Freedom. A right that all sentient beings deserve to experience, yet it is not something that those who are in captivity may ever experience. Some live and die in slavery, never to experience what it means to truly live.
sweep. sweep. sweep.
An Echani warrior sweeps the floor of a ship’s interior. A ship she once called home. in its current state, it was a mess, it was unclean, the warrior thought to herself.
sweep. sweep. sweep. BEEP!
The ships computer terminal pings as a call comes through. It is ignored as the Echani focuses on cleaning. Its not until a third call comes through that the warrior glances over to the terminal, something she immediately regrets as she freezes in place. The symbol of House Corin’thalla, A noble Caste of Eshan, is displayed in the middle of the screen. After what would feel like an eternity for her, slowly, she would approach, as a prompt to answer the call appears.
decline
decline
decline
decline
The prompt remained on the screen.
To answer the call, it was the last thing she would ever want to do, as sweat beaded down her face. She knew what this meant, she knew what would happen if she accepted. She would turn to leave, to exit the ship and catch some fresh air. The moment she opens the hatch to depart, however, she feels a sense of unease, as if a heavy weight falls upon her. The feeling grows by the second, until the Echani feels so overwhelmed that she closes the hatch. As soon as she does, the heaviness is gone, and she takes in a deep breath.
Gritting her teeth, the warrior would slowly turn back to the terminal, steeling herself for what was to come. If she was going to do this, she would rather get it over with quickly, she thinks to herself. Step after hesitant step, she would return to the terminal, a shaky hand moving forwards.
Accept
Appearing on the screen would be a woman she was all too familiar with, a woman who caused her so much grief and suffering, a woman who left her to die on a world she no longer remembers.
Gwe’nevre Corin’thalla. Leader of house Corin’thalla.
The Echani warrior would physically recoil, for as prepared as she thought she was, it never would have been enough to see her, of all people.
“Odessa, my darling child, my pride and joy, oh how wonderful it is to know that you still yet live! Oh…how it warms my heart!..please, my dear, take a seat.” Her mother would smile widely, but Odessa knew better. She knew how much of a snake Gwe’nevre could be when she wanted something, and how far she would go to achieve her desires.
Odessa would seethe viscerally underneath her helmet, rage building like a torrent of blinding flames.
She dared not move.
“Please darling, sit.”
That overwhelming feeling returns, that pressure from earlier envelops her and forces her downwards.
Against her very will, Odessa takes a seat in the chair by the terminal.
“That is my girl! good!..now, Odessa my golden child…it has come to my attention, and the attention of House Corin’thalla, that perhaps we may have been quite…hasty, in exiling you…we observed the trial of that former Jedi Master, what was his name? Geil? gual? Gael! yes, Gael!..and we saw your testimony, the one you gave while wearing that -vile- armor…the vile armor I yet still see you wear, despite your…falling out with Clan Ara’novor. As your mother I figured that would be that, and you would forgo their ways once and for all…but you plan to go back? to become a Mandalorian once more? Odessa, you are better than this, you are a Corin’thallan, and this…this is beneath you.”
“You left me to die! I never want to see you again!” Odessa would yell, towards the terminal.
“You wound me, Odessa, I know you do not mean that…now, remove that horrid husk of metal that obscures that precious face of yours, I would wish to gaze upon the face of my child once more.”
She refuses to budge until once more, against her will, her hands would move to unseal her helmet.
it would fall out of her hands, to the side of the chair.
Gwe’nevre would cover her mouth after noticing the scars on her daughters eyebrow and cheek.
“My baby, my sunshine! oh what a fool we were to leave you alone! we should have given you more time!”
“So now you care…” her daughter growls back, staring death into the eyes on the woman she hated most. She was not buying it for a second.
“Of course, my dear! of course! as we speak, we make our way to you! Soon we shall arrive on Viscara, and soon we shall be reunited! Oh what feelings it gives me, to hold my child once more! to bring her home…it would give me no further joy.”
Genuine fear begins to settle in, as she parses what she just heard. Never. Never again, she thought to herself, never would she wish to be with her old family, the one who betrayed her.
“My destiny is mine to walk, my path my own to forge, you can not take me back, -mother!-”
Odessa retorts with ire and fury.
“In time, you will see, darling. in time, you will come to understand. soon, we shall meet again. soon.”
Her mother smiles once more. It chills Odessa to her core.
The call ends.
Odessa slumps back into the chair, holding her head. Her anger fades, and what replaces it is a complete and utter dread.
Freedom. It was something Odessa feared she would soon lose.