Chapter 3

With the money she needed, Shmi managed to refuel the ship and have enough left over to buy supplies she needed to survive like water and food. After being finally done with the necessities she and Acina agreed that it was best to leave the planet, seeing as how they have gotten into trouble just by landing with the ship belonging to someone with a large debt. Before leaving Shmi took a look at the rest of the ship, considering who its previous owners were she was not really surprised at the condition of it. When she first took the ship she didn't really pay much attention, just wanting to get off that barren planet as fast as possible but now she saw the true condition of the ship, suffice to say she was not pleased. When she went and poked around she realized that she was recognizing various parts and what they do, from power couplings, power flux stabilizers to the shield collator and microvalve.

"I guess you must have some kind of engineering background seeing as you know what all of these parts are," Acina said. It was strange to Shmi to be able to recognize things she had never seen before, especially because she had no memory of her previous life apart from her name. Maybe her companion is right, maybe she truly was an engineer before or at least someone who knew their way around technology. That knowledge was now regaining made her note now worn the important parts of the ship were and those that looked newer were cheap and would not last long. They would need to buy proper parts to replace these as soon as they land at their next spaceport.

"Either that or buy a new ship," Shmi said thinking out loud.

"Considering the unpleasant encounter we already had due to the previous owner of this ship I would advise ditching the ship and buying a new one. As it is I can still fetch a good price and what credits we have left from the tablet it should be enough to buy something more decent," Acina advised.

Shmi thought about it for a moment before nodding. Then something crossed her mind. "So what exactly is our plan now?" We can't really wonder the galaxy aimlessly, can we?"

"I have been thinking about that as well. I think the first order of business would be finding just how long it has been since my death and figuring out the state of the galaxy. With those basic information gathered we will be able to make a plan. I would say to find out how long has passed since you first died but neither of us knows that. We could have gathered the information here but I believe it would be best to move on."

It bothered Shmi that she could not recount anything from her past, where she lived, who she was, what she liked, was her life hard or easy, did she have a family. For all, she knew she was dead for thousands of years and anyone she might have known was long dead. This upset her greatly.

"There, there," Acina said in a soothing voice. "All is going to be alright. You might not have anyone from your previous life but you have me. We are together in this after all," the ghost's words made the sadness and anger go away slightly, relaxing Shmi somewhat but she could still feel them in the back of her mind.

"And what after that?" Shmi asked.

"By the two of us merging you have obtained my force sensitivity and if the galaxy is anything as it was in my time I will have to teach you how to use my powers. Blasters and luck will only get you so far but the force can do many things ordinary people would consider unnatural."

"Such as?" Shmi asked. She was starting to feel like a child, constantly asking questions while Azera kept answering them like a mother.

"Enhance speed, reflexes, you can also use the force for attacks such as force push and even use it to make weak-minded individuals do whatever you like," Shmi pondered the list of abilities the force granted, they sure sounded powerful and would definitely come it handy. Considering what Acina said able to do when she took over her body to fight the grave robbers it would be a good idea to learn from the force-sensitive but she was so sure about the whole controlling people part.

"That all sounds great and I'm sure it will be more than useful. But now we need to choose our next destination and after that, I think it would be a good idea to catalog everything we have in the cargo bay."

"An excellent idea," Acina said and Shmi made her way to the front of the ship. Seeing the map of the galaxy in front of her the two women pondered about their next destination.

"Tion Closter in nearby, Raxus and Caluula are there. There is also Gordian reach, Yavin is there, an excellent place to lay low but that is not what we are after."

"Ossus? Shmi asked.

"Unless that place had become civilized since my time, then no. The planet is an arid and toxic wasteland with a population of dangerous savages calling it home," Shmi frowned at the thought of landing their ship on a place like that.

"Rhen Var perhaps if it is hospitable," Shmi said. She could feel Acina thinking.

"That planet is little more than frozen rock almost as bad as Hoff, there are ancient ruins there but I rather not go back to a place covered with them just after escaping another such place," Acina said."I was thinking Felutia but that is too close, considering our predicament I would say our best option would be a bit further, Selucami would be perfect. If we are pursued we can always jump towards the Hutt space."

At the mention of the slug species Shmi felt disgusted and angry, she didn't know why but it felt like it was personal like they had done something to her but she could not remember.

"The Hutts always were a group of slimy ruthless slugs that only cared for themselves and their wealth. I had my fair share of encounters with them, none of them were really pleasant."

"Hutts are slavers," Shmi said, it was not a question this time but a statement. Something inside her sturred at the thought of slavery, fear, anger and hate. She didn't know why but it was there.

"Indeed, the worse kind of slavers. The only ones to match them are the Zygerrians who much like the Hutts had built their empire upon the backs of innocent people," Acina said, fueling Shmi's anger. There was a familiar feeling in her gut like he knew firsthand just how bad the Hutts truly are but she could not remember, there was just that gut feeling. A heavy sigh escaped Shmi's lips.

"Considering I don't really have any better ideas we are going to go with yours," Shmi said. She started making the necessary preparations, engaging trusters and after punching in the new coordinates she pushed the button and the ship went into hyperspace. Once again she was awed at the sight in front of her, it was a truly beautiful thing to see. After a moment she leaned back into the pilot's seat and relaxed a bit. She started thinking about her past once more, she knew nothing about it really but from what she gathered from earlier she had decent mechanical skills and at some point had come into contact with the Hutts and slavery which made her hate both, or at least that's what she thinks. Having amnesia was one thing but she didn't even know from when she was, at least Azera knew that much. She didn't even have any real knowledge about the galaxy so that either means she lost that too or had never really traveled anywhere, to begin with. She continued to ponder her new reality, no memories, no people she knows, just a smuggler's ship and a ghost in her head, it was as crazy as it sounds. Then Acinas voice was heard in her head once more and Shmi's eyes opened, it was weird to have another voice in your head talking to you. She knew that she would have to get used to it.

"May I suggest something?" the ghost asked in a courteous tone.

"Go ahead."

"Now that you are force sensitive, I suggest meditating, it can help you to get accustomed to the force better and while meditating through the force you can regain your straight. It will also make time pass faster."

Shmi thought about it for a moment, she didn't see anything wrong with it and if she could start studying how to use the force now, the sooner she would be able to use it properly. "Alright what do I need to do?"

"I suggest finding a more specious room first, one that is not of high importance to the ship."

This made Shmi raise an eyebrow, intrigued. "Why is that?"

"Those who touch the force for the first time, those in training, and even seasoned masters have the tendency of making things fly around when they meditate, that is due to the force moving around them. We wouldn't like anything to happen to the ship's controls now would we?" Shmi just nodded and proceed to walk over to the relaxation area where the holo table was. She thought about going to the cargo bay, it was certainly large but it was filled with stuff and that droid was still there, she didn't want to scare the poor guy any more than she already has. That is another thing she realized about herself, she had a fondness for droids.

Acina instructed her to sit down on her knees and to close her eyes. She breathed slowly and cleared her mind. The ghost then told her to reach out, to try and feel the force around her. At first, she couldn't do it, no matter how hard she tried but after some time she felt something, inside her and outside. It was some kind of energy flowing around, the feeling was similar to what she felt when Azera took over and used the force to fight the raiders.

"Good," Azcina said. "Now focus on that feeling and grasp it," Shmi did as told once she failed, twice and the third time she succeeded and could feel the energy much clearer it was flowing through her and around her, it was everywhere. "The force is a field of energy out of which everything is made out of, living beings, machines buildings, everything. It flows through us and binds us together. If you are to learn how to use it like me you would need to learn how to control it first, make it do what you wish."

"And how do I do that?"

"Patience my dear, this is just the first step. I will teach you and aid you in any way I can along the way. Now continued meditating and grasp at that feeling inside you."

Shmi did as told and focused once more, doing as her new teacher instructed her to do. As she did so the sith just smiled, it will take time but she will get Shmi to the point that is needed.

Unbeknownst to both of them the force sensitives of the galaxy could feel something had sturred in the force as if someone had tossed a rock into a lake. None of them knew what it was and they could only speculate. The Jedi feared a potential new sith coming into the play, especially after what happened on Naboo while the sith lord Darth Sidious who was also known as the good and honorable chancellor Palpatine could not help but be intrigued but this new development, could this be a new threat to this plans or a potential pawn to be used, only time will tell.