LONELY STARS | A Star Wars Story

E I G H T

     "I'm sorry, Kiera," Rela says to me. We are in a small room of the ship, that has a bunk bed and storage shelves. I'm sitting on the top bed, hugging my legs to my chest. BD is in the briefing room- the main room-charging his battery. I hadn't talked to anyone yet. Only went to this room to think about everything. Rela paces back and fourth in the small room, biting her nails.
     "Sorry for what?" I ask her, crossing my legs.
     She stares at the floor as she continues pacing. "Sorry for bringing you into this. It's just odd. I never thought anything like this would happen."
     "Never thought what would happen?"
     "We'd find this guy, he ends up being a good guy the whole time, we were going to sell him to a crime lord, and now we're on a Rebellion Ship with an Admiral that looks like a fish, and claims he knew we would be on Vandor." She stops walking and looks up at me. "To top it all off, there's more Jedi, more like you. This all doesn't make sense to me."
"Well- it doesn't for me either."
"I'm new to knowing about this whole wizard-Jedi thing," Rela says, "who was your master and what did they do?"
   I haven't spoken about my master in a long time. I do miss her, so I decide to explain everything.
     "Her name was Sia-Lan Wezz."

My Master was strict, harsh, and pushy- but she was like a mother to me. She actually cared about me. She loved me.
Sia was beautiful. Soft skin, light caramel hair twisted in a braid, kind smile. Although, when I think of her, my stomach drops. Even here, telling Rela about her, my hands start to shake. I remember her, and I miss her so much. I wish I could have done more to save her.
A short while after Order 66, when most all of the Jedi population was thought to be extinct, a group of Jedi survivors sought out a plan to destroy Palpatine and his new apprentice. On Kessel, a spice-mine planet, the Jedi finally found where the Emperor was hiding. They ignited their lightsabers, Sia-Lan's glowing green.. they were about to attack. Then a man- a robot- a Sith- interfered. He had a black mask on, breathing in and out in slow puffs, and he had hate flowing through every inch of him. He ignited his own lightsaber, and the Jedi attacked.

"What happened to your Master?"
Rela asked, leaning against the wall, looking at me with sad eyes.
"Someone told me- she was the first one to charge. She was like that- she wanted to sacrifice herself so everyone else could live. Sia was impaled in her chest- by Darth Vader. Most all the others were killed."
"If they were killed- who told you what happened to your Master?" Rela asks.
"There were some younger Jedi padawan witnesses that told me she was the first one to go after Vader. These Jedi were able to survive, for a little while. I'm not sure where they are now."
"So that's all? Then you just went into hiding?"
I sigh. "Yeah. Like all the other survivors, if there are any left."
Rela nods, and looks at the floor.
"Well, now you know my backstory.. what's yours?" I ask her.
Rela sighs and shakes her head. "Well, my mother and father were sold into slavery. Long story short, I moved to Tatooine when I was fourteen, and I've been moving around the galaxy ever since, because of being a bounty hunter. It's not the best job, but I get a lot of credits. Not a lot to tell."
She shifts uncomfortably, and I'm guessing she doesn't have good memories of her past.
"You know, you're different from other bounty hunters," I say to her.
"And why's that?" She asks, standing up straighter.
"Just a feeling." I began to trust her a bit more.
     She leans back against the wall again.
"Kiera... I never did kill anyone. When I say I was a bounty hunter, I was considered one, but all I did was track people down, and bring them to others, like Utap Keeda."
"I know," I say, as I lay down on the top of the bunk bed. The door slides open, and Rela leaves, and I get a hint of a smile on her face when she turns away. I close my eyes for a while, worn out from everything that had happened.
A real bed is a lot more comfortable then an ice wall.

     "Hey sleepyhead, we're landing," I slowly open my eyes. I look over at the door and see Rela peeking her head in, smiling. I hop off the bed, ready to see where this Admiral Raddus is taking us, and what he had planned.
     In the Briefing Room area of the ship, all the crew members stand around a circular white table. I stand next to Rela, BD on her shoulder.
     "There you are, Bee-Dee," I smile as he hops from Rela's shoulder to mine.

     In all, there are alot more crew members than I thought there would be. The species vary from humans to Wookiees to Zabraks, and a few combat droids, too. Everyone is talking to one another, and I look at Rela. "What's going on?"
     "Raddus is about to give a briefing," she says.

     Right on time, a door slides open and reveals Admiral Raddus, his eyes searching the room, making sure everyone was here. Raddus' eyes catch me, and he nods.

"Alright everyone, quiet down. We're approaching the planet Ryni."

I've heard of it before, but never have been there. Everyone quiets down, and stands up a little straighter.

"First off, some news," booms Admiral Raddus' scratchy voice. "We have two new members traveling with us today." The Admiral extends his scaly hand out to us, and people around the room glance at us, not knowing wether to trust us yet or not. "I assume you all will welcome them into our crew. Now, the next news- thanks to them, Vinis Vex is alive, and doing well." People excitedly stir around the room. Vinis must've been the man we- "saved"- from Fondor. I hadn't thought about one thing yet- when he sees me and Rela, he's probably not going to be happy. From fighting me to getting stunned by Rela, things are going to get very heated in here when he wakes up- "and, for the first time, he is able to stand- with the help of his brother." My knees get shaky. I balance myself on the circular table we are standing around, and I try to regain my posture. If the Admiral believes what Vinis says about me and Rela, we could be put in prison- or, if this guy's really fancy, put to death.

Instantly the same door that Admiral Raddus walked out of just minuets ago opens again. This time, it reveals Vinis, limping with his arm wrapped around (what I assume to be) his brother's neck. I see the family resemblance- his brother has the same dark hair and olive skin, but he is tall and thinner than Vinis, who is shorter and more muscular. Vinis' brother is wearing black baggy pants and boots, the standard, it seems, for these Rebel troops. He also wore a blue jacket, the same one Vinis had on at the prison camp.

     Vinis- well, Vinis looked horrible. His nose and cheeks were bright red, probably still recovering from the icy cold weather of Vandor. I could still see part of the scar he had on his forehead, and his face was all scratched up.

     "I wonder if he remembers us," Rela whispers to me, under the noise of the of the rest of the crew, talking with Vinis and wishing him a well recovery. It seems like he is very popular among these Rebel soldiers.

     I wonder if he remembers us. If he does, this could get ugly, fast.