Perhaps it was from having been steeped in Jedi lore for the better part of two decades. Maybe it was having been around Cora's constant drilling and exercises the last few days, but Luna heard the sound of a lightsaber igniting all the way up from the cockpit. Her body tensed, her hand shot to the repeating blaster at her side, and she shot out of the chair, down the stairs and straight into the cargo bay, where she saw Face, Vix, Twitch and several members of black squadron all aiming their blasters at Mara, while Cora stood protectively beside her, lightsaber in hand, its blade casting a purple hue over the scene. Mara, meanwhile, simply leaned against the corridor wall like she was unfazed by the sight of nearly a dozen blasters aimed at her, her expression that of a predator lying in wait, seeming to say that she could kill them all without breaking a sweat. For all Luna knew, she could have, and probably would have if given the slightest provocation.
At the sound of her rushed footsteps, several heads turned to her, then quickly turned back to Mara, the only faces still looking at her were those of Ka'iulani and the younger Nexus who were hovered about a cargo compartment in the floor, who seemed unsure of who exactly Mara was, and looked to Luna for clarification. She slowly and deliberately holstered her blaster. 'Everybody, let's take a deep breath and calm down. She's a friend.'
Face's blaster hand faltered, and he risked another glance at her. He raised a questioning eyebrow. Probably shocked that Luke Skywalker's number one fan would defend his attempted murderer.
'I'm guessing you all know who Mara Jade is,' she began, 'but you don't know the full story. Trust me on this. She's not the bad guy in this situation.
Tense seconds passed where nobody moved, and then, as if coming out of a spell, Vix lowered his blaster and spread his huge arms wide. 'If Luna says she's good, she's good with me. Welcome, Cora's hot mom!'
Oh for fu- Luna forced herself not to throw something at him.
The members of Black squadron looked at the big Devaronian, then amongst themselves, confused by the turn of events, and then looked to Face for his lead, who still held his blaster high. 'Face,' she said softly, but he paid her no attention. He seemed transfixed on the woman who now took out an choru fruit and knife, carved out slices and ate them. 'Face,' she said more forcefully.
It was Cora who acted next, turning off her lightsaber, the room becoming momentarily darker. Was it her imagination, or did the darkness seem to cling to Mara? Luna shook her head. 'Face.'
'You don't know,' he began.
'I do,' that was Mara. She smirked wickedly. Luna said nothing out loud. In her head, she cursed the woman colourfully.
'She saved our lives,' Luna reminded him. that seemed to work; his blaster hand faltered again, before finally lowering it. He still held it in his hand, but at least it was pointed at the floor. That was something.
Vix rushed forward and picked up Cora and smothered her in his huge arms, lifting her up off of the floor. 'Missed you too, big guy,' Cora's muffled and strained voice came from somewhere in his limbs. He relaxed and put her down gently, apologising.
Luna stepped forward. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of several people she didn't know, sat in the floor compartment. She frowned, but put it out of her mind. That could wait. 'Snap,' she addressed the lead Black somwhat formally, 'thank you so much for your help. None of us would be here without your help.'
'No problem,' he replied, a little warily. He was still watching Face and Mara, evidently anticipating another flare up. 'Always happy to help.'
'Yes, thank you, Snap,' Face said. He turned to face Snap in such a way that he could keep both Snap and Mara within eyesight. 'I have to ask, though: how are things looking out there?'
The haunted thousand mile stare that Snap met this question with didn't make Luna feel any better. 'We've lost a lot of good people,' he said eventually. 'I won't lie to you. But we're not out of this yet. General Organa and the Resistance are still alive, still fighting. We're not giving up. That's actually what brought me to the Outer Rim. The General has Black Squadron looking for allies, anyone willing to stand up to the First Order. I mean, that's what we were doing when we got an encrypted message on New Republic frequencies coming from First Order space,' he nodded to Luna and then, reluctantly, to Mara.
'And I'm glad you did,' Luna nodded in return, remembering the events that happened after that. It was with a deep sense of relief that she had felt when she realised the contacts were friendlies, and joy when she recognised some of her old comrades, and then elation when they said they were willing to lend help. Even still, she had felt it was necessary to keep certain things from Black Squadron - namely, Mara. Once Luna and Cora had given a brief rundown of their situation, they had passed on the tracking information to Black Squadron, whose military grade equipment and multiple ships could more quickly triangulate the position of the rest of Nexu squadron, after which they hastily formed a plan to infiltrate Bastion, retrieved the assault shuttle, and jumped into the system just in time to witness the destruction of the shield gate - an act that had Nexu Squadron written all over it. 'What will you do now?' she asked.
Snap hesitated, looking at each Nexu. He seemed almost bashful. 'Well, that's what I'd like to ask you. I am here looking for allies, after all.'
'You wish for us to join the Résistance?' Ro'vena asked from the cargo pit.
Snap nodded. 'We could do with experienced pilots, and ones with your skills would be a such a big win for us.'
'You flatter us,' said Vix, and then, 'I didn't say stop,' he flexed his muscles as if to give a suggestion as to what Snap should compliment next.
Luna looked to the other Nexus, trying to guage their feelings on the offer. It's not like they were completely alien to the idea, having discussed it at length during their time on the listening outpost. There seemed to be some hesitation amongst the others, though, that she couldn't place. She looked to Cora, who definitely didn't seem to be too keen on the idea, and she could fully understand why: if this was the reception her mother got now, imagine what the rest of the Resistance would do. Imagine what Leia would do...
'We appreciate the offer,' Face said at last. 'But our work here isn't quite done. A rescue mission - one of our Nexus' parents are in danger, and we mean to get them back. I don't suppose you can stick around a bit longer to help?'
Snap placed his arms akimbo, shifting weight from one leg to the other as he thought it over. He shook his head. 'I wish I could, honestly. But I need to put my mission first. I'm sorry.'
'Can't blame an old man for trying,' Face smiled at him. 'I don't blame you. And we're not saying no to joining, just not now.'
'No pressure,' Snap replied. 'But if you do, it'd be great to work with you again. I'll have Jess give you our base coordinates and communication encryptions. Don't use New Republic encryptions anymore, they've been compromised.'
'We know,' Face said darkly, then softened. 'Thank you.'
Snap nodded in appreciation. 'We'd best get back to it, saving the galaxy waits for no one. Best of luck, all of you,' he looked once again at Mara, then said, 'May the Force be with you.'
