Last time: Sasha tells Viran what is going on. Cien feels that things are getting better.

Now: Oppie and Kait face... an annoying foe.

Chapter 23- Pirates and Nightmares

"I must admit, Hondo." Varrosa said with a harsh, gravelly voice. "I thought I had you figured. But it turns out yer a hard man ta predict."

"Me?" Hondo asked, "I'm dishonest." Hondo said as he tossed a small statue away that landed with the sound of shattering ceramic as it landed among the riches around them. "And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest."

Oppie and Kait glared at him, bound as they were, under guard. They were still trying to shake off the effects of the anesthetic gas that had taken them by surprise, and kept Op from focusing enough to use his Force powers. Hondo had led them to the lair of his former second in command, Varrossa, that had double crossed him and stolen his ship, base and crew in mutiny. Then Hondo had double crossed them, and outside the cruiser that was supposed to be waiting for them was being boarded by the pirates as they waited after Hondo had given them up.

"Honestly." Hondo continued, making subtle eye contact with Oppie, as he approached the guard that was watching the Jedi, and had Op's sabers clipped to his belt. "It's the honest ones you want to watch out for. Because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly… stupid." He said as he kicked the pirate in the back and yanked Op's two sabers away from the guard. In a smooth motion he threw Op's long saber towards him, which Op caught with a twist of his body, bringing his hands up.

Hondo ignited the short shoto saber and looked at it in shock as the swing he took at Varrossa was cut short. "Is something wrong with your lightsaber? It's so tiny!" He asked Op incredulously. He brought it up to defend against a wild swing from Varrossa as he swung a vibrosword at Hondo's head.

Oppie used the distraction to shoulder check the guard nearest him, while Kait barreled into the one that was watching over her. He saw one of the other guards come swinging in with a sword, and he turned, letting the binders around his wrists take the blow from the sword and smashed through them, freeing his hands. He pulled his saber back and parried away another swing from the guard. He looked on incredulously as another guard came for him with a vibro sword, the same ones that the commando droids had used in the war, and wondered where they even found them. He spun on his feet around a slash, and brought his saber down, which the guard just barely parried.

"Op!" Kait yelled.

He spun and saw her hold up her hands still in binders, and he slashed through and severed the connection between the cuffs as he followed through to block and attack. She spun around and sent a roundhouse punch into the face of a pirate that was just stepping in to swing at her, and as he stumbled back in shock she stole the sword from his still outstretched hand.

Hondo and Varrossa were trading blows back and forth in a furious exchange as they fought over the mounds of treasure and the exposed rocks of the asteroid cave they were in. "This little sword is so stupid." Hondo groused as he parried another swing and spun around Varrosa's blade. "Honestly, what kind of self respecting Jedi has such a teeny tiny little blade?" He asked as he bore down on his opponent.

Oppie parried another blow, and spun around to thrust at the second pirate, who just barely leaned back in time to avoid the tip of his blade, and then the pirate parried his saber out of the way. He stepped forward, trying to press back against Oppie, and they traded blows back and forth, high, low, high low, as neither was quite able to find an opening. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the other pirate coming at him, and Kait swept in, covering his back as she brought her sword up to stop the downward cut that had been aimed at Oppie's shoulder. After she brushed the chop aside, she raised a stolen blaster at the pirate before he had a chance to recover.

"Freeze." She said coldly. And the pirate facing her did.

Oppie parried another four blows back and forth before he brought his hand up out of reflex and sent the pirate sprawling backwards with a blast from the Force. His connection still felt weak, but it was enough to perform that basic task. Before the pirate could recover he stepped forward and put his tip to the pirates throat, and he didn't even bother reaching for his sword.

Hondo and Varrossa were too focused on each other to see the tide of the engagement already turn. Hondo fought furiously while Varrossa swung at him recklessly. "You can't beat me Hondo." He said as he thrust forward.

Hondo stepped back. "You traitor, betrayer!" He said. Then he brushed a finger under his eye while he sniffed. "I'm so proud."

"This is all mine, Hondo, the entire crew mutinied on you." Varrossa pressed, as he cut at Hondo's stomach. "Even if you defeat me, you're still beaten."

"That may be so." Hondo said, as he stepped forward and slashed wildly at Varrossa. "But you're forgetting one thing!"

"Oh, and what's that?" Varrossa asked in a growl.

"I'm not the only laser sword wielding maniac in this cave." He said as he flourished the teeny tiny lightsaber.

Varrossa's eyes widened and he looked over his shoulder to see Oppie right there with his lightsaber up and his blaster leveled.

"You see my friends?" Hondo said, towards Oppie and Kait. "All according to plan."

"Oh shut up." Oppie said.

"I knew you two could do it!" Hondo said exuberantly. "You'll let me keep this little blade, yes? Finders keepers?"

"No." Op growled at him.

Hondo harumped sadly. "I knew Kyr was the fun one." He said as he shook his head.

"Well, I don't know." Kait said, sheepishly, almost a day later. "I mean I know it's sword-like but I didn't figure you would actually sword fight with it."

"That was actually a big part of our training." Oppie said.

"Did you encounter a lot of pirates who tried to duel you?" Kait asked. They were walking down the corridor of their hotel back to their room, after finally finishing their debrief. It was late into the evening, and it was at the end of a very tiring couple of days.

"No." Oppie said, stifling a yawn. "I think it was mostly in case we encountered Sith." He said.

Kait looked at him in confusion. "Like Cien?" She asked. "Why would you fight them?" She asked.

"Uhhh…" Oppie started, trying to figure out how to explain. "Cien is very much an exception, usually the Sith are more violent and try to kill Jedi." He decided to leave out how he had originally met Cien.

"Oh." Kait said. "Well where'd he get that sword anyway?" She asked, "I thought your sabers could cut through anything?" She asked as they took a turn down the corridor and could see their room.

"They're not magic," Oppie explained. "They can't cut through everything, they're just hot enough to melt through most things. Energy shields can stop them, and some materials, like beskar and cortsis. Anything that can handle the heat. They had Separatist vibroblades the commando droids use to use on Jedi." He said, a little absently.

"You encountered them before?" She asked as she unlocked the door.

"Yeah." He said, not going into it.

She looked up at him as they entered their shared room, and hid a look of concern for the way he said that. She decided not to press the subject. "Well either way that was kind of fun. And it looks like the pirate situation is resolved here."

"Yeah, thank goodness." Oppie said.

"Hondo seemed annoyed his new crew left him stranded though." Kait observed as she sat in the chair that was at the desk.

"Yeah." Oppie replied, "though I'm glad he escaped." He admitted as he sat down on his bed.

Kait smirked at him. "You did like him, you old softy."

"'Like' is a strong word." Oppie said, hiding a smirk of his own.

Kait chuckled. "Well, I'm going to go take a shower." She said, getting up. "You feel like you need one?"

"Yeah, you can go first though." He said, laying back on the bed and rubbing his eyes.

She looked at him with her head cocked to the side for a moment and then she rolled her eyes. "Thanks." She said as she headed for the bathroom.

Oppie was standing in the corridors of the old ship. The troopers were around the corner, between him and Master Redika. He had his two sabers in hand, extinguished, and he was wearing the outfit of a padawan. He tried to sneak a harried, terrified glance around the corridor to see how many there were between him and his master.

"What's happening?" A terrified voice asked. His glance shot around to look back down the corridor he had come from, and he saw Sasha as a child, standing there, looking terrified, as she had that day. Viran beside her, nervously looking around the ship.

"No…" Oppie said, and the ambush that had nearly gotten him happened again, sweeping up the same corridor he had come down, right behind them. "No!" He said, he tried to get to the two of them, to pull them aside, but the troopers raised their blasters and fired. This time not at him, but at them, as they always did in this version of that nightmare.

"Op…" He heard Kait's voice as he stepped to try to get to Sasha and Viran. He looked behind him down the corridor. Kait was standing there, amidst the younglings he hadn't been able to save.

"Op." Kait said again, and behind her Separatist commando droids were jumping down the corridor, their blades up and out ready to attack her. One of them was wearing a pirate hat.

"No!" He startled awake.

"Op, are you okay?" Kait asked. She was kneeling next to the bed looking at him worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah." Oppie said, trying to calm himself. "Sorry, just a nightmare."

"I know." She said, still worried.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." He said, rubbing his eyes.

"It's okay. What was it about?" She asked, quietly and carefully.

He hesitated for a moment. "Order 66." He said.

She lowered her chin to rest on her hands on the side of the bed. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said, "I'm sorry." He said again.

She could tell from his voice that he was anything but okay. This wasn't the first time he had nightmares when they had shared a room, but this one had seemed worse than others. "Scooch over." She ordered.

"What?" He asked.

"Scooch." She said again as she lifted the covers and settled in next to him as he had no choice but to scooch as ordered. He looked at her with something that almost looked like fear in his eyes as she settled into a comfortable position, both laying on their sides looking at each other in the near darkness of the room. "It's okay Op." She said quietly. "I'm here. Tell me what it was." She asked.

He looked at her, "the same nightmare I always used to have." He started, "order 66, the clone troopers between me and my dying master. Sasha and Viran being there with me instead of in the escape pod where they were supposed to be and getting…" He paused, "and all the other younglings I couldn't save." He took a deep and troubled breath. "And commando droids like the ones that used those swords… Coming after you." He said softly.

"It's okay." She said quietly. "It makes sense that your nightmares are about not being able to help people." She tried to joke.

He swallowed and closed his eyes, then opened them as he looked at her for a moment.

She continued softly. "You always help everyone around you, but I'm here for you, Op. And I'm not going anywhere. Just be still, everything is okay." She said as she wrapped an arm around him and snuggled closer. He tentatively wrapped an arm around her as well and tried to adjust to a more comfortable position.

"Thank you." He said quietly as his tension bled away and he turned slightly to lay on his back. "For everything."

She smiled lightly as she settled in, using his shoulder as a pillow, and soon he fell into a far more peaceful sleep as he rested his head against hers.

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