On the cold ground, knees pulled up to somehow protect his ribs, Kyp had trouble sucking in just the tiniest amount of air. Breathing hurt. Moving hurt. It was a vicious circle given the maniac with the heavy boots trying to make jelly out of Kyp's innards.
"Tell me what I want to know." He wore a mask that covered the top half of his face. Kyp made out a crooked nose and a scar that ran down the center of the man's lips. And he was tall. Inhumanly tall.
Kyp coughed and rolled onto his knees, holding one hand to his abs while using the other to get himself into a somewhat crooked sitting position. Smiling and tasting blood on his lips, Kyp lifted his head and met the tall man's stare. "You really wanna know?" He coughed again, feeling as if his ribs were scraping against what was left of his lungs.
The man grunted, waiting for an answer. As if it would be this easy to break him? He nearly laughed.
"You hit like a Schutta."
Not necessarily the smartest thing to say, given the circumstances, but Kyp really didn't give a damn.
"You think you're funny, don't you?" The man spat.
Kyp, breathing heavily as he forced himself onto his feet, shook his head. "Course not." He said between clenched teeth. "No thinking involved, sweetheart. It's a known fact."
The man's fist slammed into the side of Kyp's face. He stumbled back, hitting the wall, surprised to feel all his teeth still in one piece.
"You asked for Khaszdan. Why?"
Kyp grunted when he pushed away from the wall. "One universe, countless galaxies, countless planets and billions and billions of individuals and I have the unfortunate luck of meeting your dumb ass."
The man grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and nearly pulled him off his feet. Kyp wrinkled his nose as he caught a whiff of the man's breath as he spoke. "You will regret these little games once I am done with you."
"Two words, friend. Breath. Mints."
The man flung Kyp aside and like a child's doll, he slammed against the wall with arms flailing about. He hit his head pretty hard and stars clouded his vision and angels began to sing.
"You must have me confused with someone else." Luke said, drawing on the Force to anchor this suggestion into the woman's mind. Problem was it had absolutely no affect. He'd expected her to go about her way with a laugh and a fleeting apology but instead, she crossed her arms across her chest and raised a blond eyebrow.
"Are you trying to use one of those Jedi mind tricks on me?"
Damn.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, miss. My name is Zeth Fost and I'm only trying to get into my quarters, that's all." He gestured to the closed door with a nod of his head. "If you'll excuse me, I have to contact station authorities."
Luke began walking down the stretch of corridor, hoping that the woman, Adya, wouldn't follow him but his luck had run out. He heard her steady footsteps on the carpeted floor behind him and then she called out for almost everyone to hear. "It'd be really great publicity for the station if they knew a Jedi was on board!"
Luke swung around in midstep. He grabbed Adya's upper arm non-too-gently and pulled her into a quiet corner, away from prying eyes and listening ears.
"What do you want?" He hissed at her, softening his grip as she looked down at where his hand encircled her upper arm. She wasn't a very tall woman, reached up to his shoulders if even that. The insignia on her uniform told him that she was part of flight control, which was on the far side of the station, if he remembered correctly.
"I don't want anything." Adya said, shrugging off his hand. "Why are you here?"
Well, there was no need to lie to her anymore. Even though he knew he had to tread carefully, maybe Adya could actually be of some help. "I'm looking for my friend. I lost contact with him a few hours ago. This was his last known location." He gestured to the closed door. "I need to get inside."
"Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" Her sudden smile was radiant and lit up her entire face. Blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "I have a friend. He can get you inside."
"Why?"
Adya blinked. "What do you mean, why?"
"Why help me? What do you want?"
"I already told you." Her smile slowly faded away, replaced by something akin to disappointment. But really, what did she expect? Nothing was free nowadays, especially when a Jedi was involved. "I don't want anything. I'd just like to help."
Luke sighed. He didn't trust her. But her help would make this situation so much easier.
"Fine." He said. "First thing's first. I need to get into those quarters."
All she'd wanted to do was clear her head, breathe for a moment before heading back to the control tower. Maika's stupid taunts wouldn't let her go. So what? She liked to pretend that life was better. Was there something wrong with that?
Sitting up in that control tower day-in and day-out and living on the station was wearing her out. She hadn't set foot on real dry land in months so daydreaming was her only escape.
Never in a million years had she thought she'd meet a real life Jedi, though. Luke Skywalker himself! Adya had recognized him the moment she'd seen him. He was even more handsome than in all those vids she liked to watch.
And now she had the chance to help him, to escape her reality for just a little while.
"Wezz will be here in a few minutes." She said, tucking her comlink into the pocket of her uniform. "He owes me a favor."
"He'll ask questions, won't he?" Master Skywalker asked, tilting his head to the side just a little. Adya swallowed and smiled shyly. She wasn't used to being around good-looking men. Sure, there were a few cuties on the station but none of them were interested in her and the ones she thought she could hang out with didn't much care for her. She was nervous all of a sudden, hiding trembling and sweaty hands in the pockets of her uniform trousers.
"I'll make up some story." She said with a shrug. "He's a good guy, so don't worry."
Master Skywalker turned away but she heard him whisper "Who's worried?" in that tone of voice she recognized as bad news.
Adya chewed on her lower lip. A voice in the back of her head was getting louder by the minute. Go back to your average, quiet life and you won't be in danger. She wasn't sure whether or not she was in danger but given a Jedi Master on the station…yeah, pretty obvious there.
But the average, quiet life was killing her.
She needed this.
"What about your friend?" Adya asked.
"What about him?" Master Skywalker turned to face her. Standing in front of a large viewport that showed the beauty of the stars beyond, Adya yearned for a holo camera. No one she knew would believe that she was actually talking to the one and only! It was getting increasingly more difficult not to break out into a fit of giggles.
"Is he…you know…" She lowered her voice. "A Jedi?"
It took a moment for him to answer, as if he was deciding whether or not to tell her. "Yes."
"Oh my – seriously? Two of you here? This is absolutely amazing!" She couldn't help it. Her smile turned into quiet laughter and then she felt a blush creeping up on her. He must think her insane!
"I'm sorry." She said, shaking her head. "Just ignore the sudden embarrassing outburst. But wait! Can't you use the Force to look for your friend? Jedi are powerful like that, aren't they?"
"It doesn't work that way." Master Skywalker raised his eyebrows.
"But you're a Jedi. You can do anything. That's what the holonet –"
"The holonet lies."
"Oh." Adya pursed her lips. She should have known, actually. Still, it was kind of disheartening.
She heard a fall of heavy footsteps pounding their way. Her friend Wezz, one of few she had on the station, approached with a little tool kit in his hand. From the corner of her eye, Adya noticed how Master Skywalker hid in the shadows. Evidently, he didn't want to be seen.
So this part was up to her alone.
Inside, she was jumping with joy.