I activated the communications network. I checked the dormitories but no one answered. I looked over at Atton. "Told you" he said. When I checked the Hangar bay I was surprised to hear beeps and chirps coming through the console. It was the characteristic sound of the astromech droid "language". He was happy to hear from me he told me. He had been attacked by a few mining droids but managed to dispose of them. I asked him if he could follow my instructions. He chirped an affirmative. I told him that I was trapped on the administration level and needed to find a way to the Hangar. He told me that the only way was through the mining tunnels since all the turbo lifts were locked down manually. "I'd rather risk that than be stuck up here." I said through the console. The last thing I heard was him rolling off.
"What did you tell the cargo cylinder?" Atton asked me. I frowned. I respected druids. They made life much easier for humans and other sentient life.
"Never mind for now," I replied. "It might not work anyhow."
"What's a Jedi doing on a mining station in the middle of nowhere?" he asked me curiously. We sat down on the cold floor waiting.
"First of all, I swear to you that I'm going to kill the person who told everyone on this station that I'm a Jedi." I said angrily. "I mean the doctor in the med-bay logs said I'm a Jedi. The administration officer in the other logs said I'm a Jedi. Kreia called me a Jedi…"
"Who's Kreia?" he asked me smiling. He obviously didn't believe that I wasn't a Jedi.
"An old woman in the mortuary." I told him.
He smiled at me strangely. "An old woman, huh? You sure your ok?" he asked concerned.
"It's true. I thought her dead. Turns out, that she is a former Jedi who wasn't really dead at all." I explained. "Speaking of Kreia," I stood up and started walking towards the med-bay. "I'll be right back. Stay here and see if the droid sends any messages.
He nodded and I made my way to the med-bay. The bodies along the way disgusted me. "Whoever did this," I thought. "deserves to die horribly."
I came to the med-bay and found Kreia meditating in the mortuary. She didn't move when I walked in.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked from behind her. She didn't stir. "Answer me, why are you doing this?"
"Doing what, Exile?" she finally asked standing up and facing me.
I looked at her more closely. I could see her eyes for the first time. They were completely white. No iris, no pupil… just the white of the eye. It was a little scary to say the least. "Why are you making me feel the force again?"
"It has always been there in one way or another. I just opened your eyes too it." it was ironic that she mentioned the opening of eyes considering she was blind. "Or was she? She seems to see something."
"Why do you answer all my questions in riddles?" I asked indignantly. "Additionally I also here you voice as I explore this place. Feeling the force is one thing but that should only happen between master and apprentice."
"You are correct but this may have been caused by our long proximity together. Our long slumber may have had some unforeseen consequences. We seem to be able to speak without speaking." she explained.
"So I noticed." I replied.
"It may pass in time." she answered.
I thought back on master and apprentice bonds in the Jedi academy. When the padawan was knighted the bond vanished after some time. But I had never heard of a bond formed so quickly. "What if it does not?"
"Then hope we have little to say to each other lest it prove distracting." she replied. She sat back down and pretended I wasn't there. The old woman was starting to annoy me.
"By the way, how do you know I have nothing to fear from Atton?" I questioned her. Atton did behave a little creepy. I had used the force to monitor a few of his thoughts. All I heard was him adding and subtracting and then nothing. That was not normal.
"I don't know. But he has technical skills and will probably prove useful."
I turned around and left. Making my way back to the administration computer I thought over the recent events. I had been knocked unconscious for over 3 days, I reestablished my connections to the force, and I ended up on a deserted, haunted mining station in the middle of nowhere. It was enough to keep me on my heels. When I came back to the administration console Atton was back at pazaak. He had the cards laid out in front of him. "Care for a game?" he asked me.
"Sure, nothing else to do anyway." I answered.
I sat down and he shuffled the cards. After three losses on my part we heard beeping from the computer.
"What do you know, it looks like the little cargo cylinder came through." We heard the emergency hatch opening.
"It looks like it. Strange he didn't contact us though." I mused.
Atton seemed excited. "If he got the turbo lifts working, then we should have a clear run to the hangar."
The guy didn't like it here anymore than I did I realized. "Sorry to bust your bubble, but the turbo lifts are locked down manually, so I had him open the emergency hatch." he gaped at me. I turned to leave, drawing my vibroblade.
Atton tapped me on the shoulder. "Wait! Don't tell me your going down into the mining tunnels. That explosion I heard came from below. There's probably nothing down there except superheated rock and collapsed mining tunnels. You'd be an idiot to go down there."
I looked at him smirking. "Yeah, your right. We should just stay here and wait for some malfunctioning droids to "mine" us." he looked at me with wide eyes. "Yeah that's why no one let you out of prison. The miners were all killed by malfunctioning mining droids. I guess they got it into there metal heads to mine organics."
"Are you serious? That means someone programmed them to do so. Whoever did that does not have a conscience that's for sure. Well I guess your right then." he gave me a comlink. "I'll monitor things from up here."
I look at a strange looking electronic disc. "What's this?" I asked him.
"A comlink. Keep it open at all times." I turned around and ran to the emergency hatch. I stepped into the lift and activated it. As I was moving down to the lower level a cold feeling crept up my spine.
