As the bizarre craft disappears into hyperspace from inside Sullust's upper atmosphere, Lara studies the coordinates from the radiation burst.
The Unknown Regions. An easy guess, but this guy is insane and dangerous on every level. Iku was scared of him and Elbor bent knee to him... I'm going to have to speak to Navik in private, or better yet... with Jace next to me, since he was there too. We can't have internal enemies. Going to need to talk to Null too. He was in there alone for awhile and no telling what this Other told him.
I'm in over my head here. Maybe he was right, I am the weak one. Sera wouldn't have fallen for that obvious trap with the bombers. She'd know what to do, but... if being a Jedi was easy... But he's got Sera's mindset, so any help is a sign of weakness. But its not. It makes you stronger and gives you an edge. It's how we beat Jopal. It's how we will beat this new evil. Sera is a part of that team whether she likes it or not. And I need to get her opinions on this. But first...
"This is Specter. Heading for a quick resupply and planning on the Legacy. Determine how we should handle things now."
Xol is uncomfortable piloting the Sarlacc toward the Legacy. He was able to take care of some of his wounds, but a good bit of him is still in pain and Set clinging to him while he tries to pilot isn't making anything easier or less painful.
ReplyDelete"Why don't you go sit down...or something..." Xol grumbles.
Set buries his face into Xol's side, around his ribs and shakes his head no.
"Ugh," Xol groans and tries to focus on piloting and not the pain.
Lara lands the Specter and quickly disembarks. She keys her comm, "Captain Adeen. I'm going to need you to join me in a talk with Navik."
ReplyDeleteThe remembered voice of the Other bounces in her head. "Weak"
Maybe the Lara he knew was weak. But Xol's right, I'm not her. I'm not weak. He's overconfident, thinking he knows us. But he doesn't know me...
A sly smile tugs at the corners of her lips as confidence begins to flow. He'll be very surprised, indeed.
Xol doesn't need to look down at Set to know the child is looking up at him with probably the saddest eyes ever. He puts an arm around Set in such a way that he can still keep piloting. He should have just done this from the beginning. Set sighs and loosens up on his hug. Getting back to the Legacy is a little less painful.
ReplyDeleteOnce the Sarlacc is landed, Xol makes his way to the medical bay. He isn't looking forward to sitting there for any amount of time and is hoping this will be a quick in and out. Set follows him quietly.
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"Ow! What on Dor are you doing!" Xol complains as the droid works to clean open wounds and cover them up.
"Stop being a baby!" the droid blurts, continuing to work without slowing down or being more gentle.
Xol is taken aback and stays quiet. These things usually don't respond that way.
The droid finishes up and hands Xol a small candy. He rolls his eyes. It then moves toward Set and says in a quiet, loving voice, "And how about you little one? Are you ok? Does anything hurt?" Set thinks then pats himself to see if anything does indeed hurt and winces. He points to his shoulder.
"Awww let me see what's wrong so I can fix it ok?" The droid lifts Set up onto a bed and examines his shoulder, all the while asking if Set is still comfortable and ok. Xol's jaw would drop if his face had the anatomy for it. He complains in kel-dor and the droid spins around and speaks in kel-dor back, "Do you need another candy?" Xol shakes his head and sits quietly until Set is done being taken care of.
"You were my best patient all day!" the droid says happily as it hands Set a big lollipop and pats his head softly when it finishes.
Xol thanks the droid and the two kel-dor head back to the Sarlacc.
Xol looks at himself in a mirror. At all the old scars he's gotten through the years and the bandages from a few minutes ago. At all the scratches and nicks his mask and goggles have. It's a wonder he's still alive. Through the mirror, he can see Set behind him, peeking from around the door. Xol pretends he doesn't see him and flexes to try and get Set to laugh. All he does is end up hurting himself as Set slides to the floor and sighs.
ReplyDeleteXol slowly gets down onto the floor and crawls over to Set. He sits in the door way, facing Set, who just looks up sadly. "What's wrong?"
"I'm a terrible being..."
"What? Why would you say that?" Xol asks confused and softly takes Set's arm and tries to pull him close. Set tries to pull away. Xol leans over more despite the pain, grabs Set with both hands, and hugs him. He's surprised when Set sort of fights back to try and get away. He lets go when Set pushes hard against his sore ribs.
"Ow..."
"SEE! Terrible! I'm sorry!" Set runs over to Xol and hugs him. He decides to sit on the floor with Xol and not fight the hugs.
"Talk to me kiddo...was it what happened today?"
Set nobs his head quickly but doesn't say anything.
"You did what you had to do to keep yourself safe...do you think I'm terrible? Knowing what I've done?"
Set sits quietly for a while. Thinking. "No..." he finally says softly. "But..."
"When you are in that moment and everything is moving fast..." Xol pauses. "Just...don't worry about it...You did nothing wrong." He hugs Set tight.
"Do..."
"Don't even ask...of course I still I love you...I'll never stop..."