Daiyu

Hela lay in bed, unable to sleep; her fingers clasped around her resin encased blue plom flower. Mayday's first gift; he had surprised her. For an expendable soldier brought up on Kamino, which he had occasionally referred to, his capacity to learn and adapt emotionally, surprised and delighted her.

They planned a future–together.

It was hard to let go of that hope for the future.

But he was a soldier and risks came with the role, despite him not choosing that life and she couldn't argue with the facts, what Zur had found; he was right. She had to accept it —Mayday was dead.

The Empire had killed him.

She knew losing someone you loved hurt, she had lost her parents and sister but this physically hurt. She had pains in her chest.

She didn't want to believe, she wanted to get that hope back but the datapad screen was burnt into her memory.

His number—KIA.

The tears came, big, silent, rolling down her face into the pillow. She couldn't stop them.

.

Zur topped up his caf with brandy; he wasn't sure why but he needed it, needed more than just caffeine. He heard crying, muffled sobs; hopefully she would get it out of her system and they could move on, he was not unsympathetic, just pragmatic. Everything pointed to Mayday being dead; he couldn't think of anything else he could do to find him, if indeed he was still alive and it was some Imperial SNAFU with the numbers but he knew the Empire liked their numbers, tracked their numbers, more so than the Republic.

One thing he had dismissed, perhaps too quickly, perhaps there was some discrimination there, something unconscious, that clones all looked the same. He sat forward. They all started out looking the same but then life, in their case, war happened. Injuries and stress affected the body and showed in the face, especially humans. He dismissed this earlier, he shouldn't have.

He clicked on his illegal facial recognition programme; the Empire had banned its private use on security issues but that didn't stop him.

He accessed Hela's personal account, he was sure there would be some images of him. There had to be.

"Gah!" He grimaced at some of the inane stuff on there, although she hadn't used it since they left Coruscant. It was a dead account in that she was dead, done as part of their escape from Coruscant.

"Naughty!" He muttered at one image; he couldn't use that one, then there were others. He knew exactly what they did but didn't really want to see it; it didn't do anything for him.

"Finally!" He found some usable images.

Mayday and his squad on Naboo. Mayday and Hela on Naboo; Nola must have taken them.

He studied the group holopic. All the clones looked slightly different. He highlighted Mayday and uploaded it. Now all he could do was wait. He wasn't going to tell Hela, he didn't want to get her hopes up only for them to be crushed again. That was cruel.

He poured himself a new caf, they should go somewhere new, away from where she was told the news, that may help—a little. Then there was his burgeoning relationship with Dag, which was a surprise to him. He wasn't sure if he would come with them; it would be good if he could. He would miss him.

Hela was family, and family was everything. He had lost his once and it wasn't going to happen again.

He opened up his datapad and scrolled down his recent searches; he'd identified most of the visitors from the last meeting and he didn't like what he saw. If they stayed here, working there, they were in the heart of the galaxies criminal gangs and that was dangerous for any being.

He leaned back in his chair, needing to think, needing to plan.

.

Hyperspace

Baylan stood in the doorway and watched the pale haired child sleep; this was not what he envisioned for himself when he had been training in the Temple or fleeing for his life from the soldiers who became automatons with no free will.

He had barely been able to keep himself alive.

The Force had different ideas on how he should proceed and imposed its will on him again, when he sensed how strong she was in the Force.

It was either him or the Inquisitors and he had seen what they were doing, a fledgling Sith army. The Emperor had many irons in the fire.

Satisfied she was asleep, he moved to the living area and sat, trying to calm himself without sinking too deeply into the Force, a luxury he could not afford very often now.

This need for power between the Light and the Dark had to stop before the whole Galaxy was destroyed and his studies had shown him a way. The child would help him but first they must hone their skills and survive.

To survive they needed to live.

To live they needed credits.

This was for credits.

He pulled up the hood of his cloak, hiding most of his face and switched on the Holo emitter; the face of Dryden Vos rose and flickered in front of him.

The man showed no emotion as he said, "I have found the lost item."

Baylan inclined his head.

"She's on Daiyu. I have confirmed it myself."

"She?" The contract only specified retrieving a valuable lost item.

"Yes. You retrieve things, don't you?"

"I do." He tried to read Vos but it was difficult, "but if you've found this person could you retrieve her yourself? Why do you need me?"

Red striations appeared on Vos face; he did not like being questioned.

"You come highly recommended for retrieval, not investigation; despite your—gifts, she will not come willingly."

"A kidnap?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No. But I will need an image."

"Of course."

"Are you there now?" Baylan was suspicious.

"No. But she is. I have eyes on her and will know if she's gone."

Baylan inclined his head.

"She must be uninjured. Not a scratch or bruise."

Another inclined nod.

The image came through—Hela and Zur, walking down a street. Baylan kept his composure. He had heard the news on Naboo and not believed her death, not sensed it but why did this Crime Lord want her.

"The companion?" Baylan asked.

"I have no interest in him. Do what you will."

"As you wish."

"Notify me when it's complete. We will arrange payment and handover."

"As you wish."

The hologram flickered off.

Baylan rose and sensed a presence behind him.

"Shin. You have a question?"

"Where are we going Master?"

"Daiyu."

He knew it wasn't the question she wanted to ask, "You need to get some sleep. I'll tell you more when we get there."

"Yes Master."

She felt he was hiding something.

She watched him as he set the navcom but she knew that was as much as she was going to get out of him at the moment. She had soon learned that from her new Master.

.

Barton IV

Mayday watched them sparring, the new set of volunteers— raw, idealistic vengeful. Untrained, unfocused, clumsy and undisciplined. He had yet to decide if any were lazy.

The Empire was making more enemies wherever they went.

He heard familiar footsteps behind him; they stopped a few feet from him. Not Zak, not Finor and not Donca although she had recently recovered from her last bout of breathing problems and Finor had still not explained the illness. It was difficult for him.

"Good to see you again, Soldier."

He closed his datapad and turned.

The Pilot.

"Good to see you too." he wanted to smile.

It was. She looked good, even in a flight suit. It did nothing to hide the shape of her body and he wasn't complaining about the view.

The new recruits had gone quiet, he turned around. They were watching.

"Get back to work." He ordered.

They grumbled but that was what they accepted when they volunteered; Donca spelt it out to them. If they couldn't take orders they were out. This cell had no place for mavericks; that almost made Mayday smile. He had been classed as a bit of a maverick a lifetime ago in the GAR.

"The name's Lin." She held out a hand, "Good to meet you."

He grasped it, it was strong, a few callouses.

"Mayday! Good to meet you too."

"Glad we've got that over now."

She very rarely returned to a one night stand, mostly forgetting them; it was a passing moment in a life that wasn't a dress rehearsal. Some things she needed to forget and this helped but she liked him, better than many of the other males she had been with. She looked over his shoulder at the new recruits, "Are they any good?"

He shrugged, "Average so far."

"So— cannon fodder?"

"Not, if I can help it."

"So I've heard."

She looked at the recruits again; the clone had his hands full. They were raw.

"How long will you be?"

She saw his hesitation, just for a moment.

"Almost finished. Why?"

"Want a caf?"

He smiled as he turned around to the recruits, "One round of the perimeter, full pack. Then that's it for today."

He felt they almost cheered—almost.

"Let's get to the caf."

Lin slipped her arm through his, feeling the solid hard muscles, as they walked to the Mess Hall.

The caf was hot and strong, just as Mayday liked it and it didn't take long to drink. Then he had another.

"So what exactly do you do for us?" She asked, after watching him down the first cup.

"Us?"

"The Rebels. The Cause."

He fixed her with those brown eyes.

"What do you do?"

"Fly. Deliver supplies. Deliver troops. Anything they want."

"They?"

"Whoever is in Command."

"And who's that?"

"It varies."

"So what do you do?"

"You've seen what I do, I fight and train new recruits to survive. Anything Fulcrum and Donca wants."

She sipped her caf and watched him.

"So how did you get from the Empire to here?"

"Who said I was with the Empire?"

"All the Clones were. They turned on the Jedi."

"It's a long story. What about you?"

"Separatist. Now Rebel. Same aim. Different enemy."

"Sounds familiar." Mayday drained his second cup.

"I've made some improvements to the ship. Would you like to see?"

"Sounds good to me."

Mayday followed her to the ship to look over the improvements she had made to it but that wasn't all that was on offer and he took full advantage.

Lin was small, lithe and inventive — you had to be in the confines of her ship. A little like Hela he realised but he didn't let himself think that way for long. He was too busy keeping up with her.

.

Lin watched the muscular man wander off to the rather small fresher; there wasn't much privacy on these ships but they were better than some. Better than his quarters at this time of day. He had asked if he could shower. She didn't have a problem with that. Some males could be a little slapdash with the personal hygiene, as in slap cleaner on and dash off. The shower was only sonic and she was refuelling so—-.

He wasn't really tall, not as tall as some she'd had which could prove problematic but he was nicely proportioned, being a connoisseur of the male physique he was in the highest of her own personal percentile.

She stretched out in the bunk. And he gave her a good work out; removed all the kinks in her neck and shoulders. She was fully relaxed now. She wondered whether she ought to join him but decided she didn't have time. She still hadn't shown him the improvements, perhaps another time. This was her favourite stopover now, good mess hall, good mechanics.

Mayday walked out of the fresher, looking a little tidier.

The view was good.

"So who is this woman you're trying to forget? Why did she dump you?" She asked, as he finished dressing.

His face changed, "She didn't, she died."

He stalked out.

"Ouch! That felt like a slap in the face."

.

The new Recruits had congregated around two tables in the Mess Hall. Donca had explained to Mayday why she chose this place, an old brick built school. No longer required because of the Imperial Academies. Finor had also said it was for 'naughty boys' to get them on the straight and narrow before they became criminals. It didn't work.

He went to the caf machine and poured himself a strong one; thinking he should apologise to Lin. She didn't deserve that; she didn't deserve to receive the brunt of his guilt. It was still there.

He heard sniggering from the table and ignored it.

"Looks like the Pilot had second thoughts or the clone couldn't manage it."

There were a few more sniggers.

"Maybe I should go, finish it."

He was a tall human, taller than Mayday, heavier about 290 - 300 pounds, "She perhaps wants a pure human. You never know what the Cloners put in the mixture for the Tube Spawn."

Zak watched from his table, wondering what Mayday would do. Zak had every reason to hate him as did Dash but he had saved them both. Trained them both to be better, ignored all their jibes and worked with them.

Zak liked him.

He didn't like the new big human. He thought he was all hot air and worse — a bully. He had met these before and ran from them—before.

Mayday walked over, the group went quiet. The look on Mayday's face should have warned them.

"As you're so very relaxed now. I obviously didn't train you hard enough."

"So this is payback for what we've just said?"

"If it was payback. Neither of us would be talking."

"I can take you on any time." The big one said, standing up. He had weight and height on his side and had probably never lost a fight in his life.

"I've been trained to kill." Mayday replied, "Do you know how many I've killed, not droids, beings?"

They looked at him.

"Hundreds. This is about being a soldier at war. Do you know when the enemy is most likely to attack? When we least expect it. War is 90% boredom followed by 10% fighting to stay alive."

He looked at them. The big human opened his mouth to say something, Mayday cut him off.

"Plans go to hell as soon as the first shot is fired. You're never off duty. Now run the perimeter again."

Mayday followed them, cursing at them to move faster. The big one was correct; it was payback because he would struggle with the running but to survive he had to get over that.

.

Daiyu

The three of them left The Flying Nuna together; it had been a busy night with a good amount of tips. Even Caesar was happy, although he appeared to have something on his mind; something preoccupying him since that meeting.

They stepped out of the alley into the main thoroughfare.

"There must be something in the air." Said Hela, looking around.

"Why?" Asked Dag.

"Everyone's happy."

They looked around, the crowds did appear to be in a good mood; no squabbles or fights.

"It's the Spice. The processors have vented some into the air."

Hela stared at him, frowning, "Do they do that?"

He laughed, she was still naive at times and grabbed her in a hug; she tensed up, unused to it but he held on, "No. I'm joking." Finally she relaxed into it and a few seconds later he let go.

"Although I'm surprised no one has thought of it to get people hooked."

He walked on, glancing over to her. She was smiling, which was rare.

"It's bad enough. You can't walk anywhere without someone pestering you."

"It's big business."

Although they tried, Hela still felt a spare part with the two of them there. She didn't mind really. Zur deserved some happiness, at least one of them had something to look forward to.

She was happy for him. She really was but she struggled to show it the way she was feeling. Her smile was forced.

"You two can go wherever you're going. I'll be fine. We're nearly at the Apartment. I'll be fine from here. I don't want to cramp your style."

"You won't be." Dag said kindly.

"Don't lie." She forced a smile for him, "I'll be fine. I'm going to splash out on a hot shower."

Zur stepped in front of her blocking her way.

"I'll be fine. We're nearly there. You can watch me until I'm inside okay?"

He hesitated and looked around— no one was lurking.

"Fifty metres. That's all. What can happen?"

"A great deal."

"Really?"

He thought for a few seconds, looked how far, looked around, then decided.

"Okay. I'll watch you. Wave when you're in."

Hela leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"Go have fun!"

He huffed.

Dag waved as she walked away towards their apartment satisfied; she turned a couple of times and waved, checking Zur wasn't coming after her.

Zur needed some time when he wasn't worried about her.

"Satisfied?" Asked Dag.

Zur watched as she reached the door, turned and waved, then closed it after her. He stood watching the door and surroundings for five minutes. There was no one lingering.

"Satisfied!"

Dag grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away.

.

Hela closed the door leaning against it. It was an effort keeping up the appearance of being normal, when she felt as if she was dying inside.

Zur could sense that but Dag couldn't and she liked him as well, neither should have to deal with her sadness; they had their own lives to live.

She headed to the shower, not yet hungry, but wanting to get the grime of the bar off her. It was always warm and humid, with the odour of many different bodies, which seemed to cling, leaving a distinctive odour. She pulled off her clothes and pushed them straight into the sonic laundry chute, thankful they would be ready for the next shift.

Waiting until the steam condensed on the mirror, she stepped underneath the shower; she stood for a minute or two, then washed her hair and herself.

On autopilot.

Autopilot was good, it got you through the day; normally she remembered some of the customers from the Cantina but the last few nights she couldn't.

Autopilot was good.

She switched off the water, wanted to cry but couldn't, that release had been exhausted.

She stepped out and heard a noise.

She stood still. No longer on autopilot, alert.

She couldn't remember putting the alarm on, couldn't remember anything after coming into the apartment.

Fek!

Listening, it didn't sound like Zur. He was quiet, you barely knew he was there.

He would have announced himself. Grabbing a towel, she quickly dried herself and stepped to the door, opening it a sliver.

She couldn't see anyone but definitely heard them. They were talking as well. Discussing what to take.

She pulled on a top, feeling even more vulnerable naked.

"Leave that. It's only resin."

They had her blue plomflower.

She pushed open the door, "Hey leave that!"

The two Rodians looked up, surprised.

They had been through the cupboards and one held a handful of credits; she wasn't sure what they were poised to do run or—

It was — the or.

One of them lunged at her; she jumped away, putting the settee in front of her, blocking them.

Her heart was racing, frantically searching for something, anything, to throw at them. She grabbed the datapad, not sure what to do with it. She couldn't let them get near her.

She moved around; they moved.

She needed to get them away from the door.

She lurched left in feint; they weren't that clever and headed in that direction. She skimmed the datapad at them and ran; she didn't look back to see if it hit them but she heard a yelp then excruciating pain filled her head and everything went black.

.