Re•splend•ent

.3

A Chance

So far, it'd only been a few minutes in Hyperspace and most people would be annoyed already with James, the boy you're helping. He asked a lot of questions about your ship when he first saw it, was a little hesitant to actually step on it, and admired all of the buttons (he didn't touch anything, per your warning), but you didn't mind it. You could tell he's never been off world before and a lot of Topsiders don't know much about ships unless they've gone to a piloting academy. You knew all of this was new to him, you understood, so it didn't bother you.

When you had jumped into Hyperspace though...
Seeing his pure awe expression of the star mass zooming past the ship made you grin a little. It was wholesome to watch.

But it also made you think; he had said to his brother that he and his friends left all of the time.
Even if he was so much as selling spice on the planets he went to, why not take your brother?
Yes, the Galaxy is dangerous but you can learn so much by traveling, it couldn't have hurt to take him at least once. Some peoples logic during these times was really confusing...

"So, where do you wanna go?" You spoke up, looking at the coordinates panel and clicking through different planets. James tore his gaze away from the window and looked to the map too. He was silent for a moment as he looked at all of the options, then he pointed to one in the new territories, specifically Dantooine.
"I don't know why but I've always liked the idea of Dantooine. I learned a lot about it in school and it seems pretty nice, so why not give it a shot?" He shrugged.

You nodded, punching in the coordinates for the place he picked, and pulled the ship out of hyperspace. The ship was in the middle of space now, nothing else around it besides empty mass and surrounded by stars thousands of light years away.

With your hands on the steering, you turned the small ship in a 180 degree, and with one last push of a button you were in hyperspace again.
Now the screen changed to show how much longer it would be until you reached your destination, which would be five minutes, and you leaned back in your seat to relax. "We'll be there really soon."

There was silence for a moment.
Then, "What's gonna happen to him?"
You could hear his concern clearly, as well as his slight sadness.
James was looking over his shoulder at Pearce, who was still unconscious and cuffed to a pole in the corner of the ship, tears swealing in his blue eyes.

"I have no idea." You answered honestly. "It's the Guild's code that no questions are asked. Once I hand him over to my boss then there's no telling what'll happen. One thing I know for sure is that he will be given to the client who put the bounty on his head then they can do whatever they want with him. Have him work, put him in Carbonite.... even kill him."

"Do you even know who wants him?" James asked.

You shook your head. "Most want to remain anonymous, and once I get my money for him then everything is forgotten."
He gulped, turning away from his brother and sighing. "I hope they don't hurt him too badly..."

A thought crossed your mind, and now it was your turn to ask a question.
"Why did you trust me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I captured your brother. And by how you talk about him, I can tell that you do care for him. You could've ran away to tell someone and get me killed. You could have overpowered me and taken over my ship. So, why?"

"I may love Will, but freedom is worth more to me at the moment. I've been begging for months for us to leave and start a new life. He didn't want that. And since you offered it to me, why not take my chance?" He gazed back up at the passing mass, starting to fiddle with the cloth on his hands again. "Maybe one day, when he isn't doing all of this stuff and has learned his lesson, then he can come and find me. It's not like I never want to see him again... I just need my space to be free from all of that."