Chapter 4 - Time to Talk

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

Location: Asteroid field near the Wheel on the backside of a large asteroid - Besh Gorgon System

"Okay, please say that again," Nick demanded, pressing the bag of ice harder against his forehead, which he had slammed against the floor not too long ago. He sat at one of the twelve chairs of the crew's steel dinner table, while his feet rested on the edge of the furniture. The table was huge, circular and Judy felt rather lonely sitting there alone during her first breakfast yesterday morning.

But yesterday was yesterday and since then her situation had changed drastically. Right now, the three of them hid on the dark side of an asteroid, one of the thousands that floated through space a good distance away from the space station that they had just escaped from. According to their scanner, there was no one actively searching for them but who knew how fast things could change.

"Fine, as I said before my name is Judy Hoops and I'm here to…," Judy began to explain when Nick raised a paw to intervene,

"...Search for twelve missing scientists, which I should have kidnaped. Which I didn't. I get it...but what makes me even more curious is the fact that the Jedi Council is preparing for a fight against the Sith Order? What Sith? There are no Sith! Maybe some but for sure no whole army. Ever heard of the rule of two…*Sigh* Auh, my head." Nick stopped for a moment and winced, while he lifted the bag of ice on his head and moved it into a new position.

"The rule of two is a myth. All we know about it comes from a mad Jedi who turned to the dark side and initiated the Dark Jedi Conflict over a hundred years ago. And no one believed him. How could we know that there are still Sith, alive and kicking," Judy asked Nick, while she turned her head for a moment to the small kitchen area behind her. Finnick, who used a chair to stay and work properly in front of the stove, prepared meals for them. When Judy looked back at Nick, she pointed with her thumb at Finnick and whispered, "What is he doing?"

"He's cooking, Carrots, because that's what he is – a cook. Before you ask and because I can already see the curiosity in your eyes, I found him some years ago on a pirate ship where he was held captive against his will. I helped him escape and since then, we're one heart and a soul. Am I right, Finnick," Nick said and grinned at the Fennec fox who held two plates with food in his right paw and a bottle with milk and a glass in the other. He put the deep plate that was filled with different salads and vegetables in front of Judy, who gazed at it with a confused look. She hadn't expected to receive something from the small fox but was delighted to do so.

"Thank you," Judy replied confused and inhaled the different odors of her meal. She came to the conclusion that it smelled delicious and realized that she was indeed hungry after all the fighting and efforts to stay alive.

Finnick placed himself two seats beside Nick. Without waiting, he put the last plate with the spicy cooked meat down in front of him and gave Nick the glass and the opaque-colored milk.

"Yeah, yeah...heart and soul my ass. Now is dinner time, talk is for later," Finnick replied, looking first at the bootle of blue milk and then at Nick. "Here. I guess bantha milk is all you can drink after you played too long with the force and your new dark-side friends. Am I right?"

"You know me too well, little buddy," Nick replied with a grin, Judy interrupting their conversation hastily. "Wait? Why can't you eat something? I mean...I know Bantha milk is refreshing and everything but we just spend almost a whole day fighting off enemies. Wouldn't it be better to eat something..well, solid?"

"Oh, Carrots," Nick began,smiling at her. "Have you ever experienced force exhaustion before? And I mean true force exhaustion, where you have to go over your limits just to stay alive?"

Baffled for a moment, Judy replied, "Well...no. Not really."

"Ah, I see. Well, I did this several times and I am force exhausted right now. Which isn't surprising after a week of constant force usage by manipulating the outcome of a card tournament. I kinda felt already a little bit drained but the fights and especially my cloaking ability did the rest. So no solid food for me or it would all end in the gutter very quickly."

Angered about this new information, Judy yelled at him "Wait...you did what? I thought you're a good sabacc player and in the finale because you'd earned it!"

"Of course I am… In fact, I'm a fantastic Gambler, but everyone on those tables was too. Haven't you seen by now that I wouldn't use any advantage I have to win? Especially in the case of a tournament and the prospect of winning enough money for the rest of my life," Nick replied with a disarming smile on his muzzle, while Judy's mouth, already hanging to the floor, dropped further open to speak her mind. In the end though she said nothing and just sighed in relief. Even in this short amount of time, she understood that her words would be a lost cause.

"Could you do me one last favor before we eat, Nick?"

"Sure buddy. Whatever you want."

"Good...then move ya feet," Finnick snapped at the red fox, "I told you like a million times, that you should keep your dirty feet off the dinner table or I'll bite your face off!"

"Oh come on! Let me relax a little bit. I just fought several dangerous enemies and saved our lives, for fox sake," Nick replied, turning to his companion. Finnick wanted to hear none of that, "I. Don't. Care! Now move your feet or I'll do it for ya."

Nick sighed in annoyance but, in the end, he yielded and did what his friend demanded from him. Judy, who had already begun to eat, chuckled about the two foxes and their antics. It was rare for her to share a meal with someone else and it reminded her of the time before she became a Jedi. A time when she was still with her family and friends on her home planet, with so many friendly faces around that she had never felt alone. The thought about her past hurt and because of that Judy tried to push it into the deepest corner of her mind where it would slowly fade until the pain was gone. It was the same as always, she overplayed her feelings and moved on.

"You two act like an old married couple but I have to admit, Finnick, the salad tastes delicious," Judy remarked, while she skewered more vegetables onto her fork.

"Yeah? Good for you, Missy. But let me tell ya, that from where I come we wait with eating until everyone at the table is ready. Seems like manners are not the first priority of the Jedi academy," Finnick said, Judy dropping her fork instantly.

"I...I'm sorry," Judy replied and bowed her head in shame.

Turning back to Nick, Finnick continued, "Now will you pour yourself a glass full? You know how much I hate it when I have to eat my dinner cold."

Sighing again, Nick opened the bottle of bantha milk and poured himself a glass full. "You know I can't refuse you any wish, old buddy. Anyhow, cheers and have a good meal you two. But to be honest, I'm not awfully worried about that, given the person who prepared them."

Nick said it out loud and earned himself a contemptuous snort from Finnick, who continued to cut down his steak. Judy found Finnick's behavior at first glance very rude but saw that he was actually smiling. In the end, Judy assumed that this was just the way the two-handled things between each other.

Time moved on and while Judy finished her salad, Nick had already emptied his first glass and poured himself a second one.

"Also, it's not true that no one believed the story of this mad guy who fell for the dark side. What was his name? Khob? No...Klob? Something like that…Regardless, there was one Jedi who did believe him. Someone who witnessed all of it first hand and who's still part of the Jedi Council...or so I assume." Nick said and looked over to Judy as if he wanted to see what her reaction would be.

Judy put her fork down and sounded genuinely amazed when she began to speak, "What? Who?"

"Oh, just an unimportant Jedi of the Council who goes by the name of Yoda," Nick remarked with a smirk, taking another sip from his glass. The astonished bunny gazed at the fox, her mouth openning slightly as she gasped.

"Grand Master Yoda told you? When...and, and what?"

"Not me, Carrots. Us."

"Us? Who else did he tell about this?"

"Okay, storytime," Nick said, amused about Judy's interest. He straightened himself up in his chair. The exhaustion of the day was still all over his face but at least his drink seemed to relax him a little bit.

"Here we go again," Finnick said, rolling his eyes. Still shocked by Nick's statement, Judy ignored the small fox.

"When I was still a youngling of the academy, Yoda was the one who taught us the basics of the force, the Jedi code, basic lightsaber-wielding and so on. I guess every Youngling went through this stage with him. And you probably won't believe it, Carrots but I wasn't the most popular cadet at that time and got bullied a lot, mostly because of my species and height, but he gave me strength. And back then, I adored him...for his patience, his kindness, and his unbreakable will. Please, don't smile like that...but I truly did. Yoda was the one who showed me that you don't need to be tall to be great," Nick said and Judy remembered her own training with Grand Master Yoda as a youngling. She understood what he endured because she went through the same mistreatment thanks to being a bunny.

"I know what you mean," Judy replied and both shared a short moment smiling at each other as if they could see each other's memories.

"Anyhow," Nick began and sat straight at the table, "One member doesn't make a whole Council and sometimes even a grandmaster has to give in. He once told us the story of Darth Bane. A Sith Lord and leader of the Sith Order, who came to the conclusion after another long and unsuccessful battle with the Jedi Order that they can't go on like this. It took him some time to develop and establish his new idea in which only a master and a student should exist in the Sith order. As you may have heard, the idea goes like this. The master will teach all he knew to his student and when the time came that Master and Student were equal, the student could try to rise to take the place of its master and the circle would begin again. Or the old Master would win and was then looking for a new student. This would continue until one day only the most powerful Sith would remain as the only successor, who could destroy the Jedi and rule over the whole Galaxy. Sounds terrifying, am I right?" Nick asked, grinning, while Finnick looked angrily at him.

"Didn't I say you two can talk later? I don't want to hear you two talking for hours about your space-wizard-fairy-tales"

Judy, who was extremely curious by now, stepped onto her chair with a twitching nose and ignored the angry-looking sandfox to her right.

"I've never heard about the origins of the rule of two, just... just rumors from some other Jedi that it maybe exists...I've also never read about them in the archives and we both know that everything is in the archives," Judy replied with her ears up. She touched her chin and began to think about Nick's words until she stared at him with wide eyes, "But that would mean..."

"Right, the Jedi council forbid the knowledge after some incidents where too many Jedi talked about it. Nothing surprising to me because they just did what they always do when they're afraid of something they don't understand...they hid it, after their realization that they couldn't throw it away. The records were moved to the part of the archive that's just accessible for Jedi of the rank of a master and people with special access from the council. Even master Yoda was no longer allowed to talk with anyone about this. What wise, old Masters they are," Nick said and Judy could feel with every syllable of the fox the hate he had for the Council. She had no idea why he had such strong emotions but one thing was clear as day, that this here was something personal between him and the Jedi Order.

It became quiet at the table. The only thing that still could be heard was the faint beeping of the ship and the system.

"What happened to Darth Bane," Judy asked, still curious but aware of Nick's emotional state.

"Great, more fairy tales…," Finnick replied with rolling eyes. Both Jedi seemed to ignore the smaller fox, who in return crossed his arms in front of his chest. Nick, however, took his time. Smiling, he drank a sip from his milk and enjoyed Judy's curiosity about the topic.

"He faked his and his apprentice's death and went into hiding to start the cycle I explained to you earlier. But that's not all, with him vanishing so did the Sith order. A collective of Sith which was once as strong as the Jedi Order and very similar in their structure," Nick explained and took another sip from the milk. The liquid left some blue on his snout, that he wiped away with the sleeve of his jacket. Judy on the other side of the table nodded to show that she understood what he was talking about.

Now also interested in the tales that Nick was telling about Jedi and Sith, Finnick turned to Nick, "So let me get this straight. Only two Sith remained from what? Hundreds?"

"More like thousands," Nick replied, while he stared into his almost empty glass, "but no, not all of them died. I mean most of them did while fighting the Jedi Order but others fled deeper into the Galaxy, went into hiding or continued to build a new order. None of them should ever be as powerful as the Sith Order of Darth Bane. Their leader was gone and it took them some time to understand that they were on their own from this point in time," Nick explained and leaned back in his chair.

"And why did this Yoda guy tell you and the other younglings such cruel stories," Finnick asked.

Just when Nick opened his mouth, Judy began to speak, "Because he wanted to prepare us for the dangers that are still lurking in the shadows of this galaxy. It's a warning."

"Bingo," Nick replied, smiling and winked at Judy.

"Okay...What now? Is our enemy one of those rule-of-two-guys or not," Finnick asked while he and Judy looked to Nick.

"Honestly?"

Finnick and Judy replied in unison, "Yes."

"I have no idea...but that's also the reason why we have to travel to Naboo and meet Mr. Big," Nick said. Judy and Finnick exchanged looks at each other to see what the other was thinking. Finnick, on one hand, was not amused for this meeting and Judy on the other paw had obviously never heard of Mr. Big.

"Damn...do we have to? I mean, you surely remember what happened the last time when we had business with him, right," Finnick asked and looked as if he awaited an honest answer.

"Listen Finnick, I have no problem living my whole life in hiding before the authorities of the Republic...but also living in fear of some unknown dark side force user, who wants to see me dead or taken hostage? No thanks," Nick ended and put his empty glass on the table.

"So, you two will help me with this task," Judy asked the two, who began to exchange looks at each other until Nick began to grin at Finnick. In return, the smaller fox left the conversation with a loud sigh and began to clean the table.

"Yeah, you can count me in, as long as you cut me out of your report to the Council... you're also with us, right Fin?"

Finnick, who had already cleaned up the table and walked towards the small kitchen, shouted back at Nick in a mixture of anger and amusement, "Of course I'm in! Someone has to save your furry butt. Or do you think Missy here could do that?"

Leaving with the deepest laughter Judy had ever heard, Finnick was gone before he could hear Judy's reply, "Hey! I would and could save Nick!"

"Well, I'm delighted to hear that, Carrots," Nick said, smiling at her in a way that made her blush.

"Wait that's not what I...you know what? Forget it, Nick," Judy said and sighed aloud, the pink color was slowly leaving her inner ears but she was sure that he had seen it. Changing the topic was the best she could do for now, "Anyhow...who is this Mr. Big and why do we have to meet him," Judy asked, looking at the red fox on the other side of the table.

"Do you remember the Droid we fought and especially what his outer shell was made of?"

"Yes, you said it's made of Mandalorian Iron. Why?"

"Bingo," Nick said enthusiastically and pointed a finger at Judy, "And as I told you before this metal is heavily controlled by the Republic Administration. So, how does the Sith Lord, who wants to get their dirty hands on us, get enough of that stuff to use it for multiple droids," Nick asked.

"Wait...how do you want to know that it was used for multiple droids?"

"Carrots, please. Who would buy this rare, expensive and heavily guarded material for one droid? And then you give this very special droid to your henchman? No, no, no, someone has a plan here. I have no idea what this plan is but I can feel that it is something horrific…but I digress….where was I," Nick asked and looked at Judy, waiting for a hint from the young doe.

Chuckling about his confusion, Judy replied, "You wanted to talk about Mr. Big and why we have to meet him."

"Yes! Of course, Mr. Big! You see, if you want to trade anything in this Galaxy that's rare, expensive and especially forbidden - he's your man. And an extremely wealthy one on top of that. But…," Nick began to explain and to scratch his chin.

"But?"

"His service always comes with a price."

"That sounds suspicious and very expensive," Judy replied smiling.

"Oh, it is very suspicious and the price. Well, it depends," Nick replied, also smiling.

"Depends on what?" Judy asked back while Finnick returned to the table. This time he held three steaming metal cups in his paws. He placed one in front of Judy, while the other two were for himself and Nick.

"Thank you," Judy said, smiling to Finnick about the kind gesture, getting another one of the sandfox's grunts in response. She didn't mind that he just stared into his own cup without a real reply, she had already accepted that Finnick was someone who showed almost no signs of emotions, not that there weren't any there.

The drink in her cup was a dark red tea that emitted an intense odor of berries and fruits that Judy had never smelt before. A little sip confirmed her suggestion that it tasted just as good as it smelled.

"Ahh, delicious. As always, you have my thanks for such a fine cup of tea, Fin. But back to you, Carrots. What he wants depends mostly on the demand...and the one who's asking the question."

"I hope you remember that I, like every other Jedi on a low-rank mission, have only a paw full of credits with me. Which is, I guess, not even close to what a mob boss and illegal trader of rare resources would want to have," Judy said, sipping with closed eyes from her metal cup. The hot and delicious liquid was a relief for Judy and reminded her once more of her old life.

"Don't worry, you don't pay him in credits. What he wants is that you do him a favor. Quid pro quo, you know," Nick explained and waited for her reaction.

"A favor, heh," Judy said, more to herself rather than her two companions. She enclosed her muzzle with her right paw and began to think. Judy knew that under normal circumstances a Jedi wouldn't be allowed to work with criminals but this here was different. If there was really a Sith Lord involved, she had to move on and do what was best for the galaxy and act fast. Maybe this was, after all, the test she always wanted to prove herself. Smiling, she turned to Nick and exclaimed, "I think I'm ready to do what has to be done. But I have at least to inform the council about the current situation...don't worry. I won't mention you two. Patty?"

"Yes, Captain," the voice of the AI responded immediately.

"Open an encrypted connection to the Jedi Council," Judy said, hoping for a stable connection from their current position somewhere on the backside of a large asteroid, near the casino. Patty's first response was just the noise of an error message. Judy's ears dropped in disappointment, that only grew when the artificial intelligence explained what had happened. "I'm unable to open a connection, Captain. It seems that the damage I received during our escape destroyed my capability of using encrypted subspace communication. Normal, unprotected communication is still possible."

"What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I'm sorry, Captain but the diagnosis of my system is still not complete. I will give you a full report as soon as the scan has ended," The AI replied.

"Blueberries," Judy muttered before she began to smile with a newfound determination, "You know what? I will send them later a message. Patty?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Set a course to Naboo!"

"Of course, Captain. Calculate travel time...Estimated time is fourteen hours, thirty-six minutes and forty-three seconds. Entry into Hyperspace in thirty minutes," the AI replied obediently. Nick poured down the last bit of his tea and said in a sleepy voice.

"Well that is that and now it's time for a long nap and we all know it's one I have definitely earned myself. And thank the force that we have at least our own rooms on this ship. I couldn't survive a night with Finnick's snoring," Nick said, grinning at the small sandfox and stretching his limbs until he heard a satisfying pop. Finnick on the other paw just stood up and walked towards the back of the ship and its empty rooms.

Interested in their reaction, Judy watched them carefully from her side of the table, "How can you two be so calm after all that has happened today? I still try to calm myself down and you two act as if this is normal to you. I mean... You lost your ship. Isn't that like losing your home?"

With just their backs insight for Judy there was no possibility to see their reaction. When both of them dropped their ears in unison, she could feel that something wasn't right. Nick replied without turning back. His voice sounded weary, "Oh this...Well, you get used to a life on the run. And the ship...it's sad that it's gone but it was just a ship and I'm glad that I didn't consider it my home because it feels way more devastating to lose your home than just a stupid ship. Trust me, Carrots."

"What," escaped Judy's muzzle, not knowing what she should reply.

In a way, Nick tried to overplay what he really thought but Finnick's voice showed the bitterness in both of them, "Idiot...why do you always talk about things that no longer exist?"

With slowly dropping ears, Judy watched how each of them entered a different room. No one spoke another word. The doors closed and she was alone with her thoughts. Almost unnoticeable from the inside, the Stargazer departed from the asteroid and began to fly back into open space.

"Their...home? What…," Judy said a little bit louder. Without even wanting that, she triggered with her rhetorical question the board AI who felt obliged to help her captain out, "Home. A place to which a lot if not all species in the galaxy have a strong emotional connection which lasts during their whole life."

Judy rolled her eyes and replied, "Thanks Patty but I think that wasn't needed…"

But the AI didn't stop, she just continued in her explanations as if her aim was to make a certain point for Judy, "...Species Vulpes. Home planet Vulpentis. Status destroyed."

"What?" Judy asked shocked and felt how her heart sunk in her chest, "How?"

"The circumstances for the destruction are unclear. The public information about the event are mostly speculations, made by scientists after their inspections of the remains of the planet. There are no records about or from surviving citizens," Patty explained and went silent.

Judy took her cup and walked over to the bridge with the oversized captain's chair. Outside of the ship passed by massive pieces of rock and smaller debris from the asteroid she had chosen as a hideout.

"Tell me what happened," Judy ordered and took her place in the chair.

"Yes, Captain," Patty replied but it took her another second before the robotic voice was heard again, "Twenty-eight years ago, the government of the planet Vulpentis which existed on the outskirts of this galaxy, sent a single emergency call to the Republic and every ship in their surrounding. It took the closest ship a minimum of six hours to arrive at the planet but it was already too late. What they found were the uninhabitable and broken remains of Vulpentis. An immense detonation was later detected by several long-range scanners but there were no survivors or ships that could escape. All members of the species Vulpes who live today were not present on their home planet on the day of the calamity."

Judy exhaled deeply before she looked for a moment into the wide field of stars in front of her cockpit to calm her nerves down for a little bit. She tried her hardest not to imagine how she would feel if something similar would happen to her home planet when a certain word that Patty had said created a new spark of interest.

"What do you mean by broken?"

A hologram appeared in front of Judy's eyes that made her heart sink even more. The world Patty projected was indeed broken in the literal sense of the word. There was no complete globe but only pieces floating around a glowing core in space. If Judy had to guess she would assume that some pieces were as big as continents whereas others were just some kilometers in diameter.

"How...how could something like this happen? That's terrible," Judy asked confused.

"Unclear, but until this day is the unstable core still ejecting large amounts of energy, radiation and the force itself. No one is allowed to enter the star system of Vulpentis and several beacons were installed around the planet to ensure that no ship would come too close," Patty explained.

"I never heard of a planet that was destroyed by its own core," Judy said her eyes still concentrated on the wide and empty space in front of her. The sleepiness she felt was suddenly gone. Patty answered, "Analysis of the planet revealed that the core of Vulpentis is special. The main part of it contains highly concentrated kyber crystals."

"You mean...like in a lightsaber," Judy said and crossed her legs, preparing herself for meditation. The events of the last two days were still vivid on her mind and especially the last information she had received was something that bothered her.

"Yes, Captain. Similar," Patty answered and dimmed the light around Judy, who had closed her eyes to concentrate on her inner turmoil.

"Concentrate, Judy. You did this a thousand times before," Forcing herself to meditation, she began to recite the Jedi codex, "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the force."

But no matter how often she repeated the recitation, it didn't help. Her mind was creating the cruelest ideas and images. Most of them surrounded her home and how everything was burning or already in ashes. Her family was slaughtered and Judy was unable to protect them.

Her heartbeat became faster and faster until she forced herself to open her eyes. Panting with shaking paws, Judy began to push buttons in front of her until a familiar face appeared on the screen in front of her.

"Oh my. Good morning, Judy. Everything alright with you my dear? Are you crying," her mother asked with a concerned undertone? On her arm was a bunny which wasn't even a year old and had a pacifier in her muzzle to keep the little thing calm. Judy didn't know the kit. She was away for too long from home to do so but the kit was obviously one of her nieces. The grey and cream-colored fur she saw told her everything she needed to know.

"I'm fine, Mum. I just wanted to see a familiar face and...and that you're all okay," Judy said and wiped a tear of joy from her eye. Bonnie was confused, "Oh dear, of course, we are okay...well besides from your father, who can't stop to argue with our neighbor about this stupid fish pond on the outskirts of our property. You know the one you and your siblings always used as kits to swim in."

"The one with the big old oak on one side, from where you can jump into the middle of the pond," Judy asked back and added after some seconds with a sheepish smile, "...and which we weren't allowed to do?"

Her mother replied to her smile in the same manner and added her infamous rolling eyes gesture, "Yes dear, that one."

"What happened," Judy asked curiously and leaned with her paws forward but still remaining in her crossed leg position. Her mother took a deep breath and began to speak, "Oh sweet cheese and cracker, where do I start?"

The conversation went on for twenty more minutes and was full of laughter and more questions about the incident from Judy's side until a horde of bunnies entered the kitchen area. Everyone wanted to greet their older sister and aunt but Bonnie Hopps stopped them where they stood and sent them right to their destined places at the breakfast table.

"I'm sorry, Judy but a lot of bunnies need my attention. But please call me whenever you feel the need for a little mother-daughter conversation. Bye."

"Bye," Judy replied and exhaled deeply. The last frame of her mother surrounded by dozens of smaller bunnies was still in place but the connection already canceled. Her mind was slowly coming back to her current struggle and all the things she had learned today. All of it was like a pain that manifested in her neck. Most of the time, meditation was the only way she knew to put her mind at ease and give her some kind of relief. She wanted finally to begin and closed her eyes, when she heard a voice to the left of her captain's seat, not far from her ear.

"Now look, who's violating the Jedi code here," Nick whispered grinning and startled Judy, who jumped slightly away from the fox and towards the other side of the chair, "And then even with such a heavy violation…but don't worry. I won't tell the council about it."

"It...it's not what you think, Nick!"

"Like I said. Don't worry, Carrots. I'm actually glad that you still have an anchor in the real world."

"Wha...what do you want," Judy asked shocked, her heart beating like crazy in her chest.

"I can't sleep and watching the stars fly by in Hyperspace always makes me drowsy...so move over for me, " Nick replied and jumped right next to Judy, who had just enough time to roll to the right armrest. She was once again surprised by the fox who made her forget what she actually wanted to do. And so they remained silent for a while. Sitting side by side. It was Nick who broke the silence by pointing both of his paws at the last image of Judy's transmission.

"I don't get it, Carrots. You had all of this? A home, a family, friends...maybe even a loving buck somewhere in your future but you trade all of this to become a Jedi? To quote a stable genius, this must've been the worst trade deal in the history of tread deals, maybe ever," Nick said, folding his paws behind his head and looking at Judy's family.

Sighing, Judy pushed a button on the armchair and closed the program which made the image of her mother disappear, "Well, believe it or not, but for me it's an honor to be a Jedi, Slick."

"Honor doesn't make you happy, Fluff. Believe me."

"Maybe not but it helps to protect the people in this Galaxy and that makes them happy, which on the other side makes me happy," Judy explained.

"Captain, we will enter Hyperspace in a minute," Patty, the AI of the Stargazer said.

"Thanks, Patty."

Judy rubbed her eyes and after a quick but strong shake of the ship, they entered the space of stretching stars, where they traveled at a speed faster than light to a place she had never seen before.

"If you ask me, Fluff, that sounds like self-deception with extra steps," Nick said and closed his eyes. Judy wanted to talk back but she felt how the day was finally closing in on her and the strength to argue with someone like Nick was long gone. Both of them yawned at the same time and chuckled about it.

"Maybe...but it's the future that I have chosen for myself," Judy replied, feeling oddly relaxed. For a moment she reflected if the feeling was there because Nick was so close to her but she disregarded the thought rather quickly and labeled it for herself as idiotic.

"Really...how old were you when you made this decision? Four...maybe five years? Not really an age to take steps that define your whole life."

"I was five and almost too old to join but it was still my decision and mine alone. But that's in the past now…," Judy said when a question came to her mind that bothered her since she had read Nick's case file,"...speaking of which. There's something I found odd about your past."

"Ohh, really? I'm curious what you could find odd about a Jedi who faked his own death and began a life on the run," Nick asked back, still grinning into the void of space in front of him but peeking from time to time at Judy.

"The name of your master *yawn* it was deleted from every file and every record in the archives...Why," Judy asked with a sleepy voice that became more and more silent with every word she spoke. Her head laid on the armrest of the Captain's chair and her eyelids had become tiny slits, through which she watched Nick and how he reacted. Sleep was close, she could feel it.

Nick was still smirking but at this point in time, it was nothing more than a mask to hide what he really thought or felt. It took him a while to find the right words but dedicated to answering her question, Nick turned to Judy.

"You know, Carrots, it's not easy for me to talk about this but…," Nick began but fell silent the moment he saw the sleeping bunny. He took off his jacket and placed it carefully over Judy. Nick closed his eyes and said to himself, "Look at you, Wilde. You know this bunny for just a day but you're ready to spill the beans about your whole life. I shouldn't get too attached to her. That would make things just more *yawn*...complicated."

It didn't take long and both of them were sleeping peacefully.

A/N: Many thanks to J Shute Norway for correcting my bad English.