Kiara sat in the captain's seat of her ship as she maneuvered to where they had been cleared to land at the base. She was still in her Pantoran disguise. She did have a point to make, after all. Once she landed, she left Tac to perform the post-shutdown checks while she and Sabine headed toward the Mess Hall since they were just in time for the evening meal. With a nod Sabine hung back for a couple of minutes and let Kiara go ahead of her.
After spotting Hera, Kiara went to the table where she and the rest of the crew of the Ghost along with other various rebels, who appeared to be their friends, were at; including Alexsandr. She smiled at the woman and gave her a look that said to not give her away just yet. Hera gave a nearly imperceptible nod in agreement.
"Hera, I have those supplies that you asked for on my ship. Where should I take them?"
"I'll have them unloaded after the meal. Would you like to join us?"
Kiara glanced around and saw that the only two spaces were either beside the Twi'lek and directly across from Alexsandr or between a couple of their unnamed friends whom she'd yet to meet across from Kanan. "I'd love to. I'll be right back."
As Kiara returned with her meal, she took her place directly across from Alex and gave a polite smile; maybe one that was a bit broader than she usually gave him. He gave a nod in reply but seemed for the most part to ignore her. It was then that Sabine joined the crew which sent both the former ISB Agent and the Jedi to ask where she and Kiara had been.
"We went on a mission to get some credits for some of the things we need around the base." Sabine shrugged as if she had just said that the two of them had gone to a theatrical performance. Speaking of which, she glanced over at the other woman and could tell that she was enjoying her anonymity.
"And just where," Kallus asked, "did you go to do that?"
"Canto Bight," Sabine said simply as she crossed her arms.
"You went to Canto Bight?" Kanan didn't like the sound of that; for either of the younger women. "Alone?"
"No, not alone. We went together." Sabine rolled her eyes. She sort of, kind of, well maybe she understood why the men may be a bit wary for Kiara since she did just escape the Empire the previous week, but Kanan knew that she could take care of herself. "And we were able to bring back more than we had anticipated. Kiara is not one whom you'd want to bet against at the tables."
"Still, that is no place for the two of you. You shouldn't have gone without some backup," Kanan insisted. "That place draws a pretty rough crowd."
"Agreed," Kallus shook his head. "The two of you shouldn't have gone alone. It wouldn't have hurt for you to wait until we returned."
That was when Kiara finally put down her eating utensil and spoke in her borrowed voice. "So willing to run to the rescue of a damsel in distress? Perhaps it wouldn't hurt for you to wait to make sure that said damsel is in need of a rescue in the future." The men of the Ghost and Kallus turned in her direction as they tried to process what they just heard.
Kanan couldn't place the voice, but that comment was very familiar. He stretched out his senses and realized that the new addition to the table was actually his sister. "How in the worlds?"
"Kiara? Why do you-"
"Take note, Alex. This is how you disguise yourself when you go on a mission and don't want to be recognized." Kiara stood and allowed him to take full stock of just how different she looked as a Pantoran. It didn't hurt that her outfit, while it wasn't one that she'd worn during her three days of gambling, was still far different than one that she would have otherwise worn. "I think Sabine did a great job. And I think more people should take advantage of her talents when going out into the field."
"I don't get it," Zeb eyed Kallus and saw that he was speechless. "Why do you sound so different?"
"I had an old model voice emulator from the Republic days that I'd won during a previous gambling trip in my footlocker."
"Well," Zeb chuckled. "No one would ever recognize you in that getup." He then nudged his friend beside him. "What do you think? You think that the Imperials would be able to?"
Kallus schooled his face before answering, "I suppose not."
Kiara snickered as she shook her head. "Don't sound so impressed."
He then cleared his throat before adding, "Though I still don't understand why you chose to take the risk so soon after having to leave the Empire."
"So much for that." Kiara figured she'd had enough to eat so she turned to leave. "Sabine, I may need some help with getting this paint off but there's no rush. I'll be on the ship."
When the woman was out of the Mess Hall it was Hera who spoke, "Kallus, I don't know if you realize this, but she was actually trying to prove that she knows what she's doing. To show that she could be an asset to the cause now that she can no longer work as a Fulcrum Agent. When you joined us, you were able to bring your wealth of knowledge and experience as a former ISB Agent. For her, it's different. She didn't work in a department that would have given her the same opportunities, but she is good at espionage. Her record as a Fulcrum Agent proves that and she's been able to give the Rebellion lots of valuable information over the years. Not to mention, it was her suggestion that she both have Sabine alter her appearance as well as go along as her backup. And the two of you acted as if she was some innocent child who doesn't know how to handle herself."
Kanan listened to Hera and knew that she was right. In fact, just before Kiara left, he swore that he sensed something coming from her. He'd sworn that she'd been a little hurt.
After the meal break, the men were assigned to retrieve the credits that Sabine and Kiara had returned with. They each had a large case that was filled with the winnings that the two had returned to the base with. One for each day that the pair had been on the gambling planet. Kallus had to admit that he'd not thought that they would have been able to come up with so many credits. They had more here than they'd be able to get for all of the equipment that they had stolen with the intent to sell.
When night fell Kallus headed toward the Shadow Chaser since he'd preferred his cabin on the ship over staying in the barracks. He went up the loading ramp and made his way toward the crew quarters. He passed Kiara's cabin and paused as he thought over what Hera had said to, more like scolded, the men at the table after Kiara had left earlier. He hadn't seen her since the incident at the Mess Hall. Even while he, Kanan, and Zeb came for the cases of credits, she had remained strangely absent. Kallus knocked at her door to her cabin, but he didn't hear any sound from inside.
Kallus sighed and decided to head to the common room. He liked to enjoy a game of dejarik before heading off to bed in the evenings. He found that it helped him unwind while keeping his mind sharp. When he stepped into it, though, he found Kiara, back to looking like her old self, sitting on the couch with her legs tucked under her. She was scrolling through a datapad. When he stopped in the doorway, she looked up at him briefly before returning to her datapad. Kallus expected a witty comment but instead she just ignored him.
"What are you reading?" Kallus asked as he walked over to the dejarik table and set it up to play against the computer.
Kiara looked up for a moment as she watched him start a game before she shrugged and looked back down to her datapad before answering. "Just a list of the various supplies that Hera said that the base was still in need of. I figured I'd see if I could find a way to get them."
Kallus nodded. He decided that this was a good time to try to make amends for his behavior in the Mess Hall. Hera was right. Kiara had lived most of her life watching her own back without any backup. She was more than capable of knowing how to handle herself and he'd not exactly shown that he either acknowledged nor accepted that.
"I'm sure you'll be able to. Just like you helped with the credit issue." Kallus watched out of the corner of his eye while focused on the game table. He could tell that she paused and looked in his direction. "You should have seen the leadership when we carried in those cases filled with your winnings. I think I even saw General Dodonna stumble when he saw us carrying them in. You may find that you'll be asked to go back for more after proving that you can turn so little into so much."
Kiara put the datapad down. "This your way of trying to apologize?"
"Maybe. I'm guessing that I'm not doing too well." He saw her shake head before she unfolded her legs out from under her so that she could turn to face Alex.
"You'd do better if you actually said that you shouldn't have doubted me."
"Fine. I shouldn't have doubted you. And after seeing how you went with Sabine, there's no way that I can see that the Empire would have figured out who you were; baring a bio-scan, at least."
Kiara rolled her eyes since he just had to add that last part. "Apology accepted."
Kallus chuckled before he turned back to the game board. He remained engrossed for several moments while Kiara read through the datapad across the room. The silence still felt a bit strained until his game came to an end when she spoke up again.
"How did you beat the computer, Alex?"
"It's nothing special. It happens at least half of the time." Kallus shrugged. "You have your talents, I have mine."
"False modesty doesn't suit you," Kiara let out a small chuckle before she returned to the datapad.
"Care for a game?"
Kiara looked back up with her brow scrunched. "You've got to be kidding. You want me to play a game against you after I just saw you win against the computer?"
Kallus grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "Figured that you would have a pretty good shot. After all, you were able to win at a variety of games at Canto Bight."
"And we both know how I was able to do that, too," Kiara pointed out. "Partially, at least."
"Come on," Alex prodded. "Playing against the computer can get a little monotonous. I could use a new challenge."
Kiara chewed on the inside of her cheek as she debated. Dejarik wasn't really her game. It came with the ship when she got it. She would play it occasionally, but she had never won against the computer like Alex just had. But while playing the computer she hadn't been able to use her ability to read people like she did at the casino. But...
"Fine. But on one condition, no gloating at the end." Kiara stood and walked over to the game table and sat down.
"I'd never."
Kallus reset the board and changed the settings. He waited for Kiara to make her first move then moved his Grimtaash piece and sat back to take in the full board. He watched as Kiara chose her Kintan Strider piece next. They played for the next half an hour, mostly in silence. He wondered if she was reading him like she had often boasted in the past but when she started making some rookie mistakes he figured that she wasn't.
"Considering that you won so many games while out gambling, I'd sort of thought that you'd be more of a challenge."
"I believe I said no gloating."
Alexsandr laughed. "Not gloating. I'm a bit confused. Or am I hard to read?"
"I'm not trying to read you." Kiara rolled her eyes as she shook her head.
"Why not?"
Kiara looked up from the board and sat back in her chair. "Truth?"
"We could start with that," Kallus sounded more than a bit amused.
"When I use the force, I can't really narrow down what I pick up on. With strangers, it's not that big of a deal. But I know you. So, I don't want to risk that I might pick up on something that neither of us may want me to."
Kallus didn't know what to say in response to that. He'd forgotten that with her lack of training that she may not have the skill that he'd taken for granted when around the Jedi. Looking over at her, he admitted that it could get a bit embarrassing for both of them if she were to use her force abilities to take a peek into his mind.
He had been trying to sort out just how he felt about Kiara ever since Garazeb had teased him about how his mind had been so distracted regarding her during her near year long absence. Not to mention after seeing how they interacted together after the Battle of Lothal. He really had just thought that he saw her as a friend but when he heard that her bio-chip was activated when she needed to escape the Empire, he'd not been able to think clearly. That wasn't something that he was used to, and he didn't want talk to Kiara about it until after he'd been able to make sense of what it all meant. If she used her talent to take a stroll through his mind, he wouldn't be able to wait until he was ready to discuss any of it with her.
"Okay. I suppose I can understand that." He then made his last move, finalizing his win. "Want to play another game?"
Kiara shook her head. "I know when to walk away from the table. This isn't a game that I can win. Not against you, at least."
Kiara stood and got ready to head to her cabin. When she went to walk past Alex, he put a hand on her arm before she heard him say, "Hey. About earlier. I really am sorry. You know, regarding you going on your mission and all. I was just worried while you were gone. But that doesn't mean that I don't think that you know what you are doing. Okay?"
Kiara sighed. "Okay. I guess I'm just not used to actually having anyone around to worry. It is new to me. So, I'll try to give you some leeway if you give me some, as well. Deal?"
"Deal. And believe it or not, I actually do understand that part. I wasn't used to it either when I suddenly had friends when I left the Empire. It is a bit of a culture shock at first. I wasn't used to having people worried about me. And now, I guess I'm still not used to being the one to worry, either. We can both learn to figure this out together."
Kiara nodded as she let out her breath. "Alright. So, friends?"
Kallus gave a smile as he took in the sight of her standing over him. "Friends."
Hours later, Kallus was staring up at the ceiling of his cabin as he tried to get some sleep.
Friends
He wasn't sure why, but that one word kept running through his head. Actually, maybe he did know why. Zeb had been right when he said that he was in over his head. What he felt for her wasn't strictly friendship but what it was he couldn't really explain. That worried him.
