"I will..." I start to stammer out.

"Here's your drink," Yun says as he walks up next to me. "Oh... Sarna, who's this? A new catch?" Yun hands me my drink and looks at Sarna.

"We met in the cantina today. It must have been fate, because the person he came to see wasn't there."

My eyes brightened. The person he came to see wasn't there, huh? I called out of work today and he knows I work at the cantina. Hmmm.... Nah, couldn't be. But then again who else does he know on this planet.

"Oh really, That's sweet," I say with fake sincerity in my voice, which I know that Sarna recognized. "Well, hello there," I say as I turn my direction to Sarna's date. "I don't believe we have met. My name is Serenity." I say as I stick out my free hand.

He chuckles a little bit and then says, "Nice to meet you Serenity. My name is Carth." He shakes my hand and smiles. He has the best smile, whenever he actually shows it. The past times I have seen him, he has had a grin or somewhat of a scowl on. Now, he seems... like someone who I could... no, NO. He is a Republic soldier. Nothing more.

"Well, me and Carth don't want to intrude on your conversation with Yun. We will leave you now. Carth?" Sarna says as she starts to walk away.

"Bye, beautiful," Carth says as he walks away with Sarna.

Before I could stammer out a response, he was gone. I turn around and look at Yun, who is teetering on the line of drunkenness. I look down at my drink again. Beautiful, huh? He thinks I am beautiful? Or maybe he says that to every female? Maybe... maybe I should stop thinking about him.

"Yun," I say as I look up from my drink. "I need some air. I am just going to step outside."

"Sure, do you want any company?"

"No... I will be fine by myself," I say. "It will just be a minute."

I walk through the apartment and over to the door that leads to the terrace. I open the door and step outside into the darkness of midnight. It is such a change from inside. The room is wall to wall people, flashing lights, and smoke.

"Hey there," a voice says from behind me. I turn to face the voice and see that it is Jared, the other Republic soldier.

"Hi," I say, staring at him. That burn cream really worked... and worked very well. He looks... pretty good considering just last night he was lying unconscious, almost on the brink of death. It couldn't have just been the cream... it had to have been something else.

"Can't take the party either?" he says as he comes over next to me.

"Yeah. It's too much in there," I say turning back around to look at the city in the darkness.

"My name is Jared... and you are.." He says. I can feel his eyes are still fixed on me even though I am turned around. I decide to be cordial and turn to face him once again.

"Serenity," I say as I take my first sip of the new cup of ale. Now, I know two Republic fugitives, not one. And they know me. Great few days this has turned out to be.

"You from Taris?" He asks leaning against the railing of the terrace next to me.

"Umm... not originally no. I came here when I was..." The dream came into my mind. I tried to push it away, but it was stuck.

"When you were?"

"When I was little," I say, as I lift up my cup to take a big gulp of the alcohol.

"Oh. I am just here because of this quarantine.... I'm an off worlder." He said it as if he was hiding something. He better have not acted like this to anyone else or he and Carth will be found out for sure.

"Figured. So why are you here? I am here cause I got coaxed into coming by some Sith scum. You?"

"My friend... another off worlder... met a girl in the cantina who invited us to this party."

"And you just wanted a night out... why else would you come?"

"Well... I shouldn't say anything."

"Oh come on. Not like I'm going to tell anything."

"Well, my friend and I are trying to get off this planet. We need to get off. So, we figure the Sith know the way off."

"And you think some little Sith slut will find a way off for you?"

"Well, it was Carth's idea... not mine."

"Carth?" I say, pretending not to know anything. This really is fun.

"He's my friend. His first idea was to ask his friend who works at the cantina. She wasn't there though and he had no clue where to find her."

"Oh, that's too bad and you got dragged here?"

"I didn't have to come, but if I didn't... forget it."

I actually want to know what is bugging Jared. I hear peoples problems all the time and hate it, yet now... I want to know. Weird.

"Aww... come on Jared. I promise I won't tell anyone?"

"All right. And I really could use someone to talk to."

"Why not your friend... Carth?"

"Talk to him?!?" He chuckles and starts pacing. "Carth is... well how do I put it mildly... a paranoid bastard. He thinks that I had something to do with the crash. I had nothing to do with it. How could he even think of that? Just because someone is a last minute addition and survives mean nothing..." He stops pacing and looks at me. He realizes that he just gave away who he was, who Carth was.

"It's all right Jared."

"No, it's not. I am dead for sure. Carth is going to kill me! The first thing he told me was not to draw attention to my self... to play it cool."

"Look Jar..."

"No, no... I have said to much already. I need to do something."

"JARED!!" I yell and stare at him. "I already knew who you were."

"What? How?"

"Well.. I was the person who helped Carth yesterday... so I guess that makes me his friend... according to him anyway." I say tring not to sound happy at that fact.

"Your the one who..."

"Yeah, yeah... I work as a bartender, but I called off of work."

"Oh. So... why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know."

He laughed a little. "Actually, I am relieved. Even though, I should have known it was you. No one else on this planet seems to care about your problems."

"Very true." I turn my attention back to the night sky.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

"Yeah... I could stare at it forever. Just seeing all those stars and saying that we are a part of it."

"Yeah."

Jared and I continue to stare at the sky, until we hear the music in the room lower.

"I wonder what's going on?" I say as I walk closer to the door.

"You want to check it out?"

"Sure."

We walk inside to a room full of people... well not actually people any more... just bodies now.

"Wow. Is that really what that ale does to you?" Jared says looking in amazement at the once sober people.

"We don't have time to stare at them. Let's just find what we came here for."

That was Carth's voice. Man, he sure is bossy. I motion for Jared to wait with my hand.

"You sure are bossy tonight. Wait, let me think... I forget your name, Sarna's date, right?" I say standing in the darkness of the room where all I can see is a shadow outline of him.

"Cute. Very cute."

"Well, I am going to leave you two to whatever you need to do. Nice talking with you, Jared. Bye... Carth, right?"

I start to walk out of the room, but as I get closer to where Carth is standing, I feel a sudden urge to want to stay. I fight the urge and continue walking. Once I am outside, my mind continues to think of him. This is weird. I have never felt this way about a guy... and it's not like I even know him.