Kijimi:

'I'm having a devil of a time hanging onto these' Kara thought as she grabbed another helmet from the rack. She turned from the armoury, moving into the corridor. Before she could move any further, Reeve entered the hall, his helmet masking his features. There was a stony silence between them.

'Commander, I wish to apologise for my actions on the field' said Reeve, his voice quiet. Kara looked at his posture and sensed that he was scared. Scared that she would snap at him again. She knew it was his way of trying to make the peace between them. Kara felt hurt that her teammates would be scared of her and knew she had to bridge the gap. She had to maintain the disciplined tightly knit group that Seevor had created.

'Reeve. It's not you who needs to apologise' she said, staring ashamedly at the ground. She took a deep breath before looking up at him. 'I was feeling stressed. It was my first mission as –.'

'Kara. I understand. You weren't thinking straight' said Reeve, removing his helmet to reveal his face. He had closely shaved black hair and brown eyes with a crooked nose. Kara could sense him relaxing. He had been the newest member to the order before Kara and Thane.

Kara gave a weak smile. 'I made the wrong decision. The Phantom Order should be helping people for the Empire.'

'For the Empire.' There was a pause in their conversation.

'Reeve, are we doing the right thing?' she asked.

'We protect people from the Jedi. What's wrong with that?' Reeve questioned.

'I guess' said Kara, not confident in her own words. She looked back to Reeve. He was smiling reassuringly. 'I feel as though perhaps there are other ways we could be helping the galaxy. Ways that would benefit more people.'

'Everyone is benefited from our work Kara. We just have to remember that we can help people in other ways as well.' For the first time Kara felt as though she had someone who understood her.

'Thank you, Reeve,' she said.

'Oh, and Rook told me to tell you they've decrypted the map. He'll meet you in the transmission bay' Reeve added.

'And you didn't think to tell me that first' Kara chuckled, rolling her eyes but not unkindly. It didn't matter. Reeve had already disappeared around the corner.

Kara made her way down the corridor, still carrying her new helmet. She quickly reached the transmission bay. The automated doors gave way and Kara passed through the doorway hearing the faint hiss behind her. The room had multiple panels and readouts to either side, although Kara couldn't make them out in the dim light. On the far side of the room were Rook and Clips and in the centre was a map of the galaxy.

Galactography had never been Kara's strong point. It was the subject she had had to work hardest at to receive perfect marks. Now, a year after the Imperial Academy the knowledge had almost faded entirely from her memory. She looked at the map. She was quickly able to identify the Core and the most prominent planets. Coruscant, Correllia, Kuat, Hosnian Prime were each quickly distinguishable. She looked further out to the mid rim and was able to make out the Ison Corridor running through it. She quickly spotted Kijimi bordering between the colonies and the mid rim. Scanning the Outer Rim, she spotted Nal Hutta, Mandalore and Felucia. She glanced beyond it to see the Unknown Region and the small portions of Wild Space that the Republic had managed to map before the Empire had come.

'Welcome Commander' said Rook, a disapproving look evident. Kara realised she had been standing in silence for nearly a minute.

'You still planning on reporting me Rook?' Kara teased, sitting down on a chair opposite them.

Rook ignored her. 'I have decrypted the map data and it would seem we have a large army of Jedi on our hands. A few thousand, give or take a few hundred' Kara was nodding absentmindedly. She was glad he hadn't taken her earlier joke too seriously, but then the full implications of his words sunk in. Kara's jaw fell open in disbelief.

'Thousand?' she spluttered, staring at Rook who was gazing back with a straight face. 'How did –?' She dropped off as she looked to Clips who had his face in his hand and was shaking violently. She looked back at Rook and saw he was still managing to maintain an emotionless face.

'You should have seen the look on your face' Clips cried out, breaking into a laugh. Kara snarled at Rook and he winked in return.

'I'd say we were even now' he said grinning.

'I'd say you should watch your back' Kara grunted. 'Clips hasn't shown so much emotion since he related the story of how his pet mynock was hit by a land speeder' Kara thought.

'What did we find?' Clips in a more serious tone, his giggling subsided.

'I found multiple old Jedi Sanctuaries scattered through the Outer Rim. I expect there will be nothing more than some dusty old books and artefacts in most of them. About half of them are correspond with sanctuaries already known to the Empire' Rook responded. Kara nodded. She had expected as much. 'However,' he begun. There was a pause as he weighed up his words.

'Get on with it' Kara grumbled.

'One of them has sparked my interest. Aeos Prime' said Rook, slowly. Kara looked at him. Clips was nodding and she felt a stab of annoyance at being the only one who didn't know what it meant.

Clips saw the look on Kara's face and elaborated, 'Aeos is a planet mostly covered in water. It has thousands of tiny islands scattered across its surface. It is inhabited by the Aeosian water species.'

At that moment, the doors slid open. Kara turned her head to see who had entered the room. It was cramped already, and Kara wasn't sure they could comfortably fit another person in. However, it wasn't a person. It was a droid.

It had two black little legs with large feet to keep its balance and a head that looked like a flattened shock ball. It had a single eye lens that swivelled around its oversized head. 'Who's this little Jawa-reject?' asked Kara. The droid's eye swivelled towards her and let out a series of beeping sounds.

'Just a co-pilot I found to keep my company' Clips feigned innocently.

'You know why we don't have droids in the Phantom Order. They're unreliable' Kara hissed angrily. She had only just assumed command of the Phantom Order, and already it was going to the dumps.

'More of a pet you know. He could prove his worth' said Clips. He'd been hoping that Kara would not be as strict a commander as Seevor.

'That droid is not speaking standard code' Rook added, his interest piqued.

The droid let out a beep. Kara gave a wry smile. 'She says she has a name.'

'Well what is it?' Clips quizzed, surprised that Kara could understand the droid, but also suspicious she might be bluffing.

'KT-23.'

'Katie' Rook chuckled. The droid nodded its head vigorously before falling over backwards.

'Looks about as sturdy as a three-legged Bantha' Kara harrumphed, leaning down to help the little droid back up onto its feet.

'Can you understand the droid?' Rook interrogated.

'Childhood skill' responded Kara, making it clear that she didn't want to delve any further into the matter.

Rook leaned down from his chair and scooped the droid up. 'You know, it could be helpful to have a droid for certain reasons.'

'She was abandoned and needed a home' Clips pleaded, looking at Kara. 'I was inside the ship when she just wandered in on her own.'

'So how do you know she doesn't have a home?' Kara questioned, rolling her eyes. Clips realised he'd walked himself into a corner but it was Rook who spoke.

'Who'd want this pile of scrap' he laughed. Kara looked at the droid, who turned to meet her gaze.

'Fine, we'll keep her' Kara groaned. The droid let out an excited burst of sounds. 'But at the first sign of trouble, we're ejecting him out the waste chute.' The droid leapt from Rooks lap and straight through the hologram, landing on Kara's legs. Kara couldn't help smiling as the droid curled up on her lap.

Clips, knowing that he had to change the subject before Kara could change her mind, gestured to the map. 'What's different about Aeos than all the other sanctuaries.'

Rook was quick to respond. 'The Jedi Sanctuary there is well hidden. Naturally, the Empire had no knowledge of it prior to know. There is something else. I've been searching the Imperial Archives. All data on Aeos Prime from the Jedi Archives was removed a week after the Jedi attempted to take control of the Senate. The Jedi responsible was executed. However, his ship had records of a trip to Aeos.'

'And nobody thought of going to Aeos to see what he was doing there?' Kara scoffed. She didn't believe it. The Empire would never be so sloppy.

Rook gave a nod. 'They did. They found nothing and the search was abandoned.'

Kara nodded. Now that they had returned their focus to the mission, Kara realised that it was their best lead. Additionally, Aeos Prime was only thirty parsecs away. The Shadow Blade could make the jump in less than a quarter of a moon cycle with ease.

Kara let out a deep sigh. Two little folds behind KT's head perked up at the sound.

'We'll go for it.'

Once more, Kara felt the familiar lurch as the Shadow Blade made the jump to lightspeed. Kara spun around and spotted KT, following her. 'What do you want?' Kara threatened. The droid cocked its head to one side, and let out a whine.

'Your Clip's toy. Not mine' she said, turning her back. As she begun to walk away, she could hear the droid trying to muffle its foot falls behind her. Kara stopped again, looking to the heavens. 'What now?'

The droid let out a squeal followed by a series of clicking sounds.

'I know Clips can't understand you. Why don't you try teach him?' Kara moaned.

Right on cue, Clip's voice filled the corridor. 'We've just entered hyperspace' Clips said, returning to his usual drone.

'I can see that' Kara muttered irritably. She moved down the hall and reached her room. She used the key pad next to the door to lock it behind her. Placing her helmet on the floor, she sighed, before sinking gratefully into her bed. The thin padded leather had never felt so good, as it relieved her aching joints. She closed her eyes and felt herself slowly entering the comforting arms of sleep.

At that moment, there was a soft knocking on her door. Reluctantly, Kara pulled herself from her bed. 'Who's there?' she grumbled.

There was no response.

Kara walked to the door. It slid open and revealed an empty corridor. She looked both ways, checking for any sign of a person. She looked down, suspecting the worst and with a sinking feeling, she saw KT sitting patiently at the doorway. The droid let out a wheezy chirp.

'What do you want?' Kara snarled. 'I thought I told you to stop following me.'

The droid stood up and spun its head, before stretching its legs. Kara took a step back and the door slid shut. 'After my rest, I'm going to make Clips get rid of that pesky droid' grumbled Kara, sinking back into her bed.

A moment later, there was another knock on her metallic door.

'I thought I told you to go away' Kara moaned, putting her hands over her ears.

'Oh, sorry Kara. I was just bringing you your meal.' Kara shot up with a start, and opened her door, revealing Diano. He was in black cargo pants, and was wearing a tight long-sleeved shirt. His hair was brown, tinged with grey on either side; he held a tray, with the Phantom Order's usual dry rations.

'No, it's nothing. I thought you were someone else' said Kara hurriedly, glancing down the hallway for any sign of the droid. It had vanished.

'I heard you had an argument with Reeve on the mission' Diano responded, looking at Kara. He didn't want to say anything that might offend her.

'Oh no. We're fine now' replied Kara, nodding thankfully. Diano smiled and handed Kara her tray. Kara took it gratefully, and nodded.

'Oh, I was wondering if you knew anything about that droid on board?' Diano asked.

Kara nodded, letting out a deep sigh, 'Clips wanted a pet. We're getting rid of her when we land on Aeos. I assume Rook contacted you about that.'

'He did. Thanks.'

'Anytime' said Kara, retreating into her room. The door slid shut again and Kara sat at the foot of her bed, spooning a mouthful of the dried dewback meat. Unenthusiastically, she begun to chew the tough meat. She looked down at the floor and into the grey helmet on the floor, and saw her reflection gazing back at her.

This time, Kara looked more worn than she ever had. The bags under her eyes reflected the weariness that hung over her. 'How did Seevor last?' Kara thought. She swallowed the dry meat and tore her gaze away. At that moment, there was a fizzing sound and the keypad next to the door sparked. The door slid open.

Kara looked down at the small droid and felt a surge of pity. 'I guess you've proved you're skilful at something' snorted Kara, motioning for her to come inside. KT ran in, tucking her hacking tool back into a hidden compartment in her chest. The droid squealed with excitement and nearly tipped over. Kara leaned forward and caught KT before she could topple completely.

'I guess we could keep you around.'