One day, a young Torra Doza meets an elderly Togruta and a Mandalorian with the prettiest hair she’s ever seen.Â
Torra stared up the ship in front of her. It’s blue outer coating shone white in the height of the midday sun, reminding Torra of the jewel in her mother’s wedding ring.
She looked down at the ring that hung from the leather tied around her neck. It was too big to fit on her finger yet but one day she would wear it on her own finger or give it someone to wear around theirs.
The reminder of the ring only made the young girl more determined to do this. She strode over towards the ship’s cockpit only to find the dome her, with a gap of smooth ship and air between them. This was a surprise to Torra. Sure, her father used to give her a special ladder to use to climb up while her mother used to just give her piggybacks. But she’d seen pilots leap into their ship’s cockpits easily. And she checked against the marks by her door this morning. She’d grown a whole two inches since the last time she’d been measured. Surly that had to be tall enough to get into the cockpit on her own.
But apparently it wasn’t so she’d have to think of a new plan. She glanced curiously around the hanger until her eyes came across a crate. Luckily it had anti-grav buttons on it, so she was able to push it over to the ship. She managed to scramble on top of it and from their she was able to climb onto the wing of the plane.
However, there was still a large gap between her and the cockpit. For a moment she considered giving up. But she didn’t. She’d already come this far and besides, she didn’t have any other options left. That’s when she noticed the fuel cap. It didn’t stick out much but with her small feet, she should be able to use it as a platform to get to the cockpit. Taking a deep breath, she jumped from the wing on to the fuel cap. Grabbing the flat sides of the ship, she managed to steady herself. From here there was only a small gap left. Stretching out her arm, she managed to reach the button to open the cockpit. She then held onto the edge to pull herself inside.
Torra couldn’t help but grin. She’d actually done it! She was amazing! However, this feeling of elation quickly died down when she found that from where she was sat, her feet couldn’t even reach the controls. Reluctantly, she shuffled forward until her toes pressed against the pedals. Her face was almost pressed against the steering rods and she could barely see over the dials. But at least she could touch all the controls necessary to get it in the air.
She tried to remember everything she had to do to get the ship flying but it was hard without her mother guiding her whilst she sat on her lap. Eventually she heard the familiar sound of the engine whirring into life and a few moments later she was flying out of the hanger and into the open air.
It was just like she remembered. The touch of leather that reminded of what was tied around her neck. The smell of sweat that although stunk, reminded her of the thrill of being alive. And despite the enclosed nature of the cockpit, the feeling that she was free.
Torra soared around the station, the controls felt like natural extensions of her body and the wings of the ship felt as though they were attached to her back. She never wanted to come back down. Up here, for the first time in months she finally felt like she was home.
“Pilot! You are flying property of Captain Doza. You do not have permission to fly this craft. Please return to Colossus station immediately!”
Torra was startled by a frazzled voice sounded over the ship’s radio.
“I repeat. You do not have permission to fly this-“
“Yes I do!” She replied, trying to remember how to use the comm whilst keeping the ship in the air.
“… wait? Is that the Captain’s daughter?” The voice said, recognising her voice.
“Yes it is! And Daddy did give me permission to fly this ship! Ask him!” She said, hoping that they would believe her lie.
After a long pause they spoke.
“Why don’t you land your ship and we go check with Daddy together? How does that sound?”
“That sounds stupid! Daddy already knows I’m here, so you don’t need to check!” She shouted. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. She tried to turn the radio off so that they couldn’t tell her to land again because if she didn’t hear it then she wouldn’t have to do it. But she found it hard to remember how in her panic.
Torra screamed as she looked up from the control to find the station’s tower directly in front of her. Moving on instinct, she yanked the controls to the side. She manged to avoid a full-frontal collision, but the tower still scrapped the side of the ship causing one of the fuel tanks to start billowing smoke. Torra couldn’t think over the blaring of alarms and the pounding of her own heart. All she knew was that she didn’t want to die.
Suddenly she heard a bang on the top of the ship as though something had hit it. A moment later, she felt the cockpit open. Torra looked up the see the empty face of a Mandalorian helmet staring down at her.
“GRAB MY HAND!” The owner of the helmet yelled.
Not knowing what else to do, Torra grabbed hold of their outstretched hand for her life. She was then pulled out of the cockpit until she was held tightly against the stranger’s chest.
Torra barely had time to register the request as they jumped off the ship into the open air. She continued screaming as they hurtled towards the icy water. She knew that if they hit it, they would be dead.
But before they did, something grabbed them. Torra looked down expecting to see a massive hand holding them. However, there was nothing surround them but air. She held on even tighter as she felt whoever it was started to pull her towards the station.
“Hey. It’s alright. It’s my friend. She’s recuing us look.” The Mandalorian said gently as she pointed to the station.
Torra slowly glanced away from where her face was pressed against the Mandalorian’s chest plate to the nearby ledge.
An old Togruta lady’s face was creased in concentration as she reached out her arm towards the pair, as though it was an extension of her hand that was holding them.
Eventually they reached the ledge where the Togruta grabbed hold of them to pull them both to safety.
“Are you both okay?” She asked.
“Yes. Thank you.” Torra mumbled from where she still clutched to the Mandalorian’s chest.
Suddenly she heard an explosion behind them and she automatically pressed her face against the armour once again.
“It’s alright. It was the ship.” They said, stroking the top of her hair.
Cautiously, Torra pepped over their shoulder to see the remains of the ship she’d been flying smouldering in the ocean bellow.
“Daddy’s going to be really mad at me.” She mumbled, the bottom of her lips trembling as she tried to hold back tears of relief and guilt.
“Is that your Daddy’s ship?” The Togruta asked softly. “Do you know where he is?”
Nodding, Torra pointed towards the tower she’d nearly crashed into.
“Daddy lives up there. He’s the station Captain.”
Torra watched as her rescuers shared a look before seemingly coming to some sort of agreement.
“Let’s get you back to your father.” The Togruta said before heading off in the direction of the tower with the Mandalorian following closely behind her, Torra still in their arms.
Once they’d started walking they took off their helmet.
“My name’s Sabine by the way. And this is Ahsoka.” She said, pointing at her companion.
Torra stared up at the woman’s hair in awe. It was dye with every colour she could imagine and shone like a rainbow in the heat of the sun.
“I’m Torra. You’re hair’s the most amazing thing ever!”
“Thank you. Your hair is pretty amazing too.” She motioned to the multicoloured ribbons Torra had tied in her hair.
Torra beamed, overjoyed that somebody had noticed.
As they walked towards her father, Ahsoka pulled out a data pad.
“I don’t suppose you recognise this man, do you?”
Torra looked at the image to see a human male with short hair and brown skin that was lighter where a scar had been carved into his cheek. She thought he looked more like a boy than a man.
She shook her head and was saddened by the disappointed looks her new friends tried to hide.
Before she could say she was sorry, Ahsoka had swiped the data pad so that a new picture was shown.
This time Torra nodded eagerly. Whilst she didn’t recognise the blue person standing at the front of the picture, she knew the beings standing behind him.
“It’s the snowmen!” She cried, pointing at the picture.
Sabine and Ahsoka shared a confused look.
“You mean the stormtroopers?” Sabine asked.
“Daddy says they’re called snowmen. They come to the station sometimes. But their faces look different.”
Once again, the pair shared a look.
“Maybe she saw some scout troopers?” Sabine suggested.
“Well if they are part of the crew on the Chimera then their helmets probably aren’t going to look the same after all these years.” Ahsoka replied.
“Or they could just be left over Imperial fanatics. Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve come across some of them.”
“True but we came to this station due to the rumoured Imperial sightings and that the fact that it’s by the edge of the unknown reasons. If Ezra was trying to get back to us from wherever he ended up, then this would make sense as a place to go through.”
Losing interest in their pairs conversation, Torra turned her attention back to Sabine’s chest plate that she only now had the chance to look at since she wasn’t holding onto it for dear life anymore. It was adorned in swirls of blue and orange paint to create the fiery wings of a phoenix and the fur of some type of cat and wolf.
“I love your armour!” Torra cried interrupting their conversation.
Startled Sabine looked down, but quickly hid the emotion with a warm smile.
“Thanks. I painted it myself.”
“Really? Wow! I paint art too! Do you want to see?”
“Maybe. After we’ve taken you to your father.”
Torra’s mood instantly dropped. In her excitement of meeting Sabine and Ahsoka, she’d forgotten how angry her father was going to be.
“Hey! That was some pretty fancy flying you did back then.” Sabine said, noticing her worry. “And trust me, I’ve known some pretty amazing pilots in my time. You’ve got something special.”
Torra smiled sheepishly back at her, happy at her words and attempt to cheer her up. Still, her nerves only grow as they reached her father’s door. She tried to bury her face against Sabine’s chest plate again as they walked over to his desk.
“Greeting Captain Doza. I believe we have your-“
Before Ahsoka had finished, her father had raced out from behind his desk to steal her from Sabine’s arms.
“What in the name of Malachor were you thinking?” Her father shouted as he held her close.
“I’m sorry Daddy.” Torra sobbed, the tears that had formed after everything she’d been through today finally starting to fall. “I just wanted to be like Mummy.”
“By getting yourself killed?” her father spat, his words hurting her more than that crash ever could. However as soon as the words had left his mouth, Torra felt the anger leave his body as his limbs softened around her.
“I’m sorry sweetheart. I just can’t lose you too.” He breathed into her ear.
“I know.” She whispered back, breathing in the scent of his clothes and moustache. Trying to savour every second she had in his arms. It had been so long. She didn’t want it to end again.
After what felt like hours but could have only been a few minutes Ahsoka coughed politely.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. But I was wondering if it would be possible for me and my partner to speak with you privately.”
Doza smiled. “for saving my daughter, I will do anything you ask. Allow me to take her to her room, then we can talk.”
“Of course.” She replied bowing respectfully.
As her father carried her out, Torra turned to look at the two women for the last time.
“Thank you for saving me.”
“It was our pleasure kid.” Sabine said ruffling her hair.
Torra continued giggling as they headed down the corridor to her room, her head leant against her father’s shoulder.
Once they reached her room, her father opened to door and carried her towards her bed.
“Rest. You’re probably exhausted after everything that’s happened today.” He then let out a low sigh. “Also, I’ve decided that you should stay here in the tower from now on. So that I can keep an eye on you. I can’t let anything hurt you.”
“Ok Daddy.” Torra replied with a smile.
He gave her forehead a gentle kiss before heading out of the room.
As soon as he left, Torra turned to the cuddly puffer pig beside her.
“It worked!” She squealed. Ture it might not have happened the way she’d planned, and she’d nearly died. But her father had remembered about her again. And whilst it would suck being stuck up here for the rest of life she’d rather that than the never-ending loneliness she’d felt after her mother had died.
