Last time: Sulam got Cien some pickle juice and they chatted for a bit.

Now: The search for Frey is on.

Chapter 10- Cabin in the Woods

"Viran, if you were flying any lower we would be flying through trees," Sasha said, panicking slightly as she gripped the armrests of her chair tightly as her husband kept them just barely above the treetops, and between the taller trees.

"Oh, it's fine. I know what I'm doing," Viran said nonchalantly. "Just keep an eye on that scanner."

Kait was sitting with a white knuckle grip on the armrests of the engineers seat, and Oppie was excitedly sitting in the navigators seat behind Sasha in the back watching the trees flash by the window.

"You know, the only other ships I've evER…" Kait nearly jumped out of her seat as a tree top whooshed by and nearly joined them in the cabin, "was the one I took to get to the marshal's office and then to here." She admitted.

"This was our ship that we got at the beginning of when we were on the run from the Empire together. We went to a lot of planets but the Forerunner was kind of our home." Oppie said, looking around the ship fondly.

"Yep. She's a great little ship," Viran said, fondly.

"Then maybe you should ease up on the thrill factor," Sasha warned. "We only need to buzz the treetops, not trim them with our undercarriage."

"Buzz kill," Viran grumbled under his breath.

Sasha smacked his shoulder and gestured to Kait as subtly as she could. Viran glared at his wife, saw the gesture, then looked over to see Kait seemingly very much not enjoying the ride. Immediately feeling bad about it, he eased up on the controls and brought the ship to a more manageable height. The scanners seemed to approve of that maneuver as they were able to pick up more now that the range had widened.

"Sorry about that," Viran said to Kait. "I've been doing this for years. I didn't realize that you've never really flown before. I'll take it easier from now and save the fun stuff for later." He smirked.

"Thanks." Kait said, breathing a little easier. "It is kind of fun." She admitted.

Viran smiled at that. "Glad you're enjoying it."

Sasha smiled at that and returned her attention to the scanners. They were following the map Viran had made back at the headquarters. She looked between the map and the scanners, marking off locations that were dead-end as they were going.

After a few moments, her face contorted into a pout. "Op, are you finding anything on your end?" She asked, hoping the systems next to his seat were picking up something.

"Not really. All of these cabins and retreats seem to be abandoned. Makes sense I suppose, if this forest is the border of where the cartel operates." Oppie replied.

"So should I move on to the next area?" Viran asked, glancing at them.

"Yeah, might as well," Sasha said, nodding.

"Alright, hang tight," Viran said. He pulled back on the controls and moved them onward to the next cabin.

After a few moments, they were over a new area and Sasha started the scanners up again.

"How many more do we have after this?" Viran asked.

"About another eight more to go," Sasha said, distractedly.

"Got it," Viran said. "Hey Op, these trees reminded me of something." He added after a moment.

"What?" Oppie said, glancing at him as he kept an eye on the sensor readouts from his console.

"Would it be better to use our lightsabers or the ship's cannons to cut trees down at home?" Viran asked as he looked out the viewport.

Sasha's head slowly looked up from her monitor with an unamused expression. "What?"

"You heard me. So what do you think, Op?" Viran asked.

"I..." Oppie started. "For cutting down trees, the sabers. But for saving time chopping them into firewood, maybe the cannons." Oppie said.

Kait looked between them and then glanced at Sasha with a very confused look.

"Back home, these two and Kyr had come up with a new way of gathering firewood," Sasha started. "They decided to use explosives and lightsabers to do it. They nearly gave Cien a heart attack when Viran and I were away. I still think it's a stupid and very dangerous way of gathering wood." She then looked between Oppie and Viran. "And I will ground the ships if I have to. No laser cannons."

"Man, you're no fun," Viran pouted. "And I was going to say use the cannons for both." He quickly added.

"I'm fun. That is reckless," Sasha corrected with a smirk.

"Oh, this is for the trees you guys were talking about blowing up the other night?" Kait asked.

"Yep. Those are the ones," Viran answered, smiling. Sasha shook her head, trying not to smile as she looked back at the scanners. "Do you have a thought on it, Kait?" He asked her.

"If you have cannons, why not use them?" She replied as if the choice was obvious. Oppie tried to hide a smirk.

Sasha did a double take on that as she didn't expect that as an answer. Viran just laughed.

"Hell ya!" He laughed. "Now she gets it!"

I see why you like her, Op, Sasha thought through the Force with a teasing tone to Oppie as she tried to hide a smile.

Oppie shot the back of Sasha's head a glance before he turned his attention back to the sensor readouts on his console and rested his face in his palm, partially hiding his face. Sasha snickered quietly to herself as she looked back to the console.

"The lightsabers will cut through trees, though?" Kait asked, "I've only ever used them seen as a flashlight or when Sasha was deflecting blaster bolts." She said, a little impressed.

"Yeah and pretty easily too," Sasha replied. "Lightsabers can cut through most materials. There are just certain metals and alloys that are more resistant to the heat of a lightsaber blade."

"Like beskar and cortosis," Viran added.

"Exactly," Sasha finished.

"Cool." Kait said under her breath with a small smirk.

"Indeed," Sasha agreed then looked at the scanner. Her lips became a thin line after a moment. "Anything, Op? This one is coming up empty for me."

"No." Oppie said, "looking at the zoomed in view, the roof even looks partially collapsed."

"Alright. Viran onto the next one," Sasha said with a slightly disappointed tone.

Viran pulled on the controls and moved the Forerunner over another stretch of the forest. Like before, as soon as the ship was over the area, the scanners began this search. After only a couple minutes, a series of beeps and whistles went off in the ship.

"What's that?" Viran asked, very concerned.

"We found him," Sasha said, staring at the screen.

Viran's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Sasha said, glancing at him before looking to Oppie for confirmation. "You're seeing this too, right?"

"A single life sign in there. Might not be him, but considering the other cabins were all empty it seems worth checking out." Oppie concurred.

"I'm willing to take the risk," Sasha said.

"So do I put us down in the nearest clearing?" Viran asked the ship as a whole for confirmation.

"Yeah I think so." Oppie said.

"Do it," Sasha agreed.

"Okay, buckle up. I'm making a quick landing nearby," Viran informed them as he jerked the controls to maneuver the ship to the nearest clearing. "Once we touchdown, get ready for a quick exit. I get the feeling he might have just heard us hovering up here."

Sasha nodded as she tightened her grip on the armrests with one hand and grabbed her lightsaber with the other, ready to jump to her feet at a moment's notice. Oppie did the same as Kait held onto the armrests for dear life.

The Forerunner landed several moments later in a large enough clearing. Many tree branches snapped and broke off their corresponding trees as the hull of the ship lowered onto its landing gear. As soon as the gear hit dirt, Viran was quickly flipping switches to shut off the ship. Sasha unbuckled her safety harness and made a line for the ramp. Kait undid her buckles and was right behind her, Oppie simply stood up, having had faith that he wouldn't need the buckles with Viran flying and followed the women out.

As soon as Viran was done, he was right behind them all, meeting them at the base of the ramp. "Which way?" He asked as he keyed the ship closed. He wasn't risking someone stealing in case the cartel was in these forests.

"This way," Sasha said, pointing the direction they came from. "Let's go." She took off into a run towards that cabin.

Viran nodded, doing the same, staying close behind his wife. Oppie and Kait right behind them. As they rushed through the woods, they headed for the cabin. Once they got closer, Sasha slowed and took cover behind a nearby tree once the cabin came into view from the treeline. Viran ducked down behind a large stump, eyeing the cabin curiously. Kait and Oppie followed suit, stopping behind their own trees.

Oppie glanced between the other three, and gestured that he was going to go around the back, as he pulled his blaster out and double checked that it was on stun. Viran nodded. He made a gesture that he was going for the front door. Sasha made a "me too" kind of gesture to indicate she was following him as she held her saber tightly in her right hand. Viran pulled out his blaster and readied it while Kait went over to join Oppie as they made their way through the trees to get around the cabin.

Sasha and Viran slowly and quietly tiptoed towards the front door of the cabin, doing their best to remain as stealthy as possible. As soon as they reached the door, they stood on either side of it, weapons drawn and looking at each other. Viran gave her a nod and Sasha turned towards the door. She placed a knock upon it.

No answer.

With that being the case, Sasha then raised her hand as if to blow the door in with the Force when suddenly the sound of a swoop bike was heard. It sounded loud. It sounded close. And suddenly it burst through the front door before either Sasha or Viran could react. Viran jumped back as it sped out, rolling away and into a crouch. Sasha was knocked aside by flying chunks of door as the bike zipped out, nearly ramming her in the process. She let out a loud yelp as she flew back, landing on the ground with a thud as broken wood sprayed onto her.

Viran glared up at him from his crouched position. Frey sat on the speeder bike, smirking at the Jedi.

"Bye bye losers," Frey called as he produced a switch from his pocket before flying off.

As he did so, Viran reached into his belt and pulled out a small tracking device. He lobbed it with the aid of the Force towards Frey. The device attached to the back of Frey's jacket just as Frey hit the button on the top of the switch.

"Run!" Viran screamed out loud enough that he hoped Oppie and Kait heard as he ran. He ran for his wife at the same time as he yelled that to go help her but he had been knocked far enough away from her and wasn't going to make it in time.

Sasha, who was still dazed from getting hit with the door, barely heard Viran in time to awkwardly stagger to her feet and run away from the cabin. A moment later, the cabin exploded from the inside, sending chunks of flaming logs and whatever else the cabin was made of, out. Viran was knocked to his back by the blast and immediately covered his head as he was showered in ash, soot, and flaming debris. Thankfully the Force helped shield him as he used it to do so. Sasha was still too close when it blew and got sent flying forward. She tumbled and rolled to a stop nearby by a tree that had caught the brunt of the explosion. It was on fire just like the cabin. Debris fell and covered her as she lay motionless.

"Sasha!" Viran cried as soon as the shock wave subsided and the only thing that was left was a burning husk of a cabin.

He ran over to her, using the Force to move the debris off of her. Viran grabbed her and moved her away from the burning tree and to a safe distance. He knelt down beside her and started checking her over. She was unconscious, but was still alive. One piece of debris had sliced through the back of her jacket and others burned or cut through the sleeves. And there was a cut on her forehead from a rock she most likely hit in her fall that was slowly bleeding down her face. His heart raced with panic.

"Oppie! Kait!" Viran called out, desperately before releasing a cough as smoke filled the area. He checked over Sasha and her injuries while he looked around for the others. The longer he looked over her, she appeared to be okay aside from the couple burns and cuts she got from the fire and debris. But the fact she was still unconscious worried him greatly. He shook her shoulder, gently. "Sasha, hun. Wake up."

Oppie and Kait came running around the corner of the ruins, "Are you guys -" Oppie started, then he saw Sasha and came over and knelt at her side. Without thinking he reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a bacta ampule. "What happened?" Oppie asked, trying to discern if she had any internal injuries that the bacta would actually be necessary for.

"That shabuir," Viran cursed. "Decided to greet us with a swoop bike nearly running her over and then blew the cabin sky high as he escaped. I managed to get a tracker on him, but still beat us before we even had a chance." He explained, irritated.

"Good thinking on the tracker." Oppie said absently as he concentrated on Sasha.

"Thanks," Viran said.

Sasha coughed a second later as she came too. She blearily looked up at them. "What… happened?" She croaked before wincing slightly.

"Are you okay, hun?" Viran asked worriedly.

"I feel like I got ran over by a bantha," Sasha groaned as she moved up onto one elbow.

"Not far off." Oppie commented, "feel like you need this?" He asked, holding up the ampule.

"It may not hurt," Sasha said as Viran helped her sit up.

"What hurts?" Viran asked, concerned.

"Mainly just my head and my ribs. Nothing feels broken, but it definitely feels bruised," Sasha stated rubbing her head only to find blood running down from her scalp. "Damn it." She cursed.

"Hold still." Oppie said, he popped the top off the bacta and then jabbed it into her shoulder as gently as possible, rubbing the spot afterwards.

Kait was watching the forest around them with her blaster still drawn covering them, but it seemed quiet. She glanced at the medication Oppie administered, curious what it was, but said nothing as she kept her eye out. "Do we need to call in an ambulance or anything?" She asked.

"No, the cartel still runs these forests. I don't want to risk them coming out here and getting caught by the cartel. And I feel alright," Sasha said as she dropped her hand from her forehead as the bacta filled her system. "We should get out of here first."

"Agreed," Viran said as he stood up. "Besides, we have a first aid kit on board the ship."

"Okay, let's get out of here as soon as you feel up to moving." Oppie said, standing up to help watch out for any other dangers.

"I'm feeling better. We can go," Sasha said as she made to stand up. Viran, instinctively, reached out and grabbed her arm, helping her to her feet. Once she was standing, she seemed to be alright. "Thanks."

Viran nodded. "Are sure you are ready to go?" He asked her.

"The cartel will see that explosion. Okay or not, we need to go before someone comes to investigate. But I promise I'm okay," She assured them all.

"Alright," Viran said as he let go of her arm. "Let's go."

With that, they started heading back to the ship. Viran remained by Sasha's side as they walked just in case she lost her balance or became faint. Aside from a few winces or grimaces, she appeared to be doing fine. Oppie and Kait followed after them.

"So is this just normal for you guys?" Kait asked.

"You have no idea," Viran said, glancing back at her.

She glanced over at Oppie and he just shrugged.

"Are you two okay?" Sasha asked them after a moment.

"Yeah, the back of my jacket might be a bit singed," Oppie said, "but the bomb seemed mostly focused out the front of the house. As soon as I sensed it I grabbed Kait and we ran."

"I didn't even sense it," Viran admitted. "I was still reeling over the fact a swoop bike nearly ran us over."

"Yeah I'm grateful I was able to dodge it enough in time or I might be the hood ornament to a swoop bike," Sasha said, dryly.

"Well your sense of humor seems to be intact," Viran commented with a smirk. Sasha just smacked him upside the head at that.

"Yeah we didn't have the swoop bike on our side to act as a distraction." Oppie said.

"Is that more Force stuff?" Kait asked.

"You mean the sensing thing? Yeah," Viran answered. "Jedi have heightened senses which usually makes us more aware of danger. But sometimes even we are blind to it or don't sense it in time. It's kind of complicated."

"That's handy." Kait commented.

"Yeah." Oppie replied as they entered the clearing where the Forerunner was.

Viran keyed open the ship and headed up the ramp. "I'll get this started up and out of here," he said as he disappeared inside.

Sasha headed for the passenger compartment and opened up the cabinet that had the first aid kit in it.

Oppie and Kait stopped to help her in the aft compartment. "The 19th is going to be here late tonight, right?" Oppie asked, a little tiredly.

"That's what Cien told me," Sasha said as she handed him the medkit.

"It'll be nice to have everyone here." He said as he took out a couple of antiseptic wipes and burn ointment packets.

"Want some help getting your jacket off?" Kait asked, since Sasha was covered in cuts and burns that would make that maneuver kind of unpleasant.

"Sure. Thanks," Sasha said as she sat down on the edge of her bunk.

Kait sat down next to her and helped her start shrugging the jacket off while in the cockpit Viran was getting the ship under way. Sasha winced as she pulled the jacket off, leaving her in her tank top and revealing the various cuts, burns, and scrapes on her bare arms. As well as the scar on the right shoulder.

Kait folded the jacket and laid in on the bunk behind them. Oppie sat down on Sasha's other side and handed her a burn ointment pack while he looked at the various scrapes. "Sorry, this is going to sting." He said as he started working on them.

"It's okay," Sasha said before wincing at the stinging. After a moment, it didn't sting that badly. "Besides, I've dealt with worse." She said quietly as she grimaced, thinking about it again. She stared off before her as he worked on her scrapes.

"And." Oppie said, "we have a proper first aid kit this time." He said with a slight smirk. "Now no swimming in a swamp."

Sasha found herself smiling slightly at that, even if it was still a painful memory. But the smile didn't last long. "I don't plan on it," she remarked quietly.

"There are times I wish the embassy still had the pool. Swimming does sound kind of nice." Kait said a little wistfully, and partly to try to distract Sasha towards more fun thoughts than those she seemed to suddenly be mired in based on her distant reply.

"I wouldn't mind it in an actual pool," Sasha said, glancing at her.

"Sounds better than a swamp." Kait observed. Oppie smirked as he continued treating Sasha's wounds.

"Oh yeah," Sasha agreed. She looked over at the scrape Oppie was cleaning. "Thanks Op. How many times does this make?"

"Of?" Oppie asked.

"Of you treating my injuries?" Sasha asked with clarification. "I lost count long ago with you and Viran." She joked slightly.

"I dunno. I think the ledger is still in your favor for all the times you treated our injuries." He joked.

Sasha smirked at that. "I guess so. But still thanks."

"No problem." Oppie said.

Sasha nodded and looked around at all of the new injuries with a slight grimace. She did flinch at the scar as she always did. She then looked at Kait.

"You alright? This was probably a lot more than you were expecting," Sasha said, frowning slightly. "Sorry."

"Oh, no it's fine." Kait said. "It was kind of exciting. Sorry you got scrapped up though." She said, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's fine. Like I said, I've had worse," Sasha said before wincing at the stinging sensation as Oppie moved on to the next scrap that was on her elbow.

"Thanks for pushing me out of the way." Kait said to Oppie.

"No problem." Oppie said carefully as he concentrated on treating a laceration on Sasha's shoulder.

Sasha smiled at that as she looked away, trying to give them a moment while being stuck between them.

Kaits commlink chirped. She pulled the small pad out of her pocket and looked at the message. "Hmph, with the 19th returning we're supposed to go take J'onz up to orbit to remand him to their custody." She said.

"Really? Well I guess we better hurry back so we can join them," Sasha said simply.

"Yeah." Kait said with a grimace. "That'll be a fun ride with him up to orbit."

Sasha frowned at that. "It'll be okay," She assured her.

"Yeah, we'll bring a gag." Oppie said matter of factly. That made Kait chuckle.

Sasha chuckled at that too. "And then we don't have to worry about him again."

"I'll be happy if I never have to see him again." Kait said.

"I second that," Sasha agreed.

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