Chapter 2

Cire, a battle-scarred Weequay, sat down with his tray of mush before him. He grunted unpleasantly to the prisoner to his right and the Verpine twittered at him angrily but walked away leaving the space for Luap.

Luap was a Klaatu, and a large one at that. His dark scaled green skin was covered in the dust from digging away at the mines far below where he rested now. His hands were cracked and calloused from his hard work but he knew his efforts would pay off.

Cire’s hands looked similar to Luap’s. Except his flesh was a rusty brown colour and where Luap had no hair, Cire had long braids down his back, now matted and coated in dust.

The two friends sat down and at their meal silently. Across from them sat the perspiring H’Tes, their Jedi Master friend and the one the were working so hard to protect. Three years ago Cire and Luap were sentenced to work the mines of Kessel because they had a run in with a Nemodian Senator known as Nute Gunray. The Nemodian had them arrested and imprisoned almost immediately and since then, the two childhood friends had been slaving away at digging up spice.

Finally a little over two years ago, a small Aleena was dragged in, he had been severely beaten and was close to death, but he had a drive to live. Cire and Luap nursed him back to health, mostly because they had nothing else to do except mine spices. The two of them had earned a weeks worth of medlab time where they tended to the wounded prisoners. During that time, they became friends with the Aleena who turned out to be a most powerful Jedi Master.

So powerful, that he could see past the layers of rock above them and far into space where the ship graveyard orbited them. After a discussion occurred, the three agreed to forge an escape plan.

For the past two years, Cire and Luap had been working harder than the other prisoners so H’Tes could focus on the Force and build them a ship.

Cire finished off his last mouthful of grub. Luap licked his plate clean, like he always did, and then he lifted H’Tes onto his back and the three friends got into the line up that would march them back down to the mine shafts where they would work like dogs for the next several hours until supper chow. Every day was the same, but every day brought these three friends more hope, hope that one day soon, their ship would be ready and they would escape to freedom.