Marauders: A Star Wars Story

Prologue: Steel Wings(Nova)

BANG!

A loud crack of thunder and lightning striking the durasteel hull of our ship, echoed off the walls of the hangar bay. I remember how badly I flinched, like the sudden spark of divine wrath had woken me from a dream, and brought me back to reality. I looked around, taking in the scenery around me as I waited for the ship to reach its destination. I'd been standing beside of one of the swoop bikes, idly examining it and daydreaming about riding it across the fields on Shili or the snowy deserts of Y'ness. I put my head on a swivel as I tried to calm myself and get in my bearings.

The hangar was full of all sorts of people, dressed in all manner of outfits and carrying a vast armoury of weapons from across the galaxy. I took notice of the men close to me, the people I would be dropping out of this hangar with and riding across the stormy planet alongside of in the next few moments. One of them, a human with soft black hair and a determined glare, noticed my staring and looked back just in time for me to turn away. My heart was racing, just last week I was screwing around in a bar on some backwater planet without a care in the world and now I'm getting ready to drop out of a ship with a bunch of people I don't know to go and poke the Imps? It was all so crazy. Thankfully, the man I had locked eyes with a few seconds ago, managed to snap me out of my haze by suddenly calling to me.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked me. I gave him a nervous chuckle and a nod as I took in his features. His angular face and dark eyes gave him this air of confidence and mystery that I couldn't describe. At least, not at the time. Now I know it was because I knew nothing about him.

"Oh, I'm fine! Just excited is all. I've never done this before, the whole, jumping out of a ship, thing, that, is." I managed to stumble the words out to him. In reality, I had done this once before when I was a teenager. I cleared my throat, trying to make idle conversation and help the time until launch pass. "My name's Snowfeather. How about you?"

"Alvarez." He said back simply. I had given a fake name, the name of a bird I read about in the library on Corusant when I was there. I felt bad lying about my name, but I didn't know him or any of these guys yet, and I had never been the kind to trust easily. Alvarez suddenly hit me with a question that caught me off guard. "You know how to fly, lady?"

My mind ground to a halt at this. Lady? Excuse me? Was he talking down to me, insulting me? What the hell?! "What's that supposed to mean?!" I shouted out without thinking. My voice echoed off the walls and managed to catch everyone's attention. I was ready to tear this guy a new one over that, even though I don't know why it flared my blood so much when someone stepped between us.

I looked up to him, something I was used to being a small Togruta. The man before me was more of the same, a tall guy with long dark hair and green eyes. But this one at least had sage-green skin. A Mirialan from the looks of it, and based on this first interaction and the way he stood between us, he seemed like a coward to me. "Alright now, let's please calm down. We're here to do a job, not fight amongst ourselves." He said. I recognized his accent instantly, he was from Corusant too, and his tone was barely removed from the tone of an Imperial officer. I sneered at him as I sized him up, my mind already trying to find some further flaw in him to confirm my own terrible biases.

"Who are you?" I asked in a rude tone as I adjusted the hood of my snow-white poncho. I stood out heavily in this crowd, a small Togruta dressed in all white with golden yellow jewellery adorning my montrails and a blade as large as my body attached to my back and barely visible under the large poncho. I looked into this man's eyes as I waited for my answer, trying to look strong and intimidating despite my stature.

"You can call me Venthos Cen. I'd say it's my pleasure to meet you but," he paused, looking around the ship and grimacing at the loose wires and panels all over. "I wouldn't call these pleasurable conditions." he finished. I knew it, cowardly and scared of a little danger like the rest, a typical senate dog. I rolled my eyes, though my gaze softened some. Sure, my bias was confirmed but there was this charm to him I couldn't describe. The same I would feel for an animal doing its best to seem scary. Venthos had given his real name and even tried to lighten the mood. I guessed he couldn't be all bad.

"Nova. Nova Bari. That's my name. And this is nothing. I've flown worse." I smirked and responded. I could see Alvarez turn to me, hearing my name instead of the alias I gave him. I was expecting hurt or mistrust, but he looked like he understood the hesitance and just took note of the proper name. However, he would still go on to call me the name I gave him instead. "So," I began to question, looking to the four or five people also at swoop bikes around us. "how'd all of you get roped into this scene?"

BANG!

Another bolt of lightning struck the hull of the ship, this one making the whole thing bend and the lights flicker for a few seconds. I heard a few screams from around me, but couldn't identify them. When the lights did come back on, they came with a voice over the ship's comms.

"We are reaching the drop point, swoops down in 60!" I heard a feminine voice call out with a heavy Rylothian accent. I'd later come to know and deeply trust the woman on the other end, but for now, I only thought she sounded strange. I leapt onto my swoop bike and straddled the seat, gripping the handlebars fondly as I watched the four other people I would be riding with do the same, displaying varying levels of piloting skill. I even saw a couple of them group up on the same bike, claiming they were not able to pilot these bikes alone. I grinned smugly as I expertly revved the bike and got it started. I was an ace pilot and a show-off to boot. I gave a couple of confident revs as I waited for the bay doors to open up.

I looked around one last time as I put on my hood, deep and low to keep the rain from my face and montrails. I saw Venthos grab the goggles around his neck and put them on, Alvarez slid his helmet onto his head and put the visor into place. A human in a flight suit nervously gripped the handles while a Miraluka sat behind him, retying his blindfold and waiting with confidence. They began to discuss plans and details over the comms in our ears while we waited for the last few seconds to pass, talking about our destination and the weather, and attempts to keep low and hidden. But to me, it all went in one ear and out the other as I shut my eyes and focused.

I felt each raindrop hit the hole in my montrails, hypersensitive to danger from years of being on alert. Each bang of thunder crash outside and the roar of the engines all serving to keep my attention around me. When I felt the moving of gears and levers, pistons and motors beginning to move and an airlock hiss open, I knew it was time. I floored it instantly, speeding through the bay before anyone else even knew the door was opening and reached it when it was halfway down, forming a ramp. I saw the stormy sky and brown earth below as I jumped from the ship, reaching the air outside and taking a deep breath as time slowed around me. Each harsh raindrop that splattered across my lime green face, reminded me that I was a free woman now, and it felt like heaven. This was what I wanted more than the whole world. Fast ships, big guns, heavy swords, all were fun and fine but nothing in the world matched the truest feeling of life that a person could ever obtain. Freedom.