Zoraida Cordova - A Crash of Fate

She wasn’t sure why, but that made Izzy double over with laugher. Salju laughed along, nervous at first. Surely, she’d seen an off-worlder or two break after spending a day on Batuu. When her abdomen hurt and her cheeks even worse, Izzy stared at the sky.

“I haven’t laughed like that in a long time,” she said. “I want to do it more.”

“Another happy customer. Did you get everything you needed?”

Izzy wanted to say that she had. She’d delivered her parcel and retraced the steps her parents had once taken. She’d learned about her mother, about herself. She’d kissed the boy of her dreams. She’d saved him. And then she’d let him go. She was filled with so much want , it scared her.

“Mostly,” she answered.

“Did you go to the obelisk when you got here?”

Izzy frowned. “I think I passed it this morning. Why?”

“Well, people rub the obelisk for good luck. We love our good luck around these parts. Can’t get enough of it, really.”

Izzy chuckled. “Thanks for everything, Salju.”

“Don’t mention it. Be sure to send your friends my way if they need any work done.”

Friends. She needed to make some of those. Good ones, without guerrilla warfare tactics.

Izzy paid the spira she owed Salju, instructing her to give Volt what she owed him. After all the damage she’d left behind at the farm, she wanted to run. Dok could give her share to Jules. She didn’t feel right taking it.

“Oh, and Delta will be back for that speeder,” she said just before the ramp of the Meridian closed.

Though it had been hours, it felt like days since she’d walked the halls of her ship. She ran her palm along the smooth panels. Her mother had chosen turquoise for the cushions in the lounge because it was her favorite color—the color of Izzy’s father’s eyes. It was something her mother had confessed later in life, when they lived in Eroudac Citadel and were trying to be a normal family. Izzy had thought it ridiculous then, but now it was a memory she held dear. As much as she felt she didn’t know her mother, every moment she understood her a little more. Ixel Garsea hadn’t been perfect. No one was. Izzy had seen her share of lonely kids across the galaxy. At least her mother had wanted her, taught her how to survive without her. Jules had said that people could choose which parts of their parents to keep. She started the launch sequence and thought that she would take the good and bad over and over again if it meant keeping them forever.

She sat in the cockpit and toyed with the black and gold ring resting on her chest. She had wanted to give it back to Jules and she had failed. She strung it up above the console and ran her thumb across it. For luck.

“What do you say, Lucky?” Izzy said to her loralora. “Are you ready to get off this rock?”

But the loralora was nowhere in sight. She turned around and called out to her. She knew she’d shut the ramp after the bird flew in. She checked her quarters and the small shower. When she reached the cargo hold, Izzy’s heart froze and her stomach roiled.

Lucky and Kuma were there, feasting on half a dozen dead Batuuan rats. Hadn’t Volt warned her? Every ship had a vermin problem. At least she hadn’t taken off with Salju’s pet. Izzy went into one of the closets and dug for some cleaner. It was then that she came across a loose flap, like the one where she’d hidden the briefcase early that morning. It was smaller, and at first glance, it was empty. But then she noticed a datacard.

She wondered if it was left behind from one of her mother’s missions. But that didn’t seem like something Ixel Garsea would do. Izzy’s stomach was in knots as she carried it back to the helm of the ship. She transported it on her palm with the same care she had held the sodilium detonator. Izzy stared at it for too long, wondering what its contents would be. She wasn’t ready for any more revelations.

What would Jules say to her if he was there? Something encouraging followed by a nudge or a smirk. She mustered her courage and keyed up the datacard.

The soft blue recording showed Izzy a face she hadn’t seen in years. It was her mother. At first, the message was rippled like a bad holo stream. There was no sound. Only Ixel Garsea’s face. Her mother looked as nervous as Izzy felt. Then her mother spoke and looked straight at her.

“If you’re watching this, then you’re without me. I wish we had more time. But if I’m wishing for things, I would have liked to give you the home you always wanted. Your father did all the things I could not, but I’m afraid I did not do enough. I’m not good with words or sharing them. But I have so many hopes for you. I hope you live a life without regret and that you have a stronger heart than I.” She looked over her shoulder, then back. “You and your father are the one thing I did right in my life. I love you, my darling Izzy.”

Izzy replayed the message over and over again.

Oga’s Cantina was full of warm bodies. Jules was sure every species was in attendance, even a group of Wookiees, each of whom carried two drinks.

After a long shower and clean clothes, he felt like a new man—a little battered, but still new. Well, newish. DJ R-3X was at his station, dancing to the music he played. Next up was Joh Yowza, formerly of the Max Rebo Band, who would be on Batuu for a solo concert in a few rotations.

It was as if everyone in the Outpost had heard of Jules’s adventures throughout the day because even strangers patted him on the back and offered to buy him drinks. Both bartenders, who had never looked twice at him before, ran fingers down his arms.

“Enjoy your fleeting moment of fame, kid,” Volt said, slapping him on the back.

They wove through the crowd to get to the bar. A great thick hand clapped on Jules’s shoulder. Cookie offered his congratulations and told him to come back to the docking bay in the morning for a free breakfast.

Jules was at a loss for words. He didn’t want to be under a spotlight, not ever. Julen Rakab loved people. He was a rare breed who always wanted to help, even when he was powerless. Now that everyone was trying to help him, all he wanted was to crawl in bed and nurse the bruises on his body. But he had to put on a brave face because he’d made a promise earlier that day.

Neelo and Fawn were at the bar having the free drink musicians got before their set. The Togruta was fingerpicking the air, and Fawn was chugging his drink so carelessly that he was very close to poking himself in the eye with the garnish pick.

“Jules!” they shouted when they saw him approaching. “Oh, hey, Volt.”

“I helped, too,” Volt said, affronted. “Majorly helped. I disarmed—”

The bartender on their end, a three-meter-tall Gigoran covered in white fur, stomped back over. Volt ordered two Fuzzy Tauntauns.

“Where’s your girl?” Neelo asked. He’d splashed up his look with metal cuffs around his lekku. “I liked her. We gave her a lift earlier.”

Fortunately, the drinks landed in front of them just then. The Fuzzy Tauntaun was one of the most expensive available, dusted with the golden lichen that shimmered like the night sky. Jules had never been able to order it before, but since everyone was offering…

On the other side of the room, Oga was in a private booth with Dok-Ondar. Everyone was whispering about Oga coming out that night. Oga and Dok raised a glass to Jules, and it felt infinitely wrong. He’d done nothing but get captured. All Jules had done was stun Damar.

It was Izzy who had come back for him. She’d gathered his friends. She’d found him. And then she’d left him without so much as a good-bye. It burned him up so much that he drained his drink in seconds. Neelo and Volt exchanged looks that said they should not ask any further questions about the girl.