Summary: After making a hasty exit from The Wheel, Izuku and Aayla are left needing to decide what to do with their 'prize' and where to go next...

Chapter 10: A New Destination

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It had been surprisingly easy to escape The Wheel. Mostly, that was the result of the fact that Aayla was apparently a pyromaniac. Though she was a pyromaniac in denial. She insisted it had been reasonable to set the cargo bay on fire behind them as they retreated with the hoversled. Izuku wanted to know why she'd even had a set of incendiary grenades on her in the first place. He certainly hadn't known she had them! Regardless of how or when she acquired them, the use of those grenades to set small portions of the bay on fire ten seconds after they left it, had caused enough chaos for them to abscond unmolested with the hoversled. If they'd intended to stay on station, it probably would have been a bad idea. As it was, they'd managed to load the crate containing the Jebble Box aboard their ship and skedaddle off station before anyone had linked them to the fire. Though, it probably would be wise to avoid The Wheel for a while...

Of course, now they had to figure out both what to do about the box, and where they were headed next. Which is why they'd stopped two short, random jumps away from The Wheel and were floating in a system with no name, just a number designation. Their pilot droid was keeping an eye on things, while the two of them had gone to the cargo area and pried open the crate. Which…revealed another box, though one that was clearly more than just random storage, with only a single hinge that looked like it would rotate the entire 'lid' up lengthwise. They stared at it for long moments, both of them getting feelings of both importance and unease through the Force. Finally, Aayla cleared her throat.

"Is it just my half-faulty abilities acting up…or does that thing read like some sort of blank in the Force?"

Izuku frowned, still needing to wall off the rampant information flow from the Force rather than 'reach out to it,' more often than not. Moment to moment, it simply fed him too much information to do anything with, that information just flowing into him constantly, rather than him needing to go to it like seemed to be the case for Aayla. Carefully lowering his mental shields and focusing on the box…his frown deepened. Aayla was right, and yet wrong as well. He wasn't getting any information at all on whatever was in the box. But he was getting plenty about the box. Which was more than a little disconcerting. Psychometry hadn't been in his skill set before arriving in this galaxy, after all.

"It's some kind of stasis chamber."

Aayla looked at him blankly, so that was apparently not a normal thing for her, either. Good to know, he guessed.

"I'm not getting anything about what, or who, is inside it. But the Force is telling me a bit about the box itself? It's old, unimaginably old. Created for evil, yet containing both evil and good? What is this thing? Pandora's Box?"

From the expression on her face and the feel of her emotions over their link, he could tell Aayla's confusion amplified with every word.

"Pandora? No, it's the Jebble Box."

Izuku snorted.

"Sorry, the Pandora's Box thing is a legend from my world. About a box that was opened due to human curiosity, letting all the evils of the world out...yet at the bottom of the box was left just one thing, hope. Or something like that, anyway. I'm probably paraphrasing too much, and it's not really important anyway. The feel of both great good and great evil being contained inside just reminded me of the myth."

At least some of the confusion cleared from Aayla's face at the explanation, though her next question stumped them both.

"So, do we open it? Also, how do we open it? I kinda doubt no one has tried before."

"I…think I could open it? There's a sort of impression about how to do that. But I'm not sure we should." Izuku paused, then shook his head. "No, I'm fairly sure were shouldn't. Not without backup or knowing more about what this thing is…or who is inside it, maybe."

Reaching for the crate lid with his telekinesis, Izuku lifted it and put it firmly back on the crate.

"That, however, brings the more important question of what to do next. Do we follow up on this thing? Maybe use it as your ticket to reintroduction to the Jedi? Or do we follow up on the…other research you were doing?"

Aayla was shaking her head before her even half finished.

"No way to the first part. I just got a horrible chill down my spine when you suggested taking this thing to the Jedi. Like something horrible would happen if we did. I think we need to research it before that."

She hesitated, then pushed on.

"And, as important as it feels to figure it out, I really want to see about getting this collar and belt off." She blushed for a moment, turning away slightly. "I mean, I might not mind some things that come with them, exactly. But they are seriously limiting where we can travel, you know?"

Izuku blinked, then blushed himself as he realized what things she was referring to. He cleared his throat and did his best to ignore his bloodflow redirecting itself firmly southward.

"Ah…then what did you find out about possible solutions? You said you'd found something back on the station, but didn't have time to tell me what, given everything else going on."

Aayla took a deep breath, her blush fading a bit as she focused on the question.

"Right. Um, so you remember me saying that we needed to either find out the details about my accessories, or else risk a slicer?"

She paused for Izuku to nod confirmation, then continued.

"Well, I found out a bit of the first and got a useful lead on the second. The collar is apparently a pretty standard-use model in Hutt Space, though it's a high-security model that would definitely result in 'bits of Aayla' all over the place if we tried to cut it off. The chastity belt I couldn't find a single damn thing about, unfortunately. I think it might even be some sort of custom piece?"

Aayla wrinkled her nose at that, then sighed.

"That was all I could find out, detail wise. But I got lucky and got the name of a reputable slicer that's apparently part of some sort of anti-slavery 'underground hyperlane.' She does other stuff too, as a cover, but most of her work is apparently removing collars and disabling implants from slaves that somehow manage to escape. At the very least, she should be able to remove the collar…"

Izuku could feel the sudden, roiling uncertainty coming from Aayla. It was such a confused mess of different fears and hopes that he couldn't possibly sort them all out, despite their bond. Fear of him backing out on his promise to help free her. Conflicting fear of him leaving her behind once he fulfilled it. Those two, mixed with a mess of weaker hopes and fears that he couldn't sort out. Instinctively, he didn't respond verbally, somehow knowing that wouldn't be enough. Instead, he closed the gap between them and pulled her into a hug.

With the physical contact heightening her empathic abilities, Izuku focused on what she meant to him. How much he cared for her as a friend, how much he needed her with as lost as he was in this new galaxy, even the uncertain romantic feelings he had no experience with. Lust, yes, but more than that too. Even if it was still not fully formed. He cared about her, in many different ways, and he let her feel that. He let the wave of it wash away her fears and doubts in a sea of certainty. He would not falter, he would not betray her. He would support her, whatever happened with the slicer. Slave or free, boob privileges revoked or embraced. Mentally thinking that one at her in actual works, once the fears subsided, drew a ragged giggle out of her as she hugged him back.

"Don't worry, Master~! I enjoy you having boob privileges too."

Izuku chuckled, but didn't let go. He knew that Aayla's struggles weren't all things he could fully understand. All he could do was be here for her, and trust she'd do the same for him. It wasn't like he wasn't hurt inside in ways she couldn't understand either. The waves of echoing care and certainty of friendship she instinctively sent back as reply to his own were a balm to his own soul. Just as much as his feelings and faith were to hers…

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The choice had, to Izuku, ultimately seemed obvious. Even so, he'd listened to Aayla's insistence that they meditate and reach out to the Force to seek guidance. It still seemed like a very strange thing to do, to him, but he had to admit it hadn't exactly led him astray so far. He had no idea if it had led him to the best solutions. But it had at least led him to solutions…and also a mystery box that might be dangerous. Which was, of course, why they reached out to the Force. They wanted to determine if there would be some disaster if they delayed doing whatever it was they needed to do with the Jebble Box.

The results had been one of the strangest experiences of either of their lives. When they'd reached out to the Force with that question…they'd gotten a cheerful shrug in reply. Aayla had actually fallen out of their joint meditation, gaping, before scrambling to rejoin, her incredulity radiating through their bond like a beacon. As she'd explained later, that reply had not been any sort of normal. Yet, there was no denying that it was what they'd gotten. Farther attempts at 'requestion more information,' as it were, had gotten a sense of elasticity and leeway. The best they could sort out was that they had time. That it had only been acquiring the Jebble Box that had been high priority. They felt a chiding sensation about taking too much time, but otherwise just a resurgence of that cheerful shrug feeling. Apparently, they had at least a window of opportunity, one of unknown length, to chase down other things. At least, that was what they took away from the bizarre experience after talking it over.

The result had been setting their course to the location Aayla had discovered the slicer operated out of. A planet called Zeltros…which Aayla was feeling oddly leery about considering that the data they had said it was some sort of party planet. Izuku waited until they had made their first jump before finally asking her about it, getting an uncertain shrug in reply at first. He waited patiently, sensing that Aayla would answer him, but needed to sort out how. After several fascinating facial expressions, his partner finally spoke.

"So…even with my memories still a bit full of holes, I remember very firm warnings about Zeltros when I was a youngling at the Jedi Temple. Strictly speaking, the planet is among the least dangerous places in the galaxy. Solid defense force and police…and every single invasion they've ever experienced has ended up defeated by the planet-wide party atmosphere."

Izuku looked at her with an expression of confusion so profound that Aayla's lips twitched. She cleared her throat, clearly trying not to laugh at that expression, and continued her explanation.

"You see, the species native to the planet are the Zeltrons. They are infamous for three things. One, being good looking. Two, being completely hedonistic about sex and parties. Three, producing pheromones that affect humans and most near near-human species. There's a bit of misconception that those pheromones make them irresistible, like with the Falleen. That's not quite right, though. What actually happens is a mix of pheromones that do increase the attraction people feel for them…mixed with a limited telepathic and empathic ability that both takes in feedback from people around them and projects it back out."

Aayla let that sink in for a moment and Izuku was glad for the moment to process. After all, she'd just told him that, apparently, an entire species had at least some of his own abilities.

"Their culture's hedonism isn't accidental, or without purpose. Since the entire species is essentially one GIANT feedback loop, they prize positive emotions like joy and dislike emotions like anger. Better to be stuck in a constant party mood than raging across the galaxy as angry killing machines, right?"

Izuku winced. Okay, yeah. In light of that, their reaction actually seemed reasonable. And so did the failure of those invasions.

"The invaders got caught up in the loop the moment they landed, didn't they?"

"Yep! Got it in one. It's not mind control or anything, the ability is too limited for that. You won't immediately start dancing a jig right out the airlock. But for people looking to do harm? Suddenly having billions of empaths projecting their party mood into your brain? Every invasion that's actually managed to make it past their defense fleet has just sort of…crumbled." Aayla winced, her hands tapping a nervous syncopation on the armrest of the pilot's chair. "It's…also why Zeltros is one of the only planets in the entire galaxy that's on the Ban List for Jedi."

Izuku did a double take. What? He quickly ran through what he'd gathered of the Jedi order so far, including from Aayla as her memories started coming back. The information was…very mixed. Heck, even Aayla seemed a little off put by some of it, though she'd been clearly trying to ignore whatever it was. Yet, combined what he knew of them with what he knew about Aayla's own powers…

"They are afraid of the feedback loop being too much for them?"

His companion slumped and nodded.

"Yes. My empathic abilities are, from what I can remember, actually pretty rare. But all Jedi are more open to the emotions of others than normal people. We also have better defenses against it, mostly. But...an entire planet…"

Izuku couldn't help it, his lips twitched into a grin at the near whining tone in Aayla's voice. The image he'd been building of the Jedi so far was pretty stoic. Picturing them descending to acting like high college frat boys and drunken sorority party girls was hilarious. He projected the mental image to Aayla, who snorted before swatting him for it.

"Is it going to be a problem? I mean, you are an empath. And I am too, though I suspect I can probably block most of it out."

Aayla swatted at him again for the laughter in his voice, even as she tried to fight the twitch at the corners of her own mouth.

"Thankfully, I don't think so. The Zeltrons are occasionally targeted by slavers if they go out and about in the galaxy, which explains why they are happy enough to host a clandestine stopover for runaway slaves. But that stopover, and our slicer, is actually on one of the planet's moons. The moons have a lot of the system's heavy industry and military facilities, instead of party locations. So, while there will undoubtedly be a lot of Zeltrons around, they also likely won't be unintentionally projecting a rave into your brain."

Izuku grinned again, and this time he sent her a mental image of her in extremely skimpy clubwear. Her response was something considerably more primal, and enjoyable, than laughter…

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A/N: Just another 'Hey, I have a Patreon Page,' reminder! Check out my Patreon Page for early access to new chapters of all of my works (including this one). Currently, as of first posting to Scribblehub, 20 chapters of Displaced Hero are public, with 3 more (about 8.5k words worth) currently in Early Access. ALL of my fanfiction content is ultimately free, with nothing stuck permanently behind a paywall. So, while I deeply appreciate anyone willing to help support my writing time...if you don't want to support me, don't :-p. You'll get the content eventually, one way or another, Patrons simply get it sooner.