Chapter 72

AN: Thank you to the readers who left such great reviews. Please continue to do so!

Ari flopped back on her bed with a deep sigh. It was only the second day here, but she was already impatient. She had arrived with the others in the early in the morning and everyone had worked through the day and into the night. Everyone from Hoth's base was exhausted that night and had fallen asleep. Ari had barely managed to kick off her boots before collapsing onto the bed and into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Now, after finally getting a full night's sleep, and after unsuccessfully looking for Luke, Leia, Han and the others, she found herself bored. That was one thing she had not counted on. She had been so busy since joining the Rebellion that she did not know what to do without numerous tasks assigned to her. She would have written in her journal, but she had done that on the way to base. She knew she should have slept, but couldn't. She was still too tense from all that had happened, and could never find her fighter comfortable.

During the day, she had seen Cal, just like they had both promised. There had been a brief hug and a few words between them. However, he had been injured in the battle and had been ordered to report to the Medical Bay. None of his injuries were life threatening, but they could get worse without medical attention. She had breakfast with some other pilots, like Wedge, but after that, everyone went their separate ways. No one wanted to converse and the air felt tense still. While, she was glad not to be around beings that were still so tense, this left Ari alone with only R4 for companionship. The droid had been busy as well though, and had Ari had waited for it to recharge before exploring the ship. It was large, bigger than Anchorhead, so she wanted to keep R4 with her for company and to make sure she wouldn't get lost.

Even the thought of exploring such a place did not seem to be exciting. In fact, she could not stop thinking about Luke and the others. Neither he, nor Han or Leia had contacted anyone. They were feared dead or captured. Ari however refused to believe that. She would know if Luke were dead. She would have to. Not only that, but she had a feeling he had something planned since he had been so insistent in being the last one to leave. As for Leia and Han, they were reported to be traveling together and Ari knew both were strong. And hopefully Chewie would stop them before they tried to kill each other.

While she was thinking about what might have happened to her comrades, R4 beeped at her and she saw the droid was already heading to the door. Shaking her head with a small smile, she got up and followed. The droid had more personality than some living beings she had met.

The pair was mostly quiet, which was rare. However, it seemed as if neither of them had anything to say. A few Rebels greeted them with nods or a few words, but it seemed no one was conversing, except for business. There was a mood that could only be considered solemn. They had lost a number of their brave comrades and suffered a heavy loss by the attack and rushed evacuation. The equipment that they had been unable to take was destroyed so it would not fall into the hands of the Empire.

Ari's thoughts were interrupted by R4 beeping excitedly and then starting to move faster down the hallway. "R4!" she exclaimed and followed. She didn't know what had gotten into the droid. The hallway was just like the others, with only two others at the other end of the hall.

The droid was still beeping loudly. Loud enough to catch the attention of the two figures at the other end of the hallway. They both looked up and one started to walk faster toward the droid. The other shouted, "R4!" Clearly a female's voice and Ari saw that both were women. Neither of them looked familiar though.

Even more perplexed, Ari jogged a few yards to where the droid had stopped, since one of the figures, the one with dark hair, had dropped down and hugged the droid. The droid was beeping and chirping in excitement.

"R4?" Ari asked. This was quite interesting behavior. She had never seen the droid act like this before.

"He is an old friend," one of the newcomers spoke up.

Ari glanced over from the droid and the dark haired woman with him to the other woman. She was the older of the two, with blonde hair that hung past her shoulders. While she was older, perhaps even older than Ari's mother, she seemed younger when she smiled. She wore a comfortable tunic and pants that were both tan in color. What caught Ari's attention were the woman's blue eyes. They were showing some happiness from this reunion and while she was smiling, there was still sadness in her eyes. It looked like it was permanent for her, as if she had been through more pain and loss than a person should have to. The young girl from Tatooine could only wonder what this woman had been through.

"So you know each other?" Ari asked, and realized that sounded somewhat foolish. Of course they knew each other. Why else would they have acted like this?

"Yes. In fact, he belonged to someone close to us," the blonde haired woman replied as the dark haired woman stood up.

This woman looked to be in her mid thirties, with dark hair that fell past her shoulders, about the same length as the others. She had dark brown eyes that also showed some sadness. They seemed to mirror the same feelings that the other woman had. It made Ari take a step back. What had they been through? Would this happen to her too? It scared her a bit.

"And I helped build him," the dark haired woman added.

"Well, if you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Ari asked, and then paused, her eyes growing wide. She saw a glint of metal on the belts of both women. They both had lightsabers which meant they had to be Jedi. "Are you...Jedi?" she asked, shocked. She had heard all the Jedi had been killed. Ben was a surprise. And here were two Jedi Knights. They were standing right in front of her.

"We are," the blonde haired woman smiled slightly. "Or at least we were," she added, smile fading. Then her eyes fell on Ari's lightsaber. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

"It was my mother's." Ari answered simply.

"Who was your mother?" the blonde haired woman asked, raising one eyebrow in mild surprise.

"Katri Narabe."

"The name doesn't sound familiar," the woman commented.

"Her parents took her out of the Temple at a young age, wanting to keep her. She became a handmaiden but a Jedi felt she needed to have some control of her gift. So he helped her build a lightsaber." Ari remembered reading all this in her mother's journal and the pain struck her again. It would become duller, but at the moment, it still hurt.

"And what is your name?" the woman asked again.

"Arianna Narabe. Who are you two?" she asked. She doubted they knew her family, though nothing could surprise her now.

"I am Taylor Sameth, but most know me by my adopted name."

Ari looked confused, so the blonde haired woman spoke up to explain. "I was her Master, and I adopted her after the Empire came to power and the Order was destroyed. I am Siri Tachi. Or at least I was. I now use my married name. Siri Kenobi."