STAR WARS: The Enlightenment

Chapter Zero

A young woman, in her early twenties, sat on a small stool. On the bar in front of her sat an untouched glass of liquor. She sat quietly, studying the way the drink bubbled. The club was loud. This was the busiest day of the week, as there was a fighting ring that was set up. People were standing around the ring, cheering for their fighters that they bet on. There was also a dance floor, flashing lights, and obnoxious music. She hated this song. There wasn't enough bass.

She sighed and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her hair was long down her back with wild curls. She had bangs straight across her forehead, hiding her eyebrows. Her piercing grey eyes glanced across the bar. A few feet away, to her left, sat a very tall alien. He was extremely muscular, with pale blue skin. His chin was sharp, as well as his jaw. His ears were slightly pointed, and he had what almost looked like small tusks growing from his bottom teeth. The alien wore a very large pair of slacks, and his chest and arms were covered in tattoos. He was drenched in sweat, probably because he had just finished a fight in the ring. A flock of women had surrounded him, but he ignored them. He was busy counting his winnings, which was a lot. He was an extremely skilled fighter in the ring and was becoming quite popular. Suddenly he looked up from his stash of money and glanced towards the young woman. Their eyes met. His were a golden yellow. She suddenly realized that she was staring. Her face flushed as she turned her eyes back at her drink. It was still bubbling.

She knew better than to stare at the fighters. They could take it the wrong way.

A few more songs played. None of them very good. The musicians here were horrible. It was way too loud here. There was so much cheering and screaming that it gave the young woman a headache. Yet she came here every time they held a fight. She couldn't say why. She was drawn to this place for some reason. It was almost like she was looking for something, or maybe, someone.

Suddenly she felt someone standing right behind her. She had an inkling on who it could be. The young woman straightened, her fingers balled into fists. She tilted her head upwards. The pale blue alien from earlier was staring back down at her. The flock of women stood just a few feet away, gossiping and staring.

"Who sent you?" he snapped. His voice was deep, rough.

"I'm sorry, what?" the young woman held back laughter. Did he think she was sent to harm him? Her? A scrawny kid from Lysatra? He was easily seven feet tall, and clearly out of his mind.

"You sit in that same seat every night there's a fight. You never touch the drink you order. You always just sit there and stare at me!"

The young woman blinked. A moment of silence passed between them. Then she doubled over in laughter. People around them began to look in their direction. When she finally composed herself she looked back up at the confused alien.

"I stare at everyone, it's a bad habit. Sorry."

The alien frowned. "That bad habit will get you killed one day, kid."

"I'm aware."

The alien seemed to believe her. She was a bit odd, but no assassin. He relaxed and went back to his seat. The group of women followed him, of course. He continued to ignore them, but found himself glancing back to where the girl sat. The alien went back to counting his money, but every once in a while he would look down the bar. Wondering about the strange girl who stared at everything. Every time he looked she was still staring at that drink.

Once he finished counting his money he stood up and looked one last time in the girl's direction. But she was gone, and a knocked over drink was all that remained. The bar keeper was muttering under his breath as he mopped up the spilled drink.