Chapter Seven: On the Trail
Flashback
"What is going on here?"
Caleb, Depa, and Zeb turn at the same time to see Hera standing at the other end of the hallway. She folds her arms across her chest and raises an eyebrow mark expectedly.
"It wasn't me this time, I swear," Zeb says, holding up his hands.
"Chopper did it," Caleb states, pointing behind him.
Hera looks past them and sees nothing. "Uh huh."
Caleb and Depa turn back around to find the droid had vanished.
"He was right there!"
"Told you he doesn't like me," Caleb says to Depa, shaking his head.
"You do know you're going to clean this up, right?"
The two children look back at Hera.
"But Mom …" Depa starts.
"No buts. Go get cleaned up. Then scrub this whole hallway clean."
"But it was Chopper," Caleb protests.
"Chopper will get punished, too. I've got it covered," Hera assures them. "But you're still going to clean this up."
Caleb and Depa sigh at the same time, and they both hang their heads.
"Zeb, get the stuff they need. Then you're free to go."
Hera watches them as Caleb and Depa reluctantly follow Zeb out of the hall.
— — —
"I didn't give Chopper a remote … are you sure that's what happened?"
"Yes, Mom. That's how Depa and I got like this," Caleb explains.
Sabine had already helped Caleb clean himself up, and now was trying to get the yellow off of Depa's face as she sat on a chair and swung her legs back and forth.
"Did it get Zeb at all?"
"Yep. It was all over his fur," Depa answers, giggling. Sabine smiles, offering a high five that Depa accepts.
"As long as he got hit, that's all that matters."
Caleb and Depa laugh at that. They'd quickly gotten over the fact that they'd have to clean the hall in a bit. Even though Chopper caused it, Caleb started it and Depa participated. And they did almost everything together, including chores.
"Done," Sabine says, removing the rag from Depa's face. Depa smiles and tells her, "Thank you," before running off to get the cleaning supplies from Zeb.
Caleb moves to follow her, but Sabine holds him back with an arm. "Not so fast, ad'ika."
He stops moving against her arm, then looks up at her and waits.
"Try not to get into any more trouble."
"But it was Chopper …" Caleb says, head hanging.
"Hey." Sabine holds his head back up and looks at him. "We'll get him back later. But we're not going to think about that until you clean the hall and make it up to Hera."
"Sorry."
"It's fine. Chopper's always like that. You just have to think of ways to get him back."
Caleb grins and nods. Sabine lets him go, but as soon as he passes through the door, she calls after him.
"Don't wreck the ship doing it!"
Caleb can't help but laugh as he runs.
End Flashback
— — —
Caleb sighs as he stares into the dark visor of his helmet.
Why did she have to leave?
He'd woken up a little early, after only three hours of sleep. He never could get that much rest, not since the attack with Fenn Rau.
If everything had worked out then, Rau and everyone would still be here. Kirra would be here … and now Depa's the only hope for saving this place.
Depa. How long had it been? Four years? It was a small number, but four years was time enough for people to change. He most certainly had.
But what about her? The only time she ever saw me was when I was holding a knife against her neck.
He still felt bad about it. No, he felt horrible. If he'd known, then no, he never would've done it.
She was scared … of me.
The look of shock and fear on her face didn't leave Caleb's mind. One of the things that had made him wake up so early.
If I go find her, she'll run. She doesn't know who I am.
His eyes widen. What if she doesn't remember … or just doesn't believe me?
He'd just have to prove it somehow. But first, he'd have to find her.
Caleb stands, taking his helmet with him as he walks away from the mat on the floor.
He'd taken shelter in another one of his old partner's hideouts. They'd worked out a system months ago, but most of their hiding spots had been discovered by the Imperials. The rest, Caleb forgot.
The walk to the door takes only a second. This hideout had been an old maintenance storage shack on top of some apartments, so the only thing he and his partner had placed inside was something to sleep on.
Once outside, Caleb could see that "Daytime" had arrived early in the city. The lights above shone brighter now, resembling tiny suns.
Where should I even start?
Depa could be on the other side of the city, or on a different level. Either way, it would take days to look through every place.
We used to hide from each other back when we were little … but this? This is out of our league.
The only positive thing he was noting was that there were no TIE fighters flying anywhere above the buildings. There were only Imperial speeders and ground patrols, but the size of them had doubled overnight.
Guess I'll just have to move across rooftop then.
Caleb takes two steps forward before realizing that plan won't work. Black specks flew around the roofs of other buildings, scanning the surroundings.
Kriffing probes. He sighs, looking around. His gaze lands on a grate on the street below him.
Sewer will work.
He and his partner used to use the sewers as an escape route for most jobs they took that were dangerous. Fortunately for him, they'd managed to map out over half of the city's sewer system.
"Good thing we did," mumbles Caleb, pulling the map out of a pocket on his belt. They'd drawn it on an old piece of cloth, which looked even more worn out with the fading paint they'd scrounged up.
It's not perfect, but I get the gist of it. He takes the stairs down the side of the building, then heads over to the grate.
Hopefully nobody will report me for doing this.
Caleb glances around at the passing people before lifting the grate and dropping down into the hole. The durasteel echoes when it bangs back into place.
"Stinky as ever …" Caleb remarks. He pulls a flashlight from his belt and starts walking. Then he holds the map up and examines it.
Last place I saw her was at that room … nearest sewer entrance would be here. His finger lands on a red circle, indicating a grate near where she'd ran away from him.
Since he'd only moved a block away from the place he'd seen her, he knew it wouldn't take long. That's why he starts running over.
He pauses about halfway there, seeing something out of the corner of his eye. A piece of metal lays against the ground a foot away, and when he walks over, he steps on the other piece.
Caleb grabs them and holds them up to the flashlight.
Wait a minute … these are the binders I put on her.
He immediately looks down both ends of the sewer tunnel, but only finds a rat.
She went through here. I'm close.
Or at least he thought. He just remembers that he waited a while before searching.
Kriff, Depa … it never took me this long to find you before.
He clips the restraints to his belt. It was something that he could use to show her that he'd tried to find her before.
And then he'd say sorry. For everything.
If he had to beg for her to forgive him, he would.
