Star Wars: The Exile

Chapter 1: The Pirate

I abruptly awoke to the sound of blast doors being forced opened and men barking orders. From the sound of the augmented voices I could tell we were being boarded by the one thing I tried to avoid the most: Sith troopers. Alarmed, I suddenly rose to my feet still in my sleepwear, quite stunned by boarding. In a flash, I put on my clothes. I put on my blue Mandalorian armor, modified for me of course, my tactical belt and boots. Finally, I put on my cloak; unlike the cloaks that the Jedi wear, mine was only half length and didn't have a hood; I wanted nothing to remind me of the Order. The aspect of it I loved the most, was the fact that it was made from the pelt of a small Rancor I killed on Pontaris III. The shine of my blue armor contrasted with my brown cloak reminded me of better days.

Not again, this is exactly what I was trying to avoid! I thought to myself. The last time my ship was boarded by the Sith, I spent three weeks in detainment camp on Taris. Not exactly an experience that I would like to repeat. But to be fair, I got caught trying to sell computer spikes to the Taris underground; the "contact" I was suppose to meet turned out to be a Sith spy. The ironic thing is that I was the supplier all the detainees with underground a items there as well. This time however, I was simply a passenger aboard the starship Shadow Hawk.

The doors to my room suddenly opened as an officer followed by three Sith troopers entered. A chill went up my spine as I involuntary stood at attention; the grunts were always a bad sign, but officers, that really meant trouble. I also knew that officers were not to be messed with, for they could release me or execute me for absolutely no reason. Using the Force however, I could tell this particular officer was all bark and no bite.

"You there!" the officer said in a harsh voice, "You! You are pirate captain Desmond, correct?"

"Ex-pirate," I insisted, "by losing my ship I've learned my lesson. But yes, I'm Desmond; I'm just here for passage to Corusant." I replied as bold as I dared.

"Well Mr. Desmond, I'm afraid your under arrest. Given your previous record, I'm sure you know why." The officer said smugly.

"I don't understand!" I said, "I have no idea what your talking about!" I wasn't lying, as far as I knew this ship was a transport going from Manaan to Corusant and back with supplies and passengers. Little did I know that the entire crew of the Shadow Hawk were Republic spies sent to Manaan to gather intel on the Sith embassy there. The transport ship was just a ruse to maintain their disguises as simple pilots, a ruse that I involuntarily fell into.

"I find that very hard to believe. You are hereby charged with espionage against the Sith. Your hearing, along with the rest of you spies, will take place onboard the Leviathan." After saying this, the officer gave a slight chuckle followed by a grin that showed how satisfied he was with himself. This bust would be the biggest break in his career and he knew it. If he was lucky, he might even be shipped to the Leviathan.

I watched as my room was torn apart by the troopers. They were "looking for contraband", but I knew they just liked to wreck everything. Typical of the Sith. Memories flooded my mind of the searches the Sith performed back on Taris. Everyone would be lined up outside his or her apartment while Sith troopers violently rummaged through the belongings inside taking whatever they pleased in the name of evidence. Taris however, despite its flaws and the Sith, was my home for three years. Luckily, I got out right before the quarantine was issued or I wouldn't have been able to leave; something about Republic spies or such, but I knew better. That was two weeks ago. I had managed to call in a few favors from some old "friends" and got a ride to Mannan. I thought I was lucky to escape the quarantine, little did I know about what was about to happen.

"Where were you before Manaan." The officer asked.

"Taris, I was there for three years." I replied. I don't know why I'm worrying, I thought to myself, I'm not with the spies and haven't done anything wrong.

"Why were you there for those three years?" It was at this question, were I began to get nervous.

"I had nowhere else to go." I replied, trying to hide my anxiety. This was definitely a lie. The entire reason I went to Taris was because of the fact that it's complete slums, so I could try and get away from my past. And the Order.

"It doesn't really matter," came his reply, "we have what we need here." And just like that, I was on my way to the Sith ship's brig. Luckily for me however, they didn't look hard enough to find my lightsaber in the secret compartment of my footlocker. Unfortunately though, my lightsaber was still in my footlocker.

As the Sith troopers escorted me to to the brig, I could sense just how easy their minds would be to manipulate. I could also sense the presence of a Dark Jedi. Luckily for me, I used a Sith technique to mask my Force presence. I knew could use this to my advantage and I planned on it. The entire brig was simply a single long hallway with cells on each side, their residents confined by a constantly humming energy shield. As I entered my cell, I noticed the entire crew and all of the passengers of the Shadow Hawk in cells next to mine.

My cell was a ten by ten room with a dura steel slab protruding out of the wall serving as a bed in the corner. The entire room was white except the energy shield that glowed with a yellow tint. As I approached the bed I noticed a small green blood stain on the floor next to it. I certainly wasn't the first guest here. As I expected, there was nothing I could fashion into a computer spike to release the shield.

"So, what they get you for?" asked a Twi'lek girl in the cell on the opposite side of the hallway as me. Her skin had a pale blue color to it, and her markings had a green tint to them. She had several tribal looking tattoos, and a small scar on her right cheek. She was a bit shorter than me but was somewhat masculine and, for some reason known only to the Force, I was attracted to her. Usually, females of other species didn't catch my eye, but for some reason this one did. I dismissed the thought on a moments notice, as my dangerous lifestyle didn't accustom a lover.

"Espionage, but they're wrong, I didn't do it." came my reply. "The rest of this lot, they did however."

"Sure, of course, of course, no one ever does it." She said with a sly grin.

"For someone in a Sith brig, you have a great sense of humor." I replied.

"Guilty as charged, I'm Lynn Da'Nassi, smuggler extraordinaire." She said with a charming smile. "How 'bout you?"

"Desmond, pirate," I said with a small chuckle, "well that explains why we're already friends."

"Yeah, we could really work well together;" Lynn joked, "now if you'll excuse me, I need my beauty sleep."

Not a bad idea, I thought to myself. Still tired from the abrupt waking I had, I laid down on the bed and tried to make my self comfortable. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.