Even without being able to see, I could feel the moment the Shuttle passed through the void shields of the Shipyard's cargo bay, there was an odd pulling at the energy of my mana core. Not the most wonderful of sensations, it felt like when two strongly opposed electromagnetic fields come into contact, and being forced together. But with wildly different results, since I wasn't throw half way across the sector. While no noticeable damage was done, going through this feeling every time I needed to dock with a station would be rough. Maybe I could get used to it after being exposed to void shield a few more times.

  The shuttle nded with a resounding thump. The block shaped vessel probably hadn't had its repulsors tuned in ages. Or maybe the primary grav field feed was going out. I started thinking bout how to fix the cargo shuttle. A pleasant distraction from the stress of entering a completely new environment.

  The voice of the captain rang out over the intercom. "Alright, get up and get your things. Large goods will be pced in the unloading zone next to the shuttle. You'll have a couple of hours grace to figure out a different storage option, otherwise they'll impound your stuff. That's an extra 500 credit fee per ton you don't want to deal with, so hurry up." That was the bored voice of a being that has done this a million times before, and expected to do it again a few million more.

  Pal and I rose from our seats, and the other passengers did the same. In my agitation over dealing with crowds I'd deliberately avoided paying too much attention to the others. Learning about basic ship navigation and piloting on my datapad during the flight. Still I couldn't help but notice that most of them were human. An oddity, I'd heard that before the Colpse, humans might have been the majority individual sentient popution in the gaxy. Perhaps they had been but most current records showed that this wasn't true any more.

  In fact, Twi'leks, Togruta and of all beings Wookiees had grown to fill a lot of the popution gaps on many of the still connected worlds. Hutt had done much to ensure that species they had the most control over did well. Human weren't one of those groups. Even the paranoid Bothan specie far outnumbered humans in the new order of the Gaxy.

  On Tatooine itself, humans were perhaps dead st of any stable popution. Near Rekarsh humans while certainly the minority, weren't so rare that anyone would think much about seeing someone like me. However, you'd never see a dozen humans in the same space at the same time. So why were 14 humans traveling as a group? Why were they so obviously nervous? Escaped sves maybe? If so, more power to them, I hoped they killed their Master on the way out.

  There was only one that wasn't jittery and she actually scared me. She had the same look, feel and stalking movements of a well seasoned bounty hunter, that same hair trigger ready to fire aura. Her robes were nondescript, standard desert fittings, but somehow her generous curves were still apparent, and in no way made me think she was less deadly for having them.

  Though she'd raised the hood of her robes I met her eyes, her deep green eyes and froze. That was the cold hard look of perfect calcution, something I'd only seen in the very worst of beings. From that single look she already knew more about me, than my own parents, Koples or anyone but myself, and I'd give her better than even odds on that. I'd never felt so exposed by simple eye contact, and I certainly I didn't like it.

  Pal rested a hand on my shoulder gently forcing me to break eye contact. As my eyes turned towards him I caught a glimpse of her hair peeking out from her hood, it was bright red, and if natural, a most unusual color for a human, at least in my limited experience. I could sense Pal was more than aware of her and was on guard.

  He really was the best droid I could've ever found, but I didn't want him to have to deal with this woman. I didn't know if he could, she felt that dangerous.

  Fortunately, it seemed she wasn't interested in us, and her group left the shuttle quickly. I waited another minute before moving just to create some distance between us. I wanted nothing to do with anyone like that.

  "Master, I long to battle than woman!" Pal's crion voice rang out in the cabin. He clenched a fist and shook toward where the woman had been, an oddly human gesture.

  I turned to stare at the droid incredulously. Maybe droids could be insane. "Pal, let's not tempt fate. Please just try to avoid notice, until we have more firepower, okay?"

  Pal slumped the slightest amount, "Alright, Master." He sounded like a scolded child. Maybe I should have another look at his personality matrix. His overly brash nature might get us killed someday.

  We exited the brick shaped shuttle into the docking area of the Shipyard's Cargo Bay. It was several square kilometers of enclosed metallic walls full of ships and crates and droids moving crates. I wasn't prepared for the sheer size of the cargo bay, I expected it to be much smaller. Various beings, some of which I'd never seen the likes of before, were moving about ciming their goods or shuffling towards the customs desk at the main exit of the bay. Ships were coming in or going out at a steady pace.

  I saw that my speeder and trailer were already unloaded in the area next to our shuttle. I walked over to retrieve Red and X4. I'd likely need them both in order to find what we needed. H-E would watch over the speeder until we figured out were we'd be storing it. Thankfully I'd toned down his vocoder so his acknowledgement didn't startle anyone.

  Now that I was reunited with the rest of my droids, I felt a little more confident. We worked our way to the customs area, weaving our way through the nearly endless stream of droids and hover carts moving thing around. Going at a slow pace, to let that woman get far ahead of us.

  I wish I could say that dealing with the officials of the Shipyards was easier, or less full of grist. But no, it was the exact same greed den experience I was so familiar with. I obtained a ship permit, a temporary resident permit, a ship and storage lot rental in ship dock 37, all the way across the Shipyards from here, almost 1200 kilometers away. A thankfully small shipping fee for moving the speeder trailer and H-E to my newly rented lot. A little bit of grist to smooth the processes, and keep everything moving properly. And finally an air usage tax, levied against all citizens css three and under. I supposed to show us we were a waste of air, and had to pay for the privilege of breathing.

  Thousands of credits poorer, and grumbling about money grubbing bureaucrats, I exited the Cargo Bay into the main thoroughfare of the Shipyards. The air was slightly stale, and had a truly bizarre mixture of odors. Something the pnts lining the paths did little to mitigate. this space was every bit as hectic as the Cargo Bay, with all manner of beings going about their business. Then I stopped dead in my tracks.

  The ceiling, 6 meters above us, was made of some transparent material. With the Shipyards tilled away from the pnet, I had my first true view of the empty vastness of space. It was stunning. I could feel the endless possibilities calling out to me. Freedom, true freedom, was so close I could smell it. I could feel something new to me welling up from some primal part of my mind. Something giddy to be so close to home.

  "Master, we should keep moving." X4 broke me out of my revelry. It was good they were here to keep me on task.

  "Yes, of course." I murmured, and let my droids usher me away, before anyone noticed my strange behavior.

  We made our way to one of the many nearby public terminals, navigating our way through the crowds. Red quickly worked his slicing magic to compile a list of the best ships currently for sale. I worked my way through the list, pouring over the stats of every option. I was probably standing there for more than an hour, absorbing data, comparing choices. Then I found it, the best ship avaible for my current needs.

  The YT-2400.

  Matuscarantos