Hope Reborn - Chapter 26

The ship finally made it through the landing process. Ord Mantell didn't seem to be bothered by the trouble in the galaxy. Daily life was about doing your job and getting paid. War, piracy, and all that may impact the bottom line, but it didn't make stripping ships go any faster. There had been attempts in the past to put pressure on Ord Mantell to pick a side, or to bow their head to someone. It just didn't take. As much as the people in charge didn't want to admit it, they needed each other.

"Where do we start?" Luke turned to Ventress.

"I don't know." Ventress rolled her eyes.

"You said you knew her." Luke countered.

"I said we'd met." Ventress let out a dry laugh. "We tried to kill each other a few times. We weren't friends."

Luke thought for a moment.

"How would you kill her?" He asked.

"Pardon?" Ventress chuckled.

"If you were here to kill her, how would you do it?" Luke asked.

Ventress thought for a long moment. She moved over to a nearby console.

"She's a Jedi." Ventress paused. "At least, she was trained as one. She's been on the run since the Jedi Purge. We know she took off once she felt my signature in the Force."

Ventress settled into silence as she worked.

"And that means?" Luke prompted.

"We start looking at the Republic section of the scrapyard." Ventress copied the information to her personal data-pad. "The remains of the Republic ships are the best option for her to get off planet. Her first move would be to see if can salvage enough parts to get something working."

Luke smiled at her. Ventress shrugged in reply.

"We've got an introductory pass for new ships." Iden joined them once the ship had powered down. "That's three days to arrange a contract. We'll have to leave if we don't have some sort of merchant agreement by then."

"I guess we have three days." Luke sighed.

"Not necessarily." Iden took a step closer to him. "Our pass will extend if we get a job arranged. It will take time to get things in order. We'd probably get at least another day. Plus, we'd get paid."

Luke shared a look with Ventress.

"I'm always for getting paid." Ventress winked at him.

"Try to find something toward the Outer Rim." Luke said. "I need to check in with my Aunt and Uncle on Tatooine."

"Roger, roger." Iden gave a lazy salute then headed back to the cockpit.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ventress asked once they were alone.

"No." Luke shrugged. "You found the Republic section?"

Ventress tapped her data-pad.

~§~

Barriss had learned how to curse in over seven languages since she had settled on Ord Mantell. Currently, she was going through the list and arranging them in creative combinations. Could she afford passage off-world? Now, she could, yes. Did she have a spot on a transport? No. The only passenger ship currently docked on-planet was a Hyperion Corporate Cruiser. Non-humans on their ships tended to disappear at an alarming frequency. She was not going to throw away all these years of effort to get murdered in her sleep or sold into slavery.

She would have to find her own way off the planet. Her little freighter didn't have a jump-drive and though it was technically space-worthy, she had never taken it off planet. The Freighter had an enclosed cockpit with its own air supply for three days. Currently it was on par with a fancy escape pod.

Thankfully, the ship was modular and could be modified easily enough if she had access to the needed parts. Her best bet was to scour the Republic Scrapyard to scavenge enough to get off world either through modifying her current ship or rebuilding one.

Barriss continued to mutter curses as she dug through another partially stripped star-fighter. The power cells and the jump-drive were some of the first things to get salvaged. Right now, she had six engines stripped apart to piece together something functional and was currently working on removing the seventh. The power-cells the Republic fighters used weren't compatible with her ship, but she could weld a few together on the back to create a primitive jump-drive. She would have never even considered it without the Force guiding the process.

The Force was great to guide in creating, crafting, and repair. It allowed her enforce her mechanical knowledge with the Force directing her away from making dangerous mistakes. Not to say it was a completely safe process. The ships that had arrived in good condition had already been stripped to the frame and then the metal melted down for use in other things. It left her working with the ones that had crashed, partially exploded, or had been damaged to the point that they were not usable.

A few times already she had found what looked to be the perfect piece she needed only to find a portion had melted. She didn't have the tools available to slice the damaged parts away or stitch together replacement patches.

Barriss looked at the scene around her. This was all taking too much time. She hadn't made any progress on leaving. Her ship didn't have any new modifications and the fighter she had hoped to put together was still in pieces. The Republic Scrapyard stretched on for quite a distance. If she couldn't get off-world then maybe she could hide. It would be easier to make a safe room in the remains.

She let out a tired sigh as she straightened up. Her back creaked a little, which reminded her that she had let her physical training slip more than she had thought. She gathered her tools then started to head deeper into the swath of Republic salvage.

Barriss gathered her bags from her ship. One slipped over her shoulder and rested on her hip while the other was strapped snug to her back. She broke into a steady jog and let herself feel around her with the Force. She didn't do it much anymore to keep a low-profile. Connecting to the Force also gave her presence to those paying attention. Not so much like a beacon, but a localized impact similar to an elevator letting out a chime so people knew it was in use without announcing the floor. It was a calculated risk that she felt was justified. She needed to reestablish her connection with the Force. Letting it guide her in repairing the ship had helped enough for her to ease into it.

After a few minutes she was moving faster than she could have sprinted without increasing her effort. The Force flowed through her, strengthening her muscles and keeping her energized. A nostalgic smile played across her face as she added cartwheels, flips, and handstands to her movement along the random terrain.

Memories of training in the Temple before the war were replaced by her time on the battlefield. No longer could she see herself moving through the Room of a Thousand Fountains with other padawan. The sound of splashing water and laughter morphed to a landscape filled with the remains of droids, burned out Republic vehicles, and dying clones.

Her soured mood broke the connection with the Force. Exhaustion tore through her body as her muscles screamed in protest. Her hands were shaking, and it was getting harder to stay upright with each step. She leaned against the hull of a nearby ship for support but forced herself to keep moving.

Barriss made it a few more steps before she dropped. She managed to land in a sitting position. A glance around told her she was currently using the hull of a cruiser. It had been on Ord Mantell for quite a while judging by the layers of grit, ash, and detritus. A look down showed her that her entire right side had been covered in a mixture of the residue. She stole a quick glance back at the way she had come to see she had rubbed a semi-clean streak as she walked.

Her hands shook as she opened her pack to get a drink. The warmish liquid tasted amazing. She tried to tuck it back into her pack only for her shaking hands to make it slip from her grasp. It clanged loudly as it bounced along the hull before launching into the air and out of sight. The flask was still mostly full. Not that it mattered now.

She willed herself back to her feet. Slowly, she could feel the Force drift closer. She would be able to use it to refresh herself once she could gather enough to wield it.

"You look thirsty." A man spoke from nearby.

Barriss jumped to her feet with a jolt of adrenaline. Her head whipped around from side to side to find who it was. After a moment, she saw a young man with sandy blond hair. He looked vaguely familiar. More importantly, he was offering her the flask she had lost a few moments ago.

The flask that had disappeared after bouncing off into the distance. There was no way he had just so happened to find her flask then track her down. It hadn't been hampered by the terrain and had traveled quite a distance.

Carefully, Barriss reached out to the Force. She felt it gently accept her touch. The man shined like a beacon the instant she connected to the energy once more. This was the other signature she had felt before. She had thought he was with Ventress, but he didn't feel evil. In fact, the energy flowing off of him had a soothing effect on her nerves. There was something about him that made her want to smile.

Barriss cautiously took the offered flask. She popped the lid, sniffed it to make sure he didn't do something to it, and then took a drink. Barriss circulated the Force through her body to fight any poison or sedative he may have used. The quick scan didn't bring anything to her attention.

"Thank you for returning my flask." Barriss spoke once her throat wasn't parched.

"No problem." The young man gave her a dazzling smile. "I hope I didn't startle you."

"Just tired." Barriss shook her head.

"I mean before." He clarified. "When you felt me in the ship."

Barriss didn't react. Physically, at least. In her mind she was running through a variety of escape plans. It would take a moment for her to guide the Force to heal her body. While he didn't feel evil, she wasn't going to chance it. The violent take-over from the Republic to the Empire taught her that the Sith could hide themselves in plain sight.

"Who are you?" Barriss asked. "Why are you tracking me?"

"Cheerful as ever, I see." Ventress strolled up behind her.

The woman swiped a finger along the stirred-up grit on the hull. She rolled it around her fingers to create a small clump before she tossed it to the side.

"Don't bother running." Ventress sighed as Barriss tensed. "I'm not here to kill you and neither is he."

"Luke Skywalker." He happily introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you."

"Skywalker?" Barriss sent a questioning glare to Ventriss.

"It tracks." Ventress nodded. "Let's get you back to the ship."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Barriss growled.

Ventress tapped the lightsabers resting hilt-first on her hips. The cross-draw style was fast for non-Force Users. For Ventress, it was a quick, aggressive opening move to any fight.

"I told you, we're not here to kill you." Ventress idly tapped her lightsaber hilts. "We're not here to capture you either."

"Then why are you after me?" Barriss slowly adjusted her position to see both at the same time.

"My father is Anakin Skywalker." Luke answered. "My mother…"

"Senator Amidala." Barriss waved her hand dismissively. "Everyone knew they were lovers. You'll need to do better than that."

"Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader." Luke replied.

That gave her pause. The terror that destroyed the Jedi was once their greatest hero. She hated to admit it, but it made sense. He had gone through so much and done so many things for the Republic that his eventual turn was inevitable. Barriss had seen the folly of the Jedi and it had inspired her to revolt against their teachings. How much did Anakin sacrifice? How could he not fight against the Jedi and the Republic if he wasn't allowed to be with the one he loved? It didn't excuse the horror that Darth Vader had wrought, but it did help her understand.

"That is interesting." Barriss inclined her head. "Still, it doesn't answer why you're after me."

"Well." Luke sighed. "We had two leads on possible Force Users. You and Shaak Ti."

"She's still alive?" Barriss felt a surge of hope.

Luke shook his head. The spark of hope started to sputter.

"The Empire was using her body as bait." Ventress explained. "She was powerful enough to still have an aura in the Force. We got there and destroyed the trap."

"You were next on the list." Luke said.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Barriss felt exhaustion settling in.

"Do our part to dismantle the Empire." Luke answered. "Also, find Ahsoka Tano along the way."

"Snips?" Barriss could feel the Force flowing into her.

Even the influx couldn't erase all of her fatigue. The pain and aches were fading. In its place was a bone deep need to rest.

"Where is she?" Barriss asked.

"We don't know yet." Luke sighed. "We have another lead after you."

"Who?" Barriss jolted as Ventress seemed to appear beside her.

"Sabine Wren." Luke answered.

"Never heard of her." Barriss shrugged. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to catch you." Ventress placed a hand on her shoulder.

Barriss didn't have the energy to push the hand away. She wanted to yell at Ventress. To tell her to leave her alone in a kaleidoscope of curses delivered in multiple languages. Instead, she found herself falling toward the woman who had tried to kill her many times.

"She's been distanced from the Force for too long." Ventress slung the unconscious woman over her shoulder. "A little rest and she'll be fine."

"Let's see if Iden found something that pays." Luke pulled out his comm-link. A quick binary message to R2 was much faster than trying to connect to the Falcon to speak. The droid would get the Falcon to their coordinates. All they had to do was wait.