To the Far Reaches

Bounty

I felt the back of my head pounding with warmth. My hands were cuffed together in front of me. I realized that I was in an alleyway now, in the dark. A figure on my left grew larger and louder as he walked towards me. I suspected that he was my capturer.

He paused in front of me and crouched down to where I was sitting against stone wall.

"You killed my friend. I don't like people who hurt my friends, especially you." He pulled out a knife and held it against my neck. I did not show my fear, but I felt it skip a beat and pulse down to my fingers.

"You're a wanted man." The shadow smiled. I remained silent and did my best not to shake. I could feel that my pockets had been emptied of their contents.

"Where's my necklace?" I nodded with disgust at the man.

"Your necklace? That is what you want! Fool! A better question to be asking is where's your lightsaber!" The figure laughed while I sat on the dirt floor with an emotionless face.

"I asked where my necklace is." I asserted sternly. He continued to laugh from the previous comments he made. I lowered my head and looked up at him. He stopped laughing immediately and brought his hands to his throat. His eyes widened along with his mouth, but no sound came from him other than a wheezing inhale.

"I asked you a question." I sat back now and watched in amusement. Life was leaving his eyes; he was on the cusp of death. A few others came down the alleyway to restrain me.

"We want him dead!" The one ordered and pointed to me. I released the man and let him catch his breath.

"Who are you?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

"You wouldn't know, but you may recall meeting my dehumanized form: KI- 8036."

"And I, TY- 7254." Another added. They all said their identification combinations in repugnance.

"After the war we were liberated. We all found it quite satisfactory that you had been killed. That is until we caught word you had been on Mandalore. Look around you, Ben, there's spies everywhere hunting you down. We just got lucky, but every ex-trooper and ex-pilot is looking for you. Your hate crimes cannot go unpunished." They came closer and I could see the hate in the stiffness of their faces. I stood up in front of them.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"Sorry doesn't cover it." TY- 7254 held a blade above his head and started to bring it down on my skull until it was blocked by my cuffs. There was a moment where we stared at each other, examining our flaws. I pushed the blade away and kicked the man over. The other ex-troopers now drew their weapons. The tallest of the group held my green lightsaber. I targeted him first. He swung without a purpose other than to exterminate his opponent. There was no form or meaning; hate fueled his lackadaisical movements. I dodged and crouched swiftly. When he attempted to thrust my lightsaber into my stomach, I slid to the side and placed the cuffs in his path. The metal that bound my wrist turned orange then melted into fiery liquid on the ground. I elbowed the skeletal man in the face and took my lightsaber. Now everyone stood in terror. I took TY- 7254's body and slammed it into the ground. The others fought me all at once. There were five after TY- 7254 had perished.

They all shot at me, but I blocked every shot with grace. I lifted them from the ground and threw them against the alley wall. One by one, the gang died off. I holstered my saber now, and grabbed the necklace from around one of cold necks.

"Over there!" I heard a distant voice cry. My legs were already jogging down the alley and deeper into the city. A hand tugged back my shoulder. I spun on my heels and brought my hands back with my green lightsaber aflame.

"Shhh! Follow me!" The old man stepped back then motioned with his hand for me to follow. How did I know this was not a trap? What if he was luring me away to my death? I felt weak to rely on an old man in times of a personal crisis. My brain fought my heart. I went to step but didn't. I went to speak but I didn't. Finally, I gave in and nodded to the old man to take me. I followed him down another alley, then through an entryway covered by a tarp. We went down an elongated hallway before reaching a room full of cargo crates and machine parts.

"Why are you helping me?" I broke the silence.

"I once worshipped you. I was against the Resistance, unlike most of the people who live here now. I saw you got yourself into some trouble and figured I might as well help out." The man shook with old age. My heart broke. No one should want to worship Kylo Ren, it is not right to. If you were to worship him, then your suffering must be so great that it blinds you.

"Thank you, but I need to get off of this planet. I need to get to Borao immediately." I tripped over my tongue while gesturing to the sky. The man rubbed the stubble on his chin and thought for awhile.

"I'm making a run to Ramodi in the morning. If you are willing to move a couple of crates onto my cargo ship I can get you there for free." The man offered. Ramodi was next to Borao, but it still was not where I needed to be.

"Why can't you fly me to Borao?" I asked, holding up the remaining credits I had. The man chuckled.

"They don't like me there. Between you and me, I got banned from trading there. They caught me smuggling worse things than money." He whispered.

"My name is Tilo, at your service." He bowed his head.

"Thank you, Tilo. I'll take your offer." I answered.

"Excellent. You can sleep behind those crates in case they come looking for you in here." His pruny finger pointed to a stack of crates in the dingy corner of the room. I bowed then disappeared behind the boxes. For some time I sat against the wall rubbing my fingers against the necklace. I closed my eyes and read it's history. I watched Rey take the stones and myself rip them from her. I fell asleep with them wrapped around my hand.