Zaalbar:

"Listen fur ball, just because you're strong enough to rip my arms off and shove them up my butt doesn't mean you're allowed to cheat." Mission said firmly. "I won this hand."

I groaned and threw the cards. I had no patience for children's games. We had been stuck on the Ebon Hawk while Rian Vega had been training for about a standard week. So far, Carth Onasi had kept a vigilant eye on everything. He was careful to allow my rambunctious cub no more time on the soil of Dantooine than was needed for a breath of fresh air.

Mission had at first balked at the idea of being held prisoner on the ship, but finally realized that the easiest route to victory would be one of stealth and not whining. She had finally transformed her snide remarks to honey-lipped charm.

"What're you gearing up for?" The iciness in Mission's voice could only mean one thing.

The Mandalorian's foul scent wafted into my nostrils and I grimaced. I refused to sully my tongue with his name. Smoke billowed from his cigarra as he walked towards the workbench.

"I've got some personal things to take care of." he said simply. He roughly disassembled his repeating blaster with his bare hands.

"What does that mean? Did you pick up a rash or something?" she taunted.

I put my hand on Mission's arm to calm her. I didn't want her to start another fight with the Mandalorian; he had already proved that he lacked honor by pointing his blaster at the Twi'lek child.

"I've got some personal things to take care of." the Mandalorian repeated. "If you can handle a blaster rifle, I'll let you tag along."

Mission's lekku rattled dangerously. "Did you find some helpless settlement that you're going to torch?"

"You don't have to come." the Mandalorian said blandly. "The droid's enough."

"Teethree is not going with you!" Mission exclaimed.

The Mandalorian gave a gruff laugh. "Try telling that to the droid." he replied. "I upgraded its flamethrower and the rust-bucket is desperate to test it out."

"Whatever." Mission rolled her eyes.

The Mandalorian seemed pleased that Mission had stopped talking and went about his work in silence. Once he finished upgrading his blaster, he stubbed the butt of his cigarra out on the side of the workbench. He paused for a moment to consider Mission and myself. I bared my teeth to keep him from coming too close. The Mandalorian snorted and left the room.

"What a sleaze." Mission muttered under her breath. "Do you want to play another game of pazaak?"

"No." I said.

"Maybe Carth will play with me." Mission pulled out her deck of cards and began to shuffle through them.

"Only if he is a fool" I replied.

"Let's go find him and see, then." Mission suggested.

I shrugged and plodded after her nimble form. Mission scampered down the corridors of the Ebon Hawk until she found Carth in the main room. His scowl turned into a gap-jawed look of surprise as she flung her arms around his neck.

"Carth!" Mission squealed.

"Hello to you, too." Carth cleared his throat.

"What're you up to?" she asked.

I edged myself over to a seat quietly. Just what did that child have planned?

"Nothing much." Carth replied. "I was just thinking about things."

"Oh?" Mission said casually. "About what?"

"Nothing really." Carth said. He reached over the table and picked up an empty caffa mug and examined it before he set it down with a clunk.

"You're thinking about Rian, aren't you?" Mission grinned impishly.

Carth raised his eyebrow. "I'm thinking about a lot of things." he retorted.

Mission slid her arms off of Carth and plopped down in a seat next to him. "But Rian is one of those things." Her voice had a sing-song quality to it.

"Yes and so is Bastila." Carth said firmly. "I think the Jedi council is insane for pairing those two up together. They're going to kill each another."

"Do you really think so?" Mission's legs swung madly from the seat.

"Yes." Carth affirmed. "I mean, it's easy to see that Bastila can't stand Rian. What does Rian think about Bastila?"

Mission shrugged. "I don't know. Whenever Rian talks about her to me, it's only about how big Bastila's boobs are."

"That's all she talks about?" I don't think that the color in Carth Onasi's face was normal for a human.

"I don't see what the big deal is, though." Mission's eyes were opened far too wide to be considered innocent. "Rian and Bastila are stuck training together and there's nothing we can do about it."

"I can still worry about it." Carth muttered.

"Or you can come with me and Big Z and see what Dantooine's all about." Mission suggested.

"Dantooine's a pretty boring place." Carth replied. "That's what Dantooine's all about. Of course, I'm sure if there's any trouble at all on this planet, you'd be able to find it."

I chuckled at his last comment. One didn't have to be astute to realize that the name "Mission Vao" was synonymous with "trouble."

"If Dantooine's so boring, then it won't be a big deal if Big Z and me go out and rile up the locals." Mission rationalized.

"You don't need to go out and start problems for the settlers." Carth said firmly.

"Carth Onasi has a point, Mission." I pointed out.

"Can it, fuzzy." Mission snapped.

When she turned back to Carth, Mission's face had resumed being saccharin sweet. "We're just dying of boredom in here, Carth." she said. "I'm sure you find it stuffy in here too, especially since the best conversation you can get is from a bleeping astromech droid."

"If I let you out of the Ebon Hawk, will you stop smiling at me like that?" Carth asked her.

"So you'll let me go?" Mission's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Yeah, but I'm coming too." Carth said. "If you get strung up on a tree by your lekku, I don't want to have on my conscience that I just sat here and did nothing while it happened."

"Fine, geezer." Mission sighed. "But you better not slow me down."

I think that Carth Onasi was right about Dantooine being boring. My sprightly cub seemed nearly nauseous by the dull landscape that greeted her. She tried her damnedest to find a shady cantina and a shells game, but luck evaded her. Every dark corner seemed to have been destroyed with cheery lanterns.

As the sun kissed the horizon, the three of us trudged back towards the Ebon Hawk. Mission's face was twisted and disgruntled. Whatever glorious plans she had had were smothered by reality.

As the daylight dimmed, all of the settlers retired for the evening. In that manner, they were unlike the Tarisians and more like my people. So, it was strange when a single woman remained outdoors while all others were safely in their homes.

Mission's impishness was rejuvenated in an instant. "Let's go see what she's doing." she urged.

"I'm hungry." I moaned softly.

"Hey, lady!" Mission called out.

The woman was startled by Mission's outcry but she was quite obviously both frantic and desperate. Her clothes were soiled and her hands were filthy from a day's work. The woman instantly launched into a plea regarding a missing person. The missing person upon questioning quickly turned into a missing droid. I will never be able to understand the fascination humans have with their belongings. If it were up to me, we would have turned around and headed back to the Ebon Hawk, but Mission was set on having an adventure.

"Wow. She really misses her droid, doesn't she?" Mission giggled.

"There's no need for you to make fun of her." Carth tried to sound fatherly, but I could see that he fought back his own laughter. "She's obviously desperate."

Mission's eyes brimmed with tears. "I'll say."

Carth and Mission fell into a fit of sniggers. When they had finished with their hysterics, they joined me. Amid the random chuckles that erupted from Carth and Mission, we headed back towards the Ebon Hawk.