Descending

Chapter 1

Kallea wanted nothing to do with the Jedi Order. That's how she found herself on a strange planet fighting to survive. Literally.

"Next up we have Kallea vs Brakarr!" Fabi announced. He was a slug looking creature, a hutt. He owned the bar and the secret underground fighting ring we were currently standing in. He was a greedy bastard.

I slapped my hands together, knocking off any extra chalk. I looked up at the giant Wookie I had to fight. He was massive and a million times stronger than me. He looked into my eyes and let out a deep growl in an attempt to intimidate me. I glared in response. I couldn't let him see me scared. I couldn't let any of them. They'd eat me alive. I took a glance around the room. It was full of assholes placing bets against me. Because there is no way a human could win against a Wookie. I could almost taste the satisfaction of the disappointment on their faces when I won. I took a breath, and cleared my mind. I had to focus on the task ahead of me.

I couldn't let him touch me. He'd easily crush me. I'd have to evade his attacks and try to knock his feet out from under him. Then maybe I'd be able to pull something off. The thing about Wookies is, because of their size they aren't very graceful. They aren't as skillful as they are strong.

I planted my feet into the ground and raised my arms in a blocking stance. If my plan worked, I wouldn't need it. I waited for Fabi to countdown.

"Three, two..... one!" Fabi shouted. The sound of his blaster rang in my ear, and we were off.

The Wookie charged at me, and I ducked and rolled away from him. The crowd cheered in response.

I regained my stance, but I did it a little too slowly as the Wookie grabbed my hair and threw me to the ground. Causing the back of my head to slam into the dirt floor. Fuck, he was even faster than I thought. As my ears rang I rolled to the side to keep him from stomping on me. I could hear the crowd going crazy. They wanted him to kill me. But he would not catch me unprepared again.

I rose to my feet and waited for him to charge again. As he did, I dodged him by moving to the side and kicked the back of his knee as hard as I could. He fell to his knees, and I took advantage. As I moved behind him, he was at my mercy. I grabbed his neck and snapped it, with a little help from the force of course.

The crowd went silent as they all stared at me in shock. Fabi huffed as he made his way over to me. He whispered lowly so only I could hear, "That was quick." Before he held my arm in the air as he declared, "Kallea wins!"

Everybody groaned in response as they handed their money to the collector. Only two people won money tonight; me and Fabi. Fabi knows I have some tricks up my sleeve and doesn't dare to ask questions. It's a win-win situation, he places his bets on me knowing I will win and we both get to walk away with some credits.

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Later that evening I finally made my way to my bunker. Being Fabi's best fighter meant I got my own room which definitely was a perk. After a few strong drinks I attempted to force heal myself, which wasn't the greatest idea. I was struggling to use the force to close the gash on the back of my head. I ran my fingers through my dirty hair and finally found the source of the blood. I gently pressed my hand against the sore wound and felt it slowly close up. I sighed in relief and made a move to grab some clean clothes from my dresser. When suddenly my door flew open, and in a panic I used the force to throw an empty bottle of booze at the intruder.

"Hey!" I screamed in panic before I recognized the familiar Jedi.

"Relax Kallea. It is only me." Yord held the empty bottle in the air using his own force abilities before gently setting it on my dresser. "You look rough." Yord acknowledged as he scanned me over.

I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him an unimpressed look. "Thanks. Now what are you doing here Yord? I never thought I'd see your face again."

A wave of emotion unknown to Kallea washed over him. He looked at her solemnly before converting back to his emotionless self.

I would have never in a million years guessed what he was about to say.

"Osha is a suspect in the murder of Master Indara." He said flatly.

My jaw practically dropped to the floor. I felt a million thoughts run through me as I struggled to maintain my composure. "That's not possible. I would have felt something." I dug my nails into my hand in an attempt to calm myself.

"Your connection to the light side of the force isn't as strong as it used to be. I haven't felt you in a long time." Yord whispered softly.

I snapped out of my daze and looked at him sternly. "So why are you here telling me this and not out searching for her?"

"I received order from the Jedi Council to bring you on this mission because of the force bond you two share. And your abilities will prove useful in this task." Yord spoke gracefully like the good Jedi Knight he was.

"And if I don't help you?" I gritted my teeth in frustration.

"Then I will be forced to detain you for illegal gambling and murder." Yord said coldly.

Kallea laughed and held her wrists out for him to take. "Go ahead and arrest me Yord. You know I don't want anything to do with the Jedi anymore." She smiled at him mockingly as he hesitated to put the cuffs on her wrists. "Go on Yord. Do what the Jedi tell you." Kallea challenged him.

The battle in his eyes was evident. "What I want does not matter Kallea. I serve a higher purpose."

She looked at him sadly, slightly regretting her cold words. "The Jedi are not who you believe them to be Yord."

"Maybe." He sighed. "But it doesn't matter."

She knew that was all she'd get from the loyal Jedi Knight.

"Help me Kallea. The Jedi are not evil, we must seek justice for Master Indara." He tried to reason with her.

Kallea fiddled with her fingers as she battled in her mind. She didn't agree with what the Jedi stood for, but she cared about her family. Osha always respected the Jedi. It didn't make sense for her to kill Indara... Unless she knew. Kallea felt her blood run cold. Nobody besides the Jedi that were there that day knew what had really happened. But Osha couldn't know, she'd left the order and the Jedi involved were scattered across the galaxy.

Kallea hesitated. "If I help you it will be because I believe Osha is innocent."

"Okay." He nodded. "We leave tomorrow."