for eight months, nova had been on a hunt over the cosmos. she used her name, she used her influence, she used her families money, she used every resource available to her. and finally her journey had brought her to richdune.

there was a ship docked here by the name of vagabond, and apparently her brother was working on it. one would think that this news would excite nova. finally, she'd found what she had been looking for, she found her brother. and yet... she was more nervous now than when she'd first set out on this venture.

locating the ship on the docks, she stood outside of it and looked up at the giant mass of metal. what was she going to say when she saw him? would she recognize him? would he recognize her? would he be happy to see her? or would he be mad?

with the prospect of her journey being over, nova found herself spiraling into a small panic attack filled with "what if's" that all hinged on her brother being just as disappointed in her as her father was when she told him what she was doing.

"you're crazy, nova. for all you know, cassian is dead and you're chasing a ghost."

but she didn't care. she didn't feel like any of her family cared what she wanted so she sought out the only person she felt might still care. but now that she'd found him, she couldn't help but wonder if he still did care.

a large crack of thunder and the bright flash of lightning in the sky pulled her from her reverie and she glanced at the growing storm in the sky. biting her lip, she took a few steps back from the ship and looked around, trying to figure out what her next step was.

should she just go up and knock on the airlock door? there was no one outside the ship to talk to and she saw no easy way to get on board. she sat down on a crate just to the side of the ship and chewed on her lower lip lightly, going over her options.

her first was to sit here until someone showed up and she could talk to them about cass being on the ship. but what if he didn't go by cass anymore? what if he had instructed those on the ship to ignore anyone asking questions about him?

or what if no one came out of the ship and it left without her ever knowing if her brother was there or not?

but as she sat there, the airlock door opened and out walked a dark skinned woman. she was a wispy looking thing that gave a cursory look around her before heading off in the direction of the market. she passed right by nova, gave her a small smile and a head nod, and continued on her way.

this was it. nova's chance to get on that ship. nevermind that she was getting on it illegally. she had to do it.

jumping up from where she sat, nova didn't even look around her before sprinting towards the airlock door and slipping into it just before the door closed. the interior door was still open and so she cautiously walked into the hallway, walking on tiptoes so that she didn't make too much noise.

once at the end of the hall, she looked left and then right, trying to decide which direction she wanted to go. deciding to go right, she started down the hall but pulled up short when she heard voices approaching. panicking, she opened a door to her left and ducked inside, not even paying attention to the fact that it was a supply closet.

"what have you gotten yourself into now?!" nova scolded herself mentally. not only was she second guessing this wild goose chase, now she was an illegal passenger of the Vagabond. pressing her back against the wall, she slid to a sitting position on the floor and buried her head in her hands.

"you're crazy, nova."