Chapter 6: Closing Winds

Zarya ducked, hiding behind some kind of trolley pulled by a surprisingly small robot that didn't seem to know what to do in the surrounding panic. When a few stray shots were fired too near to her position to be comfortable, she groaned while leaving her temporary shield, running towards the nearest merchant stand for cover. Pushing her hair away from her face and putting a hand in her pocket to assure herself she hasn't lost her comlink, she tried to look around for her companions, but apart from a blue head that might be Tarrik's (He was pretty recognizable even from afar) a few meters away; she wasn't able to get a better look for the two others. Just when she had successfully hid under the stand's table, an explosion sounded off in the next alleyway and the girl was left to wonder how the hell they got themselves in this situation.

The escape plan was supposed to be simple, and they had planned for it for months now. Many possible scenarios were thought of, contingency plans and distractions and no Hostias, you don't actually have to start a fire, we just need the fire alarm—

Deep breaths. No need to be angry. Just ignore the child's pyromaniac tendencies- wait, no, don't ignore that. No supervision would be an invitation for him to practice is fire making skills.

Said child must be having a blast with all the explosions, fires and lasers all around them.

The point is— Zarya cursed as her table was broken in two by a tumbling mess of limbs, probably some guys fighting over who knows what, and she ran to the next stand, where she was surprised to see the one she had just been thinking about already hiding there. As soon as she was safely crunched next to him, she kicked his shin as hard as her tiny leg could, ignoring his grunt of pain.

"Hostias, what in the stars were you and the boys thinking about, running away like that?! Do you know how dangerous that was, we aren't prepared for this kind of situation!", she yelled at him over the surrounding cacophony of fighting sounds and rising wind. "The keepers could catch us at any time now!"

"No they won't, I started a distraction, see?"

"You started a riot! It's not exactly a safe distraction!"

"Well, it's working, no?"

She groaned, a hand over her eyes.

The plan sank as soon as the monthly outing the keepers had in group at the market to show off their own merchandise (the orphans) was unexpectedly cancelled due to the oncoming sandstorm. This was a huge set back, since today was the day they had decided to act on, since the perfect transport was scheduled to come at the right place, right time, to a decent planet, everything lined up for a near flawless evasion.

But since when did preparations matter when children under ten years old were involved?

The keepers had been closing the gates when the three boys seemed to wordlessly agree to try their luck anyway and run for their lives, leaving the orphanage behind before the gates could close completely. In a lapse of better judgement, she ran after them.

And it worked, for a while anyway.

The keepers didn't react fast enough, probably not expecting for them to do something so obvious and reckless. Admittedly, activating the fire alarm right before leaving for the market could have given them a great opportunity to sneak away and have some time before their jailors figured out they had left amidst the confusion.

With this new escape, they made it to the market just in time to hide before about half a dozen keepers turned the corner near their position, two of them holding data pads which most likely gave away their general position. In a stroke of genius, or madness, who knew, Hostias decided to create his own distraction.

Said distraction being the ongoing street riot.

Seriously, he just needed to grab some vendor's item, in this case a very expansive looking jewel, and throw it at the vendor the other side of the street. Right on his face, to be more precise. He then ran to another stand, where he subtly pushed one of the merchant into another's stand, making all the dehydrated food he was selling tumble to the ground, and ran for cover before he was noticed. Next thing you know, many were throwing insults at each other in some garbled alien language she didn't understand, then throwing punches, then others joined in, guns were suddenly involved, then explosives and Zarya was left behind a frail stand showcasing small dead animals which were probably to eat, and she wondered what she ever did to be reborn on this crazy planet.

"HEY! OVER HERE, I SEE IT!"

Standing up and having to push her hair away again because of the wind, she looked where Hostias was gesturing wildly, seeing the ship they were supposed to catch whose engine was starting. She turned her head quickly, spotting the small figures of Tarrik and Novi sprinting towards the transport after hearing Hostias' call. When Hostias saw them both heading towards it, he pushed her out of their cover so she would also start running.

"Go, go now! I'll follow after you!"

Zarya had no time to check on him, having to focus all her attention on avoiding any obstacles coming her way. After jumping over a (hopefully) passed out body and ducking under more flying lasers, she finally reached the ship just as the ramp was starting to fold back up. Novi and Tarrik, already aboard, each grabbed one of her arms to pull her up faster. The three of them turned back to reach for Hostias, only to realise he wasn't behind Zarya as they had thought.

"Where is he? He was following you just a minute ago!", exclaimed Novi.

The doors of the ship started to close. With no time to waste, the Rodian headed to the doors' control panel, hurriedly connecting his data pad and hacking it in the hopes of keeping them open a while longer and delaying the ship's departure.

"I won't be able to hold them for very long without gaining the pilot's attention, find him!"

At his statement, the two others turned to look around, when they finally spotted the brown haired boy a few meters away, standing frozen despite the fights around him. Only his hair and tunic followed the strong breeze dancing around him. The girl made to exit the ship in hopes of reaching him to snap him out of whatever was keeping him from moving. Maybe he was too afraid to move, maybe he was injured—

A hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked at Tarrik, ready to protest when she noticed how pale he looked, how wide his eyes were. His hold on her was strong, almost painful but he wasn't paying attention to her, his gaze locked on the frozen figure of his friend.

"They have him", he whispered fearfully.

Zarya snapped her head back, trying to see what had him as spooked as Hostias. Only to notice that Hostias didn't seem afraid at all. His face was actually blank, devoid of any emotion, which was very unusual for the normally animated boy. She started yelling his name before Tarrik could stop her with his hand on her mouth, yet it wasn't the human boy's attention she gained, but the blond woman with a grey hood behind him.

She recognized that woman, who was taller than most human females like her. She was familiar with her strong grip, unyielding despite the struggling of her captives and also familiar with her angry tirades when one of them stepped out of line. She knew what her being behind Hostias with a data pad in hand meant. Yet Zarya couldn't believe it. Surely, they wouldn't be as cruel, as stupid as using that thing on a child…

The woman said something, and Hostias started to walk toward them. It wasn't his normal, clumsy walk with limbs a bit too long for his growing frame, but a mechanic one, where every movement seemed to be perfectly coordinated. The girl watched, eyes disbelieving as her friend approached them without any trace of emotion in his eyes, uncaring of the now rising sand whipping him. Even the previously fighting merchants and shoppers were hurriedly packing their things, having stopped their brawl once they realized the storm was upon them. She distantly heard Tarrik yelling at Novi to close the doors while lightly tugging on her arm too keep her out of the way.

Something snapped in her. Her once tightly held emotions couldn't be contained anymore, the air was too agitated with the other's panic, and her own fear was pumping adrenaline in her veins. As the doors closed, she realized that if she did nothing, Hostias would be left behind on this horrible planet, with those heartless people and this monstrosity of a keeper who would decide his fate for him.

With a surge of strength she didn't know she possessed, she held her hands before her, grabbing the moving doors of the ship without thinking and pushing back. With a hissing sound, the doors stopped, and she struggled to keep them as such. She heard yelling, and realized that it was her, shouting for Hostias, and the other two yelling at her to stop, trying to pull her away.

She wasn't able to hold on long, the two boys combined stronger than her alone. They fell together in a pile, Novi gasping for breath under their weight. Zarya quickly got up, pushing Tarrik's restraining arms away from her and still shouting for their missing friend only for the ship to lurch, sending her back to the floor on her knees. She felt a sensation similar to an elevator going up, signalling that the merchant's ship was moving. She lifted her head up, swallowing back the nausea unexpectedly assaulting her.

The doors were closed.

( ( ) )

The owner of the ship, a lizard like alien, had come to the back of his ship once it was moving, looking around for whatever could have blocked the doors back at the market. The kids being hidden behind the many containers, metal crates and barrels were left unnoticed. He left after a few minutes, grumbling under his breath in basic about some stray crate probably obstructing the door before falling out, losing him good money.

The three friends sat next to each other for hours in silence, listening to the howling wind outside their metal shelter. It was getting quieter now, finally calming down. Their chosen transport stopped two or three times at neighbouring cities and villages, dropping merchandise at the lizard's clients and receiving other materials or money in exchange. None of them reacted to the brief activities apart from ducking out of view each time the doors opened.

When the ship stopped again, the children settled for another wait before taking off again, which could be from five to thirty minutes.

"Do you think there's any food here?", Novi inquired quietly, as if afraid to break the mourning silence. He only received a shrug from Tarrik in response.

It would be surprising, since this was the ship of a clothing vendor. All the boxes were filled with clothes, clothing materials and drapes. Useful for them to change from their recognizable, grey tunics to casual, sand coloured ones. Fruitless when it comes to food. With the way they were brought up, they were used to going a few days without food anyway, and they made sure to eat as much as they could in secret before leaving, since stealing provisions would have been harder to hide.

"This should be the last stop, according to the ship's travel plan, before taking off the planet and flying towards Rodia. It will be a little while before we arrive. By now, we should be far enough that they can't track us anymore with the chips."

The silence took its place again. The boys had questions, she was certain, about what she had done with the doors, but they didn't seem to have the energy to bring it up. She was grateful for that, since she didn't either. What was supposed to be a victory, filled with relief, joy and nervousness was instead a bitter wake-up call that, no matter where they go, they will never be completely free. If Hostias wasn't enough of a link to Tatooine, the ones with the power to control them via the chips were also to consider.

Zarya looked at her companions, already exhausted and weary. Tarrik's head rested on the wall he was leaning on, his eyes closed. His uneven breathing gave away his consciousness. Novi was tinkering with his data pad and the three comlinks he built by himself in the previous months, giving them each one with the instruction to never lose it, since it's their only mean of communication should they be separated. Those had been their most precious possessions back at the orphanage, and it had been a pain to hide from the keepers. Now, he had to block Hostias' from their channel to keep him and the keepers from comming them. After a few minutes, he handed them back to their respective owners, and Tarrik and Zarya didn't waste time putting them back in their pocket for safekeeping.

For the first time since they came aboard, she truly looked at the boys she had begun to think as friends. So young, yet so smart in many ways, forced to grow out of childish behaviours without parents to shield them from the world. Or galaxy, in their case, which is worse. The grief they felt was almost tangible around them, yet they didn't cry. Later, maybe when it would be safe to do so without being found.

Her own emotions were still all over the place. The wall she normally kept up to separate other's feelings from hers was crumbled, leaving her vulnerable to them. The former 18 years old felt like she would burst into tears as soon as she opened her mouth, so she didn't. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had felt this way, never having been an easy crier, yet here she was.

As pathetic as she felt, she couldn't help feeling like she deserved to cry. She hadn't taken the time to grieve her family and friends yet, the ones in her first life. And she hadn't cried for herself either. The life she lost out of the blue, barely an adult and without any memory of how it happened. Now, with her guard down more than ever, she felt like breaking down.

Zarya was about to let out a sob when she felt it. A small, foreign and distant feeling reaching out to her, trying confusedly to comfort her. Yet she couldn't help but find it familiar, like… home. It felt like coming home.

She perked up, gaining the attention of the two boys.

"Zarya?", prodded Novi.

The ship was starting to make noises again, meaning that she didn't have much time before its departure. She got up and followed the feeling, walking towards the doors, still opened from the last exchange of goods.

"What are you doing?", asked Tarrik.

"Do you think she's doing that thing again?"

"No, but I do think she's going to do something stupid. Zarya get away from the doors!"

She looked back at them, a hand on the door. Their transport was already lifting, and she was left to make a decision right now, or it would be too late. Without knowing, she had already made her choice.

"There's something I need to find. I'll keep in touch and find you later, I promise."

And with that, she jumped out of the ship, the closed doors cutting off the surprised cries of her two friends. The ground being farther than she had thought at first, she landed roughly on the hard ground on her side and after rolling a few times, she heard a cracking sound, which could only be the sole electronic device on her person breaking under her weight. Zarya groaned in pain and annoyance.

"Aw, what a load of bentha poo."

(

Finally! This chapter just didn't want to be written, I swear! Anyhow, more action than the last one, right? Too much?

It would be accurate to say that a lot as changes; The kids aren't as safe from their control chip as they thought, Hostias is left at the orphanage in a terrifying twist, and now Zarya left the other two for… what, exactly? What could make her want to stay on this planet any longer? Any theories?

And the boys, will they make it to Rodia? It was a logical choice for Novi, since he is a rodian and maybe he'll be able to bring Tarrik without much fuss, but who knows if a Chiss can be accepted so easily. No worries, this won't be the last of them we see!

Again, thank you to Mads-Chikistorm, thatfanboi and OldWorldVulture (Your suggestions help a lot, thank you!) for the comments, and thanks for adding my story to your follows or favorites! It encourages me a lot to see people read my story!

Until next time!

-Maginary

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*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OCs*