A stroll on Dxun . . .

The surface of Dxun. SELENA (The Exile), MIRA and T3-M4 are strolling through the damp, miserable, rainy jungle. The occasional cannock jumps out of the bushes, only to be casually swatted with a Force Wave from SELENA.

They walk in silence for a while, and MIRA notices the look of intense concentration on SELENA'S face.

MIRA: (really fast) Hey, something wrong?

SELENA snaps out of it and looks at MIRA quizzically.

SELENA: Huh?

MIRA: (slightly slower) Something wrong?

SELENA: Uhhh . . . one more time?

MIRA takes a deep breath and concentrates.

MIRA: (normal speed) I said "something wrong?" You got that spaced-out Jedi look again.

SELENA: Oh, that. I'm just tuning out Kreia's telepathic nagging. Thank the Force for meditation techniques . . .

MIRA: Again? (sympathetically) Wow. Sorry to hear that. Say, where is she anyway? I thought she intended to come along.

SELENA: I talked HK-47 into going into the women's quarters and imitating my voice with the occasional "Aha", "Sure" and "I´m listening". Since she's blind it bought me time to leave without her.

MIRA: You hate her, don't you?

SELENA: (savagely) Oh yeah!

MIRA: So why haven't you dumped her off on some dustball yet?

SELENA: Ahh, what can I say? (idly kicks a pebble and beheads a charging cannock with her lightsaber without looking at it) I'm hoping she'll eventually start making some sense if I keep her around. Or that she'll make up her mind as to which side of the Force to promote.

MIRA: Fat chance.

SELENA: (wearily). I know . . .

MIRA notices SELENA'S sinking mood, regrets her words, and changes the subject.

MIRA: Uh, speaking of blindness: Why didn't you bring Visas along? A little more Force firepower would come in handy, right?

SELENA waves her hand, sending a pack of predators flying 200 feet into the air.

SELENA. Huh? Oh . . . sure. I just . . . ahh . . . I - I don't really feel comfortable around her right now.

MIRA: Why? Something wrong with her?

SELENA: No . . . no . . . not at all. I got nothing but sympathy for her. She's seen her homeworld destroyed, been force-fed the Dark Side, tortured, choked and beaten . . . and now, hanging out with and learning from me, she's beginning to see another side of things. And . . . and I dearly hope I can prove up to the task and help her recover and reject the Dark Side and escape her master's control . . .

A silence stretches . . .

MIRA: But . . . ?

SELENA gets awkward.

SELENA. But she's really . . . (sighs) . . . REALLY submissive . . . and meek . . . and adoring. It's . . . ahh . . . getting a little disturbing.

MIRA: Disturbing?

SELENA puts a hand over her eyes and groans.

SELENA: Two nights in a row . . . I've dreamt Visas comes to me . . . and says she's been a baaaaad Miraluka and needs to be spanked.

MIRA fumbles for something to say.

SELENA: In the second one she was actually dressed in fetish gear.

MIRA: (helplessly) Uhhh . . . no kidding? (rolls her eyes at her own lame reply)

They walk on in silence for a while, with MIRA desperately looking for some way to distract her companion. Finally her eyes light up and she turns to SELENA with a sincere look on her face.

MIRA: Y'know . . . being a bounty hunter on Nar Shaada isn't the best place to make friends. And eventually I told myself I didn't need or want friends. But you just trusted me with something embarassing and, uh, a little creepy. And it . . . feels kinda nice.

SELENA smiles sweetly, and MIRA breathes a sigh of relief.

SELENA: No problem. (jokingly) And besides: I can just use the Force to make you forget.

MIRA: (smiles and raises her finger in a mock threat) Hey, I warned you never to pull those Jedi tricks on me!

SELENA: (teasingly) Why not? You'd never know.

Then SELENA thinks of something . . .

SELENA: Oh, no!

MIRA: Huh? What?

SELENA: What if they weren't dreams? What if they were visions of the future?

MIRA fumbles a bit, then tries to make the best of the situation.

MIRA: (uncomfortably) Well . . . I guess you could . . . y'know . . . give it a try. Uhhh . . . now that Atton's out of the picture and all . . .

SELENA looks at her feet and mumbles something under her breath that could be "I guess . . ."

MIRA: I mean he IS out of the picture, right? After he told you about his old hobby? I mean, that was a falling out if I've ever seen one.

SELENA: Oh, yeah. He's out. Bastard. Say . . . he won't talk to me: Is his MalakTech artifical jaw working properly yet?

MIRA: Nope. The voicebox in it still creates that really squeaky voice. Like a cartoon mouse

SELENA: (gleefully) Heh. Serves him right.

MIRA gets a slightly concerned look on her face.

MIRA: Since we're discussing that, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. It's not like I'm an expert on the subject but . . . wasn't that a bit of a . . . Dark Side thing to do?

SELENA: Mira . . .

SELENA pricks her finger with a survival knife and lets a drop of her blood fall on a dead, bent sapling. The sapling come to life, straightens out, grows leaves, and beautiful white flowers grow around its base.

SELENA: I can afford a little stumble, wouldn't you say?

MIRA: Good point.

They continue walking.

MIRA: So . . . this means you're gonna kick his ass, right? The big bad Sith Lord who's been killing all these planets?

SELENA: Well . . . the future is always in motion. But I had a vision . . . of me and Visas and some insecure dork hidden under two inches of armor, on a desolate ship. And a dark figure dead at our feet.

MIRA: (optimistic) Well . . . great. The galaxy and the Jedi saved, Visas free, and happy endings.

SELENA: (uncomfortably) Yeah . . . and then Visas said "YOU are my master now, and I will follow wherever your path takes you."

MIRA: Ah.

SELENA: Yeah.

MIRA again fumbles for something to change the subject with.

MIRA: Say . . . there was something else I was wondering about.

SELENA: Yeah?

MIRA: Atton's fake jaw still won't work properly. No matter how many times Bao-Dur tries to fix it. Y'know, Bao-Dur the tech-genius who can fix ANYTHING he wants to?

SELENA'S face suddenly goes very innocent and peaceful..

SELENA: Yeah?

MIRA: Bao-Dur, who would do anything you asked him to?

SELENA: Aha?

MIRA: Bao-Dur whom I saw you whispering something to when he was working on the jaw?

SELENA'S face is the image of Jedi tranquility.

SELENA: (innocently) Yes, me and Bao-Dur go way back and have been through a lot together. What's your point?

MIRA: Oh, come on, isn't it obvious? My point is . . .

SELENA waves her hand in front of MIRA'S face.

SELENA: You want to dicuss the weather.

MIRA'S eyes glaze over for a second. Then . . .

MIRA: Hey, the rain let up! About time, don't you think?

They keep on walking.