The aftermath of Umbara hasn't been easy. I'm still hoping for a "good" reason behind it all, but Ennali isn't really acquainted with optimism. If for some reason, you haven't played through the Crisis on Umbara story, there are spoilers ahead.


"Commander!" A young woman jogged up as Ennali tried to leave Alliance Command. "Admiral Aygo said to deliver this to you." She passed over a datapad that probably held another report. Ennali looked down at it. Yep, another one. Too many words to tell her that they still didn't know where Theron was.

"Got it." She used the datapad to give a halfhearted salute to the woman. Another for the collection. She doubted there would be time for a report when they got a real hint of where he might be. They would expect her to run after him. And then what? No one really talked about what might happen then. Prison? Execution? Would they expect her her do it?

She threw the datapad into her quarters. She could (might) read the whole thing later.

oo00oo

Ennali attached Theron's picture to the target board.

The range had been cleared for her use. Shooting things was a great way to take the edge off some of the frustration. Of course, there were more enjoyable ways too, but that wasn't really an option anymore. He was gone.

She rolled her shoulders as she walked to the firing line. She could do this. He was gone.

Her hand shook as she raised her blaster. Even at his stupid picture. "Blast," she said and realizing the horrible pun, she let out, "Damn It!" She had always been a steady shot. Calm under pressure, precise even when she'd had too many. (Nico had practiced that particular skill with her.)

She took a slow, deep breath and closed her eyes. Nobody beat her. Nobody. She'd destroyed the damned "immortal" emperor for stars' sake. Her hand stilled and she opened her eyes and fired. The shot went wide. Gritting her teeth, she tried again. Wide again. And again. Over and over.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. She just needed a minute to re-focus, to calm down. Nerves be damned. He was gone. She owed him nothing. Nothing.

Another miss.

With a growl she stomped over to the target board. Burn marks made an almost perfect halo around Theron's picture. She shook her head. If she couldn't even make herself hit his picture, what would she do when they finally caught up to him.

"What now?" she whispered. She rested her forehead against his image for a moment and then realizing what she was doing, jumped back.

She'd always been hesitant to share too much. It came with the job; moving questionable cargo required discretion. She'd known more than one Captain who lost it all after sharing too much to the wrong person. Usually in bed.

Theron had always been the one she talked to, the only person she'd really confided in, shared everything with. But he was gone. Who was she supposed to talk to now?

Bowdaar? He'd more than earned her trust, as much as she could believe in trust at all anymore. But she couldn't really imagine deep, soul-searching conversations with him. And with his work for the fighters still stuck in the pits on Zakuul, he had enough to worry about.

Vette? Maybe some of the effusive joy would rub off, but she didn't really know her well enough to share anything so close. The girl was practically a stranger.

Gus? He was loyal, but she couldn't see him as a real sounding board. Even the thought of it almost made her want to laugh.

Lana? There had been a distance since Rishi. Yavin and Ziost had narrowed it. And she was grateful for everything Lana had done to get her out of carbonite and off Zakuul, but she wasn't naive enough to believe the Sith had pulled off the rescue without expecting to gain something. Ennali had been out in the galaxy enough to know that deals with Sith always came with strings. Usually strings that were long enough to be strung around a person's neck whenever the Sith decided it was time to "renegotiate."

She tried to shake the thoughts out of her head. This wasn't working. Everything was tangled in a knot and picking at a thread only pulled it all tighter.

The door that led out of the range slid open. "Drink?" Nico asked as he poked his head in.

Ennali just stared at him.

"No talking, just drinking. Let's see how long those serving droids can go without a recharge."

At least it would give her a few hours away from this. "I'm in," she said.

Nico led the way to the cantina. They started hard and finished harder. She couldn't remember the poor private's name who ended up being responsible for ensuring the Alliance Commander made it safely back to her quarters.