- 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦.
For as long as Kasia Torelo can remember, luck and survival have gone hand-in-hand.
Kasia was only seven years old when the Empire attacked her planet. Singled out for their telep...
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As Greef and Cara finally came to a halt in the dark passageway, Kasia threw her body to the side, wrenching herself from Greef's grasp and falling to the floor with a soft thud. In an instant, she was on her feet, glaring at the man who had manhandled her away from Din.
"Who the fuck gave you the fucking right to do that?" she growled at him, baring her teeth. She made to push past him, but Cara, the child still in her arms, stepped in front of her.
"Kas-" Cara began, but Kasia merely shifted her glare to the ex-shock trooper.
"Get the hell out of my way, Cara," her voice was low as she spoke, threat looming in the syllables as she took a step around the woman.
Cara's voice was soft when she spoke again, as though she were trying to console a wounded animal. Kasia supposed that for all intents and purposes, she might well have been. "He wanted you to get out of there—you and the kid," the woman reminded Kas. "He cared more about that than anything else."
Kasia didn't say anything.
Taking her silence as incentive to continue, Cara added, "He's going to be okay. If there's anyone who can take a hit, it's Mando."
For another moment, Kasia remained silent. Then she stepped forward and gently took the child from Cara's arms. "Okay," was all she said as she cradled the bundle, holding it close to her chest. Every cell in her body raged against the capitulation, against the thought of leaving him behind. But... Din would want her to get the kid out. More than anything else, he would want the kid safe.
None of them said anything as they continued down the passageway Cara leading the way, her flashlight illuminated the dark, decrepit path which lay in front of them.
As they walked, visions of Din lying on the ground in a puddle of blood, of Stormtroopers flooding the room, of Din dying alone and without Kasia or the child at his side swam in front of her eyes, and Kasia found she had to blink away the tears that had begun to cloud her vision. She shut out the memories which threatened to spill in as well, ignored the flashes of reminiscence, the images of them on the Crest, playing with the kid, arguing about who knows what.
Kasia shook her head, silencing all thoughts in her mind, both others' and her own. Instead, she merely stared at the path in front of her, eyes scanning but not really seeing, mind awake but certainly not alert.
Then, a crash sounded behind them.
The air seemed to whoosh from Kasia's lungs as she slowly turned, simultaneously releasing the damper she had put on her Eulentian abilities. Through darkness, she felt him before she saw him, felt his pain as well as his consciousness, felt his struggle as well as his love.
Kasia dismissed the feelings without a second though for they didn't matter. Pain or love or whatever else, that shit came after. He was alive and that was all she cared about.
