2

It was nearing the end of the day in the city of Tyrena on the planet Corellia. The evening rush of patrons had died down, and the diner was once again returning to normal. Situated on the top floor of a five storey building on the outskirts of the city, Rinn's Place was quite popular for its fine view across the ocean to the south. At this time of day the view was even more breathtaking as the low sun cast a warm red glow across the waves.

Rinn Copla, the owner and runner of the diner, gave his almost bald head a quick scratch before gathering a collection of dirty dishes and cutlery and carrying them into the back kitchen. There he carefully deposited them into a large basin filled with cleaning fluid, and stepped away as his series B-12R worker droid took his place and began washing them. Although the thing had been expensive and had ceased to function properly on numerous occasions he was still glad he had purchased it. The thought of doing all that scrubbing himself was not one he enjoyed.

Leaving the droid to its business, he left the kitchen and took his place behind the counter. Two new people had entered the diner, both human males in the uniforms of CorSec - the Corellian Security Force. He recognised the one man as Chandroth Jaco, who was somewhat of a regular. Jaco had been a member of CorSec now for many years, and was well known by a lot of people in this part of the city. The other one was younger and taller, but was a skinny kind of a man and seemed a little on edge. As far as he could remember Rinn had never met him before.

"Good evening Rinn," Jaco greeted him as they neared.

"Officer Jaco," Rinn replied. "Nobody round here's in trouble I hope."

"Not at all," Jaco smiled, and nodded to the other man with him. "It was the first day as a full fledged law enforcer for young Pastor here. I thought I'd bring him in for some of your famous cuisine, to cap off a hard days work."

"Ah," Rinn looked at Pastor. "I trust there was nothing too dangerous for your first day?"

"It has been... interesting," Pastor gave a nervous smile.

"You'll soon settle into it," Rinn assured him.

"He's a natural," Jaco added, and Pastor managed to look even a little more uncomfortable.

"So what can I get you both?" Rinn asked, and proceeded to take their order. "Grab some seats. I'll bring it to you." The two officers thanked him, and moved to a nearby empty table. He moved into the kitchen, and began to prepare their meals, frequently checking into the diner to see if anyone else was waiting.

Before long, a young dark haired woman entered through the door, striding towards the kitchen in the jovial way only she could. He shook his head, a little annoyed at himself. In all the rush he had forgotten she was even dropping by.

"Hello Uncle Rinn," she poked her head through the kitchen entrance and smiled.

"Lerri," he welcomed her as she stepped closer. "I almost forgot about you."

"What's new?" she joked. "You're always forgetting something."

"Except the Quermian sweetener," he winked, sprinkling some of it onto the officer's meals. "Everyone likes the Quermian sweetener. It's my secret weapon."

She nodded agreement and glanced around the room. "So you got it working again?" she asked, spying the droid. "Hey B-12."

The droid turned its head through 180 degrees to see who was talking. "Oh," it said in a low metallic voice. "Good evening, Miss Lerri."

Rinn smiled to himself as the droid went back to its business. How amusing it was to realise his niece couldn't help but talk to people, even if it was a droid, and not a very advanced one at that.

"What's so funny?" she asked, noticing his expression.

"Oh nothing," he replied. "It's just never dull when you're around."

Leaving her with a curious look on her face, he moved out of the kitchen to deliver the freshly cooked food to the two officers. After wishing them a good meal, he turned to make his way back. He soon noticed Lerri had positioned herself behind the counter and was looking around, closely observing the remaining people still in the diner. Rinn knew exactly what she was checking for. His sister's daughter was a largely gregarious person, even by Corellian standards. He'd never known anyone so confident, friendly and outgoing. Though these could be good traits, when mixed with her constant need for male company they would often bring her to the attention of the more unsavoury characters of the city. Not that she would ever discourage them, either.

As he stood next to her behind the counter, he caught a glance of the man she was looking at. He was a weird one, Rinn thought, not that he looked particularly odd. For quite some time now the mysterious figure had visited this place several times a week to quietly just sit on his own, happy to be ignored by everyone as he stared blankly out towards the horizon. Rinn had never even caught his name. Thinking about it, the only time he'd ever heard the man speak was when he ordered something to eat.

"Who's that guy?" Lerri asked, not that Rinn had needed to hear it.

"I don't know," he answered. "Comes in here from time to time and just sits there, looking out across the ocean."

"He looks sad," Lerri observed.

"Now don't you go getting any ideas," he warned her.

"What does that mean?" she asked, trying her best to seem shocked and offended, but knowing all the time her uncle could see right through it.

"You know exactly what I mean," he said, forcing her out from behind her fake innocent facade. "If there's one thing that worries me more than all the criminals and pirates out there it's your constant pursuit of the opposite sex. Need I remind you about what happened last week?"

"No uncle," she sighed, quickly putting the bizarre memories out of her head.

"And this guy, you know nothing about him. He could be trouble."

"Oh come on," she pleaded. "He doesn't look like trouble."

"A lot of people don't look like trouble."

"How will I know if I don't ask?" she wondered out loud. "What does he drink?"

"He looks to me like he wants to be alone," he offered, trying in vain to talk her out of taking her usual course of action.

"I disagree. It seems to me like he could do with cheering up," she guessed.

"Don't do it Lerri," he calmly suggested.

"I'll be careful, OK?" she promised. "So what does he drink?"

He watched her for a moment longer, but she countered his warning glare with her own of resolute expectancy. One of these days she might actually listen to him, but it was obvious that day was not today. "He never does," Rinn conceded, a little annoyed at the fact. "He'll occasionally eat. But he doesn't touch the liquor."

"Well that's promising from the start, right?" she asked, trying to assure her rightfully worried uncle. "He's not a gambler, or a smuggler, because how often is it that you come across one of those guys and find out they never drink?"

"Just you watch yourself," he advised. "You don't know what he could be like behind closed doors."

"I'll be fine," she promised, starting to make her way from behind the counter. "I'm just going to introduce myself. Nothing bad is going to happen."

He watched her thoughtfully as she walked away, hoping she would be right.


Macan suddenly twitched alert. Once again he'd lost track of the time here in this small diner, watching the tide go in and out as his mind replayed mostly unwanted memories over and over. He shook it off, trying to clear his head. Someone had approached him, he realised, and turned to look at her.

Everything about her, from her stance to the smile on her lips and the sparkle in her eyes, gave off the impression of way too much friendly energy. At one time he might have been taken in by it, but it was the one thing he really didn't need right now.

"Let me guess," the woman said. "You're not Corellian, are you?"

Though he was a little annoyed at this intrusion, Macan forced a small smile. "You can't get more obvious than that."

"So where are you from?" she asked, not waiting for an invitation to sit opposite him at the small table. "Come on, I don't bite. Not unless I'm asked, anyway."

"Ord Mantell," he conceded with a sigh.

"There," she smiled. "Not so bad was it? Oh, by the way, I'm Lerri."

He smiled a rather fake smile and looked back out of the window. He hoped his posture and expression would convey to her that he didn't want to talk, or even want her to be there. If it didn't he tried to discourage her further by not revealing his own name.

"So what are you up to on Corellia?" she asked, obviously not seeing his desire for privacy, or choosing to ignore it.

"I... err... " he stammered, suddenly finding himself once again struggling with his unwanted memories.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "You seem really lost, or something."

"I'm sorry," he dipped his head a little. "I'm not that good with company these days."

"So why come in here? Quite a public place for someone who wants to be alone."

"Because the foods good," he nodded, hoping but not expecting the answer to be enough to gratify her curiosity. The look on her face soon convinced him it wasn't. "Alright. Watching the ocean helps me sometimes. I like the way that the tides are never ending. Unlike some things."

She looked at him thoughtfully, trying to figure out exactly what it was he was hiding. "Tell you what. Why don't I get you a drink and we can talk a little? It might do you good, you know?"

"Thanks," Macan shook his head. "But you shouldn't."

"Why not?" she asked innocently. "You're not going to get any better with company if you never accept it. You don't have to sit alone all the time."

"I appreciate the effort," he told her, forcing himself to lie a little. "But you can't help me. I mean no offence. It's just, I am alone." She noticed the unmistakable sounds of regret and sorrow in his voice. Maybe a little guilt too. "I always will be."

From his words, something told her she wasn't going to get her way. Not yet anyway, she thought. Clearly something had happened in this man's life that had really destroyed his self confidence. To continue pestering him in this way would only drive him away further, but she remembered her uncle had said he came in here quite often. She could always continue to work on him slowly, for the future. It was a strong willed man, or a very strange man, that could resist her indefinitely, she had come to believe.

"It's OK," she told him. "It's no problem. But maybe we could meet up here another time, when you're feeling more up to it?"

"Maybe," Macan told her, making a mental note to steer clear of the place from then on. "I should be on my way. It was nice to meet you Lerri."

Turning away, he started to rise, but as he did so a powerful hand grabbed his shoulder and forced him back down onto his seat. Startled, he looked up to see two darkly dressed people standing beside him. The nearest one was a Zabrak male, whose face was covered in black and white war paint or tattoos, giving him a frightful look. The other, a female Togruta, stepped closer with an equally malicious look in her eyes. They definitely did not look friendly.

"Finally," the Zabrak snarled. "We've have searched a long time for you, Macan."

"Whoever you are, leave me alone," Macan told them. "I don't know anybody by that name."

"Really?" the Zabrak chuckled. "Do you take us for fools?"

"Hey," Lerri interrupted, springing to her feet. "Is there going to be a problem here? Because if there is you can take it outside."

"Shut up," the female Togruta warned, and pushed Lerri back hard onto the seat. "Puny human. This does not concern you." She noticed Macan looking ready to try and intercede, and pointed her finger at him menacingly. "Worry not about her, Macan. For you should now be worrying about yourself, should you not?"

Macan suddenly found himself unable to contain the two obvious questions. "Who are you people? What do want?"

"You are to come with us," the Zabrak told him. "Now."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then you will find out what it means to defy us," the Togruta grinned, seeming to almost beg him to try something.

"Alright people," a voice across the diner spoke. Looking across in its direction, Macan saw two security officers, blasters raised. The man who spoke must have been the elder of the two, for the younger man did not look all that confident. The Zabrak and Togruta turned to see, the sneers on their faces showing neither was impressed. "I don't know what your quarrel is, but you will cease it immediately or we will place you under arrest."

"Lower your weapons," the Zabrak ordered. "You do not want to make us angry."

"But they can if they wish," the Togruta smirked at her partner. "For we would enjoy it, would we not?"

"We're not playing around!" the officer warned. "Stop this and leave now!"

The Zabrak snarled, then with a speed that Macan had seen few Jedi capable of, he kicked out and sent one of the nearby tables flying through the air in the direction of the officers. Before the table had even hit them, the Togruta leapt forward, ready to finish them off.

The two officers flinched back, using their free arms to instinctively try and defend themselves. As they repelled the table to the floor, the Togruta finished her leap, kicking the younger looking officer back onto another table behind him. The two Corellians trying to eat at it had the same shocked look on their faces that Macan imagined must be on his own.

The older officer tried to take action, but he didn't even have time to train his blaster on her before she swung a vicious backhand to the side of his skull, which sent him to the floor.

She watched them for a moment to make sure neither of them was getting back up, then sighed disappointingly. "Surely it is not too much to ask for more of a challenge?" she moaned. "Would I be wrong?"

Suddenly Macan saw the chef come running out of the kitchen brandishing some kind of large metallic cooking utensil. The Togruta was immediately alert again, and turned to face him. As he stepped forward to threaten her, she raised her leg and kicked the makeshift weapon from his hands.

"Uncle Rinn!" Lerri panicked, immediately getting up to help but once again was thrown back down onto her seat by the Zabrak.

Macan was still watching the proceedings, unsure of what to do. The Togruta pushed Rinn to the counter, her left hand thrust around his throat. As she raised her right arm to strike him, Macan made a decision. "Wait!" he shouted. The Togruta held her stance, but turned to look at him.

"It's me you want," Macan stood, trying his best not to look intimidated. "Leave everyone alone, and I'll go with you."

"How noble of you," the Zabrak spat. "But we would have taken you with us anyway, whether you accepted it or not."

"Look, whatever," Macan shook his head. "Just don't hurt anybody else."

"Disappointing," the Togruta explained, talking to the Zabrak. "We were told there would be more of a fight in him, were we not?" He nodded as she let Rinn go, but not before pushing him to the floor.

"Move," the Zabrak ordered him. "Now."

Macan hesitated a moment, and glanced around the room. Lerri had a very frightened look on her face, as most of the other people did. He figured he really would have to go with them so these people could get back to their normal evening. With little other choice, he left the diner, closely followed by his captors.

"That's right," Rinn shouted, as he struggled to his feet. "Don't you dare come back if you're gonna bring scum like that here!"

"Oh be quiet uncle," Lerri scolded him. "It wasn't his fault. He didn't even know them."

"I know," Rinn sighed. "I'm sorry. But it's hardly like he was our most valuable customer."

"There are other things in this life than the pursuit of wealth," Lerri explained, looking thoughtfully at the now closed door.

"Yeah, there's clearing up other people's mess," Rinn moaned, moving the damaged table so he could help the fallen officers. "Now give me a hand here."