8

Kote Nau'ul, An'kin Cassus, Lerina Deeharc. Planet: Gree. 1323 GST. Ancient Gree Ruins. 14 ABY.

"The ruins should be right through here." An'kin informed as they broke through some undergrowth. They peaked through some vines out at the grand, overgrown ruins of the ancient Gree city. It was mysterious and immense and looked to be a patriarch of Gree society. Broken down sky scrapers dotted the landscape, many other buildings and compounds were over grown with vines, weeds, and grass.

As they made their way into the ruins to search for Lerina, Kote stepped on something that made an intense crunching sound. He looked down to see a gruesome sight. A skull of some animal or perhaps an ancient Gree was smashed under his boot. "Uch!" Kote let out.

"Heh, get used to that Kote. Gree skeletons and ancient bones litter these ruins. Just watch your step." An'kin advised.

The further they ventured into the city, the more the trail went cold. She could be anywhere, Kote thought to himself. All they could do now was search around, but it was a big city to search for one girl who left no clues. "Lerina!? Lerina!?" Kote shouted. He listened for her response but only heard An'kin shushing him.

"Be quiet. We don't want to wake anything up if there is anything big sleeping in here."

"Sorry…" He didn't really care if a creature from Haran challenged them, no matter what they would bring it down. The ruins coming down on top of them was a larger risk. Kote walked into a small vendor shop-looking building. Everything was grown over and a couple skeletons were draped over the counter and on the floor. They were horridly abnormal. He had never seen any species like these. They were the same creature he had smashed under his boot just moments ago. Staring at the weird sight he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Startled he jumped forward and whipped around; eyes wide with shock.

"Careful Kote, It's just me." An'kin laughed.

Kote shot him an angry glare. He was so jumpy but could not pin point the source of his edginess. Maybe it was the skeletons. "Don't do that to me…"

"Come on I think I picked up her trail."

Kote's eyes lit up with hope. If he was right, they wouldn't need to continue searching the entire city. Both of them jogged over to where An'kin had spotted freshly cut vines in front of a door. They walked into a massive lobby of what seemed to be an ancient hotel or office building. It, like the rest of the town, was completely overgrown, but a small trail of crushed leaves and vines led to a little room off to the left of the lobby.

"Let's see where that leads, aye?" An'kin said. Without waiting for an answer, he followed the trail into the dark room.

Kote followed hot on his heels until An'kin stopped. He took a breath to ask why they had stopped but An'kin just shushed him. He seemed to be listening. Kote joined in. They could hear a faint noise coming from somewhere nearby. The noise seemed to be emanating from underneath the room. It sounded like a faint crying.

An'kin turned on a flashlight on his gauntlet and waved it around the room. Nothing of interest could be seen until he passed it over the floor.

"Shab." An'kin whispered to himself, but Kote heard it.

"What is i…" He was about to ask until he looked at where An'kin's flashlight was shining. There was a huge hole in the floor with trampled and ripped vines lining it. A few pieces of debris from the ceiling were sitting around the hole as well. Kote was about to run over but An'kin stopped him with a hand firmly holding him back.

"Careful." An'kin slowly made his way to the edge of the hole and knelt down. He shined his flashlight down the hole. He looked above him, and, sure enough, there was a giant hole in the ceiling.

Kote looked at the two enormous gaps and probably thought the same thing as An'kin. Something or someone did something to collapse the floor and fell two stories. He wondered how anything was capable of surviving a fall like that with heavy stone.

Lerina laid in the stone's hold, exhausted and thirsty. Her hands were sticky with blood and the cuts felt like they were on fire. The pressure on her felt worse than before. She couldn't help but wonder if something else had toppled on her without her noticing. Lerina whimpered as she continued to try and move the debris. Hours she had tried but still to no avail.

"Hello!? Is anybody down there?" An'kin yelled down the hole. The crying stopped for a moment. They waited to see if there would be a response. After a few seconds they heard shuffling, but An'kin's flashlight revealed nothing.

She stopped be whimpers for a moment. She could see light and hear voices. Finally a rescue. Lerina tried to shuffle out of her space hoping it wasn't her mind playing tricks.

"Hello? Who is down there?" An'kin yelled again.

Lerina opened her mouth to respond.

"Lerina!?" Kote shouted after him.

'Kote! Unbelievable, he was able to find me,' Lerina processed as she was silent for a moment. Her voice was faint but she tried to make it audible. "Kote?"

"Lerina!? Is that you?" Kote shouted back anxiously.

Lerina couldn't help but smile. "Kote! Thank goodness! I thought I was a goner!" Her feeble voice shouted back.

"Guys you have to be quiet! Lerina, this is An'kin I'm coming down to get you." An'kin said trying to quiet them down. Kote watched as An'kin attached a snare cable from his gauntlet to what looked to be a sturdy piece of rubble. Kote decided to keep watch on the upper level.

Lerina watched as he slowly made his descent into the cavern. "I'm over here! I'm trapped under some stinking rubble!" Lerina shouted at him. An'kin shined his flashlight over towards her voice. She could finally see what she was trapped under. Lerina was pinned up against the side of what looked to be a tunnel that ran under the building and a flat wall of steel shrapnel. She wondered if the tunnel ran under the entire city. If so, would anyone still be alive down there?

"Lerina, please be quiet! Who knows what could be down here!" He quietly projected down the hole.

An'kin was almost to the bottom when a loud snap resounded from above him. His armor made a thwack as he fell in a heap on the floor of the tunnel. Groaning, he got up and dusted himself off. "What happened?" He said in a hushed yell back up to Kote.

"The rubble gave way! There was nothing I could do!" Kote shouted in response without effort to keep his voice down.

"Shush it, di'kut!" An'kin tried to get Kote to be quiet. He reeled back in the wire then stumbled over to Lerina and tried to lift the giant wall of rubble off of her. "How did yah get into this mess?" He asked in an amused but relieved tone while shaking his head. Lerina could not tell if he was smiling or not behind his helmet, but his tone caused her to imagine one on his face. The wall was heavy, and even An'kin couldn't lift it by himself.

"Well…" She started to explain embarrassed, "I wanted to explore a little. Found my way here and decided to take a breather on this statue on the second floor." She put her hands on the rubble to try and help, but she guessed she wasn't doing much. She grunted with effort. "When I closed my eyes I could see the compound. It don't know if I was asleep or what… but in my dream, I saw the construction and I saw one of the beams fall. Weird dream huh?" She paused. "Well then next thing I knew there was a large crack sound and the floor beneath me crumbled. I'm surprised I wasn't killed!"

"Yeah, you are lucky. This was a long fall! How did you not get hurt more than you are?" He said trying to find a way to lift the rubble off of her.

"I… I don't know. I kinda blacked out when the floor caved in. Next thing I know I'm waking up under this wall not being able to see anything." Tears of relief fell down her cheeks. If they hadn't been here, she probably would not have a chance to make it out alive. "Thank you for finding me! I thought I was going to die!" Note to self, don't go exploring ruins ever. Again. She thought to herself.

"Shhh. It's ok I'm here now. Calm down and let's see if we can get you out of here." An'kin told her in a hushed reassuring tone. He paced around the rubble that had her trapped. A low rumble came from the tunnel behind them. An'kin shot up and pointed his flashlight down the tunnel. The tunnel was wide and dark. The sound seemed to be getting closer.

Lerina's eyes widened. "What is that?" She said frightened.

"Lerina… ok let's go! You have to use the Force! Help me lift this off of you!" His voice was more rushed and anxious than before.

"But, But I can't!" The last thing she wanted was to trap everyone here.

"Yes you can! If you don't you very likely may become paste in the next 10 seconds!" An'kin slid down and tried as hard as he could to lift the wreckage off of her. Then, a loud roar resounded closer than before. An'kin looked up as he pointed the flashlight towards the sound.

Lerina tried to turn her head but could barely see it. But she could feel it. Something was there, and it was big. From what she could tell the creature had a set of brilliantly bright white eyes, shining teeth, and grey- green scaly skin. It eyed An'kin and flailed its slimy tongue. It looked deadly, and hungry. "What. Is. That?" Lerina asked.

"What's wrong!?" Kote shouted from up above. After he did the creature lunged for An'kin.

An'kin dropped the wall back onto Lerina to dodge the creature's razor sharp fangs. He pulled out his vibroblade. Lerina observed the creature's movements. It was slow and needed room to maneuver due to its size.

Lerina screamed in pain as the monster smashed against the wall beside her after An'kin dodged its lunge. The creature heard her scream and readied for a blow at her. It was just about to charge at her when An'kin ran into it, knocking the creature back down on its belly. They could see it a little better when his light flashed across it. It was about a meter tall, but it was long with four legs and a thick muscly hide. Lerina desperately tried to dig herself out once more, letting adrenaline pick up slack and help her ignore her wounds. An'kin drove his vibroblade into the animal's gut while it was still staggered, but it only made the creature more angry. The blade sunk into its skin and was swallowed up in its mass of flesh and scales. The animal jumped back up and came at An'kin. It had his arm locked in its strong jaws. Lucky for An'kin, his armor kept the beast's teeth from puncturing through. It swung An'kin across the tunnel smashing him against the opposite wall.

"What is going on down there!?" Kote yelled out from above. He felt so helpless. He heard Lerina's screaming and what sounded like the creature tearing An'kin apart. Tears filled his eyes with the thought that he may never see Lerina or An'kin again. Sounds of crashes and roars shot out of the hole, resonating through the building. It only took less than a moment to make his decision to climb down there but to him it felt like a lifetime. He had no cable so he would have to climb down slowly. If he made one error it might be the end of him. But he still had to try. "Guys please be ok!" Kote yelled down, even though it was for more of his reassurance. He heard Lerina scream again.

Back down in the hole the creature had An'kin pinned against the rubble. The added weight pushing down on Lerina started to crush her. An'kin was trying his best to fend the beast off, but it was a tough fight. The beast was trying to shake him and tear at him, but his armor wasn't letting up. He, however, was starting to get fatigued.

"Lerina!" He choked out. "You have to use the Force! If you want us to get out of this alive you have to try!"

Lerina closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She had no idea how she was able to access the force all those other times, the only connection she knew was through her adrenaline. But now it seemed to be failing her. "I'm trying! I… I can't!" It couldn't be that she just didn't want to use it, all the other times it came as a shock and out of nowhere.

The monster finally released An'kin off the wreckage but flung him once again across the tunnel. The monster stood there panting and staring at An'kin. He struggled to lift himself up off the ground.

Lerina spotted a rock and chucked it full force. It only bounced off its head but she succeeded in grabbing its attention. It turned around towards Lerina. "Come get me you fat swine!" Lerina hopped An'kin would take the hint to get himself out of the hole. This was likely the only opening he was going to get and if it meant that she had to sacrifice herself so him and Kote could get out in one piece, it was ok with her. The creature growled and slowly slinked over Lerina baring his fangs with slobber dripping from its mouth. Lerina tried to back up as far as she could, but there wasn't much she could do. The monster reared back than went for a strike right at Lerina's head with mouth wide and teeth shining. Its breath smelled like bantha fodder. Lerina screamed as she thought this was it when a rush of air blew passed her face, and the monster let out a painful shriek. She looked up startled to see what had happened.

An'kin was on top of the monster with a blaster pistol to its head. The creature scrambled and tossed around trying to knock An'kin off of it, but he was steady. Lerina hated being so helpless. She wanted to tackle the monster herself and show it who was boss. Her thoughts were immediately brought to An'kin face. It was full of anger and awareness. She hadn't seen the look he had on his face ever since she witnessed him murder her parents all those years ago. It brought back painful and fearful memories. But now was not the time to dwell. There would be plenty of time for that later.

With a swift punch to the throat of the creature, An'kin stunned it enough to get off three clean shots to its head. Lerina watched as the creature finally fell limp on the ground. She sat there relieved and just started crying. Her stupidity had put everyone's life at risk, and that wasn't even counting the kell dragon. But, because of An'kin's strength, everything was calm again.

An'kin centered himself, slid off the creature, and dug his vibroblade out of its hide. He then quickly slid over to Lerina and held her in his arms as she wept. She was in disbelief and awe. The man, who had killed her parents for reasons beyond her knowing, had just saved her life with his courage.

A thud behind him startled her, and An'kin whipped around with is pistol ready.

"Woah! Woah! It's me!" Kote said reassuringly.

An'kin sighed in relief. "Where were you this whole time? Wasn't like I could have used your help or anything…" An'kin looked unamused.

Kote made an embarrassed glance at him. "I… I'm sorry. I had to slowly climb down the hole." Would have been here sooner if I had a cable. He thought to himself.

"Don't worry about it. Here help me lift this off Lerina."

Lerina was still sobbing a little bit but looked up to watch the two men finally lift the rubble off of her. She started to brush off what was left. Relief washed over her. The pressure the rubble caused had finally lifted off of her.

When she was free at last, Kote rushed over and hugged her. "Don't do that again! You had me worried sick!" His tone formed into a calm relieved one.

She blushed but slowly began to hug him back, keeping her palms off of him to prevent blood from staining his armor. Lerina resisted the urge to make a comical remark. She wanted to enjoy the moment. It was… nice.

"Alright love birds, we need to get out of here." An'kin jokingly remarked.

Kote turned around with a disapproving stare. He felt a duty to watch her back and wanted to hold true to it. If that made them love birds then so be it.

Lerina's attention shifted from Kote to the creature. "What was that thing?" Lerina squeaked out.

"That, that was a Kell Dragon. A juvenile by the looks of him. Last time I saw one of these was on Lok many years ago." He explained as he examined the beast.

"A… A juvenile?" Lerina replied nervously. Her eyes grew wide with realization. "Does that mean… there could be more? And bigger ones?"

An'kin shot her a curious look. "You're right. We need to hurry up. Come on." He said as he picked Lerina up in his arms. Lerina made sure not to touch his armor with her palms as well. Kote followed closely behind as they walked back to the opening of the hole. He reached around Kote's waist and shot his snare cable up the hole. He checked to make sure that the cord was taught.

"Alright, let's hope it holds this time." He said. And with that, he activated a button on his gauntlet, and the three of them shot up through the hole as the wire retracted back inside his gauntlet.

Lerina hoped the same. She didn't think she would be able to climb out of the hole, without assistance any way.

When they finally made it to the top, An'kin got everyone settled down. Kote went out to scout the outside while An'kin knelt down beside Lerina who was brushing herself off and wiping her tears. She looked up at him, her face covered in wet dirt and sticky blood.

"Look, Lerina." An'kin said. "I can't help you with this Force thing, and I think it is best that you stop trying to use it to avoid future problems like this, ok?"

Lerina nodded. As if I hadn't already thought of that. She thought to herself. Saying nothing in reply, she listened.

"I can train you, however."

Lerina looked up at him with curious eyes. She was weak and she didn't understand why he would want to waste time trying to train her.

"I think it's about time you start training to be a Mandalorian. You've grown to be a likable addition to our little organization considering your short time here. I think it's about time you start pulling some weight around here. What do ya' say?" He smiled. She paused for a moment. He just sat there patiently waiting for her reply.

He was giving her a second chance, just as she did for him. She was finally accepted somewhere. She was home. "I… I think I can do that." She finally affirmed.

"Good. Now let's get out of here, aye?" He picked her up and headed back to the compound with Kote following closely behind.

Lerina knew that this would be a major turning point in her life. She had come from a trouble making sneak on Nar Shaddaa to being embraced by a proud and honorable Mando'ad who decided to accept the challenge of training her in his ancestor's ways. Whether or not it was the right decision, she would have to discover later; but it felt perfect in her book.

Back at the compound An'kin stood her next to Kote. She favored her right leg.

"Kote, look after her alright? I expect to see both of you in the sparing circle outside the training rooms tomorrow morning! Seven o'clock sharp!" He gave them a playful but asserting grin.

"Yes sir!" Kote replied quickly. His duty was now made official. Look after her well-being. He watched An'kin stroll back to the construction site, no doubt to tell his wife what had happened. Kote looked at Lerina and gave her a sheepish smile.

She gave him a playful glare back and punched him in the arm. Lerina loved to tease him; sometimes it seemed to be the highlight of her day. His comments back always made the two laugh. "Let's go have some fun!" She said in excitement. It felt good to be home. It was a feeling she had not felt in what seemed like a lifetime.

Kote shook his head. She always wanted to stir up trouble even after she had just gotten out of it. He knew she wasn't going to make his new found responsibility easy. No, that would be too boring.