A/N: Well, it's been a little longer than my self imposed weekly posting time frame, but at least it's here.
Chapter 2 Matter of Happenstance
Stonehaven was unspectacular as far as spaceports go, but compared to other mining-central cities, it was one of the busiest. Like other spaceports of its type, everything revolved around mining. Several large ore processing plants were spread around the large relatively flat city, and small modest identical housing units made up the majority of the city. Dust from the ore processing plants was everywhere, collecting in every nook and cranny it could possibly find. Occasionally the mass produced buildings were broken up by a different one, which ranged from being business fronts to varying shops selling a multitude of wares that a miner might find useful. In one of the sectors in the west of the large circular shaped city was a recreational district. Here, there were a number of different bars and cantinas, many of which were owned by the mining company that had the largest operation on the planet, Dalledo Mining.
In one of the smaller cantinas, Randal Sarn sat in a corner of a booth and swirled what remained of his Alderaanian ale and let out an over exaggerated sigh. Across from him sat his Twi'lek business partner Rika Tymor, who gave Randal a sideways glare at his obvious antagonizing expression. But instead of buying in to Randal's open invite for a heated argument, she turned her head away sharply, making her pastel blue lekku swing around on her shoulder. Anyone who was just short of being blind could see the tension between the two.
It had been two standard years since the Clone Wars came to an abrupt end and the former Jedi Padawan ran across Randal on Nar Shaddaa after narrowly escaping the treachery of the clone troopers. Since that time, Randal and Rika had been business partners operating his transport, the Destrier, out in the Corporate Sector in the Tingel Arm, and continuing her search for any Jedi survivors.
But in that amount of time, all her searching had turned up only vague rumors and uncertain recollections from dubious sources. While this frustrated her greatly, it frustrated Randal even more. Their credit reserves were running uncomfortably low and the majority of shipments that they could get paid for led back into Imperial space; a place that Randal was leery of getting anywhere near with an outlaw Jedi for a partner. Add that to the fact that she felt it was necessary to investigate every one of the leads she heard about instead of trying to land any of the rare job opportunities that they could take pushed him to the limits of his boiling point.
Rika knew that Randal was getting annoyed with her constant searching, but she felt that he failed to see just how important it was not only to her, but to the entire galaxy. He felt more concern over his pocket book then he did the well being of those in the galaxy that couldn't defend themselves. Every time she had tried to point this out to him, they only broke out into a heated argument that got them no further in convincing the other of their side.
Their last argument was only a few days before, and concerned this very trip to Dienzo III. Randal's old contact, Jonas Bees, had sent them a message saying that he knew a smuggler who claimed to know the current location of a group of Jedi who had managed to survive. So far, this was the best lead that she had in the entire two years that she had been searching, but the location that the smuggler selected for their rendezvous made Randal nervous. Dienzo III was on the border of the Middle and Outer Rim, in an area controlled by the Galactic Empire.
Randal outright refused to want to go to the rendezvous, stating that it was far too dangerous to go that far into the Empire and not get caught by one of its many agents. He had made the point of pointing out the fact that they had avoided the Empire for nearly two years, and stated that a lot had happened since they left.
In that time, the forces of the Empire had rapidly and violently crushed any and all opposition to their iron regime. On several worlds, like New Plympto and Kashyyyk, the stormtrooper brigades had trampled any that they had faced and enslaved those that they captured. And on Naboo, rumors spoke about how a battalion of stormtroopers had hostilely invaded and assassinated the Queen for harboring Jedi fugitives. Even more rumors said that a band of Jedi had gathered in the mines of Kessel and were all eliminated by the Emperor's enforcer Darth Vader.
But even when faced with all of this, Rika still felt that it was her duty to meet the smuggler and see if this lead proved fruitful. In the end, Randal gave in, but not without constantly grumbling about how much of a waste of time and credits it was.
Again Randal looked into his nearly empty mug and let out another overly done sigh. Not able to contain her annoyance any longer, Rika spun her head around and spoke sharply.
"Will you please stop that!?! It's annoying, and frankly I'm getting tired of it."
"Hey, all right, Sweetheart. Don't get all riled up, you know you're not supposed to do that," Randal said mockingly as he leaned back in his seat. Rika took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she tried to calm herself. She knew perfectly well that she wasn't supposed to let her emotions get the better of her, but she didn't need her frustrating partner pointing it out to her all the time. In fact, she knew perfectly well that she wouldn't be remotely feeling this way if he wasn't being so difficult.
"I'm perfectly aware of my situation, thank you very much. And I don't need some unkempt smuggler giving me advice."
"Well now that's just hitting below the belt there," Randal said jokingly with a smirk. Though she was still overly frustrated with him, his joke helped to calm her down enough to diffuse the situation. "So where is this Tacky-Whatshisname at? I'm getting this ore dust in some uncomfortable places. I don't know why he wanted to meet here instead of on the station. At least there's something to do up there." Randal was referring to Ascension Station, a rather sizable and busy refueling and cargo station that was located on the edge of the Dienzo System.
"His name is Tac Flynn, and he said he was going to meet us here yesterday. You don't think he might have been arrested, do you?"
Randal shrugged his shoulders and waived the droid waitress over to their table. When the droid wheeled itself over, Randal ordered another mug of Alderaanian ale and then asked the waitress a question.
"Say, you know all of the regulars who come in here, right?"
"That's right. You lookin' for someone you know?" the female programmed droid asked.
"You could say that. We're supposed to meet up with Tac Flynn. You know him?"
"Of course I know him. He's a bulbous overweight Dug and a terrible tipper. But if you're waiting for him, you're gonna be waiting a long time I think. He was busted by an Imperial patrol a few days ago trying to bring a shipment of spice into the port. He tried to run and they blew him out of the sky."
"Oh, I hate to hear that," Randal said as he leaned back in his seat and shook his head.
"Eh, I could care less. Like I said, he was a terrible tipper." With that, the droid turned around and went to get Randal's drink. For a moment, the two just sat at the table in silence. Randal made a move to speak, but Rika crossed her arms dejectedly and turned her head away.
"Go ahead and say it. I told you so. You know you want to." Randal leaned forward on the table and ran his hand through his shaggy black hair.
"Na, there's no point in bringing that up anymore. We might still be able to salvage this trip. Maybe one of the smaller mining companies needs to have a shipment taken to the Corporate Sector. We'll look into it when I get back," he said as he stood from the table.
"Where you going?"
"I've got to use the facilities, is that okay with you?" he said with another smirk, and Rika rolled her eyes and let out a small chuckle.
After Randal left their table, Rika turned to look out the window and lost herself in her own thoughts. Was it possible that no other Jedi survived what was now being called the Jedi Purge? Surely she wasn't the only one. Though she was taught to not believe in luck, it was truly only that which allowed her to escape. That, and her Master's sacrifice to ensure she was able to escape. At many times during that last two years, she thought about him and wondered what he would say if he could see what she was doing with the gift that she had been given. Would he approve of her life as a smuggler living on the galactic fringe, or would he frown in his usual way of disapproval and attempt to teach her lesson by speaking only in riddles which were made to make her draw the right conclusion?
A rising sound and a tremor of hot tension through the Force drew her away from her reflections and made her turn her head back towards the entrance. There she could see a rather stunted man wearing shabby old clothing being verbally harassed by two scruffy looking Niktos. Randal had repeatedly warned her to always stay out of other people's affairs and mind her own business, but she found it hard to fight her natural reaction to do the opposite. This time, however, she forced herself to remain seated and only watched.
"What's the matter with you, miner? You don't have the common courtesy to say hello to visitors to your little village?"
"Yeah, we practically had to shove a blaster in your face for you to even see us."
"Actually, we did." At this, both of the Niktos erupted into a fit of devilish laughter and advanced on the much smaller man. Now everyone in the small cantina was watching with the despicable hope of seeing some action.
"Now I'm not wanting any trouble, I'm just here to get a drink," the miner said.
"Well you can't get it here, miner! We told you before that your kind ain't welcome here."
"Yeah, we've all ready warned you once. Looks like now we're going to have to teach you a lesson!" With this, the shorter of the two pulled a vibroblade out of his pocket and activated the deadly weapon. Without thinking, Rika jumped forward and grabbed the Nikto's right arm by the wrist and held it back with a strength that caught the thug by surprise.
"I think you boys have had enough fun for today." For a moment, both of the Nikto only stared at Rika with a look of mixed confusion and anger. Many of the bystanders were shocked as well; Rika didn't really present much of an opposing figure when compared to the two much larger and meaner looking thugs.
"What's it to you, slave girl? Shouldn't you be riding some old man's lap for a cred?" the one with the virboblade said. He then tried to pull his arm free from her grasp, but she held on tight. While letting out a low growl, he reared back with his left and launched a massive sucker punch at her head. But the Force was now flowing full blast through her and she sensed the swing coming. Instinctively she ducked the swing, and then pushed her right clenched fist into his midsection. Though the blow by itself might not have been enough to effect the brigand, a hard and sudden push of the Force caved his innards in on themselves for a split second and sent the breathless Nikto down to the floor wheezing in pain.
Drawn into motion by seeing his partner hit the deck, the other quickly reached for the blaster that he kept strapped to his thigh. But before he could pull the weapon free from the holster, the cold silver barrel from a DL-44 was firmly pressed against his temple.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Randal said calmly, but with enough malice that he got his point across. The Nikto froze instantly, and Randal slowly reached down with his free hand and removed the blaster from the now frozen thug. Quickly Randal ejected the power cell, and then tossed the blaster behind him onto the bar.
"Now get out of here before I change my mind. And don't forget to take the trash with you," he added with a kick to the one laying on the ground. Quickly the standing Nikto reached down and helped the other up, who was still clutching his midsection, and together they hurriedly exited the cantina.
After waiting a moment after they left, Randal holstered his weapon and glared angrily at Rika for getting involved. Now that the excitement in the bar was over, the patrons went back to their own tables and put their attention back to their drinks.
"Are you okay?" Rika asked the dust covered little man.
"Yes, more than okay now thanks to you two," the miner said with a wide grin.
"Great. Come on," Randal said to Rika as he took her by the arm, "Let's get out of here before you decide to do any more heroics."
As the two exited the cantina and entered the dust covered street, the shabby miner followed them out and tried to catch their attention.
"Excuse me, but I can't thank you enough for what you did in there. You wouldn't know how hard it is for any of us to come into this town without them harassing us like that."
"You mean it's happened before?" Rika asked as she stopped walking and turned to face the man. Randal stopped as well, and rolled his eyes as he placed his hands on his hips.
"Yes, in fact it was for that reason that I came into town today. You see, those two are members of a swoop gang called the Sickle Riders. Just yesterday they rode through my village, terrorizing everyone and damaged our homes."
"Well I'm really sorry to hear that. I hope you find some way of dealing with it," Randal said quickly and dismissively as he reached for Rika's arm to continue walking, but she pulled her arm back and narrowed her brow at him.
"I came into town today to look for some help in setting up a defense against them. You've all ready done so much for me that I hate to ask, but would the two of you be willing to help us? We'd be able to pay you, of course. A thousand credits." Rika turned and looked at Randal with a raised brow, but Randal shook his head and tried to laugh the idea off.
"Look, we'd really like to help you out, honest, but we're not soldiers. You'd be better off calling the local law enforcement here and tell them about your troubles." Randal then turned and tried to start walking away, but the man continued to plead his case.
"We would if we knew it would do any good. But the Riders are working for Dalledo, the owner of Dalledo Mining," at this, Giles pointed to a large and rather ornately built building across the street. "He controls everything, even the police. We have nowhere else to turn."
Randal sighed as he turned back around and looked at Rika, who was giving him a look that he was used to seeing. It was a look of a decision that had all ready been made and no amount of persuading or arguing was going to change it. Randal took in a deep breath and looked up at the sky and wondered if the Force had a twisted sense of humor sticking him with her. The miner caught the unspoken exchange between the two and continued on, trying to convince both of them to join him.
"Come back with me and see our village. See what we're trying to protect and make your decision then. If anything, you'll get a hot home cooked meal out of it."
"Okay, we'll come with you," Rika said with a smile. The miner smiled widely from ear to ear and enthusiastically grabbed Rika's hand in both of his and gave it an excited shake. Randal merely waved and tried to give the man a smile, but it looked like a strange crooked grin.
"My name's Giles Lancor. My transport is back this way," Giles said as he turned and began to lead the way to his battered old hover truck. As they walked, Randal got close enough to Rika to where only she could hear him.
"Are you crazy? This is Imperial space! We shouldn't even be here in the first place. The last thing we need to be doing is drawing attention to ourselves by trying to build some yokel militia."
"Will you just relax? It's not like I'm wearing my lightsaber on my belt, you made sure of that long time ago. And besides, he said they only want us to train them, not fight for them. We'd be long gone before anything actually happens."
"Yea, and the hyperlane to Mustafar is plotted with good intentions. I know you've all ready made up your mind about this so I won't even bother trying to argue with you anymore. But don't tell them your real name, there could be Imperial spies anywhere."
"Fine, I'll use an alias. What about you? Someone might recognize the name of the infamous Randal Sarn," Rika said sarcastically. Randal smiled back, dripping even more sarcasm than her comment and then reached for his comlink.
"I better let Geefive know what's up. Geefive? You'd better put the ship on lockdown, Rika's got us on some wild bantha chase with some locals now." R3-G5, Randal's trusty astromech droid and the third partner in their operation, twittered back. He said that Randal had better get her one of those slave harnesses that the Hutts use to keep her from getting the two of them into anymore unwanted trouble.
"Hey, I heard that!" Rika said with a glare.
"Oh, she's getting better, buddy. We'd better watch out. I'll let you know if anything changes." Randal smirked and let out a short laugh at Rika's expense. When they first joined up, she couldn't understand anything the little droid said, but she was learning fast.
"Here we are. Go ahead and get inside while I get the engines running," Giles said as he lifted the rust and mud covered hood and began to fiddle with the power converter. The truck was an old relic, mostly rusted through with a few spots of faded green paint still visible. Randal opened the rusty hinged door and mockingly waved his hand towards the interior and bowed his head.
"Your chariot awaits, my lady." Rika rolled her eyes and climbed into the musty cabin, followed by Randal. Giles got the engine running with a loud popping sound, and the rough idling engines fluctuated randomly as he climbed in. As the truck pulled away and headed out of the city towards the west, Randal was amazed that an old rust bucket like this could still manage to hover, let alone still move.