Chapter Four

A few hours later, after one final examination, Doctor Megalla finally gave her permission for Killian to leave.

Terra and Aola had left earlier to pick up supplies, leaving Killian alone with Argyle, when the medical droid arrived with Killian's discharge orders and a wrapped package.

"Doctor Megalla has authorized a month's supply of bacta patches," The droid said in its monotone voice. "It is recommended that the patient use them as they will aid in his healing process."

"Understood," Argyle replied, with a nod, taking the wrapped patches "Anything else?"

The droid checked the data-pad in its hand for a moment before replying, "No, the patient may leave whenever he is ready to do so."

The droid turned and left quickly without another word, the door closing behind it with a hiss.

"Well, it looks like we're finally free to leave," Argyle said, stowing the bacta patches in his bag before turning back to Killian. "About time too," he said with a grimace. "I've had all I can stand of this planet."

"You don't like Alderaan?" Killian asked in a surprised voice.

"Don't get me wrong, Alderaan is a nice place to visit," Argyle said, standing next to Killian's bed. "But the people here are a bit too arrogant for my tastes," Argyle said with a sneer.

Killian began to reply when the door hissed open, and Terra and Aola entered. Terra, he noticed, was holding a brown bag in her hand.

"About time," Argyle said with a smile as Aola jumped up to sit next to Killian. "For someone who hates shopping, you sure took your time."

"Oh shut it," Terra smiled back. "The vendors in this town are scavengers, I swear it." She added with a growl.

"That bad?" Argyle asked.

Terra nodded grimly before replying, "We're going to have to watch how much we spend for a while. At least until we find another job."

"Shouldn't take too long," Argyle said. "Where are the rest of the supplies? And your packs?"

"Outside in the cart. I rented a Fathier from the vendor where I bought most of our supplies," Terra replied, making Argyle look at her in surprise.

"You left it out there alone?" He said.

"Relax," she said with a smile, "I've got a protocol droid watching it and our supplies. The vendor said to just release it when we're done, and it'll find its way home."

"You bought a protocol droid?" Argyle asked, crossing his arms.

Terra nodded at him at that, "For the children. They need a tutor, especially Killian, if he's to learn how to live in this Galaxy."

At the mention of his name, Killian looked up confused and replied quickly, "Why do I need a tutor? I already know all about this Galaxy. I've read almost every book about it, remember?"

"You've read books about things you thought were fiction," Argyle said, turning to him. "But those things have now been made very real, and you need to learn the difference between the two if you are to survive in this galaxy."

Killian nodded in understanding as Argyle moved closer.

"Which brings up another important thing we need to discuss" Argyle nodded at Terra, who walked to the door and pressed a button on the wall. Instantly the window went black, ensuring no one could see inside the room, and Terra returned to her position at Killian's bedside.

"Is everything okay?" Killian asked, confused.

"We need to discuss what you told us earlier," Terra said softly, as Argyle nodded.

"You mean about me being from a world where this galaxy is just a story?"

Argyle nodded quickly, his face stern. "We need to keep that a secret between the four of us from this day onwards. So no one can know about it, you understand?

"Why?" Killian asked, confused as he looked at them.

"Knowledge is power, Killian," Terra said, in a serious voice, as she sat next to him. "And from what you've told us, you have prescient knowledge of thousands of years of future events. That makes you the most powerful being in the entire galaxy."

"Beings would kill to have control of you," Argyle added. "If the Jedi or worse, the Sith, were to discover your existence, they would spare no expense to capture you."

The room seemed to grow colder as Killian realized the truth of their words and how much danger he was really in, should anyone discover him.

"So, unless you receive verbal permission from us, you must never tell anyone of what you know," Terra said softly, placing her hand over his. "If anyone asks, we will tell them you are from a backwater planet called Earth, beyond the outer rim. There are a great many planets out there that have yet to be discovered, so it should be believable."

Killian nodded at once, swearing to himself that he would never speak of what he knew to anyone outside of that room. Terra squeezed his hand for a moment before rising to her feet and adding, "We will protect you as best we can, but you must do your part as well and soak up what we teach you as quickly as you can."

"I will," Killian promised, bringing a nod of approval from Argyle and Terra.

"Good boy," Terra said as she laid the brown bag on the bed at his feet. "Now I've bought you some new clothes. As soon as you change, we'll be on our way."

"New clothes?" Killian asked, surprised, as he reached for the bag. "What happened to my old clothes?"

"Those rags have been properly disposed of," Terra said with a grin. "We can't have a future Mandalorian looking like he crawled out of a gutter now, can we?"

Killian looked offended for a moment before seeing Aola grinning out of the corner of his eye, which made him smile in return. "No, I suppose not," he said happily.

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Half an hour later, Killian was grinning happily as he watched Anzati shrink in the distance. Terra sat with Argyle in the front; In contrast, he and Aola sat on the back, their feet occasionally grazing the grass as the cart floated over it; the cart was filled with boxes. Beside them, a silver GE-3 Protocol droid, who had introduced itself as U-3T-GE3 in a stiff voice, walked quickly to not be left behind.

The clothes that Terra had chosen for him seemed to fit him perfectly, and he couldn't help but feel happy for something as simple as a new set of clothes. He now wore a white V-neck long sleeve shirt, a black vest that seemed to have more pockets than should have been possible, and a simple pair of dark brown pants. To his surprise, Terra had even bought him a pair of brand-new leather boots that seemed to hug his feet comfortably.

After watching the scenery pass by in silence for a while, Aola began to ask him questions about his world; what was it like? How many people lived there? And on and on, the questions went. At first, Aola had seemed shocked at his answers of how there was no one set leader, but thousands of them across a hundred different countries. But gradually, that shock had turned into unquenchable curiosity as each new detail had made her want to know more.

"So all those stories you told were made by one man? She asked happily.

Killian nodded, with a smile on his face "Yup, by a man named Walt Disney. He even turned the stories into movies, or holo-dramas, I guess you would call them."

"I would have loved to see one," Aola said dreamily. "Your world sounds so amazing."

"Yeah," Killian said with a smile, "But it had its fair share of troubles too."

"All worlds do," Argyle called back, showing he had been listening.

"So let's hear another story," Aola said with a smile.

Killian smiled back at her, thinking a moment, before nodding and replying, "Okay, this one was written over a century ago by a man named Tolkien. It's called 'The Hobbit'"

"What's a Hobbit?" Aola asked, her lekku twitching in confusion.

"You'll find out in a minute, won't you?" Killian said with a laugh, earning a playful shove.

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They had been traveling for close to two hours when they finally crested a large hill, and Argyle pulled back on the reins. "There she is," he said happily, his lekku twitching.

"I was beginning to think he had been lying."

"He was too much of a coward for that," Terra added, showing her teeth. "Self-preservation meant more to him than credits."

"Indeed," Argyle said with a sneer, urging the Fathier forward again. "Doesn't matter now, though"

A high laugh made Terra turn around to see Aola holding her sides and laughing at something in the story that Killian had told her. Terra smiled warmly at the pair, it had been too long since Aola had a friend, and while she had tried to hide it, Terra knew that Aola had been lonely for some time now.

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"Stone giants?" Aola laughed as she rose herself back up, next to Killian. "This story is crazier than the one you told before."

"Is not," Killian huffed. "And I'll have you know that Tolkien is one of the most celebrated authors on my planet. Almost everyone knows his name."

Aola gaped at that, then said with a smile as she began playing with her lekku, "Well, it's still crazy but in a good way."

Killian smiled back at her at that; it had taken longer for him to tell the story of Bilbo and the dwarves than it had all the other stories. Simply because he had to stop and explain to Aola (and sometimes Terra or Argyle, who were listening as well) what some of the creatures were.

"Enough of that," Argyle called from the front. "We're here."

Killian jumped off the cart excitedly and raced to the front, his mouth falling in amazement at the giant starship that lay in front of him. It was painted bright red, with streaks of grey poking through, and Killian recognized it immediately.

"It's an XS Freighter," Killian said in awe as Aola came up beside him.

"How did you know that?" Aola asked curiously.

"It's written about in my world," Killian answered, unable to take his eyes away. "In the Star Wars books, I mean."

"Does it look better in person?" Aola asked.

"Absolutely," Killian answered, making Aola giggle. "It looks so much better!"

Aola grinned at that as Argyle jumped down from the cart next to them.

"You two wait here while Terra and I go take a look inside. I don't want any surprises. Droid, keep an eye on them for me."

"Of course, master." U-3T said as it quickly moved forward.

Argyle cast one last glance at the pair before drawing his blaster and moving toward the ship, Terra close behind and likewise armed.

As they approached the ship, Killian watched as Argyle pressed a button and the ramp lowered, then both Twi'lek were gone as they climbed inside.

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"How much longer do you think they'll be?" Killian asked after what seemed like an age.

"They've been in there quite a while. So you think they're, okay?"

"The XS Freighter was built with many hidden compartments," U-3T answered quickly.

"It is why it makes an ideal ship for smugglers and the like."

Aola nodded at that, "It's a big ship, with lots of places to play and hide. I'll show them to you once they say it's safe."

Killian smiled at that and was about to reply when shots rang out in the ship, followed by a short scream. Killian lurched forward when U-3T's hand came down on his shoulder as though the droid knew what he was thinking. "The master has ordered you to remain here. I recommend you do so."

"But what if they're in trouble?" Killian asked, looking between the droid and the ship.

Before anyone could reply, Argyle appeared carrying a blue creature over his shoulder, which he carelessly threw to the ground; Terra appeared soon after and waved at them to come down.

When they had brought the car down, Killian noticed that the creature was a Duro, with a burn hole in its chest. "I'm guessing that's a guard that Dex left behind?" Killian said, unable to tear his eyes away from the body.

"Yes," Argyle answered. "Found him in the mess hall, wasn't expecting visitors, judging by how slow he reacted"

Terra put an arm around Killian and moved him back to the cart, "You and Aola help me move our supplies onto the ship while Argyle gets the ship ready to go. The sooner we're off this rock, the better."

Killian nodded, glad to have something to distract him from the body by the ramp, and quickly got to work.

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An hour later, Killian was strapped into a seat next to Aola in the cockpit. It had taken them an hour to get everything loaded. Mostly because Killian kept stopping to stare in awe at the ship's inside, which looked much bigger than it did on the outside. Terra had smacked the Fathier on the rump when they were finally done, sending it hurrying back up the hill towards Anzati.

As the ship slowly began to rise into the air, Killian gripped the arms of his seat fearfully before Aola placed a calming hand over his, which helped.

Gradually the light faded into black, and Killian gasped as they rose into space,

"It's so beautiful," he said softly, making Terra turn to face him with a smile of pleasure.

"You have so much more yet to see, Killian."

The hyperdrive activated at that, and the ship disappeared in a flash as Killian smiled in awe of all the adventures that awaited him.

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Author's note:

Killian is finally on his way into the Galaxy, and I can't wait to write the adventures that he will have out there. And I hope you enjoy reading them as much I will enjoy writing them. I'd like to thank 'Bruscar' for the advice he gave me and for his message that I shouldn't have had Killian tell the truth yet; well, his knowledge will come in handy in the coming chapters of my story. You are correct, to the Guest, who made a valid point about social service, but the first chapter was dedicated to a friend who wasn't saved. The following chapters are going to be much better for Killian.

The Hobbit is the property of J.R.R. Tolkien. Accordingly, I claim no ownership over it.