Episode Five

No Home Like This

A crisp, white bandage had been snugly fashioned around Kazuda's face to cover his right eye. "This is not how I thought my week would go." His voice was small and his throat was tight. The emanating pain often proved to be a distraction while Tam spoke with him.

The shuttle's residential droid had managed to reroute eighty percent of total power to stabilizers. This allowed the hyperdrive to stay operational and the Rokkna had jumped with the coordinates to Coruscant plugged in.

Polle had moved to the floor, cross-legged and focused on deconstructing his rifle. He was quick to answer any questions Vrina had for him. The Mikkian leaned into his seat with both hands gripped together, comfortably balled on his lap. "Did you know Wegil would be with us?"

"What? No." The stocky man caught Vrina staring at his helmet. "You think I came with a disguise? Look at the scoring. The stories I could tell," he slowly inhaled and leaned back to stretch his spine. "How I've saved their lives more times than I can count."

The pilot helped her captain to his feet. Kaz clicked his tongue and chose to ignore the statement.

"Right. That's good," Vrina paused to meditate on their escape. "Because if Wegil recognized you—"

"There's no way, kid. He hardly spoke to me while I was his employee, let alone that little interaction we had. Used to just stop by and annoy me into giving him drinks." Polle blew a raspberry and rubbed his lips for a moment. "Maybe I should have done an accent."

Tam smirked as she exited back into the pilot's den with Kaz's arm locked in her grip. "Second guessing yourself?"

"I wasn't trying to. Say, why are you here, anyway?"

"M-me?" Vrina pointed to himself. Half-expecting one of the others to chime in, he realized he had been left alone with the bartender. "It's kind of confusing for me, too. Uh, well, Kaz seems to think that I'm a—" He sucked on his top lip and silently debated. "That I'm capable."

Polle raised an eyebrow and heaved a shrug. The man stood the reassembled rifle on its stock and inspected each part with a careful, yet wandering eye. "Well, you're alive, so either you're some sort of combat prodigy, or you just have really good instincts."

"The instincts part," he nodded. "Definitely."

Tam exited the cockpit and leaned against the hallway wall. "We'll be dropping soon. Hey, pink guy?" She nodded to Vrina. "How well do you know Coruscant?"

He hummed. "I rarely leave Galactic City, but sometimes I'll take a taxi for the sake of exploration. We could probably find a reliable mechanic in CoCo Town or the Coru Palisades."

With a whine, Polle raised his hand to step in. "I'd vote for whatever the Palisades are. No offense, kid, but we only have one ship and we'd rather not have it scavenged for parts." Vrina shrugged with indifference. The pilot nodded and peeled away from the wall to check up on Kaz in the cockpit. A moment of quiet passed and the bartender leaned toward the Mikkian. In a whisper: "He's probably out of the game for a while, but Tam is as capable as any soldier I've ever seen."

"Yeah, I've seen her in action. She's a great shot."

"Yes, she is. Definitely able to kick some butt. So," he cleared his throat and winked. "Whenever you're ready, just say the word."

Vrina tilted his head and stammered. "I-I'm not too sure what… Are you telling me to leave?" Resting the rifle against his inner shoulder blade, Polle spread both hands and lowered his gaze. "Why would I leave?"

"Oh, c'mon, kid." He scratched the back of his head. "You said it yourself. You don't have any combat experience and you've been surviving by the skin of your teeth. Listen, don't think that I can't see you because, man, I see you."

The Mikkian's brow folded and his shoulders tensed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Kaz wouldn't take an interest in just any random civilian. He wouldn't drag them from planet-to-planet if he didn't have a greater plan in mind, so, you have to figure out what you want to do and soon. Will you go home, or will you pick up a blaster and fight?"

"Are you saying that you expect the Federation to follow us?"

"Kid," he wiped his nose with the back of his hand in a quick jab. "They don't want to follow us. They want to follow the man who jumped twenty feet with hardly a running start."

Vrina leaned back in his seat and felt his cheeks flush. He moved to fit his head wrap back over his tendrils.

The ship lurched as it dropped out of hyperspace, the view from his seat taking in the glistening indigo planet of Coruscant that took up a majority of the console's viewfinder.

"I shouldn't be speaking for him," Polle continued in an even lower, almost inaudible voice. "But he's obsessed with the idea of those Jedi. Finding out where they are, enlisting them as proper security for the New Republic." He shook his head as if humored by the idea. "He's trying to get things 'back to normal'."

The exhausted Mikkian eased his posture. "Isten doesn't even seem to think that the Jedi or the Sith have a presence anymore."

"Ah, you lost me. Someone you met after your brave escape from Gil's Gab, I'm assuming." The two shared a grin but were interrupted by the sliding rustle of Kaz's hand feeling the wall that led back into the passenger hold. Polle straightened his spine and waved. "Hey, boss."

The bandaged man did not waste any time with formalities. "Vrina Hon, are there any medbays in the Palisades?"

"Just Vrina is fine. Uh, yeah. Two major facilities, but one is for more severe injuries. Not too sure where you'll end up. Oh," he grabbed his chin and looked away. Kaz crossed his arms. "A little hiccup. You need to have a permanent address in the Palisades before they can admit you."

With a sigh, the captain turned so the flat of his back could rest against the wall. "I'm going to lose my eye." He thumped his head twice.

Worshipping humor for the situation, Polle hesitantly asked, "Do you think that'll make you any worse of a shot?"

"Hey, now. You said it yourself," Kaz turned to stare him down with his one good eye. His wrists were tucked under each armpit. "I've improved over the years."

Tam called back from her seat, "Most people improve over the course of days, Kaz." Before anybody could respond with anything pardon laughter, she continued. "We have clearance to land. Whew. Looks like the Guard has short-term memory loss. Descending in—hold on."

The captain exhaled a rough groan and met up with her. "What now? What's going on?"

"So, we do have permission to land, just not in the Palisades. Looks like we'll have to walk. Jeez, what's up with this place?"

"Wow, it looks nice. Really nice." He stroked his beard while contemplating the layout.

The two examined a well-groomed village surrounded by a high, circular wall. In the short expanse of the Coru Palisades must have been the most concentration of green on the planet. Each building was white and gave ample room for others to breathe. "Not as suffocating as the rest of this planet," Tam remarked, impressed.

Vrina's voice startled the two. "Heh, sorry. I just wanted to say that if you thought the people of Coruscant who live in skyscrapers have wealth, wait until you meet these folk."

She steered the ship away from the Palisade docks and hailed another nearby landing bay. "How do you know about this place? Doesn't exactly seem like your territory—no offense."

"I had a gig here once." He could not hide his smirk. "It took hours to get there. Switched off on two different taxis, 'cause one wouldn't even take me past The Works. This was a while before I even met Wegil, but I was working at a lounge downtown. This really nice woman came up to me and asked if I could attend her son's birthday celebration."

Kaz raised his eyebrows. "As a guest of honor?"

A visible swallow traveled down the Mikkian's throat. "As a clown. That's, um, where I met Wegil."

"Strange question, but do you think that woman has any connection with the Federation?"

"What? She's so old, I doubt it. So sweet, too."

"Right," the captain blinked. "But she does have money and, apparently, connections."

"I wouldn't call Wegil a connection. I would say that he has connections." The two contemplated the statement for a moment before Vrina smacked himself on the forehead. "Oh, dosh. Maybe she does have something to do with the Federation. How is this planet always the center of everything corruption?"

Tam clicked her tongue. "Where there's an abundance of credits, there's an abundance of evil." The R9 unit chirped in a curious agreement. It remained a quiet fixture between the pilot and co-pilot's seats. Vrina had almost forgotten he was a part of the crew.

"Hey," the Mikkian leaned down to face the droid. It did not appear to have any sensors that could act as eyes, but a small radar helped it to ascertain its surroundings. "Thanks for saving our lives back there."

Kazuda and Tam shared a grimace of guilt before giving their thanks to Are-Nine as well. She said, "Without you, we probably would have been hunted down. Did Polle contact you or did you contact him?"

The droid cheerily blipped and the captain grinned. "Good thinking. Thanks, buddy."

A thought occurred to Vrina—the memory of their conversation with Isten and how their contact could have been working with the Federation the whole time. He bit his tongue, afraid that the man would overhear him.

Tam lowered the Rokkna into a dock just a short hike to the entrance of the Coru Palisades. The four disembarked and left Are-Nine to his own devices. The pilot requested that if he noticed anything strange, such as the presence of the Coruscant Security Force or the return of the Federation, he would immediately let them know. He agreed with a series of bright clicks.

The luxurious town shone like a beacon amongst the grit and smog that polluted Coruscant. Behind them, several kilometers, was the factory district—the sound of metallic scraping and heavy banging cascaded out to meet them. Kaz was caught staring at The Works and Tam grabbed his forearm. "You okay?"

Through a wistful sigh: "I wonder if my hearing will get better now that I'm blind."

"Oh, stop it with that. Your hearing is plenty good as it is. You're not going to lose an eye or go blind." She paused and muscled away a smirk. "I hope not, at least. Polle and I like to talk about you behind your back."

The heavy man saluted the two and winked. Kazuda expressed a gentle laugh; his nerves were on fire, and humor was the only salve.

Upon their disembark, they were all surprised to see how busy the landing bay was. One other ship—a cargo shuttle at least twice the height of the Rokkna. Its crew kept busy by polishing what they could of its scuffed and peeled hull. Their idle chatter numbed when the New Republic spies crossed their path.

Tam made sure to toss her hips to draw their attention onto her blaster. She could make out the image of two Twi'leks, a pair of Rodians, and one snickering Dug. Each of them also had a concise blaster. Vrina once received advice from an old employer: "Even if it's a brick, it's better than nothing."

Guarding their rear was the ever-watchful Polle, whose trusty A280 never left his person. Seeing the military-standard weapon casually equipped on the heavy man, a light skinned Rodian murmured to his friend. Kazuda floated behind his pilot, yet his attention remained as sharp as if both eyes were available to him.

The pain had begun to grow in intensity, with rapid stabs that drove into the back of his head to cause an intense migraine. He asked Vrina, "Why can't we go to another medbay? Something easy in the city?"

Before Polle could speak up, the Mikkian pointed his thumb back to acknowledge him. "He was right before. We should be careful about where we choose to dock. According to local lore, there are plenty of dynamics that have shifted on Coruscant in the last decade. I'm really too young to notice anything different, but my aunt—" His nostrils flared and he stifled the anecdote.

The masked man placed his heavy hand on Vrina's scrawny shoulder. "The less you share, the better. Try not to encumber us with sentiment of the past, 'cause it doesn't matter to any of us right now. Not even you."

"R-right. Sorry." The Mikkian cleared his throat and looked away. He exchanged glances with the quad-pedal Dug, who used its hind arms to crawl towards the group with long, quick lurches. Vrina pouted and stepped away. He had never encountered any of this species and felt an immediate disdain—though he hoped it was due to his caustic personality rather than his race.

The creature strafed along the slow gait of the group and spoke in truncated Basic. "You are going the wrong way," he sneered. One of his free arms pointed in the direction of the Coru Palisades. "No one will take you there."

Tam rolled her eyes. "Thanks for your input." She stopped short when the Dug hopped in her way and examined her outfit.

"Good blaster, recently used," both free hands mimicked the shape of her weapon and he clicked several times as if firing invisible rounds from the tips of his fingers. He looked behind the woman and grinned. "Shot out your friend's eye, hm? Not looking very healthy."

"Would you leave us alone?" Tam's hand moved to the hilt of her DL-18 and the creature backed away with a chuckle.

Kazuda's voice seeped from his mouth as his right foot scuffed along the silty path. "H-hey, I'm… I'm…" The man collapsed forward with an airy grunt. He was caught by his pilot and crouched to comfortably lay him on the ground.

"Oh, no. Kaz?" She patted his cheeks and frowned. The Dug watched as her remaining crew members gathered around the fallen Human. Polle kept one hand on his rifle while watching the creature's crew meet up with him as well. They were quiet and inquisitive, each of them respectful enough to keep their weapons holstered but probing enough to invade their personal space. "Can you all just—give us some space?!"

The Dug hummed and stroked his chin. "Ah, you wanted grade-A medical care, hm? It is unfortunate that they will not let you into their gates. However," he clicked twice. "It is fortunate that you have met us." He turned to his crew and snapped his fingers. The two Rodians nodded and rushed to their ship with the Twi'leks on stand-by.

Vrina felt the sense of unease decay, but Polle and Tam were still defensive. The Human man said, "Whatever you told them to do, end it. We don't need your help and we don't need to waste any more time."

"Such a shame that you won't even hear us out!"

"Polle," the Mikkian said with a short exhale. "I think he genuinely wants to help."

"It doesn't sound like it."

"That's—maybe that's just his tone?"

The Dug blinked and crossed two of its forearms. "What is wrong with my tone? No matter, would you like to hear our offer?" His eyes turned to the two Rodians who carried with them a small, durasteel crate. They struggled with its weight as it required both of their strength to transport.

It was lowered to the ground and unlocked by one of the two Rodians, who spoke in Huttese. Only Polle was familiar with the language and, with a creased brow, thanked the friendly gesture with a nod. "Stim packs," he said through a sigh. "We can take a few."

Tam asked, "How will that save his eye?" Her heartbeat was arrhythmic with anxiety.

"It'll help to slow down any nerve damage and give him back some energy." Polle reached to grab a glowing blue syringe from the crate and the second Rodian shut the lid with his foot. The Dug walked to the box and gestured to it.

"It is easy for us to say we were waylaid by pirates," he spat. "And nobody on Athulla of all places would ask any questions. Now, the question I have for you is simple: what are you willing to trade?"

Vrina stood up to face the short creature. He motioned for both of his crew mates to remain silent. "We're willing to trade information."

The Dug scratched the bridge of his nose and peered at his crew. After a moment of silence, there was explosive laughter. "Information? I can not upgrade my ship with information! I can not pay my crew with information!"

"You'd be surprised."

"Go on, then," the creature shook his head, still cackling. "Surprise me!"

With hard eyes, the Mikkian stared him down. "I'll go first. What other equipment do you have on your ship?"

"Why would you ask me that?" The Dug sobered and frowned. "You aren't actually pirates, are you? No, your outfits are too clean."

"If you answer my question, I'll answer yours."

Polle gently punched Vrina's ankle. He winced but did not move. The man shook his head.

After a long moment of contemplation, the Dug responded. "Very well. We have only medical equipment on board. Some of them machines, but mostly bacta stims. How did your friend get injured?"

Vrina raised his chin and considered lying. He knew that there was no way to be certain that the creature had not already lied to him. To his side, he could feel the anxiety of his crew mates rise. "We were in a firefight with a handful of droids."

"Oh," the creature blinked, enthused. "Droids! Where?"

"Not before I ask my question. Who are you taking this equipment to on Athulla?"

The Rodians whispered to each other and the Dug nodded, his eyes never moving from their place on the Mikkian's face. "As it turns out, I do not find any of this information useful." He snapped and the twin aliens heaved the crate upward.

Polle growled and stood up to join Vrina. "Wait," he gritted his teeth. "We can offer you a droid."

A simple nod of the head as the Dug crawled to face the heavy Human. "Ah, now you understand what is valuable. Something I can feel, something I can sell. Where is it?"

"He's—it's on our ship. An Are-Nine astromech, recently purchased. Only been with us for a few weeks." He pulled his eyes away from the creature to look at Tam, whose brow-line was stuck in a v-shape. "But, you have to answer my friend's question, too."

"A brand new astromech droid for a box of crummy stims? How much does this one mean to you?" He paused to inspect the unconscious body of Kazuda. "Perhaps, how much does this one mean to the galaxy?" The Dug glanced back up and a grin formed on its face. "No matter. I accept the terms of your deal. Buhi, help out our new friends."

After setting the crate onto the ground, the light-green Rodian dug in and revealed a gleaming stim pack. He tossed it to Polle, who deftly caught it and was quick to administer it into Kazuda's neck.

The bearded man seethed and opened his eye to the image of his entire crew surrounding him. "D-did I trip or something?"

"Or something," Tam grinned and used the back of her forefingers to stroke his face. The two felt a strange dissonance from the action and she moved to pinch his cheek.

"Ow! Why?"

"Come on, get up." She was helped up by Polle, who then helped Kaz rise to his feet.

The Dug clapped with its two free hands and mocked wiping a tear from its eye. Confusion settled into The Rokkna's captain as he inspected a sea of new faces. "Okay. What's happening?"

"We'll fill you in later," Vrina shrugged. "But right now, our new friend is about to answer my question. Who are you taking the supplies to?"

"Hm! I've still yet to receive your droid," the creature countered. He whistled for his crew to walk back to their ship. They each shared in low chatter and some excited laughter.

Kazuda shook his head and felt a dull pain return to his temples. "What about a droid? Wait—Are-Nine?" He felt the gentle touch of Tam on his lower back. The man turned and pouted. "Why are we giving them Are-Nine?"

"Kaz," she started with a light head shake. "You were going to… There's no way we could have made it to a medbay in time." The pilot pointed to the still-open crate of stim packs. He looked away and exhaled with a shake.

In a low, solemn voice, "But we just got him."

"I know, I know, but your life is much more important to us than some droid. Come on, let's not keep them waiting."

Both the captain and his pilot headed to The Rokkna in silence. Polle walked past Vrina and dragged him by his frail wrist to follow. "You know, kid," the man started with clenched teeth. "You don't get to make those calls. By the time all of this is over and Captain Xiono is back to normal, I'll make sure to hand deliver you to some run-down cocktail lounge myself."

The Mikkian did not feel the need to respond. He simply pulled away and trotted behind Polle with a sour expression on his face. By the time they had reached the Rokkna and boarded to wipe Are-Nine's memory clean, Vrina had already begun to distance himself.

He sat down in the passenger hold and waved for the others to go on without him. "I'm just a bit tired. I'm, uh, not used to running around all over the galaxy."

"Well, get used to it, bud," Kaz winked with his one good eye. To Vrina, it looked like a strange wince, but appreciated the sentiment regardless.

Polle was the last to leave and he was in charge of carrying the astromech droid out of the ramp. He looked back to the Mikkian and quietly exhaled. Soon, Vrina Hon was alone.

The smell of burnt rubber still hung in the hull's interior and reminded him of the very few yet quite intense adventures he had been on since meeting Kazuda Xiono. He wondered how much different every scenario would have gone if he had willed himself to pick up the Trandoshan's DL-44 and fight his way out. Would he have earned the man's respect, and therefore Polle's?

Time passed slowly while he meditated on each potential timeline. If he had not trusted himself to walk the security droid away from his acquaintances, the Federation officers could have breached and outgunned them in an instant. Even tripping over a rock seemed to be a part of the universe's grand scheme. If he hadn't, the officers never would have felt confident enough to breach.

His eyes opened with a flutter and a blue Twi'lek female raised her blaster to the center of Vrina's forehead. "Sorry," she said while her wrist tensed. "But the droid's not enough."