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Chapter Six – Takeoff

I glared at Rayn with contempt, frustrated with his lies. His so-called "ship" was little more than a pile of rusty metal, held together by what appeared to be patches and tape. It was fairly large, but it just looked like a junk heap to me.

"You call this a ship? I think we'd go faster if we flapped our arms!" I shouted loudly, but my outburst only earned yet another smile from Rayn. I'm beginning to hate this guy more and more, both him and his creepy smile. It's like he knows something that I don't.

"Well princess, I'm your only chance of getting off this rock, so don't start insulting my ship," he said, an almost sullen expression crossing his face. "Besides, don't count old Snakeskin out just yet. She may not look like much, but believe me; she'll get us where we're going." He lovingly patted the hull of the ship with his palm and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"And where exactly are we going?"

"Well, that's up to you, princess. This is your party, after all," he responded, winking at me. Groaning inwardly at his infuriating smile, I tried to think about where I needed to go. Well, the smart thing to do would probably be to go back to the temple and see if anyone survived. But if the Chancellor really did betray us, then there will be no one left, and he will be waiting for someone to return so he can finish his slaughter. Besides, since when have I ever done the smart thing?

"Coruscant won't be safe for you if you're being hunted by the Republic's clones," Rayn's silky voice echoed through my head, interrupting my thoughts. I stared at him, surprised that he'd managed to say almost the exact same thing I'd just been thinking. Of course, I didn't tell him that.

"Yes, it would most likely be suicide to attempt that."

"So where do you want to go, princess?"

Now I was puzzled. The Jedi temple was the only home I had ever known and now it was too dangerous to go back there. I had absolutely no clue as to where other surviving Jedi might be, no matter how much confidence Master Melina had in me. What am I going to do? I can't even decide where to start my search; what kind of savior am I going to make? I was so deep in my thoughts and depression that I jumped when Rayn lightly touched my shoulder.

"Zira, it's all right. Just let go of your thoughts, your doubts, and your fears, and the answer will come to you," he cooed gently. Once more, my eyebrow rose in suspicion. He sounds like some of the masters from the temple. I thought with curiosity. Then from the back of my head, a small voice told me to trust Rayn, to do what he said, and that with his help I would find the right path. I knew it was Master Melina contacting me through the Force and trying to guide me down the right path.

I did as I had been told by them both; I shut my mind off. Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, letting all of my thoughts, doubts and worries fly from me into oblivion. When my mind was an utterly blank void, a name came to me and I knew where I was needed.

"Tatooine. I need to go to Tatooine." I spoke in a solemn voice that seemed distant even to me. It was as if a different person had spoken through my mouth and it made me wonder if it was Melina…or something else.

"Tatooine? But that's on the other side of the Outer Rim. Why do we have to go there?" Rayn asked, his voice surprisingly panicked and his eyes wide in terror.

"Because it is where I am needed." I stared at him as he fidgeted with his hands and clicked his tongue nervously. "Is that a problem Rayn?" He shook his head hurriedly.

"No, it's not a problem," he replied, but he didn't not meet my gaze.

"Then why are you so nervous?" I pointed at his shaking hands.

"I'm not nervous," he responded confidently, but his still twitching fingers betrayed his voice, and I didn't believe him. But if he was willing to take me there, nervous or not, then I would go with him and his rusty pile of bolts.

"Let's get moving, before more clones come looking for us," I said, moving towards the hatchway of the ship. Rayn rapidly opened the hatch, letting me step in before he did.

The cockpit didn't look any different than the outside of the ship; the control panels were old and rust-covered and seemed only moments away from falling apart. I wrinkled my nose in disgust as I glanced around and crossed my arms across my chest.

"I'm really not so sure about this. Are you positive this ship is…sound?" Rayn sat down in the pilot's chair, seemingly ignoring my comments. My boots clicked against the metal floor as I closed the small distance between us and spun his chair around to face me.

"Did you hear me?" I asked angrily, tapping my toe rapidly against the floor.

"Yeah, I'm just ignoring you, princess," he joked, grinned stupidly up at me. That nickname is starting to get on my nerves. You would think he'd have more respect for a Jedi Knight…I mean, a Padawan Learner. My eyes narrowed in contempt and I gave a large, exaggerated sigh.

"Stop calling me that and why are you ignoring me?"

"Because I'm getting a bit sick of your whining," Rayn explained, the grin sliding from his face as he turned back to the controls. I blinked in surprise and stared at the back of his head. Whining? I'm not whining…am I? Maybe I am…Master Melina always said I could be annoying when I wanted to be…and stubborn. She used to call me stubborn a lot.

Unsure of how to respond when I knew he was right, I sat down in the co-pilot's chair with a huff and faced the controls in front of me. This caused him to turn back to me with a strange and almost angry look in his eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?" I looked over at him, returning his irate gaze with a venomous glare of my own.

"You can't pilot a ship of this size without a co-pilot; it's impossible," I said, letting anger seep into my voice.

"Nonsense. I've never needed a co-pilot," Rayn replied, narrowing his eyes at me. He gets angry quick…at least about his ship…I wonder why?

"Well, maybe it's not impossible, but it sure isn't smart…for you or your ship."

"Well, I've never really been one do to the smart thing. It's just…not in my nature," he said, grinning but giving me a cold look. He turned back to the console and I frowned. What is up with this guy? One minute, he's smiling and annoying me, the next he's all serious and angry. I just can't figure him out…And I thought something similar earlier to what he just said. I rarely do the smart thing either, but still…it's weird. I finally sighed and gave up on arguing with him.

"Whatever. If you don't want me to help, then I won't. But I'm still sitting here, cause I am not standing in a moving ship," I said firmly and he nodded agreement. Then he pushed some buttons and the engines roared to life. As the ship maneuvered out of the dock, I gripped the edges of my seat in fear as we flew into the sky. He glanced over at me, an amused expression passing over his face, but he didn't comment, so neither did I.

Once we were safely out of the spaceport, the ship rocked into the atmosphere and my grip on the worn leather chair tightened. Snakeskin bucked back and forth like an enraged bull and I bit my lip as my heart pounded rapidly in my chest. I hope he knows what he's doing! We began to slow and the ship quieted down, flying smoothly now. I peeled my fingers off the seat and looked at Rayn, who once again wore an amused expression as he glanced over at me. Breathing as heavily as I was, I couldn't really begrudge him his amusement because I knew that I must have looked strange gripping my seat in sheer terror.

"What's wrong with you, princess? That was actually one of the more mild takeoffs Snakeskin's had." Setting the autopilot to our destination, he turned to me, waiting for a response. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my pulse and stared straight ahead, afraid to make eye-contact with him.

"I…I don't…like takeoffs. I'm fine with landings and flying, but…I hate taking off." My voice wavered as I spoke, and my heart beat loudly in my ears as deafening silence surrounded us. I was concentrating so hard on calming my irrational fear and not looking at him that I jumped when his loud boisterous laughter broke the calm.

"What's so funny?" I demanded. He shook his head at me, laughing too hard to answer. My lips formed an angry pout as I reached my arm out toward him and with one burst of effort, I pushed him in his side. He tumbled over backwards to the floor, his laughter breaking off and I grinned at the blissful silence. Jumping to his feet, he stared at me, shock showing on his face.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Stop laughing at me," I hissed, standing up to face him. Unfortunately, he was almost a foot taller than me and much more intimidating, but I didn't back down as we glared at each other.

"Why should I? Why do you deserve special treatment? Why do you think I should treat you like you're better than me?"

"You don't have to treat me special, but you could stop making fun of me. I lost everything I've ever known today in one fell swoop. You can't possibly know what that's like." I looked away, tears beginning to form in my eyes. "And I'm trusting my life to a stranger and telling you more about me than I ever told my master."

"What do you mean?" He asked, his voice suddenly losing its anger and become gentle. I turned back to him and saw those startling purple eyes fill with concern. Why would he be worried about me? He just met me!

"I…I…" I didn't want to tell him more if he was going to laugh at me, but he might as well know the whole truth if I was going to tell him some of it. "I…never told my master that I hate takeoffs. I would just always pretend I was fine, even when she asked if I was all right."

Rayn stared at me for a moment, seeming more like he was looking through me than at me. After a few seconds he shifted, snapping out of a daze.

"What…what was your master's name?" The tears I'd been holding back threatened to overflow and I knew I wouldn't be able to speak her name without letting them go. I shook my head wildly.

"I-I…can't…I…It-it…doesn't matter. She's gone and she's not coming back," I stuttered. I closed my eyes, trying to keep the memory of her limp and broken body from my mind, and I instantly felt tired. Opening my eyes sleepily, I looked up at Rayn.

"Do you…have a sleeping area?" He nodded, a solemn expression on his face and for just a moment I wished he would smile. But quickly I dismissed the thought. "Where is…can I use it?"

He nodded again and pointed at a door on the far side of the cockpit. I walked shakily to it and it slid open to let me pass into a small bedroom, complete with a rickety sleeping pad. Before the door slid shut again, I glanced behind me to see Rayn sitting back down in the pilot's chair, his shoulders drooping and his eyes filled with sorrow. I started to think about why he was so sad, but collapsed onto the bed, sleeping claiming me within seconds.

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Okay this chaps definitions and descriptions!

#1: Coruscant – oh, come on! Do I really need to explain this one? Okay, for those of you who don't know, it is the capital of the Republic, has one planet-wide city, and is where the Jedi Temple is located, among other things.

#2: Snakeskin – Snakeskin is the name is Rayn's ship. More details to follow. (oh, I refer to the ship as a "her" because that is a tradition with sea ships and I felt like it)

PLEASE REVIEW! More reviews, sooner updates, blah, blah, blah. Hope to have another update soon, but between school, my job, the SAT's, and trying to buy prom stuff, I probably will only be updating every couple of weeks. I apologize for this, but it is unavoidable. But thankfully I have a vacation in about two weeks, so I hope to update then!

Feel free to check out these recommended stories and categories while you're waiting

Inu-Yasha – "Only Human" by darkflame1516 (me), "Don't Let Go" by DarkRealm08, and "Miko to Taiyoukai no Monogatari" by windborne.
Danny Phantom – "Just My Style" by Sleep Warrior, "Way of the Ghost: The First Portal" by Boxghost228, and "Fits of Madness" by SilverstarsEbonyskies.

WHOOT! Bye for now!