Visions

Thirty-Seven: The Journey Begins

⬆️ Arene in her new outfit ⬆️ Yes, the lightsaber is a bit different, and she's taller, but I didn't draw it (obviously. I can't draw).

"Arene stole a ship?" Ezra chuckled. "That's a good one! I--" Ezra leaned forward, scanning Hera and Kanan's faces. "Wait...you're not kidding, are you?"
Hera sighed. "I'm afraid not. The patrol heard the ship start up, and immediately contacted Command. Sadly, they'd already left."
"Wait, wait, wait. They?"
Kanan nodded from the hologram. "Turns out one of the cadets you recruited--Ersin Kero--went with her." Ezra cocked his head, confused, and she cleared her throat. "Spiff."
"Seriously? You aren't just messing with me?"
Hera smiled sadly. "No. I don't know why, nobody saw her leave, she just...left."
"And Spiff?" Ezra stood and started pacing. "Did he give any hint that he was leaving to his friends?"
Kanan shook his head. "That's the weird part. He seemed completely normal. My best guess is that he got in her way, and...ended up leaving with her, one way or another."
Ezra scowled. "You know Arene wouldn't do that!"
"Do I? I'm finding I don't know as much about my friends as I thought."
Hera cast Kanan an odd look, but Ezra ignored his significant yet confusing sentence, still pacing.
"I just don't see why she'd leave. And with Spiff!"
Hera shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry, Ezra, but now you know as much as anyone."
Ezra blew out breath, running a hand through his hair. "This is crazy."
~//~
Arene pulled the fighter into realspace, and the planet below appeared ahead of them.
"Really?" Ersin asked, a panicked tone to his voice. "Of all the systems, Coruscant?"
"This is my home."
That silenced him, and he stuttered for a reply. "I...uh...well...ah, I thought you lived on Ryloth."
Arene smiled. "No, and not many Twi'leks do." She piloted the ship closer, turning away from the Imperial blockade that stood above the planet, 'protecting' the home of the Emperor. "I was born here. So was my mother."
"Your father?"
"Onderon, actually. He moved here before the Clone Wars."
"But, weren't your parents rebels? Didn't they feed the Alliance Imperial secrets?"
Arene sighed. "After their deaths, I must confess that the Rebellion exaggerated their work. They...weren't much help to the Alliance."
Ersin stayed silent, probably mulling this latest fact over, and Arene focused on fending off the invading thoughts of her parents and flying the ship.
"Home," she murmured softly, loud enough only for herself to hear.
The X-Wing fighter wasn't easy to get onworld, but Arene knew a few small trade routes onto the planet. That seems to happen when your parents are rebel sympathizers and you sneak out of bed at night to listen to them plot the safest ways to leave the system if something happens. She smiled at the thought.
Once through the atmosphere, Arene flew towards the endless city that covered the Capitol world, and over time the buildings became more and more familiar.
A painful ache settled deep in her chest. Memories if her past, her parents, and home, flew through her mind. She squeezed her eyes closed, flying only by feel, and steadied her breathing. These thoughts were not welcome now; she could wallow in her self-pity and anger later.
She forced her eyes open, and it seemed as if time had disappeared while they had been shut. She sighed. "We are here."
Navigating the small ship into the hanger bay and ignoring the odd looks from the beings she passed, she put the fighter down, quickly shutting it down and opening the hatch.
Peering over the barrier, Arene felt a grin split her face. Ersin was fast asleep in the seat, hair falling over his eyes.
Biting her lip, she reached out a hand and brushed the hair from his forehead. Immediately he woke, jumping a little before staring up at her with huge green eyes.
Arene couldn't help it. She burst out laughing, and he sent her a dark look. "It was a long trip, and I got no sleep last night. You would've, too!"
Arene shook her head and jumped down to the ground, still chuckling. Ersin followed, more carefully and using the ladder, but in his groggy state he missed the last rung, falling on his back. Arene laughed again.
Ersin didn't even try to defend himself this time, just kept his eyes on the ground and turned bright red as he followed her.
Some part of Arene wanted to go home, but she tried to force the thought away. Going there would only bring pain, and she didn't think she could handle more that day.
Still, her feet seemed to move of their own accord, down streets familiar enough she knew the names by heart. And suddenly, there she was, standing directly in front of her childhood home.
The walls, once carefully painted and kept, now had Imperial warnings and slanders written all over them. The door was barred and broken, and everything about it screamed one word. Abandonment.
Arene bit her lip to keep the tears back. Again, this was not the time for this.
Behind her, someone cleared their throat, and she blinked. She'd forgotten Ersin was there.
Thankfully, she had been able to hold back the tears, and she turned to him with a forced smile. "I haven't been here for a while. This is the wrong street."
Ersin didn't buy it, taking her face in his hands and studying it. She gasped slightly, and shifted her eyes away at his probing gaze.
"Is that your home?" asked, and Arene shook her head, pulling back. "Not anymore."
She forced another smile, still not quite meeting his eyes, and nodded behind him. "We need to move on."
He sighed, stepping forward so they were as close as before. "Are you okay?"
Arene looked down, then back at the house. Finally, she turned back to the dark haired boy. "I am now."
After a long pause where he just stared at her, Ersin finally nodded, stepping back. "Where to, then?"
Arene led Ersin a few streets down to a small ship depot and stopped in front of one of the ships, crossing her arms. "My parents' ship."
Ersin stayed silent, and she turned to look at him, confused.
He was staring at her, an incredulous expression on his face. "Are you kidding me?"
Slowly, almost warily, Arene shook her head, and his expression became comical. He gestured to the ship. "You expect us to make it out of the atmosphere, let alone the system, in that? We'll be arrested for dropping junk into open space!"
Arene frowned. "It is better than it looks, I promise."
"That's not possible. That piece of trash is held together with old Hutt slime and good thoughts! It won't get us anywhere!"
"It's better than nothing," Arene defended, and he groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Look, maybe we should just stick with the fighter."
Arene huffed, throwing her hands in the air. "If you think it's that bad, then stay here!"
Ersin grinned. "Naw, you'd miss me."
Arene frowned fiercely, crossing her arms again. She didn't want to admit it, but might have been right. She would miss him.
"Ersin," she stared, and he blinked, surprised. That was the first time she'd used his real name.
Arene pretended not to notice, continuing. "Do you really want to spend the next Force-knows-how-long in an X-Wing?"
Ersin sighed. "Fine. Show me what she's got."
Arene smiled before scampering off to find the depot owner, a plan already forming in her mind. There was no doubt that the man had heard of her parents death, and, though he had been a family friend, she didn't know if he would stick by that. The Empire was quite threatening, and fear changes people.
Peeking around the corner of the small shack, Arene saw the tall Devaron, Andergo Xandava, talking to someone and motioning to a ship. She turned back towards Ersin, mouthing "Fuel up". He nodded, understanding, and moved to the fueling station. She looked back at Xandava, just as he shook hands with the human and waved him off. The man walked to the ship, and shortly after, flew off. Arene took her chance, stepping out into the open.
Xandava didn't even glance at her, still looking after the man with crossed arms. "So, are you here for your ship, Talkana? Yes, I thought you might."
"Xandava," Arene said, tone firm. "We need to talk."
"You know," Xandava said, looking at his fingernails. "The Empire made quite an example of your parents."
"Does that change things?"
Xandava let his shoulders droop and finally turned to look at her. "I'm sorry, Arene, that they are gone. Truly. They were...friends."
Arene called on her anger and hate for the Empire, the only thing she knew would keep the tears from her eyes. "So am I."
"I will do what I can to help you, but no one has seen you, right?"
"No one of consequence, thank you. I am only here for my ship."
Xandava nodded vigorously and smiled, causing Arene sighed in relief. He was acting as he did when he was telling the truth, as he had always been an awful liar.
"Fuel up," he said. "Free of charge."
Arene smiled. "I already have my friend on it. Thank you." She moved and placed a hand on his arm. "Thank you for caring."
His face softened. "Your parents were good people. They did not deserve to die."
Arene clenched her free hand into a fist. "I know," she whispered.
Once aboard the ship, Ersin immediately took the captain's seat, and Arene smiled at him. "Thank you. May I...go to the back for a few moments?"
Ersin grinned, leaning back and crossing his arms behind his head. "I think I got this. You go ahead."
Smiling her thanks, something she realized she was doing a lot recently, she moved to the back, taking her satchel with her.
Without Ersin, she'd not only have been lonely, but probably regretting the choice she'd made. He seemed to brighten everything, just by being there and...smiling.
Arene brushed the thought away as she entered the back room of the small freighter and knelt down in front of a small hidden compartment. Brushing the dust away, she paused, hand hovering over the panel. She clenched her fist, then entered the code.
The panel beeped, and she pulled it open. Credits, from all different systems, filled one of the two boxes inside, and Arene sent a silent thank you to her parents for their forethought. She turned to the second box.
Pulling it out as well, she reached inside and carefully removed the item inside. Her family's Kalikori.
Arene held it gently, staring at the artwork her parent and grandparents had so carefully added to the totem. Barely aware of the soft hum of the engines and the feel of the ship lifting into the air, she finally let a tear slip down her cheek.
When she woke, knowing they were gone, she had cried so hard. Since then, not once. Her body needed the release, but she had refused it.
Tears trailed down her face, each chasing the last, as she held back her sobs, unwilling to fully cry.
No. She raised a hand and roughly wiped the tears from her cheeks. She wouldn't keep crying. Crying was weakness. She clenched her fists, anger taking the place of her sadness. Kanan said the only other path was Sith, but he was wrong. There is light, there is dark, but without the light there is no shadow, and without the dark, what is light?
Standing, Arene breathed out, everything becoming clear. There was a mid, a shadow. She opened her eyes. She knew the truth.
~//~
When she exited the back room, Ersin was spinning around on the chair, but he immediately stopped when he saw her.
His mouth opened as his eyes took her in, and he shook his head. "Wow."
Arene smiled, sitting down beside him, and he chuckled. "Didn't know you meant a new outfit when you said 'a few important things'. Where to?"
Arene cocked her head to the side. "How does Onderon sound? I heard there's a Rebellion leader there who could use our help."
Ersin grinned. "Onderon, it it."

The swiftest path to destruction is through vengeance.
~Jedi Proverb