Gray

Chapter 12

            Trisk was laughing, hard. Meric had never seen her bust a gut so thoroughly. He didn't know why his comment on Tawn Tawns cracked her up so completely, but he liked seeing her smile. He was even chuckling with her.

Unexpectedly, while she inhaled on a breath, a snort came with her laugh. She suddenly stopped and covered her mouth, a blush rising to her cheeks. Meric's eyes widened. His chest began to shake as he held in laughter.

"Are you laughing at me?" She yelled. He couldn't hold back his enjoyment after that. His laugh filled the room. "Yes, I snort when I laugh hard. Is that so funny?"

Once Meric got control of himself again, he held up a finger. "One, it's the first time I heard you laugh that hard. So, I can't help myself but laugh with you. Two, there's nothing wrong with your laugh. Three, I think it's kinda cute."

Her expression changed from one of embarrassment to surprise at his comment. The blush meant something different after that. He simply smiled at her. It had been a while since his contract to retrieve her father from Hoth, and during that time he had began to notice more things about his friend.

He noticed how she seemed to shy away from him when he was close. He noticed how she would cuddle into herself when sleeping. He noticed how she seemed to have a little sorrow always in her eyes. He noticed small things that he never took note of before. And after hearing her laugh, he knew why he was paying so much attention to her, and how she didn't often leave his thoughts.

A sudden alert of emergency entered the ship, causing both to jump up and run to the holoterminal. Pressing a few buttons, Meric answered the distress call.

"Meric!" Another Mandalorian responded once he connected. "Thank Mandalore, we need your help."

"Vata," Meric called back. "What's wrong?"

It looked like she dodged a blast before she continued. "Our group was hired to gather any Khyber Crystals we could find on Jedha. Apparently, we got on Imperial Intelligence's radar, and now we have several squadrons of Operatives attacking us. I'm retreating to camp, but we are rotating in groups on the attack so they don't get too close. Meric, I want you involved because we don't have a way off this planet."

"How many are in your group?" He asked urgently.

She looked around. "Not much more, they did a number on us, but I think we can fit everyone on your ship. But I also would like your input. If there is a chance of us winning this, you would know how."

"On our way." He responded.

Ending the call, he and Trisk ran to the cockpit and took off towards Jedha. A feeling of panic entered Meric's chest as he thought of his friends in danger. He hoped that they would make it in time to save them. He wanted to at least give them a fighting chance.

"Do you know Jedha?" He asked Trisk while he engaged the hyperdrive.

She looked over at him. "I remember learning about it. I've never been there. It's a desert moon that's described to have an eternal winter. It's one of the first places to have had Force Sensitives. Many Force Users went there to learn. But since then, battle of the planet with the Empire has caused it to be a wasteland. The old civilization there is long gone, and anything left is just dust. People still live there, but they are mainly passing through. Tourism, I guess."

"Khyber Crystals come from there?" He asked.

"It was one of the originators of the Khyber Crystal for our Sabers, but it's not the only planet." She explained. "I guess the Imperials don't want anyone taking the Crystals they stole."