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Six Standard Years Ago,
Yefowr, Taskeed
Yefowr, Taskeed
It had been thousands of years since Taskeed had been a part of Hutt space, and the planet was still shaking off the stink of it. On the arid streets of the spaceport, Yefowr, spice exchanged hands, credits were laundered, and those with bounties on their head did their best to lay low. Its saving grace was the nearby trade route, and in recent years, its position to a pocket of Imperial space. The smugglers and traders who passed through kept the economy afloat, and the newly built Alliance outpost stifled some of the crime and violence. Sometimes, Zara wondered if her home world actually had potential to become something other than a dry, bloody rock. Then, the wind would throw sand into her eyes, and days like today happened.
The midmorning sun beat down on Yefowr, the heat pricking at Zara’s skin. A mix of traders, soldiers and locals milled through the dusty street, only a handful noticing the skinny thirteen-year-old sitting outside the general store. Freckles spattered across her sun burnt nose and dark eyes peered through bluntly cut bangs, taking in the faces passing her. Her clothes were ragged, and she had dirt pushed under her fingernails. Beside her, a Rodian girl looked around with somber eyes, her hands fidgeting in her lap. As far as friends went, Tilly, whose parents owned the shop, was the best one Zara ever had. While she wasn’t much of a fighter, the Rodian always had her friend’s back. Sometimes that meant playing diplomat, negotiating their way out of impossible situation, and sometimes, like now, it meant being a lookout.
“Are you sure he knows it was you?” Tilly asked in an attempted whisper, but her words carried beyond the two of them.
Despite her apparently emotionless face, Zara was finding it hard to breathe right. When she spoke, her voice was harsh and strained. “He knows.”
Tilly lapsed into a thoughtful silence that didn’t last long. “What do you think he’ll do?”
Nothing nice, thought Zara, but flashed her younger friend a small smile anyways. “I dunno. The usual? He’ll probably just push me around a bit.”
“What are you going to do?”
Zara shrugged. “Let him think he’s run me off, I guess. It’s worked before.”
Quiet fell again, and again, was broken by Tilly. “Kaul’s a skrag,” she said with a sigh, slumping against the wall.
Zara looked at her friend from the corner of her eye and snorted. “Yeah. He is.”
More than that, Kaul was dangerous, at least to people like them. The older boy thought he ruled “his” section of the spaceport, and to a small degree, he did. Anyone smaller than him or his gang was terrified of him, but the real big shots hardly noticed his existence. He reminded Zara of a rancor runt, complete with the slobber, who didn’t understand how small he really was. It was only a matter of time until he messed with the wrong person and ended up bleeding out somewhere in the dunes. Until then, however, it was best to stay out of his way or risk being mauled. Unfortunately for Zara, that wasn’t always possible.
It had been over an hour since they had begun to wait for Kaul to find them, and Zara was starting to wonder if he really didn’t know it had been her. Maybe, she thought hopefully, he didn’t care. Then barely whispering, Tilly spoke. “He’s over there.”
Sure enough, Kaul, back by two of his “guys” (A blue Twi’lek missing a tooth, and human wearing an eye patch he didn’t need) stood across the street. Getting to her feet, Zara cast one last look at Tilly. “Go inside, Tils. I’ve got this.” The Rodian nodded and scurried through the door without another word.
Kaul wasted no time. As soon as their eyes met, he beckoned her towards him with a sharp pull of his finger before disappearing around a corner into an ally. Taking a deep breath, Zara began to push her way through the crowd. A breeze whipped by, shifting her vest open. For a moment, an old blaster on her hip winked in the light before she yanked her vest closed again, throwing a glance around. It didn’t seem as if anyone had seen, or at least anybody that mattered.
With a tense smile, he waited for her leaned up against the wall. “’Ey, Zhett.” The friendly greeting caught her off guard and gave her a sick feeling deep in her stomach. Behind her, the Twi’lek had moved to stand at the entrance of the alley.
Licking her chapped lips, Zara did her best to sound bored. “What do you want, Kaul?” Peeling himself off the wall, he closed the meter or so that separated them until he was close enough for her to smell his breath. Zara had to tilt her head up to meet his muddy eyes. For some reason, Kaul literally didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. His lips always seemed to be slightly parted, revealing glimpses of his yellowing teeth.
“Did you hear about Torc?” he asked with the same light, casual tone as before.
“Yeah. Somebody collected his bounty.”
“Word is you’re the one who sold him out.” On the word you, he gave her a small shove. She dropped her gaze and allowed herself to be forced back. Denying it was pointless.
“And? Torc was an idi—” Still looking at the ground, she didn’t see the punch coming. A gasp was forced from her and she doubled over, clutching at her stomach.
“He was also my friend.” Another blow came towards her head, slamming against her face and causing blood to well in her mouth. She probably could have avoided it, if she wanted, but there wasn’t a point. Let him think he wins, she thought. It didn’t hurt that bad, anyways.