Star Wars: Just Another Day in Paradis

Just Another Day in Paradise, Part 6

Doc smeared bacta on the cut over Ariel's eye. "How's your head feel?"

"Hung over," Ariel said.

"You're lucky it doesn't feel dented. What were ya fightin' over?"

"Nothin' important."

"Not a surprise," Doc said. "Echo Base has been on edge for too long, all of us penned up in these ice tunnels, going on alert every time a ship enters the system. Something like this has been a long time coming."

Kelly got in Doc's way to press a mug of coffeen into Ariel's hand. "Nice to see you again."

"You, too." Ariel sipped the coffeen and grimaced: hot and bitter, with a generous amount of Ambersi. "Thanks." She had another swallow and rested the mug on her thigh. "Could've been under better circumstances."

"Yeah? Well, see, we gotta message for you."

Sam warned, "Kelly."

"This might not be the time," Doc finished.

"No, go ahead," Ariel sighed. "You've got my attention."

"You useta do supply runs outta Ralltiir, right?" Kelly asked.

She set her coffeen aside. "Don't you start on me, too. I'm too beat to kick your —"

"Raena was on the Plague," Kelly blurted.

Good thing she'd put the coffeen down. Ariel would have spilled it. "Is she safe?"

The silence stretched long enough for Ariel to begin to hope that her sister was dead. Recapture would have been infinitely worse. She looked over the crew of the Plague. Clearly, Raena's time with them had affected them deeply. Finally, Ariel thought gratefully, someone she could talk to about her younger sister.

"She wouldn't come with us," Doc explained finally. "We tried everything short of tranquilizers."

Ariel nodded, hoping to draw her out. "Raena could be pretty stubborn."

"She wouldn't let me go with her, either," Kelly complained softly.

The boy stared at the deck. Ariel asked, "What was her message?"

"She wanted you to know she was still runnin'," Doc said.

"I guess she'll always be running." Ariel found a spice stick in her fingers. "You mind?"

"Yes," Doc said.

Ariel put the spice back and fastened the pocket down over it. "Raena got messed up with some really bad stuff, working for the Empire. Her commander had some kind of sick attachment to her. He was molding her into his dream date or the perfect killing machine or something.... Somehow, he convinced her she was Darth Vader's daughter —"

"What?" Doc demanded sharply.

"She wasn't," Ariel assured. "She couldn't have been. Raena and me grew up together. We were practically sisters. She could do some scary stuff, but no way was she evil."

"Vader's daughter?" Kelly repeated, awed.

Ariel stared at him, then at Doc. "You didn't know?"

"Sam did," Doc said, in a voice as low as a threat.

"She thanked me not to tell you," he protested.