The Nightmare flew down between the walls of the large canyon that stretches across Ikana's planet surface. I landed the ship back on the sandy ground and Rooda walked slowly to the ship. I opened the doors and she ran up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly.
"You've no idea how much I've missed you." She rubbed her muzzle against my chest and looked over my shoulder as Rakine's ship landed on the canyon floor, next to the river the runs parallel to the canyon's walls. His door opened and he stepped out into Ikana's surface for the first time.
"So this is Ikana?" He looked around. "Kinda empty isn't it?"
"Rakine," Rooda cleared my throat as she stood straight up, letting go of me and putting her arms to her sides.
"Rooda," he nodded, acknowledging her presence as he walked over to us.
"How is the cave, Roo?" I looked to her.
"I've been working on it for some time. After you left, I wanted to surprise you." She grabbed my cybernetic hand and walked to the entrance, which now had a large makeshift door, made up of strong wooden boards. "Come take a look at the front door. I think this is way better than the things we had on Zant. Forget cloth when you have an actual door. And look," she opened and closed the door. "Hinges. Plus it fits the size of the cave entrance."
"Wow, Rooda. You made a door," Rakine chuckled jokingly. She stares at him unamused as she opened the door to show us the interior of the cave.
"As you can see-" she expanded her arm to the wall to show us that the cave walls have carved deeper and smoothened out, "-I've expanded the cave a little more. Smoothened the walls to give it a more homey look."
"How did you carve the walls flat?" I asked her.
She ignited a crimson lightsaber, and she jumped up high in the air, slicing through a stone stalactite and dropping back down to the cave floor, catching the severed stalactite.
"Oh," I nodded. "That's how."
"And with the left over stones I carved from the cave's walls, floors, and ceiling, I not only smoothened the cave, but look." She walked over to a makeshift table and three chairs made out of stone. "I've made makeshift furniture out of the leftover stone."
"Interesting, but how did you manage to weld the stone together to make the furniture?" Rakine stared confused.
"I melted them just a bit with my blade, then held the stones together. And after they cooked down, they welded together."
"Smart," Rakine nodded.
I kept looking around the partially empty cave.
"It could used some more interior design, could it?"
"Well yeah. I haven't had all the time to actually finish it. But now that you're back, you can help me right? We can finish our home, Eyt." She held one of my cybernetic hands and smiled. "Here we could finally live where it's safe and far away from all the troubles that we've been trying to escape from."
I gulped.
"About that, see the thing is Roo-"
"Oh God," she let go of my metal hand and her deer ears lowered sadly. "You're not leaving again are you?"
"I'm sorry, Rooda," I put my metal hand on her shoulder and she looked back at me, "but the Rebel Alliance needs our help-"
"Your help." She pulled away from me, wiping her face and glared at me. "Now that we could finally be alone and safe from the Empire, you're leaving me alone here while you go back there to risk your life even more." She sighed. "Look at you. You're half machine, and those are all permanent injuries from your last missions against the Empire." She put one of her hoofed hands on the forehead and began to weep.
"Rooda, I'm sorry-"
"If you want to go back so badly, why don't you just go?! You now only care about the Rebel Alliance, and to keep me safe and out of your personal rendezvous with the Empire, you leave me here on an empty desert planet alone, with no form of transportation or communication!"
"We came here with another communicator, so you can sulk talk to us," Rakine stepped in between me and Rooda.
"It doesn't matter. Eyt-" she looked at me with tears in her eyes,"-why can't you just stop worrying so much about the Empire and at least spend some time with me? You even said here the both of us would be happy and safe together."
"I-" I stop myself from talking and watch as Rakine backed out from between us. "Go Rakine. Go back to Yavin 4. Tell them I'm not coming back. I have a lot of catching up to do here."
Rakine nodded and walked out of the cave, holding the entrance's door behind him and closed it to where it was open an inch, leaving me and Rooda somewhat alone in the cave as he stood outside.
"Rooda, I know I said here we'd both be safe, and I really do care about you. I just thought with the Empire gone, we could save the whole galaxy too. I know that-"
She sighed and interrupted me with a sudden kiss. She had leaned toward me and rest her soft hand on my right shoulder, I looked at her as she closed her eyes, she was savoring the moment. I raised up my cybernetic left hand and stroked it against her cheek. I closed my eyes as I am overwhelmed with the strong feeling, the same as Rooda feels
right now. Love. We are both caught in the moment and I feel Rakine's presence arrive as he leans against the wall, next to the door left cracked open. I hold one hand out and slam the door with the Force and Rakine backs away from the wall. Rooda stops kissing me and pulls her face away from me, she opens her eyes and rubs above my eye with her thumb, smudging some dirt off my head.
"I can't afford to lose you, Eyt. Not after all the trouble you're already gone through." She lowered her hand and spoke quietly. "Please stay with me. Help me get this project done quicker, and if you promise me two things-"
"What is it, Roo?" I looked at her as she put one hand behind her back and raised the other.
"One," she extended one finger, "I you ever want to go back out there and save the Empire, I won't stop you. You can always go and be a hero. But promise me you will be careful. Promise me you will come back alive."
I nodded.
"I promise."
"Two," she extended the other, "well, as you could have already figured out, remember that I will always be here for you. No matter what happens, remember that I will always love you, Eyt."
I managed a small grin.
"I will always remember, Roo."
She took one communicator from me and brushed it, before setting it on the stone table behind her.
"Now, Eyt, I will present you with the same choice again," she spoke calmly, and this time, not irritated. "Will you say here with me, so we can finish this cave, our home? Or are you going back out there, into the great unknown, where the Empire waits to hunt you and kill you?" She started to worry, and so did I.
I stood there silently, thinking about the choice she gave me. My two options are both very difficult to pick from, either stay or leave. I keep thinking about what would the effects of each choice be. If I stayed, the cave soul be finished quicker, Rooda would fully trust me, and the Rebel Alliance might lose their trust in me. They'd probably think I'm not loyal to them anymore. Now if I left, Rooda would stay here alone, with the communicator, but she wouldn't be able to trust me anymore, and the Rebel Alliance will recognize my loyalty to them. I kept thinking of these choices and their effects and I speak quietly to myself.
"Choose your actions carefully."
I notice Rooda staring at me confused as I suffer to decide. I sigh and take a step toward her.
"Alright, I'll stay. I'll stay here with you so we can finish our cave. I don't want you to feel like I'm abandoning you every time I leave, so I'll stay here longer-"
She desperately hugged me and tears of joy streaked down her cheeks.
"It's okay, Eyt. You don't have to explain anything. I understand."
I slowly put one of my metal hand over her side and I softly fest it on her back. I feel Rakine's presence leave entirely and I hear his ship take off the ground and fly out of the canyon.
"I still hope they can trust me," I thought to myself. By staying here, I'm not fighting for the Rebel Alliance, against the Empire. It's like taking a while off without their consent, without their approval. The communicator on the stone table vibrates and as I walk to it and start it up, a hologram of Mon Mothma appears.
"Mon Mothma-"
"Have you given your dear deer friend a communicator yet?"
I looked to her, she looked down to the floor, her ears lowering. I turned back to Mon's image and responded quietly.
"Yes."
"Wonderful. We will expect you back to Yavin 4 shortly."
I slowly shook my head.
"No," I muttered quietly.
"No?" Mon Mothma looked at me surprised.
"I can't come back." I turned to Rooda as she stepped to my side, putting one of her hands on my shoulder. "After I returned there from Ikana, I haven't any communication with her in a long time."
"Your point is?" Mon started to grow somewhat irked.
"I have-" I looked at Rooda and she smiles back at me. "-We have a lot of catching up to do at the moment. I'm sorry Mon Mothma, but I can't return to Yavin 4."
"You've not got into a relationship with her, have you?" She put her hand on her forehead as she looked at Rooda.
"I'm afraid so," I grinned and put one hand over her shoulder as we stood close together.
"And with your apprentice."
"No," I shook my head. "Not my apprentice. If we're going to maintain a good relationship, I think I'd prefer her being my girlfriend over apprentice." Rooda blushes as she rest her head on my shoulder. "We have a lot of catching up to do. That's why I can't come back to Yavin 4."
"I see." She took her hand off her forehead and held it to her side. "Well, if you two are positive you want to stay out there where you're safe from the Empire, then-" she gasped. " I'll try to pacify the Rebel Alliance, make sure no trouble stirs."
"Pacify?"
"They all think you're one of the Alliance's best fighters. If you simply left, they would start rioting and think of you as a traitor. I fear that the Rebel Alliance would unravel and your name would be mud from Yavin to Endor." She rubbed her forehead nervously and began to plead to me. "I'm sorry, Lord Venison, about your relationship with her, but now, we have a risk of a potential crisis. The Rebel Alliance needs you. Please come back now, and this predicament will be avoided. Please Lord Venison."
Mon Mothma's hologram vanished and the communicator turned off. I looked at Rooda nervously and she was about to weep, getting her head off my shoulder and walking away.
"Rooda, I know I said I'd stay here with you, but-"
"The Alliance needs you." She turned to me, wiping her cheeks. "You should just hurry."
"I'm not leaving you here alone." I sighed and opened the door, still looking at her. "So you won't have to be alone, I would like you to come with me."
"You want me to come with you, back to the rebel base on Yavin 4?" She looked around at the hollowed cave, stones covering most of the floor. "Alright, I guess decorating this cave can wait."
I grinned and opened the door, she walked over to me and I trusted to comfort her.
"Don't worry Roo. When I go back to Yavin to calm everyone down, to try and bring peace to them, and the galaxy, well come back here, where we can finish creating our home."
"I know," she nodded as she opened the doors of the ship and walked in.
I followed after her and closed the doors behind me. I sat in the pilot's seat and Rooda sat in the seat next to me. I started the Nightmare off the ground and flew it out of Ikana's vast canyon and into the night sky, back toward the Yavin system.
"I hope that the Rebel Alliance will already be fully pacified before we get there," Rooda rubbed we shoulder nervously as she turned to me.
"I hope so too. I'm not looking forward to an angry mob with my name written on the Rebel Alliance's hitlist. Hopefully Mon Mothma and Rakine will have the situation covered before we get there."
I don't know if I just caused the fall of the Rebel Alliance, or if the message hasn't reached the base yet. Rooda and I pray that Rakine and Mon Mothma can send the message without any dosaster spreading across Yavin. But I just can't keep my hopes up.