Stardust ━━ Star Wars

━ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗶

She closes her eyes for a moment, letting her mind drift. Immediately, she's aware of the simple things; the coolness of the blaster in her hand, the way her toes press against the ends of her boots, the stray curl of hair that has escaped her ponytail and is tickling the back of her neck. But, as she focuses on her breathing, she swears that she almost feels something else. It's something she can't explain; an energy of sorts. Before she can think to press forward against it, she pulls back immediately. When her eyes open once more, she looks at Kali with surprise.

"Try again," Kali tells her.

Indira raises the blaster once more, eyes narrowing as she focuses on the weapon in her hands. Everything seems to go quiet around her, fading into the background, until it is only her, her weapon, and the target before her. Without hesitation, her finger pulls the trigger and she exhales deeply as she watches her shot hit the target on the bullseye.

Immediately, Indira lowers the blaster with a surprised expression, eyes wide with disbelief. She turns to look at Kali, who is wearing an identical expression of incredulity. For a moment, her necklace flares with a surge of heat before going cold.

"How did you do that?" Her friend demands.

Indira's brow furrows. "I just did what you told me to," she frowns. "Found my center or whatever."

"Yes, but that was just some bullshit I made up to keep you from freaking out on me," Kali replies with an impatient wave of her hand. "That was a perfect shot, Indi."

Indira's eyes widen. "You just made all that up?!"

"That's not important," Kali says dismissively. "What matters is that you can shoot. I mean, you definitely need a lot more practice, but ... you can shoot!"

Narrowing her gaze at her friend, Indira sets the blaster down. "You're a piece of work, you know that?" She tells Kali, but there's no real ire behind her words. "Maybe the real reason my training has gone so terribly is because they put you in charge of it."

Kali shrugs; completely unbothered. "You might be right," she says, "but, until Black Squadron returns from their latest mission, I'm the best person around able to train you."

Indira scoffs. "The best person, huh? You mean to tell me that there's nobody else on this base filled with hundreds of people that is qualified to teach me how to throw a punch or shoot a gun?"

"Nope," Kali says. "I'm the only one."

For a moment, Indira can't tell if her friend is joking or not, until a grin spreads its way across Kali's face and she bursts into laughter. The younger girl rolls her eyes and bumps Kali with her shoulder. "Stop making fun of me," she complains.

Kali bumps her back with a hip before slinging an arm around her shoulders, steering her away from the shooting range. "I'm sorry," she admits. "I promise I'll lighten up. But seriously, Indi," Kali pauses, brow furrowing with concern. "What's gotten into you? You're different since I left."

Indira exhales, blowing a piece of stray hair from her face. "No, don't apologize. I'm the one who should be sorry." She frowns and looks down at her feet. "I've just been ... a little overwhelmed with everything. I feel like I can't do anything right lately."

"That's definitely not true," Kali interjects. "You did great job with technical training. Some of our best technicians were impressed — Jess told me that Oddy Muva said you were a natural!"

"Well, I did go to school for four years for something," Indira replies, though her brain mentally corrects her to three-and-a-half years — and you didn't even finish!