Last Shot - A Star Wars Story

Chapter 17

Kaia Kestis

As Kaia watched Ersela pull out and activate the Darksaber of ancient legend, she finally understood why the Resistance general was so good with a lightsaber: she already knew how to use one. Her friend's gray, yellow, and blue Mandalorian armor glinted in the faint light, and Kaia found herself in awe. She could see why the other Mandalorians were so willing to rally behind this confident leader, and she found herself wanting to do so as well.

The ramp closed behind her and she limped into the cockpit, still clutching her arm where blaster fire from the TIE had hit her. It stung like mad, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Cora was standing beside her, and when Merrin got up from her position at the gun to fuss over Kaia, her friend practically jumped into the seat and took up the gun, looking excited.

"Are you alright?" Merrin asked, grabbing her by the shoulders, her deep brown eyes scanning for any injury she could identify as "major".

"I'm fine," Kaia assured her with a smile. "Just a little battered is all." She turned to Greez, who was glancing back at them. "Follow that Mandalorian."

Greez grinned at her, and Kaia knew he was remembering the days where he flew with her father and Cere Junda. "Yes ma'am."

Kaia plunked down in the seat beside him, where BD-1 greeted her happily, while Merrin sat in the seat beside Cora, looking annoyed at the fact that she had lost her position, but also relieved at the fact that Kaia hadn't died.

Remembering one of BD's specialties, she held out her hand to the droid and said, "Stim, BD." The little droid looked up at her, swaying excitedly for a moment before he dispensed a little green healing stim into her open hand. She took it gratefully and pressed it through the cloth and into the skin of the shoulder of the arm where the TIE's blast had hit her and she sighed in relief as the pain faded a little. "Thanks." BD-1 chirped happily in response, nudging her hand with his little flat head.

She let her hand rest on him for a moment, before out of nowhere, she sensed a great power rising, and she turned to Cora, who had a surprised look on her face. Spinning back around in her chair to look at Greez, she told him, "We have to go to that temple now."

"You mean the giant, hulking mass down there?" Greez cried. "The battle is up here, kid. Why would you want to go down there?" Kaia gave him a look, and his face went serious. "Ah, I see, this is a Jedi thing. Your dad was like that too." He angled the ship downwards, and they descended beneath another layer of clouds, until they reached the ground.

Kaia and Cora both got up, and Greez lowered the ramp for them. Both he and Merrin stood watching them as they hurried down it. BD-1 scampered after them, and he launched himself onto Kaia's leg, clinging on tight as she tried to gently shake him off before climbing up to his usual perch on her shoulder. Kaia gave him a wary look. "This is going to be dangerous," she informed him quietly.

"Ah, the droid'll be fine," Greez assured her, waving it away as if it were nothing. "It's you I'm worried about."

"I can handle myself," she reminded him.

"I know you can," the gray old Latero replied with a grin.

"Good luck," Merrin called after them as they started to run towards Palpatine's temple. Kaia didn't look back, her focus already on what lay ahead. Lightning struck the ground around her as she ran with her friend, though it didn't phase her. She knew that the real threat was inside the temple that loomed over them.

When they neared the giant black mass, Kaia saw both a Rebellion-era X-Wing and a First Order TIE fighter and she slowed her pace, glancing at Cora. They came to a stop, realizing what it meant. Rey and Ben are already here.