Star Wars: The Lost Padawan (Episode 1 - the price of friendship)
The streets of Coruscant were still busy despite the late hour. A young human padawan, Lyra, was keeping to the shadows trying to avoid detection. She was afraid, her heart beating hard within her chest. She knew she should not fear, she learned that as a youngling and when she became a padawan her master had tried to drill it into her. She couldn't help it. She was alone here, and she was not sure she could really defend herself.
Lyra was already on the cusp of having to leave the Jedi Order. She could wield the force, but not strongly, and her skills with a lightsaber were average at best. Master Cassia told her she would get better with time and practice, but Lyra could see it in her eyes more and more lately. She didn't know what she would do after that, she couldn't go home because she wasn't sure where home was. She was raised in the Jedi Temple.
Her best friend, Asher, was training to be a temple employee like his parents before him. He couldn't use the force, but his family had dedicated itself to the Jedi long ago. Today though, she learned that Asher's father owed money to the Horizon Cartel, a newer group of thugs and hooligans shaking down citizens of Coruscant, because he owed a gambling debt. The cartel took Asher as insurance his father would pay them back in a week.
Lyra went to Master Cassia and explained what was going on, pleading for her master to help. Master Cassia told her there was nothing she or the Jedi Order could do. They were peacekeepers, not police officers or military. She said that she sympathized and truly wished she could help, but Asher's father is by far not the only one suffering from things like this. If she or other members of the order helped, they would be setting a precedence and telling others they would help with their issues as well. You cannot help one and ignore the others.
Lyra got angry, which surprised her master. She argued that the Jedi were supposed to defend those who could not defend themselves. Why wouldn't they take a stand against these criminal organizations? Master Cassia pointed out that this situation did not occur randomly. Asher's father had borrowed the money from people he knew would come after him. She said he is an adult, and it was an adult decision, this would be something she would learn more of in time.
So, Lyra fled the temple upset and took to the streets of Coruscant. She searched for help, but no one wanted to listen to one so young. Finally, as night fell, she found herself in the seedier underside of Coruscant. Her eyes fell upon a cantina: The Black Hole Oasis. She had read about what an oasis looked like, and she was sure this was not it. The black hole part she could get though. She slipped in the door.
It was not very bright inside, and the crowd was few and far between. A Bith and a Cathar said at a side table talking quietly between themselves. A Rodian and Trandoshan each sat at their own tables alone and not paying attention to the bar around them. At another table a Nautolan male sat with a drink in front of him watching Lyra move to the bar.
Behind the bar was a Besalisk male using his four arms efficiently as he cleaned and made drinks. He looked up at her as she approached. "What have we here now?" he asked in common. "A woman walking into this place alone is a rare sight. A young girl walking in alone at night has never happened. May I ask what you are looking for girl?"
Lyra nods as she sits on a barstool. "I am looking for someone who may be willing to help me."
"Help you with what?" he asks, and he cleans some glasses.
"My friend has been taken by a gang and I need help getting him back." Lyra responded.
He laughs. "You are not in the right part of the city to be asking for help against the cartels. Besides, you have the look of a young Jedi. Why would you not ask them for help?"
She shakes her head. "They won't help. I'm alone in this."
"Perhaps not." Says a voice from behind her.
Lyra turns and sees a human male slide the chair across from him out with his foot. He motions to it. "Come, sit."
She walks over to him and has a seat. "And you are?"
"Soren" he says. "You?"
"I'm Lyra." She responds.
Soren smiles at her. "Well Lyra, you are asking quite a bit from someone willing to help. I assume there is good credits to be made?"
She shakes her head. "I don't have any credits; my master usually takes care of those things."
Soren shakes his head. "Well, your master is not here. You can't expect someone to go against one of the gangs here on Coruscant for free, do you?"
She sighs deeply. "Please, he's my best friend. I would do anything to get him back!"
Soren thinks for a moment. "Anything huh? To do this takes time and resources, both of which I have. You would be in my debt if I did this for you."
She frowns. "Exactly what would be the cost of this help?"
Soren smiles. "Does it matter? You said you would do anything to get him back."
Lyra looks around, she knows she has no other option if she wants Asher to be free. Finally, she nods. "Alright, help him please."
Soren sits back and smiles at her. "Give me 2 days, then meet me back here around the same time."
Lyra smiles brightly. "Just like that? You believe you can get him back?"
He nods. "Yep. Just like that. Just give me the details..."
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The 2 days waiting took its toll on Lyra. She couldn't focus, her training was lapsing. Her master could sense a struggle within her and decided that taking Lyra offworld for awhile might help. Master Cassia told her to pack a bag and meet her at the starport just after dinner. They were going to go train someplace else for awhile and let Lyra be freer to think. Lyra agreed and packed her bag, with no intention of going to the starport. She would make her meeting tonight with Soren and make sure Asher was safe.
So, just before dinner Lyra took her bag and left the Jedi Academy, heading back into the city. She reached the Oasis in time and found Soren sitting at the same table, alone.
Lyra walks to the table and frowns, "Were you not successful?"
Soren grins at her. "Oh, I was very successful. Not only did I get the boy, but I erased the family debt."
Lyra's face brightens up. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! Where is Asher?"
Soren motions to the seat across from him. "Patience. We must discuss our deal now."
"I don't understand." Lyra says as she sits down.
Soren shrugs. "In order to make this happen, I had to call in some favors and spend credits that, quite frankly, I don't have to just throw away. That made this a costly venture. It did save 2 lives in the process though. Tell me Lyra, how do you plan to repay me?"
"I told you before, I don't have any money!" She says, getting upset. "What could I possibly do to cover a debt like that?"
"And so, we come to the heart of it." He says. "I told you I saved not only Asher's life, but his father's life as well. I did so on the basis that you would do anything to get him back. Was I wrong?"
Lyra shakes her head. "Not at all, that is what I said."
Soren nods. "Then as I see it, you owe me... a life for a life."
"What?" Lyra asks incredulously. "What do you mean?"
"Simply this," responds Soren, "I used my money and influence to free Asher from the cartel and free his father from their debt. Their lives now belong to me. However, since you claimed you would do anything, that means your life is mine in exchange. You will belong to me."
Lyra frowns, "You mean, I'm your slave?"
"Slave is such an old-fashioned term." Soren says with a grin. "But yes, it will work in this case."
She shakes her head. "I'm no slave. I'm a free woman."