A Life Without Meaning

ℝ𝕖𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 (𝕀𝕀𝕀)

They walked down the tunnels, per the instructions of the armorer, until they finally saw the red-orange flow of the lava in the distance. It grew brighter and brighter with each one of their steps, and as they approached the edge, they could hear and see the small spurts of explosions that erupted here and there.

"This is the lava river." Greef announced.

On the edge of the river, they could see where a single ferry boat and its droid counterpart was docked.

"The ferry droid is fried." Din remarked as the group looked over the boat.

"Yeah but if we push the boat out we can get it to float downstream. Come on." Greef said, placing both of his arms on the edge of the boat.

"Looks old." Ellia said, "Will it take the heat?"

"You got a better idea?" Greef asked her.

Ellia surrendered with a shrug,

"Guess not."

Din bent down to help the guild man push the boat, but no matter how hard they tried, it wouldn't move. At one point, Din had stood up, clearly frustrated, kicking the side of the ferry angrily.

"Come on! What're you doing?" Greef shouted at him.

Din walked over the dock, grabbing a long pole that was propped up against the far wall,

"Let's try this." he said as he walked back over, attempting to pry the ship away from the ledge with the extra leverage.

"Push!" Greef shouted again, as if that was making any difference.

Ellia glanced over at Cara, and the two girls shared a knowing look. With a simple nod, Cara passed her the child, and Ellia couldn't help but smirk slightly as the ex-shock trooper rolled out her shoulders and slid the rifle off of her back.

"You guys mind getting out of the way?" she said casually, walking up to the side of the boat, weapon drawn.

"Oh!" Greef exclaimed as they both jumped backwards.

Cara then unleashed a volley of blaster fire at the space where the boat was solidified to the edge of the dock. Eventually, the cooled lava shattered, and the boat finally came loose.

Cara smiled in satisfaction, and Ellia patted her on the shoulder with her free hand,

"Nice job" she complimented, to which she only earned an eye-roll in response.

The group all began climbing into the boat,

"Watch your feet. It's molten lava." IG-11 stated.

"No kidding." Cara mumbled.

As Ellia stepped inside, she felt a hand on the small of her back. Once safely on board the ferry, she glanced up at Din, who in turn was looking back down at her and the tired child in her arms.

They had only made it about a few meters away from the dock when suddenly, the sharp sound of electronic beeping erupted from behind them. Everyone had turned in unison, blasters drawn, only to find the ferry droid, evidently not fried. It beeped frantically some more, shaking off the cooled and crusted lava that covered its units, before eventually rising into a standing position. In his hands, it was holding what looked like an oar.

"I don't suppose anyone here speaks droid?" Din asked.

"I believe he is asking where we would like to go." IG-11 said in response.

Greef nodded his head over his shoulder,

"Down river. To the lava flats."

The ferry droid beeped in acknowledgement, before shoving the oar down into the river, propelling the boat downstream at a slightly more accelerated pace.