Daughter of Mortis

Coaxium Caper

The feeling stole over her gently, lulling her into a dreamlike state. With a flash of light and a deafening blast, the vision erupted into flames. She ran her hands over the controls, desperate to regain control of the ship. More blasts ricocheted off the ship, knocking her around.

She locked the autopilot on and ran to the cargo hold. The boy was there, using the Force to hold two canisters steady. The ship rocked again, but he held his focus. She ran and joined him, throwing her power around his.

"We won't make it through the Run," she called, vaguely aware of herself. "The ship will crash on one of the other planets but if we have the canisters, we can still leave with the Revolution."

He nodded deftly, eyes screwed shut in concentration. Sweat ran down his face. The ship began to tremble and shake. The floor rocked beneath them and he fell, his focus lost. The boy gasped, as though he had been underwater the whole time. She reached out with her other hand, pooling all of her strength around the canisters.

"See if you can navigate us through this! I've got the canisters!"

The boy nodded and jumped up. She grunted as another shudder threatened to send her to her knees. Footsteps clanged against the floor. "Get down!" The boy yelled!

She didn't have time to process it before he grabbed her and forced her down. The ship rocked harder than before. An explosion roared over them. She was barely aware of someone leaning over her, shielding her from the fire. The ship jolted and stopped entirely. She opened her eyes...and screamed.

"Ania!"

Ania flew upright and drew in heaving breaths. Ezra grabbed her shoulders. "What is it? Are you ok?" She lowered her head for a minute, calming herself. She was very aware of Ezra's gaze intently examining her face, his long hair dangling into his eyes.

"I'm fine," she said at last.

"You were screaming in your sleep." Ezra searched her gaze intently. "What did you see?'

"It was nothing..."

"No, it wasn't."

She sighed and met his gaze. The concern there shocked her. No one had ever looked at her that way before. "We just...we should be careful on this mission," she said. He let go of her arms and followed her to the cockpit.

    She took her seat and flipped a few switches. She could feel concern rippling through Ezra. The Force was moving about him strangely. Ania took another calming breath. She would just have to take extra precautions to make sure the vision didn't come true. Ezra began to pace behind her.

    "Relax," she said, continuing to flip switches.

    "I just have this feeling...something isn't right," Ezra said, pausing.

    "I feel it too, but what choice do we have? The Rebellion needs what this ship can offer and I don't need to add another bounty to my head." Ania pulled up a holomap of the planet. Ezra sat down across from her.

    "Kessel is divided into northern and Southern Hemispheres. We'll be headed to the North, where the spice mines are running. There is a large matter build up called the Akkadese Maelstrom around the northern part of the planet. The only way through it is the Kessel Run. Once the coaxium is on the ship, we'll have very little time to get to a refinery."

    "I thought Tiel wants it unrefined?"

    "He wants us to pick up unrefined coaxium, but believe me, he expects us to deliver it refined. The closest refinery that isn't under Imperial jurisdiction is on Savareen. A lightspeed jump at the right coordinates in the Kessel Run will get us there in time," Ania finished explaining.