R4's beeping caused her to come out of her daze. Glancing at the translator as she pulled it off her belt, she nodded. "I'm fine."
The droid beeped again and Ari nodded. "I promise," she forced a small smile.
R4 beeped again but let it go after that. Ari started down one of the halls when she heard someone call her name.
Turning she saw Wedge coming up to her. He gave her a salute jokingly and she had to laugh.
"You look lost," he commented.
"Well, I don't really know what I should be doing around here," Ari admitted.
"Oh don't worry about that just yet. Most of us are meeting in one of the lounges. Just play some games, watch a holo or something. Do you want to come?" Wedge invited.
"I don't know…" Ari trailed off. She was certain she would be the only girl there.
"Come on, the guys will behave, I promise," Wedge assured her.
Ari hesitated for a moment and R4 beeped at her. Glancing at the screen from where the translator was clipped to her belt, Ari laughed. "Ok ok, I agree," she told the droid, who had reminded her that they were all friends now.
"Your droid can come to," Wedge offered. R4 shook his dome head no and beeped.
Glancing at the screen again Ari nodded. "Well, go finish powering up then," she smiled at the droid who beeped in response and made his way down the hall, 'singing'.
"Interesting droid," Wedge commented.
"You
have no idea," Ari laughed as Wedge put an arm around her shoulders in a
comradely way and led her to the lounge
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ari
slowly stumbled into her room, palming the door open, exhausted. She made
it to the bed, then flopped down into it, face in the cool pillow, feet hanging
slightly off the side of it.
R4 came alert and beeped at her.
As if it took a lot of effort, Ari unclipped the translator and looked at it. "I am ok. Just exhausted. I think excitement and laughing take a lot out of you…"
R4 chirped at her and Ari shook her head. "Not that crazy actually. But fun. The guys are really great…" she smiled slightly and unclipped her saber and placed it on the nightstand."
At this, R4 started to go crazy and Ari jumped. "Calm down," she tried to soothe the droid, glancing at the translator.
"Yes, that is a lightsaber," she answered, a bit surprised how excited R4 had gotten. "No no, I am not a Jedi," she shook her head when she saw the droid had asked her that. "My mom was…kind of. She could have been. But she became a handmaiden because that is what her parents wanted. So I don't know why she had it…" Ari replied.
R4 paused then chirped again in question. "Katri….Katri Narabe." Ari answered softly, feeling tears well up in her eyes. The pain was still all too raw and painful.
R4 gave his version of a nod and let her know he was sorry to make her cry. "It is alright," Ari answered, curling up in a ball, turning to her other side. "You can recharge, just be aware if something happens like an alarm or someone comes in," she told the droid, face half buried in the pillow.
R4 nodded then wheeled over to the charging station. Ari pulled her boots off and dropped them on the floor and then pulled the blanket over her, feeling cold from jus remembering the loss.
A few tears escaped as a small sob went through her frame and she bit her lip hard, feeling the tears slid down, and then landing on the pillow.
Ari forced herself to think back to the night's events, one arm curled under the pillow, the other holding the blanket close.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Wedge had led her into the main lounge where she had been the only girl. All the pilots had looked up and smiled when they saw her.
"Come on, let me introduce you," he smiled. Amazingly enough, he had seemed to know everyone and they all seemed to know him. Ari was sure she had shaken hands with everyone by the end of the night. Wedge also introduced her elaborately. As Arianna Narabe, hero of the Battle of Yavin and commander of Green Squadron.
"Why do you keep introducing me like that?" she whispered to him after meeting another 'group..
"Well you are a hero. If it hadn't been for you, Luke and I would have never even gotten a chance in that run. And in times like this…the most experienced pilot is the leader. You have more combat time then the rest of these guys. They have only done sims."
"But I was only there for one battle…" she trailed off, seeing the sad look in Wedge's eyes. He offered a small sad smile and Ari gave him a one armed hug. "It'll be alright…" she tried to assure him.
"Come on, let me introduce you to your new group," he forced a small smile. Before she could comment, he led her to a table of new X-Wing pilots.
Finally, they had shaken hands with everyone, but Ari was certain she was only going to remember a handful of names. She had never been too good with remembering names. On Tatooine, people stayed there for a long time, so once you knew a person, you would know them for a long time.
After looking around the area for a bit, Ari felt a bit more comfortable and after assuring Wedge that she would be fine, she started to mingle with a few of the pilots.
It felt strange in a way. Yet, there was a strong sense of comradery that connected them all.
Finally, Ari sat down at a table with a few others who were playing cards and having a few drinks.
Never having tasted alcohol before, Ari was disgusted when the sip she took made her want to gag. After that, she just stuck with water.
"How can you drink that?" she asked one of the pilots.
"It is an acquired taste," the pilot, Dack answered.
"Not one I am willing to try to acquire," she muttered under her breath before turning her attention to the game of sabacc that was being played.
Since neither of her parents wanted her to gamble, she had never played sabacc and was quite interested since it was such a popular game. She watched, and asked a few general questions, getting the overall feel of the game. It seemed like fun. However, she didn't want to gamble anything, even though the stakes weren't much. It was more for fun.
After about an hour and one half of talking and playing cards, Wedge came over to tell them all that one of the men had brought a comedy holo, a recent one at that.
Ari had jumped at the chance to see it. Not only had it been ages since she had even seen a holo, but a comedy would help lighten everyone's moods.
Ari soon found herself sitting between Wedge and Cal Alder, a new pilot. Soon they all found themselves laughing at the holo, enjoying themselves.
At one point, Ari found herself leaning against Cal, trying to control the soft laughter. In response Cal just gave her a small hug around her shoulders. A bit thrown by this, Ari stiffened and pulled away slightly.
Cal relaxed his hold on her and both went back to watching the holo.
When the end of the movie came on, the pilots all applauded loudly as the lights came on. Ari sat up and caught a glance of Han and Chewie leaning against the back wall. Han gave her a nod before he and Chewie left the room as well as the now tired Rebels.
"Want some company back to your room?" Cal asked as he took her hand and helped her to the feet.
"Umm, sure," Ari nodded with a smile.
"So you are from Tatooine huh?" Cal asked her.
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Wedge was talking," Cal gave a small laugh.
"Where are you from?" Ari asked him.
"Coruscant actually."
"Really? What is that like?" Ari asked, a bit excited.
Cal then preceded to tell her about his life on Kal'Shebbol. About the loss of his father and how he came into the Rebellion, though he did say how much he missed his two younger sisters and mother.
Finally, they reached the hallway where they would split ways. "If you need anything…" Cal started, leaving the offer open.
"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" Ari laughed. Cal just shook his head and gave her a small hug, which she returned before both turned and made their way to their separate rooms.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
With these thoughts in her head, Ari sighed deeply, feeling sleep finally overcoming her and she drifted into a deep sleep
AN: Hey guys come on, read and review. It will help my muse keep going, which means more story more often.
Also….
That link has pictures to who I have as Ari. Each picture has a caption and more will be added as the story moves along. J
One more thing, some chars I mention are from the expanded universe, so if you have any questions, let me know