Sprocket A Star Wars Story

Chapter 3: Skora

The Mudhorns entered Skora's apartment. It was surprisingly much cleaner and far more organized than Sprocket's.

Grozz grumbled something as he seemed to admire the cute family photo of Skora and her sons.

Sprocket took a quick look at the photo that Grozz was holding. "Your sons are so beautiful. That one clearly has your eyes, and the other one has a cool haircut," he told her.

Skora claimed the photo back from Grozz. "Thank you, but please don't touch anything."

Sprocket shrugged and decided to survey the rest of the room. He found himself looking at test tubes and various lab reports, which peaked his interest. He noticed Skora's lab coat hanging next to the equipment, as well as some poisons that were seemingly for her gun and her healing power.

Skora slapped Scrocket's hands when he reached out to touch the tubes. "No touching," she reminded him.

Sprocket heard Grozz's stomach growling, and he realized that none of them had eaten anything after their big match. The others seemed to come to that realization as well.

"Let me make some dinner for everyone," Skora said calmly.

"We can help," Sprocket offered, glancing back at the others, who gave nods of agreement.

Sprocket, Grozz, and Rieve began to help Skora with the cooking. They fetched ingredients from each of their apartments to use, while Skora started to tell them about her life. She explained how she hadn't been this happy in some time and that this moment brought her back to a time where her family had a peaceful and perfect life. She told them about how it all started out as a simple life, with her boys having just been born.

"They were always smiling and always so happy to see my husband come home for dinner," Skora said as they continued to cook. "And even when I was struggling with my new job, they always tried to cheer me up."

Sprocket listened carefully as they prepared the dinner, beginning to feel even more pity for the rodian. It seemed as though she seemingly had a perfect life until she had been drawn to the Arena and separated from her family.

Skora continued on, explaining how there was a day when one of her sons got sick and how she had to try to create a cure for his rare disease. After several tests, she was able to find a cure for him. "He gave me a big hug," Skora recited sadly. "The last time I saw them, they told me we love you, Mom, you're awesome! We can't believe you're a star in the Arena now!" She told the last part with a hint of sadness, as if she was missing her sons a great deal.

"And they couldn't stay here with you because of the rules, right?" Sprocket asked as the group began to finish up dinner.

"That's right," Skora replied. "I wish I didn't have to leave them."

"It'll be okay," Sprocket assured her as dinner was finally done.

Everyone had their own dish, which was a relief because Sprocket hadn't realized how hungry he was. He sat down with his friends and put his plate in front of him; however, Skora reached over and sprinkled something onto Sprocket's dish before he could dig in. He glanced at her curiously.

Skora gave him a nod. "Try it."

Sprocket took a bite and instantly felt his taste buds bursting with flavor. "It's delicious!" he exclaimed.

"So, do your parents visit you at all?" Skora asked.

Sprocket avoided meeting Skora's gaze, not quite sure how to answer that question. His parents were a touchy subject for him. He stuffed some food in his mouth to try and cover up how he really felt about the question. "Sometimes," he lied.

Skora looked at him knowingly, but before she could reply, a call came in from Hale. Hale wanted to see Sprocket about something. He sighed with relief and stood up from the table. "Excuse me, I'll be right back."