Prey for Life: Goodbye Apathy [complete]

[James Prent]

I can't sleep, no, not like I used to
I can't breathe in and out like I need to
It's breaking ice.. now, to make any movement
What's your vice? you know that mine's the illusion
That all at once (as I'm trying)
I can help you out (just to keep things right)
I'll be what you need (I kill myself to make everything perfect for ya)
Goodbye apathy, so long apathy

So don't sit still, don't you move away from here
So goodbye apathy (as I'm trying)
so long fancy free (just to keep things right)
Goodbye apathy, (kill myself to make everything perfect for ya)
I don't wanna be you

I don't walk right, not like I used to
There's a jump in my step as I rush to see you
I could be happy here as long as you're near to me
As long as you're close to me
Now that I'm all right (as I'm trying)
I can help you out (just to keep things right)
I'll be what you need (I kill myself to make everything perfect for ya)
Goodbye apathy, goodbye apathy

goodbye apathy - onerepublic




Copperline was behind them. Working odd-jobs on the agricultural planet had earned Byl and James enough credits to purchase transport on another passenger ship, although they couldn't go far. After a brief stop on Pendari, they had landed on Kinyen and disembarked.

James had seen plenty of Gran on Nar Shaddaa, but their homeworld was not what she expected. A beautiful agriworld, with large rivers and rolling plains, and a thick forested area they had overflown on approach to the city of Hekaras.

She hitched up her holdall with her scant possessions, and held Byl's hand tightly as they walked. "How long will we be safe here?"

[Byl Laprovik]

"I don't know."

He never did. It was always a case of being forced to look over his shoulder. Some days were ideal, and others were examples of preparing for the worst and getting every bit of it.

"A week? A month?"

The down part of a life on the lam was that it was hard to get decent paying work when you were moving that fast. If he could avoid stealing, that was well and good. Trouble with the authorities was trouble he didn't need.

"I asked ahead. There's a speeder depot in town. Might be able to earn a bit turning a wrench."

At some point in his missing past, Byl had a decent working knowledge of speeders and how to repair them. It was one of the more practical skills he had. Any chance to use that, rather than his intimate knowledge of how to kill people unarmed, was a better deal.

They stopped off at a city kiosk, where a vendor was selling some kind of fire-roasted gourds. The hard-shelled gourds were roasted on coals, cut in half, and the creamy interiors were spiced and salted. It made for some rather humble but extremely filling food on the go. And at a credit each, they were cheap. That was important.

"Eat, James. I know you haven't had anything since the flight. We both need food, and time off our feet. We'll get settled as best we can, and worry about the rest later."

[James Prent]

"Okay," James said agreeably as Byl bought two gourd halves, and they found a place to sit in a small public park. The grass was slightly damp, but she sat on it anyway, marveling at the plant life around her. "Kinda amazin' to me still," she said before shoveling a mouthful of food into her mouth. It didn't require much chewing and as she swallowed she continued, "I've been on a few planets like this now, and its still weird to see all th' greenery.

"I guess growin' up on Nar Shaddaa kinda colors the way I view the galaxy." There were avians singing in some nearby trees, and she looked up at the blue sky and grinned. "I like it though. The life." She balanced her disposable plate on her knee as she sat cross legged in the grass. Maybe it was something to do with the Force...how it came from all things. Maybe it was... better somehow, when it came from living things.

Lok could have told her. If she'd gone with Sanis and Lok, she would have been learning all sorts of things about the Force. But she couldn't get that image of Loklorien out of her head, with her face twisted and dark, full of menace.

James shuddered involuntarily at the memory. No, it was a good thing she had not gone. Although she often wondered how s'Ilancy was doing...

Breaking out of her reverie, she looked over at Byl and smiled. "I think I like it here."

[Byl Laprovik]

"Hmm."

Byl ate from his gourd half, thinking about James' words. He took a look around. Even in the city, it was something of a bucolic scene. This planet seemed to turn slower, and it lacked the bustle so familiar to more industrial worlds. He didn't want to cast pessimism on this serene moment of observation. They both knew that, more likely than not, they couldn't stay. Byl couldn't help to hold onto James' hope, however. If there ever was a planet to settle down on among their travels, this was the one for him.

Something else disturbed him, however.

"Do you ever dream, James?"

[James Prent]

Her eyes tracked over to him almost warily, unsure where he was going with this line of questioning. Did she talk in her sleep? Her dreams had been dark lately, but she woke with no memory of them other than vague feelings.

"Um, yeah. I do." James took another bite of vegetable, and tried to keep things light hearted. "Why, you have a cool dream last night?"

[Byl Laprovik]

The corners of his mouth turned downward. It wasn't a cool dream. For a moment, he said nothing, instead opting to futz with his spoon and the gourd mush in front of him.

"I've been having the same dream for a week. Before...I don't think I dreamed at all."

He hung his head as he talked, chewing on his words as much as he was his food.

"The same nightmare."

[James Prent]

She put a hand on his arm, just a light touch to let him know she was there for him. "I'm sorry."

James hesitated, and then plowed ahead. "Do you remember much of it?"

[Byl Laprovik]

His eyes met hers, and if it were anyone else, he would never mention a bit of this. That he was talking to her about it underscored how deeply he felt about her, and how much trust he placed in her.

"I'm running. The dream is vivid, as if I wake from sleep and feel something amiss. The scenery changes, but I always run. Something chases me. It's dark, black, almost like a shadow coming out of the ground. No matter where I run, where I hide, if I try to fight in my dream, the outcome is always the same."

Byl's right hand reached up, his index finger faintly tracing a line from his forehead, over his right eye, and down his cheek.

"A red lightsaber. I can feel searing each time. Then, I wake up."

His jaw clenched. He wasn't at ease describing things he could neither comprehend nor control.

[James Prent]

Food forgotten, James took his right hand, holding it between her smaller hands. "It sounds awful," she said quietly, the green grass and blue sky forgotten as she focused on Byl.

"But its just a dream... right?" Even as she said it James could tell that it wasn't just a dream. Not to him. She scooted closer to him and leaned against him. "I can't imagine anything that would make you run. More like it would run from you."

[Byl Laprovik]

"We've spent the last few weeks doing little else but running."

Pointing out that flaw in observation made Byl smile a little bit, if only from the bit of gallows humor it brought out.

His thumb moved as he held her hand, tracing itself across the top of her hand as they embraced. It helped to hold hands. There was no explaining it, but James put him at ease.

He continued, his eyes on her as he talked.

"The strangest thing about the dream, it feels like it's something I remember. It doesn't feel like a dream. It's clear. Like, I try to remember something - anything - of my past, and I see this man in black and that lightsaber, and it's the only glimpse I have."

[James Prent]

James frowned at that, but only slightly. She reached out with her other hand and touched his face. Tracing a line from his forehead to his cheekbone without touching his eye she whispered, "It can't be a memory... you'd have a scar if it were a true event.

"Wouldn't ya?" Hand already on his face, she pulled his head down for a quick kiss. "Lets get movin' and find a place to sleep tonight. Or right now. I'm exhausted from the trip, y'know?"

James tugged him to his feet with an exaggerated grunt of effort and they found a trash can to ditch the gourd rinds into. She hooked her arm into his and continued to lead him down the boulevard, trying to get his mind off his disturbing dreams.

To be honest, it disturbed her too. But she was beginning to form an idea about what she was going to do about it. Byl had been saving her since he'd arrived on Cloud City those months ago, and it was time for her to do something for him.

[Byl Laprovik]

Two Hours Later...


It was only a short amount of haggling, and the two travelers had found a humble hotel for rent. It was, comparatively, a lot better than the lodgings they'd had on Copperline and the last two worlds, but not up to snuff compared to James' apartment on Bespin. Still, it was a bed, a refresher, and a window, with four walls and a ceiling, and no pests. That was heaven enough.

After a quick once-over of the place, Byl stowed his small duffle to the side of the dresser, opting to live out of his bag than to ever unpack and settle in. It made a getaway easier, if one was needed. He pulled the blaster out of the belt at his pants, checking it briefly before setting it aside on the nightstand. Like James, he was exhausted. Nothing sounded better than some pillow time.

Kicking his shoes off, with his pants and shirt soon following, he lay on the bed wearing boxers and a white under-shirt, watching James as she took more time about preparations.

[James Prent]

Wearing an oversized t-shirt and not much else, James took the time to brush her teeth in the refresher. With the door open she could look sideways and see Byl watching her, which still made her grin like an idiot, so she concentrated on the mirror and the circles under her eyes. She paused in her ministrations to touch her face, examining some flaws in her complexion.

Rinsing and spitting, James set her toothbrush beside the sink and turned towards the bed. Leaning against the door frame she smoothed the t-shirt a bit and smiled. Then she walked over to Byl and lay down beside him, pushing him over a bit to make more room.

"Ohh," she sighed, "This bed is comfy." She snuggled against his warm body. Although she relaxed, James tried not to fall asleep, instead using the one Force meditation technique Lok had taught her. She didn't concentrate on blades of grass or a plant however, she centered it around Byl.

[Byl Laprovik]

"It beats the last few, yeah."

Byl eased an arm under James' neck, allowing her to get a bit closer to him as he continued to lay on his back. He diverted his view to the ceiling, waiting for sleep to take him, but it was the notion that James wasn't sleeping that kept him awake for the moment.

"Got your mind on something?"

He turned his head to face her.

[James Prent]

She blinked her eyes open, meditation forgotten for the moment. "Just you." James lifted her face to him and kissed him gently, sliding a hand under his shirt and playing her fingers over his abdomen.

"Mmm," she smiled, "Do you work out?"

He smiled a bit at her joke and they kissed again. James sighed and snuggled her head on his shoulder again, his chin resting against the top of her head.

[Byl Laprovik]

It was the closest he felt to contentment, this moment. Her head lay against him, close to his heart, and he again looked to the ceiling as he caressed her hair. Here, sleep came to him quickly, and within minutes he was gone....






* * *



...and woke up again seemingly within minutes. How long had he slept? He reached for the chrono, but the indicator on it was blinking in reset mode. He watched it for a moment, realizing that the wording on the chrono wasn't in aurrebesh. It was some text that he couldn't read. A strange self awareness came over him as he perched on the edge of the bed.

[James Prent]

As his breathing deepened and slowed, James slipped back into a meditative state, concentrating on the light that she knew to be the Force. She felt at peace... calm... connected to Byl through the skin to skin contact between them, the Force flowing in and around them both.

She breathed in... and out... and went deeper into the trance...

Deeper...

...deeper...

...deeper...

...into his dream where he was in bed, reaching for the chrono but it wasn't the hotel room and she wasn't there with him, she was standing across the room against the wall, looking at him and for a moment she is afraid, but then it goes away and she takes a deep breath and walks to the edge of the bed...

[Byl Laprovik]

"I'm dreaming."

Speaking to himself, Byl pauses abruptly, recognizing James standing, where before she had been laying behind him. He knew this. Was she a part of this, or...

"You're here? I mean, more than just..."

Closing his eyes tightly, Byl thought about waking up. If he knew he was asleep and dreaming, shouldn't he be able to tell himself to wake?

After a moment, his eyes opened again, and he shook his head.

"Talk to me."

[James Prent]

It took a moment for her voice to work, her mouth moving without words for a few seconds and then she stopped and started over.

"I'm in your dream," she said, her voice tinged with wonder. "But... it feels real."

James reached out and touched Byl's face, and he felt like he usually did. Warm. Normal.

"I wanted t' help y' understand your dreams," she said. "I thought this mi' work..."

[Byl Laprovik]

Byl started to ask how this was possible, but he knew better than to ask questions like that. He'd never get a straight answer about the Force.

"If you're in my dream, then if it's like the rest, we need to leave."

He paused.

"No, wait!"

Down the hall, near the front door, two shadows appeared in the sliver of light that led to the hallway, indicating a figure standing at the door. He quickly scrambled for the bedside, looking for the blaster he'd stashed there. Now, it was gone.

"It's a dream. I'm not here. I'm not here."

He tried the bedside again, hand gripping familiar durasteel.

"In a few seconds, a Man in Black is going to -"

The familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber sounded outside.

"-tear through that door."

[James Prent]

James found herself back against the wall, seemingly without moving, and she stared at the door while Byl searched for a weapon.

A red mark appeared in the door as a lightsaber pressed through the material, and then the blade itself appeared, cutting through the door as though it were flimsi. The door fell apart, leaving a large hole, and a dark cloaked figure stepped inside.

[Byl Laprovik]

He'd done this before, hadn't he?

BZAT! BZAT! BZAT!

The blaster fire sounded like the real thing, and looked like it too. The red bolts even appeared to hit the target, sparking against it's chest.

But still, it came.

Dropping the blaster with disgust, Byl stood in the open, waiting for the figure. He wouldn't run this time. The black-cloaked figure drew back it's saber arm for a killing strike, and Byl rushed in, locking his hands at the wrist of the assassin's blade arm.

"James! The hood! Pull it back?"

What was he hoping to accomplish with this? Part of him felt patently absurd fighting what seemed to be his runaway subconscious.

[James Prent]

She darted forward at Byl's words, leaping at the taller figure's back and grasping the cloak with both hands. Even in a dream her five foot tall stature was making things difficult for her.

James felt the fabric between her fingers as she clutched at it, tugging down as she fell backwards after her jump.

[Byl Laprovik]

The figure, now revealed, was an unexpected sight. It was a woman, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her face was made distinct by the sight of a scar, running down the side of her face, and across an eye rendered cloudy with blindness.

It was the last thing Byl saw in the dream, before the phantom, rather than cutting at his face, ran him through with the lightsaber.





* * *



"Nooo!!!"

Byl sat up, wide awake from his dream, his heart racing in his chest.

[James Prent]

James started awake, seemingly as she hit the floor in the dream she found herself half on the ground in their hotel room, the coverlet tangled around her legs.

"Ugh," she mumbled, face mushed into the questionable carpet. She could see the door from her upside down position, the light from the hallway creating a line underneath it.

As she got her bearings James saw a shadow move in front of the door, partially blocking the light. Heart thumping in her chest she kicked her legs free and landed fully on the ground with a thump.

[Byl Laprovik]

Barely a moment to get his bearings, Byl closed his eyes, opened them, and looked left. Feeling in the bedside yet again, he found his blaster, and drew it.

Was he still dreaming? Did he wake up at all.

He looked to James with some confusion, his instincts keeping his weapon trained at the door. The two feet were there again, and just liek before, they stopped. This time, there wasn't a sound.

Byl placed a finger over his lips as he looked to his companion. This was real. It had to be.

[James Prent]

James pulled herself to her feet by pushing down on the mattress, and the springs inside it made a small noise as she did so. Byl motioned for her to be silent, and she felt her heart in her throat as the feet outside the door moved slowly.

In the hallway it was quiet, and then there was a metallic sound - someone was working on the electronic lock. James looked over at Byl, wide eyed and half expecting a lightsaber to tear through the door as it had in the dream.

[Byl Laprovik]

With the sound of the lockpick present, it gave some amount of cover to their movement. Byl motioned for James to get in the refresher. From there, he considered his options. He could wait in the walkway for the attacker to kick the door in, and hope that his reflexes were faster. He could use the dog-leg to the left that led to the fresher as cover to fire behind. He could hide behind the curtains, which was certainly going to fool nobody, since they'd see his shoes out of the bottom...

...a smile creased his face.

The electric lock eventually failed, and the attacker kicked through the door, sweeping left and right with a blaster rifle, ready for anything.

[James Prent]

James jerked at the loud splintering noise from the other room, crouched in the sonic shower in the dark. The door from the 'fresher was cracked open, but she couldn't see anything.

Relax James.... relax... She tried to breathe slowly and quietly, but she was starting to feel a little lightheaded. Too much oxygen? Not enough?

It was too quiet out there. Much too quiet. She was just about to creep out of the shower when the other room lit up with green plasma and the sound of blaster fire hurt her extended senses. James clapped her hands over her ears and huddled in the corner in her over sized t-shirt, but refused to close her eyes.

[Byl Laprovik]

Byl smiled as he heard the shot from where he lay, behind the bed nearest the bounty hunter. The hunter had killed a pillow, stacked atop two more pillows, atop his shoes, covered by a curtain. He'd also given away his position.

BZAT! BZAT!

A shower of sparks signalled his shots landed home. Byl quickly put in an insurance shot, taking nothing for granted to make sure that he stitched the hunter all the way until they hit the carpet.

[James Prent]

The bounty hunter fell backwards, hitting the wall hard and sliding to the carpet, dead before he slumped over. The blaster he was holding landed in his lap, still clutched in his hand, and his other arm flopped to the ground, a small cylindrical object rolling out onto the carpet. In the dark Byl couldn't see it before it was too late.

James jerked back against the wall of the sonic shower as light flashed in the adjoining room, a silent bang pressing against her eardrums. There was the sound of something falling to the ground, and then silence.

After another tense moment of silence she shoved herself upright and stumbled out of the shower, her legs a little shaky as she pushed the 'fresher door open. The bedroom was dark, and smelled burnt. She found the lamp and turned it on, taking in the shot up bedding and the bounty hunter dead against the opposite wall. "Byl?" she whispered, walking around the end of the bed, her bare toes making fists in the carpet as she rounded the corner and caught sight of him lying on the ground.

A spent stun grenade was on the ground next to the hunter, and she quickly knelt beside Byl and checked his vitals. He seemed fine, just out of it. James peeled back one of his eyelids, and then kissed his cheek. "Byl, Byl, you've got to shake it off. We have to get out of here."

She shook him a little, and then got up and closed the door that the hunter had left open when he entered, just as someone entered the hallway outside, talking about noises and complaining to the manager. James took a deep breath as Byl began to blink and stir on the ground, and then darted to her bag and pulled on a pair of pants. They hadn't even pretended to unpack, so there wasn't much to gather up to clean the room of their presence.

She grabbed a hand towel from the refresher and began wiping down everything they might have touched, as Byl pulled himself towards the hunter and started going through his pockets.

[Byl Laprovik]

"Aside from a keycard and a few credits, this guy's fairly tidy."

Byl flipped pockets out, one by one, still shaking off the buzzy effects of the stun grenade. He blinked a few times, still slightly disoriented and with ringing in his ears.

"Probably still working on the Empire's dole, just nothing to prove it."

A bit frustrated, he eased to his feet, looking weary.

"This isn't working. We should be getting away from this sort of trouble, and as it stands, trouble seems to be finding us even now."

[James Prent]

James hurried over to Byl, both their bags slung across her narrow shoulders, as he leaned down and stuck his hand into an inside pocket in the dead hunter's jacket, a last impulse before leaving. He retrieved a burnt bit of flimsi, singed by blaster fire and stained with blood.

Byl unfolded it, a cheap printout emblazoned with a pixelated Imperial logo and with James' face on it. She stopped in her tracks when she saw it, the weight of the bags criss-crossing her body rooting her to the ground. The room seemed to spin around her, and then he had her hand and they were sneaking into the hallway, closing the door behind them and making their way down the stairs instead of using the 'lifts.

"Good night, gentles," the droid at the front desk chirped, but James just kept her head down, her tousled hair obscuring her face as Byl had taught her.

[Byl Laprovik]

And they were again on the run.

"Well, time to find better real estate, I suppose."

But where was that? This should have gotten easier weeks ago, and it was only getting tougher for them to find a respite away from trouble.

Byl looked down, his jawline tightening as he started to consider other options.

"Maybe it's time we thought about how we're doing this."

He looked to James, his hand tightening around her own.

"We might have to seek out the Alliance after all."

[James Prent]

She chewed her bottom lip as they walked briskly under the streetlights, late night traffic raising a breeze over their heads. Byl gave her a nudge with his elbow after the silence dragged on between them, and James sighed.

"I'm tired of jus' reactin'," she said softly, looking up at him. "We're always runnin'. I don't think tryin' our luck hiding at the Alliance - who might have done this t' you, with your memory - is gonna serve us any better."

James pulled one of the bags off her shoulder and handed it to him. "Y' better carry your weight," she kidded him, and then sobered. "I want t' punch back. Y' know? If we knew where to hit, o' course."

[Byl Laprovik]

Byl took the bag in hand, absently shrugging it over a shoulder as he let her suggestion sink in.

"Maybe we do. Or at least, maybe we can."

Fishing in his pocket again, he retrieved the Imperial dossier the now-deceased hunter had on him.

"Maybe we ought to find out how much you're worth, and collect on that."

He kept his eyes on the flimsy, and passed it to James.

"Or at least make somebody think we're coming to collect."

[James Prent]

She looked at the flimsi and resisted the urge to crumple it up. "That sounds fantastic," James said, a little sarcastically. "Sounds like a great way t' make money."

She jabbed her finger at the flimsi, poking a hole in a reddish wet spot by accident. "I'm not even worth all that much. Sort of insultin' - but maybe th' Empire pays by th' pound."

[Byl Laprovik]

"Must be a lot per pound, then." he quipped, still deep in thought.

"At least they give the common courtesy of leaving the commo frequency on it, so we can call in for our reward. That gives us time to choose our setting, our terms, everything."

His eyes met hers.

"It's dangerous, probably reckless, and risky as hell, but it's not running."

[James Prent]

She looked up at him, a little bit of the old sparkle in her eye. "Well, that's good, 'cause I'm not much of a runner these days." James emphasized her limp for a few steps, and then settled back into more comfortable gait.

Her lips twisted a bit to the side and she said quietly, "Alliance medical said that my leg would get better... I mean th' limp less noticeable as time went on. Guess they were wrong."

[Byl Laprovik]

"Maybe we just haven't been ambitious enough then. If we make a run for, say, Thyferra, I figure we can get all sorts of kinks worked out, right?"

Of course, that was clear across the other side of the galaxy. Hopping fares wouldn't cut it. They'd have to do something daring, like steal a ship.

"We're outlaws, James. Good or bad I guess doesn't figure into that. Maybe it's time we started acting the part."

[James Prent]

"Okay."

He was guiding them along the quiet streets of Hekaras, and she wasn't sure where they were going. She hopped a little to match her stride to his, and hooked her arm tightly around his. "So, you wanna be my sidekick? I could be the shortest bounty hunter in the worlds and you my hairless Wookiee co-pilot."

James raised an eyebrow, looking at an establishment that was open late, lit with neon and leaking music into the street. "I'll get an eye patch and a blaster as big as I am."

[Byl Laprovik]

"I think a thermal detonator's more your type. Set the switch to deadman and make somebody ask themselves if they want to think you're bluffing."

Byl accelerated his walking cadence as they pushed down the thoroughfares that led to the docks district. His eyes moved from one hangar to the next. Pairs of thick-looking folks hanging idly by the wide doors were never a good sign. You had to look for the one that didn't take that precaution.

"Dock info says it's a light freighter out of Sullust. Parts and fuel headed to Hypori."

Nothing about it seemed particularly noteworthy, and Byl tried the door. He wasn't going to get that lucky, of course, and it chirped in a tone that indicated it was locked.

"Casual now, if there's anybody paying too much attention behind us, let me know. Takes about 30 seconds to pop this console cover off and slice through the security gate."

[James Prent]

James shuddered a little bit at the thought of trying to bluff while holding a live thermal detonator. She nodded at Byl's instructions, and turned around as casually as she could, yawning as she did.

"Nothing happenin'," she said quietly. James dug into her holdall as if she was looking for a keycard, had anyone been looking, and then turned back to Byl as the door opened. They slipped into the hangar, closing the door behind them, and she peered into the semi-darkness. There didn't seem to be anyone inside, but a movement in the murk made her heart jump.

Luminous yellow eyes turned towards them from the other side of the freighter, and then a quiet whirring as a small boxy droid trundled under the ship away from them.

[Byl Laprovik]

"Easy friend, hands where I can see."

Byl drew the blaster casually as the Jawa, stunned, dropped a hydrospanner to the floor with a clatter.

"Anyone else in here I need to know about?"

The nervous creature's frantic jawese was nearly indecipherable, but he got what he needed out of him.

"Call him out, then."

Byl moved to the blind side of the gangplank, but to a vantage where he could still see the Jawa going for the comm.

"Any clever shit and my friend here will perforate you. I'd rather it not come to that."

[James Prent]

James narrowed her eyes at the small alien, and pulled the small holdout blaster she owned out of the holdall, finger on the trigger guard. After a moment a second Jawa descended the ramp, little black hands already up in the air as Byl covered it with his blaster.

They herded the two unfortunates together, and James' nose was assaulted by what a Jawa's robes actually smelled like up close. Her blaster wavered as she tried to decide if she was going to cover her nose, but then she straightened up, determined not to show more weakness. She was barely taller than the diminutive beings, and Byl tossed her a roll of mechanic's everything tape, a silvery and nearly indestructible substance that she used almost apologetically to fasten the Jawa's hands together.

[Byl Laprovik]

The Jawas were terrified, and Byl would be surprised if they were going to cause trouble. Of course, blasting out of here without clearance would get plenty of heads turning, so they were going to deal with trouble one way or the next. At least by the time they hit hyperspace, it would be trouble well at their back.

"Let's get aboard."

Byl nodded to his 'sidekick' letting her head up the ramp first while he kept his blaster trained on the Jawas a moment more. He hit the ramp control, rising with the edge of the gangplank, and moved quickly to follow James to the cockpit.

"See, that wasn't too difficult. Let's head to Hypori."

He worked the ship's controls, warming the craft up as James looked through the navigation starcharts to lock in a waypoint for Hypori. A few minutes later, the engines gunned, and they made their getaway.

This was the easy part, after all. Figuring out where they were going after this was trickier.

[James Prent]

James didn't start to relax until Byl sent the ship into hyperspace and the squawk of the comm cut off as Hekaras Port Control protested their unscheduled departure. The adrenaline that she'd been running on ever since the attack on them in the hotel room was draining out of her, leaving her feeling like an empty shell that was about to slip out of her seat and onto the deck.

"Well, we're taking our fate into our own hands," she said weakly, offering Byl a smile. "I think I need to sleep."