eyes wide as he took in her expression and Rayfe's fallen form.

"Now is not the time for heroics Kai. Get those crates in and close the door. We're leaving." His voice was deep and rough and he glared at her as she looked back and forth.

She then shook her head and ran over. As her footsteps fell, she argued with herself. What was she doing? If she did this, she was risking her life for a man she met only an hour prior. But if she didn't do this, she was leaving a man to die, and Ozan had always taught her to not be heartless.

She ran up to him and crouched, slinging his arm over her shoulder, but Rayfe was solidly built and her legs shook under the weight. "Come on, you stupid man. Stop being so heavy." She grunted out as she tried to straighten her legs and run. Suddenly the weight lifted, and Ozan slung Rayfe's body over his shoulder and stood with a groan, throwing his gun to her. "Cover me." He said and they ran for the door of the ship.

The group of people that had been chasing Rayfe was approaching closer and the blasters were starting to hit nearby, but Kai and Ozan had finally got the door closed and secured, the blaster shots ringing on the outside shell.

Ozan immediately ran for the pilots seat and as they lifted off she looked at the now unconscious Rayfe on their floor. His brows were furrowed in pain and she placed a hand on his chest to soothe him.

What had she done? She had thought bringing him on board was a good idea, but now she was truly not sure. What risks has she uncovered that would have remained out of the range of possibility had she left him there.

All she knew was as Rayfe struggled to regain consciousness, she would give him a chance.

Author's Note: Most Twileks outside of Ryloth speak Basic, but some still carry an accent that sounds similar to what we know as a French accent.