Chapter 5

Saera woke up the next morning and realized how dirty gutters, and the people in them, could be. Running her fingers through her hair resulted in grease and dirt lodging into her fingernails. The only semi-clean parts on her body were where Glynn had applied the salve yesterday, or where she wasn't exposed to the street. Her clothes were also pretty torn up and grubby from the fight and lying in the alley. She grabbed a pair of coveralls that Glynn had said she could use and stepped into the 'fresher for a sonic shower, which she supposed was better than nothing.

Dressing quickly, Saera walked to the small dining/rec room Glynn had shown her on their grand tour yesterday and ate a quick breakfast of some instant gruel. Yuck. I don't know if I can get used to food like this.

She hurried through the meal. At 8 time parts they were launching to Yavin. She'd have to be in the cockpit and strapped into a chair, so she wanted to be ready for her first space flight ever.

I'm getting OFF this hunk of rock. And I'm going to see Luke again!

The view from the cockpit when the Gaellia took off was spectacular. Although, once she was looking down at Mos Eisley, she felt a little queasy. Glynn assured her that this was common among first-time flyers.

"Oh, look! Do you think that's Anchorhead? Well, probably not. Anchorhead's too small..." she craned to see the over the piloting controls, pushing against her seat restraints. "Anchorhead's right by...home." The last word came out strangled as she sat back in her seat again, watching the surface of Tatooine slowly recede until all she could see was an orange mass half-filling the cockpit screen. Saera felt a few warm tears slide down her cheek and plash onto the coveralls' front pocket. She didn't make a sound but sat weeping silently as Glynn calculated the last adjustments for the hyperspace jump.

She was leaving everything she'd ever known. It wasn't that she'd loved what she'd known, but at least she'd known it. Space was a BIG place, full of situations and complications she didn't know if she was ready for, full of people she wouldn't know how to talk to.

But you're going towards everything you've ever wanted. Travel, adventure, a new life, and...Luke.

For some reason it also comforted her that she'd be traveling with Glynn. At least she knew that this was one person she could probably trust, one person that wasn't going to take advantage of her.

"Hyperspace in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

Saera was jolted even further back into her seat. She felt an exhilarating rush watching the stars speed into thin streaks against the screen of the cockpit. She watched in awe as Glynn grinned over at her,

"You look like someone gave you an electrical shock!" he teased.

"Hey, it's my first time flying!" But try as she might to sound angry, she giggled all the same. She'd seen her reflection, and she did, in fact, look like she'd been given an electrical shock.

"So," Glynn said, unstrapping his flight restraint. "What are you leaving behind?"

Saera looked down at her hands, unbuckling to give herself something to do. "Nothing any good."

"Um, anything more...clarifying than that?"

"What do you want, my whole life story? Fine, I guess so. Well, I was born 19 standard years ago to a fairly wealthy mass-moisture farmer's son with an inflated head. Closed down the farms because it was 'below' him, invested in a few small businesses, made a lot of money. Still a...well, I think you get the picture."

"Yeah. What about your mother?"

"My mother...my mother...she died, OK? Look, so we really have to talk about this? I mean, I hired you as a pilot, not some sort of psychologist or whatever it is you're trying to be!" She glared at him, his face shocked from her sudden outburst. "Sorry, I just...don't want to talker about this right now, OK?"

"No, no, I should have known not to try to talk to you about your family. I should have known not to try to get to know you. I mean, that's not my place, is it? That's not what I'm here for." He accused her with his eyes more than his tightened voice. "After all, I'm just the pilot." Getting up, he stormed out of the cockpit.

She rose out of her seat and tried to talk "Glynn, I didn't--" He cut her off with a wave of the hand. She sighed and sank down into her chair.

"I didn't mean it like that."

When she reached the guest quarters Saera pressed her ear to the wall, hoping to hear some sound from Glynn's quarters. There was nothing.

This time she felt the fight truly was her fault. Last time Glynn had blown up at her a little bit, he'd overreacted. But just then he was only trying to get to know her a little better and she'd acted like her father, with the whole "you're just a pilot!" She felt awful and wanted to apologize but was afraid that it would just start another yelling match. Best to leave it until we've both calmed down a little. I'll have to talk to him tomorrow, anyway.

She'd decided what to do about Yavin. Glynn was right in that the rebels would be gone. She needed new clothes. They also needed better food. And they needed to find out where the rebels were now. The only logical conclusion was to pick a new destination.

"Look, Glynn, I'm really sorry about yesterday," Saera said the next day. They had been eating, until then, a silent breakfast in the dining/rec room. She'd made sure to get up early enough to catch him, but hadn't quite figured out what to say until just then.Tthey hadn't even made eye contact. She'd gotten a grunt when she'd said hello. Well, she probably deserved that.

"You were just trying to make conversation, I shouldn't have jumped on you like that. It's just that...my mother's a difficult subject. She died when I was seven and...it's been hard growing up with my father. Like I said before, not the greatest guy.

Glynn wasn't talk, or even looking at her, just kind of staring down at his goopy breakfast. Then he chuckled gently and looked up.

"Ah, I don't know what's wrong with me. Why is it that this is the second time since I met you three days ago that we've been angry at each other? I mean, I'm a pretty friendly guy, or at least I like to think I am. I try to be. I don't know what's wrong with me right now. Maybe I've just be under a lot of stress..." He ran his hand through his hair. "But that's not something I need to worry you with. You are still my customer, even if you yell at me." He grinned at her.

"Well, let's stop with this puzzle for a while. I wanted to talk to you about Yavin. You were right; it's stupid to go there. We need to go somewhere we can learn where the rebels are going next. And where I can get some new clothes." She grinned and gestured to the coveralls she was still wearing. "This is all I have right now, and they're not all that comfortable, sorry to tell you."

Glynn smiled at her, looking a little less depressed than he had at the beginning of their conversation. Well, that's a plus, I guess. A sad pilot makes for a sad crew.

"Let's go look at some starmaps, then. We'll see if we can find something nearby." He led the way into the cockpit and activated the navigation console as she looked over his shoulder.

"Bothawui. Perfect! It'll be just a minor shift in trajectory; we'll be there in less than twelve hours. They're also, last I heard, full of rebel supporters. And I'm sure you can go shopping there." He grinned at his last comment and she found herself smiling back.

A new planet! The first non-Tatooine soil I'll ever put my feet on! Bothawui...