☆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀᴡɴ ᴏꜰ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ☆ ᴘᴏᴇ ᴅᴀᴍᴇʀᴏɴ

five

Nova gazed over her shoulder as they passed through the busy streets of the marketplace. Rey led them through the tight bends in the Outpost, passing many rough characters who grunted at them as they walked past. Nova peered down towards BB-8 to make sure that he was still there. They made their way between different stalls which were filled with mechanical parts, where Rey paused and squatted to BB-8's level, "I'll never sell you to someone like Unkar Plutt. He would sell you onto the black market." Rey explained. 

Footsteps shuffled in the sand from behind them, as a masked alien man approached Rey and spoke in an unrecognisable language. A presence shifted from behind Nova, making her turn around as a man approached her, speaking right in her face. "Sorry, I don't understand you." Nova spoke, as a hum started to resonate from beside her. The man continued to speak to her, not understanding her. 

The hum in her ear turned into a shrill shriek, as another masked man sprinted towards BB-8 and covered him with a sack. Rey noticed too and attempted to rescue the droid, "Oi! Get off him!" She shouted, as the man from behind her pulled her back. Nova quickly pushed the man in front of her away and turned to the man with the sack and kicked him in the side, pushing him to the ground. 

A pair of arms suddenly caught her in a tight grasp, as the man she pushed away held onto her. Nova quickly stomped on one of his feet before she elbowed him in the stomach, making him loosen his grasp. Nova quickly slipped out of his grasp as he held a hand out to catch onto her. Nova grabbed hold of his hand and twisted his arm around before kicking him in the stomach. The man stumbled a couple of steps back.

Nova quickly ducked as Rey's staff whipped through the air and hit the man she had beaten. Nova stood upright as the two men Nova had kicked approached her. One man grabbed her by the arm and threw her onto the dusty ground, before he stood over her and unveiled a pair of restraints. Nova quickly caught onto what was happening.

Sitting up, she swung her legs back before she kicked her feet into the man's knees, forcing his kneecaps out of place. The man fell to the ground as Nova rolled back onto her feet and dodged a punch from the other man. Nova twisted her body around and grabbed the man by his shirt before she flipped him over her shoulder, throwing him onto the ground. He let out a grunt as he slammed onto the ground, as Nova raised her gaze and watched Rey tackle the man beside her by twisting her staff into different angles. 

Rey held her staff with both hands and hit the man in the face multiple times with the metallic weapon, knocking many injuries onto his masked face before his body suddenly collapsed onto the ground and he fell unconsious. Rey let out a heavy breath before she faced Nova with a sigh. A stir trembled from behind Nova, as crowds of people observed the fight. Rey's eyes widened, "Nova, watch out!" She shouted, as Nova felt shifting from behind her. 

Nova turned around and faced the two men she had previously beaten. The man with the injured knees weakly staggered in his place as they tensed their hands, preparing for another fight. The warm sun shone down onto her, as she began to overheat in her jacket. Nova let out a tired sigh and curled her hand into a fist, as Rey tightened her grip around her staff as she prepared to help Nova. The men muttered to each other in their alien language, as their voices growled in aggression. Nova had no idea what they were saying, but she had crossed paths with many bounty hunters and thugs to come to an aussumption.

The first man took a step towards her and prepared to attack, before he stopped in his tracks when a blast seared through his chest. The man looked down to his chest in shock as steam floated from his wound, as it glowed from the blaster fire. The man looked back at the seemingly harmless woman, who held her blaster up, still aiming at him. Nova quickly lowered the blaster and aimed at the man beside him and fired a blast into his stomach, throwing him to the ground.