Chapter 7
Nova has woken up feeling much better than before, still sore but her dizziness has subsided. Todo showed her to the washroom and help remove some of the bandages so she may shower while he brought her a change of clothes. She was probably in there for at least an hour that was until the water started to become cold which was her cue to get out. She has never felt so clean before in her life.
When she stepped out of the shower, she noticed the clothes Todo had brought in. They were a clean pair of black pants, boots, socks, a white tank top, and a pullover black hoodie. It was obvious these clothes were still Bane's due to his preferred color choices. That and the smell of leather and death sticks that lingered on the clean fabric, but she wasn't complaining she actually quite enjoyed it. She put on the clothes and tied the hoodie around her waist in case she wanted to wear it later. She didn't bother looking in the mirror she figured she looked like a wet mess plus she hated how she looked. Every time she looked in the mirror, she was reminded of her mistakes in the form of the scars that littered her body.
Nova had stepped out of the washroom fully clothed and actively drying her long black hair with a towel when she noticed Bane. He was leaning against the main doorway waiting for her while he chewed on a toothpick. He was dressed in leather pants, boots similar to last time but this time he looked to have chest armor over his long-sleeved shirt. He has his duel blasters attached to his hips and dawned his infamous wide-brimmed hat. She stopped drying her hair and placed the towel on the bed.
"Um…thank you for the clean clothes" Bane didn't speak at first, he was just eyeing her for a moment then grunted a response ummhumm followed by a head nod.
Bane flicked the toothpick down the hall looking away from her. "Well little lady, wanna learn to shoot a blaster or what?"
Nova was excited she was sure after yesterday he would change his mind on the whole ordeal. She nodding eagerly and rushed over to the door and followed him down the hallway to what looked to be the back door to the building in which she was staying. I guess it makes sense he wouldn't trust her with seeing his whole hideout just yet. She didn't care what he does during his time, it's his business. When the back door opened warm light smacked her in the face, it must be high noon for how bright the sun seemed to be. Once her eyes adjusted, she was taken back, this place was beautiful.
She has never seen so many greens and blues in her lifetime. From where she was standing, she could see they were on a coastline beside the water but on top of a small ledge to keep the water from actually reaching Bane's hideout. Looking out across the sea you spotted more islands large and small scattered in all directions. Most of the limestone islands are covered with tropical forests and rise from the sea as dramatic rock cliffs and bizarre rock formations. The island they were currently on was a long-rugged island that was covered with pristine lowland rainforest and fringed with coral reefs.
Nova put her hands up to her lips as she was taking in the scenery. "Cad, where are we? This place is beautiful" As she spoke, she did not take her eyes off the sea. Bane looked out across the sea, then back at Nova. "Well take it in because you won't be coming back here. Now follow me". There was no spite in his tone of voice more like just stating the facts.
Nova quickly followed after Bane walking right behind his heels. "You never know, I could come back here for a trip one day," she said smiling.
"That's unlikely since this Planet isn't on any star chart, so good luck with that". He smirked
Nova was confused "I thought all planets were charted?"
"That's a foolish assumption. I wouldn't trust everything you hear on the holonet. There are some things you need to figure out on your own and make your own decisions." Bane spoke while slightly looking over his shoulder to speak to her while still walking in his original direction. "Remember you are no longer a slave. You make your own choices, do whatever you want, and you live with the consequences of those decisions." As Nova was thinking over his words, she was snapped out of her thoughts "Here we are".
The walk inland added variety to the endless lakes and waterways that so stunningly reflect the clouds and sky above. Low-lying hills and mountains form a lovely backdrop to the glittering bodies of water and the lonely birds flying overhead complete the incredible scene. In the valley are a few trees with silhouette targes posted in front of them. Behind those silhouettes seemed to be a cliff that dropped straight down into the ocean below.
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Bane could see her still focusing on her surroundings instead of watching him. She did look beautiful; he has been finding it hard to take his eye off her since she walked out of the washroom. Hair a mess, wearing his clothes, slightly wet white tank from her hair, showing … No stop it! Bane is not foreign to women of all species. He is well known in many cantinas and adult establishments throughout the galaxy as a flirt and usually gets what he wants, he is a man on the move and does not have time for 'relationships', but a man still has needs. Nova is not someone he wants to get involved with that way. She was a mystery to him, her background unknown, young, naïve, and innocent. Sure, her innocence has surely been stripped from her as a slave, but he is not the type of guy (a good guy) to take it from her as a free woman.
If these 'tests' he came up with play out as he thinks they might throughout the week, while they are stuck here waiting on his ship, maybe he can see if she is truly a Jedi before making a call on what to do with her. As far as he can tell she is just another fragile human female. Her Midi-chlorian count was through the roof, but for as many years as he has known her, he never suspected anything. He couldn't find any other facts about her while doing a background check with Todo, minus some of her pod race entries on record and the trade records for when she was first sold off at the age of six. Nothing is adding up and he would be lying to say it wasn't driving him crazy. He likes to have all the facts before walking into something. Over the time he has known her he did have a small amount of respect for her even if it wasn't much.
He quickly drew his blaster and shot five-rounds dead center on the target. Nova looked like she jumped out of her skin, which got her attention. "Paramount to any situation where you're handling a firearm is safety. I'll go over the steps, but I expect you to engrain them into your mind, and prepare to follow them while you're handling any weapons, got it?"
Nova nodded now fully paying attention to Bane. That's more I like it, I'm not going to go through all this trouble to waste my breath.
"Always assume a gun is loaded, and always have it pointed in a safe direction. Make sure your weapon is cleared and you know where the safety switch is. You don't have to with this particular blaster but when it comes to blaster rifles make sure the gun is clear by removing the magazine."
He handed Nova one of his blasters that was on his hip which was an LL-30 blaster, a modestly powerful firearm. Bane watched as she fumbled with it with her small hands until she felt she had a good grip. Once she held what she thought was right she pointed the weapon toward Bane to show him while smiling, you can see she was excited. He quickly grabbed the top of the blaster and pushed it down to the ground. "Nova… I just explained this, don't point this weapon at anything you don't intend to kill" clearly annoyed.
Nova paled smile disappearing, "Oh! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to!" Bane just scoffed "if you did maybe we shouldn't be having this little lesson, for my sake" he smirked. Nova started to panic and ramble over her words trying not to have the lesson end already before she realized he was messing with her.
Bane took her shoulders and turned her toward the target while standing right behind her. He lifted up her arms and started repositioning her grip. "The dominant hand grip. Shooting effectively should always be done with two hands, when possible because a two-handed grip is always more stable and therefore more accurate. Next, place the heel of your non-dominant hand in the exposed portion of the grip so that it completely fills the space. This two-handed grip will feel completely unnatural. The key is to fill open spaces around the grip because the gun's recoil moves everything toward the path of least resistance and staying in control is the name of game."
"Assume a proper shooting position with your feet shoulder width apart and your knees slightly bent". Nova attempted to do as Bane asked but he just stopped talking for a moment, so she looked back. "Do you care if I move your body for you" Nova looked shocked but didn't say anything Bane rolled his eyes and clarified "You're doing it wrong, and it would just be easier to set you up so you know what it should feel like". Nova nodded.
So, Bane started to adjust her body as he explained the proper shooting stance, during this time Nova's face began to turn very red. "Don't lock out your knees and don't flex your leg muscles but establish a grounded base with the lower half of your body. Square your shoulders and lean forward slightly with your torso. Draw the blaster from your holster with your dominant hand and grip the blaster, keeping your trigger finger off the trigger and along with the frame of the blaster." Bane finally noticed Nova blushing as he was helping her. This wasn't my intention, but it could be fun to mess with her a bit.
"Keep it in what's called the ready position, holding the blaster close to your body in front of your abdomen and pointed toward your target." Bane wrapped his arms around Nova to help show her the movements needed to do this. "Now, from the ready position, extend your arms out in front of you and prepare to aim in on your target with your dominant eye. Your arms should be extended but not locked. Keep a very slight bend in your elbows with your shoulders still square to the target."
At this point Bane let go of Nova to allow her to get settled and comfortable. Then he leaned in over her shoulder and lowered his voice, "Aim. Pull the trigger."