Lana Mott and Sorv Crow held on to the top railings of the shuttle they had unwillingly been placed inside of. The craft rattled and flew at an unsteady pace through the heavy rain- which pounded against its metal plating.
With the sound of a loud explosion that outdid the noise of the many detonations below, the ship shook unexpectedly and almost pulled Lana off of her feet. She accepted the fact that something bad had happened, already foretelling that she was not going to live long enough to see the new planet before her.
"We've been hit!" one of the pilots warned the crew of Jedi. "Our shields are down!"
Lana closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. One more missile was all it took to hit the ship and kill them. There was no denying that this was something she could not avoid. Death was inevitable.
Within seconds, Lana and her friends could be dead. This particular group would only be seen as a waste of time in the Republic's eyes.
There is no emotion, there is only... there is...
Lana opened her eyes, startled that she had forgotten the Jedi code. Its wise words that kept her calm. It was what she needed on a daily basis in order to control her absurd thoughts.
Sorv pressed his tense arm against Lana's, entangling his fingers with hers. She glanced up at him in shock. There were so many young Jedi aboard the shuttle who could see what he did and tell on them, yet he kept a straight face. She could sense that he was on the edge just like herself.
She looked around at the people she roughly knew to be close to her age. Some appeared well composed, some excited, some terrified. She guessed that the battle below rung like music in the ears of the eager. For the Jedi aboard the small freighter, this would be their first battle.
The situation below had gotten so far out of hand that the Council was quick to promote those close to finishing their training. Lana was horrified knowing the big possibility that most of the people around her were not going home at the end of the day or to face another year in the battle.
The Council would be disgusted in the group, but their disappointment was the last thing on her mind. She was going to fight for them and hope that was enough for them to forgive her should she fail.
The Mandalorian Wars- already in its sixteenth year and the Republic was becoming desperate to put an end to it, hence the fact that they were throwing young teenagers out. To Lana they were nothing but a disturbance to the enemy while the allies thought of a more cunning plan. The Republic would never admit it, but Lana knew how true it was. Anyone could see it. She just hoped her hero and the Republic's ultimate weapon, Revan, would be able to put an end to it all.
"I don't want to fight," Lana spoke to Sorv, hoping he heard her. She wished he would look at her, but the more she took in of the boy beside her, the more he remained silent. "I don't want to fight. Not today and not tomorrow. I do not want to be a part of this. We did not ask to be distractions."
Sorv tightened his grip on her hand, soothing her enough to know he was listening. "We'll make it. I promise."
The shuttle shook once more and came to an immediate standstill. The doors opened and a rush of cold wind and rain washed against Lana, sending chills down her spine.
"Move," the pilot repeated until everyone was off of the ship. She heard the sounds of the people she knew igniting their sabers and she copied their action, her blue crystal sizzling as the water from the sky hit against it. The wet soil felt heavy under her boots and the tall grass was close touching her knees.
Sorv's green lightsaber spread out just in front of Lana's face and then pressed itself against her saber. Sorv used very little strength to lower Lana's weapon before turning both of their weapons off. "Remain in stealth. Don't run into trouble on purpose like others are doing."
Lana turned to the shuttle departing from the ground and watched it lift off the ground. "We can run away, you know. Just disappear. We can still turn away from all of this. We can use our abilities to find a ship and get away from all of this."
Sorv's eyebrows rose as if he was actually considering what she was saying.
The shuttle had not gotten far from the ground before it was blown into a million piece from a surprising missile, killing those still on board. The explosion sent Force users flying.
Lana was in the air no more than a few seconds, her body falling into a rather large puddle of mud. She spat out some of the dirt that had made its way into her mouth. She was pulled onto her feet by Sorv, who was equally covered in filth.
"We can do this, Lana. It's a simple task we've been given: sneak into the Mandalorian headquarters, disable as much as we can and then the Republic will take us to our next mission." Sorv seemed positive about this, but he had the same expression that Lana had seen back at the ship. It only angered her, letting her to believe that he was feeding himself a lie.
"Look what just happened to our ship, Sorv!" Lana burst out into an unplanned sob. "They're not coming back for us! We are expendables!"
"Well, I am going to fight. I'm going to do what I was told to do by the Council. We either do this together or I will go on my own," Sorv said and Lana knew he was not actually considering leaving her behind. He held out his hand and with the use of the Force he summoned Lana's lightsaber. "You're going to use this and you are going to be brave. We will be brave together."
Lana took her weapon and nodded, deciding to trust the bolder voice talking through Sorv.
Hours had passed and Lana had found herself pressed against a boulder. Her right hand gripped her lightsaber because her life depended on the weapon more than she anticipated.
She had lost Sorv more than an hour ago in the moon's jungle when they had got distracted by a pack of Mandalorians who were far too skilled and very determined on killing anyone in their way. They were almost as bad as the common animals that were found around every corner: Bomas and Cannoks. She had heard a boy a few years younger than her mention something about other creatures that consisted of parasites and Force enabled monsters. This did nothing to calm her nerves.
What did help her breath with a bit or relief was the fact that she was sure that she had lost the four Mandalorians that had been chasing her. She used her very recent skill of speed to guide her aimlessly through the never-ending grounds. She could only hope that Sorv would be able to sense her and come find her. She was not sure what to do anymore.
Lana looked up at the pouring sky, the rain rinsing the blood from her small cuts. She had seen nothing but gore and the deaths of so many of her friends. Nothing felt right.
The Dxun Jungle was well armed with the Mandalorians' self-aid, and yet, even after all the traps she had seen her friends fall for, she could not let go of the images stuck on a loop in her mind that included the defacing of so many Jedi who had been by her side one second and then torn to shreds the next.
"Hey!" A Mandalorian pointed in her direction, sending Lana into another panic attack. "One's over there!"
Lana had hoped that she would have been hidden by the boulder and the tall plants around it. She did not even notice the three Mandalorians working on a mine.
She stood up tall, refusing to be taken down by these men. She needed to secure this area in order to make Sorv aware of her presence and send a message to anyone who tried to disturb her. She ignited her lightsaber.
"Hell!" one of the Mandalorians exclaimed, "a Jedi!" The three got up from the mine that was quickly activated, and ran away, leaving their equipment behind.
Lana frowned, curious as to what had caught their attention before she made herself visible.
The ground roughly trembled under Lana's feet and sped towards her. She hesitantly turned to face a large Boma. She jumped high into the air to avoid the green creature's teeth captivating her in one go.
She landed on the ground, just missing the frag mine. She held out her hand to place the creature under stasis, but it was resistant to her abilities. It charged straight towards her and Lana leaped once more into the air. The creature ran straight into the mine and died from the explosion.
Lana positioned herself onto the boulder and looked out at the view ahead: a shuttle was landing not far from her with a few familiar faces eagerly waiting.
She put her weapon away and ran as fast as she could towards the ship, dodging attacks from the Mandalorians and the weapons. As she entered the open area with the shuttle, she found it taking off already. With the last bit of her strength she double jumped and her friends pulled her into the ship.
Lana happily collapsed to the floor, glad she could finally rest. She was not the only one. "They came to rescue us after all," she whispered and looked to the closest person sitting beside her. They were cradling their hand that had been shot with a blaster.
Lana sat up straight, now concerned as to who was present. The teenager drew her attention outside of the shuttle, trying to see some sign of her friend, but he was nowhere to be seen.