Rebels on the Run

Chapter Five

Swirls of faint light dance in the vast darkness of your mind. Whispers fill your ears as you try to listen and make out what they're saying. Their colors differ, although you can assume what they mean. Blue and green are the jedi that are still pure, grey are those that walk the line between the light and dark, and red are sith and fallen jedi. Some are flickering, indicating that they might be faltering in their ways.

There are four lights that stand out to you; two red, one blue, and one grey. Anakin, Tayah, Obi Wan, and Ahsoka. They travel different paths, and none of them lead to each other. Part of you wants to find each of them, but you know that you have more important matters at hand.

One matter is how to get off of Ryloth. Nothing has been working out for you, and your hope is starting to wane. Although, you keep your morale up when Howzer is around, as you don't want to worry him.

Another matter is how to keep the two of you hidden once you're off the planet. Dohbar likely will be a safe place for the two of you to stay, but you haven't raised that question to Howzer yet. Plus, you haven't been a 'thing' for long. You don't even know what you really are. That's a third matter, figuring out where you stand and what, if anything, is your label.

The fourth matter is Howzer's aging. You want him to be able to live as long as he'd like, even though you're not quite sure how long that is. A Kaminoan scientist had been working on Dohbar to come up with a sort of treatment to slow down the aging process for your battalion, but seeing as they were lost to the Empire, they no longer require it.

All this, plus little worries, have now replaced the lights of force users as stars in your mind. The big problems glow the brightest while the smaller ones twinkle softly. You let out a soft sigh in your meditation, blowing away all the issues and focusing on one.

A hand caresses your cheek and you open your eyes slightly before closing them again and leaning into Howzer's touch. His breath is warm on your nose as he places a gentle kiss there, then one on each cheek, making you giggle. You open your eyes to playfully pout, causing him to chuckle in response. "I know you were busy meditating," he says, placing a kiss on your forehead now, "but we should get going to the city before it's too late."

"About that..." you say, letting your fingers intertwine with his as he sits next to you, "I was thinking we could stay in the hotel tonight. I miss having an actual mattress instead of sleeping on stone. Plus, we're already going there, so might as well make the most of it."

"We could do that," he agrees, "but I still think we should head out soon."

"Why? You got a hot date or something?" you tease, nudging him in the side.

"Yes, the one by my side," he replies with a smirk, "but also something else. I'm expecting a comm, that's why I want to go to the hotel. I was able to use an old comm channel last time I was scouting. I reached an old friend of mine and we decided to do another transmission because I asked him to find some stuff out for me. He said he and some others might be able to help us get off of Ryloth, and soon!" he says, excitement building in his smile, "Just think, y/n, we can leave and never have to take another step into sand again! Wouldn't that be great?" His smile is wide and expectant, but you don't feel the same way as him. A silence fills the space between you as you sit and process his words. Your grip is tight on his hand, and concern starts to flood Howzer. "Y/n? Is everything alright?"

You close your eyes, taking a deep breath before finally responding. "I know you're trying to help," you say slowly, "but using comms...it's dangerous, Howzer. Especially if you use channels that the Empire might be able to listen in on."

"There's no way they could have, it's an old channel that only clones ever used."

"And how many clones have security based jobs for the Empire?" you counter, "someone could have heard you."