Chapter 6
Kriff! Cloaked starfighters!? This close the sensors should have picked them up—
Odonnl's heart leapt to his throat as he heard an explosion behind him. The starfighter had managed to penetrate the shields and land a direct hit to the external sensors. The feedback had caused the sensor station to burst, tearing Benji from his restraints and raining broken glass and bits of metal across the bridge.
Odonnl glanced over his shoulder, then for a second his eyes met Dankin's.
"He's fine, just fly," Odonnl told Dankin, forcing calm into his voice. In truth he had no idea what condition Benji was in. He was lying motionless on the floor, Odonnl couldn't tell if he was stunned or unconscious. Surely he couldn't be dead. But either way, it wouldn't do him any good if they got blown to bits before making hyperspace. Dankin's eyes were still wide and Odonnl could tell he was fighting panic, but he flew steady.
Odonnl stared at the countdown to hyperspace, blocking all other thoughts. Everything else could wait until the jump. Finally, he pulled the lever. Stars stretched into starlines and Odonnl could breathe again.
Luke and Mara instantly appeared on the bridge, Mara shouldering in front of Luke to get a better look at Benji. He sat up slowly, looking dazed but conscious. There were shallow cuts across his face and chest, his tunic now sporting several long gashes, but nothing seemed to be too deep. Odonnl let out a relieved sigh and smiled encouragingly at Dankin, who was finally getting some color back in his face. He watched as Mara scooped Benji up and carried him to the med bay, Luke close on her heels.
Pormfil and H'sishi appeared on the bridge within minutes.
"What happened?" Pormfil asked.
"Benji was working the sensors—" Dankin began.
[The child was on the bridge?] H'sishi cut in. [Chief said he was not to be on the bridge if we had trouble. She will not be pleased.]
The conversation ceased as Mara approached.
"He'll be okay. All the cuts were pretty superficial," Mara said. She ran a critical eye over each member of her crew. "Why was Benji on the bridge?" she asked evenly.
Odonnl met Mara's harsh gaze. "We needed someone to man the sensors."
"Where were you?" Mara asked, turning to H'sishi.
[I was assisting Pormfil in the engine room.] H'sishi lowered her head. [I will accept punishment for abandoning my post.]
Mara turned back to Odonnl. "So you brought Benji to the bridge in direct violation of my orders?"
"We needed help."
"From a twelve-year-old kid who doesn't know a thing about a ship this complicated? One who has scarcely left the protection of the Jedi Academy since he was born?"
Odonnl stared levelly at Mara, refusing to back down. "He's a Jedi. We thought he could handle it."
"Well then I'm sorry to tell you even human Jedi cannot see ultraviolet," Mara snapped. A muscle in Odonnl's cheek twitched. "Or did you forget that H'sishi prefers the sensors set in ultraviolet? And that Benji probably didn't know to flip the switch so they appear in the human visible spectrum?"
Odonnl looked to the floor. The others shrank away, bringing to Mara's mind an image of frightened whisperkits flattening their ears against their backs.
"Benji is our passenger. We promised him protection. If anything happens to him—" Mara's voice caught in her throat. She swallowed hard and continued. "From now on I expect you to obey my orders. If you can't do that, you no longer have a place on my ship." Then she turned on her heel and stalked off the bridge.
Luke settled Benji into his bed and put him in a light healing trance. Truly, Luke was more concerned about his son's mental health than physical. Luke thought Benji had enough battle experience that he ought to be able to control his nerves better than that, he shouldn't get flustered. Luke's main focus had been on taking down starfighters, but he'd sensed Benji's panic and bewilderment during the battle. They'd have to work on that. In the meantime, Luke could feel a storm of emotion elsewhere on the ship. He listened carefully, allowing the Force to enhance his hearing, and was able to hear the crew speaking on the bridge.
"We made a mistake. It's not our fault we're so understaffed. Mara needs to cool it," Odonnl grumbled.
"She's doing her best," Dankin replied defensively.
"Yeah, and so are we. Unfortunately our best doesn't seem to be good enough for her these days. Sometimes I wonder if we wouldn't all be better off if we just went our separate ways."
"Do you really mean that?" Dankin asked. "Do you all feel that way?"
"Maybe we should all take some time to clear our heads," Pormfil replied.
Pormfil, Odonnl, and H'sishi left, leaving Dankin alone on the bridge. Luke gave Benji a final glance, saw that he was still sleeping peacefully, and went to see if there was a way for him to help.
Mara locked the door to her room, her hands trembling. She collapsed onto her bed, her nerves shot. She might have cried, if she hadn't sworn off crying years ago. When had she become so spineless, about to lose it at the first sign of violence?
She breathed deeply, forcing calm. Benji's fine. Just a few cuts and bruises. They rest of us have seen a lot worse, and I bet he has too.
But try as she might, Mara couldn't get the image of Benji lying on the deck, bleeding, out of her head. Nor could she forget the look of fright in his eyes when she knelt beside him. When she had first set out to find Benji, she had idly wondered if he had his father's blue eyes. He didn't. Or at least, he didn't only have his father's eyes. They were blue in the center, but rimmed in grey. And when the light caught them just right, flecks of grey were visible throughout. They were unexpected, striking. And when they were filled with fear Mara's stomach tightened into knots.
Why did her life always get so much more complicated as soon as Skywalker showed up? And why did he always have to show up right when she least needed another complication?
Mara buried her head in her pillow, allowing herself a few precious moments of rest before figuring out what she was going to do about the destroyed sensor array.