Chapter Eleven

Kurloh took Ja'Ina to her quarters. Rann was Kurloh's roommate; she was there sitting at the desk reading a holo-book on blaster schematics.

Rann looked up at Kurloh and Ja'Ina. "Hey Ku! Oh, good to see you again Ja'Ina."

Ku? Ja'Ina thought.

"That's my nickname, Ja'Ina," Kurloh said with a smile. "Most everyone here calls me that. You can too."

"Thanks Ku. You both can call me Ina."

Rann added with a mock frown, "but I'm still just Rann."

The three women all chuckled.

"Just don't call Ku 'Kurly', even though she has curly horns," Rann joked.

"Montrals!" Kurloh growled at Rann, who in turn feigned fear of the Togruta.

Kurloh and Ja'Ina sat down on the lower bunk. Rann turned her chair around to face them. "So Ina, is your friend out yet?"

"Yeah, Soraa's recovering right now." Ja'Ina's expression was a mixture of joy and relief.

Rann's face brightened up. "See, didn't I tell you? Everything will be just fine now."

"Yeah, everything will be just fine…" Ja'Ina's voice trailed off ever so slightly.

Kurloh grabbed Ja'Ina's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Once she's better, she'll be another new member of the crew."

Rann was excited. "I'm looking forward to meeting another blaster expert. While most of the girls here use them, not very many of them have a serious proficiency." Then her tone turned grim. "I just heard about Ruyqar. She may have been bitter and not the easiest person to get along with, but she was still a good woman to serve with."

Ja'Ina didn't know what to say since she didn't know Ruyqar, but just nodded.

Kurloh added, "Just like how life renews itself, this ship lost one part only to gain two more."

"Ina, don't you just love it when Ku waxes philosophic?" Rann asked facetiously.

"Actually, I do. And I agree with her." Ja'Ina's answer surprised Rann.

Rann stood her arm up on her lap and rested her chin on her fist. "Great. Now I have two philosophers to deal with."

Ja'Ina couldn't hold her curiosity anymore. "So Rann, what's your story? How did you get so good with blasters?"

Rann sat back, crossed her legs and sighed. "Well, where should I begin? I do have a rather troubled past, it might be hard for you to hear, Ina."

"That's okay. Please."

"Alright then. I used to be a professional assassin. A few years back, I took a job from the Empire, hired to kill a former Imperial general who had defected to the Rebellion. I managed to track him down and took the opportunity to hit." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before continuing. "I had my long-range blaster rifle set up from an excellent vantage point and drew a perfect bead on him. I was just about to bag him when the absolute worst thing happened."

Ja'Ina was literally on the edge of her seat. "What?"

"A contingent of Imperial troopers showed up near my position and started blasting the whole area. Needless to say, my target managed to escape the onslaught and the Star Destroyer captain who hired me was beyond angry with me because my quarry got away."

"But it wasn't your fault!"

Rann shrugged. "The Imps arrested me and took me back to the Star Destroyer. The troop commander told the captain that I had tipped the target off, leaving the commander no choice but to send in his armored clowns to chase the defector down. There was no way I could disprove him, nor did they care to hear about it from a 'piece of scum' assassin." A darkness fell upon Rann's face. "They tortured me with the Burning."

With a name like that, it sounded like something more terrible than anything in Ja'Ina's worst nightmares.

Rann continued. "I was strapped to a table while a torture droid slowly seared my leg with a low-power blaster while they watched. The pain was indescribable. I wished they would have just killed me."

Ja'Ina was shaking, her eyes wide in astonishment. "Why did they do that?!"

"Because the Empire can, Ina. The destroyer captain was simply a sadistic slime-worm. I hear that's a quality that can help one rise quickly in the ranks of the Empire. Normally, the Burning is used as an interrogation tool, but they didn't want any information from me. After they were finished with their entertainment, they wrapped up what little was left of my leg and dumped me in some back alley on some planet, the name I can't recall. I was really out of it."

Ja'Ina now no longer felt guilt over the death of the Stormtrooper back at Sim Katall, not if this was the way the Empire asserts their authority. She still couldn't believe that Berini used to be one of them. Even though the Captain was sometimes overly harsh, that level of cruelty was not in her nature.

"Luck beyond luck, I was found by someone there who knew Berini and I was brought to the Valkyrie. The Captain took care of me. There was literally nothing left of my leg, so it had to be amputated." She rolled up a little of the one long leg of her pant, revealing a mechanical leg underneath. The complex visible mechanisms were completely incomprehensible to Ja'Ina.

"Berini was able to get me to a good cyberneticist who gave me this new leg. At first I absolutely hated it. I felt like I was no longer human, and it hurt like hell."

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Thanks, Ina. But hey, I'm still here so the story doesn't end all bad." Rann rolled her pant leg back down. "The leg works rather well, but it took a long time for me to get used to walking on it. I still have a hard time convincing myself that I am human, so I chose to wear this one-legged pant so I could conceal the artificial leg and see my real flesh-and-blood leg at all times. That way I can remember what I am."

"But your body, organic or mechanical, is not what you are; you're really much more than that."

Sounding like a Jedi there, Ina, Kurloh thought. She smiled approvingly at Ja'Ina.

"Philosopher Ku here tells me similar things all the time. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to see past my flesh and mechanics so I have nothing else to go on. The continuous pain with my leg doesn't help either." Rann smiled, though it had a twinge of emotional pain and sorrow behind it.

Kurloh leaned towards Ja'Ina. "Trust me. I've been working on her attitude for a long time, Ina. But now she has two of usto put up with!" She smiled and winked. "Honestly, I think it was more than luck that we found Rann, Ina. I believe she was meant to be found."

Ja'Ina nodded in agreement.

Rann shook her head. "You too, huh Ina? Well, whatever. I'm here now, and I'm grateful that I at least hadn't lost my shooting skills. I don't know what I would have done if I could no longer use a blaster." She clenched her fists. "I hate the Empire with all my being! I wish every single one of them dead!"

Both Kurloh and Ja'Ina could feel Rann's anger swell. It filled the small room like a terrible stench. In times like these, Kurloh would redirect Rann's attention.

"Say, Rann! Let's all go to the shooting practice hall. I'm sure Ina would love to see your shooting skills."

"I don't feel like it right now, Ku," Rann brooded. "Besides, my leg is starting to hurt again. I just wanna read more of my tech holo-books."

"Okay then," Kurloh resigned with shrugged shoulders. "C'mon Ina, let's go rest at your place, then see how Soraa's doing."

"Okay, I'd like that." Ja'Ina was worried about leaving Rann in this state of mind.

Kurloh smiled at Ja'Ina. It's okay, Ina. She'll be okay.

"Well, bye then Rann," Kurloh said aloud. "We'll see you later."

"It was nice meeting you, Rann," Ja'Ina added.

"Mmm mmm," Rann mumbled, staring into the holo-book.

Kurloh and Ja'Ina left the room and headed back to rest in Ja'Ina's quarters. The young woman was more relaxed about Soraa's well-being now that she had been released from the carbon freeze.

Kurloh turned to Ja'Ina as they walked. "Just so you know… Rann still takes pain medication for her leg. But unfortunately, she's addicted to it."

"Really? How?"

"The only pain killers that were strong enough for her were derived from a potent variety of spice, one that is quite narcotic. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell when she really has pain, or just needs a fix. Even I have a hard time reading it since they're very much one in the same in her mind."

"It seems like she's still able to function okay, though."

Ja'Ina was a bit puzzled. The only spice addicts she had heard of were extreme cases who weren't able to carry on a normal life.

"Yeah, she does a good job in that area. But still, I feel she could be much more if she didn't have this to struggle with."