𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 | a.s x fem!oc

5 - Last Hope

{KANANI'S POV}

"Well are you going to answer it or what?" Ciona snaps at me bluntly, yet deep down I knew she was trying to keep down the thought that I would have to tell Hayes - and essentially the Master - that she had failed in her task of eliminating Skywalker.

Not so tough now, are you Kirari?

My eyes firmly glued onto the control pad, I run my hands through my wild, untamed curls as I completely block out her snarky comment. Taking in a short breath, I rest one of my hands on the controls and wave the other behind me and towards her aggressively, "Just leave and do something. I don't care what, just go; I can handle this."

I needed her out of my sight if I am going to be able to make this run smoothly... and if all goes well, I may even be able to buy her more time. I just don't need her snippy, sarcastic voice in my ear constantly, otherwise I might find myself to be more than happy to let the Master punish her for her failure. I waited until she had completely exited the room and stalked into the armoury before I closed the door and hovered my finger over the button to accept the transmission. After a moment of brief hesitation and trying to gulp down the lump in my throat, my finger comes into contact with the red button and a mini hologram of Hayes appeared on the panel before me.

"Kanani. The Master is demanding an update and he's getting impatient... You better have some news about Kirari otherwise I'm going to be facing the consequences," Hayes said to me, his brown eyes looking fearfully into mine as we both thought of what horrors the Master would inflict upon him.

Shaking off a sudden shudder that spread through my body, I play with the chain of my necklace nervously as I debated what exactly to tell him. Hayes and I have known each other for years, he was almost like a brother to me. We arrived onto the station at around the same time, Hayes having being unwillingly torn from his family to become the Master's new apprentice and me who was taken straight from the slums of Jedha to be a pilot.

What is the one thing that we have in common? Debt.

And more specifically: our parents' debt to the Master that we now have to pay off by serving him, which is why I volunteer for these sorts of missions. Sure I can't stand Ciona, but I'll be getting payed at the end and therefore meaning that I am at least ten credits closer to my freedom. With Hayes however, he's not so lucky. The reason being that he has to pay off a life debt... which isn't as likely to achieve as mine. From what I have heard from Hayes before, his parents were aided by the Master in terms of money and resources and then when it came to paying him back, they weren't able to and so were forced to give up Hayes to become the Master's apprentice.

Once again, I managed to get off lightly with my new role as pilot. Of course I got the occasional death threat, but that came nowhere near close to what Hayes had to suffer whenever he slipped up. Being the Master's apprentice, unconditionally serving him at his every beck and call, was and is an incredibly deadly role due to the power the Master wielded.... and let's just say that he wasn't hesitant on testing said power out on Hayes either.

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration, opening my mouth to answer him, "Look, Hayes... for your own sake, are you in a place where the Master can't detect what we say in this conversation?"

"Kanani what do you-"

"Just answer the damn question, Roves!" I roll my eyes, slamming my fist down on the control panel in frustration.

"Yes, I am! Now what is the news?" he snaps back at me in annoyance, letting out a sigh as he places one hand on his hip. I shoot the blue hologram a weak frown, casting my eyes down to my boots the moment I saw Hayes' face fall as he came to the realisation of what I was presumably about to say. I hear him sigh once more, watching him as he tries to take steady breaths, "She failed, didn't she."