Chapter Text
The sand viper lurks.
Silently, it watches. Patiently, it waits.
The sky is stroked with blood-red and the light is slowly choked away. But still, it waits for the time to pass. It waits for the pale face of the moon to rise and drench the land in grey. It waits for stars to prick the blackness with white.
The first to pass it is too strong. Too certain in its steps.
Not this, it thinks. It is not yet weak. But one day, it will walk past me and its steps will no longer be sure.
And right it is.
“Traitors, you say?” He stroked his red-haired beard, a common colour among his people.
“If I was not clear enough before, perhaps heightened Imperial occupation will help you see more clearly.”
He turned back around. “That will not be necessary.”
The other smiled an ugly smile. “It wasn’t a threat, Governor.”
And almost as if by signal, four stormtroopers marched through the doors and seized him by his robes.
The governor’s wide eyes looked at the other in dismay.
“You’re under arrest for treason against the Emperor,” and the smile turned into a snarl. “Take him away. And make sure you find the other traitors. Tear apart the entire planet if you have to. They’ll pay for their treachery.”
You stumbled as your boots sank into the snow. Trying to wrench your foot out did not provide aid to your efforts, and you quickly found yourself face-first in the rather cold substance.
You huffed. “Cursed snow.”
Your bare hands, which you were now regretting, pushed up, only to sink further down. A few more minutes of struggling had you breathing heavily, and you decided to dig around yourself in the hopes that it would free you.
I should have stuck to the trees.
A glance at the ice-blue sky told you you were neither late nor in serious trouble quite yet, and even if you were, the comlink on your wrist could summon help. The sharp smell of the morning was still on your tongue.
You brought your gaze back down and found yourself face to face with a viper.
You yelped, careening backwards as fast as you could. Your ankle twisted painfully.
The sun glinted dangerously off its white scales. Its blue eyes stared deeply into your wide green ones.
You didn’t dare breathe.
Its tongue flicked in and out, empty icy gaze never leaving yours. And then, slowly, likely due to the cold, it raised its head towards the town you had come from. Then back to you.
You blinked as a clawed ship shot overhead and pierced the quiet with a high-pitched roar.
The viper was gone.
You laughed to yourself, finally ripping out your foot. “That was close. Phew.”
And then you heard the screams.