Chapter XXI - Leaving Quesh

There have been difficult times in my past; the loss of my mother to name one, but I can't say that I struggled with psychological issues. I love my emotions, they motivate me and make me feel alive, but I have always been able to separate them from my soul; that core of my being that was the real me. The thoughts and feelings swirling darkly around my mind since I had reawakened were something new and overpowering, sucking the energy out of my body and the hope out of my heart. Everything seemed pointless. My mind, which was used to locking onto a goal and making plans, struggled to grasp something to anchor it. I drifted in that dark state for hours. Initially, I thought that it would go away on its own; that maybe it would fade with the medical drugs still metabolizing in my system. Unfortunately, the opposite was true. The more I wallowed, the deeper the darkness seemed to get.

At some point, while I rested, a chime sounded from the cockpit, and then Ashara came into the bedroom excitedly. "The miners cleared the tunnel!"

I did not feel her excitement and hesitated to get up and go see what was going on, but Ashara stood waiting for me and seemed surprised that I was not as excited as her, so I got up and slipped out of my pajamas. "Go on," I mumbled in irritation, "I'll follow in a moment."

Ashara opened the hatch and left the ship with Pez in tow. The stench of the cave made my nose wrinkle as it washed into the ship and over my senses. I hurried to get on my clothes and stepped down the ramp to follow her. The gravelly ground was rumbling as I walked toward the triage tent, and lights were flashing on the walls up the tunnel. Soon, large mining equipment came into view, two crawlers with lights on the front beaming down as I stepped up beside the Padawan. The doctor had come out to watch, as did the soldiers who were armed and spreading out in a distinctly military formation. I was momentarily worried that there might be a threat coming toward us, but the crawlers stopped and Commander Trey came out of a door and began to climb down the machine. Mine workers joined him and as a group, they walked towards us. The soldiers converged on us too, and soon there were more than a dozen men surrounding Ashara, the doctor, and me.

"I'm glad to see everyone is okay," the commander said as he crunched to a stop before us, "especially you, my Lord." He nodded at me.

"Thank you," I replied. Outwardly, I might have appeared okay.

"The doctor should be thanked," he replied with a sharp nod to the woman at my side. "She's the best I know," he added.

"I still oughta bust you for trapping us in here," the captain growled with a raised fist.

"Now, now," the commander countered, "don't get belligerent with me. You knew as well as I that it was the only option. The inspection team found nothing and left without any suspicions."

"Next time trap yourself in a rancid mine."

"Hopefully, there won't be a next time," the commander replied, still eying the taller man nervously.

"You're damn right about that," the captain spat. "I'm tired of following your crappy orders. We're getting the hell oughta here!"

"Let's not get hasty, Captain. The freighter isn't showing up until tomorrow, and it's going to take some time to unload. You're a lot safer down here until we are ready to stow you."

"I'm done sneaking about," the captain complained.

"I'm sorry, but the blockade is still in effect and Lord Vashcar has not cleared us for any communications or movement."

"Lord Vashcar?" I said almost reflexively, vaguely remembering Ashara saying that name the day before.

"Yes," Commander Trey nodded. "He was the Sith that helped the captain's team extract you from the warehouse."

"I don't remember any Sith?"

"You were out by then," the captain snapped as he shot me a look. "He was another uninvited Sith who showed up and started bossing everyone around."

"He was put in charge of all ground assets after the conference call," Commander Trey added.

"Can we trust him?" I asked in concern.

"Yes/no," the commander and captain contradicted at the same time.

"He's known about our position the whole time," the commander went on with a frustrated look at the soldiers. "If he wanted to turn us in, he could have at any moment."

I was inclined to agree with the captain. Thoughts of a covert cabal watching me entered my mind and made my skin crawl.

"Please," the commander continued, "be patient just a little longer and I will have you safely stowed on the freighter and away from Quesh. I promise." He was looking at me, hoping to get my agreement to fend off further difficulties.

"Okay," I nodded slowly, "we'll wait, but keep us informed, Commander."

"Of course, my Lord," he nodded.

"So that's it?" the captain snapped.

I turned to look at the tall man. "What would you rather do, blast your way out of here?"

"You're damn right!" he sneered, "that sounds better than hiding in this hole, breathing toxic air for another two days."

"Please," the commander said sharply as he put up his hand in front of the captain. "Any rash action you try now will jeopardize us all. I insist that we work together."

"Cap," the sergeant whispered from a few steps behind.

The captain stared us down for a harsh moment. "Dammit!" he snapped and turned hard in the gravel to walk away. The soldiers moved off after their leader, still armed and eyeing us.

"My Lord," the commander said more softly to get my attention, "we are going to break down the doctor's room and her equipment before we leave. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I don't think so," I sighed, "just make sure things proceed as quickly as possible."

"Of course," he nodded.

The mining crews worked for some time loading up the doctor's equipment. She was going back to the mining base but said that she could monitor my progress with the cuff and that I could contact her if I needed anything. We said goodbye and went back to the ship. Later that afternoon, I was hiding in the bedroom, searching through my wrist com hoping to find something in my library that I could read as an escape when the ship's com chimed. By the time I got up and walked to the main cabin, the padawan had answered it.

"Okay, see you in a minute," she said to whoever hailed the ship, and then the com was closed.

"What was that?" I asked as I walked up to her. It was a little irritating to feel like the padawan had taken over my ship.

"Oh," she turned around to look at me, "Drary . . . I mean Sergeant Yoms wanted to come over and give us an update."

"On a first-name basis, are we?"

"It's nothing," she said quickly as she stepped by me to open the hatch. "He's the only soldier who doesn't hate me . . . I mean us, and he's been rather helpful with information."

"Why would the soldiers hate us?" I asked as the hatch swung open and the ramp touched the gravelly floor of the tunnel. The sergeant was walking briskly towards us from the military ship. Ashara looked from me to the sergeant and realized she would be unable to answer my question before he came into hearing distance.

"Hello there," the sergeant called out as he saw us standing in the hatch. He took a few steps up the ramp before stopping. "Good to see you up and about. You're lookin' better already, compared to yesterday."

"That wouldn't be difficult, Sergeant. I felt like the walking dead yesterday."

"Yeah, I've been in the tank before . . . wasn't fun. Took a nasty shot to my thigh while on Alderaan a few years back when we were sent in to take out an assassin team working for House Ulgo. Their leader, Bouris Ulgo, was trying to kill members of House Thul, whom the Empire was backing. Anyway, so we dropped into a heavy conflict zone, the civil war was in full swing by then, and I got in the way of a heavy blaster bolt. Took me right down, too. Bam! and I was on the ground . . ."

I looked over at Ashara while the sergeant talked and she gave me a slight grin. "Fascinating, Sergeant," I broke in, "Ashara informed me that you had an update on our situation."

"Oh, sure," he replied a little less excitedly. "The freighter is in-system and has begun processing through orbital customs. The commander said it'll be on the ground sometime overnight. Then there's a twelve to eighteen-hour unload before we move out."

"Sergeant!" Captain Mordon barked from across the cave, "get back here."

The sergeant swiveled his head between us and the dim figure of his superior. "Ah, hold on . . . be right back," he said with a frustrated look on his face before hopping off the ramp and hurrying toward the captain.

"He's a real talker," I mumbled as I glanced at Ashara.

"Yeah," she laughed softly, "seems to get him into trouble, too."

"What the hell!" we could hear the captain bark from across the tunnel, "we're trying to train here, Yoms."

I looked over and watched the captain chew his sergeant out. The spec ops team was in full gear and seemed arrayed in two groups. One of the soldiers shot his blaster into the rocky ground at the other group's feet, making them jump back and several others laugh. Weapons were pointed at one another and shouting started between the two groups. The captain turned away from the sergeant and yelled orders to the rest of his men. Drary gave us a quick look back with a forlorn wave before falling in with the rest of the team.

"He's not coming back," I grumbled, turning away and activating the hatch to close the ship. "Pez, increase the ship's atmospheric controls to get rid of this horrible smell." The droid buzzed closer to me with an avid chirp.

"I was about make something for dinner," the padawan stated as I took a few steps toward the bedroom, "do you want to eat something?"

My impulse was to head back to the privacy of the bedroom, but my stomach twisted sharply in protest and my feet stopped. I slowly glanced backward at Ashara, noticing that she watched me with worried eyes. "I am hungry."

"I don't like them, but I was going to take the time to warm up an MRE because at least it feels like a full meal." She walked over to the kitchenette while she was talking. "Shall I make two?"

"Okay," I replied.

"It's nice to know that the freighter is in-system. Hopefully, it won't be much longer and we can be away from this awful place."

I did not answer her, even when she glanced my way. Instead, I walked over to the small table and sat down.

"Bleep-boop," Pez toned as he drifted nearby.

I glared back at his unblinking red eye, unsure of what he was trying to communicate and uninterested in responding. An awkward time passed as I sat in silence and the padawan and droid hovered about anxiously. The food was brought to the table and I started to eat quickly. Ashara eyed me several times but did not say anything as we ate, yet as my plate grew empty, she seemed compelled to.

"I feel like . . ." she said before a pause when I looked up at her, "things aren't okay." I followed her gaze to my injured hand and realized that it was twitching awkwardly, so I pulled it off the table into my lap.

I did not respond and dropped my eyes to my plate. Her concern irritated me a little because I was struggling to understand why she cared. Why is she so invested in me all of a sudden? I wondered.

"Does it still hurt like it did earlier?"

"No, it's a numb stump."

"Oh," she answered. "Well, maybe that is part of the healing process."

"It's not," I snapped, "I've got the medical band up to its highest setting."

Ashara went back to her dinner for a moment, her hopeful attitude fading. "Are you sure it's a good thing to have it on high all the time?"

"Are you a doctor?"

She looked up at me with a flash of irritation in her eyes, "it was just a question."

"How the hell am I supposed to know the answer!" I could feel anger rising within me. It was not her fault; my mood was driving it. Focusing on anything important triggered the ugly thoughts deep inside me.

"Okay, you don't have to get mad at me."

"I'm mad at everything right now, and bitter, and depressed, and no . . . I don't want to talk about any of it! I just want to be left alone." The anger boiled to overflowing and I knew I needed to get away. Pushing up from the table, I walked to the bedroom without saying anything else.

I ignored everything after that; just collapsed in bed and tried not to think. Later, Pez came in and buzzed around my head when Ashara opened the bulkhead to get ready for bed. She did not say anything to me and left me the bedroom again, gathering the pillow and sheet she used the night before, urging Pez to go with her, and closing the bulkhead when she left. At some point, I turned off the light and just laid back down. Sleep seemed a long way off, and I sank into the mire of dark thoughts oozing up from my subconscious. I hated being this way because I thought of myself as a fighter; always looking for a way to turn things in my favor.

Thankfully, sleep did claim me at some point, and the ghosts were somewhat quiet, which made me more restful. The only dream I remember was flashes of Lord Zavros wooing some human woman in a very aggressive way. It was disturbing, especially because I had my own memories of men pushing themselves on me, and seeing it from their perspective made it worse. The padawan woke me when she came in to take a shower. The droid followed her in and drifted around my head. I was not sure if his sensors could detect that I was awake, but I kept my eyes closed because I did not want to interact with anyone. They both left after Ashara got dressed, and I stayed in bed with my dark thoughts. Eventually, I got hungry enough to get out of bed and get some food. The padawan was in the main area doing some stretching exercises when I stepped through the bulkhead.

"Beep-beep," Pez chirped when he spun in the air to see me walking towards the cabinets. His little thrusters puffed as he drifted toward me.

"Yes," I mumbled, "it's me." Ashara glanced over at me before going back to her exercises. I pulled a drink and some bars out of the cabinet and walked over to the small table to sit down.

"Bleep-click-click-tweeb," Pez toned as he followed me.

I had no idea what the droid wanted and glanced at him in frustration as I sat. He drifted nearby but did not persist with his gibberish. It took some effort to get the bottle and bar package open with one hand, and I ended up having to use my teeth. Ashara glanced over at one point but did not offer to help, which I was thankful for. Somehow, needing someone's help just made it worse. After finishing my simple breakfast, the padawan took a break and came to sit opposite me.

"How are you this morning?" she asked.

"I'm alive," I stated.

"Okay," she replied, seeming unsure what to say next.

I glanced over my shoulder at the bedroom and wanted to just go back to bed. I appreciated the apathy that was beginning to settle into my mind, and talking was likely to dredge up emotions that I had no answer to and would just make things more uncomfortable.

"Would you like to do some exercises with me? It would be good for your body and could take your mind off your troubles."

I looked back at the padawan and saw the reluctance in her eyes. She seemed to expect me to say no or snap at her. "Is this how you trained at the enclave?"

"Yes . . . well, one part of it. We had calisthenics and meditation in the morning before our classes. Do you have regular training exercises?"

"Not really. I suppose some of my classmates at the academy were into fitness, but the competition and consistent dueling we were subject to forced us to develop stamina and agility. You either toughened up or you failed."

"Dueling?" she asked in a surprised tone. "So, you fought amongst your peers?"

"Everyone," I mumbled.

"Dueling sounds kind of ritualistic," she said with a twist to her face.

"Most of the time it was just a raw fight until someone submitted. Losing to your peers was not too bad, unless they were sadistic, but not performing well against superiors could prove to be agonizing, physically and mentally."

"That sounds awful."

"As I said, you either toughened up or failed. That was the point of Sith training."

"We sparred with our fellow classmates, but it was strictly controlled. They did not like people being dominated, it's not the Jedi way."

"Yes, well to some, mercy is considered a weakness."

"How can it be a weakness to show consideration to others?" The padawan's face shifted to shock and almost horror.

"I don't have the energy to carry on a philosophical conversation with you," I said as I rose from the table. "I'm going to take a shower."

There were many worldview differences between the Sith and the Jedi. I had issues with some of the Sith teachings, but in general, agreed with the principles. It was pretty clear from the faces that the padawan was making that she had a disgust for the Sith, and talking negatively about the Jedi code would have been pointless. As I was dressing after my shower, Commander Trey contacted us over a group holo with the captain and his team.

"The freighter has landed and is currently unloading," he stated happily. "I expect the process to take about twelve hours, and then we can begin loading you up."

"They're going to inspect the freighter on the outbound flight," the captain interjected, "how are we not going to be discovered?"

"We had a special request from The Department of Science and Innovation on Dromund Kaas for a large amount of extracted compounds from the mine. The slurry is one of the things to be loaded on the freighter before it departs. I plan to put your ships inside the bay with the slurry. I can't imagine any inspection team would want to poke around in such a toxic mixture."

"Toxic mixture!" the captain barked, "I've had more than enough of you and your toxic planet, Commander . . ."

"Your ships will be safe inside shielded containers, Captain. If you have a better suggestion, I'm all ears. Until then, we are proceeding with my plan."

"If we get past the blockade," I asked, "what happens then?"

The commander's holo image turned to look at me. "It's hard to know the exact timeline. Inbound ships have been waiting about four hours for inspection, but there are fewer outbound flights. The freighter captain is planning an inter-route waypoint to debark you, I believe the hyperspace jump is five hours to that waypoint. After that, it will take time to pump the slurry into a separate bay. Altogether, it seems like you will have freedom of navigation about ten hours after take-off."

Commander Trey paused and we all glanced at each other. "Lord Vaschar has not been in contact with me today, but I believe he will have some departing instructions for you."

I nodded my understanding but was not happy with the comment. I did not know this Sith Lord and did not like the idea of being beholden to him or having to take orders. It seemed clear by the captain's sneer that he felt the same.

"That is all I have for now," the commander went on, "expect the mine workers to arrive in about twelve hours to load your ships onto crawlers. If anything changes, I will be in contact."

The day passed by uneventfully. I kept to myself in the bedroom while Ashara did her Jedi routine in the main area. The idea of being free of Quesh in less than a day triggered a new wave of concern and anxiety within me. It was easy to sulk when you were trapped, not that I liked sulking. It actually bothered me that I was beset by so many negative thoughts, but I did not know how to break out of the darkness. I could hide in the bedroom of this small ship for a while, but soon I would need to make decisions. What was I going to do when I had the freedom to navigate?

For the first time in years, I was considering running away and hiding. I used to dream about that all the time when I was little and life got hard, but I assumed the need to run from my problems would be over when I became a Sith. Now, it seemed like the only realistic option. Part of me was even hoping that Andronikos decided to take the Intrepid for himself so that I did not have to deal with facing him and the Deshade. A plan began to settle in my mind; head for Nar Shaddaa, drop the padawan off for the Jedi to rescue, and then take the recon ship into the outer rim somewhere to disappear. I was pondering the elements of that plan when Ashara poked her head in to tell me the mining team had arrived.

The ships were still sitting on the lifting platforms they had been offloaded on, so it did not take much effort to hover us into the crawlers, and soon we were rumbling out of the tunnel. As we approached the opening to the canyon, an opaque shield was activated to obscure the ships from prying eyes. Ashara and I went to the cockpit to observe. Our crawler exited the tunnel into a dark canyon illuminated only by floodlights from the freighter. It was hard to see clearly through the shield, but the freighter looked massive. Its size afforded very little room for the crawlers to maneuver at the bottom of the canyon, and it took some time to arrange us near the freighter's bay to be loaded. The crawlers stopped and we sat idle for some time before the floodlights on the ship were turned off, plunging the whole canyon into darkness.

We felt motion as the ship began to lift out of the crawler's bed, and slowly we drifted through the darkness with only the distant lights of the mining complex as a reference until the freighter's bay blocked everything from view. After what seemed like a long wait, the shield around our ship disappeared and the com chimed.

Commander Trey's image appeared in the holo above the ship's console. "Good evening, my Lord," he stated with a satisfied look on his face. "Both ships have been loaded and we are ready to begin filling the freighter with the mining compounds. I would like to say goodbye in person if you don't mind; I am on my way to you now."

The padawan and I rose from the cockpit seats and I went over to open the hatch. I stepped down the ramp onto the metallic freighter floor with Pez and Ashara following behind. The spec ops dropship was open too, and the captain was standing at the top of the ramp looking over at me. I nodded at him, and he nodded back but stayed where he was. Several minutes later, mining engineers came through an airlock door at the back of the freighter bay, followed by the commander. He stepped passed his subordinates and walked briskly toward me.

"Beep-zwip," Pez trilled as he watched the men approach.

"Ah," Commander Trey sighed as he approached, "it seems your ordeal here is almost complete."

"Yes, I suppose it is."

"I'm sorry my accommodations have not been more agreeable." The commander paused as Captain Mordon and Sergeant Yoms walked up. "For you too, Captain."

"This better work," the captain groused.

"My plans haven't failed yet," the commander replied in a frustrated voice.

"There's a first for everything."

The commander turned from his antagonistic counterpart to focus on me. "I was called to the Imperial base last night. While there I met with Lord Vashcar. He wanted you to have this." As he spoke, the commander turned to one of his engineers, who lifted a case he was carrying and handed it out toward me. I reached out with my left hand and took the handle, feeling the weight of its contents as I let it down to my side. "The case contains items that Lord Vashcar found in the basement of the warehouse after your duel. He seemed to think they might be important to you."

"Also," he went on, "your doctor wants a last appointment with you." The commander nodded to the other engineer, who lifted his com pad and activated the holo.

The doctor's image appeared above the tablet and her eyes focused on me. "I've monitored your progress through the medical band and things look to be progressing well. Have you had any problems?"

"There has been quite a lot of pain," I replied. "I've had to keep the medical band on its highest setting. There has been some spasming as well."

"It's not uncommon," the doctor replied, though her face showed worry. "I won't be able to monitor you once you leave the planet. Will you be someplace where you can receive follow-up care?"

"I need to make a rendezvous at Nar Shaddaa. After that, I'm not sure."

"I'm afraid I don't have any contacts on Nar Shaddaa, but there is an Imperial consulate. I'm sure they can direct you to good medical care if you need it."

"Do you want your band back?" I asked, rubbing my finger over the strip covering my scar.

"No, it should stay on for a few more days. The band will continue to operate on its own and contains all of your medical records from the procedure. The hand should become less painful and more useful as it heals, but it's going to take time."

"Thank you for putting me back together."

"Of course," the doctor smiled. "I hope everything goes well with your recovery."

The holo ended and I turned to see the commander and captain arguing softly. "I don't know what to tell you, Captain," the commander complained.

"My team has been out of contact for over four days. I can't just show up at my unit without an explanation."

"Lord Vashcar has not contacted me yet . . ." The commander replied.

"Well, maybe you should find out what's going on before you drown us in toxic waste."

Commander Trey did not reply but stepped away and motioned to the engineer with the com tablet instead. That left Ashara and me standing awkwardly in front of the captain.

"Well, I guess this is where our rocky relationship comes to an end, Sith."

"I guess it does," I replied.

"It was nice to meet you, Drary," Ashara said. "Take care of yourself."

The sergeant seemed to puff up and a slight grin twisted his lips. "See Cap, I told you they weren't all bad."

The captain gave us a disinterested look. "I'll reserve judgment on that."

Thankfully, the commander came back to break up the awkward moment. He was holding up the com tablet. The upper body of a Sith man turned to look in my direction, his red skin almost as dark as Ashara's. I assumed it must be Lord Vashcar.

"Lord Kallig," his deep voice echoed from the tablet, "it is nice to see you in one piece. I hope the arm is healing well."

"So far," I replied.

"Did the commander give you the case?" I held it up for him. "Good. Your apprentices had an item for you, hopefully, you can find some use for it and their loss was not in vain."

"It's hard not to feel like all of this was in vain," I replied, "but thank you."

"I knew Lord Cineratus, his death was a disappointment."

"He gave me no choice," I said with a voice more colored by anger than I would have liked. "If he were alive today, I would be the one mourned."

"Another unfortunate outcome from the reckless teachings of Sith doctrine. If we do not change this behavior, the Sith will destroy themselves."

"On that, I can agree," I replied with a nod.

"I assume you will be heading to Nar Shaddaa. We will give you some time to rest and recover; then you will be contacted."

"I'm not sure I like that. Not to be ungrateful . . . to all of you," I turned my gaze to the captain and commander before glancing back to the holo, "but I don't know any of you very well, and I feel exposed to the Sith hierarchy and Darth Thanaton. If you know my status and location, then it's likely that he does too. How do I know I can trust you?"

"What purpose would any of this have served?" the Sith said harshly, "if we could be so easily given over to Darth Thanaton's vengeance?" His eyes searched me a moment. "Others fight for a cause like yours, Lord Kallig. We are not all raging monsters bent only on power and dominance. I can understand your hesitation, however; I suppose trust must be built up over time."

"I wouldn't be here without your help, and for that I am grateful."

"So, what about me?" the captain stated after a pause.

Lord Vaschar's image shifted to look at the captain. "Once you have freedom of action, Captain, contact Colonel Visk over standard military channels. He will relay your next orders."

"Why do I feel like this whole thing is going to bite me in the ass?" The captain gave me a harsh stare with his words.

"You and your team performed admirably, Captain. Colonel Visk has said so himself. I am not aware of his plans for you, but I sense you are in good hands."

"I hope so," the captain muttered.

Several mining personnel came forward from the hatch and spoke softly with the commander. "It seems that we are ready to proceed with the loading of the compounds."

"I will not hold you up any longer," Lord Vashcar replied. "Good luck to you all."

The holo-com was cut and the captain turned to walk toward his ship. Sergeant Yoms stood awkwardly for a moment before giving us a grin and then moving after his superior.

"I hope you heal completely, my Lord," the commander said as he stepped close, "and I'm sorry about the loss of your apprentices." I did not know what to say in response, so I simply nodded. "I feel like we will meet again," he added. "Good luck to you both."

We entered the ship and closed the hatch. Mine workers moved around the lift platform that we were on, and then activated the energy shield. They had changed the setting, making the shield more powerful and completely opaque. I sat in the captain's chair and wondered about what was going to happen next. It seemed to take a long time, but eventually, the shield started to darken and fluctuate at the bottom, and I assumed that meant that the slurry was beginning to fill the freighter bay. Over time, the level increased until it covered the whole shield.

I felt tired and did not want to think anymore, so I got up and headed back to the bedroom. Ashara was sitting at the little table in the main cabin and looked over at me when I passed. I stopped at the bulkhead and looked over my shoulder. "Are the cockpit seats working out for you?"

"They're okay," she replied.

I had a slight twinge of guilt when I met her gaze. I had slept in the captain's chair before, and I could not say that it was very comfortable, but the thought of sharing the bed with another person at the moment was overwhelming and I turned to head into the bedroom. We were likely to be awakened in five or six hours, so I did not bother changing into pajamas and just laid on top of the sheets. Ashara came in a little later to gather her pillow and blanket before turning the light out and leaving me alone.

Everything went according to plan, and when Pez awakened me with a chorus of his chirps and warbles, I went to the cockpit and saw the slurry being removed from our bay. It was three-quarters down on the shield as I sat in the captain's chair and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

Ashara shifted in the chair next to me and her eyes opened. "What's happening?" she asked sleepily.

"It appears as if we are at the hyperspace waypoint and the freighter is draining the slurry out of our bay."

She sat up and looked out the window. "That's good news. I can't say that I will miss Quesh one bit."

"I have to agree with you."

"So, we are heading back to Nar Shaddaa then?" she asked softly.

"It is where Andronikos is supposed to be waiting, though I don't know if he is still there."

"Do you think he would just leave?"

I glanced over at her and thought about the question for a moment. "I would like to think he wouldn't, but he was a pirate at one time in his past."

"Pirate?"

"Yes, it appears he had some radical changes of heart over the past several years. He was a Republic Captain at one point as well."

"Republic Captain?" Ashara seemed shocked. "How do you go from that to pirate?"

"He's kind of quiet about his past, but you can ask him when you meet him."

The padawan did not reply but gave me an odd look and got up to walk back to the bedroom. I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes for a moment. The time was fast approaching when I would need to make decisions, not just for me, but for Ashara and my other companions as well. My mind was pretty much made up, but I had not set up a plan to move forward, and now the moment for action was approaching.

We waited for the slurry to drain completely, and then for the shield to be disabled. When the shimmering energy disappeared, I noticed a droid move away across the mucky floor toward the other ship. After a few more moments, the com chimed and I answered.

"Hello," came a female voice. "I am Captain Nowa. We are safely away from Quesh and sitting at a remote waypoint. I hope your trip has been uneventful so far?"

"Yes, the accommodations have been tolerable, even if a bit unconventional."

"I can't say I've smuggled anything in such a manner before," the captain replied with a grin.

"Commander Trey seems to have a creative mind for the art," I grumbled.

"I've known the commander for many years. He's a sharp man, and I'm not surprised that his plan worked."

"What happens now?" I asked curiously.

"If you don't mind, the soldiers' ship is in position to debark first. Captain Mordon is having it prepped as we speak. Once he's out of the way, you will be free to navigate."

"That's fine," I answered. "Would it be possible to use your com link to make a holo-call? I've got someone I need to coordinate with."

"Of course. I will have the network code passed to your ship."

"Thank you." Out the front windows, the freighter bay flashed with bright yellow alert lights, and then the atmosphere rushed out, making the leftover slurry flash to vapor like a sickly yellow-brown fog, before crystallizing into minute particles of drifting, sparkling ice.

"I will contact you shortly when it is clear to debark."

The captain cut the com as Ashara came back to the cockpit. "Is everything okay?" she asked as she sat down.

"Apparently. Commander Trey's plan seems to have worked."

"Good," she sighed as her eyes scanned the freighter bay just beyond the ship.

"I need to contact Andronikos and make sure he didn't run off."

"Do you want me to leave?" she asked as she glanced over at me.

"No," I leaned forward and tapped the com console. The connection status was green so I selected Intrepid's contact code and initiated the hail.

It did not take long for the com to open, "oh, ah, Master Kallig, it is you?" came 2V-R8's metallic voice.

"Yes, Toovee, it's me."

"Always a pleasure, Master. I hope you're having an . . ."

"Sure," I interrupted. "Is Andronikos available?"

"Oh, sorry Master, but it is a night cycle aboard the ship. I believe the captain is sleeping. Shall I wake him for you?"

"That won't be necessary. Where are you?"

"I'm currently in the engine room checking the fuel injectors . . ."

"No, I mean where is the Intrepid? Are you still at Nar Shaddaa?"

"Sorry, Master, I should have known what you were asking. We are indeed on Nar Shaddaa. Captain Andronikos has used his connections to procure temporary dockage for the ship. I've taken the liberty to restock our supplies, I hope you don't mind?"

"No," I replied thoughtfully, considering whether I appreciated Andronikos waiting for me or not. "I thought for a moment that the captain might have taken the ship and flown off after not hearing from me."

"He wouldn't do that, Master. Especially after we received a report on your situation several days ago. I hope you weren't too badly injured . . ."

"Report! Who sent you a report?"

"The communication was directed to the captain. It came from Imperial Intelligence on Dromund Kaas."

Of course, it did! I raged in my mind. The damn spies have been tracking me all along! A sharp niggling in the back of my mind brought up a name; Elios Mallis. I was pretty confident that he was the contact.

"You seem angry, Master." 2V's red eyes were focused on me. "I will go and get the captain for you . . ."

"That won't be necessary," I interrupted again. "Just tell him I contacted you, and that we are traveling to Nar Shaddaa now."

"Oh, excellent, Master. I look forward to being in your presence again."

"Yes, yes, we'll be there in several hours." I did not wait for the droid to start talking again but cut the com and leaned back in my chair.

"Toovee seems like a pleasant droid," Ashara said with a soft grin.

"Insufferable protocol machine," I mumbled.

"He certainly seems like a good ego booster, with all the 'master' and 'being in your presence' lines."

I gave her a sharp look and got the sense she was teasing me. "I didn't program the damn droid; it came with the ship." Turning away from her grin, I punched some buttons on the nav computer and set course for Nar Shaddaa. The computer put an estimated travel time of four and a half hours; longer than I expected.

The com chimed again, and for a moment I wondered if it was 2V calling back, but Captain Nowa's image appeared above the com panel when I connected the hail. "The soldiers are on their way, and you are clear to depart."

"Excellent," I replied. "Thank you for risking your ship to get us off Quesh."

"No problem. Safe travels."

I cut the com and activated the autopilot before considering whether or not it was capable of debarking from a hangar. Luckily, the ship's computer had the spatial awareness to avoid the confines of the freighter bay and slowly move the ship toward the open doors. Once free of the freighter, we picked up speed and aligned for the hyperspace jump. In less than a minute the swirl of hyperspace appeared outside the front windows and we were on our way to Nar Shaddaa.