Scraping Together the Past, the Future and the In Between: Chapter X: Bad News

Scraping Together the Past, the Future and the In Between

Chapter X: Bad News

It wasn't that early morning anymore. Rila had been awake for a couple of hours already. She had picked up a hefty bunch of credits that lay scattered on the floor, along with a small black box that must have fallen out of the man's pocket. He was still sleeping, but Rila decided it was time for him to wake up too. She was still angry because of his behaviour last night. This time he would listen to her, Rila thought and headed toward the room he slept in. She hadn't quite expected to see what she saw in there. The man lay in his bed. He had pulled his blanket off him and was squeezing it in to a tight bundle with his knuckles white. Tears were running from the corners of his closed eyes. Rila watched him silently. She no longer felt a need to either awaken the man or scold him. She walked out of the room quietly, leaving the man alone with his nightmares.

Some time later the man woke up. He felt horrible, sick and awfully tired. He could probably handle the hangover, but not the nightmares. He just couldn't live with them. What bothered him the most was that he wasn't getting rid of them, they were getting worse. He took a couple of deep breaths and got up trying to shake the haunting images from his head. As he got dressed he noticed that his jacket's pockets were empty. With a nasty squirming feeling to his stomach he rushed to the other compartment of their apartment. There he found his little black box and the credits on the table. He left the credits where they were but hastily picked the box in his hand. Right then Rila entered the room, seeing the rather pale and miserable looking man stash something in his pocket. 'Morning,' he said.

'Nice to see you up at last. What's with all those credits you left nicely spread on the floor last night?' She asked in return.

'It's a long story,' he answered, running his fingers through his hair.

Rila frowned at his response, she believed herself to be entitled to at least some kind of an explanation. However, before she could really ask for one the man reconsidered the situation and chose to speak out. 'Well, actually the story is not that long... That swoop kid, Mose, and I made an arrangement with which we both won quite an amount of cash in the races.

'Not as bad as one might have imagined, then. Though I'm sure it was not done entirely by the rules, was it?' She asked in curious tone.

The man left the question unanswered and sat down at the table and let his hand descend from his pounding forehead to cover his eyes. He wasn't allowed to sit idly in peace for long though.

All of a sudden a loud banging could be heard from the apartment's locked door, where someone was forcefully beating his fists to the door's metal plates. Without asking the man's opinion, went to the door and opened it. Mose Shade had come to see them, panting and his eyes wide. The boy tried to glance past Rila who was blocking the view inside by intentionally standing in the way. 'Where is he, I know he is in here. He should be!' Mose spoke rapidly with a half-panicked voice.

'Calm down. What is it?' Rila asked, trying to soothe the obviously very nervous Mose.

'I need to see him, we're in trouble! The boy tried to keep his voice down but still he nearly screamed. The man wasn't exactly thrilled to hear Mose's voice and its tone at his door at the moment, but he couldn't ignore the racer or the fact that he might really have something important to say. A slight hint of relief flashed in Mose's eyes as the man appeared in the doorway. 'They know about the trick we did in the race and they know it was us who did it. Now they're after us!' The boy explained.

'So... Who's after you and why? And how did you know where to find us?' Rila cut in with her questions, and her look demanded answers.

'Listen lady, this doesn't actually concern you. It's the two of us the Coruscant law enforcement is after, and the pretty pissed local swoop community wants us too,' Mose argued pointing his finger to himself and the man, who seemed to be even less happy with both the situation and his current state after hearing what Mose had to say.

'You should consider yourselves lucky I know where you stay and came to warn you in the first place. Otherwise it might have been guys with blasters on your door,' the boy continued his ranting.

Screaming at the doorway however wasn't exactly the best thing to do to solve the latest of their problems. The man asked Mose to come in and told him to calm down once more. He glanced to the empty street outside and slammed the door shut behind him. Mose took a couple of deep breaths and tried to relax a bit, but the panic was still evident in his voice. 'Please understand that this is serious. I'm being serious! We need to get off this planet if we don't want to end up in a force cage.'

The man could sure believe Mose's words, but what he had difficulties believing was how he always managed to wake up in a catastrophe of some sort. Hoping that the boy was exaggerating at least a little, he asked: ' it can't be that bad, can it? Coruscant is a huge planet, I'm sure keeping a low profile for a while will work out just fine with this.'

'No, it won't. I'm not staying here anyways. I just barely got time to get my bike from the swoop carage when the inspectors arrived. They'll be here soon, I can bet on that. The best and possibly the only way to escape them is to head to the space docks, trust me. That's where I'm going at least,' Mose explained.

The man gathered some courage and looked at Rila to get her opinion. She looked back at him with a gaze that was surprisingly hardly at all resenting. 'Maybe leaving isn't such a bad idea after all,' she said.

The man was astounded by her words, they had been nothing like he'd expected to hear. He listened quietly as she continued. 'Well, it seems that you have arranged yourselves in some unnecessary difficulties for something as stupid as credits. Running away from that particular problem may be something to consider, but there is far greater dangers to escape from. Remember the bounties on our heads? Too many knows about us being in here already, and that's truly unnerving. Like is the so-called meeting we are supposed to have today with someone who doesn't even care to give us his name. I think we should leave.'

'You have bounties on you? That's why you were travelling so evasively when you got here. I'm not entirely sure if it is wise for me to hang around someone like you in that case, but then again... I might actually use some help again getting out of here and you need to leave too, so should we go now?' Mose's words were now delivered with a little scared and pleading tone. He was getting really anxious to leave.

The man however was starting to get enough of the rushed plans that were being showed on him all at once. He sat down at the table again as in protest, and told Rila and Mose to slow down. 'Are you two really planning to leave Coruscant now? We just got here...'

'Yes we are, and you should start packing your things as well. Don't tell me you'd mind missing your suspicious meeting.' Rila seemed to have made up her mind. Without any further pondering she started going though the apartment's closets and suffing her belongins to the bag she travelled with. The only problem was that the man wasn't too excited about the fact that he was supposed to be running away again, or to be running anywhere at all right now for that matter. He hid his eyes behind the palms of his hands once more, while Mose eyed the door nervously. Rila on her part took notice of the man's reluctance to act on their plan or to practically do anything at all. 'Get up and get yourself ready,' she said in a rather impatient tone.

'So, this is actually happening then...' The man muttered under his breath. He stood up and grinned nastily in response to the effect this small effort had on his aching head, combined with the unpleasant idea of what was still to come. Rila took a long look at him and dropped her bag on the floor.

'This is not going to work,' she said and marched at him. Without saying a word she grabbed his shoulders and pushed his back against a nearby wall. He was too shocked to resist, and Rila put her hands on his temples, closing her eyes. The two could feel the Force pool around them and pass through her fingers into his body. The feeling was both uncomfortably familiar and wonderfully liberating to him. It had been so long... Then as quickly as it had happened in the first place, the moment was gone. Rila let go of the man and left him leaning on the wall gasping and confused, but now feeling considerably better.

'Maybe you would have deserved to be a little sick after the last night, but like that you would have only slowed us down,' she said as an explanation. Mose, who was already at the door, was staring at them with his mouth wide open.

'Ok, let's get going then...' The man muttered and hurried to grab his few possessions with him.

Mose's swoop bike was waiting for them outside. The racer hopped on his ride and told the others to the same, explaining that a swoop so big would easily carry them all and still be the fastest transport available. 'We're heading to the docks right?' The man asked, trying to get the hold of the situation.

'Yeah, but not to those we used last time. They're way too strict with the security in there. We take the smaller docks next to them instead, the ones the private ship owners use,' the boy explained.

'Someone is already looking for us. I doubt we can just go and buy travel tickets like some common tourists,' Rila commented.

'And that's exactly why we are going to the small docks, aren't we?' Said Mose, clearly proud of his plan and pushed down the accelerator switch, sending the bike forwards at an impressive speed.

I t didn't take long for them to reach the docks Mose had told about. The boy parked his bike and the three started to look around. The place was very different from the other docks they had visited earlier. Only small ships were docked at the landing platforms and there were hardly any signs of activity or control measures of any kind. Only a couple of travellers could be seen by their ships and a single dock officer strolled around lazily reading his datapad. 'So, now we're supposed to find someone who'd be willing to get us out of here for some credits?' The man asked.

'That would have been the best possible way, but I don't really see it happening since there's really no one around to ask about such things. I'm sure those two quarrens wouldn't agree to it,' responded Mose, glancing towards the only beings currently at the docks. 'We have to do things the other way,' the boy continued. 'We'll sneak in one of the ships and then travel as stowaways. If they notice us, we'll just pay for our trip and the inconvenience caused.'

'How do you suppose that is going to work?' Rila asked sceptically.

'I know it works. It has worked before, and back then I was only a little kid. If a twelve-year old can do it...' Mose spoke with confidence until Rila interrupted him.

'Maybe it is a bit easier for a twelve-year old to hide on a ship and get away with it with sympathies than the tree of us. I'd really like this to work,' she said.

Mose had to admit that Rila's words might have a point to them. 'There's also the thing with my swoop bike. It was actually because of it that I wanted you to travel with me. I couldn't have managed to sneak with it anywhere by myself. But yeah, it will work this way, we'll just have to pick the right ship...'

'What? You can't really be saying that thing is coming with us. It is impossible to hide anywhere, sure you can see that?' Rila protested. She was getting a bit uneasy about the way things seemed at the moment.

'And there's no way I'm leaving it here. Do you have any idea how valuable a bike like this is, not to mention the emotional value it has to me... You'll have to help me, I helped you in here already!' Mose's answer was equally nervous.

'Calm down. We'll sneak onboard of one of these ships, take the swoop bike with us and as soon as anyone arrives at the ship we'll introduce ourselves and offer a handsome pay for a silence and the trip,' the man cut in with his proposition. 'We should have well enough credits to do that.' Neither of the others had a better plan, so no one argued against him. 'That ship over there might look promising, don't you think? It's a smuggler's vessel, I bet,' the man said and headed towards a somewhat battered, but efficient and fast-looking ship with a flat hull design.

'The ship's called 'the Ebon Hawk'. Really nice, ain't it? Now we'll only have to slice the lock...' The man spoke, digging a security spike from his pocket. 'Mose, go get your bike in here so we can get it loaded,' he told the boy as he worked with the stubborn lock. After a while Rila heard a little too loud 'Dammit!' from the ship's door. There she found the man holding the two halves of his now destroyed security spike.

Mose arrived at the 'Hawk' with his swoop bike. 'What's going on? Why is the ramp still closed?' Questioned the racer.

'It's possible to use the power from your bike to cause an overload in the electric lock, isn't it?' The man asked him in return.

Mose looked a little terrified for the sake of his beloved swoop bike, as he answered the man. 'Guess it is, if you wire the engine to the lock correctly. But if you harm my bike I swear...'

'We're a bit short on options, so hope for the best,' the man said and started plugging the bike's powerful engine to the ship's locking mechanism with Mose's somewhat unwilling help. In the meantime Rila kept her eyes on the docks that luckily remained as quiet and empty as before. Even the sudden flash of bright light and sparkles that the exploding lock created didn't seem to raise anyone's suspicions. The three were now staring at a door with a blackened locking device and scorched door controls. Still, they couldn't get in.

'This is getting frustrating. Maybe we should try another ship,' commented Mose while casting a rather relieved look at his swoop bike. His ride seemed to be still intact. Before anyone could answer the racer the three heard a clicking noise from the door's before so stubborn lock. A silent hiss followed after, and the loading ramp started to open.

The man, Mose and Rila stared in surprise as a small astromech droid appeared in the doorway. At first the droid chirped as if it was puzzled, but in almost an instant the noises it was making turned into furious beeps and the droid started charging its shock arm. The man pulled out his blaster but didn't get to do anything with it before the droid zapped him with a burst of energy. The man was knocked off his feet and the blaster flew from his hand, hitting the pavement close to where Mose was standing. Seeing the droid charge up another shot the swoop racer didn't hesitate but grabbed the weapon and fired the blaster. Mose couldn't exactly be called a skilled shooter, but still he managed to hit his target. The little astromech droid squealed loudly as the laserbolt sent it back in the ship. Rila and Mose glanced at the man who was groaning on the ground. After a quick look at each other they followed the droid inside. The astromech droid was now disoriented and wildly beeping in one of the 'Ebon Hawk's corridors. Detecting the footsteps behind it, the droid started charging its shock arm once more to defend its ship. However, Rila was faster. She kicked the droid so that it rolled forwards squeaking loudly until it hit a wall in the sip's main hold. Rila dashed after the now silenced droid, and pushed it to a small compartment on the side of the main hold. She locked the compartment's door from the outside and sighed with relief. The fiery little droid had put up a considerable fight for its size.

'Did you see? I hit it in the head! That was awesome.' Mose bragged as he saw the rather unhappy-looking man appear in the main hold.

'Yeah, yeah. Now it's better to get loading your bike and start waiting for the ship's owner to fly us out of here. He won't be glad though, as we destroyed the locks and smashed his droid. This may get expensive, unless a little mind trick will get us some discount.' The man might have been right about the financial aspects of their trip, but still a resenting look was all he got as an answer. Rila stayed in the ship as he and Mose moved the swoop bike on board. The boy hadn't yet gotten over the fact that he had just gloriously shot an enemy and kept explaining his courageous fight.

'I know T3-M4-model isn't really a battle droid, but you surely won't argue that it was a nice shot...' The man interrupted his proud words in a bit of a shock.

'T3-M4? Are you sure? It can't be...'

'But it was, I know that much about droids. What's so strange about it?' Mose asked.

'I sure hope you're wrong. We better take a look at that droid,' the man answered, already marching towards the compartment the droid was in. He opened the door as the others stared at him and the droid, which luckily didn't try to zap them this time. It clearly was a T3-unit, the very same T3-M4 that had brought them the mysterious message just yesterday. The man close the door before the droid could even move or beep and ran at the ship's cockpit.

'We picked our ship nicely, didn't we,' he muttered. 'We are not waiting anymore. We can't now that it seems that even the droids we stumble on have convenient connections like this.' Mose and Rila followed him in the cockpit and saw the man tapping the buttons at the control panels frantically.

'So what are you suggesting?' Rila asked him.

'We learn how to fly this thing out of here. It shouldn't be too hard when using the pre set spaceroutes in the astrogation charts and the automated flying programs...' He answered.

Rila didn't like what she had been told. 'Are you crazy? Flying a ship like this can't be easy,' she argued.

It was Mose's turn to say something. 'It really isn't too hard, hasn't been for me at least. Not much different from riding a swoop bike really. You just set the power to the engines with that switch and choose the programs you want to run. Then what needs to be done is setting the course with the astrogation charts and such, roughly.'

The man and Rila stared at Mose and at each other. 'You actually know how to pilot one of these? Don't ever tell me how that is possible.'

Mose grinned widely as he sat on 'the Ebon Hawk's pilot's seat. 'Well, I've done a lots of things you wouldn't believe. I'm not exactly a pilot, but you know... A boy has to do many things to get by if he has been on his own since he was only ten. --And there's no denying the facts, I've even done well. So where are we going?' The 'Hawk's proud new pilot asked the man who was now viewing the ship's galaxy map.

'Telos sounds good enough I guess? It's better than Nar Shaddaa at least, and we don't have much to choose from...' He said, looking at the others to get their acceptance on the matter.

'Telos it is then!' Said Mose and powered up the 'Hawk's powerful engines. A moment later the stolen smuggler's vessel broke free of the grip of the gravitational forces holding the ship on the landing pad. Flying past the countless skyscrapers of Coruscant 'the Hawk' reached towards the vast blackness of the space above.