𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 ── ᴄ.ᴋᴇꜱᴛɪꜱ

0.1

ONE.
the quarry

✧ ✧ ✧

'Cal Kestis..'

I repeated his name over and over again inside my head. For some reason, the name had a familiar ring to it. I wasn't sure why, but I just couldn't get his name out of my head.

I fidgeted with the tracking fob in my hand as I leaned against a wall. I glanced down at the fob, tightening my grasp on it.

I had arrived on the planet, Zeffo, a few hours earlier. The tracking fob had led me here, saying that my quarry was somewhere on this planet.. but I wasn't sure what for. I asked around for his whereabouts and followed the fob's directions, but there was still no sign of him.

I eventually ended up exploring Zeffo, assuming there was no rush to find the Jedi Padawan. There wasn't much to see, but something told me there was a lot I didn't know about this place -- secrets hidden inside the planet.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard shouting from across the area. My head shot up as I glanced around. I shook my head in disappointment when I realized the shouts were just coming from troopers. They were being attacked by scazz, a type of creature on Zeffo.

While the troopers were struggling to fight off the creatures, I calmly watched them from afar. I yawned, stretching my arms out in the air. I tucked the tracking fob away inside my emissary belt and walked away from the troopers.

I slowly left the area and wandered around the planet once more. I roamed around the place, admiring Zeffo's beauty and nature.

That's when I discovered a small forest on a mountainside, completely free of any stormtroopers or scout troopers. I raised an eyebrow as I examined the place. I looked around the area and concluded that this part of the planet was yet to be found by the Empire.

All of a sudden, I heard a twig snap behind me. I immediately turned around and took out my blaster, a DL-44 model.

A large three-horned creature stood before my eyes, breathing heavily -- a phillak. It screamed as it rushed towards me. My breath hitched in the back of my throat, and I quickly dodged the attack.

"What the hell--"

It turned to look at me, staring into my eyes. I felt a drop of sweat fall down my forehead. I glanced around for an escape route, but it was useless -- the creature was standing in my way of escaping.

As it began to approach my figure, I backed away from it. Eventually, my back was met with a cold wall. The phillak took a step closer to me, almost inches away from my face.

I gulped as the creature prepared itself to rip me up into pieces. Before it could make its attack though, I tightened my grasp on my blaster and smashed it into its eye.

I quickly made a run for it. I had no clue where I was going, but I improvised. The phillak screamed in pain and chased after me, blood spilling out of its eye. I took a glance behind and noticed that the creature was only a few feet away from me.

I turned back around and noticed a very slim, tight-fitting tunnel up ahead. I ran faster, trying to reach the entrance of the tunnel before the phillak could attack me.

Just then, the creature's horn made direct contact with my back. Pain jolted up my body as I staggered forward and slid into the tunnel. Luckily, I was now out of harm's way since the phillak was stuck outside of the tunnel's entrance.

The creature cried aloud, stomping its hooves onto the ground. It paced around in circles, waiting for me to leave through the entrance so it could kill me.