Guardians of Light

One Step At A Time

Lexa gently shook the blonde's shoulder, rousing her from a restful sleep as their journey came to an end. 

'We've arrived,' she said simply when Clarke blinked away a tired haze and looked to the Jedi in confusion. 

Her neck was stiff from being angled in such an uncomfortable position for so long and she stretched it tentatively as she cast her gaze out at the view before them, soon forgetting the mild discomfort at the sight.  

Gone were the hypnotising blue swirls of hyperspace, replaced instead by an array of crisscrossing orange streaks encompassing the planet in a glowing pattern, the result of massive vertical cities sprawled between refuelling spires and loading docks. 

Clarke would never get tired of seeing these planets in their entirety. At least from a distance you weren't overpowered by the suffocating fumes from the polluted, rundown cities. It almost looked half decent before descending to the surface. 

Lexa announced their arrival over intercom before the two woman returned to the lower deck to convene with the crew.   Everyone was now more rested and ready to face whatever obstacles awaited them on Nar Shaddaa. 

Cal frowned upon seeing the blonde arrive behind the Commander, crossing his arms over a broad chest as he looked on in displeasure. 

'I explicitly recall telling you that the Commander was not to be disturbed,' he growled, fur rippling at the blatant disregard of his earlier warning. 

The rest of the crew spilled onto the lower deck around the Cathar, all except Toril who ascended the stairs to pilot the ship into the spaceport. 

'It's fine Cal,' the Jedi said dismissively, hands clasped behind her back as she turned her attention to the entire crew. 'You have all been filled in on the mission and I want this handled swiftly, without any unnecessary combat in the process.'

Everyone looked sideways at the Zabrak, Bekk, who released an exaggerated sigh at the attention. Even the Jedi seemed to be directing the statement at him.

'That was not my fault, if NOVA had-'

'Do not think of incriminating me Bekk,' NOVA chimed in before the Zabrak could finish, whirring defensively at the insinuation that he had been at fault. 'We had already completed the assignment when you decided to test the new rocket launcher on the enemy, who were in full retreat if I may add.'

Sharr, the Sarkhai, threw her eyes up to the ceiling in despair. This was not a new debate and it had been dredged up far more often than she would have liked. 

Rakal, the blue skinned Nautolan, wore a similar expression and shook his head as the G3P unit and Zabrak continued to argue on the finer details of the mission. 

Clarke had no idea what the dispute was over but it was clear from the expressions surrounding her that this was a commonly occurring topic. The Jedi had no time for such a trivial argument and cleared her throat pointedly, the deck falling silent in a second. 

'Regardless of who was at fault, that won't be happening again,' Lexa interjected, moving the conversation along so that they could back to the mission at hand. 'We go after Kranog, apprehend him and then find the shipment.'

Such a short list of things to be accomplished, but Clarke had a feeling that it might not be as simple as they hoped. 

'Sharr and Cal, you will accompany me and Clarke to obtain the bounty,' Lexa continued, aware that they would only attract suspicion if they travelled in a large group. 'The rest of you stay here and make sure our ship isn't stolen. It would seem this particular individual has a habit for such thefts.'