Out of Time [Star Wars Story]

31. With a Little Help

Not even Lorash's aching ribs could stop her from sprinting full force at the lanky young man walking down the boarding ramp of Corr's ship. She tackled him almost over with a hug, much to everyone else's amusement. "You should be careful, Eso," Corr advised as Lorash squeezed her pilot friend in a crushing hug. "Young ladies throwing themselves at you is the kind of thing a gentleman rogue shouldn't get accustomed to, lest they take the experience for granted."

"I, uh, can't breathe," Eso wheezed as Lorash lifted him off the ground. It was hard to tell if he was grinning or grimacing at the squeeze.

"She's grown much stronger," Corr said with a chuckle.

Lorash set Eso down and let go, taking a step back. "How have you been? Where's Yyrfh? Where's your ship?"

"They're, uh, sitting in orbit around one of the planetary moons," Eso said, ruffling his own hair sheepishly. "I figured you were gonna be a lot less, uh, happy to see me."

Lorash raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I didn't know what was gonna happen when I, uh, gave your master your stuff. I thought maybe you, uh, thought I'd sold you out or wanted you off my ship, y'know." He ducked his head a little. "And then when Seia didn't make the rendezvous, I felt even worse."

"I'm sorry, Eso. I would have told you if I could have," Lorash said quietly.

Eso scowled at that, green eyes flicking at Corr. "He mentioned you were, uh, incommunicado at your master's decision."

"It would have posed a risk to everyone on this moon," Vori said from behind Lorash.

"I, uh, ain't no rat," Eso said more stiffly.

"But signals can always be intercepted. Better to meet and talk the old-fashioned way," Corr said to smooth things over.

"What, uh, happened to Seia?"

Lorash felt the stab of pain like it was fresh. "I think she's either on Yavin-4 or going to be. The Empire is looking for a weapon there, something powerful and old enough they need her expertise to find it."

"Galaxy's heatin' up," the smuggler muttered. "You think she, uh, is in a helpin' mood with them after everything?"

Lorash shook her head, thinking of all the pain she'd dreamed of on Despayre. "No, but they're good at not giving people a choice."

"There are friends there. Friends we don't want to expose to the Empire." Corr sounded worried now. "Lorash, where is this intel coming from?"

"A dream," Lorash admitted quietly.

"Your nightmare?" Vori asked gently. She could practically hear Corr's disbelief flaring.

Eso, however, didn't seem at all bothered by the revelation that Lorash was operating off dream logic. "We'd, uh, better get a move on, then."

"It could be a deception," Vori balked.

"Or a dream," Corr said, raising an eyebrow at Eso's calm acceptance.

Eso shrugged. "Worst case scenario, we're down some fuel and empty-handed. That said, my mama always, uh, said the universe speaks loudest in dreams. What's, uh, harder to believe, Corr? That Lorash might have dreamed something real or that she drew an Idiot's Array in her first sabacc game ever?"

Corr narrowed his eyes slightly, stroking his neatly trimmed beard. "Alright, I'll entertain the notion. But your associate was Sith. Why wouldn't she help the Empire?"

"Because they tortured her and then imprisoned her on Despayre, trying to break her," Lorash said quietly.

Eso sucked in a sharp breath, like she'd punched him. "Despayre?" He rubbed at the back of his neck, eyes wide and worried. "That, uh, place is a hell and a half."