"Charlie... I mean Charles, wake up."
Rhodes groaned as he opened his eyes to see Kasdeya kneeling over him. "What happened?" he mumbled as he tried to sit up.
"I don't know. I just woke up too. Looks like we are in some kind of a dungeon. Looks empty though," Kasdeya said as she helped Rhodes to his feet.
Rhodes looked around. The cell walls were made entirely of rock and the bars looked like they had been in place forever. Were they underground?
"What happened to your Imperial friend?" he asked, taking a seat against the wall.
Kasdeya rolled her eyes before taking a seat across from him. "No clue and Solite isn't a friend. Besides Lugos, who you met, I don't know many of the Imperials."
"That guy is an Imperial?" Rhodes said with a scoff.
"He was," Kasdeya replied. "Until I hired him to my personal staff. He wasn't exactly cut out for military service, so I negotiated his discharge from the Imperial Army. Now, he serves as my assistant."
Rhodes gave her a nod but remained silent. The silence dragged on, neither person knowing what to say. Rhodes closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. He could sense a twinge of excitement amidst Kasdeya's nerves. Any other person would have been terrified by now but not her. And chances were that he was causing more of those nerves than the situation they were in. That was the thing about Kasdeya Kerrim. She had an incredible sense of adventure.
Before he could do much more, he felt something bounce off his head. He opened his eyes to see Kasdeya tossing pebbles at him. "Stop trying to sense my emotions."
Rhodes started to stutter.
"Don't think I don't know what you were trying to do," she continued with a slight laugh.
"Never could pull a fast one on you, Kas," Rhodes replied, shooting the woman a smile.
The woman appeared startled for a second, evidently caught off guard by the name he used. She hadn't been called "Kas" since before the end of the war. But who was she to complain? If Rhodes had heard her call him "Charlie", he would have reacted the same way.
"So, what happened to you after I left?" Rhodes asked, finally addressing the topic everyone had on their mind.
Kasdeya sighed, knowing this question was coming. "After you were called back to the front lines, I got a job as a courier for the senate, mostly running data cards back and forth. That put me on Coruscant during the Separatist's invasion. I had heard you and your master had returned to Coruscant, so I was worried sick. And then, the Jedi rebelled... at least that's what they told us. I was monitoring the clone's transmissions and went looking for you. I thought I might be able to help. I searched all night."
"I know," Rhodes said softly.
"What?" Kasdeya asked.
"I saw you. When you were talking to one of the clones."
"Why didn't you do something?"
By now Rhodes was looking at her through glassy eyes. "I wanted to. Boy, I wanted to. But I couldn't. I couldn't put you through that. It was better for you to think I was dead than be caught trying to help me. I had already lost Master Dew. I couldn't lose you too."
Kasdeya stared back at him, a somber look on her face. "I wish you would have given me that choice."
Rhodes hung his head, knowing that if the roles were reversed, he would have said the same thing. Rhodes was fighting to keep his emotions together when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kasdeya had crawled over and sat next to him.
"I'm sorry," Rhodes said while clenching his eyes closed, a single tear dropping to the floor.
"I understand," Kasdeya replied. "I probably would have done the same thing."
That made Rhodes feel a little better, but the memories of that day still weighed on him.
"So, what happened next?" Rhodes continued while drying his eyes with his sleeve. "Why did you join the Empire?"
Kasdeya hesitated to answer. She couldn't help but feel judged by him even though he didn't sound judgmental. "After I heard that you had been killed, I didn't know what to do. You were all I had in the Republic. I did my best to move on, but I never forgot about you. I went back to my normal job which put me in the presence of some of the most powerful people in the Empire. A few years later, the Empire began tightening its grip on the outer rim, specifically the former Separatist planets. I was approached by someone from the office of Moff Tarkin. They told me that if I wanted the job, the governorship of Serenno would be mine as a reward for defecting during the war. I thought I could do some good, so I took the job."
"When did you realize the true nature of the Empire?" Rhodes asked.
Kasdeya let out another sigh. "They asked me to expand the mining of the planet's sacanium ore. I excelled at it, creating thousands of jobs for the people of Serenno. But the Empire wasn't satisfied. They said I was paying the miners and refinery workers too much. I was forced to cut wages and lost a lot of workers. In order to prevent a full-scale lockdown of the planet, I had to force the workers to return. I did everything they told me. I thought I was doing the right thing by following orders, but they still took the mines away from me when your rebels showed up."
"Why didn't you leave?" Rhodes asked, sounding genuinely interested.
"It's not that easy," she said. "The Empire doesn't take kindly to that sort of thing. Plus, I don't want to leave. I still have so much that I want to accomplish. But you and your rebels are making that difficult. It's hard to get things done with that admiral breathing down my neck."
"I see," Rhodes replied. "For now, we need to figure out how to get out of here." Rhodes got up and started inspecting the bars of the cell.
"You are disappointed," Kasdeya said in a soft, somber tone.
"No."
"Then what is it? You can't just be ok with this."
Rhodes turned around and began feeling the walls. "You have a good heart, Kasdeya. We both want to make the galaxy a better place. We simply disagree on how to accomplish that. I understand that, like the Republic, there are both good and bad people in the Empire. I just don't have faith that the good people will prevail with the Emperor in charge. So, in short, there is no reason to be disappointed over a difference of opinion. I just think that..."
Rhodes' words trailed off as he froze. "Someone is coming," he whispered, looking over to Kasdeya.
Within a few seconds, they could hear a heavy door slamming against a wall. Kasdeya and Rhodes moved to the front of the cell to try and get a glimpse of the newcomers.
A pair of voices grew closer before they had two pirates standing in front of their cell. The one on the left was a massive Dowutin with a wide brimmed hat. Next to him stood what Rhodes thought was a female Devaronian. That was one interesting thing about Devaronians... the males and females looked pretty different. The males of the species had distinctive horns on their bald head while the females had small nubs and full heads of hair. Rhodes could sense the pirate's confidence that bordered on arrogance.
"These don't look Imperial." the Dowutin grunted.
"Well, they were in an Imperial escape pod," the Devaronian replied. The woman's gaze quickly fell on Kasdeya. "You are a pretty one, aren't ya? What was your role on that light cruiser."
Rhodes tried to answer the question saying, "She is a—"
He couldn't say much before he was shushed by the Devaronian. "I was asking the lady. Another word from you and Krunk here will make sure you are well acquainted with his fist."
The Dowutin punched the palm of his hand while sporting a menacing frown. Rhodes gulped and took one step back from the bars.
Satisfied, the woman turned back to Kasdeya and gestured her to speak. Kasdeya's left hand was holding onto her other arm that hung by her side. "We aren't one of them," she said, her voice becoming shaky. "We were prisoners on that ship when it was attacked. One of the Imperials forced us into that escape pod."
"You weren't in binders when we found you."
"There wasn't time. We were taken to the escape pod at blaster point."
The Devaronian stroked her orange chin. "Interesting, well that Imp that was with you was really uncooperative. I thought he might be worth some ransom money, but Krunk smashed his face in anyway."
Solite, Kasdeya thought. She hardly knew the man but still felt sorry for him, but one couldn't tell from the outside.
"What were you arrested for?" the woman continued. "The tall one can answer now."
Rhodes glanced at Kasdeya before going to answer. "They accused us of smuggling. Said we didn't register our cargo or something."
The Devaronian grinned while looking at Krunk. "Oh, we know how that feels. What do you say Krunk, you buy their story?"
The Dowutin nodded with a smirk. "I don't think they are Empire. Definitely lying about why they got arrested but hey, I would too."
Rhodes didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing but watched carefully for an opening.
"The boss might have a use for you," the woman said while producing a key from her pocket. She unlocked the door to the cell and gestured for the two to come out. She reached for her belt and grabbed a pair of binders. "Just to be safe," she said with a smile.
She went to put the binders on Rhodes first. Now was his chance. Rhodes wasted no time in grabbing hold of the woman's wrist and swinging her toward the open cell door. With a powerful Force push, the woman went flying into the back of the cell wall.
"Jedi," Krunk growled as he raised his massive fists.
Rhodes ran toward the Dowutin, dropping to the ground and sliding under his first lumbering punch. Rhodes slid through his legs and popped to his feet behind him. The Jedi leaped onto the back of the pirate, wrapping his arms around Krunk's meaty neck, knocking off his hat in the process.
Meanwhile, in the cell, the Devaronian was stumbling to her feet, clearly dazed from the impact. She wasn't up for long before taking a hard kick from Kasdeya's boot, knocking her out cold. Kasdeya was quick to grab for the blaster fastened to the woman's hip.
She ran out of the cell to see Krunk spinning around trying to grab Rhodes who was doing his best to hold on. The Dowutin eventually grabbed hold of the back of Rhodes' trench coat.
"Oh, no," Rhodes muttered before being tossed down the hallway, sailing over the head of a ducking Kasdeya.
Before he could advance on Kasdeya, Krunk was staring at three smoking blaster wounds in his chest. After a grunt, the Dowutin toppled over, landing with a thunderous thud.
"You didn't have to kill him," Rhodes laughed as he walked up behind her, brushing himself off.
Kasdeya scoffed. "You think a stun shot would have taken down that big oaf?"
"Good point," Rhodes admitted. "Now let's go."
"Here," Kasdeya said, holding out the blaster. Rhodes shook his head. "You keep it. You need a weapon."
"What about you?"
"I am a weapon," Rhodes chuckled as he ran toward the exit.
Kasdeya shook her head and couldn't help but smile. Rhodes was waiting by the door when Kasdeya made it through.
He shoved the heavy door closed with a grunt before looking to Kasdeya. "We need to get back to that escape pod. These pirates must have a hangar or something we can steal some transportation from."
Kasdeya shrugged before grabbing a hold of Rhodes' hand. "Then let's go find it!" The Jedi and the Governor ran down the hallway, passing by multiple rooms.
One of the doors they had passed slid open as a pair of pirates casually strolled into the hallway. Rhodes was already turned around when they noticed the escaped prisoners, the Jedi having sensed the danger.
Before the pirates could squeeze off a shot, Rhodes had both arms extended. He was quick to yank their blasters away from them, sending them flying into the air, landing at his feet. Next thing the pirates knew, they were lifted in the air and floated steadily toward the Jedi.
"Where do you keep your ships?" Rhodes asked in a calm voice.
"Why should we tell you, Jedi scum," one of the pirates replied.
"That's why," Rhodes said before pointing to Kasdeya who had her weapon aimed at them.
The two pirates looked at each other before one spat at Rhodes and Kasdeya. The only reply he received was a blaster bolt to the chest. Rhodes let the body slump to the ground as his focus fell on the other.
He raised an eyebrow at the man who was still floating in the air. "Fine, fine. I'll tell you. Keep taking this passage until you see a staircase to the left. Once you get to the top, follow the largest tunnel and you eventually reach our hangar, although all the ships are currently salvaging that destroyed Imperial cruiser."
"How do we know you aren't lying?" Kasdeya asked, still aiming her blaster at him.
Before he could answer, Rhodes released him, and the pirate dropped to the floor. "I can sense his sincerity." He turned to the other man. "Now run along before we change our mind."
The pirate nodded his head up and down a few times before running off in the opposite direction.
The pirate's stronghold was mostly empty. The two passed by three more pirates who were all too high on spice to notice the escaping prisoners.
Kasdeya and Rhodes followed the other pirate's directions until they eventually reached a locked door.
"Where is Hunter when you need him?" Rhodes muttered under his breath as he started tapping on the control panel. The door lay unresponsive as Rhodes grew frustrated.
A few seconds later, the door slid open to reveal a skinny Weequay. The two seconds spent with Kasdeya staring at the pirate felt like forever before Rhodes finally punched the man in the face. He went down with a daze and eventually was knocked unconscious by a stun shot from Kasdeya's blaster.
The hangar was nearly empty. The door to the hangar was positioned on the ceiling and the far wall was slanted upward, acting as a ramp.
"No ships. Only a handful of beat up speeders," Kasdeya cursed as she glanced around the room.
"Well, I may have found something better," Rhodes said with a grin.
In the corner of the room sat three Imperial escape pods. Kasdeya returned the smile as the two ran toward the pods. Rhodes immediately ran toward the one furthest to the left.
"I will check the others," Kasdeya added.
"No need," Rhodes replied. "I know it's this one."
"How?" Kasdeya asked as she met him in front of the pod.
Rhodes was already climbing in, going for the compartment that they had stashed their stuff. Kasdeya peered into the pod to see Rhodes smiling while holding a pair of lightsabers. "The crystal that powers my lightsaber sings to me. I could hear it the second I got close."
Kasdeya smiled. Rhodes had a knack for attempting to explain something but always leaving her more confused. This would have gotten more annoying if it hadn't been for how excited he would get explaining it.
Rhodes fastened his blaster to his waist, making sure his commlink was still attached. He turned to Kasdeya and handed her the maroon tunic and rank insignia plaque that she had left behind. The woman slipped into the tunic and stuffed the plaque into her pocket.
"Now what?" Kasdeya asked.
Rhodes was just staring at her until his mind processed the question. He shook his head and replied, "Right. We just need to take a couple of the speeders. I can activate my locator beacon. My friends will find us."
Before Kasdeya could object, Rhodes was heading for the speeders. Kasdeya groaned before following. Rhodes reached out with the Force and sent a slight push into the hangar door controls. The ceiling of the room began to retract, sliding away from the ramp and revealing the bright Serenno sun. The speeders were old but powered up instantly, their repulsors humming.
"They are getting away!" a crackly voice yelled from the room's entrance. A small group of pirates had run into the room and opened fire. Rhodes and Kasdeya were quick to speed out of the hangar, narrowly avoiding the hail of blaster bolts.
Rhodes laughed as he looked over to Kasdeya. She was looking straight ahead with a big grin on her face, the warm air flowing through her orange-red hair. Life as an Imperial governor didn't provide much adventure, Rhodes guessed.
His enjoyment was cut short as a blaster bolt sizzled past his face. He looked back and noticed the three pursuing pirate speeders quickly gaining ground. Before he could think of what to do, a bolt struck the back of his speeder. A stream of black smoke was pouring out of the speeder as it began to slow down. Rhodes was quick to act, jumping up and standing on the seat. The Force flowed through him as he leaped in the air, landing on the back of Kasdeya's speeder, his own exploding behind him. He quickly turned around putting him back-to-back with Kasdeya.
"Just keep going straight!" Rhodes shouted as his two lightsabers blazed to life.
"Not anywhere else to go!" she yelled back as she kept focused on the endless plains.
Rhodes batted back blaster bolts toward the clearly stunned pirates. It wasn't long before one of the three pursuing speeders was flying empty, its rider taking a blaster bolt to the chest. Rhodes continued to deflect shots, protecting their own speeder. He was having a difficult time accurately deflecting the shots. Sitting on the back of a speeder wasn't exactly the ideal situation but at least their speeder was still intact.
He continued to battle until his commlink began to beep. "Found your locator, Commander. Help has arrived," Twitch said from the other end.
Within a few seconds, two X-wings screamed overhead, their laser cannons crashing into the remaining pirate speeders.
Kasdeya slowly brought their speeder to a stop while they watched the Iron Stump approaching from the distance.
Kasdeya frowned. "Were those the same ships that blew up my light cruiser?"
Rhodes scratched the back of his head as he got off the speeder. "Yeah, we didn't mean to destroy it."
Kasdeya rolled her eyes, looking back toward the approaching frigate.
"But you should come with us," Rhodes said, quickly changing the subject. He knew what she would say but still held onto a bit of hope.
Kasdeya shook her head. "Charles, as much as I would like to travel the galaxy with you, I must tell you what you told me all those years ago. My place is here. My life is here. My heart is here with my people. You may disagree but I still think I can do good here."
Rhodes hung his head, trying his best to hide how much her words weighed on. "I see. Can we at least give you a ride back to Carannia?"
"No thank you. The speeder is a lot more fun," Kasdeya retorted with a wink.
Rhodes stayed silent, staring back at her with longing eyes, wondering if he would ever see her again.
Kasdeya smiled and inched over to him, putting her hand on his face. She leaned in and kissed the Jedi, catching him off guard. Rhodes' eyes were wide when she pulled away. "A piece of my heart will go with you, my Jedi."
She walked back toward the speeder as the Iron Stump touched down behind Rhodes. "And Charlie," she said while turning back. "Last I heard, the Admiral was in the Sprizen sector. But that was months ago. I hope you can find what you are looking for."
Rhodes was still stunned, his cheeks flushed. He was barely able to comprehend what she had said, his head still spinning from what had just happened. He forced out a smile and nod that put Kasdeya at ease. He watched as she mounted the speeder and soon disappeared over the horizon.
Rhodes jumped as he felt a hand grab his shoulder, shaking him from his daze. He looked over to see Twitch with a hopeful expression on his face. "Did you find her?"
"Yes," Rhodes replied with a short, sweet smile, trying not to dwell on the encounter. "Let's go get our Lena back."