Mos Espa

Crystal looked at him with interest as she continued walking. "A mechanic hmm? What have you built?" Her spirits lifted as they turned a corner and the junk shop was there in front of them just down an ally. She headed in it's direction even faster. "I'm building a weapon of sorts. I've built a few of them but I don't have any right now so my instincts tell me I should build another." Crystal pushed through the shop's doors and ventured into the cooler building. She had forgotten how warm this planet was. She absolutely hated the heat. Her eyes brightened. She had grown up on a planet with forests and rivers. She remembered that now. That's why she hated worlds like this.


"Good morning!" Crystal called out a greeting to the shop owner though she didn't see anyone around.

Crystal was impressed. She started browsing the shelves in the shop. "You are sure handy to have around then. Usually this type of weapon a person builds by themselves but maybe you'll help with finding the parts I need?" Crystal detailed them all for the boy, hoping that with two pairs of eyes this would go more quickly. No one would know what these parts were for unless they'd helped build a lightsaber before and she doubted a ten year old boy from Mandalorian had much experience with lightsabers. While they searched she filled in the silence with small talk. That was a pet peeve of her old master. He hated her incessant talking. With a mental shrug, Crystal decided she didn't care if he didn't like her talking. He wasn't here and next time she saw him she would make sure he never put her down again. "So, you are going to go through some sort of test, did I catch that right? What's that all about?"

Crystal soon found everything she needed with the spry child's help. She carried it all over to the counter slapped haphazardly in the middle of the shop and set it down gently in a tidy pile. Looking at Eimhin she screwed up her face, "So... you guys become warriors as kids? Even the women?" She looked around for the shop owner or anyone who could help with her purchase. "Hello?" Her shouted word finally drew some attention, a rough looking human came in from one of the outer rooms. He sullenly calculated her purchase and wordlessly motioned to the total number, waiting for her to pass him some credits. Crystal ignored the slightly creepy owner and focused on the child's answer. This culture he described sounded so foreign. She seemed to be running into Mandalorian's everywhere she went lately. A lightbulb went off in her mind. 'Telarial'! That was where she had heard that name. Could it be the same person who was Adonias' sister? She eyed the boy in front of her dubiously, trying to see some family resemblance.

Crystal nodded while paying for her purchases. She couldn't see a resemblance between the boy and Adonias but that didn't mean anything. Genetics did weird things. She looked more like her brother than like her parents, another memory filtered into her mind and a smile hovered on her face. With her purchases safely ensconced in a burlap sack, she fitted the sack under an arm before striding out of the shop. "Lets get back to my ship. I am feeling some urgency to get this weapon finished." She mumbled under her breath as she moved out onto the street, "And what the force wants, the force gets."

As she walked down the street towards her were her ship was docked, she continued the conversation trying to hide how probing her questions were. "Those are some young ages. And adopted you say? Do you guys adopt children often? I could have used some people like you around when I was a kid. My parents died young." Crystal tried not to freeze as a memory washed over her though she mis-stepped for a second. Pain, terrible pain. Fire all around her, smoke choking her lungs. Screams filled her ears and then there was darkness. Crystal drew in a deep breath of the desert air and tuned back into what the boy was saying. She pushed the memory that threatened to choke her, far down, deep within her mind.

Crystal puzzled over the boy's words and his philosophy as she walked. "No. I have no one except myself. I lost everything I held dear and decided to do something to keep that from ever happening to anyone else." Crystal's eyes were hard and face stern as she reflected on her life. She wasn't much older than this boy was when her world had crumbled around her. Her body flooded with anger and her fingertips tingled. She had forgotten how much becoming a sith meant to her. She had lost her way. She wasn't sure why this conversation with a boy was bringing back her determination. Maybe it was because she could see a bit of herself reflected back at her or maybe it was just saying her thoughts out loud without her master snarling at her. Whatever the reason, she was grateful.

Crystal felt unexpected tears flood her eyes and she blinked rapidly to hold them back. Crying was beneath a sith, this type of weakness is what had pushed her master to punish her so often. But she couldn't help how her heart felt. She felt determination flood her, maybe it was okay to be soft and hard. Once her emotions were in check, she replied to the boy. "You are so sweet. I'm not sure your cousin would accept a stranger without knowing their background." She laughed awkwardly, recounting mentally all the brutal things she had done over the years. "Adonias though, that name is familiar. Are there a lot of Mandalorian's with that name?"

Crystal's lower lip trembled seeing Adonias in a picture before her. She couldn't tell this child that his cousin was most assuredly dead. She hardened her heart. It hadn't been her fault, there was no need to feel guilty. He had told her to run. And so, she had run. "I love that picture, you all look so happy." She stared wistfully at the smiles on those in the picture.

She caught sight of the area where she had landed the ship, Adonias' ship. She hoped Eimhin didn't recognize it because she wouldn't have an answer for how she came to be using it. "C'mon, you can help me lay the parts out and then I can get started building this weapon." She coaxed excitement into her voice, distracting the child as she walked up the ramp she'd lowered, into the ship.

Crystal half smiled at the boy, "Or something." She closed the hatch behind them and then led him deeper into the ship where she put down the bag of parts on the workbench. She pulled the parts out one by one, setting them gently down in order. "I only need one more piece." She looked at the boy. "To build a lightsaber, I need a crystal. The only place around here to obtain one would be the desert. Want to come?" She had formed an attachment to the boy already.

Crystal nodded. "Good idea, let me check to see if I have any of those." She went over and started rummaging through compartments along the ship's hull. She was surprised when she actually found what she was looking for. There was even a few smaller versions. She frowned slightly. Adonias had been well prepared. A sharp pain shot through her heart. She couldn't believe he was gone. "It's almost night though so let's get some sleep and then head out into the desert. I've found a crystal here before, probably five or six years ago so I know right where to go." She showed the boy the passenger seat that could fold down to a bed and then made herself comfortable in the pilot seat. She could still smell the faint scent of Adonias rising up around her when she sat down, leather and armor polish. She grimaced. This was going to be a long night.

She tossed and turned all night. She could swear that Adonias was right next to her, screaming and accusing her of being a coward and running. She whimpered in her sleep, protesting her innocence. But deep down, she questioned whether she really was maybe a coward. Regret was a stone in the pit of her stomach. When morning came she had hardly slept, purple smudges ringed her eyes and she looked quite bedraggled. Hopefully Eimhin had slept better than she had.