Unknown
Unknown
Nakoa Sen

He was staring at great black walls. Red flags hung everywhere, displaying the Imperial insignia. Nakoa twisted as a door hissed open. A dark hallway appeared. He took half a step back.

He was standing inside the hallway. Red lights lined the ceiling. Nakoa tried to run back, but it made no difference. The hallway was moving him forward. He could make out screams now.

"Come back! Don't leave me here!"

His heartbeat quickened. Nakoa was flying through the hallway now. He passed by cells, each one filled with someone he had once known.

"Please! Please don't leave me!"

Ellis and Fey. Feton and Tai. Oni. Galaar. Ketei. All of them were bruised. All of them stared at him with unmasked hatred. His father. His mother.

"Don't abandon me! Don't betray me!"

Mechanical breathing filled his mind. Nakoa gripped the sides of his head. Pain erupted through him. It felt as though someone had set every nerve in his body on fire.

"Nakoa, don't abandon me!"

He jerked his head up as he slammed to a halt. Les was strapped to a vertical table. Her lekku hung over her shoulders. Smoke rose from her body. Nakoa reached a hand towards her. She snapped her head up, her eyes full of rage.

"You abandoned me! You did this to me! It's your fault!" She screeched. Les jerked against her binds. Her eyes were shifting between silvery blue and a bloodthirsty orange. "Your fault! Your fault!" Nakoa tried to move away from her.

She broke an arm out of her bonds. Lesia gripped his neck with her hand. He gasped for breath as her grip tightened. "It's your fault! You did this to me!" Tears streamed down her cheeks. Nakoa clawed at her hand. Her tears began to flow red...blood. "You abandoned me."

He shook his head, darkness tinging his vision. "You killed me." The voices of his parents overlaid her own. Her grip vanished and Nakoa sobbed, her broken body appearing in his lap.

He pulled her close, shaking her. "Les, Les! Lesia!"

Her head rolled back limply. For a second, her gaze met his. She lifted her fingers to his lips. "Why..." she rasped. He grabbed her hand just as it went limp. Her breath escaped with a hush. She said nothing more.

Corellia: 18 BBY
"Mythos"
Nakoa Sen

He tossed in a feverfull sleep. The dream came again and again. Lesia's body was more broken each time he saw it. Nakoa bolted upright and barely made it to his sink before he vomited.

He rinsed his mouth and slumped against the wall. Nakoa wiped some damp hair from his face. Shivers wracked his body. He scrubbed at his forehead, nausea building up once more. "What is wrong with me?" He groaned. He was sick again, then returned to his bunk.

Corellia: 18 BBY
Market Place
Lesia Mirri

Les looked over a few meiloorun fruits that the merchant had offered her. She selected one and handed over the specified credits. She took the fruit and added it to her small crate of supplies. Les had been shopping all morning, on orders from Oni.

They'd already been on Corellia for four days. On the first day, she'd been left behind on the Mythos while Oni and Nakoa joined Ketei at the covert. On the third day, Nakoa had returned to the ship. She didn't know where Oni had been. Today, she was shopping and Oni was completing an odd job that Ketei had found for her. Nakoa was on the ship.

Les headed towards the next stall. This vendor was selling ration packs in crates of sixty. Her eyes widened at the price. "Prices are negotiable," the saleswoman said. "For you, anyway."

"For me?" Lesia raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Why?"

The woman waved her closer. "Are you the same Twi'lek who gave food and credits to a few urchins?"

"I am."

"I thought so. You matched the description." The old woman grabbed two crates of ration packs and set them on the counter. "I will give you these two crates for half the price of one."

"Really?"

The woman nodded. "I know one of the children you helped. For your kindness, I will do this."

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure." Les gave her a smile and handed over the credits. The woman helped her situate the ration crates inside her own. "You don't seem to stick around here much. I can't say I blame you. The Empire is performing nightly raids now."

Les sighed. "I've heard them. I hope they haven't caused much trouble for you?"

"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time. Those Imperials are nothing but bantha fodder," the old woman hissed.

"Don't say that too loudly. They have spies everywhere."

"Believe me. I know." They watched each other for a moment. The woman smiled at last. "Have a nice day."

"You too." Les walked away, then cast her senses towards the old woman. She recoiled in surprise. There was no one there. Les glanced back. The stall was there, but no woman. She faced forward and began walking quickly.

She turned down another street, then another. Dread surrounded her. Les could feel someone watching her, following from a distance. She turned down another street, then froze. She yanked her blaster out of its holster and whirled.

She pressed the barrel against the old woman's forehead. "Who are you?" Les demanded.

"You are a Jedi," the old woman whispered.

"Who are you?" A hard edge appeared in Lesia's voice.

"I sense much darkness in you." The woman closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. "It's dangerous."

Les stiffened as someone touched her. It wasn't a physical touch, but a mental one. The Force was stirring around the woman. "Who are you?" Les asked once more.

The old woman opened her eyes. "I knew your master, Ki Adi Mundi. We trained together when we were younglings."

"You're a Jedi," Les whispered.

"Like you."

"No," she shook her head. "I have never been a Jedi."

The woman nodded, lowering her head. "I had hoped there were some of us left." She took Lesia's hand and covered it with her own wrinkled one. "Be careful. I sense much danger in your future. Be mindful of the darkness that is hiding inside of you. You can never let it out or it will consume you."

Les licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. "I need to go."

The woman released her. "If you ever need a friend, you know where to find me."

Les nodded, then carried on. She didn't head for the Mythos until she was certain there was no one else watching or following her. That was certainly strange, she thought. Was that woman working for the Empire? Kriff, I hope not.

She reached the Mythos and sealed the boarding ramp behind her. "Oni, are you here?" She called. There was no reply. "I guess not." Les headed to the galley and began to unpack her purchases.

She heard a muffled cough and paused. A few minutes later, she heard it again. Les pushed the crate aside and stepped into the ship's lounge. "Nakoa?" She headed towards his room and stopped beside the door. She heard another cough.

Les closed her eyes, letting her senses creep into his room. She blurred his face from her mind, as usual. He was sleeping, but it was restless. Les brushed her senses past him. His dream was full of darkness. He coughed again and tossed. Les drew herself back in and moved away from the door.

She activated her comm. "Oni, come in."

"What?" Oni replied after a moment.

"Where are you?"

"I'm still busy. What do you need?"

Les rubbed her forehead. "I think Nakoa is sick."

"Leave him be. He'll be fine."

"No, I..." she trailed off, unable to explain herself.

"Leave him be," Oni repeated. "He's been sick before. He'll be fine in a day or two."

Les hissed with frustration and switched her comm off. She paced back and forth, crossing her arms. At last, she pulled her headwrap off and tied it around her eyes. Les entered his room and made her way towards his bunk.

She spread her senses once more, allowing herself to see her surroundings. Nakoa tossed in his sleep. Les knelt down and brushed her hand across his forehead. It was blazing with a fever. She shook him gently. He groaned, swatting at her hand.

"Nakoa, are you all right?"

"Not really," he whispered.

"How long have you been like this?"

"Maybe a day or two." He stifled a cough.

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I just thought it would pass." He coughed again. "Why am I having the same nightmare?"

Les knit her brows. "I don't know. Tell me about it."

"I'm in this dark building. It's Imperial; there are flags everywhere. I get pulled into this hallway and I see so many people that I used to know. They're all..." he trailed off. "It looks like they've been tortured. I get to the end of the hallway and I see you. I don't know what's happened to you. You just keep screaming at me and then you're in my arms and you're dying."

She smoothed some hair away from his face. "I'm right here and I'm not dying."

"What does it mean?"

Les thought for a moment. "Sometimes, when we go through something extremely emotional, it can make us physically sick. Maybe confronting Tarek and his death has done this to you. You were angry with him for so long and now he's gone. It was all so sudden and an unnatural feeling for your body."

"That makes sense." He threw his blanket off and shifted uncomfortably.

"As to your dream, maybe that's an underlying fear of yours?" He said nothing but nodded. Nakoa coughed again after a moment. Les could sense sleep tugging at him. She stood quietly. "Do you need anything?" He didn't answer. He was already asleep.

Les left the room and pulled her headwrap off. She sat down near the dejarik game table and leaned her head against it. The boarding ramp opened and closed, grabbing her attention. Oni approached with a bag of jogan fruit.

"I think dealing with Tarek and everything made him sick," Les said.

"Or it's just some bug." Oni carried the jogan fruit into the galley. "Ketei found another bounty. Jabba the Hutt will pay a large price for this one."

"Are you taking it?"

"Of course."

"When will you leave?"

"Tonight," Oni replied. She entered the room again and glanced at Lesia's clenched fists. "Look, if you're so worried about him, we have a variety of medicines with the first aid kits. Maybe something in there will help."

"All right." Les relaxed her hands.

"Are you going to come with me?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Not really."

Les rolled her eyes. "Then no, I'm not." Oni nodded and headed towards her cabin.

A while later, she returned with a satchel slung over her shoulder. "I'll be back in a day or two. If Nakoa gets worse, contact Ketei I suppose. Use his comm. She's the first frequency on it."

Les nodded her understanding and Oni disembarked. The boarding ramp closed again. Les leaned her head back against her seat and closed her eyes.