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Azai watched as two figures exited the store ahead of her. One was a Pau’an, wearing dark armour with the Imperial crest on it. The other was a red-skinned woman, a species Azai had never seen before, wearing simple dark robes and carrying a basket full of items that resonated with the Force. She sensed satisfaction in the Pau’an and conflict in the woman.
Azai was glad she’d heeded the warning in the Force when approaching the store. She'd heard rumours about these people; Imperial Force-users who hunted Jedi. And while Azai wasn't a Jedi herself, she was still a light side Force user, and she doubted they would care for the difference
She waited until the two Imperials were gone, and then quickly slipped inside. She froze as soon as she saw the scene in the store.
An IG droid was lying on the floor in pieces. The damage was clearly done with a lightsaber. A tooka was sniffing at the oil that had leaked from the droid parts. A second tooka jumped on the counter and started mewing at Azai. There was a stench of death in the Force.
A nasty feeling settled in Azai’s stomach. Something had gone very wrong here. The store owner, Gamodar, was nowhere to be found, and she couldn’t sense him in the Force either.
Azai quickly hurried past the droid remains to the stairs at the back of the store. The tooka from the counter followed her. As she ran down the stairs, she almost tripped over a third tooka.
She came to a skidding halt in the basement. Gamodar was there. Dead.
The Ortolan was lying on the ground, a cauterized hole gaping in his chest. A lightsaber wound.
Azai knelt next to the dead shopkeeper and put a hand on his soft, blue skin. “May the Force guide your path, old friend,” she murmured. One of the tookas pushed its head against her. Another let out a mournful mew, pushing against the leg of its former owner, as if willing him to come back to life. It broke Azai’s heart to watch. She reached out and petted the cat.
Eventually, she stood up again and glanced around the room. Gamodar’s safe, where he kept most of his valuable items, had a hole cut in it. When she entered, she found it was almost empty. A few worthless items were still scattered around, but anything of value, including Jedi and Sith artefacts, had been taken.
“Bastards,” Azai muttered, remembering the basket of items she’d seen the woman carrying out. A part of her wished she had stopped them, but she also knew that would have amounted to suicide. She'd only had limited combat training, so she wouldn't stand a chance against them. Plus, it would have exposed her to the Empire, something she absolutely couldn't risk.
One of the tookas ran towards her and jumped against her leg. Azai lifted it up and petted it until it started purring. “I’m sorry for your loss,” she murmured. The cat perhaps did not understand her words, but it understood their meaning, which she projected towards it through the Force. It snuggled a little closer against her.
Something called to her through the Force. Although calling was perhaps not the right word. It was more like a signature. One only detectable by those with the unique training to recognise it. Fortunately, Azai had that training. She walked around the safe and found an unsuspecting drawer. She opened it, revealing a small purple crystal.
"At least you had the sense to keep this separate from the rest," she murmured to the dead Ortolan. When compared to other crystals, this little kyber crystal might have seemed insignificant. But if the Imperials had found it and figured out where it originated from... Azai shuddered at the thought of Imperial Star Destroyers looming over Synypar. The planet might have had some sort of protection in the Force, but she wasn't so sure that would stop the Emperor if he discovered its existence.
Now, Azai had to leave. There was a chance that, at any moment, someone could walk into the store and discover what had happened. If the authorities came, Azai didn't want to be around, especially if those authorities were Imperial. Those Jedi-hunting Imperials were still on the planet, and they could easily catch her if they caught on to her presence.
Azai swiftly put the crystal away and walked back to the stairs, only pausing next to Gamodar's body, where the other two Tookas were still mewing sadly against his corpse. Again, Azai's heart bled for them. It was terrible to lose a family member like that, especially one who had taken care of you your whole life. Azai could relate. She tried to imagine what was next for the cats. Perhaps someone would adopt them, or perhaps they'd be put in a cage somewhere and forgotten.
She hesitated, then came to a decision. "Come," she said to the cats, holding out an arm. One of the two looked up and then climbed up her arm. The other followed a moment later.
...
Azai released the tooka-cats as soon as the ramp of her ship closed behind her. It had been a strange walk, holding three full-grown cats while also trying to avoid other people on the street.. There was no doubt the people living here knew of Gamodar's cats, and she didn't want to deal with any questions. The less attention she drew, the better.
The cats immediately scattered throughout the ship. One ran through the opening to the living room, and another ran towards the cockpit. The third one started scratching at a door leading to one of the two bedrooms.
"No, you can't go in there," Azai said to the cat as she gently pushed it away from the door, towards the living room. "Follow your friend." The tooka looked at her and let out a questioning mew. Azai smiled. "Go on."
There was a loud clang from the cockpit. Azai immediately left the tooka alone and hurried towards it. As soon as she entered, she noticed the other tooka clamped to the copilot's chair, with wide, frightened eyes. Azai quickly checked and was relieved to see nothing serious had gone wrong. Apparently, the tooka had walked over the dashboard and accidentally hit a button that made the steering column collapse. The screen next the column had a bunch of random numbers typed on it; apparently, the cat had walked on that as well.
She picked up the tooka. "Let's keep you out of the cockpit, shall we?" she murmured, carrying the tooka to the living room. There, she saw that one of the other two cats had settled in on the couch. The other was scratching at a small cabinet that formed part of the kitchen. As soon as it spotted Azai, it let out an almost desperate mew.
"You hungry?" Azai asked, setting down the cat she was holding on the couch. It immediately jumped off and joined its friend at the cabinet. Both of them started mewing towards her with pleading eyes. The moment the third one realised what its friends were doing, it also joined.
"Alright, alright," Azai laughed. "I'll be right back." She left the living room and entered one of the two bedrooms. This was her spare bedroom; she slept in the other. Over time, it had slowly turned into a small storage space.
Azai returned to the living room carrying a bag of cat food. She took a large bowl and filled it up. "You guys are lucky I had just decided to buy some food for the lothcats back home," she murmured to the cats, as they settled in to eat.
...
Comet, straight ahead.
Azai slightly adjusted the course, avoiding any potential collision. Nothing else appeared for several minutes.
Black hole, slightly to portside. Maybe not dangerous, but better avoid it.
Red dwarf, straight ahead.
Red giant, slightly above.
Small nebula, no danger.
Trippling feet, right behind her.
White dwarf, almost straight ahead, at a slight angle.
Tail in her face.
Wait, what?
Azai was so suddenly distracted she almost didn't notice the Force warning her about another red dwarf. She quickly pulled the ship of hyperspace and opened her eyes.
"Mew?"
One tooka had settled itself on the headrest of her chair, right above her head. Azai couldn't help but smile. "Not now," she said gently. "I'm trying to get us home."
In response, the cat started purring. Azai laughed. "Alright, you win. I needed to call my father anyway."
As she grabbed her commlink, she noticed another tooka approaching. She tilted her head. "You too?"
The cat did not respond. Instead, it jumped on her lap and rolled up into a ball. Azai looked around, but the third one was nowhere to be found. She activated the commlink, dialled a number, and waited for it to connect.
It took several minutes, but then the hologram of an older man appeared. "Azai," he acknowledged as soon as he recognised her.
"Dad," Azai answered. "I've got some bad news."
Her father inclined his head. "What kind of bad news? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Azai said, right as one of the tookas slapped its tail into her face. She quickly pushed it away before continuing. "It's Gamodar. He's dead."
Her father frowned. "Gamodar? The trader?" he asked. Azai nodded. He lowered his head. "May the Force guide your path, friend," he whispered, so softly Azai could barely hear it.
There was silence. Azai didn't dare break it. She knew her father had worked with Gamodar for years. After what felt like forever, he spoke again. "How did he die?"
"Imperials killed him," Azai answered. "Force sensitives. They killed him with a lightsaber."
"Inquisitors," her father muttered.
"What?"
"The Emperor's new Jedi hunters. They're called Inquisitors," he explained. "They hunt down anything related to the Jedi."
"Huh," Azai frowned. "I never heard of them."
A sigh. "That's because the others ignored my warning, as usual."
"I don't get it. You risk your life for our order every day, and they don't even care to take you seriously?"
He shrugged. "I can't really blame them, I suppose. If I found out another was working with the Sith I'd be suspicious too. But for things like this, it is inconvenient." He thought for a second. "But if you report on this, then perhaps they will have to take it more seriously."
"I'll do my best, Dad," Azai promised, right as another tooka tail flew into her face.
There was a chuckle from the hologram. "I see you got some additional passengers."
"Gamodar's tookas," Azai elaborated. "I couldn't just leave them there."
Another chuckle. "Of course, you couldn't. I shouldn't be surprised. You're like your mother. What are you gonna do with them? Seems hazardous to keep them on board."
Azai nodded. She'd already thought about that. "I'm taking them back to Lothal. I'm sure old Zokka won't mind a couple more cats running about her library."
"I'm sure she won't," her father agreed. "That old lady can't stop adopting loth-cats. I'm sure a couple of orphaned tookas won't be an issue. Maybe the young Thrad will also like them."
"I'm sure she will," Azai said.
"Anything else?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm now headed back to Lothal. I'll contact you again later."
"Very well. May the Force guide your path, daughter."
"And may it guide yours, Dad."
A final nod. "Skotei out," and the hologram flickered off.
...
"Ah, there's my favourite treasure hunter!" a cheerful old Pantoran greeted Azai as she entered the library.
"Good to see you too, Zokka," Azai said as she made her way through the rows of bookshelves, carrying a full basket. Above her, she could hear various sets of feet tripping over the catwalks.
"So, how have you been?" Old Zokka asked as Azai lowered the basket on a table.
"I'm doing well," Azai answered. "Just been travelling across the galaxy, you know, as always."
"Still flying that old TH-04?"
Azai nodded. "It's served me well."
"Are you sure you don't want to switch to one of the newer models?" Zokka suggested. "There is a reason why ships without navicomputers were discontinued. Too dangerous."
Azai shook her head. "Not really. I like the challenge."
"Whatever you say, then," the old Pantoran shrugged. "Now, show me what you brought." Azai opened the basket, revealing three sleeping tookas. Old Zokka's eyes went wide with surprise. "Oohhh, those are cute!"
The first Tooka woke with a yawn as Azai lifted it out of the basket. "Their owner recently died, and I wanted to give them a place where they'll be loved."
"Oh, they will be loved," Zokka smiled as she lifted the second cat out of the basket. "They will fit right in among the rest."
"Mew?" The third cat stood up in the basket and gave Azai a questioning look.
"Go on," Azai it an encouraging smile, "you're home now." She patted the cat, and it started purring.
"I'm sure that's not the only reason you're here," Zokka said, as they watched the cats, one by one, jump off the table and disappear between the bookshelves.
"Yeah, there's more." From her pocket, Azai took out the purple crystal. "Gamodar recently died, and he had this in storage." Zokka took over the crystal and studied it more closely. "The Empire didn't find it, but I couldn't risk it falling into any other hands," Azai continued.
"Indeed," Zokka murmured, closing her eyes in deep concentration. "Well done, Azai," she said after several minutes. "This is indeed a Shadow Guardian crystal. If the Empire had gotten its hands on it, it could have been disastrous."
"I think this might also be why Gamodar contacted my father," Azai continued. "He said he had something important to sell. When I got there, the Imperials had killed him and looted his vault. This was all I could find."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Zokka patted Azai on the shoulder. "From what your father told me, he was a good person."
"Thanks," Azai whispered.
"Now," the old pantoran clasped her hands together after a few moments. "Is that all?"
"There is more," Azai said. "I'll bring the rest of the items I found during my trip later."
"Very well," Zokka nodded. "Thank you, Azai."
As she walked back to the exit of the library, she could hear the mewing of the Tookas she'd brought, mixed with those of the Lothcats already living here. It brought a smile to her face. She'd been too late to help Gamodar. But at least she found some comfort knowing she'd helped his cats.