Once Miah and I arrived on Batuu, I gave her my bag of credits. She then gave me one last smile before taking off from the docking bay. As soon as she left, I made my way out of the spaceport and into the town. I walked around seeing several shops, a marketplace, and a cantina throughout the Black Spire Outpost flied with giant black trees. Looks like I'll have to find some work here. I made my way through the outpost, and it wasn't long until I found a potential place to work at. In the marketplace, I came across a shop with the sign that read: Kat Saka's Kettle.
I walked into the shop to find a woman with tanned skin. She wore an apron over her long green sleeved tunic with black pants. The woman wore a head scarf that covered her hair. The woman wore a warm smile.
"Bright suns!" She exclaimed. "Welcome to Kat Saka's Kettle! What can I help you with?"
"I'm actually looking for a job." I mentioned.
Her eyes then lit up. "Excellent! I've been searching for another worker. Are you any good with fixing droids by any chance?"
I nodded. "As a matter of fact, I'm a mechanic."
She clasped her hands together. "Wonderful! I'm Kat Saka."
"My name's Veda Naberrie." I informed her.
I extended out a hand towards her, but she lunged towards me, enveloping me in a tight hug. Well, she seems very friendly. Once we pulled away from the hug, Kat showed me the ropes. I worked in a back room of the shop, fixing all different types of droids. As soon as the three suns set, it was time to leave to leave the shop. I didn't know where to go, but fortunately Kat recommended Peka, a small village just a hour away from the Black Spire Outpost by transport. So I took Kat's advice, making my way towards Peka. After reaching the village, I looked around in awe.
Despite the village being small and simple, the scenery was beautiful and near a river. There were several tents, huts, and log cabins around the village along with giant trees, where I heard birds chirping, giant spires that had built in apartments, several rocks covered with golden lichen, and golden grains that were around the edge of the village. As soon as I approached the first log cabin, I spotted a middle aged man with a fishing rod standing outside the cabin along with his children, a girl around the age of ten and a boy around the age of thirteen.
"Rising moons." The man greeted.
"Uh, hello." I replied, unsure of their lingo.
"Don't think I've seen you around here before." The man mentioned. "Are you new?"
"Yeah, I'm new to Batuu." I informed him. "...I don't have a place to stay."
"Well, you're in luck. I know a man who would love to take you into his log cabin as his guest." The man commented.
"That would be great. Where does this man live?" I inquired.
"On the outskirts of this community." The man explained. "Here, I'll take you to him."
He then turned towards his children. "Lera, Olin, go inside, I've got to take this nice lady to Boccran."
I furrowed my brows. Boccran? A spark of hope was ignited within me. Could it be Alotren using the alias of our grandfather Boccran? I mentally shook my head. I must not get my hopes up, this man probably just shares the same name as my late grandfather.
"Yes father!" Lera and Olin exclaimed.
They then rushed inside the cabin. Once they were inside, the man turned back around to face me. "I'm sorry, what's your name?"
"Veda Naberrie." I replied.
"Nice to meet ya, Veda. I'm Beren Jakin. Now, let's get you to Boccran's." Beren advised.
With that, I followed Beren to the outskirts of Peka. Once we reached the outskirts, I saw a medium sized log cabin next to a river. When we approached the cabin, the door opened, revealing the last person I expected to see...my dad. My eyes widened.
"Boccran." Beren greeted.
Dad looked rather baffled to see me as well. He glanced over at Beren, forcing a smile. "Beren, it's good to see you."
"You too, Boccran." Beren replied. "This is Veda Naberrie, she's new to Peka, and she's got nowhere to stay."
"I'd be more than happy to take her in." Dad offered.
"I know you would. You're so kind and considerate." Beren mentioned. "Now I must return home, Lera, Olin, are waiting for supper."
"Then I shall not keep you here." Dad commented.
Beren smiled at his words. "May the Spires keep you."
"'Til the Spire." Dad responded.
Beren gave us one last smile before walking off, returning to his cabin. As soon as he left, I turned towards my dad. I couldn't help but feel a rush of emotions towards him. I was furious that he didn't try to reach out and contact us, yet I was relieved to have him here.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you, Stormy." Dad stated.
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Then why didn't mom, Jinx, Maya, or me hear a word from you? Care to explain that?"
Dad flinched upon hearing my words. "Storm, I wanted to tell you all of my whereabouts, I truly did. But I lost my comlink and holoprojector along the way."
I scoffed. "How inconvenient."
"Storm, it's true. You must believe me." Dad pleaded. "I wouldn't want to make your mother, sisters, or you worry."
"And yet you did." I shot back.
"Storm, I'm very sorry. Please, you must believe me." Dad urged.
"I wish I could." I retorted.
I then turned around with my back facing him. I'm not going to spend a day in the same cabin as my father. With this in mind, I began walking away from the log cabin. It wasn't long until dad's voice rang out. "Where are you going?"
"Anywhere where you aren't." I rebuked. "I spent years believing the worst had happened to you. I even thought you were captured by Separatists."
Dad's face fell. "What? Who told you that?"
"Dooku." I replied.
Dad clenched his fists. "Oh Dooku, just wait until I get my hands on him."
"There's no need. Anakin already took care of him..." I trailed off.
Dad let out a sigh, looking devastated. "So it's all true then...the Republic and the Jedi Order have both fallen."
I nodded, trying my best not to cry. To me, it felt as though these events happened just yesterday. It was such a terrible thing that happened, and for the past year, I tried believing that it was all a dream. But each day, I was reminded that it was all real.
"Jinx? Your mom? Maya?" He inquired, his voice laced with fear.
Should I tell him the truth? The truth about Maya being killed, mom's nowhere to be seen, and Jinx turning to the dark side? No, I couldn't, it was too much for him, especially all at once.
"I don't know..." I lied.
Dad's shoulders slumped at once. He then changed the subject as he gave me a pleading look. "Please Storm, stay here in log cabin. If you still don't wish to speak to me, then I shall leave and find another place to stay. All I want is for you to be safe."
I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. I can't kick my dad out of his own cabin. I was very angry with him, but he may be the only family I have left. And what if my dad was telling the truth? What if he truly tried to reach out to us? I let out a sigh. "...No, I don't want you to leave your cabin. I can't do that to you...You don't have to leave for me to stay in your home."
Dad's face lit up. "Really? Do you mean that, Storm?"
"I do." I confirmed.
A wide smile appeared on his face. "Well, come on in."
He then rushed towards the door of the log cabin. I followed him inside the cabin, seeing it was more spacious than I had thought. The cabin door led us into a large living room with a large couch, a couple of wooden chairs with intricate designs, a coffee table with a couple of pictures of mom, dad, Jinx, Maya, Alotren, and me, a fireplace, and a rug.
"This place is amazing. Did you build this all by yourself?" I inquired.
"I did have some help of the people of Peka." He informed me. "They're very kind people. Are you hungry?"
"No, I'm actually tired. I've been working all day." I mentioned.
"You found work? Where?" He asked.
"At the Black Spire Outpost." I replied.
"That's great! Let me show you to your room." Dad offered.
I then followed dad down the hallway. Once we reached the last door, dad opened the door, revealing a rather spacious room with a bed, a drawer, a desk along with a chair, and a small window with curtains.
"Well, it's not much but I hope you like it." Dad mentioned.
"It's great, don't worry about it." I assured him.
"Good...well, if you need anything let me know. Goodnight, min turhaya." Dad replied.
"Goodnight." I muttered.
As soon as he left my new room, I jumped into bed, mentally and physically exhausted. However I had a million thoughts swarming around in my head, preventing me from sleeping. I groaned as I threw a pillow over my head in frustration.
•••
The next day I thought would never arrive, but eventually it did. I got dressed in my Jedi robes before leaving my room. As soon as I reached the living room, I saw dad sitting on the couch with a mug in his hand. His eyes lit up when he saw me. "Good morning, did you sleep well?"
To be honest, I had a rough night. But I certainly didn't want him to worry. So I nodded. "Yeah, I slept just fine."
I made my way towards the door. But before I could reach the door, dad's voice rang out. "Whoa, where are you going? Don't you want breakfast?"
"I'll get something on the way to work." I informed him.
With that, I ran out of the cabin. I made my way to the shuttle, which took me back to the outpost. Once I was back in the outpost, I got a Rising Moons Overnight Oats along with a Mustafarian Lava Roll from Oga's cantina. Once I was finished, I made my way back to Kat Saka's Kettle to work. After spending the entire day working, I made my way back to the shuttle. But instead of returning to Peka, I decided to roam around, looking at the other places in Batuu. And that's how I came across Galma. Galma was nothing like Peka, the small and rough place was filled with scrap metal, debris, and many dirt roads. The homes were made of scrap, metals from starships, recycled parts, and old broken down speeders. Other homes were built into the large spires, while some houses were made of wood and mud. The people themselves were shady and many kept to themselves, but eyeing me every once and a while. As I walked deeper into Galma, I noticed Morai flying above me as if to keep an eye on me.
Once I walked further down the dirt roads, I spotted what appeared to be several arenas made of scrap and metal. I got closer to see that there were droids fighting one another as the crowd of people cheered. I flinched. I didn't like seeing droids fight each other for the amusement of others. Not far from the droid fights, was something that caught my eye. Not only were there droid fights, but there was also podraces here too. A smile quickly grew on my face as I joined the throng of people gathered around the racing track. I watched as the podracers took off in their vehicles, zooming past the crowd. I wanted to be like one of the podracers, flying around, feeling the air through my hair.
But I knew I can't draw unwanted attention to myself. Batuu may be located on the edge of the galaxy, but word is known to travel quickly. And I can't risk getting caught, the Empire will kill me. Reluctantly, I took one last look at the podracers before leaving Galma. By the time I returned to dad's cabin, the three suns had set and the two moons were on the rise. Dad looked relieved to see me.
"Stormy, where have you been?!" He exclaimed. "I was so worried, I thought something happened to you."
"I'm fine." I assured him. "I was just walking around."
He furrowed his brows. "Exactly where were you walking around?"
I couldn't help but get angry at dad for ordering me around, when he wasn't around for years. And so I couldn't help but blurt out. "Why must you order me around?! You were gone for years! And besides if you haven't noticed I'm an adult now."
I watched as my dad's face fell. Still fueled by my anger, I stormed out of cabin, making my way to the river. I slumped onto the ground, looking down at my reflection in the river. The two moons had finally risen into the sky. I felt a pang in my heart. I shouldn't have been so harsh on my dad. I just wish he would've returned home, instead of continuing his search for Alotren. Not long after I reached the river, I saw dad's face in the river. I could see the torn look on his face. I turned around to face him.
"Dad, I'm-"
He raised a hand to stop me. "Don't. I should apologize to you, Storm. I spent far too much of my time away from you and the rest of my family. I shouldn't have tried to look for Alotren on my own. I've missed so many precious moments..."
Tears filled his silver blue eyes, feeling his pain. He croaked out. "...I wasn't there when my parents died. And I could've done something about it..."
My eyes widened in shock. "You know about their deaths."
A grim look appeared on his face. "Yes, and it seems like you haven't been very truthful to me lately..."
"I'm sorry, dad." I replied, feeling guilty. "I just wasn't sure if you could handle any more bad news."
I noticed a smile grow on his face as his eyes lit up. "It's all right, Stormy. Listen to me, we've got each other. So in these dark times, we must stay together as long as we can."
I raised an eyebrow. "What about the others in our family?"
"If they've perished, they haven't truly left us, Storm. Remember those times on Corellia, where we all spent our days on the golden beaches of Tyrena or the crystal swamps, where you first began racing?" Dad reminded me.
A grin appeared on my face as I remembered all those good times. Dad then continued. "Just think of beautiful moments like those the next time you miss anyone in our family. Remember this, they'll always remain with us in spirit."
I glanced down at the river stone Anakin gave me. Tears filled my silver eyes as I thought of the first time I met Anakin on Tatooine, the first time I met Padmé on Naboo, when I finished creating R3, first meeting Ahsoka on Christophsis, getting Areria as my padawan, going to the Jedi Temple and meeting Nova and all my other friends I've met, going on my first mission with Master Allie, first meeting my grandfather, Dooku, and meeting Echo and Koltav. Dad was right, they aren't ever really gone. They'll always remain with us.
As the days turned into weeks. I began to fall into a routine: Have breakfast, go to work for Kat Saka, return home for lunch, watch the podraces with dad in Galma, grab some scrap metal and recycled parts for a ship I plan on making, spent the afternoon with my dad, fishing for Burra fish in the river by our cabin, and by dusk, we returned home to prepare the fish and eat dinner. Dad and I got along once again, spending lots of time together. Things couldn't have been better. But I should've known better, nothing good ever lasts, especially during the reign of the sinister Empire.
~Translations~
min turhaya----bright star (Old Corellian)