Teri couldn't catch her breath. She refused to stop to try. She raced through the dank streets until she found the one that Bane had been in. He's not here! Defeated, she pressed her back against the wall of a building. It only took me a few hours, surely he wouldn't have left after so little time…

"So child, I assume you're here because you succeeded, because if you're here and you've failed…" she heard a blaster being removed from its holster. She spun around to face Bane.

"I destroyed the device, and killed the gang's leader." She said in a shaky reply.

"If you did, then you have nothing to fear, so why are you so scared?" Bane questioned; picking at her defense.

"Because you just pulled your blaster on me." She whispered.

"What are you talking about child?" Bane muttered, the Duros raised his blaster.

And fired.

It took them hours, but finally Gate, Numa and Wester managed to bring everyone to order. It was a bit chaotic still; unlike before, held together by the threat of the nanobots, there was nothing physically holding them together anymore, but still, there were no more fights. "Numa!" Gate shouted across the cavern, "Are there any serious injuries over there?"

"None too bad! Though there are some cuts that might get infected if we don't do something!"

Gate looked around the cavern, "I think Wester has the bacta patches!" Shortly after gaining some stability, Gate had gone into the former-leaders hidey-hole, and had discovered some bacta patches, whose due-date had occurred long ago.

"Great! So where is Wester?" Gate could see the distant image of Numa, standing with her hands on her hips, and most likely wearing a scowl.

"I don't know!" he waved his arms in frustration.

"I'm over here!" Wester finally piped up, from somewhere between Numa and Gate; "I got trapped underneath a Wookie!"

Gate took a second to think about that, "How in Sithspawn did you manage to get trapped underneath a Wookie?" Gate snapped.

"The Wookie decided it was nap time, and fell asleep." Wester said, dead-pan. Gate wondered for a second if that was some quip that really meant something cool; like Wester had broken up the fight by knocking the Wookie out, then Gate realized that this was Wester.

"Do you mean to tell me, that the Wookie seriously just said, 'Well, despite the fact that this cavern is in complete chaos, I'm going to fall down and take a nap'?"

"Yup." Said Wester, as he wriggled his way out from under the giant carpet. "You wanted those bacta patches?"

Shaking his head Gate shouted, "No, Numa wanted them!"

"Yah, I really would, if these guys over here aren't dead already!" Numa yelped.

"Sorry!" Wester shouted as he made his way over to the twi'lek.

Gate took the moment to slowly back out of the cavern, and took off into the streets of under-city Coruscant.

It felt like he had been searching for days, when it had only been a few hours; stress making time drag on. It was then he came across a particularly foul alley. He stopped breathing. Teri! The thought raced across his mind, as he saw the small form lying on the street; face down in the dank pavement. Dead.

Teri looked up at her Uncle; she didn't hurt, nothing hurt. Her breath came in gasps. Then she turned around behind her; a small fish-like alien lay dead on the pavement behind her. "He would have killed me; you saved me!" Teri breathed a sigh of relief.

"You act as if I would have killed you. But if what you said is true, and you destroyed the transmitting device; then I may have use for you." The Duros held out his hand; "Let's go."

She took his hand and let him pull her up.

Gate ran over, and knelt down on the pavement, "Numa." He whispered, then he turned the figure over, to see a small fish-like alien, blaster in hand. This obviously isn't Numa, which means she must still be alive somewhere!

Teri walked into the cleanest place she had seen in six months. "This is the ship." Bane snapped, then pointed to the right; "And that's the refresher, no go clean up. You stink."

His words cut Teri like a knife. It was only now that she realized how filthy she had become; and not just on the outside, but inside too. Teri had stooped to cat-burglary, and begging. She become as filthy as her surroundings. Rishy would never have turned to thievery, and Hope was too proud to beg. But Teri would do anything to live. Teri was a survivor.

"What's wrong with you kid? Why are you crying?" Bane's harsh voice brought her back to reality.

"It's nothing!" she sobbed, and raced into the 'fresher. She ran in and closed the door, then pressed her back the wall and slid down it. She tried to collect the little pieces of herself. Shattered fragments of too many lives, and too many names. After a while, she stood up, and walked over to the shower part of the 'fresher, only to realize she didn't remember how to work the controls. She could feel herself breaking down again, ready to cry her eyes out; when she took a deep breath. That much she had learned at the Temple; to relax and be calm. She looked at the controls again, there was a lever; she flipped it up and water spouted from above, soaking her head with cold water. She pushed the lever to the left, and the water became colder, so she pulled it to the right, and the water became warm. Patience; it's the only key that unlocks every door. Her father's words came back to her. You were right Dad, you were right.

After her shower, she put on some clothes that she found outside the 'fresher door. Not her plain pants and tunic. But a blue and green patterned silk shirt and pants made of some kind of durable fabric. They were luxury; and she knew it. She put them on and stepped out.

"They fit?" the voice came from her right. She turned around to find her Uncle.

"Yes, thank-you." She stated.

"You need a new name Hope." The Duros examined his fingers.

"I have one, I've been going by 'Teri'."

"Then that's no good; we can't have a way for anyone to find you."

"Not even Gate?" she whispered.

"Who?" the Duros snapped, finally bringing his head around to look at her. As Teri met his eyes, she realized that there was no way she could trust this man; he was a monster. "No one. What do you wish my new name to be Uncle?" "Uncle", the word felt like a chain, she might as well have been saying "Master".

"We'll go with…" The Duros tapped his jaw with a blue finger, "Nissassa." The bounty hunter seemed to choose at random; but Teri did not miss that "Nissassa" was merely "assassin" spelled backwards. Bane had not chosen that name lightly.

"Yes, Uncle." Teri almost ground out the word. She took one more look into his eyes. She thought of Gate, of Numa; and realized that this man would use them against her, if only to keep her in line. She saw that the only way to protect those she loved, was to forget them. To become someone else; someone who had no one to lose.

"As you wish." Nissassa smiled. Wasn't I worried about something a minute ago? The girl couldn't think what it was, It must not have been important if I don't remember it. The important thing to her now, was that she had what she'd so desperately needed, a new name, a new face, a new life.

"I'll have my droid show you to your quarters." He gestured to a small and rather pathetic looking droid, two prongs stuck out of the back of its head.

"This way Mistress Nissassa." It scurried along. Nissassa followed. They entered a corridor and followed it until it seemed they had reached their destination. "In here Mistress." The droid gestured with his tiny metal hand. "You have a private refresher attached to your quarter, but it does not contain a shower. Your room contains precisely one bed, one desk, and one chair. Dinner is served in an hour. And breakfast is served—"

"Leave me." Nissassa dismissed the droid with a flick of her wrist.

"As you wish Mistress." She heard the droid walking down the corridor as she entered her room. It was, compared to what she'd had for the last six months; luxury.

It was only then; thinking about the last six months; that she realized how little she remembered of them. No matter; it's like taking a shower, all the grime is washed away. Nissassa began to giggle; it felt so good to be free.

What she still hadn't realized, was how much more of a slave she was now.

*sigh* Another short chapter! Though it is longer than the last one...

This is basically the last "set-up" chapter. From here on out, there'll be a bit more happening, than just Rishy/Hope/Teri/Nissassa trying to survive :) (Gosh, she's had a lot of names...which does have a meaning in the story)

A huge thanks to My Lady Vader, hoysterrule123, darkangel1994, Queen, Moonstar 11, Pirate King Elizabeth Swann, and The Name Is Unimportant for your reviews! They mean so much!