Chapter Two: A Mysterious Distress Signal
It had been a good day for Rhia and her co-pilot Korran Wess. The two had just completed a successful flight to the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyk to smuggle out some of the weapon caches stored there. Despite the Arbann - the Sith imposed ban on weapons other than stun sticks, there was always a high demand for blasters and ammo packs. Rhia and Korran made it their business to supply the large demand. Luck had been with them and they had obtained enough to fill their cargo hold to the point of bursting. This run would be a lucrative one. Rhia was finishing the calculations for the hyperspace jump that would take them to the Hutt inhabited world of Nal Hutta, when their ship, Rebirth, had received an incoming distress signal. Korran turned and scanned the radar, but to his surprise, found no ships or anything large enough to be the remains of a ship on the screen. He let out a grunt. Rhia walked across the small cockpit to peek over Korran's shoulder to see the source of his apparent puzzlement.
"What's up?" she asked, staring at the screen.
"We've just received a distress signal, but there's no ship on the radar!" Korran explained. "You don't suppose..." he began, but was silenced as Rhia nudged him out of the seat and accessed the computer in front of him.
"Hmm..." she mumbled rubbing her chin in thought after a second or two of furious key punching. "This is really strange." she added.
"It's not a trap is it?" Korran asked, worried that once again his pilot friend's past was coming back to haunt them.
"Not unless they've gotten a lot more creative." Rhia added. "This transmission is coming from somewhere in the Yavin system." she said and waited for Korran to speak again.
"The Yavin system?" he asked, incredulous.
"Yeah, that's what I'm getting of the report."
"But that's halfway across the galaxy! How could a distress signal come from that far
away?"
"I don't know." Rhia shook her head in puzzlement. "Let's go see what it's all about!" she said, her gray eyes flashing with curiousity and a newly reawakened sense of adventure.
Korran sputtered. "We can't just go gallavanting across the galaxy because the communications on this piece of junk -" he kicked the side of the Rebirth. " - have started malfunctioning."
"Oh yes we can, because they're not malfunctioning." Rhia argued. "This is a genuine call for help, and besides, weren't you saying about fifteen minutes ago that we should take an indirect route to Nal Hutta?"
Korran sighed and rolled his eyes, but finally nodded his assent. When Rhia started acting like this, it was better to go along with her, because if he pressured her into not doing it, life got to be very hellish for him until she got her way. "If you end up the slave dancer of that Coruscant bastard again though, I am not saving your ass." he mumbled under his breath.
Rhia glared at him. "I thought we'd agreed that you were never to bring that up again." she said coldly; her eyes no longer showing their enthusiasm for an adventure, but now exhibiting great pain and even more than that - a blaze of anger that could be compared to the explosion resulting from a moon smacking into a planet.
"I'm sorry Rhia." Korran muttered. "You know I don't want that to happen again. I care about you too much." he said. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
Rhia finished up the hyperspace calculations, this time setting the destination to the Yavin system, and then turned to leave. "You know I don't want you to care about me like that Korran." she said, and then vanished down the hall to the passenger quarters of the Rebirth.
Korran sighed and shut his eyes for a moment, wishing he could make Rhia understand. The first time he'd seen her had been at a party held by Drelle Saab, a wealthy Coruscant citizen, and a member of the Galactic Ruling Council. That night, Rhia had been called upon to dance for those fortunate to receive an invite to Drelle's party. Korran had been there by chance, delivering some paperwork to Drelle.
A lithe body swayed to the music in the corner of the room. Red hair flowed behind the girl like a veil as her hands tapped out a rhythm on the small metal cymbals she wore on her thumb and index fingers. She danced closer and he could hear the clinks and chimes caused by the bells and metal adornments on her scanty costume. He looked up into her face and fell utterly in love.
Korran shook himself out of the memory and turned to start the jump to hyperspace. After that dance, he had watched Rhia be brutally beaten because of someone else's mishap.
She twirled around continuing her dance towards her owner, Drelle, and allowing Korran to
cease drowning in her deep grey eyes. When she was within a few feet of Drelle, she twirled and her pale foot came in contact with the contents of one of Drelle's more drunken associate's drink. She slipped and fell, catching a delicate sculpture of a Twi'lek dancer and smashing it into a thousand pieces. "You clumsy oaf!"
Korran pushed the button and watched as the stars blurred together, much like his eyesight that night.
The sound of her scream as Drelle struck her with his metal cane, and the sight of her pale skin marred by the trickle of blood. His own vision going to red and then turning to leave the crowded room.
She'd been taken from the party area soon afterwards to be returned to her quarters, but Korran had seized upon the opportunity and had dispensed the guard with a single shot of his blaster. "C'mon - I'm getting you out of here." he had told the beauty whose eyes now pierced his soul with the pain stored there. "He won't hurt you again - I promise."
She had nodded and had followed him first to his quarters on Coruscant, and then to a transport taking them to the Corporate Sector.
Again, Korran sighed. They'd been together ever since, but Rhia had yet to respond to him in the way he hoped for with all his being. After sitting at the controls for another hour, he followed the path earlier taken by Rhia and headed to the sleeping area. He saw her red hair already on the pillow in her bunk. He smiled sadly and walked quietly over. He kissed the tips of his fingers and placed them carefully against the side of her face. "I love you." he whispered before turning back to the cockpit to wait for the hyperspace jump to end.