Reunion (#3 Post-Order 66 Series)

Reunion - Part 1

He crashed through the underbrush of Takodana's forests like a rabid bantha, branches whipping him in the face as he ran onwards. I've really kriffing done it now. His blonde hair was soaked through with sweat as was the cloak he was wearing. A blaster shot winged over his head, slamming into a rock formation just to his left. He ducked and rolled down an embankment, splashing into a stream at the bottom. Scrambling to his feet, he kept running, his cloak now heavier with the weight of the water. He finally just flung it off, revealing the blue and white armor underneath.

Relieved of the weight of the cloak, he was able to open up his stride more as he pushed onwards. He turned to look over his shoulder, searching the forest behind him for the flash of white plastoid. Suddenly, he exploded out of the edge of the trees and stumbled, his foot catching a rock as he ran and he flew forward, sliding on his chest plate as he frantically grabbed at the ground. He realized the reason the trees had ended: he was quickly approaching the edge of a cliff, and he tried to dig his toes in, but could find no purchase as he slid towards the precipice. His legs slipped over, dangling into the abyss as he managed to lock his fingers into a small crevice, clinging for everything he was worth to stop his momentum. Kicking his legs out, he tried to find a toehold, but found nothing but air. This must be an overhang. Of kriffing course it is. His fingers were slipping from the edge, and he allowed himself a look down to see how far he would fall. I'm not going to survive that. He dug his fingers in harder.

He heard a rustling as the four stormtroopers that had been pursuing him stepped out of the brush carefully, pushing forward with their blasters trained on him. "It's over, you're surrounded."

"Does it look like I'm going anywhere?" he shouted back defiantly. I might be, it just might be down. He felt his fingers slip and tried to tighten his grip, but his shoulders slid over the edge, and he was no longer able to see his captors. Kriff. He strained with effort to hold on, and his thoughts drifted to her again, the way her blue eyes captured the light in the morning, the way her long braid hung about her shoulders, the sound of her laugh. Just in case.

Over the blood pounding in his ears, he heard blaster fire and what he could have sworn was the hum of a lightsaber. He shook his head trying to clear his mind, but before he could have another thought, his fingers slipped from the crevice he had them wedged in. He felt the nothingness below him embrace him as he tumbled backwards silently. He fell past the precipice and could see the overhang as he plummeted. He watched as the sky fell away from him. Her eyes are bluer.

A figure dove over the edge after him, cloak billowing out behind them. Throwing their hands forward, they shot towards him like a missile. His brain couldn't process what was happening as slender fingers reached out and wrapped around his ankle, gripping tightly as they suddenly snapped to a halt, swinging from a line tied to his rescuer's waist. As they swung back and forth, he looked up to stare at the hooded figure who was grunting from the strain of holding him. The figure's left hand snaked out from the cloak, glinting in the sunlight as slender metal fingers wrapped around his ankle over the other hand. Blue eyes sparkled at him from underneath the hood and he was certain he was imagining things.

"How's it hanging, Rex?" Senna chuckled as she pulled him back up towards her, righting them both in the air.

She managed to help him pull himself up and get his legs wrapped around her hips, his arms gripping around her shoulders as she reached down and pressed the retract button for the cable feed that was attached to her belt. They slowly rose back up towards the cliff edge, Rex completely silent. He could smell her as her hair tickled his nose in the breeze, and memories came flooding back: the last night they were together, how she'd felt in his arms, the immense loss he'd felt when he'd awoken to find her absent with no hint as to where she'd gone. He was angry and sad and confused, and his inner turmoil did little to abate even as they slipped back over the edge of the cliff, laying next to each other on the hard stony surface.