Ani shut the panel with a dull thud. Rubbing the back of his neck,
he closed bleary eyes. Thank the Force that was over! Some nerfherder had
tried to sabotage one of the sabaac dealer droids and had inadvertently
randomized the environmental controls. Less than an hour of tinkering, and
the idiot had managed to effectively cripple half the ship. More trouble
than a Gungan.
Ani never wanted to see Booster so infuriated again. He almost felt sorry for the drunk that had done it. That is, until he had seen the damage he had been assigned to repair. Six hours! The rewiring had needed six hours of repair! And it would have been longer, if a Force-less maintenance crew had done it.
Stopping in the office, Ani let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't minus four degrees centigrade anymore. "All the temperatures should be back to Corillean averages again."
"Thank goodness! Last night I had to sleep in my ship, my quarters were that cold." Silijar exclaimed.
Ani had to smile, albeit tiredly. "So did I."
"You do that anyway." She said dismissively. 'He looks exhausted' she thought. "I'm off in a few minutes. Do you want to get some lunch? My treat, for making my room livable again."
"Alright. I'll meet you at the mess on Blue level? I want to stop by my ship first. Say, twenty minutes?"
"Sure. Don't forget to tell Booster everything's back to normal. He's greeting a ship that's heading in. If you hurry you can still catch him."
"Okay, thanks!" Ani headed out the door.
Down in the docking bay the hustle and bustle was as hectic as ever. Over it all, Booster's voice rang out loud and clear.
"Ani! Tell me the environmental controls are back to normal!"
"They are sir." Ani walked over to the captain of the Errant Venture.
"Good! I damn near froze last night and when I woke up, it was an oven! I'll pay you big for this, my boy. Wait here while I meet our guests." Booster stepped over to the landing pad where a smuggler's ship had just touched deck. The Wild Karrde.
The ramp extended while the ship finished powering down. A tall, confident looking human strode out. "Hello Booster. How are things?"
"Okay now. Welcome aboard. You shopping or just visiting?"
"Both actually. My crew could use some leave."
"Well Trader's Alley is open. Just don't break any rules while you're here." Booster spoke mainly to the crew that was filing out, but Karrde caught the words anyway.
"What happened?" he said.
"Some cherfer-brain tried to randomize my environmental controls." Booster made a violent motion. "Just got it fixed. Ani here's a wizard with mechanics."
"And also the best pilot to come out of Ord Mantell."
"That's kind of you to say, sir. But, I'm sure the scuttlebutt is exaggerated." Ani was a little surprised the powerful smuggler had bothered to find out about him. It made him nervous to wonder what else the man might have found.
"Don't be modest Ani. We all know you're good." Booster smiled proudly.
"Thank you. If you'll excuse me, sir, I promised to meet Silijar for lunch."
"You look tired kid. Get some rest. I'll see you later."
Nodding, Ani beat a hasty retreat back to the Knight.
Booster and Karrde watched him go. They then strode quickly to Booster's office. "Why did you tell him you were looking into him?" Booster exclaimed after making sure the door was firmly shut.
"I'm hoping it might scare some information out of him. As it is, I can dig into the rumors out of Ord Mantell more deeply."
"You couldn't find anything? Karrde, when I asked you to check him out, I didn't think it'd be that complicated."
"Surprise, surprise." Karrde grinned at Booster's confusion. Then his voice took on a more serious tone. "It's as if he fell out of a black hole. No family, no home planet, no last name that anyone has heard of, not even a criminal or civil record matching anyone of his description or talents."
"I thought you were good at this. What did you find?"
"He turned up in a tapcafe on Ord Mantell about two years ago and got a job with a small shipping company attached to Ships and Services. A month later he started building that ship he's got parked out there and a year after that, the ship was done and he split for parts unknown. Three months later he turns up here and starts working for you."
"A year? He finished that thing in a year?! Come on!"
"It's true."
"Have your sources gone bad all of a sudden, Karrde? You don't spring up from nowhere at twenty-six! If you could, he'd make a fortune selling the technique. He's too nice, he's too polite, he's too damn good with machines, someone's gotta remember something about him."
"They don't. Jain says he worked for a woman named Saalot. She's away on business. Jorrin, the tapcafe owner, told me how he turned up, and directed me to Ogin, the man who bailed on Saalot providing Ani with the job, then turned up later and "made him clear out". I got the sense the Imps were involved somehow but nothing further. No warrant, nothing."
"Did you find out who Padmé was?"
"No. The most public 'Padmé' I found was a handmaiden for a Queen Amidala. Apparently she was the rep from Naboo who got the old Chancellor thrown out, so that Palpatine could be elected. But that was over twenty years ago. I don't see a connection. There was another one more recently, but she was a mental patient off Malastare. Committed suicide about five years ago. But since we have nothing on him,"
"We can't match him to her. Well, the kid's working out alright here. He's got friends, a job. He's reliable."
"Apparently he was at his last job too. Don't worry, I'll keep looking. He's got me intrigued now. Anyway, what do you think of Mara?"
"Who, the redhead?" Karrde nodded. "She seems competent? Why?"
"Would you trust her?"
"I don't know her too well." Booster gave Karrde a hard look. "You don't either do you?"
"She saved my life, I owed her and she chose a job. She's been working out wonderfully and I've been thinking of promoting her."
"But?"
"I was wondering if you'd recognize her as a member of my company. I'm trying to get my clients and friends familiar with her so that when I do ask her and start showing her the way things work, there'd be less problems."
"Well, why don't we have dinner tonight? Bring her and Aves and whoever else you want. I'll get to know her better."
On blue level was the best tapcaf on the Venture, the Quiet Night. Most of the passengers shunned it because there was no gambling, but they served good, simple food at reasonable prices. The people were friendly and down-to-earth, whereas those on diamond level would have been much more judgmental.
Silijar had introduced Ani to Kian, the proprietor, one night after he had come back from a run. Kian had once been a chef on a Kuat cruise line, but had left after the ship he had been on was attacked by pirates. He figured working on an ISD provided better job security.
When Silijar approached the counter, he immediately plunked down a glass of muja juice. "You and Ani are the only two I know who refuse to drink any alcohol."
She smiled at him, her white fur ruffling. "Like you ever minded. Speaking of Ani, have you seen him yet?"
"No. How is he? He hasn't come here in since last week. Usually, he's here every night." Kian had taken a liking to Ani after he had peaceably settled a potential brawl.
"Really? Except for the randomizer job, he hasn't had anything else to do. I would have thought he'd be here."
"He hasn't. Do you think he's okay?"
"I'm not sure, he seemed pretty tired when he came in today. He'll be here in a minute or two, you can ask him."
The door to the tapcafe slid open and a bunch of crewmen from the Wild Karrde trooped in. Kian moved over to serve them.
"Good day, gentlebeings. What can I get you?"
"Hello, Kian." Aves said. "This is Mara Jade, she's joined the crew since we've been here last." The woman with the red-gold hair beside him smiled warily.
"Pleased to meet you Kian."
"Pleased to meet you too Mara. What can I get you?" As he took their order, Ani walked in the door. His mind was clearly intent on something else as he took a seat at the bar.
"Ani! You're late! Where have you been?" Kian poured Aves and Mara their drinks while waiting for an answer.
"I was rewiring the environmental controls after they went haywire. Thank you." Kian had finished the other orders and had pushed Giinger Ale in to Ani's hands.
"And the rest of the week?"
"I've been keeping busy."
"Busy enough not to eat?" Kian meant well, but he had never quite learned when someone didn't want to talk about something. Silijar decided to take a different approach.
"Ani, you look terrible. That six hour stint must have taken a lot out of ya." It was a joking tone, but apparently the jibe hit too close to home.
"Look! I'm okay! I've just been busy, that's all! If you got interrogated every time you-." In the process of his tirade, Ani had moved his head fully to the right, catching sight of Aves and Mara. "Jade." His voice was somewhere between disbelief and joy. He started talking rapidly, growing louder and more excited. "Jade! I can't believe it's you! How did you survive-?" She turned around and looked at him, a strange look on her face and in her eyes.
Ani looked as if his heart had been torn out. "I-III-I'm sorry." He stammered. "I thought you were someone else, you looked a lot like her. I'm sorry." He stumbled off the stool and to the door, not looking at anyone as he passed. Silijar caught up with him just as he reached the threshold.
"Ani, as your friend, are you okay?" If he had looked at her, maybe he would have felt better. Concern filled the Bothan's face.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He left, heading in the direction of the second docking bay. Knowing that he needed company, even if he didn't want it, Silijar followed him home.
Mara sat frozen. Had he recognized her from one of her roles as the Emperor's Hand? Aves clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Hey! He guessed your name? Have you met Ani before?"
"I don't think so." She said slowly, running the mechanic's face through her memories. Nothing. Could it have been a coincidence? How many red-haired women were called Jade? A name which, although it was her true name, she hadn't even used that much in the past except to Palpatine and his closest minions.
"Well," Kian said, coming over to the pair. "That was Ani. He's usually much better behaved." Mara put up a halfhearted smile at the attempt at levity. "But really, he's been out of it for a while. Please, don't think less of him."
"What's he like when he's not drunk?" Aves asked.
"Oh, he wasn't drunk. Ani doesn't drink, ever. He's been tired lately is all."
Though neither of the men had noticed Mara had been deep in thought. She came out of it and decided to take an interest in the conversation. "Where's he from?"
Ani and Silijar approached the Knight. "Ani, just give me some idea as to how I can help you or what's wrong."
"Silijar, I don't even,-. You couldn't-." Ani sighed, exasperated. "I promised a friend I would do something for them. It's been a year since I turned my-." He snorted sardonically. "A year, listen to me saying a year." Ani knew he had let Yoda and Obi-wan down a long time before that. "I'm not doing anything right, Silijar. Nothing. I can't even go back and tell my last boss how sorry I am I left. I can't even give her a reason I left." They stood at the foot of the ramp of his ship. He slid down to the deck.
"Ani, you need to sleep this off. Give me your keys." Silijar bent down and retrieved the keys from his belt and pocketed them. Her hand brushed a metal rod strapped to the back of his utility belt. "I don't care how good a pilot you are, you're in no shape to fly tonight."
"It won't do you much good. I can-." She pulled him to his feet.
"Come on." The Bothan helped her friend inside his ship. She had never been inside before. It was tastefully done in pale blues and grays, much like the hull. Finding a bunk, Silijar sat Ani down and pulled off his jacket. Reaching down to undo the utility belt her friend always wore, she noticed the strange, slender cylinder again. She had never seen it before. As she reached to pull it off the belt, Ani's iron grip clamped around her wrist. The suddenness of the move startled her.
"No! Don't touch that!" He took the belt out of her hands and sealed it in a compartment beside his head. Once it was there, he seemed more relaxed. "Thank you for getting me back. You're-."
"Ani, what is it?" Silijar was alarmed. There were no weapons allowed at large on the Venture, except those carried by security. Ani acted as if the cylinder were as dangerous as a thermal detonator.
"I made it." Ani was half-asleep now. "Anakin showed me how."
Seeing that her friend would not be good for anymore questions tonight, she left the Padmé's Knight and closed and locked the ramp. She needed to tell somebody. Ani was a good friend, but the safety of the ship concerned everyone. She walked into the office and asked one of the guards, who had often joined Silijar and Ani for drinks or games, to watch over the ship. He found her request a little strange, but they were friends, he decided to play along.
Then she went to see Booster.
On a ship fit for thousands of staff, Booster managed to keep an eye on each one of them. He knew a bit of their history, their interests and habits, and most of all; once he really knew them he knew when something was wrong. Silijar never came to his office. Certainly not in the state of near panic he saw her in now. In fact, he couldn't remember when he had seen her so much as perturbed.
She had rushed in; ignoring the fact that Karrde was sitting there and blurted out, "Booster, sir. It's important."
Booster glanced over at Karrde. "What's wrong?" He asked, honestly concerned.
"Please sir, he's my friend." At a second glance, the smuggler chief deftly excused himself. Booster motioned for her to sit down.
"It's Ani." She was gripping a set of ignition keys in her furry grip. "We've noticed that he's been acting strange lately, um, he's been really tired and hasn't followed his normal schedule for I guess a week, maybe more. We, Kian and me, asked him, right, cause we're his friends and we were worried." Booster nodded and was giving her his full attention. "He flipped out on us. He doesn't do that, he's calm. Ani's even settled some bar disputes that could've been bloody." Booster knew that. And usually, the suggestions Ani gave on how to solve them were fair and just. Silijar continued. "So, he leaves the café and I walk him back, because, well, if I didn't know he never drinks, I'd think he was-."
"Spiced?" Booster finished. The Bothan nodded.
"I got him back to the Knight and he's mumbling about how he let his friends down or something and I listened and did what you do for any intoxicated human before you put him to bed. Took off his coat and utility belt.
"There was this thin cylindrical rod a couple of hand spans long, looped through the belt and when I tried to remove it, he freaked! Like it was dangerous or something."
"Ani?" Booster's faced had been growing increasingly concerned, but at this new twist in Ani's behavior, he was downright alarmed.
"He grabbed the thing, sealed it in a compartment and went to sleep. I locked him in and put Tanh outside to make sure he's okay."
"Silijar, did he say anything about the device?"
"He said that someone named Anakin helped him make it."
"Does that mean anything to you?"
"No. Sir," Silijar was considerably calmer now, after having told someone. "I'm worried, but I don't think he's a danger. He's been all over this ship making repairs and installations. He's had a lot of time to do something bad if he were going to do it. I just needed to tell someone."
"Thank you for mentioning that. It's a good point that we need to keep in mind. What all do you know about him? History-wise, I mean?"
"Not all that much."
"Can you do me a favor or two?" Silijar nodded. "First, can you get me a list of all the jobs Ani has done for us since he showed up? And second, can you go around and ask others if they've noticed any other strange behavior. It would help if you were. discreet."
"Sure, whatever I can do to help him. Later, would it be alright if I visited him to see how he's doing?"
Booster came around from the desk and walked her to the door. "I wish you would. Thanks Silijar, you were right, I needed to know this." Looking relieved, Silijar left her boss' office.
Karrde came back in. "How much of that did you hear?" Booster asked, going back to his chair.
"Not all that much actually. Aves got in touch with me, he seemed to want to talk."
"What about?" Booster leaned back in his chair shuffling some papers around. His mind somewhere other than his office.
"Guess."
Booster looked up quickly, the frown on his face getting deeper. "What happened?"
"I don't know yet, we'll hear more at dinner."
"Karrde, I don't know how I'm gonna help this guy. I don't want to just cut him loose. He's been so helpful around the ship."
"Maybe you should talk to him."
"He's asleep in his ship."
"It's after two in the afternoon."
"Apparently, he's been out of it lately."
"Lately?"
His monitor chimed on receiving a file. It was a list of all the jobs Ani had done for him. Booster reached over and commed his chief engineer.
"Yes, sir?"
"Arrun, I need you to run a complete sweep on a couple of systems for me."
"Sure boss, what are you looking for?"
"Anything out of the ordinary."
Silijar walked across the hangar. It was well into the dinner hour. There had been a lot of people to talk to and she still wasn't done. All anyone had noticed was that Ani had seemed reserved, distracted.
She made her way towards the Knight, noticing that the guard had been changed. "Hey, Forbes. Did he try to come out yet?"
"I heaar nothing, Maa'aam. The dralorian's voice sounded bored. "You know things aare wrong with Aani?"
"I'm just worried, Forbes."
"Be eaasy."
"I will."
Carefully Silijar opened the hatch, not wanting to disturb her friend. Creeping into the main cabin, she noticed a tiny galley, just a preservation unit and a hot box really, with two bunks built into the walls. Across from this was a holoprojector that served double duty as a cluttered table, and a door leading to a 'fresher. The place was riddled with drawers and compartments. Behind all this was two spacious cargo areas, almost empty now but still up for a lengthy trip and packed with enough spare parts to cobble together a few of the major components of the ship. Up front was the cockpit and next to that entrance, a wider bunk where Ani was now collapsed.
Silijar took a seat at the holoprojector, watching the mechanic. Whatever it was that he was dreaming, she didn't envy him. "I'd bet he hasn't stopped turning since I left him here." She thought.
She sat on one of the two chairs at the projector. Laying the keys to the ship down on the glassine surface, she noticed the odd assortment of half finished projects, data chips, tools and knickknacks that people tend to accumulate. Her fur brushed up against an ivory fang threaded through, a brittle scale hanging on either side of it. Bothan's have a keen sense of smell and Silijar was no different. The scent that still clung to the bone spoke of violent, cold predators. It wasn't like Ani to take trophies, so what meaning did this have for him? Sitting here in his home, Silijar was realizing how little she knew of her friend. Evidence she was finding lay counter to the public face that this man had crafted for himself.
The salty tang of sweat was heavy on the air. The Bothan's nose flared as she looked over at Ani. His mouth was open in a silent scream. There was nothing she could do as she watched him fight to consciousness from whatever nightmare he was living. And then, all of a sudden, he was awake, gasping for breath as his brain realized the difference between realities.
Silijar stayed silent. He didn't need her quite yet.
He noticed her anyway. "Hi." He whispered. He looked as though nothing would have pleased him more than to collapse back on the pillows. Nevertheless, he pulled on a long robe close to hand. The brown garment went down to his ankles, his hands lost in the sleeves. Walking into the galley, Ani pulled out a container of water and brought it over to the projector. He paused, as if considering where to sit.
Ani settled for the chair as he pulled it across from his friend. "What do you want to know?"
"Are you alright?" Silijar's voice was truly concerned.
"No." Blunt was also a trait, she had never noticed about him. Reticence yes, blunt, no.
The dispatcher was at a loss for words. Where to start?
"Um-." Siezing an object from the table, she held it up. "What's this?" It was a small cylinder roughly the length of his palm and had a diameter no bigger than the inside barrel of a blaster. She figured an easy question would help her break the ice.
"That is a tool idea I am working on."
"What's it for?"
"Well, it can be used for cutting metal without taking it to a lase. Here," Ani took the cylinder out of her grasp, laying it on the bench. Grabbing a small leather pouch, he shook out a few colored crystals.
Surprised, Silijar looked up from his hands. "Ani, since when did you start carrying around a fortune in jewels?"
"Hang on." Ani had scooped the gems down just inside the lip of the handle, maneuvering them into place. "Okay, what did you want to ask me?" He sat there, holding the thing in his hand.
Since whatever he had been doing with it seemed to be done, Silijar decided to skip straight to the hard questions. "What's going on with you? All of a sudden, you're acting like." She paused. He was just sitting there, almost as if he was concentrating very hard on something.
"Like I'm drunk?" He commented absently.
"Yeah, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to make this work. Um-." He paused for a minute. "As you realized, I have bouts of bad dreams from time to time. Old dæmons, you know? They get a little distracting."
"They don't let you get much sleep, either. What kind of dæmons?"
"Ah." Ani's breath caught in his throat in a little noise of triumph. "Here, look."
Motioning to the table he depressed something on the cylinder that sent a thin beam of gold light shooting up. It was only about the size of a half-stylus.
Ani picked up a little piece of durasteel that was lying there. Touching the light to the piece, the beam cut through, quickly and silently, leaving a perfect slice behind.
"What do you think?" He was grinning proudly, for an instant back to his usual self.
"How does it work? Sort of like a monomolecular device?"
"It's not good for really close work like that, but yeah. And you can see it, most of those blades are near impossible to see."
"Well, it's a neat little toy."
"Yeah, I don't think it'll be easy to reproduce, so.." Ani let his voice trail off. He had finally noticed that she had an incredulous look on her face, which really was a sight on her furry Bothan features. "What?"
"Ani! You've been acting crazy! And now, sitting in your ship, which you've practically never let anyone in by the way, you're fine! Back to your old self. You never flipped out on us last night, you're not carrying suspect bits of machinery, you're not seeing people you know in strangers! What is going on?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, you're gonna have to! People are worried."
"About what?" Ani seemed genuinely confused.
"You! Grief Ani. Who's Jade? Who's Anakin? You never talk about your friends or family. Regardless of history, family is still important."
A guarded look fell over his face. He was seriously considering his answer. "Jade is the wife of my friend. I have not seen her in many years."
"Who is your friend?"
"Look Silijar, I won't go through questions three. Everyone has things they'd like to forget. You were never this interested before and I won't do it now."
Silijar paused for a moment and the two sat there thinking. "Last night, you mentioned your old boss. Maybe it'd be nice to go see how they were doing. You know, tie up some lose ends."
Ani stared at her. The last time he had 'tied up lose ends' he'd ended up slaughtering the entire Jedi Order. No, Anakin, Anakin had killed- . Why was this so hard for him? He'd thought he'd gotten through this. "Yeah." He paused. "You said 'suspect bits of machinery', you don't mean this thing." Ani's tone didn't question even as he indicated the small trinket in his hand.
"That large cylinder you have. What is it?"
"How did you see that?"
"You don't remember strong-arming it away from me this afternoon?"
A look of absolute horror came over his features. Silijar had never seen him so tense. "What did I do this afternoon?" his voice was dead, monotone.
"You showed up for lunch at Kian's bone tired and after you spaced out on one of his patrons I brought you back here. You were mumbling stuff about broken promises."
"Then what?"
"I got you inside and tried to take off your utility belt and noticed that cylinder on it. You took it away and locked it up." Silijar was getting worried, he should know this already.
Getting up, Ani moved over to his bunk and seemed to palm open the compartment, despite the lack of a palm plate. When he saw that the belt was safe and intact, he visibly relaxed. Turning he asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"I don't remember what happened after I came back here after talking to Booster. I thought I had just fallen asleep."
"You didn't."
"Was I sleepwalking? You said I was tired."
"I have no idea. Have you ever done this before?" she said.
"Sleepwalking? No. But I have at times, acted out of character. And it can be difficult to sort out the two."
"What do you mean like, split personalities or something?" It was an affliction not unheard of among the multitude of beings spread across the galaxy. In humans, it meant madness. Mad men died quickly in space.
"No, I can remember everything I did then. That's the problem."
Silijar watched as he tried to reason this out. This was obviously a wrinkle to some larger problem she didn't understand. She really didn't know how to help. "In any case, you need sleep." She said in a businesslike tone. "I'll stay and watch over you."
There had been a time back when Silijar was younger when she had been alone and cut off from her family. There had been an old Thrawakkash who had seen her through the worst of her loneliness; keeping watch over her in the night. No matter what species a sentient was, trusting someone enough to watch over you in times of trouble remains a true test of friendship.
Ani knew it too. He considered her offer a moment. "Silijar," He said carefully. "If I am, acting out of character, I'm not a safe person to be around."
"I am your friend, you won't hurt me."
She sounded so convincing. But there was another voice that told him the same thing. "It's okay Ani, we'll get through this, together. I love you. I trust you." Padmé's voice rang in his ears. He had loved her far more than he cared for Silijar. And look what he had done to her.
"I need you to promise me something."
"Sure."
"Let me fall asleep then leave, quickly. When you go, take the keys with you. And this," Ani handed a command card to her. "This card controls the firing mechanisms for this ship. None of the weapons systems can be fired without it." In theory without the Force, yes, this was true, but with the Force, Ani felt that the card's absence would just be a mere formality.
"Now listen to this," Ani said, making sure she listened instead of wondering at the instructions he was giving her. "When you leave, lock the door. Come back in three or four days, I should be okay by then. If I'm not, I can still fly this thing out of here."
Now it was Silijar's turn to look incredulous. Three to four days! "You're talking like you've gone space-mad." She said, taking the keys and card.
"I'll be okay, I just-. If I am reverting, I cannot be around people. Will you do this for me?"
"Yeah." Her voice sounded dazed. "Sleep sweet."
"Silijar?" Ani said as he climbed back onto his bunk.
"Yes Ani."
"Thank you for doing this for me."
"What are friends for?" Silijar closed down the lights and headed for the ramp.
"Is Aani aalright?" Forbes asked. Silijar firmly locked the ramp shut.
"I don't know Forbes. Don't let anyone out, OK? And don't go in. Same as before."
"I call Maa'aam if I heaar. Be eaasy."
Silijar nodded politely. But as she walked away she couldn't help thinking that neither she nor Ani would 'be easy' for a while.
Ani never wanted to see Booster so infuriated again. He almost felt sorry for the drunk that had done it. That is, until he had seen the damage he had been assigned to repair. Six hours! The rewiring had needed six hours of repair! And it would have been longer, if a Force-less maintenance crew had done it.
Stopping in the office, Ani let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't minus four degrees centigrade anymore. "All the temperatures should be back to Corillean averages again."
"Thank goodness! Last night I had to sleep in my ship, my quarters were that cold." Silijar exclaimed.
Ani had to smile, albeit tiredly. "So did I."
"You do that anyway." She said dismissively. 'He looks exhausted' she thought. "I'm off in a few minutes. Do you want to get some lunch? My treat, for making my room livable again."
"Alright. I'll meet you at the mess on Blue level? I want to stop by my ship first. Say, twenty minutes?"
"Sure. Don't forget to tell Booster everything's back to normal. He's greeting a ship that's heading in. If you hurry you can still catch him."
"Okay, thanks!" Ani headed out the door.
Down in the docking bay the hustle and bustle was as hectic as ever. Over it all, Booster's voice rang out loud and clear.
"Ani! Tell me the environmental controls are back to normal!"
"They are sir." Ani walked over to the captain of the Errant Venture.
"Good! I damn near froze last night and when I woke up, it was an oven! I'll pay you big for this, my boy. Wait here while I meet our guests." Booster stepped over to the landing pad where a smuggler's ship had just touched deck. The Wild Karrde.
The ramp extended while the ship finished powering down. A tall, confident looking human strode out. "Hello Booster. How are things?"
"Okay now. Welcome aboard. You shopping or just visiting?"
"Both actually. My crew could use some leave."
"Well Trader's Alley is open. Just don't break any rules while you're here." Booster spoke mainly to the crew that was filing out, but Karrde caught the words anyway.
"What happened?" he said.
"Some cherfer-brain tried to randomize my environmental controls." Booster made a violent motion. "Just got it fixed. Ani here's a wizard with mechanics."
"And also the best pilot to come out of Ord Mantell."
"That's kind of you to say, sir. But, I'm sure the scuttlebutt is exaggerated." Ani was a little surprised the powerful smuggler had bothered to find out about him. It made him nervous to wonder what else the man might have found.
"Don't be modest Ani. We all know you're good." Booster smiled proudly.
"Thank you. If you'll excuse me, sir, I promised to meet Silijar for lunch."
"You look tired kid. Get some rest. I'll see you later."
Nodding, Ani beat a hasty retreat back to the Knight.
Booster and Karrde watched him go. They then strode quickly to Booster's office. "Why did you tell him you were looking into him?" Booster exclaimed after making sure the door was firmly shut.
"I'm hoping it might scare some information out of him. As it is, I can dig into the rumors out of Ord Mantell more deeply."
"You couldn't find anything? Karrde, when I asked you to check him out, I didn't think it'd be that complicated."
"Surprise, surprise." Karrde grinned at Booster's confusion. Then his voice took on a more serious tone. "It's as if he fell out of a black hole. No family, no home planet, no last name that anyone has heard of, not even a criminal or civil record matching anyone of his description or talents."
"I thought you were good at this. What did you find?"
"He turned up in a tapcafe on Ord Mantell about two years ago and got a job with a small shipping company attached to Ships and Services. A month later he started building that ship he's got parked out there and a year after that, the ship was done and he split for parts unknown. Three months later he turns up here and starts working for you."
"A year? He finished that thing in a year?! Come on!"
"It's true."
"Have your sources gone bad all of a sudden, Karrde? You don't spring up from nowhere at twenty-six! If you could, he'd make a fortune selling the technique. He's too nice, he's too polite, he's too damn good with machines, someone's gotta remember something about him."
"They don't. Jain says he worked for a woman named Saalot. She's away on business. Jorrin, the tapcafe owner, told me how he turned up, and directed me to Ogin, the man who bailed on Saalot providing Ani with the job, then turned up later and "made him clear out". I got the sense the Imps were involved somehow but nothing further. No warrant, nothing."
"Did you find out who Padmé was?"
"No. The most public 'Padmé' I found was a handmaiden for a Queen Amidala. Apparently she was the rep from Naboo who got the old Chancellor thrown out, so that Palpatine could be elected. But that was over twenty years ago. I don't see a connection. There was another one more recently, but she was a mental patient off Malastare. Committed suicide about five years ago. But since we have nothing on him,"
"We can't match him to her. Well, the kid's working out alright here. He's got friends, a job. He's reliable."
"Apparently he was at his last job too. Don't worry, I'll keep looking. He's got me intrigued now. Anyway, what do you think of Mara?"
"Who, the redhead?" Karrde nodded. "She seems competent? Why?"
"Would you trust her?"
"I don't know her too well." Booster gave Karrde a hard look. "You don't either do you?"
"She saved my life, I owed her and she chose a job. She's been working out wonderfully and I've been thinking of promoting her."
"But?"
"I was wondering if you'd recognize her as a member of my company. I'm trying to get my clients and friends familiar with her so that when I do ask her and start showing her the way things work, there'd be less problems."
"Well, why don't we have dinner tonight? Bring her and Aves and whoever else you want. I'll get to know her better."
On blue level was the best tapcaf on the Venture, the Quiet Night. Most of the passengers shunned it because there was no gambling, but they served good, simple food at reasonable prices. The people were friendly and down-to-earth, whereas those on diamond level would have been much more judgmental.
Silijar had introduced Ani to Kian, the proprietor, one night after he had come back from a run. Kian had once been a chef on a Kuat cruise line, but had left after the ship he had been on was attacked by pirates. He figured working on an ISD provided better job security.
When Silijar approached the counter, he immediately plunked down a glass of muja juice. "You and Ani are the only two I know who refuse to drink any alcohol."
She smiled at him, her white fur ruffling. "Like you ever minded. Speaking of Ani, have you seen him yet?"
"No. How is he? He hasn't come here in since last week. Usually, he's here every night." Kian had taken a liking to Ani after he had peaceably settled a potential brawl.
"Really? Except for the randomizer job, he hasn't had anything else to do. I would have thought he'd be here."
"He hasn't. Do you think he's okay?"
"I'm not sure, he seemed pretty tired when he came in today. He'll be here in a minute or two, you can ask him."
The door to the tapcafe slid open and a bunch of crewmen from the Wild Karrde trooped in. Kian moved over to serve them.
"Good day, gentlebeings. What can I get you?"
"Hello, Kian." Aves said. "This is Mara Jade, she's joined the crew since we've been here last." The woman with the red-gold hair beside him smiled warily.
"Pleased to meet you Kian."
"Pleased to meet you too Mara. What can I get you?" As he took their order, Ani walked in the door. His mind was clearly intent on something else as he took a seat at the bar.
"Ani! You're late! Where have you been?" Kian poured Aves and Mara their drinks while waiting for an answer.
"I was rewiring the environmental controls after they went haywire. Thank you." Kian had finished the other orders and had pushed Giinger Ale in to Ani's hands.
"And the rest of the week?"
"I've been keeping busy."
"Busy enough not to eat?" Kian meant well, but he had never quite learned when someone didn't want to talk about something. Silijar decided to take a different approach.
"Ani, you look terrible. That six hour stint must have taken a lot out of ya." It was a joking tone, but apparently the jibe hit too close to home.
"Look! I'm okay! I've just been busy, that's all! If you got interrogated every time you-." In the process of his tirade, Ani had moved his head fully to the right, catching sight of Aves and Mara. "Jade." His voice was somewhere between disbelief and joy. He started talking rapidly, growing louder and more excited. "Jade! I can't believe it's you! How did you survive-?" She turned around and looked at him, a strange look on her face and in her eyes.
Ani looked as if his heart had been torn out. "I-III-I'm sorry." He stammered. "I thought you were someone else, you looked a lot like her. I'm sorry." He stumbled off the stool and to the door, not looking at anyone as he passed. Silijar caught up with him just as he reached the threshold.
"Ani, as your friend, are you okay?" If he had looked at her, maybe he would have felt better. Concern filled the Bothan's face.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He left, heading in the direction of the second docking bay. Knowing that he needed company, even if he didn't want it, Silijar followed him home.
Mara sat frozen. Had he recognized her from one of her roles as the Emperor's Hand? Aves clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Hey! He guessed your name? Have you met Ani before?"
"I don't think so." She said slowly, running the mechanic's face through her memories. Nothing. Could it have been a coincidence? How many red-haired women were called Jade? A name which, although it was her true name, she hadn't even used that much in the past except to Palpatine and his closest minions.
"Well," Kian said, coming over to the pair. "That was Ani. He's usually much better behaved." Mara put up a halfhearted smile at the attempt at levity. "But really, he's been out of it for a while. Please, don't think less of him."
"What's he like when he's not drunk?" Aves asked.
"Oh, he wasn't drunk. Ani doesn't drink, ever. He's been tired lately is all."
Though neither of the men had noticed Mara had been deep in thought. She came out of it and decided to take an interest in the conversation. "Where's he from?"
Ani and Silijar approached the Knight. "Ani, just give me some idea as to how I can help you or what's wrong."
"Silijar, I don't even,-. You couldn't-." Ani sighed, exasperated. "I promised a friend I would do something for them. It's been a year since I turned my-." He snorted sardonically. "A year, listen to me saying a year." Ani knew he had let Yoda and Obi-wan down a long time before that. "I'm not doing anything right, Silijar. Nothing. I can't even go back and tell my last boss how sorry I am I left. I can't even give her a reason I left." They stood at the foot of the ramp of his ship. He slid down to the deck.
"Ani, you need to sleep this off. Give me your keys." Silijar bent down and retrieved the keys from his belt and pocketed them. Her hand brushed a metal rod strapped to the back of his utility belt. "I don't care how good a pilot you are, you're in no shape to fly tonight."
"It won't do you much good. I can-." She pulled him to his feet.
"Come on." The Bothan helped her friend inside his ship. She had never been inside before. It was tastefully done in pale blues and grays, much like the hull. Finding a bunk, Silijar sat Ani down and pulled off his jacket. Reaching down to undo the utility belt her friend always wore, she noticed the strange, slender cylinder again. She had never seen it before. As she reached to pull it off the belt, Ani's iron grip clamped around her wrist. The suddenness of the move startled her.
"No! Don't touch that!" He took the belt out of her hands and sealed it in a compartment beside his head. Once it was there, he seemed more relaxed. "Thank you for getting me back. You're-."
"Ani, what is it?" Silijar was alarmed. There were no weapons allowed at large on the Venture, except those carried by security. Ani acted as if the cylinder were as dangerous as a thermal detonator.
"I made it." Ani was half-asleep now. "Anakin showed me how."
Seeing that her friend would not be good for anymore questions tonight, she left the Padmé's Knight and closed and locked the ramp. She needed to tell somebody. Ani was a good friend, but the safety of the ship concerned everyone. She walked into the office and asked one of the guards, who had often joined Silijar and Ani for drinks or games, to watch over the ship. He found her request a little strange, but they were friends, he decided to play along.
Then she went to see Booster.
On a ship fit for thousands of staff, Booster managed to keep an eye on each one of them. He knew a bit of their history, their interests and habits, and most of all; once he really knew them he knew when something was wrong. Silijar never came to his office. Certainly not in the state of near panic he saw her in now. In fact, he couldn't remember when he had seen her so much as perturbed.
She had rushed in; ignoring the fact that Karrde was sitting there and blurted out, "Booster, sir. It's important."
Booster glanced over at Karrde. "What's wrong?" He asked, honestly concerned.
"Please sir, he's my friend." At a second glance, the smuggler chief deftly excused himself. Booster motioned for her to sit down.
"It's Ani." She was gripping a set of ignition keys in her furry grip. "We've noticed that he's been acting strange lately, um, he's been really tired and hasn't followed his normal schedule for I guess a week, maybe more. We, Kian and me, asked him, right, cause we're his friends and we were worried." Booster nodded and was giving her his full attention. "He flipped out on us. He doesn't do that, he's calm. Ani's even settled some bar disputes that could've been bloody." Booster knew that. And usually, the suggestions Ani gave on how to solve them were fair and just. Silijar continued. "So, he leaves the café and I walk him back, because, well, if I didn't know he never drinks, I'd think he was-."
"Spiced?" Booster finished. The Bothan nodded.
"I got him back to the Knight and he's mumbling about how he let his friends down or something and I listened and did what you do for any intoxicated human before you put him to bed. Took off his coat and utility belt.
"There was this thin cylindrical rod a couple of hand spans long, looped through the belt and when I tried to remove it, he freaked! Like it was dangerous or something."
"Ani?" Booster's faced had been growing increasingly concerned, but at this new twist in Ani's behavior, he was downright alarmed.
"He grabbed the thing, sealed it in a compartment and went to sleep. I locked him in and put Tanh outside to make sure he's okay."
"Silijar, did he say anything about the device?"
"He said that someone named Anakin helped him make it."
"Does that mean anything to you?"
"No. Sir," Silijar was considerably calmer now, after having told someone. "I'm worried, but I don't think he's a danger. He's been all over this ship making repairs and installations. He's had a lot of time to do something bad if he were going to do it. I just needed to tell someone."
"Thank you for mentioning that. It's a good point that we need to keep in mind. What all do you know about him? History-wise, I mean?"
"Not all that much."
"Can you do me a favor or two?" Silijar nodded. "First, can you get me a list of all the jobs Ani has done for us since he showed up? And second, can you go around and ask others if they've noticed any other strange behavior. It would help if you were. discreet."
"Sure, whatever I can do to help him. Later, would it be alright if I visited him to see how he's doing?"
Booster came around from the desk and walked her to the door. "I wish you would. Thanks Silijar, you were right, I needed to know this." Looking relieved, Silijar left her boss' office.
Karrde came back in. "How much of that did you hear?" Booster asked, going back to his chair.
"Not all that much actually. Aves got in touch with me, he seemed to want to talk."
"What about?" Booster leaned back in his chair shuffling some papers around. His mind somewhere other than his office.
"Guess."
Booster looked up quickly, the frown on his face getting deeper. "What happened?"
"I don't know yet, we'll hear more at dinner."
"Karrde, I don't know how I'm gonna help this guy. I don't want to just cut him loose. He's been so helpful around the ship."
"Maybe you should talk to him."
"He's asleep in his ship."
"It's after two in the afternoon."
"Apparently, he's been out of it lately."
"Lately?"
His monitor chimed on receiving a file. It was a list of all the jobs Ani had done for him. Booster reached over and commed his chief engineer.
"Yes, sir?"
"Arrun, I need you to run a complete sweep on a couple of systems for me."
"Sure boss, what are you looking for?"
"Anything out of the ordinary."
Silijar walked across the hangar. It was well into the dinner hour. There had been a lot of people to talk to and she still wasn't done. All anyone had noticed was that Ani had seemed reserved, distracted.
She made her way towards the Knight, noticing that the guard had been changed. "Hey, Forbes. Did he try to come out yet?"
"I heaar nothing, Maa'aam. The dralorian's voice sounded bored. "You know things aare wrong with Aani?"
"I'm just worried, Forbes."
"Be eaasy."
"I will."
Carefully Silijar opened the hatch, not wanting to disturb her friend. Creeping into the main cabin, she noticed a tiny galley, just a preservation unit and a hot box really, with two bunks built into the walls. Across from this was a holoprojector that served double duty as a cluttered table, and a door leading to a 'fresher. The place was riddled with drawers and compartments. Behind all this was two spacious cargo areas, almost empty now but still up for a lengthy trip and packed with enough spare parts to cobble together a few of the major components of the ship. Up front was the cockpit and next to that entrance, a wider bunk where Ani was now collapsed.
Silijar took a seat at the holoprojector, watching the mechanic. Whatever it was that he was dreaming, she didn't envy him. "I'd bet he hasn't stopped turning since I left him here." She thought.
She sat on one of the two chairs at the projector. Laying the keys to the ship down on the glassine surface, she noticed the odd assortment of half finished projects, data chips, tools and knickknacks that people tend to accumulate. Her fur brushed up against an ivory fang threaded through, a brittle scale hanging on either side of it. Bothan's have a keen sense of smell and Silijar was no different. The scent that still clung to the bone spoke of violent, cold predators. It wasn't like Ani to take trophies, so what meaning did this have for him? Sitting here in his home, Silijar was realizing how little she knew of her friend. Evidence she was finding lay counter to the public face that this man had crafted for himself.
The salty tang of sweat was heavy on the air. The Bothan's nose flared as she looked over at Ani. His mouth was open in a silent scream. There was nothing she could do as she watched him fight to consciousness from whatever nightmare he was living. And then, all of a sudden, he was awake, gasping for breath as his brain realized the difference between realities.
Silijar stayed silent. He didn't need her quite yet.
He noticed her anyway. "Hi." He whispered. He looked as though nothing would have pleased him more than to collapse back on the pillows. Nevertheless, he pulled on a long robe close to hand. The brown garment went down to his ankles, his hands lost in the sleeves. Walking into the galley, Ani pulled out a container of water and brought it over to the projector. He paused, as if considering where to sit.
Ani settled for the chair as he pulled it across from his friend. "What do you want to know?"
"Are you alright?" Silijar's voice was truly concerned.
"No." Blunt was also a trait, she had never noticed about him. Reticence yes, blunt, no.
The dispatcher was at a loss for words. Where to start?
"Um-." Siezing an object from the table, she held it up. "What's this?" It was a small cylinder roughly the length of his palm and had a diameter no bigger than the inside barrel of a blaster. She figured an easy question would help her break the ice.
"That is a tool idea I am working on."
"What's it for?"
"Well, it can be used for cutting metal without taking it to a lase. Here," Ani took the cylinder out of her grasp, laying it on the bench. Grabbing a small leather pouch, he shook out a few colored crystals.
Surprised, Silijar looked up from his hands. "Ani, since when did you start carrying around a fortune in jewels?"
"Hang on." Ani had scooped the gems down just inside the lip of the handle, maneuvering them into place. "Okay, what did you want to ask me?" He sat there, holding the thing in his hand.
Since whatever he had been doing with it seemed to be done, Silijar decided to skip straight to the hard questions. "What's going on with you? All of a sudden, you're acting like." She paused. He was just sitting there, almost as if he was concentrating very hard on something.
"Like I'm drunk?" He commented absently.
"Yeah, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to make this work. Um-." He paused for a minute. "As you realized, I have bouts of bad dreams from time to time. Old dæmons, you know? They get a little distracting."
"They don't let you get much sleep, either. What kind of dæmons?"
"Ah." Ani's breath caught in his throat in a little noise of triumph. "Here, look."
Motioning to the table he depressed something on the cylinder that sent a thin beam of gold light shooting up. It was only about the size of a half-stylus.
Ani picked up a little piece of durasteel that was lying there. Touching the light to the piece, the beam cut through, quickly and silently, leaving a perfect slice behind.
"What do you think?" He was grinning proudly, for an instant back to his usual self.
"How does it work? Sort of like a monomolecular device?"
"It's not good for really close work like that, but yeah. And you can see it, most of those blades are near impossible to see."
"Well, it's a neat little toy."
"Yeah, I don't think it'll be easy to reproduce, so.." Ani let his voice trail off. He had finally noticed that she had an incredulous look on her face, which really was a sight on her furry Bothan features. "What?"
"Ani! You've been acting crazy! And now, sitting in your ship, which you've practically never let anyone in by the way, you're fine! Back to your old self. You never flipped out on us last night, you're not carrying suspect bits of machinery, you're not seeing people you know in strangers! What is going on?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, you're gonna have to! People are worried."
"About what?" Ani seemed genuinely confused.
"You! Grief Ani. Who's Jade? Who's Anakin? You never talk about your friends or family. Regardless of history, family is still important."
A guarded look fell over his face. He was seriously considering his answer. "Jade is the wife of my friend. I have not seen her in many years."
"Who is your friend?"
"Look Silijar, I won't go through questions three. Everyone has things they'd like to forget. You were never this interested before and I won't do it now."
Silijar paused for a moment and the two sat there thinking. "Last night, you mentioned your old boss. Maybe it'd be nice to go see how they were doing. You know, tie up some lose ends."
Ani stared at her. The last time he had 'tied up lose ends' he'd ended up slaughtering the entire Jedi Order. No, Anakin, Anakin had killed- . Why was this so hard for him? He'd thought he'd gotten through this. "Yeah." He paused. "You said 'suspect bits of machinery', you don't mean this thing." Ani's tone didn't question even as he indicated the small trinket in his hand.
"That large cylinder you have. What is it?"
"How did you see that?"
"You don't remember strong-arming it away from me this afternoon?"
A look of absolute horror came over his features. Silijar had never seen him so tense. "What did I do this afternoon?" his voice was dead, monotone.
"You showed up for lunch at Kian's bone tired and after you spaced out on one of his patrons I brought you back here. You were mumbling stuff about broken promises."
"Then what?"
"I got you inside and tried to take off your utility belt and noticed that cylinder on it. You took it away and locked it up." Silijar was getting worried, he should know this already.
Getting up, Ani moved over to his bunk and seemed to palm open the compartment, despite the lack of a palm plate. When he saw that the belt was safe and intact, he visibly relaxed. Turning he asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"I don't remember what happened after I came back here after talking to Booster. I thought I had just fallen asleep."
"You didn't."
"Was I sleepwalking? You said I was tired."
"I have no idea. Have you ever done this before?" she said.
"Sleepwalking? No. But I have at times, acted out of character. And it can be difficult to sort out the two."
"What do you mean like, split personalities or something?" It was an affliction not unheard of among the multitude of beings spread across the galaxy. In humans, it meant madness. Mad men died quickly in space.
"No, I can remember everything I did then. That's the problem."
Silijar watched as he tried to reason this out. This was obviously a wrinkle to some larger problem she didn't understand. She really didn't know how to help. "In any case, you need sleep." She said in a businesslike tone. "I'll stay and watch over you."
There had been a time back when Silijar was younger when she had been alone and cut off from her family. There had been an old Thrawakkash who had seen her through the worst of her loneliness; keeping watch over her in the night. No matter what species a sentient was, trusting someone enough to watch over you in times of trouble remains a true test of friendship.
Ani knew it too. He considered her offer a moment. "Silijar," He said carefully. "If I am, acting out of character, I'm not a safe person to be around."
"I am your friend, you won't hurt me."
She sounded so convincing. But there was another voice that told him the same thing. "It's okay Ani, we'll get through this, together. I love you. I trust you." Padmé's voice rang in his ears. He had loved her far more than he cared for Silijar. And look what he had done to her.
"I need you to promise me something."
"Sure."
"Let me fall asleep then leave, quickly. When you go, take the keys with you. And this," Ani handed a command card to her. "This card controls the firing mechanisms for this ship. None of the weapons systems can be fired without it." In theory without the Force, yes, this was true, but with the Force, Ani felt that the card's absence would just be a mere formality.
"Now listen to this," Ani said, making sure she listened instead of wondering at the instructions he was giving her. "When you leave, lock the door. Come back in three or four days, I should be okay by then. If I'm not, I can still fly this thing out of here."
Now it was Silijar's turn to look incredulous. Three to four days! "You're talking like you've gone space-mad." She said, taking the keys and card.
"I'll be okay, I just-. If I am reverting, I cannot be around people. Will you do this for me?"
"Yeah." Her voice sounded dazed. "Sleep sweet."
"Silijar?" Ani said as he climbed back onto his bunk.
"Yes Ani."
"Thank you for doing this for me."
"What are friends for?" Silijar closed down the lights and headed for the ramp.
"Is Aani aalright?" Forbes asked. Silijar firmly locked the ramp shut.
"I don't know Forbes. Don't let anyone out, OK? And don't go in. Same as before."
"I call Maa'aam if I heaar. Be eaasy."
Silijar nodded politely. But as she walked away she couldn't help thinking that neither she nor Ani would 'be easy' for a while.