Three weeks.
Three weeks since the tragedy that had claimed Kari Bree’s father, as well as the lives of countless other academy faculty, students, and emergency responders.
Three weeks of recovery that had restored Kari’s strength, although the many stitched and bandaged cuts across her body were still undertaking the long process of scarring.
Three weeks of acceptance and reconciliation. Of realizing that loved ones were gone and lives were forever changed.
Three weeks of support, with Kari, and her friend Ett, making many trips to the hospital following her stay to check on Dorun as well as the only other student to survive the initial attack on the graduation ceremony, Graeson Eberathi, both of whom remained in critical condition but who were also both still alive.
Three weeks of searching for answers, with Kari and others providing their testimonies to police, and Aerin Mardeen remaining in custody. Supposedly she and her sister had never been made privy to information regarding their client, leading investigators to believe that without a transaction trail to follow, Taron Chi most likely took the identity of the attack’s true mastermind with him to the grave.
“Now docking at Terminal Branch D, please exit now.”
The sudden halting of the tram caused Kari to cease her reflection, glancing to ensure her mother and brother were still sitting across from her.
She gathered her bags, quickly exiting the shuttle and stepping out onto the large commercial landing pad. The midday sun bore down on the Bree family as they navigated a number of bridgways to reach their designated terminal.
Kari peered down towards Iridonia’s surface, amazed at how high they truly were above the planet. The last time she had traveled offworld she was far too young to recall any details, so all of this felt so foreign to her. She recalled that the previous trip was when her father had taken her on a special holiday to visit the family shrine located all the way on Devaron, before her brother had even been born.
A loud rumbling sound drew Kari’s attention to the docking pad directly in front of them, where a large commercial transport was making its final descent. In a moment, Kari would be thrust out into the wide open galaxy to make a life for herself. Alone.
Since they had all officially graduated, Dorun and Graeson would be joining her on this customary venture soon enough, and Ett had already left a week prior. But given the secretive nature of their chosen profession, the chances that any of them would cross paths again was slim.
There was a reason she had never attempted to make friends during her years at the academy, and now she regretted falling into such a trap at the very end. The sadness of not being able to see these newfound comrades ever again was weighing surprisingly heavy on her heart. An unwanted burden and distraction from the future that lay before her.
Kari and her family drew close to the terminal gate just as the large transport began to lower its boarding ramp. She set down her bags for a moment as she turned to her mother. This was one of the first times she had ever seen tears well up in her mother’s eyes, and it almost provoked her into mirroring the response. However, Kari held strong, smiling as she gave her mother a firm and final embrace.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” someone whispered, although Kari was not sure if the words had escaped from her mouth or that of her mother.
She finally pulled away with some resistance and looked down at her brother. He was still very young, and she hoped that he would follow in her footsteps by graduating from the academy. Things would be just a little bit harder for him, growing up without a loving father who doubled as a strict instructor. But he was a Bree, and she knew he would power through regardless of the circumstances.
He gave her a small hug and and handed her a handmade bracelet. “I carved this from the wood of a Bluth Tree. It’s supposed to grant you an aura of protection as long as you don’t use it up…”
“Thank you buddy,” she chuckled as she dropped the charm into one of her many pockets, letting the string dangle out so she wouldn’t forget where she placed it.
She patted him on the horns before gathering her things, turning back to face the transport. With only a credits card, her holopad, a suitcase of clothing, and a small satchel of food, she stepped forward, passing through the gate and making her way towards the outgoing craft. For a moment, she thought of turning to give her family one more caring glance, but decided against it as her feet carried her forward.
It was best she let go of her life on Iridonia here and now. She already had too many connections, it was time to break them all at once if she was really going to start anew.
“Now boarding for Nar Shaddaa,” a voice echoed from above.
After wading through a crowd and making the short climb up the ramp, Kari made her way into the formidable craft, taking a seat alongside one of the circular port windows. She made herself comfortable after stowing her bags, and pulled out her holopad to prepare to kill time for the long journey ahead.
While aimlessly scrolling through her applications, she realized she still possessed a number of unopened messages from extended family and even hospital staff checking up on her. However, as she began to sequentially read and close them out, she came to the message she had received from Dorun and Ett shortly prior to the whole graduation ordeal. She felt a reminiscent comfort overcome her, a small smile emerging from her lips.
She scrolled down once more, seeing the many correspondences between she and her father. The last few were, of course, sent out of frantic concern for her wellbeing, as well as a bit of frustration regarding her usual tardiness. She regretted not being able to speak to him one last time and leaving things on such a seemingly sour note.
Staring at her father’s last words, Kari’s brief smile faded and heart began to ache. Her cheeks felt hot, her hands grew sweaty, and a feeling of nostalgic emptiness finally broke its way into her mind. A flood of yearning swept across her, yearning she had been trying her absolute hardest to suppress for the past few days.
She missed her father.
She missed her family.
Instantly looking up, she glanced out the window towards the gate in an attempt to grasp one final glimpse of her mother and brother. But at this point, if they weren’t already gone, they were completely obscured by the hundreds of beings busily making their way between terminals.
Kari sighed, reaching down to her side, at least she still had-
As she grabbed for her brother’s charm necklace, she realized the string was no longer dangling from her loose hip pocket. She dug around her clothing trying to locate it, but ultimately came up empty. After scanning the seats and floor around her, she felt her heart sink once again, realizing she must have lost it while pushing through the offboarding crowd.
Kari began to berate herself, but stopped short as she glanced down at the messages on her screen one more time. She had already decided she was going to commit to a clean slate like those who went before her, so she couldn’t let herself crack now.
Her family and friends no longer mattered to her. They could not matter to her with the life she was about to live. No matter how much she hated it, they were a weak spot. And that was a fatal attribute she could not afford to possess.
After clicking through a few icons, a prompt appeared on her screen asking if she truly wanted to delete all messages.
With one final deep breath, she selected “Yes.”
The screen turned solid blue, no longer displaying any personal chats. They were gone. Removed forever.
Kari shut down her holopad before closing her eyes, leaning back in her seat and attempting to clear her mind in preparation for how her new life would begin from the moment she stepped off this transport.
There was a ding over the intercom alerting the passengers of takeoff.
Kari slightly opened one eye, squinted just enough to watch Iridonia fuzzily grow smaller and smaller underneath the rumbling taxi craft, knowing it would quickly shrink into oblivion as they were engulfed by the chilling void of space.
There was no going back now.
The intercom chimed once more and the interior lights grew dim, causing everyone around Kari Bree to settle down.
“Hello valued passengers and welcome to the Chandrila Commercial Star Line. Our current destination is the beautiful moon of Nar Shaddaa. Once we clear the planet’s atmosphere, you are free to walk around at your leisure. Thank you for flying with us, and as always, we hope this is the start of a most wonderful journey!”
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