Head First
~~~(POV: Nella Opal)~~~
~~~(Location: Private Meeting Chambers, Alderaan)~~~
The party has since ended, and everyone is gone. Nate, SCORPIO, my Mother, and I are all in a meeting room to discuss what Nate is really doing here in Alderaan. I'm sitting next to SCORPIO. I've grown to like the droid. She's cool.
"Nate, The Killik's won't just help anyone, and even if you were to make it into their hive. You might not find the answers you're looking for. But I said I'd help you, and that's what I'm going to do."
Mom presses a button on the table, and a large hologram pops up. There are tunnel and cave networks. I recognize the area. It's the Wild Mountains. It's where The Killik's were rumored to originate on Alderaan. But I don't know the history for sure.
"This is good. I take the large chamber at the bottom is where I'll find what I'm looking for. The Hivemind."
Mom nods her head and zooms in on the area, showing its true size. You can fit several buildings in the chamber from how large it is. It's intimidating.
SCORPIO and Nate share a look, and he then turns his attention to me.
"Now that we know where we're going, it's time for your first mission. My Apprentice."
In the span of a second, my Mom is up and throwing a fit about taking me to such a place. But Nate just rolls his eyes and stands up calmly. Folding his arms in the process.
"I'm not letting you take my Daughter to such a terrible place! Are you insane!?"
This is embarrassing. I can't lie... Mom has always been overprotective of me. But she's the one that wanted Nate to train me. So she shouldn't question his judgment.
"Mary. You wanted me to train her and teach her how to use her powers. That means going with me on dangerous missions. I'll protect her and won't let anything happen to her. I even have a spare training blade. One that won't cut her to pieces."
My cousin is having a hard time convincing my Mom of any of this, so I think it's my turn to step in. I stand next to Nate and look at my Mom.
"I'm going with him, Mom. This is a perfect chance for me to learn from him, and you'll have to get used to the thought of me doing these things. It's the life I'll have from now on."
Mom slumps in her chair and ruffles her hair.
"Oh, Fark!!!"
It takes all my willpower to stop from outright laughing. That's the first time I've ever heard my Mom cuss. She looks at us with a disheveled look and sighs.
"Fine, but I swear if I hear anything happened to my little girl, no amount of power in the galaxy will save you from me, Nate."
He chuckles and nods his head. He turns to SCORPIO, and they share another look.
"Before we head down into those tunnels, we'll need to get you that training saber. It's still dangerous enough to hurt you, but you won't lose a limb if you accidentally mess up. You can't kill anything with it. SCORPIO and I will take care of that."
Looks like I'll only be going to watch and support my Master. SCORPIO squints her eyes slightly and turns for the door. And so does Nate. As I stand here clueless, he stops and looks at me.
"You coming or what?"
I smile and make my way over to him. This is going to be the start of a new life for me.
~~~(POV: Nathan Opal)~~~
~~~(Location: Personal Ship, Alderaan)~~~
I toss the long metal training saber to Nella, and she holds it weirdly. I make my way over and adjust her stance.
"When we're back from the tunnels, I'll start training you like my Master once did. But that's only for lightsaber training. When I teach you about The Force, it'll be different from anything you've ever heard. You'll be using this down there, and I lied to your Mom. This can do some serious damage."
She looks at me with several different looks, all of which are humorous to me.
"Then teach me how to use it properly so I don't hurt myself!!"
I smile at her tone of surprise, worry, and confusion.
"Don't worry. It's not as hard as it looks. The Force is on our side with this kind of stuff."
She has a look that says what have I gotten myself into.