“Pff, skrunee,”he said, and then translated: “Don’t count on it.” He turned to leave.
“Wait,” I said, and he turned back around. Did he look like he hoped I’d say something?
DidIhope I’d say something?
But…what else was there to say? I didn’t have the words, and neither did he. So he simply smiled and said, “See you around, Starlight.”
Will I?I wondered.
Or was this the last time I’d ever see him, walking out ofStarstalland down the ramp, his back to me?
It couldn’t be helped, I told myself as I turned back to the cockpit console. There really wasn’t another way for this to go, was there? He had somewhere to be, and Iwas tethered to theStarfarer.Not only that, but the longer I thought about Val on that ship, the deeper the stone in my gut sank.
I didn’t have time to waste on goodbyes.
Besides, I was used to endings like this. I was just a footnote in people’s lives anyway. It was childish to wish this were any different.
The short-range communication relay crackled, and the spaceport’s mechanic asked,“You expecting company, Quay?”
Company?I replied through the console microphone, “No?”
“Well, you got it.”
I glanced up at the viewport. Sian hadn’t left the landing pad. Was that who the mechanic was referring to? Why was he juststandingthere, though? I was about to buzz down to him to askwhyhe wasn’t leaving—the poor spaceport mechanic was probably all shades of confused—when I saw theactualcompany in question standing in the mouth of the docking bay.
Four Jawas. And about a dozen friends.
And they didnotlook happy.
Their leader pointed to Sian.
I pressed the ship’s intercom. “Get in,” I instructed.
He didn’t have to be told twice and backtracked into the lander, pulling up the ramp as he retreated. The Jawas and their friends had come with blasters.
I didnothave time for this.
My fingers flew through the start-up procedure. Primary systems were good, life support sufficient, power supply charged. The thrusters hummed to life, rattling the bulkheads. VB-35 flipped down one of the engineer seats—there were two, and obviously she chose the one closest to the emergency exit—and fastened herself in. N2-0 rolled themself into a little locking contraption for traveling astromechs, near the back of the cockpit, and buckled in dutifully.
A blaster bolt pinged off the front of the shuttle, leaving a smoldering scorch mark.
“They arenothappy,” said Sian, coming into the cockpit to buckle himself in.
I tapped the gauge slowly filling, waiting to ignite the thrusters. The entire ship shook. “I’m sorry,” I said, and I meant it.
He shrugged. “Honestly, I couldn’t leave now anyway. I’m too invested.”
Was he being genuine? Did I care as long as he helped? “Thank you,” I said.
He winked. “I’m just hitching a ride to the next stop, Starlight. But, uh, we should probably leave now.”
“Almost.”
“We don’t havealmost.”
“Almooooost,”I sang. Another blaster bolt pinged off theviewport. I initiated the sequence to start up the engine and called back to the droids, “You two buckled in?”
Veebee replied, “Regrettably.”
