Private Cast Away

[Amani Serys]

Ambience

The door to one of the ship’s cabins slid open, revealing the resident sleepy and disheveled Mirialan. Amani trudged through the corridor, using the wall as leverage to keep upright while she made her way to the galley. Peering into the sink led to a reactionary ‘eugh’ on her part; A collection of used dishware lay unattended to. Animals. She was staying with animals.

Not that Amani was really taking it upon herself to upkeep things either.

The last clean cup was quickly snatched, and a fresh brew of caf was required. Catching her reflection in the dispenser’s sheen produced another, more audible “Eugh.” The enormous mass of hair sticking out in every direction was a common foe of her morning routine, but no less unsightly each time it caught her eye. As soon as it was ready, Amani filled her cup to the brim, firmly planted herself in one of the swiveling tableside chairs, and dragged her attention towards the cockpit.

There was something almost hypnotic about hyperspace travel. Watching the endless kaleidoscope of stars stream by the viewport was oddly calming for her. She’d do it more, if urban myths of hyper-rapture didn’t scare her out of it. Superstition was not to be neglected, after all. Amani’s gaze lazily transitioned over to the pilot instead: a droid. Ace. A rather peculiar looking one, at that. Something about his gangling proportions placed him firmly in the uncanny valley. She was glad she didn’t have to make much of an effort to keep distance from him, seeing as how he never left the cockpit, or even said anything. Which, really, just made it all the more discomforting. And speaking of droids to avoid…

“Miss Amani! Gooooood morning!”

“Oh, Force help me…” Amani closer her eyes and sighed, clenching the cup more tightly as she prepared for the worst. Truly, she did like EmTee. He had grown on her since they had first been paired together after Yurb, becoming much more of a companion rather than the ‘helicopter parent’ he had started as. But, he had still yet to master the finer aspects of early morning interaction. It was a great fear of hers that he never would. The medical droid stopped just in front of the table, a digitized smile plastered across his face as he greeted his ward.

“How are you? Did you sleep well?”

“Well, I was doing fine.”

“That is great news! Did you sleep well?”

“Sure is.”

“Did you sleep well?”

…

…

“...Yes.”

“That is great news!”

A long sip of coffee filled the silence that followed, and EmTee’s head tilted curiously as he watched Amani, who herself was trying her best to avoid making eye contact, “Would you be alright if I took your blood pressure?”

“...What?”

“I have yet to get a comparison in your blood pressure for before and after caf consumption!”

“Sure, EmTee. If that would make you happy.”

“It would! Thank you, Miss Amani!”

The droid meandered over to her side, checking over Amani’s vitals while her gaze wandered back to the cockpit, “How long is it supposed to take to get to Obroa-skai?”

“I am not entirely certain, Miss Amani! I am not a navigation droid!”

“I noticed.”

“Perhaps you could ask Ace!”

“Uhhh… no, I think I’m good.”

The medical droid relinquished, taking an upright stance once again, “Your blood pressure appears to be within acceptable ranges!” Amani shook her head, a soft smile forming across her lips as she turned back to him, “Thank you, EmTee.” The tone in her voice was genuine; In spite of the occasional annoyance, it had all become somewhat endearing to her by now. “You are very welcome, Miss Amani!”

The ambience of space travel took precedence once again, as EmTee finally let Amani have her quiet time. For as long as it would last.

 

[Risen]

Hyperspace didn’t suit Risen. It made him groggy, like he’d had too much to drink the night before. Out here, where stars became smudges across a tunnel that wasn’t there — no sky, no ground, no life — his senses were off. He hated not knowing what to expect.

This morning, or whatever it was, he smiled. Training was pure, simple. Even this nowhere place couldn’t take that from him. A few good spars had calmed his nausea and his headache, and entering the mess, he smelled fresh caf. Risen didn’t like psychoactives for obvious reasons. Coffee was a weakness, though. He took a long slurp from the pot before fishing out a cup. He nodded to Amani as he walked past.

She was capable, from what he’d heard. Used to be one of Juno’s. And Risen’s padawan had said she would come in handy at the archive. He got the sense that this was mostly true, but also that the kid just wanted a friend on board. Well, it was all the same to Risen. Anything to make this trip more bearable.

The doors slid open, and Centin Tillo hobbled out. Amani’s meddroid rushed to assist, not that he needed it. Though he had taken a beating today. Risen snorted. At least his sword was still drawn. He walked to the bridge, over by that creepy pilot bot, taking a long draught of caf. Centin pushed past the droid.

“Master, why did you of all people get chosen for such a boring mission?” he said. “I didn’t take you for a bookworm.”

“Sometimes Jedi missions are boring.” He turned to the boy with a pointed look. “Dishes, for example.”

Centin resisted for a moment, then stormed off. But he stormed over to the sink. That was progress. Risen watched him struggle to scrub dishes with a vibroblade in one hand, then turned back to the technicolor view from the canopy.

The kid wasn’t wrong. Even once they left hyperspace, all they’d have to look forward to were pages and pages of research. The more hands on deck, the faster the job was done, the better. But he had just earned some sway over the padawan — maybe not respect, but regard at least. And he was going to use it. Every drop of it.

Just wait, boy, he thought. When we touch down, Obroa-skai will seem like a miracle.

 

[Nandia Molidias]

Nandia had only traveled through space once before - to do so again in such a short time after was thrilling for her. There wasn’t any sort of sun to guide her sleep/wake cycles out here, so she relied on what felt like the right time to rise. Although it didn’t take much time at all, she was already dressed and cleaned up when she left her quarters in search of something to ease her empty stomach.

Chewing on some simple rations, she took a seat by a window and watched the swirling of stars outside. It’s funny how nature can seem so… unnatural at times. Nature to her is rough soil beneath barren feet; stubborn sprouts of green springing up beneath solid snow; fur-covered creatures burrowing beneath the earth to keep warm. Up here it’s just a vast, empty void filled with sparkling glitter, permeated by an eerie silence. It’s beautiful, but… unnatural.

She hadn’t even finished her meal when she noticed her leg bouncing. She needed to do something other than ruminate over her surroundings. Jumping up, she set off to explore the rest of the vessel; she didn’t get a good chance to look over everything the days prior due to how exhausted she was.

However… looking over everything proved fruitless. Much like the void outside, the interesting parts of this ship were just rows and panels of flickering lights and unnamed controls. Approaching the droid in the cockpit, she tried to study what it was doing, get at least a basic understanding of how it worked, but it seemed like more of an art than a practice.

I need some humanoid interaction, she thought to herself, eying the droid nervously. She’d never interacted with one before, but its resemblance of a humanoid body seemed… disconcerting. Once again, unnatural.

She wandered some more until she found Amani, seeming intentionally unapproachable. "Good morning! I hope you slept well, it was sort of an odd experience for me, but you’re probably used to sleeping aboard spacecraft. What exactly is there to do until we arrive?" She injected a bit of melody into her voice to help take away from the endless drone of the various mechanisms running the ship.

 

[Amani Serys]

EmTee’s overbearing doting over her.

The incessant pitter patter of Nandia’s feet across the metal floor.

The absolutely barbaric way in which Risen drank directly out of the coffee pot.

Centin’s voice.

Amani considered herself a patient person. But everyone occasionally wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a few moments, until she heard that pitter patter heading in her direction.

Don’t.

It was getting closer. Her eyes slowly opened once again. Her fear was realized. Nandia was walking towards her.

Please don’t.

Nandia sat down. Amani looked at her with wide, bloodshot eyes.

I can’t be held responsible for my actions in these next few moments.

Nandia opened her mouth.

Don’t.

The first sound.

Don’t do it.

"Good morning! I hope you slept well, it was sort of an odd experience for me, but you’re probably used to sleeping aboard spacecraft. What exactly is there to do until we arrive?"

A long pause. Amani stared blankly at the Pantoran.

“......I’m gonna go take a shower.”

She promptly stood up from her seat, wobbling slightly as she did. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the ‘fresher.” Amani flashed Nandia a boxy, faux smile before taking her leave. It was a pity really. They hadn’t gotten to talk extensively since the trip began, and now all she could think of was how to escape the conversation as fast as humanly possible. Hopefully she wouldn’t take it personally. It was an issue of timing.

Passing by the sink, the Mirialan couldn't help but snort at Centin. Seeing him actually be stuck with a Master for this long was a rare sight, and said Master was actually capable of making him do stuff? It was quite the treat in an otherwise dreadful morning. “Careful where you swing that sword, Centin. You know you don’t use those to clean dishes, right?” She looked him once over, noticing that he appeared a bit more haggard than usual, “...Did you two use the engine room for training? Actually, y’know what, I don’t really wanna know.” With a wave, Amani left him to his suffering and continued down the hall, EmTee not far behind.

“Miss Amani! Will you be needing any assistance with your morning routine?”

“Definitely not.”

“Then what should I do?”

“You… should go talk to Nandia!”

“Miss Molidias?”

“Thaaat’s right. Goodbye!”

Amani nonchalantly slipped through the door to the refresher, shutting and locking it behind her as quickly as possible. The sound of the shower turning on confirmed her self-exile. EmTee turned around, looking rather conflicted about what to do, before resigning to return to the galley as suggested.

 

[Centin Tillo]

“First it’s the farking dishes, then we get to spend days in the archives,” the young padawan mumbled to himself. He stood at the sink in the ship’s kitchen, washing the groups’ dishes from the night before. The task usually wouldn’t be so difficult if he also wasn’t holding his vibroblade in one hand. “I hate this mission.”

“Careful where you swing that sword, Centin. You know you don’t use those to clean dishes, right?”

The padawan glanced over his shoulder, surprised by Amani’s quiet approach.

“Of course I know that,” he grumbled to her. He turned back and continued washing, sponge in his left hand and weapon in his right. “Master Risen said I have to keep it out at all times.”

She left before he had time to respond to her question that yes, they had in fact been training in the engine room. He continued cleaning in frustrated silence, save for the occasionally clinking of sword against plate.

When the chore was complete Centin meandered back and rejoined the others. He went to grab his own cup of coffee but halted as he caught a stern gaze from Risen.

“The dishes are all done sir, I promise.” The boy waited for Risen to acknowledge his statement but was still met with silent eyes. “What? You don’t mean now do you?” Silence. “Fine.”

Centin accepted the nonverbal order with his usual amount of disdain and went to stand against one of the room’s walls. He lifted one leg and placed his foot against his knee, extending both arms outwards in a strenuous pose.

He quickly tired from holding the stance, desperately needing a distraction to keep his mind off the physical discomfort. His eyes wandered the room before landing on Ace. He watched the droid navigate silently, still slightly uncomfortable with the droid’s quiet nature. It moved slowly but deliberately as it corrected their course slightly.

That’s odd. I thought we were on a straight trajectory.

The robot's creator watched as Ace sat motionless for a moment and studied his handiwork. It’s always been creepy, but at least it gets the job done. The droid moved suddenly and seemed to alter their path once again. Centin’s brow furrowed at the sight.

Something’s wrong.

“Master, can I look at Ace real quick? Something seems off.” The plea was yet again met with a wordless stare. “I promise it’s not just an excuse to get out of this pose.”

Before his request could be denied again smoke started to slowly billow of the droid’s head.

“Oh blast!”

Centin dropped his stance and raced over to his companion. “Come on you bucket of bolts, work!” He shouted at the droid as he raced to remove its cranial covering, the smoke growing thicker around him. The ship’s interior lights began to flash as the now malfunctioning droid retained control of the vessel.

“You stupid idiot, what are you doing?!” the padawan yelled at the their smoldering pilot.

 

[Risen]

Something was wrong. Was something wrong? Risen rubbed his temples, trying to dispel the riddens of his hyperspace sickness. This Nandia character wasn’t helping with the headaches, which rose and fell over the course of the day, but especially when she chimed into the room.

“...seems off.” Risen only caught the tail end of what Centin said. “I promise it’s not just an excuse to get out of this pose.”

Speaking of headaches. He shot the padawan a glare. You won’t be getting out of our deal that easy.

Despite everything — Risen’s ill temper and inexperience, the boy’s blithe approach to matters of authority — training was going… well. Centin was improving, whether or not he knew it, or would ever admit it. And Risen… could he trick himself to believe that he was becoming a worthy instructor? Or maybe that small hope was just another trick of the nowhere place.

His neck bristled. His breath froze. Something’s wrong, his instincts screamed, but where? Risen scanned the dizzying surroundings, then sniffed. Smoke. Electrical smoke. But by the time he traced it to the flailing droid, Centin had already dashed to its side.

“Come on you bucket of bolts, work!” The lights and panels were flashing now. Sirens blared.

“What’s going on?” Risen demanded. Sky above, how could anyone understand this racket? Centin didn’t seem to hear him. He plucked at the pilot’s exposed wiring, narrowly avoiding sparks and whirling metal. Its gangly limbs tugged at the controls.

“You stupid idiot, what are you doing?!”

We need to leave. Now. Risen twirled his spear. He pulled the boy back from the pilot and swung. A wide cleave beheaded the droid. The ship shuddered as it tore out of hyperspace.

Gravity. Certainty. A sense of place dawned as the ship tumbled through space. But below them — then above, then below again as the ship spun — was a world. Risen firmed his hold on Centin, keeping him steady. With his other hand he grabbed the spinning control column.

“Nandia!” he shouted. “Find Amani and brace!”

He would land this ship. By the sky, the night, the mountains and the damn Sisterhood he would land this ship.

It just wouldn’t be pretty.

There was a shattering of trees and then… darkness.

 

[Amani Serys]

CAST AWAY
Centin Tillo Nandia Molidias Risen

DAY ONE
One second, everything was normal. The next, the entire ship was upside down.

Amani didn’t even have time to get undressed and step into the shower before it all went to hell. Though, all things considered, that was probably for the best. She removed her cybernetic, setting it down on the counter, when suddenly the ship lurched to the side, then violently swung back, launching her right into the wall and knocking her unconscious.

Ambience

The girl woke up to the sensation of dripping water. Her sight faded back in, it looked like the room around her was completely tossed. She quickly identified the destroyed showerhead as the culprit behind the leakage. Grumbling, she turned to look at her arm, which currently dangled out the doorway, apparently opened and aimed towards the ground, now. Faint voices began to sound off in the distance, but pain was setting in, and her consciousness quickly slipped away once more.

More voices. “Ehhh…. Shuddup.” she grumbled, barely audible.

Annoying voices. “Stooop…” Amani lifted her head lazily, now grasping at the sensation of grass that ran between her fingers. Or at least, the fingers on her right side. The padawan’s eyes opened wide as she jolted into hyperawareness. “What happened?” She asked no one in particular, “Where is my arm?” Her attention was drawn to the canopy of trees, where a large chunk of the ship they had flown in on was trapped among the foliage. The part of the ship where she was, in fact. That explained some things at least.

Amani slowly stood up, rounding behind a tree to see the source of the increasingly loud voices, or perhaps voice in this case: Centin. In a rather one-sided argument with his Master. And Nandia, evidently tending to a head injury. Amani could hardly comprehend what was being said, but she was far too grumpy, putting it lightly, to care, “Ugh, I said shut up!” she interrupted, “Where are we? And where is my kriffing arm?!” The Mirialan announced her presence with some decidedly unexpected vocabulary.

As if she hadn’t already found today frustrating enough.

 

[Nandia Molidias]

Tags: Amani Serys Centin Tillo Risen

Blackness. One moment Nandia was running through the ship's halls to find Amani, and then... blackness. The sounds of screams, twisting metal, and chaos all were instantly snuffed out by a single blow to the head. She didn't have a fear of space travel until now.

Coming to her senses, she was greeted by a multitude of sensations. First was the smell; there were subtle hints of wet dirt and coppery blood, but almost overpowering them was the scent of what seemed to be burning rubber, out of place among the more natural scents. Then there was the soft earth beneath her skin, offset by the incredible pounding coming from her head. Gingerly reaching her hand up, she felt a sticky warmth matting her hair. Finally, she heard the sounds of abundant wildlife, all kinds of creatures she'd never heard before; she heard the crackling and popping of fire; and she heard the sounds of arguing, two tenacious voices completely disregarding their volume.

Her eyes fluttering open, she confirmed an earlier suspicion by seeing her hand painted with crimson. Ignoring the increasing intensity of the pain in her head and the parchedness of her throat, she pushed herself upright, approaching the two as they seemingly give her no mind.

"Hey!" she shot at them in a hushed tone. "Keep it down, you'll scare off everything in a mile radius at that rate!"

Not paying any mind to the bigger picture of what this meant for them, she took a seat on a nearby boulder and massaged her temples. Her thoughts remained only in the hear-and-now as she surveyed her surroundings for anything of use. Shelter, warmth, water, food... hopefully they can scavenge consumables from what remained on the ship, but they should probably build shelter away from it. If the fuel tank hasn't blown yet, it probably could at any moment. She also made sure that Amani was safe. She seems unconscious, but at the moment she doesn't seem to be in any real danger. She should probably be looked at, though, and they need to work quickly to find shelter before nightfall, whenever that might come.

For now, though... this headache takes precedence.

 

[Centin Tillo]

Tags: Amani Serys Risen Nandia Molidias

His master simply stared at him wordlessly, an all too common response these days. And it was one that made Centin’s blood boil.

“I had it under control! You are always telling me to be patient, but look what you did! You’ve stranded us here in the middle of farking nowhere!”

He looked dejectedly at the ribboned remains of his droid companion and then at their new surroundings. Another tirade was brewing in his mind until Nandia diverted his attention with her arrival, followed shortly thereafter by Amani.

“You’re concerned about scaring things away? If anything that seems like we should be doing,” he barked at Nandia. “Now that my dutiful master has gotten us here, the last thing I want is random wildlife springing up on us.”

His attention then turned quickly to Amani. “And you, you’re telling me to shut up?” he asked, his voice once again rising.

“Why don’t you tell him to say anything at all instead of just standing there!” The boy’s ire shifted back towards his teacher, marching towards him with an accusatory pointed finger. “He’s so unconcerned with what he’s gotten us into that I can hardly tell if even he realizes it!”

The last words echoed in the still silence that followed. The moment had passed and Centin’s face began to lose its angry hue as he walked over to Ace’s remains. He collected the droid’s scattered parts into a heap and began sorting through them.

“And no, I haven’t seen your kriffing arm.”

 

[Risen]

Amani Serys Centin Tillo Nandia Molidias

The kids were alive. Allya’s name, but they were alive. Risen closed his eyes in silent prayer to the Sisterhood.

He doubted they could hear, noisy as the air was with Centin’s whining.

Pieces of their ship had scattered across the treeline. The bridge, complete with Centin’s killer droid, was in shambles, but they’d made it out with only minor wounds. Well, the two of them had. The droid was a different story.

No sooner was the boy on his feet than he had begun ranting about Risen’s decision. He’d said his piece. Justifying the behavior at this point would be childish. Risen picked over the wreckage in silence, Centin’s words washing over him as the damage was totaled. Comms, offline. Engine, gone. Generators, smoldering. He gripped either side of the navigation screen and jabbed it with his finger. Static flickered behind an ugly crack in the glass. They couldn’t even tell what world they were on, what sector of the nighting galaxy. At least one sun peeked through the jungle’s dense canopy. If he was patient, he’d soon learn what time of day it was, at least.

Patience. Centin had the cheek to call Risen impatient. He shook his head. Idiot boy, he thought, that droid would’ve killed us. I made a judgment call. I saved us.

I saved us. The words rang empty in his skull. Hollow. Why would…

There was no time for concerns like those. Survival first. And by the looks of it — the three padawans bickering nearby — he’d have to be the one to take charge.

Risen stood full height and strode to the center of the broken bridge. He took a commander’s posture, relying on demeanor and stature alone to project confidence over the scenario, until silence settled over the group.

“Radio’s broken,” he began. “We have no way of contacting the Order, or anyone else for that matter. Unless one of you has any ideas, we don’t know what planet we’re on, either. Could be Jedi space, could be way off the Outer Rim. In other words, we’re on our own.” Was he sounding too hopeless?

“Our priority now is to survive the night. That means shelter, clean water, food. Padawan Serys, you and the kid stay here, try and find…” He stifled a glance to Amani’s bare shoulder. “... anything you can. Rations and tools, as much as you can carry in one trip. Don’t move the debris. Go in one at a time in case the fumes get to you, then get as far as you can before it explodes. Find us a campsite, the higher the better. Somewhere to keep the rain off us. Build a fire.”

Sky above, it was rare that he gave orders like this. He kept going with momentum still on his side. “Molidias and I will go and get a lay of the land. If civilization is nearby, we’ll have worried for nothing.” Worry, don’t say worry. “We’ll find water, food, then come back.” Blast, but he’d forgotten Nandia’s injury. He was slipping.

Risen shook his head, approaching the girl. “Can you walk?”

Finally, turning off into the woods beyond the clearing, he regarded the group. Words of encouragement lapped at his mind, but none took shape. He nodded, then left.

 

[Nandia Molidias]

Tags: Amani Serys Centin Tillo Risen

...

...

...Molidias...

The sound of her name dragged her back to reality. With enough focus, she was able to bring Risen's words above the buzzing filling her head just in time to hear the tail end of what he was saying.

"We'll find water, food, then come back."

She inhaled deeply and took a moment to collect herself. She's on Goddess-knows-where surrounded by Goddess-knows-what sorts of life forms. Hearing footsteps approaching her, she raised her head.

"Can you walk?"

Can I? "Yes." Should I? Probably not. One way to find out.

Rising to her feet, she did her best to hide her current affliction. It felt as though her body was almost misaligned - as though her nervous system were slightly offset from her physical body. She gave herself one big shake to knock everything back into place, which helped somewhat, and confirming that her blaster was still at her side, she set off into the nearby wilderness, making sure Risen was close behind.

Now that she was moving, blood was pumping, allowing her to get a sense of her surroundings again. Coming to a stop, she closed her eyes and took in everything around her. Silencing her thoughts and tempering her heart, she reached out mentally. She could feel the flora tunneling deep into the earth and reaching high to drink up the sunlight; she could feel thousands of tiny creatures, confident that they're out of sight; she could even feel a herd of larger creatures, some kind of herbivores judging by the fear driving their hearts. Far to Nandia's left, she could feel these creatures racing in all directions, most likely startled by something. One of them happened to be running a path adjacent to her and Risen.

Her eyes still closed, she slowly drew her blaster, aiming at where it would appear from. For a brief moment, she opened her eyes to look to Risen to confirm that he understood the intention. Then, she waited. Only a few moments more before it would appear.

 

[Amani Serys]

Centin Tillo | Nandia Molidias | Risen

Amani shot a scowl back at Centin, knowing full well that pushing him further wasn’t going to help anyone, she relented. It’s not like they hadn’t dealt with this problem before; He would recognize the mix of disappointment and annoyance she was feeling towards him right about now solely in the look she was giving him.

Risen turned the padawans’ attention onto him. She swallowed nervously, he made the reality of the situation rather clear. Amani had no idea where to even begin. She counted herself lucky that the Knight at least seemed to. Before long, Risen and Nandia departed, and she found herself stuck with Centin again. She waited a few long moments, still gathering herself before she finally spoke up.

“Ooookay. Guess I’ll go first.”

Cautiously moving towards the ship debris, she pushed in, holding her breath to avoid the fumes. The remaining foodstuffs were few and far between, but better than nothing. Amani reached out her hand, pulling the rations towards her with the Force, rather than try to carry it out one handed. Waltzing back out into the clearing rather triumphantly, she breathed in some fresh air.

“Well this should last us for at least a couple days right? Should be no problem! You wanna go see what else you can find? Try to keep it quick, like he said we want to get away from it before it-“

Explodes. Suddenly a burst of flame erupted out from the smoking ship debris, blowing through the top and, presumably, incinerating whatever was left inside. The force of the blast threw her down, with barely enough time to get her arm out and stop from faceplanting directly into the dirt, the food scattering to the ground. “Ow…” Amani flipped over to witness the obliterated remains of what had once been the galley of the ship, then looking over to Centin and flashing an awkward smile. “That was close, huh?” Hopefully he wouldn’t be upset by the notion that she offered for him to walk into it only a few moments earlier. Really, how could she have known?

“...Oh no.” Amani’s smile quickly faded, her eyes growing wide as a new revelation came to mind. “EmTee?” She threw herself back onto her feet, running back towards the wreckage and peering inside. “EmTee?!” It didn’t look like he had been inside, but the inside didn’t look like much of anything beyond ripped, burning metal. Panic set in as she stepped back, “Centin, get the food.” Amani took a moment to see the direction the ship was falling in, choosing to search that path further into the woods, “EmTee?! Where are you?!”

 

[Centin Tillo]

Amani Serys Risen Nandia Molidias

The sudden explosion drew his attention away from trying to reassemble what remained of Ace, his eyes immediately searching for Amani. His concern faded as she cracked a joke about his own potential untimely end.

“Yea, looks like it was.” He looked at the food she had managed to recover, a small amount compared to what had just been blown to bits. “Though you would’ve had enough charred Centin to last a few weeks,” he quipped.

She began to search for her own droid, apparently EmTee had not been a victim of the explosion. Her order to grab the food gave him pause as he stared at Ace’s detached head.

“Sorry pal, looks like you’re gonna have to wait here for a little. But don’t worry, I’ll come back,” he told the inanimate nob, placing it back into the pile of droid remnants gently. “Just try not to get eaten by something.”

At her behest he scraped their rations together and began to carry them in a bundle. Following Amani’s lead the pair delved deeper into the forest, Centin keeping his eyes peeled for whatever natural formations could serve as a campsite. Not like his insights would help their search much to begin with.

He had never been much of an outdoorsy type, even at a young age. Centin liked to explore certainly, and didn’t mind being in the wilds. But being trapped here, having to fend entirely for their own survival? That was well outside of his expertise.

Amani’s shouts carried through the air as she searched for her own droid, making him slightly nervous.

“Hey, I know you're worried, but maybe don’t shout so loud. Now that we’re alone, we probably should avoid drawing any unwanted attention.”