Chapter 8: Finding Aid

Week 7, Day 1, Dawn

It had taken weeks to undo the mess pirates had caused at the orbital station above Naboo. Many of the workers had been killed and supplies stolen. Luckily though, the crucial intel the pirates had downloaded and attempted to get away with had been recovered by Jedi Knight Aren Bec and her Padawan, Val’Ko Sate. After Val had suffered an injury to his leg from a blaster bolt, Aren had taken up much of the rebuilding effort in the station while her padawan healed. In the end, she was glad to have him almost back to his full self, for word came from the Council of a dire situation on Ryloth. Not many Jedi were being sent due to the instability of the situation and the simple fact that the Empire could not notice that the Jedi were sending aid to Ryloth.

Jedi Master Dominik Rothul had been critically injured during an attack. He was alive, but now it was his padawan leading the effort aside the Twi’leks while he remained unresponsive. Their main area of operation had been hit hard, and now they were short on all forms of supplies; medical assets, munitions, and probably soon to be food and water. Aren’s thoughts went out to the Master Jedi. They were friends in a way. They hadn’t talked much, but she had been on missions with him, both diplomatic and combative assignments. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t worried. Aren hadn’t met his padawan but she did know the Jedi was younger and no doubt taking on a huge responsibility.

The Knight’s thoughts were stalled as their ship, the Pathfinder pulled out of hyperspace just above Ryloth. The Jedi Knight took a deep breath as she took the planet in. They had the coordinates for the Twi’leks base Dominik and his padawan had found themselves in, and their ship was stuffed with as many supplies as possible. Most of it was medical supplies and rations; picking up munitions proved hard to do without catching someone’s unwanted attention.

“Strap in Val,” she said, looking to her padawan in the seat to her right as she pressed a couple controls on the console of the ship, “I’m not sure how much resistance we’re going to meet on the surface.”

"Yes Master, I'm not worried about the amount of resistance. I'm actually looking forward to getting back into action. I think this is going to be fun.” Val’Ko replied as he joined his Master in the co-pilot's seat with a big grin and hopeful eyes. He reached over his shoulder sliding into the harness as they neared the planets surface. “You know Master, I’m pretty sure I know the other padawan on the surface. We haven't seen each other for quite some time. I'm excited for that too.” He added turning, studying his Master's face for a response. Val was proud to say he had made a friend, it was a bit hard to do so with all the traveling he did. Not that he minded much in the first place.

Aren listened to her Padawan’s words as he spoke, his enthusiasm was definitely there. She tried to keep her outward expression matching with his; positive, encouraging, hopeful. She knew Val hadn’t had much experience in the way of real battlefield experience, much less being called to help their fellow Jedi when something had gone terribly wrong. It wasn’t often a Jedi Master went down, and Aren couldn’t help but worry about the condition her old friend was in.

“Just remember Val, this is a very sensitive operation. The Sith aren’t supposed to know there are Jedi here... helping the Twi’leks. Remember the Treaty. While we’re here, we need to be quiet, patient, and mindful. Making ourselves known is not what we want to happen.”

Val’s head snapped towards his Master as if she was breaking this to him for the first time. He was both overly excited and frustrated at the same time. He wished he would meet a sith apprentice here, and strike down his first sith. But what his Master said came first. They had to lay low. Val always had a hard time laying low. He loved the flashy side of saber combat. However, Val recognized this opportunity for learning and growth, and he would get to see an old friend. So he made up his mind that he would try to make the best of it.

For the first time in awhile, Val might’ve noticed Aren’s seriousness on the topic. Her tone was quiet, she was distracted by something else. As they entered Ryloth’s atmosphere, Aren directed the ship towards the coordinates that had been included in the holomessage sent to the Council by Dominik’s padawan, Lo. As they neared the surface, Aren made sure to keep the ship closer to cover; luckily a treeline near the coordinates allowed her to do such a thing. The landscape was riddled with deep holes, craters formed by the mortars no doubt. Aren’s eyes scanned the surface for anything out of the ordinary, be it friend or foe. Pulling the Pathfinder into the treeline, Aren landed the ship with grace before starting the lockdown procedures.

“Stay close to me Val. We’ll need to scout the area and find a way into their hideout before we bring out the supplies.” she said, undoing her harness and standing from her pilot chair. She moved quickly to the loading ramp, stepping down onto it as it lowered to the ground. Her senses were pushed out, feeling for anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing, which both surprised and frightened her. Waiting for Val to catch up to her side, she led the way on foot from the ship and into the unknowns of Ryloth.

Val’Ko undid his harness quickly and was just behind his Master until he split off to run off to his room. Once he made it inside he took a quick glance around searching for something in particular. He ran his fingers across his lucky charm which happened to be a torn tapestry with a design that always pleased him when he saw it. Locating what he entered the room for just a second later he ran over and grabbed his walking stick. A solid branch that was almost his height. He enjoyed taking it whenever he knew he would have to walk any extended distance over terrain. With walking stick in hand he threw on his cloak and hurried after his Master. Val slowed from his jog and stepped his first step, side by side with his Master, onto Ryloth.

Munitions were low, medical supplies were basically spent, rations... the Twi'lek man didn't even want to think about those. Despite their dire situation the Twi'lek people couldn't let their guard down. With the Jedi padawan busy tending to the duties her Master had done before, she and Sar were both very busy keeping the village running smoothly despite the hopelessness many of them felt.

The days went on, duties must be fulfilled which included men for scouts as the younger boys and women helped with the rations and healing. His ears picked up a deep rumbling overhead, the sound of a ship lowering and flying low over the ground. Eyes looked up, past his goggles, past the dust that was being kicked up. Shrouded by the boulders in the landscape, he was able to watch an unfamiliar ship as it flew lower to the ground and landed, just past the treeline.

Nothing could be taken lightly now. Friend or foe, Sar and the padawan needed to know, quickly. Alerting his scouting comrade of the ship nearby, the Twi'lek man turned back towards the tunnels, as fast as his legs would take him, to warn Sar and the Jedi padawan of unidentified ship that found its way to their position.

A calming breeze gently blew one of the older Twi'lek's lekku as he worked tirelessly with his wrench. The recently retired mercenary was down on one knee as his gloved twisted in the final screw on his speeder bike. He let out a sigh of relief then wiped the sweat from his brow with an old towel, letting himself fall backwards to sit on the ground. Jer Vusid smirked at the sight of his familiar ride, having finished a few simple repairs on the repulsorlift vehicle. The fresh grey paint he'd given it a week before made it look brand new. He'd even painted over the insignia which had sat on the side of the craft for almost a decade. The all too familar sign of his mercenary band, a golden rancor skull. He technically wasn't a member of the group anymore, he was one of the few that could say he'd retired from the business. He rose up to his feet with a stretch, then grasped a metal canteen on top of his speederbike.

As Jer took a swig of water he stepped away from his bike and gazed upon the valley to his side, the canyons of Ryloth spread around his home. He'd nearly forgotten how beautiful the world was, but also how damn humid it was. He was practically soaked in sweat from working outside barely for a hour. As he swallowed the refreshing gulp of water he felt himself cool down internally. The ex mercenary then sat down on the sturdy wooden fence near him, which encircled his property. He smiled as it held his weight well, he impressed himself with his own building. Since he'd arrived back on his homeworld he'd taken it upon himself to do all of the groundwork at his new home. It was a simple cabin he'd purchased cheap, abandoned but not very run down. No major housework was needed, which was had filled him with relief.

The cabin was in a more isolated part of Ryloth, a ways up from one of the villages. Jer hadn't even set foot in them since he had landed on the world. He honestly did not wish to go into any of them unless it was necessary, they were dangerous and infernally noisy. He'd brought enough rations and supplies to last for a little while. Any food they needed could be hunted or harvested, as evident by the growing vegetable garden behind the cabin where Jer was. They were practically in the wilderness where they'd chosen to live, but it was quiet. None of the native predators gave them much trouble, if they did Jer still had his proud collection of blasters. His starship, the Fortitude was parked not far from his home, it was an old Corellian light freighter he'd bought the day of his retirement from the Golden Rancor company.

"Jer, there's people approaching the cabin. They have blasters." A female voice exclaimed to him, breaking him out of his state of relaxation. His wife's words caused him to drop his drink, splashing water all over the grassy ground. He stared at Sienni, noticing the fear in the green skinned twi'lek's eyes as she held onto their son Adal's hand tightly. Seeing his beautiful wife in fear instantly filled Jer with anger at the 'visitors'.

"What? How many of them?" He asked, walking past her to get inside as he darted into his bedroom. The twi'lek pulled open a set of closet doors then frantically pulled his set of armor from out of it.

"I counted five, I don't know if there's more but they were coming up the hill and heading towards the front door. They're all holding blasters. I'm scared Jer, what do we do?" She asked as her husband speedily put on his armor. He quickly adjusted his boots, then walked to a locked cabinet where his heavy blaster rifle resided.

"I will handle it. They might be bandits or something. Hunters from the village wouldn't approach a home like that," Jer stated calmly as he held onto his V-201 in one hand, approaching his wife and son. Then spoke with total certainty. "Stay inside, stay out of sight, do not let them see you or Adal. If you hear blaster fire take Adal and run to the Fortitude. If I'm not back within a few minutes then also run there. Go out the back, get in the ship and lock it down behind you. Arm yourself and sit in the cockpit, do not let anyone inside but me. Make them think the ship is abandoned, use the cannons if you absolutely need to."

"But what about you? They could kill you. They don't look like twi'leks. You're finally done fighting wars the last thing we need is to bury you. Adal and I need you Jer." Sienni replied, tears welling in her eyes.

"Don't worry about me Sienni, you're even tougher than I am. Just listen to me please. A few bandits are child's play," Jer said calmly, flashing a tension breaking smile as he brought his wife in for a brief but powerful hug. Then he spoke once more, forcing his determination to protect his family overtake his sadness. "I love you both so much, please let me handle this."

"Be strong for us both Adal, I know you can be." He said to his young son, the boy was barely three years old. He reached out and hugged the young twi'lek, then rose to his feet.

His wife and son ducked into the kitchen, away from the impending conflict. Jer stepped out of the front door and shut it tightly behind him. He was greeted by the sight of five armed Zygerrians, each looking ready for a fight. Four of them held blaster rifles while a fifth clenched onto a sword. They were slavers, had to be. Ryloth was in Hutt space and he never recalled the Hutt cartel and the Zygerrian Empire working together. The situation made his skin crawl but he kept any fear in check. None of the feline beings were heavily armored and he had the biggest gun as well as the most combat experience.

"What the hell are you schuttas doing here? Leave now." Jer loudly exclaimed towards them, mindful of the distance between them. The quintent of slavers had just crossed over his fence, well within blaster range.

"What do we have here? We thought this building was abandoned, it was last time we flew over it. Instead we find an old tailhead, maybe more? Seems to be our lucky day." The sword wielding Zygerrian replied in words more akin to a taunt. A deep scar embedded in the slaver's right arm.

"I'm the only one here. Get out of here now, I'm giving you one chance. I'm not some weak twi'lek, I could easily rip through all five of you like nothing." Jer declared, narrowing his brow as the invaders took another step towards him.

"You sure are cocky for a future slave, I'll take delight in watching you toll away working. Take him in alive!" The scarred swordsman hollered back, as Jer answered with a volley of blaster fire which sent the Zygerrian to the ground in a heap. Smoke seeped from where the laser bolts impacted as the other slavers advanced, firing back at the twi'lek.

Jer dove to his right, sliding behind a set of metal crates. He thanked himself for not having brought the contents inside as the shots impacted into them instead of him. The former mercenary reached for his belt then flicked the ignition on a thermal detonator. With a grunt Jer heaved the explosive towards his attackers, causing them to scatter. Two were not quick enough and were caught in the ensuing blast. Dirt and wood kicked up as one of the Zygerrians screamed in pain, severely injured and blown away in the explosion. Another laid fallen on the ground, gruesomely taking the impact directly. The two still on their feet shifted to flank Jer as the mercenary rolled out of cover, firing into one of them with his blaster. Not letting go of the trigger until there was a hole in his target's gut.

The last slaver fired at the twi'lek, bolts slamming into the ground around him. One glanced off his leg, causing him to grunt in surprise. His adrenaline carried him forward as he dashed to duck behind a set of rocks. More shots rang out, filling the once serene landscape with the sound of battle. They sailed above Jer as he held onto his weapon, waiting for the exact moment to retaliate. Once the volley of blasterfire was finished he rose from behind cover and shot back, his heavy blaster rifle kicking like an angry bantha as he made his mark. His shots struck into the skull of the last remaining Zygerrian, ending the attacker's life suddenly. Jer shifted out from behind the rocks as he was the last man standing. The slavers likely didn't expect such heavily armed resistance.

The twi'lek strolled towards the other bodies as he ensured all of his attackers were dead. One of them still took labored breaths, his legs heavily disfigured from the detonator's blast, weapon out of reach. Jer approached the incapacitated slaver, making eye contact as he stood above the beaten raider victorious. The ex mercenary did not speak a word, only leveling his blaster at the slaver's skull before unleashing a trio of shots to finish the kill. He did not intend it as mercy, he simply did not want to leave the scum alive to potentially report to other of its vile kind. Then he walked with intent back towards his cabin, going around the left side to where his speederbike was. As he approached the vehicle he climbed onto it, flipped a switch and ignited the hovercraft.

"Sienni its me, are you and Adal on the ship?" He asked, turning on his comm link. Directing his words to the communications device in the Fortitude. He prayed deeply that his wife would answer.

"Yes, are you okay? Please tell me they're gone!" Sienni replied, speaking from aboard the ship. She sat inside the freighter, having locked it down completely. Adal on her lap as she tried to keep the child calm.

"They're all dead. I survived without a scratch, I'm gonna hop on my speeder and investigate. I don't want any others coming around here." He stated as he gently throttled the controls of his speederbike, coming into the open near the Fortitude.

"Jer don't. Get on the ship with us. We can leave the world and go somewhere safe. You don't know whats out there." Sienni said, on the verge of pleading. But she kept herself strong for Adal's sake.

"I can't Sienni, this is our home I have to protect it. I will contact you later, I promise. Do not leave the ship, do not let anyone aboard, its the safest place to be. The slavers didn't look armed enough to cut into a freighter." He replied, a somber tone in his words as he continued to speak. "I love you so much, I promise I will make it back."

Then the twi'lek speeded away, a part of him doubting his decision making. He very well could have hopped aboard his ship and left world. That wasn't the right choice, they'd work so hard to settle down on Ryloth they couldn't just pack it up and flee. His people were strong, even if they tended to be disorganized. He would bet there were some that were fighting back and Jer could help. Slavers were the worst of the worst, he couldn't have lived with himself if he let Sienni and Adal be taken by them. The former mercenary throttled harder on his speederbike as he headed into the tunnels beneath the surface, it was the best bet to find others. He'd found himself plunged into another conflict even in retirement.

---

Lo’s legs crossed and folded underneath her. Her arms rested on her thighs while she inhaled then exhaled, her breath locked in a steady rhythm. A faint blue tint outlined her brown fur sticking out of her robes. The crystals’ light cast away the shadows in the clay house used for her master’s healing, adding the calm mood. Lo’s force stretched across the stones. It followed the floor like a snake before it branched out and spread to the local surroundings. A small, serene smile flicked onto her long muzzle.

Unlike Tython, Ryloth’s humidity required her to change a lot about herself. She had shed the tabards, sticking mainly to the under tunic and pants due to the humidity. Even her obi had a thinner leather belt to lessen the layers. The colors remain earthly, but much lighter than her first arrival. While she couldn’t remove all of her fur, she could arrange the longer strands. Her bangs were woven into a fish tail and wrapped about her head. The end twisted into a bun toward the base of her skull. She repeated this with the other side. To hold the buns’ shape, she used tightly twisted pieces of clothes too small to patch a wound.

Over all, her look give her youth a more mature appearance. Lo hoped the change would help to build confidence in the capabilities she had already proven. She had a good feeling, both Sar and her master had approved of her appearance.

The Twi'lek man had made it back to the village in no time, winding his way through the dark tunnels and then finding Sar once he had made it to the cavern.

News of an unidentified ship was both a blessing and a curse for Sar. Were they enemies? Or an ally? The village couldn't tale much more conflict, not with their lack of medical supplies, lack of rations, and not with the Jedi Master still in a coma. Morale was low, but his people pushed on; for that, he was thankful.

After receiving the report, Sar immediately made his way to the hut being used to shelter Dominik as he healed. Lo was in there meditating next to Dominik, the older Jedi still not having woken from his coma. It had been a week at least; Sar couldn't help but feel worried for Lo, no doubt the young Bothan was feeling lonely. He didn't want to push the topic though, so he had remained close in case she reached out to him to talk.

Now though, Sar would have to interrupt her meditation. Hurrying up to the doorway, Sar looked inside and towards Lo before speaking.

"Lo, I'm sorry to interrupt," he said, glancing from the young Bothan to her Master's still form on the bed and back. "One of our scouts spotted a ship. He's not sure what kind, they landed not far from here."

"You didn't interrupt. I was aware you were there when you walked in." Lo reassured his concern as she collected herself. Gradually she began to rose up onto her feet and dust off the dirt on the back of her legs.

She took a moment of silence, digesting the information.

"Well, we'll won't know if they are friend or foe until we approach them. I rather get a sense of their intentions before they get too close to the village. Do we have any individuals able to volunteer for a short walk?" Her dark eyes settled on Sar, turning her body to face him.

"We do, I have a few men already prepared." Sar replied, nodding to the Bothan as she turned towards him. Sar withdrew from the doorway and walked back towards the men who were ready, knowing Lo would join them shortly. Then they could investigate this ship, and hopefully uncover an ally or two who had arrived to help them.

Sar could only hope.

---

There hadn't been any signs of life besides the native wildlife around them. Thought Aren could sense eyes. Be they friend or foe, she couldn't tell. But ever since they had approached the end of the treeline and the start of larger rock structures, she could feel them.

"Stay close, Val, and keep your head up. We're not the only ones out here." she mumbled, glancing to her Padawan as they found a rough-looking trail heading down towards a larger canyon.

It took them about an hour until Aren and Val ran across a tunnel that dug into the canyon walls. It was dark and the Jedi Knight could tell it wasn't one just made by a larger animal. The walls had been carefully shaped to fit whoever was using it, but it had also seen some damage not long ago judging by the small pile of rocks, fallen from the ceiling, scattered throughout.

She had been wary about stepping inside, though she could sense others nearby. Pushing her senses out, Aren heard footsteps not far from them, coming from the tunnel. One hand moved to her saber, but she did not ignite it; her eyes simply watched as six dark figures started to emerge from within the tunnel. Five of them taller, more masculine. But one of them was significantly smaller, and walked with a gait and posture similar to someone she had seen before. The Jedi Knight stopped in her tracks, aiming to let the figures show themself first before she could decide on what her next actions would be.

On most days, Lo could overlook her shortness being a hassle. Not today. Their current mission was an urgent one as the small group moved to the surface. Her legs moved at a faster pace and pushed to keep up with the taller Twi'lek warriors. Her eyes skimmed each one's appearance. Their skin tones varied from blue to the pale pink. Dark paint formed various tribal patterns indicating tradition or individuality. Their lekku bore no such markings. In a primal world, it showed strength without speaking a word.

Upon approaching the exit, the sun's harsh rays poured down upon the group. Lo's hand rose to shield her eyes briefly. A few moments passed until her vision adjusted. Even through the small padawan showed no outward aggression, her weapon hung on her belt. Just within her hand's reach.

When her vision cleared, she glanced at the two humans that stood before them. Their robes indicated the traditional Jedi robes causing Lo to pause in her thoughts. Relief swept over her worried mind as her muzzle cracked into a gentle smile. Her hand rose to her longer hair where she adjusted her padawan braid.

"Hello. My name is Lo Lya'Tre, padawan of Master Rothul. Bluntness tends to be best in these cases so please excuse my lack of elegance. Seeing you here, can I safely assume you're here to help?" Lo's gut seemed to agree with yes, but she felt assumptions were rather rude. Calmly she waited for an answer as she briefly scanned the horizon. One could never be too careful.

Something familiar swam in the back of Lo's mind about the older Jedi woman, but she couldn't place it. With the stress and trouble they faced, her memory failed her right now. Her head tilted to the right when her eyes fell to the Jedi's Padawan.

"Val'Ko?" The name slipped through her lips. Memories of H'Ratth, weak and distant, crossed her attention. Her head immediately righted itself.


Val followed his Master step by step once they left the ship. His eyes peeled for trouble. He had be exercising his healing leg and wanted to try it out, even if that meant just some local Fauna saw them as food. Val'Ko's mind drifted, Who would they run into here? Master said they were helping Jedi, Val Loved running into jedi he'd never met before. Learning from them like he does Master Aren, and if they are here to help the Twi'lek then he would be bound to run into some slavers.

It seemed like there was more behind this mission. He could feel it through Master Aren, who seemed more focused than usual. Showing less smiles, eyes intent on every task at hand. He didn't worry about it. He knew his Master would tell him if this mission would be something she didn't think he could handle.

Val dismissed his thoughts as they approached a rather large looking cave that looked almost natural. He took Master Aren's que to slow down to a stop, he gave their position a swift 360o clear to make sure no one was doing a poor job at hiding. Before resuming his stance next to his Master. Val waited vigilantly. They weren't too exposed but it was clear Master Aren was trying to look as little threatening as possible for whoever they were trying to meet here.

Sure enough shortly after they halted, figures started to appear in the shadows of the cave. A few larger ones and one, rather small one, comparatively. As they approached the mouth of the cave, sunlight started to define their bodies and add a little color with each step. Val'Ko squinted trying to get a good look at them as they drew closer but it was no use, and the second he realized it probably made him look rather ridiculous, he wiped the look off his face as fast as possible.

Once fully emerged from the tunnel the party stopped and oddly enough the little one stepped forward first, which confused Val until he saw them adjust their padawan braid. Before she could even open her mouth to start her introduction her name was already on Val'Ko's mind. She looked just a good as he remembered, only now, more mature. She told them who she was and inquired about their intentions, waiting for their response. Val could almost see when she recognized him. Her eyes turned soft and locked onto him as her mouth made an inaudible movement before she turned her head back to Master Aren with a focused gaze.

Val'Ko grinned slightly and looked up to Master Aren, knowing it wasn't his place to respond in such a situation. He was happy to see a familiar face, now even more eager to fight alongside an old friend.

Aren bowed her head to Lo as the young padawan introduced herself. She caught the familiarity between the two padawans, but decided to leave it for another time. There were more important matters to tend to first.

"Padawan Learner Lya'Tre, I'm Jedi Knight Aren Bec. We were sent by the Council after they received your message." She said, looking from Lo to Val as she spoke. "We've brought medical supplies and rations, as many as we could carry. Our ship is hidden in the treeline, not too far from here. We wanted to meet up with someone so we could start hauling in supplies." Aren explained, turning to the side as she momentarily glanced in the direction her ship was. At the same time, her eyes scanned the area around them, looking for trouble as her senses reached out and kept focused attention on their surroundings. "It might take a few trips but we wanted to bring as much as possible."

Aren was curious about Dominik. If he was not with Lo, he must still be gravely injured; it wasn't like the man to leave responsibility to just one person alone, let alone his padawan. But the supplies came first. Once they were delivered, then the Jedi Knight planned to ask about her old friend.

Lo watched how Val'Ko's grin softened his indifferent expression. The silent and modest gesture filled her with familiarity. Such a rare emotion during this time and for that, the young Bothan found herself grateful. She shifted into a more relax posture by bring her feet closer together. Her attention shifted to the darker haired Jedi who Lo had been certain was Val's master.

Aren bowed then introduced herself causing Lo to return a brief mimic of the greeting. When the older Jedi finished speaking and had glanced at her ship's direction, Lo's eyes turned to Sar.

"Sar, can I take some villagers with me to help Master Bec and Padawan Sate?"

"Yes." Sar pointed to one of the four and sent him down for additional help.

Lo bowed her head briefly before she turned it back to the two Jedi to explain. "Many of Sar's clan are skilled at being unseen. Ryloth is a dangerous place and speed is essential for survival. The fewer trips, the less risk Slavers or the Sith can track it."

About three more Twi'lek arrived and filed in behind the rest, all of them ready to help their clan. Lo, in her gut, knew they had reached the max they could spare. Most the others dug out the tunnels, attended to daily needs, and monitored the wounded. Her mind flashed to Master Rothul causing her to subtly choke then right herself once more.

"Please lead the way and we will follow." Once the Jedi began to walk, she and the other Twi'leks would follow. The sooner they got this done, the better.

Val Duplicated Master Aren's bow as she gestured to the padawan standing before them. He watched as one of the Twi'leks ran to gather more people for the transportation of the goods they brought. They started to come back and amassed ready to make the short journey, Lo explained that these Twi'leks were exceptional at staying hidden. Which was great but what interested Val'Ko more was why they were good at it.

Slavers were an expected threat but when she mentioned sith Val's eyebrows rose looking intrigued and eager. Quickly he dismissed it and told himself that if the time were to come then he would be ready for it.

The last of the Twi'leks were ready to depart. As Lo turned to, what seemed like, check and make sure everyone had arrived her body lurched just slightly. Val could tell she was under immense stress and worry. He pushed his feelings of concern to his Master, He was sure she felt the same. She turned back to Master Aren and himself telling them that her party was ready to depart. He was quick to lead the way, letting Padawan Lo explain the situation to Master Aren without his interruption. He checked back on everyone once more before he started off in the direction of the ship.

Master Bec watched the small group assemble, her mind moving to think about the rest of the Twi'leks. So few could come to help... there must've been too much going on back at their cavern to spare any more.

She wasted no time in leading the group as they all stepped off. She let Val take the lead as Lo explained the situation to her. The Jedi Knight refused to ask about Dominik, and would only bring him up if Lo mentioned him first. She understood all too well how much it hurt to have a fellow Jedi hurt and struggling to heal, even more so that it was her Master.

The group made it to the ship without incident. With three Jedi, Aren felt like they could protect the group well. And so they did. Coming upon the Pathfinder Aren wasted no time in opening up the ship to their allies. Even if they couldn't bring back all of the supplies in one trip it wouldn't hurt to keep backup supplies in the ship. As the Twi'leks started to unload the medical supplies and rations from the ship, Aren placed herself next to Lo.

"How many injured do you have? We hoped we had packed enough to help all those hurt and still have supplies leftover. We brought as much bacta as we could in the form of syrums and patches. Transporting pure liquid bacta was too risky."

As Lo navigated over and through the forest like terrain, she found all her stress begin to fade. She covered all the events since she arrived at Ryloth, including the injury of her master. There were times she had to stop herself from falling into long-winded explanations. Each time she inhaled then focused on the facts and minimal details.

Whenever she skimmed on the topic of her master, Lo's heart hurt causing her to stop. The thought of him still in a coma pained her beyond words. Even with his improvements and her attempts to be hopeful about the future.

Upon arriving at the Pathfinder, Lo's eyes traveled up and her figure stopped in her tracks. The image of another near identical starship made her think of the Mirage. A thought crossed her mind to check in on the ship and determine if the Sith had impounded it or not. Sar would certainly want to come just to ensure her safety.

Lo nearly moved to help the other Twi'lek when she noticed Aren come to rest beside her. Patient as always, the Bothan's head turned to the Jedi Knight and listened.

A moment of silence passed before Lo answered.

"Out of the survivors, about twenty-one suffered injury. Over half are still in recovery, including my master, from the bombs. Others are from cave-ins during the excavations of the tunnels. It's a high risk of cave-ins and injury." She inhaled then continued.

"Any medical supplies is helpful. No matter the form it is. My force heal has come in handy, but it is draining. The supplies you brought will help become less dependent on it."

With everyone helping, the trips to haul the supplies got immediately shorter. On the last run, Lo stayed behind to direct the supply storing and treating the wounded. When Aren and Val got back with the last of the load, Lo had finished applying some of bacta into Master Rothul. She curled her legs underneath her as she watched him, waiting for the others to return.


Aren was relieved when they were able to return with all if the supplies without any issue. Helping with the final run, she made sure the ship was locked down should someone try to infiltrate it when they weren't around.

Aren kept Val close to her during the trips back and forth. Just because they hadn't hit any hiccups while moving the supplies did not mean the enemy wasn't watching. She was never one to let her guard down and would not allow it in this situation. As they made it back with the last of the supply runs, Aren helped the Twi'leks organize everything within the cavern. She was impressed with their hideout; it was out of the open, fortified, yet large enough to house the growing village of Twi'leks. She could tell Dominik and Lo had helped to build some of the structures, for it would have been overly difficult to move the walls and building pieces that she spotted, let alone construct them with such solidity.

The Jedi Knight could sense the uneasiness amongst the Twi'leks. Their delivery had helped morale no doubt, but there was still that sense of uncertainty and fear of the unknown.

After finishing with the supplies Aren searched out Lo. She led Val'Ko around with her as they asked about the Padawan's whereabouts. They didn't need to ask many; walking up to the first group, all of the Twi'leks knew exactly where she would be; with her Master.

Aren searched out the hut used to house Dominik's unconscious form. Finding it quickly, she walked up to the open doorway and peeked inside. Immediately she felt Dominik's dimmed aura, a feeling that almost made her stomach turn as she saw his prone form. She looked from him to the young Bothan sitting before him, taking a deep breath before she continued through the doorway, allowing Val entry as well.

"How is your Master?" She asked, an audible change in her voice as she spoke. It was quiet, gentle, yet there was a tinge of worry as her eyes looked upon the scene.

Val enjoyed the exercise from hauling supplies back and forth, he worked hard. Once all the supplies was at the hideout he helped Master Aren sort and move all the supplies into their appropriate categories and storage places. Meeting and introducing himself to a few of the Twi'lek people that were working with him. There weren't many people able to pitch in and help which made Val'Ko work twice as hard to make up for those who couldn't. He wanted them to rest easy and get back to helping their people as fast as possible.

Val inquired once or twice about what happened that filled up their medical ward, he mostly he got a vague response. The ones he asked would zone out or look off in the distance as if consumed by their own thoughts. He tried his best not to push for any more information. Rather, he started asking about the other Jedi team that was helping them. Interested in what projects they had started and were working on putting into action. Mostly just defense he assumed, however he was curious if anything else was on the top of the priority list. They told him of how they helped with the construction of the hideout and how they were extremely helpful when it came to supplies and defense. Val was intent on all the information he took in, focusing on things that he could improve on. Learning from what the other two had done.

All the supplies had been arranged and all the Twi'lek's started working on other things, there was plenty to do. But Master Aren had beckoned him to follow her, probably just to keep him near, it didn't seem like she wanted him for any specific reason. Once he had caught up and fell in by her side he understood more. She asked a nearby group of Twi'leks about the whereabouts of the Padawan, they all pointed towards the area dedicated to the Jedi. Master Aren didn't hesitate and went straight over with pace. Val'Ko kept up and entered just behind her.

The whole atmosphere inside was different. He could feel his Masters worry, there were other feelings too. So many and all swimming together. He wasn't good enough with the force to tell what it all was. But he understood. Lo sat on the floor in front of her Master who lay still in front of her. Master Aren inquired about the other Jedi Master's condition and Lo managed to explain through troubled words. With each passing word of Lo's attempts to help her Master he could feel her worry and fear for her Master as well. Val recognized that with these two together their worry would only get worse. She finished explaining everything to Master Aren. Master Aren thanked Lo for all she had done for him so far, reassuring her that she could relax a little now that the two of them where there now.

Master Aren moved towards the injured jedi slowly and carefully, Kneeling by his bedside. She took his hand in her own and studied the mans beaten features. Val could sense that Master Aren needed some time to process and think. Walking over to Lo he put his hand on her shoulder slowly letting his hand fall down her arm as he beckoned her to follow him out of the room. She looked from Val to their two Masters then back to Val, giving him a small nod she followed him.

After leaving the hut the day was drawing to a close. The sun was setting and activities around the hideout were slowing down giving a chance for the Twi'lek people to rest. Val's hand left Lo's wrist as they exited, he was being sure to be gentile knowing that the task she had been currently holding up on her own was a heavy one. He walked with her in silence for just a moment. "What you've been doing here is remarkable" He said as he looked to her studying her face noticing the differences and remembering the similarities from when they were younger. "I know it must be really hard but you can relax some now. Master Aren and I will do our best to let you rest." Val finished, giving her a sweet and welcoming smile to help put her at ease.

Week 7, Day 1, Afternoon

It had taken Nimm all of one minute to figure out that the hutt supposedly in charge here on Ryloth—one who called himself ‘Ippo the Hutt’—was a useless idiot. She had quickly made her excuses in ways that would not excessively offend him, then decided to use her own resources to get what she needed. Fortunately, while he was an imbecile, the rest of the people here were somewhat more talented. It had taken a few hours, but she had eventually found a way to slice into the databanks and get the intel she desired.

It was immediately apparent that things were worse than she had thought. Entire villages had been taken out under the noses of the operatives employed by the hutts by what a mercenary identified as Zygerrians. The fact that the hutts hadn’t suppressed this attack immediately after its discovery proved just how foolish Ippo was. Groups like the Zygerrians needed to be met with a firm hand when they misbehave. Rudimentary psychology, really. After downloading the surveillance videos and other potentially pertinent intel, Nimm returned to her ship to look over it properly.

---

~| an hour later, give or take |~

---

“What’s this?” she muttered, looking more closely at one of the numerous surveillance feed recordings, “Jedi? Here? Oh, this will be fun...”

“Ship. Display location this feed is from.”

There was no vocal response, but the holographic projector lit up, displaying the planet with a pair of glowing points. One represented her, the other the feed origin.

“Display all other feed sources. Use symbology number six.”

Innumerable other points lit up, displaying the hutts’ surprisingly wide network of surveillance on this world. There were three other feeds near the one that she had seen the Jedi on. Looking closer, she noted their identifying tags and keyed them into the control panel. On the monitors on one of the walls the three feeds appeared, the playback running at twenty-seven times normal pace. For the most part, nothing happened beyond some wildlife moving past. After a bit over three quarters of an hour however, the middle feed showed figures moving past. She immediately paused and rewound it, replaying that segment.

Her eyes saw what was clearly some twi’lek civilians moving past. “Irrelevant.” she muttered to herself, resuming the playback.

Twelve minutes later, the left feed revealed more movement. When she rewatched that, she smiled. “There you are…”

“Ship. Analysis of route. Prognosticate possible destinations.”

It didn’t take long. Within minutes, the computer had identified a half-dozen possible routes. Two led to villages intel indicated had been purged. Clearly irrelevant. Another led into the wasteland, which clearly was also irrelevant for now. The fourth led directly to what the Huttese data identified as an outpost used by their mercenaries at times. Seeing how information made it clear that the outpost was offline and had been for weeks, it was not relevant. Unlike the second-to-last one, the last led straight into a sinkhole. The second-to-last one led straight into a section of the surface covered by a jungle. It was the obvious candidate for further investigation. She didn’t hesitate to take to the air, flying high enough to be nigh unnoticeable.

It didn’t take long to get above the path predicated by the computer, nor did it take long to identify what was clearly the landing location of a spaceship. Sure, it was somewhat hidden beneath foliage… But metal still shows up on scanners, and starships have a lot of metal in them.

More focused scans proved to Nimm that this was definitely the ship used by these Jedi: A Defender-class Light Corvette. Not even trying to be subtle, were they? While it was tempting to just “accidentally” blast it into scrap, she did not feel like having to deal with the potential diplomatic fallout should these Jedi have another means for long-range communications.

She smiled viciously as an idea came to her. With a few quick commands, she opened a channel down to that imbecile of a hutt. He would provide just the cover she needed. It took a good minute before there was a response. No doubt intended as a means for ‘proving’ himself superior. He was—of course—wrong, but Nimm wouldn’t waste effort correcting his mistake. He wasn’t worth it.

“I have a question for you, hutt.”

“Speak, Sith.” the hutt answered with a hint of aloofness to it.

“Why have you invited Jedi to land on your planet, in violation of the agreement between your clan and the Empire?” She kept her voice almost neutral, with just a hint of being offended.

“I have not!” the image on the screen showed a momentary lapse in his controlled expression and he made a gesture with one of his pudgy arms. No doubt signaling for one of his advisors to do something. “There are no Jedi here!” he almost shouted adamantly.

“So there is no Republic Light Corvette parked in the jungle, two kilometers east and six hundred and seventy-four meters south of outpost Senth Usk Orenth? That is good to hear. I am sure Darth Ravage will be pleased to hear that when I inform him in my regular report.”

“What-” he started to say, but Nimm terminated the link. She had no doubt that even an idiot like Ippo would take care of that ship for her, without implicating the Empire at all. He wasn’t smart enough to realize that there was no way one of the Dark Lords of the Sith would care about a single misplaced republic vessel on an unimportant world like Ryloth. Nor did he have any way to figure out how utterly ridiculous it was for her to be regularly reporting to Darth Ravage for that matter.

“Now to find those Jedi…” she muttered to herself, reactivating the sensors on her ship.

---

Lo turned to the hut's doorway. She watched Aren and Val enter the hut, stepping down the stairs into the main floor. The young Bothan noticed the concern in Aren's voice as she looked back to Master Rothul. His form still and silent compared to their conversation. It took Lo a moment to collect her strength to answer Aren's question.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. He's been in a coma for a week now. I've healed more of the critical injuries and... I think he's getting better. He's started to respond with soft, physical contact, so I think he can hear us at least." Her uncertainty and fear leaked into her voice.

When Aren thanked her, Lo nodded. Though she didn't understand why, she didn't question it. She watched as the Jedi Knight moved to her master then looked him over. The woman wouldn't find anything different from what she had revealed. Distracted by the warm gesture, she felt Val's hand rest on her shoulder. Her head turned to glance at him then back to the two masters, finally realizing his intentions. She nodded as she rose upright to follow him.

Her eyes flicked from him to the village itself. Despite the hardships, the small number of Twi'lek tried to make the best out of their situation. It amazed her how resistant the people had become. Part of her wondered if their arrival had something to do with it. She returned her attention to Val when he spoke.

Lo smiled weakly. "It's not much. I wish I could do more, but I can't. Only a few Twi'lek clan members seem to have any faith in my ability and all of that is thanks to Sar."

Instinctively, she began to redirect their walk away from the village's activity. Her ears caught the crackling fire and roasted scents. It seemed the community meal had started and would be finished around evening time. Thankfully all the pits had no crystals close enough to combust.

As she walked, her shoulders slumped a bit more. All strength and confidence evaporated from her figure as she continued to speak.

"I am glad you and your master arrived. It will hopefully make things easier than it has been. So what do you think of Ryloth so far?"

Val'Ko could tell Lo was distracted with burdens.

"Lo, you have already exceeded everyone's expectations. You've assumed the role of what would normally be someone of Knight status or higher, and you've done all this as a padawan. Everyone is proud of you. Im proud of you, and very impressed." Val continued to study her face and body language. She was full of feelings and emotions that he could only imagine were weighing on her mind constantly. After a pause letting his words rest with Lo he switched his focus to her question. "Being back on a planet is a nice change of pace. I had been on a space station for quite some time before this. But Ryloth specifically? It has a lot of sand." He let out a small laugh trying to lift Lo's spirits.

They had walked long enough to find themselves in a treeline. Val slowed his pace, delicately tugging on Lo's arm to do the same. He walked over to a nearby tree with a line of sight into what was becoming the evening sky, a few of the brighter starts starting to show. He sat down and got comfortable, patting the ground next to him, asking Lo to sit with him. "How are you really feeling Lo?" He asked, not really sure what her answer would be he watched her closely and waited in anticipation for her response.

Lo listened to Val as they continued to walk, her eyes breaking contact with his occasionally. The young Bothan couldn't lie. She found Val's presence comforting and familiar, even after the time spent apart. She folded her arms into her sleeves and continued to walk at a steady pace. When Val mentioned his pride in her, she kept her smile. It seemed to reach her eyes slightly. Deep down, she felt the earned praise was excessive. She merely did what any other Jedi would've done in her position.

A soft chuckle escaped her muzzle at his joke. When her laughter died, she collected her composure and replied.

"Most of what I've seen has been forest and swamp. It is rather pretty when you mediate in it. Despite its beauty, Ryloth is still very dangerous. It is also why some clans feel slavery is the safer option than to live here."

Her tone softened with the last bit. She had compassion and empathy for the Twi'lek who made slavery a part of their culture. Trading freedom for safety seemed to be a decision made out of fear and desperation. Lo shook the thoughts from her mind as Val tugged on her arm. She immediately slowed her pace to a leisure one. Her brow furrowed and a brief frown to replace the smile, her figure following his lead. With a few careful steps she lowered herself into a cross-legged sitting position. She turned her head to examine him, determining his motivations in her head.

At hearing his question, her eyes turned to the ground. Silence ticked by as her awareness counted time stretching across the day. After seconds that seemed like hours, Lo's voice gently rippled through it.

"Let me ask you the same question if you were in my position. How would you feel if your Master showed signs of improvement, but wasn't waking up?" She didn't wait for an answer.

"I feel scared, angry, and shame. All the emotions a Jedi fight against for a better world. On H'Ratth, they teach you not to feed them. However, actually being able to let them fade away is much harder when you're in a place that causes it."

Lo inhaled She let the cleansing breath give her strength to continue.

"I have to pretend that I can't feel the weight of them and it's been hard. I didn't expect my Master to sacrifice this soon. With each lesson I do on my own, I find myself less and less prepared for the future."

Her eyes turned to his, filled with pain and the spoken emotions. Most of all guilt overwhelming the rest.

"It is silly, right?"

Val listened to her response and took a second to process it. He started to feel the weight she carried, it was a good feeling. He knew that sharing the weight was the best way he could help Lo right now. He too, took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. His voice returned with certainty and strength hoping that he could give her some of his confidence.

"No more need to pretend you can’t feel the weight. Give some to Master Aren and I so that we can carry it all together." He gave her a warm grin.

Lo lifted her head toward him. Her fur flattened against her body as she answered, her tone calm and even voice. “It’s easier said than done. It took Master Rothul and I nearly a month to earn trust. When we originally arrived, we were held at spear point.”

"I can only imagine the hardship Lo, but nothing you've said is silly." He stood up offering his hand to help her up as well. Lo took it and let him pull them both onto their feet. Val then pulled her into a tight hug, resting his cheek on her head. “You can stop worrying now. Take it easy the next day or two. If you need anything just ask.” With that he went silent, providing the embrace for as long as it was needed.

Lo just stood there while her mind processed everything. She blinked, releasing her from a stasis and bring her back into the present. She exhaled. All the toxic emotions and build up seemed to flow from her lungs into the air. Her arms reached around Val's body, returning the embrace. She squeezed a little tighter then she stepped back, dropping her arms to her side.

"Thanks, Val. I appreciate it. Maybe now, I’ll actually be able to have feedback on my progress instead of feeling like I’m stuck."

Val stepped back when Lo released, the hug was refreshing, he could feel the atmosphere around them calm and relax. He smiled, “Of course Lo, Let’s head back.”

After both Padawans had left, Aren found herself sitting next to Dominik's prone form while she meditated. She recalled all of the memories of her past, when she was a young padawan travelling with her master. There weren't many times they stopped at a Jedi temple, much less Coruscant, but when they did stop Aren recalled many times she had learned underneath Master Rothul. He was wise, knowledgeable, and had a history that proved he knew what he was talking about. The older Jedi had a rough history having been in the hands of the Sith for nearly a year. For that Aren respected him highly, for he endured nearly of a year of torment and still returned to his duties as a Jedi.

Aren reflected on all of her feelings of respect and compassion towards the old Jedi. As she sat there and meditated, she could feel his aura slowly grow stronger within a few moments. Her eyes opened to see the older Jedi take in a deep breath, his form moving slightly beneath the thin blanket that kept most of him covered.

"Aren..." his voice was quiet, weak, and somewhat hoarse as he called the younger Jedi's name. He could sense her aura nearby allowing him to see who it was despite his eyes remaining closed. The younger Knight stood quickly as she heard him speak, coming to his side and seeing his eyes open slightly. A faint smile came upon his face as he looked at the young woman, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm as his body slowly began to wake.

A light chuckle left his lips as he looked upon the young woman. "It's been awhile... hasn't it." He took in another deep breath as the pain his unconscious form had tuned out now started to rush into his conscious mind.

Despite his attempt at a conversation, Aren could tell where his focus was. "Your padawan is with Val'Ko. They're taking a walk, to help clear Lo's mind." she explained, watching his eyes close as his heart ached for his padawan.

"She doesn't deserve this," he began, taking in a few deep breaths as he fought to overcome the need to let his mind fall back into a black abyss. "I could feel her anxiety, her stress- I shouldn't have survived that blast, Aren... Yet here I am- she's had to lead where I cannot. I-" Dominik took in a deep breath as he felt his body trying to pull him back under. The pain he felt was overwhelming, but he wouldn't give in. He was done resting.

Aren watched the older Jedi nervously, stepping closer to him, a hand on his arm lightly as as struggled to pull away from the pain.

"Easy Dominik. You cannot push yourself right now, you've got to let your body heal. You have wait until it is ready."

"Send for Lo... please. I need to talk to her."

"Of course."

"I agree. Maybe later, we can go out and herb hunt? I could use someone to watch my back. One of the hunters mentioned locating a cave system and I hope to find some wild clot-root. Our supplies are running low again." Lo stated as she gestured for Val to follow her.

The two padawans began to casually walk back, Lo edging into the lead slightly. Her arms folded back into the sleeves while her posture relaxed. Despite the calmer presentation, her emotions were still shimmered behind her mask. They always would be until she could fully resolve them. She noticed their path tilted downward as the small pull of gravity hasten her downward. Easily overlooked when her own emotions and Val distracted her earlier.

Just a head, a young Twi'lek began to rush across the dissipating groups. Her green skin broke in among the pale pinks and blues, her head seeking out Lo. When she spotted the Bothan walking with Val'Ko, she shouted out.

"Lo! Lo! You're needed at Master Rothul's hut! He wants to see you."

Lo's whole body froze in place. Her heart seemed to stall in her chest, and she looked stunned at what she heard. She couldn't understand how this was possible or what to do next. Somehow, her body knew. She moved to the Twi'lek. Her feet walked than ran, rushing past the girl to where her master should be resting.

As she drew closer to the entrance, her pace slowed than stall. New emotions conflicted with the old ones. Lo inhaled causing her to swallow the negative down before she entered.

At Lo's offer to go herb hunting Val'Ko's face lit up, he looked towards her with a big grin. He gave her a sure nod as an acceptance of the offer to go out exploring and looking for herbs while keeping an eye out for any baddies lurking out there. Val followed her every step as they started back letting her take the lead, he started to get lost in thought on their walk back slowing down slightly. Taking long lazy steps as the ground declined in front of them. He snapped back to reality just as the young Twi'lek called out to Lo.

Val immediately took notice of Lo's reaction to what the little girl had said. Watching her move as if some other power had come over her. She took off. Val'Ko hurried his pace to keep up, stopping next to the small Twi'lek for a second meeting her eyes. They were full of hope. He smiled at her and she smiled back, Val took off again to follow Lo to the hut they had walked out of just a little while ago.

Val'Ko arrived a little late, standing just inside the door, watching the reunion with a smile.

Aren stood close to Dominik's side as they anxiously waited for Lo to return. The older Jedi was fighting to keep his body awake so that he could see his Padawan. The Bacts that had been used on him over the week had helped heal any major injuries, including the blood vessels that had been ruptured. The pain still remained though, as part of it was caused by the bruised and healing ribs that he had recieved after the blast.

The sound of footsteps behind her made Aren turn to the doorway. Seeing the young Lo enter gave her some relief before she turned back to Dominik. Ro'Sara was on his other side, cleaning the healing cuts and gashes on his forehead and the side of his face while a couple Twi'leks hurried out to grab extra blankets and new gauze for later.

For a moment it seemed as if Dominik had fallen back under, but as Lo came nearer he took a deep breath and his eyes opened once more. Her aura gave him strength where his body lacked, yet he could also feel the effects the week stress and exhaustion had done to her.

"Leave us, please." Dominik muttered as he looked to everyone else in the room. Ro'Sara took an extra blanket beside her and rolled it up, giving the man a little more cushion for his head to rest on before she left right behind Aren.

After everyone had left the small room, Dominik took a deep breath as his head turned slightly to look at his Padawan. "I'm sorry all of this has happened, little one… you don't deserve the weight of responsibility that my actions have put on your shoulders…"

When Lo entered, her heart's pounding moved into her head. Her eyes locked with her master's vision and her hope wavered. Nothing had changed. She forced herself to move as she began to retreat back out, stopped by a sixth sense. A second glance caused her to meet Jedi Knight Aren's eyes briefly. Curiosity won as she fought her fear's decision to flee and instead, tread closer to Dominik. The sight of his eyes opening to meet her caused warmth to spread from Lo's heart into her connection to her master. Worry lingered in its wake, hidden by the emotion's shadows.

As her Master requested everyone to leave them, she stepped to the side. Her eyes watched each individual pay a brief respect to his wishes and didn't stay long.

Meanwhile, the Bothan's mind described him with words she knew shouldn't fit him. Fragile. Weak. She conflicted on those ideals, even when true in the circumstances. Silently she watched each person leave until all that remained were the two Jedi. A thickness settled between them. Lo tried to ignore it, but the weight began smother her in each ticking moment. Her fur shifted when her master's breath ripped her from her plaguing thoughts. She snapped her brown eyes onto him as he spoke, feeling guilty from his words. An answer didn't come immediately. Instead, she struggled with it and her presentation.

"I wish I knew what to say. You can sense everything I've felt during the time you were in a coma. Most of it, I had no right to feel." She began.

With a wave of her hand, a stool floated to his bed. Gently, Lo lowered herself and sat on it.

"At this moment, I'm just happy you're awake and alive."

Dominik's mind wavered as his eyes fell on his Padawan. He forced himself to focus as he listened to her words so that he could properly comprehend them. His chest rose and fell in a somewhat quickened pace as even the little movements took a lot of his energy. The man could feel a pit in his stomach as he laid there, he hadn't eaten for a week. Lack of nutrients and fuel was partly to blame for how weak he felt.

"You have every right to feel that way, Lo. No one your age should have to take on the responsibility you have… but you took it anyway-" the man paused for a moment as he tried to collect his thoughts.

He took a deep breath into his lungs and held it for a few moments before exhaling, giving himself a few extra moments to think.

"I'm proud of you. No doubt I owe you my life. You've done so much where I could not." He said, allowing a faint smile to light up his features as he looked at Lo.

"You look older…" he began, observing the change she had made with her fur pulled back into a bun. "It suits you."

Lo patiently waited until her master finished. Her dark eyes lingered on his fragile form, a faint reminder of his state. She smiled at his compliment on her hair causing her hand to rise and check how well it held up. All seemed in order as she let her hand drift back down. So many words clawed to the surface, but not of them fitting for the reunion. She took a deep breath then began.

"First off, thank you master. I grew a lot during your healing. Some of the Twi`lek elders didn't expect you to recover and it was considered to transfer you to H`Ratth at one point. Especially if you didn't improve."

Lo glanced to the ground for a moment. Guilt washed over her, surrounding and tainting her with the undeniable facts. The only reason it hadn't happened was because she selfishly refused to let it. Again, she inhaled.

"Let's get you something to eat and drink. Then I can catch you up on what you missed." She lifted from her seat as she moved toward the door, unsure if anyone stood nearby.

Dominik could sense there was something about Lo that wasn't of the norm. He didn't fully trust his senses however, and also didn't want to push the subject right away. As she talked about H'Ratth, and a possible transfer before, Dominik was glad it hadn't happened. The move could've been difficult, and most definitely dangerous.

"You trusted in your abilities. And it is because you trusted in yourself and the Force that I'm here right now." Dominik said, trying to reassure his Padawan that all was well.

Seeing her move to retrieve something for Dominik to eat, the older Jedi sighed and let his eyes rest, feeling his body was slightly more awake now that he had seen his Padawan.

Outside the hut, Aren stood near the door. Sar and many of the other Twi'leks had moved on and continued their duties to the village to give Lo some space and time with Dominik.

As the young Bothan emerged from the hut, Aren looked over to her. "How is he, Lo? Would you like help with anything?" She asked gently, turning to face her and letting a small, reassuring smile light up her face.

"He is still pretty weak and he needs a proper meal. Can you can bring back some meat, vegetables, and water? I still need to check him over and determine what herbs to give him." Lo stated as she stopped just within the doorway, her attention on the older Knight.

Her voice remained calm as she paused. Promptly, her head ducked back over her shoulder. Satisfied by the image of her master resting, she turned back to Aren.

"I think he will be fine, but he is to stay in bed unless supervised. No stress or extreme activity. Else I will not just deal with him, but whoever let it happen." While said in a sweet voice, it hid an undeniable threat as Lo smiled back and ducked back inside.

Aren made a mental note of the food items Lo requested. She had heard one of the Twi'leks was cooking up a bone broth with added meat, and Aren was sure she could get some vegetables thrown in. A light meal would be best for Dominik's healing but fragile body.

The Jedi Knight wasted no time heading to grab a meal for Master Rothul, Lo's words hanging at the back of her mind for a moment as she walked. Aren had a feeling it would be Dominik's own actions they'd have to look out for first.

As Lo walked back inside the hut, Dominik's eyes opened again, his ears picking up her quiet footsteps.

His eyes closed again as he took a deep, content breath. "I believe you told me you found my holocron… didn't you?"

"I wasn't sure if you could hear me or not. I worried it was my desperation that clouded my judgement and connection with you. It's good to know your gestures weren't just a reaction to mine."

Lo exhaled. Lightly her feet stepped across the hut's floor and made her way to the stool, pausing to adjust her robes. She lowered back into the seat before looking at him.

"I believe you know I'm still struggling with the password. I'm not very good with puzzles or guessing things. The protections you set up were effective, but I couldn’t leave it on the ship. It felt wrong to."

“I’m glad you took it with you…” Dominik said quietly, his eyes closed still. His chest rose and fell lightly as his mind wandered; thinking about those last moments he thought were his last, all that he had yet to tell Lo, all that he wished to tell her. But now wasn’t the time, he wanted more strength before answering some of her questions.

“What’s the one thing I always tell you to do, Lo.” He began, his eyes finally opening again as he glanced to the young Bothan next to him. “That is your answer.” He teased, smiling slightly at the young Jedi as he watched and waited for her to start figuring it out.

Lo's mouth pressed tightly together. Her head cocked to the side as she absorbed his password, finding it simple and easier than she expected. For several moments, she found it hard to believe.

"Why that word?" Her question tumbled out, urged by her curiosity.

“It’s what I live by.” Dominik answered simply. His eyes moved from his padawan to glance at his form before they closed. “All my life Lo I’ve had trust challenged, constantly. If I trust in the Force I know it will lead to me where I should be; then I trust in my friends, my fellow Jedi. It’s because of that trust that I’m still here today. If I didn’t trust and hope that they would come I might’ve died at the hands of Sith, hands that tortured me for nearly a year.” The man explained, revealing part of his past to his padawan that had yet to be mentioned.

“It’s something the Sith don’t have, Lo. They don’t trust anyone but themselves. They don’t trust in the Force, they manipulate it. That is where the Jedi and Sith differ the most… In being able to trust.”

Lo remained still. Her eyes watched and studied her master while thought rumbled around in her head. More questions wanted to surface, but she bit them back. Now wasn't the time to burden him with more. Instead, she exhaled the desire away.

"It explains why trust is important to you." She let a smile slip onto her lips as her head righted itself once more. Her vision glanced to the door, hoping to see Aren arrive with food.

Not but a few moments later, Aren walked through the doorway with a crude wooden bowl in one hand and a small wooden plate in the other. In the bowl was a Rycrit bone broth with small chunks of meat, and on the plate was a few different varieties of vegetables all cut up into smaller pieces. Ro'sara walked in behind Aren with an extra blanket in one hand and a drinking bowl of water in the other.

Both smiled to Lo as they walked inside, their eyes moving to Dominik momentarily before they approached Lo.

"If there's anything else you need Padawan, don't hesitate to ask." Aren said gently as she handed the bowl and plate to Lo.

The padawan took the bowls and plate, setting the plate and water bowl on the side table. Her hand stirred the primal spoon about the broth to cool it to a lower temperature. It wouldn't take long. Her head turned to the Jedi and Twi'lek, giving them both a smile. She paused in her stirring to point at the foot of the bed to set the blanket on.

“Thank you both. I think this is enough for now and I appreciate it." Checking the broth once more, she looked to Dominik.

"Would you like to start with the water, broth, or the vegetables first?"

It wasn't until Lo's question that the older Jedi came fully to terms with his situation and condition. He paused for a moment at her question, his gaze moving to Aren and Ro'Sara briefly. Aren smirked, she knew that look. No doubt he felt embarrassed at the fact that he needed his Padawan's help in order to feed himself. In a few days he would be stronger, but for now his waking body needed to feel itself out and fully wake once more.

He closed his eyes and sighed before finally answering. "The broth." He mumbled, causing Ro'Sara to giggle at his stubbornness. She placed the blanket at the end of the bed and left quickly with Aren, leaving the master and Padawan to themselves.

With the arrival of the two Jedi that morning, Sar had found the time to venture out into the tunnels with patrols and see the damage with his own eyes. They were trying to prevent the tunnels from collapsing in, thus cutting off any route in or out of the caverns. The underground tunnels were both a blessing and a curse; they had protected the majority of Twi’leks during the mortar bombing, yet should the colony become trapped due to tunnel collapse, there was very little in the way of food and water underground.

The Twi’lek man sent patrols in every direction, scouting outside for the enemy, and gathering more food despite the numerous rations the two new Jedi had brought with them. You could never have too much supplies, especially when fighting an enemy that seemed to always be one step ahead. The slavers had never been ones to use heavy weapons against his people, much less mortars that could be fired at from a long distance. Someone had to be backing them; Sar didn’t want to think about it.

His feet led him through one of the most secure and safest tunnels, one of three that remained after the collapse. With a squad of five men behind him, Sar led the way to the surface to scout for anything suspicious above. The last thing they needed was another surprise attack on their colony.

The sounds of Jer’s roaring speeder bike echoed through the hallowed out caverns as he zoomed down the tunnel. He’d ventured into the cave systems before, though never that deep. He’d heard what sounded like explosions earlier but he wasn’t sure if it was simple boulders falling from the canyons or something natural. Now after his encounter with the five slavers he realized it was likely a bombardment of some sort. The retired mercenary’s choice of dwelling had saved him and his family from that danger. He planned to return to them after surveying the scene on the rest of the planet, if it was rift with Zygerrians then he’d venture back to his ship and leave the planet. Though he did not want to have to do that.

The heavily armed twi’lek pushed harder on the throttle. He was making a racket as he rocketed through the tunnel, not even sure which way he was going. He only knew that one of the largest cities was in that direction that he was headed. His foot began to depress the break as he took in the sight of several figures in the distance. They were headed in his direction, towards the surface as he drew closer to the group. They were his own people, other Twi’leks and armed with blasters. A far more welcome sight than slaver scum, though he doubted that they even knew of the intricate tunnel systems of his homeworld. Not wanting to appear as a threat he brought his ride to a total stop, then spoke out as they drew even closer.

“Greetings, I’m relieved that you’re not more of those Zygerrian sleazebags.”

Sar and the group stopped momentarily as the sounds of the speeder grew exponentially closer all of a sudden.

As the speeder stopped in front of them, Sar and his men stepped closer to see exactly who it was. A Twi’lek no doubt, but where had he come from?

“No, we are not… I’m Sar Tarkona,” Sar began, walking closer to the new Twi’lek while the rest of his men stayed back and ready, just in case. “These Zygerrians… did you see them near the tunnels?” he then asked, figuring the first order of business would be if there was to be another impending attack, and if there were Zygerrians scouting out their position within the tunnels.

“No, I did not encounter any outside or in the tunnels. Five of them approached my home earlier and I had to kill them. My name is Jer Vusid, I was hoping that I would find more of our people in the tunnels.” He replied, leaving out any mention of his family for now. He hoped that he’d be able to communicate with them once he got to wherever these other twi’leks had been holding up.

“I thought I heard explosions before, I’ve encountered slavers before but I can’t recall any using heavy bombardment.” He added.

“Their attack hit us hard-” Sar said, taking in Jer’s words of the five slavers he had encountered before. The other Twi’leks name hit him after a few moments as his mind caught up with their conversation. Jer Vusid, a Twi’lek mercenary who was known to fight alongside the Empire; the Sith. The exact reason his people were in this situation today.

The grip on the blaster in his hands tightened ever so slightly as he looked Jer up and down, a slight frown on his face. He couldn’t simply let this man come back to the colony, back to Lo and Dominik who was in no position to defend himself. This man fought with the Empire, thus siding with the Sith; that meant fighting and maybe even killing Jedi.

“Tell me Jer, who’s side are you on now?” he muttered, eyes watching the man closely after Sar asked his question.

“I see you recognize my name, it appears my exploits made it back to my homeworld even if I haven’t stepped foot on Ryloth in decades,” Jer replied, a slight smirk slipping onto his face. He could notice the other twi’lek who was speaking to him tense up. His long years as a mercenary had that effect on people who knew of him, particularly his work for the Sith. “I’m retired. I put down my blaster a few years ago, came back here with my family to spend my retirement in peace.”

“The blasted slavers interrupted that and forced me to fight again. I take it you’re part of the resistance movement, I can help, Sar. I’m still a sharp shot with my blaster, I’d wager the most accurate on the world and I have offworld connections who could bring in resources, weaponry and medical supplies.” He stated, as he laid out his case. Jer did not intend to be pulled fully into the conflict but he needed to protect his family. The Zygerrians would only leave if they were met with a firm, overwhelming resistance.

“There are Jedi here, working with us, Jer. They’re the reason our people have survived this war, they’re the reason we weren’t all killed during the bombing. If you are willing to come back and work for the betterment of our people and your family, you must also be willing to work with the Jedi.” Sar explained, standing his ground as he explained the situation.

He knew some of his people, very few in fact, still didn’t believe in the efforts of the Jedi. They think the village is being used, that all of them were a means to an end until the Jedi saw it fit to flee. But Ser believed differently.

“If you can agree with that, then you’re welcome to come with us, and your family is welcome as well.”

“I have no issue with Jedi. I faced down a few on the battlefield during my days in the war, they’re a fierce opponent. I hold no grudge against them.” He stated calmly, as he assured Sar there would be no issue.

“I will have to see how things are at your settlement before moving my family there. I do not want anything to happen to them if there is another bombardment or attack.” The former mercenary added as his thoughts shifted back to his wife and son. They were safe taking refuge inside of his ship.

"We can escort you back to the village then." Sar offered, though cautiously. The Twi'lek leader was wary in bringing others into the camp that weren't Lo and Dominik's fellow Jedi, but he could not turn away one of his own. Dominik was still in no shape to fight, luckily though they now had the second Jedi, Aren Bec, and her padawan.

“Please lead the way then.” Jer replied with a nod, still noticing the caution in his fellow twi’lek. Sar didn’t trust him, which was to be expected. Mercenaries often received lots of suspicion wherever they went, especially one like him who had fought under the Sith banner. He looked forward to getting a look at the village, his old connections would come in hand to aiding the resistance.

Week 7, Day 1, in the darkness of evening

Low over the ground, barely above the canopy, the missile flew forwards at great velocity, weaving between the hills. Where it originated would be impossible to pinpoint without orbital tracking, but to the few ships in orbit who might have turned their sensors in the right direction, it would be clear that the missile had not passed down through the atmosphere.

No ground-based system would be able detect its presence until it was too close to matter. One moment the missile was airborne, the next it slammed into the hull of the Defender-class Light Corvette. Powered down as the ship was, it had no protection to speak of. At first there was a blinding flash of light as the fireball lit up the night. At the same time the shockwave moved through the ground several times faster than the sound passed through the air. With each passing kilometer the discrepancy between the three grew. By the time it would reach the location of the Twi’lek village, the three were far enough apart that there was first a bright flash of light, then a shockwave not unlike a small earthquake, and finally a thundering boom.

Almost at the same time as it reached the members of the twi’lek community who were on watch, Nimm saw the explosion down on the surface. She smiled. “Exactly as I planned it.” she whispered to herself. The hutt was easily manipulated and had far too much pride for his own good. If someone were to question him, he would never reveal her—or the Empire’s—hands being involved. Besides, it was not as if the treaty was openly advertised. She was reasonably sure neither the twi’leks nor the Republic knew about it.

There was one thing that she found curious about all of this… Why would a Jedi park one of their signature ships so brazenly near imperial-controlled space? Was he overconfident, or did he have more allies than she had seen? Whatever the reason, she decided she had to approach it with care. She had no intention of dying. Ever.

After a few more moments of thinking she decided on a course of action. A pragmatic one, of course. She sent a few messages out, one to any Sith in the area—encrypted, of course—another to a nearby Imperial Intelligence buoy—there was no telling if they had any available agents, but it never hurt to check—and the final to the nearest sizeable Imperial garrison at Christophsis. All informing them about what she had observed here, including the Jedi infestation. Perhaps some would come, perhaps they wouldn’t.

Whatever happened, she would deal with it. She did not inform her master. This was not enough to be worth disturbing Darth Nyiss over. Even sending out a call like this could be considered excessive, but it did not hurt to see how well the machinery of the Empire worked on this day. Besides, it would be rather fun if the garrison arranged for a small fleet to come for a visit. No doubt the now-shipless Jedi would be panicking if that happened, however unlikely it was.

She did not take the ship down to land on the planet again. Not yet. It was better to wait for any response to her messages up here.

With some approval from his padawan and the help of Knight Aren, Dominik found himself being helped from the crude bed as he attempted to stand. In order to heal properly, Dominik needed to start moving. His ribs would set incorrectly and cause even more issues down the line if they did so; his muscles were also in a weakened state due to the lack of movement after the incident which put him in a coma.

After a light meal hit his stomach, the man felt that he was ready. His body ached, but perhaps the worst of all was the pain he felt in his right hip. He had refused to tell his padawan, simply due to the fact that it was an old injury that refused to respond to any form of healing. He would only worry Lo should he mention it to her at that moment, and didn't want to discourage her simply because it couldn't be healed.

As Aren stood at his left side, his arm around her shoulders, one of her hands on Dominik's chest as she slowly helped the older Jedi stand from the bedside, a shockwave suddenly ripped through the caverns followed moments later by sound of the explosion. The shockwave caused all in the caverns to lose their footing as the ground shook and pulled violently in different directions. Aren lost her footing which caused both her and Dominik to fall to the hard floor of the hut. The older man cried out as he landed, some of the fall purposefully cushioned by Aren, but the momentum of hitting the ground ripping through his body and jarring his healing bones and dark bruises.

Dominik's eyes shut tightly as he felt a fire rip up his right side and down his leg. Aren attempted to position him moments after the fall as the sound of the explosion ripped through the area.

"Just lay me down- Aren! Just let me lay down." He called, half begging as the woman quickly moved to help him lay flat.

Outside of the hut, many Twi'leks found themselves fallen, supplies scattered and opened rations spilled. Many of the younger children began to cry while those a little older attempted to help others pick themselves up.

Aren kneeled at Dominik's side, glancing to his padawan as she started to recover from her own fall before her focus moved back to the Master Jedi. The man was hissing in pain as he lay as still as possible, seeing stars as his eyes shut tight and trying to ignore what his body was feeling.

It was going to be all right.

Lo repeated to herself and moved to the wall near the foot of the bed. As much as she tried, her over protectiveness refused to let her go farther. Giving into that instinct, she allowed her this weakness but no more. To prevent her from fretting, she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. The young Bothan carefully observed her master's progress. As Aren helped him upright, she pressed her lips together to silence the worried words.

This was unavoidable. Being a Healer, she knew the importance of these exercises. Bones and muscles were important. During her master's coma, he had lost both muscle mass and bone strength. They couldn't help properly without some work.

When Aren managed to get him fully up on his feet, Lo's breath stilled in her lungs. Her fur flattened out with a nervousness against her will. On instinct, her upper jaw bit the lower lip. A slight sting to distract her from her master's poor condition.

She never sensed the aftershock's approach until it hit.

An violent and sudden force knocked her balance from her. Her arm snapped out to catch herself. IT managed to snag the bed, stopping her from face planting into the stone floor. Darkness washed over them when the few candles in the hut toppled from their perch. Snuffled out by the impact.

As Lo righted herself, only the few crystals illuminated inside. She froze when she heard Master Rothul plead for Aren to lay himself. The padawan's heart stalled from fear. Half risen, her eyes met Aren's. That eye connection broke her spell as she pushed upright then moved toward her master.

Instinctively, she dropped to her knees. Her palms touched to his side and wordlessly she began to focus her spirit into healing him. Her eyes closed and her mind turned inwardly, using the force to guide her skills.

The pain shooting up his right side was unbearable, and he knew exactly what the cause of it was. He hadn't felt this much pain from his hip in months, he had hoped most of the injury had rested. But now, due to the trauma Dominik had sustained during the mortar attack, the injury had flared and he was paying the price.

He felt his Padawan kneel near him, felt her hands on his side. Dominik knew exactly what she was aiming to do, but it wouldn't work. The injury did not heal, ever. If it had healed, it had done so improperly. One arm moved out to push Lo's hands away, "Stop. Lo, it's not worth it." He began, hissing in pain as he pulled his left leg up to bend his knee in order to better support his right side as he lay there.

"Don't waste your energy... my hip isn't able to heal. It never has been." Dominik said, forcing his words out through the pain that wracked his core. His chest rose and fell quickly as his breathing remained unsteady. Aren had moved and grabbed the extra rolled up blanket at the end of the bed and promptly tucked it under the back of his head. She knew they wouldn't be moving him immediately, not with the pain he was dealing with. "Aren... go find Sar. Make sure he's alright... please."

Aren nodded to Dominik before glancing to Lo. "If there's anything you need, please let me know. I'm going to go look for Val too." At that, the Jedi Knight stood and quickly left the hut in search of her charge.

Lo frowned as Dominik's hand tried to push her away. Her eyes snapped up, filled with frustration and anger. Immediately the emotions faded when he explained why. She gritted her teeth, but didn't say a word. Instead, her hands pulled back from Dominik's side and back into her lap. She remained sitting on her knees. All the healing energy dissipated.

Silently she watched in helplessness as her master waited for the pain to pass. Through their link, she could easily tell how much he suffered, but she bore none of the pain herself.

At Aren's words, the padawan looked into her direction. A simple nodded revealed she had heard everything. Her following words confirmed it.

"Thank you, Knight Bec. It's appreciated and I will try to remember it." Her voice took on a soft, but quiet tone.

Several silent moments passed before Lo began to raise to her feet. During the unexpected tremor, several things had toppled from the shelving. Including her healing herbs. With a careful and delicate touch, Lo began to pick them up. She paused with a small root in her hand. An idea formed in her head as she moved to her mortar and grind.

"Where's the pain originating from? Nerves, muscles, what? What is it like? Stabbing or continue throbbing?" Lo asked her master, listening carefully to his description.

"Nerves..." Dominik mumbled as he listened to his Padawan's questions. "It's always felt sharp... stabbing. Lo there is nothing you can do here," he began, eyes opening to glanced at the young Jedi for a moment.

Many healers had tried and many had come up with little to no answers as to why the injury in his hip wouldn't respond to any form of healing or medical treatment. It was a wound he had sustained during his captivity on Korriban for nearly a year. The Sith had tortured him, used him for tests with certain toxins and Sith Alchemy. He had been beaten and bruised by time help had arrived. It seemed the injury to his hip would be a lasting reminder of that terrible time.

"Save your energy, Lo. There are others who need it more than I do."

They weren’t very far from the village now. Sar had taken them through the safest part of the tunnel as he led the way back towards the cavern. His thoughts wandered; over Jer, Dominik, Lo. The Twi’lek man hoped and prayed he was making the right choice. Trust was the hardest thing he could give right now.

His thoughts were shattered at the sudden shaking of the ground beneath them. Sar fell to both knees in an attempt to avoid being knocked down completely. A few of the other men promptly met the ground with their faces before Sar glanced back at Jer just a few moments later. The tremor didn’t last long, but it was powerful, and had obviously come from a source nearby. Was it an earthquake? More mortar bombings? Sar’s thoughts were silenced again as the sound of a loud shockwave and explosion rattled through the tunnels, making the man cover his ears with his hands as his head rang painfully. It was over after a few long seconds, the echo of the blast running through the tunnels.

Sar’s gaze moved farther down the dark tunnel, only lit by the crystals that scattered the cave walls. His men had dropped their torches, the fire being snuffed by the ground, after they had fallen.

The sides of the tunnel cracked, small rocks fell from its ceiling, causing Sar to look up. After a few moments while holding his breath, nothing further happened. No cave in or collapse.. Thankfully. They hadn’t the resources to deal with another.

“Feven, Arso, lead the group back to check on the village, Jer and I will be right behind you.”

The former mercenary’s eyes went wide as he felt the entire cavern rumble. He went down roughly, the impact evident from the sound his heavy metallic armor made. Jer sat there as the shaking continued, praying that it did not collapse the entire cave system and crush them all. Ryloth had the occasional earthquakes but they never were that powerful. His eyes went wide at the distinct sounds of an explosive shockwave echoing through the tunnels. It brought him back to the war, those horrific moments of being shelled by the enemy. The only thing you could truly do was hit the floor and hope the blasts missed you.

Jer’s gaze darted upwards at the shaking ceiling, he breathed slowly in those dreadful moments which dragged on like hours. A large chunk of rock splintered off from the cavern’s ceiling, causing Jer to sprawl to his feet. It slammed into the floor and shattered into smaller pieces, filling the air momentarily with dust. As the bombing subsided and the cavern’s shaking ceased he glanced over at Sar as the twi’lek issued orders.

“I don’t think that will be the last strike on the caverns. I’d wager they’re gonna try to bring the entire cave system upon us.” He stated as he walked alongside Sar, watching the other men move off ahead. The prospect of relocating somewhere either deeper into the caverns or outside of them would have to be debated.

"That wasn't like the attack before…" Sar began, glancing to the man at his side. His eyes moved to observe the darkened tunnel, noticing the deeper cracks and falling dust from loose rocks. The main cavern was the safest thing; structurally it was very strong and proved to withstand the last attack against them. But if the tunnels collapsed, they would be trapped.

But… they were in no position to gather up supplies and move. Dominik had just woken, he was their main source of strength when it came to building and moving the larger things around. Many of what they had done wouldn't have been possible if Dominik hadn't have helped.

"We need to get back, to make sure the people are alright." Sar began, picking up his pace and making sure Jer could keep up as well.

Upon arriving back at the cavern, emerging from the smaller tunnel, it was noticeable the cavern had been hit hard by the shockwave. There were Twi'lek everywhere, helping one another around, assisting those injured by their fall or something previous. Picking up supplies that had been scattered from the shockwave.

Sar led the way through his people, assisting many as he walked by, gauging the damage that had been done. It wasn't just supplies that had been scattered and damaged, it was the morale of the people too. It had helped to know the Jedi Master lived after the mortar attack, but now another attack so soon afterwards? He could feel their frustration, their fear.

Sar knew he needed to speak with the Jedi. Something needed to be done. If they didn't lose the war via fighting, they would lose the war if the support of his people vanished. Sar led the way towards Dominik's hut, no doubt he'd at least find the older Jedi and his Padawan there.

“It seems they ramped up the attack. It just means we will have to act more quickly.” As Jer echoed Sar’s increased walking pace. The attacks would not cease any time soon.

As they arrived at the cavern the elder twi’lek’s eyes took in the sight of the gathered resistance movement. There seemed to be a panic to their motions, it was something he’d seen many times before with his experience in war. These people never signed up to be soldiers, they weren’t even that. They were simply defending their homeworld and taking up arms was the best they had. Even then the odds were not exactly on their sides as they faced an overwhelming opposition intent on bringing caves down upon them. Still, Jer had sworn to help them. With intelligent strategy, bold maneuvers and some luck they had a chance.

“How well stocked are we weapons wise? I could send a transmission to some old acquaintances and try to have some more firepower delivered.” He stated calmly, following Sar through the cavern towards the Jedi. Simple hunting rifles wouldn’t do much against well armed slavers.

"We don't have much in the way of weapons besides what we've been able to scrounge up from remaining villages." Sar explained as he noticed Aren walking towards them.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Jer stated right before the Jedi started towards them.

The Jedi Knight walked straight up to Sar whilst giving Jer a quick glance over. She hadn't the time to ask extra questions.

"Aren… how is Dominik?" The Twi'lek man asked quickly, to which Aren took a deep breath as she glanced back in the direction of his hut.
"I was helping him to stand when the tremors hit… he's not well. I think he's dealing with more pain than he's letting on. His Padawan is tending to him right now- she'll need help getting him back up onto the bed later." Aren glanced to Jer again before looking back to Sar, "I need to find Val. If you need any help don't hesitate to ask me later."

The twi’lek mercenary stayed silent as the two friends conversed. He did not recognize the young Jedi, or the other one that he spoke of. It had been some time since the war had ended after all. Jer also felt it was better for everyone involved if the Jedi here were ones that he didn’t know. He would already have a sour enough reputation among them for his wartime actions

“How many other Jedi are there here? I’m Jer by the way, Jer Vusid. Some of the slavers tried to ransack my home, I see they did a number elsewhere too.” He said as he spoke out to the Jedi.

“There are four of us total, counting the two Padawan learners. We’re hoping more will show soon, but the Council is very wary of sending aid right now. But in light of recent events, I do believe we’ll need it soon.” Aren said, replying to Jer before glancing at Sar and nodding.

“If you’ll excuse me.” she said, bowing quickly but politely before she turned quickly, hurrying off to try and find her Padawan.

"No disrespect Master, but I disagree." Lo's face turned to face her master. A familiar hardness etched into her muzzle and eyes. She let her frustration yield to her determination as she leaned her back against the table. In her hands, the mortar and grind already had been turning the herbs into a paste.

"I might not be able to heal it, but I can give you a painkiller. I do this for a few good reasons." Her voice remained firm and resisting her master's protest. She shifted the grind into the bowl as she lifted her fingers and counted the reasons.

"First," her first finger lifted.

"If anyone sees you in that condition, it will affect the Twi'lek's faith in you. Especially since it's a persisting injury that they knew nothing about until now. While Sar and a few others understand, others will not."

She lifted her second finger.

"I need to be able to focus. Through our link, I get faint sensations and those are distracting. This is to give us time to teach me how to block it out."

Lo inhaled, revealing her last and final reason.

"Finally, before you deny the painkiller with the excuse that others need it... I'm only using local herbs. Ones we can easily replenish and have plenty in stock. I also need the practice to familiarize myself with how they work and strength. You're going to help with that."

Once more, the padawan inhaled.

"Now, stop being unreasonable. Else, I will show you exactly how H'Ratth healers tend to stubborn patients." Lo appeared to prepare herself to deal with additional issues as she looked at her master.

Dominik listened to his Padawan’s words as she spoke, giving him no time to interject with an argument as she countered every single one he was preparing to throw at her. By the end of it, Dominik was obviously peeved at his Padawan’s ability to argue with him at that moment, but he also admired her determination and stubbornness.

He pulled back a glare that had formed; she knew how to argue and how to do it well. The older Jedi huffed in frustration before his eyes closed as he accepted his defeat. He shifted his legs slightly as he felt the sharp pain threatening to dig deeper into his hip.

“You’ve learned well.” He muttered in defeat, wincing at the pain he felt but attempting to distract his mind by talking to his Padawn.
“Well, I have spent about two months with you. If I haven’t learned anything during that time, I consider myself a terrible padawan.” Lo stated bluntly as she finished grinding the herbs then shaking the paste into a cup. She passed it to him.

“It needs to be digested. Beware, the herbs are bitter. I suggest taking some water with them to ease the taste.” After she passed it off, Lo looked to her master.

“We need to get you off the floor before the chill makes it worse.”

Dominik reached out slowly, accepting the cup from his Padawan. He brought it to his nose, smelling its bitter scent before pulling it to his lips. Closing his eyes, he sat up slightly, using his other arm to hold him up before he threw his head back, swallowing the paste in one go. He could help the face he made moments later before he coughed a couple times, swallowing in an attempt to get the taste to disappear faster. He held the cup back out towards Lo, allowing her to take it before that arm returned to help prop his body to fully.

Without waiting for Lo's help, he slowly turned his body so that he was in a sort of kneeling position, gathering his strength before he slowly started to help himself stand.

Lo stood there, watching her master swallow the herbs. She reached for the bowl then quickly turned away. Not seeing the pain or struggle helped her to squash down the urge to help him. His pride and stubbornness would fight her on that.

"So how do you feel? Are the herbs dealing with the pain at least? Don't lie because I'll know." Her voice retained a firm, but softer tone this time.

Dominik slowly found his footing as he stood, keeping most of the weight off of his sore hip, though he could tell the herb paste was already working. He winced as he felt a dull pain surge from his hip and down his leg, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been before. He looked to a nearby crude wooden table, one hand reaching out towards it. On it, his lightsaber and wooden walking stick started to tremble. He pulled both of them quickly towards him, both landing in either hand. Dominik mounted the lightsaber on his waistbelt while the other hand took the walking stick firmly and held it down next to his right leg. The walking stick came up to his waist, a finely made cane of carved wood and leather. Dominik adjusted his clothing on his form, noting how they were starting to wear, before looking over towards his Padawan.

“Come Lo…” He said, pausing and showing his Padawan a weak but confident smile, “we should try to find out what happened, and see if Sar needs any help.”

“Lead the way.” She snatched her own lightsaber and quickly followed him out of the hut.

It didn’t take Dominik long to find Sar, for the Twi’lek leader seemed to have nearly sought him out after the tremor. He seemed to be accompanying another older Twi’lek as well. The second’s aura felt vaguely familiar, but the older Jedi had been through a lot. So he pushed the familiarity aside as Sar approached him and Lo.

The familiar Twi’lek broke off as the two Jedi got near, Dom couldn’t tell what for, but he pushed the thought aside. Holding on tightly to the waist-high walking stick in his right hand, Sar covered most of the distance so that the older Jedi wouldn’t have to.

“I’m glad to see you are both alright.” Sar said, glancing from the older Jedi to the younger one for a moment. “How are you feeling?” he continued, looking back to Dominik.

“Could be better. But thanks to Lo’s quick thinking, I’ve got some herbal medicine down that should dull the pain considerably, for a while at least. How are things here?”

Sar sighed and glanced behind him, seeing Jer helping a few younger Twi’leks and watching a few others work before looking back to the Jedi. “We’re alright. But our scouts aren’t sure what the tremor was caused by. We’re going to gather up a few advanced scouting parties to depart when things settle down.”

“I recall you mentioned that Ryloth is most dangerous at night. I assume you’re waiting until morning to send them?” Lo asked, checking her facts. She tilted her head and watched the Twi’lek’s reaction to her question.

“Exactly.” Sar replied, nodding to Lo in confirmation. He caught Dominik’s confused expression out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t blame the older Jedi though, it had been weeks since he had been outside, or even been moving. It was starting to show in his form; he seemed thinner, a little slower and it reflected in his voice how his body felt. Though Sar had no doubt that Dominik could recover fully and get back to where he had been before the mortar attack.

The older Jedi couldn’t help but feel worried as to what the cause of the ‘tremor’ had been. “I can lead a small party through one of the tunnels so-”

Sar interrupted immediately, holding one finger up so as to show Dominik he was speaking over him. “No, Master Jedi. You are still healing. Lo and I can take care of the patrols, we need you here.”

“Master, we have only been on Ryloth for a short time. I feel it’s best to trust Sar’s judgement and wisdom on this matter. He is a native of the planet and knows the full risk of certain actions. It’s what the Force tells me to do.” Lo said, keeping the older Jedi from insisting on carrying out his suicidal intentions.

Hearing his Padawan’s words, Dominik took a deep breath and sighed calmly, accepting his defeat. “You listen well Lo.” Dominik said, smiling weakly over at his Padawan before looking back to Sar. “I trust both of you in doing this. I’ll stay back and help your people while you’re out.” He then turned to Lo, his expression somewhat stern before he spoke, “If you need anything, I’ll be here. This isn’t the first hit I’ve taken, young one. But I want you to be wary, we don’t know yet who is behind this, or what the cause of it was in the first place.” He warned, his eyes resting on his Padawan before they moved back to Sar. Dominik smiled weakly again, nodding to his friend before he turned.

His eyes caught the large pile of rock across the cavern, no doubt the same one he had used to create a protective barrier between the Twi’lek people and the explosions weeks ago. He said nothing to Lo before starting towards the pile. He needed to meditate, to clear his mind so that he could freely think on what or who was to come.

Lo watched her master, but didn't interfere. The moment he was out of earshot, she let out a large and heavy sigh. It rumbled through her body before she turned to Sar with a faint smile.

"I should've expected this. All healing patients get antsy as they heal and the pent-up energy doesn't help. I wish we were at H'Ratth. They would suggest water exercises to build up strength and stamina."

Sar chuckled heartily, looking down to Lo before glancing over as Dominik walked away. “I’m not sure he would count as a normal patient either Lo. Your Master has a stubbornness to him that it seems only you can tame.”

“It’s not easy. The trick is logic he would use. Which is harder unless you know him well enough. I’m still struggling with it and H’Ratth has dealt with stubborn patients before. It’s where I learned how.” She chuckled softly, recalling the lessons.

“A few would’ve likely slipped something into his tea and let him sleep for a while.”

Sar chuckled a little louder than he wanted, but he couldn’t help it. Imagining a Jedi Master put to sleep by his Padawan through use of herbal tricks. “You’ve done well Lo,” he said, putting a comforting hand on her closest shoulder as he looked down at her. “You’ve both helped my people more than anyone else, and your own healing abilities are invaluable. Thank you.” Sar said, giving her a reassuring smile. He was grateful for all the Jedi had done, and was even more grateful for all Lo herself had sacrificed. She had saved his people, and even her Master after the mortar bombings.

“I do my best and with what I know. Healing is natural to me. I’m also glad it helps everyone that needs it, even I hope it is never needed.” Lo inhaled then moved on.

“I will meet a few of the scouts for a report later. The more knowledge I get, the more likely my master will settle down and at least remain in the village. For now, I should check my supplies and take note over what we might need. Something in the Force tells me it is better to be safe than sorry.” With that, she took her leave.

Soon after leaving Sar and Lo, Dominik found himself standing in front of the pile of rubble that was the tunnel collapse he had initiated weeks ago. He smirked at the thought of how silly he must look. Standing in front of a mountain of rock, reflecting upon the attack that put him in his current condition. Dominik knew he had done all that he could. His mind exhausted his options at the time, and even reflecting upon it now there was nothing Dominik could think of that would have worked better. That whole experience seemed to have a lasting impression on Lo, as any chance of losing your Master would to any Jedi. Dominik just hoped he hadn’t forced her to grow up, to lose that sense of freedom and learning that involved being a younger Jedi. He had all of these concerns, grievances, and regrets. His near death experience brought back painful memories of his past, memories he had believed to be gone forever; things he’d prefer not to reflect upon.

It seemed that first he would have to clear his most recent obstacle. But that would take more time, patience, and forgiveness in himself and what had happened.

Week 7, Day 2, Early Morning

Lo smiled and took the bowl from the camp fire. Numerous vegetables and meat floated in a rich, dark broth. Most the food on Ryloth had been stews, mush, or simple meat and bread arrangements. Not that she complained. The cooks were surprisingly good at making whatever they had smell and taste acceptable.

Thanking the young blue skinned Twi’lek, the young bothan made her back to her master’s quarters. She carefully balanced a tray with two bowls of stew, bread, and yellow mush. Her nose twitched with each step, but she managed to keep it steady in her hands. Carefully she navigated through the others waiting in line for their portions.

Her eyes caught sight of her master sitting by the rock pile, deep in mediation. Her head cocked to the side in confusion. Choosing not to question the reason endlessly, she moved closer. She stopped in front of him then set the tray down between them. Her legs folded up to pad her rump from the hard, packed floor.

“You should eat,” Lo stated as she held out a bowl for him, with some bread.

Dominik had managed to grab a few more hours of sleep the previous night. His body hadn't felt exhausted but his mind said otherwise. After waking again, he immediately found himself back in front of the mountain of rock. The rest of the village started to stir as the sun rose higher over the horizon. The crystals grew brighter and slowly the chill in the air started to soften.

Whilst everyone lined up for their portions, Dominik found himself lost in thought and meditation. No one else would be able to pull him out of his trance save Aren, Val, and Lo of course. As his Padawan drew near, Dominik's mind returned to the present and his eyes opened as Lo sat in front of him. He took in a deep breath as he completely closed off his mind from the trance he had been in and focused on Lo. A small smile grew on his face at her suggestion to eat. It was more an order, and Dominik knew there was no denying it.

"As you wish." He said, chucking as he took the bowl from her hands and moved it to his lips, taking a long sip of the broth over the rim of the bowl. There was a silence between them for a short moment, one Dominik despised. Many of the older Twi'leks were on edge. Patrols were going out today, one of them had already left earlier. It was a dangerous time to be leaving the cavern but an assessment of their surroundings was necessary. Dominik just hated the idea of not seeing the situation with his own eyes.

"Are you prepared for today?"

As Val adjusted his cloak and pressed against the vegetation next to him concealing himself he though back to the night before. Remembering the blast wave ripping through the underground compound. Val was in the storage rooms lending a hand to the Twi'lek who where doing some simple organizing of food and supplies. As the blast wave hit, it threw some supplies off the shelf and onto the ground. Once Val recovered from his flinch he looked in dismay at the supplies he had just put on the shelf, all back on the floor again. He looked towards the Twi'leks who had terror in their eyes, He comforted them and told them not to worry. Hurrying off to find Master Aren he stopped to help a little here and there until he found her. She was busy helping and trying to figure out what the source of the detonation was. He pitched in as much as he could which was tiring, running back and forth checking on things and doing little fixes here and there.

Once things had settled back down he returned to Master Aren, She informed him of their early departure the next morning on a patrol to go scout out what had caused the shake. He nodded and headed straight to his quarters to rest up for the day to follow. He slept so well that he awoke to Master Aren shaking him gently encouraging him to get up and ready so they could leave for the patrol. With a weak attempt he sat himself up and got going on his preparations. Val rounded up his gear and made some camouflage for the upcoming patrol, once finished he linked up with the patrol and they all started out. Val just following the patrols lead seemingly distracted in thought the whole time.

Val blinked.

He looked around noticing he had been daydreaming. Val gave himself a pinch and a reminder to stay focused on the mission. With that he was attentive to his surrounding, pushing out with the force like Master Aren showed him, doing his best to search for anything out of the ordinary.

Lo relaxed as she watched him take the bowl, eating the simple breakfast. She was thankful the Twi'lek had learned how to make their fires smokeless. However, they still needed to be careful. Any fires could easily lead the Sith and the Slavers back to their door. It wouldn't help anyone.

The younger bothan sipped her tea as she considered the future for a single moment. Her master's question interrupted her thoughts causing her to look at him. It left her scrambling for a reply which she had none. Her fur bristled a bit then settled down once more.

"Speaking bluntly, Master. Ever since we came to Ryloth, have I ever been ready for the day? From slavers to sith, the time spent here has taught me one thing. Readiness is an illusion for life. No one is truly prepared for whatever a day will bring." Lo paused for a moment, a bit surprised by the words she spoke. They were truthful, but sounded weird coming from her.

She sighed. "Sorry, the short answer is no. I am not."

Her hand began to rip a piece off the bead then folded it, scooping some yellow mush onto it. She popped it into her mouth and chewed. A thick and grainy texture, but a strong favor. The padawan rather enjoyed it.

"How are the herbs working? I decided to experiment and alter the herbs, substituting one for another. One that was a bit easier to get around the village."