Luna stared at her ex lover, then flinched as the blaster bolt that was suspended in mid air exploded above her. She looked up, expecting the worst, but it just hit the bulkhead behind where Mara Jade was. She didn't notice the older woman leave. Being out of her presence was somewhat of a comfort, but the not knowing where she was negated that. She hadn't noticed before, but she could see an entrance up on the gangway - to the cockpit, Luna made an educated guess, based on her limited knowledge of the ship type. Starwings had a limited run during the late Imperial era. Luna looked away and down, noticed that she was beside an open doorway and shifted herself so that she could keeep an eye on it, as well as the gangway above her at all times. She didn't want any more surprises. She cast a calculating eye over the cargo bay, both to gain an understanding of her current predicament, and to avoid looking at ...her. In the centre of the bay was the underside cargo hatch, where Luna had unceremoniously entered the ship. At the back of the room, opposite to where she was now, and opposite the gangway and the corridor, was a ship to ship port. Beside the circular entrance was Forlorn, Cora's droid, wandering around idly in circles, its leash trailing behind. It was then that her brain caught up with the information it had taken in earlier, and Luna realised that Cora was wearing her flightsuit, the same one she wore as a pirate - though with one addition that didn't escape Luna's notice. The lightsaber at her belt. At the thought of her ex lover she turned her eyes towards her - or rather, her boots. She didn't quite have the emotional strength to look any higher.
It was Cora who forced her to look higher, kneeling down in front of her. Luna looked away.
'I'm sorry,' said Cora. 'Mom has a tendency to choke people. Particularly my girlfriends.'
Luna hated that her first thought was that Cora's other girlfriends had met her mother, though she didn't voice it.
'There weren't many,' said Cora quietly.
'Stay out of my head,' snarled Luna, turning to look at her in the eye. It broke her heart that her eyes were still so warm and soft, her brow gently creased. Both women rocked slightly as the ship jumped into hyperspace, the engines changing the tone of their continuous thrumming into a softer, more comforting purr.
'How's your throat?' Cora asked, concerned.
'Like you care.'
'I do. I never lied about my feelings for you. Everything else,' Cora paused.
'Save it,' replied Luna curtly. 'I don't want to hear it.'
Cora pursed her lips. 'I have to search you.'
'Why?'
Cora hesitated. 'I know you found my comlink.'
Luna's stomach constricted. 'What of it?' she paused. 'And how did you know?'
Cora looked uncomfortable. 'There's a passive microphone in it. I... heard you.'
Luna's cheeks flared red. 'You heard?'
Cora nodded gently. 'Every night.'
Luna buried her head in her hands. She had spoken to the comlink every night as if it were Cora herself. Every night she had poured her anger, her frustration, her hurt, her love for Cora - all at an object she had thought couldn't hear her back. She felt like a fool.
'Do you have it on you?' Cora asked, nervous.
'Why?' Luna snarled. 'So you can rub it in?'
Cora bit her lip, then tensed. 'Do you have it on you or not?' she asked, her voice hard.
'It's safely aboard the Nest,' replied Luna, gloatingly adding, 'too bad for you.'
'Good,' said Cora, relieved. She stood and called out, 'mom!'
A moment later Jade reappeared on the gangway. She stood rigid, staring down at them imperiously.
'The comlink is still on the ship,' Cora said to her. Jade nodded and disappeared back into the cockpit.
'What's this all about?' Luna asked, confused, then her tactical mind kicked in. 'A tracker.'
Cora nodded. She looked apologetic. 'We've been tracking you since Hosnian Prime.'
Luna stared at her, and then launched herself at Cora.
It was a clumsy attack, her body slow and weak, but Cora did nothing to defend herself. She took the blows, then fell to the floor as a kick hit the back of her knee. Luna climbed atop her and screamed in her face. What, she didn't know. It could have just been a wail of anger for all she knew. But before she could do any real damage, she flew off of the prone woman and slammed into a crate beside her. Jade - the other Jade, Luna thought to correct herself - was once again standing over them, her hand pointed at her. 'Another rule,' Mara said. 'Harm her, I harm you.'
'Mom?' said Cora asked tremulously. Her eyes were wide, staring unseeing, her whole body trembling, a hand clutched to her chest.
'What did you-' Mara began angrily, then stumbled, holding her head, and collapsed onto the grating of the gangway.
Luna looked to Cora, then to Mara, confused. Cora had a split lip and possibly the beginning of a few bruises, but Luna was all too aware of her own exhausted body to believe that she had caused any lasting damage. The unconscious woman above her was even more of a mystery. And then a thought occurred to her. The answer to this mystery could wait, because right now her two captors were incapacitated. She stood up on unsteady legs, her breath ragged with pain. With one last look at Cora, she turned and ran for the stairway behind her that led up to the gangway, straight to the entrance of the cockpit. She paused as she reached Mara and looked down at the woman. She reached down and plucked her blaster pistol from Mara's waistline.
I should shoot her, she thought to herself. She leveled the blaster at Mara. It would just take a moment, and the galaxy would be rid of her. The pistol wavered in her hand. She lowered it. She couldn't do it. It was one thing to shoot someone who was shooting at you, but another thing entirely to shoot someone in cold blood.
Stepping over her, she entered the cockpit, hastily looking over the unfamiliar design. On the left hand side of the main console rested a small box with a sensor readout. That has to be the tracker, she realised, leveled her blaster pistol at it, covered her face with her free hand, and fired, destroying the small box. She nodded, satisfied that their ability to track the Nest was, at least for the moment, nullified. She stepped back out into the cargo bay.
Mara was slowly stirring at her feet. Her eyes fluttered but stayed close. She was muttering something. Despite her instincts telling her to stay away, Luna leaned down.
'Luke,' Mara muttered, over and over. Anger flared in Cora's breast, and she almost shot her there and then. How dare she say his name.
'Luke,' said a voice below. Luna leaned over the railing and looked at Cora. She was huddled by a crate, her legs tucked up protectively by her chest. Her voice was hollow. 'I felt it,' she said. 'I felt him.'
Luna collapsed to her knees, the blaster falling from her hand to clatter next to her, forgotten, as Cora uttered her next words: 'Luke's dead.'
