Ask Star Wars: Broken Balance

Catbert

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// Change in a plan? // The poor astromech seemed confused. Could there even be such a thing as a change in a plan? It didn't compute. The plan was to lead General Rami Vaan into the warehouse. That was the way; there was no accounting for the fact that the General wouldn't comply. But there they were R3 briefly turned his dome after R4, unsure how to proceed. When he turned back to the General to inform him about this conundrum, the general was already gone. How in the world..?! If an astromech could face an existential crisis, that would be it.

Meanwhile, R4 could enter the building unimpeded. The lights would be out inside; a single wide passage between the rows of deactivated and mothballed B1 and B2 droids would lead further into the middle of the warehouse. Even Rami might have seen that from the entrance before taking cover. For the time being, the interior of the warehouse offered nothing but silence. But then everythig happened at once.

// GENERAL! // R3 beeped in distress outside the entrance. The inability to fulfill its primary directive left the poor reprogrammed astromech with no other choice. // GENERAL VAAN! // If there was anything that could draw people to Rami's location, it was R3. The high-pitched whining of the droid had stirred the hornet's nest.

"Master?..." A familiar voice from a nearby side alley would draw Rami's attention. The Cathar woman behind him would look different than the last time he had seen her. The long and gorgeous hair were gone in favor of a crew cut. Instead of the traditional Jedi robes, she wore a dark-brown hooded leather jacket with holes for pointy ears, more suitable for a pilot. But the emerald eyes and a familiar lightsaber hilt in the hand remained the same. Just as the voice and the hope of that her guess would prove right. "R3!" Risha exclaimed again, seeing the worried droid in the distance. Now she was certain she had found the right person, and hope was replaced with all-encompassing joy.

// COMMANDER SJIARA? // the droid stopped whining when he spotted the new arrival in the distance. Perhaps hope wasn't lost, and he could complete his primary directive yet. // You need to come with me. I was told to bring you somewhere. It's a place nearby. // Unbeknownst to Risha, the droid was telling the exact same thing he had told Rami days ago. "What's going on?" the Cathar asked, her attention focused on her newly-found Master for now; but Risha's concern for the droid grew by the minute. She didn't know enough droidpeak, but she knew enough to understand that the astromech was worried.

Meanwhile, Rami's comm flickered to life: "Blast, they're both here?!" "Go after them, they can't get far. All forces, converge on my location. We've got General Vaan here! Tell Dour to send everyone he's got." Somehow, the reunited Padawan and Master still had a little momentum. But they couldn't stay where they were, or else they would be overrun.

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The world came crashing to a halt when Rami heard that voice. For a few precious moments all sense of urgency was lost on him. Slowly the Terrelian turned around and locked eyes with his lost Padawan, his jaw hanging agape. She was alive, and she was standing right there in front of him, unharmed. Tears began running down the Jedi's face as he stared blankly at her. "Risha?" He asked in disbelief. After all this time he'd found her...

Then reality hit him as R4 piped in frantically over the comlink. //-coming after you! You need to go!// The world sped up again, and Rami realized just how deep in trouble they both were. But he wasn't about to let his Padawan be taken from him. Not ever again. Suddenly he broke into a full sprint, grabbing Risha's wrist and dragging the young Cathar along forcefully as he slipped deeper into the alley.

"No time to explain!" He told her, and brought his comlink to his mouth. "R4 get the hell out of there, try to divert their attention if you can. I've got Risha with me, she's safe."

//They're already after you,// R4 replied sadly. //I'm sorry General, I'll try to do what I can to distract them.//

"Oh don't beat yourself up over it..." Rami replied. Although the droid was right. The Jedi had wasted that precious head start afforded to him by the confusion and now the clones were hot on their tails. He could sense the Imperial forces closing in on them from all around. Had Dour sent an entire platoon to set this trap? Perhaps he should have been flattered...

As Rami emerged from the other side of the alley there was already a trio of clones there, readying their weapons to fire. No point in holding anything back now. Rami positioned himself in front of his apprentice and ignited his saber, taking up a defensive stance. The clones fired and he managed to deflect most of the shots, sending them back at the clones in some cases. One bolt managed to graze his side though, drawing a pained grunt from the Terrelian. He doubled over and put a hand to his side, then raised a hand and unleashed a Force push, throwing all of them to the ground.

"Getting real tired of being shot..." He hissed through grit teeth, then looked back to Risha. "Come on we gotta get out of here, this whole place will be locked down in no time!" Without waiting for his Padawan to respond he started running again, expecting her to follow.

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Moments after reuniting with her Master, and Risha was already in the thick of it—dragged along after a simple "No time to explain!" There were so many questions, but she could only run them through their head for now. What was R3 calling them to see? Why didn't Rami pay them any attention? But all those questions had wait; the Clones were after them again, and Risha would have time to dwell on that later. The list of questions was getting too long anyway.

The Cathar followed her Master through the streets, green blade ignited after their last run-in with the trio of clones. With the Jedi running at their best speed, even the droids would have a hard time keeping up, let alone the Clones. Still, that didn't stop R3. Intent on fulfilling his primary programming, the astromech raced after the Jedi, whining loudly: // GENERAL VAAN! COMMANDER SJIARA! I need you to come with me!// Needless to say, the poor astromech was unwittingly acting like a beacon, and could draw the attention of nearby patrols.

Risha glanced back at the droid occasionally—and also to check if they were being followed—but still continued following her Master. If she had learned anything over the years, it was that Rami always had a good plan. "We need to get to the spaceport!" the Cathar gasped out when she caught up with the Terrelian. "I know a ship that can get us off world. Long story." Somehow, the Cathar was glad that they were pursued by the Clones now. It meant that all the explaining could be done later. "But we've got to lose the tail first!"

Luckily, with Jedi speed, keeping ahead of the Clones wouldn't be a problem. Wily and Spike might have run after Rami and Risha, but the Jedi did have a head start and speed going for them. What would be a problem is leaving the district undetected, making sure R4 would catch up with them, and calming down R3.

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"Honestly kid I'm not too bothered about explanations right now." Rami responded to Risha's suggestion through grit teeth. His wounds pained him and were slowing him down. And his astromech wailing their names for all in the district to hear wasn't helping either. They had managed to gain back a bit of a lead on their pursuers thanks to their Jedi training, so he could take the time to attempt something drastic.

Rami stopped in an alcove to allow R3 to catch up to them, then immediately grabbed the droid and pried open his domed head. "Sorry about this bud," He said quickly. He certainly couldn't reprogram his droid back to his old self at a time like this, but he didn't need to. The droid was already following them, the rest could be fixed later. Right now he just needed R3 to shut up and not get them all killed. Rami fished around in the droid's head for a moment and then with a grunt tore out a component. His vocabulator. He fixed the droid's dome back in place and then patted his head as he pocketed the component. "Now don't worry, we know where you want us to go. We just need to take a longer route around the district to get there so no one sees us ok?" Not that the droid could vocally respond now, but Rami hoped that would placate him enough not to fry his circuits out of anxiety.

"Spaceport huh?" He asked Risha before he started moving again. He brought his comlink to his mouth as he ran and spoke into it. "R4, we're going to the spaceport. I need you to make sure the clones are looking the other way." There was a pause on the other end before the astromech answered with a simple //Acknowledged.//

_________________________________________________________________________

Fortunately for R4, the little astromech currently had the advantage of having the clones completely ignore him as they made their way after the Jedi. He was of no interest to them after all. That gave him the perfect opportunity to give his masters the distraction they needed, and assure Risha's safety.

The droid rounded a corner to see another Imperial outpost. Most of the guard compliment had left to pursue the Jedi, and those that remained were busy on their comlinks coordinating the effort to lock down the district. The brave little astromech had his opening. Without a single second glance sent in his direction he rolled into the outpost and up to one of the unattended consoles. Using his interface arm he jacked in and quickly began scanning through files before finding a useful recording. With an amused twitter he started playing it over the loudspeakers set up throughout the district.

"Attention," A monotone clone voice came over the sound system, the volume turned up high enough to wake up every citizen in the district. "Attention, Code Black, this is not a drill. This district is to be evacuated immediately. All citizens please exit your homes and form an organized queue. Remain calm. An Imperial officer will arrive shortly to escort you out of the area. Attention..." The message continued on repeat as R4 jacked out of the console and quickly wheeled away from the outpost.

"What the hell is that?" One of the clones shouted as he turned his head up to listen to the alert. "Who ordered an evacuation?"

"N-no one sir..."
One of his subordinates replied confusedly. The officer growled angrily and smacked him on the head.

"Well shut it down dammit! Before the entire district is swarming with bugs!" Unfortunately for the clones it was already too late. The Xi Charrian citizens, previously remaining inside their homes under lockdown orders, now started wandering confusedly out into the streets. The clones that were searching for the Jedi got caught up in the newly formed crowd, and quickly found themselves accosted by the insectoids demanding to know what was going on. This would give the Jedi plenty of time to escape in the confusion.

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Rami asked R4 for a diversion, and the little astromech sure delivered. The entire district was sent into a frenzy; not only the Xi Charrians, but also the off-worlders were caught by surprise. With the streets that crowded, a fake Pantoran and a real but hooded Cathar had no trouble disappearing from the district with the unusually silent R3 in tow. The perpetrator of the commotion was already waiting for the Jedi at the spaceport. Apparently, nobody paid attention to astromechs, and R4 had an even easier time getting to the meeting point.

True to her word, Risha led the group aboard a light freighter, owned by a young near-human who had no love lost for the Empire. A perfect way off world. Like it or not, even the fledging Empire couldn't maintain blockades of all ex-Separatist worlds. Soon enough, the Jedi and their droids were in hyperspace.

_________________________________________________________________________​

"I woke up here," Risha gestured around the spacious cargo hold stuffed with various crates. The two Jedi were seated on a metallic bench covered by a soft mattress for convenience. Both the exterior and the interior of the ship looked like they had seen better days. Though the captain had called it "fashionably unkempt", which evoked a snort of amusement out of the Cathar Padawan.

"Apparently, R3 had found help and saw to my transportation. But then he went to the fighter to send the message to you, and never returned." Risha cast a glance at the poor astromech, which had been turned off and attached to a charging station. His memory banks haven't been decrypted yet, but weren't gone either. Perhaps, given some time and the right circumstances, the droid could serve Master Vaan faithfully once again. Or perhaps it was the young Cathar being optimistic. And for good reason. They were alive and together again, after all.

The Padawan turned towards her Master again, the gaze fixed on the injury he had sustained. Despite the war, Risha was a healer first and foremost. She extended her hand towards the injury; she didn't dare to touch it, but did send the soft waves of warm energy towards the wound. Hopefully, it would ease the Master's pain and make the wound heal sooner.

"We could've left long ago. Were about to, in fact," the Cathar hesitated before looking her master in the eye, her tone apologetic. "I almost lost hope. But then, on the day of our departure, I heard news about a Jedi in Sector 12 and... convinced J to hold off." Ironically, it was that first ill-fated ID check that had allowed Risha to reunite with her Master. "Been going out and searching ever since. Until today," the Cathar shrugged, resting the previously-extended hand on her knee.

After some hesitation, she added: "J has been very helpful. Nursed me to health. Provided food, home, and clothes. Told me the news. I barely moved around the city; mostly stayed aboard the ship. Until I heard about you." Perhaps, after this, Rami would finally have the full picture of what had transpired since the day of the Clones' betrayal. If not, then there was time to talk. Despite the dangers of space travels, being in hyperspace aboard a friendly vessel was probably among the safest places to be for a Jedi right about now.

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Rami had kept himself together for the remainder of their flight to the spaceport, and their final escape from Charros IV. It was just muscle memory at that point, his warrior's mind taking over and doing what needed to be done to get him out of a sticky situation alive. Once they were safely away however the reality of the situation finally hit him. She was alive. Risha was alive. And they were together again. Before the young Cathar could say a thing Rami grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. For a few long moments he said nothing, but she would be able to hear a quiet sobbing. When he pulled away again he quickly raised an arm to wipe away the golden face paint that had served as part of his disguise, and the tears. He removed the fake lenses as well before looking back at his Padawan with a relieved smile.

"I thought I'd never see you again." He choked out, and laughed softly as he wiped his eyes again. "What in the world happened to you?" He listened quietly as Risha explained everything that had happened to her during their separation. When R3 was brought up he cast a guilty glance in the deactivated astromech's direction. He felt awful for treating the droid like that, and promised himself to get right to work on repairing him once he'd had some time to rest.

He didn't shy away when Risha inspected his injuries either. She had something of a talent in that field, and he could use her help. He had been shot to all hell over the last two weeks. He would be happy to receive some proper medical attention for a change, instead of improvising everything himself. He sensed Risha's own guilt over having considered leaving. He felt no anger over that. Nothing could make him angry right now. He was just happy to see his apprentice again.

"There's no need to fret." He told her gently. "We found each other. That's what's important." He put a hand on her shoulder. "You, Padawan, are an outstanding Jedi." His eyes wandered after that, thinking about the Jedi. Were they really the only ones left? What were they supposed to do now? For his part Rami knew he wanted to fight, to make the Empire pay for what they had done. It wasn't in line with the Jedi way, but he couldn't help it. With the knowledge of his Padawan's safety, all he could think about now was all that had been lost. Well, at least there was one thing that hadn't been lost. And ensuring Risha's survival was more important to him then fighting back. At least for the time being. He would just need to cope with his feelings, like all Jedi did.

"So, where is this friend of yours taking us now?" He asked, looking back to Risha. Whatever they were in the past, it was clear they needed to change to survive. And traveling aimlessly around the galaxy with some spacer? For Rami it was starting to feel like old times...

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The Padawan mellowed after hearing Rami's praise; two bright-green eyes and a wide smile radiated joy and relief. It had just occurred to the Cathar that they'd no longer need to fight. The Clone Wars were over; admittedly, so was the Jedi Order. But the Cathar had already mourned the loss of both her homes already: the Jedi Temple where she had spent her youth, and the Valiant where she served with Master Vaan. But now, Rami was with her again, they were among friends, and on the way to... Speaking of which, where were they going?

"I'm not sure," the Padawan replied sincerely, with a shrug. "J mentioned Hosinian Prime, and then maybe Alderaan, and that both places were good options to lay low. Each for a different kind of person, but still..." There was a thought that had been troubling the Padawan for a while now. "Maybe we could stick around longer? I kind of like it here, and we wouldn't need to settle for one planet..." The Padawan looked at her Master expectantly.

Somehow, Risha knew what Rami would say. She had sensed it back in the holding cell at the factory. And judging by the way the Terrelian reacted to their meeting, nothing had changed. Regardless of where the Force brings them, the master and apprentice would weather the storm together. Just like they did today and had done countless times throughout the war.

// End thread
 
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