12

Crosshair really was the best at stitches.

After setting Tech's leg and giving him another dose of painkiller, the sniper turned to Saedii's wounds next. He was gentle as he cleaned them and gave her a local anesthetic before getting to work with his string and needle. The one on her back wasn't deep, but it was long enough that he put in nearly forty stitches, each one tight and evenly spaced. Once that was tied off, he turned to her arm, which was much smaller.

By the time he was done, Saedii could barely keep her eyes open. He'd given her a dose of the same pain medicine he'd given to Tech – who, currently, was sprawled in his bunk and snoring with his mouth open, glasses askew. Whatever it was, it was powerful stuff.

"Almost done," he said softly, perhaps sensing that she was seconds away from just calling it a night and sleeping on the medical bed.

His warm hands pulled her up into a sitting position, where he helped her take off her bloody outer robes and then tightly wrap the throbbing expense of her ribs, which an x-ray had revealed had been cracked.

It was late. Wrecker and Omega had already gone off to bed, and even Echo was nodding off in the cockpit. All the lights had been switched off except for the ones over the medical bed, which were too bright against Saedii's tired and sore eyes.

From one of the landing seats, Hunter had watched in silence. Saedii could feel his worry in the Force around him, but thankfully, he kept his expression neutral.

Crosshair's sure hands tied off the bandage at her back. "You're finished."

"Thanks, Cross."

He gave her a look that was none too gentle. "Get some rest."

She shivered as Crosshair left to wash his hands. Beneath her robes, she'd had on a thermal layer and a compression bra. In order to clean the wound, she'd needed to take off everything but the bra, which in the cool recycled air of the ship was not enough to keep her warm.

"Here." Hunter pressed something warm and fleecy into her hand. It was a pull-over of some kind – his by the smell of it.

She mumbled her thanks and slipped it on.

Once she was covered, one of his arms slid around her and helped her up. "Let's get you to bed so you can rest."

Shouldering most of her weight, he escorted her up into the gunner's mount, where he helped her climb up into her bed. Her eyes were half-closed by that point. The pain meds were very quickly winning the battle and she willfully gave in, laying her head down onto her pillow as he pulled the blanket up to her chin.

One of his hands ran over the side of her head, lingering there for a moment. "Sleep well, kid," he whispered moments before Saedii fell asleep.

Her sleep was deep but troubled. Visions of Kalth in his Inquisitor's robes, red lightsaber in hand haunted her all night. Enough that even with the pain meds she found herself waking up early, covered in sweat.

She still felt tired as she sat in bed, blinking in the dark. Outside her window, the deep reaches of space were receding, replaced with a rich grey cloud cover as they began their descent into the atmosphere of an approaching planet.

Teth, Saedii thought. After she'd told the Batch about Kalth, they'd agreed that Saedii needed to speak with Master Skywalker and the rest.

Body sore and heavy, Saedii forced herself to get up and dressed before she went down below.

Wrecker and Tech were still sleeping, the later of whom had finally stopped snoring, though a thin line of drool now hung from his chin. In his own bunk, Cross was awake, sitting fully dressed on the edge of his bed. He had his sniper in his lap, cleaning it. Up front, Saedill could hear Echo and Hunter talking quietly.

"You're up early." Crosshair didn't look up from his gun, but his tone was full of reproach.

"Trouble sleeping," Saedii grumbled.

Crosshair paused with the main chamber of his blaster open. "The dose I gave you last night should have put you down for at least twelve hours."

"It didn't work."

"Any particular reason why?"

The last thing Saedii felt like discussing with him was her nightmares. Instead, she gave him a little shrug and wandered in the direction of the cockpit.

Hunter and Echo were talking quietly to Rex, who shimmered into detail in the transmission before them. At the sight of her, Hunter sat up straighter and Rex saluted.

"Hey, kid. How are you feeling?" Echo asked, turning his chair as she took one of the seats behind them.

"Sore." Saedii held out a hand and was rewarded when a hot, steaming mug of caff was pressed into it. She inhaled the scent. "Morning, Rex."

"Commander," Rex said respectfully.

"Are you off world? We look like we're landing soon."

An anxious look was exchanged between Hunter and Echo. Rex muttered, "Uh, no. I'm on Teth."

"Then why'd you call?" Saedii asked. "You don't have news, do you? On Wolffe and the others?"

"Sorry, Commander. Nothing yet."

Saedii frowned. Why had he called then? He couldn't wait five minutes for them to land?

Through the windshield, the thick grey clouds parted, giving way to a sprawling metropolis below. Even from this far up, the streets and buildings were disgusting and half-crumbling, covered in vulgar graffiti. Saedii sighed as she recognized Ord Mantell, in all its rotten glory. Not Teth.

"Hunter, you promised."

"We just need to drop off the war chest, then we'll go to Teth," Hunter vowed.

"Can't that wait? I have to talk to Master Skywalker and the others. It's important."

"This won't take long. I promise."

Saedii blew out a breath and mumbled into her mug, "You've said that before."

Rex cleared his throat. "I guess we'll see you lot in a few days. Keep up updated on your flight schedule."

"Of course, Commander." Hunter cut Saedii a look but didn't comment on the attitude, while Echo swung the Marauder around to port. In front of them, the blue hologram of Rex cut out.

Outside the windshield, port workers raised a hand in greeting to Echo as he shut off the engines. Saedii saw a couple of them exchanging what looked to be spice packets at the far end of the dock, and a heavily tattooed Mikkian keeping watch from the shadows.

Knocking back the rest of his caff, Hunter got to his feet. "Cross and I are going to run down and drop off the war chest. You want to come?"

"How long will it take?"

"Not long."

Right. Saedii didn't believe that for a second.

For a moment, she debated going back up to bed. She could certainly use the rest and they didn't exactly need her for this trip.

"If you're staying, you're going to get started on scrubbing out the fresher," Echo said, as if sensing the direction of her thoughts.

Saedii looked at him, aghast. "You can't be serious."

"I am." Echo crossed his arms. "You disobeyed direct orders on Serenno and you've had a real attitude problem lately. You'll be scrubbing the fresher for the next two weeks as punishment."

"But –"

"I can make it three."

This was such bullshit. She was a Jedi. She shouldn't be getting grounded.

Judging by the look in Echo's eye, he was dead serious. And knowing him, he'd be standing over her shoulder to critique her cleaning skills. Suddenly, going to the Black Hole didn't sound so bad in the face of the alternative.

"I'll come." She stood up, grabbing a vibro knife from the armory and clipping in to one of her vambraces.

Crosshair appeared from the back, dragging the single box-full of treasures from the war chest. Despite their best efforts and almost getting killed, this was all they had to show for it.

"This is so not fair," Saedii commented as she followed Hunter down the ramp, Crosshair behind her. "Everyone on this team has an attitude problem, but I'm the only one who gets in trouble for it."

"Because there's still time to turn it around at your age," Hunter said, nodding to a port worker that passed.

Saedii made a face. "I technically still outrank you all. What if I just told Echo to drop it?"

Crosshair huffed a laugh. "That I'd pay to see."

At this time in the morning, the city was nearly empty. A few scantily clad women wandered past, carrying twelve-inch heels, while a lone man snored loudly in the middle of one of the streets. Besides them, it was deserted.

The Black Hole was desolate, too. A single bleary-eyed man sat at the dejarik tables, muttering to himself. He didn't pay them any mind as the four of them shuffled inside, shutting the door behind them.

"I'll wait here." Saedii claimed one of the barstools.

"We'll be out in a few minutes," Hunter promised. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out a few credits and handed them to her. "Here. You look like you could use another cup of caff."

"Thanks."

Once they'd disappeared into the back, Thrall came in through one of the back doors, looking at her with ill-concealed annoyance. Saedii slid the credit slugs across the counter, muttering, "A very large cup of caff."

"Make that two."

A long, slender leg slipped over the stool beside her. Saedii glanced up, finding that pirate from Cid's office sitting down – Phee.

Thrall grunted and turned to power on the caff machine.

"You guys sure are fast on a job," Phee remarked as she leaned against the counter. "I thought that war chest would take you at least a week."

Saedii eyed her, cautious. Something about the pirate made her uneasy. "We don't really like to linger. The longer we stay on a job for Cid, the higher our chances of death."

"Smart on your part."

The smell of fresh, hot caff was quickly filling the bar. Saedii was eagerly looking forward to her next cup. The first hadn't been nearly enough.

"Do you like running jobs for Cid?" Phee lowered her voice – low enough that Thrall couldn't hear as he impatiently waited for the caff to brew.

"Why are you talking to me?" Saedii griped. Whatever Phee was trying to play, it was way too early for it.

"Just being friendly."

"Be friendly somewhere else."

Phee barked a laugh. "Anyone ever tell you you've got an attitude?"

"All the time."

Thrall slid two large mugs of coffee across the bar top. Phee flashed him a charming smile as she accepted hers.

"What if I told you," Phee said under her breath as she pulled the mug up to her lips, "that I had a job for you? One that would pay so well, you'll never have to run another job for Cid ever again."

Saedii took a sip of her caff. It was scalding hot on her tongue. "I'd tell you you're full of shit."

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

The look Saedii gave her wasn't kind. "Can you just leave me alone? I'm not in the mood for whatever games you're playing."

"This isn't a game. This is a job offer."

"We're not taking a job for Cid at the mom–"

"It's not for Cid."

That was enough to get Saedii to pause. "Does Cid know that you're here trying to give me a job?"

The glint of a challenge reflected in Phee's eyes. "She doesn't have to."

Saedii's attention swiveled to Thrall, who was pouring himself a cup of caff. If Phee really was trying to recruit for a job under Cid's nose, this wasn't the best place to have this conversation. But for the moment, at least, Thrall looked distracted, and Saedii knew Cid was occupied in the back with Hunter.

Even if she knew this was a bad idea, Saedii prompted, "What kind of job?"

"I'm going somewhere dangerous. I need a crew that'll keep me safe," Phee explained. "For you lot, this should be easy."

Saedii knew that, if Phee was trying to do this under the table, it would be anything but easy. "Where?"

"Talthera. You heard of it?"

She had. Talthera was a large meteorite that was currently orbiting around an uninhabited planet in the Outer Rim. Several years prior, criminals had begun to colonize it, building a fully inhabited city that, because it was on the meteorite and not a planet, wasn't subject to intergalactic law. It was currently serving as the drug trade capital of the galaxy. Every illicit drug you could imagine passed through Talthera at some point or another.

Rumor had it that it was even more dangerous than Ord Mantell. Even the Jedi had avoided it.

"I know about Talthera," Saedii said slowly. Her earlier unease was growing.

"Then you know how dangerous it can be."

Saedii drummed her fingers on her mug. "Talthera is known for its part in the drug trade. Why would a pirate want to go there? I thought you guys avoided unnecessary danger?"

"We do." Phee was speaking slowly, like she was picking each word with care. "But there's a certain artifact that I know is residing on Talthera. I've made contact with its owner and they have agreed to make a trade."

Something about her tone tipped Saedii off. "Who, exactly, are you trading with?"

Phee hesitated before admitting, "The Spice Queen."

Kriffing great.

The Spice Queen was the only one in the galaxy who could challenge the Pyke Syndicate's monopoly on the intergalactic drug trade. In the past five years, she'd grown and expanded her expire to reach into every system in the galaxy, even taking over territory previously held by the Syndicate for centuries. Cunning and dangerous, the Spice Queen was rumored to be a brilliant strategist and a very powerful adversary.

And, if Saedii remembered correctly, she was also the undisputed ruler of Talthera. Every drug lord that resided there owed her their loyalty. Working with her was bound to be dangerous.

She also wasn't known for her trustworthiness. "You really want to do business with the Spice Queen?"

"I know her kind well enough. I can handle her, so long as you and your group can handle the rest."

"The rest?"

Phee's smile turned thin. "The Spice Queen has complete control of her court, but lets the rest of Talthera run free. On my own, I'd be an easy target the second I step foot in that city. But with you lot, no one would bother me."

Saedii said nothing. Talthera was certainly dangerous, but for her and the Batch, it would be easy work. The only problem was that a job like that could go wrong fast. After fighting their way off Serenno, they needed to be staying low.

"You said earlier that the pay was good," Saedii said slowly, trying to sort through the thoughts in her head. The different scenarios. "How good?"

"Try two and a half billion."

She nearly dropped her mug. "Did you say billion?"

"With a B."

That was a hell of a lot of credits. Enough that they wouldn't have to run jobs for Cid anymore. With that kind of money, the group could afford to stay on Teth for months – even years – without having to run off on a job. Long enough that Saedii would be able to get in some decent training without Hunter pulling her away to run back to Ord Mantell.

The only problem was that she wasn't sure Hunter would agree. He'd taken this arrangement so that the Batch could help without getting their hands dirty. He wanted to be here on Ord Mantell, away from the Rebellion. Not stuck on Teth.

And then there was the very real problem of the Empire. The Inquisitors were actively hunting. Now that they knew she was alive, it could be dangerous for her to go somewhere like Talthera, where anyone they passed on the street would sell her out just for a few credits or a full pardon from the Empire. After their brush on Serenno, her trail needed to be covered now more than ever.

"Well?" Phee pushed, noting the indecisive purse of Saedii's lips. "What do you think?"

Pros and cons: a payout versus possible discovery.

A life free of Cid's jobs or more dangerous stunts for measly cuts of credits?

"Sorry," Saedii said after a moment, "but I don't think we can help you."

"Sure you can! It'll be easy – in and out in less than an hour," Phee insisted. She flashed a grin. "For your team, this would be nothing."

"I mean we won't do it." Saedii took another long sip of her caff, draining her mug. It tasted bitter on her tongue. "Our last job brought a lot of heat. We'll need to lay low for a bit."

Phee was looking at her strangely. Like she could see right through Saedii's lies.

Finally, she said, very slowly, "You should rethink my offer."

"Why?"

"Because I'm assuming you don't want the Empire to know they have a Jedi running around Ord Mantell."

Every muscle in Saedii's body locked in place, except for her eyes, which went right to Phee's face. A very serious expression had taken place of the light teasing. Determination.

"I have sources, too – just like the Empire." Phee's voice was low – so low that Saedii had to strain to hear. "Turns out, the Daethii Magistrates like to keep track of their people, even the ones that leave. Do you know how many have left, in the past twenty years? Less than ten. Only one of whom would be around your age now."

Saedii said nothing. She didn't even dare to blink.

Phee continued, "Those sources said you were dead, of course. Killed in Tipoca City last year by the Grand Inquisitor. But before that, there were unconfirmed rumors of a Jedi that had been reported with a ragtag group of Clones on Ryloth. A Daethii Jedi, distinctive for her purple hair and skin."

The knuckles in Saedii's hand turned white as she clenched her hands too tightly around her mug.

"Intel like that could make me very rich," Phee continued, "if whispered into the right ear."

"You're saying you'll turn me into the Empire if we don't help you?" Saedii asked. Her voice was like ice – biting.

"Maybe. Maybe not." That mischievous smile from earlier returned. "Can you afford to take the risk?"

Blackmail. Trust a pirate to stoop so low.

At the other end of the bar, Hunter and Crosshair were emerging from Cid's office. At the sight of Phee next to Saedii at the bar, Hunter's eyes narrowed. Saedii looked away, feeling too ashamed to meet his eye. Once again, the team was in a tough spot because of her.

Phee slipped a small, thin holopad into Saedii's lap. "Coordinates and details are on the pad. I'll meet you on Talthera in twenty-four hours."

Saedii sighed out a breath as Phee knocked back the rest of her coffee and left.

Hunter was looking weary as he came up, glancing between Saedii and the door where Phee had just disappeared. "What's going on?"

"Nothing good," Saedii admitted.