Private Dear Zoraya...

[Keylee Linth]

Tag: Zoraya Dara | Location: The Imperial Academy​

Keylee had just finished another lecture on armoured manoeuvres and felt very good about being able to impress her instructor with her knowledge after her week of intensive research and reading up on the subject. Keylee still felt a bit nervous about her life-changing situation when leaving to enlist in the Imperial Armoured Academy, especially given how it felt going behind her family's back not to mention, her childhood and best friend Zoraya Dara . Well, ex-friend now. While her parents and brothers are extremely disappointed with Keylee's choice to abandon the Galactic Alliance, they still write to her.

Zoraya on the other hand... Haven't heard from her in over two months now and it honestly hurt Keylee that her once closest childhood friend wouldn't even write back. Keylee had her father send her letter to Zoraya explaining why she did as she did and a deep-seated apology for haven't been able to tell Zoraya in person.

Nevertheless, every time Keylee had some time off, she went to the barrack she had her bunk bed with a bunch of other recruits, training to join the Imperial War Machine and checked her terminal table. Each time Keylee checked, to see if Zoraya had written back, she always got disappointed not to get a response from her once closest childhood friend. She felt a bit deflated by the empty inbox icon for new messages.

So instead, Keylee sat down and decided to write to Zoraya a second time, hoping she would get a response.

"Hey, Zoya...

I miss you, but I guess you already expected me to write that.
How's the company going? Are you being a badass?"

Keylee stopped herself from continuing and looked at the line she had just written.

"No that's stupid, you dumbass" cursed Keylee, scolding herself internally and deleting the line.

"Hey, Zoya...

I miss you, but I guess you already expected me to write that.
How are you doing? I'm doing well here and met a lot of good people, I think you would like them. They're a lot like you...

How's Leena? Is she doing okay?

- Keylee"

Keylee looked down at the short holo-mail she had written and sighed, leaning back against her bunkbed's wall and rereading what she had written. She still felt terrible and a feeling of great sorrow for the death of Zoraya's father and Zoraya's loss of sight and having to undergo surgery. But perhaps the thing she felt most terrible about, was the fact that Keylee had already left for Imperial space and only heard about the accident happening and then she couldn't go and be there for her friend.

Rereading her message one last time, she pressed send and sighed again and placed her small terminal tablet back in her bag under her bunkbed and went to another lecture a bit glummer.

 

[Zoraya Dara]

Dear Zoraya
​

Location: Corellia

"Was there anything else, Ms. Dara?" Clara asked after Zoraya settled into the chair behind her desk and looked at the list of messages she had missed while she was stuck in meetings. Most of it was the usual — updates on the company and its projects or communication with the Jedi. But one message at the very top caught her attention so much that she forgot to answer her assistant, and kept staring at it.

Another message from Keylee, but this one came directly from her.

"... Miss Dara?"

Zoraya blinked and looked up a little startled, "Oh, I'm sorry Clara, that was all. Thank you," she smiled faintly and waited until the other woman had left the room before she opened the message and read it. Keylee had tried to reach out a few times now, but she couldn't get herself to respond. Keylee joining the Imperial military had felt like a stab in the gut after everything, especially now that the war was firing up and so much about the Imperial war machine became more public knowledge.

But she was still a childhood friend - her best friend. So with a deep sigh, she decided it was finally time to send a message back to her old friend.

Hey Keylee,

Sorry for the late message, but I've been well, and my mom is holding up okay, but she misses having us all around her all the time. I hope the Academy is what you wanted it to be, and maybe we'll see each other again sometime. Things haven't been the same without you.

Good luck and don't get yourself in trouble.

-Zoraya.

After sending the message, she stood up and walked over to the window of her office, which had an amazing view over the skyline of Corellia's capital. Her cybernetically enhanced eyes settled on the sun far away, and for a little while, she just stood there, lost in thought as memories of better times flashed into her mind.

Keylee Linth​

​

 

[Keylee Linth]

Tag: Zoraya Dara | Location: The Imperial Academy​

Keylee had hoped and wanted for her old childhood friend to write back to her the whole day, but sadly, her instructor had other ideas during class. They were going to do training exercises with various armoured vehicles and tanks the whole day. By the time Keylee was done with the class, she was tired... no tired would mean that she still had energy left. Keylee was absolutely exhausted by the time she got back to the barracks and her bunkbed as the time hit almost midnight.

While she loved everything the instructor threw the classes way, he handled it head-on and never complained like some of the other privates. The other privates in her barracks and friends teased her to be made of sunshine and puppies, and for how excited and cheerful Keylee always was when class started.

With a slightly open mouth and her cheek pressed against her pillow, she slept like a rock.

Waking up, however, was not the most fun for Keylee, but it wasn't something the girl would keep her mood down as she sat up, still wearing her private uniform. With a bird-nest of messy hair on one side, Keylee yawned, scratching the back of her head and went out to take a shower. A lot of the other privates in the barrack also was starting to get ready, some already out of the doors to greet a new day.

Turning on the shower, she released a high-pitch squeal when the icy cold water hit her. Popping her head from the edge of the door, she stared daggers at her friends who all were busting out with laughter, after hearing Keylee's surprised squeal. "Very funny guys!" Said Keylee with great annoyance. However, there was a problem, when she tried staring daggers, she also had a bad habit of blowing her cheeks up a bit, making her look more adorable than dangerous and in turn, making her friends only laugh more.

With a grumpiness, she brushed her teeth and straightened her hair before returning to her bunkbed, however, she was always quick to forgive and all was back to normal.

Upon finally getting time to sit down, she pulled out her datapad, with deep-seated hope, that Zoraya had returned my message. To Keylee's surprise, there was a new message in her inbox!

Just before she pressed the new message from Zoraya, she halted, now really nervous. Was her old childhood friend mad at her? Would Zoraya tell her to never write again?

These thoughts were spinning like a roaring storm in her mind as her nervousity got the better of her as she looked at the title. "Hey Keylee".

For the next 10 minutes, Keylee had a debate with herself on whether to open it and see what her old best friend had written or not chance it in case her old friend never wanted to talk to her again. Was it better to live in the unknown, or brave the thin veil of nervousness?

Sadly she never managed to get an answer out of herself as class started and she had to run if she wanted a good seat and not be late.

By the time Keylee got back, she had half an hour, until she had another class in the afternoon. Kicking the nervous monster down inside of her, she opened the reply from her old childhood friend.

Rereading Zoraya's reply, her eyes got glassy as she released a small shaky laugh when reading "Good luck and don't get yourself in trouble". It reminded Keylee of when they were kids and she dared herself to do something dangerous, by which Zoraya would always say that phrase. Of course, Keylee often always fell down and sometimes got hurt, but that was what made the phrase ingrained in Keylee's memory, forever.

Wiping away a few tears with the back of her hand, Keylee couldn't help but smile while rereading Zoraya's reply. Her old friend replied it was better than Keylee could hope for.

Hey, Zoraya,

Good to hear, I'm glad you're well. Your mother was always so kind to me... It's hectic, but I'm kicking ass.
I do hope we get to see each other again. It just isn't the same without you by my side, telling me not to do something stupid.

Also, say hi to your mother from me.

- Keylee.

It was really nice, being able to hear from Zoraya again, but it was also a bit weird to write so formally to Zoraya like they had just met and hadn't known each other for over a decade. But sadly, Keylee couldn't spend too much time on her own thoughts, for next started and she placed her datapad back after having sent her reply.

"What are you so happy about, it was just half an hour's break," asked one of the other privates, also on the way to the class.

With glossy eyes, but a happy smile, she looked up to her tall friend, "no reason," said Keylee and followed her friend and a bunch of other privates to the large classroom. It wasn't that Keylee didn't want to tell her friends, but this felt like the start of a healing route between her and her old childhood friend.