Alrighty, thank you for your wonderful, helpful reviews, Anne! So, this one took me a while to edit. And I hope it was worth it. It was...to say the least...difficult for me to write...and you will find out why. I feel a comradery to my characters anyway...and...well. Just read!

Enjoy.

Chapter Two

Therista sighed as she gently closed the book. After Meagan had left to attend the Jedi Council meeting, she had resumed her reading. She had finished now and was about to look for another piece of reading material when she heard the barely audible sound of the apartment doors sliding open. She assumed it was Meagan, returning, and went to greet her.

Unfortunately, when she saw who it was, she was not so happy. Instead of Meagan, a man stood in the doorway. He had a dark cloak on that almost completely veiled his face in shadow. But she could see that his chin was red with black tattoos…or vice versa. She bit her lip and tried to run, but suddenly, she felt an invisible hand clutching at her shoulder.

She screamed, trying to escape its grip…but to no avail. She couldn't hear him at all…he was as silent as Meagan. Was he a Jedi? No…Jedi didn't wear such garb. She screamed again, hoping someone was close enough to hear her. Just as soon as she did, he was suddenly right behind her and he had clamped a gloved hand over her mouth. His other hand had a firm hold on her arm.

When he spoke, his voice was dark and had an evil ring to it, "You won't make a sound. You are coming with me…without a fuss. Or I will kill you."

She couldn't help but give in to his wishes. Being kidnapped was better than being dead. At least Meagan would have a chance to rescue her this way. She stopped squirming and felt his grip on her loosen. He removed his hand from her mouth and gave a firm tug at her arm to get her to move.

She walked silently, with her eyes cast downward. She knew that the few residents who were wandering the halls were looking at her in confusion. They'd never seen her leave her apartment except to get supplies. She kept her tears in…because somehow she knew that if one of the residents sensed that she was in danger and tried to help her…then her captor would kill them and there would be no one to give Meagan any leads. Therista had never dealt with this situation before but she wasn't stupid. If Meagan was going to be able to rescue her, she would need all the help she could get. And Therista knew that making her captor mad would only make matters worse.

Due to their quick pace, it hadn't taken them very long to reach the garage on the top floor. A twinge of hope entered Therista's mind. Hope that maybe, just maybe, Meagan had gotten back right then. But when she didn't see Keith's speeder, her heart sank.

Her captor's speeder was located just near the exit. He helped her into it; luckily he didn't seem to want to hurt her…just yet. Then he hopped inside and prepared to take off. A guard was standing nearby and walked up to question the captor. He asked to see his identification number.

She glanced over when she heard the dark voice again, "You're going to go home and forget everything that happened today."

Surprisingly, the man only nodded and promptly left . Strange…those guards never let anyone who wasn't a resident out of the garage unless they made sure they had seen valid identification. She couldn't deny that she was more frightened than she could ever remember. This clearly wasn't a man to be trifled with.

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Meagan promptly said good-bye to Keith and left the garage. She didn't stop for supplies as she normally did. Instead, she went straight back to the apartment. She needed to meditate again and clear her mind.

When she entered the apartment, it was quiet. Normal. She walked to the den to let Therista know she was back. However, Therista wasn't there. Her book sat on the window seat, closed.

Deciding that she must have taken a walk,, Meagan left the apartment to look for her. She walked up to the Twi'lek who rented the apartment next door. He often sat in the hallway with an assortment of rare items to sell to passers by. He smiled eagerly when she approached. Obviously, he was hoping she would purchase one of his offered items.

She put her hand up before he could speak. "I am not here to buy anything. There is a much more important matter at hand. Have you seen Therista, the brown-haired girl who lives next door?"

His smile only grew, "I could tell you…for a price."

She scowled and sighed inwardly. Quite frankly, she hated using the Jedi mind trick but obviously, she had no choice. Quickly, she waved her hand in front of his eyes and repeated her question…only making it a statement this time. "You will tell me if you have seen Therista."

His smile faded and he nodded, "Yes. She left the apartment with a black-cloaked man."

No. That was impossible. She assumed she had heard wrong. "Are you certain?"

A scowl appeared on his face, "My eyes do not lie!"

She nodded and let him be. A black cloak was usually associated with a sith…but she could be wrong. She hoped she was wrong, for Therista's sake. Sith were incredibly dangerous beings. Quickly, she made her way to the pilot's apartment.

The blonde man answered the door, looking somewhat surprised. He was only wearing his pants and his hair, which he was rubbing with a towel, was wet. "What's up?"

She did her best not to worry him. Keith had brought Therista to the Jedi Council, unsure of what else to do. He wouldn't speak of where they came from but Meagan had sensed that he was very close and loyal to Therista. If Meagan told him the elements of the situation, she knew it could hurt him and his feelings would get in the way. He would become useless, or worse…a danger to himself. "I require your assistance."