As if you were on fire from within. |D&R| [Valcor]

[Thaddeus]

A loud thwack rung out through the hangar and into the hall that lead out into the spaceport of Mos Ila. The twin suns were high in the sky, and the inhabitants of the settlement for the most part had sought out shelter - doing whatever work they had to do indoors. Only Jawas and droids were left running around the streets, and a significant number of the droids were running from the Jawas scurrying after them.

The thwack rung out again, no one bothered to investigate the noise if they heard it. It came from the hangar where the Trandoshan's shuttle was, and the inhabitants of Mos Ila had more than their fair share of run ins with Trandoshans; and they did not leave them with the desire for any more. This Trandoshan though was almost unique amongst his species, this was Sish Balkk a Jedi Knight. Presently engaged in the rather undignified process of fixing his G-type light shuttle, well fixing was a generous term beating repeatedly with a hyrdospanner was more accurate.

Balkk had been dispatched to investigate rumours of a Dark side cult taking hold in the mountains and canyons near Mos Ila. As it turned out it was just a group of thugs who used technology, illusions and magic tricks to scare locals into paying them protection money. Balkk had broken up the "cult" easily, and handed them over to the local council for justice. So now the Trandoshan Jedi stooped under his shuttle attempting to make sense of it.

"Sssshould have taken an assstromech..." He muttered under his breath as he set to work again. He unlike most people out and about this time of the day showed no sign of discomfort at the heat.

It took him some time to realise that part of the hyperdrive had been removed, not an uncommon occurrence in outer rim spaceports. Stepping out from under the shuttle, and glad to stretch out to his full height with a satisfied hiss, Balkk slowly walked towards the ramp. He was sure that he saw a trunk of spare parts. The problem was, he thought, the only way he could figure out which part was missing was by trying to fit all the parts from the trunk into the hyperdrive - like some jigsaw puzzle.

Lifting the massive crate with ease he carried it back out of the shuttle setting it down in the dirt, and rubbing his chin looked at the task before him.

[Valcor]

    Sand, it was everywhere, but that was just how Tatooine was.  The damn planet might as well have been entirely the stuff.  As the sand whipped and blew through the streets of Mos Ila, two figures walked calmly through it.  "Fraking storm..." Shorza grumbled as he trudged his way through the storm towards the space port.  While the Zabrak's goggles protected his eyes, his tank top did little to protect his skin.  The sand stung his bare tattooed arms, but he was almost to the port.  Shorza did not think he would ever be this happy to see his big lizard companion, but after spending enough time with two stoic business focused partners, Shorza had come to miss his personable friend.  He had just finished his smuggling mission, and was pleased to finally be done with the two damned Jedi he had the displeasure of working with.  With the credits in his pocket and his tools on his belt, Shorza walked away from the mission richer and in one piece.

     Behind Shorza his droid, Hex, trudged along, unaffected by the torrent of tan sand whipping at him.  The big robot seemed to be just as pleased as Shorza to be back on Tatooine, as he had not once grumbled despite the sand clawing at his chassis.  Hex was also pleased to finally have Shorza safe, his programming made it hard for him to tolerate Shorza being in danger, and felt what organics might call 'stress'.  The droid however could not stop Shorza, even he did have his own voice, the droid was sure Shorza would not hear reason.

     The moment Shorza entered the building housing all of the space craft, a familiar pounding rang in Shorza's ears.  Shorza chuckled and looked over his shoulder at Hex, "Sounds like someone needs a mechanic." Shorze laughed.  Slowly the hammering sounds stopped just as Shorza poked his head around the open door and spotted a rather imposing Trandoshan carrying a crate and chuckled. "Sound like someone is having some trouble." Shorza quipped as he slowly walked into the hangar, his towering droid slowly crouching his way through the low door.  "Need a hand?" Shorza asked as he pointed over his shoulder at Hex who responded by holding his hands out for the crate.  Hex blinked his optical sensor to the Trandoshan, who was probably one of the few people who could look Hex in the eye without hurting their neck.
        

[Thaddeus]

Balkk looked up when he heard the gentle crunch of a set footsteps followed by the heavy pounding of another set. He saw a young goggled Zabrak peak around the corner with a smile, as he stepped in a large loading droid trudged in behind him. As the young man offered his droid's assistance Balkk nodded, and handed the crate over to the droid,

"Yessss, thank you."

As the droid took the crate Balkk took a moment to more closely study his new arrival. His whole face almost was covered in the traditional tattoos of his kind, and the black which showed on his arms and under his tank top promised that most of his body was similarly bedecked. The blue of his eyes seemed to shine amongst the black and red, and indeed they shone only in as much as they contrasted their surroundings. Balkk loomed over the Zabrak, as he did over most people, and folding his clawed hands in front of him spoke in his calm tones,

"It appearssss that I have been robbed..." The lack of anger in the statement was noticeable, especially in a species as famed for its angry outbursts as Balkk's was, "... Unfortunately I am uselessss when it comessss to sssuch thingss." He gestured at the ship.

He wore the usual over and under tunic of the Jedi, but then this was not an unusual nor an uncommon sort of garment for anyone to wear. The lightsaber which hung on his utility belt however marked him out clearly as a member of the Order.

"If you could repair the sssship I would of course compensssate you..." Balkk had been given a substantial amount of credits for breaking up the "cult" by the local Kajidic, which had welcomed the elimination of the competition. Balkk had been wondering what he would do with the money.

Balkk motioned for the young Zabrak to stay, and the giant Trandoshan moved with surprising grace back towards the shuttle and disappeared inside. Returning he handed the young lad a credit chip, "Sssscan it, you will find it hassss 5,000 creditssss on it. I will pay you another 5,000 on completion of the work." Balkk said it all matter-of-factly.

Turning to look at the droid which still held the crate, Balkk noticed that the droid did not look like any of the other loading droids that worked the port - it was black not the stock purple for one - he supposed it was the Zabrak's. Balkk was not the sort to engage in idle gossip, so simply nodded at the obvious conclusion and turned back to face the Zabrak - who by now should have finished checking the legitimacy of the credit chip.

"I am Jedi Knight Sssissh Balkk, by the way, at your ssservice." He inclined his head, if he had properly bowed he risked colliding with the young man's head. Balkk smiled as he remembered an incident when he had done just that when he was a padawan, the poor little Bith had been almost knocked out. Remembering that he was in company, and that a Trandoshan smile was not pleasant for most, Balkk quickly stopped and resumed his impassive visage.

[Valcor]

Shorza chuckled as he gently bounced the pouch in his hand.  '10,000 for a part replacement? This Jedi must be in a real hurry' Shorza thought to himself as he looked the towering Trandoshan up and down.  Unlike the Trandoshans Shorza was used to, this one seemed to have an air of sophistication and class about him.  His movements were fluid and his posture was perfect, unlike the lumbering hunched reptilians Shorza was normally around.  Clearly being a Jedi had treated this Trandoshan right, and it was a welcome change to Shorza.

    Hex slowly placed the hefty crate down next to the Hyperdrive the Jedi had been beating on earlier before standing back up his full height and looking over at his owner.  Despite how calm the Trandoshan was, Hex's protective programming demanded he be suspicious, so he was.  Hex looked the whole organic over, noting the lightsaber on his hip and common humble robes the Jedi wore and deemed him not to be a threat, well, unless Shorza got in his face as he was known to do.  Almost on cue Shorza opened his mouth, causing Hex to sag his shoulders.

    "Yeah, uh sure... You in a rush big fella? This is a part replacement..." Shorza said looking up at the Jedi.  He was not complaining about the large payment, but he was not without his suspicions.  Even though his gut did not tell him there was anything amiss with this repair job, Shorza was still wary.  The young Zabrak then turned and looked up under the ship and noted the heat dispersal unit was missing and chuckled.  "Yup looks like they stole your cooling unit, good thing your engine was smart enough not to turn on." Shorza laughed again, strangely personifying the engine as he often did with almost all machines, droid or not.

    "Name's Shorza, uh, mechanic." He said uncomfortably.  He was not used to giving a profession with his introduction, but Sish had done so, making Shorza feel obligated.  After Introducing himself, Shorza occupied himself with the Hyperdrive engine, quickly rummaging through the crate of spare parts.  "Not too many Trando Jedi I bet." Shorza commented, attempting to make small talk in his slight Iridonian accent.  Behind Shorza Hex's body mimicked a sigh as he felt relieved that Shorza avoided confrontation. For once. Upon Shorza's retrieval of a new cooling unit, Hex approached and lifted the hefty crate once again with relative ease, assuming Shorza was finished with it.  Hex then turned to Sish and tilted his head curiously, asking where to put the crate silently. 

    The close proximity of the two allowed both to look each other over in close detail.  Hex noted the calm, calculating gaze that Sish gave him, and found it all to similar to the one he first received from his Shorza when he was reactivated.  This further served to relax the droid as he puffed out his chest and held back his shoulders, both showing off his new red, horn styled, chest artwork, and giving him a more confident look.  The droid, not being programmed for fear, noted the Trandoshan quickly hide his smile as he approached, and hoped he had not somehow angered the organic, they could be so fickle.

[Thaddeus]

The Zabrak showed the usual caution among people in the outer rim about accepting large sums of credits from strangers for simple tasks; too often they repaired or helped a stranger only to find that they were on the run from someone who did not appreciate the help they gave. This was not surprising to Balkk, his time with the Council of Reconciliation had often meant he was out among the planets and peoples of the outer rim, especially as he was the Jedi of choice for dealings with the Cartel.

"I have no need for the creditsss, and would return to Coruscant ssssooner rather than later." He did not elaborate further, because to Balkk no elaboration was necessary. Other Jedi may have launched into an uninvited lecture about the Jedi Order, but Balkk saw no need to say anything more than the facts.

It appeared that this Zabrak had the habit most mechanics had, engines, ships, anything mechanical was alive and personified. Of course Balkk knew it was just parlance, none except the most strange and eccentric would truly believe their machines alive. As the young man introduced himself somewhat awkwardly Balkk inclined his head, adding, "Pleasssure." Almost immediately Shorza had set to work. While most other customers would have either kept a close eye on the boy or left to drink at the cantina depending on their level of trust, Balkk meanwhile just stood impassively by.

Closing his eyes Balkk focused on his body, feeling the Force flowing through him like a warm light. His breathing slowed as he began his meditation, ignoring everything that wasn't the Force. It flowed up from the earth and into his body, it suffused the air about him, he could feel it ripple with his heart beat. The sensations were not new to him, but they always astounded him and left him with a sense of novelty at the might and majesty of it. It calmed him greatly, not that he needed to achieve peace at present (the current situation was hardly stressful), it was just Balkk enjoyed the sensation and serenity the Force brought him.

His private thoughts and meditations were interrupted by Zabrak's accented question, opening his eyes Balkk found himself staring at the droid. The droid blinking its red eyes looked concerned, Balkk just nodded at it, hoping the simple gesture would ease it somewhat. Turning to look at where the voice of the Zabrak emanated from under the shuttle Balkk replied,

"No, not many, never have been many of ussss..." He recognised the boy's accent as Iridonian, a Zabrak from the homeworld, he had traveled far. "From Iridonia I hear, traveled once to Wortan to end a gang war there. Ssswoop gangsss." A harsh world Balkk recalled, even by Trandoshan standards.

Given that the Zabrak had started conversing Balkk figured that the boy did not wish to work in silence, so still standing upright seemingly immobile, he asked one of his rare questions.

"The droid I take it issss yoursss?" Balkk regarded it with the eye of a Jedi who had seen much in his 33 years as a Knight, never mind the 22 years he had spent as a youngling and padawan. "Modified." It was a statement, without judgement, "You again?"

[Valcor]

    "No need for credits..." Shorza replied with a small shake of his head.  'Man these Jedi are a strange breed.' Shorza thought to himself as he took the cooling unit and began fitting it into place.  Just then Shorza remembered that previous Jedi he had the displeasure of meeting could read his thoughts.  Shorza cursed under his breath and began to recite Hyperdrive assembly processes in his head.  That was the only way Shorza could think to keep the Jedi from his thoughts, a place he did not like others to journey into.  With all the processes occupying Shorza's mind he did not pay enough attention to the slightly heavy cooling unit in his hand and allowed it to slip from his grasp.  Shorza cursed again under his breath but quickly slid the dispersal unit back into place and bolted it in.


    When he did he poked his head back out from under the ship to see what Hex had done with the crate, he found him standing stupidly right in front of Balkk.  Shorza laughed at them both before clarifying, "He doesn't talk much, but he wants to know where you want your stuff." Hex then nodded quickly, as it was what he was requesting.  Hex then let his red gaze return to Balkk as he awaited a reply.  Before Balkk could however, Shorza answered his comment on Iridonia, "Yeah, home sweet home... I prefer not to visit." Shorza commented warily as he began hooking up the haphazardly removed tubing back to the cooling unit.  "Not really a nice vacation spot you must know." Shorza added quickly, not wanting the Jedi to pry further than he should.

    As Hex went to place the crate back on the ship, Shorza emerged from under the Hyperdrive with a bright smile and quite a bit of grease on his hands.  "Not too much work, but yeah.  That's Hex, found him abandoned on Iridonia, stuck a brain in 'em and he... uh helped me out." Shorza said as he rubbed his hands off on his shirt, smearing the black liquid into his dull, once white tank top.  'Energy cell, power couplings, capacitors, cooling unit..' Shorza recited in his head as he looked up at Balkk.  The Trandoshan was imposing, but seemed to do his best not to be, 'Grozz will get a kick out of this one.' Shorza said in his head before looking over at the ramp to see Hex making his way out.

    As per his programming, Hex slowly approached Balkk, his hands now unoccupied, and extended one of his massive torso sized hands to the Trandoshan.  Shorza laughed and leaned up against his droid before commenting, "Yeah I modified him myself... Oh and he wants to shake your hand, likes to meet all my clients." Shorza laughed again as the hulking droid blinked his eye and tilted his head at Balkk, who he still was concerned did not take to his droidly self.

[Thaddeus]

Balkk said nothing when Shorza with a shaking head had commented on the Jedi's disdain for wealth. Balkk had once, some years ago, been asked to explain the Jedi Order's asceticism. He had replied simply, 'What need have any being of things of this universsse? What are we other than travelersss ressting under a tree and sssshall ssoon move on.' Some might be surprised by such a philosophic statement by the Trandoshan Jedi. Balkk was not known for his philosophical musings like some Jedi, this was not because he did not consider the Force and the universe, but because he rarely spoke of them.

Just as Balkk rarely spoke, similarly he rarely inquired or pryed - and certainly not in the manner Shorza was imagining. Balkk lacked the talent some Jedi had for that aspect of the Force, though his fluency in the Lorrdian kinetic language meant he could read body language expertly; and this often was misattributed by others as telepathy.

Balkk hear the sharp inhalation of breath that preceded the Zabrak's curse, and instictively he thrust one arm out and reaching out in the Force stopped the cooling unit in mid-air.

"Careful issss heavy."

He gently dropped the part into the Zabrak's hands, and then closed his eyes resuming his meditations. Though this time he sensed something, it was like another ember sparked in the Force. The warmth that suffused the air, the solidity of the earth, the Force that flowed through it all was affected by another ripple... Balkk did not have time to explore this sensation any longer though.

As with a crunch of sand under its heavy feet Shorza's droid stood before Balkk, red optics blinking. Balkk turned to ask Shorza what it wanted, but the Zabrak was ahead of him, "Ah, if you could..." He had just started to gesture at the shuttle when Shorza interrupted him. Not that it seemed to matter as the droid had understood and set to it.

Balkk nodded at the description of Iridonia as 'not a nice vacation spot.' No indeed Balkk could think of many planets that were more pleasant, and the fact that Trandosha made the list spoke volumes. Still Tatooine would hardly be the place one would go after Iridonia, so Balkk turned for a moment and studied his mechanically minded companion closely for a moment.

He was facing the much shorter Zabrak when smiling Shorza stepped out from under the ship explaining the origin of the droid. The hesitation at 'he helped me out' might have prompted some to pry, but Balkk did not.

"Yesssss musst be very helpful." No doubt kept more than a few thugs, that always were found in these backwaters, away from the young man.

The droid trudged forward towards Balkk with one hand extended, Balkk looked down and over at Shorza who easily explained the situation. Balkk offered his clawed hand, taking great care as always even with this droid not to scratch with his sharp claws. He offered a rare smile,

"Doesssss it have a name?"

After the introductory pleasantries had been exchanged between droid and Trandoshan - even people who said they had seen everything would have to admit that seen was something new - Balkk turned to the shuttle,

"All fixed?" Balkk couldn't quite believe that what he had been 'working' on for hours could be done so quickly. He really would have to remember to bring an astromech droid from now on.

[Valcor]

    Shorza chuckled as he pushed himself up off his droid and patted the hulking robot on the side, as a father might his son, "LB-06 if you like to call him by his full name, but I usually only call him by that if he is in trouble." Shorza let out another laugh as the droid turned and widened his optic aperture, obviously not taking kindly to the comment.  "Typically I just call him Hex for short." Shorza added as he spotted a minuet speck of dirt caked on his droid side and slowly scratched it off.

     Shorza then returned his gaze to the towering Trandoshan before him and suddenly felt just how tall Balkk really was.  He was nearly as tall as Hex making Shorza feel even more self conscious about his height than he normally was.  Shorza let out a small laugh as he realized how much his droid and Balkk reminded him of an old Holo he had watched about a giant monster fighting a robot.  Shorza quickly refocused himself and looked back over at the towering Trandoshan's ship, "Yeah the old girl should do fine, next time I recommend a simple lock over the hatch.  That should keep this from happening again." Shorza quipped with another laugh.  

    Shorza slowly returned his gaze to Balkk and smiled his white toothy grin and added, "And since you seem so opposed to having those credits around..." This comment earned him a nudge from Hex, who never liked when the young Zabrak spoke in a fashion that might anger other organics.  Hex slowly lowered his head and turned his gaze back to Balkk, silently hoping he did not have to protect his creator from the burly lizard.  This organic did not seem like the others Hex had encountered, but Hex was not a organic relations droid so often small expressions and faux pas eluded him.  Hex slowly shifted his position so he stood slightly between the pair before Shorza stopped him.  "Hex, calm down. I don't have a bad feeling about this guy." Surprisingly this seemed to calm the droid, who had learned after enough time around Shorza, that his gut feelings were almost always spot on.  Hex bowed his head once more and stepped back behind his creator and averted his gaze submissively.

[Thaddeus]

Balkk looked the Zabrak over, he laughed more than most of his kind - or at least those of his kind Balkk had met. In Balkk's experience those who laughed frequently needed to escape the reality of existence, and the sheer noise of a laugh seemed to jolt them out of it. Balkk for this reason never much enjoyed levity, the universe was not there to be escaped.

Though he noted in deference to Shorza's age that youth always laughed, not to escape reality but because to them life was one trembling opportunity after joy. Though something about the lad's face told Balkk that he laughed more to escape life than because he saw it as joyous.

"Nice to meet you Hex." The Trandoshan Jedi said it sincerely, Balkk never did say anything that he didn't mean. Balkk watched the fondness with which Shorz treated the droid Hex, it was the sort of physical closeness that was more common among siblings than droids and organics.

Shorza's simple advice prompted a grin from the Trandoshan, though again he stopped the toothy smile quickly.

"Yessss, you would think a Jedi would have the foresssight to do ssso." This was as close as Balkk came to humour, rather dry statements.

Balkk was intrigued by Shorza's statement about credits, but before the Zabrak had finished the large droid moved between him and Balkk. Balkk was not trouble, he took a step back not only to allow the droid to easily between the two organics, but also to demonstrate his peaceful intentions. Once Shorza had finished calming the droid, Balkk bowed deeply,

"I assssure you I mean no harm to your owner, or yourssself." Standing to his full height once more Balkk was glad to see the droid seemed calmer and had moved off.

Balkk's mind returned to a line of Shorza's calming exhortation, 'I don't have a bad feeling...' Balkk wondered silently. It was possible, but he could not be certain without either a blood test or meditating deeply. Neither of which seemed immediately possible. Realising that he had been lost in private musings for a couple of seconds he recomposed himself,

"Sssorry, you were sssaying about creditsss?"

[Valcor]

    "I dunno if I hold the Jedi in the same high regard you do." Shorza chuckled as pulled his goggles off his forehead and let them dangle around his neck.  "No offense." The young Zabrak added quickly as he realized he was talking to a Jedi.  Slowly but surely the Trandoshan smiled his toothy grin, Shorza smiled as well.  The maw of a Trandoshan was not a scary or alien sight to Shorza, he lived with one currently who was much more expressive than Balkk.  Shorza had grown to learn Trandoshan expressions, and that most of them were not as aggressive as they appear.  Balkk hid his well, whether it was just his personality or whether it was intentional, Shorza could only guess.  

    After talking Hex back into a relaxed state behind him, Shorza returned his eyes to Balkk, who suddenly look quite distant.  Shorza raised one eyebrow curiously, "You get distracted or something big fella?" the Zabrak quipped as her folded his arms over his chest, more to occupy his hands than to show irritation.  Shorza spotted how easily Balkk's eyes glazed over the moment Shorza calmed Hex, 'Was it something I said?' Shorza pndered.  Shorza was now very suspicious, but still his gut remained calm, giving Shorza a small peace of mind.  Hex noticed the slight tensing in his creators back, signaling nervousness, but did not step in front of him.  Shorza had made it clear to Hex that he felt fine around Balkk, and Hex would not object a second time.

     Shorza lowered a hand and patted the pouch of credits on his belt before continuing, "You said I would get an additional 5,000 credits when I finished." Shorza drew out the last few words of his statement as if trying to lead an elderly person towards a specific thought.  "Remember?" Shorza teased warily as he eyed the Trandoshan up and down, hoping to find an obvious reason for the lizard's sudden cold feet, a poison dart would be a simpler explination.  The lizard seemed to be almost entirely inside his own head now, putting Shorza's nerves even more on edge.

[Thaddeus]

Balkk ignored Shorza's comment on the Jedi, out among the planets of the outer rim the Jedi were a rare sight he knew well. Closer to the core the tales of their deeds and justic were not only known, but regularly seen, out here though they were an exceptionally rare sight. And when they did bring justice and peace it usually lasted no longer than the Jedi remained. It was a lamentable state of things, but even the Jedi could not be everywhere.

"None taken."

Balkk was surpised by Shorza's lack of reaction to his smile, or perhaps more properly lack of a negative reaction. Either the young Zabrak is particularly generous with his lack of prejudice, or he had spent some time among Trandoshans thought Balkk. It put Balkk at ease somewhat, the times when he was among company and didn't have to closely watch his body language were rare. Not that he suddenly became all limp and slumped, he stood as tall and as erect as ever. No it was more that the muscles slackened ever so slightly into a more comfortable arrangement.

He had sensed something earlier, the Force it had been more alive than when he had meditate in the hangar when he first arrived 5 days ago. Could the Zabrak be Force sensitive? And if he was, what then? Too old for the Jedi Order... he couldn't be certain of course, he had not properly concentrated on Shorza when he meditated, he had not even meditate with the intent to discover any Force sensitives.

But the Force had been stronger here, and Balkk in his lengthy time as a Jedi trusted in his instincts. The Living Force spoke to beings in this way. Balkk was shocked out of his private thoughts by Shorza's question.

"Yessss..." His hands moved from where they rested folded in front of him, and gently they illustrated his words, "Do you have much luck? Your gut isssss often right?"

The droid seemed to look intently at his master, and then over at Balkk but did not move. Attentive droid Balkk thought. As Shorza lead him slowly towards the matter of the remaining credits like some dottery grandparent Balkk nodded,

"Of coursssse..." He walked off, and after a short time in the shuttle came out with another credit chit, "A further 5,000 creditsss."

Balkk stood silent for a moment as the Zabrak no doubt would check the chit, he thought to himself not about the Zabrak for the moment but about the rest of the credits.

"Do you happen to know a local medcentre? One that treatssss all who come?" Balkk normally acquainted himself with the medical facilities of any settlement he was in before beginning a mission; but he had learnt before even leaving the station that the 'cult' was little more than thuggish tricksters and so had not bothered.

[Valcor]

    Shorza caught the small pouch as Balkk tossed him the credits.  Shorza raised his eyebrows at how easily the Trandoshan literally 'threw' credits away.  Even the wealthiest of men showed more care for their money than this Jedi.  Shorza simply shrugged and pulled out his data pad to scan the credits.  In response to the Jedi's inquiry, Shorza commented without looking up, "Yeah, it is pretty rare that my gut's wrong, thought I was sick for a while."  Shorza said without laughing for once, before continuing to scan the credits, still suspicious of even a Jedi loosing this much money on a simple repair job.

     When Shorza finally lifted his gaze, he found the Trandoshan's eyes boring into him like a kath hound on its prey.  Shorza shifted his gaze uncomfortably as he lowered the pouch down onto his utility belt.  Slowly Shorza backed up so he could hear the soft humming of his droids power cells close by, mostly out of habit.  "Um yeah... Why you hurt?" Shorza asked suspiciously, 'He looked like he was about to leave, now he wants a clinic?' This situation kept getting stranger and stranger to Shorza who could not shake the eerie feeling starting to creep over him.  Despite the eerie feeling, Shorza still did not feel the bad, sick feeling in his gut he normally got in dangerous situations, making this all the stranger.  


    Hoping to get out of Balkk's gaze as quickly as he could, Shorza answered his question, "About two or three blocks straight out the front door of the space port, there is a big sign for the local clinic on your right, can't miss it." Shorza said, his Iridonian accent showing more when he is stressed.  Shorza held the Trandoshan's gaze for a moment before adding, "We done?"


     

[Thaddeus]

Balkk noted the lad's surprise at his literal throwing away of credits with a nod towards the credit chit. As Shorza answered his questions Balkk listened intently, looking at the young Zabrak and sensing in the Force, for deception. But what he found was sincerity. His theory was not confirmed of course, but it seemed less flimsy. In one not trained in the Force like a Jedi was from a young age sensitivity manifested as luckiness, a good 'gut instinct.' Balkk said no more, asked no further questions.

Balkk regretted studying Shorza so intently when he noticed that he had backed up quite close to his droid. To be stared at without explanation was rarely pleasant, to be stared at intensely by a Trandoshan was never pleasant. Remembering himself Balkk apologised quickly in Lorrdian kinetic before straightening up and resuming a more normal look.

"No not hurt, have more creditssss." Balkk then explained, something he rarely did but did in this instance to converse with Shorza longer, "Thought I would give it to them before I leave, will be of more ussse to them than the Order." The bounty while substantial to an individual was a pittance for an organisation as large and as well-funded as the Jedi.

Balkk sensed that Shorza was in a rush to exit, he wanted to ask the young man to show him the way, but instinctively he knew that they would cross paths again. Trusting in the Force he did ask him to stay,

"Thank you, and yessss we are done." As Balkk walked up into the shuttle to collect the other credit chits, he turned and with a sense of great portent addressed Shorza again.

"May the Force be with you."

[Valcor]

    Shorza nodded in response, but said nothing as he turned to leave, happy to finally be out from under that Jedi's gaze.  'Ugh felt like he was trying to stare at my soul' Shorza thought to himself before finally ending his mental hyperdrive recital.  Shorza then realized he was missing something and turned to look back at the Trandoshan to find Hex had not turned to follow him, but was instead standing exactly where he was before, his red eye locked on Balkk.


    "Uh Hex?" The droid suddenly perked up at looked around like it did not know where it was before finding its' creator and rushing over to him.  Shorza rolled his eyes and turned back for the door, "You have a virus or somethin'?" Shorza teased as he gave Balkk a quick wave over his shoulder in response to his force comment.  Shorza practically skipped ahead, significantly wealthier than when he arrived.  Hex did not seem to be at peace however, once he passed through the door he paused and looked over his massive shoulder at the Jedi, slowly focusing his lens on Balkk.  The massive robot stood there for a moment longer than he should have before hurrying after his creator.

    Despite being a silent droid, Hex's message was clear, "I don't know you, understand you, or like you, but I can't stop you from being around Shorza."  There were very few droids as expressive as Hex, and for someone as attuned to body language as Balkk, the droid might as well have been yelling at him.  Shorza slowly approached 'The Basilisk', smiling and happy to finally be home.  Something still tugged at Shorza however, 'Why would he want to donate to a clinic here, and not one that would surely be more trust worthy back in the Galactic core?' Shorza thought to himself.  'That was one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had...' Shorza continued as he walked onto his friends ship, hurrying slightly more than usual.

[Thaddeus]

Balkk had to smile inwardly at Hex, few people would ever display as much loyalty to each other as that droid did to Shorza. As he watched the loading droid follow its master Balkk rubbed his chin again, a puzzling matter. He picked up the remaining credit chits, and took the time to find a simple lock for the maintenance hatch. Credit chits safely stowed in his belt Balkk closed the ramp behind him, and locked the maintenance hatch before setting out on his way. The suns were still high in the sky, and the streets still mostly empty. So he made good time to the clinic. He had walked so quickly in fact that he had barely left himself any time to contemplate his present puzzle. Handing the chits over to a very thankful doctor Balkk made a hasty exit.

This time he ambled along slowly, unmolested as ever, and pondered deeply. More and more he believed his instinct had been correct, a pity he could not have contrived a reason for the young man to stay longer so that Balkk could have meditated and reached out in the Force. But that would have involved either announcing his suspicious, which founded or not, may not be wise; or having deceived Shorza, and deception Balkk could not stand. The sand whipped around him, not that his thick scaly skin allowed him to notice the lashing of the sand, and his hiss almost sounded like the wind. Eventually his feet unknowingly carried him to the spaceport once more, and at the precipice Balkk decided. He would meditate, try and sense if the boy was sensitive. Given that Shorza seemed familiar with starships Balkk imagined that he either worked in the spaceport or on a ship in the port. This would make it easier, not simple by any means but easier.

Balkk settled atop some crates that were stacked not far from his shuttle, crossing his legs, closing his eyes, and slowed his breathing. He focused first on the Force within him, centering him, he felt it in every cell, and every firing nerve. Then he felt it flow out through him and down into the earth, the warm, solid, grainy earth. He could then feel it whip around him in the air, it was like a comforting embrace from an old friend. Reaching out he felt along the Force, it was like watching a rivulet or breeze, it moved and twisted, it was alive and it was comforting. He could sense other beings, they rippled like pebbles dropped in a lake, the Force connected all things. Every dropped pebble was unique, every ripple seemed like a sonata. But he was searching for one pebble in particularly, and it would create a greater ripple than others. It took him some time, but he did find it. It was darker than some, though by no means the darkest in the sordid spaceport, but it was also young. 

Balkk knew that Shorza's "gut" would be sensing his reaching out, it would be like the tingle up your spine, so he did not linger. He had discovered what he needed, so the Zabrak was Force sensitive. He could not be a Jedi, but Balkk's instinct told him to seek out the young man anyway. To what end he knew not, he trusted that the Force would reveal it in time. As he stood up he could hear his old master's voice chiming in with an old lesson, "The Force guides us, but you should not blindly follow it."

"Oh ssshush."

He said it in a well-meaning if slight exasperated way, like a student who had heard this lecture from their teacher a dozen times or more. Still he was smiling and as always when he recalled one of Master Pledesin's teachings he did not ignore the advice therein. Nonetheless he set out to find the Zabrak with the droid.

[Valcor]

Shorza sighed to himself as he closed the loading ramp of the large Freighter behind him, happy to finally be back home.  Behind Shorza, the heavy footsteps of Hex told him his loyal droid was right behind him.  Slowly Hex made his way back through the freighter, past the holding cells to the slightly spacious engine room. Since Shorza worked so much with the engine, and most of the other space in the ship was for slaves, Shorza took up residence in the Engine room.  All of his meager clothing was piled up in one corner under some of the piping that ran through the room, his tools lay meticulously sorted in the other on a small tarp, and various machinations whirred around the floor.  A few failed attempts at making a vocal unit himself lay tossed into a pile of scrap like trash, while other more successful creations remained on the floor.  One old mouse droid scurried around between the machinations, scooping up any spare trash and parts Shorza did not pick up himself.  Shorza stepped over the small droid before collapsing into his hammock he had strung up between the two engine housings that filled the majority of the room.  Shorza sighed once more, happy to finally rest in his bed.

    Beside the bed, Hex slowly sat down.  Hex did not mind standing or sitting, but once long ago, Shorza had complained that he did not like when Hex stood over him while he sat or slept, so ever since Hex has sat patiently by Shorza's side.  The red eye of the droid slowly moved away from his creator and found itself following the mouse droid that ran along the floor.  The small object fascinated Hex, it had so little function, and yet was able to make decisions without a moments hesitation as to that decisions effects.  Hex envied the creature, all of Hex's actions had to be well thought out and deliberate, it exhausted his processor.  Suddenly heavy footsteps started to come down the hall, Grozzack probably.  Suddenly the towering Trandoshan slaver poked his head around the door to the engine room and smiled his toothy grin.  "Shorza... I sssee you've come back." Shorza responded only with a tired groan and a wave of his tattooed hand.  

    "The Huttssss ssstill are keeping me here.  Ssseems they are gathering a sssmall army around themsselvesss." The lizard groaned as he rolled his eyes.  "Ssso I'm gonna go get some food from the market."  Shorza took a few credits from his latest payment and tossed them to his pilot, "Get me something... I'll let you take Heeex." The Zabrak kid said in a tempting tone, knowing the Trandoshan would not normally give into his mechanic's laziness.  The Trandoshan let out a hearty laugh, "Only becaussse you know how much I like your droid around me in thisss sscity."  Grozzack then looked over at Shorza's hulking droid and gestured with his head.  "Come on droid." Grozzack said before turning to leave.  

    Hex looked back at his creator, but then lowered his head and got to his feet.  He did not like to leave Shorza alone, but the ship seemed safe enough, and Hex did not really have a choice, so he obeyed.  Slowly Hex made his way out of the ship after Grozzack, grumbling with his joints the whole time.

[Thaddeus]

Balkk even took the precaution of locking the hangar - something on hindsight he should have done when he had first arrived. Pulling up the hood on his robe he walked down the hall linking the various hangars in the spaceport. Sand crunched underfoot, his lightsaber jangled and bounced on his hip, and his robes gently billowed behind him.

He ducked under another doorway having entered the customs office, Balkk doubted that young Zabrak with a giant loading droid would have gone completely unnoticed by the customs officers - even if they had been paid to not record them in the logs. A rather bloated and fetid human was on duty today it seemed, and he had not even noticed the Jedi's entrance as he was altogether too caught up in the cheap holofilm he was watching.

"Excuse me."

"Bloody hell!" The fellow jumped out of his seat, and wiping crumbs off his shirt with a snort of snot turned to face the looming figure of Balkk. "Knock next time will ya, anyways what ya want?"

Some Jedi more used to the core worlds may have recoiled a little at the man's manner and appearance, but Balkk had spent enough time among the outer rim to know that little blobs of fat like him were everywhere. "I am looking for ssssomeone..."

Before Balkk could finish the man leaned back in faux-disinterest, he smelled credits, "Look it ain't port policy to give out info about anyone see, privacy agreements and all that."

Balkk reached into his robe and pulled out a single credit chit, hissing a little which made the man start a little - Trandoshan, maybe making a profit was less important than getting him outta here he thought.

"1,000 creditssss, I am looking for a young Zabrak - red sssskin with black tatooss - who is alwayssss with a large loading droid."

"Oh yeah you mean Shorza? He's with that other Trandoshan up the way in bay 43..." He rubbed the chit between his fingers, "Look we never talked right? And if you make a mess up there I don't want to know."

Balkk bowed his head and as he turned to walk away promised to keep things civil, which made the man laugh loudly - a Trandoshan civil? Never. Balkk walked for a little while, eyes looking at the hangar numbers as he passed them, around 34 he had to step aside. For the hallway was taken up by another Trandoshan with Hex hulking behind him, Balkk inclined his head slightly at the droid after the Trandoshan had already passed on ahead out of sight. But not wanting to dally he walked on.

He reached bay 43 as he stepped through the door, ducking of course, he pulled the hood back. Looking at the ship in front of him he made for the ramp, and called up the ramp.

"Sssshorza?"

Balkk took a step back and stood impassively tall like some mountain as he awaited Shorza's reply. He knew the boy was there.

[Valcor]

    Shorza groaned softly, he had not actually fallen asleep yet, and was sure that Grozzack was not that fast.  Suddenly Shorza sat up, his eyes wide and his face terrified, that was not Grozzack.  To the unfamiliar, all Trandoshans sound the same, but Shorza had worked with plenty and practically lived with one.  This was not Grozzack's sly yet friendly tone.  'The Jedi...' Shorza thought to himself.


     'Why is he back? Nonono he wasn't just visiting, he was here for me! That's why he paid me so much! That's why he stared at me so long!' Shorza practically screamed inside his own head as he tried to leap from his hammock, only to fall flat on his face, spurring some of the machines scattered around to turn on.  The noise flooded the silent ship, and guided the Trandoshan towards the engine room, through the halls of slave cells that lined the main deck of the ship.  Shorza cursed Grozzack for taking Hex, he could really use him right now.


    Shorza cursed silently as he picked up his stun stick and sprinted to the door leading to the hall.  Now convinced this Jedi was onto him and was here to pick him up, Shorza bolted into the hall full speed, shirtless and groggy.  Just as Shorza rounded the corner to exit the ship, he found himself face to face with Balkk, the towering Jedi practically filled up the entire corridor.  Shorza let out a small yelp and tried to turn, but his boots failed him on the slick floor of the ship and he fell humorously in front of Sish.  In an act of pure fear, Shorza held up his stun stick and scrambled backwards, bellowing curses in every language he was familiar, putting navy men to shame.  "Stay back Balkk!  Y-you wouldn't want Hex here wouldya?" Shorza stammered, falling back on his droid as he usually did in tense situations.


     Shorza still laying on the ground, looked around wildly for an escape route.  Luckily he found a small cooling line and jabbed it with his stun stick, filling the space between himself and Balkk with steam.  The young Zabrak took quick advantage of the distraction and scurried back into the main part of the freighter before ducking into one of the slave cells.  Shorza's heart raced, he had never been this close to getting caught before, but it was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.  The shirtless child tried to slow his breathing before the Trandoshan caught up to him, silently pondering how and why a Jedi would care so much about a crime three years old on Iridonia.  Shorza cursed his luck as he remembered the stare the Jedi had given him and assumed he must have been onto him from there.  Now all the Zabrak could do was wait and hope for an opening to the ramp.

[Thaddeus]

Balkk felt the fear before he even heard the clang and clutter of Shorza falling from his hammock. His clawed feet stepped onto the open ramp with a slight click, and slowly Balkk made his way into the ship.

The whole sense of the ship was oppressive, it was dark and not just from low lighting, Balkk made his way through it slowly. He pulled back his hood, but his hands never strayed to his saber, nothing here could harm him Balkk trusting in the Force walked on.

"Ssssshorza?" He tried to sound as gentle as he could manage.

Balkk walked past empty slave cells and a pallour of sadness fell over him. This was a Trandoshan ship, and no doubt Shorza worked for or was owned by a Trandoshan (it explained the boy's ease when it came to Trandoshans) who participated in the disgusting business his species was almost synonymous with. In the Force he could sense the terror, the fear, and the utter desperation with which beings had huddled in those cells. When something dark was wrought upon beings the Force where it had occurred was forever touched and tinged by the blackness of it. Balkk hissed out a sigh and pressed onward toward another terrified presence.

Balkk held up both palms in a gesture universal in its peaceful intent, but Shorza was obviously too terrified to have noticed or to have cared. The figure of the little Zabrak scrambling backwards swearing, and shakily holding up a stun stick to ward him off. He walked slowly took a step forward.

"Sssshorza I don't mean any harm." Another single step. "We need to talk." And another. "We can wait for Hex if you want..." His sentence was cut off by Shorza causing the cooling line to shot steam between them, through it Balkk could make out the figure of the Zabrak bolting off into the ship.

Another hiss and Balkk stepped through the steam, and reaching out into the Force again he pressed on. Every one of Shorza's heartbeats reverberated in the Force, like a rapid drumbeat, never mind the panted breaths that Balkk could hear with his own naked ear. Trandoshans were some of the best hunters in the galaxy, few species matched them Balkk thought with a little bitterness as he knew that talent made them perfect slavers and bounty hunters. But in the Jedi it was put to a nobler and better purpose. As Balkk stepped around the corner and now stood before the cell where Shorza was hiding he again said

"Sssshorza I don't want to hurt you."

He watched the tattooed chest rise and fall, the Zabrak's eyes constantly look past him and towards the hall back to the ramp, and then Balkk with a flick of his wrist had the stun stick flying into his hand. He snapped it with just one hand, how many slaves had been cowed and beaten with that he thought as he discarded the remnants onto the ground.

"Truly I mean no harm, I do not know why you run and are ssso ssscared but there isss no need to be." Balkk said it all in his gentle and slow Basic, "Your gut will know thissss. Concentrate, lisssten, reach out and you will sssense I am not lying." Balkk nodded and gestured with one hand, "Try it, clossse your eyesss and reach out." Shorza would never have received any training in meditation, but the natural instinct that sensitivity to the Force gave was not difficult to feel - the difficult part was learning to trust those instincts, to trust in the Force.

And in the Force Balkk did trust, so patiently he stood there in front of the cell waiting for Shorza. His Jedi robes hung about him and every now and then a breath of air would flutter by causing them to billow. Balkk's eyes were closed, though inattentive he certainly wasn't, as he allowed the Force to wash over him.

[Valcor]

    Shorza's heart raced as the towering Trandoshan Jedi rounded the corner to the cell he was hiding in.  Yet to the young Zabrak's surprise, Balkk did not attempt to restrain him or attack him in any way, he seemed to truly only wish to talk.  Shorza stared straight into Balkk's eyes, hearing his words but taking a moment to process them.  Shorza did not really have a choice now anyway, he was not going to make it past the Jedi if he ran, and Hex was no where to be found, so Shorza nodded quickly.

    Shorza did not know why the Trandoshan was so interested in him, but it did not seem to be the reason the Zabrak had anticipated, so he played along.  Slowly Shorza shut his eyes and focused on his gut, and to his surprise he felt a sudden wave of calm wash over him, as if his body was at ease.  "No...No you don't mean me harm..." Shorza whispered softly as sweat ran down his tattooed face.  "Why are you here?" Shorza asked after a short pause as he opened his eyes, his tone calm yet wary.  This was after all, one of the weirdest situations the young boy had ever been in.


    Shorza looked up at the Trandoshan as he slowly walked out of the cell, clearly this was going to be hard to explain while still keeping his secrets.  "You shouldn't scare me like that..." Shorza said softly with a small nervous laugh.  "And uh... You shouldn't be seeing all this..." Shorza trailed off as he picked up the scraps of his stun stick and pointed to the cells.  "I just work here..." the young man's words echoed with honesty.  Shorza was clearly not a slaver, but he did live with one.

    Slowly another set of clawed feet clicked up the docking ramp, but were not accompanied by the heavy pounding Shorza anticipated.  The chase must have taken more time than Shorza realized, as his pilot had already returned.  'Hex must be loading up the supplies', Shorza thought before looking over towards the ramp to find Grozzack staring at him.  "Who'sss thisss?" the burly Trandoshan asked as he leaned up against the side of one cell.  Grozzack was slightly shorter than Balkk but seemed to carry slightly more weight.  The two looked awfully similar, even by Trandoshan standards and yet could not be more different.  Slowly Grozzack toyed with his blaster rifle slung over his shoulder, but made no move to draw it, showing his nervousness.  "Allow me to introducssse myssself." Grozzack said, showing a toothy smile, clearly unaware of the Jedi's disdain for him.  The slaver slowly approached, extending one clawed hand to Balkk, "Namesss Grozzack Korll." (Beast of the Korll clan)


    Shorza silently tried to relay that this was not a normal Trandoshan, but Grozzack did not seem to notice.  Behind Balkk, Shorza slumped his shoulders ashamed slightly for his companion and himself, yet he was unsure why he wanted this Jedi's approval.  Something seemed to tell Shorza that this Jedi was important, but Shorza for the life of him could not figure out why.  Whenever Shorza looked at Balkk, his gut seemed to be at ease, a calming peace replacing the constant anxiety the child was under.  Yet despite this, Shorza remained silent, not wishing to embarrass himself further.