Kessel Run, Week 4: Write a story between 100 and 1,200 words using the classic fanfic Outsider POV, using one (or both) of the following additional prompts:
- climb up, come clean, clear back the smokescreen
- a black-and-white image of hands covered in something resembling clay or oil or mud
We're returning to Zonama Sekot this week in a follow-up of sorts to ch. 11 ("Sparks")...
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Over the Moons
51 years post-RotS (32.5 ABY)
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Puffy gray-white clouds gathered in a brilliant blue sky as Jacen Solo watched his cousin dig another hole in the damp earth.
"Looks like rain," he said, observing the telltale changes above.
"Mmm," came his companion's distracted reply. From their spot under the eaves of the rec hall, they had an unimpeded view of the entire Republic camp, including Nidia's would-be garden; but instead of enjoying their downtime, Corporal Sivren sat ramrod straight in his chair, eyes fixed on the datascreen he held in one hand.
Jacen decided to try another tack.
"What do you think of Tierney there?" He nodded to indicate the young private who had eagerly volunteered to assist Nidia with her planting and who moved around her as though tethered to her. "Do you think he's got a shot?"
The corporal didn't bother looking up as he tapped away on his screen. "You'd know better than I would, sir."
"You don't have to 'sir' me when no one's around, Leif."
"By your leave, Jedi Solo."
Jacen turned just enough to see his friend focused on his device, the smallest hint of a smirk around his mouth. "You're impossible," Jacen said with a grin. "You know that, right?"
Leif shrugged and continued on with his work, undeterred. Not even a peal of laughter from Tierney or the soft cadence of Nidia's voice were enough to jar him from his duty.
A self-imposed duty, Jacen thought wryly. Unless checking the inventory for the third time in one day was part of some Republic-mandated procedure he had yet to hear about.
Despite the abundant sunshine, the clouds continued to accumulate overhead, these ones full to bursting with rain. Jacen straightened up in his seat, about to shout a warning to his cousin, when those clouds opened up and poured themselves out – directly on top of her and her garden.
"Sekot!" Nidia laughed, tipping her head back to address the air. Rainwater streamed down her face, glistening in the sunlight. "You couldn't have given us some warning?"
Jacen heard a soft huff beside him, and glanced over to find Leif watching Nidia through rain and sunbeams, transfixed.
"Credit for your thoughts, Corporal?"
Leif didn't startle. He drew a slow breath, a look of quiet contemplation overtaking his features. "The way she talks to the planet sometimes, not all philosophical like you, but like it's on her level, like it's her friend. It's…"
Jacen chose to ignore the somewhat reductive description of his own interactions with Sekot, and instead eyed his friend expectantly. "Yeah?"
Leif dropped his gaze to the inventory screen. "Forget it."
"Come on, don't make me read your mind."
"We both know you can't."
"How do you know? Maybe I'm doing it right now."
"I've been around you long enough to know that's not how it works."
He shouldn't have been surprised that Leif was so skilled at evasive maneuvers; he was a soldier, after all. "Stop dodging and spit it out. The way Nidia talks to Sekot is… what? Sweet? Whimsical? Otherworldly?"
"I was going to say 'cute.'"
"Cute?" Jacen leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "Cute is for little sisters, Leif. Or so I've heard."
"Well, she isn't my little sister."
"I know."
A startled cry and another peal of laughter interrupted the soft patter of rain. Jacen looked up to see Nidia helping Private Tierney to his feet, mud splattered across her tunic and neck. The young soldier had fared even worse – his entire backside was caked in sludge. He appeared to be in good humor, at least. Though maybe that was because Nidia was still holding one hand on his arm to steady him.
"I never have been very coordinated," Tierney was saying, a big grin plastered on his face. "Still not sure why they even let me in, to be honest."
"I like to think we end up where we're supposed to be," Nidia said thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Tierney said, shifting closer, close enough to touch, close enough to wipe the flecks of mud from her cheek. "Me too."
"Private." Leif's voice carried across the camp and through the rain without effort, clipped and clear and precise. Tierney drew his hand back and snapped to attention.
"Sir!"
"Go clean yourself up."
Private Tierney flushed scarlet all the way to his ears. "Yes, sir." He turned to Nidia. "I'll see you tonight?"
Nidia nodded, though Jacen sensed hesitance underneath. "Yes, of course," she said a little too brightly. "See you at the festival."
Tierney ran off, leaving Nidia in the midst of the muddy garden, her demeanor dampened from something other than the rain. She finally noticed Jacen and Leif sitting under the rec hall's overhang, and after wiping her neck with her sleeve, walked over to join them. Leif stood as she approached, and Jacen slowly followed his lead. Nidia offered them a distracted smile.
"Everything okay?" Jacen asked.
Nidia pursed her lips as she glanced toward the barracks. "I'm not sure. It was nice of Private Tierney to help, but I… I think maybe he got the wrong idea? Or maybe I'm just imagining things."
Jacen shook his head, stifling a laugh. "No, you read him right. He couldn't have been more obvious if he tried."
Even under the brilliant sunlight, Nidia paled. "I didn't mean to… I mean, he's very nice, but I don't…"
"You didn't do anything," Leif said evenly, one eyebrow arched as he, too, glanced at the barracks. "Tierney is young and eager, and he tends to rush headlong into things, especially when it involves a pretty girl. You could have asked him for the time and he would have been over the moons for you."
Nidia clapped a hand to her mouth and let out a mortified giggle. "I did ask him for the time yesterday."
Leif's expression softened as a smile tugged at his lips. "There you go." He tucked his datapad under one arm and nodded at them both. "I'd better get back. Jedi Solo. Jedi Skywalker."
Jacen rolled his eyes as the corporal walked away. "It's Jacen!" he called after him.
"And Nidia!" his cousin added, her voice warm and bubbling with laughter.
Leif spun around to regard them, eyes alight with a mischief that was usually banked in the presence of others, and Jacen thought wryly that the staid, steady corporal looked just as young and eager in that moment as any of the soldiers under him. He didn't say a word, just threw a casual salute before resuming his walk to the barracks.
Jacen chuckled softly and shook his head at his friend's hasty retreat. "Over the moons."
Nidia either didn't hear him or didn't grasp his meaning; she turned to him with a disappointed sigh. "Blast, I meant to ask if he was going to the festival as well."
Jacen smiled at his cousin. "Oh, he'll be there. I can't imagine he'd miss it."
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