The journey was uneventful enough. Occasionally Mission would talk Keena into a Paazak game, on the grounds that Zaalbar was a sore loser. In between games the former Padawan mostly sat alone in her room and pondered her next course of action.
She knew Brim. It was a pit. Decades ago it had been a colony on the edge of Republic space, but a lack of proper organisation and just plain bad location had led it to degenerate fast. Smugglers and outlaws on both sides of the borders soon discovered the pros of a world with no government or law enforcement. Eventually enough of various scum made it their base of operations that various companies set up camp to get their hands on some dirty money. And of course a world with no government or law enforcement, but plenty of casinos, brothels, shops, fancy hotels and so on was even more attractive for a certain kind of people. It wasn´t long before the population boomed. So in a strange way Brim had prospered and degenerated at the same time.
During her wandering years, Keena had occasionally kept food on the table by doing some freelance work for borderline legal, and sometimes downright illegal groups. Smuggling mostly. She had soon become highly recommended in the smuggling rings, even though she managed to keep her powers a secret. Clients simply put her abilities down to intuition, reflexes and skills.
The transition from Jedi Guardian to freelance smuggler was not lost on her.
The latter parts of this rather inglorious career change had let Keena see altogether more of Brim than she had ever wanted to. The oppressive aura of collected greed had been nothing compared to the cloak the Dark Side had pulled over her eyes at the end of the war, but it was unpleasant enough.
And now Mission was headed there, because the portion of the Fleet dedicated to fighting Darth Eskon was stationed there.
Why is he attacking this area? It´s nothing. There´s nothing of any interest here. That´s exactly why I chose it. He´s not Revan, true, but he´s still a clever strategist. It doesn´t make sense . . .
It felt good to concentrate on the tactical aspects of the situation. It distracted her from having to think about the two confrontations she seemed destined for. However, despite the basic understanding of the subject she´d picked up from watching Revan at work, no matter which way she turned it it still didn´t make any sense. He was attacking a sector of space populated by smuggler planets and small Republic outposts. No wonder the Republic admirals and the "Jedi Geezers" were scratching their heads. There had to be something more to it. But damned if she could figure out what.
And when she finally gave up on trying to divine Eskon´s thought process the only thing left for her mind to turn to was the upcoming decisions she damn well would have to make eventually.
A knock on the door brought a sigh of relief from Keena.
´´Anna? We´re almost there.´´
She followed Mission to the cockpit. The Twi´lek took them out of hyperspace, and blue swirl turned into the rather unwelcome sight of Brim, five Republic battle ships in orbit.
The nearest one hailed them.
´´Sith ship: State your intention or we will open fire.´´
Mission swiftly sent her identification code and explained the situation.
´´Relax guys. We had a little accident and had to commandeer this thing. I need to talk to General Onasi. Authorisation MZ-8211´´
There was a short pause.
´´Mission!´´
The Wookie growled loudly.
´´. . . and Zaalbar.´´
Mission laughed. ´´Hey, old man. I see you´re just cooling your heels while we do the grunt work.´´
´´Absolutely. This pit has a surprising amount of tourist traps. I trust you went ahead and saved the galaxy while we were enjoying ourselves?´´
´´More or less. I´ll give you the whole story face to face.´´
´´Right. See you.´´
Mission maneuvered the ship into the landing bay of Onasi´s flagship, the Retaliator.
Keena reached out slightly through the Force. There were Jedi nearby, either on one of the ships or the planet. She pulled back hurriedly, hoping she hadn´t been noticed, and pulled a mental cloak over herself, disguising herself from the Force.
She didn´t need to run into disciples of the Order now. Didn´t need the hassle.
Anyway, what now?
´´Hey there General, would you mind pointing me in the direction of Darth Eskon. Me and him go way back, and no I´m not going to help him fight the Republic. Promise.´´
´´Got room for a Jedi-turned-drifter-turned-smuggler-turned-hermit?´´
´´So where´s your beloved leader? I owe her big time.´´
Probably best to just wing things for now.
A man came over to escort Mission and Zaalbar to the General´s quarters. Mission, of course, insisted on introducing them.
´´Come on, you´ll get along like a house on fire. He´ll appreciate you helping us out. C´mon!´´ The girl pulled on her arm with a smile and Keena forced out one of her own. She really didn´t know how to feel about the Twi´leks spirit. On one hand it´s innocent charm was a nice change. On the other hand she didn´t feel much like being cheered up.
It felt odd to walk the decks of a Republic ship again. The Retaliator was a different design than the Storm, but it looked very much the same from the inside. The same design style; soft angles and warm earth colors mixed in with the cold metal. People of various races in Fleet uniforms going about their business, occasionally exchanging greetings with each other. The symbol of the Republic wherever one looked.
Keena felt a sudden pang of nostalgia. If not for the lack of notice anyone paid her, she might have been on her way to one of Revan´s meetings.
The walk ended outside the generals receiving room, and the guide went his way.
Just me and three of Revan´s new family. This is . . . surreal.
Mission walked in without announcing herself, dragging Keena and the ever silent Wookie with her.
´´Carth!´´
Carth Onasi. She´d heard about him during the war. Since that day on the Rakatan homeworld he´d gotten a shave and was wearing a uniform according to his new rank. Otherwise he looked more or less the same. He even still wore the gunbelt with a blaster on each hip. He looked up from the datapad he´d been studying and smiled. Not a courtesy smile; an honest, warm smile. There was no mistaking the cameradery between the three. She remembered the feeling.
Even the Wookie brightened up and howled a greeting.
Onasi laughed. ´´Nice to see you too, Zaalbar.´´
Mission gave Carth a quick hug and handed him a datapad with a fully detailed report. Carth was impressed.
´´We´ll make a decent citizen out of you yet.´´
´´Don´t count on it, old man.´´
Carth took a quick glance at the report before putting it down and sending a questioning glance Keena´s way.
´´Oh. Anna, I´d like you to meet Carth Onasi, self-proclamed handsomest pilot in the galaxy . . .´´
´´ . . . I was joking Mission . . .´´
´´And Carth; this is Anna. She crashed on that planet a year ago and helped us out. Well, saved our butts, really.´´
Carth smiled at Keena and shook her hand. ´´Well, miss, I gotta give you my gratitude. These two are my friends. Welcome aboard the Retaliator.´´
Keena couldn´t manage much more than a shrug and a ´´my pleasure.´´
The general was chatty too, and was all too interested in getting to know about her. Occupation, home, family, last name. She gave him the same answers she gave Mission. Freelance scout, between jobs at the time of the crash, born on Deralia, no family, full name Anna Kolm.
Keena kept a watchful eye on his Force aura, looking for any suspicion. She found none. Either he was the trusting type or Mission´s word was good enough for him.
Some amount of small talk followed. Carth offered everyone seats and drinks.
´´So, what are you going to do now?´´ Mission asked. ´´A year of being stuck on an iceball . . . nothing to do. Find some overpriced resort planet and live it up?´´
Tie up some loose ends with the big bad Sith Lord on one hand, and your great friend on the other.
´´I . . . ah, haven´t really thought about it.´´
´´Oh, I know! Carth, can´t you hire her for something? You should have seen her handle those Sith suckers. Canderous would have proposed to her on the spot!´´ It a came out a little too quickly and smoothly. The little brat had probably been planning it for a while.
Keena sighed under her breath. Mission really was determined to be helpful. She found herself strangely touched, mixed with anger at having her business minded for her.
Carth smiled. ´´Sure, we can always use good people. Especially with the situation the way it is. What to do you think. Interested?´´
She couldn´t think of a reason to immediately refuse. ´´What is the situation, anyway? Mission gave me the basics on it . . .´´
´´Well, we know Eskon´s got a fleet just beyond the Sith borders, but he hasn´t really been using it. We do know his fleet is large enough to be a problem, and rumor has it he was one of Revan´s military advisors. But mostly he´s been sending in scouts and making quick raids. We also have indication he´s inserted quite a lot of spies and undercover people into the sector. We have people working on flushing them out but we still have no idea why he did it. I´m pretty sure he´s not gonna sit on his hands forever, though. It´s going to get nasty, probably sooner rather than later.
As for a job; I could sign you up as a contract mercenary or a civilian advisor. So what do you think?´´
What DO I think? On one hand it might get her close to Eskon (although damned if she knew what to do then), and she would even get paid while doing it. On the other one she would have to spend her time in close quarters with these people. And of course there would be the chance of someone seeing through her hastily concocted identity. She hadn´t been as visible as Revan or Malak or, to a lesser extent, Eskon, but she was still part of the Jedi Archives and any Jedi might recognise her. And then she´d have to explain her four year absence, while coming up with a reason for showing up with a fake name, on top of convincing everyone that she wasn´t a Sith spy.
Well, what am I for that matter? What am I going to do? And when and how? Nice mess. Thank you Revan.
´´Well, things have changed a lot since I crashed. I have some catching up to do. If it´s okay with you general Onasi, I´d like to think about it for a while.´´
´´Hey, no problem, I understand. We have a few spare bunks if you´d like to stay on board for a while. We´ll be staying in orbit for at least a few more days. Or you could get yourself a hotel room down on Brim. It has some surprisingly nice ones.´´
A hotel. A nice, private hotel room to be all alone with her thoughts. It was her first choice, her first automatic reaction. But the familiar cameradery and friendship between these people brought back the haunting nostalgia.
I can´t afford to get emotional now . . .
Another voice cut her off.
Hah! Yeah right you hypocrite! Emotions are the only things driving you on these days. What else do you have? Revan took your devotion, your trust and your loyalty.
´´A bunk sounds nice, general Onasi.´´
He flashed a charming smile. ´´Please, call me Carth, miss Kolm.´´
That, of course, only left one polite option. ´´Anna.´´
Mission, of course, lit up, and as far as Keena could tell Zaalbar was pleased.
´´So your staying? Great! I´m running out of people to play Pazaak with. Oh, that reminds me: I promised Kel a rematch when I´d get back. Come on Z!´´
She latched onto his arm and although she couldn´t budge him the incessant tugging eventually spurred him into rising with a weary sigh.
On her way past Keena, the Twi´lek leaned towards her and whispered . . .
´´He´s single you know.´´
. . . before winking and dragging the grumbling Wookie with her.
Now she´s playing matchmaker?
She half-laughed during a fleeting image of strangling the insufferably charming brat with her own head-tails.
´´So . . . bunk?´´
Carth issued her a temporary identity card as a guest so she wouldn´t be hassled by security, although he assured her she would only need it for a little while. News traveled quickly on a ship after all.
He showed her to an unused, one-man bunk, two levels down.
´´Well, it isn´t Hotel Gyrwel, but I hope it´ll do.´´
´´I´ve gotten used to sleeping in a shuttle wreck on a frozen spitball. Anything will be good in comparison.´´
She took a moment to examine him. Yes, she had to admit it, he was good looking. It only took a quick rewind to him standing beside Revan outside that temple to quell any such thoughts, however. Keena had a sudden impulse to throw the truth in his face, to tell him exactly how she´d ended up on J-3109, just to see his reaction. It would no doubt be special.
´´Well, thank you gen . . . Carth.´´
´´No problem. Let me know when you decide. Now, I supposedly have a battle fleet to run.´´ He sighed. ´´Used to be my only concern was piloting.´´
He turned to leave, but suddenly stopped and turned towards her.
´´Look, I really meant what I said back there. We joke and jibe, but those two really mean a lot to me, especially Mission. Almost like the daughter my wife alway wanted. Um . . . anyway, just . . . thank you. Again.´´
More gratitude. It stirred something inside of her. Something she wanted to let lie.
´´Right.´´
She stepped inside the bunk and closed the soundproof door behind her, letting the silence and the darkness wrap around her.
Keena lay down on the bed, and stared up at the ceiling she couldn´t see. Stared through it, stared at the confrontations with Revan and Eskon. An unending amount of scenarios, of possibilities, played through her mind. She had no idea what would happen. No idea at all. Eskon had been twisted into a tool of the Dark Side by Revan, and Revan herself was supposedly ´´redeemed´´. She didn´t know what to expect from either of them.
And certainly not what to expect from herself. Because of Revan.
She closed her eyes, an action made redundant by the darkness, and breathed in the hatred.
Well, there was one thing she could be sure of beyond any doubt. Whatever happened, it wouldn´t be pretty.
