Private Home On the Range

[Althea Becket]

Becket Homestead
Taanab​

Althea wiped her brow with the back of her gloved hand. Heaving a content sigh, she stood to admire the result of all their hard work. The new Becket Family Homestead had been years in the making. Ever since their home and livelihood had been destroyed, they'd toiled until they'd been able to recover.

And now, it was finally done.

It was, of course, bittersweet. Thea felt a wave of grief nudge against her. Too bad Momma, Tommy, and Reen couldn't be here to see what they'd accomplished. There was a little farmhouse, smaller than their old home— but it would do just fine. And there was a red barn, a stable, and enough pasture to keep some bantha and nerf very happy.

Speaking of bantha and nerf, they'd be here any minute now. Althea looked up towards the sky, waiting to see Nova's freighter descend from on high. A lopsided smile curled her lips. It was going to be might good to see cousin Nova again. She couldn't even remember the last time. Thea had some good memories of visits long in the past, admiring the spacer lifestyle that the Casamyr side of the family had. Thea remembered looking up to Nova back then— and she still did.

“Why you standing around, girl?” Papa said on approach.

“Ain't no harm in taking a break, old man,” she replied, her smile widening.

The bond between the remaining Beckets was strong now, strengthened the way only loss can. Her father had come to realize that a feud with the Borgans wasn't worth losing his only daughter forever. Besides, the Borgans were long gone now.

“You always did like to wait 'round for Nova. She'll be here, don't you worry.”

Althea blinked and finally took her eyes off the sky. Was it that obvious? Well, she supposed it was and sheepishly scratched an imaginary itch on her head. They walked together to the barn where freshly pressed bales of orchard grass and golden straw sat waiting. Thea had a seat on a bale, imagining the pasture full of the large furry (smelly) animals.

“What'cha gonna do now?”

“Oh?” Thea shrugged, unable to quite make eye contact with her Papa. “I dunno. I can always hang 'round here for a spell.”

Papa shook his head. “The boys and I got it handled fine. You belong out there--” His crooked index finger pointed skyward.

Shifting, Thea sighed. She really didn't know what she wanted to do now. Jade Squadron had broken up for the time being, and the Stargazer wasn't in the best shape to be running cargo. Not to mention, she didn't exactly have the pocket credits to fuel it up anyhow. Did she really belong in the black? More and more, she thought that maybe she was meant to keep her feet on solid ground. She'd gone off before and look what happened...

“Nah, I'll hang 'round til y'all get settled.” Thea grinned. “Besides, I'm better with the nerf than any of you.” She missed the grassy smell (stink) of their fur.

Nova Casamyr

 

[Nova Casamyr]

Grreeep boo do blatt.
​

"For the last time you sad sack of bolts.," Nova sighed at the most recent of Fifi's protests. "You don't get to complain about the smell. You can't smell." Streaking lines faded to single points of light as Oasis dropped out of hyperspace into the Taanab system.

Pbpbpbpblleet gop tweeEEeeoo.​

"Simulate all you want. I can't turn off my nose. You can turn off anything you want with a flip of a switch." The BaudoXL-class freighter angled towards the second planet in the system: a giant ball of green and blue and brown and accelerated to a casual velocity. Well, casual for Oasis, fast for plenty others. But Nova doubted they would garner much attention.

Honk! BEEooOOO.
​

"Oh, right... Well, maybe if you didn't complain so much I would get around to fixing that. Still. No smell for you. All the smells for me. And I'm not complaining. Besides, you were severely outvoted. Blind and Reeve want to see li'l cousin Thea just as much as me, don't you guys?" Affirmative trills from both astromechs reaffirmed the previous decision to take the job for the Becket family. "See? Even you will like Thea, Fifi. She's got the biggest heart of anyone you'll ever meet." Nova stood from the pilot's seat. "Bring her in the rest of the way, Blind. Try to be as gentle as possible. I'll go settle the cargo while we land." She turned and paused for a second, giving a longing glance to her Mom's empty chair. The empty captain's chair, Nova gently reminded herself, shaking her head. Your chair.

She left the bridge and up the stairs to the middle level, through the door to her left and up again to the top level. Bits of hay were strewn about all over the floor. The larger bales they had taken as part of the transport had dwindled down to near-nothing as their destination loomed closer. Continuing her walk all the way aft, the smells that Nova knew would plague the ship for months to come intensified. She opened the starboard bay and took a few steps on the balcony to look over the opening below. A herd of bantha grunted, moaned, and groaned below. Nova gave a whistle so as not to startle the oversized lugs and then tossed down the last couple of hay bales. She hoped stuffing their faces would keep them calm as they entered the atmosphere. The same action had helped them during take off. The bantha had been packed to the brim in the bay, with just enough room to eat what was on the floor and lay down, but not much else. A stampede was out of the question, but all that weight could still cause problems.

As the bantha started munching away on their last in-flight meal, she left the starboard bay and made for the port bay. There, she similarly fed the herd of nerf below. Her speeder was suspended over the animals, clamped by the landing claw, and providing a slight weight balance to the much heavier bantha on the other side of the ship. They still needed to adjust the balance in the engines and repulsorlift, but the speeder helped.

Maybe she'd take Althea for a spin once the job was settled. They hadn't done that since, well since before Thea left Taanab. Had it really been that long?

Her wristlink chimed with a notification from one of the astromechs and a few moments later, she felt the familiar rumble of Oasis entering the atmosphere. Blind was a pretty good pilot. It didn't have the subtle touch that an organic did, but for a droid, it had picked more than a few flying tricks after being in the Casamyr family for so long. Few droids could enter and exit an atmosphere with such delicate turbulence. Moments later, they were through the ionosphere and the sailing would be easy straight through to the farmstead.

Another notification chimed on her wristlink. She looked at that one. -- 3 minutes -- Nova clicked the comm. "Thanks for the heads up Reeve. And nice flying Blind. We're headed to the coordinates Uncle Noah gave us for the landing zone?"

Doo WEE!​

"Great! I'll get the bay doors from from my link." She left the bay and went to the ramp. As she got there, Nova could feel the drag caused by extending the landing gear and then the softest of touches down as the suspension kicked in. She keyed the ramp and walked off into a field of green.

Althea Becket​

 

[Althea Becket]

Althea's gaze shot up at the sound of a ship. Sure enough, a freighter was descending upon the lush green meadow. And Thea was up and moving in that direction before her father or brothers. But she looked back at them and hollered. “Get the pens open!”

She knew that livestock were sometimes an anxious lot, especially during travel. Nerf and Bantha liked their feet planted firmly, and their mouths kept busy with fodder. If Nova kept on their feed, then they'd probably been distracted enough not to cause a fuss. But an abundance of food meant an abundance of... other things, too.

Thea couldn't stop the grin that formed.

She'd help clean up the mess. It wasn't long before she made out a figure walking in the long blades of grass and meadow flowers. Her hand immediately shot up into an overly enthusiastic wave. It'd been quite a while since she'd seen Nova, and as she saw her cousin now–she felt her heart grow toasty warm. For a moment, it was almost like seeing two people at once... but not really. She remembered who Nova used to be (but still was), and the woman she was now. Same person, different appearance. But, to Thea... it didn't matter much. Nova was Nova.

“Hey, you!” Thea called, and pulled her cousin into a hug when they were close enough. “You don't know how good it is to see you.” When the hug was through, she stood back at arm's length to give her cousin a once-over. Yep, still Nova.

Behind her, the silhouettes of Noah, Wyatt and Owen were visible on approach. The Becket men all walked with a distinct stiffness, be it the long hours of work and sore muscles or the presence of Nova. They'd be cordial, they'd be kind, even, but they weren't sure what to make of Nova these days. Noah, for one, still imagined that small boy running 'round the farm during family visits. This transition mussed up his mind, if he was honest. Still, following the loss of his wife... he'd softened considerably. Not that he'd admit it, of course.

“So... how was the trip?” Thea asked, her smile turning a bit nervous.

Nova Casamyr

 

[Nova Casamyr]

Nova's face lit up like a newborn star at the sight of her cousin crossing the pasture. "It is so good to see you Thea," Nova said as she wrapped her arms around the farmgirl. The spacer couldn't help the tears welling up in her eye but she recovered quickly before letting her cousin go. The last time they were face to face, Althea had been a teenager and Nova was trying her hand at being an independent away from the Casamyr family ship. So much had happened since then, for both of them. Growing up, Nova had missed being surrounded by family. A trip to see the Beckets was exactly what she needed. Nova wondered if her presence would be just as much comfort to Thea. Judging by the grin and the stars in the younger woman's eyes, Nova didn't have to wonder too hard.

"Oh, the trip was fine, thanks. Smelly. So smelly." The words just started spilling from Nova's mouth, as they always did, with enthusiasm, without restraint. "But surprisingly smooth. I will admit, you pass a lot of checkpoints easily when an inspector comes aboard and gets one whiff. But look at you! My gosh, how you've grown! My li'l Thea isn't so little anymore." She squeezed her cousin's shoulder and chuckled softly. "We have so much catching up to do." The words sounded way more serious in tone than Nova had meant for them to be. She immediately followed them up with a big smile.

Looking just past Thea, three more family members came up, stopping within a few feet, as if standing on some sort of ceremony. "Hey Uncle Noah, Wyatt, Owen." Nova went up unabashedly and hugged each of them in turn. She could see discomfort in their body language, feel a stiffness in their embrace. She knew what they were unsettled about. There weren't many people who knew. After all, Nova didn't have much family left. And by the time she was independent, her transition years had come and gone. Most people were none the wiser. But the Beckets were there. What they had seen was a boy leave one visit and be replaced by a girl on the next visit. Noah, Tommy, Reen, Owen, Wyatt, they all had trouble accepting Nova, as if they had somehow been betrayed. They never said anything. It wasn't their place. And Nova's parents had been fully supportive of Nova. But even then, Nova had felt the distance her transition had created between them all, even between her Mom and Dad with her Aunt and Uncle. And no matter how much Nova tried to explain how she was still the same person, she was just growing and evolving, like every child grew and evolved into adulthood and came to accept and better themselves, the Becket boys couldn't move past a change they simply couldn't understand.

Not Thea, though. Thea always acted like she had never even noticed a difference. The younger girl had been just as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as every visit to see her older cousin. That acceptance had done more for Nova than Thea would probably ever know. And Nova was grateful that Aunt Molly had been on her side. But then, her Aunt grew up with her Mom aboard Oasis. And they were as tight as could be.

"Come on," Nova addressed them all. "Let's get these smelly lunks off my ship before their hair, drool, and paddies become permanently attached."

Althea Becket​

 

[Althea Becket]

“Yeah, the smell...” Thea had to chuckle. Bantha were certainly not rosy and sweet smelling, but the nerf especially had a... distinct odor. And the poo-doo would only add to the collective funk. She could only imagine traveling with the furry beasts held captive in a cargo bay. At least it hadn't been a long haul.

Her grin turned lopsided when Nova mentioned that she wasn't so little anymore. Things certainly had changed since they'd met last time. Thea wasn't bean-pole skinny now, she'd filled out a bit. Catching the change in Nova's tone, Thea canted her head and blinked. But, her cousin threw on a smile that momentarily displaced any worry.

“Mmhmm,” she nodded. “Lots to catch up on.”

The guys had gathered and gave muttered words and stiff nods in greeting... and even accepted a hug from Nova, each one returned it with an awkward lean-to-the-side pat on the back. With the Becket crew assembled, Thea felt the absence of Momma even more. Reen and Tommy'd be in line with the others, but Momma would have welcomed Nova back with a big hug. And there would be fresh baked goodies, too.


Noah and the boys went to work herding the bantha and nerf off the ship and into their respective pastures. Thea hung back to survey the damage. There were great tufts of fur on the floor, along with some large piles of soon-to-be manure. As the livestock liked to rub their sides and scratch neck itches on anything they could find, there was hair covering some walls and corners, too. Spilled fodder, soiled straw bedding.

It was a mess.

Shovel in hand, Thea thought it'd be best to clear the solids and then get to work scrubbing and hosing. Of course, she'd sent Nova a message when disaster had struck home on Taanab, but she didn't know what her cousin had been up to since then. It was hard to believe that was already a couple years ago.

“So,” she started, “Work been keeping you busy? Traveling far and wide 'cross the galaxy?”

Nova Casamyr

 

[Nova Casamyr]

Each bay door opened and the floors lowered themselves to the ground on hydraulic lifts. As soon as the platforms touched down, the animals were herded off and Nova retracted the bay floors. All that was left to do for her was cleanup a bit. Or a lot. Yeah, definitely a lot. "You know me. Always on the move to somewhere," Nova said, flashing her cousin a sideways smirk. "But I'm back to Oasis now. My time crewing on other ships has come to an end." The woman carefully avoided bringing up her parents. She would tell her cousin, and everyone. But not yet. The longer she waited, the longer they were still alive to those who didn't know. Right? Mop in one hand, she dropped a bucket of water down and started swabbing away. Before the newly-appointed Captain and owner of the ship had a chance to say much more, a litany of tweets and whistles grew louder all of a sudden before the door to the bay opened and three astromech droids filtered into the room.

Reeve was most excited, doing circles around Thea, warbling his greeting and then some. Blind patiently waited off to one side, adding in a pleasant chirp when appropriate. Fifi, meeting Thea for the first time, bleated here and there sarcastically, mostly making fun of Reeve and continuing her complaints about the smell.

"I'm not the only one excited to see you, cousin. You remember Reeve and Blind. They missed you too. Oh, and this," she gestured to the R5 unit, "is Fifi. Found her discarded in a trash heap near Bespin. I restored her, good as new."

tweeeEE Beee plbrt.
​

"Excuse you. Better than new. I improved on the R5 model and fixed a lot of the inherent problems your maker didn't think to resolve before the model hit the production line."

Bwaa bwaa bwaa.​

Nova sighed. "Not that I'll ever get any appreciation for saving your sorry hunk of scrap." The woman set down the mop and looked around. She had gotten the majority of gunk off the floor. The rest of the cleaning could wait here until the space underwent a proper decontamination protocol. There'd be plenty of time to take care of the rest while the ship was in flight. And Nova didn't want to miss out on any time with Thea. Who knows when they would see each other again? But then, a nag caught itself in the back of her mind. The voice of Aunt Molly saying: "You finish your chores before you go off and play." Or something to that effect. Nova had never been particularly good at following that advice from her parents. But while she visited the farm, that sort of attitude seemed bred into the Becket kids. So much so that Nova always just followed along.

"Come on, let's move over to the other bay. And when we're done, maybe we take the speeder out for a spin, huh?" As they left the port bay, and the door slid shut behind them, Nova flicked a few switches on the control panel and a gentle spray could be heard through the bulkhead. "So what about you, cuz? How has life been back on the farm? Have you been missing the stars?"

Althea Becket​

 

[Althea Becket]

It was good to hear that Nova had been working—and working for herself. Thea glanced around the cargo space, Oasis sure was nice. Much nicer than her own little freighter, the Stargazer. It had been her home away from home, but she had neglected the ship the last couple of years. Thea'd take her out for a spin soon, just to make it up to her.

Thea chuckled genially at the droids. “Hey, now,” she said, kneeling down for a moment. “Good to see you both!.” And her eyes soon found Nova's newer companion. “Fifi? Cute.” And she stifled a laugh when the little droid sassed Nova. Quite an entertaining little crew.

She followed to the next bay, and she gave Nova a nod. “A speeder ride sounds fun.” The wide open range of Taanab was perfect for it, too. It was fresh meadow pretty much as far as the eye could see. Well, there were some mountains that bordered their land, but they were pretty far off.

“Oh, me?” Thea shrugged, and then put her mop back to work scrubbing the floor. “Let's see here...” she thought back to their last visit and then all the time that had passed between then and now. Where to start? “Well, I dabbed for a little while in Silver space. I met a few nice folks, but went on my way. I joined up with Jade Squadron—led by a buddy of mine, Cassius—and he taught me to fly an A-Wing!”

Thea beamed, she was pretty proud of that. She'd gotten the hang of it, though she was still mighty skittish about dogfighting.

“I hung 'round with 'em for a while, but we went our separate ways,” Thea said with a sigh. “It was 'round the time of... the attack here.” Her eyes shifted down towards the floor and the muddy puddle of water she was standing in. The thoughts still haunted her. What if she'd been here? If she'd been here with Jade Squadron, maybe... just maybe... Momma, Tommy, and Reen would still be alive.

Her lips dipped into a little frown, but she affected a smile when she looked back up at Nova.

“I've been here ever since, helping.” Thea nodded. “I owe it to Papa and the boys.” Before she could get teary, she dipped her mop into a bucket. “Say, how're your parents?” she canted her head to the side. “It's been mighty long since I've seen them, it'd sure be nice to have 'em over once things are settled down.”

Nova Casamyr

 

[Nova Casamyr]

Nova's heart went on a theme park ride as cousin Thea recounted the time spent between when they saw each other last. She was elated to here of adventures offworld, getting out and seeing the galaxy, living a dream that the younger cousin had shared with Nova once upon a time. Nova couldn't have been more proud.

And then came the drop. Nova had gotten the message sometime after the attack on Taanab. There weren't many details but there didn't really need to be. What was there to say when there's a loss of family like that? Especially caught in the crossfire of some battle that no one wanted and did no favors, there really were no words. And no condolence would ever really be a enough.

That previous loss made Nova's own just as difficult. After all, her Mom and Dad never had the chance to come to pay their respects. A spacer's life was unpredictable at best. Sometimes things worked out. Sometimes they didn't. There hadn't been a break. There hadn't been a job nearby. Those things just sounded like excuses to Nova as she thought on them. What had her excuse not to visit been? Off in some part of the galaxy, travelling on some other ship, doing some inane job for some inane client?

Nova hesitated to answer Thea's question. She stopped cleaning and leaned against the mop in her hands. All of her thoughts and feelings played out under a stoic mask. But she couldn't get the bitter taste out of her mouth when she finally responded. "I'm sorry I wasn't here,... didn't come. I'm sorry they couldn't -- aren't here. They're..." Tears flowed then. She couldn't stop them even if she tried. "They're gone. They're dead."

Then the sobs came.

Althea Becket​

 

[Althea Becket]

Thea's heart skipped when Nova's answer did come. She watched helplessly as her cousin slowly broke down before her eyes. And it took a moment for the words to truly sink in.

“Oh, Nova...” Thea murmured, dropping her mop and moving to her cousin's side.

She wrapped her cousin's shoulders with a gentle arm. Thea felt awful. Her insides twisted, and the familiar pain of loss pricked her heart. With each rise and fall of Nova's sobs, Thea's eyes grew teary, too. The last few years had shown her what loss was like. Time had dulled the pain somewhat, but it never really went away.

“I.. I”m so sorry,” she started, unsure even what to say.

Her Aunt and Uncle were good people. Not even her father could dispute that fact. Thea had fond memories of them. And there was a tiny bit of comfort that the two sisters had been reunited, even if it was in death. Still, their absence would leave quite an empty hole for Thea... and especially for Nova.

Drawing Nova away from their chores, she seated her cousin on a crate of Bantha fodder that had yet to be unloaded. Thea perched herself on the edge, her arm still wrapped about Nova's shoulders. There was solemn silence for a few moments, Thea closed her eyes to let it pass over them. She didn't want to rush Nova.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Thea asked softly, giving her cousin's arm a warm squeeze. "When you're ready, of course."

Sans handkerchief, she took the edge of her sleeve and dabbed Nova's cheeks.

Nova Casamyr

 

[Nova Casamyr]

Nova hardly even noticed herself be led by Thea away from the mop and over to a crate where they sat. She had been avoiding all of this. The feelings, the hurt, the pain. The longer she could hold off on letting all of that in, the longer she could pretend as though nothing had changed. Her parents were still off somewhere, left behind at the spaceport in Ord Mantell, waiting for her to swing Oasis by and pick them up. They were still alive. Waiting to hear more of their precocious daughter's adventures. Nova had so much she wanted to tell them. Tales about the places she went, the people she met, the things she did. If only she didn't let in the pain, her Mom and Dad were still real.

But they weren't. She hadn't seen the bodies. That made denying their deaths even easier. There hadn't been anyone to receive her goodbye. All she had was a message. One she wasn't sure if she had the courage to open. She wasn't ready to say goodbye. Nova wasn't ready to let her parents die.

And yet, there was no hiding from Thea. Her cousin didn't have to pry, or even know what Nova was concealing. Nova just didn't have much ability to keep things from most people, especially anyone in her family. Since parting at Ord Mantell, Nova hadn't had the guts to reach out to Blub or Jolly for that reason, even if she had done so subconsciously. She had always been an open book with those she trusted, and Thea cared. Better here, with her cousin, than with some unsuspecting spacer at some port somewhere that would only lead to regrets.

The sobs gradually calmed and her tears dried. "It was a stupid freak accident. They were pulling a run near Ithor, delivering some biological equipment from the Core. They had just pulled off the Hydian Way when the navcomputer pulled them out of hyperspace. It detected an anomaly. Blub said the logs identified a large gravity well that shouldn't have been there. New star forming. Cool event to see, except the formation was unstable, sent out massive blasts of solar wind. The shields managed to protect Oasis from one blast. But the quick recharge mechanism couldn't handle two blasts in short succession. The ship was bathed in a lethal dose of radiation. Knocked some of the electrical systems out. Mom and Dad and Egg, they spent what time they had left getting the ship back to partial operational power and made for the nearest system. A couple weeks later, Oasis showed up at Ord Mantell. And they were..."

A sob threatened to choke Nova up as she spoke. She sighed and swallowed, forcing herself to admit the truth she could no longer ignore. "They were gone. The astromechs were back online and gradually fixing the ship by the time Blub found her, floating on fumes. They got the proper spacer funeral. I didn't get there for another few weeks. Off on a job." The sobs were gone, but tears started streaking down her face once more. "I never had a chance to say goodbye."

Nova was quiet for a little while. When she looked up, the astromechs were around them, huddled together, quietly listening to her story. Even Fifi had nothing to say. Reeve extended one his pincer arms and gently gave a pat, uncharacteristically calm. She half-smiled and patted his dome in return. "So I guess that makes me the new captain." Reeve's arm retracted and bent into a mock salute. This managed to dislodge a chuckle from Nova's throat. "They left me Oasis. Just like Grandma left her to Mom when she passed. All the papers were done by the time I got to Ord Mantell. So now I have to figure out how to keep this boat afloat, even if I have no idea what the kark I'm doing."

Althea Becket​

 

[Althea Becket]

Nova's explanation was another harsh reminder; the people you loved were here one day, gone the next. Anything could happen, and anything did happen. But somehow, these things always came as a shock—the very last thing you'd expect. Thea felt her own eyes tearing up when Nova mentioned that she hadn't the chance to say a proper farewell.

Her eyes lowered to her lap, but she kept her arm around Nova's shoulders.

If anyone knew how Nova was feeling, it was Thea. She'd been off traveling when disaster struck home, and her family farm—like so many others—was destroyed. Guilt was there, like a tiny stone embedded in her heart that read: “I should have been there.”

There was a nice, shady tree out back—an ancient willow that somehow been spared. Thea had carved the names of her mother and two brothers into the bark, and she'd do the same for her aunt and uncle. They all deserved a nice bit of tribute. Thea couldn't imagine just how overwhelming it must be for Nova. But she'd be here to help. And for now, that meant taking things one step at a time.

“Oasis should stay in the family,” she said, smiling fondly as she looked around the bay. “And that means getting some work, yeah?” Thea offered her cousin an encouraging smile. “Do you have any leads?”

Nova Casamyr

 

[Nova Casamyr]

"This one," Nova responded, a light smile returning to her face. She was glad to have the subject change away from her parents. Even if the prospects of job searching were depressing on their own, looking for work was also exciting. Nova could only imagine all the new adventures she would have. For that opportunity, she was supremely grateful. "Thanks for reaching out to me for the job, even if you didn't know you were offering the delivery to just me."

The newbie captain distractedly looked around the cabin. Nova felt strange about taking over the Oasis for a lot of reasons. But running a business wasn't something she had any experience in. She was a mechanic. On all the ships she had crewed on, that had been her main job. She hadn't gotten involved in the operations of the ship because there had always been someone else to do that job. Ordering parts and performing inventory were the only logistical tasks she'd ever been tasked with accomplishing. Now she had to consider the maintenance of the ship, all the numbers of accounting, and finding the jobs that would pay for every little detail. In a way, the logistics was similar to repairs. The job of maintenance never really ended; there was always a next step to consider. Predicting the ups and downs and changes that might happen because of a decision. But unlike repair work, Nova had no foresight for business. She didn't know what to consider to begin thinking about what she might predict.

"I don't know. We'll find some other jobs out there. We just helped out a migration for a species that lives in space. That was pretty neat. Didn't pay too well, but the experience was priceless." There was also the problem of being stubborn. Nova knew she was being stubborn. But she needed to rely on her own instincts and prowess. She'd never learn if she just leaned on the old Casamyr contacts for the rest of time. Forging new paths was something that Nova would have to learn. That was that.

She wiped at the drying tears on her face. Makeup had not been a necessity when meeting with the Becket's and Nova was glad for opting out. She'd be more of a mess than she was then. She breathed out sharply, physically trying to free herself of the remaining feelings. Nova needed to move on from all of that for now. The woman had gotten all of that out of her system for now and that was good enough. "What say we play hooky and take Splat for a spin." Nova pointed up to the ceiling to the XP-38 held by a winch overhead. She thumbed her wrist control and the speeder began to lower. "We got most of the mess. We can just leave the bays open to air out and the rest can wait for us when we get back, huh?"

Nova hopped into the passenger's seat as the repulsorlifts automatically activated just feet from the surface of the bay. The engine revved up as she leaned over and triggered the startup procedure on the console. Nova was ready to feel some wind in her hair. She gave Thea a look. "Time to see you fly, cuz."

Althea Becket​

 

[Althea Becket]

“Hey, I had to get you out here to Tanaab somehow,” Thea said with a slight laugh. “And I'm glad you're here.”

It was the truth. Though she felt the absence of her aunt and uncle all around them, sitting in the Oasis, she was glad Nova had delivered. Family was important and being together helped ease the pain. It'd been the same for her after losing her mother and brothers. And she was mighty glad that Nova's outlook seemed optimistic.

Nova was smart and savvy, Thea knew that for certain... she'd do well. And Thea would be there if she ever needed her. “I could go for a ride,” she responded, grinning up at the XP-38 as it lowered down. As the engine started up, Thea blinked over at Nova. “Me?” she asked, and laughed. “Alright, alright... it might be a rough ride.”

She hopped into the driver's seat and took hold of the wheel.

It'd been a good while since she'd driven a craft like this, but she figured it'd all come back naturally. And she was right. Instinct took over as she guided the speeder out of the bay, and then started off past the stables. Thea waved at her brothers, and they squinted at their baby sister speeding by with Nova.

“Wooooo!” she hollered and kept going into the open fields.

Her strawberry-blonde locks billowed out, and Thea grinned wide into the wind. “This was an excellent idea you had, “she said, raising her voice above the engine.

Nova Casamyr

 

[Nova Casamyr]

There was nothing quite like feeling the rush of the wind. Sure, flying through space was thrilling in a certain way. But flying through the air, feeling the wind, feeling the gravity, seeing the ground streak past, the sensations were incomparable. Plenty of time had passed since the last time Nova had been able to take Splat out into the atmosphere. Often, she was stopping at a space station or somewhere in orbit. Even if those places were large enough to take the speeder out for a spin, flying through a station was more of a utility than a pleasure. But on Taanab, with grassy meadows, small cliffs, and babbling brooks on every horizon, there was nothing but pure bliss in the act of flying about.

Thea was right. This was an excellent idea.

Nova could hardly contain her own giddiness. Her previous anxiety and depression were rapidly fading the further away they got from Oasis. And she was especially glad to be able to hand off the reins to her cousin, giving Thea the chance to fly as Nova propped her seat back, kicked her legs up and crossed her booted feet on the dash. Her dirty blonde hair, like her cousin's, rippled in a wave behind her head. Nova looked out to the horizon and took in the sights.

"Wahooooooooo!" she exclaimed, stretching her arms out over her head, feeling the air crest against her palms, then resting her hands, fingers laced behind her head. "I do have a good idea every now and then," Nova said back to Thea, shouting over the rushing air and engine. "Anywhere we can go to run Splat through the paces? Been awhile since I gave her a good stretch." That was true. Though Nova was also curious. She'd never seen her cousin fly before. Frequently, fighter jockeys and pilots were showboaters. That had never been Althea. The girl was always the most humble person around. But there was a certain element of flying that required the ego, the confidence to really push something past the limits of possibility and to know that whatever crazy thing you were about to do was going to work, even if the maneuver didn't. So how did Thea do when she pushed her flying to her limits? Nova had to know. She'd admit as much to Thea later, but for now, time to see some flying.

Althea Becket​

 

[Althea Becket]

Thea threw a glance at Nova when she asked if there was a good place to fly. Holding steady to the wheel, she thought for a moment. Well, if Taanab had anything, it was wide open space. The XP-38 was a good craft, stury. But Thea knew the repulsorlift system didn't fair the best over rough terrain.

“Yeah,” she hollered. “There's a nothin' but wide-open plains.”

There'd be an occasional out-building for animal housing, mostly... and maybe a few nerf to dodge. And some big trees that served as decent landmarks.

While Thea had been learning to fly fast, her hands were still tentative. Inching the controls rather than putting the pedal to the metal. And now, knowing that Nova wanted to see 'what she had,' Thea found her insides fluttering. It's nothin' to worry about, it's just Nova. She knew there'd be no harsh judgments from her cousin, but she wanted to do well.

And she couldn't shake the fact that... she was rusty.

“Here we go!” Thea said, grinning and maybe gritting her teeth.

Alright, girl, let's do this. She pressed the controls forward, building up speed. And as the speeder tipped over the crest of the hill, they went screaming down. Thea pulled back slightly as the terrain leveled out, but was quick to pick up the pace once more.

It was a pretty straight shot, but she banked left and came around the large trunk of a tree. And then, onto the open meadow.

“Splat's purrin' like a kitten,” she said, leaning her head towards Nova just slightly. “How am I doin'?”

Nova Casamyr