Star Wars - Aliit Nehutyc

Chapter 6: Prisoners

Kad walked over to the groaning figure of the bounty hunter. "Hello there," he said, grabbing for a pair of cuffs on his belt. Ko'Anna rolled over and held her hands up, waiting for the cuffs to snap around her wrist. Kad grabbed her hand and helped her to her feet. He tossed the cuffs to Echoy'la and pushed her towards him. Echoy'la awkwardly grabbed the handcuffs and held them. He glanced at Kad in bewilderment then at the cuffs. Ko'Anna looked at him, waiting for her restraint. Echoy'la removed his helmet and looked at Ko'Anna. He heard her intake of breath through her helmet. "Echoy'la," she murmured.

"Ko'Anna, I am sorry, but I have to do this," he said slowly. She nodded.

"Do what you must," she said. He gently took her wrists and clamped the cuffs on them, then, seeing that she was favouring her left foot and was bleeding in various places, put his arm under hers and placed her arms over his shoulders to support her. Kad looked over, saw this, and, feeling an unusual surge of empathy, tossed Echoy'la a red stim-pack.

"Give that to her, it will help stop the bleeding and give her a bit of energy," Kad said as Echoy'la caught the pack. He jabbed her neck with it, and she grunted.

"Thanks, cousin," she said, rolling her neck, loosening the muscles. As they were walking back home, they spotted a small hut. Kad heard a rustling noise from within the hut and motioned for the clan to be quiet. Everyone stopped moving except for the creature in the hut. Kad flipped down his infrared viewer on his helmet and looked in the hut. A short figure in red appeared in his HUD. It was hopping around from one place to another in the hut, and something clattered from inside. Kad signalled for his vode to stay back while he investigated closer. He quietly stepped forward, and the little creature stopped moving. Kad inched forward and opened the makeshift door of the hut. A Squib stood behind the door with a stick and tried smashing Kad on the head, but the stick broke. The Squib grimaced and held its hands up. Kad handcuffed him and led him outside.

"Look what the cat dragged out of the rabbit's hole," Ko'Anna said. The Squib growled at her in anger and looked away.

"Found this fella in there with some scrap metal. It looks like the metal from my bike," Kad said, looking down at the Squib. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Look, look. I was hired by the Imps, 'kay? If they ask you to do something, you do it. Besides, their deal was too good to pass up. I blow your speeders; I keep the scraps and make my own armour from it. With it, I rid the Empire of another of their enemies, I get in their good graces," the Squib said, squirming in the cuffs. Kad grinned under his helmet.

"All right, come home with us, we'll give you a comfortable room, and we'll discuss some stuff," Kad said. They started walking through the woods, and in twenty minutes they saw a fort.

"We're home," Kar said, pulling off her helmet. Kad opened the door, and they walked in. Echoy'la led the prisoners to their quarters, left them there, and locked the door as he left. In his quarters, the Squib was cleaning his grey fur and plucking out bugs. He looked around at the metal benches and shelves to see if there was anything worth salvaging. He spotted a few odd-shaped metal objects and picked them up.

"These could be worth something," he thought to himself. Then he gently placed them in his bag. It was at that moment that Darra walked in. The squib quickly sat down on a bench and twiddled his thumbs.

"What are you up to?", asked Darra narrowing her eyes. The squib jumped.

"Who, me?" he asked, feigning surprise.

"Yes, you. Now if you would be so kind as to hand over those gauntlets that you have in your bag, I will give you an opportunity you can't turn down." Now, the squib was taken aback that this strange human with a scary helmet (which resembled a wolf a bit) would know about the stolen goods. But his natural collaborating mind was already calculating the profits. What was this glorious deal she is going to offer? he thought to himself.

"What is the deal first?" he asked cautiously.

"First, you hand over the gauntlets," Darra stated flatly.

"No, the deal first. I want to know that I won't be turned out without a profit."

Darra nodded, expecting such an answer from a squib.

"Fine then. Do you live alone?" she asked. The squib nodded.

"Do you enjoy it?" Now the squib was very puzzled. He did hate living by himself and away from the pack, but this stranger didn't need to know that. Then he thought about what was at stake.

"Not really," he sighed.

"Fine then. Join our clan." Now the squib was really thinking. If he were to join the clan, he would have a place to sleep and a whole group of people to keep him company. He would also have a lot of gear at his fingertips that could be worth a fortune on the black market. The only problem was not letting this new stranger know about his plans. He looked up at the armoured figure standing cross-armed and waiting for an answer.

"All right, I'll join," he said thoughtfully.

"Great! We'll have a goran get you fitted with a set of armour squib sized and then brief you."

Darra started to leave, then paused, turned, and said, "I am Darra by the way."

"I'm called Finnery," the squib replied. Darra nodded.

"Grey," she replied.

"You know squib?" asked the squib surprised.

"A little. I've been many places," she said, with a faraway tone, then walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.