The living here is not high quality, but it is free and provide food and shelter for those who need it.

Please announce yourself and what has brought you here

“Alright lad, this is as far as you go”

Aran woke up, he had spent most of the hyperspace journey sleeping off the drink, nestled down in a small corner away from the rest of the crew. He felt so alone it was hard not to let himself stay that way.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he stretched and got up.

“Where are we?” he said with a yawn.

“Bespin, got to pick up some gas tanks for a friend of mine, and it’s as good a place as any for you.”

Aran didn’t complain, he had nowhere to go, no one to meet, one place was as good as any other, after losing so much he couldn’t think of anything worse happening.

So he took the slow walk across the freighter decks and down the loading ramp past the rows of crates already stacked for transport, and there he was the golden orange skies of Bespin. Places didn’t mean much to him anymore, so he just began wandering the streets as best he could, not even saying goodbye to the captain who gave him a ride.

The next few hours were as dark as the journey, just walking, in and out of a few cantinas. But in each one he saw the bloodstains where Jana had died, and could stay no more.

Eventually, he wandered into some large buildings, either subconsciously or knowingly he had found the refugee centre, and at his heart that was who he was now, a refugee, not from war or disaster, but from his own past.

He shambled over to the nearest desk, whatever they were using as a reception.

“My name is Aran Dagra, I need a place to stay.” He intoned with the weariness of his heart.

A lady walked over as he spoke, it was clear she was looking him up and down. It was clear that he had had a troubled past and needed a place to rest his head

"Of course, come in. My name is Lumara, if you need anything, just come and find me. Where do you hail from?"

Aran watched the woman as she approached him and asked him of his past.

“I’ve just come in from the core, Coruscant. I………I needed to get away.”

While they spoke he took the time to look around the place, wherever he lay his eyes there were faces like his, troubled, worn down, hopeless. As he looked he noticed there were a lot of children here, whether displaced from families or their parents were away working, Aran didn’t know. He looked back at Lumara.

“I need a fresh start, is there any work to be had around here? Something to keep me busy?” He said, still sullen but a little more cheerful at the company.

she sighed a little, looking not too hopefull

"I myself or any of the workers here can provide you with any credits for chores. All of our money goes into food and everybody who works here, does it voluntarily...however if you go into the city, there are many casino's and bars where you could ask for work, but I would keep you wits about you....There are people out there who will try to do one over on you without a doubt. So be careful if you decide to try....If you wish to work here as a volunteer, then of course you are welcome....the choice is yours."

Aran pondered the idea of going back to work in bars and casinos, if only for a moment.

“No, I think I’ve had enough experience with that kind of crowd.” Never again.

He looked back to Lumara. “Volunteering will do me for now, it looks like these people need more help than bar patrons or greedy thugs anyway.”

It was strange, how he felt, all his life had been spent the same, in bars and cantinas, playing cards, drinking or fighting. It had been everything to him until the day Jana died, after that even the thought of it hurt. All that was left for him was change, and now he had started his past life was fading away by the second. He’d do it right this time.

“So, where do I start?”

"Well here, our priorities lie with the sick, the wounded, the elderly and children. Perhaps you could make rounds for us? Speak to the people, give them comfort in your company, and find out if there is anything they need. You're very kind to do this young man"

“I’m just doing what I can.” It was the right thing to do, he knew it. But deep down he asked himself, was it for the right reasons? Was he helping because he should or because he was trying to escape from himself. Was it truly the right thing without the right reasons?

For a moment he stayed there thinking, as Lumara left to do her work he thought. It was a dilemma he had never faced in all his life before, everything was different now, was he even himself anymore? Aran knew part of him had died with Jana, but how he had yet to find out.

The way forward was dark and unknown, it was like being born again.

And that thought stayed with him for a time, and eventually spurred him to rise and make good on his word. It was time to help, and whether it was for himself or for any other reason, he would come to terms with it in his own time.

The next few hours he spent working, doing good was not as bright as it sounded. He helped tend to the sick and the elderly, he mopped up vomit and spoon fed the wounded. All the while he still pondered the questions he had in the depths of his mind.

Hours later and he had done much, helped at least a dozen people in their beds, and he walked outside onto the walkways to rest for a moment, watching the sky.

Bespin was a gas giant, but that was about all he knew. The whole planet was sky. It was a beautiful thing to see as he sat out on the edges of the refugee centre. He should have taken Jana to a place like this, somewhere beautiful.

And then he cried, for the first time since he had left Coruscant, he was alone and his life had only made sense in the time he spent with Jana. It gripped his heart and wouldn’t let go.

Deaf to the world in his solitude he was awakened by a shove from behind. A small boy, about 12 had fallen into him, and beside him stood another who had pushed the first.

“What are you kids doing out here?” He said, wiping away his tears.

Sullen and upset, one of the children frowned at him. “Nuthin” he said, defensively.

Aran shook his head. “Go back inside and find your parents, you shouldn’t be out here.”

“Ain’t got no parents, you can’t tell me what to do.”

Of course, Aran had heard and seen it in the refugee centre, from the lips of the patients he helped he heard the stories of all the children orphaned and abandoned after the clone wars, he’d seen the children, everywhere. It was almost as sad a tale as his own.

“Well, I ain’t got no parent either, not anymore, doesn’t mean I can mess around when I shouldn’t does it? Go back inside.”

Frowning again, both of the boys went back at least a little upset. And Aran followed after, taking a last look at the clouds as he went.

After that incident he went back to work, and checked on the patients he’d helped earlier. Most where fine, but when he checked in on one of the more critical ones, he found that the man had died after Aran had left.

More death, it just served to remind him of the past and the problems he faced. Worse, not only did it bring mortality back to his world, but he had spent his time trying to help this man, and he died. Was he even doing any good here with the sick and the dying?

It hurt him, badly. He tried to run from himself, to find a new path, but it wasn’t that simple. Everything was falling apart. He wanted to help, that was the only thing he was sure of but why and how still escaped him.

Lumara came over to Aran.

"It's getting late, we close the doors in an hour's time, no one can get in or out. Unfortunately it means new arrivals have to wait outside the centre but it is the only way we can secure the safety of those within it. Bespin is crawling with criminals and theives, and even though we do not have much, it is enough for them to profit from....."

She could see he was affected in his soul, haunted by something.

"Do not dwell on the past...... And do not dwell on the future....... Keep your mind here and now..... People die, some grow sicker....... People live, some recover...... It is part of life...... Nature....... To attend a man who ended up dying does not mean that you have somehow failed in helping him...... You were his last friend, even if just for a few moments...... And that is something to always be proud of......"

She gave a hint of a smile, and began to walk away...... There was something about her......