Chapter 3
Nirah was busy playing with BD-1 while her sister was talking over the fate of the galaxy. She and the droid were happy in their blissful ignorance until they came to the beginnings of a forest and saw what could only be described as a smaller, angrier Vulpex. Not knowing a thing about the local wildlife but having experienced the gambit on other planets throughout her life, Nirah determined that caution was her best bet. Still, she wanted to know more about the creature as it walked around, unaware of her silent presence.
BD, as quietly as possible, let out a warning boop to tell her to leave it be. He had seen Cal fight off Cratsch a couple times before and knew that Nirah was far less equipped to handle it. The girl on whose shoulder he currently rested, however, did not speak droid binary fluently and was too busy trying to silently observe to note his warning.
She watched as the creature sniffed around the ground before finding a low branch and springing onto it with ease. Its furred body blended in well with the tree bark and its long body seemed to snake around the branch. She took a careful step closer before it looked at her with piercing, predatory eyes.
"Hi there!" Nirah greeted. The Cratsch proceeded to hiss at her, showing very sharp teeth. This response made her take a slight step back. "He seems kind of rude," she muttered to BD.
The droid agreed, but his chirrups were once more unheeded as Nirah watched the Cratsch shimmy along the branch to gobble up a Butter Newt. Seeing the harsher side of nature play out was not new to Nirah, but she was not particularly pleased to see the harmless newt being eaten.
The newt was still kicking, trying to get away when Nirah decided to take action. She grabbed a nearby stick and approached the Cratsch with her fiercest impression of her sister. She took a measured swing, knocking into the creature who was not too much smaller than her. It stumbled off the branch, not having noticed her approach while it ate. Its eyes seemed to glow when it saw her, making it more frightening when it lunged. Nirah swung again, aiming for the head, but it avoided, jumping onto her and knocking her back onto the ground in surprise.
Nirah grit her teeth but refused to scream as it scrabbled on top of her. The Cratsch opened its pointed muzzle, screeching into her face while she tried to keep its claws from scratching her. BD took this opportunity to pounce, driving his soldering tool right into the creature's neck. The Cratsch yelped and sprung back from the pain. His clawed paw rubbed uselessly at his injury while Nirah regained her footing. She took her branch and swung again and again, driving it back to the tree. Before it could begin to climb and with a cry to make any warrior jealous, she drove the sharp end of the branch into the Cratsch. It squirmed for a few breaths before finally becoming still.
BD-1 looked up at Nirah as her arms shook from the adrenaline rush. Her face looked triumphant, however, as she observed her victory. "We did it, BD," she praised, smiling at her new mechanical friend. Something in that smile told the droid that this would not be the last time the child took on a challenge bigger than herself. While Cal did this all the time, he at least had the training to hold his own. The droid wondered that he had gotten himself into this time.
"Come on," she beckoned, "let's go tell Xenna!"
BD doubted that the protective older sister would approve, but he did think that leaving the corpse and potential other dangers was a good idea. He followed dutifully along, hoping Xenna and Cal would not be upset by the bit of Cratsch blood that had splashed onto Nirah's pants. He was admittedly not used to sure gore. Cal's lightsaber made quick, cauterized work of their enemies.
It was in this state that Xenna found her. Nirah stood, smiling as though she had just won a gladiator match, dressed in a blue liquid Xenna did not have the stomach to identify. Looking from the child to the slightly guilty posture of BD-1 beside her, Xenna tried to organize her thoughts into the most efficient questions to ask. Her sister beat her to it.
"I killed a thing!"
Cere looked back at this and shared a concerned glance with Cal. Xenna was not in the best mood because of their earlier conversation and they doubted it would be improved by her sister's current state; not to mention the fact that a five-year-old had just killed something.
Xenna felt their understandable doubt and tension as well as the bubbly high spirits of the girl in front of her. Following a long tradition set forth by her master, Xenna took a calming breath before starting. "What thing?"
"A long tree rat thing."
Realizing they were going to get nowhere with the child's vague descriptions, Cal stepped forward. "What was it, BD?"
The droid replied in his language of chirrups and beeps. "A Cratsch?" Cal translated with surprise. "You killed a Cratsch by yourself?"
Nirah nodded before glancing down at the droid. "Well, BD helped shock it in the neck so it didn't bite my face off."
Xenna was having a tough time keeping her breaths steady, but she did her best. "You killed something that was trying to eat your face?"
"Well…yeah. I wasn't going to let it win, obviously," Nirah replied as though it were the most rational response.
"Obviously," Xenna echoed, her frustration growing.
"I stabbed it with a stick," Nirah explained, holding up her apparently deadly weapon. "Do you wanna see?"
"No, I don't think I do," Xenna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. The last thing she needed to see was how much danger her sister had been in. Cal's response of shock at the singlehanded victory was enough of a sign that Xenna would only worry more if she knew.
Noting her sister's less than enthusiastic reception of her kill, Nirah drooped. "Are you mad at me again?"
Xenna stopped herself before answering. She had so far yelled at Nirah, argued with Cal and Cere, and was about to start the cycle all over again. She needed to control her emotions better; starting now.
"Not mad so much as concerned. I didn't know you were in danger and that…worries me. I'm glad you're all right, though." Xenna tried to measure her words carefully to keep everything in check. Her efforts did not go unnoticed by Cal and Cere, the latter of whom hid a smile of pride. Maybe this new Jedi was not all fire and jumbled up emotions.
"Nirah, why don't you come back to the Mantis with me to get cleaned up," Cere offered, holding out her hand to the girl splattered in what was quickly becoming foul-smelling blood.
Xenna managed a strained smile as her sister walked past. BD-1 determined to stay with Cal, gently leaping onto his usual perch on the young man's back.
"Are you ok?" Cal asked, noting how Xenna was taking her time to calm down.
"Yeah, my sister just killed a random animal in the woods. What's wrong with that?" Her voice was anything but ok. She shook her head, knowing she should try harder. "She's just more than I can handle sometimes," Xenna wearily admitted.
Cal nodded in understanding, but could not fully relate. Were he the kind of person to feel envious, he might wonder what his life would have been like if he had been charged with looking after someone beside himself. It would have been nearly impossible on Bracca, but perhaps that would have inspired him to leave the grey, polluted planet sooner. Still, he would not trade his experiences for anything, especially as they lead to making new friends.
"Here, let me show you something," he offered, heading them off toward the Mantis. They were far enough behind Cere and Nirah that they could not hear what the two were animatedly discussing. Cal hoped the distance would help calm Xenna.
"I noticed that your lightsaber isn't in the best shape and thought you might want to fix it. I can help, if you want," Cal explained, drawing his companion's attention.
Xenna did not miss the fact that he only offered to help at her request. He remembered her not being accustomed to assistance outside of her sister and she appreciated that. The fact that he had also seen how poorly her saber looked made it clear that she could not limp by on it any longer. She needed not only to get her emotions under control, but she also needed to banish some of her pride. Her current state was not a healthy one, but Cal seemed patient enough to let her figure it out in her own time.
"I'd like that. Thanks," Xenna replied. Cal was pleased to see her genuine smile, making her hazel eyes look warmer.
He led them back to the engine room to a work table that sat in front of the now stilled turbine. "I've had to fix mine a few times, too," he went on, enjoying filling the space with small-talk. "Technically, it's Master Tapal's and Cere's combined." He showed her the double ended weapon and demonstrated how it could break apart into two separate blades.
"Fancy," Xenna admired, honesty blending with humor in her tone. "Mine is the one I made back when I was a child." She pulled out the somewhat war-weary saber. One end of it looked like it had been caught in a blast door—which it had—,while the hilt was less than sparkling clean. "It's seen better days, but it can work in a pinch…most of the time."
Cal laughed lightly at this. "I know the feeling. I think I can use some of these parts to get it working better," he assured, already looking through his stash to see what would fit.
Fixing things was something of a specialty for both of them, but neither was as accustomed to being with another person while they did it. There was some shoulder nudging, muttered apologies for getting in the way, and more than a few stolen glances as the two got used to the rhythm of another person. Having fixed his lightsaber and then made his own, Cal knew more of the intricate details, while Xenna understood the overall construction. She had fixed her saber a few times over the years, but nothing requiring this much knowledge. She was happy to have the help and grateful to Cal's patience in explaining what exactly they were doing.
Soon enough, Xenna's blade flared to life without any threat of giving out. The sparks no longer flew from the hilt and the kyber crystal was realigned to give off an even deeper blue.
"Nice," Cal praised, smiling with Xenna.
"I couldn't have done it without you." She retracted the blade and hooked it back on her belt. "Thank you, Cal, for helping me and Nirah. And…for your patience with me. I know I'm not making a very good first impression."
Not sure how to take such a heavy sign of gratitude, Cal just shrugged it off and smiled. "You've been through a lot; it only makes sense that you would need some time to adjust. We Jedi have to stick together. Besides, Nirah is too cute to ignore."
Xenna laughed, letting it wash away some of the stress that had built up over the past few years. "Don't let her hear you say that. She'll have you wrapped around her little finger before you know what's what."
Cal beamed. "I'll keep that in mind."
Still laughing, they exited the engine room and headed for the lounge below the galley. Their stomachs were starting to growl and Cal promised that Greez was a fairly decent cook.
By the time Greez was nearly finished cooking, Nirah was already cleaned up and dressed in some borrowed clothes. She wasted no time in happily regaling everyone with stories of some of her and Xenna's closer calls when running away from the Empire.
"And then, BOOM! The whole thing exploded just a meter away from us! We were blown back through the air and landed against the window," she said, illustrating the flight with her hands and pointedly ignoring her sister's look of disapproval.
"We didn't even leave the ground, Nirah. It just scared you and made you jump a bit," Xenna amended.
"Jumping can count as flying, right Greez?" Nirah pouted.
"Absolutely," the Latronian agreed, winking at Nirah. "And it definitely does if you're trying to make a story more exciting."
Nirah stuck her tongue out at Xenna in childish victory before continuing on. "Anyway, so there were fifty Stormtroopers—"
"More like four," Xenna put in.
"And they were surrounding us, blasters aimed—"
"That implies troopers can aim." This correction got a laugh from everyone. "They couldn't hit the broadside of a starship if they were three feet away from it."
"Then how did you get the scar on your arm?" Nirah countered.
"Um, that would be because you decided to pull me off balance while I was trying to deflect a blast. You gave that trooper a false sense of purpose," Xenna replied, ruffling her sister's hair. The girl protested, claiming Cere had worked hard to brush all of the tangles out. Xenna instead plopped her sister into her lap and started work on braiding the unruly electric blue curls.
"Greez, do you need any help up there?" Xenna asked, already three rows in.
"Nah, I've got four arms, what would I need two more for?" he replied.
"We find it best to let him handle the cooking and flying," Cere explained.
"And the worrying," Cal put in, casting a smirk over at the pilot.
"Ooh, better watch out, Greez. Xenna is a professional when it comes to worrying," Nirah taunted.
"Bold words from the girl whose hair is at my mercy," Xenna teased, tugging lightly at one of the finished braids.
"Well, on this ship, there is plenty to go around. This one," Greez said, pointing a spoon at Cal and flinging a bit of soup as he did it, "is like a magnet for trouble. Kid can't seem to get enough of it."
Cal shrugged passively while Cere added, "Yet Greez never fails to fly us wherever we need to go."
This earned a half-hearted grumble from the busy cook. Nirah, meanwhile, was trying not to fidget while her sister's hands worked through her hair. "Maybe I should cut my hair," she mused.
"Why?" Cere asked, indulging the girl.
"So that way, Xenna won't pull it so much," she giggled.
"Ah, what it was like to be an only child," Xenna sighed wistfully, joining in the play.
Nirah reached back to poke her but instead got a crushing hug. "Oh, to have a sister who didn't want to squeeze me to death," Nirah managed out between laughs.
Planting a loud kiss on Nirah's cheek, resulting in a big fuss from the little girl, Xenna finally released her captive. Nirah ran up to the galley, hissing like the Loth cat she often pretended to be, and instead started toying with Xenna's hair.
"You're the one who needs a haircut," Nirah teased. "I could tie you to this rung and you would be stuck here forever!" She illustrated by knotting the braid around the rail that artfully separated the galley from the main living space.
"Nirah!" Xenna moaned in frustration, pulling her hair free.
Cere observed this all with a patient smile. She had not realized how much she missed watching the antics of children. She had not had the opportunity to observe them in quite some time.
Cal, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to join in the fun but did not know how. It had been a long time since he had considered himself to be a child or anywhere near it. His life had not allowed such freedoms. It was therefore a great surprise when Nirah rushed past a grasping Xenna and launched into his lap. He caught her easily, marveling at how such a small girl could be such a bold troublemaker.
"Ha!" Nirah cheered in victory. "Cal will protect me!"
"Protect you from what?" he asked, enjoying but still baffled by her games.
"From Xenna! She's going to tickle me! You can see it in her eyes." She whispered the last as though letting him in on some great secret. He looked to the woman in question and narrowed his eyes.
"I can see what you mean," he whispered back. "She does have a devious sort of look about her." To this Nirah giggled but nodded in agreement. "But you forget one thing."
"What?" Nirah asked, her eyes wide for whatever he was about to tell her.
"I can have that look, too!"
With an excited squeal from Nirah, a muffled laugh from Xenna, and a wide smile from Cere, Cal descended upon the girl with tickles more merciless than any she had experienced before.
"Careful, she kicks," Xenna warned, enjoying watching someone else play with her sister. It had been a very long time since they had trusted anyone else to do so.
Cere shifted closer to the older sister and out of range of the flailing limbs of the child. "Something tells me that quiet subtlety is not her strong suit."
Xenna grinned. "It can be…when she wants. It's just that so much of our time is spent hiding or running. It's important that we unwind in the down moments."
Cere nodded deferentially. "I can understand that."
Cal finally let up on his fun torture, heeding Nirah's pleas to stop so she could breathe. "Xenna, you may be the best worrier, but Cal is the best tickler," she said between gasps.
Xenna raised a challenging eyebrow. "You want to test that?" She leaned forward; arms outstretched. Nirah, on instinct, leaned back and clung to Cal.
He was as unprepared for this as he had been her jumping into his lap. He had not been hugged in a while and gesture felt a little alien to him. Still, he did wrap an arm loosely around Nirah as though to protect her. Before he could get used to it though, she was up on the move to see what Greez was doing. He heard her ask if she could water the plants, but turned his focus back to the ladies on the couch. They had shifted their conversation to Xenna's lightsaber.
"It was the only one I ever made. I didn't use it except in training, so I didn't have the problems some padawans do of losing it," Xenna was explaining, letting Cere look the weapon over.
"You and Cal seem to have done a good job in fixing it," Cere replied.
Xenna cast a glance up at him and smiled. "I couldn't have done it without his expertise."
Cal smiled bashfully. "I do what I can. I'm just glad we were able to fix it. Making a new one isn't exactly easy these days."
The darker implications of that statement hung between them until Greez interrupted that dinner was ready. Xenna had not noticed how late it was getting. Going between planets was always tricky because each one spun at a different rate and depending on where you landed determined the time of day. Already the sky outside the ship was turning the gentle purple of twilight. She could hear smaller insects starting up their evening songs to each other. A sort of peace came over her to know that she was safe and secure here. Despite the unusual animals and distant troopers, there was nothing she needed to worry about on Bakura.
"You ok?" Cal checked in, breaking her train of thought.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Xenna replied, embarrassed to have been caught in a daydream. She followed him up the small stairs to sit at the table. It had been folded out some to accommodate everyone, but was a bit tight on the seating. Nirah practically sat in Xenna's lap while she happily munched on salad and bread.
Greez was explaining how Cal had managed to find plants that could be eaten, though the look on Cal's face was not one of endorsement for the habit. Xenna hid a smile at this reaction in her soup, which tasted perfectly fine. Cal continued to look uncertainly at his food for the rest of the meal. Cere explained to Nirah—who was curious about everything—that Cal would bring back samples of the plants he found on his travels. Cal muttered something about them not always being friendly or food-worthy, but Greez ignored the comment. Nirah bemoaned how awful Xenna was at cooking and how glad she was that they had finally found someone who knew what they were doing.
"I'll remember that next time you say you're starving," Xenna shot back playfully.
Nirah continued to tell stories, generally at her sister's expense, and kept everyone entertained. As the meal wound down, she finished off with a more complimentary story of how Xenna had saved her from being stuck in a ventilation shaft. She had been paralyzed by fear and Xenna had bravely chosen to face six troopers in the hallway below to give Nirah the clear escape she needed. This, it turned out, was the day Xenna got her scar. Nirah was very proud of this wound, though her sister was less than enthused when the mark was exposed. Generally, her sleeve covered it, but Nirah happily pulled that away.
"Thank you, Nirah," Xenna sighed, tugging her clothing back into place.
"It's not a big deal, Xenna," Nirah complained. "Look at Cal, he has scars all over his face!"
"Nirah!" her sister reprimanded. "Don't be rude."
"It's fine," Cal interrupted. "It was a long while ago for most of them."
"It's still not polite to point, though," Xenna told her ever eager sister.
"If we're being honest," Greez said, entering in to quell whatever ill feelings were brewing. "I'm surprised you don't have any marks on you, kiddo."
Nirah held her head high. "I do! I have a scar right here," she said with all of the decorum that a six-year old possesses and thunked her leg onto the table. Despite the hiss of protest from her sister, Nirah proudly displayed the burn on her ankle from a riot baton.
"Well, well," Greez assessed, sitting back in his seat. "My apologies."
Nirah nodded from her lofty opinion of herself and removed her leg from the table. "See, Xenna," she gloated, "everyone has at least one scar."
Xenna sighed, deciding this was not a battle she could win tonight, if ever. "Fair enough."
They adjourned to the seating below and Cere pulled out her hallikset to play. She apologized for being a bit out of practice, but no one complained. She did a few songs, only stopping to point out that Nirah was sound asleep. Xenna thanked her and lifted up the girl to put her on the seats surrounding the holotable. Cal came in with a poncho to drape over the child.
"She's been through a lot today," Xenna said in way of explanation.
"I'm happy to have helped her rest," Cere replied kindly.
Greez huffed. "It sounds like she's been through a lot before today, too. How do you two do it? I mean, she's so young…" he trailed off, his care for the girl evident.
Xenna finally let the weight of her life sink her shoulders. Her posture had been perfect, Cal had noted, until now. "I don't know. We just keep moving. We don't really have a location in mind, but when trouble follows you, you just keep running."
"Or you face it," Cere argued gently.
Xenna nodded, her defeat plain. "Nirah's right. I do run away more than I should. I just can't do everything at once. I'm not strong enough to take on the whole Empire, even for Nirah. My main goal for the past five years has simply been to survive. Anything more is just luck. I don't begrudge having my sister with me, but it does make it harder."
Cere nodded in understanding. "You should be proud of yourself for doing so well. It is a lot to ask of a child to protect another, let alone in times like this."
"I never thought of myself as a child," Xenna admitted, unknowingly echoing Cal's earlier thoughts of himself. "I never had the luxury. I've just done whatever I can to keep her safe."
"Have you given any thought to your training?" Cere asked.
"How could I? My main thoughts have been about whether we are safe enough to both sleep or if we have enough food to eat."
Cal perked up when he saw the opportunity. "You could train now."
Xenna looked at him as though he had grown a second head.
"You and Nirah are safe now. We can train together and help the Rebellion along the way. I'm sure Nirah would love to tell them how to strengthen their codes."
"Cal, I'm not sure—"
"Even if you don't want to fight, you can at least continue to improve your own skills."
He made a good point, but there was so much for Xenna to think about. Cere could see this and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You don't have to make a decision right away. We should all get some rest. We can talk more in the morning."
Cal seemed put out by the sudden end to the conversation, but he saw and sensed the weariness Xenna felt. She was doing well to keep her eyes open. He conceded to Cere and quietly wished everyone a good night before making his way to the back of the ship. He found BD-1 already curled up on his bunk and laid down next to him. The droid perked up slightly at his approach, but resettled.
"Another Jedi," Cal muttered into the darkness. "I'm not alone anymore."