Tales of DeLumiar and Tondry 1: When They Met
Thread "Trailer"
Dracis raised his glass. "So, happy 21st birthday to our glorious leader, Karin DeLumiar!"
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Suddenly, a man with hands tied and a bag over his head was shoved into the room.
"Look what we found," said Cadmius, sauntering in behind the prisoner. "He was being chased by some stormtroopers in town. We pulled him off the streets and brought him in.
Karin gestured to the nearby sofa. "Sit him down and take the bag off."
The being beneath the bag was a human male.
"What's your name?"
"Pierce Tondry."
"Hi, Pierce." she smiled. "I'm Karin. We're a Rebel cell, and you're in Chandrila's crystal canyons."
His eyes flickered and turned stony. "Pierce Tondry, 305th Imperial biker scout battalion."
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“I'll stay for a month,” Pierce said. “I need the heat to die down.”
“Be ready to earn your keep.”
“Be ready to earn my service.”
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“Remember how I said I was stationed on Endor?”
Karin jumped; she’d forgotten to notice whether Pierce had really left. Clearly he hadn’t. “I- yeah,” she said, recovering. “Yeah. With a biker scout troop.”
“That wasn’t the only reason.”
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“Leading, fighting; I'm making it all up as I go,” she said. “But you know things I should know. Teach me.”
Pierce tilted his head, giving her an evaluating gaze. “There's something to be said for creating your own way.”
Karin gestured at the stacks of datapads that were her nightly reading material. “There's also something to be said for an education.”
The corner of Pierce's mouth twitched in a quarter-grimace. “My education was harsh. You might not like it.”
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“Kar, you ever wake up one day and realize you've been a monster for years?”
“No. Can't empathize with you there.” Karin frowned. “But I also can’t agree. Maybe you’ve done some monstrous things, but when I look at you I don't see a monster.”
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She sniffled suddenly and tears started streaming down her cheeks. “I try not to abandon them but they all keep going."
“I can't promise you anything when it comes to joining the Rebellion,” his hoarse voice finally said. “But I can promise you this; as long as you're here, you are not alone.”
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The only thing she knew for sure was that she was alone right now. Her home was gone.
She could feel the anger in her, growing, mixing with regret, despair, guilt, sadness, building to a crescendo. She held it back, until she couldn't.
“WHYYYYYYYYYYY?”
Her scream echoed through the canyons with no answer.
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"You ever had someone who you just fit with? Not love, but better than best friends-” she paused, fishing for a description.
Pierce nodded. “Partners in crime.”
######
Eventually, the drift ended and Pierce righted the bike before it could upend and dump them into the lake. He cut the throttle to a minimum and lifted his helmet's visor. “No holding back, remember?” he explained. “You said you wanted everything I’ve got. That? That was everything.”
“Give me a minute,” she whispered, basking in his 'everything'.
He gave her much longer than a minute and she took every second of it. Eventually, he spoke. “You want to keep riding?”
Her grin was instant. “Yes.”
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