INT. ORRON III – DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/NASHIRA’S BEDROOM – EVENING

Nashira is seated before her bedroom window, looking out into the ebon sky aglow with sparkling stars, when her mother opens the door and peeks her head inside.

CORIN: Getting ready for bed?

NASHIRA: (turns to Corin) Yes, Mom. (turns back to the open window) I was just saying goodnight to Anakin.

CORIN: Alright. Sweet dreams, beautiful.

NASHIRA: (smiles) You too, Mom.

Corin departs, taking the time to close the door behind her.

Soon after, Nashira gets up from her chair and leaves the window. Crossing over to her bed, she discards her nightgown, revealing the turquoise nightshirt she’s wearing underneath. Sliding under the sheets, she claps her hands twice, deactivating the lights. Shrouded in deep shadow, she pulls the covers up to her chin.

NASHIRA: (sighs) Nik ….

Crossing her hands under her head, 'Shira tries to relax enough to fall asleep. When that doesn’t work, she turns over on her side, bracing her hands under her face. That doesn’t work, either, so she flips right over on her belly, pushing the side of her face into her plush pillow. Even that fails for her.

NASHIRA: (flipping back over onto her back) God, I don’t know if You even exist, but if You do, please – just one good night’s sleep. That’s all I ask. Just one single night of deep, uninterrupted, REM sleep. I can’t handle another sleepless night – I really can’t.

Whether God hears her prayer and answers it will remain unknown to us. In either case, Nashira manages to drift off into a light, uncertain sleep.

INT. WAYWARD SON/LOWER GUN WELL

Anakin lies seated inside the Wayward Son’s lower gun well, eyes fixed upon the streaming fabric of hyperspace situated beyond the transparisteel viewport.

ANAKIN: (morose) 'Shira ….

Anakin soon finds himself nodding off. Before a minute passes, he is fast asleep.

EXT. CORAL & TEAL WORLD – HYPERSPACE (DREAM)

Leaving the conscious world, we find ourselves looking upon a most unusual planet. Floating within the the blue morass of hyperspace, it is divided into two halves: one bright coral, the other dark teal.

EXT. CORAL & TEAL WORLD – TWILIGHT ZONE (DREAM)

Anakin suddenly finds himself standing within the gray border region between the teal and coral sides of the strange world. Before him, clad in her turquoise nightshirt, is Nashira. The two lovers approach.

NASHIRA: (frowns) Nik? (looks about their surroundings)

ANAKIN: (looks up at the swirling maelstrom that is the sky) I think we’re in hyperspace.

NASHIRA: How’s that possible? Planets can’t exist in hyperspace. (beat) Can they?

ANAKIN: This isn’t real.

NASHIRA: It feels real enough.

ANAKIN: This is a dream. Yeah, just a dream. I fell asleep in the gun well, staring out into hyperspace, and now I’m having this crazy dream. I’m not really here. You’re not the real ‘Shira. This is all just a space-happy scenario I dredged up from my subconscious. (laughs) They say not to look out into hyperspace for too long.

NASHIRA: (cocks an eyebrow) I’m not real? Buster, this is my dream. You’re the one who’s a figment of my imagination.

ANAKIN: (sighs) Well, one of us is the dreamer and the other the dreamt. We can’t both be having the same dream. We can’t both be real.

NASHIRA: Anakin, maybe we are having the same dream. Maybe we are both here, real, together.

ANAKIN: Excuse me?

NASHIRA: This is a Force rapport. We’re sharing a dream through our connection in the Force!

ANAKIN: No way. You’re on Orron III. I’m in hyperspace going stars knows where thousands of light-years away. It can’t be done, not at those distances!

NASHIRA: (rests her hands on Anakin’s arms) Maybe it can, Anakin. (beat) I’ve read strange stories about hyperspace. Not just the stuff about ships encountering hyperspatial lifeforms or crossing over into alternate universes and timelines, but reports of psionics and Force-sensitives having their abilities boosted while in-transit. That could be what’s happening to us.

ANAKIN: I’ve never encountered phenomena like that before and never met anyone who has.

NASHIRA: (shrugs) Maybe it happens only rarely.

ANAKIN: (smiles) Well, rapport or not, it’s nice to see you. It gets lonely without you, ‘Shira.

NASHIRA: (sneers) Oh, don’t give me that “I get so lonely without you” jive. I know you’ve got a girl at every port of call. You’re about as lonely as a Black Sun vigo.

ANAKIN: (frowns) 'Shira, you wound me! I’d never do a thing like that. (grins salaciously) Not when I’ve got several fine specimens available to me right here on this ship.

NASHIRA: (cocks an eyebrow) Oh, really?

ANAKIN: Yeah. Four of 'em in fact. (beat) Well, three actually; I’m not really interested in the Gungan. Sure, she can probably do amazing things with that tongue of hers, but that face …. (shakes head) Cmdr. Vaness and Sn. Andue, on the other hand – ooh, they’re both mighty fine. Andue doesn’t have much of a chest, but she’s got an amazing tush. She’s Falleen, too. Can you just imagine it? I’d enter the bedroom and there they’d both be, dressed in nothing but skimpy lingerie. Andue would start pumping out those pheromones of hers, then –

Nashira slips Anakin in the face. Hard.

ANAKIN: OW!

NASHIRA: That’s it. I can’t abide an unfaithful boyfriend. You need to be chastised, and since this is a dream and I can make anything I imagine real –

'Shira brings up a chrome lightsaber hilt. With a press of the activation stud, she engages an angry red blade.

NASHIRA: (cont’d) – I can carry through with your chastisement right here, right now.

Taking several steps back, Anakin raises his hands to ward her away.

ANAKIN: (frightened) C’mon now. You know I was joking. I’d never cheat on you. (grins weakly) Vaness and Andue aren’t very attractive, anyway. Too old for me – both of them.

Locking the blade of the lightsaber on, 'Shira rears back her arm then sends the blade twirling through the air towards Anakin. He freezes, instinctively raising his hands up to protect his face. As the lightsaber hits him, though, the hilt and the plasma blade both transform. With a loud SPLASH, the young Jedi finds himself coated in layers of red-and-silver paint.

NASHIRA: (giggles) It isn’t a cold shower, but it should work just as well.

Frowning, Nik wipes and flings the dripping paint off of him.

ANAKIN: Not funny, Nashira. This was a fresh outfit.

NASHIRA: And this is a dream, laserbrain. Now clean yourself off and come to me.

Reaching up behind his head, Anakin finds the tab of a zipper there. Pulling it up, over, and down, he unzips his paint-marred skin and clothes as if they were one whole suit. With tugging and stretching, he manages to get the whole deal off him, revealing a brand new Anakin identical to the original underneath.

ANAKIN: There – how’s that?

NASHIRA: Serviceable.

Stepping up to 'Shira, Nik wraps his arms around her.

ANAKIN: (grins) What do you think we should do while we’re here?

NASHIRA: (strokes his hair) What else? (beat) Besides, I wanna feel what it’s like to do it long distance.

ANAKIN: Alright. But first –

Taking his hands away from Nashira’s waist, Nik brings up his left hand and snaps his fingers. With a puff of purple smoke, Raia Vaness and Petra Andue suddenly materialize. Dressed in the scant articles of clothing Anakin mentioned before, they strike alluring poses before their creator. Frowning, 'Shira snaps her own fingers. With a puff of smoke, the facsimiles of Vaness and Andue are instantly replaced by a tall man with dark blond hair and a shorter man sporting brown hair and Van Dyke beard; they are both attired in the same lingerie their feminine predecessors sported.

ANAKIN: (nonplussed) Who the hell are they?!

NASHIRA: (takes Nik’s head in her hands) Wouldn’t you like to know ….

Locking their lips in a deep kiss, the two lovers lower themselves onto a large, round bed which has suddenly appeared. Now ignored, Nashira’s two masculine creations exchange glances, shrug, then cease to exist in a puff of purple smoke.

CUT TO

Anakin and Nashira sometime later, cuddling together under the bed sheets, both looking up into the strange blue sky with contemplation.

ANAKIN: This was nice.

NASHIRA: It was, wasn’t it? (beat) Do you think we’ll ever be able to meet like this again?

ANAKIN: No. I feel that this – whatever this is – is a one-time deal.

NASHIRA: (sighs) It was good while it lasted.

ANAKIN: I’ll continue to dream about you, like I do every night.

NASHIRA: (kisses Nik’s shoulder) Likewise.

With that, the dream comes to a close.

INT. WAYWARD SON/LOWER GUN WELL

Awakening, Anakin finds that the ship has dropped out of hyperspace. Situated out beyond the viewport is realspace.

INT. WAYWARD SON/COCKPIT

Entering the cockpit, Bail crosses over to the pilot’s seat. Peering out the viewport, he gazes upon the emptiness before him.

CMDR. VANESS: Next route is three light-minutes out.

BAIL: (rests his hand on her shoulder) Go to my quarters and have yourself a good night’s sleep. I’ll take it from here.

Yawning, Vaness rises from the seat and leaves the cockpit, allowing the captain to take her place.

INT. WAYWARD SON/MAIN CORRIDOR

Moving out into the freighter’s main corridor, Anakin finds Kathe Naad coming towards him from the right end of the corridor.

KATHE NAAD: (smiles) Hi.

ANAKIN: Hi. We just come out of hyperspace?

KATHE NAAD: Yeah. (beat) This is the last safe leg of the journey, you know. From here we’re off into Wild Space, travelling along routes few have ever travelled, some which haven’t been charted at all. We’re going to be covering new ground; it’s going to be rough, even dangerous.

ANAKIN: Yeah, I know. It’s almost enough to make me want to bail and hitch a ride back to civilization.

KATHE NAAD: Hitch a ride? From here? (grins) I think you’ll be waiting quite awhile with your thumb hanging out before any ship comes this way and finds you.

ANAKIN: Hey, I’m a Jedi. Patience and I are old friends from way back.

KATHE NAAD: (nods) I’m sure.

EXT. SPACE

The Wayward Son returns to hyperspace, leaving the relative safety of the Known Regions of the Galaxy for the uncertain paths of Wild Space.