Star Wars: The Lord in Exile

Always Two There Are

(Before we begin, just letting everyone know I've decided to have Alpha-117's VA as Sumalee Montano. Here's a small clip of how I imagine her sounding.

Anyway, onto the chapter.)

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In the medical bay of the current rebel command ship, Ezra sat by Naomi's bedside talking about some of his missions. There were mixed opinions about the girl amongst the rebels, some considered her a prisoner or a danger to the fleet, others thought she was just a child, while a few thought her knowledge and abilities could make her an ally to the rebel cause. Most of the Ghost crew were divided about the girl's fate but none beside Zeb seemed to question helping her. Ezra was currently telling Naomi about how he got his lightsaber crystal.

"So then this disembodied voice appeared and started talking to me in a funny voice before leading me to this room and giving me a kyber crystal out of thin air."

Naomi looked completely confused by the story, "A–And you're... sure you didn't... imagine any...of this?" she wondered.

Her voice was shaky, smoke she inhaled while trapped on Seelos and her broken ribs had forced her to talk slowly. She was bed-ridden now, a small bandage on her head sling with a cast on her chest and leg. Ezra was patient with the Imperial and didn't seem to be bothered by the speaking problems. He nodded his head, confirming the story.

"You Jedi... are a strange... cult." she chuckled before entering a coughing fit.

"We're not a cult." Ezra defended himself. "The Force is real."

"I've seen... it first... hand." she smiled and looked down in contemplation for a moment, "Why'd you s–save... me?" the girl wondered.

Ezra thought for a moment as he tried to come up with an answer, "Well, it seemed like the right thing to do. Plus, an ISB operative is bound to be useful to the rebellion."

Naomi grew cautious and tried sitting straight. "So you... saved me to... get information?"

"I mean, that is an upside to–" The boy looked panicked, realizing he chose the wrong words. "No no no! I mean–"

The girl scoffed and let out a small cough, "Look... I'm glad you saved me and I'm... glad to be alive. But I'm... loyal to the... Empire."

"It's not like that, I swear! I just–"

Ezra's communicator lit up, it was his master calling him for training. He ignored it and put it away but another call came. Naomi had been on guard since her rescue and the boy's poor choice of words just reinforced her thoughts on her situation. She felt like she was a prisoner who her enemies simply wanted to interrogate and dispose of.

"Y–You should take that," Naomi said. "I'm... I'm going to try... and get some sleep."

The boy looked downtrodden and tried to speak but instead, he just got up and returned to the Ghost.

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Aurelian and Rex sat in front of the Ghost's holotable playing a game of holochess. The prince was winning by an impossible lead and had a thoughtful look on his face as he planned his next move. Rex knew he was losing and stroked his beard as he contemplated his next move. Zeb watched the game and even had some money bet on Aurelian, so he was excited to double his money soon. Sabine was tinkering with her helmet on the other side of the room with G5's help, and decided to help Rex and tease her boyfriend. So she got up, walked over and moved to Aurelian's side. Then she leaned in close and whispered so no one could hear her.