Arani Jakal was not ready to be stranded on an unfamiliar planet, causing her whole life to change. But in the chaos, a friend or two popped up - seemingly from nowhere - wishing to help. Ari gladly accepted and quickly became part of a small town...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
⊱⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊰
THE TWO WOMEN TRACKED the winged beast for a long while, the sky turning blue as the sun rose from behind a valley of hills. When the creature dropped the boy into its large nest, they swiftly turned around, not wanting to risk an attack on themself. Deeming it better to fight the bird in numbers, they returned to the covert to tell Paz what they found.
"I kept a high altitude and followed it to its lair," said Bo-Katan as the two met with the large, awaiting crowd. "I know how to get there. We should muster up a hunting party and go after him."
"We also mapped the location of where it lived," Ari added.
"Will you show us?" asked the Armourer.
Bo-Katan nodded and turned on her heel, leading the way back to her ship. In the Starfighter, she pulled up a hologram of the mountain range and pointed to the tallest peak. "The nest."
"It flew a long way," Din observed.
"I will go get him," said Bo-Katan.
"The mountains are too high," Paz told her. "If we use jetpacks, the beast will hear."
"It would kill the child," warned the Armourer.
"These are no higher than the peaks of Kyrimorut. I used to climb them in basic training. I'll fly the foothills, scale the rest of the way on foot," Bo-Katan said, laying out her plan to the others.
Din nodded. "I'll join you."
"As will I." Ari caught Din staring at her pointedly, ready to object, but she quickly put it to rest. "Din, this is a kid we're talking about, you know how I am."
"All right."
"Paz Vizsla," the Armourer addressed. "Enjoin the Shriek-hawk Training team to accompany you. I will pack extended lariats for your launchers. We must avoid explosives and blasters for the safety of the foundling."
⊱⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊰
THE TEAM HAD WALKED the greater part of the journey for fear of the creature hearing the ship. The sky had turned to a dusty blue by the time they had reached the familiar rocky mountain. However, the eight of them were exhausted from the climb and Ari knew they would have to wait until morning.
"The target is on the top of this peak," said Bo-Katan. "If we tuck in under this outcropping, we sleep out of line of sight, and climb at first light."
"We will make camp," Paz agreed. At his words, the others scattered to collect whatever supplies they could find in the sandy terrain.
By nightfall, when everything turned into shadows and the stars twinkled, a fire had been struck at the centre of camp, crackling along with the indistinct chatter of the team. While the atmosphere was calm, Ari was not. She glanced up from the orange flames, eyes settling on Din from across the circle and her chest tightened.
