Private The Unwitting Apprentice

[Amilthi Camlenn]

There was much to be said for Tatooine as a place for retreat and contemplation. But there were also many things that were impossible and unobtainable here, tolerable artificial limbs, let alone organs, being one of them. And while Lefwen had made great progress in equanimity towards her malfunctioning, and now partly destroyed, prosthetics, there was a practical concern that the longer she went without a proper installation, the longer it would take for her brain to adapt back to the availability of addition fingers and regain dexterity with them.

What was more, Amilthi was very happy with the girl’s recent attainments, and perhaps she was ready to be introduced to the notion of being a Jedi in a more comprehensive form.

And so they had begun to make travel preparations. It was ought of the question to go in her starfighter again, and so after some contemplation, they had settled on the now-empty krayt dragon cabe as a suitable hiding place. Amilthi had had certain misgivings about the prospect of having to manoeuvre the ship in there, but the military-grade shields had prevented any structural damage even when she had at one point touched the rock. Lefwen had picked her up with the landspeeder and they had pulled a sand-coloured tarp over the ship to protect it better against the elements and for camouflage. It was an acceptable arrangement.

Their limited portable belongings packed in duffle bags of a sort, they had finally made their way to the spaceport town of Mos Eisley, and Amilthi had probed a surprisingly deft negotiator when if had come to gainfully selling the landspeeder.

She was in good spirits, optimistic and even excited, as she rarely showed herself, when the pair of them entered not Berrie’s cantina, but a rather dingier establishment directly next to the spaceport’s landing areas. The place was unusually loud from a live band and the patrons, many of the starved for sentient contact from days or weeks in hyperspace, trying to have a conversation despite it. As part of the band, a Twi’lek woman was combining the professions of a dancer and a singer with remarkable facility.

Ordering her usual pallie juice, Amilthi inquired of the barkeeper whether he knew of anyone headed for Ryloth or elsewhere on the Corellian Run.

Lefwen Claskier

 

[Lefwen Claskier]

Lefwen had a spring in her step. The prospect of leaving Tatooine, with its heat and dust and empty spaces, had filled her with new energy. Admittedly, she'd come to enjoy the quiet that was offered by the dunes and plateaus surrounding Amilthi's house, but getting the chance to spend some time amidst something that resembled civilisation was exhilarating. The fact that the trip would hopefully end up with her getting some new prosthetics was even more so, especially given that she'd had to disable the left one entirely after the Tusken attack up in the mountains. She'd almost grown used to not having it function any more, but the rigid fingers and course, damaged metalwork was certainly a hindrance, and she'd lost her temper more than a few times when it had caught on her bed-sheet following a particularly tiring day of meditation and exercise.

Even Amilthi seemed uplifted by the idea of leaving, even when they stepped into the gloomy cantina that lay in the shadow of the bustling spaceport. The noise was immediately overbearing, with raucous jeering and shouting almost drowning out the crude spacer shanties of slightly out-of-tune band. While Amilthi began to talk to the bartender, no doubt trying to find out any information he might have about shuttle runners operating in the sector, Lefwen settled herself against a wall close to the bar, keeping guard over Amilthi's bag. The cantina was the exact kind of place a street-thief would choose, a fact she knew because it was exactly the kind of place she used to haunt. More than once she caught the wandering eyes of some Gran layabout or slick young Pantoran studying her and the bags, although after meeting them with a cold, knowing stare they seemed to lose interest.

The bartender moved on from Amilthi and began to tend to the many other customers around the bar, a sign Lefwen took to as her cue. Shouldering both bags, she shuffled over to her master, ignoring the jeering a group of young spacers as she pushed past them, and asked, "Any luck?"

Amilthi Camlenn

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi took her bag from Lefwen. "Thank you. Yes", she nodded over to a table where a human, a purple Twi'lek and a Rodian were sitting at obvious ease with each other. "They're supposed to be set for Ryloth."

She strolled over to the table. "Hello", Amilthi greeted them. "The barkeeper says you're headed for Ryloth. We need a ride."

The human looked at Lefwen, then to the Twi'lek, who was eyeing the two women appraisingly. The Rodian leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Sure, we can take you and... your daughter?" said the Twi'lek after a short moment. "No questions asked, but there's a fee."

"Payable in credits. Or in kind...ness", interjected the human with a smirk.

"<Credits>", stated the Rodian in well-enunciate, very emphatic Huttese. It seemed he had no patience for his companions' lack of commercial sense.

"Listen to your friend", said Amilthi unimpressed, looking at the Rodian. "He knows what's proper. How much?"

The Twi'lek looked at his Rodian companion, then named a number. Amilthi laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. We can just spend a week here and wait until we find someone who does it out of the kindness of his heart. Going now is a mere convenience, and I'm not paying half of that just for convenience. It's free money for you anyway."

"Not free." He raised his index finger as if he were making an important point. "It takes courage not to ask questions."

"Ask questions, then", said Amilthi with a shrug. "What do I look like, the most dangerous single mother in the galaxy?" She tilted her head and looked at the Twi'lek mockingly. He finally began to grin, his sharp teeth showing. The human was continuing to ogle Lefwen.

Lefwen Claskier

 

[Lefwen Claskier]

Lefwen smirked knowingly at Amilthi's self-effacing comment before noticing the wandering gaze of the human crew member. His eyes lingered for some time before finally rising up again to meet her own, which were set into a venomous stare. The man didn't flinch, matching her look with a raise of his eyebrows and an infuriating, suggestive grin. Lefwen affected a sigh and turned her attention back to the other Twi'lek, who was now interrogating Amilthi half-heartedly. Amilthi's responses were calm, and she navigated the questions in a way that both avoided lying and yet held a large amount of information in reserve.

It was when the Twi'lek began to enquire about Amilthi's financial situation that Lefwen noticed the human's staring once again. She glared as his eyes flitted from her face to her waist, and raised a hand to swear at him. The man smugly grinned once more, and then noticed the nature of her fingers. He studied her prosthetics, seemingly running through a number of obscene scenarios in his head, and then laughed and turned away to face the bar. Lefwen felt her hands curling into a fists and turned her attention back to the Twi'lek, who was now discussing terms in hushed, alien whispers. Amilthi seemed content though, which was reassuring.

"I'd love to see what you can do with those..." the human chuckled to himself, his voice purposefully kept just loud enough for her to hear.

Lefwen felt her her fingers digging into her palms. "You'll see them wrapped around your throat if you keep talking."

A familiar smirk crossed the human's face. "If that's what gets you going..."

It took all of her self-control to stop herself from reaching out and throttling the man right there. In fact, the only thing that really stopped her was the sudden smacking sound that was made when the Twi'lek's hand reached out and jabbed the man in the side, accompanied by a hissed insult in a language Lefwen couldn't understand. The Twi'lek turned back to Amilthi. "Well then, I think we have a deal," he stated with a self-assured tone before turning to Lefwen. "And if it's any reassurance, I'll make sure he spends the trip deburring coils and unspooling turbines. No added expense on your part, of course," he smiled.

Amilthi Camlenn

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

"Don't hate the man - pity him. Think about it, he has all these urges, desires, problems. The fact that he bothers you with them is because he can't help it. But you needn't be bothered, you're stronger than that. You can afford to view him with lenience because he can't harm you."

Amilthi spoke softly, in a low voice, as the two women made their way to the enclosure where the freighter was parked and being loaded under the supervision of the Rodian. She had her hands folded in front of herself in the sleeves of her roomy coat, her bag slung over one shoulder.

The Rodian spotted them and, throwing a glance at the workers who were moving crates around on hoverpads. He moved to meet the woman at the ramp of the ship and led them into the ship. A flight of metal stairs lead up from the room cargo bay to a sliding door that opened into a common area of the ship, which had a rudimentary sofa, and next to it a table, built into one wall. On the opposite side of it was a row of doors. The Rodian showed them to two of those, which led into tiny bunks, evidently not intended for more than sleeping, though fortunately the beds had enough space above them that sitting on them and meditating was possible. He was entirely matter of fact and all business, showing no interest in making the acquaintance of the passengers in any way.

"<You can stay in the common area here, obviously. That corridor>" - he nodded to one side - "<leads to the cockpit. If there's steam coming out of the wall or something, then go there and warn someone. Otherwise, stay here. There's a clock over there at the wall, it's also an alarm - it's got some algorithm that optimises our sleep schedules base on the destination so we don't get too jetlagged. Works very neatly on longer journeys, you almost don't fee a thing.>" he explained dispassionately, and apparently oblivious to the fact that Lefwen didn't speak Huttese.

Amilthi nodded and thanked him, and he seemed to take this as an excuse to leave them where they were and return to his work. Amilthi followed him with a quizzical look and then turned to explain the curious clock to Lefwen.

***​

The two women had spent a lot of time secluded in their respective rooms, neither of them feeling a particular need to socialise with their hosts or intrude upon the engine room. Towards the end of the second day, Lefwen heard a knock on the door of her room, and when it opened, it revealed the purple Twi'lek who was the captain of the ship.

"You've been spending a lot of time alone, young lady", he remarked as he stepped inside without asking for permission. A smile revealed his pointy teeth.

Lefwen Claskier