Star Wars:
Dark Legacy

By: Myst Dragon

Chapter 2

The pair had little trouble getting past the checkpoint to the starport, and soon made their way to Jak's ship. It was one of Corellian Engineering Corp's more recent freighters, the YT-1930. Like most ships in the YT series, its primary fuselage was a saucer shape, but its cockpit was forward center, between the ship's mandibles. Also unlike most of the other YT series ships, it had two wedge shaped sections extending from the saucer. The loading ramp was located on the ship's starboard side, which is right. From the looks of it, Caitlin could tell that the ship had seen its fair share of action. She noticed a smile on Jak's face as they entered the hanger. "Ah, the Ivory Dream. She doesn't have the memories of my old ship, but she's been home for a while now. What do you think?"

"You own this ship?" Caitlin asked, disbelievingly as they walked up the ramp.

Jak laughed a little, but for a moment seemed sad. "Yeah she's all mine. I made the mistake of taking a job for the Alliance and lost my last partner, and our ship. All I've got left from that is her old droid. Some General arranged for me to take this ship, saying that he wished he could do more." He hid his sadness behind a grin that would fool most people, and for once the young Jedi noticed some of the slight signs that this man had experienced many years.

Caitlin hoped to come up with a better conversation as they made their way past the lounge. "So, where are you from?"

Jak sighed and gave her a sideways glance as he answered. "Alderaan." Caitlin was left silently stunned, her head lowering feeling slightly guilty. She'd heard about the Empire using a monstrous battlestation to destroy the world. This didn't escape his notice as the made their way to the cockpit. "Don't worry, it's not like I had anything to miss there." As they walked into the cockpit, the girl noticed that in the place of the co-pilot's seat was a short cylindrical droid with a dome top, interfacing with the console. It's 'head' turned to face them as they entered, and it gave a few beeps, whistles and other sounds of it's language. "Hey, Ten! How many times have I told you not to be rude in front of passengers, especially ones that've paid upfront?" The droid R2 droid retorted with a few more sounds.

Caitlin laughed, and gave a wry grin. "Now why would he think of you as a 'dirty old man'?"

Jak sighed and glared at the droid. "He's just trying to get under my skin. I'm half tempted to give his personality core a good scrubbing." Ten quickly turned its head back to the console! "It may be a little late for introductions, but Caitlin, meet R2-10. Probably the most quarrelsome R2 ever made. Shiri liked him the way he was, so I put up with his quirks, but sometimes he really pushes it."

"I see." The young woman was still grinning.

"Just how old are you anyway?" Jak asked.

"I'm sixteen." Caitlin answered, wondering why it even mattered.

"And you're sure about leaving home? This isn't some spur of the moment thing to get back at your folks?" Jak seemed a little suspicious of her motives.

The girl seemed a little pained. "I don't have anyone waiting for me at home anymore. Right now I need to get to Onderon."

"Getting to Onderon will take about a day after we leave Nar Shadda, and the trip there is two. C'mon I'll show you a cabin you can use while you're with us." Jak walked away, only waiting a second to make sure she was following him. The cabins were located on the port side of the ship, very close to the cockpit. Jak showed her to the first door. "Here you go." He pointed to the middle door. "The 'fresher's in there, and my cabin is the next one."

"Thank you." Caitlin gave him a slight nod as she thanked him. "Why are we going to Nar Shadda first?"

"I've got a delivery to complete, nothing that should take too long." Given her current impression of the man who seemed a little more than twice her age, she was a little curious about the delivery, but refrained from asking to keep from creating any more awkward moments. They returned to the cockpit and Jak piloted them out of the atmosphere and took them into hyperspace once Ten calculated the route.

When Jak awoke the next morning, at least morning according to how he'd spent the last few days, he went to the 'fresher, but before he opened the door, he heard the shower running. "Oh yeah, forgot about her." He sighed half awake. He decided to see if he could sate some of his curiosity that had been in the back of his mind since she recovered his starport visa from Crix. He was now actively listening to the shower as he opened the door to her cabin. "Let's see what we have here." He scanned the room, noting her boots, belt, and outer robe lying neatly on her bed, and on the small table were two familiar objects, which he hadn't seen the likes of since he was a boy. There sat two identical lightsabers with a few cleaning tools laid out next to them. "Well I'll be." He grinned. "Now, what would a kid be doing with these?" He had a good feeling that he now understood how she managed to get his visa back, but he was now left with other questions. Unfortunately these knew questions distracted him from the task of listening for the shower to stop and he soon felt the distinct sensation of a woman's glare! He turned around to see Caitlin wearing her thin, grey inner robe, darker colored pants, and an unpleasant scowl on her face. Her brown hair was still damp from the shower.

"And here I thought having a cabin instead of having to sleep in the cargo hold meant I'd have some privacy." There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone, but she was definitely not amused by his intrusion.

"I'm sorry, but it's my responsibility to make sure there's nothing dangerous on my ship."

"You could have just asked." She snarled at him.

"Would you have told me the truth?"

"Get out!" She pointed back into the corridor as she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Later, the young Jedi sat at the table in the small ship's lounge, moping. She was once again fully dressed with her dark, charcoal grey outer robe. Ten rolled up to the holotable and activated the black and white checkered, circular game board with its various alien game pieces. It then turned its little head towards her and made a few of its beeps and whistle sounds. She laughed a little as she looked at the little droid to respond. "Not really interested in playing against a droid. Dejarik is a game of strategy, not a simple game of statistics." She raised an eyebrow as the droid beeped a taunt. "I'll show you who should be afraid!" A few hours passed and Caitlin had less than a third of her pieces, while Ten had a little more than half of his. As the girl sat there trying to think out her next move, the little R2 unit made a few beeps and whistles trying to get her to hurry up. "I'm not stalling; I'm making sure about my next move. There's no way I'm losing to a droid." She finally made her move, taking one of his more powerful pieces, and he immediately made the next move winning the match! As Ten's piece moved into position for the win, Caitlin's jaw dropped. "I can't believe it! I lost to a droid." Her shoulders slumped.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, he was taught by the best, but he's only had me to beat, lately." Caitlin gave Jak a sideways glare as he tried to comfort her.

The young Jedi then looked to Ten. "Could you please tell the Captain that I'm still not talking to him?" The droid seemed amused as it turned its head, and relayed the message.

He shook his head. "Oh yeah, that's real mature. Passing a message through a droid that doesn't speak galactic basic."

"What do you care how mature I am?" She stood up and yelled at him, having a little trouble keeping herself in check.

"I care because I know what happens to Jedi that don't watch their temper. They wind up doing things they'll regret" He told her, sternly.

Caitlin took a deep breath and crossed her arms. "I'm no Jedi." This made Jak raise an eyebrow, disbelievingly.

"You seem like a smart kid, so I don't think you'd be carrying those lightsabers if you didn't know how to use them; and I know you used some kind of Jedi trick on Crix to get my visa back." There wasn't a shred of doubt in his voice. "If you're not a Jedi, then what are you?"

She sighed as she sat back down. "I was trained in the ways of the Jedi, but I haven't gone through the trials yet. Master Van was murdered before he felt I was ready." Jak could see the pain in her eyes as she mentioned her master. Her pain touched the memory of his own recent loss and he sat down beside the young woman and put his arms around her to comfort her. She held on to him and let out her tears. "Why did he have to die?"

The Dark Jedi known as Quiyllo traveled through hyperspace in his Z-95 Headhunter. He felt very confident in his decision to track the girl he'd sensed nearby. He noticed a signal coming in through his comm. He opened the channel, hoping for the chance to earn prestige with Lord Zerak. "Greetings Lord Zerak, I have news that should be pleasing." The blonde haired main announced brashly, but was caught off guard by the laugh of a woman with a seductive voice.

"Lord Zerak may be pleased to hear that, but you'll have to tell me first. He'd hate to be disturbed from his meditation for nothing." The woman told him in a taunting fashion.

"Lillith." He snarled the name of the woman. She never seemed like much of a rival, because she never acted as though she desired power for herself. "Why should I trust you to pass this on instead of just keeping it to yourself and betraying me?"

"That is entirely up to you. However, if this is important and I don't tell him, he could eventually find out and punish me for such impudence. You do know that we can wield the power of the dark side without lowering ourselves to the petty power plays of the Sith Empire, do you not?" The tone of the woman who spoke through the comm. maintained its amusement.

"I grow tired of your foolishness. Remind me to kill you when I return." His tone was dry, and deadly serious.

"As you wish." She mocked him. "You'd best give me your report before you forget." He scowled and thought of how much he wished he could strike her down that instant.

"I've killed the old man, it was too easy. However I couldn't find any clues to the library within his hole he was hiding in. However there was a young girl staying with him, and I believe he may have given her the way to find it." He smiled, relishing in the genius of his strategy. "The girl has managed to hop a transport on its way to Nar Shadda. I'll track her from there and soon have the key to finding the Library."

The woman seemed bored. "Have you ever wondered why Lady Raven never wanted us to go after the Library, especially since it holds many important Jedi and Sith Holocrons?"

Quiyllo seemed even more annoyed. "Does it matter? Lord Zerak proved himself stronger when he killed her, and he wants the Library. To me that's all that matters. If you were really one of us then pleasing the Master would be all important to you as well."

"So you say." She replied calmly. Her playful tone was still apparent as she continued. "You have nothing to fear from me. "I am sure Lord Zerak will be pleased to hear your report." With that she closed the channel, leaving Quiyllo alone in his small fighter craft.

"With this mission, I will surpass them all and become Lord Zerak's apprentice! And then I'll take my time tearing her to pieces." His last thought made him grin with great malice.

As the Ivory Dream left Hyperspace the Corellian freighter headed for the moon of Nal Hutta, Nar Shadda. Many know Nar Shadda as the Smuggler's Moon, and for good reason. Caitlin sat in the Navigator's chair, which had usually gone unused. "So, what's Nar Shadda like?" She asked as Jak piloted the ship to a landing pad of the multilayered city.

"Imagine that Cantina you met me in, only a thousand times worse with open slavery, cutthroats, and back alley deals. And that's not even counting all of the bounty hunters." He told her with a half-sarcastic smile. "We'll be fine as long as we don't cause a scene."

"Lovely. I suppose you come here often, but is it really worth the risk. This moon's life feels diseased, and dangerous." She voiced her concern about the unsettling feeling that the moon gave her.

"Don't worry, it's not like it's a Krayt Dragon's belly." He told her as they landed.

"No, it's worse." As the girl made her comment, Jak opened the starboard cargo bay and gantry. As they left the cockpit, the dark haired man reached into a small locker and pulled out a holstered blaster. "What's this for?"

"There are a lot of predators here, and when it comes to predators, its better to look like you can defend yourself." He told her. "Besides, it's probably better if you don't rely too much on your lightsabers while we're here."

"You mean so we don't draw too much unwanted attention?" She asked as they made their way past the lounge.

"Exactly." As they walked down the gantry, they saw an old man with a few workers heading towards the ship. The old man's left leg and arm had been replaced by what looked like old droid parts. Jak smiled as he greeted his old friend. "Hey there old man! How ya doin'?"

"Not too bad. Things have been a little slow, but I've been getting by." The old man looked past to observe the workers as they started unloading the cargo from the hold. "Well, looks like you've finally broken even with Zarga, but what kept you?"

"Crix had one of his lifters snatch my starport visa, and tried to make me take a job for him." He laughed a little. "I wouldn't have managed to get here if it weren't for this kid here."

The old man finally looked directly at Caitlin, and it looked like he almost had a heart attack. "You look just like her. What's your name?"

"Caitlin Tallus; pleased to meet you." She held out her hand to greet him as respectfully as she could.

He smiled and took her hand. "Name's Nate. You look just like a Jedi woman I met." The old man paused, thinking about the woman. "Had to have been a little more than ten years ago. She had this creepy fella following her, and when we were talkin' business in private he called her Master Tallus. You must be her daughter or somethin'. I know the galaxy is a big place but that'd be one heck of a coincidence."

She smiled as she pulled back her hand. "Yeah, I guess it would. I never knew my mother. Can you tell me anything about this woman you say you met?"

A warm smile shined on Nate's wrinkled face. "Sure thing, but only if you and Jak join me for dinner."