Defenders of Starlight: A Star Wars Story (Book 1)

tatooine

I bring up the coordinates for Tatooine. The assignment will be quick. Over and done with. My armband beeps. BK has sent me the coordinates for when I am on the planet. I swipe through them and curl my lip. They aren't for Luke Skywalker's location. They're for a pathetic cantina he's known to commonly visit. Great, that requires questioning and more of my time.

The blue of hyperspace is barely there for more than twenty minutes as I ease The Hollow down. I suck in a breath. There it is. The dust covered rock of Tatooine steadily grows closer. I ignore the quickening of my heart. Not only am I assigned to steal a lightsaber from a supposed legend, but I will have to kill him. That's why BonDar assigned me to this, not Tevosa.

No one can kill a Jedi so I will have to.

My ship is by far one of the finest of the others docked outside of the Mos Eisley Cantina. I make sure to leave my ship as far as possible, expecting smugglers to try and steal it at some point. I sigh and pull my mask up before exiting The Hollow. I doubt anyone would recognize me here on this secluded area, but it wouldn't hurt. Besides, the New Republic may be crawling across this planet now that Luke Skywalker's sister probably deemed it a historical site. I wouldn't know, I don't care much for her new rules. However, a declaration like that is most likely what made the small desert wasteland village a booming city. That and perhaps past leadership.

        BonDar has heavily detailed files against each gang family here and where they have taken up shop. His base on Eoccar holds many of those gangsters secrets, secrets that have cost Tevosa and I much of ourselves to obtain. For now, I'm hoping not to be detected by Three Fingers, the one BonDar warned against.

     The cantina is no where near as fine as Rosso Haven, but its quiet. From outside, I can hear the soft hum of music and simple chatter over tables lit by small fires. As I walk through the door, my favorite reaction is almost immediate. The music dies followed by most of the conversations. I sigh and keep my head straight, making my way to the bar, preparing for the shockingly sober murmurs. But what I hear stops me in my tracks.

"Is that a Jedi?"

"It has to be, look at the position of the silka beads."

      Instinctively, I want to touch what has caused so many stares. The idea that these outcasted inhabitants of a back desert planet would know a togruta custom is unsettling. It's just a cultural decoration to represent my ancestors, none that I know of.

"Stars... She can't be, everyone knows the last Jedi is human."

I look around when the nearest owners of the voices erupts into giggles at the mention of the Jedi, "Ooh yes, he's very attractive."

Disgust spreads across my face given the fact that two girls barely my age would find a sixty year old hermit attractive. Regardless, I take a breath and step before the girls, now aware of the way my silka beads bounce against my back lekku.

"You've see him?"

The girls stop giggling and look at me. One with a wrapping around the majority of her head, showing only her face, I assume to protect her from the suns, smiles.

"Of course I have! He only comes in here once a month and I wouldn't miss a sighting like that, would I!" She squeals. My head starts to pound. That's pathetic. Nevertheless, I drag up a stool and straddle my legs over.

"Where does he live?" I ask, leaning back as I cross my arms. The girl drops her smile and shrugs.

"No one knows. He doesn't talk to anyone when he comes into town," She explains, pushing a dark strand of hair back into her head wrap with delicate, dust covered and crooked fingers that look like they've been broken one too many times.