Star Wars: The Exile

Chapter 3: Outfitting

I slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I felt was the aching in my arm and across my chest. As I slowly looked across the room, I noticed I was in some sort of small medical bay. I let out a gasp of pain as I slowly rose into a sitting position on the white bed. Hearing my strain, Lynn and the Captain entered the small white room.

"Whe-where am I?" I said in a raspy voice.

"Onboard the Equinox," said Lynn, "and we're safe." With a sigh of relief, I laid back down. As I regained my senses, I noticed bandages on my arm and on my upper chest. The blaster and electricity burns were worse than I thought. In the corner of the room, I noticed my blue armor, in ruin. The chest plate was cut through in several places, and a section of the arm plate had a large hole through it. And to my sorrow, my Rancor cloak had a burn on the inside of it in the shape of a blaster shot. As I turned in my bed to where my legs were hanging off the side, I noticed the Captain in the corner with an expression of anger on his face.

"Still alive huh? We're all so relieved." The Captain grunted as he walked out of the room.

"He's still mad about, well, you know..." Lynn said as she let her voice trail off. "The way I see it, you came back for us. That's all I need to know." As I motioned her to help me, she came and got me on my feet so I could follow the Captain. The grey loose fitting medical robes I wore made it surprisingly easy to forget the pain I was in. As I slowly walked into the dining/war room, the Captain sneered at me.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"Avery." He replied. "And Douglas, Sha'reek, Seren, Walla, and Horace. Those are the names of the men you killed. Mine's Anthony."

"I could of left all of you there," I replied coldly. "all of you Republic pawns. With that being said, I am sorry about your men."

"If it weren't for the Republic, you'd be under the control of the Sith. Ever think about that?"

"At least the recruits know the Sith are evil before they join." I took a deep breath. "It's also because I've seen the true side of the wonderful Republic that I came back for you." I stated.

"What did the Republic ever do to you that made you so cynical." Asked Anthony. In fear of really losing my temper and possibly killing him, I walked out of the room and into one of the empty crew quarters. The question Anthony asked haunted me with memories of my past. I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.

I awoke feeling refreshed. As I rummaged through the drawers in my quarters, I found a set of black casuals that I put on over my bandages. As I left my room, I somehow knew that Anthony and Lynn would be in the cockpit. As I entered, their conversation abruptly ended. As I looked at the Star Map, I saw we were on our way to Tattoine. Tattoine would be a great place to get supplies and credits, as long I had someone to help.

"As soon as we get to Tattoine," I said to Anthony, "I want you off my ship."

"My pleasure." Hissed Anthony.

"What about me," asked Lynn, "you kicking me off too?"

"That's up to you." I replied. "I have a ship. You have contacts. Combined, we could make a lot of money.

"I think I like the sound of that." Smiled Lynn as she walked out of the room. After she left, Anthony pulled me aside.

"You know I just can't forget you." He said plainly. "I'm a Republic soldier, sworn to uphold Galactic Law and bring justices to criminals. Although there may not be warrants for both of you right now, when there is, I will hunt both of you down."

"If that's suppose to scare me straight," I replied, "you obviously don't know me. Watch out Anthony, the hunter might become the hunted."

* * *

The roaring of the Equinox's engines died down as we landed at a docking bay at Mos Eisly. As the ramp from the ship lowered to the surface, Lynn gave Anthony a friendly hug. As the three of us walked down, I turned and looked at Anthony. As we stared at each other, both of us knew that the next time we saw each other, we would most likely be trying to kill each other. As he walked off, Lynn came and stood next to me.

"So what now?" She said, breaking the silence.

"We need supplies." I responded. "We need to outfit the Equinox with basic living supplies, clothes, weapons, and, above all, contracts."

"Let's get to work then." Lynn said smiling.

And so we did. Over the next two days, we got everything we needed. For weapons, we got a sundry of pistols, assault rifles, grenades, and, my favorite, a sniper rifle. Despite the fact that I still had my lightsaber, I needed weapons that didn't scream "Jedi". For clothing, I got something more subtle.

I had gotten a black loose fitting shirt, slick black pants, and leather boots. On my tactical belt, I was able to holster a modified blaster. But the pride and joy of my outfit, was my vest. Using the Force to "win" a pazzak game, I acquired an incredibly interesting vest. It was made from with a dark brown leather with pockets all over the front. The interesting part was that the entire vest was coated in Cortis, a lightsaber resistant material. Using a technique that I didn't even know was possible, my vest could withstand almost anything. Lynn's outfit was a bit more... traditional.

As Lynn approached me, modeling her new attire, I wasn't surprised at all. She had a grayish-white tank top, black leather pants, and black combat boots. Her entire style mimicked her carefree personality. Especially the two pistols holstered on her hip.

"You're not concerned about armor, are you?" I asked jokingly.

"If I'm in any scenario that I can't talk my way out of, I'd deserve to be shot!" Came her reply. Lynn could never be taken seriously, nor did she want to.

The Equinox, to me at least, was now livable. We had gotten a year's supply of staple foods, a newly outfitted refresher, and, above all, decent bedding in our quarters. As both Lynn and I noticed, since Anthony had left we had an extra room, in case we needed a third person for a job.

"And for the final thing we both desperately need." I said as Lynn and I walked into the cantina. Since we were trying to not draw attention to ourselves, we left our weapons back in the ship. How bad of an idea that was. As I went to get a drink, Lynn started chatting to see if we could get some work.

"How meant times do I have to tell you dancers," said the manager as he grabbed Lynn by the arm, "come in through the bloody service door. Always thinking you're better than the rest of the workers. Come on!"

"I'm not one of your slutty dancers!" Lynn screamed as the manager tried to take her into the back room. "Get your frelling hands off me!" As the two off them struggled, a bouncer approached them.

"You're not going to cause anymore ruckus are you, Twi'lek." He said gruffly. "Now I suggest you follow the manager before you lose the only job you'll get." Then both he and the manager grabbed Lynn, trying to take her past a door in the back of the room. Immediately I rushed to the scene.

"She's not one of your girls, she's with me." I announced to both of them.

"Sure, 'cause your the totally first guy that's tried to help one of our girls to get some 'favors' from 'em." Said the bouncer as he pushed me backwards. That was a mistake. In a flash, I grabbed a bottle of dark ale from a nearby Rodian and slammed it across the managers face, sending him to the ground. As I dodged a swing from the bouncer, I jammed the jagged, broken bottle into his chest, making sure it was non lethal. I helped Lynn to her feet and we both ran back to the Equinox.

"Thanks for the help," said Lynn as she sat down on her bed, "even though I totally had it under control."

"Yeah. Totally." I replied. I walked out of her room and began preparing for takeoff. We had a job to go to.