From the cockpit, Kai diligently navigated the Midsummer Comet out of Coruscant’s atmosphere. The moment the ship reached the darkness of space, she couldn’t help but take a moment to gaze at the stars. She never got tired of the vast glistening emptiness and its infinite possibilities. She wanted to see it all, and Jakku seemed as good a place as any to start. Inputting the coordinates, she crossed her fingers and pulled the lever, propelling them into hyperspace and transforming the scenery into a dazzle of star lines. The view was magnificent and did an easy job of taking her mind off of the number of possible glitches she had been mentally listing. The Comet seemed to be holding together. After taking a few moments to make sure that everything was running smoothly, she went to check on her passengers, locking the door behind her just in case. She found the two men sitting on the rounded couch, not that they had much of a choice in terms of seating arrangement.
   “We’re off,” Kai announced as she entered the room to a pair of weary faces staring up at her. Both heads nodded in acknowledgment. These two clearly needed a break.
   “In our rush to get off planet I didn’t give you the grand tour,” she offered, clasping her hands together. “If you’d like to follow me.”
   Brin and Elis stood up with difficulty, the events of the day seeming to catch-up with them, and headed out after her into the circular rounded hallway.
   “In the living area we just left is where you’ll find the kitchen stocked with a few essentials you can help yourselves to,” Kai explained as she walked. “At the front of the ship is the cockpit and my quarters are just around here, so you know where to find me.”
   Brin and Elis followed compliantly as she took them back through the main hold where they had boarded and towards the rear of the ship.
   “All the way back is another hold and the engine room,” Kai said, stopping in a small corridor. “And here are two passenger rooms. I just so happened to have recently added bunks, so you’re in luck. They’re not much but at least they don’t have blister flees.”
   Brin and Elis stared at each other with what looked like a mix of relief and apprehension.

    “Thanks. We appreciate it,” Brin said as Elis gave a nod.
   “Well then, I’ll let you freshen up,” Kai concluded before walking away.

   Brin sat on the bunk with a deep sigh, now fully aware of the dust that had creeped up in every corner of his body. He grumbled, regretting having let Elis wash-up first and wishing he would hurry it up. Brin started listing next steps. First, he would have to figure out a way to get those 8,000 credits he owed the dear Captain. It would have been so much easier to just sneak onto a ship, which he could do with his eyes closed and that, in fact, he did often. He couldn’t help but smile at that. Sneaking onto ships was one the best parts of the job. But Elis would have gotten caught in an instant.
   A few nagging questions creeped into Brin’s mind as he sat there. For starters, why hadn’t he just left him on Coruscant? He’d gotten him out of the building, that should have been enough. He tried to push the doubt away. He didn’t owe anyone anything. But then why was he dragging him along to Jakku? Brin stared sharply at the bare wall in front of his bunk as if it were the reason for the mess he was in. And why couldn’t he shake the uncomfortable and so unfamiliar feeling of guilt that had clasped itself to him? But he knew the answer to that question, and to the rest of them. He forced the thought away and inhaled deeply, realising that he’d been holding his breath. In any case, here they were and there was no point dwelling on the past. He knew someone on Jakku that could set Elis up with a fake ID and then that would be that.
   A short knock took Brin out of his reflection. He stood up to open the door. Hitting the switch, it slid open to reveal a still pale although now clean Elis.
   “I’m done,” he said to Brin before retreating without another word into his room.
   Brin stood there a while longer, listening to the continuous low hum coming from the engine room.

   “Help! Anyone!” Elis was back in the collapsing building, alone, surrounded by darkness and falling debris. Everywhere he turned, a large block of concrete would come down with a bang, inches away from crushing him. He couldn’t go forward or backwards, he could just turn on himself, over and over, the darkness around him spinning, until hundreds of half dead bodies started crawling towards him. Mangled hands were reaching up, trying to grab his feet and legs. More and more of them were coming. He couldn’t fight them off. He tried kicking them and shoving them away but they were taking hold of him. “Get off!” He yelled as they slowly brought him to his knees.
   A blaring alarm made Elis jump out of his bunk in a sweat, releasing him of the terror his mind had trapped him in. He made his way out of his quarters to find Brin’s door opening across from him.
   “What’s going on?” Brin yelled over the noise.
   Elis shook his head a negative and they made their way towards the front of the ship. They found Kai with a few tools in hand, actively working on repairing a section of the ship that was fuming excitedly.
   Before Brin or Elis had time to ask her what was going on, the alarms stopped as suddenly as they had started, the smoke residing.
   “Sorry about that,” Kai said with a guilty smile, turning towards them. “One of the hydraulic systems decided to give me a hard time. All good now! Although I should probably lower the volume on those alarms, right?”
   Elis looked at Brin, who also seemed to have been woken up in a start and didn’t quite know what to make of the situation. Maybe this ship really was in as bad a shape as it looked.
   “Well, since you’re both awake, why don’t you grab something to eat,” Kai suggested. “I just finished making my veggie fried rice specialty."
   Thinking about it, Elis was actually pretty hungry, and it’s not as though he would be going back to sleep with what might be awaiting him when he closed his eyes again. As they entered the kitchen, a savoury smell filled the air and his stomach started to rumble.
   Kai hopped over to take the pan off the stove and scooped the dish into three mismatching bowls. Grabbing stray spoons from a drawer, she placed the steaming bowls into their hands.
   “Careful, it’s hot,” she added with a grin.
   They sat in silence, blowing on the warm food and munching on the cooler rice at the top of the bowl. The calm and playful sounds of people eating was bringing a shy smile to Elis’ face.

   The smile wasn’t lost on Kai, who was also finding the quiet dinner scene rather relaxing. Now that she wasn’t having to defend her ship and the two men weren’t completely covered in dust, she seemed to be seeing them for the first time. Brin was well-kept and had a neat stubble lining his face. His attire comprised of worn-down yet sophisticated gauntlets and a belt with hip pouches. Elis, on the other hand, was a little rough around the edges and fair skinned, his mid-long blond hair slightly hiding his face. He was wearing civilian clothes of typical Cornelian fashion.
   “Pretty good,” Elis commented, seemingly out of nowhere. Perhaps he had felt her staring. “Do you have cashews?”
   Somewhat taken off guard, Kai hesitated, then stood up to check. “Ah ha!” she exclaimed after opening a few closets and crates.
   The three of them added some cashews to the dish. A few more bites later, she had to admit that the added crunchiness offered a surprisingly pleasant contrast to the mushy dish. Not wanting to let the silence seep back in and decidedly curious, Kai opened the conversation.
   “So what happened back there?” she asked.
   Neither Brin nor Elis looked up, continuing to work on their dish.
   “The building we were in was bombed,” Elis finally said.
   “You were inside the building? That would explain the look. What do you think happened? How did you get out?” Kai added.
   “We were lucky,” Elis said sharply.
   Kai saw Elis’ shoulders tense and decided that it was better not to push the subject.
   “Well you made it out, that’s what matters,” she said after some thought, trying to sound reassuring.
   It must have worked because both men seemed to slightly relax. Good. No need for unnecessary tensions on her ship.
   “I hope you enjoyed the meal because it’s pretty much the only one I can make,” Kai said with an unapologetic look.
   “You can make one dish?” Elis said, eyebrows raised.
   Brin kept eating, a concealed smile inching across his face.
   “Well it’s good, isn’t it?”
   “But only one?”
   The two of them continued their banter a while longer until Elis agreed that if he ever had the chance to, he would teach her a second one.
 

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