Falling

Prologue

Bracca.

A planet full of engineers ready to build and experiment despite its dull colors and yards of desolate ships ready to be torn apart for spare pieces in the Mid Rim of the Galaxy. Those who lived there did what they could to get by for decent money or food. Payment changed from day to day, so one had to hope they were lucky.

Nothing eventful ever happened on the planet. Nothing interesting. Sometimes, it felt like the work was the only thing keeping one from insanity. But really, there was nothing anyone could do to spice things up.

It wasn't a surprise that no one noticed the escape pod falling into the atmosphere. No one even glanced at it. No one had even heard of the horrendous command that ended so many lives in mere seconds, that caused an entire government to crumble, that held the effect of a traumatizing betrayal for so many.

They didn't know how much this order would affect their own lives. They didn't know that their engineering skills would soon be for nothing as they scrapped for parts. They didn't know that their pay would get worse. They didn't know who was inside that escape pod and how he had been scarred both physically and emotionally.

They didn't know about Order 66.

Not yet, at least.

—

A figure was halfway in an open panel, discarded pieces and parts cluttered around her. She began to pull herself out, grunting as she banged her head against a pipe in the process. She exited fully, rubbing the back of her throbbing head. Still, her gray eyes gleamed as she looked at the item in her other hand.

She removed her mask and smiled in satisfaction, tossing the part in the air and catching it. "Gotcha." Pleased, she opened her sling and carefully put it with the other pieces she had collected.

The scrapper took off one of her gloves and wiped the sweat from her brow as she rose to her feet, taking in the cool air compared to the mustiness inside the wreckage. She ran her hand through her short black curls with a sharp exhale, knocking the hood of her poncho to her shoulders. "Okay, should be good with that," she thought aloud. "Just a couple more good finds, and maybe I can get a new hardhelmet. Maybe."

The girl went back to the grated screens she had used to get where she was and began to climb up and over, leaping between gaps with ease. She hummed to herself softly as she shimmied along a railing and hopped down on a landing, extending her arms for balance as she hurried across a narrow beam, keeping her eyes on the path and not the looming Ibdis Maw below. Once it came to an end, she took a jump toward the grate across from her, gripping tightly before ascending onto the platform.

She came to a slow walk, catching her breath as she glanced around for any paths that might lead to something interesting. Now that she had done her task and collected scraps on the side, she could move freely without the foreman droids pestering her.

Sure enough, something caught her eye on the level below: a familiar head of red hair moving along the path.

Her lips turned up in a sly grin. She scanned around for something to get her over and leaped to one of the grated fences. Careful to not lose sight of her target, she climbed low and moved along, trying to get ahead of her prey while staying out of his line of sight so she could accomplish her mission.

Once she was in position, the scrapper carefully turned herself around so her back was to the gratings and grinned. She waited for the right moment to strike...

And then she let herself drop.

Her feet slammed on the platform, sending a shock through her legs, but she ignored it and let out a roar to scare her victim.

"Hi, Nima," he greeted nonchalantly, not even bothering to look at her as he walked by.

Nima let her arms drop as she stared at his back incredulously. "You're kidding. Nothing? Not even a flinch?"

The redhead chuckled, turning to face her. "I knew you were coming."

"Oh, sure you did. You could just sense my presence," she scoffed bitterly as she caught up to his pace.

He shrugged. "Pretty much."

She scowled and punched his arm. "Jerk."

He laughed, rubbing the sore spot. "You love me."

"Bold of you to assume something like that, Cal Kestis."

He grinned and rolled his eyes. "Look, I gotta go. The droids want me to secure some cables on Ten-A with Prauf."

Her eyes widened with intrigue. "Need any help?"

"I would, but you know how the droids get." He perked up. "Hey, do you still need something to get you enough for the hardhelmet?"

Nima rocked her head back and forth. "Kinda. Not entirely sure."

Cal smiled, pulling something from his pocket. "Catch."

She reached up and grabbed the item out of the air when he tossed it, examining it in her hand. Her brows furrowed. "The hell is this?"

"Trust me, you want to bring that with you."

She frowned and met his eyes. "I can handle myself, Red."

He smirked as he began to walk backward from her. "Yeah, I know. See you." With that, he turned and jogged off.

The noirette rolled her eyes and smiled to herself. She glanced down at the piece and put it in her bag, heading off in her own direction.

++++++

Hello! Welcome to my J:FO story, Recovering Discoveries! I absolutely LOVE this game, and not only that, it has one of my favorite actors, Cameron Monaghan, from Gotham, Shameless, and more! I can't wait for the (possible) sequel of this game, so that's mostly why we're here lol. Hopefully, you all enjoy what I have in store!