Beep beep be….
"Blast!" Prisa yelled in frustration and threw her tools down on the table. At eight, she had picked up her Aunt's knack for mechanics and had set up a workshop in the barn.
Life on the Matno farm had dramatically changed since Unit 56 took up permanent residence there. Rya and Prisa were both glad the troops had decided to remain and knew without them they would not have been able to turn it into a refugee center for displaced citizens and soldiers from the civil war.
Over the past two years, people from every walk of life trickled in and out of the property, which is why Lenore insisted on showing Prisa the basics of self defense and how to handle a blaster. Like her father, Prisa was a natural shot and quick at learning any task Lenore gave her. Rya, her mother, was not pleased her eight year old could name the various series of weaponry she had once used to take down the Empire, but she had to admit her sister-in-law had a point. It was better for the girl to know these things than to be at someone else's mercy.
Beep beep be….
"Oh R3," She sighed as she picked through the pieces she had collected around the barn. She was attempting to reassemble the astrodroid that had been picked up during Lenore's adventures. He was sassy and a bit of a trouble maker, which helped him seamlessly fit in with the residents of the farm. But on his last adventure with Unit 56 all that was left was his memory drive. Rol Gwyer had also not returned. He remained behind to give the Unit a chance to escape and sent back the piece of hardware with Lenore with the message:
"Tell Prisa I'm sorry. I won't be able to show her any more mechanics…but she knows everything she needs to help R3."
How had things changed so much in such a short amount of time?, Prisa wondered. She knew who she held responsible. It was a bounty hunter, by the name of Boba Fett.
Months before, when R3 was whole, the Mandalorian bounty hunter had shown up to call in a favor of Lenore. Prisa knew her aunt had friends in high and low places, but she had a bad feeling about the man in beskar the moment his ship landed in the pasture.
Luckily, Lenore had settled the matter in time to return home for Rillo and Rya's wedding. Unluckily, she had already made plans to venture on another dangerous journey to tie up more loose ends of her past life. Prisa dreaded this time, her aunt would not return just as her father hadn't. In true Tersu fashion, she stowed away on the Spitfire determined to help.
The adventure did not last long. She was discovered shortly after takeoff, and thanks to high fuel prices stayed aboard as far as the Ring of Kafrene. She had never been outside Lothal before and was in awe of the crowded spaceport. She stayed behind with the ship as R3 closely watching over her, while her aunt concluded her business. She had to fix him. Whatever it took.
Knock Knock
"Any luck?" Lenore peaked into the barn.
"He keeps short circuiting," Prisa said, defeated. Lenore reached over her niece and inspected the parts.
"You may need a new board to handle the voltage," Lenore said, blowing off the dust on the circuit board Prisa was working with. "I can take you at the end of the week to get one."
"Is he here yet?" Prisa asked, referring to her the arrival of her baby brother. The task of restoring R3 was difficult but it was also a welcomed distraction while her mother was in labor.
"Not yet," Lenore sat down next to her niece. "The kid's taking his sweet time to get here. Must get that from your mother and Rillo. Us Tersus are too impatient."
Prisa smiled and thought of the remark. She didn't know much about her extended family or family history. All she had were stories of her father's service during the war, and stories of his childhood in the encampments known as Tarkintown. She remembered what he looked like of course, but she was forgetting the sound of his voice and any memory before he had left the farm to serve in the New Republic Forces.
"I miss my dad," Prisa admitted.
"So do I," she sighed in agreement.
"I'm forgetting him," Prisa confessed and looked at Lenore in a panic. "What if I forget him completely? What if I forget Rol? R3?"
"You won't," Lenore assured her.
"You don't know that," Prisa said, frustrated pushing herself away from the worktable.
"So much like your father," Lenore said calmly and tucked back her niece's golden hair behind her ear. "Determined, courageous, and a bit of a nuisance. But you have a big heart and good intentions and that's what matters."
"Nuisance? How?" Prisa was offended. Lenore turned her niece around and took her hands in hers.
"I didn't mean it in a bad way. You're a rebel. You question things, think for yourself. And as far as forgetting those we've lost, well it's not so much about remembering the details, but the feeling they gave us, the lessons they taught us. Those things, the important things, live in here," Lenore pointed to Prisa's heart. Prisa took a sigh of relief . "As long as you don't forget who you are, you can't forget them. Understood?"
"What did you learn from my dad?" Prisa asked, looking up into her aunt's eyes. She knew little about her father and aunt's relationship, only that they had chosen different sides during the war. It seemed strange how the war had affected so many, especially the soldiers. She hoped she would never see one in her lifetime, but if she did, she was prepared to fight.
"He taught me never to lose hope. Especially in the darkest of times, there is always light, one can't exist without the other. You just have to keep looking for it." Lenore said with a sly smile watching Prisa's mind try to comprehend all the advice being given.
"But how? What if you're lost?" Prisa asked.
"Well for starters, you trust your instincts. You try, even when you're scared, in some cases especially when you're scared. But most of all, you help others when you can, and know when to ask for it yourself " Lenore began to assemble some of the droid pieces together until R3 began to beep again and then short circuited. "... that last bit I'm not very good at I'm afraid."
"Don't worry," Prisa replied and patted her aunt's shoulder. She could sense it was something hard for her to admit and she was glad she chose her to confide in. "I can help you."
"I bet you can," Lenore acknowledged as she saw Besa peek into the barn. "Any news?"
"The new addition is here," Besa announced, looking a bit nauseated. "Geese I thought being a soldier was tough, child bearing has changed my whole view on physically demanding tasks."
"I want to see him!" Prisa sprung from her chair and rushed out of the barn past Besa without acknowledgment.
"Hey! You're welcome," Besa remarked as Lenore joined her to walk back to the main house to greet the new child to the family.
"Where is he?!" Prisa demanded as she bursted into her mother's bedroom. Her mother looked radiant yet exhausted as she held a small bundle in her arms. Rillo gently wiped her mother's forehead off with a damp cloth. He extended his arm and ushered Prisa close to her new baby brother.
"Prisa," Rya said quietly. The birth had been long but luckily not difficult. She handed her son over to her eight year old. "This is your brother, Lenny."
"Lenny?"Lenore said, surprised as she entered the room.
"Well, I wanted to give him a family name," Rillo explained. "I took your request and bypassed Lee, and well Rya was not going for 'Nore or Norwin. So we landed on Len, but Lenny seems to suit him."
"Looks like a trouble maker already," Rya commented. "Hold his head, Prisa."
"I got him," Prisa said confidently.
She looked at her tiny brother and smiled. Everything changed for her at that moment. The two of them would be inseparable. She would have someone to navigate throughout the galaxy with. She now had someone she needed to watch over and protect. She would teach him everything she knew and everything she would learn. Even though he had no Tersu in him, she sensed the two of them would be closer than any siblings could be.
"Hello there. I'm Prisa. You're big sister."
Lenny cooed as though to say hello. Prisa looked up at the adults in her life filled with excitement. She then felt a cold wave of panic wash over her. One day everyone in the room would be gone, and it would just be her and the baby she held in her arms. But not for some time. She had all the time in the galaxy, luck permitting, before they would go. But she needed to make it clear to her little brother from the start.
"We need to stick together, Lenny. Watch out for one another, help one another, that's the only way I think we'll make it," she whispered to him as she gently rocked him back and forth. Lenny Rathos grinned, shutting his eyes and peacefully fell asleep in his sister's warm protective embrace.
