Chapter 2 -
She awoke a short time latter to find herself alone in the tiny cabin. Curiosity getting the better of her, she changed into fresh clothes and ventured forth from her room.
Finding her way back to the helm of the ship she was amused to find Chade soundly asleep in the pilots chair. Sleeping at the wheel, she thought to herself. Not the most intelligent thing to do but if i was tired he must have been exhausted. Having nothing better to do and not wanting to wake him up she took a seat in the co-pilots chair and stared out the window at the stars as they sped past.
Quickly getting bored with her reflection on the stars, she turned her attention to the man who she had saved and who in turn had saved her contemplating him and his motives. After all there was always ulterior motives with guys even if they weren't apparent at first glance. He had cleaned up and changed since she had last seen him and asleep he was actually quite handsome. Her mind shied from such observations. She turned, still thinking, to look back at the stars outside. All of this was too much like change for her taste. A few minutes latter Millow entered and jumped onto her lap demanding her attention.
He awoke while she was still attending to the cat mildly surprised she was up but deciding to wait and observe before informing her of his consciousness. As she sat and stroked the cat looking nowhere in particular a warning bell chimed. He reacted immediately dropping the rouse of sleep to attend the controls. That bell was the warning of the impending drop out of hyperspace. They had reached their destination.
Upon dropping out of hyperspace the panorama of a blue and green planet fill the view screens their half shaded in darkness. As they headed down into their pre-designated meeting spot he could tell that Tess was growing anxious.
"We should arrive planet-side in about 5 minutes. We are a few days ahead of schedule because of our unexpected departure. So we will probably have to wait a few days for my contact to arrive." sensing her attention shift to him he continued. "Once we rond-a-vue with the other ship my duties will be done and I'll be free to take you back home if that is what you wish?" She didn't take the bait or chose to ignore it. As the details of the surface became more distinct he turned his full attention to landing the ship.
Tess simply stared out the window watching the approaching world. He had offered to take her home but she was no longer sure where that was. She had not answered him because simply she had no answer for herself. Whatever was she going to do? Staying with him was out of the question but where else could she go? She had not the slightest clue about what was out there beyond her own insignificant world but returning there was also out of the question. She couldn't bear to think of trying to start over again, and returning to being a barmaid disgusted her more then her fear of the unknown. There was no solution to this problem.
As the foliage of this strange planet became distinct from the blues and greens of before she turned her thoughts back to the present, she would deal with that problem when she absolutely had to. Until then he had said they might have a few days to wait so she could think about such things later. The ship came to a stop in a little clearing in the middle of that vast green. "We're here and as i suspected we beat my friend. We had best secure the ship and eat something." and so they did.
The next few days went by with out much of import happening. They spent most of their time scouting and waiting. Tess always managed to find something to occupy her mind more important then her future and after three days of this routine the ship they were awaiting finally did arrive.
"Right on time." Chade muttered. Talk had died after the first day excluding her daily history lessons on the politics of the universe, which she barely comprehended in any case. As the ship landed and a cloaked figure emerged from the hold of the ship Chade hurried over to make greetings. She followed at a slower pace not anxious to meet this strange robed man.
When she arrived Chade began to make what sounded like formal introductions. It turned out that their companion was a human named Numiar Saliman and if he was surprised to see her he hid it well. When he turned to introduce her he stopped short. "I don't believe I ever caught your full name?" "That's because I never gave it to you. It's Lillianna Kattan," she said. "I thought it was Tess." he replied eyeing her as if she had suddenly changed skins. "It is." she said defensively. "My birth name was Lillianna Kattan but I'm called Tess. Lilli was" she paused searching for the word, "inconvenient for my line of work."
Still eyeing her suspiciously he continued the introductions and asked Numiar if he would like something to eat after his journey. He agreed readily and they returned to their ship his sharp gaze on her the entire way.
After the meal was finished both men turned their attentions on her. Although no one asked her to go she felt their lack of trust and excused herself so they could get on with their business. Pleading a headache she went back to their one cabin and picked up the copy of "Republic Interrelationships Between Planetary Government and the Merchants of Commerce" lent her by Chade for further study. She was glad to be free of the males and the stiff formalities of dinner.
Millow cuddled close walking over the open book several times before deciding he was comfortable. She smiled at his pickiness and immersed herself in the book trying to imagination the type of person who would have time to write such a droll encyclopedia.
After Tess's departure Numiar turned to his old friend "Do you trust her?"
"I'm not sure." Chade responded slowly, "There is so much I don't know about her."
"She is defiantly holding something back though probably nothing threatening. Where ever did you pick her up?" Chade explained about their chance encounter at the market and how things had just happened from there. Finishing with "I really had no choice to but to take her to. They would not have treated her any better than they would have me. I didn't think she would cause any problems, a complication for sure, but I'm not so sure anymore. "
"How much does she know?"
"Not much but more than she should. If she puts it all together we may be in trouble. Do you think that is what she is hiding?"
"No, I don't think so, she doesn't think your more than a petty thieve who she had the misfortune to fall in with." he chuckled and turned to the subject at hand, "Did you get the papers..."
***********
A while latter a knock at the door warned Tess of visitors before the door opened to admit Chade. Putting the book aside at his entrance and forcing pleasantness she asked, "Did you have a pleasant conversation?" He stared at her considering, "It was very pleasant." he said taking a seat on the other end of the bed. She slid a little farther away even though there was plenty of room separating them.
He ignored her shuffling as he continued "We have completed our... business and he has returned to his ship and will be leaving shortly." "Does this mean we are leaving too?" she asked instantly suspicious of his serious tone. "No. I think we will wait till morning to depart. Speaking of departures have you thought of where you would like to go from here?"
So that was it she thought. Time to get rid of me. She looked down considering. She had nowhere to go she could no longer put off this fact but she had to decide how much she was going to tell him. After a while she said quietly "I have no where to go."
"Excuse me I didn't catch that."
She took a deep breath repeating in a louder somewhat stronger voice. "I have no where to go." It was time she accepted the fact. She was totally at his mercy. She had never been more frightened in her life. Having to depend on this male to decide her fate. Slowly, painfully she continued, "My home was destroyed and my family killed. I have no one. I was on Antoine only because that was where the first ship leaving home went. I can't go back there." this she knew for a fact.
As she fell silent he sat considering. He was following Numiar at a slower pace back to the temple to report, he could take her there with him and see what could be arranged from there. Besides, they could surly find her a place at the academy. He cleared his thought "Um. I'm going to Yavin lV. I could drop you off there if you would like. There's a place there you could stay for awhile." he hurried on, "It's really quite a nice planet."
She looked down. What other choice did she have? She didn't know of anyplace else to go. So she nodded and replied "OK. How far is this place?" Glad to be on a safer topic he answered that it would take about three days in hyperspace and another half day once they dropped from HS. Sensing she would say nothing else he left to go to his makeshift bed by the COM.
She awoke a short time latter to find herself alone in the tiny cabin. Curiosity getting the better of her, she changed into fresh clothes and ventured forth from her room.
Finding her way back to the helm of the ship she was amused to find Chade soundly asleep in the pilots chair. Sleeping at the wheel, she thought to herself. Not the most intelligent thing to do but if i was tired he must have been exhausted. Having nothing better to do and not wanting to wake him up she took a seat in the co-pilots chair and stared out the window at the stars as they sped past.
Quickly getting bored with her reflection on the stars, she turned her attention to the man who she had saved and who in turn had saved her contemplating him and his motives. After all there was always ulterior motives with guys even if they weren't apparent at first glance. He had cleaned up and changed since she had last seen him and asleep he was actually quite handsome. Her mind shied from such observations. She turned, still thinking, to look back at the stars outside. All of this was too much like change for her taste. A few minutes latter Millow entered and jumped onto her lap demanding her attention.
He awoke while she was still attending to the cat mildly surprised she was up but deciding to wait and observe before informing her of his consciousness. As she sat and stroked the cat looking nowhere in particular a warning bell chimed. He reacted immediately dropping the rouse of sleep to attend the controls. That bell was the warning of the impending drop out of hyperspace. They had reached their destination.
Upon dropping out of hyperspace the panorama of a blue and green planet fill the view screens their half shaded in darkness. As they headed down into their pre-designated meeting spot he could tell that Tess was growing anxious.
"We should arrive planet-side in about 5 minutes. We are a few days ahead of schedule because of our unexpected departure. So we will probably have to wait a few days for my contact to arrive." sensing her attention shift to him he continued. "Once we rond-a-vue with the other ship my duties will be done and I'll be free to take you back home if that is what you wish?" She didn't take the bait or chose to ignore it. As the details of the surface became more distinct he turned his full attention to landing the ship.
Tess simply stared out the window watching the approaching world. He had offered to take her home but she was no longer sure where that was. She had not answered him because simply she had no answer for herself. Whatever was she going to do? Staying with him was out of the question but where else could she go? She had not the slightest clue about what was out there beyond her own insignificant world but returning there was also out of the question. She couldn't bear to think of trying to start over again, and returning to being a barmaid disgusted her more then her fear of the unknown. There was no solution to this problem.
As the foliage of this strange planet became distinct from the blues and greens of before she turned her thoughts back to the present, she would deal with that problem when she absolutely had to. Until then he had said they might have a few days to wait so she could think about such things later. The ship came to a stop in a little clearing in the middle of that vast green. "We're here and as i suspected we beat my friend. We had best secure the ship and eat something." and so they did.
The next few days went by with out much of import happening. They spent most of their time scouting and waiting. Tess always managed to find something to occupy her mind more important then her future and after three days of this routine the ship they were awaiting finally did arrive.
"Right on time." Chade muttered. Talk had died after the first day excluding her daily history lessons on the politics of the universe, which she barely comprehended in any case. As the ship landed and a cloaked figure emerged from the hold of the ship Chade hurried over to make greetings. She followed at a slower pace not anxious to meet this strange robed man.
When she arrived Chade began to make what sounded like formal introductions. It turned out that their companion was a human named Numiar Saliman and if he was surprised to see her he hid it well. When he turned to introduce her he stopped short. "I don't believe I ever caught your full name?" "That's because I never gave it to you. It's Lillianna Kattan," she said. "I thought it was Tess." he replied eyeing her as if she had suddenly changed skins. "It is." she said defensively. "My birth name was Lillianna Kattan but I'm called Tess. Lilli was" she paused searching for the word, "inconvenient for my line of work."
Still eyeing her suspiciously he continued the introductions and asked Numiar if he would like something to eat after his journey. He agreed readily and they returned to their ship his sharp gaze on her the entire way.
After the meal was finished both men turned their attentions on her. Although no one asked her to go she felt their lack of trust and excused herself so they could get on with their business. Pleading a headache she went back to their one cabin and picked up the copy of "Republic Interrelationships Between Planetary Government and the Merchants of Commerce" lent her by Chade for further study. She was glad to be free of the males and the stiff formalities of dinner.
Millow cuddled close walking over the open book several times before deciding he was comfortable. She smiled at his pickiness and immersed herself in the book trying to imagination the type of person who would have time to write such a droll encyclopedia.
After Tess's departure Numiar turned to his old friend "Do you trust her?"
"I'm not sure." Chade responded slowly, "There is so much I don't know about her."
"She is defiantly holding something back though probably nothing threatening. Where ever did you pick her up?" Chade explained about their chance encounter at the market and how things had just happened from there. Finishing with "I really had no choice to but to take her to. They would not have treated her any better than they would have me. I didn't think she would cause any problems, a complication for sure, but I'm not so sure anymore. "
"How much does she know?"
"Not much but more than she should. If she puts it all together we may be in trouble. Do you think that is what she is hiding?"
"No, I don't think so, she doesn't think your more than a petty thieve who she had the misfortune to fall in with." he chuckled and turned to the subject at hand, "Did you get the papers..."
***********
A while latter a knock at the door warned Tess of visitors before the door opened to admit Chade. Putting the book aside at his entrance and forcing pleasantness she asked, "Did you have a pleasant conversation?" He stared at her considering, "It was very pleasant." he said taking a seat on the other end of the bed. She slid a little farther away even though there was plenty of room separating them.
He ignored her shuffling as he continued "We have completed our... business and he has returned to his ship and will be leaving shortly." "Does this mean we are leaving too?" she asked instantly suspicious of his serious tone. "No. I think we will wait till morning to depart. Speaking of departures have you thought of where you would like to go from here?"
So that was it she thought. Time to get rid of me. She looked down considering. She had nowhere to go she could no longer put off this fact but she had to decide how much she was going to tell him. After a while she said quietly "I have no where to go."
"Excuse me I didn't catch that."
She took a deep breath repeating in a louder somewhat stronger voice. "I have no where to go." It was time she accepted the fact. She was totally at his mercy. She had never been more frightened in her life. Having to depend on this male to decide her fate. Slowly, painfully she continued, "My home was destroyed and my family killed. I have no one. I was on Antoine only because that was where the first ship leaving home went. I can't go back there." this she knew for a fact.
As she fell silent he sat considering. He was following Numiar at a slower pace back to the temple to report, he could take her there with him and see what could be arranged from there. Besides, they could surly find her a place at the academy. He cleared his thought "Um. I'm going to Yavin lV. I could drop you off there if you would like. There's a place there you could stay for awhile." he hurried on, "It's really quite a nice planet."
She looked down. What other choice did she have? She didn't know of anyplace else to go. So she nodded and replied "OK. How far is this place?" Glad to be on a safer topic he answered that it would take about three days in hyperspace and another half day once they dropped from HS. Sensing she would say nothing else he left to go to his makeshift bed by the COM.