Regarding things that needed to be looked after, Melinoe didn't have much, but Mak and Ruta were eager to let her know that they would keep an eye on her apartment.

Melinoe and Kaaray agreed that they would take her ship for the mission. Using it as temporary storage until they got the power on.

As they flew to the islands, Jaks Jr stared out the ship's window. He watched the icebergs pass by with awe.

"Have you picked a name for the ship yet?" Kaaray asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"Not yet," Melinoe sighed. "I feel like I should've let Mak do it."

"He would have never forgiven you if you did," Kaaray smirked.

Melinoe turned to him. "I thought he would have jumped at the chance?"

"He's very particular when it comes to these things," Kaaray explained as he leaned back in his seat. "You're the captain, so you have to name it or something like that."

Melinoe shook her head. These beings often did things that puzzled her, but lately, it started becoming somewhat endearing.

The mirialan, Macakruka (or Mak as he was often called), was eager to salvage the ruined vessel when he first saw it. Melinoe thought he would take one look at it and decide it was a lost cause. But, to her surprise, Mak was determined to get the ship back in working order.

"She's a lovely ship! A D5-Mantis Patrol Craft from what I can tell," The Mirialan smiled. "Must have been built during the Old Republic era."

Melinoe stared at the pink alien with a sceptical look. "That would make it nearly 3000 years old."

"I know! Isn't that amazing?!" He beamed. "A lot of beings must have been very fond of this ship over the years."

"It has something in common with the droid, then," Melinoe looked over her shoulder to see the T7 unit being fawned over by some of the other workers.

Mak would often drag Melinoe to ship repair hangers to show Melinoe how much progress he had made. A new engine, new windows, etc. Mak seemed particularly excited about the new colouring on the ship.

It was a mix of dark greys and a jet-black colour. As well as patches of a golden colour that Mak claimed gave it a nice 'pop'. When she asked why he chose that colour, Mak's answer made Melinoe's face go warm with slight embarrassment.

"It reminded me of your eyes," Mak grinned.

Melinoe mumbled a quick thank you, causing Mak's eyes to sparkle.

"Oh, and another thing, she's gonna need a new name," Mak told Melinoe.

"Why change it from Mantis?"

"Well, it's practically a new ship by this point," Mak explained with a grin.

"I'll see what I can come up with," Melinoe nodded.

When they arrived, Melinoe stepped off the ship into the cold air, and well, it was like returning to the best parts of home. She breathed in the cold air and looked over the snow-covered grounds and frozen-over pond nearby. As well as two nearby caves on opposite sides of the rock walls around the area.

Melinoe admired the large flower-like plants nearby one of the caves from afar. Already enjoying her temporary worksite. However, Jaks Jr didn't seem to be having the same experience.

Melinoe left Kaaray and Teeseven to gather the supplies while she and Jaks made their way to an installation building across from the landing pad.

"Coldddd," Jaks said weakly.

Melinoe looked back to see the boy face first in the snow. "Get your face off the ground if you don't want it to be cold."

"Everything is cold," Jaks whined.

"I suggest you get used to it. Considering you and your father will be staying here for a while."

Melinoe continued making her way up to the nearby building. It was small and half buried in snow, but it seemed an excellent place to start.

The Sith looked around the old shack. It was in surprisingly good condition. Minus caved-in snow and cracks on the windows. She took a deep breath, trying to think of where to start.

"Is this it?" Jaks asked.

"Not quite," Melinoe told him. "We're trying to fix a much bigger building nearby. So this must just be a place for scouts to stay."

Jaks made a loud noise of understanding. Just in time for his father and Teeseven to make their way into the installation. Placing their supplies on the floor next to the door.

"Mother of Sols!" Kaaray shouted as he rubbed his hands together.

"Not a fan of the snow?" Melinoe joked.

"Just getting used to it," He reassured.

"You're handling it better than some of us," Melinoe said. Looking over to Jaks. Who was wandering around the room, trying to find something to do.

Kaaray let out a small chuckle. "I saw. Bit of a drama queen. Just like his grandmother."

The next day Melinoe and Kaaray went to the Northern facilities. They found the structure intact, but the equipment and power systems were completely unusable due to being left on their own for too long.

"We're gonna have to replace all these power cables and build a new power generator." Kaaray pointed to them for emphasis.

The building bore a resemblance to the Enarsa Tower, but instead of dark grey materials making up the walls and green patterns running through them, the walls were a light grey and had blue patterns (not) running power through them.

Things moved smoothly for the next month. As promised, all the nearby steps provided them with anything they needed. Melinoe was surprised by how well things had gone but knew it was only a matter of time till they hit a snag.

"Any luck? Melinoe asked over a hologram.

"Nope," Kaaray said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "No one nearby has got the kind of system we need to keep reactors going in our cold ass conditions."

Usually, Kaaray would have joked that Jaks was nearby, and he shouldn't have sworn in front of him, but he wasn't in a good enough mood for it.

They had been trying to find suitable materials to get a bioreactor set up but couldn't find the right materials on Marazi.

"Looks like we're going off-world then?"

"Gotta have to," Kaaray agreed. "I know someone who would be able to custom build what we need; it'll take about a week to fly there and back."

"Should we send a message?" Melinoe tilted her head.

"He prefers to meet people in person," Kaaray stretched his arms. "He's been scammed one too many times, you know?"

"We'll have to see if we can get someone to keep an eye on the place," Melinoe sighed.

"And Jaks," Kaaray nodded. "I know who'd be willing to do it."

Within a few days, Kaaray called Ruta and Mak. He asked them to take care of Jaks while they were off-world. The two agreed, overjoyed to spend some time with their would-be nephew.

Cordelia, who had been in the room, asked if she could come along. "It's been ages since I've been able to visit Scarstu Station."

"Since when do you love Scarstu so much?" Kaaray asked with a raised eyebrow.

Melinoe and Kaaray were sceptical. They only agreed to bring her along when they realised Cordelia needed a break from work.

Little did they know, planets away, two children had problems of their own.

"This way," an orange Twi'lek whispered.

"Are you sure about this?" A human girl hushed back.

"Yeah, mum and dad were pretty clear," The Twi'lek nodded before holding out her hand to stop the other girl.

They kneeled and watched as several guards walked by. They held their breath until the men and one robot were out of sight.

"Okay, go go," The older girl said as she took the human's hand.

The two of them made their way over to a ship. Hiding behind some storage boxes marked Horne Co. They anxiously watched until the guards moved away.

"Grab the last of the stuff," One of the guards told the droid. "Ships gonna take off soon."

"He's gonna see us," The human said in a shaky voice. "We won't make it on with him seeing us."

The Twi'lek stared at the ship. Trying to come up with a plan. "Listen, I've got an idea, but I need you to trust me."

"Okay?" The smaller one nodded.

"I'll go around and distract them while they're busy; get on the ship,"

"But how are you gonna get on the ship?"

"That's not important. You just need to find help. That's the most important thing."

"I can't go on my own, I'll-"

"You can do this. Just promise me."

The younger girl nodded with tears in her eyes while the older wiped them away. Finally, the two hugged, and the Twi'lek stood up and ran around the boxes.

When the younger then heard yells, mostly shouting to 'get back here', the girl jumped over the boxes, running up the ship's walkway. She made it into the main cargo hold and found a random crate to jump in. Hoping that no one would look inside.

The girl curled up into a ball. She thought about her sister and hoped she was okay.

"Okay, Oriana. You can do this. Just think of them," The girl thought to herself.

By either fate or dumb luck, Oriana didn't get caught once during the ship's journey. She couldn't tell how long it had been. Days at the very least. She was starting to feel the hunger and thirst start to set in. This didn't bother her as much as it should have. She'd gone much longer without food in the past.

Oriana's eyes widened as she felt the box she was currently sitting in lifted and moved. She kept still until the moving stopped. She took the chance to peek out of the top. When no one was in sight, Oriana hopped out and ran off the docks.

"Okay, okay, find help," Oriana reminded herself before her stomach rumbled. "Find help and food."

The child made her way further away from the docks. Spotting a nearby sign that read 'Scarstu Station' if she was reading it right. Oriana looked around at the bustling people. All the grown-ups seemed to be in a rush for something.

For a moment, she looked up at the sky. The reflections off the air shields give the dark space a beautiful purple glow. Oriana liked it much better than the goldish brown of the safeguards back home.

Oriana tried to think. Where was it that you went to get help? She made her way over to the vendors.

"Excuse me?" Oriana meekly asked.

"What can I do for you?" the vendor asked.

"I need to get some information to someone," Oriana answered. Repeating what she once overheard her parents saying.

"There's an information office down the street with long-range communicators," The vendor said. "Can I get you anything?"

"Sorry, no money," Oriana told them. Causing the vendor to give them a sour look.

The youngling started making her way down the street. Passing by many similar booths. Shouting at people to come and buy their wares. Oriana wasn't sure, but she could have sworn someone was looking at her. She shook it off as being scared to be on her own. She had never been this far from her family before.

"It's okay. Everything's going to be fine. Once people find out, we'll go somewhere safe. Somewhere nice," Oriana muttered to herself. Trying to think of what her dad would say to make her feel better.

"Well, go someplace where no one can hold us back. A place where you girls can stretch your wings."

Oriana took a deep breath. Feeling better once she remembered her dad's words.

The human continued on her way. Soon she found her way to a building marked communications. It was a small building with no doors, but Oriana couldn't think of anywhere else to go. So she started making her way up the steps, only to hear someone calling out from behind her.

"Hey, kid!"

Oriana ignored him.

"Kid, come on! Your parents sent me!"

"Yeah, right," Oriana thought. "How would they even-"

Oriana stopped when she remembered the choker around her neck. The tracker. How could she forget about the stupid tracker? Horne probably hired this guy to drag her back to the Obani Moons.

The child panicked. Trying to think of the best way out of this. She turned her head to see a young Weequay man with an annoyed look on his face. The moment she saw him, she just ran. She could instantly tell he was not there to help her.

"Get back here, you brat!" The man shouted. Reminding Oriana of how the guards shouted at her sister.

Oriana ran as fast as her little legs could. Rushing past shops and eventually coming to a dead end due to the platform coming to an end and leading to nothing but empty space.

At least, that's how it seems at first. Oriana ducked her head over the edge to see another level below. Suddenly she got an idea.

She looked behind her to ensure the man wasn't right behind her. She climbed over the platform's edge and grabbed onto some pipes underneath. Moving along them like they were a set of Kowakian monkey bars.

Oriana wrapped her arms and legs around one of the sturdier-looking beams. Then, holding her breath when she heard footsteps from above.

"Come on, you piece of junk! Stop telling she's here!" The man made a frustrated noise. "Looks like I'll have to do this the old fashion way."

The footsteps got quieter, and Oriana let out a sigh of relief. Only for the moment to get interrupted by a creaking sound. She looked up right as the pipe she was holding onto snapped.

Oriana let out a scared shout as she fell to the lower level. Tensing her body as she readied herself to hit the pavement.

To her surprise, she hit something very different. Something that made a loud shout when she hit it. Oriana looked up to see two women looking down at her in confusion. Then she looked down to see he had landed on someone.

Oriana jumped up and started quickly apologising. In response, the man got up and told her he was okay. All though he did make some grunts of pain.

"What were you doing hanging up there, sweetie?" One of the women asked.

"No, nothing!" Oriana shouted. "Just playing!"

"Bit of a dangerous place to play," The other woman, wearing all black, said.

"Yeah, won't be doing that again," Oriana said as she tried not to look them in the eyes. "I'm really sorry about your friend. Won't happen again, I swear."

"Just keep your feet on the ground," The man said as he rubbed his back.

"Will do!" Oriana said as she ran off. Desperate to get somewhere safe so she could get the choker off.

The three grown-ups watched as the child ran away. "That was... strange?" The woman with shining eyes said with a frown.

"Are you alright, Jaks?" A dark-skinned woman asked her friend.

"Nothing I can't get over," The man named Jaks told her as he tried to straighten his back.

"Children falling out of the sky," she joked. "What's the galaxy coming to?"

"Come on; we have an appointment to keep," the lady clothed in black said as she walked away.

"Yay," Jaks sighed as he hunched after her.

Oriana watched from afar as the adults headed off in the opposite direction. She thought for a moment and decided she had two options. Go back to the communications building or follow after those people.

Going back to communications felt like a bad idea. It would be the first place the other man would look for her. And she didn't know how to explain it, but Oriana felt her best bet would be the other three beings. She just had this feeling in her bones that they were the type of people she would need.

Oriana desperately tried to get the choker off. She had always hated the stupid thing, and this situation was not doing it any favours.

The girl tried to pull it off as she walked the streets. The dang thing was too tight to get a good grip on it.

Oriana continued following after her targets for a while. To a dark blue building covered in words Oriana couldn't quite read. It wasn't basic or Huttese, as far as she could tell, and it definitely wasn't Ryl or Dathomiri either.

Oriana took a deep breath and peeked inside. The first thing she saw was the selves of electronic parts. Dozens of different droids and machines Oriana couldn't recognise. As she looked around, she spotted a front desk where the grown-ups were talking to someone new.

"I've got a good amount of orders right now," The being behind the counter said. "I can probably have it made and sent to you in about a month."

"I think we can hold out for that long?" The man said, turning to the woman in black for confirmation.

"I suppose," The woman nodded. She started pulling out credits. "Half now and the other when we get it?"

"Pleasure doing business with ya, Lady Lanami," The seller smiled as they offered their hand to shake. The two of them shook hands, and the seller made his way to the back.

The three continued talking as Oriana took the chance to sneak closer to them. She didn't know what overtook her, but she wanted a better look at 'Lanami'.

This seemed somewhat of a mistake when Melinoe turned her head towards Oriana. "I can see you, you know?"

Oriana made a squeak of surprise. She moved out from behind the selves.

"Hello again," Lanami said with a raised eyebrow.

"Have they been following us?" Jaks whispered to their friend, who Oriana hadn't caught the name of yet.

"I just, I didn't-" Oriana stuttered.

"What's your name?" One of the women asked in a soft tone of voice.

"...Thorianite, but most people call me Oriana," The girl answered. Starting to relax a little. "Mostly because a lot of beings have a hard time saying it."

"Are you okay, sweetie?" The unknown woman asked as she kneeled down to Oriana's eye level.

"I, I," Oriana sighed. "I need help."

"What's wrong? Are you in trouble?" the older woman asked.

"Well, I have to get this to someone who can help my family," Oriana pulled out a white coin-shaped pendant.

"A betting chip?" Jaks said in disbelief.

Oriana passed it over, so they could have a closer look. The woman looked it over. "This isn't a betting chip. It's an info disc."

The woman stood up and showed it to Jaks. They both stared at it with fascination. Lanami cleared her throat at them after a little while.

"Ah, sorry, my name is Cordelia Obriv," the woman said, turning back to Oriana. "This is an interesting way to deliver information."

"Oh, it's just about some stuff my dad's boss wanted to tell people about," Oriana lied.

"And where is your father?" Lanami asked. Sensing that Oriana was lying.

"We got separated on the way here."

Cordelia looked the girl over. Her eyes landed on the choker.

"Sweetie, I need you to be honest with me about something," Cordelia interjected. "Are you from the Obani Moons?"

Oriana let out a quiet gasp. "How did you know?"

"It's the collar, isn't it?" Jaks asked Cordelia.

"It's the kind of slave collar Horne's company uses," Cordelia confirmed.

Before any of them could say anything else, Lanami stopped them. "Someone's coming. Go hide."

Cordelia took Oriana's hand and led her behind the counter. Ducking underneath and immediately moving to take the collar off the girl.

While that preoccupied them, Karaay and Lanami moved to distract the newcomer.

"Either of you seen a girl around here? Human, dark and chopped hair?"

Karaay hummed like he was trying to think of something. "Can't say we have."

"Really? Because I was led to believe she walked in here a few moments ago."

Cordelia peeked over the counter to see a blue alien wearing a wide-brimmed hat. He held up a tracking fob in front of Karaay's face.

"Maybe it's broken?" Karaay deadpanned.

"Don't get funny with me," The alien shoved Karaay's shoulder.

"Are you sure you aren't lost?" Lanami added. "It must be hard to see where you're going with that hat."

Cordelia continued working to get the tracker off as Melinoe kept distracting the bounty hunter. Thankfully she finally heard a click coming from the gadget, taking it from Oriana's neck and sliding across the floor away from them.

The hunter finally got tired of Melinoe and Karaay. He moved past them and followed where the fob told him to go.

Oriana and Cordelia started crawling out from behind the counter, hoping to slip right past. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. The hunter turned and spotted them as they reached the door.

"Stop right where you are!" The hunter said as he pulled a gun on them.

"We don't want any trouble," Cordelia insisted as she hid Oriana behind her.

"Neither do I," the hunter smirked.

Cordelia and Oriana closed their eyes. Preparing them themselves for what was next.

Their eyes snapped open at the sound of a loud crack. The two looked over to see the hunter on the floor and Karaay standing over him, hissing in pain.

"You got to him before I could," Lanami said as she ran out from behind one of the selves.

"Remind me to hit with the robotic hand next time," Karaay whined. Shaking his hand to ease the pain from the punch.

"We have to get out of here," Cordelia told them as she lifted Oriana into her arms. "It's not safe."

The two of them nodded in agreement before running out of the store.

As they ran out of the building, the shop's owner came out from the back rooms. Letting out a sigh when they spotted the knocked out bounty hunter on the floor.

"Not again."

The four made their way across the station. Trying not to draw attention to themselves. With Lanami keeping ahead, Cordelia holding Oriana in her arms, and Karaay trailing behind.

"We have to find Teeseven and get the hell out of here." Karaay insisted.

"He should be somewhere near the port," Lanami frowned. "He wanted to keep an eye on a ship."

Much like the rest of the station, the port was made up of spray-painted buildings. Tons of different languages and pictures expressing opinions about life and such. As expected, Teeseven was waiting for them by the entrance of the customs desks.

"Lady Cordelia + New Friend?" The droid asked.

"Hello, I'm Oriana," Oriana smiled at the droid as Cordelia put her down.

"I'm gonna get us all sorted at Service," Karaay told Lanami.

"Be quick," Lanami told him with her arms folded. "We don't wanna stick around here for long."

"You can give that chip to Teeseven so he can keep it safe for you?" Cordelia encouraged Oriana.

Oriana nodded her head with a soft grin. Placing the chip into a compartment like one would place a coin into a claw machine. Teeseven let out a series of beeps. Confirming the information he was just given.

"Do you wanna see what's on it?" Oriana asked the two women.

Cordelia nodded her head. Knowing that Oriana was from the Obani Moons, she had a hope for what was on the fake credit chip.

The youngling turned back to Teeseven. Asking to open up a holo for them. He did so, and the image of a tired Dathomirian man appeared.

"My name is Sestu 'daki. To get straight to the point; my family, my people and I have been forced into slavery by Drax Horne's company. He will tell you otherwise. Stating outdated laws and loopholes to justify himself to the Mandalorian Government Council. This chip contains information and evidence that proves all of Horne's wrongdoings."

While the three women observed the recording, Karaay was still trying to sort things out with a man at the service desk. "Excuse me? I'm sorry, but we're in a bit of a rush."

"Just a moment, friend," The being told him. He muttered something in his communicator. "Yea, how should I proceed?"

Karaay tapped his fingers against the desk nervously. Not liking how hard this guy was trying to be secretive. The employee eventually put the comlink away. Smiling at Karaay.

"Sorry for the wait!" He sounded as he pulled a vibroblade and tried to stab it into Karaay's hand. Only to be met with a metal clang and some buzzing.

"You Sculag!" Karaay shouted as he pulled the guy over the desk and pinned him to the ground. "Vi, Cordelia! Run!"

The Sith looked up to see two men heading towards the already distracted Karray. "Take Oriana and get to the ship," She told Cordelia sternly.

Cordelia nodded her head with a frown and lifted the child into her arms again.

The two rushed over to the service desk. Finding Karray trying to defend himself against three different beings. They seemed to be overpowering him and had started kicking him in the stomach. Melinoe and Teeseven wasted no time and jumped into action.

Melinoe ignited one of her lightsabers. Slicing through one man's back. While Teeseven shocked the others.

"You were meant to go with Cordelia and Oriana," Melinoe told the droid with a hint of disapproval in her voice.

"Mistress Cordelia + Instructed T7 = Help Master!"

The three attackers started to back off. The one Melinoe attacked was wincing in pain as he backed up. "No one said anything about stinking Jedi!"

Melinoe rolled her eyes at the Jedi comment, then leaned down to help Karray. "Are you alright?"

"I'll live," Karray said as he picked himself off the floor.

"We don't want any trouble!" The human of the three cried. Holding up his arms in surrender.

"Well, you've already got it," Karray shouted at him. "Give me that blaster."

They did so without complaint. Knowing they didn't stand a chance against the lady with two lightsabers and the overeager droid. Who still pointed an active shock gun at them.

"Where's Cordelia and the kid?" Karray asked Melinoe with a stained frown.

"I told them to head to the ship. They should be downstairs," Melinoe replied.

The three rushed to the docks. Much to their dismay, even more bounty hunters had seemed to catch up with them, and they were dragging Cordelia and the youngling into one of the other ships.

"Let go!" Cordelia shouted as she tried to wiggle out of a Sullustan's grip.

Melinoe rushed forward. Throwing her lightsaber at the Sullustan. While it pierced right through his chest, it was too late. One of the other crew members had closed the entrance to the ship.

"No!" Melinoe and Karray shouted in unison.

The three were left standing there. Wondering what they were going to do.

I don't really have many notes for this chapter. Other than maybe I rushed through it a bit, but I think that's a problem with all my writing.

Non-story related; it's my mum's birthday today! Yay!

07/03/2023 - I've changed a few lines due to backstory changes for the Karaays