A Life Without Meaning

𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕔𝕜𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 (𝕀𝕀𝕀)

It wasn't long before they were making the landing approach to Nevarro. Karga had ordered them to dock the ship far beyond the outskirts of town, at the edge of the lava flats. From there, the group of them would right out to meet him and his party, each of them on the back of a Blurrg.

They brought the creatures to a slow stop a few meters away from where the Guild leader stood, flanked by three men of his own. He stepped forward to address the group with a raise of his hands,

"Sorry for the remote rendezvous, Mando." he spoke up proudly. "But things have gotten complicated since you were last here. It appears that introductions are in order. It seems we've both provided a security detail. I recommend the shock-trooper guards the ship, these lava fields are lousy with Jawas."

Ellia immediately felt herself scowl.

"She's coming with us" Din answered commandingly.

"But the town is now run by ex-Empire." the man argued, "If a rebel dropper is with us, they'll all get their hackles up."

"She's coming." Ellia barked sharply, growing a bit agitated by the man's tone. She didn't miss the way Din sent her a quick glance over his shoulder.

Evidently Greef didn't have it in him to argue,

"Fine" he spat back, "Fine. At least cover up your tattoo. No need to flaunt it. Now, where is the little one?"

Ellia glanced over at Din hesitantly. He was sat as still as a statue on top of the Blurrg, but after a few more seconds of contemplation, he lifted up his arms, and pressed a button on the underside of his wrist guard. The floating cradle moved forward a bit to stop in front of where Greef was standing, and the top slid open, revealing the child inside.

The man approached the cradle, eyes wide with interest.

"So, this little bogwing is what all the fuss was about." he said, reaching inside and lifting the child up and out of its cradle.

On the back of her Blurrg, Ellia tensed dangerously. To her left, she saw Din's hand move to hover over the blaster on his hip.

"What a precious little creature. I can see why you didn't wanna harm a hair on its wrinkled little head." he said, and with that he rather gently placed the child back down. "Well, I'm glad this matter will be put to rest once and for all."

Din swiftly pressed the button on his wrist again, closing the cradle and recalling it back to his side.

"The sun drops fast on Nevarro. We can walk for a spell and camp out on the river bank, then make our way into town at first light."

Just like that, the group began their travels across the lava fields. They walked in a rather tense silence. It was evident that neither of the groups trusted the other, and that their collective gazes were constantly on the wary lookout.

. . .

When the suns finally did dip beyond the horizon, they stopped to set up a small campsite. At the center they stoked a roaring fire, lit by scooped pieces of lava from the nearby river. Over the top of it, there was a rotating piece of skewered meat, from a creature that the members of the guild had hunted along the way.

Kuiil took to feeding the child as the two groups continued to eye each other suspiciously from opposite sides of the flames.

Greef was the first one to break the silence,

"I guess the little bugger's a carnivore. Never seen anything like it." he mused, watching the child eat. "They were ready to pay a king's ransom for that thing. Must be for some kind of highfalutin menagerie."