"I still don't understand why we have to be up this early. It's still dark outside." Kai yawned as she complained. Ozan had come and pulled her out of her room, after instructing her to get dressed for a tracking exercise. He was already in his usual long overcoat, a linen pair of pants, and a simple shirt. His gun was slung over his back, the strap well-worn from years of use.
"That is the point of this morning, Kai. Dawn is one of the hardest times to see other targets and tracking clues, but that's where you'll have the advantage if you've trained right. Now come down to the bay. There's some breakfast for you." He instructed, and slid down the ladder, his feet making a solid thud as he hit the ground and walked to what served as their kitchen.
Kai rolled her eyes and pulled on her own black jacket that she had gotten a few weeks ago when they had gone to the market. She zipped it up with a frustrated sigh, and slid down after him. As soon as she reached the bottom floor, A6 rolled out greeting her happily. He'd been much friendlier after his new paint job she had given him, and his body was now a deep maroon, with crisp white lines. She leaned down and pressed a kiss onto the top of his dome, and in response he waved a tool hand at her, motioning her to go away. He beeped at her with irritation and she shook her head, a smile on her lips as she bit down on some of the offered fruit.
"Wrong. It's not at all possible to give you too much love, A6. And as much as you argue, you love it." Kai said affectionately, and she chugged the bottle of water that had been placed there by Ozan.
Say what she would about him, he kept her safe, warm and well fed. He took good care of her, and she'd have to be an idiot to not see that. And as much as she tried to deny it, she did feel a small spark of affection for the quiet, gruff man who had found her. He wasn't overly affectionate, he didn't tuck her in at night like her mom used to, but if she struggled with her grief, he would put his coat over her, or give her hand a small pat as he walked by.
He also pushed her, and he pushed her hard. She would carry most of the supplies, to strengthen her muscles. She exercised for at least hours a day, to strengthen her lungs and heart. And he promised after she had mastered the basics of a blaster, she would get a knife to add to her collection.
But most importantly, he listened. He listened to her rant and mourn about what happened to her village and family, and even listened with amusement at her outrage on the newest episode on the holoshow she watched. She knew for him, that spoke volumes, and though her heart ached for her mother she knew she was lucky to have him.
After finishing her simple breakfast, she walked over to where her own blaster lay on the crate. Ozan had gotten it for her a week ago, finally feeling that she was ready to have a blaster to call hers, instead of simply borrowing his, and this was the third time he had had her practice. He seemed determined to get her as skilled as possible in the quickest amount of time.
As she strapped on the holster, she watched him as he walked out of the kitchen and tucked some water containers as well as food packets into the pack he carried on his back. It was going to be a long day, apparently and she suppressed another long sigh.
A-6 had apparently piloted their ship to where they needed to be, because instead of the engine continuing to run, it powered down and the door opened, revealing the black sky outside, with the horizon still dark, no sunlight to be seen. They walked outside, and started towards some grassy hills that cracked into canyons and she hefted the pack on her shoulders with a sigh, this time audible. Ozan ignored her, of course. He never did pay attention to her mild complaining.
"Here we go." She thought, and they took off across the rough terrain.
"Are we almost there yet? Why didn't we bring speeders?" Shae groaned as they continued to walk. They had been going for 30 minutes, and the mountains didn't look much closer than when they'd started. She was sure it was just their position but it made for a long walk. The only difference now was that there was a thin line of blue at the horizon where the sun was beginning to rise.
"I did not teach you to complain, child. We didn't bring speeders, because you do not improve your hardiness by simply riding your way to somewhere." Ozan pointed out, his eyebrow raised as he stepped over a large. They were now approaching the canyon, the rocks and grass evening out beneath their feet.
"I know." Shae responded, and jumped down from another long rock she had been walking on. "But as you said, you didn't teach me to complain, so I can keep going." She quipped, and he chuckled, his lips pulling into a small smile.
"I suppose you're right." He agreed and set a hand on her shoulder. "We stop here. I will take the pack now, and if you want to eat lunch any time soon, you will find me." He instructed and Shae opened her mouth in protest.
"Ozan! That's not—" He cut her off with a stern look and she scowled. "It's not fair." She muttered and he shook his head with another small smile.
"Complaining will not help you Kai. I have taught you as much as I can about tracking without actually showing you. So now starts the practical training."
He motioned to his blaster on his left side which was mirrored on her right. "You are to only use this if you are in danger, understood?" He asked, and when she nodded he continued. "You don't need it to track so keep it in your holster, but turn the safety off."
She pressed the button and it felt like the gun sucked in a mass amount of heat, and it was near to burning her. It was dangerous now. She had to be careful. He never had her take the safety off when he wasn't around.
He pointed to a rock. "You will sit here for 10 minutes. Then you will come find me. Do you understand?" he asked, but his rough voice carried a small trace of kindness and Kai's lips twitched in a smile.
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Wait here, then come find you so I can have some food. Should be easy enough." She boasted, and he chuckled.
"If I've taught you well, yes, it should be easy enough. Now, close your eyes for 2 minutes." He told her and she closed them obediently. She began counting the seconds under her breath and she stopped hearing his footsteps after 20. She was so tempted to open her eyes, but knowing Ozan, he would simply start the whole exercise over again, and this time, make it twice as hard.
So, she laid back on the rock and kept her eyes closed until her two minutes were up, and then she set her chrono for 8 minutes. As the clock counted down, she flicked rocks off of the one she was sitting on with a bored sigh.
When the chrono finally beeped, signifying the time was up, she dropped the rock she was crumbling against a harder stone, and stood up, dusting off the seat and legs of her pants. She rechecked that her blaster was secure and then turned her gaze to the ground. Time to put his training to the test.
"Always check the ground first for sign of life." He had told her, and she turned her eyes to the ground. The grass underneath her feet was soft and springy which created a problem where the footsteps didn't stay. She walked carefully and scanned the ground as she approached the canyon between the two hills.
Then she saw it. The print from the toe of a boot, and she smiled. She saw the trajectory of where he had most likely gone, and she started jogging until she hit the tree line. These trees ranged from new growths, nearly at her knee to grand trees that towered so far above her that it made her dizzy to look. She rubbed her eyes and focused on the branches at Ozan's height.
She followed what she figured was his likely trajectory, and continued to scan the ground and trees for hints. When she saw a bent branch, she knew this was a practice run. He was leaving these hints for her and he wanted her to find him. Well, she knew she was more than prepared to find the hints, so she decided to speed up, crossing the ground at a jog, rather than a walk.
Her hunch was correct, as she passed barely moved rocks, broken twigs, and bent foliage.
Her smile split her face as she spied two rocky outcroppings. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Ozan was through there. She wiped the grin off her face, and set her blaster to stun before placing it on the ground. She reached up to the straps on her back, and tightened them so that it rested snugly to her body. As she reached down to pick up her gun, the high-pitched whine of a shot greeted her ears. A blaster shot. She jumped back from her blaster but looked at it confusedly. The barrel wasn't heated, and wasn't smoking. That shot wasn't fired by her. As if to mock her current befuddlement, what seemed like a dozen other blaster shots greeted her. Then it hit her and her blood turned to ice.
"Ozan." She whispered as she picked up her blaster in shaking hands. He was in trouble, and she had no idea what to do. Her breath rang in her head, almost drowning out the shots. What was she supposed to do? She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. Ozan had always told her to find the high ground and she stared up at the rocky hill head of her. She took off running and scaled the incline, falling down on her knees a couple times in a puff of dust. She finally scrambled to the top and she dropped to her stomach, wincing in pain as a rock dug into her ribs. She peered over the edge and was greeted by the sight of laser bolts, some of which left black scored marks on the rocks.
She switched her gun back to live rounds, and leveled her blaster with shaking hands and kept breathing until her grip tightened, and steadied, and she aimed at a man who was undoubtedly firing at Ozan. From her angle, she could see him crouching behind a boulder, with his trademark coat. She pressed the trigger and her own blue bolt fired into the man, knocking him back a step and onto his stomach. She gasped, and blinked the dirt of her eyes, as she pointed it at another man. Another jerk of the blaster and he lay still. A returning shot hit the ground next to her and she yelped as she dodged the bits of rock that flew her way.
As she rolled over onto her stomach again, she saw Ozan stand up and fire boldly at the four men in front of him, and she bit her lip so hard that was sure she was going to bleed. He was trying to protect her. She hadn't ever seen him do anything like this, not since he bought her those many months ago.
She got up from where she was and scrambled down the rise until she found a crack between the two rocks, and she hoped it led to the firefight. She slid in between the small slot canyon, a snag catching her shoulder, and she hissed as she felt it cut. She reached the end, and arrived just in time to Ozan wobble back as he clutched his chest, his eyes twisted in pain above his scarf.
Only two men had survived the firefight that had occurred while she was in the canyon and she felt an odd cry leave her throat. She almost felt like it hadn't come from herself, but from someone near her. This was no happening again to her. She couldn't lose someone else.
She watched herself lift her blaster and pull the trigger, hitting one enemy then the next. She swayed on her feet as she watched them hit the ground and she quickly holstered her blaster, sure she was going to drop it if she didn't. She stared at their motionless bodies, and she felt her eyes burn with tears. She had never killed anyone before today and she kept waiting for them to stand up and continue fighting.
Suddenly a pained groan greeted her and she glanced over to find Ozan attempting to stand up. She rushed to his side and put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him from moving further. "Ozan. You're hurt." She said and he looked up at her and dragged down the cloth covering his face so he could speak to her.
"We need…" He coughed, his breathing ragged "to get back to the ship. There's a medpack there. Help me up." He instructed and she put her shoulder under his arm and ignored the feeling of his arm rubbing against her cut.
He stood with a pained hiss, and stayed in a hunched over position, his hand clutched to his chest. She grabbed his rifle from his side, and they made their way to the cleft in the rock.
He stumbled over the rocks in their path, and at one point his trip caused Kai to fall to her knees, the now grassy path cushioning her fall. She looked over at Ozan and shook him slightly with her shoulder, causing his closed eyes to flicker open.
"Don't pass out on me, Ozan. You know I can't carry you." She forced out as she finally made it to her feet again.
His head lolled and he grumbled something under his breath, that she couldn't here. She managed to make it to the rocks she had originally sat at, and pressed on towards the ship. They had to get there soon.
"Droid." He said suddenly, and she looked over at him before stopping.
"What? What do you mean?" She asked, and he looked at her, his eyes in slits. "Call A6. He can get the ship to—" he managed to get out before slumping to his knees, dragging her down too. She wiggled out from underneath his arm and laid him back against the rock, trying to place his head in a comfortable position before rifling through his pocket, and grabbing the comm unit.
"A6, are you there?" She asked, and waited for only a few seconds before answering beeps hit her ears. She nearly cried with relief.
"Listen, I need you to pilot the ship to this location. Ozan's hurt, and I can't carry him any further." She pleaded as she sat on a rock next to him, her hand on his shoulder. "Hurry. Please."
He assured her he'd be there as soon as he could, and she laid her head in her hands. She kept them there, her eyes fixed on the ground, until she heard the whine of an engine, and the wind that always followed a landing.
Their ship's docking feet met the ground and the ramp opened to reveal a very concerned A6. He wheeled down to where she was and began waving tool arms around, beeping and whistling concernedly.
"He got shot." Kai explained. "Must have been raiders in the canyon." She hefted him up again, and he muttered something under his breath as his head rolled back.
She managed to get him up the ramp and onto the floor, where she asked A6 to find a medpack, while she worked to steady her breathing. She rolled up a blanket they had laying around, and carefully placed it under his shoulders and head and gently unwound the cloth from his neck. His brow was furrowed in pain, and he winced as she pulled his jacket aside.
A6 wheeled out from the storage closet, just as she exposed the wound. She knew in theory what to do, from her mother's training, and some of Ozan's, but this was the first time she had seen a blaster wound that wasn't on a holovid.
She opened the med kit, and pulled out a pain reliever and inserted it into his neck, at the spot the instructions indicated, wincing as she felt the needle move. After sanitizing the area.
She pulled out a bacta patch, and peeled off the back, before placing it over his wound, sealing down the edges.
Ozan's eyelids twitched, and opened, his eyes meeting hers. He seemed to take in the fact that he was laying on the floor, and no doubt felt the patch on his chest.
"What happened?" he asked, and Shae sat on the floor next to them, digging out a water container, and cracking open the lid. She grabbed the back of his head, and offered him the drink, which he accepted gratefully. When he had taken his fill, she leaned back and opened another for herself, and took a long gulp.
"You got shot by some bandits, I think. So, I hauled you back, and called A6 to pick us up." She told him and he nodded thoughtfully before turning to the droid, and gave him instructions in his native language, a location to take the ship no doubt. A6 disappeared up into the cockpit and she felt the familiar pull as they took off and exited the atmosphere.
"Why did you come get me?" Ozan asked as they settled in, and Kai looked at him, her eyes wide as her mouth worked to form words.
"W-Why wouldn't I? I couldn't leave you to die. This is your ship and we're a team." She replied, and he shook his head.
"Try again, child." He instructed, and she furrowed her brow in frustration. "You could have left me there, and not endangered your own life," he gestured to her arm and she saw a blaster score on her sleeve. Now that she focused she could feel a slight sting from the graze. "yet you chose to come find me, kill those who threatened me, and get us back to the ship. You could have escaped with a good amount of credits, excellent weapons, and enough cargo to be happy for a long time. So why did you save my life?" He asked again and she looked down at her hands, tears filling her eyes. He knew why, but he was making her say it, and she tamped down her anger she felt towards him in that instant. He was far too good to her, she decided.
"Because…" She answered hoarsely. "Because I couldn't leave you to die. I couldn't just..." she gestured helplessly, and looked over at him with exasperation. "What else do you want me to say, huh? I didn't want you to..." Her voice cracked and she felt tears flow down her face and she covered her eyes with a hand.
Ozan placed a warm hand on her other hand, and gently squeezed her fingers. She met his eyes, and they reflected kindness back at her, and it allowed the sentence she was afraid of to exit her lips.
"I didn't want you to die like my mother did." She managed to say, and her voice cracked as she looked away. "She died just like that. Unable to fight back, and overwhelmed. I couldn't leave...leave you." She finally said, and she felt Ozan's arms wrap around her, pressing her to him comfortingly. She hadn't seen him sit up, but she leaned into him and let herself cry.
"I am so proud of you, Kai." He said, his voice rumbling in his chest, and she cried harder, her fists clenched and her eyes shut tightly. Her mother had told that to her too, all the time. She had never wondered if she was proud. She just always knew.
Ozan continued, "You did well today. You found me, and saved my life. You are a brave child." He reassured her, and she wiped her eyes and face with her sleeve as she leaned up.
"I told you to stop calling me that." She managed to reply, and he chuckled.
"That may never happen." He argued, and she took deep breaths to calm her breathing, continuing to wipe residual tears away. "You will always be a child to me, even when your hair becomes gray." He told her, and she sat up straighter and wiped her face again. The tears seemed to have stopped the time being.
"That's not fair for you to say. You don't have gray hair." She replied, and helped him out of his coat, so he could switch his shirt. "And you're assuming that we both make it to that age." She joked, and he leveled his eyes at her.
"You know my hair isn't naturally this shade of blue, right?" He asked, and she squinted in confusion and tilted her head.
"It's not?" She asked hesitantly, and he barked out a laugh, and she scowled at him as she stood up, and helped him up as well. "What? It's not like I know everything there is to know about Zeltrons. Your skin is red. Why shouldn't your hair be navy blue?"
They walked up to the cockpit, and he let himself fall into the seat with a groan. "My hair is streaked with gray, young one. I color it so others don't get the idea I'm frail and easy to take advantage of." He explained and she shrugged as she sat in the copilot's seat.
"I'm not sure they would think that, even if you let your hair go naturally." She threw at him, as she focused on the readings in front of her. He was in the middle of teaching her what they all meant. She knew what electronic readings meant when it came to speeders, but this ship was much more complex.
He grunted in response, and set the coordinates to another location. She decided to tease him further. "That's also assuming that I make it to that age as well. Old you know, like you." He simply rolled his eyes, and pulled the lever to let them enter lightspeed.
"You will, if I have anything to do with it." He grumbled, and she chuckled. "Go take a shower, and settle in for the night. We'll land in the morning," he instructed and she got up with a long-suffering sigh.
Climbing down from the cockpit, she walked into her room, and into her bathroom. She showered quickly, washing herself of the dirt and mud from the planet, and pulled on a fresh pair of pants, and a shirt. She laid on her stomach on her bed with her legs crossed and her chin rested on her arms.
"I am so proud of you, Kai." Ozan's voice echoed through her head, and she laid her forehead on her arms. She missed hearing that. It seemed like it had been forever since she'd heard those words, and she closed her eyes as pain lanced through her chest. Ozan was good, but he was not her mother, and she missed her horribly.
Kai ran out into the living room, and sat on the couch next to Runa, holding the frozen blue milk cream from their freezer. They had purchased it at the market earlier that day, and finally they got to dig in.
She handed a spoon to her mom, and took a bite, the sweet flavor hitting her tongue, making her smile.
"So, I finished that series I had to read for school." Kai announced, and Runa put her arm around her and gave her a hug, then took another bite when Kai handed her the container.
"How long did that take you again?" Runa asked, and Kai smiled proudly as she answered.
"It took me only 2 months. My teacher said that I'm one of the fastest readers she has and she's going to give me another series to read." It had been a difficult collection, but she had finally managed to get the hang of the wording and had finished the book written in formal Core world style weeks ahead of her other classmates.
Runa put a hand on hers and looked into her eyes, green mixed with brown reflecting on blue, and she kissed her forehead. "I am so proud of you, Kai. You are such a smart girl. I love you." She praised her and Kai's cheeked flushed as she smiled back.
"Thanks, mom. I love you too." She held her mother's hand for a moment, releasing it with a squeeze.
"Can we watch some holotv before bed?" She asked, and Runa nodded, glancing at the chrono on the wall.
"I think that should be ok. It's still pretty early." She relented, and they turned the tv to their favorite show they watched together, about a woman from a big city adjusting to the ways of a backwater planet, and of course, predictably falling in love with the rugged handsome man of the town.
She leaned into her mom and took a deep breath, as they finished off their treat. She loved nights like this. Her mom pulled a blanket over her and brushed her hand over her back, and Kai closed her eyes happily.
Kai's eyes dripped with tears as she released the memory and she sat up cross legged, and she used her hands to wipe away her tears. She sighed angrily and walked over to the sink in her bathroom, turning on the water to rinse her face. She looked up in the mirror and dried her face. Leaning on her hands, she stared into the red rimmed eyes reflecting back at her in the mirror.
How did she tell Ozan that she wanted to find the crew that had killed her mom, and exact her anger and revenge on them? She knew he'd probably say no, but it was worth the ask.
She opened her door, and walked over to the cockpit where he was still piloting. Sometime she was absolutely sure he never slept.
"Ozan?" She asked, as she neared the cockpit. "Can I ask you something?"
Ozan nodded, and she sat down, her foot bouncing nervously. When he looked at her with expectant eyes she took a deep breath.
"How do we find the crew that killed my mom?" She asked, and his eyes hardened, his hands tightening on the controls enough for her to notice.
"Why do you want to?" He asked and she swallowed before clasping her hands together.
"Because I think we should take them out, you know, so that they don't hurt other villages like they did mine." She tried to say with some degree of confidence.
He sucked in a deep sigh, and released it like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He grabbed a nearby medpack and grabbed the painkillers, injecting it into his neck, and he rolled his shoulders as it took effect. He then turned on the autopilot controls, and motioned A6, who had been in the corner when she'd walked in, to take over for any unpredicted events
He turned his seat to face hers, and leaned so that his elbows were on his knees. "Kai, what you're asking is impossible." He told her and she shook her head with a frown.
"We could just get some willing partners, and go in. The crew was maybe 35 strong, and I remember them well. With careful planning, we could take down half of them before the rest notices. I know we could." She looked at him with hopeful eyes and she watched him hang his head and shake it before meeting her eyes again.
"Viya is in league of one of the strongest crime syndicates on the galaxy. She's a free acting crew of the Hutt Clan. She just has to fly under the same colors as her boss. If we took her down, and let's say we did," Ozan explained. "we would bring down the full force of the Hutts on us, and that would mean certain death, for whoever was foolish enough to attack them."
Kai's face fell, and she searched Ozan's face for any hint of hope.
"So, we can't...do anything?" She asked, when he shook his head, she clenched her fists. "They killed my entire village!" She protested, and Ozan grabbed her wrists.
"And I am sorry for that, child. I am." He grimaced and looked away. "I've lost those I love to pirates as well, so know I am well aware of your situation. But you cannot do this. You will die if you even look at them with that intent. Your mother wouldn't want you to die, she would want you to live."
Kai fought to free her hands, but Ozan held them tightly. "And how do you know what my mother would want? You know nothing about her." She glared at him and he bowed his head, not meeting her gaze.
"Those we love would want us to live our lives to the fullest. That's what my wife told me before she died."
