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"... Nearby villagers alerted the authorities when they noticed the power go out. What they found upon arrival was rather gruesome. All the employees were dead. An official statement from the owner of the company has been issued, blaming the event on a generator meltdown, which led to a unique type of explosion inside the building. Some families have turned and blamed the company and its failure to renovate the building. We have an expert in the field of provincial entigenerators on the air to speak about how the combination of outdated tech and nonexistent safety procedures would lead to a catastrophe like this. Dr. Balan Bauer, you're on the air." The screen switched to a stuffy looking Zabrak in a purple suit. "Thank you for having me on the air tonight. I will start by first explaining the generator used at this hyperfuel refinery in easily understood terms. You see, the model they used was an XERO 67483, and this one is known for hav-"

Sadie muted the holovision when she heard the door open loudly to the ship they were in. It was a cargo ship, one of the few that they brought down to the surface of Corbalant that acted now as a kind of 'mobile home' for her, Tag, Darin, Thorn, and a few others. Tag walked in and threw the helmet on the recliner before parking himself in a spot next to Sadie on the loveseat. He gave her a half-hearted grunt.

"I don't speak Wookiee," she snipped.

"How long are you gonna be like this?" he snapped back. Ever since they returned after rescuing those slaves, the friendliness they shared before was gone and replaced with this tense air.

"You lied. You lied to us. You realize that, right?"

He sighed. "Fine. Fine. But we survived, didn't we?"

"I was kind of a big part of that" Aly chirped up.

"Tag, control your partner," Sadie said.

Suddenly, she tensed up slightly.

"Oh boy," she said before quickly jumping up and going to the door. The door was a simple hatch that led outside. She stood there for a few seconds before hearing a knock at the door. She opened it and revealed Vince standing outside.

"How did it go? Did you get them?" He asked hurriedly.

"How did you find us?" Sadie asked sharply.

"I got a message telling me to come to this location."

Sadie turned and looked at Tag. "Did you do that?"

"Yea. That was the deal. I get the suit, he gets his family."

She threw her hands up in frustration. "Why would you give away our location?!"

"I trust him."

"Well nobody else here knows him! He could be with the Alliance!"

Vince said "I can assure you that I'm not with the Alliance."

"And I'm supposed to just believe you?"

Vince shook his head. "No, I wouldn't expect that you would. But I will do what I can to earn your trust. The Alliance killed my son recently, and almost got the rest of my family."

"I thought the Zygerrians captured your family," Sadie interjected.

"The Alliance has been paying them to capture Seyley and force them into lives of slavery."

"Why?" Tag asked.

"I don't know. Shortly after my son died, they started paying the Zygerrians to capture my people."

Sadie lowered her head. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Vince nodded, staring blankly as he tried to fight back the tears. "Yea, me too."

Sadie closed her eyes for a moment, then said "Your family is safe. They aren't being held by the Zygerrians. But we aren't letting them go free just yet because we want to make sure that the Zygerrians don't come back."

"Thank you. May I see them?"

Sadie nodded and led Vince to one of the doors on the other side of the makeshift main room, with Tag following closely behind. She opened it, leading to a large cargo hold. Inside were some soldiers standing guard, and towards the middle about one hundred people milled about. Some people were playing cards at a makeshift table, some were chatting with each other, some were napping, and some were roaming aimlessly about.

One of them nodded at the trio and stepped back.

"Daddy!" a little girl's voice cried, and a small Seyley ran out of the flock to him. He surged forwards and scooped her up in his arms, giving her a big hug. Another Seyley ran out of the crowd and threw her arms around him.

-Sadie-

I watched the family reunion for a little before walking out of there, tears stinging my eyes. It reminded me too much of what I didn't have. What I lost.

As I composed myself, the door opened behind me and the guy who nodded at me came out helmet off. It was Q.

"You okay?" he asked, looking slightly concerned.

"Yea yea. I'm fine" I responded quickly.

"Commander-"

"Please. Call me Sadie. I'm not a commander."

"Sadie, you aren't alone, you know. You do have a family."

I stared at him, shocked that he could tell what was affecting me. "What do you mean?"

"You have us. You have the General. We may not all be blood, but we are a family. We care and protect our own. And I can assure you that we see you the same way. Every one of us sees you as family. As one of us."

I knew he was trying to cheer me up. I smiled slightly."Thanks, Q. Thanks for that."

"No problem." He went to walk away before stopping and saying "Can I be completely honest with you?"

"Uhm, sure."

He shifted slightly from foot to foot before saying "This thing that you and the General are doing, with us, I… I believe in it. I was basically born and raised in a lab. From my first days, I was always aware that I would live and die for the Order. That my life WAS the Order. I never had a choice in that. I was never satisfied with that, but I always knew that there was no escaping it." He looked a little at his feet, collecting his thoughts, before looking at me and saying "I had resigned myself to a death on a battlefield on some planet, casually thrown at an enemy force like a weapon. Knowing that my life was worth nothing. I just… I want to thank you. I've wanted to thank you and the General for a while. Without you two, I'd be dead on some foreign planet. Another number amidst hundreds of thousands of others. For the first time, I could actually be a person. Not just a weapon. Not just a tool. You allowed me to be someone instead of something. And even though we're cooped up in an old ship, have no support, and are forced to scrounge for resources, I've never felt happier. You gave me a life. I just wanted to let you know." With that, he left the room.

I stood there, stunned. I had no idea how to react. How to respond. I didn't feel like I deserved his thanks. I wasn't a hero. I didn't do anything. Darin was the one who did most of this. Sure, I trained with them, laughed with them, joked with them, goofed around with them, and became friends with a lot of them, but I never felt like I really did anything for them. I was just… me.

I walked over and sat down on the loveseat, pulling out the little chip and plugging it into one of my gauntlets. The picture of my parents came up. My mom, my dad, and me. I smiled at it. Q was right. While they could never replace my blood family, they still gave me a type of family. They came to see me when I got better. They were concerned about me and they cared about me. But they were also friends. They made fun of me, teased me. But it wasn't like it was at school. It didn't feel malicious. It felt… friendly. Fun. I smiled to myself.

A pulse through the Force brought me back to the world. I reached out through the Force and felt Darin's presence.

You made a real mess, you know I said to him.

You heard?

It's all over the news. They're blaming it on a generator meltdown or something.

Oops.

I sighed. Did you at least get the hyperfuel?

You'll just have to wait and see.

I rolled my eyes. We've got a surprise for you.

Ooo. What is it?

You'll have to wait and see. I said, enjoying the slight spark of annoyance that I felt emanate from him. How far out are you?

About 40 clicks.

Great. See you soon.

I stood up, stretched, and walked outside. The cool breeze hit my face and I listened to the sounds of the nighttime wildlife. The chirping and chattering of so many different species provided a stark contrast from what life on Coruscant was like. I never once thought that so much life could exist in such a small space. That it could permeate every nook and cranny of this region of the planet. Of course, I have heard about it. I took biology courses that were required of me in school. I knew that there were many different forms of life and they were basically everywhere. But knowing didn't come close to the experience. Actually experiencing it, being amidst the natural world, surrounded by it, was like nothing I could ever imagine. I switched to sensing with the Force, a switch that felt natural by now, and found that I could feel the world. Not just hear it, see it, smell it, or touch it. Darin had told me that the Force was in all life, and I realized what he meant. Everything around me, every plant, every insect, every animal, everything had a Force signature. It was incredible. I could sense it, flowing through the world around me. I reached out, trying to sense the Force of the individual organisms. I could feel a small lizard, scurrying through the grass and looking for food. Baby birds, sleeping away in a basket made of sticks in a tree. A spider, which was shielding an amphibian under its body, and I could sense a very rudimentary bond between the two unlikely organisms. The plants, I found, were able to sense the world as well. To feel it. They didn't process anything, but I could feel them reacting. Feeling pain when an insect ate the leaves. I realized that the universe was more alive than I had ever imagined.

I heard the sound of a ship approaching, and my heart started beating faster.

Darin was almost here.

I watched as the ship flew towards me. I knew the plan. Most of the ships take the hyperfuel to the Everbright, and Darin brings M5 back here so that the droid could assess the rescued prisoners for any injuries and Darin could insta-heal them. Slowly, the ship began to descend. It was a small ship meant to transport people, and that was it. It looked surprisingly expensive. I tried to determine what kind of ship it was, but couldn't.

After landing, a door opened up behind it and M5 walked out and casually strolled to my side. I wasn't sure how to treat M5. He was a pain in the ass.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

The droid shrugged and said "We have the fuel. Most of it is unrefined though. It'll need to be refined if it's going to be used."

I nodded. "Where's Darin?"

"In the ship. He refused to co-pilot, if you can believe it. So rude. He wants to keep it though. Says it could be useful. He's finding any tracking beacons and disabling them."

"Did you guys steal it?"

"No. I found it. Piloted it to get him out of there."

"YOU stole this ship?"

"Now there, you can't be making wild accusations without any proof. That's not the Jedi way."

"Yea, and droids don't steal ships and blow up buildings. Against their programming."

M5 turned to me and said "I never caused any building explosion."

I rolled my eyes and said "Go medically assess the prisoners we rescued."

"I'm sure that they're all just peachy."

"Please?"

M5 let out a mechanical whirring, as if he was sighing, and said "Fine."

I watched him walk off towards the ship before turning back to the small ship. After a few moments, I got frustrated and ventured towards the door. I peeked my head in, and was hit first and foremost by the cleanliness of the place. The walls shone and the floors had a nice carpet on them. I walked inside and found a nice setup with a soft velvet booth around a pristine glass table whose edges were lined with gold. I found a mini-fridge near the table, and opened it to find all sorts of exotic foods and beverages. I saw some sleek doors down another small hall that probably led to the sleeping chambers. The other way was the cockpit. I heard some movement coming from the side with the sleeping chambers, and decided to go that way. I opened a door and found an exquisite bedroom with the same carpet on the ground, a huge comfy bed, and a few wardrobes. A door to the side led to a private bathroom. On the bed I could see Darin's dark gray cloak strewn about and his black shirt thrown to the side. A missing ceiling panel told me where he was.

I called his name, and his grease speckled face popped out of the hole.

"How's it going?" He asked.

"What are you doing?"

"Disabling the tracking beacons and compiling a list of modifications to make to this."

"Is the tracker disabled?"

"Yep."

"Then can you please get down from there? We have people that might be hurt."

"Just a sec. Just want to examine some more of the ship for more modifications I can make."

"You can do that on the Everbright. Just… come down. Okay?"

"Okay. Okay. Just gimme a sec." His head retracted into the hole before I saw Seth and a few tools float down from the hole and onto the bed. A second later, he jumped to the ground. He smiled at me before turning around and using the Force to move the ceiling panel back in place. I examined him, noting the scars on his thick, muscular figure, all of which was covered with dirt and grease.

"You need to shower," I commented.

He looked down at himself and said "Yea, something was leaking up there."

I pointed at the bathroom. "Shower. After that, come find me."

I was sitting on the loveseat in the cargo ship when the door opened and I saw Darin walk in, cloak hanging over his shoulder and hair wet and messy.

"Took you long enough," I said with a smile.

"Uh huh. Where are the prisoners?"

"This way." I stood up and walked over to the cargo door behind which the prisoners were. Before letting him through, I stopped him and said "Don't freak out, but there are quite a few Seyley in there."

He tensed. "Sadie, you realize how dangerous they are, right? How dangerous bringing them here is?"

"I do, but they were among the prisoners. A Seyley asked us to save his family."

"Did you once think that this was a trap?"

"He didn't lie to us. The Seyley that asked for help wasn't lying. I checked. He's here."

He tried to walk in, but I stepped in his way. "You need to promise not to do anything. Not to them, not to Tag, nobody."

"Tag? What did Tag do?"

"Do you promise?"

He sighed. "Fine. I promise."

I nodded and opened the door letting him walk through before walking in afterwards. Q smiled and nodded my way, and I gave him a smile back.

"This is a lot of Seyley," Darin mumbled.

"Look who just decided to waltz in," M5 snapped from a group of people. "I've already separated the people into those injured and those healthy. Get over here and do your job."

Darin walked over to the injured people and quickly healed them up. I looked around the room and found Vince sitting to the side with his family. I went over to them and asked "Are you guys okay?"

"Yes. Thank you," the female Seyley, who appeared to be his wife, said.

Vince asked "Can I talk to you? In private?"

I was surprised for a moment, then said "Sure." I walked over to a corner and asked "What's up?"

"I don't think it's safe for my family to stay here."

"Why not?" I asked, confused by the statement.

"There's only one suit in the galaxy like the one Tag has. I'm the only one who could make it. They're going to be able to put two and two together and realize that I helped break them out. Then they're going to come and kill me and my family."

Oh. I should not be the one he comes to for this. I'm not the person who should be making these decisions. Not sure exactly what to say I said "How were you thinking we could help?"

"I was hoping you could help us maybe go to another planet or something. Somewhere that we could get lost in the crowd or something and it would take a while to find us. Tag promised it, but considering the reaction he's gotten from you, it sounds like he did a lot of lying there. I know its a big ask, but I just want them to be safe. I can pay you. Or build some things for you. Make weapons and the like."

I could sense the desperation. It made sense they would know he helped. I wanted to help. I really did. I said "Here. Let's go talk to the guy in charge."

I led him over to the injured group, where Darin was leaning down and mending a little boy's broken bone. After a few seconds, it healed completely. All the scrapes on the kid vanished and the kid walked off, perfectly healthy.

"Oh kriff. A Jedi?" he asked me.

"Not really," I said. Darin noticed us standing by and motioned for us to hold on. He had a few more people to fix. One by one, he came to them, and one by one, they were able to leave. When he was finally done, he walked over to us. He looked tired, and let out a yawn.

I said "Darin, meet Vince. Vince, Darin." They shook hands.

I then said "Darin, Vince is the guy who asked us to help."

I sensed a change in Darin, but I couldn't notice one outwardly.

Vince said "I'm extremely grateful that you helped me out."

"You should thank Sadie for that."

"Vince needs help. The Zygerrians will know that he helped break out the prisoners and they'll come for him."

Now his face changed visibly. "Zygerrians? I thought they were pirates."

Sensing the hostility being directed at the old Seyley, I said "Tag told us they were pirates. Vince never once said that."

The hostility lessened, but remained there. "How would they know you helped?"

"Because of the suit that he made that Tag now owns. He made it."

"The suit?" Darin asked, confused.

I pointed to a corner, and Darin turned to see Tag, in the large suit, standing guard. He turned back to the two of us and asked "What are you asking?"

"He's wondering if-"

"No," Darin said, cutting me off. "You tell me Vince."

Vince said "I was hoping that I could maybe hitch a ride to another planet or something. I could move my family somewhere safer. You guys have already done more than enough. I could pay you. I don't have many credits, but I'll give you what I have. I can make weapons, do chores, anything. I just want my family safe."

Darin thought for a moment before nodding. "Okay. Okay. We can give you that."

A huge grin appeared on Vince's face and I could feel the relief wash over him. "Thank you so much, Sir."

"Please. Call me Darin. We were going to leave tomorrow morning. We're going to get your stuff tonight. I'll come with you to help. Get ready, I'll be there soon. Just need to talk with Sadie."

Vince nodded and practically ran over to his family. Darin motioned Q over and said "Let the others go. The coast should be clear for them."

Q said "Will do" before dashing off. Darin walked me over to behind a few crates before stopping. It was a very secluded place, safe from prying eyes and ears. It was also small, so we were forced to stand rather close. I didn't mind that.

In a harsh whisper, he said "Why didn't you tell me about the Zygerrians?"

"I didn't want to worry you. I was fine."

He internalized it for a few seconds before asking "Are you okay?"

I could barely suppress the happy smile when he asked that. "Yea. Yea I am."

"Good. I just… I worry."

"I know."

"I also would like to apologize. I was kind of harsh when I cut you off earlier. I didn't intend for that, but it happened. I'm sorry."

I nodded and gave him a smile. "It's fine, I get it. No worries."

We stood there for a little. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but couldn't say it. Couldn't do it.

After a little while of us standing like that, he said "I should go help Vince."

"Yea. Yea. Go ahead," I said, partially disappointed that we couldn't stand close together like that for a little longer. He smiled and walked off.