If it wasn't for the fact that it was infested with pirates, Luna mused, she would have considered it a quaint frontier outpost.
In one sense, it was just like any other outer rim outpost, in that people lived, worked hard, haggled over wares, shared a laugh with friends or went about their business, lost in their own world. It just so happened that every other person was armed to the teeth. The locals didn't seem to notice or care, perhaps they had long made their peace with the sight of the pirates. Perhaps the pirates treated them well and with respect. All the same, Luna was on edge as she walked through the main thoroughfare of the town. Her hand twitched, yearning to grab the blaster concealed under her poncho.
'Not a good idea,' said Cora, beside her.
'Is it that obvious?' Luna asked, trying to relax.
'A little,' she said, and then smirked. 'But I've been paying attention.
Luna blushed, then became fascinated with one of the nearby street stalls. 'Oh this is beautiful,' she said, picking up some iridescent glass shards.
The old woman sat behind the table beamed, her wrinkled face splitting in two. 'Thank you, my lovely, I made it myself.'
'You do good work,' Luna nodded, turning the shard in her hand. 'Very good.'
'I can give you an offer, if you like?' said the woman hopefully.
Luna paused, weighing up the pros and cons. She only had new republic credits on her, and she feared that such a currency would stand out here. Cora stepped in before she could decide. 'Do you take republic credits?' she asked. 'We've just come back from a job in the Mid Rim and we haven't had a chance to exchange it for anything better yet.'
The old woman's face crinkled in disgust. She waved a hand. 'I suppose it'll have to do.' As Cora fished out her credits and paid, the old woman said, 'it's nice to see some young faces again. Are you thinking of settling here?'
Luna frowned, and looked up and down the street. It was hard to say, but looking at the faces of the people around her, she noticed that there were hardly anyone below the age of thirty. She and Cora were the youngest people there. 'I suppose most young people have left? Joined gangs or moved to the Mid Rim?' she asked.
The old woman looked at her steadily. 'You're not from this sector, are you?' it wasn't a question.
'We'd best get going,' said Cora hastily, pushing Luna along. 'Thank you for the glass.'
Luna risked a look back at the old woman as they hurried up the street. She was sitting back in her chair, looking down at her hands. She seemed lost in thought.
'What's your take on this?' Luna asked Cora. 'Doesn't there being no young people seem strange to you?'
Cora looked at her, then at the people around her. Her eyes grew wide, then fazed. 'They seem so...sad.'
'What?' Luna frowned.
'Look at them,' Cora said, pointing at a group of people standing outside some sort of cantina. Luna looked at them, but all she saw was some friends making jokes and laughing, and said as much.
'No, really look at them,' Cora insisted. Luna sighed and looked again. More laughing, more bright smiles. More - eyes. The eyes weren't laughing. As one man stopped laughing, he seemed to sink in on himself, the sadness in his eyes seeping into the rest of his face. And then in a moment, it was gone as he laughed again. 'Something's wrong here,' Cora said sadly.
'Maybe,' said Luna. Now that she saw it, she could see it in everyone. In the hunched shoulders, those who concentrated far too hard on walking, the laughs that seemed a bit too forced. The voices that sounded hollow. 'That's not what we're here for,' she said. 'Come on.'
'Aren't you supposed to be a Jedi?' Cora asked pointedly.
Luna grabbed her hand and yanked her into a small gap between two prefab houses. 'Say that a little louder, will you?' she whispered furiously. It was too small a space and they were just an inch apart, their faces too close so that Luna could really only see Cora's brown eyes.
'Isn't that what a Jedi is supposed to do, though?' said Cora, her own voice a whisper. 'These people are hurting.'
Luna felt her anger rising, then collapse in on itself. 'Yeah,' she said in a low voice. She sighed, lowering her gaze, unable to look the other woman in the eye, so she settled for her mouth. 'You're right. but I'm right in that we're not here to help. We've got a job to do and it's not that.'
Cora smiled sympathetically, placed a hand on Luna's arm and gave her a comforting rub. 'That must be hard for you.'
'Yeah,' Luna said again, slowly lifting her gaze back to Luna's eyes. 'My job is to go in, blow things up, then walk away. But the Jedi way is to bring peace to the galaxy, to help people. It can be hard to reconcile those two things sometimes.'
Cora nodded. 'That does sound hard to come to terms with, I'm sure you must struggle with that a lot.'
Luna's shoulders sagged, just a little. She gave a little nod. 'I just-' she started, but stopped when Cora put a finger to Luna's lips. 'Arrengumeh?' she said around the finger, but Cora wasn't paying attention, instead looking out into the street. When she looked back, she blushed and took her finger away. 'Sorry,' she said sheepishly, then jutted her head out. 'But look.'
Just passing them were a group of five heavily armed pirates. One gave them a quick glance, but otherwise ignored them as they passed by.
'Let's go,' said Cora, but a hand on her waist stopped her.
'Not just yet,' said Luna. 'We can't get too close.'
'Do you know where your hand is? Talk about close.'
Luna looked down and quickly pulled her hand away, as if she were burned. 'Sorry, she mumbled.
'It's fine, really,' Cora smiled, peaked out, then back to Luna. 'But also,' she said, and hesitated. 'If you do want to talk about it? You can always stop by my bunk. Anytime.'
'About my hand?' asked Luna, confused.
'Welllll,' said Cora, then grinned. 'Maybe that too. But also about, you know, about the work-Jedi thing? Or anything. Really, I'm available. Oh gods, I need to stop talking.'
'No, don't,' protested Luna, and smiled. 'I'd like that.'
Cora returned her smile; her warm, soft eyes gazing back at Luna. 'Oh, right. Pirates?'
'Yes!' Luna jolted, remembering they had a job to do. She looked out again. The group were far enough away now. She nodded to Cora.
'Let's go.'
