A Crash of Fate

by Zoraida Cordova

  “I’ll find you one day, Izal Garsea!” Ana Tolla screamed. “I will remember this!”

  “Don’t worry, kid,” Volt told her as he took the detonator from her open palm and carefully deactivated it.

  “What about the bombs in the field?” she asked.

  “They’ll have the bomb sniffer droids in tomorrow I’m sure.”

  They were crossing the dark green grass back to where the two ships were docked when the silver cargo freighter belonging to Ana Tolla flashed its lights. With the ramp still down, it began taking off. Izzy wasn’t sure who was flying the ship, because it swooped up in a strange arc, then slammed back to the ground, but not before clipping the side of Izzy’s stolen ship.

  Izzy groaned. Volt turned to her and cackled. “May the spires save you, Izal Garsea!”

  All around her there were pockets of celebration. Izzy kept to the shadows along the side of a barn and watched the chaos begin to settle. Ana Tolla and her crew were loaded onto the speeders. She watched Damar as he was taken away, shouting her name the entire time.

  Wasn’t that what she’d wanted? To watch him hurt after what he did to her? The feeling of satisfaction never came, even after the speeder was out of sight.

  Volt was running around, trying to maintain his adrenaline spike while Delta laid in the grass nursing an arm injury. Fortunately, Belen and Tap weren’t hurt, even though they hadn’t been able to get the ship back to the hangar. She didn’t know what had happened to change their plan, but she didn’t see Gee-One among the others. She tried to work up the courage to walk over to them, but her old fears returned and she stayed put.

  Izzy felt herself slipping away. She was part of the moment but at a distance from it, as well. She had done what she wanted to do—save Jules and the farm. He was embracing his sister, and they were joined by another man, who Izzy guessed was Belen’s husband.

  Izzy climbed into one of the landspeeders and powered it up. It wasn’t stealing if she was going to give it back. She would have left then if someone wasn’t standing in front of her, blocking her way.

  Tap, of all people, had found her. “I turned on the lights. I told you I’d be helpful.”

  “Good job, kid.” She couldn’t help smiling. “Where’s Gee-One?”

  “Belen powered her down, but she’s up and running again.”

  She didn’t feel too bad about leaving the stolen ship behind. If Gee-One didn’t fly it back out of sheer will, then someone responsible like Jules would.

  “You were going to leave without saying good-bye?” he asked.

  “Not everyone gets good-byes,” she said. “Go back to the others, okay?”

  “I don’t understand,” he said. “We won. You don’t have to go.”

  “I made a promise to someone.” She was thinking of Belen. Everything Belen had feared for her brother had happened, and she’d been put in danger, too.

  Izzy held out her hand, and Tap slapped it despite his protest. “I’ll leave the speeder at Salju’s, okay? Let Delta know.”

  “That’ll go well.” Tap shook his head.

  Then she left, and it took all her strength not to look back.

  He kept trying to slip away, but everyone wanted to thank him personally. What had he done? Yes, he’d fought, but he had not been alone. That’s how you survive—together. That’s what his father had always said. He was convinced it was how they had all been able to get out alive.

  Jules found himself searching the crowd for Izzy. They had to talk. He needed to tell her that nothing had changed the plans they had made. He believed her. He loved her. He needed her.

  The night was so clear, the moons shone in beams. Oga’s people carried Ana Tolla’s crew away. His eardrums were almost pierced by Damar’s screams of Izzy’s name.

  Then there was another matter entirely: his ship. His new ship, which he’d never flown, was already damaged from being hit during Safwan and Lita’s attempted takeoff. If not for Delta, they would have vanished into hyperspace. When she’d run back into the crew’s ship, her aim put a hole through the Ketzalian’s wing and grazed Safwan’s good shoulder. It was enough to impede their take off.

  Volt walked up to him. His two mechanical fingers twitched as he scratched the side of his face.

  “Heya, kid,” he said, rubbing the shiny plane of his scalp. He looked awake in a way that only fighting made him. He clapped Jules on the back, which was the last thing Jules expected after the creature stall incident.

  “I’m sorry about earlier,” Jules said. “I’ll pay for the damages.”

  “The girl already took care of it.”

  Jules wasn’t sure why he was surprised. Something stirred in his chest. “She did?”

  “She came to me for help. Naturally, I couldn’t let anything happen to you. Who would buy any of my hooch if you were gone?”

  Jules laughed, and pain bloomed across his ribs. He was pretty sure he’d bruised a few when he’d rolled off the ramp after Damar’s punch.

  “Tap was brave,” Volt added. More and more it felt as if his friend was trying to distract him. “I know since your father saved him from the fire you feel protective of the child.”

  Jules looked at the boy as he helped Delta up from the grass and they slowly made their way to his ship. His ship. “And Izzy?”

  “She’s a good girl.” Volt gripped his shoulder. “She did the right thing.”

  “What are you distracting me from?”

  Volt sighed. “I don’t want to see you upset. She’s gone. Took a speeder and left. And I like her—I do—but you shouldn’t chase after her.”

  Jules walked away before Volt was done speaking. He stood in the shadow of the barn. When he had woken up that morning, he’d thought he would never see Izal Garsea again. There was only one time he’d wished for her, a solid, tangible wish with a piece of yarn. It had been a month after her family left, and there were no signs that they’d ever return. He’d dreamed of her, and the reality had turned out more complicated than imaginable. But he wanted her despite it all.

  Now he could divide his life into two segments: before Izzy and after. How could he love someone who was dead set on running from him? He watched the smattering of stars and imagined counting the freckles on her jaw, along her arm. He could connect the dots all the way to her heart.

  As he rejoined his friends and family, he had never felt so far from a future he’d almost been able to grasp—there and then gone.

  Izzy pulled up to Salju’s.

  The woman was still working, tinkering with a small green waiter droid under the filling station’s lights. She took off her goggles when she heard Izzy approach.

  “Glad you survived a full day on the Outpost,” Salju said, too cheery for how late it was. As she took in Izzy’s damp clothes, flushed skin, and disheveled hair, she added, “Just barely, I see. And you brought a friend!”

  Lucky had caught up to her, but when Izzy stopped so did she.

  “It’s been a long day,” Izzy said, and plopped down beside the girl.

  “I see you’ve been to Volt’s,” Salju said, and pointed the screwdriver at Izzy. “I tell you, he tried to sell me back my own tooka after Kuma went on a personal holiday once. Come to think of it, I can’t find Kuma anywhere, so maybe Volt’s about to try it again.”

  She wasn’t sure why, but that made Izzy double over with laugher. Salju laughed along, nervous at first. Surely, she’d seen an off-worlder or two break after spending a day on Batuu. When her abdomen hurt and her cheeks even worse, Izzy stared at the sky.

  “I haven’t laughed like that in a long time,” she said. “I want to do it more.”

  “Another happy customer. Did you get everything you needed?”

  Izzy wanted to say that she had. She’d delivered her parcel and retraced the steps her parents had once taken. She’d learned about her mother, about herself. She’d kissed the boy of her dreams. She’d saved him. And then she’d let him go. She was filled with so much want, it scared
her.

  “Mostly,” she answered.

  “Did you go to the obelisk when you got here?”

  Izzy frowned. “I think I passed it this morning. Why?”

  “Well, people rub the obelisk for good luck. We love our good luck around these parts. Can’t get enough of it, really.”

  Izzy chuckled. “Thanks for everything, Salju.”

  “Don’t mention it. Be sure to send your friends my way if they need any work done.”

  Friends. She needed to make some of those. Good ones, without guerrilla warfare tactics.

  Izzy paid the spira she owed Salju, instructing her to give Volt what she owed him. After all the damage she’d left behind at the farm, she wanted to run. Dok could give her share to Jules. She didn’t feel right taking it.

  “Oh, and Delta will be back for that speeder,” she said just before the ramp of the Meridian closed.

  Though it had been hours, it felt like days since she’d walked the halls of her ship. She ran her palm along the smooth panels. Her mother had chosen turquoise for the cushions in the lounge because it was her favorite color—the color of Izzy’s father’s eyes. It was something her mother had confessed later in life, when they lived in Eroudac Citadel and were trying to be a normal family. Izzy had thought it ridiculous then, but now it was a memory she held dear. As much as she felt she didn’t know her mother, every moment she understood her a little more. Ixel Garsea hadn’t been perfect. No one was. Izzy had seen her share of lonely kids across the galaxy. At least her mother had wanted her, taught her how to survive without her. Jules had said that people could choose which parts of their parents to keep. She started the launch sequence and thought that she would take the good and bad over and over again if it meant keeping them forever.

  She sat in the cockpit and toyed with the black and gold ring resting on her chest. She had wanted to give it back to Jules and she had failed. She strung it up above the console and ran her thumb across it. For luck.

  “What do you say, Lucky?” Izzy said to her loralora. “Are you ready to get off this rock?”

  But the loralora was nowhere in sight. She turned around and called out to her. She knew she’d shut the ramp after the bird flew in. She checked her quarters and the small shower. When she reached the cargo hold, Izzy’s heart froze and her stomach roiled.

  Lucky and Kuma were there, feasting on half a dozen dead Batuuan rats. Hadn’t Volt warned her? Every ship had a vermin problem. At least she hadn’t taken off with Salju’s pet. Izzy went into one of the closets and dug for some cleaner. It was then that she came across a loose flap, like the one where she’d hidden the briefcase early that morning. It was smaller, and at first glance, it was empty. But then she noticed a datacard.

  She wondered if it was left behind from one of her mother’s missions. But that didn’t seem like something Ixel Garsea would do. Izzy’s stomach was in knots as she carried it back to the helm of the ship. She transported it on her palm with the same care she had held the sodilium detonator. Izzy stared at it for too long, wondering what its contents would be. She wasn’t ready for any more revelations.

  What would Jules say to her if he was there? Something encouraging followed by a nudge or a smirk. She mustered her courage and keyed up the datacard.

  The soft blue recording showed Izzy a face she hadn’t seen in years. It was her mother. At first, the message was rippled like a bad holo stream. There was no sound. Only Ixel Garsea’s face. Her mother looked as nervous as Izzy felt. Then her mother spoke and looked straight at her.

  “If you’re watching this, then you’re without me. I wish we had more time. But if I’m wishing for things, I would have liked to give you the home you always wanted. Your father did all the things I could not, but I’m afraid I did not do enough. I’m not good with words or sharing them. But I have so many hopes for you. I hope you live a life without regret and that you have a stronger heart than I.” She looked over her shoulder, then back. “You and your father are the one thing I did right in my life. I love you, my darling Izzy.”

  Izzy replayed the message over and over again.

  Oga’s Cantina was full of warm bodies. Jules was sure every species was in attendance, even a group of Wookiees, each of whom carried two drinks.

  After a long shower and clean clothes, he felt like a new man—a little battered, but still new. Well, newish. DJ R-3X was at his station, dancing to the music he played. Next up was Joh Yowza, formerly of the Max Rebo Band, who would be on Batuu for a solo concert in a few rotations.

  It was as if everyone in the Outpost had heard of Jules’s adventures throughout the day because even strangers patted him on the back and offered to buy him drinks. Both bartenders, who had never looked twice at him before, ran fingers down his arms.

  “Enjoy your fleeting moment of fame, kid,” Volt said, slapping him on the back.

  They wove through the crowd to get to the bar. A great thick hand clapped on Jules’s shoulder. Cookie offered his congratulations and told him to come back to the docking bay in the morning for a free breakfast.

  Jules was at a loss for words. He didn’t want to be under a spotlight, not ever. Julen Rakab loved people. He was a rare breed who always wanted to help, even when he was powerless. Now that everyone was trying to help him, all he wanted was to crawl in bed and nurse the bruises on his body. But he had to put on a brave face because he’d made a promise earlier that day.

  Neelo and Fawn were at the bar having the free drink musicians got before their set. The Togruta was fingerpicking the air, and Fawn was chugging his drink so carelessly that he was very close to poking himself in the eye with the garnish pick.

  “Jules!” they shouted when they saw him approaching. “Oh, hey, Volt.”

  “I helped, too,” Volt said, affronted. “Majorly helped. I disarmed—”

  The bartender on their end, a three-meter-tall Gigoran covered in white fur, stomped back over. Volt ordered two Fuzzy Tauntauns.

  “Where’s your girl?” Neelo asked. He’d splashed up his look with metal cuffs around his lekku. “I liked her. We gave her a lift earlier.”

  Fortunately, the drinks landed in front of them just then. The Fuzzy Tauntaun was one of the most expensive available, dusted with the golden lichen that shimmered like the night sky. Jules had never been able to order it before, but since everyone was offering…

  On the other side of the room, Oga was in a private booth with Dok-Ondar. Everyone was whispering about Oga coming out that night. Oga and Dok raised a glass to Jules, and it felt infinitely wrong. He’d done nothing but get captured. All Jules had done was stun Damar.

  It was Izzy who had come back for him. She’d gathered his friends. She’d found him. And then she’d left him without so much as a good-bye. It burned him up so much that he drained his drink in seconds. Neelo and Volt exchanged looks that said they should not ask any further questions about the girl.

  “I’m fine,” Jules said. “I’m totally fine. I want to hear my friends play. I’m going to sleep for an entire day, and I swear if anyone wakes me up I’m going to—”

  “Whoa,” Volt said, and raised a glass, looking away as he said, “I’ve never heard you lie before. This is fascinating.”

  Jules scowled and was ready to tell his so-called friend what to do with his accusation when DJ R-3X paused the music and leaned into the mic.

  “Volt Vescuso, there’s a Kowakian monkey-lizard in the storage room that belongs to you. Please go and retrieve it.”

  Volt whirled around to look at Oga, whose tentacled lips puckered into a snarl.

  “Guess I missed one,” he said, and scurried away to take care of the problem.

  Neelo and Fawn went off for their sound check. Some of the farmers surrounded Jules. They hadn’t had so much excitement in years, even vicariously, though they were glad nothing would be amiss when Kat returned.

  Jules sipped his drink and realized that as much as he loved his people and as much as he loved his home, he didn�
��t want to wake up in five years and say that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had an adventure or even heard of one.

  “What was the name of the girl?” Ksana’s dad asked.

  “Izal Garsea. Brave one,” said a Quarren who must be new. The tentacles of his lips were covered in beer foam. “Is she around? I’d like to buy her a drink, too. I rode past Salju’s and her ship was still there.”

  “She’s long gone by now,” Jules said, and he blamed the bitterness in his mouth on the drink.

  The Quarren shook his head. “I just got here, kid. I promise. It’s still there.”

  They all turned to him. He blinked fast. Her ship was still there.

  “I have to go.” Jules stood up. His body felt possessed. They called after him, then there was a volley of hollers as everyone realized where he was going.

  As he stepped out of the cantina, the scent of cloves and flowery smoke clung to him. There was a flash of white in the dark. He recognized the stormtrooper first and then the man the stormtrooper was raising a fist to.

  “Hey!” Jules shouted.

  The trooper whirled around. Staring into those unseeing black eyes made Jules take a step back.

  “Nate, everyone’s waiting for you,” Jules said, fear making him breathe fast. The same boy he’d helped on the road earlier that day was pressed against the wall. “Oga said drinks are on her. She was asking about you.”

  Jules’s eye gave an involuntary twitch. He didn’t like to lie, but he wasn’t above it to save someone’s life. He smirked and thought, Lying is a skill.

  Jules considered it a test on the state of the Outpost. If the First Order knew to respect Oga’s name enough to walk away, then perhaps things weren’t so bad. Though he wondered, how long would that last? Knowing what he knew now, Jules sensed that things wouldn’t be the same around Batuu for much longer.

  Without another word, the trooper turned and walked away. Jules helped Nate dust himself off.

  “That’s twice I am indebted to you,” Nate said, straightening his clothes. He grabbed hold of the rough-cut clear crystal. It was one of many necklace charms that twinkled against each other and caught the dim light of the holoboards. Something in that action of toying with his necklace reminded Jules why he’d stepped out. Izzy.