Chapter 27
The Games Begin
A small sigh of both relief and regret escaped Audrey's lips when the Ebon Hawk's loading ramp hissed shut, ensuring that no prying eyes or ears could penetrate the ship's hull. Feeling safe in the security of the ship, Canderous and Zaalbar walked over to the workbench and dumped their cumbersome weapons onto it before walking to the main hold. But instead of joining the others who all congregated in front of the central computer console, Audrey made headway for the starboard dorm, which more or less became her, Carth, Mission and Zaalbar's unofficial dorm while the others took the portside dorm save for Canderous who opted to be alone in the medical bay. Carth shot a concerned look over his shoulder just as he stood next to Trask, his former subordinate, as he saw his partner scurry away alone.
"The hell's the matter with that girlfriend of yours?" Canderous grunted, clearly irritated by the fact that Audrey's actions drew attention away from the matter at hand.
"Just get things started – I'll be right with you," Carth said and followed after Audrey.
"Hey! I'm coming too!" Mission exclaimed expectedly and ran alongside Carth, momentarily throwing off balance Squishy who sat perched on her shoulder. Zaalbar lumbered behind, a stomach ache developing from having to make sudden movements so soon after eating an indescribably large amount of food.
When they reached the dorm, they found Audrey curled up into a ball on the bed located in the far corner, hugging her knees nervously while her untied hair was left to hang loosely all about her. All of her weapons lay in the corner, from her vibroblade and blaster pistol right down to her dagger. A series of pants, vengeful hissing and sighs of regret came from her lips, her shoulders rising and falling with tension.
"Honey?" Carth asked quietly, his voice a barely audible whisper as he slowly approached her. "Honey, are you alright?"
"Do I look alright to you?" Audrey puffed, her face still buried against her knees. "First I broke my promise to Mission when I let that lecherous son of a bitch grope her on the ass, and now I'm frightened to death that that 'Trask' guy might prove to be dangerous to us."
"I know, Audrey," Carth said, kneeling by her bedside and gently laying his hand on her arm. "My sense of distrust is probably greater than everyone else's on this ship, but even I have to admit that we've got to take our chances with this guy. If he's telling the truth about him being the only one who's able to lead us out into the desert and find those Tusken camps, then we have no other choice."
"Why the hell do the four of us need to be on this quest, anyway?" Audrey fumed, the doubt beginning to sink in. "There's Kael, Elena, Bastila and Juhani – four damn powerful Jedi in their own right. Hell, Juhani's former companion almost killed me, and her skills were far below Juhani herself. Just why do the rest of us tag along?"
Although his first instinct, as a soldier, was to insist that they had a duty to perform on behalf of the Republic, the truth of Audrey's words slowly began to settle into Carth's mind. When combined, the four Jedi's powers were surely more than enough to overcome the odd band of Dark Jedi or Sith. Even if they fought by their side, the likes of Carth and the other non-Jedi would only serve as distractions and cover-fire in battle. Furthermore, now that T3-M4 was part of the company, even Mission's expert hacking and demolitions skills were almost redundant.
"Audrey?" Mission said, causing her to slightly stir in response. "I know this may sound cheesy, but…remember what Bastila said about us before, about us looking like a true family and all?"
Audrey slightly looked upward, her cold blue eyes staring directly at Mission. "What about it?"
"Well, a family looks out for one another, but so do friends," she explained. "We're friends with Bastila and Elena, aren't we? I mean, sure, we may have some lingering doubts and suspicions, but look at how far we've come by helping each other. If it weren't for them as well as Kael and Carth, you, me and Big Z would definitely be dead piles of bones on Taris. I personally think that we owe it to them to play our part, as petty as it may be."
"It's not the quest I'm worried about," Audrey sighed as she got up on her feet and walked in front of Mission.
"What is it, then?" Mission looked up.
"Have a guess," her guardian said, eyes piercing into Mission's soul.
"Oh…"
"Your natural instincts will probably cause you to criticize me for this, but think from my perspective for a bit, darling," Audrey said, crossing her arms. "You're 14 years old. You're full of vigor and enthusiasm and think that you can play a big role in this quest of ours, but let's have a look at reality. You've just been groped by a sick pervert who's several times your age while I was powerless to do anything but stand between you and a thug who had his gun pointed in my back, and that's just the light part of it. Think of all the hellish trials we'll have to deal with. We'll undoubtedly run into Sand People here on Tatooine, but that's nothing compared to the beasts and dangerous people we'll have to face on Kashyyyk and Korriban. And if we're not careful, you may end up paying for it with your life."
"I…I…," Mission murmured, not knowing what to say.
"Look here, sweetheart," Audrey said, placing her hands on Mission's shoulders. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to be completely able to look out for yourself in even the thickest of battles. Neither Kael nor I am going to be able to bail you out of trouble in some cases. Stealth and pickpocketing is one thing, but you'll have to seriously up your combat abilities if you're going to stick around with us. Or just stay here in the Ebon Hawk, one way or the other."
"Audrey, I know you mean well, but we have to get moving back," Carth reminded her. "Trask isn't going to stay around forever."
With a heavy sigh, Audrey let her hands fall by her sides as she flicked aside strands of hair hanging over her eyes and walked briskly to the main hold. "Fine. Let's just get it over with – I don't like that creep hanging around, whether or not he was a subordinate of yours."
Unnerved by the rude awakening which Audrey's words rattled into her mind, Mission followed, her feet slightly dragging across the surface. Zaalbar let out a low growl, expression his concern that Audrey just may be right. In the many years they spent together in the Lower City of Taris, all of their combat incidents with Vulkars, Gamorreans or the occasional Grey Hands were calculated, thought out in advance and executed with precision. But now, ever since the unexpected skirmish with Juhani and Belaya's pack of kath hounds in the Dantooine crystal cave, the full extent of their true inadequacy in combat had been completely exposed. Zaalbar knew that if they kept going down this path, sooner or later Mission might get hurt.
And he wasn't going to let that happen.
"Took you long enough," Canderous grunted at the four who came walking back into the main hold. "Eyepatch here was just about starting to grow impatient."
"Just had something to get sorted out; excuse me for that," Audrey shrugged as she and Carth stood next to one another in front of the console, Carth looking nervous when he stepped beside the dark and mysterious Trask. Once Mission and Zaalbar took their places next to Kael and Elena, the conversation soon got underway.
"Now that you're all here, I can finally get down to business," Trask said, his voice sounding like a rasping whisper devoid of all enthusiasm, perhaps even the will to live. "The choice is yours: would you like to get straight to the point, or get an explanation as to how the hell I wound up here?"
"The second would be nice," Carth indicated. "I wanna know exactly how you survived taking on that Dark Jedi on the Endar Spire, as well as how on earth you weren't caught in the explosion."
"Hmph. Figures," Trask shrugged. "As Elena and Kael here must be aware, I fought that Dark Jedi after the door sealed off behind me. I knew that I didn't stand a chance, but I didn't care; I fought like hell against that bastard, knowing that the two of you wouldn't make it in time if you had to turn around and face him. As expected, he brutally overpowered me using the Force after I managed to hold my own for a while in melee combat. I could feel him draining me of my strength, and it wasn't long before I was knocked out cold."
"He…he drained you? Then how are you still alive?" Elena remarked. "When Dark Jedi use the Force to do such a thing, they don't stop; they keep on at it until you're worse than lifeless. How did you survive?"
"Guess he must've stopped at some point, and that all he wanted was to knock me out cold," Trask answered. "When I came to hours later, I was strapped to an interrogation board. Damn thing still is embedded in my memory – trust me, you don't want to get tied up in one of those. They tortured me for days for information about Bastila as well as intel about our fleet's next course of action, but I didn't tell a whisper. Not even when they brought in front of me the disfigured and severed body parts of their previous victims. They were talking about what to do with me, their solutions ranging from slow torture to death, and then their Czerka slimeball buddies contacted them, saying that they needed more manual labor for their mining operations.
"I didn't know where I was headed; just that it was far out in the farthest corners of the Outer Rim within the Sith Empire. Headed to one of their death camps, that was for certain. A few other prisoners and I were due for transfer to another ship because the ship we were on had taken quite a hammering during the month and needed to transfer back to Sith Space, so we were headed for Serroco to make the switch. Then, the Republic fleet attacked."
Carth spoke, rubbing his chin in recollection. "Yes. I do recall seeing intel reports from the fleet that a skirmish took place near there about a week after we escaped Taris."
"I was darn lucky. The surprise attack by the Republic contingent took place just as I was being escorted from my cell by the lone warden. The moment the bombardment sent him off his balance, I kicked his weapon out of his hands and strangled him using my cuffs. I used his key to unlock my bands and then quickly disguised myself in his uniform. I made headway for the hangar and managed to take one of the fighters, trying to take it as far away from the battle as I could. Unfortunately, I was hit by Republic fire and barely managed to survive crashing onto Serocco's surface. You can have a reasonable guess as to what happened since then, as there's no need for further explanation: I found a ship, and eventually ended up here to hide away from it all. End of story."
Audrey scoured his eyes for any potential dishonesty, but was unable to point out any. After all, the punctures and cuts on Trask's skin did the speaking for him, as well as the eyepatch over his missing eye. Of course she had never been acquainted with him prior to now, unlike Kael, Elena and Carth, but the grievous extent of Trask's wounds were enough to relay to her that they weren't merely chance cuts and burns in the midst of battle.
"Enough with the backstory already; on with the deal now," Canderous grunted, having grown tired of Trask's explanations.
"Fine, then," Trask chuckled and crossed his arms. "I just may be able to lead you to some of the Sand Peoples' enclaves. There are several of them, belonging to different tribes. Had to take note of where they were while I was on my own solo hunts for treasure to make a living; damn thugs can literally pop out of the sand in surprise if you draw within four miles of one of their camps. Have their locations memorized in the back of my head – I can take you to them, whichever one it is you need to go to."
"But where do we get the hunting licenses from?" Bastila asked.
"You heard blondie here say it for herself, didn't you?" Trask said, cocking his head towards Audrey. "You'll have to get your hands on them in various ways, and I won't criticize you for any choices you make. As long as you get those licenses in any way possible and also get those speeder bikes of yours nice and ready to go, we'll all be set. Just make sure to change the electronic readings and data inscriptions on those things once you have 'em – Czerka are touchy about I.D."
"You seem awfully keen about this, Ulgo," Carth narrowed his eyes, Audrey's unsettled rustling getting to him as well. "Just what is it that you want in return? You seriously can't be doing this out of mere generosity, given the depths you've fallen to."
"Ah, but there is a catch, Captain," Trask nodded. "You see, there's a rumor that one of the camps, belonging to the largest and most dangerous of all tribes, may just host none other than krayt dragon remains – teeth, bones and such. Perhaps even the biggest prize of all: a grand pearl. It'll fetch a goddamn fortune on the black markets. That's what I'm after. No tricks, no cards up my sleeve. So how about it? Do we have a deal?"
He's so full of shit, Audrey thought as she glared straight at Trask's smug face while subtly holding onto Carth's hand beneath the surface of the large circular computer console. She squeezed at his hand in a sign of warning, to be on the lookout for the slightest hint of treachery. He returned the gesture, indicating that his age-old alarm for lies and manipulation was as strong as ever.
"Not just yet," Carth shook his head, then took out his datapad and shifted it over to Trask's side of the console. "On that datapad is a map of Anchorhead as well as miles out into the Dune Sea, as per Czerka's available information. I want you to pinpoint the Tusken settlements you mentioned."
Trask lolled his head side to side. "What for?"
"I need to know if you're bullshitting or not, Ulgo," Carth replied. "If their locations are truly memorized in the back of your head as you claimed, you should be able to point out the exact positions of those camps. Go."
With an indignant grunt, Trask pulled the datapad in front of him and quickly dabbed his finger on no less than six specific points, putting particular weight and emphasis on one which also happened to be the furthest away from Anchorhead, due northeast. Once all data was recorded, he pushed the datapad back towards Carth, the other party members observing intently.
"You're sadly mistaken if you think you're off the hook so easily, mister," Audrey puffed, crossing her arms. "Just how can we trust you, anyway? What assurances do we have that you're not working for or with anyone else?"
"Hah. The last thing I want right now is to be noticed by absolutely anyone, unless I wish to be," Trask smirked. "If the Sith find out that I'm here, there's no doubt that they'll send their goons or some Exchange or Czerka-affiliated lackeys to find and kill me. Sure, I happened to be in that cantina which was filled with Exchange thugs, but I'm subtle and quiet enough to simply blend in with the crowd. Plus, now that you know I'm here, we can strike another bargain: I lead you to wherever and whatever you need to find, and in return, you don't tell a soul – especially Republic military – that I'm here. Deal?"
"Do we have a choice, though?" Elena asked. "Even with the visions shared between Bastila, Kael and I, none of us will be able to locate that camp we saw purely by instinct."
Carth took one last cynical glance at Trask, his hand holding just a little more tightly onto Audrey's. "Can we trust you, Trask? You don't seem to me like you're one bit similar to the man I remember you being on the Endar Spire."
"Just like Elena said, what choice do you have?" Trask shrugged, his expression showing indifference as to Carth's decision.
"We should trust him, Carth," Kael sighed and placed both of his hands on the console. "A slim chance is better than none at all. I saw the Tusken camp in the vision I had, but that doesn't mean I have a hope in hell of finding it."
"Hey, what gives?" Mission whined and crossed her arms. "We're a group, Kael, not an autocracy. Just because I'm fourteen, does that mean I should get no say in it at all? I for one don't trust him – he looks shady to me!"
"We don't have much choice, Mission. It's either this way or no way at all," Kael replied calmly. "We have no idea of the layout of the Dune Sea. By the time we locate the Star Map on our own, the Sith will probably have won the war."
"You know that it won't be like that! Stop trying to be like a goddamn emperor instead of part of a team!" Mission insisted.
The last utterance brought back an unwelcome pain to Elena's heart. She knew that deep down, had Malak not so treacherously backstabbed Revan at that last moment, he would still be a true emperor in his own right, and she his empress. She resisted his tempting words back then, but she knew for a fact that, due to her love for him and her strong desire to be with him again after two whole years of separation, she would probably have succumbed.
The Revan she fondly remembered from their teenage days was full of conviction, yet was more than capable of balancing his passions with empathy and restraint. He only rarely took brash action, but only when he deemed it truly necessary, and when things did go awry, he unhesitatingly accepted responsibility and blame. However, Elena suspected that the two years he spent away from her at war had undoubtedly changed some parts of his nature. He was always headstrong, but never grossly reckless as he had already demonstrated twice: the first incident in the Lower City of Taris, which resulted in Elena being hit with an incapacitating stun attack, and the second in his insistence on pushing forward in the crystal cave. The near-absolute power he once wielded as Dark Lord of the Sith had clearly gotten to his head, changing his personality for the worse and giving him a so-far suppressed, yet clearly evident streak of overconfidence and excess conviction.
"Okay. Sorry, Mish," he sighed and shrugged, then looked around the room at the others. "Any other objections?"
"Beggars can't be choosers, Kael," Canderous grunted. "Besides, I'm not all that opposed to be prospect of getting into trouble. Hell, I intentionally went into dangerous hot spots on Taris because I was so goddamn bored of meaningless crap that doesn't even pose a challenge. I say get him on board."
"This may be the only real chance we have of promptly finding the Star Map," Bastila said. "Something deep inside of me is ringing with alarms, but we have no option. And…as much as I'm appalled by the very thought of uttering these words, I agree with Canderous."
"I have to disagree with you there," Carth butted in. "It may take a while, but I have a gut feeling that we may just be able to pull this one off on our own. I'd rather be safe than sorry."
"I'm with you," Audrey spoke softly, looking up at him before averting her gaze to Trask. "I'm sorry, Trask. You may have been a faithful soldier once, but look at you now: a ragged walking carcass of a man, and every single word you speak makes my bones go cold. I say we should end this negotiation of ours here and go our separate ways."
"Juhani? Zaalbar?" Kael asked, looking at the two who remained silent the whole time. Juhani merely looked down and away, implying that she chose to abstain, while Zaalbar answered hesitantly.
"This is not my decision to make, Kael. We Wookiees are proud warriors, but I'd be of little to no use in a place like Tatooine. Our enemies strike from the dark, and the heat of this place would be an even greater hindrance to me than any foe. It's best that T3 and I stay and guard the ship."
Mission gasped in panic. "What? How can you say that, Big Z? Who's gonna look out for me if we head on all the way out into that desert?"
"Me, like I always have. Carth, too," Audrey said bluntly, immediately answering Mission's query. Mission's fear faded, and soon a relaxed and small smile rested on her lips.
"Juhani? Any comments? Anything at all?" Kael asked, concern creeping into his mind for the Cathar who seemed ever more distant and sullen than before. She didn't answer at all, and simply kept on looking down at the floor.
Deciding to shift the focus away from Juhani and give her a little space, Elena spoke up. "I made a promise to Bastila's mother. I promised her that we'd find and return her husband's holorecorder if we could. This may be the only real chance we have of finding it. I'm willing to put my faith in Trask."
"You're sure?" Kael asked with the tender voice and gentle eyes which always warmed Elena's heart in the old days. Whenever Revan would ask such questions, it was never to receive additional confirmation of Elena's decision – he had always trusted in her wisdom and level-headed judgement. Rather, it was a subtle yet wholly heartfelt way for him to express the fact that he cared deeply for her safety when it came to the possible outcomes of her choices.
"Yes, I am," she answered, looking him squarely and reflectively in the eyes. Their emotional safeguards were temporarily lowered, allowing Bastila and Juhani to gain an almost intimate sense of their closeness for a fleeting moment before they turned their attention back to the matter at hand. Elena squeezed her fingers together into a ball, having been made nervous by Bastila's suddenly darkened gaze.
"Oh, boy, here we go," Mission sighed and waggled her head. "Now that Bas and Elena are on Candy's side, that means that Kael's the tie-breaker. So what'll it be, hotshot?"
Kael took a deep breath in and out, leaning forward and placing his hands on the top of the console while his head drooped downwards. Even if he was indeed rotten, Trask seemed harmless on his own, but nothing could be said for certain. On one hand, Carth, Audrey and Mission's fears were not unfounded, but had genuine weight behind them. Even if he was not as close to Mission as Carth, Audrey and Zaalbar, the last thing he wanted to see was Mission being placed in harm's way due to any more negligent mistakes. But on the other hand, he remained so convinced by Elena's convictions. Strangely, a certain part of him had always trusted her unquestioningly, as if they were long-time friends who stayed true to each other thick and thin. Besides, despite all the horrors they faced so far, they always managed to pull through in the end as they always stuck together.
There was no foreseeable and real harm that could cause trouble for them, as long as they were a team.
Could there?
"I guess we'll be playing along with you, Trask," Kael answered and looked up at him, immediately drawing a dark smile from him, while Carth, Audrey and Mission looked disappointed. "You can lead us to those camps, correct?"
"Exactly," he said. "Just make sure to get all those hunting licenses in order; get one for every one of you who'll be heading out there. If my thoughts are correct as to which speeder bike dealer you were talking about, I should be able to come by when I hear their engines revving up."
"'Come by', did you say?" Carth asked. "You're not sticking around here?"
"No sirree," Trask shook his head. "I prefer to stay in my own quiet place. Unseen and unheard of by all. Except for you folks, anyway."
"Well," Audrey puffed. "Shouldn't you get going, then? Gangsters are probably prowling the streets as we speak."
"That I should. Well, it's been nice seeing you all, especially you, Captain Onasi," Trask nodded and began to walk over to the loading ramp without another word, which T3 opened with his wireless link to the ship's main computer. The group walked on after him, stopping just at the exit of the ship while watching him depart.
"Can we really trust him, though?" Bastila sighed as she saw Trask disappear into the streets of Anchorhead. "I know what choice I made, but it was only because I didn't think we could have possibly located the Tusken camps without his help."
Elena turned to Bastila. "Let's just remain on the lookout. He always used to be an upright soldier from the time I remember him during our shift on the Endar Spire, but…something's changed inside of him. For the worst."
"He's the least of our worries, if you ask me," Audrey added. "He's a potential danger, alright, but at least we'll be able to notice him. It's the ones lurking in the shadows who worry me – not least of all those scumbags who are probably still lounging in that cantina. Bastards."
None of the others spoke for a short moment, pondering on the potential consequences of their recent vote, and what backup plans they may have to come up with. But as they were doing so, they noticed soft yet clearly audible pants coming from Juhani.
"Juhani? What's the matter?" Kael asked, looking her straight in the eyes.
"What? Me? It…it is…," she murmured, her headstrong and solitary nature creeping in again.
"Don't tell me it's nothing. Really, please just talk to me about it. It's alright," Kael insisted.
Kael's words from hours ago during their long flight from Dantooine still echoed in her mind. After spending two months languishing in the crystal cave, it felt so good to have someone close who genuinely cared for her wellbeing. The last thing Juhani wanted was to inadvertently create a barrier between herself and the others which would only lead to another bout of alienation and anguish.
Deciding to let it out, Juhani sighed and spoke, her eyes narrowing slightly into a glare. "During that whole discussion in the main hold, all I could think of was the face of that man – that…Xor, as he called himself. I still remember that horrible day, when the Mandalorian fleets burned our world and that…that monster killed my parents as we were all running away. He shot my aunt in the legs so that she could no longer run, and then dragged her away by her hair as she screamed and fought in vain. It makes me seethe. Badly."
Unsettled grumbling came from Canderous, who was clearly displeased to have yet another reminded of the day which robbed him of his niece. Juhani looked up at him and visibly softened her expression, giving him a subtle sign that she did not begrudge him. The two were, at the very least, on somewhat cool terms, after discussing the information provided to them by Kael regarding the actions of the Fetts.
"Don't let the urge for vengeance eat away at your heart, Juhani," Bastila spoke up, then looked sideways to Audrey. "That goes for you, too. Always keep in mind our capital objective: the Star Maps. We can't let personal vendettas get in the way of our mission, let alone everyone's safety."
"She's right, both of you. Listen to her," Elena reinforced her. "You all saw how frustrated and angry Bastila was in the cantina after meeting her mother. She's lost her father to the Tuskens, but she never for one second suggested that we hunt them down purely in order to find him."
Audrey puffed. "I don't want to go back to the cantina just to stick my knife into the throats of those bastards for threatening us and groping Mission, though that idea by itself is truly tempting. I want to take them out while they're in a bunch in one place, so that they don't cause us any problems down the road."
"If Trask is so conscientious about being anonymous to all, then that means that this place is loaded with spies and gangsters," Kael reminded them all. "Chances are, we'll be getting ourselves into trouble if we go after them at night. We should stick to daytime operations, where we can easily blend in with the general public."
"Then close up that loading ramp and let's get some shuteye already," Canderous muttered as he began to walk towards the medical bay, which he occupied by himself as a sleeping area. "We should get moving first thing in the morning."
With a tweet and a series of beeps, T3 concurred and commanded the ship's loading ramp to automatically close.
"Sounds good to me," Mission yawned and shifted off towards the starboard dorm. "I just wanna get this day behind me and get on with—hey!" she cried out, spinning around after feeling Squishy the Gizka leap off her shoulder. The little pet, for no reason at all, suddenly decided to hop off the ship just as the ramp was closing up. With quick feet, it slipped through the gap as Mission irrationally began to give chase, determined not to lose it.
"Mission! What in the hell—!" Audrey gasped, reaching out with a quick hand to grab Mission's arm…but not quick enough.
"It's okay!" Mission insisted, much to the shock of all who stood by watching as she demonstrated her lithe reflexes by sliding through the crack before running off on her own. "It can't get far! I'll be back in a jiff!"
"No! Get back here, dammit!" Audrey yelled, tugging Carth along with her. But to her dismay, the ramp was now almost fully shut, with absolutely no space for her to slip through. "T3! Get that fucking ramp completely open! Now!"
T3 quickly did as he was told, inputting a command which led to the ramp being opened again – painfully slow at that, given Audrey's state of panic. As soon as the ramp was open enough, Audrey slid through, too panicked to even prepare herself with her weapons that she left in the dorm. The rest of the party naturally followed, not willing to allow Audrey to go unarmed.
"Mission? Mission!" Audrey cried out, uncaring whether or not unwanted ears could notice her. She ran in the general direction that Mission ran off to tracking each and every footstep she could see in the sand which clearly belonged to Mission and her pet Gizka. However, her heart plummeted when she suddenly noticed that where the two sets of footsteps ended, replaced by several which then sprouted off into different directions.
"Audrey! Audrey, where is she?" Carth called out from behind as he ran up to her, only to stop in shock when he saw her kneeling in anguish before the massive collection of footprints before her. The prints displayed signs of violent dragging about and constant shifting, clearly indicating signs of struggle. From that point, Mission's footprints were nowhere to be seen.
Heartbroken, Audrey shed a tear and gasped for breath, reaching down and touching Mission's last footprint. The sole patterns were distinct, one of the main reasons why Mission constantly begged her to buy it for her in the Dantooine markets until she finally gave in and gifted it to her. Audrey loved the broad, bright smile that was on Mission's face that day, as it gave her hope that she would one day be able to ensure that Mission's future was filled with joy and optimism instead of the misery she endured every day on Taris.
No longer.
"She's…she's gone…"
A/N: First of all, sorry for the massive delay in update. Transitioning from university to full-time work really takes some adjusting. I'll get used to it, eventually, so hopefully I can make more regular updates. I've also been playing a lot of Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns because I got into the XIII series from way back, and I'm almost at the end of the storyline, so I should hopefully have more time to dedicate to writing soon enough.
Second, just relax. A lot of you may clearly remember what happened in that cantina with Xor, but I'm definitely not going to push it. I wanted to inject a heavy dose of realism into Torn in regards to the details of quests and battles, and also the behavior of criminal gangs such as the Exchange in order to mildly reflect what goes on with criminal organizations in real life as opposed to the watered-down scenes shown in some movies and TV dramas, but I'm not gonna go too far because of ratings issues.
Lastly, I'll say it again like it did in a previous A/N, but please look up and read R. Constance's "Until the Stars Fade" if you haven't already. It's the most sorely underrated and underreviewed Revan/Bastila fic going on at the moment, in my opinion, because it's one of those fics which I check on an almost daily basis for an update.
As always, thanks for all your reviews!