I have nothing to say. It has been almost 2 years since my last update and for that I am truly sorry. I am just going to shut up and let you see the chapter now. Thank you to everyone who is still reading!

Chapter 8

"No."

"Ash, we—"

"Colt," Ash interrupted. "I said no."

Colton gave her a long, hard look. "We don't have a choice, Aishlinn. All other transports are being used for the war. There is only one available ship in the docking bay for our use."

Aishlinn shot him an icy glare. Sol hesitated back behind Colton. She didn't enjoy confrontation and she could tell that Ash was beyond furious. She honestly didn't blame the smuggler given their only alternative; Sol wasn't too keen on going along with it either. But they truly had no other choice if they wanted to save the Twi'lek girl she saw in her vision.

"There aren't enough credits in the system that you can give me to go along with this." Ash said. Tegrit was curled around her neck like a scarf. He lifted his head to look at his longtime friend.

"Ash, I do believe we have no other choice."

Ash practically threw the Kushiban off her neck and stomped away. Sol sympathized. Colton thought she was acting like a two-year-old. Tegrit had a sore limb from his fall.

"Stupid, uncaring, selfish, Jedi and his stupid, uncaring, selfish stupidness…" Ash muttered as she walked (stomped) away from the situation. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going and slammed into another body.

"Oh, force, forgive me. I— Ash?"

Aishlinn looked up from where she was sprawled on the ground to see David standing over her. A grin quirked her lips into a smile.

"Well, hello there."

David offered her his hand which she took.

"I really am sorry about that."

Ash waved away his concern. "Don't worry about it. I can take a hit." She said, brushing dirt off of her leather jacket. David shook his head.

"Let me make it up to you."

"You don't—"

"I'll buy you that dinner." He said, cutting her off. Ash smirked at him.

"It's a date."

David offered her his arm which she took. The Echani Warrior was sweet, she thought. Despite being a Mandalorian, she felt comfortable around him. She figured that she had been away from her people so long that the vicious rivalry between their clans no longer bothered her.

He could be another story, however. She wouldn't be volunteering her heritage anytime soon.

David led her to the Cantina, holding the door open like a gentleman. Aishlinn smiled graciously at him. They walked inside and he led them to a booth. The Cantina was loud, per usual, just as Ash liked it. She hated silence; it was too… intimate.

"So, you fly?"

"More or less." Ash answered, taking a drink. She slid her fork into the noodles on her plate, taking a bite while watching the other man. David swallowed hard, averting his eyes. Ash hid a grin behind her hand before shifting slightly to make her breasts more pronounced. David swallowed again and Ash could see his cheeks begin to flush. She took a sip of her alcoholic drink (she couldn't remember what she order— Tarisian Ale. That's right), feeling pride swell in her chest.

"Aishlinn—" David started to say before being interrupted by a cocky, masculine voice.

"Babe!"

They both looked over in time to see a dark-haired man slide into the booth next to Aishlinn. Ash's eyes widened as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She pushed against him, but he was much stronger than her.

"Force, it's good to see you again."

"You're just saying that, you slimly nerfherder." She hissed, still struggling. David watched them.

Who are you?" David asked. Tobias took a good look at the blond man. His eyes raked his obviously Echani features, scrutinizing him. He turned to look at Ash.

"So sorry; did I interrupt your date?" he asked, obviously not sorry. Ash struggled to respond, but David beat her to it.

"Yes, you did. And I would appreciate it if you could—"

"Get off me!" Ash shouted, interrupting David and pushing out of Tobias' grasp. This caused the other pilot to fall to the floor. Tobias leaped from the floor, as graceful as a cat. He straightened his jacked and in one swift movement swiped the cigarettes from Aishlinn's breast pocket. He lit one and tossed the box back to her. Ash could feel her face heat up with anger as she stared at the troublesome pilot. She wanted to punch that stupid grin off of his face.

"I'm so sorry, David." She hissed between clenched teeth. "Sometimes you just can't help the trash that comes to dinner."

Tobias snorted. "That was a pretty lame insult, sweetheart."

"You chuff-sucking son of a murglak!" Ash shouted.

"I don't even know what that means, you fraking schutta!" Tobias shot back.

"You did not just call me that!"

"You're the one coming up with outlandish insults! I'm pretty sure you make up half of the things you say!"

"You're such a monkey-lizard."

"At least I don't look like one."

"Now you're acting like a child!"

"You started this, you trigger happy hutt-spawn!"

"Of the two of us, you're the one that looks like hutt-spawn!"

David wasn't quite sure what to do in the situation. The two pilots were going at it and he felt a little out of place. He wanted to leave, but he was unsure if Aishlinn would be okay in the situation.

Ash slapped Tobias and yanked out her blaster to point it at his chest.

David figured she could probably handle herself.

—

Colton paced back and forth in his room, Sol sitting in a chair with Tegrit curled up in her lap. He was frustrated that Aishlinn was being so unreasonable. Tobias Aeon was the only pilot with a ship in the docks. They needed him despite Ash's and his past.

"We don't have a choice." He nearly shouted. He took a deep breath to calm his anger. Anger led to the dark side. He needed to stay calm. He turned to look at Sol and Tegrit. "You both understand that we have no choice. We must ask Tobias to take us to Ryloth or that girl will die."

"I believe our best bet to find Tobias would be to check the local cantina." Tegrit said. Colton nodded.

"And Ash?"

"The local cantina as well. She is probably drinking herself into a stupor or with her luck, in the middle of a verbal spat with the pilot we're looking for."

"Wonderful. Let's go."

Sol reached out and grabbed Colton's sleeve. "Is Tee-eye coming too?"

Colton nodded with a smile. "Tee-eye is my assigned protocol droid. He comes with me on all of my missions."

Sol tilted her head to the side in confusion. She wasn't completely sure what Colton was saying. Her basic was getting better, but she still had trouble with some things.

"Yes, he is." Colton settled with. He'd let Tee-eye explain in when he appeared.

The Jedi, the Kushiban, and the Tusken Princess walked down the streets of the beautiful city and into the heart of it. Settled gently between a droid shop and a clothing store was the large cantina. Loud music was coming from the closed doors and the stench of alcohol was thick in the air, even outside. Colton led the way inside.

"Go ahead then! Shoot me! You know you want to, you miserable harpy!"

Colton saw Tobias standing there, his arms outstretched, and Aishlinn pointing a blaster at his chest.

"Do you think I won't do it? I will!"

"Aishlinn!" Colton shouted. Ash looked over at him, startled. "Put the gun away. Now."

"You can't tell me what to do." She scoffed, digging the blaster into Tobias' chest. He winced but made no sound. "This slimy nerfherded does nothing but harass me. It's time he gets what's coming to him."

"Ash, he is a mean man, but we need him." Sol piped up. "Please don't kill him."

"Wait, you guys need me again?" Tobias asked, but no one answered. Aishlinn took a good look at him before putting her blaster back into its holder.

"I wasn't going to kill him, kid. He just got on my nerves I wanted to scare him a little." She explained, ruffling the princess' hair as she passed her.

"Why do you need me?" Tobias asked.

"We need a pilot to take us to Ryloth." Colton explained. Tobias laughed.

"Well, I suppose I can take you guys there, for the right price."

"We have 10,000 credits we're willing to give you to take us there."

Tobias stood there making a show of thinking about his answer. Aishlinn could feel anger flooding her again as she looked at his cocky face. He was handsome, yes, but he was a scoundrel. He was a perverted womanizer who deserved to be slapped all the way to Sunday.

"Make it 15,000 and you've got a deal."

"Deal." Colton said, shaking the man's hand.

"Aishlinn?" David asked from the booth they had been sitting in earlier. "Maybe we should have our date another time."

Ash winced. "Oh, David, I'm so sorry. I never meant for all of this to happen. I'm actually leaving for Ryloth today, special Jedi mission. I don't think I'll be back."

"I'll just have to come with you then." He said. "It wouldn't hurt to have an extra pair of hands, I'm sure."

Ash looked at Colton. Colton sighed but nodded his head. She smiled and hugged the Jedi Knight, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. "Thanks, Cole."

"Yeah, yeah…" he waved off her gratitude.

"Alright, everyone, this is David. David, the blond guy is Colton, the pretty little girl there is Sol, the fuzzy thing is my best friend Tegrit, and that hormonal pain in my ass is Tobias, our new pilot." She explained to the Echani warrior. He smiled at them and bowed.

"It is lovely to meet you all. I will be honored to accompany you on your mission." He said. Colton wasn't sure about the man. He seemed like he could be a good help. He was Echani and the Echani always seemed to be skilled fighters. But the way he looked at Aishlinn… Colton would keep an eye on him.

Sol immediately shifted from Colton's side to Aishlinn's. She felt safe when she was near the smuggler. Despite Ash's initial dislike of her, she had quickly grown to like the princess. Ash smiled at the princess.

"Sorry if I freaked you out a bit earlier."

"Freaked me out?" Sol asked in confusion.

"You know, made you feel uncomfortable or scared or weird when I had my blaster out." Ash clarified. Sol nodded.

"It is okay. I just did not want you to be mad anymore and do something you would, um, not like later on?"

"Something I would regret?" Ash asked. Sol nodded.

"Yes! That is the word."

Ash smiled at her again. "You're cute. Thanks, kid."

Sol nodded and lowered her head to hide her blush. The smuggler, despite being a little rough around the edges, was still really sweet. Sol liked her.

"We better get out of here so we can reach that planet of yours as soon as possible. Come on, let's haul jets!" Tobias urged, walking in the direction of the docking bay. He led the way and Colton fell into step beside him.

"Look, I know you're only in this for the money, but thank you."

"What has your Jedi panties in a twist, Captain?" Tobias asked. Colton ignored the nickname and the insult (or at least he thought it was an insult. He wasn't used to spacer lingo).

"The Sith are trying to take over Ryloth. To our knowledge, there is an assassin who plans to kill the daughter of a high-ranking official so he will vote against the Republic occupation. I'm sure the assassin will target many of the other officials as well so we need to go and stop it from happening." He explained. Tobias paled slightly.

"This, high-ranking official, you said he has a daughter?"

"He does. Why?"

Tobias shook his head. "Nothing. Nevermind. We need to get going."

Colton wanted to ask what had the pilot so shook up, but Tobias had sped up and was walking much faster now, almost sprinting to the docking bay. Tobias felt dread pool in the pit of his stomach. He had heard that Sollad the Hutt, the beast who owned Cassoal, no longer owned her. Apparently she had managed to escape, probably back to Ryloth. It was pure speculation, but when he knew Cassoal, he knew her father was a high-ranking official. It may not even be her that this assassin would be targeting, but Tobias has to be sure. The poor girl didn't deserve to die. It was a long shot, but Tobias wanted to be sure it wasn't her and if it was her, he was going to keep her safe.

He had the Scarlet Eagle up and running within minutes of boarding the ship. Sol, Aishlinn, and Tegrit were the next to board followed by David. TI-29 had been waiting for Colton in the docking bay, so they were the last to board.

"Everyone on board?" Tobias shouted from the cockpit. Aishlinn appeared and took up the co-pilot chair.

"Everyone's here. Let's fly."

Tobias smirked at her. "So, you're gonna be my co-pilot?"

"Keep your hands to yourself, you vaping sleemo."

Tobias chuckled and got the ship flying.

"Whatever you say, gorgeous."

"Can it, flyboy."

Tobias gave her a mock salute. Ash rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else. The hum of the cargo ship was comforting to her ears. It felt like home. Years being up in space working as a smuggler for a hutt-slug like Sollad made space feel like home.

She was a true spacer, through and through.

—

Sol took a seat on one of the beds and stared at her reflection in the mirror across from her. Living on the desert surface of Tatooine as a Tusken Raider meant she always wore a mask and heavy robes to keep her body safe from the heat and sand. She never really looked at herself in a mirror. Her hair was a mess.

"Here, let me help you."

Sol jumped, startled. Colton stood in the doorway with a brush.

"Let me help you. I can brush your hair for you." He said. Sol nodded slowly and Colton approached her. He gently pulled the brush through her brown hair. Sol watched him in the mirror as he worked. He was so focused; his eyes stayed trained on the brush as he pulled it through her hair. She noticed the sharp curve of his jaw and his very blue eyes.

He was beautiful.

Sol reached over and grabbed his arm, stopping his movements. His eyes met hers.

"Sol?"

"Colton."

She leaned in and gently brushed her lips against his. Colton sat there, still with shock. Sol blushed a bright red and began to babble.

"S-sorry! I sorry! I meant no harm. It was dumb and I sorry and I—"

Colton cut her off with another kiss pressed to her lips.