---

Bocri’s breath brushing against the side of her frozen face was a much-welcomed warmth from the blistering cold that was Kijimi's climate and the twi’lek subconsciously leaned towards the heat he provided. While Hirani was desperate to be out of the cold, the betrayal they had experienced was fresh on her mind and she was weary of the building that stood before her. It was one of many that were the first buildings to outline the city in an attempt to protect the inward inhabitants from the raging snow storms. With her gaze focused on the door, the Jedi slowed her breathing, every exhale producing a fog from her full lips as she slipped into a meditative state. She let go of her physical discomforts and instead focused on the consciousnesses that inhabited the building in front of them.

Hirani gently brushed against the thoughts of the individuals that inhabited the building with a touch so subtle that only those gifted with enough awareness could detect her infringement upon their surface thoughts. They were mostly poor families that had immigrated to the planet, a mixture of choice and unfortunate circumstances, that lived every day counting their credits to have enough to survive. None of the people inside appeared to have thoughts in regards to the two survivors or their circumstances. It would seem word of their predicament hasn’t spread further than the clones that now drifted lifelessly in the infinite vacuum of space.

Hirani came back to herself as she raised a white-gloved fist to knock heavily on the front door. The twi’lek hoped that the landlord would open the door themselves and be able to offer affordable vacancy where they can get out of the cold into a space safe enough for them to brainstorm their next steps. Her knock should have been loud enough to be heard above the howling winds and at any moment the door should open. Turning face toward Bocri, she filled him in on what she had discovered.

”This seems to be a residential building, I can feel many families inside…”

As the last words left her mouth, the front door opened to reveal a human man whose dark brown eyes were focused intently on the two Jedi on the doorstep. A fur-lined hat covered whatever hair he may have had on his head with long flaps that covered his ears from the elements and he wore a heavy unzipped jacket that covered most of his plain unassuming clothes.

"What can I do for you travelers?" his question was weary, filled with suspicion and mistrust for the people in front of him. The galaxy was a cruel enough place for him to be so cautious.

"We are sorry to disturb you, are you the landlord of this building?" Hirani was sincere when she spoke and was making herself appear like a stranded person rather than someone on the run.

"Why do you ask?" the man asked gruffly, crossing his arms and leaning into the doorframe.

"My partner and I had chartered a cargo ship for transport back to Alderaan and some of the ship's parts ended up breaking down along the way so we are stranded on the planet while it is being repaired or we manage to find another ship off-world. It would be at least be a month before we can move on and we were told we could possibly rent an empty room amongst the city's outskirts that would be significantly cheaper than renting rooms closer to port..."

As the Jedi spun their tale, she used the best of her natural persuasive abilities without taping into the force to soften the man to their plight. She didn't like to push her influence on others unless it was absolutely necessary so Hirani got very good at getting what she needed without the use of mystic abilities.

The man scratched at his brown hair underneath his hat as he listened to their story and while he tried not to show it, his features softened a bit as he absorbed everything the twi'lek had to say. A man who ran a building for families to rent couldn't be so cold-hearted as he tried to appear.

"Well, come inside from the cold. It sounds like you've already had your fair share of problems and by the looks of it, you're freezing in those shitty emergency suits they let you borrow to come out here. Cheap merchant bastards. I can rent you a room and can put you two on a monthly renewable lease while you wait for your way off-planet. I don't entirely trust you, so your rent will be due the first day of every month and if you leave before the month is up, you're not getting refunded any credits." As he spoke to them, he moved from the doorway to let the two Jedi into the building and into the warmth it provided.

While the interior was plain and made of the most affordable material that could be found, it was well maintained and the halls appeared to be cleaned regularly. The man in front of them seemed to take a lot of pride in his building and likely wouldn't take well to anyone who tried to disturb his business. As they walked and climbed the four flights of stairs to reach the top floor, he explained the general rules of the building that would be easy enough for the pair to follow as they definitely wouldn't be looking to draw attention to themselves with loud noises, destruction of their apartment, or suspicious comings and goings from the building.

"This room was recently vacated, so I can let you two use it for your short-term stint before finding a permanent resident to take it since you don't plan on sticking around. My name is Kodo and you can find me in apartment one on the first floor." As he spoke, the man slid a keycard into the door of the last room on the top floor. The metal plaque screwed into the door read '28' in bold black numbers. The door lead into the living space that shared an open floor plan with the kitchen and dining space. Towards the back right of the room were two doors that must have led to the bathroom and single bedroom. "I'll leave you two to take a look around, but you'll probably want to get yourselves a few furnishings to make yourselves comfortable. When you're ready to do so I can give you the name of the guy I give abandoned furniture to and maybe he'll cut you a deal. He's pretty good for a Rodian..."

The man trailed off at the end of his sentence, looking like he wanted to ask more questions now that he saw the pair in better lighting but Hirani could see he was familiar with keeping such questions to himself when it came to newcomers. Instead, he reached out to give her the keycard since she had spoken for the pair. "Here's your key card. It will let you through your room and the front door only."

The twi'lek gently took the extended card with a purple hand and thanked the man for allowing them the use of the room. He gave both Jedi the full weight of his gaze before giving them a short nod and leaving them to their own devices in the empty room. Kodo must have been content with whatever he saw in them.

Bocri Sauburc

---

Bocri had not bothered to speak at all during the climb up the narrow stairs that smelled faintly of some kind of urine. He was utterly exhausted; his biological body was suffering as his mechanical body had begun to slow and freeze from the intense cold outside. The survival suits were meant to keep you alive while you sheltered in place, not hike across frozen tundra. Whoever had been contracted to supply the suits to the Republic Navy had cut every possible corner and, if things hadn't taken such a life threatening turn, he certainly would have lodged a complaint when they got back to Coruscant.

The glance Kodo gave them was likely well deserved. A black human cyborg and a purple skinned Twi'lek were certainly a rare sight on a planet like this and very likely to draw some attention if they stayed to long. It was possible that Kodo had never even had tow tenants who looked like they did and he was certainly going to mention it, if not to any family, than to any drinking buddies he might have. Betrayal for the moment was unlikely, but things could change in a moment when hunters arrived and money flashed about. He had done it often enough himself when hunting enemies of the Republic.

The unit was at least clean, the sharp smell of disinfectant still vaguely noticeable. They would certainly need some furniture, that was of no doubt; the lone bed would fit both of them if they got cozy but someone would have to stand guard. It would be foolish to escape the ship only to get captured or killed while napping. He longed to collapse facedown on the bare mattress but showing any sort of weakness in front of their new landlord would be foolish.

Kodo left with a final once over and the door closed behind him, leaving the two Jedi to stare at each other in the painfully bright white room. Hirani looked as tired as he did; he reached out a hand to help her pull the hood off her head tails. He wanted badly to peel off his own suit but until they replaced it with something more suitable there was no point. They had little in the way of food, only survival rations, their lightsabers, and he had a blaster he'd taken from the hanger. A couple hours sleep and meditation would see them restored enough to continue their escape.

Already he was considering options on how to try and contact the Jedi Council and make them aware that the two had survived. The truth was, and he would have time to unpack the emotions later, he had no idea what had happened or why. The basics of "Our troops tried to kill us" was obvious enough. The the why. That was going to drive him crazy for days. The pain they'd both felt throughout the force was another question. How many had died? Where? How? All questions that would need to be answered in the days to come.

"I reckon one of us should sleep." He said at length before looking down at his mechanical hand and flexing it slowly. "I need to make sure this thing isn't busted up to badly, so why don't you sleep first?"

It was a suggestion, not an order. The two had been partners a long time and they had never quarreled. His mechanical eye, the red having been dimmed in the hallway outside now brightened slightly as he swept it over the unit. No hidden electronics or other items jumped out while he conducted the scan and he felt his shoulders sag slightly in relief.

"I think our new landlord might even be honest. It seems safe enough for the time being but we'll need to move in a few hours if we want to get off world before more Clones arrive to lock things down." It would have been better to leave at once, but they didn't know the city, no transports would be leaving at this hour, and it would seem mighty suspicious for them to turn up in their survival suits, no matter how clever the ruse. Plus, exhaustion was going to hit hard and sleep would be important until they could find somewhere else to go.