High Heavens (Star Wars - Luke Skywalker)

XXXIV - Safer Distances

A week passed on Raada, time that Mara spent primarily on scouting missions, plotting their next move against the Empire. In the mornings, she ate with Strata and relayed the course she would be taking that day. Often, the missions were strictly reconnaissance, but Mara didn't mind too much. She could probably pass weeks submerged in the green expanse of forest surrounding the village. It was a visceral juxtaposition from the humming metals of starcruisers and the stone temples she had spent the better part of seven years in.

After breakfast, she would gather her pack and head out with a small clutch of other villages. Either Dusty or Delta were on almost every mission, supervising her, Tiernan, and any handful of his friends. They would retrace the retreat patterns of the Empire from each of their skirmishes, in order to pinpoint their base the best they could without a flyby.

At night, Mara ate dinner with Tiernan and his friends. Strata and Denit got on like a house on fire, which didn't do any favors for Mara's blood pressure, but she was glad to see Strata with people her own age. As for Mara herself, she usually ate her dinner in silence, preferring to listen to the conversations of the people around her rather than speak about herself. She never touched the firewater Denit passed her each time.

Eight days in to their stay, Dusty approached her. Mara sat at her usual place on the outskirts of the village, on a fallen log beneath a lofty tree. People rarely bothered her out here. She preferred to spend her time alone. Sometimes she would talk to Blinky about the rebellion and whether she thought Luke was doing okay, but those topics were mostly private.

"Hey, kid," Dusty said as he walked up to her.

She looked up at him, setting aside her blaster, which she had been cleaning. It didn't need the maintenance, but the task helped her think. She had done it a million times before.

"More ships have been coming in," Dusty told her. He waved upwards to the sky. "Not in their usual patterns. You oughta move that ship of yours out of sight."

His tone told her that she should do it soon. Mara stood up, clipping her blaster back onto her belt.

"I'll go now," she said. "Have you seen Strata? I could use her help carrying our belongings off."

"Off on some escapade with Denit and Oja," Dusty said, voice gruff.

Mara tilted her head. "Scouting mission?"

"Berry picking."

A smile touched Mara's mouth, but she sobered at Dusty's less-than-happy expression.

"Tiernan and I can go with you," he offered, and Mara was taken aback. In the week she had been here, Dusty had never gone out of his way to be near her. She didn't have any inkling as to why, but Delta had said that Dusty was slow to warm to newcomers, like many of the other Raadan villagers.

She nodded at him, dipping back into Delta's house to gather a small pack. The hike to the Starbird wasn't strenuous, but she was always more comfortable with a bit of rations and a handful of weapons for any expedition. No way to know when there might be an ambush, and you were separated from base.

Once satisfied, she came back outside to find Dusty and Tiernan ready for her. Tiernan gave her a lopsided grin when she emerged from the house, while Dusty just huffed and set out in the direction of the Starbird.

As they walked, Tiernan bumped her with his shoulder, giving her a little smile. "How are you?"

Mara raised an eyebrow. "I saw you this morning."

"Yes, but that was this morning. How are you now? You said you were fine, earlier, but what if you're not, now?" He said all of this in one breath, with a bright smile on his face throughout.