Cody learns to love

The one chapter where brave decisions are made

  The Kaminoan medical facility was white with harsh lightning. It was so bright it hurt the eyes, said all the patients. Little did they know that Nala Se's private laboratory and quarters are even brighter.

  On the surface, Nala Se tended to wounded people without questions, for the right amount of money, of course. It was where bounty hunters and assassins came to have their injuries looked at. Because as long as they paid, Nala Se didn't ask where the blaster wound in their shoulder came from or how did a sharpnel get in their knee. Emerie asked sometimes but no one ever answered.

  In the basement, the hallways were even brighter and no one was allowed in. Safe for Nala Se, Emerie, and now Omega. Emerie hated the bright rooms with countless medical instruments. She hated the clothes she had to wear every day. The patients on the surface didn't wear the red undersuit with a loose blue tunic. They wore colorful clothes and armors. But maybe those were their own versions of a uniform. Emerie wouldn't know, she has never been outside of the Kaminoan medical facility.

  "Emerie," Nala Se suddenly spoke behind her. How did she do it, this appearing out of nowhere? Emerie never heard her approach. "What are you doing here? You are supposed to be in your room."

  Oh, how Emerie hated the timetables telling her where she should be at all times. There wasn't a single free minute, every single moment of her life, she was supposed to do something. Sleep exactly eight hours, get dressed in exactly three minutes, brush her teeth for exactly two minutes and thirty seconds and so on.

  "Emerie. Answer my question. Why aren't you in your room doing our daily share of physical excersize?"

  "I wanted to see Omega," Emerie lied. Apparently, even in the half an hour reserved for copying random excersizes from a video, she was monitored. She just prayed Nala Se didn't search her. She would find the flashdisk tucked into Emerie's pocket and Emerie would be in more trouble than she has ever been, even more than the time she tried to sneak outside of the medical facility.

  "You see her daily for two hours when you help me with my research. That is the scheduled time. Now, please, return to your physical excersize."

  "Yes, doctor Se," Emerie nodded. She hoped her relief wasn't too visible as she rushed back to her room. She could hear Nala Se click her tongue in displeasure at her pace that was faster than regulation but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was okay. Nala Se didn't know that she downloaded some of her priced research on a flashdisk. Nala Se didn't know what Emerie was planning to do with it. Not that Emerie knew herself.

  Emerie only allowed herself to relax a bit after the door of her room closed behind her. But she couldn't relax entirely, there were hidden cameras everywhere in the Kaminoal medical facility, even in her room. She turned on the video with physical education and started imitating the woman on the video. She couldn't get caught now, where the half of her dangerous task was done.

  It was hours later, well past Emerie's scheduled bedtime, that Emerie dared to stand. She was wearing only her red undersuit but she didn't dare waste time with changing into a clean one and the blue tunic. There was no doubt the cameras were on even at night. She only stopped to get her heavy boots and then she was off. She needed to get out of the medical facility and fast, before Nala Se had the time to activate her droids and go after her.

  Emerie tried to escape before. Once. When she was eight years, two months and three days old and was curious about the outside world.

  This time, she was older, she was prepared and she had a goal. She needed to find one of the armored bounty hunters. They brought children with them sometimes for check ups and they always stopped Nala Se if the child started crying during a procedure. If those were they regulations, maybe they would stop Nala Se from doing the experiments that made Omega cry.

  The escape was easier than she thought. She used Nala Se's old phone that she stole to unlock the door and that was all it took for her to break free.

  Only she didn't know what to do in the outside world. There were no bright hallways. No laboratories and office and the outside people weren't restricted to the waiting room and Nala Se's public offices. Nothing here was regulation. Or maybe it was but it was different regulation than she knew.

  But no matter what, she had to get one of the armored people. They would help her. Well, not directly but if their regulations didn't make children cry, they could help her get Omega away from Nala Se.

  Only it wasn't as easy. There was so many people! So many colors! Yet, she couldn't see any armor. So she went in a random direction. Maybe there, in that small aisle, would be some of the nice armored bounty hunters...

So... a shorter chapter and I'm on my phone so it definitely contains misspells but I hope you enjoyed anyway.