Star Wars: Cataclysm (The High Republic) (Star Wars: The High Republic: Prequel Era) by Lydia Kang

Author:Lydia Kang [Kang, Lydia]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Published: 2023-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

Gella Nattai and Orin Darhga had been hiding for some time inside the cargo hold of the ship when it landed. As the crates were taken off one by one, Gella and Orin managed to keep to the shadows and slip off the ship, seeking refuge in the darkness of the storage building they were now in. She heard one of the Path members say something about transporting the crates to the compound soon, as if it were urgent. And then they waited for the Path members to leave.

“Orin,” Gella whispered.

“What?”

“Why did you help me? This isn’t technically a Council-sanctioned mission. You’ve helped me every step of the way, even though I never asked for it. Even though you could have done other good things, like help Jedha recover, or, I don’t know, teach younglings not to use the Force to steal sweets, or something.”

“Who says I won’t still do that? Though I would take some sweets as a token of my teaching, after they’d stolen it all.” His grin softened. “Even fellow Jedi with pure minds and hearts need guidance.”

“Well, in case I forget, thank you, Orin. For everything.” She smiled. She knew it wasn’t quite like her to suddenly blurt out words of emotion and reveal that sometimes, even Gella Nattai needed to lean on others. And Orin seemed to know this was unlike her as well, and that what they were about to do was not straightforward or easy. That they were in more danger than they’d been in until now.

Uncertainty prickled her skin. She took in Orin’s friendly face, as if she might not see it again. She had a terrible feeling that she was going to die soon and leave Orin to carry on this mission without her.

Orin’s smile wasn’t nearly as grand as hers, but he put his hand warmly on her shoulder and squeezed. Did he feel it, too?

“Let’s take a look, shall we?” Orin suggested. Gella peeked out from behind a row of crates to look around.

“There were probably three dozen crates on our ship,” she said.

“That’s a lot of rice,” Orin said. “Enough carbohydrates to put a few banthas to sleep.”

“I don’t think this is about the rice,” Gella said. “Maybe it’s poisoned?”

“Perhaps. I think it’s time we did some serious cereal surveillance.”

Gella had gotten quite used to Orin’s quips, and didn’t mind them anymore. In fact, she found them oddly comforting. A tiny speck of humor in a usually humorless world.

When it seemed like the Path had left the area after unloading all the crates, Gella and Orin used their hands to pry off the side of one of them. Gella expected a heavy mass of rice to flow out. But there was merely a loose cascade that fell at her feet.

The crate wasn’t full of rice.

It contained a droid, sitting in a crouched position, ready to be deployed. She could tell it was taller than her by half a meter. It had an expanse of featureless and smooth black shielding for a face, with arms thick with weapons, and sturdy bipedal legs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.