The Wheel
Wheel Administrator Amir Faram sat back in his chair, watching Mara with that intense glare as she told her story. Or rather, not her story - the story of the Four, and her role in it. She needed his trust, and that meant telling everything. Everything she knew about the Prophesy, about the GURI Project, about herself. And about the little boy sitting in the crook of her arm.
"So your telling me that child"
"is the son of Kimber Patten"
"And you have him because she gave him to you? Why would she do that?
"Because I look like Valerie Gellar. Her sister. Plus, I was the only one there"
He nodded
"And what do you want from me, Ms. Gellar?"
"I need a friend. Someone I can trust. And a place I can hide."
"Why do you think that the Wheel is where you can find that? You have a bad history with this place"
"I am not the same person who was an assassin"
"What, reprogrammed?
"No - I just ... I self actualized. I came to life. That's something Medivh taught me"
Faram nodded lazily
"Of course, of course - Medivh was a believer that a machine could live just as well as a flesh and blood being. If given the right stimuli. But still, why the Wheel?"
"I can't go back to Corellia. They have laws there. If I'm found out for what I am, I will be killed. Or be forced to kill. Neither of which is appealing to me right now."
"the prevailing view of droids didn't stop at Corellia's border, Mara. If people at the Wheel find out there is even ONE droid capable of looking human or killing a human, it would have severe repercussions. Your being here is a danger to me and to what's left of the Trade Federation."
"I have nowhere else to go"
"That isn't my problem." He had leaned forward, offering a pointed finger at Mara "We cannot take on refugees, however unique their story is or however sympathetic."
"I don't need to be a refugee. I can earn my keep"
"I don't need an assassin, or a spy or a-"
"I can work as a mechanic. And I work only for room and board"
"And me keeping your secret. Your very recognizable"
"I'll change my appearance. I'll even change my name."
"And if you are injured? I see you now, injured, and any medic will know you aren't human"
"I'll take care of my own injuries, and if it becomes a problem, I'll disapear"
Faram sat back in the chair. he was quiet for several minutes, contemplating before finally nodding.
"Alright. I'll do you this favor. I had better not regret it, Ms. Gellar"
Mara shook her head
"You won't. And it's not Gellar anymore. Let's try Mara Tacofer"
Faram let out a smirk, the first sign that he was anything but stone cold.
"very well, Ms. Tacofer. I expect to see you at work as soon as you have taken care of those .. injuries. i will have an officer arrange for quarters for you. And ... do you know how to take care of that child?"
The question had buzzed around Mara's thoughts for the past several days, but only for the first time had she actually been questioned on it. And she shook her head. Amir Faram rolled his eyes and sighed.
"We have a nurse on the station who will come help you out, and may be able to arrange for some longer term assistance for the boy. Riley Tacofer."
Mara stood, smiling
"Thank you administrator. You will not regret this"
"I had better not"
**************************
A half hour later, Mara was escorted down a nondescript hall, a few levels below the executive suite, but in the central hub.
Passing several doors, each with a keypad, until they reached one at the end of hall. Suite 8573. She was given the entrance code and left to enter for herself.
It was small and plain. The door opened to a small living room with a chair and a holo-monitor. To the left, a kitchen about the size of a turbolift. To the right, a bedroom that had two double beds and a nightstand in between. Beyond that, a refresher, also about the size of the turbolift. Over the bed, a small 1x1 foot window, looking out into a small patch of space.
It was small, but it was home.
***************************
Over the next two days, Mara and Riley adjusted themselves to the new surroundings. Mara chopped down her hair, changing the color to a dirty blonde color. The second double bed was replaced with a crib and a few other baby supplies, including a playpen. And Mara was given her first assignment as mechanic.
One evening, she was holding Riley, smiling down at him a cooing him as she looked around the room. Her room. Oddly enough, for the first time, she had a place of her own.
Again looking down at Riley, she smiled and he smiled back at her.
"It's small, and I'm sure you and I will have a lot to go through. But you know what? You and I - we made it. We're here. We're home.
And we are alive."
