WillowT

"So you see, I really must know where my friend has gone. What with the recent Kath hound attacks, I fear for his safety!"

Avner nodded in sympathy. "I understand, Miss Elise. When was the last time you saw him?"

Elise was a middle-aged woman of average height, her hair a deep red with hints of woodsy brown scattered throughout. Her blue eyes nearly shone with unshed tears as she nervously wrung her hands together. Mission had led them to the near-hysterical woman and introduced everyone, prodding the farmer to recount her tale and possible credit reward. "Earlier this morning. We were working on my farm to the north of here. I was working in the garden outside, and he was working inside. I heard the door to the house open but not close. I went to see and found it wide open!"

"So your friend just up and wandered off? Maybe he's in town or just going for a walk," Bastila suggested.

Elise shook her head fervently. "No, that's not possible. I searched everywhere for him, the outpost, some neighboring farms, and even a little of the plains, but I couldn't find him! I just-." She sucked in a hurried breath, lower lip trembling. "I need him so badly. I wonder if he… Could he have been kidnapped?!"

"Does anyone hold a grudge against him? Or you?"

"No, we're just simple farmers, and he's so kind and loving… maybe it was those raiders!"

"They kidnapped your friend? Have you received any ransom?"

"Not yet, but that doesn't mean they weren't involved, especially after what happened to poor Jon and his daughter… or perhaps the Kath hounds really did get him! But those beasts are not intelligent enough to open doors… No! It must have been someone who could have opened the door by himself. Come to think of it, the door was locked!" Elise exclaimed, her words coming faster and faster the longer she rambled.

Avner glanced at Bastila and then at Mission and Zaalbar. "Was there any evidence of tampering with your security system or forced entry?"

Again, Elise shook her head. "No, the door was undamaged and showed no signs of tampering…"

"Then perhaps it was opened from the inside?"

"Well… yes, it could have," Elise conceded but didn't look very convinced. "But he had no reason to run away! His programming-."

"Wait, his programming?" Bastila interrupted, straightening from where she had been leaning against their speeder. "Is your missing friend… a droid?"

Elise ducked her head and nodded.

"Mission," Bastila seethed, turning on the younger girl, who smiled sheepishly. "You said this was a missing person!"

"I never said person; I only said missing friend! Besides, a droid can be a friend!"

"I can't believe we wasted all this time on some missing hunk of metal," the Jedi muttered, shaking her head in clear exasperation.

"He's more than just some droid! He is the last piece of my poor, passed-away husband that I have left. Please, he is very dear to me; I don't know what I'll do without him!" Elise pleaded, turning her gaze on him. "Please find him! He is my only companion."

"You live… alone with this droid? What exactly did you use him for again?" Avner asked, feeling increasingly confused about this woman's bizarre unfolding relationship with her droid.

"He is a personal assistance droid. M-my late husband… well, he was somewhat of a genius when it came to making droids. He made this one capable of caring for me for the rest of my life. He is the last thing I have of my husband… he means more to me than anything else in this world!"

"She really misses that droid, doesn't she?" Mission muttered low enough so Elise wouldn't catch it, but Avner would. So did Bastila by her stern reproach.

"There's no need for you to make fun of her." Bastila sighed and shook her head. "She's obviously desperate."

"I'll say."

"Mission!"

"Please, I beg you." Elise clasped her hands together in front of her and looked up at him with mournful eyes. "Find my droid and bring him home to me. I'm willing to offer a reward for his safe return!"

He felt for her plight, though he still found her strange. So he nodded and offered her a kind smile that he hoped would put her at ease. "If I come across him, I'll bring him back."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, sir! Here's his verification code. He goes by C8-42!"

He gave her one last reassuring smile, then turned back to his companions, who had a myriad of different expressions painted across their faces. Mission looked excited, probably at the prospect of earning a few credits, while Zaalbar looked indifferent like always, and Bastila… well, she looked characteristically annoyed. Most likely at him.

"Avner."

Scratch that, definitely at him.

"We don't have time for this." She glared at him as he walked past her to their speeder.

"You have another pressing matter to attend to, Princess?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "That's not the point."

"If you want to go back to the Enclave, then by all means." He gestured in the direction of the outpost while he slipped into the pilot's seat, and Mission and Zaalbar claimed the back. "Or you could come with us and stretch your legs." She didn't look very convinced, so he offered her his most charming smile. "Think of it as a training exercise… search and recovery."

She eyed him for a second, then huffed, taking a seat beside him. "This is still a waste of time."

They found themselves traveling far out onto the Khoonda Plains, farmsteads and grain depots whipping past them. The plains stretched hundreds of kilometers, interspersed with sparse trees and the odd winding canyon or shallow gully. The sun was beginning to drift lower towards the horizon, casting long dark shadows over the lush terrain as Avner pulled the speeder up to a man loading several large sacks onto his speeder skiff. They had asked around some of the neighboring farms inquiring into Elise's missing droid. No one had seen anything, but everyone definitely gave them a look when they mentioned her name. This would have to be one of their last stops before they called it a day. With the sun setting, the plains would become dangerous with the emergence of predators stalking the land.

"Wait here," Avner said as he climbed out and approached the weathered man who had stopped in his work and was now eying him warily.

"What can I do for ya, stranger?" The farmer asked.

"Me and my companions are looking for a droid that may have passed through here earlier this morning. Came from Elise's farm."

"Hmm, yeah, I saw a droid on my morning drop-off. It was making like crazy away from Elise's farm to the Sandral lands like a bat from the nine hells of Corellia. Guess that droid finally broke loose from that loon."

"Loon?"

"Elise, she went off the deep end when Marro, her husband, died. She could hardly cope… still can't frankly, and she treats that droid like it's her partner. Strange if you ask me," the older man grunted as he turned to continue with his work. "You'll probably find the thing somewhere on the Sandral's property. Couldn't have gotten too far on its rusting legs."

"Thanks."

Bastila directed him to the Sandral farm, looking surprised when he mentioned their name.

"They're one of the most influential families on Dantooine. They own the largest farms on this planet, next to the Matales. They were some of the first settlers on this planet, aside from the Jedi, of course."

"Let's hope Elise's droid is on their property."

"Head for the eastern edge; the land there nearly borders Elise's farm."

Avner swung the speeder around and pushed the throttle forward. The rapidly cooling air whipped past them as the sun dipped lower and lower, day turning to dusk, the shadows nearly all-encompassing now. The Sandral's land was overflowing with numerous crops and automated farming equipment. Droids paid them no mind as they sped past, instead focusing only on the plants beneath them. The crop fields spanned for what seemed like miles with no end in sight. As they approached the eastern edge of the Sandral estate Avner slowed and followed a line of sharp jagged rocks that formed a natural wall at the boundary line.

"I don't see a thing," Mission sighed as they crept along the rock barrier.

"I smell something," Zaalbar grunted, and Avner cut the speeder's engines before jumping out.

"I do, too," he agreed as he scaled the rocks to get a better view over them. Behind him, he heard three other sets of feet scrabble up beside him. There was a scent of blood and rot that had tainted the air here. Avner followed the smell along the rock wall, the stench only growing the further he went. The area beneath him was thickly overgrown with hardy scrub and wide, thorny vines that wound around the boulders and trees alike. The smell was nearly unbearable now, a horrible foul odor of something left to decay, a scent he unquestionably recognized. The reek of a decomposing body. He slid down the steep incline, forcing his way through the thick undergrowth. He was close now, nearly able to taste the sour rot on his tongue as he pushed aside a few bushes and stopped. Bastila came to a halt beside him and shook her head when she caught sight of the badly decomposing body before them. It was a boy from the looks of it, but his features were so badly decayed it was hard to make out his face. Several long gashes littered his torso, and his legs were bloody, rotten stumps, the flesh stringy like something had gnawed away at the meat.

"Find something?" Mission hollered from above them. He spied a datapad sitting beside the body and scooped it up. The screen was cracked, and the thing wouldn't turn on, so he stowed it away before taking a step back. Bastila was still staring at the spot.

"Poor kid probably got caught by the local wildlife," he murmured, and she nodded in agreement.

"Dantooine is home to several large predators." She shook her head and backed away. "I'll alert the Jedi Council. They can send a team out here to retrieve the body, though we'll have no idea of knowing who it is."

"If I can get this datapad working again, then maybe I can pull something from it that will give us a clue about who he was."

A loud howl echoed just ahead of them, followed by several growls. Avner glanced over at Bastila and put a finger to his lips. They crept forward, skirting the edge of the thicket while keeping low. Avner pulled his blaster free, his hand closing around the familiar grip before the thought even occurred to him that he was also carrying a lightsaber. The underbrush began to thin, revealing three large animals with thick dark fur and long sinewy bodies encircling a standard service droid with a cracked chassis and sparking photoreceptor. The creatures darted forward, powerful jaws snapping quickly at the droid's heels as it did a frantic jig attempting to outmaneuver the beasts.

"I think that's our missing droid," Avner murmured.

Bastila nodded. "Careful. Those are Kath hounds; when they're worked into a frenzy, they can be quite vicious."

A rock tumbled down from high above them and landed at their feet. Mission stood atop the stone barrier, eyes wide and mouth opened in startled surprise. The Kath hounds turned their attention to them and leaped forward at an alarming speed. Avner threw himself to the side and fired off a shot. The hounds scattered before quickly regrouping to circle around them, dark eyes glittering with hunger. He trained his pistol on the closest hound, but Bastila stepped in front of him, blocking his shot. Her hands were outstretched, eyes closed tightly as the Kath hounds stopped to focus on her. Avner also felt a tug as if his body was being pulled towards Bastila, like a moon orbiting its planet. She took a few slow, tentative steps towards the biggest beast, gently laying a hand on its head and murmuring a few soft words he couldn't make out. The hound whined slightly but pivoted sharply and loped off, the others following close behind.

"Wow… that was… wow," Mission exclaimed as she slid down the rocky embankment. "How did you do that?"

Bastila turned, her gray eyes holding a soft patience that Avner had rarely seen before. "I just connected with their spirits. They were afraid, something had forced them from their home, and they were only attacking out of defense. I projected a sense of ease, and when they saw I wasn't a threat, they felt safe to leave."

"I've never seen anything like that before," Avner said as he holstered his weapon. "I thought we were going to have to put those hounds down."

The Jedi shook her head and frowned. "I don't like resorting to violence, especially against animals. They don't attack out of malintent, but rather because they're scared or driven to."

"I suppose, but I don't think our friend back there would agree with you completely," Avner grunted, and he hooked a thumb back to where the mauled body lay.

"No, I suppose not, but the Kath hounds only killed him out of a base instinct to eat."

Avner shrugged. "Sure, but I don't think that sentiment will comfort his family all that much."

"Hey! I think this is Elise's droid!" Mission shouted, effectively ending their conversation, and she gave the poor battered machine a quick once over. "His verification code matches too! What's your name?"

The droid swiveled a bit to address Mission, but its chassis was cracked so badly that it nearly toppled over. "I am C8-42, a personal assistance droid."

Avner quickly inspected the poor droid's damaged body. "You sure took quite a beating, didn't you, buddy?"

"Compared to what I have endured at my owner's hands, this is not too bad."

He lifted a brow in question. "You were… abused?"

The machine looked down almost forlornly and nodded. "That would be one way of putting it. I'm afraid my owner became a bit too attached to me. Obsessed, some would say."

"Obsessed… over you? Why?" Mission asked.

Again C8-42 ducked its head. "She… she treats me like I'm her dead… husband."

All four of them exchanged looks.

"That… can't be healthy," Zaalbar growled lowly, and the droid shook its head.

"It's not."

"Uhhh… does she treat you like that… all the time," Avner inquired, trying to wrap his head around the strange relationship unfolding before him. He knew Elise was odd, but he didn't think she was this far off her rocker.

"You don't want to know…"

"Yeah, probably not," Mission agreed.

"Definitely, no," Bastila seconded, and the two girls shared a similar uncomfortable look.

"She is obsessed. She rarely sees other people and appears to be fixated on me as her husband," C8-42 continued. "She was becoming more and more insular… I thought it best that I leave. She may meet other real people this way. That was the reason I came this way… I hoped to be set upon by beast or elements and be destroyed."

Avner was struck by a wave of sadness for this pitiful droid and how in its own twisted way, it cared about Elise so much that it was willing to end itself just so she could seek help elsewhere. "You want to help her by disappearing."

"Yes, I think it would be best if I were no longer a factor. She would meet new people. Living people." C8-42 locked its damaged photoreceptors onto Avner's eyes and shuffled forward. "Please, kind sir, will you destroy me?"

Avner hesitated. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

The droid nodded solemnly, and Avner pulled his blaster free.

"Wait a minute! You're really going to end C8?!" Mission cried, taking a step forward. "Why don't we just take him with us? Give him a new home!"

"We can't steal C8, Mission," Bastila reminded the young girl gently. "It's not our right to."

"But, but…"

"It's C8's choice, Mission. Who are we to deny him what he wants?" Avner murmured.

The Twi'lek's face crumpled, but she stepped away from the droid. "We can still save him… save them…"

Bastila placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder, and Mission didn't pull away.

Avner raised his blaster and aimed directly at the droid's exposed power core.

C8-42's photoreceptors almost seemed to sparkle as it drew itself up to its full height. "Thank you, good sir. You and your friends are kind and gentle organics. You will always have my eternal gratitude."

And he fired.

It only took two bolts to cave in the droid's compromised chassis and completely destroy its power core. C8-42 toppled over and landed in a heap. No one moved for a moment; everyone's eyes cast downwards on the fallen droid, hoping it had achieved some semblance of peace in its final moments. Finally, Bastila stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"We need to get moving. The sun is nearly set, and Dantooine becomes dangerous at night."

"We can't leave C8! Not like this," Mission pleaded, turning to the Kiffar with wide eyes. "We should at least put his body somewhere safe."

"We can take him back to the Hawk and figure something out from there," Avner murmured as he and Zaalbar stooped down and loaded the droid carefully into the speeder. The ride back to Outpost Cinder was quiet, everyone trapped in their own thoughts, none willing to voice what they were feeling. The distraught faces of Jon and his fellow farmers flashed through his mind… Taris… Trask... and now C8. Death… it seemed to follow Avner wherever he went. He thought it would be different here on Dantooine, that becoming a Jedi would somehow distance him from mortality. How naïve he had been. Perhaps Master Vrook was right; he really was a fool. Soldier, Jedi… these things did not set up boundaries for which death could not pass. It would always be there, following closely on his heels.

The speeder glided into the outpost just as the sun touched the horizon. The last rays were reaching out across the land like warm fingertips trying in vain to ward off the cool chill of the encroaching night air. He slid from the speeder and nodded at his three companions.

"I'll go tell Elise what happened. Wait here."

"I'll come with you," Bastila said. Not a demand, but an offer, and he nodded gratefully. They walked in silence through the empty, dusty streets. By now, families were gathering around their tables for dinner or finishing their last chores for the day before retiring for the evening. It was all so quaint and a bit jarring for Avner. He had considered the idea of settling down one day, leaving the army, and finding a woman who could tolerate his presence… maybe have a few kids… open a droid repair shop…

He chuckled lowly and shook his head. That fantasy seemed so foreign now with everything that had happened to him in the past few months. An unobtainable dream that would probably have no place in his life going forward. Not that he didn't still want a family; it just now seemed next to impossible to attain. He would probably die in a trench somewhere before he ever got the opportunity to become a father. Dark, morose, and for some reason, infinitely hilarious to Avner.

"What's so funny?" Bastila asked. She had caught the tail end of his snickers and was eyeing him curiously now.

"Nothing… just…" he sighed and looked down at her. "Have you ever thought about settling down? Maybe starting a family someday or something."

She gave him an odd look and immediately shook her head. "Of course not. Jedi are forbidden to fall in love and form attachments. It leads to the Dark Side."

"Of course it does," Avner murmured before pressing forward. "But what if you weren't a Jedi? What about then?"

She glanced down at the ground pensively for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know… I've never really thought about it. My whole life has been dedicated to becoming a Jedi. The Order is my family."

"Hmmm…"

"What about you? Is having a family something you want?"

Before he could answer her question, frantic footsteps and a worried voice interrupted them.

"You're back! I was so worried when the sun started to set, and you hadn't returned yet! Do you have him? Where is my droid?" Elise asked, blue eyes glittering with unshed tears.

"Elise…" Avner began gently. "C8-42 was destroyed. I'm sorry."

She gazed up at him with a growing look of horror dawning on her face. "WHAT?!"

"Elise-."

"HOW?!? How did this happen… no, no, no, I can't lose him…" Elise wrapped her trembling arms around her waist as sobs began to bubble up from her throat. "No, not again… no, Marro, please not again…"

Avner gently touched her shoulder and guided her to an empty bench. "Breathe, Elise, breathe."

She collapsed onto the bench and cried for several long minutes, clinging to his shirt and soaking it through with her tears. He felt the same wave of sadness he had experienced for C8-42 wash over him again at the sight of the broken woman before him. She wasn't crazy… she was only grieving, trying to accept the sorrow she had long ignored. Her sobs soon subsided into hiccups, and he patted her softly on the back.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?" Bastila asked, and Elise nodded numbly.

"I have a friend not too far from here. I can stay with her."

"We'll take you there."

They left Elise at the home of her friend and found Mission with Zaalbar ready to leave. It was a short ride to the Ebon Hawk, where Zaalbar and Mission carefully carried C8-42 into the Ebon Hawk's cargo hold. The sun had fully set now, and the moon was rising rapidly in the clear night sky, thousands of stars shining above them like tiny shimmering jewels on an inky canvas.

"I must report back to the Council about the body we found and the Kath hounds' increasing aggression," Bastila said, and Avner nodded.

"Thank you for your help today."

She shrugged. "It was nothing…" She looked at him closely, studying his face so intensely Avner wondered whose eyes she was really seeing when she gazed into his. He tilted his head to the side and offered her a lopsided grin in hopes of easing the growing tension.

"Is there something on my face?"

It worked, and she blushed, averting her eyes quickly while shaking her head. "No, your face is fine."

"Just fine?" He teased, and she rolled her eyes playfully.

"I have to go," she reiterated, and again he nodded.

"Make sure you're back tomorrow morning!" Mission had appeared suddenly at the bottom of the landing ramp, pleading and demanding that Bastila return all at once. "I… we're going to bury C8."

Bastila blinked in surprise but nodded. "Of course."

"Good," Mission said, and she gave the Jedi a little smile before she disappeared up the ship's ramp.

Avner chuckled, and Bastila smiled.

"Goodnight, Bastila Shan," he said as she climbed into the speeder and revved the engine.

She gave him one last long look before bidding him farewell. "Goodnight, Avner Marek."