Chapter 34: Confessions

Nara and Rei sat alone in the cold, dark cell. The only sounds came from the hum of the engines of the strange ship the two found themselves on. They huddled for warmth, shuddering as they sat in danger of freezing.

"N-Nara?"

"Y-y-yeah?"

"H-He's going to take me b-back t-to the empire, i-isn't he..?"

Rei collapsed against her friend's shoulder and sobbed.

"H-he is! He's taking me back! Th-they're going to execute me! I... I'm too join to die! I.. There was so much I was going to do... I never even got to tell you-"

Rei was cut off mid-sentence ... when Nara kissed her.

It lasted only a second, and was more awkward than anything, but it was enough to make Rei's face flush bright red. Of course, Nara was unable to see her, but it didn't matter.

"Sorry, what were you going to say..?" Nara asked, the hints of laughter in her voice. Rei said nothing for several moments.

"You... You knew..?" Rei asked, still completely stunned.

"You're really shit at hiding stuff..," Nara said.

"So, does that me-"

She was interrupted when, once again, Nara kissed her.

This one lasted much longer. Exactly how long, neither of them knew. Long enough.

After a few moments, Nara broke off.

"Now," she said, "what do you say we try and find a way out of here?"

"Uh, yeah, sure..." Rei replied, still bright red in the face.

Nara stood up and walked over to the force field at the front of the cell. She stared at it for a while, peering at it left and right, hen closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Behind her eyelids, Nara was far from blind. The world around her swirled with a bright purple tint. She could see everything around her all at once, and see inside all that surrounded her. She focused her attention to the force field mechanism. Staring into it, she could see a single electrical circuit box, which controlled the whole thing. And what's more, it's construction was fairly shoddy, enough that Nara was confident she could crush it via the Force as easily as wadding up a sheet of paper.

"Got it," she said to Rei.

"Huh? Got what?" Rei inquired.

"The way out," Nara replied, and thrust big hands out in front of her. Within the wall, a series of loud creaks and pops were heard, followed by a loud metallic crunching sound. In an instant, the force field dissipated.

"Come on!" Nara said, and ran out the door. Rei followed right behind her. On a table just outside the cell, Nara found their bags. She rummaged around, then pulled out Rei's blaster. She tossed it over, and Rei caught it in midair. Nara turned back to the bag, rummaged for another few seconds, then frowned.

"My lightsaber! Where's my lightsaber?" she said.

"You mean this?" A voice said. Nara and Rei both whipped around to see A'laan, standing here with Nara's lightsaber in his hand. He had a smug smile across his face. But Nara didn't seem fazed. She smiled as well, lookin straight at him.

"As a matter of fact, yeah," Nara said, then thrust out her arm. The lightsaber came flying out of A'laan's hand and flew right into Nara's grip. She activated it immediately and took a ready stance, waiting for A'laan to move first. Rei deactivated the safety on her blaster and aimed it carefully right at his chest.

The two sides stared daggers into each others' eyes for what seemed like an eternity, and just before any of them could make a move, the ship lurched to one side, and all three of them were thrown to the ground. Before any of them were able to get up, a hatch opened up in the middle of the room.

And with a swiftness none of them had ever seen, Nova dropped down through the hatch, drew his lightsaber, and was holding it at A'laan's throat before anyone had time to react.

When the dust settled, Nova's eyes glowed brightly blue, and his face was one of incredible fury. But upon seeing Nara and Rei across from him, the glow faded and his face loosened.

"Are you two alright?" he asked.

They nodded slightly. Nova turned his attention to A'laan, who had his hands raised in a surrender position.

"How the hell did you find me?" A'laan asked.

"I have my ways," Nova said.

As soon as they were back on board the Stormbreaker, Nara and Rei were surrounded by D'razz, Winson, and Kaz. They were questioned for what felt like an eternity, but they eventually managed to escape the others' attention. The two of them took the lift to the floor where their quarters were, and prepared to retire for the night. But just before Rei could enter her room, Nara grabbed her arm and dragged her further down the hall towards hers.

"Come on," Nara said, "We have a lot to talk about..."