Ahsoka was currently in her bed trying to fall asleep, but her deep worry for her missing and possibly injured friend seemed to keep her on the edge.

She was very tired from the intense battle that occurred not even ten standard hours ago...

Of course, she managed to sleep here and there. However, every time she fell asleep, she was forced to wake up, thanks to her imagination running wild. Creating many horror scenarios that slowly, but surely, began to seep into her subconscious in the form of haunting nightmares.

Just like it happened now. Her skin was covered in a cold layer of sweat as she let out a tired sigh, realizing that this was going to be a very long night.

“I can only hope that she will be all right...” — Ahsoka whispered to no one in particular, then once again closed her eyes.

With that thought on her mind, she turned towards the wall one more time and hoped to finally fall asleep for good.

~oOo~

(Music starting from this part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjhpmoZS7ts )

Meanwhile, a certain gray twi’lek girl a few light years away was having the time of her life with a bunch of pirates in their ship’s cantina. They were currently playing battle chess, for who knows how long at this point.

It started as a simple game, then turned into a fierce local championship after they discovered that she even had the extremely rare Mandalorian, space pirate and smuggler skins for the game... Of course, the championship never really stopped the ongoing party playing out in the background.

Just a few minutes ago, a table was broken in two since one of the drunken pirates jumped on top of it to dance with the attractive weequay girl who was already dancing on top of it.

The lucky pirate girl, so to say, didn’t really appreciate his advances and pushed him away. Unfortunately, she underestimated how drunk said pirate was. Which resulted in him slipping on some food and eventually falling on his back with quite the momentum.

The poor table gave out under the weight almost immediately. But not before the drunk fool could catch onto the girl’s arm in the middle of his fall, pulling her along. This desperate move resulted with both of them ending up as a pile of limbs on the ground while various plates, leftover food and drinks, violently splashed above their heads like powerful waves of a raging sea swallowing a sinking ship.

As expected, the event roused waves of dry laughter from the pirates who have witnessed everything. However, the unfortunate pair in the center of undesirable attention didn’t seem to share in the jovialty and after they managed to crawl out of the table’s broken remains, pushing and cursing each other along the way.

Our drunken hero, with his wounded pride, attempted to reeducate the onlookers via delivering a punch into the first one’s stomach, who came across him. Since then there was a small scale bar fight going on in one of the many corners of the large cantina.

‘Hondo was sitting on his pirate throne watching the show with a satisfied smile stretched across his face, as if being here and watching this organized chaos was the best possible place to be in the entire galaxy... or even the universe.‘

‘He had Pilf resting on his shoulder, and I got the other one on top of my head. He was called Pikk Mukmuk.’

‘Both of them were proud members of the Kowakian monkey-lizard race. Oh, and above that, they were actual members of the crew.’

‘I was only allowed to roam free if one of them was watching over me... It was quite a strange situation, to be entirely honest.’

‘The little buggers are pretty intelligent. I am still surprised at how many words they seem to understand, and since I won our battle chess match against Hondo, which started this entire scenario.’

‘He loaned me Pikk as a reward for my entire stay here. It was… nice of him…’

‘Regarding the game itself, it was not an easy game at all. Hondo played very well, but he had no chance against a few thousand years of chess experience. It was one of my inherited powers that wasn’t any weaker because of my current body.’

‘I gave my last order to one of my troopers on the board and watched it with satisfaction as the figurine executed it flawlessly, causing me to win another game.’

‘My opponent was, for the record, a red skin-colored twi’lek woman. One of the few twi’lek members of the current crew, as most of them were weequays. There was one more twi’lek that I know of, a man this time, and a few humans too.’

‘The young woman realized her mistake as I cornered her king, accepting her defeat with tact. She smiled at me mischievously, then suddenly leaned over the board and gave me a light kiss...’

‘I felt a wave of heat surge into my face, turning it to a similar color as her skin tone was.’

‘My brain spasmed as it tried to understand the situation.’

‘… Okay… What the fuck?!’

‘The small crowd around us began to cheer loudly.’

“That was your reward, little jedi. I heard that they hold you on a tight leash in that order of yours.” — ‘She winked at me teasingly, suddenly standing up from the table and leaving me behind with my confusion.’

“… Eh?”

‘I gently touched my lips. That felt strangely hot, realising with both intrigue and a sense of annoyance that the red girl stole my first kiss.’

‘At the same time, I felt a surge of memories leaping into my head, along with a few hundred erotic images from the so-called darker and more suppressed places of my mind...’

‘I panicked. In my panic, I attempted to cover my eyes, only to realize that everything was happening inside my head, and my mental eyes were a lot harder to cover than my physical ones.’

‘My apparent reaction seemed to provide a great deal of entertainment to the nearby pirates. Who were currently laughing at my predicament like hungry hyenas.’

‘Yes, I inherited those kinds of memories too, and to top it off, from both genders... I tried to hastily suppress those kinds of memories, while the others straight out laughed at my reddened face and slightly twitching leks which were misbehaving from my sheer level of frustration.’

‘A gentle force warning caught my attention, drawing my eyes away from those thoughts at the most opportune time.’

‘I looked up, and saw a half empty wine bottle flying across the whole room, heading towards an unsuspecting weequay.’

‘I reached out with the force to stop the bottle and began to pull it towards me instead, saving the unsuspecting man from a painful surprise.’

‘I was actually acting as a proper jedi padawan right now. Not even Master Obi’Wan could raise any objections, in case if he was here.’

‘On the crux of my streak of self-sacrifice I decided to save a few more weequays from a strong headache. Some in the literal while others in the figurative sense of the word.’

‘I caught the bottle out of the air at last and raised it towards my lips with great momentum. Since the ritual, I had this unnatural craving for alcohol. I thought it was high time to sate such mysterious cravings.’

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

‘I fully intended to look at the bottom of this bottle of liquer directly raising it to my mouth.’

‘I was already sensing the aroma of strong booze seeping into my flaring nostrils, eyes closing in blissful anticipation.’

‘Then I felt a strong grasp closing around my wrist at the last possible moment, just before I could tilt the bottle enough for its contents to spill towards my open mouth.’

‘I tried to free my arm, it didn’t budge.’

‘A burst of anger came over me, as my highly anticipated moment was all but ruined.’

‘My eyes jolted open.’ — Unknown to Nizzal, a glint of yellow was visible in the middle of her pink pupils. — ‘Only to see that Hondo was the one that stopped my arm...’

‘He looked at me with a half smile, falling into a fatherly act as if it was as natural to him as any other.’

“Now-now... What do we have here, my sweet mother always said, that proper little girls shouldn’t drink alcohol."

‘While saying this, he also raised his finger in a lecturing manner.’

“Oh, come on!” — ‘I whined, throwing my dignity aside with a surprising ease.' — “Can’t a girl have her fun for once in a while!”

‘This seemed to surprise the man in the red coat. Alas, it seemed that red was my unlucky color today.’

‘Unfortunately, no matter how much I tried to free my arm, his iron like grip didn’t let up.’

‘Eventually, my consistent attempts to get out of his grasp seemed to get on his nerves as he blow up in my face.’

“Stop resisting, fool! You won’t get drunk on my ship, however laughable that statement may sound, not today at least! What good would your presence do if you got drunk? Are you intending to deflect those laser beams towards me? Is that it?”

“Who are you calling fool? Fool! And… now that you mention it, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea, actually...”

“Aha, I see what you did there, little hellion. My answer is still no! Give me that bottle, now!”

‘He twisted out the bottle from my hand and drank it in a few big gulps while standing over me. The others were laughing around us when they saw my horrified expression.’

‘For whatever reason, the sight of my disappearing prize and the strange cohesion of the laughing pirates resulted in a burst of childish desire accumulating in my chest as I shouted at the fool with all the angst of a ten-year-old.’

“How could you!” — ‘I cried out, feeling genuinely betrayed.’

‘My evidently unexpected reaction caused Hondo to actually choke on the drink and resulted in even more laughter from the surrounding people.’

“Ha hahaha!” — ‘He shouted after spitting some of the liquor straight into one of his men’s face.’

“I am an evil pirate captain. I do whatever I want! You better learn it, girly! Haha!” — ‘Then he leaned closer to me and said subtly.’ — “I also have an image to uphold, you know?” — ‘With that, he waved towards me condescendingly, then added as an afterthought.’ — “Now go and amuse yourself with Pazaak or something, whatever you kids tend to play these days... I have no more time for your childish games. Oh, and you better stop looking for alcohol too, if you don’t want to get spanked! That’s what I call a real checkmate! HA!”

‘My eyes glinted with a strange light in the mids of the roaring laughter.’

“Pazaak? Did you say Pazaak?” — ‘I asked, as another wave of long suppressed memories burst into my consciousness, seemingly triggered by that strangely familiar word.'

‘Hondo was just about to walk away, but he looked back at me, hearing my new question. Suddenly, there was a new glint in his eyes as well.’

“Oh, so you know the game? Would you like to play a few rounds then? If you lose, you will owe me a favor. If I lose, I will give you a full bottle of these...” — ‘He raised another of those wine bottles from a nearby table.’

‘As my eyes hovered over the full bottle of red tantalizing liquid. I felt my throat became dry as a desert. I swallowed unconsciously…’

‘My childish impulses overruled my logical decision-making as I immediately agreed to the contest. Revan was a legendary Pazaak player of his time. How could I lose with that much experience under my belt?’

~oOo~

A few minutes later. In the middle of heavy laughter.

“That wasn’t fair!” — ‘I shouted at Hondo with an even more betrayed expression in the middle of a bunch of laughing pirates.’

“Oh, thanks for the praise. I am a pirate captain, you know? The day when I play fairly will be the day I die. Oh, and you didn’t tell me when we made the bet that I couldn’t use my personal deck. You should have used your own instead of complaining.”

“It was stolen by that calamity of a droid!” — ‘I lied seamlessly since I couldn’t tell him I actually never played the game before, and it was only thanks to my memories from a different person, from a different life that I even knew about it.’

‘In my excitement I completely forget, the fact that Pazaak, to begin with, was a completely unfair game.’

‘To win with a basic deck against a fully equipped one, the chance was practically astronomical. I wasn’t even sure if it was actually doable.’

“Are you trying to deny the validity of our bet?” — ‘Hondo asked, with a creased pair of eyebrows.’

“Arggh....” — ‘I bit into my lower lips as I said.’ — “No... It was valid... just… nevermind. So what do I have to do?”

“Look at that, boys and girls, a jedi that actually has a backbone!” — ‘Stated Hondo, with pride glinting in his eyes. And I realised that the surrounding pirates have stopped laughing.’

“I am not really a jedi, I already told you!” — ‘I said with a bored tone.’

“Maybe, but from my perspective, there isn’t that much of a difference. So, back to my request, there is this old acquaintance of mine. Let’s just say, he has a variety of diplomatic connections and one of these so-called connections wants the help of a trained force sensitive in a so-called serious matter.”

“The only prerequisite is that the person can’t be an official jedi. I can see from your face that you realize how hard it is to find a well-trained force user who is not a jedi. I wish you to take this job after we raided... I mean, get the spice and twi’leks from our current project.”

“I see, but what good would that do for you?” — ‘I asked, unsure what to think about this request.’

“Oh, nothing special. You should just tell him that I sent you to repay a debt I owed. His name is Jabba the Hutt, by the way. He is a kind-natured fellow, really he has a soft spot for kids like yourself.” — ‘Hondo added slyly.’

“Which means that I should expect him to try to chop off my head the moment I appear... or sell me to slavers?”

‘He took in a sharp breath as if he was shocked by my statement, then instead of a hurtful monologue he offered me a wide toothy grin.’ — “I see you learn quickly. I know that we had something in common the moment I saw you! You are like a long-lost daughter to me. Can I call you my daughter?”

‘I rolled my eyes and said.’ — “Just shut up and die, fool!”

“Ah, such vulgarity, you wound my feelings… that aside… Since the cat is already out of the bag… I mean I might have a bit of a debt accumulated and all, but it’s nothing to concern yourself with.”

‘Like hell it is!’

“I knew it, and what kind of debt do you owe to him?”

“Nothing special, I maybe took a smaller loan, and didn’t pay the whole thing back... But, it will be solved by you doing this job, for free, in my name.”

“Okay... but what am I expected to do in the first place?” — ‘I at least demanded an explanation for that.’

“I don’t know for sure, probably some kind of jedi hocus-pocus... Most likely the usual stuff. What else would he need, a force sensitive?”

“Probably? So you don’t even know that? Wait a minute, can’t I have a say in this?”

“I won the game, so no.”

‘I held my head in desperation. With the growing urge to head bump the damn table which was still covered in those cursed cards. I am never going to play this damn game again’

“Arggh... curse you...”

“Ha-ha-ha! Stand in line if you want to curse me, girl. Be wary, the line is quite long... You might just kick the bucket before you get the chance.”

“But...”

“Silence... someone is calling me on my communicator.” — ‘He pushed a button, then turned away while saying something I could not hear...’

‘Damn Hondo, I will be much more careful with any type of bet with him in the future, and next time I will definitely win!’

‘I promised to myself with apparent determination. Not even realizing the contradiction in that statement.’

“Vzzz-vzzz!” — ‘I jumped up from the table, along with a bunch of pirates.’

‘There were two blaster shots sent into the ceiling as a small cloud of smoke began to slowly descend over the people staying in the room.’

‘Everyone looked toward the source of it, already grabbing their weapons, but they hadn’t pulled it out yet.’

‘The pirates became quite tense, just like I did, as everyone realized that the captain was the one who shot into the ceiling.’

“Thank you, thank you for your undivided attention, my dear fellows. I just got a report that our spice had finally arrived. I say that it would be rude to make them wait for us, wouldn’t it?”

‘There was a tense silence in the room. Nobody gave an answer to his question. He looked around the room, then suddenly began to shout like a madman.’

“MOVE YOU SPACERATS! I WANT TO SEE YOUR ASSES ON YOUR POSITIONS IN FULL GEAR IMMEDIATELY!” — ‘He then began to shoot into the ceiling with his already drawn blaster pistol in sync with his shouts to quickly disperse the panicking crew.’ — “GO GO GO MOVE BASTARDS! HEY, CLAIR!”

“Yes boss?” — ‘Clair asked after popping up out of nowhere.’

“Work on the girl, make her look somewhat believable for her act. At least, give her proper clothes, instead of those monk rags…”

“You can count on me, boss.”

‘While I was distracted by the running around pirates. Out of nowhere, I felt a cold shiver run over my back... Did I catch a cold or something? Great, that’s just what I needed... This day is getting worse by the minutes!’