Star Wars Tyranny on Teth

Chapter 2

Charles Rhodes made a modest living as a bounty hunter operating mostly in Hutt Space with occasional trips to the core worlds.

When he chose to become a bounty hunter, he knew it could be complicated. He was constantly reminded of that, most recently hitting a rough patch leading to his shortage of money. This was to be expected.

The Empire made things more difficult with their constant intrusion, but that could be avoided with the proper cunning. Constant crew turnover made it challenging to pull off jobs successfully, adding to Rhodes' trouble.

His last co-pilot hardly lasted two rotations before blowing the job, getting himself killed, and putting the rest of the crew at risk.

Even while down on his luck, Rhodes was confident in his ability to turn things around. This was nothing he had not dealt with before. Although he was only 23 years old, Rhodes had been bounty hunting for five years now.

One constant throughout this time was always his droid, Hunter. Toward the end of the Clone War, while Rhodes was still living on Coruscant, he found a damaged C1 astromech droid that had been abandoned. Rhodes was always good with technology, so he was able to repair the droid who turned out to be a valuable partner.

With Hunter by his side, the addition of their new crewmate Magdalena, and money to repair the ship, things were almost looking up for the crew of the Violet Kestrel.

Just as Rhodes was feeling the slightest bit of optimism, he heard some commotion on the crowded street. People were yelling in various languages as they tried to move out of the way. Before he knew it, he could see a hooded figure barreling toward him. Not reacting fast enough, Rhodes went tumbling to the ground, tangled with the figure.

He grumbled as he wrestled and pushed the stranger to the side. Already annoyed by the inconvenience, Rhodes stood up and turned to face the creature staggering to their feet.

Rhodes waited with one hand on his holster, ready for the worst. The stranger removed their hood to get a better look at who they had just bulldozed.

The two locked eyes and became engrossed in a stare down, both waiting for the other to make a move.

By this point the rest of the crowd had gone about their business, ignoring the tension between the two.

Lena, thinking they were under attack, had already drawn her knife as she stood off to the side with Hunter. She was clearly intrigued, but at the same time confused by the turn of events. Despite her confusion, she remained ready to help her new partner should he need it.

The stranger was a Gungan, an amphibious species native to the planet, Naboo. She stood quite a few inches taller than Rhodes and had light pink skin. Her eyes were shooting daggers at Rhodes as both sides appeared to be waiting on the other to break the silence.

Finally, Rhodes spoke up, overcoming an initial stutter. "Skye... I didn't think I would be seeing you again."

The Gungan replied by saying, "It's a small galaxy, Charles." Skye spoke remarkably good Galactic Basic for being a Gungan despite a slight accent.

Despite being born in Gunga City, she spent most of her time in the countryside with humans who were looking to escape the urban centers of Theed.

Lena, who was even more perturbed by the whole interaction, finally turned to Rhodes. "Ok, first of all, what is going on? Who's this creature? And I thought you said your name was Rhodes?"

Before Rhodes could answer her, Hunter wheeled past the two, speeding straight up to Skye, chirping in excitement. "I am, however, happy to see you, my little friend," Skye said, reaching down to pat the droid on its metal head.