GODDESS ▷ BODHI ROOK

two.

WHEN BODHI HAD MADE THE DECISION to join the fight against the Empire, he hadn't considered how much walking would be involved. Perhaps if he had known that he would be spending the first half of the next day trekking through the frigid Jedhan desert without so much as a drop of water, he might have reconsidered.

Together, Bodhi and Sola had trudged through the barren landscape until the sun had risen high in the sky, and had still yet to come across another life form. Bodhi had quickly become weary from walking and laboriously shuffled through the sand, but Sola— who had, no doubt, grown used to the route from the city to Saw Gerrera's base of operations— had managed to retain a quick pace throughout their journey through the desert.

Another thing that she managed to retain was her talkativeness. Bodhi had discovered very early in their journey that she was incredibly chatty, and had an unwavering ability to make conversation, albeit, a mostly one-sided conversation, out of nothing— for example, a particularly oddly shaped cloud that had somehow spiraled into a long rant about sand slugs. Over the course of their trek across the desert, she had talked about anything and everything— that is, anything that didn't concern Bodhi's mission, Saw Gerrera, or anything of that nature.

Occasionally, however, Sola would slip up. She'd be in the middle of a long, drawn out story and mention something she wasn't supposed to, to which Bodhi would seize the opportunity and ask a prying question to get more details. When this happened, Sola would purse her lips and fall silent, though her silence never lasted long.

Currently, Sola was silent; she had been talking about something Bodhi couldn't remember, and had accidentally mentioned Saw Gerrera. Bodhi had made a fruitless attempt to discover whether she was taking him to meet the Partisan leader, and she refused to divulge any information, once again becoming temporarily mute.

Many may have found Sola's effusive nature bothersome, but Bodhi found it oddly comforting. Despite the fact that when she was spouting meaningless facts or narrating one of her many adventures he often found her words hard to follow, he far preferred it to her silence. When she wasn't speaking, Bodhi found it easy to slip into into the stupor brought upon by his exhaustion and dehydration from their trek across the sand.

Bodhi managed to come out of his daze for if but a moment to ask Sola for the millionth if they were nearly there, wherever "there" was, but he stopped upon catching a glimpse of something on the horizon. At first glance, it simply appeared to be smudge against the landscape, but as the two grew closer, Bodhi was able to make out the dark silhouettes of several lifeforms contrasting greatly against the horizon.

"Are- are we there?" Bodhi gasped, the prospect of their journey coming to an end, as well as the sight of another living being other than his travelling companion, helping him to forget his weariness and thirst. Sola remained silent, instead grasping him by his bicep and pushing him along at a quicker pace.

As they neared, the silhouettes began to take on distinct shapes, and Bodhi could make out a great variety of beings that made up the group that waited for him atop the rocks. There was a white-furred Gigoran, who clearly served as the brawn, several humans with bandoliers slung around their torsos and large blasters in their hands, and a Talpini with a string of explosives belted around his waist. At the forefront stood a Tognath— pale and tall with lifeless eyes and a mechanical respirator set into his skull— and Bodhi wondered if this was the man he had been sent to find.