Lou folded her shirt, and stuffed it into the suitcase. She intended to leave the Angel and get to Coruscant as quickly as she possibly could without anyone noticing her departure. Above all, she hoped that Park was asleep and that she would not pass him in the hall on her way to the docking bay.

Lou programmed her own smaller craft in the docking bay to prep itself for take off, before locking her quarters behind her, so that even Captain Lindsey could not get in in her absence.

Lou made her way through the corridors to the docking bay, trying not to look suspicious. Luckily, she did not pass anyone.

She strapped herself into the pilot's chair, then, after being cleared for take-off by the droid, blasted off into space. After setting her course for Coruscant, Lou watched the Angel grow smaller and smaller.


* * *


"Who cleared that ship to leave?" Captain Lindsey was furious. Park twitched nervously at his commanding officer's raised voice. "Was it you?" he barreled down on Park.

"No," Park answered, his voice a low, terrified squeak, averting his eyes.

"Do you know where Ensign Lou is going?" Lindsey demanded.

Park shook his head, despite the voice in his head that kept hissing Coruscant.

"Ease up, Cap. You're scaring the poor guy," Jenkens chuckled.

Park gave Jenkens an evil glare, but remained silent.

"McDougall, can you track her ship's course?" Lindsey asked.

"That is conceivable, Captain."

"Good. Get to it now." McDougall bowed his head, then exited the conference room.

She is coming to see me, the voice in Park's head stated.

"Do you have a spare keycard, Park? My override doesn't work. Can you get into her quarters? I need to get in there, Park. Are you even listening to me?"

She left you behind, and you can't come to terms with that fact.

"Leave me alone!" Park exploded at the voice in his head. Lindsey glared daggers at him, and his eyes went wide. Park's mind was racing, trying to figure out how to cover up his outburst. He knew that if he claimed he was hearing voices in his head, they would lock him up. "Yeah, that's right. I have no idea how you can get into her quarters, and you know what? Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. You'd probably stand there sniffing her panties."

"Assuming she left any behind," Jenkens added.

"Dismissed," Lindsey barked at Jenkens, narrowing his eyes at him. Jenkens arched his eyebrow, but did not argue with his Captain, though he felt leery about leaving Park alone with him. "Now," Lindsey stated. Jenkens threw one last look at Park, who was shaking his head no, then left. "Mortimer, I know you have a duplicate keycard for Lou's quarters. You are going to find it, and bring it to me."

"I-"

"Come on. We'll go together," Lindsey gestured toward the door.

"But I don't know where it is off the top of my head."

It is between the headboard of your bed and the wall.

Leave me alone.

"We'll look for it. Maybe you'll even remember on the way over."

Park reluctantly followed his Captain to his quarters to find the misplaced keycard.


* * *


Why don't you just get it out from behind the bed, and get it over with?

"Because," Park whispered to the voice in his head. "I don't want Lindsey going into Mi's room before I get to look around first."

What do you think you will discover? You already know that Jareena is coming to Coruscant to see me.

"Why do you keep calling her that?"

It is her name.

"Not anymore."

It was her name when I knew her.

"Oh."

"I found it," Lindsey announced, his head appearing above the mattress on Park's bed.

"You did?" Park choked.

"Yeah. Something possessed me to look between the headboard and the wall, and there it was," he held it up for Park to see.

"That 'something' wasn't you, was it?" he whispered rhetorically.

Of course.

"Son of a-"

"Who are you talking to?"

"Uh...myself."

Lindsey raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. Afterall, everyone knew that Mortimer Park was slightly off.


Lou stared at the blackness of space. She had been traveling through it alone for three days, yet she was not tired of the view. She loved space. She loved the stars. Most of all, she loved being in space among the stars. That was why she had left Coruscant in the first place. She did not belong there, on a world of endless city.

Lou knew that she was lucky to have gotten off-planet when she had. It was only a month later when Darth Sidious and his Sith Apprentice had corrupted the Senate and taken over. Sidious had proclaimed himself Emperor, and there had been no one to oppose him.

These first two years had been dark times for anyone, even if they were all for Palpatine's outrageous ideas and goals. He had wiped out anything and anyone who stood in his path.

A green light blinked on the panel of buttons before her, snapping her out of her reverie. She flipped a switch, bringing her ship out of Hyperspace.

"A few more hours, Maul."

Are you looking forward to seeing me again?

"Does that really surprise you?"


Breckin's eyes snapped open. Something had woken him up, but what?

"Corrina?" he tried to see into the dark. "Computer, lights on," he ordered. The lights flickered, but stayed on. "Cor, where did you go?" A wave of panic overtook him, as he reached for his pants. What if he had left her unsatisfied, and now he would never see her again?

"I'm not saying that," Simpson's voice floated out from the bathroom.

Breckin's heart skipped a beat, and a wide grin spread across his face. She was still here.

"Of course I have it. That was easy...nope, he's pretty easy, too." Breckin stood outside the door, eyebrows furrowed, as he realized that Simpson was talking to someone other than him. And he refused to believe that she may be talking about him.

"It's all there. I checked it out myself...yes...as you wish."

Breckin realized that Simpson's conversation was over, and he hurried back into bed. "Computer, lights off," he whispered harshly, and the lights turned off. He rolled onto his side, and pretended that he was still asleep, waiting intently for Simpson to return to him. A few minutes passed before she did.

"Lance," she cooed in his ear. "Wake up, Sweetie."

"Hmm?" Breckin tried to sound groggy, as he turned his head to face her.

"Oh, Lance," Simpson kissed him passionately, rolling him over onto his back. Something cold and rough traced a line down his chest. "How much did you hear?"

"How much did I...?" he let the question trail off, his voice confused.

"You woke up, and you overheard some of my conversation, didn't you, Baby?" she kissed him again.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Cor," he whispered.

"Are you sure?"

Breckin put his arms around her waist, and rolled them both over, so that he was on top of her. He heard something metal clang to the floor. "Absolutely positive." He kissed Simpson softly, hoping she bought the lie.


"Look, just let me go in and have a look around first," Park snatched Lou's keycard out of Lindsey's hand.

"Not a chance. You'll reorganize her stuff so that I won't be able to figure anything out," he took the keycard back.

"You don't know her like I do, Sir. She would not appreciate you going into her quarters in her absence," Park returned, grabbing it again.

Lindsey tore the card out of Park's hand, saying, "Lou doesn't want you going in either, otherwise she would have told you she was leaving."

"No, if she didn't want me to know that she was leaving, she would have taken the keycard back," he grabbed it back. "She didn't tell me because she didn't want me to go with her." That hurt, he thought to himself.

Indeed, Maul's voice replied.

Go away.

Park had not realized that Lindsey had once again taken the keycard away from him. "Maybe she tried to find it, but didn't know where to look."

"M-i would have known where to look," he had almost said 'Maul'. "You're just jealous that she wouldn't take you along." He snatched the keycard back.

"Listen, Park, this is immature. Of both of us," Lindsey grabbed it out of Park's hand. "I'm the Captain. I'll go first."

"You say we're being immature, and then the best thing you can come up with is that you're the Captain?" Park threw his hands in the air. "Fine. Open the damned door."

Lindsey nodded, and with an air of satisfaction, swiped the keycard down the interface.

Park got in first. "Alright, so what we're looking for is-"

Nothing. You know where she went. You know why she went there.

"Clues as to where she went, and why she went there," Lindsey finished, and Park wondered if the Captain was hearing the same voices he was.

Just you, Morty.

Park shuddered. Don't ever call me that again. He looked over at where Lindsey was looking in the drawers in the bed. Park went over to Lou's desk, and went through the drawers, searching for the portrait of the Sith Lord.