A/N: I do not own Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic 1 or 2, or any of the characters within. Nadira Obsidian is my OC version of the Exile.
Chapter 7: Coming Around
Nadira opened her eyes slowly. As she did, the reality of Dxun came rushing back at her. It was not as severe without having physical contact with the planet, but even here on the ship she could not fully escape its oppression. At the assault of the past, she drew a sharp intake of air, pulling her barriers up as quickly as she could.
Still sleeping at her side, the sudden sound roused Atton, who sat up abruptly. His head swiveled in a frantic motion, blaster in hand and sweeping the room for threats. When he saw Nadira awake though, he couldn't mask his relief.
"Hey," he breathed, then holstered his weapon sheepishly.
"Hi," she answered weakly. "Where am I?"
"You're on the ship," he answered, kneeling by the table to get closer. He shook his head. "You gave us quite a scare there. I—we were worried there for a while that you weren't going to wake up." He clasped her hand.
She smiled. "You think you can get rid of me that easily? I'm stubborn." She lifted her chin a little then winced as she paid for it. Then she frowned, fear filling her eyes. "Mical! Mira!" she gasped, bolting upright. But Atton stopped her.
"No, it's okay," he assured her as he held her back. "They're fine! They're safe, and they were doing a lot better than you when they came aboard. And if you get up to find them now, we'll all chew you out."
Gathering her breath, she nodded wearily. "Thank goodness." Her eyes rose to Atton who was holding her by the shoulders to keep her from standing. Their gazes locked for a long moment as she forgot to breathe. At last, she blinked, swallowed hard, then pulled away, pushing herself against the wall. "Then I think I'll stay here for a while," she chuckled weakly. "I get enough lectures from Kreia."
"Yeah, that old crone needs to get a hobby that doesn't involve ruining other people's lives," Atton agreed, leaning back and clearing his throat. "Anyways try not to pull that stunt again. It's a really big hassle to babysit you without you goin' to look for trouble."
Nadira scoffed. "Yeah, I'll be sure to lay off being crushed to death. I'm trying to kick the habit."
"Good to hear," Atton grinned slyly. "We don't need to do the Sith's job for them."
He stood to leave but paused at the Exile's voice. "Wait a minute, what happened? How did I get out of there?"
Atton snorted with a shrug. "What are you asking me for? Bao and I were fixing the ship while you guys went sight-seeing, remember?" Before waiting for her response, he vanished.
Nadira shook her head in confusion, then instantly regretted it. "What am I going to do with him?" she sighed sadly.
"Well I have a few suggestions," Mical offered as he walked into the room.
Nadira chuckled. "I'm sure you do with the way you two get along."
"Well, I am quite relieved to see you awake, Nadira." He smiled warmly at the Exile. "It took you longer than any of us anticipated to regain consciousness. I had begun to fear you had sustained injuries more serious than I had initially diagnosed when we brought you back to the ship—"
"Yeah, how did that happen by the way?" Nadira cut in as she rubbed the knot on the back of her head. "The last thing I remember was being buried alive." Even though she chuckled, she suppressed a shudder at the sickening memory.
Mical barely stopped himself in time before glancing out the med bay door. He'd passed Atton in the corridor—he knew the pilot had been here while she was awake. Surely he'd want to brag about his heroic accomplishment, knowing how cocky he was. So why hasn't he told her? Was it another misjudgment on his part about the man's character? He was beginning to wonder if any of them really knew Rand at all. "Actually, Master Nadira…" He hesitated. "I'm not sure if I should say…"
"Mical," Nadira said, trying to hide her confusion. "How did I make it on board the Ebon Hawk? Someone had to dig me out of that canyon, so who did?"
"Master, if the person didn't mention it…"
"Mical, come on," she burst, a little frustrated now.
The Disciple sighed. "Atton Rand."
Her annoyance vanished, and suddenly the Exile became flustered. "What?" She looked down, trying to put it together. "How?"
"I'm not sure. All I know is that by the time we came to and doubled back to get to you, we encountered him returning to the ship with you in his arms. You were gravely injured—he said you'd been caught in one of the landslides and that he'd managed to free you."
"How?"
"I don't know. He didn't offer an explanation and we didn't ask. At the time, we were too busy trying to stabilize your condition to consider what he was doing off the ship in the first place."
She pondered Mical's words as her Force perceptions traveled to the cockpit. Atton was reprogramming some subroutines into a damaged portion of the navicomputer. Her pale cheeks flushed as she sensed warm emotions flowing from him—quite a change from his typical frustrated and aloof presence. "Why didn't he just say so when I asked him?"
"Believe me, Nadira," Mical actually scoffed, "that's as much of a mystery to me as it is to you. I did notice some burns on his arms when we first met up with him—"
"Burns?" she gasped.
"He said they were nothing. I offered to treat them, but he refused to let me look at him. I have to say that's the only part of this whole affair that didn't surprise me. But I suspect they were most likely electrical burns. He has been rewiring a number of devices in order to repair the ship."
Nadira didn't seem to be listening any more. After prompting, she submitted to a brief evaluation. When he was finished, Mical was pleased to inform her that she was healing remarkably well and would be fit for duty in no time. With that, he left.
Waiting until he was well away from the med bay, Nadira rose from her bed and unsteadily got dressed. It was difficult, especially with the pain shooting from her legs despite the braces Mical had applied. But eventually, she'd made herself more presentable. Slowly, she made her uncertain way up to the cockpit.
Atton's head turned as he heard her approach, mouth falling open in disbelief at the sight of her. "What do you think you're doing? Get back to med bay and lie down!" he ordered, beginning to push her in that direction.
She wrenched herself out of his grasp, nearly falling over before he caught her. "I'm not leaving until you give me some straight answers, flyboy," she declared, eyeing him shrewdly.
He balked at her words. "Are you insane? You can barely stand! You are going back to med bay if I have to carry you and you're going to stay there until you're fully recovered. That means you don't come out until Mical clears you for duty." She raised her chin defiantly, eliciting one of his cocky grins. "Don't challenge me," he warned. "You know I'm not bluffing."
Nadira shrugged. "Oh, I know you're not. I mean, how else did I get back here in the first place?"
He shook his head convincingly. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Oh don't give me that! I know you carried me back to the ship!"
"How many rocks hit your head again?"
She slapped his arm, and he hissed. Frowning, she began tugging at his sleeve.
"Hey!" he protested, trying to pull away from her, but it was too late.
She looked down in horror at the scar. "What happened?" she breathed.
"What are you talking about? I've had that for years—"
"This is a lightsaber burn, Atton!" she insisted. "It's not even ten hours old!" He got these trying to save me, she realized. Looking back up at him, her face paled with worry. "Atton, what happened to you? Why did you come for me when you know it's dangerous for you?"
"I got this from that stupid tin can of yours, while I was reprogramming the console," he explained. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you flipping out—"
Nadira's eyes narrowed. "How could T3 give this to you if you 'got it years ago?'"
"You didn't buy it."
"Atton!" She fixed him with a harsh glare, eyes belying her worry.
He groaned, exasperated, as he yanked his arm out of her hands. "Okay! Fine! I sensed you were in trouble and came out to save your butt." He shrugged, raising his chin a little. "'Cause, let's face it, you're helpless without an army. And you're a trouble magnet. Bad combination. And I guess Mical and Mira are okay-ish fighters, but…" he chuckled, "…heh, they're not me." He shook his head in amusement. "All I knew was you were in danger so I couldn't just sit back and do nothing. I mean, you're the only reason the crew hasn't marooned me yet, and I'd rather be forced to settle on a drier world than Dxun." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "And one with a decent bar and Pazaak gang… I came out looking for you. So sue me."
Nadira cocked one eyebrow as she listened to his account. "And the burns?" she asked pointedly.
"Do you have any idea how many trees had fallen across the path you guys took?" he asked incredulously. "I had to use my lightsaber just to take the same route. So I got a little clumsy with it."
Nadira shook her head. "No. I don't buy it. You don't do clumsy."
Atton cursed inwardly. "Look, Nadira, you may have used one all your life, but I haven't. I'm not gonna be as proficient as you are overnight." He turned away, lips tight like she'd embarrassed him by pointing out a weakness of his.
The Exile paused, uncertain for a moment. Her eyes turned down to the floor, ashamed that she'd hurt him. But then she looked at him sideways. "Then why didn't you just tell me that before?"
"Because it's embarrassing, that's why! I'm not about to give that old hag any more material on me than she already has!"
"Kreia?" She shook her head. "What does she have to do with it?"
"Really, Nadira? You're a Jedi and you haven't picked up on the fact that we're not best buds?"
"Is she giving you more grief about me?"
"When isn't she?" Atton groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. He winced when the movement stretched the skin around his burn.
Nadira looked at him in concern. "Well, the least I could do is see to those burns. Those have to be treated or you could lose some mobility." She gingerly leaned over to fish out the medic kit stashed in a compartment under the copilot's station. Having exhausted her Force energy trying to stay alive in the canyon, her levels were depleted for the time being. Pulling out the burn ointment, she clasped his wrist.
"I don't need to be babied. I'm fine." He unsuccessfully tried to pull it away from her. But with her lingering disorientation, she fell at his motion. He caught her, bringing the two of them close to each other. Shaking his head to keep himself focused, he lowered her into the chair. "Fine, but you're sitting here before you wind up killing yourself." He knew she wouldn't leave until he'd had some treatment. Glaring at her, he extended his arm so she could apply the salve. "You're right," he grumped. "You are stubborn."
She smiled. "You say the sweetest things," she retorted smugly.
Atton's eyebrow arched. Flirting? He certainly hadn't expected that response from her. The man swallowed and looked away for a second, regaining his composure. How can she so thoroughly complicate everything? He watched her discreetly as she worked, studying her movements to see how well she was healing.
It didn't take her long to finish treating his burns, and she began to wrap them in light bandages. "I'll use the Force to heal them as soon as I get my strength back," she promised. The Exile bound the last of his scars. "Thank you, by the way, for saving me," she said slowly, unable to look at him as she spoke.
He gazed at her for a moment before assuming a self important stance. "Yep. I'm just that good. But like I said, watch your back from now on. I may not have time to spare next time."
She pinned Rand with an icy glare. Giving him a shove, she stood and left the cockpit with all the speed her injured legs could lend her.
He sat on the floor where he'd landed, laughing till she was out of range. Then he looked down at the bandages on his arms. He traced the edge with a hand, surprised at how quickly the pain was subsiding. He sighed heavily. You can never know, but it's really you who's saved me, he mused in wonder.
