CHAPTER 10: WHO YOU ARE

Okha entered the landing area and made her way to her ship, the Raven. Softly speaking to herself, she repeated the words, “Kamino, Kamino…” Following closely behind her was Emaneld. Although she could not see him, his face of confusion had not changed. Okha quickly made her way into the comms room onboard the Raven. Approaching the control panel, she began turning switches and and twisting knobs. Emaneld cautiously began to speak, “Look, I meant to…” “Shhh…!,” Okha quickly interrupted, “I need silence. I need to make sure there are no tracking devices, listening devices, transmitters or otherwise.” Emaneld waited patiently. “Okay, now, we can talk,” Okha nodded as she turned away from the instrumentation. Emaneld slowly began, “Look, I am sorry, but I don’t know what is going on. I am trying to follow and keep-up, but I am not sure you are telling me everything.” With a slightly annoyed tone, Okha fired back, “you know as much as I do! My mission failed because I listed to the cries of that little girl.” Okha’s tone became increasingly annoyed, “A mission YOU set me up for and kept going on and on about how this is THE one…” Okha paused, took a deep breath and continued, “now all I know is that all these other guys were either in on it, or that I was being played!”  Emaneld refrained from saying anything. Perhaps waiting for Okha to calm down. After a moment, he began, “That first transmission, the one were you told me that you had failed, and before I headed to Maz’s, I took the time to look...” “Is that why you were late?!” “Please let me finish”. Okha had to throw that in. Even though he was not late, and was admiring his dependability at the time, she was feeling anything but at the moment. Emaneld continued, “...I took the time to look at my ship’s logs. I had pictures of the vessel I met with on Enkrads. I sent it to Dudeel Trute. He always has an answer.” “That is true. I have never heard him say I don’t know.” Okha shifted her focus around the room, “except…” After a moment of thought, Okha nodded at Emaneld, “Get Dudeel to meet us at Kamino.”

There was a brief pause. Okha was about to head out of the Comms room when Emaneld got in her way, and looked into Okha’s eyes, “ We don’t know enough of what is going on.” Okha ignored Emanneld and walked right passed him. Emaneld raised his voice, “why are you doing this?”

Okha didn’t give the question much thought, “Why would you care?” As she began to shift her attention to the cargo hold area containing their comatose Duro prisoner, Eeloh Ssaah. Emaneld’s posture showed that he was going to try to push for an answer. Okha continued, “look, I want answers! Maz never gave me answers, just more questions... and that is not going to change until I do something.” Emaneld changed his posture, and spoke calmly “Then, this is about you?” “Stop!” “How many years have you known me, and how many bounties have I not brought to your attention? What did I ever ask in return?” Okha began to get irritated, “Look, that first time, you said you didn’t want anything and would never want anything - EVER!!.” Emaneld was taken back, but calmly answered, “I meant it”.

Okha snapped, “then, why?! Why now?!”

The silence was deafening. Emaneld looked shaken. He took a deep breath, and sighed, “Ok, I’m telling Dudeel to meet us there.” “Thank you,” Okha replied calmly as she headed toward the ramp and headed to the base’s interior. She was anxious to see how her new little guest, Moon, was making out with Tac. She was also uncertain how to tell Moon that she was going away again. Her heart sank. Taking calm steps, Okha approached the garden. Suddenly, she could make out the sounds of a child laughing. In disbelief, she opened the door to the garden. Much to her surprise, she found Moon running around Tac in one direction, then in the other. As with any Supper Battle Droid, Tac’s head could barely move. In order to track a target, he needed to shift his entire torso. Spotting the little girl was no different, and provided much entertainment for Moon. As she approached, Okha’s thoughts drifted as the sounds of laughter echoed in her mind. There was something so inviting about the child. Her feelings of longing and familiarity were not logical. She was fighting them, but was ready to surrender to them.

Suddenly, Emaneld enters the garden and interrupts her thoughts, almost startling her, “He’s on his way.” “Already?” “If you know Dudeel, he does not mess around when it comes to information-finding.”

Okha looks toward the landing area and nods, “ready the Raven. I need to talk with Moon for a minute.” Emaneld nodded and left for the ship. As she turned toward the little girl, there was no more laughter. She already felt her sorrow even before looking at her little face. Okha approached calmly and crouched at eye-level with Moon. “I am sorry sweetheart, I need to leave again.” Okha looked at Tac for a moment. “You will be in good company. And you can have all the fun you want here until I get back.” There was no acknowledgement. The sadness deepend. Okha continued, “I don’t want to leave you. In fact, I wish I could spend every moment with you.” There was a pause with no words. Only feelings. Okha’s eyes began to moisten as she looked for the words to say. “I… I…”  Moon looked straight into her eyes and softly speaks, “I know”. Okha was about to lean in to hug her when suddenly, the comlink with Emaneld’s voice interrupts, “ready!”.

Okha continues to look into Moon’s eyes. Reluctant to break the connection, she takes a deep breath, stands and begins to walk away, eventually breaking the eye contact. “Take good care of her until I get back Tac.” In a matter of minutes Okha readies her armor, weapons and heads to the Revan. Emanneld already had the coordinates entered. Okha pilots the ship out of the landing area through the twisting and turning caverns of the mountain’s interior. Once outside, she engages the hyperdrive and the swirl of blues take over the cockpit. The tension in the cockpit was palpable. Emaneld looked over, but said nothing. Okha set the autopilot and left for the corridor. Emaneld followed, looked around and saw her enter the comms room. He carefully approached, and mentioned, “he’s still out”. Okha knew he was referring to their Duro prisoner. All she did was nod. After a moment of silence, he continued, “I am sorry. About everything.” Okha raised her eyebrows slightly. “It was all my fault: the mission, me being pushy about it…” ”And…?” “...and me not knowing that the blaster was not on stun…” Okha just stood with her arms crossed and stared. After a long minute of staring at each other, she broke the silence, “look, we’ve been through alot together over the years. I work alone for a reason.” “What about your droids? What about Tac?” She firmly stated, “ALONE.” Emaneld was taken back. “One day, when I have my freighter, I will have a crew. I was hoping you’d be a part of it. But, mistakes like that are costly. I needed the information. Now, we are travelling halfway around the galaxy to some obscure place to get answers!” “Okay. I get it. I said I was sorry. How much longer are you going to hold this against me?” “It depends what we find.”

Okha leaves the comms room and walks back to the cockpit and takes the pilot seat. Again, Emaneld follows, and smirks, “you know, these trips would be a lot shorter if you had a Dejarik Chess table.” Okha doesn’t even look over,“ when you buy me one.” Emaneld smiles, “done. As soon as we get done with this, I will go to the finest classic Dejarik Chess table maker and get it for you.” Okha broke half a smile, “I don’t know if I even have the place to put it.” “We’ll make the space.”

Suddenly, the Raven's proximity alert begins to sound. “We're here,” nods Okha as she readies turn off the hyperdrive.

The darkness of space surrounding the planet of Kamino is suddenly disrupted by the flash of light produced as the Raven drops out of hyperspace.

“The planet has been pretty much abandoned since the Clone Wars,” explained Emaneld. “I would recommend scanning for the largest structure, and go there.”

Clearing the atmosphere revealed a water filled planet with a constant rain storm.

“Is it always like this?” asked Okha. “I don't come here often, but scans show that 99% of the planet is just like this.” “And the other 1% ?” “Uhm… a light drizzle...”

Just as she landed the Raven, a freighter with no markings dropped right next to them.

“MAN THE TURRET!” Yelled Okha. Emaneld calmly laughed, “wait, wait... that's Dudeel Trute.” Okha looked over in disbelief, “What?! Not a single sensor detected his approach… and that freighter design looks like nothing I'm aware of.” “It's a custom,” winked Emaneld.

“Nice, I doubt it can do this…” Okha engaged the cloaking device. Just as Dudeel exited his ship, he witnessed the ship fading into nowhere. “Nope, my ship can’t do that,” Dudeel uttered to himself as he shook his head and smiled. Dudeel was a Yinchurri. Short, green skinned and  lizard-like in appearance. The advantage of their race is that they are immune to telepathic uses of the force.

From the cloaked vessel, a ramp lowers with Okha and Emaneld, who waves at Dudeel, “Greetings, thank you for joining us on such short notice.” Dudeel practically ignores Emaneld’s greeting, “where can I get one of those?” Okha smiled, “one of what? I don’t see anything.” “Exactly.” As the rain pours down, all three head toward the giant structure with represents a dome of enormous proportions. Emaneld tries to refocus the conversation, “the pictures of the ship I sent you, what can you tell us?” “The ship is of Sullust design. A unique model - only three were ever made. Two of the owners are well known, wealthy Senators. The other was sold to someone that had ties to a Separatist Bank.” During the conversation, Dudeel produces a device that interfaces with the dome’s entrance. It whiirs, beeps and suddenly, the door opens. Both Okha and Emaneld look at eachother. “I know what you are thinking,” Dudeel sneers, “is that a droid in his pocket? Short answer: yes.” Emaneld chuckled, “I didn’t say anything.” “It is the complete memory of my once loving C1 Astromech. With all the interfaces it needs. Portable. Reliable. It has all the virtual environments it needs to feel alive.” Okha and Emaneld looked at eachother once more. Neither knowing what to say.

Dudeel proceeded into the structure. All lights were either off or blinking in random sequences. “Let’s get this place up and running, shall we? Dudeel spoke as if to himself, and approached a power panel. Again, produced the compact C1 and within seconds, the entire facility was teeming with light.

Suddenly, Okha felt a sense of longing. Why does all this feel so familiar to me? Okha could not shake the feeling that she had been there before. She even felt a certainty of the location of rooms.

Emaneld noticed Okha’s confusion, “are you okay?” “No.” Both Emaneld and Dudeel looked at eachother. “What is it?” “I feel the overwhelming sensation that I have been here before.” Dudeel looked perplexed, but went along with it, “do you know where the lab is?”

She closed her eyes and winced as if in pain. Her head was beginning to pulse. Some pain settled, but then faded. She took a deep breath, as she waved to both of them, “come, this way.”

Again, Emaneld and Dudeel looked at eachother, but proceeded to follow.

The hallways were brightly lit. The walls were the cleanest of white on white. What felt like an endless walk, Okha suddenly stopped, “here.” At first, there did not even seem like there was a door. “Here?” Dudeel asked. “Here,” she calmly confirmed with a sense of confidence.  With only a panel to look at, Dedeel again produced his portable C1. It began by physically taking down the panel. Some sparks and and buzzing electrical arcs and flashes took place as everyone covered their eyes in the flashing, Dudeel pulled down his goggles. Suddenly, a large line on the call became clear. Within a split second, it opens to reveal a large room teeming with holoscreens, incubators and equipment no one had seen in decades.

Okha proceeded to remove her helmet and take a closer look. Why do I feel like I know this place? She thought to herself.

Dudeel entered the room and took a seat by one of the systems. He immediately began to try to interface with it. “I have never worked with a system this complex. However I will do my very best.” Okha I had no doubt that Dedeel would do his best, so she proceeded to look around.

Emaneld was speechless. He tried keeping up with Okha as he attempted to take it all in.

Emaneld was speechless. He tried keeping up with Okha as he attempted to take it all in. Suddenly, Okha found herself wondering down a hallway that led her to a gigantic area filled with capsules, vessels and growth Chambers. She continued to walk through the halls in Wonder and in awe. She could almost not believe what she was seeing. It was like something out of a dream. It felt so familiar. Although she had heard of a cloning facility of massive proportions, she felt her eyes were deceiving her. She turned to Emaneld, “so here are where the grand army of the republic was made?” “The Kaminoans were extremely good cloners. At the time, the republic needed an army that could be mass-produced. I don’t know how else they would have been able to keep-up with the Separatists’ ability to mass-produce droids for their army.” Okha nodded and continued to look around. “They turned on their generals though. Did they not?” Emaneld took a deep breath, “it is believed that the Kaminoans are also capable of creating artificial memories. Dudeel can elaborate more on it than I can. Rumor has it, they implanted memories in all the clones. Memories that would be activated with a single phrase, or command. Like I said, I think Dudeel knows way more than I do, but I believe it was called order 66.” Okha began to feel dizzy and almost nauseous. “Are you okay?” “Yea, yea, I’m fine.” Emaneld slowly approached. “I SAID I’M FINE.” Emaneld raised his hands and backed away. “Okay, I’ll go see how Dudeel is doing.” “Wait. just give me a moment.” Okha continued to look through the glass into the large cloning chamber. Okha could not believe that all the stories she had heard about the clone army were true. She could not believe that they were helpless to follow an order that would make them turn on those who trusted them the most. Moreso, she could not believe that as she walked through the facility, she felt right at home.

CHAPTER 9: Moon

The approach to Okha’s home base on Takodana was not easy. The clearance between the mountain’s rockface and the tunneled walls were extremely tight. The Raven shifted and dropped in the darkness as they approached. Okha could do it, and Tac’s advanced programming could do it. Any other ship was mostly destined for failure. Whomever built the base made it such that if ever followed, any ship trying would more than likely fail.

Once the Raven landed, Okha took Moon’s hand and slowly began walking down the ramp. As any other arrival, Tow, the diminutive mouse droid, came running across the landing area straight for them, squeaking and squealing as he typically would. Moon was startled. Okha crouched and gently placed her hand on Moon’s head, “it’s Okay, it’s Okay, Tow here is a friend of ours.” Moon looked at Okha and back at the mouse droid. If Tow had a face, it would look confused. “It’s Okay Tow, we have a visitor.” Backing up a little, the mouse droid did a figure eight, twirled and sqeeked in delight. Looking back at Okha, Moon seemed a little more calm. They proceeded into the living area. Okha was ready to give the little girl a tour of her new home. However, it appeared that was not required. Moon went straight to room that was taken up by items and technological gadgets that had not been used in years. Okha was extremely puzzled, “Do you know your way around?” Moon did not say a word. Her smile said it all. Okha knew that the room would eventually become hers. Moon continued to look around and took to the entrance. Taking a few strides down the hallway, she managed her way to the [kitchen?]. “Hungry?”. With the slightest of smiles that needed no interpretation, Moon took a seat at the table. Okha proceeded to look through her storage areas for tasty morsels and fixed a little something for her little guest to eat. They sat together at the table and began to pick at the feast of goodies. Suddenly, they both watched Tic, Okha’s R5 unit, suddenly stroll in. It bleeped and whirred and bleeped some more. “Yes, she is our guest”, Okha replied with a light smile, and looked over at Moon, who was almost smiling. Okha realized that she had been through alot, and could not expect the little one to be herself. To make matters worst, Okha knew she had to speak with Emaneld Ude. Not only did the plan not go accordingly, but there was now an extra element that needed to be discussed. After spending a few minutes at the table, Okha reached over to Moon’s hand and held it lightly. Looking into her deep, brown eyes, she softly spoke, “I need to go away and talk to someone. Can you spend some time with Tac?” Moon did not seem too happy about the idea. “After you are done, you can go into my secret garden and see my collection, Okay?” Moon’s eyes began to light up. Okha continued, “I have the most rare flowers from each system I have ever been to. You can tell me which one is your favorite when I get back.”

She wasn’t sure how comfortable her new little guest would be if left alone. She had a feeling that somehow the girl already knew her way around, and would not be afraid.

“Tac, can you take our guest to our garden once she’s done? I think she might enjoy my collection.” Tac’s deep, metallic voice adjusted to a softer tone as he looked at the girl, “As you wish.” In an instant, the little girl got up, much to Okha’s surprise. “Oh, I guess you are done”, Okha noted. Tac extended his left hand towards the little girl. She seemed reluctant at first, but eventually took Tac’s hand and looked back at Okha, “It’s alright,” she assured with a smile. Moon looked up at the towering droid. Tac did a small head gesture in the direction of the garden and waited. Moon looked back at Okha one more time. Still smiling, Okha made a nodding gesture as she rose from the table. Moon took a step and looked up again at Tac as it took small, measured steps and waited. His demeanor was not forceful at all in trying to guide the girl toward the garden, but knew what the orders were. Tac’s programming was unlike any the girl had experienced. It almost seemed thoughtful and graceful. Something completely unexpected for a hulking mass of metal that was originally designed for battle. Eventually, Moon kept a pace that followed Tac more closely and kept looking back at Okha. They turned the corner and they were on their way.

Okha was relieved that she could get back to business. However, she was incredibly worried about the fate of the girl. Not to mention her failed mission.

She returned to the room with the communication interface. She punched a few buttons and sat down, relaxing her elbows on the console, she placed her head in her hands and took a deep breath. Within seconds, the holographic projection of Emaneld Ude appeared. Enthusiastically, he began, “Hello, Okha”. Within a second, Emaneld realized something wasn’t right. “Eman...”, Okha replies, followed by a pause.  “I don’t even know where to start.” “What’s wrong?” Okha seemed reluctant to speak. “Okha?...” there was a long pause before Emaneld’s face changed to one of concern and worry. Eventually, he tried again “Okha?...”, after another pause, Okha softly spoke, “I failed. I failed horribly…. OK?” Okha looked sternly at the hologram. Emaneld kept composure. He did not know what to say, as he was never ready to expect those words from her. The silence continued for a few seconds longer.

Eventually, she said, “we need to talk.”

“OK… where?... Maz’s?”

“Sure.”

With a very faint smile, Emaneld cut out the transmission and the hologram faded away.

Looking into the emptiness before her, Okha slowly got up and began to remove most of her heavy, metal  armor. Keeping the flight suit, she grabbed her bomber jacket, and readied herself with a few concealed weapons. As she walked by the garden, she noticed Moon was looking at her intently. Instead of going straight to the ship, she decided to go into the garden.

“Hi,” Okha smiled.

Moon looked concerned, it was as if she knew something was amiss. Okha knew she didn’t have time, nor was there any to explain it all.

“Sorry, sweetheart, I need you to stay here with Tac. Okay?”. Although Moon’s face remained the same, she could feel her sorrow. Taking a few steps closer to her, Okha crouched at Moon’s eye-level and softly moved some of the little one’s hairs away from her eyes. Again, she looked deeply into her eyes, “I will be back.” With a slight pause, she showed that she gave it a little thought and corrected herself, “I will be back - soon -.” Okha smiled, “I promise.” She curbed the desire to give her a hug. As she got up, she looked at Tac, and whispered “Take good care of her,” and turned toward the main entrance. As she walked away, Moon softly spoke, “Funnel.” Okha stopped in her tracks, surprised and confused, she turned towards Moon and Tac. Again, Moon softly spoke, “Funnel flower.” Okha nodded,”Okay, that’s your favorite flower?” Moon nodded with a slight smile. “Native to Tatooine. It is not easily found,” explained Okha. “The last time Tac and I were there, we landed the job that took us to you.” Okha paused, looked at Tac and back at the little girl, “great choice. Now, find another two flowers, and when I get back I can explain those as well.” Moon nodded once more and looked at Tac with a tiny smile.

Okha headed into the Raven, started it up and rocketed towards Maz’s castle.

The brief trip to the other side of the planet was a welcome break from the hectic routine of having to travel far and wide for a job. Also, it was the right place to learn about potential contracts and bounties. This time, she was hopeful about obtaining answers as to what that last mission was all about. Failing was never an option for Okha. The failed mission now demanded a level of secrecy. She hoped it would never be heard about by fellow bounty hunters or potential future clients.

The wonderful structure that was Maz’s castle had withstood the test of time. Centuries old, it kept some of the galaxy’s best kept secrets. As Okha approached, she had a sense of optimism despite all the hardships. With the typical hustle and bustle of the location, Okha waited for a group of droid bounty hunters to step out before she continued.  

Just as Okha took her first two steps into Maz’s castle, a rival Duro bounty hunter comes into view, Eeloh Ssaah. With green skin and red, glossy eyes, Duros were a formidable rival, but all the ones she knew could not be trusted. As if waiting for her, he was standing just ahead, staring at rock-face architecture. Okha tried not to make eye-contact, but she was already in his sights. As the space between them shortened, he asked in a taunting manner, “Hey, you don’t look so good, Okah…. are you okay?” Okha knew Eeloh was feigning concern. She just wanted to punch that green faced and red-glossy eyed alien right in the face and say, Of course I am, why? Her thoughts dwelled further into wishing Tac was with her, and let him handle it. Tac could probably crush his head deep between his shoulders, and no one would think anything of it. Blaming it on the re-wiring/re-programming issues crossed her mind as well. Holding back the smile her thoughts provoked, Okha kept composure and continued her walk toward inside the halls of the castle.

Just as she passed by him, Eeloh whispered, “Found her, did you?”

Okha’s heart sank. How did he know? She thought to herself. Keeping calm, she practically ignored him, and continued to walk towards her usual spot where Emaneld would be waiting. Taking a seat, she looks for Eeloh, making sure he didn’t follow. Suddenly, she spotted him. He walked across the hall and took a seat across a Trandoshan. They seemed to exchange a few words and laugh.

Fortunately, it was not long before Emaneld walked in. Always timely. Always dependable, Okha thought to herself.  Attributes that solidified her trust in him. And then, there’s his smile. Sincere, good and relaxing. It demanded one in return. However, Okha managed to always hold it back.

As Emaneld sat across from her, Okha went right to it and spoke softly with a sense of urgency, “they already know.” “About?”

Okha inhaled and spoke quietly, “not only did the mission fail, I have a guest.” Emaneld’s eyes widened. “A guest?!” “Shhhh… yes, a little guest.” Emaneld looked confused and startled. “Look,” explained Okha, “I don’t know who she is, but she knew my name. She was calling my name.” “And…?” “I couldn’t just leave her there. She was surrounded by three Gamorreans and two Trandoshans. There were two bodies on the ground near her.” Emaneld prompted, “And…?”

“And somehow Eeloh knows. About everything.”

“How?... were there others around?...” “I don’t know…” Okha paused. Emaneld frowned in confusion, “What?... What did he say?” “He asked if I was Okay, and… ”. She paused. In that moment Okha drew a connection. The other Trandoshan, on Tatooine. The two on Coruscant. Now, the one sitting across from Eeloh. They are pack hunters after all, she thought to herself.

Emaneld looked concerned. As he was about to say something, Okha turned her head looked straight at Emaneld, “Is he still here?” Confused, yet prepared, he replied in a very soft-spoken tone “Eeloh ?” Okha nodded slightly as she shifted her sights through the room. In a few seconds,  Emaneld spotted him, caught Okha’s eyes, and nodded his head toward the entrance, “looks like he’s on his way out.” Okha’s eyes widened, “we can’t let him leave…”.... “He knows.” “So?”... “No.” Okha paused and looked sternly, “HE KNOWS”. With an unspoken understanding, they both got up and began to take two different paths toward the same goal. Okha took a more direct approach toward Eeloh , while Emaneld lost himself in the crowd.

Outside the castle, she followed him through a crowd and followed around the perimeter of the castle. Eventually, Okha caught up in an uncrowded area and approached in a very nonchalant manner. “Hey, Eeloh Ssaah, I need to run something by you.”

As a Duro, Eeloh did not have many facial expressions, however, it was obvious that he was pleasantly surprised to have been approached by her. To get his opinion on anything was not something to be taken lightly. “How can I possibly be of any service to you?” he asked with a snarl. “We need to talk.” “What’s the matter, your man did not have the answers for you?” Okha snapped, “He is not my man, but you may be the one individual that has the answer. You know.. About what happened. And there is a reason for that.” Okha proceeded to expose her hidden flame projector under her left arm and take aim at Eeloh’s head.

“You were there.”

Eeloh proceeded to smile.

Okha knew something was amiss.

Suddenly, the sound of a blaster charging and the loud barking voice came from behind her, “NO, BUT I WAS!”

The Trandoshan, oh no, Okha thought to herself.

“Turn slowly with your hands up!”

Okha raised her hands and began to turn slowly. “Do I know you?”

The Trandoshan smiled.

All of a sudden, the sound of a blaster discharge filled the air.

Okha’s eyes widened as the Duro behind her flinched.

Within seconds, the Trandoshan fell to the ground with a thud.

Assuming it was Emaneld’s blast that took him down, Okha quickly proceeded to turn back at Eeloh and draw the flame projector once more, “Don’t. Move.”

Emaneld approached and spoke to himself, “Oh no, I thought I had it set to stun!…”

Okha could not believe what she just heard. “Are you telling me…” “Yes, I think I…” Emaneld looked for vitals on the fallen Trandoshan as Okha grabbed Eeloh, turned him around, pushed him against the caste wall and proceeded to tie his arms in fibercord behind his back. Okha looked at Emaneld for an answer.

“I think he’s gone.” Okha rolled her eyes and closed them in disbelief. As happy as she would be that there was one less Trandoshan in the galaxy, she needed answers. Holding back from expressing her disgust in front of their new prisoner, Okha proceeded in a calm voice, “Okay, you take him. I have Eeloh”. As she tightened her grip on the fibercord, she pointed in the direction of her ship, “let’s go!”

They arrive at the Raven. Okha immediately drops their prisoner into a cargo hold area and points sternly at him, “Stay there and don’t cause any problems.” Eeloh smiles in a taunting fashion, “Or else, what?”. Okha reaches over to her armory, and places her right gauntlet. “Alright, alright..” before he could finish, Okha proceeds to fire a stun blast. Dropping like a ragdoll, Eeloh remained motionless. Okha closes the door and proceeds to point to the other cargo area, “Emaneld, put him here.” Emaneld proceeded to drop the motionless Trandoshan into the cargo area like a sack of Tatooine potatoes, stepped out and closed the door. Okha was not happy with Emaneld, and she could tell that he knew. “How am I supposed to get any information now? I doubt Eeloh knows enough.” Emaneld remained silent. “ I have some information extraction techniques for Trandoshans, but not for Duros. Do you?!” Emaneld did not know what to say. After a moment with no words, Okha took to the cockpit. “Let’s head back to my place, I might be able to figure something out.” Emaneld almost smiled, but she did not want to see it as she focused on powering up the ship and heading for home base.

Upon arriving at the main landing area, Okha went straight to the cargo hold area with Eeloh. Squirming and drooling all over himself, he eventually got to his feet and uttered, “where am I?” “The disorientation will pass shortly.” “What do you want?” Okha smiled, “I thought it was you who wanted to know if I was Okay…”. “I see you are.” Just then, Emaneld stepped into the cargo hold. He was holding a baton with an electropole extension. “So, torture? You know that won’t make me talk.”

“What will it take to get you to talk?” “Even if I wanted to, I know nothing…”

Emaneld was ready start up the baton, when suddenly Moon entered the ship.

Both Emaneld and Okha were shocked to see her. How did she get in? Okha thought to herself in disbelief. Eeloh did not appear surprised at all. “So,” he laughed in a taunting manner, “ going to have a little girl do your job?...” His laughter ensued and seemed incessant. Moon remained calm, but her stern look at Eeloh appeared to have some anger behind it. Suddenly a low-level hum and low-tone rumbling began to pierce the laughing. Suddenly, Eeloh’s laughing stopped and turned into a partial choke. Okha’s eyes widened and was almost going to approach Moon, but remained still. Emaneld looked stunned but kept still. A few more seconds of rumbling and sounds of Eeloh choking,  and suddenly it all stops with his head collapsing onto his chest, gurgling and collapsing to the ground. Okha slowly began to approach Eeloh as she kept her gaze at Moon. Checking on his vitals, Okha confirmed that Eeloh was still alive and potentially in a mild coma.

Okha attempted to hide her confusion and awe. The girl was force sensitive. It explained a lot of what happened in the battle with the axe, and the crate that did not fall on them. However, one question remained in Okha’s head, What did she just do?

Okha took a deep breath, crouched to Moon’s eye-level, and softly asked, “what just happened, Moon?”

With a certain look of guilt and sadness, Moon looked at Okha.

Silence ensued.

Okha looked at Emaneld. From the look on his face, Okha could tell that he was in disbelief.

As seconds melted into minutes. Okha stood up and began to walk toward the cargo area door. Suddenly, Moon spoke softly, “Kami…”

Okha kept calm and slowly approached Moon. Again, she crouched at her eye-level, “Kami… ?”

Moon softly repeated and completed the word, “Kamino…”

Okha looked at Emaneld who had a blank stare.

“Kamino?... what’s there, sweetie?”

Moon also looked a puzzled, as if she needed answers from the word she just spoke.

Okha did not understand it either, but did not want to pry any more information from the girl.

They left the cargo hold area, leaving the comatose Duro behind, as Okha closed it up.

“Okay, let’s go back inside and see what you did to Tac”

Okha waited to get Moon’s approval. Moon nodded and Okha led the way back into the living area. Everything was just as she left it, with Tac standing in the courtyard motionless. Okha turned to Moon, “Is he Okay?”. Moon nodded, and Tac began to talk and explain about the origins of the flowers and plants - continuing a conversation as if nothing had happened. Okha looked back at Emaneld. He had yet to say anything since they landed. “Are you Okay?”, she casually asked, to which he simply nodded, widened his mouth and said “yea… sure…” with a simple nod. Okha knew he was taking it all in. His apparent blunder. The girl. But she had to break the silence.

As they approached the courtyard, Tac turned and appeared to be confused, despite that there was no way he could possibly show it. “Did I miss something?... was I shut down?...” Okha did not know how to respond to the questions.

“Moon told us that your explanation of the flowers and plants was so stunning, we got here as quickly as we could.” Okha said with a slight smile as she turned to Emaneld.

“At excessive speeds apparently” Tac replied, “plus, my internal chronometer is not in sync with the rest of the planet. Nor is it..” Okha interrupted, “It’s Okay Tac, we’ll discuss it more later” Okha turned to Moon, “Stay with Tac. I know you can probably take care of yourself better than he can, but it would make me feel better.” Moon had the most subtle of smiles as she proceeded to skip and hop toward the courtyard, held Tac’s hand and looked back at Okha and smiled. Okha noticed that Tacs confusion reached an all time high. Giving Emaneld a slight nod, Okha walked in his direction and whispered, “we have a lot to talk about.”

CHAPTER 8: TRAPPED!

As fast as her mandalorian rocket pack can carry, Okha flew straight up through the Coruscant skyline. She was late to the rendezvous with her ship. Her pilot-droid, Tac, was always told by Okha that if she was not back in time after a mission, he should return to base and destroy everything. But, she headed for it anyway. This time, not only was she late, but carrying a special cargo held tightly in her arms. A little human girl she had no memory of, yet managed to call to her by name. In calling her, Okha abandoned a mission that would have been extremely lucrative.

During her ascension, she looked over where her original mission target was supposed to be. Suddenly, she saw the repulsor-craft vehicle. The same one she was supposed to tag during that mission. It too, was in-flight.

Mihllaca Mach-Taw’s ship... is it waiting for me?, she thought.

It was hovering a few hundred meters away, almost at eye-level with Okha. She slowed down, and looked over. A window on the repulsor-craft rolled down. It was him. Okha gasped, “Mihllaca Mach-Taw”. The little girl in her arms looked over as well.

He was looking - looking straight at them. If his serene look was not troubling enough, what followed was. He gave a gentle smile, a snicker and rolled the window back up as he looked away. The vessel continued its flight up and eventually became part of the Coruscant traffic pattern.

Okha couldn’t make any sense of what she just saw.

Did he know what just went down?

Did he know who I was?

It shook her to the core. Confusion. Survival. Not just for herself, but for the little one in her arms. All the basic instincts kicked in.

Suddenly, the faint roar of engines.

The Raven!

She knew exactly what her ship sounded like. Finally, something familiar. Safety.

The cargo ramp opened. Okha drifted inside with an uneasy drop she was not used to. Even Tac, the ever-silent protector had to ask:

“Are You alright, my Lady?”, in his deep, metallic, yet soothing voice.

Okha did not know how to answer. The only sounds were that of the Raven’s engines humming. Suddenly, a tear from the still frightened child hits the cargo bay floor. Okha unbuckled her helmet and immediately removed it. She looked straight into the little girl’s eyes. She had never seen such an innocent and pure gaze. Tears were still puddling around her eyes, one more went streaming down her cheeks. Nothing she could say would keep the tears from coming.

Should I hug her?

Hold her?

Tell her it’s going to be “all right”?

Before she could do anything, the entire ship shook violently. The motion sent Okha reeling back into the hull and sending her new tiny guest into Tac’s arms. Thankfully, Tac’s feet had the ability to stay in place on any surface. If that was not sufficient, his stabilizer-controls allowed him to compensate for any type of sudden motions.

The little one held onto him in an almost tender embrace that could probably melt the toughest of steels. Unfortunately, Tac was not the type to return any embraces, but held tight to her while the ship continued to rock back and forth. Okha was not prepared for this at all.

Wasn’t the cloaking device on?!

“Tac! Trade Places! Get us out of here!”

Immediately, Tac gave the girl to Okha and ran for the cockpit.

“Coruscant Security Ships,” Tac reported.

“Lose them!!”

With no need in keeping the ship cloaked, Tac turned all power to the shields and went full throttle on the engines. Okha braced herself and held on to the little guest as tightly as possible. The sudden acceleration threw them both far back in the cargo hold area against some crates. One of the crates above them rattled and began to fall towards them. Okha had already taken her helmet off and was not prepared. She knew that she had no choice but to shield the little girl from it. Again, she expected nothing but pain and potential death. All she heard and saw was the crate falling beside them. She could not believe it. Looking at the small girl, she noticed how calm she was. How the whole situation did not rattle her at all.

The ship continued to rock and shimmy. Keeping her footing was close to impossible. She knew Tac was doing his best, but the inertial dampeners must have taken a huge hit. Nothing was being dampened, every hit, every turn was felt full-force.

“Hyperspace, Tac!! Take us to Hyperspace!”

Tac had not plotted a course. Nor did he create the decoy course they normally do. There was no time. He knew that doing so could mean certain death. The randomness of potentially falling into an a blackhole’s event horizon or a star’s gravity well meant the end for all. However, he was not the type to question orders. Unlike other droids, he gauged risk extremely well and took them rather than report them. He calculated that a short enough burst would get them away from the attackers and not so far away from the system so as to regroup and figure out what was going on.

Without further hesitation, Tac engages the hyperdrive. No motion.

The Coruscant security ships had engaged a type of tractor beam that was not allowing the ship to make the jump.

Keeping the young one in her arms, Okha shouted, “WHAT IS GOING ON TAC?!?!?!”

“The attacking vessels have locked a tractor beam on us”

Okha aimed her fibercord wrist gauntlet toward the Cockpit door. She engaged it. It shot right through the bulkhead and created an anchor for the cord. With all her might, she began the trek.

“Ok, hold on really tight…”

She gave it her all and even a slight rocketpack engine burst. Suddenly, they were both by the cockpit door.

The co-pilot seat was not typically in use, but now it would be the safest place for the unexpected guest. Placing the belt around the girl, Okha looked at her and said, “No matter what happens, stay here.” The little head nodded slightly as the rest of her simply tried to keep composure and seated.

Okha left the cockpit, closed and locked the door. She immediately proceeded to the cargo hold, found her helmet and opened the large bay doors. A bunch of items that were unsettled during the initial skirmish flew out with the depressurization. Okha jumped out with the items, including the crate that almost fell on them earlier.

From the outside, the damage to the ship was visually disheartening. The situation looked as grim as she thought it would be. The ship was motionless, smoking and venting some type of dry plasma. Locked in some type of tractor-beam with the two security ships - with several more on the way.

Meanwhile in the cockpit, Tac attempted to keep the ship stable while maintaining the shields and most of the life-support online. The forward weapon systems were inoperative and were no match for the security ships. In addition, the ship would need to be facing the attackers. Tac thought of the rear turret, but there was no way he could get to it. Suddenly, the girl wiggled loose from the seat restraint. Tac turned around “Where are you going?”, but the girl ignored him completely. She unlocked the door and ran out to the upper area of the ship where the small turret was. She knew that it would not do much, but perhaps all Okha needed would be a distraction.

In flight, while dodging some of the Coruscant security ships’ fire, Okha noticed Imperial Tie-Fighters in the distance. “Womp rats! That’s all we need!”

She knew that all she had to do was take out one of those security ships and the Raven would be freed. However, the layer of the Imperials being alerted to the scuffle was about to be added to the mix.

The thermal detonator she was going to use on her mission was still on her. Reaching into her satchel, she thought: Time to put this to good use. The question became, which one had the best blind spot. And what was the best approach. There was none. She did not want to be target practice. She knew that giving her rocket pack full-throttle with the extra-burn meant getting to an enemy ship safely, but no fuel to return. It would mean a one-way trip. However, she needed to get back. She had a new, tiny reason to get back. Thoughts of her little guest filled her mind. I need to get her to safety.

In the turret, the tiny would-be warrior readied the station. She had no idea how to use it, but she flipped every switch, pressed every button and looked at every light.

Okha was ready to take the round-trip and dodge every blast. Before she did, she thought, If I only had a distraction. As if a prayer was answered, the small turret began firing the exact moment she put her jetpack engines into full throttle toward the attacking vessel on the right. At first, Okha could not believe it. She turned to look at the turret, and she saw - her! It was the little guest. Wow, brave little thing. Then, she thought, Tac!... You let her out of the cockpit?!

Although the attacking vessel on the left began to take aim at The Raven, the one on the right did not. That gunner decided to continue to follow her in flight. However, she did not hesitate. She reached into her satchel and grabbed the thermal detonator. She was spinning and weaving in flight. An attack pattern that would keep the gunner guessing and difficult to track. But, there were no blasts. She couldn't help but notice the gunner’s turret was not tracking her any longer. Fine, easier for me, she thought. Placing the thermal detonator right under the main engine driver, Okha took off and gave her rocket pack full throttle and an extra burn that would run her fuel cells dry within seconds.

At the same time, the other security ships and the Imperial Tie-Fighters arrived. The security ships were slightly larger, enhanced Firepower and capable of far more. Okha started drawing their fire as the Tie-Fighters began firing at her as well. “Common Kogonis!, Call off your goons, my fight isn’t with you!” Okha exclaimed to herself.

Right before she got to her ship, she pulled the trigger.

The engines on the right security ship erupted into a giant fireball just as the other ships arrived.

“Tac!... let me in!” The cargo hold doors opened, and Okha worked her way in. And immediately closed them “PUNCH IT TAC!!!”. Within seconds, the ship went into hyperspace, knocking one of the Tie-Fighters into a deadly spin, crashing into another. Fortunately, during the scuffle, Tac managed to enter the proper decoy coordinates.

“Tac, we need to talk…” Tac emerged from the cockpit. If the droid had lungs, it would have taken a deep breath and sighed a breath of relief.

Okha removed her helmet, looked slightly annoyed and said with a hint of sarcasm, “Great work, Tac…” She paused, looked around, “except, how did you know where we were going?”

Tac had the typical blank stare. Okha continued, “the first time I commanded you to go to hyperspace?” “I didn’t.” Okha seemed pleasantly surprised, paused and allowed for a frown, “and you let the girl out of the cockpit?” “I didn’t”. Okha did not smile often after a battle. But she could not hold back. “Like I said Tac, great work..”

The girl emerged from the turret well. Slowly, she worked her way down into the main cargo area.

Amazed and confused, Okha tried to remain calm and attempted to keep her heart cold and focused. She did not know enough about this child to let her guard down. It was bad enough she brought this outsider in her ship. She has caused enough trouble already, almost costing her life and her ship all in the span of a few minutes.

Okha crouched to be at eye-level with the child, “are you alright?” There was no response.

Conflicted, it was not easy to dismiss the fact that her touch and gaze was so familiar - as if she already knew her.

How is this possible?Okha asked herself.

The minutes that followed were difficult. Okha did not know what to say. Perhaps the child had no wish to speak or did not know enough common words to speak with her.

As Tac returned to the cockpit, it was time to start taking some of that armor off. The sound of unbuckling straps, releasing clamps and mandalorian steel clanking on the ground ensued.

Although the ship was safely traveling in hyperspace and they were on their way home, it was Okha’s home, not the little one’s. She then realized that this little person may never see her home ever again. If her parents were hunted-down, it was for a reason, Okha thought. She extrapolated that the little girl’s life was at risk if she were returned to her home.

Finally, Okha decided to ask again, “Are you alright?”

Again, there was no reply. The girl continued to look around at the honeycomb pattern of the structural steel inside the ship’s bulkhead.

Then, there was a faint whisper,

Moo...

In disbelief and confused, Okha replied,

“Moo..?”

And paused.

She decided to no longer say a single thing until she heard it from the little one.

An excruciatingly long minute went by.

Perhaps it was two. Or three. But it felt like forever.

Finally, her tiny child-like voice uttered

“Moon”

As she continued to stare into the bulkhead.

“Is that your name?” Okha calmly asked in the most delicate and unassuming manner that she could. As she took a seat across from the child, she tried to make eye contact.

Her tiny head did the slightest motion downward, and up again.

Is that a nod?

The girl finally decided to stop looking away and looked into the eyes of the woman in Mandalorian armor who had saved her life and almost gave up her own in the process. Instantly, Okha saw an unbridled strength within the little warrior’s eyes. The same thing she felt when she first saw her. As if she could look into her soul. At the same time, Okha felt something else she could not explain either. Everything became clear. She had no idea what that picture was supposed to look like, but it was clear. As if everything leading up to that moment was the will of something greater.