JEDI HoloNet

She stood quietly, peering out the window of the freighter she had grown to call home. She often lost herself in these moments, the darkly lit expanse of space ahead filling her mind with excitement at the unknown. Anticipation takes hold. Her mind awash with possibilities. Unsurprising, given the young girl’s upbringing. Tara had no ordinary childhood. Her time mostly consisted of roaming the halls, playing in the engine room, fiddling with the droids inhabiting the small ship, and accompanying her mother as she traveled from system to system, shipping goods.

Her mother, Anna Mindar, had obtained the freighter, an old VCX-250, early on in her career as a trader, and was particularly proud of it, too. Having risen from a mere street urchin in Coronet city to an owner of a legitimate business, she certainly had something to be proud of. While Tara did not know the full extent of the sacrifices her mother had to make to this point, as no child ever does, she deeply respected her mother and drew strength from her achievements.

“Tara, time for the hyperspace jump!”, her mother’s voice sounded over the ship’s intercom. The young Corellian looked up excitedly. She turned on her heels and rushed forward, “I’ll be right there! Don’t start without me.” Her mother replied, laughter filling the ship, “Hurry up!”. The young girl made her way through the ship’s short, but crowded halls. Dodging a utility droid here, a crewman there… until she found her way to the cockpit. There she saw her mother sitting in the pilot seat with an unfamiliar rodian in the copilot seat.

“Well, look who finally showed up!”, her mother said playfully. “Yeah, well, the ship’s getting a little too crowded now-a-days…”, Tara says flatly, shifting her gaze to the unfamiliar Rodian. He then stands up, offering an exaggerated bow, “Feelo Kvac, at your service little lady.” Tara eyes the Rodian suspiciously, tilting her head to one side. She was used to working with strangers, that wasn’t the problem, it was just something about this one that seemed off. Her mother interjected, “Feelo will be helping us on this job. We’re transporting special cargo this time around, and we could use the extra hands.” The young Corellian offered a soft nod, taking a seat in the back and strapping in. Anna pushed the lever forward, propelling the ship into hyperspace.

Muffled whispers woke Tara from her slumber. “You didn’t tell me we’re dealing with -those- people! They’re dangerous…”, a familiar voice said accusatively. “What did you expect? Its Nar Shaddaa! We’ll make a killing, I promise!”, an unfamiliar voice in a reassuring tone, to which the former retorted, “I’m starting to get tired of your promises…” Her mother had been arguing with the Rodian, it seems. To make matters more concerning, the young Corellian had a sinking feeling in her chest. She had these feelings from time to time, before, usually when matters are about to take a turn for the worst. She had the same feeling before on Tatooine and Duros. She knew she had to keep her eyes peeled for trouble to keep her mother safe, if nothing else.

Shortly after jumping out of hyperspace, the ship made the swift descent into Nar Shaddaa, otherwise known as the Smuggler’s Moon. A hub of scum and villainy, while the Hutts had made their homeworld on Nal Hutta, most commercial and criminal activity was centered on the Moon itself. As the ship descended, past the traffic of speeders and other freighters flocking to the Moon, it banked sharply to the right, finally touching down on a dingy landing pad in one of the lower levels. Tara took her straps off and began to help the other crewmen get ready to disembark and move the cargo out.
Her mother, seeing this, quickly gestured to the young Corellian to come over. She spoke softly, but in a firm tone, “I don’t think I’m going to let you in on this drop.” Tara snarled, “But why- you need me to watch your back out there!” Anna replied, shaking her head whilst smiling, “I need you to stay here and be safe. I’m not completely sure what we’re walking into and I would never forgive myself if you got hurt.” Tara pressed her lips together for a moment, before offering a reluctant nod. Anna took the young girl in a soft embrace before walking down with the rest of the crew. Feelo following shortly, offering the young girl a sly smile before catching up with Anna.

Tara watched quietly for a few moments, before closing her eyes shut as she pondered her course of action. She knew she couldn’t let her mother face what came ahead alone, but what could she do? Her mother wasn’t going to willingly let her join. An opportunity presented itself, however: one of the crates had been left behind. “Go up and get that last one.”, Feelo commanded one of the utility droids. Before the droid could rush up the ramp, Tara had deftly hopped into the crate and closed the lid.

It was a rough ride ahead. The crate dragged down the ramp and then along the dingy landing platform. The young Corellian would have to endure multiple bumps along the way to the crate’s destination. Something the young Corellian did not know. Doubt soon began to seep into her mind, “Was this the right decision?” “I don’t know where I’m going- I might end up somewhere totally different!” “Who knows what these people are- they might sell me to slavers or something!” Thoughts young Tara chose to push aside, hoping she could be of more use to her mother in her anticipated time of need. Finally, they stopped moving, and all fell silent.

A few hours later, she heard multiple muffled voices approaching. She couldn’t make out what was being said at first, but as the voices became closer, she was able to make out her mother’s voice as well as Feelo’s. She couldn’t recognize who the other voices were, however, but she was guessed it was three others. One of the three was particularly loud, likely making demands and pushing her mother and the Rodian around. She pushed up against the lid, attempting to sneak a peak to get an idea of what was happening.
She saw her mother and the Rodian on one side, and
four other men on the other. They were armed with blasters. One of them stood tall above the rest, a man with a massive figure, a bald head and a grim face. “We’ll be taking it all lady, or you and that little bug over there won’t be walking out of here alive.”, the man threatened. “Don’t think you scare me, Jorvus, we had a deal!”, Anna replied. “I’m making a few changes to our deal.”, the man retorted, grabbing hold of his blaster from his belt and pointing it towards Anna and the Rodian. “What’s it gonna be, Huh?”, the man taunts the pair.

Seeing this, Tara jumped out of the crate and charged the man. “Tara, no!”, her mother exclaimed in fear. The man quickly swatted the young girl with the blaster, knocking her out cold. “You bastard!”, Anna lunged at Jorvus, attempting to grab hold of the blaster. He easily tossed her to the side. During the confusion, the Rodian seemed to have slipped away. Jovus then aimed his blaster to Anna’s head, but before he could fire a shot, his blaster was pulled from his hand and a tall hooded figure emerged from the shadows.

The man charged Jovus swiftly, knocking him out cold with a series of strikes. The men remaining on their feet attempted to fire a few shots of their own, but the man ignited his lightsaber, deflecting these shots and knocking them to the ground with a series of non-lethal strikes. With a flick of his wrist, he slashed through their blasters that lay on the ground. The situation seemingly under control, the man lowered his hood, revealing a long white beard contrasted with a thinning head of hair. He deactivated his hilt, taking in a deep breath before taking measure of the situation. “Think again, Jedi!”, Feelo aimed his blaster at the unsuspecting Jedi, revealing himself a traitor. Before he could fire a shot, however, a loud scream filled the room coupled with a telekinetic blast that knocked him off his feet and into the wall behind him. It was the young Corellian girl, leaning forward on the ground, breathing heavily. The Jedi rushed to the girl, grabbing hold of her before she lost consciousness again, exhausted.
She could hear muffled voices around her before her eyes fluttered open. She rubs her eyes as she adjusts to the light, “Mom?”, she says softly. “Tara, you’re awake!”, Anna exclaimed, embracing the young girl. “Wha-what happened?”, Tara asked. The mother, sobbing as she spoke, “I’m so sorry, my dear girl, this was all my fault…” She continued, “But you were so brave, so very brave…”. The aged Jedi, looking from a distance smiled softly before leaving the room.

The Jedi, having introduced himself as Arwen Rorrk, had allowed the young girl and her mother to recuperate at his quarters for the past few days, given the rough ordeal the pair had recently endured. Although the pair seemed happy to be safe for now, Anna knew that they were on borrowed time and needed a plan. She thought she could probably shake their pursuers on her own but did not want to drag her daughter into any of this. She turned to the Jedi and asked for help. Given her previous display, the aged Jedi Knight was all too eager to be of assistance. He saw potential in Tara, and without training and guidance, she was liable to cause more harm than good. He immediately agreed. In the middle of the night, Anna left the Jedi’s hideout, leaving her daughter behind in the hopes of keeping her safe.

The next week or so were even more difficult for the young Corellian, having to cope with feelings of abandonment by her mother and worry over her mother’s whereabouts. However, with the Jedi’s aid, she began to understand her role. The Jedi took her to Ossus to await assignment and there she spent a few more weeks before ultimately being assigned to the re-established enclave at Alzoc III to await evaluation by the Jedi Council, there.