Star Wars
The Star Rider
Episode 2: Blood Trust
(Part 1)
Sig threw the first punch, but Jak saw it coming. Sig mistakenly threw all her momentum into her punch, allowing Jak to make his move. He threw an open fist into her stomach knocking the air out of her.
Sig fell down to the floor gasping for air. Jak tried to help her up, but she refused his help.
“Maybe we should quit for now.” Jak said.
“Hell...no...we go again!” Sig protested, finally breathing again.
Sig got off the mat, and quickly entered into a fighting stance. Jak did the same. He made the first move, but Sig quickly jumped, delivering a roundhouse kick to the face sending Jak to the to the mat.
“Damn Sig! That hurt!” Jak yelled.
“What did you think was going to happen?” Sig asked jokingly.
Sig walked over to him extended her hand to help him up. He accepted her help, if for nothing else, to show her that he wasn't a sore loser.
“Another round?” Sig asked.
“Yeah sure. But my face and my self-esteem is going to need a minute.”
Sig chuckled. “Whatever.”
She started to walkover to the punching dummy. But then she turned around to face Jak.
“Why did you bring the red-head on board?” Sig asked.
Jak looked at her with a slightly confused look on his face.
“She has talent that I think will help us greatly.” Jak said.
“I mean before we found out that she could fix navigational computers and work on engines.”
Jak thought it over. “She defied Jabba the Hutt for two strangers and I felt that we could help her get away.” He said.
“So she was the Damsel in distress, and you needed swoop in and save her?” Sig asked mockingly.
“No. That's not it, at all.” Jak protested. “She put her life in peril for us, and it didn't seem right to just leave her there.”
“Uh-huh.” Sig said, obviously not buying what Jak was selling. “I still say there is more to it than that.”
“I'm pretty sure she's too young for me, Sig.”
“She's Twenty years old.”
“How do you-”
“C'mon, I could tell how old she was the first time we saw her.” Sig said.
“I still think I'm too old...”
“You're only four years older than her, dumbass! She said.
***
Moz was laying back in the pilot's chair, when he heard a sound in the seat beside him. He jumped...and then quickly realized how silly he looked.
It was only the new girl, “Nya” he think she said her name was. Sitting in the Co-pilot chair wearing a long black shirt and short-shorts, with her long curly red hair tied into a pony-tail and her brown looking at him rather confusingly.
“Uh...hi.” She said, trying to not giggle in Moz's face.
Moz sat up straight in his chair, trying to not look anymore sillier.
“Yes. Can I help you?”
“You're not used to people being in here with you, are you?” Nya asked.
“No. Not really.” Moz admitted. “So what's up? You need something?”
“I...Just wanted to know what your story is?” Nya asked, trying not to sound weird.
“Why do you want to know my story?” Moz asked.
“Well whenever I ask the Captain a personal question-”
“The 'Captain'?” Moz repeated.
“Yes. He is the Captain isn't he?”
“We don't really have a Captain. We are a team. We give suggestions and we all agree to whatever suggestion sounds the best.”
“Okay.” She said. “Well...Whenever I ask Jak a personal question, he just gives vague hints and makes jokes. And I don't think his sister likes me very much...”
“Don't take it personally, she doesn't really trust anyone outside her brother and me.” Moz said.
“How long have you known them?” Nya asked.
“Their whole lives.”
Nya looked at him confusion.
“Seriously?”
“Yep.” He said. “ I guess you could say that I was their father's best friend.”
“What do you mean by guess? Shouldn't you know whether you're someone's best friend or not?” She asked.
“Well, he never said that I was his best friend.” Moz replied. “But seeing how I was his best man at his wedding and I piloted him across the galaxy for a good 20 years of my life, I like to think I was his best friend.”
“He died?” Nya asked? “ You said 'was', does that mean-”
“Yeah.” Moz said. For a brief moment, Moz could feel sadness within himself. He sat back in his chair, and took a deep breath. “He's been dead for about four years now.”
“I'm sorry.” Nya Said.
“It's okay.” Moz said. “It was just a question, no harm done.”
“How did he die?” She asked.
“He was doing a job on some colonized planet out in the outer rim. While running after a bounty he got caught in some poisonous vines, which we didn't know was poisonous until it was too late.” Moz said. “Combine that with his rapid aging, and he was a goner.”
“What do you mean rapid aging.” Nya asked.
Moz eyes widened, realizing that he was giving her more information than he intended to. But then he realized that it didn't really matter...not anymore.
“I guess it's alright to tell you.” Moz said sighing. “Their father was a clone.”
Nya was shocked. “A clone? You mean like-”
“The ones that fought during the Clone Wars. Jango Fett clones.” Moz finished for her.
The cockpit was silent. Nya didn't know what to expect to here from him, but it definitely wasn't that.
“So...what was his name?” Nya finally asked.
“Nelon.” Moz said. “Although I just called him Nel.”
“It seems like everyone has nicknames these days” Nya said jokingly.
“It's only because they're easier to remember.” Moz said. “Like mine.”
“What's your real name?” Nya asked.
Moz bit his lip. Wishing that she didn't ask that. But what's done is done.
He sighed. “It's Mariellos Okarta Zepnin.”He let out.
Nya's jaw dropped. “You're kidding, right?”
“I wish I was.” Moz replied. “Unfortunately kids don't get to name themselves.”
“Okay. Let's go back to other subject.” Nya said. “How did you meet Nelon?”
“I was at one point, one of the select few civilian pilots during the Clone Wars.” Moz said.
“ I thought they would just have other clones pilot for them?”
“Here's what you need know sweetie...” Moz said. “ Programming isn't the same as natural-born talent.”
“Okay. Got it.” Nya said.
“I was piloting a strike team on Genoshia, but then our ship was shot down. Most of the squad was killed and I lost my arm.” Moz said looking at his left hand.
“Oh. So that's why you keep flexing your left hand.”
“You got it.” Moz said.
“What happened next?” Nya asked.
“Well I was reduced to delivering shipment containers to the lower levels of Coruscaunt.” Moz said bitterly. “ I get shot down once and than I was out of the game.”
“That must've been hard to swallow.” Nya said feeling a bit sorry for him.
“One day...” Moz continued. “I was preparing to drop off a shipment, but before I took off, I felt a blaster jabbed into the back of my head. And a voice said to me, 'take me to level 1312.' And although I wasn't too happy about having a blaster pointed at me... I wasn't stupid. I took him to 1312.”
“You were scared?”
“I was petrified.” Moz replied. “But when we got there, he just said to me 'Sorry. Can you wait here please?', and I said: sure”
“And you got out of there, right?”
“I thought about it, but I decided to stay.”
Now Nya was really confused. “Why?”
“Because I didn't have anywhere else to go.” Moz replied. “Yeah. I could've went to the authorities, but it wouldn't change anything. I'd still have the same cruddy job, with the same cruddy pay, wondering what to do with my life. As far as I was concerned this was the most exciting moment of my life.”
Nya snickered. “I'm sorry, but that sounds kind stupid.”
“And it was.” Moz agreed. “But after everything that I've been through with him and his children...I'd say it was the best stupid decision that I've ever made.”