Chapter Text
3 BBY
The city of Sekystia, a usually beautiful and majestic city perched against the edge of a cliff, overlooking the merciless sea as far as the eye could see, was lying under a thick blanket of dark clouds and heavy downpour.
As the capital of the Outer Rim world Pamarthe, it had its own spaceport which bustled with activity all year round, filling the streets with crowds of travelers eager to tour, buy and sell in such a popular destination . The lack of Imperial presence in this sector attracted many people who preferred to stay off the Empire's radar.
Most of the buildings were made of white stone and wood, modern yet historical in some way. Vendors offered their wares which mainly consisted of seafood and fishing tools as this planet was mostly covered by water, with the exception of several rugged islands that withstood the tides, of which most were connected by stone or wooden bridges, which despite sounding like a lot of space, actually housed several hundred thousand Pamarthens - a folk of excellent pilots with a high alcohol tolerance.
Away from the busy road, a figure in a black poncho walked through the puddles of a back alley, obviously knowing where she was going.
The happy little girl that had softened Hondo Ohnaka's heart had become a woman that oozed confidence, despite only being sixteen years old at this point.
A washed out sign with the words Employees Only didn't keep her from opening the door of a cantina's rear entrance. She entered with a hand on her blaster and peeked around the corner to see if the person she was looking for was actually there.
Her eyes landed on a Weequay who didn't just look completely drunk, he also smelled worse than a wet nerf. As he noticed Atina, he sat up straighter, eyeing the bottle on the table, wagering to throw it at her and escape.
"Aren't you a bit too young for a place like this?" he asked in a slimy voice as she approached his table.
"Zabo, I'm here to collect your debt. Try to run and I'll pull the trigger before you can reach the door." she spoke in an icy tone.
The Weequay chuckled. "Careful with that blaster, you could cause some serious injuries with that thing."
Patrons from the surrounding tables who watched them snickered at Zabo's comment.
Without further ado the teenage girl pulled the trigger, leaving a scorch mark on the table in front of the man.
"Say that again and next time I won't miss your face."
The Weequay slowly raised his hands in surrender.
"Okay okay! You're here to collect for Ohnaka?"
"You owe him 3.000 credits!"
Zabo swallowed and slowly pulled a satchel of credits from his bag which Atina took and counted.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" she smirked and left the cantina the way she came in, leaving the patrons in astonishment at her apparent ruthlessness.
She commed Hondo Ohnaka to tell him that she had successfully acquired Zabo's debt.
"You've become quite good at this! That son of a mudscuffer owed me for at least six years. Now that you have the credits, go to the port and find a Mon Calamari named Baduk. If you still want to sign up for Crystal Waters that is."
"But what about your credits?"
"You will need an entry fee to participate in Crystal Waters."
"Does that mean… you want to pay that fee for me?!"
"You're associated with me. If you make a name for yourself at this race, it improves my reputation as well."
"Crystal Waters! I've always wanted to go out there and show off my skill, and not just watch. Thank you, uncle!"
"Win this race for me, yes?"
Atina wanted to answer but stopped dead in her tracks. What she needed for the notorious Crystal Waters race was a ship, and she came to Pamarthe on board a shuttle with hundreds of Crystal Waters fans.
"I would win this for us in a heartbeat, but I don't have a ship, you know that."
"I didn't take you under my wing for nothing. Didn't you learn anything in the years we traversed the Galaxy together?"
Atina sighed. "Of course I learned a lot. You- you want me to steal a ship, don't you?"
"The trick is not to get caught! You can do this, Atina. They will only accept you in this race if you have a ship."
"Steal a ship, sign in for Crystal Waters. Got it!"
Atina had never stolen anything bigger than a landspeeder before. Stealing a starship would be a lot harder, especially participating in a popular race with it.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" she muttered after she had ended the comm.
There was a reason why thieves preferred pre Imperial ships: The Empire could not track them. And Atina had a feeling she would need one of those.
She didn't exactly blend in at the spaceport, so she formed a plan in her brilliant mind.
She hid in a closet at the spaceport and waited til nightfall. That's when she kept an eye out for any workers. It took a while until a young Twi'lek worker walked past her. In the blink of an eye she stunned him with her blaster, pulled him into the closet, and took his yellow overall with the words Repair Crew written in black Aurebesh letters on the back. It was a little too large on the arms and legs, but it would have to do.
Atina went to many hangers but most ships were too new and if there were any pre Imperial ships it were usually complete rust buckets that would fall apart during a race such as Crystal Waters. Two days were not enough time to repair one of those.
She had almost given up when she entered a hangar with a pre Imperial Corellian freighter in it that seemed to be in pretty good condition. Atina's golden eyes lit up at the sight. She made sure there was nobody around as she used her slicing device to successfully slice the ramp open.
She went inside, closing the ramp behind her, and looked for the cockpit while wringing her wet locks.
"Oh please, who installed the security measures of this ship? This is way too easy!" She rolled her eyes and started the engine.
Outside a few mechanics came running, yelling and waving at her, but she paid them no mind. The ship left the hangar behind and Atina took her time to get used to the controls.
Flies very smoothly, it's perfect! Now all I need to do is hide the ship until I sign in for Crystal Waters. For now I need to find a place to park it, somewhere with a way back to Sekystia for me to sign in.
It was the middle of the night and the ocean below looked like a dark abyss. Atina searched for any light source. It took her about fifteen minutes to find one and she went down, making a soft landing near a small village on a rocky island. She landed behind a row of houses that must have seen better days.
With a relieved sigh she leaned back in the pilot seat and didn't realize when she fell asleep after a few minutes.
She woke up to broad daylight flooding the cockpit. Rubbing her eyes she went to use the ship's 'fresher and after a quick shower went to the kitchenette to look for anything edible. Some meager ration bars she found made her miss the time she went to Nar Shaddaa with Hondo, where some associates of his treated him like a king, with an entire buffet just for him and his young companion. This had been the best food she had ever eaten. But a warm meal was a luxury many people, especially spacers, couldn't afford. Especially not with the Imperial price gouging that was happening.
Hunger had become Atina's constant companion during her travels alone. That's why making a name for herself was so important to her. A reputation would get her jobs, and jobs would get her credits for food and other necessary items. She was just trying to get by. And this new ship would also make it a lot harder for her. Ships needed fuel, and then there were inevitable repair costs and so on. She had to win Crystal Waters or she would be stuck either on this planet or any nearby system.
She learned that she had landed in a small village named Kerresh and that Sekystia was only two hours away… with a speeder or speeder bike. Eventually she met an old man by his house who was busy chopping heads off fish. What really caught her attention was the dusty speeder bike parking near him.
"How many credits would you lend me your speeder bike for?" she asked, ready to haggle over the price.
"Missy, you don't look old enough to ride one of those."
Atina crossed her arms and bit back a snarky remark. She wouldn't threaten an old man's life, she wasn't the type for that. But she had to think of something.
"I need to go to Sekystia, it's very important!"
The man chuckled. "Let me guess, you're one of those kids going crazy over that stupid Silver Water race…"
"It's Crystal Waters actually, and no, I uh… just wanted to meet a friend."
The man shook his head and put the knife aside. "Why don't you ask the pilot of that freighter behind those houses? They're probably here for the race, they could take you there."
"I already asked them and they uh… they threatened me with a blaster. Not the safest option. I've ridden speeder bikes many times before. A much safer option than asking the crew of that freighter once more." she bluffed.
He wiped his hands on an old rag and scratched his mustache in thought.
"Y'know… I haven't used this bike in two years. Before my leg became so bad I used to travel to Sekystia every two weeks and now I haven't been there since… a long time. They sell the freshest wasaka berry pie on this ball of water there. Bring me one of those and you don't have to pay a single credit for fuel."
Atina smirked. "Mission accepted!"
It was a bumpy ride over the islands and rocks that were all connected by stone and wooden bridges. The view on the other hand was great. The sky was still cloudy, but a few sun rays tried to break through.
From afar Sekystia looked simply majestic. How it was built on the mountains that rose from the sea. It was breathtaking.
Atina's awe subsided as she steered the speeder bike through the busy streets. People crossed the streets without looking, vendors yelled at her to buy their stuff and some people loudly complained over the speeder bike. Atina gritted her teeth not to yell back and eventually parked next to a general store right behind a landspeeder.
Wasaka berry pie, entry fee…
On her way to the busy spaceport she looked for a vendor selling pies. She hated crowds of people, and why did some people have to wear the ugliest Crystal Waters merch she had ever seen? Many fan shirts of popular pilots had stupid and sometimes sexistic slogans on them. She hated it.
The food the street vendors offered didn't look appetizing, and no vendor offered wasaka berry pie. She decided to look for the pie on her way back and went to the spaceport in search of a Mon Calamari named Baduk. She had to ask several people first before she got a lead on where to find him, and when she did she was taken aback from what he was doing.
He stood on a small ladder, gluing posters with Imperial propaganda on the graffiti sprayed walls of this side of the spaceport.
"Are you Baduk?"
"That's who I am. What can I do for you, young lady?"
Atina's gaze switched between him and the Imperial propaganda on the posters.
"I'm here to join Crystal Waters and pay my entry fee."
"I'm awfully sorry, the deadline to sign in was last night. Maybe next year."
"Please! Can't you make an exception? I had no idea!"
The Mon Calamari raised his brows. "I'm sorry, that's against the rules."
Atina scoffed. "I'm a very good pilot, and I'm here to prove myself! You're missing out on a great chance!"
"Yeah let me guess, your family told you what a great pilot you are just because you managed to shoot a bunch of womp rats from your landspeeder. That's not the same, kid. At Crystal Waters only the best few pilots make it out alive. Keep practicing, one day you might make it!"
Atina's cheeks turned purple, she had to hold back her anger.
"Fine! You missed your chance, old man!" she spat and turned on her heels, leaving the spaceport with anger flaring up in her golden eyes like embers turning into flames.
"I'll show you what I'm capable of!"
On her way back she took some rather quiet streets. The sooner she found a stupid vendor selling wasaka berry pie, the sooner she would be back at her ship.
No matter what the Mon Calamari said, she would fly anyway and let the other ships shower in the emissions of her new freighter. She was not one who gave up so easily.
Eventually a tiny shop caught her eye that displayed the finest baked goods in its windows. The smell was heavenly and she wondered if they had the pie she was looking for.
As it turned out they had exactly what she needed, and she jumped on the speeder bike to return it to its owner along with the berry pie.
It was already nightfall when she returned. In the village of Kerresh people sat on their porches, they were talking and having supper together. The old man who owned her speeder was still in his little workshop. Done with chopping heads off fish, he was now sorting out scrap metal while a young man in armor was talking to him.
"I can't accept. I'm collecting scrap metal! Nothing worth as much as your beskar. Oh! Look who the seven winds brought back!"
Atina put the wasaka berry pie on his workbench and looked at the young man who looked displeased to say the least.
"I can't accept pieces of your armor, now go!"
the old man spoke.
"I'm not leaving until you buy my shin guard!"
"Stubborn Mandalorian…" the man muttered under his breath.
Atina gazed at his crimson and white armor. She knew about the value of beskar, and she also knew that no Mandalorian would simply sell their armor.
He was a pale boy around her age, his blond hair a short buzz cut, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"You must be truly desperate if you want to sell your armor."
"That's none of your business!" the Mando spat, clearly annoyed.
"It's not hard to guess. You look like the Galaxy ate you up and spat you back out again."
"Any more of your perceptive remarks or are you finished?"
Atina shrugged. "I don't know, you tell me. You don't seem to be the type who would just sell their armor like that."
"He's not selling anything to me." the old man added. "Both of you look starved, come on in, I think I can help you."
Atina followed the old man and looked back at the young Mandalorian who hesitated at first, then let out an annoyed sigh and followed them indoors.
The smell of a fish stew lingered in the air. A steaming kettle of it hung over a small fire pit. The old man introduced himself as Garo Hamue while taking three deep plates from his messy kitchenette, putting a portion of stew on each of them.
"What are two young runaways like you doing on Pamarthe?"
"I am no runaway, I'm here to join Crystal Waters." Atina hummed at the delicious taste of the stew.
"With a ship that's obviously stolen." Garo shook his head. "Just because Pamarthe is rather insignificant, don't underestimate the Empire. When they find out what you did, you'll be in great danger. And what about you, young man?"
The Mandalorian stopped chewing and tensed up. "There's no story to tell." he gritted and continued eating.
There was without a doubt a story. Atina had to admit, him being so secretive about it made her curious. But she knew better than to unnecessarily annoy an armed Mandalorian.
The living quarters of Garo's house had two small sofas and he had enough blankets for both of them.
"Don't think I'll allow you to stay longer than one night. Whatever either of you are involved in, I don't wanna be a part of it. Sleep well, kids!"
He extinguished the oil lamp on his wall and went upstairs where his sleeping quarters were.
For several minutes the Mandalorian tossed and turned on the sofa that was a bit too small for him.
"Why does a skinny thing like you wanna join Crystal Waters? People die in that race, you know?" the Mandalorian eventually murmured.
"People who can't properly fly die in that race. I can win this thing."
"Yeah? How can you choose to die for nothing when the entire Galaxy is watching?"
"I won't die. I- I've watched this race every year since I can remember. I watched holo recordings of each winner's strategies and tricks. You think I'm not prepared? I know your armor is part of your identity. You wanna sell it, and for what? Food? If I wore beskar, I would rather die starving in it than to sell it for a package of measly ration bars."
A moment of silence fell between them until he said one word. "Kyr."
Atina sat up. "What?"
"My name is Kyr Saxon."
"Arista Callio." Atina bit her lip, but Hondo had always told her to be careful who she told her real name, and she didn't know where Kyr's loyalties were lying, so a fake name was the best choice.
"So there's no story as to why you're here? I don't believe you."
"And I don't believe Arista Callio is your actual name."
Dank farrik, he's good!
Kyr chuckled as she couldn't find the right words for a moment. "Loth cat got your tongue?"
"Kriff off and go to sleep!" she snapped and turned around, facing away from him.
She didn't know how typical teenagers dealt with their peers on a daily basis. Most teenage boys she had met so far were complete airheads. If that was the case with this young Mandalorian as well, only time would tell. So far she couldn't help but be annoyed by his mere presence.