"You dont seem to understand, You are at risk, i can not allow you to sell these weapons, i sense that your futures may soon be harmed by the transactions.."
The jedi spoke, his voice calm, and void of emotions.

Wheres the group of men he was talking to seemed ready to bust open one of the crates of weaponry which they possessed, wanting to sell them on the black market, or something...

"No, Mr. Jedi, I think not, its you who dont understand, this is our turf, and you dont have a say in this... Times have changed, you jedi's mean nothing!"

The jedi's smirk grew a bit "Very well, i take this as a will to cause pain in the galexy, you can not be permited to live."

as if out of thin air a metalic object appeared from the jedi's robes, one that looked a bit like a lightsaber.

"We're sorry! take them! we wont do it again!" the man suddenly screamed, running off in fear of his life, which his comrades soon followed in suit.

With that the free hand reached up to pull the hood down, revealing a neat, yet tangled mass of coppery-golden hair, and a pair of jade ringed eyes, centered by a simplistic hassel, the smirk on his face quickly turned to a roguish grin as a small chuckle escapped his lips.

Looking down at the small handle, Flac hit the littel "activation" button, causing it to open at the top, allowing him to take a big swig of the dark liquid held within.

"damn Spice adict, weapon smugglers, they'll believe anything."

Laughing again he threw the brown cloak from his body, revealing a somewhat average colection of clothing, a gray shirt, a pair of baggy black pants, and a black leevi jacket, a somewhat large, yet still one handed, blaster pistol sitting at his hip.

Taking another little swig of the flask he laughed. "and they said this lightsaber shapped flask would never come in handy... Hah, just wait til the ol' boy's back at home hear about THIS one..."

he reached up then with a strong hand, and yanked a tarp off of his hidden vessel, opening a hatch that went directly to the lower portion of his ship, and quickly, if not loudly, put all the large crates under there.

"bout time i got this 'shipment' i was running low on things to sell..."

With another chuckle he hopped into Tamerak and started her up, flying into the atmosphere.

But as soon as he hit space something seemed to "kick" or "fluxiat" with the engines... and he sure as hell didnt like the sound of it... he'd heard this baby do some wierd stuff, but this just didnt seem right...

Muttering to himself about finaly getting repairs on the "piece of scrap metal" he went about checking compartments here and there, untill finaly he found the card he was looking for. "For all your ship and travel needs, call eagle enterprises... Or so he said, that bastard better be right about this place..."

Muttering to himself he tapped in a comm signal and sent a message saying "hey, i need repairs, can you help me" though the card was over 3 years old, from the time he had gotten it, he sure hoped the comm frequiency was still right... or quite frankly, he was screwed...

Flac sat within his ship, approuching the planet when he suddenly had an idea... he always was one to push things to the limit... And that whirring sound was dying out a bit...
"you can make it through a hyperspace jump cant ya, Tammy? course ya can... aint no ship thats lasted this long before without breaken down, i dont see a reason why you'd start now..."

With a slight chuckle he tapped in a change in course, punching his hyperspace lever, causing the stars to blur for just a moment, before suddenly his engines cut out, and he was thrown back into real space with a start... Normaly a man would be dead after that kinda thing, but old tammy kept her friend Flac alive at all costs... and he sure as hell hoped she kept doing so... The engin sputtered again and he found himself needing to land... or he'd be dead in no time at all... Quickly he put her down on some planet... eyes glancign downward to look at the commlink.
now would be the time to start praying for a mirical, cause that comm sure is quiet...

His hand tapped the comm a few times... sure enough, that thing was as dead as a swamp rat tresspassing on a farmers crops...

with a casual shrug the commlink flew backwards, slamming into the wall and shattering into a million pieces...

"up for a game of 'where the hell am i' Anyone? good, glade to here it..."

grumbling to himself he exited the ship, and placed a tarp over it yet again, checking to make sure his best frined Mr. Bryre was still fully charged and ready for action...

With that roguish grin flashign all over the place, one of his hands reached up to run through his thick mass of hair, pulling it back for a moment, only to have it part again in its natural wierdness after his hand left....

"and now to find out where you are, buddy Ol' Pal... You were guessin when you hit those coordinates... So where are ya?"

He sighed and sat down, thinking, once again beggining to mutter to himself "Maybe you should get a map, he tells ya, Oh no, i dont need a map, i know this galexy like the back of my hand, you reply... But a map would be helpull, he say's, oh no, really im fine... Geez flac, why do you have to be such a moron sometimes?"

his smile grew into a little smirk "cause your the best damn 'bussinis man' there is... And there aint no one who will dispute it..."

he laughed to himself at that, taking out a small bottle of water from his belt, and sipping it idely... "where to go next... Where to go next... "Alrighty, where ever you are god, if you dont totaly hate me, hows about givin me a hand?

"bah! Maybe i shoulda lead a better life... but then again... Live a better life, and miss out on all the fun? NO WAY IN HELL!"

With that he jumped to his feat,fully showing that little grin of his once more, he set off to figure out just where in the universe he'd ended up in...

...but it wasn't the starsmears of hyperspace that I was seeing there.

I couldn't believe it, I just couldn't believe it. I mean, yeah, I figured he'd be after me sooner or later, either on his own behalf or that of his goon buddy Actar. But I didn't think he'd actually kill me... and certainly not our little daughter.

No. Galen Jhin'Dar Danner, you stop that right now. YOUR daughter!

But kill me and the innocent child he had... or at least he had killed our clones. I winced; even clones had a right to some sort of life, I guess, even though these two had been specifically made simply to act as decoys and thus weren't much to write home about in the mental department.

Which was all well and good, as I could barely afford those two anyway. And one of these days I'm going to have to go back and make good on that damned contract I signed with the Kaminoans....

Something pressed into my dark thoughts with quiet insistence, and I blinked, coming back into the reality of my blessed little Sith ship. I took a quick gander about, instinctively making certain that my sith belt was not only operational but the Force-blocker was fully operating, then patting the strangely shaped blaster I had found in the weapons niche. I was about to reach for one of the Sith's enigmatic and solidly black ovoid helmets when I realized it was merely the proximity sensor bleeping for attention.

Here? Where in Hell's Seven Circles were we?

I reached forward to slap us back into the hyperspace we had so recently dropped from when one of my infamous inner hunches sat up and began to scream at me. I paused, hand stretched out, and glanced to see what my ship was trying to show me.

There on the forward screen was what looked like a potato made out of rock. If it weren't for the thin bluish haze that hugged it like a Toydarian hugs his cashbox, I would have sworn that it was just an asteroid we almost plowed through. But this baby had an atmosphere, and after a quick once over of my Sith navigational maps proved to be a planet not only with atmosphere, but one entirely where there ought not to be one.

A rogue!

I sat up now, curious. I had heard of these, who hadn't? They were said to have formed when the blasts of supernovae sent heavy elements careering into space, forming aimless, sunless planets destined to wander through space forever alone... but usually stocked with an abundance of natural elements.

Natural heavier elements. Like gold, for example.

Hmmm... fancy that, Galen ol' gal. And you with a nearly empty pocketbook....

I didn't have to think twice. I had all the time in the universe, after all, to find just that special quiet place where I could settle down to raise Darra. I reached out and keyed in the command, and Jester IV plummetted to an inertialess landing on the little planetoid, touching down there upon its alien surface as lightly as a feather.

As he sat down, to iddly sip his water, he saw... SOMETHING enter through the atmosophere of the place off in the distance... He shruged to himself, completly dissmissing in, before standing and shakign his head.

"ya... Like you got something more important to do? Keep it together Flac... We all knew you were missing a few rungs in your latter, but we didnt need you to be just plain ol' stupid..."

He chuckled to himself as he trudged on, unconciously activatign the small absorbtion shield device held on his wrist, looking down at his wiest where his pistole sat loyaly. "Good Ol' bryre, i can always count on you cant i buddy? Yep... Your a loony flac... Always have been, always will be..."
He chuckeld to himself, once more running a hand through his hair, taking a small sip of water, before continuing onward...

Finaly he reached the site of landing... and BOY was it amazing... he hadnt been sure what had landed before, but now he knew... It was a ship... Maybe, to tell the truth he wasnt quite sure... It looked like a ship, but it was a bit... Ah? odd?

he just sat there gaping at it fore a moment, before once again he half-wittedly started speaking to himself. "dont that just beat all? what the heck is it? I know youve seen soom wierd stuff out there... But jeez..." he looked down at his water bottle "what the heck did they put in this stuff?"

He sighed, plopping down on a small rock. "maybe you should go check it out... HA! and take the chance that its real? your a loony, buddy, just face it... Youve lost your mind..."

Not that this potato had a star of its own to orbit... but at the moment seemed to be heading toward a whole damned cluster of them.

Wow. And I thought Kessel was out in the boonies.

So clad completely from head to toe in enigmatic black, I tapped my sleeping daughter's tiny nose, then headed down the ramp to see what was out there.

And sure as there's Treasure on Roon I didn't expect that "what" to be a man.

I froze when I spotted him, my hand flying to my blaster, noting all the while how his own mimicked my move. And so, since he was into to playing Simon Says with me, I just stood there in silence, waiting to see who was going to speak first...

...and knowing it wasn't going to be me.

His eyes put the scene together like clockwork...
Strange ship, wierd suit...none of it fit, cept that kid was outa place...and the way that black figure held the child... A mother, so its a girl... Hmm... blaster, she's a tuffy... Odds of survival? Not much if that blaster was as wierd as the ship...

Nodding his head he placed his blaster back on the his hip, eyeing the woman carefully.

Once in a great while does a ship pass by this planet...

But now, two landing??

The humming sound the one ship made wasn't enough to break Malf's hibernation period... although loud, the rhythm kept it from becoming annoying...

Not until that being opened his mouth, and let out that noise did Malf come from his state of half sleep...

He growled,"KEEP IT DOWN OUT THERE!!!"

He placed his head back down on the cold surface of the golden cave...

PEOPLE?!!

He hadn't seen another being in nearly 3 years...

His head popped up, hitting the deposit of gold he had for as long as he could remember...

He jumped to his feet, making sure to clear himself from the barrier this time, and ran out the entrance of the cave...

By the time he reached the two, he was out of breath...

Heaving in and out rapidly, foam at the corners of his mouth, and his head a glistening gold he blurted out words that sounded like growls...

So much for first impressions...

"Wait," I barked at him, waving my blaster in a 'don't you dare fire' kind of way. "Flac, is it? Hang a tad; I think he's a friendly."

With that I quieted so as to better hear the translator, which basically took hold of this furry monstrosity's warbles and whoofs and turned them all into one simple word.

"Hi!"

Slowly I came up from my instinctive crouch, loosening my hold on Darra for a bit so as not to choke her. Hidden beneath the alienness of my helmet, my eyes cut over to Flac.

"Pretty popular place for a rock going nowhere," I finally observed wryly, finally lowering my blaster just a touch but never allowing it to leave my hand, or to move from an area I had chosen vaguely equidistant between the two of them.

I then fell into silence, just waiting to see what either of these two would have to say, if anything. But while I waited, I perused them both carefully.

Was that gold dust spread all over that walking carpet's head...?

"whatar ya anyway? Yer to big a fellow te be a wookie... I tell ya what, you dont kill me, and we wont have problems, Gott it? By the way, you got a name?"

His momentarily stunned look now turned into a sloppy grin as he turned his gaze back to the woman.

"Ok, you say this guy's friendly, and by the looks id say he is... But whata 'bout you laddy? you got a name? maybe you could be so kind as to remove your helmet?"

He shruged to himself, taking a swig of water, "any of you want some? Cause im kinda wishing i had something a bit more potent..."

He shruged and put the cap on it, setting it down at his side...

Momentarily glancing up at the big guy, noting that his face seemed to be...ah...whats the word he was looking for? oh yes... COVERED IN GOLD!

Remember, Galen: nothing happens just by circumstance. This is all too coincidental....

I loosened my stance another fraction, aware that the mountain of fur had quit its deafening howling and seemed to be waiting to hear what I had to say as well. With great difficulty I refrained from shrugging, and then finally lowered my blaster.

"My name..." I began slowly, shifting Darra's weight and settling it on my left hip. "It's best you don't know that, believe me." And after a moment longer: "...nor even know I was here, got it?

"Which brings me to my next question," I smoothly segued.

he then stood, and walked over to her, examining the black suit she wore, and eyeing that helmet strangly. "I dont know what has been in your past lady, but i tell you, mine aint filled with roses either... relax a bit, everyone needs a friend... Just look at me! ive ended up talking to myself when im alone... Its a bad life that... But if you dont wanna open up, thats intirely up to you..." he then turned to face the hair ball. "And as for him... well, id like to know that much as well..." his gaze snapped back to galen. "to tell you the truth, im not much worried about him... But you... You ask a lot of questions, for someone that dont wanna answer any back, i find that a bit odd..."

Shaking his head, he reached over and flipped the switch at his wrist, deactivating the almost invisible energy field about him.

"ok Lady, nows your chance, if you really dont want me to know you, then heres your chance, you shoot me now, im probbably dead..." he smiled then. "though there aint been a laser yet that could end me in one blast..."

he laughed to himself, taking a step to the side, raising his hands from his side. "its now or never honey... Dont matter to me, if you dont help me out im as good as dead anyway."

What is it with you and dramatic meetings with peeps, Galen? I asked myself as I shook my head slightly, finally breaking down to holster the blaster altogether. First Sorben, snatched from a dark jedi no less, then Terrin, running from Actar...

I stopped at that. Just because I had met those two in THOSE circumstances, each leading to a particular circumstance in its own, didn't necessarily mean this would end up in the same manner. I shook my head again, suddenly aware that Darra was still snoozing away in my arm, completely unconcerned, her little head hanging and a wad of drool wetting the arm of my suit.

I swallowed a bit. "It's not that I'm not wanting to open up here, friend," I began cautiously, cutting my gaze to the hirsute giant and then back into his eyes again. "It's just that it's best that you just don't know me. At least not yet.

"But then, I never was much for killing people anyway. I supposed I could be a little more friendly..."

With that I reached up with my now freed hand, and in one smooth motion swept that helmet from my head, the move so reminiscent of one I had made nearly three long years ago. Putting that helmet awkwardly into the hand which still held Darra against my hip, I now ruffled my fingers along my head. Three years or no, I still hated helmet-hair....

I then let a little air escape me in something that was not quite a sigh.

As he spoke he continued to examine her contently... She had big brown eyes that seemed to tell there own story... Enduring hardships, finding a way... he sure as heck new that story, his own life had mirriored in in a way, though the way she acted, and the look in those eyes told him that the little hardships he endured were probably nothing compared with those she had faced...

he shruged to himself, speaking again, "Well, i gotta say, thanks for not shooting me... i wasnt sure, but for a second i thougth you mighta... Man, that woulda been a bummmer..."
Especialy with those crates filled with "supplies" just waiting to be sold, sitting in the lower portion of his ship.

"So, you dont think i should know you? well, i tell you, it'ed be in your best intrest not to know me either, but then, AH, well, i sure wouldnt mind someone to talk to now and again... heck, maybe we can help eachother out... You scratch my back, ill scratch yours, and well-" he turned looking at the mountain of fur beside him "-it might take both of us to scratch his..."

He chuckled to himself, smiling that roguish grin of his.

Always with the humor, ey Flac? oh well, its worked in the past, your not dead yet, are ya? But remember, just cause she's cute, and she's got a pair of gorgeous eyes, doesnt remove the fact that she's got a blaster in easy reach, and could blow you away in a passing glance....
Instantly another little thougth came to in reply Hmmm... Good point, ill watch out... Red heads are well known for there somewhat... Ah, burning? personalities... Ya, i better be carefull...

Though he was having his own little inner conversation, his facial expression didnt change a bit.

He turned his gaze again from the walking "talking" 9 foot tall rug and glanced at her once more.

Who in Hell's Seven Circles was he, to so quickly and so blithely toss out that we hook up together? Buddy, if you only knew what tends to happen to guys I hook up with....

I was getting ready to shoot back with one of my characteristic scathing comments when I interrupted myself. Now I loosened up again, and seriously considered his words.

Galen you're going to need some kind of contact with the universe if you're going to live. Someone to get you food and supplies; if you're going to hide out you just have to do it right. I mean, I could find a hidey-hole to go burrow in, but I couldn't stay there forever without having to poke my nose out on occasion. And every occasion I had to do that was one more risk to being found.

There was just the matter now of the growing scowl I had plastered on my face. Trying not to be too obvious about it, I forced it into an innocent smile, which then shredded as his last words came into my ears. I hurried over to him, and lightly took his arm to prevent him from touching Jester IV's strange feeling skin.

"Ahhh-- you don't want to know that, either," I blurted, wincing a bit even as I said the words and now trying to be unobtrusive about how I was trying to lead him away from my ship. He turned and went along with me, craning his head over his shoulder in what looked like a drooling glance before he turned and cocked an eyebrow at me.

I refused to fall for the ol dashing eyebrow-cocking routine; gritting my teeth a bit, I just hurried him along for a bit. Behind me I could hear the snap and crackle as tree limbs and small boulders fell before the feet of the following hairball; when we had gotten a bit further along, the hand I had wrapped around Darra made a quiet little move... and Jester IV disappeared from sight as the light-bending device popped on to hide her.

I pressed forward, not letting this guy have a chance to look back again.

"Name," I babbled inanely, not really thinking about it but finally realizing that I had to tell him something. I hadn't a clue, and said the first combination of syllables that popped into my whirring brain.

"Jhanna," I burst out at length, hurrying on. "You can call me Jhanna; yeah, that's me, Jhanna... Mindaar. Heh. Nice to meet ya, Flac."

I then fell silent and just kept moving, anywhere in the general direction of over there until we were far enough from where I had parked Jester that I felt it safe enough to stop walking. The giant hairbrush gound to a whoofling halt beside us, gargling and waving his gold-dusted arms.

"Hmmm, er... now what did you have in mind about me helping you off this rock?" I finally asked Flac in an even nicer tone of voice, now that I had him safely steered away from the Sith ship. "I'm afraid I'm fresh out of engineers or mechanics, but if it's a computer program that's crashed I might be able to help you out.

He cast his grin on her for a moment, before turning a bit, he sorta knew where he was going, he hoped...

"now, i dont know your past, and quite frankly, wide eyes, i dont wanna know, i dont need to know, not untill it almost gets me killed, or untill you feel the need to tell me... But jeez, you aint gonna last 5 seconds hidding in the universe if you keep this up... It dont matter how stealthy you are, hiding isnt a skill, not an ability, its a state of mind honey, and you need to change your way of thinking FAST..."

He stoped suddenly, turning his gaze to her, a slight frown creasing his normaly light hearted features. "listen, i know i probably seem like some half crazed psycopath, that is looking for a free ride, and a dinner date, but that aint me, i dont operate like that... If you want my help, its here for you, but you are gonna help me in return, You got a kid, your hidding, most likely someone important wants you dead, and you want to protect her... and the way you pay attention to her tells me that you dont really care a lick about yourself, more about those you have developed a liking to..."
He sighed and turned, his grin coming up in full again. "You take me with you, somewhere, anywhere, and get me where i can fix my ship up, ill make sure its worth your while... Money? a hidding place? heck, ill play bridge with ya if you want me to... My motto is, go where ever the wind takes you, and you seem like your the kinda gal that carries a breeze with you where ever you go, hence your paranoia about me knowing your real name, and where you got your ship, id guess that if i know, i run a risk of accidently giving that information up to the wrong person, and you wont have it, will you?"

he shrugged, as they came up to a tarped mass, turning his gaze to her again he uprose a single finger and pointed it at her menecingly. "i got three rules, 1) no looking under the floor boards, two, no laughing at my ship, and three, no asking for explanations of the rules..." as he turned and took a handfull of tarp he muttered to himself, "ah hell, why do i even bother anymore? first thing she's gonna do is laugh, then go in and look under the flooring, and asking me why i bother making the rules..."

WIth a slight sigh he said in a much louder voice "and with no further adue, i give to you, Tamerak..." he then pulled the tarp off, revealing the most beat up piece of junk shuttle anyone could ever hope to see, but he still simply looked at it in pride, he'd had some good times with this baby...

Sheesh, you've really lost it over the past years, ol gal. Against my inner lids an image of a finger rose to admonish myself, shaking back and forth there like a stern schoolmarm disciplining her class. You got by just fine when you were on your own; must have gone stagnant after...

After...

After indeed. Since you became a mother; funny how that changes things so quickly. Practically as funny as how this guy pegged you quicker than a dianoga's strike.

I forced my mouth closed, then worked it silently as I tried to think of what to say. Stood there then, eyeballing his rattletrap shuttle, trying yet to come up with appropriate words. Realized how this all must look to him, especially after his glimpse of the little wonder that Jester IV was; struggled harder to try to make amends for something I as yet couldn't quite figure out why I felt apologizing for.

Which in turn made me mad. Which was never good. Everything he said suddenly hit, about hiding, about caring, about running... about him going where the wind took him, stating I carried a breeze with me... which as far as I was concerned was more of a rampaging hurricane, if the truth were known.

Truth.

I deflated like a pricked fabool, juggling Darra against me a little.

"Look," I started again. "My real name is Galen Jhin'dar Danner. Trust me, it's best that you forget you ever heard that."

I quickly averted my gaze from his and studied his ship, then shook my head.

"My ship isn't big enough to take yours, but she does have a tractor beam. I suppose I could take you to wherever it is you want to go to fix this thi-- I mean, to repair your ship, heh. But I'm afraid I don't know where to take you, not to mention that I'm not really keen at the moment about hitting up any overly populated worlds. There's an Empire in the making, in case you hadn't noticed."

I couldn't help but wince at that, my thoughts flying back to Admiral Actar and Sorben. And from them to those opposing him, and those others of whom I was acquainted who were secretly in hiding as well. With a mental jerk I yanked myself from that reverie, and focused on Flac and his ship again.

Behind me the animated tapestry whiffled and moaned.

"Maybe I'd just better leave," I finally blurted. "I can send out a transmission buoy at the nearest shipping lane; I'm sure help would come along before you know it."

And buddy, believe me, you'd be better off here on this rock than anywhere close to me and that Sith ship....

Welp, he always was one for radical action...

he ran after her quickly, stepping in front of her, raising a hand.

"galen... Listen, You got guts, i can tell, and obviously you wanna do the right thing, but you cant run. I wanna help you... I have been by myself for sometime... And quite frankly, its nice to have been able to talk to you, im no defensless little kid, trust me, i am in the same amount of danger with you, as i am by myself, im not, well, not very many people are to... ah... pleased, with me... You see, im a smuggler, but i dont need the money, i dont care much for the stuff really, but i enjoy the wild life, and i run risks... Listen, you keep saying im better off not knowing you, but what if i wanna know you? what if im willing to help you out, just because it gives me something better to do then pick my toenails? You may not understand this right now, cause really i dont quite get it myself, but i really dont care much about myself, heck, if i did, id be waiting on some backwater world right now, waiting for a pickup that i ordered from some ship company, but i decided 'what the hell, might as well see how far i can make it' and ended up here... Im not much of a believing in fate, but as far as im concerned, this has to be as close as it gets."

he sighed and stepped outa the way. "It seems like you feel bad about something, whatever it is, dont, stuff happens sometimes, i know, i have been through a lot of things that i wish i had acted differently... Well, ive learned from my mistakes, and that knowledge is telling me that Im suposed to help you..."

While his face had remained completly serious up untill his point, his lips turned up into a little grin. "C'mon, give me a chance, you never know, ya might like what i have to offer... and trust me, while that ship dont look like much... There is a reason i been in 'the bussinis' for half my life, and never once been caught when i didnt want to be..."

He took another step to the side, not baring her way any longer "listen, wide eyes, I aint gonna stop you again, your free to go, but at least give me a shot..."

Reacting instinctively to his charm, I let my lips broaden in a genuine smile, and stuck my hand out to his.

"I guess I could use some company, as long as you're ready at a moment's notice to jump ship the minute I think you should." I let the smile broaden further, showing my teeth, in an attempt to soften those words. Chances were excellent that my clone ruse would work, but there was also the little fact that one of these days someone was going to be coming for Darra, someone who nothing would stop but a blaster right between the eyes. And only if she was taken by surprise. If she came at all, that is; there was the little matter of a couple of Sith running around the galaxy.

But there was more than enough time until that happened.

Now I glanced to the big fuzzball and let that glance comb his fur.

"What about your buddy here?" I asked at length. "Is he coming for the ride too; er, and where was it again you said we were going?"

Now I pulled my eyes back down to human level, and let them bore into Flac's interestingly bi-colored ones.

he then looked the the big furball and shook his head. "my buddy? from my perspective he is following you, so maybe i should be asking you the same question..."

pausing a second, he nodded... "Well, my furry friend, whats your story? nows the time to speak..." he then looked from the big hairball to galen, and back again, shaking his head...

"No way we gonna last like this..."

walking over to his ship he opened up a back compartment, revealing a few large crates... walking in, he opened one and picked up a big pulse cannon, barely able to hold the massive thing he dropped it at the furry things feat, nodding, as it was just the right size for the thing to handle it with no troubles. "if you travel with me you travel with at least one weapon..."

His gaze shifted to galen, "i dont know how affective your blaster is, and you have no idea how happy that makes me, but if you want, you can help yourself to whatever you want... I was just gonna drop 'em off on kashyyk and make a buck or two anyway... nothin big...

Gurgling, he finally spoke,"I'm dying here, my mouth gets very dry when I run, you try lugging this frame around... now, that wine was enough to allow me to speak without sounding like a wookie, but I would appreciate some water... by the way, they call me Malf..."

He approached Flac, leaned forward scooping him from the ground and giving him a near bone crushing hug... after doing so picking up the flask of water and drinking that dry as well...

The image warmed me... or maybe it was the wine after all.

I just took another sip and waited for someone to come up with somewhere to go that was not on this rock... er, after we scoured it for capital gain, of course. I mean, Flac acted like he had some means of his own but that's really not my style, glomming off of strangers. I'm not the exploitive type.

So I just sat there, waiting for the opportunity to interject the possibility of finding some gold --like that wasn't going to happen, sheesh, talk about Roon's Treasure! -- and again waited for inspiration to strike. Maybe this furball, Malf, had a home we could all go hide in, I dunno....

Alright, what can we do? where are we gonna go? well Flac, what do you always do? hmmm... No, deffenetly not a good idea... She wanted to remain hidden, remember?

If you wanted to hide... where would you go flac? DUH! but that wont help, not everyone can simply shed an identity, and hide living as someone else, and even rarer still were the ones that actauly had a successful alternate identity...

his hand came up to tap upon his chin, letting thoughts play themselves out...

"if you wanna hide... Theres always the classic plan, move to a backwater planet, and start a rebbellion... Imperials are to blind to see whats right in front of them... heck, i got the weaponry to pull it off to... But that aint my style..."

He continued on muttering to himself in mindless rubish before speaking up once more "Maybe we should start a bounty, put a price on someones head, high enough to catch some attention... and that would keep the hunters off your trail for quite some time... especialy if that person didnt exist. With that done we could hop over to... Well, someplace that has a lot of people... id say corruscant, but of late theres not much chance of getting onto that planet... Where ya from galen? feel like taking a little trip home, under assumed identies?" he then turned his glance to malf for a moment "and as for you furry... Well, i think you could make a pretty convincing pet...if you dont lowering yourself to that level, in public..."

He smiled "we gotta do something to call attention to ourselves..."

he shruged again, taking a sip of his wine.

he smiled as malf got up and walked eagerly into the back hatch of his ship, which he had to duck very low to enter, but somehow managed it...

he took another sip of his win and walked over to sit by galen, looking at her child for a moment with a simplistic smile, befor turning his gaze upon galen.
"whats her name?"

"Darra," I replied softly, leaning down to kiss her little head. She bubbled and cooed, then started bouncing in my lap, her little arms waving. "Jhin'Darra Danner... or, it would have been that."

I stopped then, unwilling to go on. It still hurt too much; I tossed my head quickly to remove the beginnings of tears that were threatening, and sniffed a little.

"So you'd like to go to Garos IV, huh?" I finally asked, changing the subject. "That's where I'm from; my dad teaches... umm, that is, he taught at the University of Garos in Ariana.

"I-- I've been gone from there awhile."

Well, technically, yes. The short trip home to sell my property didn't have to be counted as an actual visit, per se. In fact, it was more of a distancing of myself from there than a return home.

I merely shook my head.

"The cliffs there are beautiful, but there are other places to go hide out in. I might be recognized there, fake identity, physical alterations or no."

He came to sit by his two... saviors...

"Anyone else hungry?" He stated, but only to be polite, he planned on finishing the entire crate...

With a mouth full of food, he continued...

"Now, about that ship... I can take a look at it, I'm a mechanic... or was, before I was sent to this planet..."

Just then Malf came back and sat down. Flac shook his head "i dont know about galen, but you can eat my share for me if ya want..."

with a quick swig he finished off his bottle of wine. Looking over he noticed that galens too was empty, he stood up, grapping to more bottles from his ship, also grapping a bottle of milk, handing galen two of the three, he opened up his second bottle of whine and drank slowly... wondering where they'd end up, and how long this fiery red-head would let him stay by her side...

I sighed, and let myself slide back until whatever it was I was sitting upright against -- a rock, maybe? -- was only propping up my upper torso and head. The rest of me sprawled in what probably was a most unladylike manner along the ground; at the moment I didn't care.

I just didn't care. I didn't care about the incongruity of this whole scenario -- he had baby bottles aboard his ship? -- I didn't care that I was basically homeless and now seemed to be starting yet another chapter in my life before having scarcely set down the first book.

All I cared about was that it was just so nice to lay there, knowing I was utterly safe here on this rogue planet, surrounded by the homely sounds of Malf's munching, Darra's slurpings, and Flac's guzzlings.

A crooked little smile crossed my face, and I raised my own bottle to him.

"A toast then," I said suddenly, more than a little dizzy. "To--"

I paused, frowning, wondering why there were suddenly two Flacs looking at me; wondering as well if he had enough food aboard that ship of his to feed the two Malfs who were sitting there sharing a crate, no wait, two crates....

Clearing my throat, which suddenly was very dry, I took a sip and then tried again.

"To wherever we end up going, which I hope is very far away...."

He shook his head, finishign his own bottle off, and tossing it aside...

He would have stopped her, but she just seemed like she needed a break... From whatever the universe had dealt her, and he thought she probably deserved it...

Standing up he returned to his ship, looking about at the stacks of boxes and crates, and various things he held in there...

"you always knew some of this stuff would come in handy... Smuggling stuff into tatooine finaly payed off, Eh flac? course it did... Everything you do eventauly turns out worth while..."

he laughed to himself, before walking in and heading to the uper level, taking out some blankets from a small compartment... heading out again he tossed one to malf, and drapped the other accross galen, though she was still awake. He didnt think she would hold on to conciousness much longer...

He then reached down and gently lifted darra from galens hold, while galen certainly did attempt to protest the action, she was in no condition to stop flac...

He wrapped the blanket around darra, smiling as she finished off the bottle with one final suck, falling asleep, and allowing it to fall from her grasp, he removed the bottle from her sleeping grasp, and gently set her back down in galens own hold, making sure that galen wouldnt accidently drop the child in here drunken stupper...

Ok flac... next time... No whine for the Lady... Right.

he then propped himself up against the large crate that malf was finishing off, buttoning up his jacket he let his gaze fall upon galen and the sleeping darra, watching as the half finished bottle fell from galens grasp, he closed his eyes partly, keeping an eye on things...

I heaved a great sigh all of a sudden, the last grip on the farthest thing from logic that I was somehow managing to maintain finally letting go to flee to the horizon and disappear over it. I don't know what I was thinking, something vague about dancing for joy because we were going somewhere but he took my wine and now I'm just gonna lay here on the nice cozy ground here with Darra and take a lil snooze...

He took it and spread it over the sleeping forms of Galen and Darra...

Then walked back toward Flac,"They'll need both, it gets quite nippy..."

Malf sat back against a rock adjacent to the crate Flac was propped up against...

Had it only been 3 hours since Malf had finished off that crate...

His stomach was already in knots, but he couldn't search for food, he had promised to watch over his new friends... and that he shall...

Even the insects started looking appetizing... he looked to his right, the top of the rock at eye level to his sitting form...

A beetle sort of bug was walking slowly across, Malf's eyes not moving off of it...

He'd eaten worse, but luckily for him inspiration struck...

He knelt down, slowly and steadily raising Galen and Darra into his arms as gently as possible...

He carried them into Flac's ship, where he ate yet another crate full of food, then returning them to their position on the ground outside when he was finished... making sure not to wake them, he took his place at the rock...

Eyeing the same bug, he snatched it and gobbled it down...

He looked over to malf casting a smile on the being that was still watching galen and darra loyaly.

"thanks alot, i appriciate this my rug like friend..." as he spoke his smile grew into that lopsided grin.

"Keep it up furry... Im gonna go find some water and take a bath... Theres gotta be some of the stuff on this forsaken astroid of a planet..."

Ahh... yes. This is indeed something that is familiar to me, not a common occurrence, one must understand, but familiar enough that I know the very best thing I can do is to just continue lying here, quiet. And whatever I do, keep my eyes closed, that's the key....

That was not to happen, unfortunately. Even as that thought peeped fuzzily into my brain, it was followed by another:

Where in Hell's Seven Circles was I?

There was nothing for it but to open my eyes, and determine this for myself.

So I did.

My head immediately exploded in thousands of spikes of a brilliant and scintillating white, each one acting as a tiny sword that tried to thrust itself into the nearest raw nerve ending before questing around for more. I groaned as I felt yet another one find its mark, and blinked muzzily.

Everything swam about me like veggies in a roiling soup; I groaned again, then forced myself to move and sat up.

It was all I could do to not fall immediately over, but by dint of sheer effort I managed and remained hunched in a tangle of sweaty blanket, swaying slightly.

I felt terrible... until where I was suddenly came to me, and why. Then I felt worse.

I looked around for Darra, my pounding head and churning stomach now threatened as a brief shot of panic boiled up inside me. She wasn't here! Where was she?

Then my vision cleared enough that I could see that big hairy monstrosity sitting nearby, alternating between munching on something from a nearby crate and tickling Darra on her nose. She was sitting in his ample and probably quite snuggly lap, reaching out to his giant finger and gurgling happily.

I opened my mouth to say something, but words refused to come up. They just kept sticking to the insides of the dryest throat I had ever experienced in my life.

Sheesh, what WAS that stuff Flac gave me last night? I now wondered as another memory flashed up from the recesses of my poor head to taunt me. Never, ever again...!

I couldn't take the pull of gravity any longer, much less the pull of the thoughts that were now growing exponentially within me All I could do was groan, and fall back against my lumpy blanket, and hope that the next time I opened my eyes the universe would have returned to normal.

"you would NOT believe the trouble it is to find water on this freaken planet! BUT I DID IT!" he then laughed to himself maniacly
And then his laughed turned to a strange bit of teeth chattering nonsense...

his gaze then turned to galen, and with a deep breath he put the cold out of his mind...

"hmmm... She's in need of Flacs mirical morning making tonic..."

He laughed to himself and pulled out a slight vile, tosing it to galen.

"alright Brown eyes, take a swig of that, and all your problems will be solved..." he laughed to himself before muttering "course ital give you a whole new set of problems to think about... Tastes horrible and i mean HORRIBLE, and that taste dont leave for a good day and a half. On top of that, well, you might experience a bit of a light headed feeling for the first few hours, but ital get rid of your head ach..."

he laughed to himself and walked away, cause after all, he'd been there many a time before... many many times before... he laughed again. "yes flac, your a vet... Thank god you dont react like THAT to alchohal anymore...That stuffs almost not worth it..."

He then went into his ship for a moment, looking about he picked up a comb and pulled his hair back.

Exiting again he looked around and flashed his grin.

"Who's ready for a trip to tattooine? I know i am!"

he then looked at malf and shook his head in feigned disgust. "you just had to eat my last crate of food didnt you? Oh well... I guess we need to pick up some supplies when we get to tattooin, or maybe somewhere on the way..."

"Tatooine?? aare you sure we need to go to that planet... why not the lovely Naboo, it's quite nice this time of year..."

Malf now held Darra up,"...young ones love Naboo's wildlife..."

At length Malf quieted, and apparently Flac was waiting for my input, so with another shuddering groan I forced myself upright once again. It took a couple tries, but I was finally able to bring that vile vial up to my mouth and down its contents in one fell swig.

He wasn't kidding about the taste; I think a dewback wallow would taste better. I shuddered and spit the suddenly excess saliva my mouth was forming, thankful at least for its production that I could swallow the rest of it and moisten my parched throat.

"I-- I don't really care where we go," I finally croaked, licking my lips distastefully and remaining upright only by sheer will. "I just need to be somewhere that's not overly populated, somewhere where Darra and I will be safe...."

I groaned again, and lay back down, lacing my hands together and putting them on my stomach to keep it from erupting from my body altogether. In this manner I waited to see if anyone would finally come up with a destination for us. Hopefully this would take some time; I was in no shape to drive.

And that's as sure as there's Treasure on Roon.

His mind slowly turned back to the last time he'd visited the gungans... what had they said when he left? "yousa nevas commin backin heres again, Ifas yousa bein doing thats, yousa gonna be feeling biggin crunchens..."

He nodded his head. "yep, naboo it is..."

"Well, good... It's settled then, I'm so glad you choose what's best for the child..."

He now rose, showing Flac little Darra...

Flac resisted a bit, but finally accepted her...

Malf started to walked away,"...because... that's really the only reason not to travel to Tatooine..." trailing off a bit at the end...

He didn't get two feet, before spinning around on his knees.. eye level to Flac...

"ALRIGHT... I can't take it anymore... I confess... It isn't the only reason..."

he just cast a bewildered glance on malf, before shaking his head. "Listin Rug-man... You dont have to speak if you dont wanna. you dont need to tell ol' flac anything more then what you feel he should know..." he cast a little grin on galen as if to say "when you gonna open up like him?"

"that does seem to be the popular choice now aday's" he said turning his glance back to malf. "but if it'al help ya sleep at night big feller, im all ears..."

He then turned his gaze back to darra, and began moving her about through the air, making little sound affects and muttering something about the plain flying fast, to which she simply giggled and laughed, kicking joyusly as flac put her through loops and spins, before finaly just holding her and smiling. "You got spunk kid... You got spunk... You and me are gonna get along just fine" he then turned back to malf and cast that funny grin of his on the hairy being. "Alright, hows about we get going now, and you can start telling on the way to naboo?"

"I mean to do just that... once in flight, finally getting off this rock of a planet... now, what seems to be the problem with that ship of yours?"

Malf quieted, and waited... ready to do whatever it took to leave this planet of irony... so many precious metals, nothing to spend it on...

He shrugged. "shoulnt take much to fix it... I know exactly what it needs, i just dont have the tools... Come on in here and give ol Tammy's engines a good kick... That'll fix 'er up REAL nice..."

He emerged from the Vessel, covered in grease, and told Flac they could depart whenever he was ready...

I was feeling better.

Better enough, for that matter, that I was able to sit up and take a look around. The motion made my head spin a bit, but it was akin to the almost pleasant muzziness one gets in a high-fevered state; thank the fates that the bubbling cauldron that had been my stomach and the triphammer that had been somewhere behind my eyes had utterly disappeared.

I placed a hand to steady myself, then in one smooth movement threw off the blanket I had been entangled in and got hesitantly to my feet. I blinked then, and let out a breath which expanded into a sigh of relief when I realized everything seemed to be functioning again.

Wow. Flac didn't need to smuggle; this stuff could make him a fortune. But then again, what was that he had said about wanting to smuggle; something about enjoying the wilder side of life?

I couldn't stop the slight frown that came over me at that. I mean, he really didn't seem to be my type, nor the type I would normally hang with. I might have a hot streak in me, but I had also inherited dad's logical frame of mind.

Which suddenly kicked into gear.

My eyes widened, the frown disappearing.

Yeah, maybe it would be good to hang with Flac and this overgrown fuzz-bucket for a bit. Certainly these guys were the very last ones anyone would expect to find me with. Which in turn would give me time to decide just what I was planning on doing, and where I was planning on going, and with or toward whom, for the rest of my life...

...which at the moment really wasn't set completely in stone.

Now I moved over to where Flac was standing talking to Malf. He held Darra in his arms in with disconcerting ease; I gulped as a sudden flash of a daddy holding her came into my head, two of them in fact, her biological one and then--

I jerked myself away from that train of thought. I wasn't ready yet. So I just moved up quietly to Flac and Malf and came to a stop, shifting my feet as bit as I reached out to relieve Flac of my daughter's slight burden.

"Thanks Flac," I said with another rare and genuine smile. Then noticing the grease which smeared Malf's abundant tresses I went on, "I see your ship looks to be space-worthy again. So if you just want to tell me where it is we've decided to go, I'll just go get in my ship and follow along...."

After I find where in Hell's Seven Circles that gold is, the statement finished silently as I eyed Malf, focusing upon the glittering bits still showing themselves amidst the by-products of what was probably quite intensive labor on his part.

His smile slowly vanished, as he caught Galen giving him the strangest look he'd ever seen...

"Do I have something in my face??" He asked...

He nodded slowly before addressing her, "We're gonna pay the gungans a visit... That should be remot enough to keep you and your daughter hidden for quite some time. Im ready to leave if you-"

Suddenly he froze, his eyes darting to his ship for a moment...

He rose a finger wagling it in front of malf and galens faces for a moment before running off, into the underside hatch, muttering the words "hold on a sec" as he did so...

Within the ship now, he looked about and shook his head as he noted a few of the marked boxes... A few were labeled 110, a greater amount were labeled 111.

He shook his head... No way was he gonna not deliver these contents... This job was just to important... He couldnt skip it.

he exited the ship shaking his head. "Malf, i know you dont wanna go to tattooine, but i have some extremly important... ah... Bussiness to..umm... Attend to... Ya, thats it..." he looked about, in almost a nervous manor. "but if you wanna hide in the ship while i do it, that would work, or maybe galen will let you crash with her in the atmosphere... but i CAN NOT miss this transaction..."

He nodded to himself and turned about to eye his ship, muttering to himself "i need to pick up another crate or two of food too..."

he nodded again, turning back to the other two. "ya, and i might need to stop somewhere and pick up some more crates of food..." his eyes darted "i umm... Dont like to ah... Go unprepared... Ya. Thats it..."

Along the way I took it upon myself to whip out a portable sensing device, which soon had me directed to a cave a bit out of the way but easily accessible otherwise. There in the dark interior I stumbled upon what had to be a hoard accumulated over, oh I'd say a period of about three years....

I hope Malf doesn't mind, I thought to myself as I cast my eyes about this place that he so obviously had made into his dwelling. At last I found what I was looking for: crammed in the far recesses of the cave was a crudely fashioned bag made of some kind of animal's skin. It was laced together with the dried tendons of whatever critter had provided the hide; wrinkling my nose, I shook it out and inspected it. As it looked sturdy enough, I turned back to the hoard, and soon had the bag brimming.

And the pile hadn't even been dented. Sheesh. Not that's better than Roon's Treasure!

I'm going to have to memorize the vector this rock is on, I thought to myself as I exited the cave, groaning beneath the weight of the gold I had pilfered. This is going to be worth a repeat visit one day....

With that I hoisted Darra upon my hip, tightened my grasp on the bag, and made an uneventful return to my ship. Flipping off the light-bending device, I soon boarded her, stowed the gold in a storage compartment, stowed Darra in her usual place, and sat down in mine. My hands reached out and played a symphony on the nav-board's exotically alien sigils, and I was soon rewarded by the quiet whuffles as Jester IV woke up and shook herself, eagerly ready for departure.

I tapped the comm.

He nodded his head, tapping the ship into space, and soon after blasting off into hyperspace...

Sometime later

the ship made a small stop at a little space station, flac entered and nodded in recognition to the man he met.

"i need two more crates of food...'

Reaching into a pocket he pulled out a handfull of cash and slapped it down on the counter "and i need it loaded up FAST im runing late as it is..."

the man nodded and soon the crates had been loaded.

In hyperspace once more flac looked at malf "sorry dude, you cant touch that food... it serves a higher cause..." he smiled a bit "but if you get hungry, i think i got a few protien bars in the coboards...if you can eat that stuff..."

he shudder to himself... as he turned his gaze back into the view screen, nodding off slightly as the beauty of hyperspace filled his eyes.

A long time after

Flac was awakened by an obnactious beeping that indicated he had reached his destination, and with a slight flip of a switch, tamerak reverted into realspace...

Looking down at a little clock on the navboard he smiled... night time, he wouldnt be noticed...

as he approuched the planet he kicked his ships engines into "quiet" mode, lowering there light output, and noise, but cutting his speed in half...

he put tammy down right in the middle of the slums where slaves lived, and smiled to himself... Time to unload...

he looked at malf "hey, You had best stay here, i dont know what trouble your in yet, but i dont want you to get into anything because of me..."

he nodded and went down into the lower portion of the ship, opening up the back hatch, and, with indeed a lot of trouble, he managed to unload the crates, which were soon carried off by a few contacts, which he had alerted of his pressence before landing...

He smiled as a few kids came up and sorounded him, picking one up in his grasp. "how ya doin kid?"

he kid smiled at him "I knew you wouldnt be to late uncle flac... You always get here on time"

He smiled gently, rufflign the kids hair "i got you guy's lots of new toy's, and some new blankets... be sure not to be seen with 'em, You know my mato... If they dont know ya have it, they cant take it away." he grin to the kid and set him down, pulling a little doll out of his pocket he handed it to a little girl that looked at him tentively.

"hey there... I told you i would get her fixed up for you... No worries right?"

he smiled and accepted a brief hug from her...

one of the older kids then approuched him, the kid nodded to him briefly before extending a hand "We appriciate this visit, as always, Flac... Thanks a lot... times are hard, to much is happening in the universe..."

Flac nodded solemly, "dont worry, you can count on me... I gave my word a long time ago that no kids would be forced to go through what i did... No one needs to turn to the life i did..."

Flac nodded before turning away "i got some other bussiness to attend to now... Top secret you know... And remember, You aint never scene the smuggler known as flac... You got that kid? not ever."

with his costumary line said, he turned away and entered his ship, Nodded to malf, the blasted off into hyperspace once more...

Sometime later

The ship exited hyperspace in the naboo system, and flac reactivated the comm channel, wondering if tamerak could even send messages to galens ship... worth a shot.

Back on the Hornett...

With Aaron's departure for business elsewhere, Matt Stanza had been given full charge of any business dealings for Eagle Enterprises until Aaron returned. This wasn't uncommon; after all, Matt was Terrin's assistant, and he knew anything and everything that Terrin did. So this wasn't too difficult a task for him to deal with. He was, however, exhausted after all the recent hoopla in Prinn'chatka, and had taken a nice break from reality in a thing known as sleep.

So, after who knew how long, Matt finally awoke, feeling like he'd slept two days. And heck, maybe he had. But he knew there were business items to attend to, so he headed for his own office, tapping into the Eagle Enterprises computer system.

Among one of the first items of business...a person calling himself "Flac" had called Eagle Enterprises concerning ship repairs before Aaron had left, and something had happened to the man's comm frequency before Aaron could determine exactly where he was so he could be assisted. Aaron believed the guy had run into trouble, and it was EE policy to follow-up on potential clients that seemed to be in exactly that. The policy had gained them some rather loyal clients. Aaron had left Matt the comm frequency that he and Flac had communicated on and had asked he try to find the man and see if his ship needed repairs. Matt intended to do just that.

Now, Matt wasn't too sure if this comm frequency would work if Flac was having major problems with his ship, but he went ahead and punched it in; couldn't hurt to at least try. Somewhere, a connection was made.

Aha!

Matt grinned, realizing it felt good to be back in business, and sent out a comm, hopefully to Flac. "This is Matt Stanza of Eagle Enterprises. Aaron Barnes relayed your comm frequency to me, and was hoping that I could contact you after he lost connection with your comm freq. You still need some assistance with that ship of yours?"

Hmmm... Im not to sure, but i dont think galen would ah... Like if i told someone where i was...

"Ah... Ya, hey there... Thanks for ca-"

Just then he flipped a switch that would send a static message to the reciever, and then blank out, he also set his comm to ignore further calls from Eagle enterprises...

"oppps... Guess i made a boo-boo..."

He laughed, picking up the Eagle enterprises card, and examining it in his borden while he awated galen... If she hadnt booked already, he certainly hoped she didnt...

Scimming down the thing in bordom he began humming to himself...

comm freq...

Bussiniss standards...

How long they've been in bussinis...

Owners: terrin danner and Aaron Barnes...

still quietly humming his eyes poped out of his head.

terrin DANNER?!

DANNER?! as in... galen DANNER! Jhin'darra DANNER!?

WOW MAN! AND SHE'S RUNNING AWAY?! WHY!

he chuckled to himself...

"and you were gonna give her money for saving your sorry hide... She's got enough cash to buy out your company 500 times Flac Ol Friend... or at least, her hubby does... She doesnt look like the kind that would take money after they split... If even they had split..."

He shugged, that didnt change the fact, that you are gonna help that gal... no way, You stick to your promises... Yess Indeed...

He's not one to get into other's business, so he didn't give any thought to how Flac treated the EE situation...

But, the term money caught his attention...

If there's one thing Malf knows, it's that money equals food...

And where food is, Malf sticks around...

Shaking my head with a little snort, I rubbed my eyes with my free hand, and then focused my attention on what it was that had awakened me. The weird little sigil indicating an incoming signal was online was blinking with a steady if somewhat staticky whisper that I wake up and smell the proverbial cuppa caf. I let a puff of air escape me, and hit the signal.

"All right, Brown Eyes," Flac's irrepressible voice came in loud and clear. "My business is done with. You ready to get down to the Gungans?" A sound that was not so much static as the song a living star makes accentuated the final question, carrying it through my ears and into my brain, where for the final time it was analyzed from every conceivable angle.

I hesitated, my hand over the return link.

He didn't know that I was here in orbit, for I was still camoflagued in the light-bending and force blocking defenses I had. For all he knew, I hadn't come at all, but had fled to the distant stars with my daughter. All I had to do was move my hand just a touch wee to the right, and engage another sigil....

My hand slapped the return.

"I read you loud and clear, Flac," I replied before I could talk myself out of it. "Ready when you are, so lead on, MacDuff."

Oh yeah, did I ever tell anyone that Shakespeare was from Garos IV?

His hand went unconciously to a little item in his pocket, left over from his little... bussiness affair... Darra would just love this!

Good. Who's going to pay attention to that apparent broken down rustbucket... and no one is gonna catch their eye on Jester! We just might be safe here....

Just before I powered down Jester and put her into her own brand of sleep, I leaned forward to scrutinze the image her forward view was sending me. This way I'd be properly oriented when I came back to board her... whenever in Hell's Seven Circles that would be. Flac took up quite a big proportion of the screen; I had honed my piloting talents over the years to the extent that I literally parked right next to where he was standing. Thus it was that I caught something crossing his features that looked like a genuine smile, which was after a bit replaced with his otherwise goofy grin.

Hmmm. Now why was that making me sit up and take notice?

Shrugging off the puzzled feeling this created in me as being unimportant at this time, I adjusted my suit, hoisted Darra into my arms, and departed from my little Sith wonder.

As galen approuch him, from seemingly nowhere, flac shook his head.
"Oh... Your good!" he said with a little wink, foring his gaze seemed to lock upon darra, and a hand unconciously fiddled with what was in his pocket...

All his desires for stealth simply melted away at the thought of darra playing with the little rattle he had saved for her, he couldnt resist, she was such a cute little kid, with that addorable little tuft of read hair, and those brillient blue eyes...

He smiled truly sincerly,his foolish grin melting as fast as ice on tattooine.

He pulled the little rattle out of his pocket, examing it, before handing it over to darra, giving it a little shake to show what it could do, before her little hands wrapped about the handle, those blue eyes seeming to examin it from all angles, as if trying to determin what it was she had been given...

he looked up at galen, and smiled "Saved that for her when i visited th-" He stopped dead as he realized he had just blown his rouse. "after 5 years flac... 5 YEARS! you still cant keep your mouth shut some times, sure, you can hold information that could change the universe, and never tell a soul... But can you keep your own little secrets? oh, no! of course not... Your losing it Flac... You are really losing it..." he muttered to himself somewhat under his breath, before turning his now soft gaze into galens eyes. "Listen galen... I want to tell you the truth... Im not a smuggler anymore... I... I-" he sighed again. "I really just smuggle supplies to kids that have it ruff... but you cant tell a soul ok! if anyone found out... I would hate to see the kids punished... Please galen... I may have a big mouth at times... But... I dont want them to get hurt... They deserve so much better then they have."

At that he sort of... fell onto the ground, sitting and shaking his head. "its those eyes flac... you knew it from the begining... Those eyes are gonna see your soul... Why didnt you just not look? you always did have a weakness to brown eyes... Just like your sister... Cant hide anything from them can you?"

He sighed once more and stood, "lets get going Brown eyes... Im sure you dont wanna stand there and listen to me babble all day..."

he entered the ship before she could say a word in reply... Soon he returned, shaking his head. "listen, I dont think we should swim, i dont have a rebreather that will fit darra... Hope in tammy... me and her will get ya down... no problems..."

very slowly, his smile turned again into that foolish little grin of his, and he gave galen another wink "lets move out"

He smuggles supplies to kids who have it rough? Now, this was an unexpected side of him indeed....

That if anything made any last bit of trepidation I might still have lingering about inside of me fly off in the wind. And while admittedly a saner, suspicious part of me tried to raise its finger to say that he could be just feeding me a line, I squelched it as somehow there was just no justification underlining that thought. There was just something about this guy that seemed completely trustworthy, wild card or not, and since I didn't really have anywhere else to go -- not to mention I really didn't want to go there alone -- I pushed that suspicion away and flashed a genuine smile of my own right back at him.

Eyes sparkling, teeth gleaming and all.

"Lead on, MacDuff," I repeated myself, marching past him to the forlorn heap that was his ship, reaching out a hand in passing to lightly squeeze his arm in thanks. Utterly committed now, I boarded his ship, and stopped just inside, waiting for him to come tell me where to sit or what I could do to make myself useful. Finding an empty seat to lay Darra with her rattle, I then turned to Flac and asked as much.

He gave galen a funny little wink before saying, "alright brown eyes, put her into gear, and head straight under, you cant miss the city, big glowing balls in the water..."

As the ship took off, and then plunged into the water, flac hit a few random switches, which at first seemed to do nother, the water began slowly to sprout through little leeks here and there, but then flac gave a little box a hard kick, and took a bat to another little joint, and everythign seemed to seal up, and become perfectly operatable...

Finaly the little ship entered the city of the gungans, and flac lookd at galen with a small nod. "welp brown eyes, welcom to the underwater city..."

Before she could stand, or say anythign, there was a loud banging at the door. "FLACS! WESSAS KNOWS YOUSA IN THERE! YOUSA IN BIGGIN TROUBLES!"

Flac sighed shaking his head "i guess this isnt the best time to ah... Mention that im not well liked here... But dont worry, i can take care of everthing..."

with a small smile and one last look that read "dont leave untill i get back" he was out the hatch...
Sometime later

Flac entered the ship and nodded "it took some talking, but we can stay... You, darra, and malf, are welcome to stay here as guests... And as for me... well, I still get to be ignored, and treated as an outsider, serving out a punishment of 4 weeks intolloration... As long as i dont stick around the guards durring this time though, it'al all be fine..."

He smiled and approuched galen, taking her hand in his, he lead her down the gangway, and into the city, walking slowly taking carefull note that she was understanding each turn, untill they ended up at her room.

He released her hand then and nodded "im right accross the hall... Though, ah... You'd be advised not to ah..enter there during the hours 4-6... that will be when the guards are...er... 'Lecturing' me... probably wont be pretty... But its allright, enjoy yourself, and opertunity like this doesnt come along twice in a life time, heck, for most it doesnt come along at all..."

I shook that wonder away, and nodded again to Flac. Then the fact that he was letting my hand drop brought me back to reality with a bang.

When had he taken up my hand? I didn't know he had taken up my hand....

"Umm... ahhh," I began, momentarily derailed. "Er... ok, thanks Flac."

Now an embarrassed smile raced over my face, and I was truly thankful that in the dim lighting the blush on my face truly could not be seen. Physically, I mean; I had noticed that Darra's bright red hair suddenly looked black as ink. Something dad had taught me once upon a better day came incongruously into my head at that discovery; something about red light being filtered out deeply under water or something...

Well, good. Cuz sure as there's Treasure on Roon your face is as red as your daughter's hair right now, isn't it Galen ol' girl...?

Nodding my head once more -- sheesh, did I feel suddenly stupid or what? -- I turned and entered the transparent doorway to my rather exotic quarters. I blinked again, this time in wonder.

All around me was nothing but decreasingly dim background light, speckled everywhere by the soft glow of yellow orbs which seemed to light this fantastic place, and the barely perceptible glints of that light from the transparent walls that separated rooms from corridors, and the entire city from the vast and dark waters pressing in from beyond. I was just beginning to think that I wouldn't have a moment's privacy here at all, when my eye was caught by a slender golden cord hanging nearby. I pulled upon it, and a rich and heavy teal-colored drapery rolled down from somewhere overhead to totally enclose the bubble I was in.

At least I thought it was teal; who could tell from the weird lighting this place had. But whatever its color, it effectively hid me from any other eyes present in this gungan city, for which I was extremely thankful.

I let out a sigh, then set about investigating my room. Here was a great urchin shaped thing; from the way it sloshed I gathered it was filled with water. Laying nearby were soft blankets woven from -- who knows what they were made of. They were dense and silky and immediately returned the warmth radiating from my hand back to it when I touched them. I didn't see any pillows, but had a feeling they really weren't needed.

I lay Darra down on the weird bed, for indeed bed it had to be. She cooed, drooled a little, waved her rattle once, and promptly fell asleep. I smiled, leaning down to kiss her downy head, and gently covered with the lighter of the blankets neatly folded nearby.

"Well buddy, youve done it again, Yousa in big big trouble my friend... Yes indeed..."

always ready to argue with himself he quickly replied "ya, but at least galen and darra are safe, and in a hidden place... With the way she acts, she's probably being chased by the head of the empire..."

hmm... Thats not to bad a theory, but what would she be doing dealing with the empire in the first place... She had indeed mentioned it before, So, wheres the connection... Terrin danner. It just had to be, her hubby musta crossed the empire in the wrong way...

he shook his head slowly, his eyes staring blankly at the cealing of the little dome.

"no... Its not terrin, Whoevers after her, is after HER for her own reasons... no way could you be that scared over someone elses actions."

He then chuckled to himself "probably had a run in with some ancient species that has been dead for over 2000 years or something... with that ship, i really wouldnt be serprized at all..."

He laughed some more "youd just love that wouldnt you? Ha, fat chance though buddo, thats a little odd even for YOU to believe..."

his head bobbed and he again replied to himself "you got that right, i wouldnt believe that in a million years..."

He smiled to himself as an image of that ship came to mind... Whoever made that musta been on spice... And not very high quality stuff at that... The geometries of that thing are impossible, and the metal it was made outa, never seen that color before in my life...

he shrugged. while he sure did love wierd stuff, and on top of that there was that little pilot part of him that wanted to jump in that thing and see what it did, though that part wasnt a very big segment of his personality, he just couldnt come to think about a ship for much longer then a passing thought...

he closed his eyes for a little bit before standing up and stretching, exiting through the little tunnel, and turning down a corridoor he stumbled upon galen, who looked a bit lost, and somewhat in need

He couldnt help the little smile that crossed his features, gungans werent well known for being... Helpfull, considerate, or in anyway nice, to outsiders, even if those outsiders were 'guests' he almost snorted at the word... After all, to a gungan, the word "guest" meant "Outsider"...

Him and galen were really in the same bout, the gungans were just more open about how they considered flac...

He approuched her quietly giving her his funny little grin "Hey there Brown Eyes, You look as though you need some help... May i be of some assistance"

he laughed a bit as he heard galens stomach rumble lightly.

" Gotcha, food, follow me... though i hope you like seafood, cause well... Ah... Good luck finding anything else here..."

With that he ushered her away, smiling foolishly as he did so, speaking up before she could utter a word of protest "Alright brown eyes, you been caught in flacs trap... I got you right where i want ya, at the bottom of the ocean, hungry, and without a map... You gotta do whatever i say now"

he laughed again before giving her a funny little wink "dont worry, the food here aint to bad... Just takes a little...ah... Id say getting used to...but umm... for me it was more of a...heh... Dissencitation..."

He chuckled once more before turning her into another little buble, sitting her down at a table, he approuched a little booth.

After some hesitation on the servers accounts, and a bit of arguing on flacs, he finaly approuched again with a few plates of food, and something to drink

Handing it to galen with a little nod he remained standing, "mind if i sit with ya? or do you wanna be alone?"

I picked up a fork and stabbed something slimy and purple, then waved it at Flac.

"Sure, have a seat," I said agreeably. Then I couldn't say anything else; I was too busy wondering how to politely get rid of the thing I had just assaulted my taste buds with without outright spitting it out right there on the table. Blinking a bit in distaste, I worked my jaw, trying to keep the excessive amount of saliva that was suddenly building up from dripping from my lips. Then I grabbed my napkin; er, that is, I think it was a napkin. For all I knew it was an h'or d'ouerve. At any rate, I smiled around the nasty lump in my mouth and spat it into the napkin.

"So--" I gargled a little desperately at Flac as I reached with even greater desperation for the drink he provided. I had it half-drained before I realized it tasted like sea-water. I immediately choked, tears coming from my eyes, and slammed the glass down on the table.

"S-so-ooo..." I finally managed again, albeit a bit shakily. My throat felt about as big around as a pea. "What in Hell's Seven Circles ever got you to come here and get the Gungans all in such a toot about you anyway? Khaandon knows the food is not something to attract visitors."

His hand pushed the plate away, a slight grimace on his face "man, id forgotten how bad this stuff is..."
He then paused, seeming to consider something...

"Its a long story... But i guess niether of us will be eating for a while, so we got the time..."

"it all started when id ah... Lets just say i was in the wronge place, at the wrong time... I intercepted some information that ticked a few people off... ah... Information that was worth quiet a bit of credits..."

He then paushed and looked at her for a moment "this was before i quit smuggling... Anyway, ya, and i needed a place to stay... Someone told me that down here was a good place to hide, so i shot down here, and after about 4 day's of consideration, i finaly got excepted as a 'guest' though trust me, the word dont mean much to them... it pretty much means 'you can stay, but dont expect to much from us' So, i stayed down here a month or so, i think for the most part i survived off of some supplies i had in tammy, though some of the gungan meals are actauly edable, this is about as bad as it gets here... Anyway, After about a month, i found myself up to my old habbits, snooping around, and seeing what i could find out about the race who seem to hide under the sea... Let me tell ya, they got a lot of weaponry, if they suddenly decided to stop there idea's of 'only resort to violence when others threaten us' half the galexy would be screwed... But anyway, I found this out, and it shocked me half to death, wasnt long till they discovered that i knew. So, like any good smuggler, i started asking questions... why do you need all that? and What are you planning? well, one of the guards got fed up, and tried to sneak up on me, my reflexes prooved themselves at that moment like never before, before i realized what happened, my blaster was drawn and i had shot the weapon out of his hand... Even when i was full of fire and gusto, id sworn never to kill anyone, not my style, but they didnt like the fact that i had shot there man, even if it was in self defense... The dude ended up losing use of his hand, and was useless as a guard, so, when they sad go, i didnt hesitate to book... i was still a hot commodity at that time, so i ended up creating a bum business using my real name, and sold a few of the little inventions id created here and there, and a few that id found... It may have been just a way of hiding, but i racked up the cash fast, it turns out that i was a better salesman, and leader, then id ever be a smuggler... So... I invested a few places, ended up getting a bit more cash from those transactions, still smuggled on the side, but it didnt mean as much to me after i didnt need the money... i went to tatooine as a hide away 5 years back, had been being chassed by a group of thugs for sometime, and figured id be safe from them in hut space... Well, i found the slave kids there, and my childhood was sparked up, couldnt bare to let them starve, or be slaves, with no supplies, and no toys, nothing to enjoy... So i started smugglign to them instead, everything they need, two trips a year, which was what i was doing when i left, second trip this year... worked a few strings, and got a few of the older boys freed, those kids took on the task of taking care of the younger kids, and well, 5 years down the road, here i am... before you, telling you my story..."

Suddenly he turned away, looking somewhere else "heh, sorry, i guess i gave ya a bit more then you asked for..."

Suddenly his eyes went wide, and he turned back to galen with a wide grin. "i cant believe id forgotten this!"

He stood suddenly, and dragged her away, pulling her down a few more tunnels, finaly coming out in a little secluded out of the way place, where another little vender sat, he approuched the gungan, and came back with two bowls of randomly assorted fruit, and two bottles of pure water.

"i found this place a week before i got kicked out, kinda slipped my mind, only place in the whole city that offers real food... And pure water for that matter."

he handed a plate to galen and lead her to a little table, once more taking a seat.

he took a bit of an apple and smiled to himself at its juicy flavor... before he turned to galen, as if realizing something. "hey, i think i got some milk in tamerak still, werent to manny baby's this time of the year, and ended up saving a bit of it... after this we can go get it, so darra doesnt starve..."

He smuggles because he wants to... and only for the sake of lil kids who otherwise have a rough life. But that after being pursued by... certain darker elements in the galaxy, for overhearing certain information? And then he had a run-in with the gungans themselves... and still managed to get them safe haven here beneath the dark surrounding waters?

Exactly who was this guy, anyway?

I blinked and wiped juice from my chin, but didn't say anything. I just finally raised my eyes from the platter and studied his face a bit, while reaching for yet another fruit.

He looks honest enough... he's certainly open enough, although this could just be a carefully developed story to get me to open up and tell my own....

Now I shook my head at myself, snorting a little.

Galen, you have got to quit this. Runaway paranoia is NOT going to get you anywhere at all but into a lonely future. I mean, look at yourself, and where you are, and what you're doing.... Is this the kind of life you want for Darra?

To my great consternation, I found that my bottom lip was suddenly beginning to tremble. I brought the fruit up to my lips with a hand that was beginning to shake just as suddenly, but paused once it got there and just sat a moment, fruit to mouth, mouth slightly open, eyes seeing nothing ahead of me but the biggest question mark in the known universe.

And that obstinate thing in my head which sometimes went under the pseudonym of a brain just wouldn't shut up.

Where are you going, Galen? it whispered slyly, pushing me to open my lips but not to eat the fruit. What do you want for yourself, and for Darra? What is your excuse... there's an excuse beneath all of this, isn't there ol gal?

Exactly what in Hell's Seven Circles is it that you're running from?

I couldn't stop the tears that rose up to water my vision as that last thought hit a raw nerve I didn't know I had. But I did manage to keep from doing what I instinctively wanted to do: and that was blurt everything out -- EVERYTHING --

...and not merely to share with someone the burden which weighed like a ronto on my shoulders, but to maybe ascertain with someone's help the answer to that final and all-too insidious question.

great! just great... You moron, You made her cry! jeez buddy, how do you do this? you must have a warped perception or something... well? what are you waiting for? HELP HER!

He bobbed his head a fraction of an inch in reply to his head, and stood, walking over to sit beside her, placing his arms around her shoulders, he rubbed up and down her arms, giving her a gentle little shake.

"Whats wrong galen? Did i say something to upset you? im really sorry... Ah.. is there anything i can do to help? hey, you wanna go back to your room? you need some rest maybe? Listen everything will be ok, dont worry about it... Whatevers wrong, i promise i wont let you get hurt... C'mon... Just relax. Its ok, i promise..."

He gave her a gentle little hug as if to say. "buck up, its ok"

And then backed off a fraction of an inch, after all, he barely knew her, and he really didnt want to impose, but he wouldnt let her just cry...

No one had ever bothered to wipe tears from my face before... well, practically no one....

The touch was electric. My throat, which was beginning to finally open up, promptly closed. The faucets running to my eyes opened, and a veritable flood of tears now gushed forth. I opened my mouth, trying vainly to explain my sudden hysterics... well, as best as I could explain something I couldn't understand myself... but no words could find their way up the constricting confines between my lungs and my lips.

So I just sat there, letting Flac continue to wipe the tears until the material he was using was a soggy mass, occasionally opening my mouth, then closing it, looking for all the world like an opee out of water.

At length though, every well runs dry. My tears slowly quit and I subsided into a small fit of heaving sobs interspersed with hiccups. I flailed a hand out, shaking my head, trying to let Flac know it wasn't anything he had said or done, and that I appreciated all he had done for me so far, really, but still words remained obstinately elusive.

So I did the only thing I could do. I simply stood up, threw my arms around him in a big hug, and fled out of this place and into the dimly lit corridors without. There I paused to get my bearings, trying to figure out which way would lead me to Darra.

And what I planned on doing when I got back to her, I hadn't the slightest notion. Per usual with my life of late, I was handling things on the momentary fly... and probably making a botch of things once again.

Whatever was in her past, it musta been a doozy... He knew that feeling, he knew that look, He'd seen it in the mirrior so many times before... She couldnt face it... But he wouldnt let her run, no way, he'd tried that once upon a time, and it hadnt worked out to well...

As he approuched a small doorway, he stopped, and quite suddenly galen rounded a courner and bumbed into him, seeming still a bit shocked, and even more shocked that he had been there.

He placed his arms on her shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"listen galen, I can tell whats happening, ive been there, whatever horror youve seen in your past, STOP RUNNING! You cant run anymore... If you do, youll only make yourself dig further in..."

He gave her a quiet little shake, then wrapped his arms about her gently and rocked her for a moment, before turning her into the room and leading her to where he saw darra sleeping.

"You see her Galen? She's your kid... And you love her with all your heart, and would do anything for her... well trust me, running makes you get more caught up in your problems, and hidding makes you hide from those you dont wanna hide from... Right now you may be able to pull it off, but how long can you run without sacrificing a bit of darra?"

He gave her another gentle little shake, and turned her into his eyes again. "I wont let you run away from me galen... It wont happen, i may not know you to well, but i decided when i first saw you that i wouldnt give up... And i never go back on a promise."

With that he quite suddenly plopped her down into a chair, and sat down in an adjacent chair.

"listen Galen... I want you to take a deep breath... Think about where you are, who your with... relax a bit... and then, face your past... Its the only way you can ever hope to escape... Please galen, you dont have to tell me everything, just say what needs to be said... let your past GO... if not you'll end up being completly alone, with only that past to keep you company, then where will you be... if not for me, if not for your friend, then do it for DARRA!"

He then extended a hand and placed it gently upon her leg, giving it a small squeez. "C'mon... I promise i wont tell a soul, you can trust me"

as he spoke his eyes seemed to shine with the purest form of sincerity that strange character known as flac could ever hope to possess... and it sure as hell wasnt a small amount.

It didn't work, none of it did. Each little word just kept hitting, pressing, seeking, trying to provoke a response... each one coming closer and closer to achieving its goal until at length shadowy images began swarming up in front of my eyes which in turn had somehow managed to find the wherewithal to blur with tears yet again.

Sorben... dear Khaandon, his dear face, and I ran from him... Terrin, oh my dear husband, I ran from you two... who were you both? I love you both, yet I ran from you, from you both, why oh why did I do this? Why oh why did I flee from the two men in my life who had ever offered me love and safety and protection and a life... no.

No.

Not two. THREE.

Somehow, the two images began to blur and segue together: blue eyes combined, blond hair merged with clean shaven, a scar meandered along Terrin's jawline, a roguish grin encompassed the face of the babbling bounty hunter... all flowed and swirled and then an odd thing began to happen, a very odd thing indeed... why was that hair lightening? Terrin's wasn't that blond... the smile, teeth gleaming, yes, one as broad but somehow not quite the same... the lenses to a bounty hunter's helmet suddenly shrinking, becoming transparent... I didn't know Sorben wore glasses, they are so antiquated, I only knew one person ever in my whole life who took to wearing glasses....

"She killed him."

I had no idea where the words came from; certainly they didn't spring from my throat, for how could they? How could such terrible words come up from my chest, which was constricted to where I didn't think I could breath? What room had the air to travel to carry those words? How could lips so numb form them, let alone give them voice?

"She killed him; I watched. She took a rock, and--"

No. Don't go there again. You've been down this particular corridor of the mind, Galen, heading toward that eerie door at the end. Do not go closer; you do NOT want to open that door, there are monsters there, Galen, stay away... take Darra and run far, far away...!

A great racking shudder swept through me, and suddenly I felt as though my heart had turned to ice. Everthing grew faint and dim before my eyes; all I could see was that eerily shining, black door. It hovered there in the recesses of my inner eye, beckoning me to open it that the monsters could be loosed....

Now a fit of trembling possessed me. I crossed my arms about myself, my teeth positively chattering; I thought I briefly felt the placement of another's arms about mine, but I couldn't be certain. I didn't dare take my attention from that doorway, it would spring open on me if I did.

I took a mental step backward in self defense as the images of Sorben and Terrin now came floating along the corridor like a pair of mismatched ghosts. Both of them were holding out their arms to me, both of them seemed to be pleading with me for something... I back-pedalled faster and faster until I came up against something which wouldn't let me go back any further. And when I turned my figurative head to see what was impeding my path, it was to find Flac's intense hazel gaze standing guard over my attempt to flee.

I choked with the realization that this time there was nowhere to run. And so I turned back, my teeth nearly chipping they were chattering so greatly, a veritable glacier filling my veins, and took a step to that door, and another, and yet another... at last I stopped, my hand then somehow finding the strength to reach out and touch the knob, to turn it, to open it...

...to find within three images. Sorben, Terrin, and my father. And how strange: my father had his arms around them both... and I wanted nothing more than to turn and flee for dear Khaandon, they loved me, but he had loved me more, had always said so, had always told me how special I was to him, had never, ever asked for anything from me but somehow always managed to gain back even more love in return just by the simple act of not demanding it... he who said he was always there for me, and would always be there for me, for he loved me that much... but he wasn't there anymore because she killed him, she took a rock and killed him and took that love from me and dear Khaandon nothing hurt more in the entire universe, I should just jump in a sun to refresh my heart for that hurt so much... I couldn't stand that hurt again, ever again, they might say they love me but then she would just take a rock and....

"Daddy."

The whispered word finally managed to choke its way from my lips. Then I fell into a dull silence, trembling beneath the dull beating of my empty heart, realizing for the first time what I had been running from and how foolishly... knowing I had not once but twice thrown away something that many people never truly find in a lifetime.

I gripped my updrawn legs with a clasp of iron, laid my cheek against my knees, and just let the ocean within finally find surcease by the floodgates I was finally opening....

And when that torrential flood finally came to an end, I proceeded to tell Flac my story. All of it, every little bit. The dig on K'eel Doba. Sorben, Wicked, Desolist, Gravin Dark, my sister, Terrin, the Sith, Actar, Phrinnchatka. Sorben killing our clones. Everything I had been through since that terrible day when my sister became a thing from hell... and on past when she had revealed herself to be my sister still.

Which I didn't truly believe.

The Destiny... and what it entailed for my daughter.

As well as the strange power she seemed to have.

he rocked her gently for a moment, letting what she had told him sink in...

WOW! she actauly is running from a race thats been dead for over 2000 years... JEEZ BUDDY! Can she be for real? COURSE SHE IS YOU MORON! cant you see those tears... Poor gal, she's been through a lot...But you wont let her go it alone will you? course not.

Slowly he began, pulling away from her to give her a bit of breathing room, again wiping the tears from her eyes.

"its ok galen... You dont need to run anymore... Whats in your past, is in your past, it cant hurt you anymore then you let it...youve convinced yourself that you have to run in able to survive, that you cant experience love anymore because of whats happened, you dont want to take any chances, anyone you let into your life, could get hurt... or at least, thats what it sounds like to me... BUT, now i know, And i promise you, you dont need to run, you dont need to hide... Your... Sister, has done something to you, and you will probably never be able to forgive her fully... if even at all. But you dont have to, all you have to do is ACCEPT it. Your father was someone you cared about with all your heart, and he loved you dearly, dont you think he'd be sad knowing that his death has caused you this much pain? dont think of what has happened to him, think of what he means to you, and i do mean 'means' and not meant, because he's still alive and kicking in your heart, no one can take that away from you... Youve gotta keep living, so he can continue to be proud of you. You have to keep loving, because every time you let yourself love, and recieve love, its only going to strengthen his spirit, its only going to make his memory stronger, its what he would want for you."

He stood then, walking over and picking up the bundled darra, bringing her back and sitting beside galen, holding darra out to her gently "Its what he would want for his grand-daughter..."

As he spoke he noticed that darra's eyes opened slowly in greeting, giving her mom that curious stare.

Flac smiled slowly, handing darra over to galen before giving her another little hug.

"Relax galen, You cant hide anymore... But dont worry, you dont have to face it alone, ill be with you..."

He paused, letting his mind rummage over a few thoughts comming to the forground of conciousness.

"my hearts here for you galen... Ill give you my love, all of my caring, all i ask is that you let me help you... Anything you want..."

He paused for a moment reflecting.
You knew she would get you, now, how do you feel? You care for her dont you? But you barely know her! But it doesnt matter does it? no... You love her dont you? yes... So, how are you gonna help her?

Slowly he continued "galen, you need to know that, even though i havnt known you long... I do love you, i have traveled your path before, and closed myself, but now youve made me open up again, thank you..."

He took a deep breath. "Because of this knew found love... I will help you do anything..."

This was the first time anyone, ANYONE, had dared risk his own personal image to try and help me see what it was that I was doing wrong with my life. Sorben had sat back, apparently hoping I would figure it out myself one day. Terrin, Khaandon bless him, was clueless, just offering his support and love but yet again while I somehow managed to come to this answer by my own device.

Problem was with that: I never knew there WAS a problem to begin with... not until this very moment. And so it had festered, raw and weeping, growing larger and larger and warping my thoughts and feelings and logic about many, many things.

But Flac....

That realization, combined with his final statements now arrowing red-hot into my being, served enough impetus to alert the other half-ear to sit up and take notice.

He loved me?? He LOVED me!!

I didn't even freeze. I didn't move, I didn't think, I didn't even dare to feel. I just sat there, waiting for the now-recognizable inner demon to come creeping slyly forward, to force my mouth open, to repeat the words he had uttered to me, that in the long run I would again run, and that demon would laugh and gibber within, waiting insidiously for another unlikely victim to come along.

Only this time it didn't come.

Evil, I know thy Name, and in that Knowledge I have slain thee....

So I just tightened my arms around Darra, turning to drop my big browns into Flac's suddenly serious ones, and raised a hand to his face.

"I-- I... this is so sudden, Flac," I stammered, not wanting to run, wanting instead to go somewhere and examine it. "I will be honest that I can't return the sentiment at this time. But believe me..."

I paused, interrupted by a shuddery sob that came out of nowhere and in one final blast pushed the remnants of pain and sorrow from my heart, leaving it fresh and clean and ready for--

For I didn't know what.

"...I am really in need of a friend now, if anything else, and I'm glad you've come around to fill that need."

He gave her another little hug. "You can count on me galen, I wont let you carry any burdens alone... Maybe someday you will feel the same for me as i do towards you... But intill then, youve gotten yourself the best friend anyone can have...And i mean that... With every ounce of my heart..."

The best friend anyone could have.

Anyone I had come close to considering as a friend had been left behind on Garos IV nearly two years and several lifetimes ago; and since that time there hadn't been anyone quite able to step forth and fill those vacant shoes.

Indeed. If they had been there to begin with... for something deep and quiet was now rising up within me to point out the little fact that maybe, just maybe, I hadn't had any friends ever, not in the true meaning of the word, never in my life. Just a series of acquaintances of varying degrees. But now-- now here was another something new and different, something quiet and somehow so very elegantly simple and true for the aura of quiet it radiated.

This, too, needed introspection... but suddenly I didn't want to go my usual path and consider it alone.

Looking down to find Darra drooping in my arms, I rose and went to that weird urchin-looking bed. There I lay her down, tucking the blanket lightly about her that she wouldn't wiggle around and risk falling to the floor. Then I turned back to Flac.

"Ummm.... if you don't mind, I wouldn't mind a walk-about, Flac," I suggested, surprised at how new and different the image of that suggestion itself appeared. "I think Darra will be safe enough here, Khaandon knows the Gungans seem to be avoiding us like the plague, as you said. From the looks of her she's going to be sleeping for at least a couple of cycles; would you like to just... show me around this city?

"I think I could use a little general conversation."

He grinned as he lead her away, letting go of her arm as the passed through the doorway, choosing instead to just walk beside her rather then lead her along.

As they turned down a few little tunnels, he pointed out little things here and there. "you see that." he said pointing at a big cylender centered about one of the globes "that thing right there is what provides the oxygen in this section, flows out of that thing and down the halls and into all the other little bubbles... They got one for every section, i forget how they devide these cities though..."

He smiled and continued onward, as they entered another little tunnel his head turned to look at her. "hey, Just curious, but ah... What exactly can that little ship of yours do?er... What was it? sith?" he couldnt hide the little shiver that went through his spine. "Sith... Who'da thunk it? I heard rummors that they were more then those force wielding bumble head dark jedi... But i never really believed that the sith had been a race before, and not just a title... Hmmm... No sir'ee, Not I... Personaly im not a big fan of jedi... There too ah... Well, There a bit odd in my opinion...Err...well, i guess im not one to talk about 'odd' but err...ya..."

he chuckled to himself and shook his head... "Youve had some interesting incounters... "

His hand reached slowly into his pocket, fiddlign with something for a moment before he drew it out and looked at it...

It was a small piece of... something... it was oddly designed(Even though it was just a fragment), and even more oddly colored, though its color appeared to have faded slightly, it appeared to be a hunk of metal, though what kind of metal could not be diserned so easily

Slowly he handed the piece to galen "hey, some crazy guy gave that to me a while back, said it belonged to the 'sith' though no jedi could ever tell me what it meant, you think thats a piece of something from the sith you had a run in? or was the guy just some crack pot spice adict? ive kept it with me all this time cause i consider it a good luck charm. I got it on tatooine, and while i was looking at it i stumbled into the slave area of the planet, so i kinda figured i might as well keep it around... But for all i know its just some wierd artifact some guy had come accross, and had desided to see if he could get some gullible guy such as myself to buy into the story... what do ya think?"

His words trailed off and slowly he lead on...

he really didnt care either way, it was after all just a piece of...something... But hey, wouldnt that be an interesting thing to have held on to if it actauly WAS from the sith?

I had seen such a sigil engraved upon one of those ornate pillars in the foyer of the Sith Temple in Phrinnchatka.

My thoughts flashed of their own accord to my last encounter of them, and the company I had been with as I parted from others. A ghost of a shiver raced up my spine, and my vision grew blurred and unfocused yet again.

Sorben. I cannot believe he actually killed me... or would have, had I not eluded him with those clones I had wrangled from the Kaminoans.

Terrin. I cannot believe I ran from him... just as the mere sight of this fragment is making every hair on the back of my neck stand at attention, is flooding my entire body with a ready-reaction to run and take Darra and go, just go....

Where?

All that flashed reflexively through me as the innocuous bit of metal shimmered in Flac's hand, drawing me into it in a downward spiral of memories, until at length I managed a great breath and pulled myself out of it with a nearly palpable snap.

"Yes...." The word came as the sigh of a summer's breeze, so quietly did I utter it. "This... this is Sith.

"As is my ship."

I stopped at that, wanting on one hand to open up yet again to the simple honesty I saw shining in Flac's hazel eyes. On the other hand, instinct is a difficult beast to harness; instead I just clammed up and let it go at that.

Then my thoughts jerked to other things he had said, and I bypassed logic entirely as I made a purely intuitive deduction in response to one particular statement of his.

An archeologist had given him this fragment on Tatooine....

Could that "archeologist" have been my father? I never knew he had ever gone to Tatooine, but then he didn't always have me pilot when he went off on some of his shorter side trips. More than once Jharmeen and I had been left alone on some backwater world to tend camp while he gadded off to check on something the current dig had revealed.

Logic was crossing its figurative arms and snorting right and left, but I ignored it entirely. The tears evaporated in my eyes, and I turned them on Flac full force.

"Tell me more about the guy who gave you this," I said suddenly, then fell silent, my look practically demanding that he remember and simultaneously letting him know I would brook no feeble excuse that he could not.

Mentaly shrugging it away he addressed her question...

Oh ye gods, girl; are you STILL going about in that flightsuit? Well, maybe it's for the best....

My hand trembled just a bit as I drew out a picture of my father.

Talk about a small universe....

I shook my head, although the motion was really in agreement with Flac. "Yes," I whispered. "That is my father."

Now I paused, pulling back a bit and turning my eyes up from where they had strayed to the image I held of my father, to take in the fragment Flac was still holding, then to finally crawl up Flac's body and stop when they hit his own.

I let a long and pregnant moment pause between us. Then--

"Why would my father give you this?" I wondered aloud, then continued. "And what in Hell's Seven Circles was he doing on Tatooine? There aren't any ruins on Tatooine; why would he go there and run into you and give you this?"

I fell silent, aware of how seemingly stupid that line of reasoning sounded, but knew there just had to be a connection. If there was anything I had learned in my brief stint with the Sith, it was that nothing --and I do mean NOTHING-- happens without reason. Everything connects.

Didn't I have Darra as living proof of that?

"When was this?" I asked suddenly as a niggle of an idea began to worm into my head. "Do you remember the date, or thereabouts?"

I fell silent, letting my eyes soften a bit but not removing them from Flac's. For some reason I was earnest and interested beyond logic in what he might answer, but I didn't want to make him think I was any more of a wild card than I probably was appearing to be at the moment.

So I did my best to tone down my intensity, and tried to look casual.

"Hmmmm... Alrighty lesseee, shall we? Hmm... It was say...errr... 5 years ago, on err... Ah... Summor time..er, wait, every time is summor time in Tattooin, scratch that...Ah... dont know the exact date really... Hmmm... Letss see, what was he doing?... Well, i was walking along you know, trying to get to a local cantena or something, when i rounded a corner the same time as he did, we blasted into eachother with a force that coulda been emmited from a Super star destroyers main laser cannon... That little wounder there flew out of his hands and landed on the ground next to us, along with a bunch of papers... So i helped him up, and helped him pick up his stuff... He was lost, i do believe, looking for someplace that held some powerful microscope of somesort... Well, i had been there before, so i decided to help him out, i had just barreled into him afterall... Anyway, as we walked along i asked him about the little shard, and he started talking... 'this my friend is a piece of metal forged by the hands of the sith... Very very mysterious indeed, i found it a month ago on a dig with my daughters, and oh, yes, im on my way to use the microscope held in the lab here, it is rummored to be the strongest in the galexy... you see, if i can find out more about this, i could discover a great deal about one of the most mysterious races ever known...' Ya, something like that, I may not remember much about dates and so, but my smuggling life has given me a great nack for remembering EXACTLY what people say to me... Anyway, i took him there, and he looked at it for a while, i was fairly interested to say the least, so afterwards he started saying thigns like 'this metal is older then anything you could imagin, and yet is still stronger then anything you could find on the market at this point in time...It is really quite intriguing...' anyway, i offered to get him a bite to eat, cause hey, how often do you meet some guy that is talking about a race of people that has been totaly extinct for an unknown amount of time... anyway, he kept talkin and i kept listnen, and after lunch he had told me that he didnt really need it anymore, and for buying him lunch he gave it to me... We parted company with little more then a wave, and i walked off, completly mesmerized by that thing, and then i bumbed into a little kid, and so my current life style started..."

Five years. I remembered the time. Prior to that we had run from one dig to another, from one misbegotten moon to another, always going and never finding. Then we had gone to... where in Hell's Seven Circles was it? Something... something I couldn't quite remember, couldn't quite grasp...

Ahh. Because it was something that ended up being a whisper of a shadow accompanying a rumor. A world which ought not to have been. I remember strange yet simple buildings half buried in the rock and dirt of that atypically small world, one in an orbit its mass would announce in a clarion call as being totally impossible for its distance from the secret star it traveled around.

At any rate, that was where we were when he had muttered something incomprehensible to us -- he was always doing that -- and took off for parts unknown. About a week later he returned, and we suddenly found ourselves on another part of that tiny world, investigating even stranger ruins in the depths of its jungle...

...before we blasted off on the last leg of his Great Quest. Two years after that we landed on the grim and sere surface of what I later learned was the Sith world of K'eel Doba.

And two days after we landed he and Jharmeen had gone into that unexpected cave-like excavation he had uncovered...

And he died, murdered at the hand of someone who was suddenly no longer my sister.

I couldn't help but shiver, the hairs rising up on the nape of my neck.

What if someone else found whatever clues he had found? Had he left a trail there in the dust and sand of Tatooine? What if it were picked up... the ships were all gone, but the ruins were plenty, and something happened on that Outer Rim world to spark his interest and lead him eventually to K'eel Doba.

If anyone else would even come close to having happen what had happened to my sister....

My head jerked up, my eyes wide with the realization that we had to go to Tatooine. I didn't know why, I didn't know if there was anything there at all. But if anything, I had to make certain that whatever trail dad might have laid down five years ago was dead to the universe.

I dunno. Call it a hunch.

I threw my eyes pleadingly into Flac's, realizing as well that I just couldn't up and say, "Hey, let's go where Malf is shaking in his furry boots to avoid" without good reason.

"Maybe..." I began in a low tone, my eyes dropping to my toes for quite suddenly I didn't want to see Flac's returning look.

"Maybe I'll just go on alone then. I don't think I could convince Malf, and he seemed fairly petrified about going to Tatooine. I don't know what slimy Hutt might have climbed up on his furry back, but whatever trouble happened to him there I don't want to be the one to lead him back into it.

"I'll-- I'll just see if there's anyway I can get back to Jester, and be on my way. But I just can't-- I mean, I have to make certain that no one else can ever find out what Dad did... and if he just up and gave you that fragment, who knows what else he might have done."

I drew in a deep breath and took a step back.

"Thanks for what you've done for me, Flac, and maybe I'll be seeing ya around the Universe."

His eyes darted to her outstretched hand, at which he turned his head and spat. "Give me your hand when we part, and not an instant before. You still dont get it Galen, im with ya till the end, and you cant do a thing about it. if you run, as you said you have in the past, im gonna chase you, whether you like it or not... I promised i wouldnt let ya be lonely anymore, i also told you id be the best friend you ever had, Would a true friend let someone simply walk out of there life because of minor details such as 9 feet tall hairballs that could squish me if i made him mad? OF COURSE NOT! If malf doesnt wanna go, so be it, im just saying you should at least try to convince him to go with us before we go, you never know when a giant furball will come in handy... ESPECIALY on tattooin..."

WIth that he extended his own hand, but rather then placing it in hers, he took her chin up in his grasp and forced her eyes to his. " if this was an attempt to get rid of me, Keep dreamin honey, cause it takes a lot more then that to get the job done"

Who in Hell's Seven Circles WAS this guy anyway?

Oh yeah. Flac.

Then I just shook my head, wondering to myself just what I was getting myself into with him even as my feet stepped obediently out to follow along behind him.

Either I was beginning to like him, or....

I pushed that thought away with a snort, and soon had caught up to Flac. Planting myself at his side, no mean feat for I'm not the tallest person in the galaxy and my legs had to do double time to keep up with him, I finally spoke up.

"So we're going to Tatooine? Wanna, er... that is, ummm."

I paused, floundering, for even as the thought arose I knew it wasn't feasible. That big walking carpet was too big, really... but by now Flac had turned his head to me, one brow crooked in query.

What the hey. In for a credit....

"Wanna, er...ahhh...

"I'll drive."

He chuckled to himself before eyeing her seriously, speaking again in a much more serious, and sincer manor "thanks galen, You probably dont realize it, but that little suggestion of yours means a lot to me..."

Then his head turned to stare strait in front of him, as they turned another corner he smiled to her.

"well Brown eyes, your home, ill catch ya later...but er... I think the gungan guards are ready to er... lecture me now...Ya..."

He chuckled and began to walk away, turning back to her for a mere second he added in "pay no attention to the horrific screaming coming from my room... Its nothing really, i promise..."

I spent the majority of it pacing the confines of my little bubble, soon developing a routine of sorts. First I would go check on Darra, who slept on as if she hadn't a care in the world. After mussing with the blanket, I would then stride to the curtained doorway into this chamber, and pause there to listen to the muffled thumps and crashes coming from across the corridor... followed in each instance by ominous silence. Then I'd go back to pacing, wincing to myself to hear each long and terrible stretch of silence....

I might not know this Flac very well, and still didn't think he really loved me as he claimed -- sheesh Galen, what is it with you and guys anyway? -- but no one deserved the things I imagined going on in that room.

Granted, they were images I had conjured up in my mind, but I couldn't help but believe them to be but shadows of what was happening over there. Those Gungans gave me the creeps as it was, and the thought of those loosely limbed creatures bearing down on anybody in any manner other than friendly...

I couldn't stand it any longer.

You're gonna get yourself killed some day the way you pick up strays and try to take care of them, I admonished myself as I burst through the curtain of my bubble and stopped at the door to Flac's. Look what happened with you and Sorben.

I pushed that thought away and raised my hand to knock... and my fist went entirely through the moment it impacted the soft curtain obscuring the entrance. Silly me; Gungans have no doors; pursing my lips I followed through by following that fist into the confines of Flac's bubble. Then I paused, my eyes widening in something not quite disbelief but certainly more than anger.

Two tall Gungans were bearing down on Flac, who they had pinned to the floor. One was standing, each foot upon his outstretched arms, holding him; the other had his monstrous foot on Flac's ankles, which were held closely together. He held a weird kind of staff which radiated an electric blue charge; even as I entered the room he pressed that staff down into Flac's stomach with what seemed to me to be malicious intent. The sight of this atrocity broke me from my momentary freeze.

"Hey!" I burst out with, moving quickly forward to grasp the end of the staff. The Gungan whirled on me and pinned me with a supercilious look, easily yanking the staff from the small hold I tried to put on it.

"Youssa no being in helpin deesins ouch time," he growled, turning back to Flac, who only managed a crooked -- if somewhat strained -- grin as if to assure me that everything was under control.

Well, not in my book it wasn't.

"Look, buddy!" I growled, reaching out to grab the end of the staff again. "Leave him alone; just leave him alone, ok? You can go tell your head boss-man whoever that you just don't need to do this anymore; thank you for your, umm... hospitality, but we're leaving."

The Gungan growled at me again, pointing the stick. Beneath their feet, I saw Flac suddenly start to struggle; I immediately raised my hands and backed down.

"Just leave him alone, would you? There's no need for this; we're going."

Of course I referred to going in the general sense of the word -- as in after a night's sleep, and maybe something to eat the next day. But these guys apparently couldn't understand the fine nuances of Basic; for a long moment the higher ranked Gungan glared at me in frigid silence. Then he straightened up, pulling his staff across his chest and assumed a kind of ritualistic stance.

"Youssa being outta here now," he growled, his lip-tendrils writhing. "Weesa giving yousins short time. Take youssa to ship; youssa out."

He then burbled something in his native tongue to his companion who nodded and gave Flac's ribs a parting kick. Then they both strode from the bubble... to take up positions immediately outside, waiting for us to gather our wits enough to leave.

I went over to Flac, who was sitting up rubbing his wrists. There I knelt beside him, letting my hands run over his body lightly.

His hand came slowly to his chest to rub lightly "ooww... Those zappers sure do back a wallop, Let me tell you... I suggest never getting on the gungans bad sides..."

His shoulders slummped for a second before he stood and looked out the bubble. "They didnt hurt you did they? Galen, i want you to promise you wont step up in any of those situations anymore... Ive had a few run ins with dangerous people in the past, You may want to help, but i promise, i dont go into any situation blindly, And i dont want anyone to get hurt because of my own mistakes..."

His head shook slowly "no... I dont have the right to make you promise that, Your gonna do whatever you feel is right, im sure..."

He then turned to look into her eyes "just try and be careful if you ever decide to help me through a problem again... Then, I Hope you wont be given the chance to help me again, Maybe my luck will turn around in the futre."

His serious look turned lighthearted then as he looked towards the door. "well... Do you wanna tell malf, or shall I? hmm... Im not sure if he's going to...errr... Like this turn of events..."

He chuckled to himself and shook his head slowly from side to side... "Well, I guess we might as well get to moving, i dont trust them gungans as far as i can throw them one handed, with a bungie cord attatched to both arms and legs..."

As he began to walk towards the door, he stopped and reached down to his leg for a moment, taking a deep breath before casting a grin at Galen and saying "You wanna drive? cause err... Im not sure if im quite up to it of yet... Errmmm... You go collect your things, ill get tammy ready for launch..."

Ahead of us the two guards were rapidly disappearing; I glared in their general direction a little, then turned back to Flac.

"They got you, didn't they?" I questioned with a rueful grin and crook of my brow. "Here, let me help you get to Tamarak... I'll run back and grab Darra after you start getting her ready."

I paused with a little grunt, now shaking my head to myself once again. "Hey, where did you say Malf was? Are you going to tell him or do I have to be the bearer of bad news?

"Did they even give him a room? Maybe he's still on "Tammy...?"

I stumbled a little beneath Flac's weight then firmed, still giving him what support that I could as we continued to move on through the weirdness that was the underwater city of the Gungans, the dim glow of distant globes of light filtering through the dark, the omnipresent presence of untold cubic tons of water pressing in on us from all directions beyond the fragile boundaries in which we found ourselves.

We were just turning into a passage which was more a grand and circular type of broadway when once again the pair of staff-wielding guards came up from nowhere, this time mounted on some sort of impossible lizardy-looking bird-thing. The creatures let out a strange and moaning cry as the Gungan who had been zapping Flac pulled to a stop mere meters ahead of our path, his staff held outward and down toward the other rider, who crossed that staff with his own. Barred effectively from further progress, we ground to a confused if leery halt and waited.

"Youssa being coming to Da Bombad-Big Bossman," the senior Gungan barked imperiously. "Youssa in da deep poo-doo, meesa thinks."

He leered at us, then poked at us with his staff, urging us into motion, pointing the way ahead. We had no other choice but to follow the path he indicated.

Fighting down a great rush of worry for Darra and trepidation for ourselves, I cut my eyes up into Flac's. "Great idea, coming here, don't ya think?" I muttered through clenched teeth as we moved along, heading toward who knew where and for who knew what. All I knew was that it wasn't going to be something I liked, from the way my inner alarm system was going off....

With a flick of his wrist that devise slipped free of his arm, and he stealthily handed it to galen, leaning close to her ear and whispering "put that on, it will keep you safe fromt here weaponry...Im sorry galen, i didnt think it would turn out like this..."

Then he went rigged as they entered a large bubble, and were put in front of an assembly of people, the one who seemed to be in charge soon spoke.

"yousa's breaken Us's laws... Yousssa's not'en bein welcom here's... Yousa all gonna be feel'in biggin crunchens..."

Flac looked to the side, and saw something that boiled his blood... malf was standing off to the side, guards all over him, and on a small bed sat.... DARRA!

His eyes seemed to actauly blacken at the sight, as if his soul had suddenly taken a vacation from his body, and hadnt left any instructions on how to keep him from exploding.

Quietly he stepped forward, ignoring the guards which tried to stop him with minor jabs of there sticks.

"Listen, We're getting out of here... If you so much as harm a hair on any of my friends... I promise that you wont be to happy about it..."

His head glanced back to galen "go grab darra"

He winced as the guards seemed to straighten, as if to mock his words, slowly his hand crept to his hip, closing into a fist mere centimeters from the grip of his blaster... And as it sat there, his hand continued to ball, and unball...

Every time you draw that blaster with a true intent to use it, your life changes forever, whether for the good, or for the bad, different every time... Well buddy, are you ready for your world to spin again? DONT TOUCH IT! Remember, all this wouldnt have happened had you just ignored what they did to you last time... But no, you shot the gungan, and you crippled him... Probably not even a guard anymore... Your sister... Dear god Flac, remember your sister! her last words to you... What were they? "Stay proud, and be careful..." She had told you that...REMEMBER! dont do it... Not now...

His head shook, hand opening and in the blink of an eye his blaster was extended and pointed at the head boss... what little bit of compassion had remained in his eyes was now blocked by an upwelling of tears. "Let the Lady get her kid... We're leaving..."

His head turned back to galen for a second "Its alright, I wont let anything happen to you, darra or malf..."

His eyes snapped back to the bosses with a deadly intensity, and he spoke coldy, yet somehow managign to keep the quiver from his voice. "no one... And i mean No one... Ever, Threatens a friend of mine... On top of that... A little kids mother, trying to get her kid? You guy's have sunk to an all time low..."

suddenly he placed the blaster within its home once more... turning slowly he motioned for the door. "we're leaving, and if any of you have a problem with it, You can take it up with me..."

He drew up both malf and galen in his stern walk, and guided them to tamerak silently letting them in before casting a cold glance about the city, and hoping in himself...

Inside tammerak he walked to a corner and leaned against it, taking in a deep quiverign breath, before simply collapsing on the floor int he corner, and wrapping his arms about himself. "W-would... Y-o-.. Cou-.." he took one deep steading breath before standing and sitting down in the pilots seat... "lets go..."

tapping in a few coordinates they were soon on there way, off into space..

Now flac turned his gaze upon the others, a small smile rising upon his features... "err... Im sorry.. I... I lost my head, I shouldnt have put you all in danger by going there... And i shouldnt have done it again by pulling that stunt... But..."

slowly his hands went down to remove the holster from his hip, dropping it on the floor he sighed. "Im... err..."

his eyes closed and he took a deep breath. "i have issues concerning people threatening kids... I... I can get a little blinded sometimes..."

he turned his head away then and looked blankly to through the screen, "tattooine, right?"

He muttered before tapping the ship into hyperspace...

Great flac, they'll all leave you now, Who wants to be with a pscho Anyway? I told you not to do it... But not, you just couldnt keep it undercontrol... Not even for a second longer... When are you gonna get a grip flac? When will you let stop badgering yourself... When will you stop caring? or maybe you already have... Did you think about that? maybe you just want to be the hero, eh? is that what it is? No? are you so sure about that?

What ever happened to you anyway...Jerrel? where did you go? When did you become flac? When did flac forget who you were? Never... But youve seen to much, right? you dont wanna come back, do you? or have you been here, and thats why flac has lost his edge?

his head shook slowly

Granted, through the proceeding events I had gone along rather dumbly, like a nerf being led to slaughter, and really I suppose I was grateful that Flac had gotten us out of that predicament we were rapidly becoming faced with. But I really didn't understand why the Gungans just let us escape the way they did; no way in Hell's Seven Circles should what had happened actually happen in the natural state of how-things-are. There was just something... well, no pun intended on our underwater friends, but my gut was positively screaming that there was definitely something fishy at play.

No time to ponder that now. I unscrambled myself from where I had been sitting in half-stunned silence with Darra, and bore down on Flac like a star destroyer gone mad.

"We can't just leave my ship!"

I jostled Flac aside, reaching for the navigation controls even as I was studying them, ignoring his yelp of protest.

I just ignored him, and popped us momentarily out of hyperspace to get our bearings. Then I turned tail and headed us on a bee-line course back to Naboo.

We had a few minutes before regaining Naboo space; I turned back to Flac, still glaring.

"Look, there are two rules to my somewhat simple life, and here they are: One, it revolves around my daughter, nothing more complicated than that. And two, I do not go off and leave my ship.

"Ever."

I paused at that, my arms crossed, my eyes on fire and simply stared at Flac...

...all the while the little hairs on the back of my neck were standing at an alert if unfathomable attention....

He grinned darkly to himself as he watched them through the secret portal he had opened, smiling to see how even across the great distance which separated them the female still was somehow able to sense his cloying presence.

Indeed that spawn of hers will be a fine addition to my "family," if she is as sensitive as her mother....

Now in one unstoppable motion he breached the portal, stepping seemingly from nowhere to come to a halt in the middle of Flac's ramshackle shuttle. Before the sleeping Darra could begin to sense his evil presence he raised a hand to her, whipping her off through the dark portal which ended in his own hidden sanctum on K'eel Doba, rapidly cutting off the portal to the windowless and doorless room into which she had been sent and immediately opening up another one to a far closer destination.

"Thank you for the ship, whelp!" he hissed in a glacial whisper, before stepping through to take command of Jester IV...

...and in this far more conventional manner returning to his den of malignity on a drear little planet orbiting a dim little star.

((OOC: Follow to End of the Hunt in "Sith Temple/Jedi Praxeum" forums, thank you.))

YOU TOOK IT OFF YOU MORON! WHY THE HELL DID YOU TAKE IT OFF! Wait... errr.... hmmm... Darra... Galen... Malf... you... Errmm... Where the hell did this guy come from? what the heck is going on? err... Maybe you should...errmm.... Ah....

Flac's eyes wandered to galen "errmm.... Ah... Sith?" He asked somewhat stunned

DARRA, YOU MORON! STOP WASTING TIME! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO!Flac... Why is it you always make promises, whenever you do, you end up having to keep them... If you DONT say you'll keep someone safe, do they ever need that protection? Every time... Jeez... Welp, lets get going buddy...

In one swift motion he kneeled down and picked up his blaster holster, placing it about his waist and snapping the belt in place...

He then walked over to galen and promptly removed the shield device from her wrist, placing it upon his, and switching it off, his eyes turned to galen, now once again blank, and somewhat empty. "Where can i find this guy? I have never once gone back on a promise, and i dont aim to do so now... We're gonna get her... Whatever the hell is going on, i dont care, That... Thing, is gonna pay..."

Suddenly he went to his pilots seat and brought them back into space, tapping them into hyperspace with a grim hand he turned to galen, "Now Galen, Give me what kinda information you can... "

He fell silent and gazed at her blankly, his once lighthearted features now stone cold in determination...

It had suddenly shrunk to the size of an empty shuttle seat-cushion, taking my heart along with it.

Oh great, You are off to face something that for all you know is a god, and she is going into shell...

his head shook. "nope galen, im afriad not..."

He stood then and litteraly just grabed her and shook her for dear life. "I told you before this was bad for you, but now i guess you gotta learn the hard way..."

He sighed and plopped her back in the sit, unconcerned as to if his shaking had done anything, he walked away and returned with a bucket of freezing ice water from a cooler.

"You got till the count of 5 Brown eyes... 1...5" the water came forth in a freezing flood, splashing against her with its freezing temperatures...

The next I was on my feet, coughing and spluttering from an onslaught of water just a few degrees warmer than my heart.

"What the HELL-?!" I choked, my left hand flailing even as my right flew to my hip for the blaster which wasn't there.

Where was it??? Oh yeah, back on "Jester," probably in the claws of-- of--

I immediately froze again, shuddering, the universe shrinking into a tiny blot of despair, and just stood there with water warming by degrees as it dripped down my face and body to puddle in a gradually accumulating pool at my feet.

Why did you do that flac? get a grip, that doesnt ever work...

He quickly ran and grabbed some towls, wrapping them about her he sat her down and forced her eyes into his, though easily he could tell she couldnt see him...

Suddenly something inside me broke... and a wealth of words and sounds and feelings came flooding into me.

"...help me get your daughter back, or stay like this forever, and let your daughter go through whatever pain and torture that guy puts her through because we werent able to get to her... Ill get your daughter back galen, or die trying...."

I shuddered into something approximating alertness, my teeth chattering as shock finally set in.

"He-- he's a monster, Flac; he's just a monster. I-- I don't know what we can do against him; I couldn't do anything against him; dear Khaandon, I thought it was Terrin but it wasn't, oh Flac he's got my daughter, and this power, and nothing can hold out against him, nothing, nothing at all...."

Heaving a great sob, I clutched the towels Flac had wrapped me in as though they were a lifeline to my nearly unravelling sanity. Then I buried my face in Flac's chest, crying as though the universe would decay before my wellspring of tears would ever run dry.

he rocked her gently his arms "Its alright galen... Theres always a way... We just gotta beat him before he can get what he wants... Now tell me... Where is it you think he'd go with your daughter? what would he do to her? I mean, you said she was gifted with that power too, didnt you? well, what good is it to him? she's just a little girl... Why is he after her?"

"She-- she's got this power, something I don't understand, something the Sith call the All; I'm not sure what it is but I think he's planning on using her, to take her somewhere, to channel her power somehow and make himself even stronger, and-- and--"

I paused, gulping, aware of how utterly ridiculous what I was going to say probably sounded. Drawing in a deep breath, I plunged on.

"He's going to use her to bring back the Sith civilization -- and entire civilization of magick users, Flac! Ones who have this... this All... and then, and then he's going to use her to somehow take control of them, and through them the entire galaxy.

"Dear gods we don't have the strength to defeat him; Khaandon help us all."

He smiled and simply picked her up, carrying her to the back were he extended a little cot and set her on it. "you get some sleep, Ill explain everything when you wake up... Dont worry about it galen, we can still get your daughter back..."

Flac had guided them through many passageway's and into a small room filled with about 5 or so men, whom all seemed to be slacking off, and goofing around.

"Alright boy's, I know i said i wouldnt ever do this, but get DJ prepped for launch, We got bussiness to attend to..."

The men instantly jumped to attention and horried out of the room...

Flac then turned to galen. "we're going to your sister for help... I know you said you dont trust her to much, but she's our best shot at getting darra back, well, the way i see it, she's our ONLY shot at getting darra back..."

he sighed, "give me input later, right now you gotta learn the basics of piloting DJ...Or trust me, we wont get anywhere fast..."

He then grabed her and ushered her away into a room, in which sat a magnificent looking set of armor, all held together upright in a glass case.

Pressing a buton to open the case flac hesetently stripped the armor away, revealing a strange looking flight suit.

he handed the suit to galen and slowly began to explain "My sister put a lot of cash into her ship, she became a bounty hunter, and needed a way of getting around fast... DJ dont have much fire power, but its the fasted damn ship in the galexy, I havnt scene your sith ship in action, but im sure this baby would give it a run for its money... You see, the flight suit is a special cybernetic system, which interacts with the wearers muscle reactions, You have controls like in a normal ship, but on top of that, your ever twitch, and flexation of your muscles will put the ship into its place... You can pull of some amazing manuvers with this system, trust me, ive scene it in action...

DJ uses an experemental engine system, to this day i cant find a replica to match it, but then, my sister didnt have a chance to give me the planet she bought it from... The hyperdrive engines are capable of getting from one side of the galexy, to the next, in about 2/5'th's the time it takes a normal ship with the fastest drives out there to do...

She doesnt have much weaponry, but sis wasnt really a space fighter, most of her space was put to housing engines, and enough fuel to run them, and of course a very high amount of shielding..."

He looked at her and pointed to a room "your gonna have to put that on, and get used to it fast... And no, I cant fly it, sis had the ship rigged, only woman can fly it, safty procotion of some sort... and of course, in her memory, i wont touch it to make it otherwise..."

He then simply sat and waited...

I didn't think anything was capable of truly burning through the wall I was beginning to erect about me once again. I truly didn't think there was any way in Hell's Seven Circles that I'd stand a ghost of a chance getting Darra back; since Jester IV was now in the grasping claws of the damned Sith, I really thought a true miracle was going to have to somehow be implemented.

Then out of the blue Flac up and handed me that miracle.

I blinked again, sniffing a little as I reached out to gently stroke the alien-looking flightsuit. This thing had to be by far the weirdest thing I'd ever seen anywhere: kind of a biotic-cybernetic union, with artfully placed, hair-thin and razor sharp diodes just slavering to implant themselves into the wearer's nervous system. I shuddered to view them, even though in all likelihood there was an accompanying anesthetic to dull the pain of their insertion.

Then I firmed. It didn't matter. If I had to cut off my own right hand, I'd do whatever it took, undergo whatever pain that might come on down the spacelanes if it would bring Darra back to me.

I shot Flac a grateful glance, all the while wondering what he meant by his sister never having a chance... then firmed further.

He'll tell me later. I'll make certain there IS a later....

"Thanks, Flac," I whispered. "You and your guys-- well, you don't know what this means; I mean, I don't know what--" I stuttered before coming to a choked halt. Then before I could even think what I was doing, I pressed up to him and kissed him lightly, tentatively, but meaning every bit of it. Then I backed down and turned toward the room he had pointed out to me.

Once inside it was a matter of moments to slip into the suit. I refused to remove my Sith one; thank Khaandon that was of such a form-fitting material that I did not feel bulky in the least once the cybernetic one was fully on. I winced as I closed the final connectors, that act signalling the implants to do their deed. But my hunch was correct; anesthetic kicked in and the pain was muted, soon to disappear entirely.

I returned to Flac, flexing my arms, and came to a halt before him. The look I now gave him was serious.

"We're going to have to go to K'eel Doba... that's where everyone is. And somewhere on that planet... HE is hiding with Darra as well; can-- can I wear the armor that goes with this thing?

Slowly his gaze turned to view his sisters old armor... That armor...

He almost winced at the thought of seeing it in action again, but refrained, realizing that, while yes, the stuff held a bad rep, it was pretty darned good, according to his sister it made mandalorian armor look like tin foil, but then, she was now dead, wasnt she... But also, he knew she hadnt suffered a normal wound...

He put the memorey of his sisters death out of his head and nodded slowly...

he walked over and picked up the black leg plates, they seemed so light to do what she claimed they could...

He sighed and placed the plats about galens legs, returning and placing yet more armor upon her...

When it was all said and done, all save the helmat, flac pressed a little button on the chests armor, and the loose fitting plats seemed to snap together and tighten, making a perfect fit...

He examined her for a moment and nodded, "that will keep you pretty well prettected i think..."

He then lifted one of her wrists and flipped open a little palen on the armor "ok, see this, This thing controls the basic functions of the armor, You got your portable shield generator, your shock immiter, err, in case people get to close for comfort... and errmm... Lasor cutter, the helmats got heat sensing lenses, night vision lenses, light amp adjustment, but i gotta ask you not to where the helmet, unless you think you really need to... It...it holds a few errmm... Memories id rather not think about..."

he then tapped on the platting "this stuff, to my knowledge at least, has its own temperature regulator, if your soroundings get to hot, it will keep you cool, to cold, it will heat ya up... Im not sure what else it does, never really played around with it..."

As he spoke a man came through the doorway and seemed to jump at the sight of a woman in the armor "You... err... Let her have the armor... errmm.... Ah fla-..errr, boss, the ermm... ya... its about ready."

as flac nodded solomnly the man ran off to finish preperations...

"Hmm... Where do you practice? well, first your advised to make sure you can still move in that thing, ive never understood how it worked, but my sister always had some pretty good dexterity in that thing, so im guessing its not suposed to restrict you... But ya, like i said, i havent played around with it to much, i dont have a way for you to practise, your gonna have to just toy around abit in the ship...."

With that he ushered her off, stopping to grab the helmat, just in case...

Soon they had retrieved malf and were standing before a very miraculas looking ship...

"Well galen, theres she is... the famed Dark Court Jester... DJ is quite a ship, im sure you'll have no problems with her, lets get on our way, shall we?"

Dark Court-- Jester? Hmmm... I think his sister and I could have gotten along fine.... I mulled to myself, all the while eyeballing her sleekly deadly lines and shaking my head to myself. To think, she looked that nasty... and barely had any weaponry to speak of on her. I wondered just what kind of image she would have projected locked and loaded... and who in the name of all Khaandon holds dear were the ones to create her anyway?

I pushed that thought away as another came slamming home even as Flac was gently pushing me aboard.

THIS is practice?!

Oh well, the thought came on its immediate heels. No better way to stay on task then making certain I do it for real the first time. Oughtta be a piece of cake... I wasn't the family pilot because of my size, after all....

I let these smug thoughts precede me to the pilots seat... which wasn't there. I mean, there was a nav-board, that much was obvious. But where there should have been a seat was nothing more than a circular plate imbedded in the decking of the control room; various and sundry wires and connections dangled loosely from the overhead and the control panel itself.

I shot Flac a somewhat nervous look as I came to a halt on that ominous plate. My eyes widened further as the connectors slammed into me like a knife through butter; somewhere deep inside me I could feel something begin to tingle, as though something were awakening as though from a long sleep.

The ship gave an imperceptible shudder. Lights blinked on the navboard like Mos Eisley on Boonta Eve. I just stood there, trying to figure out how in the name of all the fates this baby was to actually lift off. What was I supposed to do, jump?

What the hey. I did.

Oops....

Malf and Flac were suddenly thrown to the deck as if they were rubbish, Flac's eyes wide, Malf's mouth wider and noisier, as DJ was suddenly earthbound no longer. As for me, well... something in that plate kept me upright and somehow protected from the inertia of my green departure; I turned a crooked smile to Flac, wincing a little.

"Oops," I whispered, shrugging and trying to make amends with my body language. "I'll get the hang of it soon, promise...."

I let that apology dangle off into a silence broken only by the oofs and moans as my shipmates climbed unsteadily to their feet. Then as they were seating-- and safety-harnessing-- themselves in, I lent every bit of focus I possessed toward my immediate, if not sooner, self-education as to the running of this little wonder.

The mere raising of my chin... she pitched. Raising an arm... she'd roll left or right, depending upon which arm was raised. Yaw was controlled by my leaning to the right or left, and as for landing...

"Hey Flac, how did you say this thing lands?" I hollered as I kept practicing my control, gradually reducing my body movements from those which were gross to ones of pure finesse.

Oh well... time to figure it out as we go, I suppose. Now if I can just figure out how to tap in the coordinates... I've not forgotten a one yet, nosirree....

DJ yowled on through the darkling night, slavering and frothing at the bit, impatient for me to get my act together and get us into the clean beauty of hyperspace. Which of course I finally succeeded in doing, sending us on our way to the Sith planet of K'eel Doba.

But it wasn't until we were halfway there that the thought struck me that I was heading full blast smack back toward the man I had fled from to begin with.
Oops....