Star Wars: Japhet

Chapter 2: Shutters

Chapter 2: Shutters

Nineteen Years Later

Nineteen years later, in the bone-dry wastes of the planet of Lohindre, the small town of Haja'ah emerged from the landscape with its scrappy tents and crudely built quadratic stone houses all equipped with shutters to keep the sand storms at bay. Along with the bustling activity of merchants low going speeders roared back and forth from the town to the wastes where the merchant ships land and all sorts of both simple and advanced products are constantly changing hands in exchange for credits or similar wares. 'Find what your heart desires in Haja'ah, or never find it at all' is written on the rusty old brass plate nailed to a pole and nearby a voice wheezed in quiet contempt. There in the main square of the market, leaned against a table with her arms crossed, was a young woman, waiting. Blonde hair – bleached almost to white by the sun – extended to the middle of her back tied into a tidy ponytail on a slightly elongated, elegant face. A girl who pushed the ends of her teens casually observed the trade inside the large open-sided tent as if she waited for something or someone to give her a reason to even halfway care. She was a little taller than the average girl her age with a slim athletic frame and while her blue cat-eyes and smooth skin had all the features to attract attention, her sullen expression seemed to serve as a bulwark against idle conversation.

A slight frown from her raven brows still signified some distant interest as a stranger approached into the shadows of the open market tent. The girl inclined her head in the direction of the guy even as grains of sand twirled around her eyes making her squint.

"I'm not buying anything ya' know." Her red lips formed the words before he could introduce himself, waving his interest away with disinterested politeness. She had dreamed of bigger adventures and she was only here because Captain Umbre was in charge, and with his reputation back on Dasnan, she wondered what had brought him to cast more than one pitiful gaze on this barren planet of sand and rocks.

"Yeah I can't blame you, most of these nicked clay vases look like they'll turn back into sand if you place them down too firmly – but then again sometimes you find yourself looking at a real gem." The stranger said and the girl took another glance his way. He was about her age, if not a couple of years older, with brown curly hair and quite a tan. Definitely not shabby, but judging from his clothes also a native of this sandy hell. He'd better cut down on the pushy flirting, she thought, as daggers formed in her eyes.

"Even if the clay vases you try to sell are as smooth as that smile, I'm not interested. It's still just clay." the girl casually remarked as she reverted to glancing around everywhere else, blatantly ignoring him. She heard a light hearted chuckle she did not expect from someone who had been so rudely rejected and she cast another glance up and down the guy. "You remind of the sand here; still in my eyes even if I wave it away." Her words cut and for a moment an expression of surprise overtook him before a faint smile took its place and he nodded.

"Yeah I think I understand quite well. You're staying here for a few days traveling along with someone else and want to slumber your way through them." He said cheekily. "But if you change your mind, I'm Rees. I work over at The Bug, the biggest bar in town. You can't miss it when the lights and music kicks in in the evening – just follow the noise!"

He had a cheerful smile that somehow caused the girl to relax her tense shoulders a bit.

"Uhm sure..." she hesitated but her gaze lingered in the direction of the boy as he left and melted into the rest of the clay-pot-buying crowd. She shifted her shoulders with a sigh, leaned back and closed her eyes while trying to soak the continuous waves of heat with the least amount of physical movement she could get away with.