A/N
Hello friends! I finally got chapter 3 up and out. Thank you so much for your patience! It means a lot to me that you all stuck with it. I hope you enjoy this chapter. ~Cora
-CHAPTER 3-
"What?" An older green skinned twi'lek, adorned in a pilots jumpsuit stood agape in front of an outpost commander.
"A-wing number 68 was stolen, General." He repeated calmly.
"Stolen? By whom?" Hera Syndulla's face was twisted in deep concern. Her eye brows were drew together in ponder.
"I can't say for sure, general. The culprit sounded to be a young female. She went by the name 'Starbird Rebel'."
A moment of silence passed. Hera's eyebrows remained tight together in thought, as she tapped her foot. "Starbird Rebel-young female...it couldn't be Aurora, could it?"
The commander kept silent, wallowing in cluelessness. Ignorance was bliss, right?
"Was there any eye witnesses?" Asked Hera with hope.
"Negative. No one reported anything abnormal. And there was no video evidence." Reported the man.
He and Hera kept a pondering silence, before Hera spoke with an authoritative tone. "Commander? I want you to say nothing, as of yet. Let me try to figure this out. Understood?" Asked Hera.
The commander gave Hera a salute. "Yes general."
Hera nodded her head. "You are dismissed." The commander gave Hera another salute then returned to his post.
Hera stood for a moment before she began to walk. She didn't want to believe it was Aurora. She hoped it was just someone who was trying to pass the blame-and maybe it was. Things like that had happened before. When a rebel was desperate enough to run away from this war. Hera slowly made way to her cabin. When she arrived she just stood in thought. She hated to have to do this, but she had no choice. She had a duty to find answers, even if it was awkward. Hera shook her head, lekku swinging with the motion, and reached for her comm.
oOo
"Maybe you should try an divert her mind. I could take her to Leirasan. There's always something she can do there. And by the time we get back, she'd be over it." Suggested Zeb.
Ezra shrugged. "I appreciate the thought, Zeb, but I don't think it would work. That girl is a strong spirited as a Loth Wolf."
Zeb chuckled. "Those Loth Wolves."
Ezra shook his head, smirking. Suddenly Ezra's comm tang to life. "Ezra?" Hera's soft yet stern voice echoed over the system.
"What's up, Hera?" Asked Ezra.
"Ezra, do you know where your daughter is right now?" Hera's voice was stern, and held a bit of hesitation.
Ezra and Zeb looked at each other with confusion. "In her room, last I knew. Why?" Ezra narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he answered.
"Ezra, please don't take this personal, but an A-wing was stolen. They went by the name 'Starbird Rebel'. And they were a young female. Now, if it was her, I don't know what could have caused her to leave without clearance." Ezra listened intently as Hera continued slowly. "Just know I never would have placed her under suspicion for no reason-I only recognized the name."
Ezra and Zeb glanced at each other. Zeb held a shocked gaping expression, while Ezra kept himself collected. "No, it's fine Hera. I appreciate your contacting me. I'll look into it." Ezra then disconnected the comm. Without a word, Ezra rose to his feet, making his way to Aurora's room, Zeb in tow. When they arrived Ezra rapped on the door. "Aurora? Aurora! Are you in there!"
Silence...
Ezra opened the door, peaking in cautiously. It was completely empty. Ezra felt his stomach drop. "Oh no..."
Muttered Ezra before he activated his comm. "Starbird 4, this is Starbird 1. Do you copy?" Silence. Ezra and Zeb exchanged worried glances before Ezra tried again. "Starbird 4! Do you copy!"
oOo
Aurora's ship was flying through hyperspace smoothly. Aurora was still quite angry. She was miserable just thinking about what had happened. Aurora felt a wave of cold which made her shiver. The dark side... Aurora shook her head. She had to keep away from such anger. She knew where it would lead... Suddenly her comm rang to life. "Starbird 4, this is Starbird 1. Do you copy?" Oh no. He was on to her. Aurora fumbled to pick up her comm. she stared at it as if it was something dangerous-something she had never seen before. "Starbird 4! Do you copy!" He had to know she was gone; or would soon, but he didn't know where yet. Aurora gulped and after turning the power off, she took the piece of equipment apart. She knew her parents had installed trackers on all of the comms they shared. It had always been a safety precaution, and Aurora never minded-until now. A small smile graced her lips after she removed the tracker. She took a deep breath, then made her decision. She dropped the small tracking device and smashed it hard with her boot. An electrical crackle was heard as the device was smashed into a million pieces. It was done. She could use her comm, but the tracker was gone. Aurora fixed her eyes on the blue of hyperspace a light tinge of confidence in her face. There was no turning back now.
oOo
Ezra didn't get a response the second time either. He was starting to get worried. Suddenly static filled his comm. She had turned it off! Ezra stared at the comm in his hand, dumbfounded. He didn't know what to think at first. But finally, he put it together. She had ran away!
Ezra gaped at his comm, then took off running past Zeb. "Sabine!"
"Wait! What happened?" Asked Zeb running after the older Jedi.
"She ran away!" Hollered Ezra from down the hall.
Zeb stopped in his tracts-green eyes going wide, his ears drooped slightly in worry and shock. "Karabast!"
oOo
Aurora tossed the comm in her bag. The farther away it was the better. She could handle this on her own. Aurora really didn't even know what she was looking for. The flowers she supposed... but why? Why the flowers? What was so special about them, or what would they mean for her? Aurora hoped to have these questions answered. But what was the importance of the rest of the vision? The flowers were a major point, defiantly. But who were those two shady beings? Aurora felt completely confused just thinking about it. She wished she could've seen the cloaked mans face, just as much as she wished she could've had the identity of the masked man. Who they were was beyond her at the moment. Aurora honestly hoped it wouldn't go like that, whatever that was. The girl sighed. This was a lot that was happening, but she would figure it out soon. She had been pondering the events for awhile, yet, she still couldn't come up with any solutions on her own. In all honesty it was extremely frustrating for her. Aurora folded her arms and rested her head on the back of the chair, trying to rest as best she could, but her mind was to distraught. Aurora watched blankly as the stars sped by. Hyperspace had alway fascinated her. Every streak was a star or a planet or a sun. It was pretty amazing, the concept. But no matter how much she tried to divert her mind, Aurora's train of thought always wandered back to her family. The girl drew her eyebrows together in anger. Her mouth holding a distressed scowl much like her father would get when he was angry. All that filled her was anger. She was sick of being bossed around. She hated it. But she equally hated being obstinate toward her family. And to make things worse, she felt the emotions from those she shared force bonds with. Her father was the strongest of all. All Aurora could feel from him was guilt. She was sure there was fear in him as well, but the guilt was so bad, she could barely contain control. Aurora finally felt the tears that had been falling for the past few minutes. Her face was flushed and wet with her tears. She hated feeling these emotions. No matter what she did, she could not block the force bond without breaking it, but oh how she wished she could.
"No! Toughen up!"
She didn't know where it had come from, but Aurora felt the urge to stop pushing away the negative. She felt the hate-the anger. It was begging her to feed off of the hate. "Acting on anger leads to the dark side, Aurora." Her fathers words echoed in her mind.
A fresh set of angsty tears streamed down Aurora's face. "I know!" She shrieked. The girl clutched the window panes around her as she sobbed. She just cried. She sat for several minutes just letting it all out. Tears streamed down her cheeks sticking to her neck and shirt collar. Her head fell low causing her hair to fall, shrouding her face in darkness.
oOo
"Ezra! The tracker isn't working! I never would've thought she'd run off." Sabine panicked as she tried franticly to get the comm to work.
"Calm down, Sabine. I know." Assured Ezra, placing a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder.
Sabine shrugged off his hand immediately. "Calm down? Don't even start! My child, my offspring ran off, and now we can't even find her! What if she's in trouble?"
"I know where she's going." Stated Ezra.
Sabine looked up, both in shock and a determined curiosity.
"From her vision, Felucia." Ezra sighed. "She's 17 years old, Sabine. She's capable of taking care of herself."
He stated, calmly.
Sabine glared at Ezra in defiance. A deadly silence passed between the two. When Ezra was about 14, he would've broken down completely under the intense glare Sabine was giving him now. But over time, he had become adapted to her glares and returned them with silence.
Sabine finally inhaled. "Well, let's go get her." Stated Sabine. She then turned on her heel, walking calmly out with a determined swing in her hips.
Ezra raised his eyebrows in shock. "What?" He asked. He hadn't been expecting her to say that.
Sabine stopped and turned over her shoulder. "Let's go to Felucia and get her."
"Go get her?" Asked Ezra in disbelief.
"She's still a child, and while she's under our roof, she's under our rule. Mando'ad's ijaat val buir! She's coming back, weather she likes it or not." Stated Sabine, turning and leaving.
Ezra sighed. As much as he hated it, he agreed with Sabine. Aurora was being irrational. Ezra then followed Sabine. They had a new objective.
oOo
Felucia. It had taken hours upon hours to get from D'quar to her destination. 12 hours or the like was as best Aurora could figure. She had quit counting at 5. She had made a few rest stops along the way, and fared well at all of them, avoiding any kind of trouble. She knew she could handle what was to come. From space, the planet looked quite uninviting, holding a musty like green color. But the surface of Felucia was much more desirable when it came to visual. Aurora felt pulled to the planet. It was pleasant, other than the heat. As the ship touched down, Aurora gathered herself. She mentally prepared for the task at hand. For a moment, she felt slight regret. Was this such a good idea? Maybe not. But as soon as the thoughts came Aurora pushed them away. After all, there was no turning back now. She hoped she would find answers.
The girl stood up, grabbing her bag. She took in her surroundings. Everything seemed as it should. She was a long ways away form civilization, and she was glad. After a sigh, Aurora leapt to the ground. The girl breathed in the air. It was warm and moist, holding an almost musty aroma. Aurora pushes aside the thought of the air. She didn't know where she was going, or where she needed to be. She just needed to follow the flow of the force. She then began to walk. Evening was upon her and everything was beginning to get dim. Aurora walked cautiously along on this strange planet, following the flow of the force. In the meantime, she kept an eye on her surroundings. The surface was covered with all sorts of colorful vegetation. This planet had once been covered in water, similar to other thriving water planets. But it had dried up, leaving the underwater life to the influence of the sun. Though the plant life survived for the most part, due to the high moisture. It was beautiful. The brighter colors contrasted against the brown and musty dirt, giving them a glowing allusion. But Aurora knew those were not the plants she was looking for. She was after something far more rare. The girl smiled. Everything was going as planned.
oOo
Sabine smashed down on the hyperspace throttle. The ship jolted as they entered hyperspace. It was a long jump to felucia, and due to that Ezra and Sabine had a lot of time to themselves. Sabines lips were pursed with worry. Her eyebrows narrow with anxiety. Ezra noticed all of this. He examined and absorbed Sabines every feature. Her every move. Her every emotion. Ezra felt a wave of guilt. It was his fault she was feeling this way. It was his fault Aurora was gone.
"Listen-I'm sorry, Sabine."
The words left without him even realizing it.
Sabine lifted her head and turned towards Ezra, her expression held shock. "For what?"
"It's my fault she's gone." Stated Ezra, he held his head low in shame.
"Ezra Bridger. It is not your fault-"
"-It is!" The words came out harsher than he meant. "I should have helped her look into what she saw. Instead I restricted her, to the point she felt she had to run away to figure it out." Regret was all Ezra's voice expressed.
Sabines eyes were filled with passion and hurt. She felt his pain. Ezra continued in a quiet whisper. "I-I needed to be her dad... not her master."
"Oh Ezra." Sabine placed her hand on Ezra's shoulder. Ezra's bright blue eyes met with Sabines hazel ones as she continued. "Aurora's a head strong, strong willed girl. She may have run off even if you had told her otherwise." Sabine held a comforting smile. "And she'll be alright. We'll get her home and safe."
Ezra gave a tight lipped smile. "I know." Sabine and Ezra held another small moment of eye contact before Sabine turned back to the viewport, watching the stars speed by. Ezra did the same-but he couldn't help but feel something big was going to happen. He just hoped Sabine was right. He hoped Aurora would be alright.
oOo
After quite awhile of walking, Aurora felt she was close. She was getting a bit tired, and she was nearly out of water. But she couldn't quite tell were she was suppose to go. The force was week, yet in a strange way, strong. She had to go deeper. Aurora immersed herself in the force, letting it guide her every step. She walked quietly, closing her eyes. She felt it. Closer, and closer-so close...
"Hey!" A yell broke Aurora's connection. Her blue eyes snapped open, and she whirled around, seeing a heavy set human male. Aurora couldn't make out many details. His hair was sooty grey, he looked as though he hadn't shaved in weeks. Aurora assumed he had been loading crates with a rather lanky assistant, until he spotted her. Both men looked positively filthy!Aurora could've only guess they were transporting something illegal.
"Did...did Anjel Gould send you? That no good cheapskate; sending a child to do men's work." Snickered the man, along with his business companion.
Aurora felt hate fill her. "I am not a child."
Her every word was filled with venom.
"And no, he didn't send me! I don't know who he is, and I sure didn't know you were here!" Hissed Aurora.
"Like we'd really believe you! What else would a Mandalorian be doing here?" Spat the man.
Aurora kept silent. She didn't quite know what to say...
"Well?" The second man pressed, taking a careful aim at Aurora with his blaster. "What were you doing here?"
Aurora remained silent and perfectly still. She could tell them the truth. Yeah-She had a force vision of bioluminescent flowers in a river on this sponge of a planet. That sounded stupid, even though it was the truth. No. She couldn't tell them. But she didn't know what else to do. Aurora's hand subconsciously went to a lingering position above her blaster. The men noticed her gesture, and shot without another word. Aurora stared wide eyed for no more than a millisecond. The girl whipped out her blaster, shooting back. Great! Just how she wanted her day to go! An all out fire battle started. Aurora shot towards the heavy man, and would have hit, if he hadn't taken shelter behind some crates. Aurora didn't need cover. She was quick thanks to her training. She shot and dodged. But the skinny man was obviously skilled, and Aurora needed to get out of here. With him around, it would make it extremely difficult. Knocking him out with a hard hit would suffice. Aurora caught sight of a crate behind him. Aurora gathered the Force and outstretched her left hand, using it to lift the crate. Everything was going as planned. But suddenly, as the crate was nearly over the her target, a plasma energy bolt shot towards her, presumably from the heavy set man. Aurora used the force evermore as she whipped her body backwards, falling down and sliding. Aurora suddenly felt a sharp prick on her head as she slid across the ground. The prick was so bad she dropped the crate. It landed inches from the her target. Aurora rushed her hand to her head and felt where the object pricked. She felt a small thorn or the like, and Aurora instinctively grabbed the small piece of nature and held it out in her hand. Aurora barely noticed the blood on her hand, for the thorn gathered all of her attention-it was glowing. Aurora stared at it agape. This was ever so familiar! She barely even had a chance to notice the other familiar glowing flowers that littered the ground. Aurora suddenly became aware of the plasma shots flying past her head. Aurora threw the thorn away and leapt to her feet and ran in on the action. She was fuming now. She leapt in shooting energy shots with great precision. The heavy man shot at her with his blasters, but his shots were sloppy. Aurora could tell he had spent most of his time smuggling, not fighting. But weather or not he was a good shot, he was persistent. He shot so many blasts, that Aurora could barely dodge them. But Aurora didn't even notice the skinny man flank her, knife in hand.
Aurora had had enough. They all had been shooting at each other for the past five minutes. Aurora had a mission to complete and didn't have time for this. Aurora aimed towards the heavy set smuggler with an extremely well and precise shot. Her blaster was no longer set on stun. "This ends here." Her teeth were clenched as she aimed. But just as Aurora was about to pull the trigger, she felt the Force overtake her mind. She felt the dark pulling her to shoot, but the light pulling to not. The light was strong, but as was the dark. It hurt! The pulling was to strong. Aurora's clenched her teeth and shut her eyes tight for her head started to spin and ache all at once. She also started to get a sickening sensation in her stomach, one that made her want to throw up. She was so distrust that she didn't even notice the sound of light footsteps coming up on her left. But as she was trying to break free from the pulls, a sharp pain shot through her leg. Aurora shrieked loudly at the unbearable pain! Everything became bleary. Aurora felt her leg become wet with blood. She had to have been stabbed by a knife. The voice of the smugglers became audible to her ears as everything went dark.
"She's a Jedi."
oOo
Ezra and Sabine had finally arrived in the Felucia system. The journey was extremely hard for them. All they could do was worry. Entering the atmosphere, Ezra spoke for the first time in awhile. "I sense something..."
"What is it?" Asked Sabine eagerly.
Ezra shook his head. "Everything is wrong. I'm not sure how, but it's wrong."
Sabine pursed her lips. This was bad. The two glanced around in deep concentration. Sabine used her helmet to zoom in a bit on the ground, trying to find a sign that her daughter had been there.
Worry nagged at both of them. But Sabine's eyes lit up when she saw what she had been looking for. "There's her ship!" Exclaimed Sabine. The shape of the stray A-wing looked so much out of place. Sabine felt her stomach drop, when she saw it was empty.
Ezra kept quiet, but Sabine could practically feel his anxiety. Ezra quietly took them down to the surface. The ship landed, and Ezra and Sabine left their ship. The ground was spongy and damp.
The two quickly made their way up to the ship, examining it. It was completely empty. There were no signs that anyone had been coming or going recently. Ezra folded his arms in worry and in ponder. After a moment, he closed his eyes, reaching out with the force.
Sabine perked up a tad. "Well. She has to be here somewhere. We'll find her. And when we do..." Sabine was determined, but when she looked towards Ezra, she saw his face was twisted with shock.
"Ezra." Sabine placed a hand in her husbands shoulder. "What happened?"
oOo
Christophsis. The higher class area of the planet was pleasant. The buildings were beautifully built. The glass and metal gave it an icy sensation. Well off people of all sorts wondered blissfully in their simple, calm, and happy lives. The lower class society, however, was nothing desirable. The streets were covered with lower life folks. Homeless people were everywhere, and the smell was nearly unbearable. There were small and low quality Inn's. As well as taverns and cantinas. One cantina was most popular. People were lined at the bar table from one end to the other, nearly touching it was so full. Tables were filled with gangs and low life gamblers. Two men in particular were deep into their game. On one end of the table sat a heavy set man. His hair was a familiar sooty gray, his eyes a dull brown. The other man was barely visible. He wore a jet black cloak, the outline of his face could barely be seen with his deep blue eyes, eyes which held secrets.
"It looks like you have nothing else to do but admit I won." Stated the cloaked man.
"Hold on there." The smuggler held up a hand. The cloaked man raised a brow in curiosity. The smuggler continued after a moment of thought. "I'll tell you what, I still have one more thing i could bargain."
Stated the man.
The cloaked man tilted his head curiously. "I'm listening."
"I have a slave girl. She's a full blooded human, Brown hair, blue eyes. Pretty face, and a great figure." The smuggler left out the fact that she was quite the fighter.
"Are you sure you want to part with her?"
Asked the cloaked man. "Sounds like you particularly fond of her."
"I won't be anyhow. So, do we have a bet?" The smuggler was beginning to be impatient.
"We do." Smiled the cloaked man.
"Sabaak." Smiled the smuggler maliciously, laying down a decent, but slightly pitiful, pair of cards. "I win."
The cloaked man held up a hand. "I think your mistaken." He then laid down a better pair of cards than the smuggler had, a winning pair. "I'm sorry, stranger, but it appears you acted to fast."
The smuggler held the face of shock, with which turned into hatred. He watched with anger as the cloaked man lifted the credits. He picked up every last one. "Now." Stated the cloaked man as he stood. "The girl."
The smuggler wanted to just shoot the man on the spot, but he couldn't here. Not here... "Of course. She's outside in my speeder."
"After you." Offered the cloaked man. The men made their way outside. The night air held a chill, one that would run straight through a person. The men had walked a few blocks down when they arrived at the speeder. In the back seat lay the unconscious girl. She had a blanket covering her entire body. Beneath the cloak her hands and feet were bound with cuffs. Her hair was messy, and her face was abnormally pale.
"This is her. She took a, let's say, accidental blow to her leg there. She's been unconscious for a day or two. I've been waiting for her to wake up, that is, if she does. She was carrying this bag along with her." The smugglers poked at a brown leather bag that was randomly thrown by the girls side. "It's only carrying her clothes-a goofy red dress. And a maybe a blaster." Stated the smuggler with a shrug. He left out the fact that he held the object that the cloaked man would've been most interested in-a lightsaber. "Shes all yours."
The cloaked man slowly walked past the heavy set smuggler, leaning in the speeder to get ahold of the girl.
The smuggler took his chance and yanked out a blaster extraordinarily fast. But before he even had the blaster aimed, the cloaked man whipped around and grabbed the blaster, twisting it out of the smugglers hand faster than lightning. "I wouldn't try that again, stranger. I can kill you easier than you would ever know, and I would. Don't give me a reason to." Spat the cloaked man. The two held a cold glare at one another for a moment. The cloaked man then dropped the blaster to the ground, taking his foot and baring down, smashing it to pieces.
The smugglers mouth dropped open in shock at the cloaked mans strength. No one could do that! No one that was normal.
The cloaked man bent down and lifted the unconscious girl up, carrying her bridle style and setting the bag on her abdomen. The two shared one more hate filled glance, and with that the cloaked man walked into the alleyways, disappearing in the foggy night.
A/N
There we have it folks! So-I wanted to ask, did the force flowers sound familiar? They are from the Freemaker Adventures. Season 1 episode 5, in which Rowan and Luke crash land on Felucia, where they find some bioluminescent flowers. They learn the flower will glow when they sense the force. I loved that episode and the Felucia scene. So I decided to add them in this story. You may be wondering still what they meant for Aurora? Rest assured, that question will be answered in future chapters. So with that all said, thank you again for waiting so patiently for this chapter. Stay tuned for chapter 4. ~Cora