Lost Souls (Englisch Version)

Busted

 pov. Poe
With my head bowed, I hurried through the busy streets of Iktotch. I had landed a few minutes ago and was now on my way to the meeting point of our informant. Dark clouds hung low over the roofs. It almost seemed as if nature had adapted to the desolation of this city. 

The people around me looked as if an invisible force was sucking their energy out. Deep dark circles appeared under their eyes. Their clothes fluttered in the wind around their malnourished bodies. I was sure that they earned just enough from their work in the mines and factories of the First Order to keep from starving. 

In one fluid movement, I pulled my comm from my belt and activated it. "I'll be at the meeting point in two minutes." Without waiting for an answer, I put the communication device back on my belt and left the alley that led to the market square.
Disgust and anger rose in me as I entered the market square. A market square should be teeming with people. Traders were supposed to advertise their wares and compete for customers. Children were supposed to romp around playing. But none of that was the case. 

My gaze fell on the middle of the square, where the only stall was located. The symbol of the First Order was emblazoned in front of me. Two stormtroopers stood to the right and left of a wooden table, their blaster rifles loosely held in their hands. A middle-aged man repeatedly accepted the residents' money and gave out ridiculous rations of food. Most of them only got ration bars. Now and then I could see fresh fruit. 

I pulled the hood of my coat further over my face and turned away from the tragedy. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't help these people. The informant had priority. The information he had collected over the past few weeks on the planet's base would hopefully help us in our fight against the First Order. And at the same time help all the worlds that had to suffer under the cruel rule of the First Order. 

I crossed the cobbled market square with quick steps and turned into a tiny side street. I nervously let my gaze wander down the street. There were hardly any people to be seen. Only a few dark figures hurried along the cobbled path and then disappeared into the next street. I took a deep breath and walked down the street with firm steps. My boots left a clattering sound on the stones. In the silence of this street, it echoed unpleasantly loudly in my ears. I squinted a little when I spotted a person a few meters away. 

The man was leaning against the wall behind him, apparently relaxed. A few gray strands ran through his otherwise black hair. He had his arms crossed and was tapping his forearm with his fingers in an irregular rhythm. As soon as he spotted me, he pushed himself off the stone wall and came towards me. "That took quite a while." He ran his hand through his hair and let his gaze wander paranoidly first to the right and then to the left. 

I tilted my head. He should be glad that I took this risk and was here at all. "My ship isn't far away." Without responding to his accusation, I pointed with my head in the direction where my X-wing was. "Let's go." I turned around with a swing, my hood slipping off my head and ran into someone. "Can't you..." I cursed and raised my head "...be careful." The last word literally got stuck in my throat. 

Snow-white armor flashed at me. A stormtrooper stood in front of me. Sweat formed on my forehead. My hand twitched towards my blaster. Where there was a stormtrooper, his unit wasn't far away. "I'm sorry." I mumbled, exchanged a glance with the black-haired man behind me and tried to push past the trooper. 

But the soldier raised his blaster rifle and aimed it at me. "Don't move!" his voice came muffled through his helmet. My hand wrapped around the handle of my blaster, ready to draw it and silence the trooper. "I really don't want any trouble." I tried to calm the soldier down. I didn't want to shoot him, the blaster fire would draw unnecessary attention to us.