Chapter 4

It was risky to return to Coruscant, considering many Jedis wandered the streets when they visited the temple, but it was the first place she thought to go, besides it would be easier to find a reliable ship that could take her to a safe place. She needed protection for both her and her unborn child. The sun was going down and it would getting dark soon, the moons replaced the sun's rays with their own white light, and the city streets along with the towering buildings began to glow with soft colored lights that appeared both welcoming and distant. This world completely transformed at dusk. The bars and clubs, quiet during the day, became overly crowded and rambunctious, as they were filled with people who during the day would ignore each other but during the night became intimately acquainted. Mallie had been walking for most the day with no real purpose or place to go, she stopped moving for a moment and felt extremely alone. There was no one she could turn to, no place to mediate, no promise of seeing her husband again and she felt broken. Her hands made their way down the dark blue cloth of her tunic, she ran her fingers over the slight curvature to her otherwise slim figure.

"Don't worry," Mallie said lovingly towards her stomach, "We'll be okay". These words were more for her own reassurance than anything else. Her hands fell into the pockets of her robes, there was nothing in them, she sighed, being a Jedi didn't come with the promise of money. She debated with herself for a moment, would she dare go to the temple? She shook her head no. She could not give into these poor ideas no matter how inviting they might seem. If she went to the temple, there would be so many questions that she could not answer without serious consequence, such as why she wasn't with her assigned group during these wartimes. She thought back to the previous war meeting. She couldn't recall much of anything that was said. In fact she hadn't even been listening to the latest deployment destinations, as her mind was preoccupied, because she knew she would not be joining the others. She wandered the streets again with no real destination just thinking to herself, the walking merely gave the illusion that she had a purpose.

Inspiration suddenly struck her, as it often did when she was in trouble. There was a woman she knew, vaguely at best, on this busy planet who could possibly shelter her for the night. Even though Mallie didn't know the woman well she was still considered a friend the Jedis and wouldn't ask questions. Mallie tried to remember where the woman lived but figured if she headed in the general direction that her memory would resurface. Mallie picked up her belongings and headed in that direction careful not to attract too much attention from the local nightlife.

It was dangerous to be wandering around in the slums of the city without really knowing the right destination. Mallie felt wary as the strange men on the street eyed her with growing interest. For a moment she was afraid. She laughed at herself, why should she feel powerless it was these men who should feel afraid as she was quite skilled with a lightsaber. Even though her fighting skills were great, she often lacked the want to attack and attempted to avoid lifting her saber to another if she could help it. Mallie looked up at the club signs and realized she didn't know where she was. She was in unfamiliar territory. A deep harsh voice crept up behind her causing her to jump and turn around quickly on the spot.

"Aren't you a delicious piece of meat..." the disgusting voice said trailing off alluding to the worst possible scenario to Mallie. The owner of the unpleasant voice belonged to a large bulky creature whose scaly skin caused the night's lights to created a glossy affect on his body. The grip on her lightsaber's hilt tightened as a defensive measure.

She eyed her surroundings. Her eyes took in the males that began to circle around her, they started to close the circle, she counted them. There were about twelve or so people who made up this gang. Her eyes returned back to the scaly man who was easily the largest man in the group. He stood squarely in the middle, she assumed was the leader. He devoured Mallie's body with his eyes, he wanted her, and he would have her even if she didn't return the gesture willingly. He took one forceful step towards her.

Kento hated these side trips, they always appeared so tedious to him. Galen however, didn't mind these quick stops at the temple in fact he seemed to look forward to them. Kento could never figure out why though considering every trip he made here with Galen, Galen spent it in the archives searchign for nothing really. Kento lowered his hood, he could see the sun disappear behind the largest towers as the city prepared for the night and he couldn't stop but admire the beauty of the city planet at night. Even though he enjoyed this planet Kento could never imagine setting up permanent residence here.

Galen and Kento walked side by side, nearing the temple with every step, exchanging small quick banter mostly at Galen's expense. Galen cocked his head backward and laughed heartily, finally feeling like Kento was returning to his normal self, his head dropped back down to its usual level so he could scratch his nose. Scratching his nose, he stopped abruptly, when he noticed Kento wasn't beside him and looked back. Kento had stopped walking and was only a few paces behind him. Galen's joyful demeanor had changed again this time to concern, as the look on Kento face was that of pure panic.

"Kento?" he didn't move but whispered to himself so low Galen could hardly make out the words,

"…She's here…" he muttered, turned on the spot and started bolting in the opposite direction of the temple. Galen shouted after him,

"Marek. Marek! MAREK!" but Kento ignored his calls and ran faster rounding the corner, Galen grunted to himself and began to chase Kento but was lengths behind.

Mallie struggled to free herself from the scaly hands around her neck that threatened to cut off her air supply completely. The men closed the circle. A few of them snickered and the leader pressed his face closer to Mallie's, his breath was unbearable. Her lightsaber lay ignited on the ground, useless to her, it's blue hue cast a terrifying shadow on her captor's face. She couldn't breath and was gasping for air.

"I've never been with a Jedi before, "said the leader, his slimly voice seemed to scratch the ally walls, "especially such a beautiful one". With his other hand he stroked her face sending shivers down her back. His hand moved to the top of her robe preparing rip apart the fabric. In desperation, Mallie waved her fingers in front of the leader's face, attempting to use her powers to free herself, and managed to squeak out, "I will let you go and I will leave immediately". The smallest and weakest looking member of the group became glassy eyed and started to walk away before getting smacked on the back of the head by a pistol from a fellow member. The gang leader laughed viciously at her,

"I guess we're not all as weak minded as you'd think we are. Hand me that." He indicated to Mallie's saber, he took it firmly in his free hand from the man on his right and raised the blade to Mallie's face. She struggled to get free but couldn't. She felt a pang of sadness as she thought about the child she apparently would never see or would never look upon the face of her husband again. She closed her eyes preparing for death but it never came. She opened her eyes, when she heard a sick gurgling sound, and was in utter surprise to see the shocked look on her assailant's face and a green light protruding from his abdomen.

If you've made it this far, congratulations! Once again I do not own a thing. Reviews and always welcome and I hope you enjoyed this! Please, if there are any suggestions to this story I would love to hear them! Thanks for reading.