“We should make our way back toward the city.” I gently shake Marilyn to wake her up so we can get moving. After our conversation she looked exhausted, so we both took time to rest before making the return journey back to the ship. “Are you okay to go?” I ask.

“Yeah,” she says, rubbing her face. She stretches, trying to shake away her tiredness. “How long do you think it will take us to get back to the city?”

“We will be there by nightfall.” She wraps a hooded cloak around herself and slings a sack onto her back. “Where did you get that?” I ask.

“From the Ruiht. It’s a travel pack, I guess you could say. They gave us food and water for our return journey. There’s your cloak,” she says, pointing to the floor next to the bed. I reach down and pull it on, thankful for something to disguise me while we venture into the city. Then, Marilyn leads the way, walking through the corridors of the mountains like she has done it hundreds of times before.

“You know your way around?” I ask.

“Somewhat,” she says. “We’ve been here for many days and you were unconscious for most of them.” She turns back and smiles at me over her shoulder. “I ventured out for short walks when I started to feel stir crazy. And … I think in the beginning I needed to reassure myself that we weren’t being held against our will. They really surprised me in the city. I wasn’t sure if they were there to help us but I figured I had to take a chance. Things worked out in our favor.”

“They certainly did.”

We continue to follow a path that leads upward. Eventually it lightens, revealing daylight outside. I stand next to Marilyn at the entrance to the mountain and look out at the sight before us.

“There,” I say, pointing toward the city. It’s easier to picture the path we need to travel now that we are out from under the mountain — it is too easy to get turned around underground.

“We better go,” I say, “We want to make it to the city before nightfall.”

She lets me take her hand in mine as we begin the next leg of our journey. I’m back in my element now, feeling more like myself. I know the way and I know just the person to find when we get to the city.

Once we reach the bottom of the mountain, the feeling that we’re being watched makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I stop and turn around. Marilyn does the same. Standing outside of the mountain looks to be the entire tribe of Ruiht. Their pale robes almost glow against the backdrop of the grey mountains behind them. They stand still, appearing surreal, giving off the impression of a hallucination until my healer raises his hand into the air, offering a gesture of good-bye.

Marilyn and I both raise our hands as well. It’s hard to turn my eyes away from this sight, almost straight from the dreams of a little boy. But as sure as they were here, the next moment they disappear back into the heart of the mountains, moving like apparitions.

* * *

The market stands are the first thing we see when we reach the vicinity of the city. It’s still busy when we come upon it and I’m grateful when I spot a stand selling some sort of hot food. I know Marilyn has food in her bag, but there’s no harm in offering her something fresh and warm.

“I’ll take the fire-grilled reroya and one pickled oyi,” I tell the man grilling the food. There’s a fire burning in a circular drum where he’s grilling the reroya. The oyi is in jars and easy to transport with us. He hands me the food and I give him the coin. “Do you have anything to drink?”

He grabs a small canteen and fills it with something from a barrel. It looks like a dark ale. When he sets it in front of me I pick it up and sniff it. It is an ale. I hand him another coin and we’re on our way.

Once we pass through more of the stands and walk into the city, I hand Marilyn a piece of the meat. It has cooled down enough for her to hold it without burning her hand. She pops it in her mouth without hesitation and I smile. She has a good appetite. I like that. As soon as she finishes that piece, I hand her another. She continues to nibble on it as we walk through the larger buildings of the city. She’s staying close behind me, following in my footsteps while keeping her head down.

“We’re headed toward a building on the outskirts of town. The man that runs it is my contact. He serves food and drink but offers rooms to stay in upstairs. He’ll be able to help us find someone to fix the ship and we can stay with him, discreetly, until we are able to leave for Lunis Station.”

“I can’t wait,” she says quietly from behind me. “Somehow I’m still exhausted.”

It has been a long trek into the city. We could both use more food and a good night’s sleep.

“We’re not very far away now.”

We walk down an alley off the main road and I see the small sign for Kotrut’s place. It has always had a sketchy look to it. It certainly doesn’t draw the most reputable crowd. I step inside the doorway and look around. There is an umyol sitting at a table by himself in the corner. Otherwise, it’s empty. We walk in and head up to the bar. At first, there’s no one here. After a minute and an exchange of glances with Marilyn, someone comes in from the door behind the bar. My friend and informant, Kotrut.

“Hello, my friend,” I say. “You’re not expecting me, I know. But we need your help.”

He looks us over, his face lighting up with a smile.

He chuckles a big belly laugh. “What brings you back to this shit-dump of a planet?”

He sets two glasses in front of me, filling them to the brim with a cold, golden liquid. It makes my mouth water just looking at it. I take Marilyn’s arm and gently pull her up to the bar next to me. I hand her one of the drinks and take a few huge gulps myself. “We have unexpected ship problems. We need a room for the night and someone to fix our ship. Can you help us?”

“Rooms, I’ve got plenty,” he says. “Plenty of mechanics looking for work too.”

“Let me know when you find someone. I will show them where our ship is located.”

“I can do that for you, my friend.”

He reaches under the bar and pulls out a key, dropping it on the bar in front of me. I grab the key in one hand and carry my drink in the other. I nod at Marilyn to follow me and we make our way toward the stairs. When we reach the top, there are four doors spread out across the landing. Our key is to the first one on the left, which is perfect. We’ll have an excellent view down to the street from our window. I’ll be able to keep an eye out for any unwanted visitors. I unlock the door and we both step inside. It’s a tiny room, not much bigger than a closet, really. But it has a bed, a bath and a fire. What more could we need for one night?

Marilyn walks over to the small table in front of the fire and sits down, setting her drink on the table. “Do you have any more of that meat left from the food stand?” she asks while taking off her cloak. “I’m famished.”

“Yes.” I set our things down on the table. “You’ll have to try this, too. It’s called oyi. Very popular on this planet. One of the few things I make sure to pick up when I’m here on business.”

I open the jar and pull out the long stalk, handing it to her. She takes it and again, without hesitation, takes a bite. “These are similar to pickles on Earth. They’re so good.” She pops the rest of the stalk into her mouth and reaches in the jar for another one.

I sit down at the table and pull off my cloak. The Ruiht have done an amazing job fixing me up but I want to make sure I let the wound breathe so it continues to heal. There is a small jar of balm in Marilyn’s bag. Some sort of ointment to help the wound heal faster than it would on its own.

“Do you need help?” Marilyn asks as I study the white cream and then sniff it.

“No. I’m just curious as to what this is, exactly. It’s nothing I have seen before.”

“I don’t know what it is either, but he applied it to your wound at least once a day. So, I’d say, keep using it.”

I take a small amount from the jar and dab it on my wound. I wince, expecting pain but instead there’s more of a tingling sensation. Once that’s finished, I take another drink of my ale and then turn to the fireplace. There’s wood to make a fire and I’m glad - even though this is a desert planet, it gets really cold at night.

“We should be fine here for one night but I don’t want to linger here longer than we have to. Hopefully Kotrut will be able to find someone to fix the ship quickly so we can be on our way back to Lunis Station.”

“I think that sounds like a great plan,” she says. “From the stories you have told me, I don’t want to stay here longer than necessary, either.”

Marilyn is sitting close to me at the table while we both eat and finish our drinks. There has been a definite shift in our relationship. I couldn’t say exactly when it happened, but we have both saved each other and I have to wonder if the fates are at work, bringing her into my life so suddenly. Maybe I was meant to be the one to rescue her from the Atronox and, in turn, she has rescued me right back. For the first time since the war on our planet ended, she has found a way to thaw my frozen heart. I feel it when I look at her and when she is close to me. As a General with the Force it is my sole job to return Marilyn to her home. After our experiences together, however, I’m beginning to question if I’ll be able to do just that when the time comes.

Trying to shake myself from my thoughts, I lean down and grab a few pieces of wood for the fire. “I’ll get the fire going. It will get cold once the suns go down.”