I loved landing days.
Landing days, officially pre-loading days, were the days that our ship docked on a planet with the nearest discreet place to fix the ship, and all of us who did not have the skills or the knowledge to work on the ship got to do anything that we wanted to do. For me, this allowed me the chance to have some time to myself. As much as I loved the crew, they were a rowdy bunch, and I needed the occasional escape to stay sane.
This particular landing day, I was due for some much needed shopping. We were on Naboo, and much of the crew had been rather active this week, tracking in all sorts of mud and other dirty delights into the ship, which, of course, had been my job to clean. Not that I minded, of course, but it was rather frustrating when some of my cleaning supplies needed to be replaced. On top of that, I needed to run a few more of my own, personal errands.
Valentin, the captain, had dismissed us all with a sort of brightness in his demeanor, which signaled to all of us what he was going to do with his day. All of the crew, including myself, all assumed that he was going to call his wife on the big holotable, since she was currently getting back to Yavin IV after a particularly tough mission. As much as the crew teased him for being so excited to see his wife, even through the blue tint of a holocall, he kept his enormous smile on his face and the same brightness of demeanor that he had whenever he got the time to talk to her.
In all honesty, I kind of envied the two. Romance was something I never even dared to dream of for myself, as the only romance I had ever encountered was the romance of the keys of my keyboard, typing away at yet another manuscript to send to my publisher. I just didn’t have the time, and neither did I have the guts to go up to anyone. No one wanted to shackle themselves to someone who never had a steady home, right?
I quickly threw on my cover dress, a creamy white number that went down to my mid thigh and had flowy sleeves for days. I had another outfit on under it, since I knew I was going to come back to help with the ship again, but I enjoyed wearing something pretty every once in a while. Even if it was going to end up crumpled on my bunk while I worked in my other outfit.
The main communal area of the ship was buzzing as I entered, the automatic door whizzing shut behind me. I could see my sister, Oizys with her true red hair, curly and unruly, through the rest of the crew. I started making my way over, trying not to push through the stream of people either trying to go to other of the crew or trying to make it to the narrow exit door to escape into the glorious fresh air. The crew was a good fifteen people, as we were a smaller ship, but sometimes, the fifteen people felt like one hundred fifty when crammed into a small enough space. I carried my basket with me, something I often carried with me on landing days, and as I spun to avoid hitting someone with the basket, I could feel my back hit something hard.
I turned, apologies on the tip of my tongue, but the smooth voice of the comms expert hit my ears.
“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hit you,” Samael said, patting me on the shoulder when I steadied myself.
Samael was a lanky guy, muscular to a point, but still lanky enough to be comedic whenever his lack of coordination caught up to him. He had the dexterity of a baby giraffe, but he was still one of my closest friends. Even if he bumped into me, like he did then.
“I’m okay, thank you though,” I said, a smile creeping onto my face at how awkward he was. “Excited for landing day?”
He shrugged. “Me and some of the others are planning on going to the cantina for a bit, and then seeing where the wind takes us. Do you wanna us, Cy?”
I shook my head. As much as I would have loved to come along and them, I preferred not to have the wind take me anywhere. I had a plan, and I was going to stick to it, just in case something came up, as things often did.
“You guys go ahead, I need to get some things for the ship.”
Samael shook his head and took me by the arm, “Cyra, you’ve gotta get out and live a little, otherwise you’re just going to rot in here.”
I pulled my arm away, feeling little resistance from Samael. I knew that he had the best intentions, and I agreed with him, for the most part. However, I could not afford to deviate myself from my normal routine.
“Sam, you know why I need to stay on the ship,” I responded softly, trying to end the conversation as soon as possible. “Plus, we don’t want a repeat of the incident we had to deal with the last time I went to have that kind of fun.”
Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his unruly inky hair, failing to tame the piece that kept falling into his eyes. He sighed and then plastered a smile on his face, the goofiness coming back to him as he put his hand on my head. He ruffled my hair, earning a scowl from me as I felt a few pieces of curl fall out from my loose ponytail.
“Well, if you change your mind, just send me a message. You know we would love to have you with us,” he said sincerely before adding, “make sure to keep all the footprints away.”
I nodded and laughed, and Sam gave me another smile before leaving with a group of the crew that was waiting outside for him. I was a little sad that I couldn’t them, but I knew what I had signed up for when I ed the ship. The cleaning was just a part of life on the Ashrider. I was just glad I could get off of Bracca.
Finally free of Samael’s presence, I made my way over to the door to the cockpit, where Oizys and Valentin were discussing something in hushed tones. Valentin looked annoyed, as he nearly always did while he dealt with my sister. Oizys looked serious, as always, and looked like he was doing most of the talking. I started walking over, and Valentin caught my eyes. He looked visibly relieved, as he had something to distract him from Oizys’s constant requests and scrutiny. Oizys looked as she always did, no emotion on her steel face. She had done that since we started our stint on the ship, after all, so it was nothing new to me.
I walked over to be within reasonable talking distance, basket swinging in my left hand. Oizys didn’t move, as she was making it a point to look authoritative. She had once been up for co captain status, as she held that much authority at one point, but she now clung to the last shreds of that power. I was one of the few that tolerated it, though, and that’s why she felt comfortable enough to try her intimidation tactics on me. Valentin greeted me with a smile, his good mood slightly returning now that he had something different to focus on other than her.
“Cy, how are you doing on this lovely morning,” he asked, greeting me cheerfully. “I assume you’re going to run some errands today?”
I nodded, a smile creasing my face from his enthusiasm. His happiness was the base for some of my stories, the male leads actually being happy to see their partners. There had been scarcely any happiness in the Galaxy in the last decade, and seeing that made me want to share it with anyone I could.
“I was thinking that I could get some more cleaning supplies from the ship fund, since we’re running low,” I explained. “You can thank your latest trip to Kashyyyk for that one.”
He laughed, and I cracked a smile. We had just gone to Kashyyyk to give another shipment of weapons to Saw Gerrera, since we were some of the smugglers that were on his payroll. It was decent money, but it was dangerous and messy work for everyone involved. Even me, who had to scrub the mud, blood, and crusted remnants of both from the ship floors. I wished that I could have gone into the jungles, but the planet had been a warzone for years.
Valentin nodded, reaching for a bag of credits at his hip. “Here, take these. I wasn’t planning on going out, anyway,” he said. “Just give me the extra once you’re done.”
I smiled, happy that Valentin was in a gracious mood. I looked at Oizys, who was still standing there, ruminating in her angst. She had always been full of angst, a trait that she had never outgrown from her teenage years. I tried my best to brighten her, to dull her edge with kindness, but I had always been met with some form of wall.
“Do you want to come with me today,” I asked her, trying to read her mood to see if it was salvageable. “We can get noodles like we used to.”
“No. I don’t want you to get caught up when you have to clean the ship,” she sneered. “We don’t want to see our own footprints.”
I inwardly rolled my eyes. Of course she heard that. Sharp words were at the tip of my tongue, ready to cut deep, but none of them left the sheath of my lips. Instead of giving her the satisfaction of a fight, I just walked away.
My sandals slapped on the hard metal floor, the sound following me from the ship, down the ramp, and to the concrete of the hangar bay. The hangars were nice, or at least these hangars were. We had stopped in a little town outside of Theed, as it was close enough to take a transport to the city while also being far enough away to stay discreet. We were about as big of fans of the Empire as they were of us, after all. Smugglers and troopers didn’t exactly get along, after all. Why we had landed on an imperial world confused me, but far be it from me to question Valentin and Oizys.
I opted to walk away from the transport that had sat itself up in the bay next to ours, like most of the crew did, and turned to exit the hangar. The little town that we had stopped in had its pleasures for me, too, although I wouldn’t be going out and drinking with the rest of the crew. The place was quaint, the buildings almost a dreamy sort of antique. It certainly wasn’t like Theed, which was overpopulated by speeders at any given day and time. It just seemed much more intimate to me, much more personal, and certainly much more friendly.
The quaint little town was a treasure to me, the peaceful place bringing me comfort after living in chaos for so long. There wasn’t much hustle and bustle, since we had landed in the early afternoon, after the working people had gotten lunch. There were a few people walking around, like a mother leading their toddler from shop to shop, or a man walking down the street with a pastry in his hand, but nothing was too loud. It made me happy to see some form of peace in the galaxy, even if it was on an Imperial world
I ed by pristine windows, the only outliers being the ones that maintenance droids were cleaning. The town was nearly pristine, too, with well tamed bushes and trees accenting each block. I entered a nearby shop, the little bell tinkling as a droid clanked its way over to me. I gave it my list of things, letting it do most of the high reaching work while I gathered my things that were placed on some of the lower shelves.
The droid squeaked, its hinges obviously in need of a little oil as it reached up to the shop’s upper shelves. This was a general store, so it made sense that a lot of the things were piled high in the small store. It was a little annoying to hear it squeak, but I understood why it was squeaking when I saw the old man sitting at the counter, faded nametag on his shirt and cane resting at his side.
When the time came, I carried my armful of supplies, the sharp smell of cleaner penetrating my sinuses. I opted not to put them in my basket, which was swinging from the arm of the kind droid, until I had purchased them, since I had dealt with suspicious shopkeepers more than I cared to it. The old man at the counter smiled at me, and I returned the gesture while awkwardly trying to reposition the products in my arms to free up a hand. I was about to drop something before a metallic hand reached in front of my face, obviously unaware of how close it was to my face. I was grateful for its assistance, and I quickly made it through the checkout.
After I left, basket heavier, pockets lighter, and snack in hand, I happily made my way down the street. There were several hours until we needed to leave, so I decided to take a longer route to my final errand. There was hardly a day where I could really take in the fresh air, so I savored it whenever I could.
I ed past the colorful awnings of the little town, my basket swinging with more force into my legs than before, humming a tune that kept my mind occupied. I noticed a particular awning, with a different pattern than the vertical stripes of the rest, and it intrigued me. I walked over, and I heard familiar voices, engrossed in deep discussion. Turning my head, now covered by the checkered awning, I saw a few of the crew, all sat around a rickety circle table. Samael and a few of the other crew laughed, and I nearly reached for the door handle before I heard Samael speak up again.
“You know, sometimes it’s great to have a maid,” he said, elbowing a few of his buddies that sat around him. “But you know what, it would be great to have a pair of extra hands in the ship’s circuits. As much as I love Cy, she is kind of useless every day that she isn’t cleaning.”
His friends laughed, some nodding in agreement. I turned and swiftly left, making my way to the library and dropping off the manuscript of my latest work. My mind raced, thinking about the comment that my friend had made. I knew his lack of caution made him prone to getting a little more loose lips in less time than it took the other crew , but the sheer carelessness he used in making the comment struck me the wrong way.
Did he really mean that? Was that how the crew saw me?
I knew that me coming onto the ship was a little unprecedented, since I was the only one on the ship with no expertise. However, I had a valid reason to be there, or so I thought. I had a purpose, right?
I mulled it over as I made my way back to the ship, the word “useless” echoing in my head as I ascended the ramp and made it back to a mostly empty ship. I could hear the muffled voices of Valentin and his wife, her laughter taking a metallic twinge thanks to our older holotable. Breezing past the happiness of the pair, as much as I wanted to say hello, I made my way to the back of the ship, where we kept a little storage corner of our communal supplies. Or, at least, communal in a sense that everyone was welcome, but only one pair of hands actually partook in this corner on a regular basis.
My dress was up and over my head, routine settling in as I straightened out the outfit underneath. The cream dress was replaced by the blues of my outfit underneath, the light V necked tank top giving way to deeper denim shorts. I didn’t mind getting my knees and arms dirty, but I did mind if the sleeves of my dress dragged in the muck that the crew dragged in. So, with the dress ditched on top of the cabinets, the long sleeve of it hanging down, I grabbed my supplies and went to work.
“Useless” punctuated every wet slap of the mop as the bristly ropes cleaned the mud off of the entryway to the ship. “Useless” punctuated the smell of every spray. The comments echoed in my head, the laughter coiling around my brain with every scrub. I worked my muscles into every swipe of a rag, a mop, and a broom while I heard Valentin’s laughter in the other room.
I worked my mop into a particularly hard chunk of dirt, nearly fossilized under a seat that had just recently shifted. I pushed my weight into the rock of dirt, nearly getting it free. I could feel it moving, feel it stop sticking to the floor--
Squeak.
I was thrown forward into the seat, my face getting buried in the leathery material before I struggled back up, my feet hardly finding purchase on the slick floor. I turned around, ready to check on the thing that had rammed into me before I found the rest of the crew in the ship. The last few were trickling in, most trying to squeeze through the door. Once everyone was in, Oizys punched the close hatch button.
I looked at the back of the person who rammed into me, only to see Sam again, not even checking on me. Before I had time to ask about what happened, Valentin burst out of the room and began to order the crew to their stations.
“Empire is hot on our heels, let's go,” he commanded, the crew scampering to their respective stations.
The bulk of them were going to spread out, trying to keep any cargo and damage contained. I didn’t have one, but at this moment, I wished I had, since I caught about four wayward shoulders, people too busy to even mutter “sorry” on their way past. I turned, catching the eye of Oizys before she made her way to the cockpit.
“What are you still doing out here, Cyra,” she asked, a hint of disgust in her voice. “Pick up your mop and go to your bunk.”
“Waiting for everyone to leave before I go,” I responded, trying to sound reasonable.
“I don’t care, just go,” she sneered, turning on her heel before going to her copilot seat.
I took her “advice.” I left, taking the mop and bucket I had been wheeling around. I dumped the water out in the bathroom before going back to my bunk, leaving the cleaning supplies in the bathroom, since there was no need for them to be sitting in my bunk room. I made my way back, looking behind me as I felt the ship take off to see new footprints and mud all over the floors, the dirt mingling with the lingering water from the mop.
The door hissed as it opened, the mechanical elements cold and uninviting from the outside as I made my way past them and into my bunk. Without taking any time to observe the state of my room, I plopped myself into my bunk, curling up under a blanket. As the ship took off, I could hear the shouts of the crew through the walls, manning the guns and making sure the cargo wasn’t damaged. I wished that I could them, to try to be useful in some way, but I knew I couldn’t.
I was useless, indeed.
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okay so
I'm gonna be real upfront and honest with y'all. This is SUPPOSED to be the first chapter of a fanfic I got dared to write. Keyword is supposed to. I suffer from a criminal lack of motivation, and also an ongoing debate on whether or not to post this all here
so for now, enjoy the one parter, and I might deliver more in the future
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