Safe Haven: Jedi Survivor

Chapter 1

"Ace, where are you!" Nyra shouted, stepping out of the confines of her beachside hut, holding a hand up to shield her eyes from the harsh sunlight that bore down on the planet's surface. Glancing over to her right, she could see a little a BD unit planting some Corellian fruit seeds along the tree-line where dirt met sand. "Ace!"

3A-CE5 looked up, giving her a small beep and continued working. Nyra rolled her eyes, giving a half-hearted glare at the back of his little square head, she trudged along the beaches edge toward another massive grove of fruit vegetation to check their growth status. Being alone, Ace was her only source of help and company in trying to make credits, and this was the most isolated way of living that she'd found. Eight years of hiding her true self from the empire, and she'd done it all on her own. Even on a scrappy, backwater planet like Corellia, it was easier to blend in, and Nyra had no want or need to try and pull off someone of value on a planet like Coruscant.

Moving away from the shade of the grove of trees, she sat on the beach, staring out at the endless vision of clear blue water. The peaceful scenery was then interrupted by a low flying TIE-fighter that barely skimmed the surface of the water, heading toward an Empire Shipment outpost about a kilometer to the south. Being able to hide, yes. Being able to fully escape any presence of the ever-growing Empire, no. She had been one of the many on Coruscant during the Purge inside the Jedi temple. Master Ganri, a studiously stubborn Arkanian teacher of hers had managed to get her out before he vanished back into the temple which was the last time she'd seen him.

A small trill made her turn her head, seeing Ace run over with his two feet kicking up small waves of sand.

"All done?" Nyra asked him. Ace gave a nod, then another when she asked if the goods were ready to be harvested. There was a goods transportation ship that came in every six months to collect foods that growers harvested for the empire, and today at the end of the day was the last time until another six months would come. She got up and brushed off the sand from her pants, walking back in the direction of the beach hut. 

Walking past it, she pushed aside some long vines that hung over the opening of a massive cave, revealing her ship that she used for transport. It was a rather large and somewhat rusted XS Stock Light Freighter that she'd tagged as Deceptor, having won if off of some smuggler after playing a few rounds of Sabacc about four years ago. That was the extent of her fun on days where there wasn't much to be done.

Firing up the ship, Nyra gently moved it up and out of the cave, settling down on the sand. For the next couple of hours, her and Ace harvested the edible vegetation, placing it in crates and then flew off into the port side of the city, touching down on one of the landing platforms.  Trudging down the boarding ramp, I met up with a trooper.

"You can't land here unless you have goods for transport." Stated the trooper.

"That's why I'm here..." She replied, holding back a snarky tone. Ace had opened up the loading bay doors in the back of the ship, revealing at least three hundred pounds of goods which some nearby port workers began to haul out to set down on the platform. "What's three hundred pounds going to get me in credits?"

"About eighty credits."

Nyra's eyes widened in disbelief. "It cost me nearly one hundred credits to get the seeds and the gardening supplies, you can't be serious! That load is worth five-hundred at the most."

"Take it or leave it, kid. You don't make the rules." The trooper finalized.

Nyra didn't argue, rolling her eyes and accepted the credits given, along with some ration packets. Flying back to her home and placing the Deceptor back in the cave, it was nearly nightfall by the time her and Ace had returned back to the beach. The sky filled with beautiful colors, matching the ones she'd see in the ocean spray during the day. 

Settling in for the night inside the hut, she got to cooking a meal for herself, letting it simmer on the fire as she kicked back on a rickety chair next to a salt-worn table. "So much for hard work payday, huh Ace."

The little droid was perched on the table top, head drooping as he told her how preposterous it was for not getting directly what was owed.

"I get that, they're probably using it to 'further the great empire's future'." She smiled when Ace stomped his metal foot in anger. 

There was a distant explosion outside of the hut, making her lean forward and listen. The dangling legs on her chair squeaking in protest as they hit the wooden flooring. Along with the sound of engine failure, there was rumbling boom and the house shook slightly with the impact.

"What the hell...oh my god you've got to be kidding me!" Nyra had gotten up and looked outside. The moonlight illuminated the scene of her flourishing gardens which were no more, having been completely smashed and torn up under the weight of a silver and blue luxury yacht. Some of the surrounding vegetation had caught fire, illuminating the destruction of the hard work that Nyra had put forth over the last several years on this planet.