Altis agreed to take her, saying the Wookie Gunner was a large ship and they had some accomplished Force healers who could help living in the colony.

They were still evading the Empire, but were safe at the moment. The nulls kept them up to speed on the Empire's movements, which centred on Kashyyyk and other planets. Still consolidating the Empire.

This didn't matter to Ryssa; she just needed to get her memories back or at least have it confirmed that she was not a spy.

They had been in hyperspace for a couple of hours and it was boring, there was only so long you could only stare at the streaking stars; she tried sleeping but couldn't get comfortable, so offered to brew some Caf. She made her way to the small galley and searched for the Caf, the percolator and some mugs, and stood, still thinking, while waiting for it to brew.

"It'll be like blaster grease unless you turn it off." A gravelly Clone voice said from behind her. "You ok?" And a hand pushed past her and switched the percolator off. Maze had a turn of phrase, she appreciated.

"I thought you'd like it that, strong." She retorted. He sniggered, looking at the brew, "Yes, that's good and strong."

They stood adding the sweetener and milk.

"You still can't remember anything?" He asked.

"Nothing." She shook her head.

"For what it's worth, I don't think you're a spy nor does Zey."

"Thanks. That means a lot." It did. Even people she only knew vaguely having faith in her, every little helped.

Maze hovered, as much as an ex alpha ARC could with his size. She should be used to this now with the Nulls.

"Coric..." He started

"Yes?"

"I think he likes you—a lot."

"He told me we were friends on Coruscant."

"I think it might be more than friendship he's looking for."

"Did something happen in that lodge that I can't remember?"

"I don't know, did it?"

She frowned.

"Just checking but you need to tell the lad sooner rather than later, so he doesn't get his hopes up."

"Hopes?"

"I know you're not an idiot, so don't treat me like one."

"I'm not, I just never thought of him like that."

If this was true, she really needed to get her memory back, she needed to understand what happened before things become worse.

Maze moved away with his caf and within seconds Coric was standing close behind her, too close. She took a deep breath and turned to face him.

.

"You sure that was a good idea, Maze, we've still got a long way to go?" Zey asked without turning around in the cockpit. He may not be totally at ease with the Force in these turbulent times but he could sense the emotions running high on this ship; it was hard not to miss them.

Maze shrugged and Zey shook his head, watching the stars stream by. Hyperspace travel still fascinated him, he found it easier to meditate in hyperspace.

Maze leant back in his seat, his arms behind his head, stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing them at the ankles. He hoped she explained to Coric clearly and made him understand. Kriff! He liked both of them and wanted neither to suffer. He had even warmed slightly towards the Nulls.

"Must be getting old." He muttered.

.

"Coric. We need to talk."

"Sure."

"Did something happen…between us. When we were at the Lodge, where did they found us?"

"Of course."

"What?"

"If you can't remember, I am not going to tell you."

As much as I would love to but I promised and I can be patient.

She turned around to face him, frowning.

"Why?"

"Because you need to find out for yourself."

"Coric…." She replied, irritated. "I may have left Mandalore but it's only temporary. I need to get my memory back, my head together and back to A'den. We have plans."

She watched his face but he had that blank look, which gave nothing away. "You understand don't you?" She asked, now worried she had gone too far.

"Course I do." With that he turned quickly around and returned to his seat, sitting drinking his scalding hot Caf. If he had stayed any longer he would have had to say something. If they were on the Wookiee Gunner, A'den would not be there, and if she regains her memory….

She leaned against the small counter hoping she had done enough to let him know her intentions but she still needed to know exactly what happened. She felt even worse now. Thoughts flying through her mind of what could have happened.

If they had a relationship, she couldn't remember it. She'd immediately felt differently with Aden but that was after someone told her. She didn't have the same feelings for Coric.

Or did she.

"Kriff! It's a mess."

Finally she came out of the galley, Caf in hand, and sat, getting out her datapad, she studied it closely but not reading anything on the screen. It was the perfect barrier between her and everyone else on the ship.

.

Maze and Zey sat in the cockpit, Maze tinkering with some comlinks on a tray attached to his chair and Zey still surveying the streaming stars.

"Well this is fun." Deadpanned Maze. "We must do this more often."

Zey just smiled, trying not to drop into the force, he could tell how they were feeling just by looking at the pair sitting in the back of their smallish craft; him getting a personal, up close feeling of their emotions wouldn't help anyone.

"When we get on the Wookie Gunner, there'll be more space between them, and other people who don't know them. It won't be so noticeable."

"Hope so, I don't think I could stand this all the time."

Zey smiled, he knew the feeling.

.

Kashyyyk

Sev felt odd, he was not used to being treated like the favourite son; he wasn't Ordo. The Nulls and Omega would have definitely deserted and that's what he was now, a deserter. He'd worked that out, once he'd gotten out of the pit and he'd headed towards the garrison or what was left of it. It was being rebuilt by Imperials and it was different.

He didn't recognise the uniform or the armour, or the men underneath. Yeah they were clones, but not all. And even some of the clones seemed odd; Delta had come across a few like that before the end. Ones who didn't remember Kamino.

Every clone remembered Kamino.

So when he'd headed to report in, they'd tried to arrest him. He wasn't having that. He'd done nothing wrong except survive.

Nobody laid a finger on him and survived, except Sargeant Vau or one of his squad and that was how it was going to remain.

He was sitting in the tree house, next to Tarfful.

"They've accepted you." said the scrawny female, who dropped to sit next to him.

"I got that." Sev couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"Tarfful owes you a 'life debt'."

"Yeah, what's that then?"

"Tarfful has accepted he has a Life Debt to repay to you and it will last until he dies."

"Yeah. I get that but why?"

"It's from when you and your squad rescued him from the Separatists and it can be anything he decides. At the moment it means protecting you from the Empire, or whoever's after you."

"I was doing well on my own."

"You can do better with them."

He grunted in acknowledgement, "I'm a sniper, I normally do things alone, unless I was with….."

"Your brothers?"

"They left."

"There's someone looking for you. Not Empire, not Commandos."

He refused to get his hopes up.

"How do you know so much about Commandos, clones etc?"

"Used to have a freighter, with my Da. We hauled freight for the Republic and the GAR until we got on the wrong side of the Empire which didn't take long."

It took Sev a few seconds to understand what Da was, her father. The nearest he had was Sergeant Vau and he wasn't Skirata.

"Where is he?"

"Back there," she indicated with a nod of her head.

"Slave?"

"No. Underground. Dead."

"Sorry." Sev knew enough that, that was what he was supposed to say.

"Hm!"

"Why are you still here?" Sev was curious now.

"I'm not leaving him."

Sev shut up. He didn't know what to say then. He had been left. He left the silence for a few more seconds until it was becoming uncomfortable, which normally didn't bother him but with her….

"You said someone was looking for me. I know but have you seen them?

She turned and grinned at him, an almost feral expression on her small face . "Yeah!"

Sev watched her, as he contemplated his actions but there was only one course of action.

"Can you take me to them?"

"Thought you'd never ask. Come on!"

.

Wookiee Gunner

They had finally arrived and looking around, she was surprised at the sheer scale of the ship and surrounding area, wondering how they managed to evade the Empire. From what she had picked up at Kyrimorut from Jaing, there were Imperial ships coming off the production lines every second but I suppose it was a big galaxy and there were more important planets to keep in order. This was a bit of a backwater. She looked around trying not to appear like an idiot. She was here to be healed and then she was going back to Den to get on with her life.

An old Kaminoan, accompanied by a Twi'lek, both in Jedi robes, came towards them. Maze and Coric were talking about something to do with missions and Zey was heading towards an older man who was smiling at him. They stood in a group talking. She looked around, it was a nondescript place, with people doing normal activities. Some of the people milling around had lightsabers, some didn't. She knew not everyone here were Jedi or Force users and liked that idea.

The tall older man headed toward her as she stood there waiting to be told what to do. He was not at all like the older men she had been around recently. All hard Mandalorians with questionable backgrounds but he didn't appear like a Jedi either.

He held his hand towards her, "Hello, I'm Djinn Altis. I understand you want our help."

She took his hand, "Please.." she couldn't say any more the lump in her throat stopped her from speaking.

"Call me Djinn. We'll do what we can. We'll get you settled in and Kina Ha will go over what's going to happen."

The ancient Kaminoan, this must be the one that Jusik mentioned, came towards her leaning on a stick.

"Hello, my dear. Its good to meet you. Your young man struggled whilst you were away."

Ryssa couldn't quite equate this being with the ones she had heard them discussing at Kyrimorut and before then she had only just heard of them and their planet at the beginning of the war.

"Did you help with the cloning?" She wanted to know if this being was the same as the ones Den had told her about.

"Oh no my dear. I am not welcome amongst what is left of my fellow Kaminoans. I am an aberration. And now all that is gone. Is it not?"

"Er yes."

"We reap what we sow. As the old saying goes. My people should never have become involved with Palpatine but the men they produced are some of the best people I know. Come along."

Ryssa followed her, adjusting her pace to the ancient Jedi's, and they made their way slowly to the habitation pods that had been set up.

"Here you are. Get settled in then come to medical. It's on the ship, just ask someone."

"Thank you."

She thought the Kaminoan smiled but she couldn't be sure and pushed the door open. It was a small basic room with a fresher and there must be others in the building as it was bigger on the outside.

Made sense, she thought, as she dropped her bag on the bed. She had not bought much and it didn't take her long. Washed her face, retrieved her datapad and headed back towards the ship.

.

Kashyyyk

They were back at Vau's ship; checking on any more Intel that the Nulls may have sent. Vau had finally agreed, as they were getting nowhere.

"Shab!" He cursed, as he read the message but couldn't reply.

Vau shook his head but he had to ask, in case the message affected the mission; he needed to know. He took a tiny screwdriver to his helmet, to make some intricate adjustments. He had learned to do this shortly after becoming a Mandalorian. It took his mind off his troubles. He was a troubled youth who turned into a troubled man and was still in his later years. He was never going to be a man who put his feet up.

At one time he had thought that may happen but that was past and gone.

Permanently.

"Problem?"

"Ryssa's gone to the Wookiee Gunner. She's hoping the Jetii there will be able to help her retrieve her memories."

"And that's a problem? Apart from Jetii I mean. They're always a problem. They caused all this …mess."

"I want her to be better but it's not safe."

"Nowhere is safe. And if you let that dictate your actions….."

They sat in silence. The ex- training Mandalorian Sergeant and the Null ARC turned Mandalorian, both maintaining their buy'ce, both seemingly concentrating on their tasks.

Mird curled up at Vau's feet. It had a good day hunting.

"Why don't you ask?" Vau said, voice almost gentle but he never raised his voice, in a shout. That was not his way.

A'den, looked up and back down again.

"Ask what?"

"What you want to know, what you've been itching to ask since you saw it."

"And what's that?"

"You tell me. You've been watching me like a jai'galaar since yesterday."

A'den looked up, perhaps he had an in now. He needed to know about the bracelet and necklace.

Vau didn't even look up, as he continued to adjust the settings in his helmet peering inside.

"Your bracelet!" A'den nodded towards Vau's wrist, which was now hidden under his flight suit.

"Ah. I was a little lax there. But it's a part of me now."

He'd worn it since he failed to retrieve them.

Vau's golden eyes scanned A'den unblinking, but he no longer had the effect on him that he would have done on Kamino, when he was a cadet, even with Kal protecting him. They had all steered well clear of Vau and Mird.

"And?"

"I should have listened to what I told my squads, or maybe I told my squads because of what happened to me." An expression crossed his face for a split second that A'den had never seen before something akin to regret and he was no longer scrutinising him. He was quiet for a number of seconds. Then his focus fixed back on A'den.

A'den prepared himself for the mental and physical assault.

"What do you want to know?"

It wasn't exactly the reply he expected; it was too easy but then he had never expected to be here with Vau searching for Sev with his wife on the Wookiee Gunner trying to get her memory back.

.

Kyrimorut

Jilka wiped her hands on the old cloth that hung in the kitchen, cursing the fact that they didn't have any droids to do this mundane work; it was getting tedious now her hands felt like sandpaper most of the time.

"I'm going to get some fresh air." She said to Laseema who was sitting on the floor playing with Kad, "have you seen Corr?"

"I think he's helping Jaing."

"Okay, I won't disturb him but if he comes looking for me, I've gone for a walk."

"Okay but be careful. It's getting chilly out there.

She pulled on a coat and walked out nodding to Kom'rk on the way.

"Where's she going?" he asked as he waked in.

"For a walk."

"Corr's with Atin and Jaing."

"I told her."

"Have they fallen out?" Kom'rk looked back to the door.

"Don't think so, it could be awkward if they have. Corr seems really taken with her."

Kad sat watching closely.

"But she's not so taken with Corr?"

"Laseema shrugged, "I couldn't say."

"I would never underestimate anything you observe." Kom'rk added, "you're too perceptive."

Laseema just smiled, "I'm not going to gossip. You thought anymore of getting out there to find someone?"

"Not at the moment. Too much to do."

"Uthan's close to perfecting the cure. I heard her talking to Mij."

"Now who's gossiping."

"That's not gossiping, that's gathering Intel."

Kom'rk roared in laughter.

.

Jilka walked deep into the woods, hand on her blaster. Corr had warned her about the various animals that still roamed Mandalore but it appeared that Mird, the weird dog thing, which belonged to Vau kept a lot of them away. It went hunting everyday; so the wildlife seemed to learn not to come near but it was with him at the moment. She could never understand how the other females in the house liked it and fawned over it. It fixed her with its beady little eyes and she felt it knew what she was doing. It gave her the creeps.

She looked around checking if she had been followed—all clear. There were not just animals roaming the woods.

Five more minutes and she found the hollowed out tree and pulled out the communicator she had hidden there. She needed to update her contact. Typing in the code, she backed up to the tree and watched, waiting for the reply.

They wanted to talk to her, she was unsure about this. Some of the traitors were off-world and if the Empire came now, they would never catch them all; even though she was desperate to get off this kriffing place. The ones that were off-world, could lead to other traitors on Kashyyyk and the Jedis, a whole colony of them. She clicked the voice activation, starting to speak.

The bushes rustled; she stopped speaking, looking around. She couldn't see anyone or anything. She clicked it off and sent another coded message instead; pulling out the blaster, she walked around the tree but saw nothing more.

She headed back to the house.

.

Imperial Interdictor

In hyperspace en route to Caamas.

Squad 40 sat in intimidating silence in the Mess Hall. They had been pulled off Mandalore by Vader to assist in the 're education' of the Caamas people. Rede was reading the mission briefing even though Sergeant Niner had already talked them through it but he liked to read it and complete more in depth research for his own development.

Darman was his usual quiet self but Rede could see he was angry at leaving Mandalore. Leaving his obsession with Jedi there behind.

"We're under used there." He tried to get through to him. He didn't even get a grunt in reply. "This is what we should be doing."

There was no answer.

"He's asleep." Niner replied.

Yeah, asleep my arse! Thought Rede, they must think I'm stupid.

"You might want to get some yourself."

"Too hyped up at the moment, Sarge."

"I know what you mean but I'm going to try. Dar!"

"If you want to sleep, find an empty bunk."

They rose as one.

"I'm going to get some more rations Sarge."

"Copy that. Then get some rest. That's an order."

"Yes sir."

He rose and saluted, waiting until they had left before sitting down. Now he reviewed the updates from Mandalore.

Scrolling through them on his HUD. There had been another message left and they had traced it even further north. He had been on the right track. Just this mission to do then they would be back and Darman would get his wish.

They would be heading up North past Keldabe and up to Enceri.

Now he could get some sleep.