Worth: A Star Wars Story (ON TEMP HIATUS)

33. Something Greater, Lurking

I have no idea how long we were out, but when we awoke, we found the massive corpse dormant and the room eerily quiet. One thing had changed that I recognized immediately. The entire star map had burst to life in dazzling color, the Isotope filling in the grooves of the carved paths that wrapped around the room and connected the golden-veined orbs that stood as planets. I forced myself to my feet, using my broken helmet as leverage, as I turned to look for Seku. She was still unconscious beside me, and I knelt down and flipped her over, placing two fingers on the artery in her neck and finding myself giving a shaking sigh when I felt her pulse. I hooked my helmet to the clip on my belt as I adjusted her just a little bit before I took one final scan around the room. "Good riddance," I muttered as I scooped her up in my arms and hefted her up. She was surprisingly light, I realized, as I began making my way past Nisut's body and to the large archway I saw behind him. Something about the massive golden statues staring down at me as I passed beneath them made me uncomfortable. It was like their unblinking eyes were watching me as I went.

The archway gave way to one of the lifts that I had seen when we first arrived, and I stepped up onto it. As I did, the ball that acted as the switch tremored before shooting around and slamming into place, causing the lift to shudder and slowly begin to rise. I looked down at Seku as I felt her stir in my arms, and soon her eyes fluttered open and she met my gaze in confusion before she began to look around. 

"What happened?" She asked groggily, her hand going to her head as she attempted to shake herself awake.

"We got a vision, I guess. Or... talked to that thing? I'm not entirely sure... I woke up and carried us out. Looks like Nisut kept his word on making sure we got out," I smiled down at her as she smiled back. I set her down, letting her use me to steady herself as she found her legs again. "You feeling alright?"

"Just a bit of a headache, but nothing major," Seku shook her head and looked up at me again with a frown, "but where are we exactly?"

I looked around as the lift drifted higher. The air was starting to get less of the cold bite it had, meaning that we had to be getting closer and closer to the surface. The crystals on the wall had begun to glow again, casting a soft white light over us as we drifted upwards. "Getting closer to the top," I replied, looking over at her as she turned to look at the crystals around us. "I will say... I am happy that I got stuck in a cavern with you," I smirked as she turned to look at me with a playful snort.

"Hardly a romantic setting, but I will say that I am much happier that it was you rather than Halc," she giggled and looked back at me before she stepped a bit closer and took my free hand in hers. We stood in silence for a long time as the lift drifted up through the crystal lined cavern, and I felt her lean against me, resting her head on my shoulder as I looked and caught the reflections of the crystals in her eyes. I let my fingers tighten a little around hers as I rested the side of my head on the top of her head. When we made it topside, I would have to be Captain Kando again, and Captain Kando couldn't have a relationship with a civilian woman. 

But right there?

When it was just us?

We were just Kando and Seku, and I couldn't think of anyone else I wanted to be with.

--

The elevator creaked to a halt at anther door that slid open for us as we stepped off. When we passed through the short dark hallway, we were greeted by a sight that we hadn't been expecting. The room was huge, laid out almost like a massive interior cistern. In the center was a massive statue, much more dynamic than what we had been used to of what must have been Kujet slaying Nisut. Kujet was covered in armor and wielding what seemed like a pike, long and straight, clearly going to stab Nisut while Nisut was on the ground feebly reaching up like he was asking the warrior to stop. The entire space was surrounded by a glowing sea of Isotope-5 that spread out from the room to every corner of the space into small holes, feeding seemingly endlessly out into the temple as some of it seemed to return from a much larger drainage space, the canal occasionally pulsing with a surge of the glowing liquid that made the room glow with an orange hue.