Five Years Later
"Kari?! You done yet?" "Almost. Just let me finish!" Kari reaches for the last wire hanging out of the panel, and clips it, allowing the door to slide open. "About time." Luna yells over the blaster fire and explosions, and Kari sighs. "Why don't you try it?" she snaps, pulling out her knife, turning away, back to the scanner, to see if any new visitors have been detected… ¨Hang on. I´m getting a signal...¨ The scanner has picked up a lot of new ships fresh out of hyperspace, and Kari gasps when she feels them. ¨No. No, no, no.¨, Kari mumbles. Hearing Kari's voice, Luna looks over, muttering, ¨Kari, you okay?¨ ¨Oh, uh, yeah. I´m fine. Just, uh- memories.¨ Luna grunts in reply, and quickly picks up the last crate of stuff, whatever it is, to be delivered to the Limos Clan. Chic buts in before the hotwired door shuts, shouting ¨Hate to hurry both of you, but those Imperials don't see this as a simple pickup. We've got what we need.¨ ¨Wait. Didn't we come for something in hangar 21?¨ ¨Forget about it. They said only if we have time.¨ ¨Are you sure-¨ ¨Course. Just help Kari get us outta here in one piece.¨"Luna frowns, and turns away, but Kari can already see it. ¨You´ll need me to get the hangar door open.¨ She grins, and Kari winces, internally. But she follows Luna, into a place she instinctively dreads.
¨Wow. No wonder they wanted this. It would keep them in credits for however long they would live.¨ Luna seems fascinated by the cargo, but the slim metal items piled in the bin ignite something she has not not felt since that day. Memories flood her vision, and she falls to her knees, only seeing and feeling what she has never wished to experience again.
¨Kari? Kari!¨ ¨What-What happened?¨ ¨How can I answer that? You blacked out there for a second. Kari, we need you here, now. Not in memory lane.¨ ¨Yeah. Sorry. Just, memories. You know.¨ "Yeah, well, we all have memories. Just hold it back until we get out of here", Chic yells. Hali looks over, but they've already run up the ramp with Luna in tow, carrying a small box of those slim metal things. She quickly decides to join them, seeing as her ex friends have decided to join the quest for credits.
The ship is quiet, seeing as they managed to jump away before anything could be confirmed. She steps away from the cargo hold containing that crate, and slips into her quarters.The Crow Flies is technically Luna and Chic's ship, but once she got onto the crew, they gave her a converted closet to sleep in. Honestly, it isn't all that bad. It's soundproof, which she is really thankful for at night. Walking into the center of her quarters, she stops, looking down at the locked vault built into the floor. She found it on her first day, and it became a lifesaver, helping her to hide haunting memories when she was still struggling to repress everything. She hides her greatest secret there, something that even Luna and Chic know little of. The key remains around her neck, over her heart, and she knows it won't stay there forever. But damn the force if she won't try to keep this hidden, no matter the cost. She kneels, slipping the key into the lock, allowing the dust to rise slightly, before falling on a small metal box, plain as any in the hold, but no bigger than her foot, with something more precious than spice inside.
She cradles the small crystal kept within, holding it, trying to sooth the pain that smothers her. She had to give in. They gave her no other choice, and to her, death is never a choice. If only she had become what they thought she could be, had fought harder, Mum could still be here. She could be free from everything. But no, she's straining to keep herself off the leash that ties her to the universe. It held her down, and she just, well, had to keep pushing against it. If she didn't want to receive another set of scars, that is.
Luna turns away from the crate she was inspecting, watching her partner and lover lift another crate of supplies. "We're okay on supplies-for now.", Chic says, before turning around to face Luna. Seeing Luna's smirk, Chic sighs. "Yes?" "You look really hot lifting stuff." Chic rolls their eyes, blushing, before tackling Luna, kissing her until she's breathless. Until the engine starts whining, cutting their moment short. "Damn engine. Where's Kari?" "Probably in her quarters. I gave her some space. Something during that supply run scared the crap out of her." "I'm going to check on her. Can you get the engine fixed. Oh, and babe, do not try using the double seal tape to seal it." "Got it."
"Kari? Can I come in?" Kari jumps, turning to face the door, quickly shoving the crystal in her pocket. "Yeah." A soft 'woosh' of air follows, and reveals Chic, standing in the doorway. Their eyes are sad, and their voice is quiet. "I heard you crying on the way back. Everything okay?" "Yeah. Well, no. Well, I don't know anymore." "You want to talk about it?" Chic walks over, sitting next Kari. "It's complicated." "Well, you know about my and Luna's relationship, right? That's complicated. We're not free, Kari. We may be in love, but nobody cares. We could be ripped apart at any moment. Same goes for any other slave and who they love. You're lucky." "I'm still bound to something else." "Oh, that mystical power thing you mentioned once?" "Yeah. That." Chic moves around slightly, reaching out and putting their hand on Kari's shoulder. "Look, I know you don't want to talk about stuff, but hey, Luna and I have seen enough shit to say that holding it all in is more trouble than it's worth. Kari, you can talk about it when you're ready. You're like a daughter to us. I mean, not in age, but still." "Thanks. It's just-hard. You know." "Yeah. I do know." Chic smiles softly, before hugging Kari and standing. "Engines broke down again. Want to help?" "Uh, actually, I need to be alone for a little while." "Okay. Just know that it's probably going to be fried tip-yip today. Just wanted to let you know."
Chic walks down the hallway, following the string of curses coming from the engine room. "Kriff! Fuck, how does Chic do this?" "Need help?" Luna turns around from the smoking machinery, nearly dropping the tool in her hand. "Here. Let me show you." Chic kicks a tool out of the way, kicking the machine in the process. "Whoops." "Chic, was that supposed to actually help?" "Yeah. Kicking is usually the most effective strategy to get this damn thing working again. Hang on." Chic grabs the tool, a few wires, clipping them neatly, then, as the smoke slows, adds two metal pieces to the ends, allowing the machine to continue running with ease. "How did you-", Luna asks, her mouth hanging open. "Practice. We all start somewhere, right? Just like how I'm still a terrible pilot." "Fair. Reminds me, I need to show you how to work the comms. We might run into trouble, and everyone needs to know how to respond. Oh, and how's Kari?" Chic sighs. "She was crying again." "Oh. That bad?" "Yeah. Something out there really shook her up. I didn't even realize that she's a slave to something too." "Kari told you that?" "Yeah. She's still hiding a lot. I'm not going to force it out of her, but the Empire seems to know quite a bit about her." Luna smirks slightly. "Well, they know quite a bit about us too." "True. And I know quite a bit about you, so there."
Kari approaches the cockpit. She knows they were talking about her, among other things. The door wooshes open, revealing Luna and Chic cuddled under a blanket on the floor, breathing softly. Kari steps back, letting the door close. Better not disturb them at this moment. She continues walking down the hallway, down to a spot she favors for moments like this. She can see more stars here than any other spot on the ship, and it brings some kind of comfort, somehow. She can see a few of the stars Mum would talk about late at night, and thanks to a star map courtesy of Luna, she now knows the names of a few of the most prominent. She used to imagine skies as a little child, while running around under grimy buildings. But the real thing was something else entirely.
She looks outward,watching the soft glow of light so far away, when she hears it. "Hali. You can only escape for so long, my child. We will find you, and your little friends too. You struggle to even attempt to release yourself from forged bonds. You are connected. It will always be this way."
Kari steps back, shaking her head. "No. Stop it. Go away. I cut myself off. GO AWAY!"
Quiet. She finally feels the quiet surrounding her. "It worked. Thank the- no, not that." She hears footsteps behind her. "Kari, what was that?" Luna's eyes are saddened, and she looks more concerned than ever. "Oh. Just-that voice again." "Not-Shit. Do we need to move?" "I don't know. Last time this happened was when I left. It stopped, until now." Luna frowns. "Did you cut the connection?" "I'm trying to cut myself off completely. It shouldn't happen again."
Hey ya'll. So I think this will become my main story for now, since I have absolutely no idea what to do with the other stories I'm writing at this moment. ALso, I wrote this chapter during theater class, so I was able to read it over, but there might be mistakes. Feel free to point them out in a review. Also, yes, Chic is non-binary. Not much else needs to be said there. Also, Kari means borrowed in Japanese. Didn't know that before, but it kinda works for the story, so yeah. Thanks for reading:)