Alderaan: 19 BBY
Senator Organa's Home
Lesia Mirri

    "I remember you," Senator Organa said. He stepped around his desk and gave her an appraising glance.

    "We only met once or twice," Les replied. Azie let out a confused beep.

    "Master Yoda spoke about you a few times. Apparently, you were a troublesome youngling."

    "I was."

    "I'm glad to see another survivor, regardless." Senator Organa smiled.

    "Is there something specific you need from me?" Les asked. "One of my companions doesn't trust me and I don't want to give her a reason to be more suspicious of me."

    "They don't know you are a Jedi?"

    "Was. I was a Jedi. I'm not anymore, and no, they don't know. Jedi and Mandalorians were once enemies and from what I've heard, many Mandalorians haven't forgotten that. Besides, I think they'd just turn me in to the Empire and collect whatever bounty is being offered if they knew. Oni would, anyway."

    "I see. That could cause problems for you." He folded his hands together, thinking. "Like I told the droid..."

    Les arched an eyebrow. "Azie. His name is Azie."

    "Like I told Azie," Senator Organa began again, "there is no official Rebellion yet. A few of us are doing what we can, making progress towards one. Perhaps someday, you will consider joining us? We could use the help of a former Jedi."

Les crossed her arms and sighed. "Your cause is a noble one, Senator, and I wish you luck. However, I want no part in it. I was never truly a Jedi and I won't pretend that I was. My presence only brings trouble. The galaxy needs real Jedi, like Master Yoda, or Master Kenobi. It doesn't need Lesia Mirri, the failed apprentice."

Senator Organa's gaze appeared briefly saddened. "I see. I will not ask you to commit to this, but if you change your mind, contact me. May the Force be with you."

"You too." Les brushed a hand over Azie's dome. "Take care on Cantonica. That's rough territory, even if it looks pretty." Azie chirped an agreement and a goodbye. Lesia strode out of the office and returned to the Mythos.

Nakoa took off as soon as she took her seat. "What was that about?" Oni asked.

"He wanted me to help get Azie on his way, like he said," Les replied. Again, she felt a stab of guilt as the lie slid off her tongue. A strange feeling crept over her. She glanced at Nakoa. He was still facing forward, but she sensed an air of unease around him.

"Let's get going. We need to take the beskar back to the Clan before someone else claims it," Oni said. Nakoa shook his head, as though clearing his thoughts, and activated the hyperdrive.

Lothal: 19 BBY
Capital City
Nakoa Sen

They arrived before the large planet shortly. Imperial Star Destroyers surrounded it. Nakoa narrowed his eyes and Oni masked their signature. "There weren't this many ships here when we first came."

"Maybe something happened," Lesia replied.

"Maybe. Let's be quick. I have a bad feeling about this." Nakoa landed in a docking bay close to the Imperial compound. He grabbed the droid head and left the Mythos. Oni and Les followed close behind him.

They were allowed entrance immediately, this time around. Two stormtroopers led them back to the officer's quarters. The man rose with a grin when they entered. "You found the droid!" He gestured towards the head that Nakoa held.

"We did." Nakoa dropped it onto his desk. "We tried to bring him in in one piece, but that droid was troublesome. We had to dismantle him just to get him onto our ship."

"What about the intel? Was it intact?"

Oni shook her head. "We scanned his memory banks. All we found was the same useless junk that all droids have. He must've deleted the intel before we dismantled him."

"I see." The officer stroked his chin.

Nakoa crossed his arms and waited. With every minute they stood there, he felt more uneasy. "I believe you promised us a hefty payment if we brought you the droid," Les said, moving in front of the officer.

"Yes, but I wanted him in one piece."

"Oh, no." Lesia gave him a smirk and pulled her lekku over her shoulder. "You said you wanted that droid, regardless of his condition. Why don't you pull up security footage from your office and see for yourself?"

"That won't be necessary." He pulled a case of credits out from beneath his desk.

"We were promised beskar," Les said. "Don't try to cheat us out of it. I'm sure there's a bounty on your head somewhere."

Nakoa grinned to himself, catching on. He stepped up beside her, his hand dropping towards one of his blasters. "I'll be more than happy to collect it if we don't get what we were promised."

"All right, all right. You can't blame me for trying to hang onto it, though." The officer opened one of the drawers on his desk. He pulled out a case of some sort and opened it. Nakoa's mouth dropped open at the sight of all that beskar. "Will this be payment enough?"

"It'll do." Lesia closed the case and handed it to Nakoa. He took it and they quickly left the office. Stormtroopers appeared to watch them closely as they made their way back to the Mythos. Nakoa kept one hand close to his blaster, in case he'd need it.

"Stop it," Les hissed, drawing closer to him.

"What?"

"If you act like you're suspicious, they'll treat you like you're suspicious. They'll ignore us if we act like we belong." He understood the sense in her words, and yet, he couldn't bring himself to move his hand. Les rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. She wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held his hand firmly in place. "For a bounty hunter, you sure don't know much about blending in."

Nakoa raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really? I don't think you know me well enough to make such claims."

"Well, you're not exactly proving me wrong."

"I blended in well enough at Jabba's palace."

"Not really. I sens...saw you as soon as you entered. You talked loudly enough too."

"No one else took any notice of me at first." Nakoa thought for a moment. "I was talking about the Clone Wars, wasn't I? That's when I first saw you. You had this haunted look in your eye."

Les turned her face away. "People know better than to talk about the war these days."

He ignored her comment and continued speaking. "I know that look. I've shared it."

"Why are we talking about this? Wasn't I telling you how bad you are at blending in?"

"You were. Now, you're the one who's bad at blending in." Lesia gave him a skeptical look. "You're nervous." He gestured to her trembling hand.

She clenched it into a fist and squared her shoulders. "I told you I have bad memories about the war. I don't like talking about it." She released his arm, finally, and ran on ahead to the Mythos.

Oni joined him as soon as Lesia was out of hearing. "Did you get anything out of her?"

"No, and I wasn't trying to."

"Sure."

Nakoa cocked his head, somewhat annoyed. "Unlike you, I actually trust her a bit. If there's something she has to tell us, she will. Besides, she'll be leaving soon. Lighten up, Oni. I'm not your possession."

"Hey, I never said you were," Oni retorted.

"You've acted like it ever since we met Lesia. Cut it out or I'll tell Ketei to find me a new partner."

"She wouldn't do that."

"I think she would."

Oni released a sigh. "Fine. I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to." Nakoa boarded the Mythos and secured the beskar. He took his seat and quickly set the navicomputer coordinates for Corellia. Les was already sitting in her usual spot behind the copilot's seat. Oni didn't come to the cockpit.

By the time they jumped to lightspeed, Oni still hadn't appeared. Nakoa knew she was in her cabin. That's where she usually went when she was avoiding him. He jerked his head towards the copilot's seat. Les arched a brow but scooted into it.

She eyed the navicomputer for a moment. "We're going to Corellia?"

"Yes. You'll have to stay on the ship when we get there."

"How come?"

"It's bad enough you're going to know what planet we live on. You're not going to learn the Clan's exact location. Its secrecy is how we stay safe."

"Oh." Les frowned. "What if I follow you?"

"Most Mandalorians tend to shoot first and ask questions later. I can't guarantee your safety if you leave the ship."

"All right, point taken. How long will you be gone?"

"Probably a day or two. We'll deliver the beskar to Ketei. She's the leader of our Clan and essentially, my mother. She'll give us supplies for our next journey and let me know of any new bounties she heard about."

"And then what?"

Nakoa glanced at her from the corner of his eye. For a moment, he wished he could see her without the taint of his helmet's visor. It gave her ivory skin a little bit of a gray color. Her eyes looked entirely gray. "And then we'll take you wherever you need to go. Have you decided on a planet yet?"

Lesia shook her head, a mildly panicked look appearing in her eyes. "I haven't thought about it much."

"You might consider doing that."

"All right."

Corellia: 19 BBY
"Mythos"
Lesia Mirri

Half an hour later, they landed on Corellia. Nakoa and Oni had left the ship quickly, leaving her alone. Les swiveled her seat around boredly and kicked her feet up on the control panel. At last, she stood.

"I might as well look around while they're gone," she mumbled to herself. "After all, I know Oni has already gone through my things. I'm just glad I had my satchel with me when she did."

Les headed to the back of the ship, where their cabins were located. She eagerly entered Oni's. The room was mostly bare. There was a workbench on one side of the room, covered in a variety of tools. One of Oni's blasters had been left behind. Somewhat disappointed, Lesia stepped out and moved into Nakoa's cabin.

He had a few more possessions than Oni. They were mostly just odd trinkets that she didn't recognize. He also had a workbench, with tools strewn about. Les spotted a few spray guns as well. She picked one up and noted the orange paint inside, before setting it back down.

Les faced another wall and stiffened. There was a wanted poster of a man tacked to the wall. Several blades stuck out of his head. A few stray ones were scattered across the paper. Les traced her fingers over the man's name.

"Tarek Vizsla," she whispered. "I've heard of Pre Vizsla and Tarre Vizsla, but who is Tarek?" Her attention was drawn to a necklace dangling from one of the blades.

A wooden charm hung from the black cord. A signet was carved into it. Lesia flipped it over and read the few words carved into the back of it. They were written in Mando'a. She quickly recalled them from her Temple studies. "Ni vow skira." She had no idea what the words meant, but guessed her translation was somewhat correct. An echo of anger and pain clung to the necklace.

Les pulled her hand away from it, recognizing the feelings all too well. "That man and this necklace hold some terrible memory for him." She hurried out of the room, suddenly feeling as though she knew too much.