Always in Motion
by Lady Dawson
Chapter Two: Back to Lothal
As soon as the shuttle made the jump to hyperspace, leaving the Destroyer behind them to lick its wounds, Cassie Windchaser allowed her a small moment of relief. Despite how dangerous and reckless the mission had been, no matter how crazy it had seemed, somehow they had made it.
Even with all of the cards stacked against them, the odds that weren't in their favor, somehow they had survived.
Exhaling slowly, Cassie turned to look at the kid that was sagging against the copilot's seat; his breathing was erratic as he stared wide-eyed in front of him, like he couldn't believe that this was actually happening, that he had escaped that cell and was out of Imperial hands.
Standing, she made her way through the shuttle, heading to where she knew they kept emergency supplies—this wasn't her first time stealing a shuttle—rooting through them to find anything that could elevate the agony he was in.
Cassie bit down the rage she felt, that had been surging through her ever since she first laid eyes on him, ever since she saw the needle marks that she recognized from torture droids and all the burns and bruises that accompanied them. Every inch of her wanted to find the Imperials that did that to him and she would have happily driven her lightsaber through them and not felt an ounce of guilt.
But had she done that, she never would have been able to get either of them off that Destroyer and the kid needed help more than he needed revenge.
"Won't they be tracking us?" Ezra had followed her to the back of the ship, though he was using the seats to balance himself, one hand curled around his side, as though it pained him, and was looking at her with wide electric blue eyes. "I mean, won't they have trackers on their shuttles?"
"Probably," Cassie allowed, finally finding the supplies and searching through them for what she needed, "but once we get some distance, we're gonna blow this thing to smithereens, then head for the nearest spaceport and find a way to get to Naboo, where my ship is. Shame we couldn't have blown up that Destroyer," she said dreamily, "but you work with the cards that you've been dealt. You should sit down," she added pointedly, "you're in enough pain without causing yourself more."
"I'm fine," he insisted and straightened up as thought to prove his point, though he still kept his arm curled around his side. "See, standing up and everything."
"Uh-huh . . . and how long are you gonna be able to keep standing up like that?" Cassie asked shrewdly, glancing at him with raised eyebrows. He hesitated, trying to decide. "That's what I thought. Take a seat, let me find some the medpac, and then maybe we can get you fixed up a little bit—at least until we can find a decent doctor or something. Aha!" she exclaimed, producing the medpac. "Here we go!"
She walked back to Ezra, who had sank into one of the chairs—though probably more out of exhaustion than actually wanting to listen to her—and sat down next to him, opening it up and looting through it.
"Why did you help me?"
Startled, she turned to look at Ezra, electric blue eyes suddenly dark as they focused on her, and she slowly closed the medpac.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"Yes, you do," he argued, his breath quavering ever so slightly and she could almost see a flicker of tears in his eyes. "Why did you even bother coming onto that ship? Why did you come looking for me? Because people don't do that; they're only out for themselves, just do whatever they need to survive."
"Well, I'm not most people," Cassie told him, "and sometimes you don't need a reason to help someone."
Reopening the medpac, she found some burn cream and bacta, pulling it out so she could apply it to his injuries. Ezra drew back, wrapping his arms around himself as he huddled in the corner, away from her.
Cassie felt her heart grip at the sight, at the protective way he held himself; she'd been afraid of this, of the damage that had been done to him. But it wasn't irreversible; she could still help him, she thought as she held his gaze.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, kid."
"Everybody always does; they just hurt each other."
"Not always," she replied gently, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she surveyed him. "And if I was gonna hurt you, I could have done it already, couldn't I?"
"Maybe you've got some hidden agenda up your sleeve," he retorted, sticking his jaw out stubbornly.
Cassie laughed; she was sure she surprised him by her response, but she just smiled at him. "Maybe," she acknowledged, "or maybe not. Maybe you just have to take a leap of faith and hope that somehow, it all works out."
Electric blue eyes surveyed and with great reluctance, he unwound himself from the rigid position he'd been in, allowing her to get closer. Cassie felt a wave of relief rush through her as she began applying the bacta.
"Does your head hurt?" she asked, noticing that he kept leaning his head against the wall like it was paining him. He nodded but stopped with a wince. "You might have a concussion . . . here, let me see; where does it hurt?" she asked and he pointed. With infinite gentleness, she brushed her fingers against the spot and immediately, Ezra flinched away. "I'm sorry . . . definitely a concussion," she assessed before moving on to the rest of his injuries, which were considerable.
But she talked him through the whole thing, figuring that he might relax if he knew what she was doing.
Well, maybe not relax, but at least be a mite calmer.
Once she had done the best she could with limited medical supplies—and even more limited medical expertise—Cassie told him, "All right, I think you'll be okay, but we should get that checked on once we get to Lothal." Though where, exactly, on Lothal they would find a doctor not in the Empire's pocket, she had no idea. "Are you hungry? There's some rations in here; I can't promise for the taste, but they should last until we land. When was the last time you ate?" Somehow, she didn't think Imperials fed their prisoners very much, if at all.
"I don't remember," Ezra said, curling up into himself, "but I'm not hungry." Cassie eyed him, doubting it, and he caught her gaze. "Really, I'm not. I . . . I don't think I could keep anything down," he mumbled and Cassie believed him. Between the injuries and the concussion, he probably couldn't. "I just want to sleep . . . please?"
Reluctant though she was to let him sleep without someone taking a look at the concussion, Cassie caved under the pleading look he gave her.
"All right," she surrendered, "you can sleep, but I'm gonna wake you up every hour just to make sure you can wake up. As long as you can, then you can go right back to sleep. Sound okay?"
"Yeah, sure . . . whatever," Ezra mumbled, clearly more interested in sleep than he was about a potential life-threatening injury.
"All right then." Cassie glanced briefly at the cockpit, eyeing the comm. "Go ahead and get some sleep; I'm gonna work on getting a secure channel, see about contact a friend of mine—not to mention your parents," she added, "I'm sure they're worried about you."
Even as she spoke, she saw how his entire body stiffened at the mention of parents, so she really wasn't surprised when he wrapped his arms around his knees and, looking anywhere but at her, said quietly, "I don't have parents."
Cassie inhaled slowly; she supposed she should have considered that. If there had been anyone looking for him, then she wouldn't have had such a hard time finding him; if there were anyone else, then there would have been a much easier trail to follow.
But he had no one—and probably hadn't for a long time.
"Me either," she confessed. Ezra turned to look at her, surprised. "I lost mine to the Empire, about fifteen years ago; what happened to yours?"
He hesitated, and then admitted, "Imperials took them away, about eight years ago."
She smiled faintly at him. "Never gets any easier, does it?" she asked, brushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. "That's always the worst part; the not knowing what happened and knowing that you might not ever find out."
"I know what happened," Ezra said quietly. "They're dead."
Cassie regarded his expression carefully; judging from the way he looked down as he said the words, it was more likely that that's what he needed to believe, because it was far easier to believe than to deal with the other scenario. Dead was easier than imprisoned, because that was something he could deal with; imprisoned, especially in an Imperial prison, was almost impossible to deal with, because there was no way to get them out of one of those.
Had Ezra been in one of those, she would have had to get herself arrested and then work on an escape plan from the inside. And she knew all too well what her old master would have said about that; Cassie never would have heard the end of it. She hadn't like the idea of Cassie sneaking onto a Star Destroyer, never mind an Imperial prison.
"Why don't you try and get some sleep?" Cassie suggested, not pursuing the subject. "I'll wake you in an hour. If you change your mind about food, let me know; I'll see if I can find something easy on your subject."
Ezra glanced briefly at her, then nodded once, laying his head down onto the bench as Cassie rose, moving to the emergency supplies; she had seen a blanket in there earlier.
Retrieving it, she made her way back to where he was lying, noting his electric blue eyes watching her movement, never once leaving her as she draped the blanket over his slender frame before heading back to the cockpit, retaking the pilot's seat.
"What's your name?" Cassie paused, looking back at Ezra, still watching her. "I know you said before, but I . . ."
"It's okay," she told him gently. "My name's Cassie Windchaser."
"Right . . ." He snuggled into the blanket. "Well, I . . . thanks."
"That's all right. You've got a concussion; that's bound to make you a little confused."
"No, I mean . . ." Ezra bit his lip, looking awkward. "Thanks . . . for coming to help me. I honestly didn't think anybody would."
Her gaze softened and she smiled at him. "Don't mention it, kid," she told him. "Go to sleep; I'll wake you in an hour."
His eyelids were already closing and he mumbled something indistinctive and then he was fast asleep.
Cassie managed to land the shuttle without being seen by any Imperial patrols—she hoped that the stolen shuttle wouldn't have been reported yet, but there was always the chances that they were more interested in catching insurgents that they were admitting that their crafts had been stolen—and headed for the outskirts, away from any prying eyes.
Before they even left hyperspace, however, Cassie left the pilot's seat, heading to where Ezra was sleeping and squatted down next to him, laying a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder, enough to wake him but not to jar him.
"Ezra? Hey, kid, wake up," she whispered and his eyelids fluttered and he groaned at her touch but otherwise just turned over on his side to go right back to sleep. "Hey, Ezra, come on, wake up . . ."
He groaned again but this time more out of annoyance than in sleep before his eyes opened fully, blinking at her before he rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"Hour's up already?" he grumbled.
"Not quite; it's only been about twenty or so minutes," she told him, "but we're coming up on Lothal and I thought you'd like to see your home planet."
This seemed to wake him up a little and he pushed himself into a sitting position, glancing quickly at her as she held out her hand to help him stand and he hesitated, but shook his head as he forced himself to stand on his own.
Inwardly, Cassie sighed but followed him as he stumbled to the copilot's seat; she kept behind him so she could catch him just in case he full, but he was determined to get there on his own. Only when he had made it into the chair did she take the pilot's seat, her hands curling around the controls and drawing back the lever for lightspeed as the light began to beep, signaling their approach to Lothal.
It had been years since she had last been to this planet; the last time she had been here, she was younger and far more innocent.
"Good to be home?" she asked as his home planet swarmed before them.
Surprise filtered in his eyes but he gave a small, tentative nod. "Yeah, I . . . I've never been gone for so long before," he admitted, drawing up his knees to hug them as he regarded her uncertainly. "I've never even left the planet before."
"Never really had a home," Cassie murmured, more to herself than to Ezra as she navigated her way to the far side of the planet. She had never stayed anywhere long enough to call it home; the longest she'd ever been planetside was before her master found her, before the Jedi Purge, when she was still living with her parents on Coruscant.
Glancing over at her, Ezra looked like he wanted to say something but changed his mind, instead staring out the cockpit window and watching the sights of Lothal come in closer and closer, the blue skies finally opening up overhead as they made their descent, settling into the tall grass with ease.
No one was around, much to Cassie's relief; that meant that getting rid of the shuttle might go unnoticed.
Cassie helped Ezra climb out of the shuttle—well, attempted to, anyway, but he mostly resisted her—making sure that he was a safe distance away before going back and rigging the shuttle with explosives, grabbing the few emergency supplies that were left. She didn't know how long it was to the settlement and Ezra might need them.
Jogging back to where the kid was lying against the rock she'd left him up, Cassie though he might be asleep but he opened his eyes as soon as she neared.
"Hey, kid," she said, helping him to stand. They would have to put some distance between them as soon as the detonator went off. He staggered against her, a small flinch running through him, but she ignored it, offering the detonator. "Want to press the button?"
He blinked owlishly at her, staring down at the detonator in surprise before a grin tugged at the corner of his lips as he reached for it, pressing his finger against the button and Cassie's ears met the welcome explosion as fire erupted in front of them, sparks flying, and debris going everywhere.
"And that, kid, is what a rebellion looks like," she said, clapping her hands together. "It all begins with a spark." Delight turned to seriousness almost at once as she surveyed him. "Come on, someone will have heard that and we don't want to be here when they show up to ask questions."
Signaling for him to follow her, Cassie led the way, putting as much distance between them and the explosion as possible.
Ezra managed to keep up with her, just barely; she kept a close eye on him in case he fell behind, but allowed him some space, to ease his mind. His skittish behavior worried her and Cassie was just as concerned about his state of mind as she was about the concussion and other injuries he had sustained whilst in Imperial custody.
She needed to find a doctor; she just hoped that, here in the outskirts, there would be one not in the Empire's pocket.
Of course, that was assuming that she could even find any settlements out here; she hadn't seen a single sign of life since she had landed. She could sense life but she was starting to wonder if it was just wildlife she was sensing; she hadn't seen any signs of civilization.
The Lothal sun had descended into the horizon, plunging the planet into darkness, and there was still no sign of life—well, besides the few Loth-cats. She was starting to wonder just how far they were to any settlements.
"How far do you think it is to the nearest village?" Cassie squinted into the distance, hoping to see some life to no avail. She waited for an answer but there wasn't one. "Ezra?"
Turning to the kid, she rushed forward just in time to catch him as he swooned, catching him before he fell and gathering him up in her arms, resting her hand against his clammy forehead. He needed help, she thought anxiously as his eyelids fluttered, his head rolling against her shoulder; she needed to find him a doctor and fast.
Despairingly looking at the landscape around her, Cassie took a deep breath and stretched out with the Force, letting it ripple through her as she focused, concentrating on trying to sense any sign of a town or a village—even a city, she was at the point where she didn't care, as long as she found a doctor.
Her eyes snapped open and she turned her head; there was a settlement in that direction. This time, she was sure of it; she just hoped that she could make it before the kid got any worse.
And hopefully, there would be someone who could help.
Cassie scooped Ezra up into her arms; he immediately whimpered at the change of elevation, curling into her.
"I'm sorry, kid," she whispered, adjust her hold so she could carry him more easily, "but we've got to find you some help. I promise, you're gonna be okay."
And with that, she began the long trek to wherever it was that she sensed people, praying that there would be help waiting for her.
AN: Ta-da! And chapter two is now complete! And thank you to all the wonderful reviewers that contributed to the last chapter. I really do love reading what people think about my stories, so please, don't hesitate to press that review button to let me know. Chapter three is complete, so I will be posting that as soon as I get enough reviews, and I will be starting Chapter Four soon!
So please, review to keep me happy!
Lady Dawson