A/N: Caviar, Oreos, and a longer chapter to all my lovely reviewers! You're awesome. Lurkers, there's plenty to go around. Why am I serving you such odd fare? That's an extremely good question.

Chapter 3

"Are you sure this is the place?" Luke peered up at the towering black wall. Cortosis ore, Mara told him, one of the only lightsaber-proof substances in the galaxy. Definitely not the kind of thing you'd expect to surround the home of a civilian couple doing a little smuggling on the side. Mara consulted the datapad once more and pursed her lips.

"Yes," she said, "But it doesn't say anything about a fortress. Just a private home." Her fingers unconsciously strayed to her arm where Luke knew she kept a small, potent blaster. "Karrde…" she growled. "It's not like him to leave out information."

"When I last saw him, he was in a bacta tank," Luke offered helpfully. "Aves was probably the one who filled out the directive." As Mara turned on him, he realized belatedly that bringing up her employer's incapacity was not the smartest thing to do, especially considering it was the reason she was here right now. Fortunately for him, at that moment there was a deep rumble and the gate swung open slowly. Luke tensed, preparing himself for anything. Mara's hand was very definitely in the vicinity of her blaster now.

A short, round, middle-aged human woman stepped out and gave them a hospitable smile.

"You are Talon's associates," she said, voice soft and calm. It was not a question. "My name is Syunni Taa-Milo. Come inside; we've been waiting." Luke detected no hostility or deceit in Taa-Milo, only kindness. He relaxed his stance and with a shrug at Mara, followed her through the gate. Mara did not. She stood where she was, practically broadcasting her suspicion and dislike of the whole situation. Luke kept walking but spoke to her mentally.

Come on, Mara, it's okay. We need to get this over with soon, or the Kholasi will be unhappy.

They won't be the only ones if you don't shut up and listen. You may be able to read souls, but I can read gaits, and this person walks like a commando— or a professional assassin.

Yes, I did notice the certain grace in her stride.

This is no time for banter, Jedi. Sane people do not stroll blind and empty-handed into the stronghold of a potential enemy.

In case you hadn't noticed, no one who joined the Rebellion was ever diagnosed with sanity. Just relax and have some faith in me. No matter what she used to be, I'm confident that she means us no harm now. Besides, one who has the Force is never empty-handed.

Skywalker…

Mara, I'm familiar with that tongue of yours, but try not to say anything too lacerating or I'll stumble. This path is uneven.

Familiar with my tongue? Not as much as you'd like, I'll wager.

Luke blushed, hard, but grinned as he heard her approaching. Taa-Milo looked back and studied his face, a tiny, knowing smile twitching about her mouth.

"Convinced her I'm not going to kill you, eh?" He blinked. Chuckling lightly, she started to key in an entry code to the heavy metallic doors of the house. Interestingly, it was a rather unassuming building, despite the wall and other, subtler security measures Luke had spotted. An enigma. Just like Syunni Taa-Milo herself. She was a plump, ordinary looking woman kind dark eyes and fly-away graying hair. Her feet were bare; her clothes were simple and comfortable. Her Force-sense overwhelmed him with compassion. But if her comment was anything to go by, she knew exactly what he was. And according to Mara, she was lethal.

Mara caught up with them and shot him a hard look. The three of them stepped inside.

"Mikal, Talon Karrde's people are here already!" Taa-Milo called out. She gestured to the modest furniture in the room. "Please, have a seat. Mikal will be out in a moment." She slipped out. Luke sat down and looked around the small room, noting the sparse furnishings and handcrafted decorations. Mara remained standing and noted the expertly concealed security holocams.

"So, what's this package?" Luke said at last. Mara shrugged.

"Karrde didn't tell me. And if he had, I wouldn't tell you." Silence reigned once more. Suddenly her voice burst into his head.

I remember them! The names, Mikal Milo and Syunni Taa-Milo. Clumsy of them not to change them. They were bounty hunters, the best in the business during the Clone Wars. You should like them, Skywalker; their hero complex was almost as overgrown as yours. Every being they brought in was wanted by the Old Republic. Rumor had it they were employed by the Jedi Council itself. After the change in government, they worked solo for a few months, then virtually vanished. Even their names disappeared from official databases.

How is it that you know about them, then? There was an uncomfortable pause.

I was assigned to dispose of them, she said at last, her tone a trifle grudging. My master despised loose ends. Obviously, I failed to even find them. They are very good.

They must be. I wonder what they're doing here. A thought occurred to him.

We could use them, you know. If it's true that they were loyal to the Old Republic, perhaps they can find something to inspire that same loyalty in the new one.

Somehow, I doubt it. It's been over six years since Endor.

It took Bel Iblis five, you know.

Hold it—did you hear that?

Luke broke off the contact. It was a strange noise, something between a grating rasp and a cough. Stretching out his awareness, he blinked in surprise; there was a fifth person in the house. He sank deeper into the Force, probing. Something was wrong with the sense… it was muddled, somehow… trapped.

Finely attuned as his perceptions were, Mara's shock as she picked up on the person almost jolted him out of his skin.

"What's wrong?" he said aloud. She shook her head slowly.

"I don't know, Skywalker." Hardened, sophisticated Mara - shaken and confused. "I feel like… like I've met him before…"

"He? How can you tell it's a he?" Catching the ripple in the Force, Luke stood a second before Mikal Milo entered the room. He could feel Mara following suit and swiftly smoothing every trace of vulnerability from her face.

"Greetings, Jedi Skywalker, Ms. Jade," the tall man said, nodding to them. Luke quickly examined him as he had done Syunni Taa-Milo. Clean. "I trust your journey was uneventful. I must admit, I was somewhat surprised at Mr. Karrde's choice in representatives." His measured gaze swept over them, and Luke felt slightly uncomfortable under the other end of scrutiny. He was suddenly fifteen again, holding his head up and trying hard to look innocent as Uncle Owen questioned him about an unfinished chore.

"This one isn't with Karrde, though I would have assumed you would know that already," Mara snapped. "We have other business on Kholas, and incidentally, it can't wait. Where's the shipment?" Milo smiled. In a flash of insight, Luke saw beneath that smile and into the man's soul. There was patience there, the deep, rich patience only achieved by years of discipline and pain. Jedi-like patience.

"I'm afraid it's not quite ready. You're early, you see."

"Early!"

"If you return in about seven hours, we should have it prepared for transport." Luke considered this. It seemed reasonable. Mara was clearly unhappy with the situation, but under the circumstances, they really weren't in the position to press the issue. And she knew it.

"Fine," she said ungraciously. "Seven hours, then." The hacking noise drifted through the open door again, louder.

"Kade," Milo said, unperturbed. "Our son. I know you're in a hurry, but will you come in for a moment to say hello? He loves visitors."

"No."

"We'd love too," Luke said simultaneously. Milo looked from one face to the other, and his mouth crinkled into another patient smile.

This is not one of your more brilliant days, Skywalker. Not that you ever have any. So why are we doing this?

It's a… feeling I have. It won't take a minute, anyways.

The scathing replythat Luke knew would follow this statement was cut off as they filed into a small, neat room. He winced as the smell of antiseptic hit his nose sharply. Taa-Milo was leaning over a bed with her back to them and did not look up.

"Just a second," she murmured. Luke looked around the room. More puzzles. The drab walls were lined with shelves covered with row upon row of colorful children's toys. Simple plush figures to detailed miniatures of x-wings, each plaything nearly sparkled in just-out-of-the-box newness. Much too new for a child's possessions, if Luke's own youth was anything to judge by. He glanced at Mara, but she was staring at the bed, face twisted in an unreadable expression.

Taa-Milo straightened and laid a folded cloth on the extended arm of a hovering droid. A life support droid, Luke realized. For patients who weren't expected to recover. The woman moved aside, and his breath caught in his throat.

"We found him when he was a baby," Taa-Milo said. Though he looked over twenty, it was clear Kade Milo's mind was still an infant's.

"He had been horribly abused." His arms waved helplessly in the air. They were thin, stubby, and grotesquely twisted.

"Not more than six months old, and it was clear that someone had thrown him across a room and beat him repeatedly." His body was frail, underdeveloped, disproportionately small for his head.

"When we found him, he had more fractures and concussions than anyone still living Mikal or I ever saw." His head jerked from side to side ceaselessly, mouth working. Luke noticed a thin trickle of drool down one side of his face.

"There was no one else around to care for him, so what could we do?" Taa-Milo brushed the thick lock of brown hair off his forehead affectionately and Kade's empty eyes wandered to her face for an instant. To Luke's astonishment, his mouth twisted into a wide, beautiful smile before jerking away. Taa-Milo patted his cheek, not roughly, but a comfortable, careless caress completely lacking the brittle quality most beings had around the disabled. "He knows our voices," she said.

Without warning, Kade's eyes bulged and his chest began to shudder with that horrible grating cough. A sticky, milky white substance oozed from his throat.

"It's the weather," Taa-Milo explained as her husband pulled a cloth from a drawer and began to dab the liquid away with a practiced hand. "He's allergic to certain pollens."

Mara shook her head slightly, seeming to come out of a trance.

"Why weren't you able to get him medical treatment?" Luke was certain he was the only one that detected the faint wobble in her voice. "Even as badly injured as…Kadewas, surely prompt medical attention could have…"

"Circumstances prevented it," Milo interrupted. Startled by the finality in his tone, Luke looked up to catch the swift glance that passed between the couple. Aware that he was watching them, the woman dropped her eyes, fingering her wedding band nervously. There was an awkward silence.

"Time to go, Skywalker. We'll be back in seven hours," Mara said suddenly, and walked out of the room with just the barest of nods to the Milos. Luke smiled apologetically.

"It was an honor to meet you," Milo said, extending his hand. Luke shook it firmly. "You're doing good things with your life, Luke Skywalker." Then Luke remembered.

"Milo, we could use people like you in the New Republic. You should give the idea some consideration."

"People like us?" Milo inquired. Ah yes, Luke wasn't supposed to know of their past lives. He wished profoundly that Leia were here to smooth things over; it was only too typical of him to make a blunder in the first sentence of the recruitment speech.

"People who are…selfless," he improvised. It was true enough.

"No." The reply was gentle but firm. "We have our own path to follow, Jedi Skywalker, a different one than yours and your government's." His gaze wandered to Kade, moving restlessly on the bed. "It is what we have chosen." Luke nodded slowly, recognizing the decision in the man's words.

"May the Force be with you on that path, then."

Note: The events of this chapter are mostly real, except that the "parents" were presumably not a smuggler duo in hiding and I do not have Force sensitivity. But I did visit an elderly couple's home, and I did meet a young man as described. His story was saddening, of course, but it did not make a real impact on me until I looked into his eyes and saw something there that shook me in a way I've never been before. Of course, being cursed with a writer's mentality (if not skill), I began to wonder how I could convert that strong emotion into a fanfic. For obvious reasons, both Mara and Luke came to mind.

And, on we go to meet with the bantha-obsessed Kholasi!