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Chapter 28 Katrina walked freely down the center of the cobblestone street. The majority of the little town appeared to be settled into their dark houses but those that were out to see the masked girl only glanced at her, apparently well used to seeing uniformed students of the boarding school wandering where they should not. “I’m looking for Yagna,” Katrina said boldly to a short, balding humanoid standing half-inside a scarred and worn looking freighter in a back corner of a tiny landing pad. “I’m Yagna,” the creature turned all three of its eyes to look Katrina up and down several times. “Bit young, aren’t you?” “My credits are even younger, does that make them not worth your while?” “As long as payment is received, I don’t care if you squeeze them out your rear.” Katrina nodded once and boarded the ship, taking an extra long time to double-check the safety restraints and to calm her nerves. She had found Yagna and his ship, the Rusty Hornet, through her Zanespot powers but had little actual contact with him. She had arranged passage through a computer terminal at the edges of the town on a previous trip outside the school’s walls, but had not been any further. For a girl who had been to only two worlds before arriving at the school and never had she traveled alone, this was a very big step. Madame Zinkrey would be upset when she realized that Katrina was gone, Tabi would be disappointed in her young friend, and the other Zanespots would most likely be furious, but Katrina was determined to continue with her plan. Yagna had agreed to transport the girl to Nar Shadda where she was scheduled to catch another ride to a moon where she fully expected to find the answer to her most recent concerns. There a doctor sat in his hidden office waiting for his patient, no questions asked. It was on those three words that Katrina placed all of her faith. She had no doubt that she could handle the pilots and any other beings she happened upon if need be, but the doctor’s discretion and greed were most important in the entire scheme. “Ready?” “More than you could know,” Katrina answered simply, leaning her head back and closing her eyes as she felt the engines rumble and sputter to life. “Let me see the credits,” Yagna blinked all three eyes at once and held out a six-toed hand. Katrina jingled a small pouch hidden within a pocket of her school uniform. She was far from trusting enough to show the weathered pilot and one-time mercenary all the credits she had. He grunted in acknowledgment and accepted that she did have the money she had promised. Katrina thought wryly that even if she did not have the payment she could easily touch his mind and make him believe she did, or even that she did not need it. He was simple minded and easily controlled by his emotions, the perfect subject for the Mind Trick. Katrina shook her head slightly at the thought, knowing all too well that to do that would be giving in to the same impulses she criticized in Yagna, and those that had led many Jedi astray. Katrina stiffened as she thought first of Vader’s fall from the Jedi then the senator that had corrupted the boy. Her resolve was once again strengthened by those thoughts and she was able to relax in time to see the stars flash by as the ship entered hyperspace. |
