Warning: Mature content ahead. Just look for the bold and underlined warning if you want to avoid the LEMON section.

Hyperspace - Aboard the Rogue Explorer

It was several days between Dantooine and Nar Shadda with a point three hyperdrive and there really wasn't much to do aboard the ship. In fact, Juno was amusing herself by pretending to read the operator manual for every part of the ship while actually watching Gal- Starkiller. At the moment, he was hunched over the cooking unit, making them a snack out of sheer boredom. It was a pretty good view, too. He was wearing one of the Alliance duty uniforms - a simple tan outfit with lots of pockets. But Starkiller had gotten into the habit of not wearing the uniform jacket, instead simply wearing the gray tank-top undershirt tucked into his combat pats. Yes, the view was quite satisfying as he bent over the the machine trying to figure it out.

"Do you need help over there?" she asked casually.

"No, I think I have it;" he said, though his voice was less than confident.

With a chuckle, Juno set her book aside and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind and asking, "What are you making us?"

His whole body had tensed, as if the close contact was paralyzing him. "Um... I uh- was just thinking some of the soup and biscuits but uh..."

He seemed to be loosing focus for some reason. With a chuckled, she let him go and said, "Why don't you go find something to do? I can put a light meal together for us."

Starkiller rolled his eyes. "Find what to do? There's nothing on this ship - no Dejarik, no holo-simulators. Did you think to bring a deck of pazaak or sabacc cards? Because I sure didn't - and you won't let me train with my lightsabers in the ship either."

It was true. She had told them the day they had taken off that if she found so much as a scorch mark on her new ship, she would take his lightsabers and space them. Considering that he had just constructed them, Starkiller wasn't anxious to test her threat. He gave her a mock-aggrieved look. "You know, it hurts my feelings that you don't trust my skills enough to not cut the ship to pieces."

"Well you did lose to PROXY. I just figure it isn't worth the risk;" she teased.

"That was the only lightsaber duel I've ever lost to him or to anyone else since I completed my training;" he said with just a hint of petulance. "Besides, that form took me completely by surprise. I had no idea what I was up against."

Stepping back with a mischievous grin, Juno said in a whiny imitation of his voice. "But Motherrrr! He cheated and I wasn't readyyyy!"

"Oh... you are asking for it, Juno."

She lifted an eyebrow in response. "Really? What exactly am I asking for? Hmmm?"

Of course, he really had no answer for her. Shaking his head, he turned back to the cooking unit and said, "You are sooo lucky you're so cute."

"Please;" laughed Juno. "You're all empty threats, Starkiller. I know for a fact that you won't do a thing."

Slowly, he turned and faced her. The look on his face was stony but his eyes were twinkling with amusement. "If that's the case, then why are you backing towards the cockpit?"

"Um..." she replied, still smiling and taking another step backwards.

He hadn't moved except that his lips had curved into a smile. Juno glanced out of the corner of her eye to locate the door release. With a sound that was similar to a gust of wind, Starkiller had her, almost pinning her against the cockpit.

Juno was acutely aware of exactly how close they were. Their torsos were less than six centimeters apart and their lips-

"So what are you going to do with me, then?" she said, her voice breathless.

She shifted so that she was pressing against him. Starkiller was just as aware as she was of their proximity. "Uh..." he said, "I uh..." he began to lean in and every fiber of Juno's being begged him to keep leaning in. "I actually... hadn't thought that far... ahead."

Juno closed her eyes and moments later, felt his lips press to hers. Her entire body began to tingle and all of her senses were suddenly hyper aware. She could almost feel the cords of the muscles of his arms as they wrapped around her and the plains of his chest as she pressed herself against them. She could smell the generic cleanser the Alliance ordered for its troops mixed with Starkiller's own natural scent, a very pleasing smell in her mind. She could taste him and the fact that he had fairly recently brushed his teeth - probably to get rid of the taste of the last meal he had tried to prepare. She could hear her own heart hammering in her chest like a piston. Her own arms wrapped around him, one on the back of his head, pushing him in to continue kissing her while the other was gripping the front of his shoulder. Through her hazy thoughts, Juno came to the conclusion that this man was absolutely marvelous.

"Master? Captain Eclipse? I've just figured out how to work all the high-end surveillance equipment in the tech-station!"

Slowly, they pulled away and Starkiller turned to PROXY and said, "That's great, PROXY. I'm sure that it will come in handy in the future."

"Excuse me;" said Juno, still breathless after the kiss as she squeezed by Starkiller and PROXY. Behind the droids back, she looked back at Starkiller and smiled. "Later" she mouthed before heading back to the cooking unit and beginning to work on it.

Starkiller felt something he hadn't felt in a long time - if he had ever felt it at all. Desire had wormed its way into him and he wasn't altogether sure how to handle it. Neither he nor Galen Marek had exactly received the sort of training that he was sure most beings growing up out in the galaxy had gotten - either from their public education facility or from a parent or guardian. He knew how all the parts worked in conjunction with one another, of course, but the getting to that point was way beyond his reckoning. "Is there a problem, Master?" asked PROXY.

Starkiller snapped out of his thoughts and said, "No, not at all, PROXY."

"I was wondering if at some point, we could try to find someone to make some outer cover plating for me. With all my wires, pistons and gears exposed, the damage to my parts on a dirty world like Nar Shadda could be catastrophic."

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Starkiller said, "Alright, PROXY. We'll make sure to get you an expertly done custom job on Nar Shadda. I promise."

Juno chuckled over at the station even though she had half a mind to shut the droid down for interrupting them when it was just getting good. She could tell by the look of frustration on his face that Starkiller felt the same way. Now the Jedi would lose his confidence and start wondering if it was a good idea to pursue her. But she wanted him to. With all of her will, she wanted him to be with her. Perhaps she hadn't quite made that clear enough or perhaps she just wanted to show him how much she was willing to commit. But then again, was he willing to commit? Or had something changed in the passed year. There was only one way to find out.

The nightmare visited Starkiller again that night. It wasn't quite the same as before. It seemed that the phantoms of the Alliance's leadership were satisfied with his answer - which of course probably meant that he was satisfied with his answer for them. But the phantom of Juno continued to ask him the same question: "Who are you?"

He had started giving her another answer now though. "I don't know who I am. All I know is that I love you."

Even so, she would turn her back and walk away.

Starkiller went up to the cockpit and did a quick check of the instrument panel. Everything was in order. It was less than ten hours to Nar Shadda and he knew he should try to get back to sleep. Instead, he went to the lounge, grabbed a spare blanket, folded it up, sat on it and began to meditate. Inevitably, the light rustle of cloth announced Juno's entrance into the room. "Starkiller?"

He pulled himself out of the meditative state and opened his eyes. There she stood, a too-large brown Jedi robe wrapped around her body for warmth. Starkiller chuckled. "Do you still in that thing?"

"Yes;" she said before coming over and sitting on the ground in front of him, pulling the robe more tightly around her. "Same nightmare?"

"Yes."

"What do you think it means?"

Starkiller shook his head. "It's not a force vision or anything like that. I think it's just my own insecurities."

Juno waited for him to elaborate but he didn't, so she coaxed him. "Your insecurities about the Alliance or your Jedi training?"

"No, those I'm very sure about."

Again, he was silent. "So about me, then?" she asked, reaching over and taking his hands.

Finally, Starkiller looked up at her. "I just don't know- I mean- I don't know."

She was quiet, waiting patiently for him to explain. Finally, he asked something she had wondered many times. "How can you feel this way for me? I'm not- I may not be Galen Marek. I'm just a counterfeit, a rip-off and a pale shadow of one who was once a powerful Jedi Knight."

"Because I think that you are Galen Marek;" she said, squeezing his scarred and callused hands.

"But you can't know that;" he said.

"Listen to me;" she said. "you are everything that he was. You are everything that I needed him to be. Don't you understand?"

His eyes furrowed slightly. "What do you mean, what you needed him to be?"

"Galen Marek gave me a new life and help me see the Empire for what it was. He showed me where the fight was and who the enemy was. Before you came back, I was languishing on the bridge of a frigate waiting for command to simply make up their minds. Now, you're here again and I know where the fight is and who the enemy is again."

Starkiller chuckled and said, "Was there ever any doubt who the enemy was? After Corellia, I mean."

"I suppose not, just who the immediate adversary was."

"Vader;" he growled. "It will always be Vader."

Juno shrugged. "Perhaps and perhaps not. All I know is that while you're here, I'll always be sure and, once again, you are giving me a new life."

He looked down. "Even so, are you sure-" but she stopped him by placing a finger against his lips and leaning in to kiss him.

Just as before, she could feel, smell, taste and hear everything, and just as before it was overwhelming her senses with desire - desire and arousal. After several long moments, she pulled away and stood. "Come on. Let's go to bed."

Starkiller nodded and stood to his feet. Juno took his hand and they headed towards their quarters. When he tried to go into his own, Juno held on. "Where are you going?" she asked.

His slight confusing turned into a flutter of anxiety and anticipation. "Oh..." he said, blushing madly. "You meant go to bed - together."

"Yes I did;" Juno said with a smile. "Come on, Starkiller. You know, we really need to think of another name to call you until we get your whole identity crisis figured out."

Changing his name was the very last thing on Starkiller's mind. He heart was pounding and he was hyperventilating as she pulled him into her quarters. Another one of Galen Marek's long cloaks - a black one this time, was lying on the bed as well while the blankets seemed to have been kicked off the foot of the bed. "You don't use blankets?" he asked.

Juno shrugged self-consciously. "After Corellia, I was in mourning. I would wrap these and cry myself to sleep every night. Then, every morning, I would wake up and put on a brave and confident face. It was... hard."

"I'm sorry;" he said, after a pause, but Juno smiled and pulled him towards the bed.

"But why? You're here now."

Warning: Mature Content Begins Here!

Despite the chilly atmosphere, she shrugged off the cloak and tossed it onto the bed. Starkiller's mouth hung slightly open as she crawled into bed in only a rather small, tight sleeveless shirt and a pair of generic gray undergarments. "What are you waiting for?" she chuckled and beckoned him to join her.

Starkiller complied almost gingerly. He himself was bare-chested and wore a simple pair of pants he had pilfered from the Alliance's medical wing to sleep in back on Dantooine. As he lay on the beds, he grabbed the blankets at the foot and polled them up with him. Juno snuggled under them and the robes. As he lay back, she rose up on her elbows and kissed him again. As his arms wrapped around her, Juno decided that she was going to push the envelope. Slipping passed his lips, she kissed down his neck and chest. "Juno-"

"SSHHH," she said, "Just relax. I want this and so do you, don't you?"

She continued kissing the plains of his chest before sitting up and removing one of her two remaining garments. Again, his mouth hung open as he gazed tactlessly at her bared flesh. She rolled over and removed her only remaining garment before whispering. "Be fair. Lose the trousers, Love."

Again, a wave of anxiety and self-doubt hit him and she smiled and pressed against him. "Starkiller," she whispered in his ear, "We can't very well make love if you are wearing those - and I would very much like to."

She moved so that he could slide them down his legs and tossed them over the side of the bed. Lying on her side, she kissed him again as one hand reached beneath the blankets and found his increasingly hardening manhood. Starkiller's whole body tensed and a very uncharacteristic strangled groan uttered from his throat. Juno laughed quietly and said, "This is your first time doing any of this, isn't it?"

He nodded a little jerkily. Juno ran her other hand over his very short, bristly hair as she said, "Relax, Love. Let me show you how."

"But..." and he gulped and said, "but what about you?"

"What do you mean?" asked Juno as she continued to stroke.

"How do I make you feel good?"

Juno smiled with pleasure and said, "We can worry about that another time. Right now, I just want you - and this."

She changed position again, swinging one leg over so that she straddled his waist. Her look of desire and anticipation was almost as arousing to him as all of her glorious bare flesh that was visible to him. Tentatively, he lifted his hands, only to be surprised when Juno grabbed one of them and pressed it to her generous breasts. It was more than a handful for sure and Juno's response was incredible. She moaned and said, "Touch me, Love. Do what ever you want and touch me wherever you want."

Still quite hesitantly, he complied and began to run his hands over her smooth flush, paying special attention to her reaction more than his own enjoyment. As he did, Juno stroked his length a few times and then set the tip against her slit. Biting her lip and closing her eyes, she slowly slid down. Again, Starkiller made that strangled noise and Juno gave a long moan and inhaled sharply. "Are you alright?" asked Starkiller, sounding just a little unfocused.

"It's been a long time and you aren't exactly a small man down there, Love. I'm alright. I just need to adjust and wait for my body to get used to you."

He nodded and sat up, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her again. Juno sighed into the kiss and deepened it, running her tongue around his lips before driving it into his mouth. Gently, she pushed him onto his back before bracing her hands on his shoulders and slowly beginning moving her hips rhythmically up and down his manhood. Immediately, she moaned and her hands tightened on his shoulders.

Starkiller didn't know what to do. The sensations zinging through his body like energy bolts were scrambling the majority of his coherent thought. As if by instinct, his hands began to move over Juno's soft, smooth flesh, touching and caressing her and somehow increasing her pleasure. In the fuzziness of his mind, he fervently wished that he knew what he was doing because he wanted her to enjoy this as much as he was. Waves of pleasure were cascading over him as Juno's moans became more insistent and her movements became faster and more furious. Inside of him, Starkiller began to feel an utterly unfamiliar and incredibly intense pressure growing. His muscles began to tighten and, to his surprise, he finger sparked just slightly. To his surprise, Juno moaned even more loudly and continued her frantic movements. As the pressure continued to build, more sparks flew from his hands and some of the objects around the room began to tremble.

Juno didn't notice. Her eyes were shut tight, her hands gripping his muscular shoulders and her mouth open in unending moans. Just as Starkiller felt the pressure within him bursting in a powerful cascade of ecstasy and pleasure, his lover threw her head back in a scream, muffled only by one of her hands. Lightning flashed from Starkiller's hands, though he was able to prevent it hurting either of them or doing any damage. He wasn't, however, able to prevent an old TIE pilot helmet, a newer Rebel pilot helmet or a couple blaster pistols, minus their power packs, from dropping to the services they had levitated from with audible clatters. Juno almost collapsed out of the bed and Starkiller barely managed to catch her before she hit the floor, using the force to lift her back up and securely into his arms. She gave a soft chuckle and snuggled down into her arms. "Thanks for the catch, Love. That was definitely not bad for your first time."

"Uh-huh..." murmured Starkiller in a daze.

Everything around him seemed like it was glowing and his face was morphed into a ridiculous smile. He just knew it was. Juno looked up and him and smiled too before resting her head on his chest.

End of Mature Content

After they had recovered somewhat, Juno suddenly said, "Jakob Nion."

Starkiller looked at her, one brow raised. "Say again?"

"Jakob Nion. If I remember right from what Kota said about your- Galen Marek's mother, her maiden name was Mallie Nion and Jakob was his father's Jedi Master's first name. So that's what we'll call you until we get this all sorted out."

Starkiller smiled. It would be good to have an actual name and not just his one-time Sith call sign. "Jakob Nion. I like it."

Juno smiled warmly and said, "We'll have to do that some more."

"Do what? Oh... right. Yeah, that was definitely something else. I'm definitely game whenever you are."

Surprised by the warmth that filled her body, Juno kissed him happily and said, "Well then get ready because we are going to be doing that a lot. But right now, we have about eight hours before the hyperspace alarm goes off. I suggest we get a little more sleep."

Starkiller was about to agree when he was interrupted by a cavernous yawn. Juno giggled. "I'm glad you agree. Here, pull the blanket over us."

He obliged and lay back comfortably. Juno settled into his arms, her head resting on his shoulder and her hand on his chest. For the first time since he had escaped Kamino, Starkiller slept without a nightmare.

Nar Shaddaa - the Red Light Sector

As soon as they had landed, a wave of emotions and memories flooded over Starkiller concerning Nar Shaddaa. Flashes from the fight above in space and the from searching for Rahm Kota, whom he ultimately found on Cloud City on Bespin, flooded his mind. Juno took his arm. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah;" he said, rubbing his temples. "Just dealing with some of Galen Marek's old memories. Anyhow, General Kota said a Casino to make a living."

Juno frowned. "But there are dozens here. Which one's do we check?"

Starkiller closed his eyes and stretched out to the force, trying to detect any who might be strong in it. For several long minutes, he sensed nothing but suddenly, there was a ripple. "This way;" he said, pointing down the street.

Nar Shaddaa was owned and operated by the Hutt Cartels. There were booths where different kinds of spice and other narcotics were being sold brazenly, despite the uniformed Imperial soldiers walking by. Bootlegged alcohol was also for sale, plus numerous counterfeit holo-films and other such products. Pleasure slaves or over a dozen different species were sashaying around in garments ranging from quite-revealing to next-to-nothing. Several seemed interested in Starkiller but he just lifted his hands and said in his limited Huttese that he was not interested. "What are they saying?" asked Juno, though she had a pretty good idea since it was rather obvious.

"They're uh... offering me their services;" explained Starkiller with a blush.

"Ah. And you're saying?"

"That I'm not interested."

Juno chuckled as they entered a brightly lit Casino with a holographic sign of a seductively slouching human female or perhaps near-human female in a very revealing outfit. Starkiller closed his eyes again and reached out. Again, he felt a ripple through the force from inside the Casino. "Keep your blaster in its holster;" he murmured. "Hutt security tends to be overly enthusiastic and have zero qualms about simply offing a troublemaker and tossing them to the ferals in the Under City;" said Starkiller.

Juno nodded, her face looking confident and unconcerned but he could see the anxiety in her eyes and feel it permeating her presence. Giving her a confident, almost cocky smile, he said, "Hey, we'll be fine, Juno. Don't worry."

He brushed her cheek and they headed in.

The inside of the Casino was well lit and looked beautiful. Ornate chandeliers that used luminescent crystals to light the massive hall hung from the ceilings and all around, beings were playing at various card games or dice games. There were long banks of slot machines as well and beings from a hundred species milling around and drinking expensive drinks. This was most definitely a high end casino with beings who surely did not live on Nar Shaddaa patronizing it.

Following his senses, Starkiller sensed the tiny ripples in the force until he came to a dice table off to a side. It had quite a few beings around it but he elbowed his way into the space. Across from him was a man who was wearing a tunic, trousers and cloak that were out of place in the finery around them. Across his face, just below his eyes was a green stripe, a sign that he was a Kiffar. As he rolled the dice again, his hand barely followed them. This had to be Quinlan Vos.

With a tiny smile, Starkiller waited for the elderly Kiffar's turn. When it came, he watched and waited. Just as it looked like the dice would land on what Vos needed, Starkiller gave them a nudge, causing them to fall away from what Vos needed. Immediately, the Kiffar Jedi Master glared at him and forked over the credit chips that he owed. It still left him with quite a few. Vos studied Starkiller for several long moments before taking his chip carrier and heading towards the cashing station. From a distance, Juno and Starkiller watched him and followed him out of the casino. He wasn't hard to follow and Starkiller murmured, "Go ahead and go back to the ship. I'll contact you if there's a problem. Actually, why don't you see about getting some covering/protective plating for PROXY?"

Juno frowned and said, "This could be dangerous, Jakob. You might need me for backup."

Starkiller smiled at her use of his knew name and cupped her cheek. "I don't plan on fighting. I just want to talk to him. That's all. Go on. I'll call you with an update soon."

Clearly not happy about it, Juno leaned in and kissed him before hurrying back towards the landing docks.

Turning back, Starkiller was just in time to see the old master turn down an alley way - obviously wanting confront his pursuer out of the public eye.

As Starkiller ran and rounded the corner, their he was, standing their with his arms crossed. His long dreadlocks had gray in them and his face was craggy with age and sorrow. "You'd better have a good reason for messing up my game and following me, stranger."

"Master Vos;" said Starkiller, stretching his arms out to his side slightly to show that his hands are empty. "I just want to talk and ask you a few questions."

Suddenly behind him, Starkiller heard the snap-hiss of a lightsaber and instinctively dodged and cartwheeled to the side before igniting one of his lightsabers and catching a blow on it. A younger Kiffu, even younger than Starkiller, glared at him and growled, "Back off, Darksider!"

"Darksider?" asked Starkiller indignantly.

He was about to object when another snap-hiss interrupted him. Master Vos was after him too, forcing him to draw his second weapon. Deciding that backpedaling and getting some separation would be wise, he began to spin and cartwheel away but they pursued him. Using a force repulse technique to gain some space, Starkiller leaped onto a low overhang. "Master Vos, wait! I'm not a dark sider. Master Kota sent me."

That caused both of them to stop. "You have sixty seconds, Kid;" said the older master.

"My name is St- Jakob Nion. General Kota told me I could find you here. He said that you knew something that could help me. If you'll just give five minutes without you or your son trying to kill me, I can explain everything."

After a long pause, Quinlan extinguished his weapon and said, "We'll hear him out for the moment, Korto. Close down your weapon."

With a sigh of relief, Starkiller closed his own weapons. "Toss those down, Kid;" called Quinlan. "If you don't mean us any harm, you won't need them."

After just a moment of hesitation, Starkiller obeyed and then hopped down. The younger one, Korto, rolled up his sleeve, revealing a chronometer. "Five minutes. Go."

As quickly as possible, Starkiller explained everything, including a brief account of Galen Marek, the founding of the Rebel Alliance, his birth on Kamino and escape, the ensuing battle and victory, the capture of Darth Vader and his subsequent escape and finishing with the discovery of a second dark side apprentice of Vader's and their current predicament.

When he had finished, Korto tapped his chrono. "Done;" and he looked at his father.

Quinlan studied Starkiller for a long moment before sighing. "Kid, I can't help you fight the Empire. After the Clone Wars and these dark and terrible times of the Empire, I'm tired of war and battle. I just want to live in peace, bring home a little money every few days and wait for the force to call me to the other side."

"I don't expect you to help me fight, Master;" said Starkiller. "I just want you to teach me the Vaapad techniques."

Vos snorted and shook his head. "I'm no master of Vaapad, Kid. I know the techniques and I know the philosophy and state of mind but it's dangerous for those of us who walk on the edge - and trust me kid, I can sense that you will be constantly teetering."

Korto was gazing at his father with almost hungry eyes. Starkiller guessed that he wanted to learn the Vaapad techniques as well. "Master Vos, I understand your desire to stay out of the war but I urge you to pass on any knowledge you have. You fought against Darth Tyranus and his dark acolytes during the war. Surely there is something you would be willing to do to help bring down the Empire without getting directly involved."

Quinlan Vos snorted again and said, "Kid, let me tell you a story. Almost thirty years ago now, Darth Sidious, who is Emperor Palpatine if you didn't know that, began a long plan to destroy the Jedi Order, take over the Republic, turn it into his own Sith Empire and rule over the whole blasted thing. Do you know what he did to ensure that it would happen?"

Starkiller waited. "He tricked one Jedi into becoming his Sith Apprentice and used him to convince another Jedi to order the Clone Army. At the same time, the Republic began to fracture and a large number of sectors and systems began to threaten to secede. Fast forward ten years and tens of thousands of systems are now leaving the Republic and threatening war, all led by that same Sith Apprentice. The Sith master had absolute control of both sides the whole, long, terrible war. As Chancellor Palpatine, he practically ruled the Republic and as Darth Sidious, he absolutely ruled the Confederacy of Independent Systems, or the Separatist Alliance - whatever you want to call it. My point is, there is no beating a Sith Lord who managed to play both sides against the middle and effectively used them both to wipe out the Jedi Order."

"Some Jedi escaped - clearly;" said Starkiller, motion to Vos. "Not just you either. Rahm Kota escaped and so did several others. As I said, I'm not asking you to join the war, Master Kota. I just want you to teach me the Vaapad velocities and the combat theory and philosophy behind it and then I'll be long gone."

There was a long silence before Vos said, "I cannot help you, Jakob Nion. Go and fight your war and may the force be with you."

Starkiller was about to protest but then sensed something in the old man. "If you've decided, I can't change your mind. May the force be with you and I hope you live in peace."

The two Kiffu handed him back his lightsabers.

As the stranger walked away, Korto looked at his father. "I understand why you are unwilling to get involved. I really do;" he said respectfully and cautiously. "But can't you at least teach him the techniques that you know?"

Quinlan shook his head. "The light and the dark are at war within that one. I sense fear and anguish in him. If he were to embrace the Vaapad techniques, it could take him to a dark place."

"Dad, you read his lightsabers, didn't you? Because I did and after everything that Vader put him through, I highly doubt that he will ever turn back to the darkness. Jakob Nion, if that is his name, will be a man who always gazes into the abyss and yet always is tied firmly to the light so that the abyss will never draw him in."

Quinlan sighed and took his son's shoulder. "You, my boy, are entirely too logical and wise for your young age. Come on. I'm sure your mother will have dinner ready and you know how sour she can be if we're late."

Korto allowed himself to be lead away but had to say one more thing. "If we can give them just one edge, just one skifter in the hole, maybe that is all that it will take to make all the difference in this war. And we'll have done our part, Dad and not even been involved in the fighting."

Quin chuckled. "Lad, why is it that you aren't asking to go off with him? If you're anything like your old man, you must be dying to."

Korto chuckled. "It's not time yet. Some day, I'll leave Nar Shaddaa but thus far, my place is here. Besides, it's not like the Imperials or the Hutts or any other criminal organizations are going anywhere. There is plenty of good we can do right here on Nar Shaddaa."

Quinlan nodded and said, "I'll meditate on it and you do the same. Who knows, I might even change my mind."

Korto laughed. "Dad, you never change your mind."