Falling

Chapter XV

"We'll be fine," said Greez, pacing soon after they landed on Dathomir's rocky surface. "We'll be fine." He stopped and threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "Any bets on what horrible things'll happen this time? More dead things? Giant spiders? Killer plants?"

"All of the above," Cal joked.

"Don't say that."

"Or maybe the Haxion Brood will come and find us," Cere added from the sofa.

The Latero exchanged glances between them. "Are you both still mad at me? The Greez-Guy...?"

"Mad isn't the word I'd use."

"Hey, you gotta admit, though, I paid you back in thrills. How many slubs get on the Haxion Brood's most-wanted list, huh? Plus, we got her," he added, gesturing to the noirette leaning against the terrarium.

"If you weren't such a good pilot, I'd hand you over myself," Cere threatened.

Nima smirked, nudging the captain with her foot. "Better keep your skills up, Greezy."

"I could use some help out there if you wanna join me," Cal offered.

"What?! Why would I ever do that? No! No! No, no. I'm not going out there." He glared at the snickering scrapper and narrowed his eyes back at him. "What do you want, Cal?"

The ginger chuckled. "Nothing. Just kidding."

Greez crossed both pairs of arms bitterly. "Well, I'm glad my fear of a painful death by zombie witches makes you a little bit more at ease," he mocked. "Now hurry up, and let's get outta here."

The redhead held up his hands in surrender and smirked to himself as he headed to the door. He stopped as it opened and glanced at Nima while BD-1 clamored onto his back. That fleeting moment between them came into his head, and his heart skipped. He found himself admiring her profile, the black curls that framed her jaw.

She caught him looking and raised a brow. "What?"

He knew what—at least he thought he did—and wondered if he was supposed to like it. According to his teachings, he shouldn't. He knew he was attached to her in ways he shouldn't be. But maybe...

He pushed his thoughts aside. He shouldn't think about that right now. There were more important things at hand.

He managed a smile. "No good luck this time?"

Her ears turned pink. She looked away, turning up her nose. "Nope. Not this time, Kestis." She heard him laugh softly and felt a gentle hand reach out and take her hand.

"I'm sorry she won't let you come with me."

She shrugged. "You'll be fine without me. You've gotten this far."

He grinned and gave her fingers a squeeze. "See you in a bit."

She cracked a smile and squeezed back. "Be safe."

"Always."

—

"Do you think he's okay?"

Cere turned to the scrapper that sat on the sofa. She took notice of the girl's tense body language and approached the girl's side, kneeling down to her eye level. "I'm sure he's fine, Nima. It shouldn't take him as long as last time. I bet he's on his way back right now."

She nodded but didn't meet her eyes. "I just... I don't like this place."

"None of us do. But Cal will succeed. Have faith in him."

She nodded again, trusting the woman's words.

An awkward pause hung in the air. Nima understood why, though. She wasn't exactly kind earlier. She had let her frustration get the best of her.