Two years into their stay on the uninhabited world, the Sith and Jedi sit across from one another, meditating. The Sith breathes a sigh of contentment. "You know what?"

"Hmm?" the Jedi asks.

"I'm glad you taught me this style of meditation. It's quite relaxing. I could stay like this for hours."

"Isn't it?" she smirks through closed eyes. "And this is why you'll never get me over to the Dark Side."

The Sith laughs. "No, the reason I'll never get you over to the Dark Side is because I'm not trying. Trust me, I would have succeeded by now."

Now Loneva laughs. "That hubris is really going to get you into trouble someday."

"First of all," Jori says in a matter-of-factly tone, "It's not hubris unless the misfortune has happened. Secondly, it doesn't approach hubris when it's simply a statement of fact. Hubris...is overconfidence."

"That's what they all say," Loneva retorts. "Just you wait."

The serenity of their meditation session is broken when Loneva lets out a loud gasp and touches her hand to her implant. "What is it?" Jori asks, opening her eyes, "What's wrong?"

"The proximity alert," Loneva says, "It's going off. Another ship has entered the nebula." She climbs to her feet, offering her hand to Jori to help her stand up.

"We haven't left the planet in over two months. If we were followed, they'd have announced their presence much sooner. How many ships?"

Loneva looks down as her implant processes the sensor readings. "One...just a small freighter."

The Sith raises an eyebrow. "Even stranger. We're far from any shipping routes. Where is the freighter now?"

"Entering the atmosphere...trajectory suggests it will land a kilometer and a half away from here!" She points due south of their camp. "Over there."

"Let's not waste time, then," Jori begins running in the direction Loneva points. "I want the element of surprise to be on our side."

Cutting and hurtling through the vegetation, the two women close in on the landing site, with Loneva constantly updating the location. Within moments, the ship is visible with the naked eye. Wordlessly, Loneva directs Jori to the best area to close in on the occupant. When the ship finally lands, they shield themselves from the repulsorlift dust. The ramp opens and Jori draws her lightsaber. "Hello?" a voice calls from inside.

"Who are you?" Jori demands.

A Zabrak man with red skin and black markings descends the ramp, wearing black cloth greaves, a utility belt with two blasters, and a brown leather vest with nothing underneath. He's in rather good shape, and smiles warmly at the Sith. "Hey there, name's Rylo Suave. How 'bout you?"

"Right. Rylo Suave. And I'm Lord Terror of the Dark Council," Jori ignites her lightsaber, walking slowly towards him. "What is your business here?"

The spacer raises his hands. "Hey now, easy, babe, I'm not gonna hurt ya! Just wanted to see who was on this planet." He licks his fingertips and rubs them at the base of one of his horns. "I must say...not bad, not bad at all."

Loneva steps into Rylo's line of sight. "The lady asked you a question," she says, "Now what are you doing here?"

"I just came here to lie low for a while," he says, then looks the Jedi up and down. "I guess I really lucked out on this place."

"Keep your eyes up!" Jori barks.

"Hey now," he says, "You can't blame a fella for lookin'. What's wrong, you jealous she's getting the attention? Because you're quite the looker yourself."

"I have no interest in you of that sort," Jori closes to stand right next to him, "And I'll thank you not to imply otherwise." He opens his mouth to protest, and Jori makes her fingers spark. "Say 'Hey now' one more time, and it'll be the last thing you ever say."

The Zabrak clears his throat. "I'm sorry, Miss, I didn't mean to irritate you." He looks from her to Loneva and back again. "Why does that bother you, anyway? She your girlfriend or something?"

"That is not your concern," Jori snarls, "Now you will tell us why you are here of all places, who sent you, and how you found us."

"I swear," he begins, "I had absolutely no idea you lovely ladies were here until I was in orbit. I won this planet in a pazaak game about ten years ago. Almost completely forgot I had it. Then one day, when the Zooks came by, I went for my stash to hide it, and came across the deed. Imagine that!"

"I'm having a hard time imagining it," Jori says, "Especially since the deed to this planet is in my name."

"Hey...there," he says, rewording his original sentence when the lightsaber blade is centimeters away from his face, "Mine's a Republic deed. You sound like an Imp, so maybe that's the reason for the mixup. But hey, it's a big planet. I'm sure the three of us can share just fine. No reason to fight!"

"Your presence here endangers us," Jori says, "You must leave immediately. I will escort you out in my ship and install a device on your ship to ensure our location stays a secret. Leave your deed with us."

The spacer looks genuinely disheartened. "Come on! I've got nowhere else to go! The Zooks caught onto my business. I was lucky enough to get out alive, but I can't go back or they'll kill me."

Loneva puts a hand on Jori's shoulder. "Perhaps he's telling the truth."

"I have ways of telling," Jori says, "But they require concentration. He might escape while I'm interrogating him."

"You're putting him on edge," Loneva points out, "So how about I question him and you screen him for honesty?"

"I'd rather he leave, but I don't suppose you'll let me talk you into that," Jori shuts off her lightsaber. "Alright, you come back to our camp. But walk in front of us, and no sudden moves."

"Hey, anything for you gorgeous gals!" He gladly complies, walking in the direction they point him. At the camp, he sits down on a log as Loneva stands in front of him and Jori paces behind him. The Sith takes the stun anklet she'd been forced to wear on her arrival and slaps it on his leg. "Fair enough."

"So, what's your name?"

"Rylo Suave," he says, "I already told you that."

The Jedi says nothing when his eyes fix on her cleavage. "Your real name."

"That is my real name. That's what it says in the Republic Citizen Database."

"What does your mother call you?"

He grins. "She usually calls me 'Sweetie'. Can't say I'd mind you callin' me that."

Loneva casts her eyes at Jori, who has her hand poised to slap him, and shakes her head. "Apologies for my associate. We're hiding out here ourselves, and she tends to run on the cautious side."

"Understandable."

"So what was this business of yours the Zakuulans forced you out of?"

He takes a deep breath. "If you must know, I ship food and medical supplies to worlds in need. Had a pretty big network set up in Hutt space."

Jori narrows her eyes. "He's lying."

Loneva shakes her head. "I can't help you unless you tell me the truth, Rylo. Now what was your business?"

"Fine. I was running guns and spice, helping bolster resistance movements."

The Sith shrugs. "Apparently he really does."

"Why spice?" Loneva asks.

"Only thing making the trips profitable."

"So how did you get caught?"

"It's quite a sad story," he begins, "You see, I'm not new to smuggling. I know how to vet all my clients and everything. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Well, in this case I really shoulda known that. But hey, if a guy asks me to get a crate of glitterstim to Hutta and promises ten times my normal price...anything's possible. So I took the job. But the moment I got to Hutta, the Zooks were waiting for me. Now see, here's where my caution pays off-I got plenty of ready-made routes plotted. So I jumped as soon as I saw the Zooks. Got me to Corellia, where I've got my safe house. I snuck around the back, took my essentials, and found the deed to this place. 'Eol Sha' is the only name anyone's ever given it. So now I'm out of a job, homeless, and a wanted fugitive. But...at least the company's nice here."

"You're not settled in," Jori reminds him.

Loneva looks at her. "Will you please just let me handle the talking?"

"Sorry."

Rylo grins. "Yeah, I thought so."

"Quite a story," Loneva says, not even asking him to clarify. "Excuse me for a moment, I need to talk to my associate."

The two women walk to Loneva's ship, stepping just far enough inside as Loneva's utility droid sits near the Zabrak, its electro-prod extended and charged. "Don't tell me you're actually considering letting him stay," Jori says.

"Was his story true?"

The Sith rolls her eyes. "As far as I could tell. But are you sure you want to spend all day, every day, with him around?"

Loneva sighs. "Yes, I know he can rub the wrong way. But I think he means well, and he seems pretty harmless." She smiles at her lover. "Besides, you gotta admit-he's pretty cute."

"I...won't deny he's easy on the eyes. Perhaps that's why he's still alive."

"Who are we to turn him away?" Loneva demands. "We've got more than enough food for him, too. We can confiscate his weapons if necessary, and I can remove the ignition coil from his ship so he can't run away and tell where we are."

"Very well. He stays," Jori sighs. "Just make sure he bathes-and make sure you get holos. You know what they say about Zabrak men."

Loneva laughs. "You're such a pervert." She leaves the ship and approaches the freighter captain. "Alright, Rylo, we've decided you can stay, but you'll have to keep the anklet on for a while."

"How long?"

"Until we've decided we can trust you," she waves away her droid, and it stows its prod.

"Well, if I gotta stay, I'll need to know your names. What's yours?"

The Jedi sets a cooking pan over the fire and puts some oil and vegetables into it. "I'm Loneva, and she's Jori."

"She really a Sith?"

Loneva nods. "She is, and don't tell her I said this, but she's an absolutely wonderful person. We've become...rather close since we met here."

"So...are you two…"

The Jedi figures he'll keep asking or figure out for himself if she doesn't tell him now. "Yes. Jori and I are girlfriends. It took quite some time, but I've learned to trust her with a lot. She's a genuinely caring person, and I would've given up without her."

"Ah, so there's hope for me yet," he grins. "Who knows...maybe you two will warm up to me the way you've warmed up to each other."

"I wouldn't count on it," Loneva stirs the vegetables, "She finds you quite grating."

"Is that so?" he smirks. "Well, maybe she'll change her mind if I leave my vest back on my ship."

The Jedi shakes her head and sautees the vegetables in silence. When they're done, she dishes them up and hands them to him. "Alright, here's your welcoming present. If you want to get into Jori's good graces, I suggest you pick up the slack here. That means cooking for yourself at least four times a week, patrolling the perimeter, monitoring holonet transmissions, and maintaining your own gear. I also would advise you not to make any passes at her. I'm not the jealous type, but she finds your advances to be irritating. Do your best not to remind her of that."

"I'll try." He chews his vegetables slowly, savoring the taste. "Not bad. Lovely and a good cook-I already like you, Loneva."

She laughs. "You'll definitely have to do better with me."