Luke and Kata sat at the back of the Mantis, tinkering with the parts to build their lightsabers. Luke was having trouble controlling the positions of the components as it felt like he was concentrating on several things at once, which he was.
"It isn't working." He told her. "There's no way any of this is fitting together."
"Of course it isn't." She replied. In complete contrast to Luke, Kata was completely in control and had no trouble with her components. "You keep thinking of them as separate pieces, they are a single whole lightsaber. You couldn't wield it otherwise."
After readjusting his thoughts, the pieces that surrounded Luke began to slowly organize themselves. Finally, they managed to assemble themselves seamlessly into a single object.
"There, you got it." Kata said. Luke ignited his new weapon for the first time revealing the blade was a bright emerald color. "Green huh." She continued. "I guess that makes sense because of your midichlorians."
"Yeah, are the colors supposed to mean something?"
"Supposedly the colors reflect how one is attuned to the force. Blues are warriors, greens are mystics, yellows are guardians and so on. My father, I mean Cal, doesn't buy into it though. But that's probably because his lightsaber has always been whatever color he wants."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's even red sometimes, whenever he's...uh...playing with Merrin." Kata ignited her own blade, revealing a bright magenta which brought a look of satisfaction to her face.
"What does that color mean?" Luke asked her.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She said, giggling slightly. "C'mon let's get some breakfast."
The two walked up to the front of the ship where they saw Ahsoka drinking a mug of caf and Merrin over the stove. Cal was walking back from the cockpit and spoke.
"Their computer system is on the fritz so it'll be a couple of hours before we can land." He was answered by the muffled cries of Aphra from the ceiling. To which Ahsoka replied.
"Yeah I bet that smells good huh? You'll get fed soon enough, grave robber, don't worry." She turned to Merrin and continued. "What is for breakfast anyway?"
"Scazz steaks and eggs." She replied. "I wish Greez was here to make this."
"You never liked Greez's cooking." Cal reminded her.
"True but he was making this then I wouldn't have to."
"The food you make is so good though. You have a real talent for this."
"Don't take his word for it." Merrin told Ahsoka. "He'd be happy to eat a pot of wood chips."
"Well for what it's worth I think he's right." Ahsoka replied as she turned to directly face her. "Your food is delicious."
Luke turned his attention to the woman struggling on the ceiling.
"So what's gonna happen to her?" He asked no one in particular.
"We'll have to see." Cal responded. "I'm sure there's someone down there who can take her off our hands."
"What if she tells someone about us?"
"Even if they believe her it's not going to matter. She doesn't know anything that'll get us into any real trouble." Luke cringed slightly when he heard that. "In fact, I'll let her eat first. Just to prove she isn't a threat."
But just as he said this and removed the gag from her mouth, he was proven wrong.
"Luke Skywalker!!" She spat out the second her mouth was free. "That's Luke Skywalker! Ha Ha. I got you now you partisan son of a bitch!"
"Fuck." Cal whispered under his breath. Merrin, who had a wide grin on her face, pulled out a knife and was ready to throw it at her neck with precision accuracy. But Ahsoka stepped in and stopped her, pinning her against the wall with her arm.
"You can't do that." Ahsoka said.
"What do you mean I can't do that?" Merrin spat back. "Of course I can. Tell her Cal."
"Actually I think she's right." Cal approached the two and took Ahsoka's side. "We can't kill an unarmed prisoner."
"Why not?!"
"It's against the Jedi code."
"Who cares about the Jedi code? You gave up that code when you married me in case you forgot."
"Well we have to have standards of some kind. We're not animals."
"Well I don't see any other options."
"I do." After saying this, Cal walked over to Aphra and put his hand gently around her neck. Before she could protest, the woman found, to her horror, that she could only make crude grunting noises. The four other passengers simply watched with a combination of shock and bewilderment. Cal turned back to the party. "I snapped her recurrent laryngeal nerve. The one that controls your vocal cords." He explained. "She can't snitch on us if she can't talk." After hearing this, Ahsoka quickly walked up, undid Dr. Aphra's restraints and swiftly broke all of her fingers.
"There. Now she can't write or use a data pad either." She explained.
"Good thinking." Cal added.
"I don't see how this is more ethical than just killing her." Merrin began to object. But nobody else wanted to continue the conversation.
________________
The pilot awoke from her slumber and began to organize the parlor. This was the first time she had slept in a real bed in days as she had been flying from planet to planet trying to avoid being spotted. She knew that this secluded dive on Ord Mantell would be a safe haven for her, but she was still trying to avoid being followed or recognized. After turning the power on, making sure the dishes were clean, and checking the safe for credits, (there were none) she officially opened her run down tavern for business. It was only a half hour later that she got an alert from the security system. The camera showed a party of two men and four women, one of whom had obviously been restrained.
"Customers?" She whispered to herself. "Already?"
Since she was in no position to turn them away, she opened the door and let them inside. After handcuffing his prisoner to a nearby post, the red headed male turned to approach her.
"Hi, can I speak to Cid?"
"Cid?" The pilot was surprised by his request. "She hasn't run this place for twelve years. Her gambling debts caught up with her. I'm running this place now. You can call me....Meg."
"Okay Meg. We found this woman on our travels, she was trying to steal from us. Are there any bounties we can collect on her?"
"Let me check my database real quick. I'll see what I can do for you." As she walked away Cal turned back to his party.
"I told you this would be a bust." Ahsoka gloated.
"It was worth a shot." Cal replied. "At least we're not being held at blaster point."
"Not yet you mean." Ahsoka gestured to Luke and Kata, who were trying to see if they could get the holotactics table to work. "I'm going to take those two and have a look around. Probably get some supplies while I'm at it, we're running low on some things."
"Good idea. I'll lend you some credits, is twenty enough?"
