Chapter Text
The planet of Amoris, located in the Mid Rim, is covered in endless expanses of jungles and beaches, making it a popular holiday destination. Its year-long warm climate also means that it's a good place to live permanently. Its citizens come from all walks of life and there is a healthy sense of community. Even though it is not a rich planet by any means, it has a stable enough economy to make it an appealing choice for immigrants.
For Reza Bestov, it seemed as good a place as any to spend the rest of her days.
After the mess that was the battle at Jakku, and the six months she spent after that, she was ready to leave her Imperial life - and her piloting career - behind. She couldn't bear to think of it anymore. Even the name Jakku brought forth a feeling of failure and inadequacy that made her feel irreversibly hollow. She just wanted to forget it all.
It was probably for the best to never return to the Empire - or what little of it remained now. They'd never accept her after what she did. She'd irreparably damaged her reputation. As soon as she had crashed onto the sandy surface, there was no going back.
So, with a heavy heart and several arm-loads of credits gathered through rather disgraceful and unconventional means, she went to Amoris.
After everything that had happened, she just wanted to be left alone.
The crappy excuse for a motel she was staying at didn't serve meals, so she braved the crowds and ventured outside in search of dinner. The tall, looming buildings of Amoris’ capital city blocked the rays of the setting sun, casting long and ominous shadows on the streets below. Reza found herself practically being forcibly merged into the crowd which thronged the street, simply going with the flow of those around her. With narrow footpaths, it was a suffocating few minutes before she quickly changed direction and pushed her way towards the diner.
The diner was a tiny little thing crammed in between several much larger buildings. Inside, it constantly smelled of old fat and oil and cheap incense trying to mask it. Worn booths with perpetually sticky tables lined the walls, offering a once-in-a-lifetime view out of the dirty windows. The floor was marred with old stains of dishes long since dropped. How a place like this could remain open for as long as it did was a mystery.
But the food was warm, filling and, even though the sheer amount of fat in it had probably shaved a few years off of Reza’s life by now, it was cheap. And as someone with limited funds, cheap was more than welcome.
She settled into her usual booth by the window at the back and ordered a skewer. It was brought out a few minutes later, dripping with sauce and meat juice.
As she ate, she considered her next move. She knew she couldn't hide out in that motel forever. Hell, she probably couldn't hide out on Amoris forever, either. It was nice here, she'd admit, but it would be unwise to linger for longer than she had to. She needed to keep moving.
She may not have needed to worry about the Empire anymore, but the Cardinals would be searching for her. They weren't the kind of people who'd just let someone walk away from them after pulling a stunt like that.
Reza fingered the credits in her pocket. They were serving her well. Enough to keep her going for a good, long while.
To stay in one place for a good, long while was what Reza wanted. She'd been on the run for a month now; four long weeks filled with stopovers and short stays on various planets documented with fake name after fake name. She'd quickly grown exhausted by it all. Yes, it was all to protect herself, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy it. The thought of finally settling down somewhere permanently was looking to be a very attractive option at this point.
As she paid for the skewer and headed out onto the congested street, she pondered the viability of that option. It had been a whole month after all, and she'd covered her every move with a mountain of pseudonyms, disguises and well-crafted backstories designed to keep anyone from looking too closely. Her trail had surely gone cold enough that she was now untraceable.
Did she dare risk it?
Back in her motel room, she sat by the window and gazed out through the dusty glass. She sighed deeply to herself.
It would be great to have her own place. Her own domain. Her own little oasis in the vast storm of life. A place where she could leave her past troubles at the door.
A safe space where no one would bother her ever again.
~*~
Through several strokes of luck, she found the perfect place for that a few days later.
It was an old one-storey house located deep in a patch of jungle several klicks away from the planet’s capital. She'd seen a listing for it while browsing the Holonet at the local archival building for places to live. It was going incredibly cheaply, due to it being unkempt and very out of the way. All Reza had to do was pay five thousand credits on the spot and register herself in the online database - under a false name, of course - and the place was hers. She essentially moved in the same day she bought it.
It almost seemed too easy.
Closed off from the rest of the world by the jungle, she began to feel at ease. No one would find her here. Not the Empire, not the Cardinals, not the Rebellion - excuse her - the New Republic; she was completely shielded from view. She was safe.
Well, almost.
When she had driven up in her brand-new second-hand speeder, she'd gone down a long, narrow, winding road that headed deep into the jungle, then broke through the foliage and went parallel to a long and lonely stretch of beach. Reza had looked around, still in awe that she would be the only person around. She would have all of that beach to herself.
That was until she drove past her new neighbours.
A row of ten small dwellings appeared right next to the road, doors and windows opening up onto the sand of the beach. To Reza’s dismay, the inhabitants of these dwellings all perked up at her arrival, watching with squint-eyed interest at the speeder. Reza averted her gaze, wary of all the eyes on her.
The row of houses ended, not soon enough for Reza though, and then the road continued along its straight path back into the jungle. Thankfully, all the vegetation seemed to swallow her up immediately, forming an impenetrable shield around Reza’s new house. No more peeping, nosy neighbours.
It was another few minutes before she reached the house itself. To Reza, it was pretty much paradise.
Sure, those neighbours might be a problem, but the wall of jungle separating them from her meant that it wasn't a problem she couldn't handle.
Besides, she needed to save her energy to worry over the problems that actually mattered.
But even that could wait until she'd finished unpacking.
The house contained a few pieces of furniture - a bed, a table with three chairs, several shelves - but little else. Reza only had three bags worth of possessions: one with clothes and personal effects; another other with little things that she always carried with her; things such as soap, combs, cups, her Holopad and power banks, a few food rations and a retractable blade.
The third bag was full of household items that she would undoubtedly need: cleaning supplies, cooking utensils, and a few pieces of hardware. All of it was second-hand, purchased from various junkshops across the city. It wasn't elegant, but then again elegance was never important in her life.
Settling in and putting everything away was a quick and easy job. Much easier than it should have been, Reza knew. Homes were supposed to have way more than what she had put in it.
Yet, as she walked around all the rooms, she resisted the thought of bringing in any more stuff. Especially stuff that had no real purpose other than to fill shelves and make the room look lived in. It was good to travel light. It meant that you could move around quicker.
“But you're not travelling anymore,” Reza said aloud. “You're here to stay. Act like it.”
Maybe if she scolded herself, she'd stop feeling like she still needed to run.
That night, as the air grew colder, Reza shivered herself to sleep in her bed with nothing but a thin blanket for warmth. It was definitely from the cold, and not because she was still scared.
~*~
The next morning, Reza headed outside to get some breakfast.
She'd been smart when choosing this place. The trees around her were laden with fruit ripe for the picking. And with only her here, it was all hers.
She went straight for a tree with its branches practically bending under the weight of all the enadaras - small, oval-shaped fruits with pale green rind and speckled flesh. She'd tried some back in the capital city and had taken an immediate liking to it. It would be a nice way to start off her morning.
Reza hauled herself up the tree trunk and carefully positioned herself so that she was straddling a branch. With one hand holding her steady, she used her other hand to twist the enadaras off their stems and drop them to the ground below.
As she got hold of a particularly large one, she paused to admire the shiny green rind. Encased within it was only one of the many delicacies she'd be enjoying before long. She smiled. She could already taste it-
“Hi!”
Reza nearly fell out of the tree. With a quiet gasp, she clutched the branch with both hands and looked down. Below her stood a woman, gazing up at her and waving. Reza let herself exhale, then swung her legs over and dropped to the ground. She stood up straight and planted her hands on her hips.
“Who are you?”
The woman was still smiling. “I'm Bo Falloran. I live just down the road. I noticed I had a new neighbour, so I thought I'd come over and introduce myself!” Bo stuck out her hand.
Reza shook it, more out of politeness than anything else, and studied Bo closely. She was the same height as her, and seemed to be the same age as well, with pale skin, brown eyes, and dull hair the colour of dishwater. Her features were soft and friendly, but boyish and clumsy.
“What’s your name?” Bo asked.
“Lida,” Reza said after a moment remembering what name she was using this time. “Lida Mavaro.”
Bo smiled wide. “Nice to meet you, Lida!”
“You too,” Reza said quietly. She'd already had enough social interaction for the day. Now she just wanted to be left alone. She turned around, bent over and started collecting the enadaras she’d picked. Maybe if she went back inside and shut the door, her new neighbour would take the hint and leave.
No such luck.
Bo scooped up some enadaras left on the ground. “Ooh, yum! I love enadaras! I'll help you take these inside, alright?” And before Reza could even say a word in response, Bo was already walking briskly towards her porch.
Reza allowed herself the opportunity to grumble. She had specifically chosen this place, in the absolute pits of the jungle, so she wouldn't become victim to random little visits from overly nosy neighbours. Evidentially, this Bo woman hadn't gotten the memo.
It was going to be a long morning.