"Welcome back." She greeted.
"Thanks." You smiled.
She held out her hand. "I'm Cere."
You took her hand and shook it. "Y/n." You told her, although you remembered she already knew your name.
"Come in. I'll show you around." She suggested, waving you over. You stepped inside and she pressed a button that closed the ramp.
"That's Greez," She pointed to the man in the cockpit.
"It's nice to properly meet ya." He turned his head in your direction.
"Nice to meet you too." You smiled.
"And over there's Cal." She gestured to the boy on the couch. He was playing with a cute droid, the both of them looked up at mention of Cal's name.
"Hi," You waved with a smile.
"Hey," He replied, returning your smile. His droid beeped a happy greeting, making you chuckle.
Behind Cal was a kitchen area Cere pointed out.
"I'll show you to your room now so you can get sorted." She walked down a hall with you close behind. "It's just down here." She turned a corner and pointed at a door.
"Here's your room. Refresher's just over there." She pointed to another door. "Feel free to take a shower if you like." She suggested, eying your dirty clothes.
"Thanks." You nodded.
You set your bag down beside your new bed, which looked significantly more comfortable than your one on Corellia. As you settled in, you felt the mantis lift off the ground and take off into hyperspace.
You took Cere's advice and rid yourself of your work clothes and took a nice warm shower. It was almost too perfect.
The water on Corellia was always cold, and was often not filtered, meaning showers weren't much help and you had to boil water before drinking it.
You could get used to this type of life.
After you were clean and dry and in new clothes, you left your room, attempting to head back up to the main part of the ship, when a happy droid stopped you from turning the corner.
"Hello," You grinned, crouching down to him. "What's your name?"
He gave a couple beeps and a whistle in respose.
"Nice to meet you, BD-1. I'm Y/n." You greeted. He whistled happily in response, causing you to giggle.
"I think he likes you." Someone says behind you, startling you slightly.
You turned your head to him. It was the boy, Cal, leaning against the doorframe of what must be his room.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He apologized.
"It's alright." You smile, standing to face him, causing BD-1 to paw at your foot. "Look, I really am grateful that you guys got me off Corellia, but... how did you find me?" You ask curiously.
"Cere got word of a possible force user on Corellia when there was a report of assault. The guy reporting said a girl used a Jedi mind trick on him. From what Cere could tell, the officers didn't take the guy seriously, which is lucky for you I guess, cause otherwise they'd would've been looking for you." Cal explained.
You grew uncomfortable as you thought back to a few nights ago when you'd had no choice but to use the force. It didn't happen often, only when you really needed to protect yourself in emergencies.
-flashback-
You'd been walking home and it was dark, since your shift had ended late. The streets were pretty empty, aside from a few citizens sleeping in alley corners or on benches.
You heard footsteps aproaching behind you. You didn't look, only increased your walking speed, only to find your stalker did the same.
"Hey, slow down!" His gruff voice called out to you.
"Leave me alone, please." You stated firmly, contiuing down the street.
"C'mon. I'm just lookin to have some fun." He reached out and grabbed your arm. You tried to pull away, but his grip was firm.
"Let go of me." You demanded, causing him to tighten his grip.
"What's the matter? You don't wanna have a good time?" He smirked disgustingly.
"That's the last thing I want. Now get off me or this will not end well for you." You growled menacingly.
"Are you threatening me? Cute, but I think you're a little over powered." He chuckled, referring to the fact he was physically larger than you, and most would assume, stronger than you as well.
"You're going to leave me alone now." You waved your free hand infront of his face.
"I'm gonna leave you alone now." He said abruptly, releasing your arm and walking away from you. You scoffed in disgust and massaged your arm momentarily before continuing on your route home.
-flashback end-
"What happened anyway? I can't imagine you assaulted the guy like he reported." Cal asked, pulling you from your thoughts.
"Uh, nothing really. I just lost control. Just a guy following me on the street one night and I panicked." You told him, not caring to tell him the rest.
"I'm sorry." He told you, frowning. You could see in his eyes that he knew you hadn't told him the full story, but he didn't press any further, thankfully.
"It's fine. It's over now." You said to him, but mostly assuring yourself. BD-1 whistled for attention, drawing a small smile from you as you look down at him.
You crouched down to play with the droid again, giggling at his exitedness.
"No offense, but how do you plan on restoring the Jedi Order?" You ask, glancing back up at Cal.
"By finding a holocron with a list of force-sensitive children before the empire finds it." He explained, coming to sit on the floor across from you.
"Oh, yeah? How do you plan to find that?." You looked down, hoping Cal wouldn't see your doubtful expression, while you absentmindedly played with a content BD-1. The holocrons had been destroyed along with every other record in the Jedi temple library.
He explained to you how he found a trail left by an old Jedi master named Eno Cordova.
"And you guys plan to do that alone?" You scoffed.
"No, we've got you now." He shrugged.
"Yea, I've been thinking. I'm not so sure I want in. I think it would be better if I stayed below the empires radar. I'm just not so sure this life is for me anymore." You admitted sadly.
He frowned. "I think you're wrong."
You gave him a look of confusion.
"People like us shouldn't be hiding anymore. It's not our purpose. If you're so eager stay hidden, why'd you join us?"
"I joined because I was happy to leave Corellia. If I had been hiding out anywhere else, I would've stayed. I'm sorry, but it's true." You told him coldly.
"You're lying." He replied, his tone soft.
He was right. You weren't being entirely truthful. You agreed to join because it was what Master Odorah would've wanted. Getting off Corellia was just something that made it worth it.
You nodded, not allowing yourself to meet his eyes. You bit your lip as it began to tremble.
"Before my Master died, she told me, one day I'd be needed again. To fight against the Empire." You told him truthfully, wiping a tear away quickly.
He stayed silent for a moment, and you could feel he was experiencing similar feelings.
"She was right." He spoke up. You willed yourself to look at him, and saw determination in his eyes.
"I know what you're going through. You survived five years ago and you feel like you shouldn't have. You're haunted by the memories, but you don't let yourself forget, because it's all you have left. You pretend you want no part in this fight, but deep down you know you have to, or else you won't have fulfilled your purpose as a Jedi."
His words shook you to your core. Since you went into hiding, you'd always felt so lonely. You thought you had been the only one going through this.
"You're not alone, Y/n." He said as though he'd read your mind. "Let that give you hope. Hope of winning against the empire."
Before you could respond, Cere's voice called down the hall.
"Cal, Y/n, if you're hungry, come eat."
Cal stood up and offered you his hand, which you took and he helped you up.
"That means a lot. Thank you." You told him, referring to his pep talk.
"Of course." He smiled before heading to the kitchen, you following behind him.