𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 | a.s x fem!oc

6 - All Or Nothing

{KANANI'S POV}

I was honestly pleasantly surprised that Ciona seemed to have no objections to my plan, and she almost even seemed enthusiastic towards her new role in the mission... I was nearly 100% sure she would have a tantrum not only in regard to me coming along, but also to me having the bigger role in the scheme. Surely she wasn't actually warming up to me?

Remember what you're doing this for, Kanani.

"Ready to go, Kirari?" I ask Ciona, who was trailing her fingers delicately along the gun that concealed the dart, her eyes travelling from the weapon and up to meet mine. Her icy blue irises stared directly into my soul, inflicting a form of intimidation in me but also something else... a feeling I couldn't quite describe even if I tried. She swiftly tucked a strand of her stray platinum blonde hair behind her ear as she shot a smirk at me, sheathing the gun in her holster in one fluid motion.

"Let's do this."

I returned the smile to her and reached my hand down the neckline of my jumpsuit and grabbed onto a string which was hung around my neck, concealed underneath the material. I gently pull on the string until I had successfully removed it from my jumpsuit, and grasp hold of the key dangling next to a green kyber crystal which my mother had acquired on the streets when she was alive. I liked to keep a piece of her with me despite the fact she didn't even put up a fight when those bandits broke into our home that night and murdered her, leaving me alone to fend for myself on the streets... but at the end of the day, she was still my mother.

I walked myself over to the pilot's seat in front of the control panel and collapsed heavily into the seat. I reached over and inserted the key into the ignition and flipped the other switches to ensure that the ship was operational before travelling to the Temple again. Glancing at Ciona through the side of my eye, I notice her put her dirty boots up onto the control panel as she slumped down in her seat, making me itch inside with irritation. I didn't have time for this, so I simply said nothing. I could always get the custodial droids to clean it up when I returned back to the base on Tatooine. I mean, it's the least they could do seeing as I'm aiding a hunter who was bringing back a Jedi himself. An enemy to the Separatists and potentially one of the most powerful beings in the whole galaxy.

I wonder how much the Master is paying Ciona for this mission, my voice sounded in my mind as I began to fly the ship up and off the platform, steadily merging with and following the trail of speeders that led to the Temple. My eyes shifted over to Ciona once more, who was watching the busy city before her as she twirled her black mask around her finger. As I observed her further, I seemed to notice something I had never seen in Ciona before.

Uncertainty.

"Hey, you ok?" I asked her softly, catching her off-guard but not so much as to anger her.

"Yeah, I guess. It's just.." Ciona spoke back to me, her eyes intently focused on a frayed seam in her mask as her voice tails off at the end.

"It's just what?" I press her a little further, trying to get that rugged and snarky shell to crack in hopes of finding a genuine human being residing somewhere within her core.

"It's nothing," she replied bluntly, hooking her mask over her ears and gently pulling it over her mouth before aggressively crossing her arms across her chest.

"It's clearly nothing, Kirari. What gives?"

She slams her head on the back of the seat and tilts it to look at me, her piercing blue eyes staring me down as I concentrated on flying the ship. Although I couldn't physically look at her, I could feel her looking at me, which honestly made me slightly nervous, "Do you get paid for helping out on these missions?"