A Beacon for Drifters

Chapter 2

By the time Mom and Dad are back, the suns are about to set. When I see them coming- another useful thing about the turret- I scramble down the turret ladder, rushing to the entrance.

I'm on them the second they step on the ship, "Can we have dinner in the Outpost?"

"No maybe next time," Mom walks right past without even looking at me.

"Please! You said that last time. And the time before that, and the time before that!" I trail behind them as they walk to the lounge.

"Holly, it's not safe! Listen to your mother!" Dad snaps, turning back to face me.

"This is an unaffiliated planet in the middle of nowhere! It doesn't get much safer these days! Nowhere is 'safe' anymore! There's just 'dangerous' and 'not as dangerous'!" I stop walking and so do Mom and Dad.

Mom takes a deep breath, looking like she's swallowed a sour jogan fruit, "Fine. But you need to leave the politics on the ship."

"I'll try. Sometimes it just spills out, though," When Mom stops and glares at me I hurriedly add, "But I will try very, very hard to leave my political opinions here."

"Good. Let's get this over with," Mom mutters before raising her voice, "Reo! Come on! your sister's talked us into something extremely ill-advised!"

"Excellent argument, Holly! Come on, let's go have fun!" I murmur sarcastically under my breath as the four of us walk to the ramp.

It's a short walk to the place Mom chose- Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo. As we head to a booth in the back, I make sure to take a good look at the menu- Mom and Dad don't like us 'lingering unnecessarily' at counters or anywhere except the FireHawk, for that matter.

"I think I'll have the Roasted Tip-yip. Holly?"

"Can I have the Ithorian Garden Loaf?" I'm a vegetarian, unlike everyone I live with. Fun, I know.

"Sure. Reo, Roy?"

Once the boys have chosen, Mom goes and places our order and soon we all have steaming plates of food in front of us.

After a few minutes of eating in uncomfortable silence, I tentatively ask, "Could we maybe take a scenic route back to the-"

"No. I saw to many First Order patrols."

"The First Order's just a bunch of egomaniacal moof-milkers!" I grumble into my plate.

"Holly!" Mom hisses at the same time Reo snorts, "Egomaniacal moof-milkers!"

"It's true," I murmur, keeping my eyes on my food.

Mom glares at me again.

I look up at her, "Alright, I'm sorry! Kelp your mouth shut in public, blah blah blah, don't draw attention to yourself, blah blah, keep your head down, blah blah blah blah blah safety. I know, Mom."

"Then actually do it!"

"I try. it's just the filter between this-" I point to my head, "-and this-" I point to my mouth, "has a ten second delay."

"Well work on it or you're going to have a permanent delay between this-" she points to my head, "-and this," she jabs my chest with her pointer finger.

"What?" I ask, rubbing the spot where she poked my chest.

"It sounded better in my head. But Holly, I'm serious."

"Okay. Sorry Mom," I murmur, keeping my eyes down. Ever since... Hosnian. Mom and Dad've acted like there walking on gundark eggs- they're so worried and meticulous about... everything. It took hours of guilt-tripping ("I this the example you want to set for me and Reo? Reo back me up!" "Huh? What Holly said.") to them to even consider this job.

I get that Mom and Dad are just trying to protect us and an all, but... it's irritating! Really really irritating!

The suns are setting as we walk through the dusty streets of Black Spire Outpost. Whenever we're actually on a planet and Mom and Dad aren't letting us leave the ship, I always go up to the top turret and watch the sun (or suns) set.

But tonight, at least, I can actually walk around and breath in the fresh air. It's... nice. The Outpost is beautiful too, special in an odd sort of way I can't place.

We're back at the FireHawk way to soon. After a few half-hearted objections, I stomp into my room, making sure that I'm being as loud as humanly possible. Flopping down on my bunk, I stare at the dark ceiling. When will Mom actually let me help! I'm fifteen; there have been queens older than me!

A few minutes late, I hear Mom's footsteps and quickly pretend to be asleep. The door slides open silently, and I can see her shadow against the wall.

After a moment she whispers, "I love you baby girl," and closes the door.

To stop myself from bursting into tears, I literally bite my tongue. But a single tear slips between my eyelids. It makes a wet rack along my face before falling onto my pillow.

Taking a deep breath, I slip out of my room and slink down the corridor, being careful to avoid the floor panels I know are loose or creaky.

I freeze when I hear the sounds of talking coming from the longue. After quickly peering in to check my parents aren't looking, I keep going, slipping further down hallway. I'm almost at the ramp when something starts beeping behind me.

"Shhh. Boo, it's me: Holly," I whisper, covering her speakers with my hands. If my parent's hear her, they'll be soo mad at me!

Boo burbles a quiet objection.

"Yes, I know it's late. I just want to go exploring quickly. I'll be back before anyone notices I'm gone! I promise," I step past her, continuing along the corridor.

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