sparky // a padawan story

chapter 7. ryloth.

"Yes, sir," Boil replies.

"Got it, Cody," I confirm as Waxer, Boil, and I break off from the commander and Wooley. I walk in front of the two clones.

"I tell you, Boil, Commander, this is creepy. You think they killed all of them?" Waxer asks.

"Well, there are no bodies," Boil states.

"They were driven from their homes. I don't think they had a..." I start, but drift off.

"Had a what?" Boil questions further.

Waxer finishes my thoughts with a sigh. "Choice."

We continue to creep through the city cautiously. until we hear the clattering of stone nearby. The three of us quickly find a spot to hide. After a few moments, I turn to the two clones and point forward, and we charge into the room to find a little Twi'lek girl hiding behind a box.

I immediately stop Waxer and Boil and turn off my saber. They put their blasters down as I crouch to the girl's level. She looks at me in fear, and I almost see myself at 5 years old, hiding in the trees.

"Hello there, little one," I say with a small, sympathetic smile. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Ah, it's just a little girl," Boil practically sighs in relief.

"Well, what are we gonna do with her?" Waxer asks.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why do we have to do anything? We've got a mission to finish," Boil states.

"We should do something. I say we take her with us," Waxer suggests.

"You can't be serious. She'll only slow us down. Look, she's afraid of us," Boil remarks.

"...Not us," I say as I turn towards them. I glance around behind them and point to a probe droid.

"Quick, hide!" Waxer exclaims. The three of us hide quickly behind a wall.

"That was a recon unit. We'd better get moving," Boil states.

"We can't leave her here," Waxer argues.

"We're not leaving her here," I say firmly as I gaze upon the girl. "We can't."

"Fine, we'll take her," Boil sighs. He kneels next to me, face to face with the girl.

"Be careful," Waxer tells Boil.

"Don't worry, Waxer. I don't think she's armed—ow! Little tail-head bit me!" Boil shoots up onto his feet and steps back.

"Stop, stop, you're scaring her!" I warn as the girl cowers away again.

"She probably thinks we're droids," Waxer says. He crouches down by me and takes off his helmet. "It's all right. See? I'm flesh and blood, just like you."

"She looks half starved," Boil states. "Uh, here." He hands me a ration stick, which I hand to the girl. She sniffs it and grabs it, cowering away as she nibbles it while Boil then takes off his helmet.

She lightens up as she points to the clones. "Nerra. Nerra," she says. I smile, understanding her words. Obi-Wan taught me the basics of her language before we came, though I definitely can't remember how to actually speak it.

"No, I'm Waxer. He's Boil, and she's Arlo," Waxer tells her.

"Nerra. Nerra," she says again. She then points to my lightsaber in my hand, trying to think of a word.

"Jedi," I tell her. "Je-di."

"Je-di," she repeats.

I smile. "That's it!" The little girl happily grabs one of mine and Waxer's fingers in each of her hands.