Chapter 1: Normal

DJ's POV:

"What do you mean she's not here?" I snapped, ducking down behind the line of crates as more blaster bolts shot over our heads.

Beside me, Renegade did the same. Some of her bright red hair had come loose from its braid, falling into her face. "I mean, she went after some TIEs," she replied, pulling a bomb out of her jacket pocket.

"Not yet," I told her, grabbing my comlink off my belt. "Scar, you take care of those TIEs yet?"

"On my way back already, DJ. Two minutes."

"Good." I put the device away and glanced at Ren as she ducked back down after firing a few shots at the Stormtroopers. "Scar'll be here in two. Soon as she's down, throw the bomb, and we'll make a break for it. Everybody got that?" I looked at the other three people- two boys on my right, Ren and another girl on my left. All four nodded within a few seconds of one another. "Great. Avin, how's Castyl?"

Avin glanced at Castyl, who was gingerly massaging his ankle. "Looks broken."

"It's not broken," Castyl argued.

"We'll get it taken care of," Ren said anyway. "You'll help him back to the ship?"

Avin nodded and looked up. "Scarlett's here!"

Sure enough, there was Catalyst, swooping out of the clouds. I waited until it was hovering low to the ground and the ramp opened, then gestured for Ren to throw her bomb. As soon as it went off, Shadow bolted for the ship, Avin and Castyl following a little slower. Ren and I went last, covering the others as smoke from the explosive began to clear. By the time it did clear, we were already on our ship and in hyperspace.

I made sure Castyl was taken to the medbay then headed to the cockpit. Ren was was there, sitting in the co-pliot's seat.

"-set us up," Ren was saying, twirling her hair around her finger. "I don't think we can trust him anymore."

"I don't think he set us up. Probably didn't know there'd be so many of them," I said.

Ren sighed. "DJ, they were waiting for us. Those crates were empty. Niklas set us up."

"We can't just not take jobs from him, though. You know how hard it is to find someone that will hire a bunch of kids." I sat down on the other seat.

"I could always-"

I shook my head. "No, Ren. Not after what happened last time. We'll figure something out."

"We may not have much choi-"

Scarlett turned around in her seat. "I could ask my mom for some money, if we need it."

"I can't ask you to do that, Scar." I shook my head again. "Besides, your folks already gave us Catalyst and most of our weapons. I appreciate the offer, though."

Before any of us could say anything else, the cockpit door slid open. I rolled my eyes as the twins tumbled in, wrestling with one another.

"Give it back!" Kylia snapped.

"Why don't you make me, sleemo?!" Kenth retorted.

"Your turn," I told Ren, gesturing at the identical fifteen-year-olds.

She sighed but stood up and grabbed each of them by the shirt collar, pulling them apart and outside the cockpit.

"DJ!"

I jumped at the voice, whirling around. "Stop doing that!"

Night smiled, half his face obscured by his black bangs that he insisted on keeping cut that way. "You sure are jumpy for a leader."

"Well maybe if you quit sneaking up on me, I wouldn't be so jumpy. Is something wrong?"

"Where's Shadow?"

"Probably in the medbay making sure Castyl's okay. Or letting Lillie teach her how to be a medic."

Night nodded. "Thanks!"

Then he was gone, just as quietly as he had entered. I sighed and leaned back in my seat, closing my eyes. I need sleep. Or caf. Just as I started to relax, a loud crash echoed through the ship. I rushed to the cargo bay to find Kenth and Kylia still wrestling amid a bunch of toppled crates, hurling insults at one another. Ren wasn't in the room.

"Knock it off, you two." They didn't seem to hear me over their own voices, so I raised my own. "That's enough!"

They stopped fighting and looked up at me. Kenth had a hand full of his twin's hair; Kylia's fist was halfway to her brother's face.

"What are you fighting about this time?"

"Kenth stole my datapad!"

"I didn't steal it. I broke it, so ha!"

I groaned, pulling Kylia off of him before she could punch him. "Seriously? Okay, I'm done asking you to stop. I'm done warning you. Kenth, you're going to inventory our supplies and weapons. Kylia, you're cleaning this up. Along with everyone's cabins. Except Ren's, she's working on something and she has everything a certain way, so just leave it alone."

"But-" they started in unison.

I shook my head. "I've told you to stop fighting one another. Several times. Maybe now you'll listen."

They sighed. "Yes, DJ."

Kylia started cleaning up the fallen crates; her twin walked away, heading for the armory. I left as well, stopping by the medbay. I smiled at the sight. Lillie was in the middle of explaining how to treat sprained ankles while Shadow listened intently, nodding every once in awhile. Night sat on a chair in the corner, watching over his younger sister with a small smile.

"So...R-I-C-E stands for?" Lillie asked.

"Rest, Ice, compression, and…" Shadow hesitated. "...Elevation?"

Lillie nodded, her lekku twitching. "Very good. You're going to be a great medic."

Shadow grinned broadly, looking over her shoulder at Night; he smiled back and gave her a thumbs-up.

Castyl cleared his throat. "Is the lesson over?" Castyl asked, his arms crossed. "I hate to interrupt learning, I really do, but I want to go finish my book."

"Okay, just be careful on that ankle for a bit, got it?"

"Yes, Dr. Orum." Castyl got off the cot he was sitting on, nodding at me as he passed. "Ren wants you to meet her in her cabin. She says you need to talk." He smirked, making air-quotes around the last word.

"Real funny," I muttered as he was walking away, ignoring the other three chuckling in the medbay. How many times do I have to tell them that me and Ren aren't together? I rolled my eyes and headed for Ren's cabin. Probably gonna try to talk me into letting her take solo missions again. I stopped in front of Ren's door and knocked a few times.

"Just a second!"

I waited until the door opened and then walked in. The room was a mess; papers and datapads we strewn everywhere, some papers taped to the wall. All of them were covered with lists and notes, a lot of it scratched out. Ren saw what I was looking at and sighed, finishing putting her hair up in a ponytail.

"Any luck?" I asked.

"Nope. Nothing but dead ends."

I gave her a reassuring smile. "We'll find him. I know we will."

She nodded. "I hope so." The sad look she had gotten vanished, replaced by a serious one as she sat down on Shadow's bunk. "DJ, after what happened today...I really don't think we can trust Niklas anymore."

"I know, but we don't exactly have much choice. It's hard to find anyone who'll take a bunch of kids seriously."

"I could always track down some of his contacts," Ren said, glancing at her notes. More specifically, the name written on the center page. "They gave him jobs, and he was only fourteen."

"Fine," I relented. "But you're not going alone when you do."

"I won't." She went quiet for a few minutes, fiddling with her silver ring.

I frowned. "What's wrong?"

Ren sighed. "I have another lead, but...I need to go talk to the guy tomorrow, because he leaves the day after. I haven't been able to do it sooner because I was busy with missions and stuff. And I'm supposed to meet him in a pretty dangerous place. I don't want to put everyone else at risk when I'm pretty much grasping at straws at this point."

"We'll figure something out," I promised her. She smiled at me, and I smiled back. "Dinner time?"

"Food sounds awesome."

I half-bowed, holding one arm towards the door. "After you, madam."

Ren laughed and copied me. "Thank you, sir."

She looked back at her notes one last time before the door shut, but I was just happy she didn't look so sad anymore. Side by side, we went to join the others for dinner.