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The Ghost reenters the geonosian system again, as they deemed it save now from imperial activities. Hera has suggested it would benefit the Rebellion if some parts of those ships over the Planet would be salvaged, they were desperately in need of spare parts.
The scanners picked up several good leads, and no imperial ships in the system, which was very good.
Suddenly the console peeped.
“Hmm strange, a distress beacon…” said Hera more to herself.
Zebs ears shot up “Where from?”
“Ah the Bahryn Moon, guess its your old one…“
Zebs heart made a stuttering stop in his chest //He would have shut it down when he where picked up wouldn’t he? And its been almost a week now….// He went Pale, an expression of utter shock on his face.
Noticing, Hera shot up an eyebrow. “Zeb?”
“I…. I need to pick up that beacon…” //Hope he just forgot, but need to make sure…//
Hera gave him a questioning look, but did not say anything else as Zeb made his way to the phantom.
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Powering up the engines Zeb set course to the moon, and landed not far away from the Cave where the beacon still was sending its signal.
He did not know when his legs decided to run, nor when the terrible dread set in when he rounded the corner to the cave to find Kallus huddled against the wall still clutching the meteorite to his chest and looking very pale.
“No….” //Karabast…karabast, karabast, karabast!!//
Zebs hands trembled as he gently touched Kallus shoulder.
//He’s so cold….// a little puff of breath caught Zebs attention, and the relieve he felt hit him like nausea. His legs gave in, and the put his arm around Kallus shoulders completely, pulling the agent into his embrace. Kallus body was like ice, but Zeb felt a faint heartbeat in Kallus ribcage and small and fast puffs of air on his skin. A few hours more and he would have been gone for sure.
As Zebs own heart slowed down and when he trusted his legs enough to support both of them, he carefulls lifted Kallus in his arms and stared to carry him to the shuttle.
He climbed in the cockpit, supporting Kallus with one arm and lifting his legs inside it so Kallus sat curled up in his lap, his broken leg in a, hopefully, comfortable position and closed the hatch. He set the life support system to heat the phantom up, hoping the heat would somehow wake the agent. He could not fly like this, but did not want to let Kallus lie on the copilot seat on his own, broken leg and all and foremost… he needed time to think for himself.
He couldn’t bring Kallus to the Ghost, he would be taken prisoner, something Kallus did not want to become as he had made clear when he refused to go with Zeb earlier. Also Zeb feared, despite his words to the agent, as an ISB agent Kallus would have very useful intel which the rebellion could not pass up, so he feared they would find a way to “make” him Talk. And his honor would not let the man in his lap be hurt while he saved his very own life.
Technically the both saved each other on this moon more than once, but that last save stuck Zeb deep to the core. He could have fired at him, he could have let the beast taken him, there was no point in saving him…. . Kallus was on the surface, with the beacon, and the meteorite, so why keeping the Lasat alive? Zeb was sure the agent wasn’t as cold hearted as he made himself to look.
The way he told Zeb about his mission on Lasan, his encounter with the guardsman, the massacre which he had to order… Zeb was sure the order was not from Kallus himself, the man had too much honor in him to order a massacre. Taking credit for it was sure just a ruse to draw him out earlier and it worked, so much was sure. Zeb suppressed a small grin, who would have guessed that he started to regard Kallus as a friend and offered to him his Name, even though the bastard seemed to know it from the start… Now grinning openly, sometimes fate is a curious thing, the Lasat mused…
Caught up in his thoughts he did not notice at first the heart which beat against his own becoming stronger, nor the puffs of air getting heavier with each intake, or the eyelids fluttering open.
“Zeb…?” just a whisper, but one which made the Lasats heart beat in its cage.
“Thank the force… you are awake!” burring his face in the agents’ hair, Zeb felt like the weight of the universe lifted of his shoulders.
“Did you.. come back for me?” asked Kallus.
“Hah, um.. not exactly.. you see, we came back to scavenge the ship grave yard over Geonosis as Hera picked up the beacon… I um… feared you might still be here, so I came to investigate…”
A small smile formed on the Agents face. “So you did come back for me..”
“If you put it that way…” Zeb started to smile himself now.
“I’m so cold…” admitted Kallus.
“I know, it will get better in time. As I found you, you were nearly frozen solid.”
Kallus eyes became distant “How long was it since you left?”
“Hmm I guess a bit less than a week…”
Kallus sighed and closed his eyes, trying to shut the unbidden thoughts out of his mind. But to no avail. //When they are here, I guess, the empire left.. did they even sent a team to search? Am I just a number?// A big Hand on the top of his head lifted him out of his dark thoughts.
“Kallus listen, if I get you back to the Ghost I cannot guarantee you will be able to walk away freely and I am at a loss at what do do next, I can not dump you somewhere either without knowing you will be alright….”
“Hmmm, perhaps a neutral system?”
“You know one?”
“Not within reach of this ship…”
“Karabast!”
There where engine sounds in the distance, growing stronger.
“Do you hear that?” asked Kallus
“Yeah, must be the Ghost, I haven’t exactly told them where I went and I have been gone a while now….” Putting a Hand behind his own head, Zeb grinned apologetically
“You have really good friends, you know?” smiled Kallus.
“I know…I will try talking to them… I will not have seen you hurt or imprisoned.”
At a loss for words and deeply touched by the Lasats words, all Kallus could do was nod.