Chapter 3 - Flying Sparks and Smoking Blasters

!FYI! The events in this story are taking place approximately one year before the events of the Phantom Menace !FYI!

The Wheel - Besh Gorgon System

"So, that's it. We're here...I guess," Nick said and looked back at Judy. Both of them had crawled on all fours through a small air shaft to avoid contact with their persecutors at all costs. Judy, however, looked unconvinced back at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? After all, this is your third attempt to find the right exit and just to remind you of your failure, Nick, the other two were a female locker room and the storage room of a bar," Judy replied.

"I know, Carrots but this time I'm 120% sure. Isn't the saying third times a charm? And in my defense, I'm the guy who knows every important person in the galaxy and not every air shaft," Nick replied and took his lightsaber into his paw. Four quick cuts did the trick and with a loud bang slammed the heavy piece of metal to the ground of the corridor underneath them.

"Bunnies first," Nick asked and put on a charming smile.

"If you insist, Mr. Wilde?"

"Oh, I surely do, Miss Hopps."

Cheered up from the small gesture, Judy tried to crawl past Nick in the small air shaft. Both of them came for a moment face to face with each other, when their movement stopped and they were stuck because of the tight air shaft. Eyes locked on the other person and both stopped whatever they were doing or thinking and concentrated just on their counterpart. Seconds passed but none of the two was moving.

Judy felt how her heart began to beat faster, 'What is wrong with me today? I should concentrate on completing my mission and not Nick's red fur or his green eyes.'

"Carrots?"

"Mmh," Judy replied, almost like in a trance.

"As much as I hate to end this moment... but I guess we have to go. You know the guys who want to catch us alive are still out there, probably searching for us right now," Nick mumbled without turning his eyes away from hers.

"Mmh," Judy replied again and snapped finally out of her daydreams, "O-o-of course. We have to go. How could we waste time like this."

Feeling the awkwardness of the unusual situation, Judy quickly moved on and jumped without looking down into the empty corridor. She cushioned her fall with the force and exhaled deeply, now where she had some space between her and Nick.

'It was a rough day, Judy. That's the reason why you're acting like this. Not the fight or that he saved your life or that he took care of you...Just pretend that nothing happened and he will give up on the topic. Never forget, emotions are something you should keep under control and not let control you,' Judy reminded herself. She took another deep breath and stroked over her ears to stop them from standing up. When she touched them, they felt like burning coals and were probably just as red.

Nick followed soon after, his eyes still focused on the bunny and waiting for a reaction from her but she kept quiet.

"So...do you just want to pretend that nothing happened and move on," Nick asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know...maybe the sparks that were flying between us? Not that I would instantly fall for a bunny like you…," Nick said and smirked at her.

Judy moved on and replied as casually as possible, "Sparks? I have no idea what you're talking about, Nick. Maybe your imagination is playing tricks on you?"

"Oh, Don't worry Missy. I know pretty well what just happened. But maybe you can enlighten me, what that was," Nick replied and crossed his arms in front of his chest. His smirk vanished slowly from his muzzle and his tone became more and more sarcastic.

Exhaling deeply, Judy turned around and faced Nick with a stretched out index finger, "Listen here, Fox! I have no idea what that was between us up there and by now I don't even want to know it anymore."

Judy walked on, while Nick stood still for a moment, "Of course, you don't know! How can you? You've never learned to live with your own emotions, the only thing you ever did was to deny them by command."

"At least I haven't forgotten who I am," Judy fired back and continued towards a heavy and very large steel door on which was printed the number forty-two. The letters went from the floor up to the ceiling and were printed each on one part of the sliding doors.

Nick's gaze, which was still on Judy, darkened when he began to speak, "Oh, you're right. I forgot something very important...namely the fact that I still talk to a true Jedi Knight and not a person who could feel something or who could be up to a little flirt...but I guess you'll continue from here on to play the old Jedi game that I know so well. Let's pretend to be free of emotions and everything will be a-okay. Well, spoiler alert...it will not work. Never has. Never will. And just to make another thing clear, I would also never go on a date with a nitpicker like you."

This time it was Judy who waited for Nick to catch up with her in front of the door, "Good! And just for the record, I would also never fall for such a fortune hunter like you are!"

"Good," Nick replied calmly and turned his head away from Judy.

"Good," Judy shouted back at him to end the conversation and turned her gaze away from him.

'Stupid fox! Who does he think he is,' Judy thought and gazed at the door in front of her, trying to get her emotions back under control and concentrating on the task beforehand. They had to leave this place and that as fast as possible, there was no time for such unnecessary distractions.

'Besides, why was Nick making me so unstable and emotional in the first place? What did he do to me,' Judy asked herself and began to think. Silence reigned between the two for the next few steps. In the end, it was Nick who broke the silence after he took a glance at her. He said smiling, "Still...I have to admit that you're quite cute. For a Jedi, I mean."

Judy had never received a compliment before and had because of this, any idea how she should react to him.

"D-don't call me cute…," Judy began to stammer but added after this light-hearted moment of her passed by, "...but someone like I know that this was a compliment, so...thank you."

There were no more words needed. Both of them still gazed away from each other but this time, each of them had a smile on their face.

Their little conversation had reached its end so had their stroll through the corridors. They had reached dock forty-two and both appeared even smaller in front of the gigantic steel door. Nick went to the nearest control panel, while Judy pondered what was happening on the other side right now.

"Do you think your friend Finnick is okay? He doesn't sound like somebody who is awfully discreet," Judy said, crossing her arms on her back and waiting for the door to open.

"Ah, I bet he's fine...if life finds a way, so does Finnick," Nick replied in an optimistic manner and touched some buttons on the console. With a loud noise the door opened and revealed a scenery that left Judy and Nick speechless for a minute.

The dock was more or less empty, with the exception of some smaller ships here and there but to the big surprise of both were the shutters into space still open. Just the Stargazer, which was surrounded by at least twenty armed soldiers, stood out like a sore thumb. Almost instinctively, Nick put a paw on Judy's head, right between her ears. Startled by the sudden touch, Judy didn't know if she should look at the fox or the soldiers who obviously waited for them. In the end, Judy kept staring at the enemy in front of her, while the massive door behind her closed with an incredibly loud screeching sound.

To Judy's surprise, the soldiers began to turn away from them and concentrated back at the freighter. Confusion spread over Judy's face. She didn't understand how the enemy couldn't see the bunny and the fox, who just walked through this massive door. Those two, for whom the whole station was looking for.

Sometimes it needs a sly grin to get things back in order. Judy gazed up at Nick and had to smile herself when she saw just the expression on the fox's face.

"You…," Judy began but Nick silenced her by taking the bunny into something that seemed at first glance like a hug, "Hey...What are you doing?"

"Saving our lives, Carrots," Nick said and walked with Judy close to him to a nearby crate. Her ears were directed at his chest, where she could hear that his heartbeat was faster than she expected and accompanied by heavy breathing. They reached a crate and disappeared to be out of sight for their enemies.

"How do you do this," Judy asked and made a step back, "Because, I can't imagine that you manipulate the physical world. That would be too much."

Tired green eyes gazed back at Judy and acknowledged her theory with a smirk, "Sly bunny but you're right. What I do is to use the flawed perception of any biological sense and add some 'errors' to cancel out my existence. I can't fool cameras or droids of any kind but I'm doing just fine with living beings."

"Okay...but what is with force users or large groups of people?"

"Force users are tricky, I can just fool them when they're not aware of the fact that I mess with their perception. And when it comes to groups...well, let's just say the more people there are, the shorter is the time I can use my ability because of its exhausting nature," Nick explained and leaned against the crate to take a deep breath.

"Okay, but why...why did you put your paw on my head and hugged me," Judy asked with a slight blush on her face.

"Admit it, you liked that," Nick asked with a teasing smile.

"N-no...I did not!"

"If you say so but the truth is...I like to cuddle cute little bunnies like you...Auh, not so hard," Nick said chuckling, while he received a nudge from Judy, "Okay, okay. Relax, Fluff. I get it, not the c-word. Jeez, you've got quite the temper for a Jedi...Anyhow, I did this because it's easier for me to cloak things or people who are close to my body. There's just a certain range in which I can do this," Nick finished his explanation and sat down to rest. Thinking about his ability, Judy looked at Nick, at least until a loud and deep voice echoed through the hall. Judy peeked carefully over the crate and watched the armed soldiers.

"Okay, Fox! That's your last warning! Open up the damn ship and then and only then we will not hurt you. Do you understand this, fox?"

Not even a second later shouted a familiar voice back at the leader of the soldiers. The voice came from inside of the Stargazer.

"If you want to get my furry butt alive, Teppert, then you have to cut me out of this damn tin can! You understand me, you bloody mercenary?"

The face of Teppert, who led the group was distorted with anger when he turned around.

"Alright! That's it! No more options for him. Etos, get the battle droid. We'll blow this thing to pieces," The leader shouted at a nearby standing human soldier who nodded and left the hangar, "And the rest of you - watch out for the bunny and the fox. I have the feeling that they'll soon be here and we'll greet them properly. Isn't that right, guys?"

Laughter sounded from the rows of mercenaries, who began to check and load their blaster.

"What now?"

Judy asked and hid again behind the crate.

"What do you mean with what now? We have to get into the ship and out of here. This place is getting too hot for my taste," Nick replied and stood up, brushing off dust and dirt from his pants and jacket.

"What I mean is, how do we want to do this? You look pretty beat."

"Oh, I certainly am, but I try my best to get us out of this situation and besides I still have some aces up my sleeve. Now help me up, Carrots. I'm pretty exhausted because of this extensive force usage today and just want to get some rest," Nick said and held his paw up to Judy. Without another question, she helped him up, just to have his paw seconds later between her ears.

Judy sighed and dropped her ears, but accepted her fate in the end. Not that Nick's warm paw felt bad in any way or was unpleasant. The problem was that close contact was still something new for her and something she had to get used to.

"Okay and please no unnecessary talk. The fewer senses I have to fool the better for me," Nick said and took a deep breath.

Time wasn't on their side and both of them knew this. Without further ado, the two walked straight up to the ship, Judy in front and Nick with his left paw on her head behind her. Shortly before they reached the first mercenary, Judy felt how Nick's paw became heavier and began to tremble. It was obvious that Nick would soon reach his limit. To be prepared, Judy moved her paw to her lightsaber to jump into action as soon as Nick no longer could keep up his ability.

Her heartbeat reached a new high when they passed the first mercenaries. She expected to be discovered and taken hostage at any moment but nothing like this happened. No matter how close they came to their enemies, they weren't seen or heard by anyone.

"Do you smell that," One of the mercenaries to Judy's left asked.

"What ya mean?"

"It smells like booze in here...a lot of different kinds of booze," the mercenary explained. Of course, the two of them knew instantly that Judy and her in alcohol drenched clothes were the problem. Judy glared up at Nick, who just responded with an apologetic smile.

"Pah, I think you just smelled your own breath, Gorek!"

"Oh, shut up, or I punch you in your stupid face!"

The two human mercenaries went on growling at each other but in the end, none of the two was there for a real fight. They walked on and had almost reached the ship when Nick whispered something that made her worried.

"Oh no, that's not good."

"What?" Judy whispered back.

"I know those guys but never met their captain. A Caminoan force user of the dark side. Taught himself everything he could find about the force, mostly through Holocrons, they said. He's obsessed with anything related to the Sith but he never had a master," Nick continued with their silent conversation.

"Why am I not surprised that you know him?"

"Oh shush, bunny...but I understand now," Nick whispered back.

"Understand what?"

There were two other mercenaries in front of them before they had reached the backside of the ship.

"That this was all a plan to lure us into this situation, Carrots. Finnick and I had worked with them on a mission, where we played the part of the backup crew, while they infiltrated an organization. We never met their leader but heard stories of him from Teppert over there. Afterward, they were the ones who told us about the gambling tournament in the Crimson Casino. I guess they followed us and waited until you arrived at the station. Damn it," Nick said and stopped. His left foot gave in, which forced Nick to go down on one knee.

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Should we stop?"

"No, we're pulling through with this ...but keep your paw at your lightsaber and be ready to run to the ship. Oh! And I'm sorry for what's coming," Nick said and his left paw began to cover one of Judy's ears while he pressed her head against his chest.

"Hey! What are you doing," Judy asked but it was too late, Nick began already to act. With his right paw, he grabbed something from the inside of his jacket, while he stopped to cloak them. Due to their small heights, nobody recognized them instantly.

"There they are! At the main entrance," Nick shouted with all the strength in his lunges and threw a small blinking object into the air above the group. Many of them saw the blinking thing but none of them reacted fast enough.

"Flash…," Teppert shouted at his men but too late. Fooled by the fox, every last mercenary was turning around to check the entrance or saw the strange object above them, just to be completely blinded and deafened by the flashbang. One bright flash illuminated the whole hangar and sent all of them to their knees.

Moaning like drunkards after a long night, the mercenaries crawled over the floor of the hangar and tried to regain their senses. Judy stood up and tried to help Nick but the fox just pushed her carefully away, further towards the ship.

"Hey! Why are you...Oh no, you idiot," Judy began and took his muzzle into her paws to comfort the one who had deafened himself and shielded her ears to maximize his attack, but Nick wanted to have none of that and began to shout at her, "You can praise my bravery later, go and start this damn ship! I bought us maybe five to ten minutes with that trick. Now go!"

"But Nick," Judy tried to insist when two blaster shots hit the ground beside her and the fox. A quick glance at the entrance showed them that the mercenary, who was given the task to return with a Battle Droid, was already back. Armed with a blaster rifle he tried to shoot at Judy and Nick without hitting his still disabled companions. He wouldn't be a huge problem but the droid he had brought with himself was,starting to load his weapons.

"Stop you two!"

"Go! I'll stop them," Nick yelled and yanked himself on his feet. His posture was miserable for the fighting position of a Jedi but he was standing on his own two feet and that right now was all that mattered.

Nick used his lightsaber to deflect enemy fire, while he fired back with his own blaster pistol in his left paw. Judy understood that she had to act now and began running towards her ship. At first, she was so nervous that she entered the wrong entrance code but could manage to keep a clearer head the second time. The rampant opened, while blaster shoots were flying through the air and hit the ground, ceiling or walls in the hangar.

As soon as Judy was in, she began to shout out commands to her board AI, "Start the engines, Patty and that as fast as possible! We need to get out of here!"

Calm as always, Patty replied, "Captain, I recognize blaster fire around us, should I also activate the blaster turret? Or would shields be sufficient enough for the moment?"

Judy hadn't thought about that but had also no time to reply instantly, as she was greeted in front of the small bridge by a sand-colored fox who was even smaller than she was. He held a blaster pistol in his paws, that was comically big for his size but the grumpy expression on his face told her that he was not here to joke.

"Who the hell are you, fluffbutt?"

"Judy Hopps. Jedi Knight, Captain of this ship and the one who talked to you on the communication device. And I guess your Finnick?"

"That's about right, Missy, but where's this idiot of a fox that I sometimes call my friend? You know, the guy with the red fur and that idiotic smirk on his face?"

Finnick stopped aiming at Judy and instead gazed behind her to spot the fox he was searching for. There was no time to waste, Judy walked past him and jumped onto the captain's chair, just to activate the ship's components.

"He's outside fighting a battle droid and some mercenaries to give us time to start the ship," Judy replied and began to tip on the console in front of her. Patty was slowly awakening from her slumber. The energy core was already providing the needed power but the engines, shields and weapons still needed some warm up time.

"Sounds heroic...you're sure that's Nick we're talking about?"

Judy ignored what he said and continued with the bootup sequence when an idea came to her mind. The blaster shots outside came closer and Judy knew she had to get out there to help Nick.

She leaned over the back of her captain's chair and spoke directly to Finnick, "Do you know how to use a blaster turret? If so, there's a ladder to your left, which leads to one."

"Do Wookies come from Kashyyyk?"

"I guess so…," Judy replied slightly confused about the question.

"There you have your answer, Missy," Finnick replied and started to climb the ladder with a grin on his face.

It didn't look good for Nick. The fox sat twenty meters away from Judy's ship behind a crate. He knew that the ship meant salvation but he was stuck behind a vanishing piece of metal while wave after wave of blaster shots was hitting his hiding spot in regular intervals and with dangerous precision. His breathing was heavy from the fight and when he checked the remaining load of his blaster pistol, he began to curse.

'One-quarter of energy left, which means I have maybe ten more shots...damn this day is getting worse and worse,' Nick thought and heard how the loud stomping sound of steel feet came closer and closer to him. But what made him nervous was the fact that he could hear the sounds of the battle again. Moaning, curses and even more commands came to his ear, which meant that the other mercenaries would soon be back on their feet. He knew he had to finish this fight and that quick. Who knew what would happen when the captain of the mercenaries would arrive and how many more guys with guns he would bring with him.

'Seems like, I have, yet again, to reach into my bag of Jedi tricks to end help me out,' Nick thought and inhaled deeply. He concentrated his breathing to gain the calm and focus to concentrate larger amounts of the force and knew that if there was an escape or even a tomorrow, he would deeply regret it because of the worst force exhaustion he ever had. But it was still better than death.

Inhaling.

Exhaling.

Inhaling.

It took him some time to gather the force power he needed to create a doppelganger of himself. It was not the elaborate work of a Jedi master who could create multiple illusions at once or even something that was made out of real matter nor was it perfect in any sense but it would serve its purpose to save Nick's tale one more time. The illusion looked identical to the original and Nick began to inspect himself for a moment as if he was looking in a mirror.

"Now look at the scruffy red fur on your face...No wonder Judy was so hostile after our little staring contest in the air shaft. I bet she didn't like what she saw. Well, that could be it or her attitude of being a true Jedi, of course," Nick said to his force projection, not that he would expect to get any response.

"FOX! I-I-I'm just a mechanic but if you give up, we will not harm you...I swear," The last fighting mercenary shouted over to Nick with shaking hands.

'Yeah, right. I bet you would prefer nothing more than to serve me your best food on your finest table after I flash banged all of your mercenary friends. No thanks, I haven't much left but I'd rather take a chance than get caught.'

"Here we go," Nick said and turned around the corner of the crate that faced away from his enemies, while his doppelganger took the other side. Not even a second later and the blaster fire concentrated on Nick's created illusion.

'So much about not harming me…,' Nick thought and aimed with the pistol in his right paw at the young mercenary. Nick aimed for the head but decided at the last moment for the blaster gun as his aim, 'This god damn codex, once in your head you'll never get it out.'

What followed was a fast succession of shots. The first one destroyed the mercenaries' blaster and made him unable to fight. Screams, that complained about a wounded shoulder reached Nick's ear, while he already targeted his next aim. This time it was the blaster in the arms of the almost two-meter high B2 battle droid, that Nick wanted to destroy. He didn't fire immediately, something about the big droid was bothering him but he couldn't lay his finger on what it was.

'Doesn't matter. In fact, the only thing that matters now is getting that thing down,' Nick thought and pulled with clenched teeth the trigger of his pistol. The first three shots destroyed the right arm and blaster, while the second salve of energy damaged the left one. The hits weren't perfect but probably good enough to give him the time he needed to end this.

Nick switched immediately into a run, placed his blaster pistol on his back and drew his lightsaber. The green plasma blade buzzed with the familiar sound, that still managed to send a shiver down on Nick's spine, whenever he heard it. He was almost there, the large battle droid just five meters away from him. A quick gaze around showed him that the first mercenaries were already getting up and they definitely looked not happy.

'Time to end this,' Nick thought. He prepared two meters in front of the droid for a jump, his lightsaber in both paws and ready to pierce the torso of his metal enemy.

The droid couldn't react fast enough because he still tried to fix his malfunctioning blasters. The green blade disappeared into the body of the droid, while Nick grabbed with his left paw for a place to keep himself on the robot. Grinning, he looked at his opponent.

"Gotcha, big boy."

Feeling victorious, Nick pulled his sword slowly back to inspect the damage his enemy had taken but his face turned fast from joy to confusion when he saw.

There was no whole.

Just a black spot that was darker than the rest of the metal around it. Without hesitation, Nick stroked the fingers of his right paw over the surface of the metal, before the left hand of the droid closed around his waist. Nick had lost but there was just one word in his mind that could explain why he did so, 'Beskar.'

"Nicholas Wilde. You're under arrest," A high pitched mechanical voice told him while the sounds of multiple loaded blasters and angry mercenaries had cut off his path to freedom.

"You heard him, Wilde. It's over," Teppert said, pointing a blaster at the fox. His eyes were still red from the flash but focused solely on Nick. He wore plain grey armor with no visible sign that would identify him as a member of any group, "Unbelievable what trouble you've caused us. Now give me your lightsaber and blaster, will ya?"

Nick, who was in serious pain through the hard grip of the Droid, moaned before he looked down at the human and his greying beard and hair.

"Honestly, I would love to *augh* get rid of this uncomfortable situation and just give up but I guess that's not for me to decide."

"And who else should do that?"

Instead of answering, Nick pointed with his thumb over his shoulder and in the direction of Judy's ship. The heads of the soldiers turned around, what they saw was an angered bunny with a purple lightsaber in her right paw emerging from the darkness of the freighter. She was small but her threatening presence could be felt in the whole hangar and by every last of the mercenaries.

"Let. Him. Down," Judy said in a low voice.

Teppert chuckled and looked amused to his companions before he began to speak, "I'm sorry but I don't take orders from cute little bunnies."

Laughter went through the rows of mercenaries but it was Nick who spoke and shook his head, "Oh buddy, you shouldn't have said that."

The insecure laughter died slowly down until it was dead silent in the hangar.

"Finnick! Watch my back!"

Judy yelled back into the ship and began to run towards the group, no sign of fear in her eyes. Confused about her command, the soldiers searched for the sand-colored fox and from where he might attack. The mystery for them was solved when they heard two things at once. At first, they heard the movement of the blaster turret on top of the freighter who turned towards them and second, the piercing laughter of Finnick who sat behind the just mentioned weapon.

"Who blows now whom to pieces?" Finnick said and started to fire.

"Dammit," The leader murmured before he yelled new commands, "Scatter! And take this damn turret down!"

Soldiers were running from their position when the first heavy blasts began to hit the ground. Meanwhile, Judy took the first mercenary down by destroying their weapon with an uppercut of her sword, followed by a fast kick into the face of the soldier.

She used the falling soldier as a platform for her next jump and a direct hit with both feet into the next soldier's face was the result.

Her path to Nick and the Battle Droid was open.

"Get her! We can't allow her to get the fox!"

Three more soldiers ran towards Judy but we're cut off by several shots from Finnick, who proved with every passing second his value as a backup.

"Carrots!"

"Not now, Nick! I don't know if you don't see it but I try to save your scruffy tail," Judy yelled at him and began to jump around the battle droid while dealing several strikes with her lightsaber. But even her attacks had no influence on the robot. Her last attack was combined with a jump, where she tried to cut the droid in two but remained in the end on his shoulders. Confused, she moved on and landed after a backflip from the shoulders of the iron giant some meters behind his back, looking directly at Nick, who began to speak.

"That's what I wanted to tell you! His outer shell is made of beskar! You can't destroy him so easily with your lightsaber."

"What? What is beskar?"

"Mandalorian Iron! What the hell did they teach you nowadays in the academy?"

Judy reflected two incoming blaster shots and shouted back at Nick, "I know what Mandalorian Iron is! I just didn't know the term beskar. Now what?"

Judy went into a complete defense mode because of the incoming blaster fire. Until now she could reflect every shot that was directed at her and could even send some of them back to their source but Nick was sure that she knew that this was nothing she could do forever.

"On this arm here is still a malfunctioning blaster. It's made of normal metal...you can cut off his arm there!"

Judy's face changed into annoyance, "Why didn't you say that sooner?"

Judy moved fast and jumped back onto the shoulders of the battle droid, where an already grinning Nick was waiting for her, still in the metal class of the droid.

"Nice jump, I guess that's why your name is Hopps, right?"

Baffled for a second, Judy didn't know what to do but ended up smiling at Nick, "Idiot."

"Watch out," Nick yelled when the droid tried with his half-destroyed right arm to hit Judy but missed the fast-moving Jedi. She could drop off his shoulder and onto the ground just in time.

The battle around them started more to focus on Finnick, who kept the firing mercenaries busy and behind crates.

"Get the grenades and take that damned turret out!" Teppert screamed and fired at the ship. The shield was still online but became weaker with every second.

"Let's test your theory, Nick," Judy said and slid through the legs of the droid and located the broken blaster in the right arm of the robot. A second later, she swung a hard uppercut with her purple lightsaber and cut off the arm at the exact location. Confirmed what Nick had just stated, Judy continued to use her momentum. She used the remaining part of the droid's arm as a platform to do a backflip during which she cut off the second arm of the droid and set Nick free.

Both landed safely on the ground, took a quick glance at each other and nodded. They knew what they had to do and began to run towards the ship, deflecting shots left and right. The soldiers were coming closer and just when they entered the ship, both stopped because they felt the same thing. An enemy who was also a force user was approaching.

Nick kept staring into the hangar and located the unusual Caminoan at first, Judy did so too but maybe a second later.

"Go and bring us out of here," Nick said and felt Judy's paw on his forearm. Her gaze was serious and forbad any kind objection, "Don't play the hero, Nick. Whatever is going on here, I need you for this. So...please don't do anything reckless, okay?"

He didn't show it but Nick was moved by Judy's genuine concern about his own life. Except for Finnick, there was no one who was ever interested in his well-being. An honest smile appeared on his muzzle, probably the first one in many years.

"Thank you, Judy but you don't need to worry. I just prevent uninvited guests from entering. Now go," Nick said and Judy accepted his words with a smile and quick squeeze of Nick's forearm. Then she disappeared into the ship, yelling commands to the ship's AI.

Nick didn't step back into the battle, he just watched what was going on in front of him. The blasters were too weak to overcome the shield and the few grenades that were thrown at them Nick reflected with the force. None of the attackers dared to come closer to the ship. With one big exception.

Charon, the Caminoan who commanded this group of mercenaries still walked towards the hovering ship. Unease spread through Nick's mind with every step the self-proclaimed Sith took, only the rumbling of the ship could help Nick to feel better. The fox gave the Sith several meters below him a last salute when they began to enter space.

"You will not escape me," Charon screamed and used whatever anger he could find inside him to grab the whole ship with the force. Nick staggered from the sudden stop and almost fell, but he managed to grab a nearby railing.

"What's going on back there?"

"Charon tries to pull us back in! Come on, Carrots, pedal to the metal! We need everything this ship has!"

The engines on each side of the ship began to roar even louder but they gained no inch of space between their enemy and them.

"Judy! More!"

"That's all I can manage to give! The ship can't use more energy or the core will overload," Judy shouted from the other side of the ship.

"Dammit," Nick muttered to himself and drew his blaster. The display of the pistol told him that the energy level was already on the edge but that didn't matter right now. The shot wouldn't be deadly and probably not even dangerous. But if it could break Charon's concentration and focus on the force for a second – they could escape. Nick aimed, pulled the trigger and struck Charon's left shoulder. Startled about the attack, Charon grabbed for his shoulder to inspect his wound.

It worked and that even better than Nick had anticipated...and maybe even too well for his liking.

Charon went down on his knees, he had lost his grip of the ship partially. Uncontrolled, the ship slammed with a maximum acceleration against a steel column on their way out of the hangar. The sound made clear that there was severe damage to the outer shell of the ship and maybe even some of the important systems onboard but that wasn't Nick's main concern at the moment.

Blasters began again to fire at them but none of the bolts had any impact on the ship and it's shield. They had escaped the Wheel and were now on their way into the unknown.

Nick was still standing on the ramp when they were tossed into space. To his luck enclosed his paw the nearby railing that prevented him from being immediately sucked into the cold and uncaring void of the universe.

The vacuum was tearing at him like a beast from an uncivilized planet that wanted to end his hunger but Nick didn't give in. With not much air in his lungs, he began to shout and hoped that Judy could hear him.

"Close! The! Ramp!"

There was no direct reply from Judy but the ramp started to close until the ship was sealed tight. Nick slammed with his head first onto the hard metal floor. For a while, the fox laid just on his back and continued to breathe until sleep and exhaustion swept him away.

Nick didn't know what happened moments ago or how much time had passed, all he knew was that his head was hurting terribly and that he somehow managed to stay in the ship before he could be sucked into space. For now, he just wanted to relax and be happy that he was still alive. He closed his eyes and began to relax again.

"Nick?"

The fox opened slowly his green eyes and looked up into purple and yellow ones, that stared back at him.

"I told ya he isn't dead."

"Hey, guys...we made it. Didn't we? What's wrong?"

The fox was certainly not in control of all his senses. Judy and Finnick exchanged a gaze at each other before Judy began to speak.

"Are you okay, Nick? That fall sounded pretty...impactful to say the least," Judy said and tried to hide her worries behind a chuckle, while she kneeled down to take his head into her paws.

"Yeah…I'm fine," Nick replied and began to smile. He obviously liked it to rest his head in her paws, there was doubt about that but then the memories of how he ended on the floor flooded back into his mind, "Wait! Where are we? Are we already flying somewhere?"

Nick stumbled to his feet and began to walk staggering towards the bridge but he slammed immediately against the next wall, where he slumped down.

"Nick! Don't worry, I navigated us to a nearby asteroid. We're currently hidden in a large crater. We're safe...for now," Judy said and came to his support. When she had stabilized the exhausted fox, he began slowly to talk, "We have a lead and we should better follow it fast."

"Oh really, now, who wants to see us dead," Finnick asked with crossed arms in front of his chest, while Judy helped Nick to sit down on the floor.

"No idea…, " Nick said and began to feel his head for a bump, while Finnick replied, "Didn't you just say you have a lead?"

"Yes, but it has something to do with the battle droid they used. He was coated in Mandalorian Iron...you know what that means, Finnick. Am I right," Nick asked, who couldn't hide his grin, while Finnick began to throw his arms into the air and began to shout, "Oh hell no! Not Mr. Big again. I'm so done with him and his mob boss antics!"

Judy who had no idea what was going on switched with her gaze between the devastated looking Nick and the furious Finnick.

"Hey...I didn't choose to walk into him again but what should we do otherwise? Wait until this guys found us here? No thank you, I rather find out who's behind all of this than hiding in a sinkhole on an asteroid that's drifting aimlessly through space."

"What are you two talking about," Judy asked and gave both a demanding look.

"Whatever. If you want an explanation, Bunny, then ask Nick...I'm going to cook something to keep myself busy. The hell. What for a day...my ship's gone, the money's gone and now we have to meet Mr. Big... I hope this ship has at least a decent kitchen," Finnick said and walked off but his muttering could still be heard through the whole ship.

"Nick tell me please. What's wrong?"

Judy asked and the fox wanted to answer but he tried to find a fitting start for the upcoming explanation, "What do you know about Mandalorian Iron, Fluff?"

"Well...it's rare, expensive and can withstand lightsaber attacks, as well as many other weapons as we just learned. Isn't that about right?"

"More or less, Carrots, but the most important thing you have to know about this stuff is that it's regulated by the RCR or Republic Council of Resources. Whoever would buy enough of Mandalorian Iron to coat a battle droid would get problems with the Jedi Council. So...where is that stuff from?"

Judy began to think as she sat beside Nick, "Okay, so we're talking about illegal ways to buy large amounts of Mandalorian Iron? I guess we should set course to the Outer Rim then?"

Nick laughed and turned his head towards Judy, "So, you think crime like this can only happen outside of the Republic?"

"Well, yes?"

"Oh you sweet summerchild, but that's not how crime works. Even the mob bosses live where they like to live if they're powerful enough. Set course to Naboo. There we'll find our man," Nick said and closed his eyes.

"Wait! Naboo? But, but, that's…," Judy began to speak but searched for words she couldn't find at that moment so Nick added what she couldn't, "Unexpected?"

"Yeah pretty much," Judy said and looked hopeful at Nick, "I guess we're working together on this then?"

Nick took a moment to think about the offer from the bunny and while the two of them sat there on the floor of the ship, delicious smells filled the air around them. Stomachs began to growl and made the decision what they would do next easier.

"I guess we do or otherwise I'll be hunted by some unknown force for the rest of my life," Nick said smiling, "...but for now we should attend dinner or Finnick will bite our faces off. Can you help me up, Carrots? I guess that was a little bit too much force usage for one day."

"Sure," Judy said, stood up and held her right paw towards him, "So what do you say, Slick. Are we partners for the rest of this adventure and I promise to not report you to the council?"

"Partner sounds actually like a pretty good idea...as well as the fact that you will not report me to the higher ups," Nick confirmed and took her paw to be pulled up. Both walked together to the dinner room, while Judy supported the fox.