Chapter Text
"A plus 6. You're at 18. Not much wiggle room, little twi'lek," the chiss dealer said as he blew his cigar smoke all over the girl in front of him. "Why don't you stop before you lose it all?"
"Hit me," the twi'lek’s determination would not easily waver, however she had hoped her outfit would add a bit to her intimidation factor, but it only made her look unkempt. The black bantha leather combat gear was barely serviceable with obvious signs of heavy use and her ripped cloak wasn’t doing it any favors. Her blue skin still showed through parts of the cloak, giving glimpses into some scars of her past. She was getting sloppy, or maybe desperate.
"It's your funeral girl," The dealer drew the last card. The girl already knew what it was, she'd been studying this table’s deck for a while. Predicting the cards was second nature to her now. "Plus… three…"
A smirk came over her face as she collected her winnings. 2000 credits, still not enough. She glanced around the seedy, eerily lit bar making sure she's not being watched. There's been a lot of traffic on Telos IV recently with the long winded restoration project. A planet razed by the Sith during the Jedi Civil war, the attempted rebuilding efforts, Czerka corp's sabotage, and a lot of Jedi and Sith once again taking interest made it increasingly dangerous for a wanted criminal of the Jedi Order to hide out.
She needed to get the money fast. The girl was too focused on watching for Jedi or Republic agents; she stayed by the pazaak table a bit too long.
"She's been counting cards. I saw her!" A mandalorian man in full armor had grabbed her forearm. She tried to pull away but his grip was too strong. She had to get away quickly before she drew any unneeded attention to herself.
"Let me go and I'll give you part of my winnings," she pleaded.
"All of them and you got a deal."
"Can’t do that. If you value your life you'll accept my offer." The mandalorian just laughed and the dealer started to walk over to her.
This is bad, she thought. The man removed his hand from her and spoke to the dealer. As soon as this happened the girl made a run for it and bolted past the table as they both yelled out to her. A bouncer stopped her at the door and seconds later she was surrounded by guards.
"Look, I don’t want to make a scene. Just let me go, and no one gets hurt," she said, getting only laughs in response. As they closed in on her she pulled out her quarterstaff readying for a fight. She just needed one good hit to make an opening as she waited for the guards to react first. One stepped a little too close and she found her target.
She quickly bolted towards him and pressed the button on her staff turning the end into a shock stick. She struck his chest knocking him out immediately and ever so subtly force pushed the guards on both sides of him. She sprinted through her opening and ran out the door, but was stopped once again by more guards in the hallway. She swore under her breath and glanced around the entranceway of the cantina. The mandalorian from earlier came behind her but the girl quickly turned around and knocked him to the ground with her staff.
“Schuta!” He yelled a Twi’lek insult and pulled out a blaster. It was quickly knocked away by the girl and she lunged over to grab it. The guards were once again closing in on her. She glanced at the now sealed exit, giving up on grabbing the blaster while she tried to figure out what to do next. If she could overload the door console it would open giving her an escape route. With one Ion grenade left in her pouch she had to make it count. A guard reached for her and she twirled around gracefully dodging and jumped over the confused guard next to him. She quickly grabbed her grenade and made sure it was visible to everyone in order to get them to back off. They had no idea what kind of grenade it was so they all instinctively backed up.
All this over 2000 credits? She thought, No, something’s off. She threw her grenade at the door console and as soon as it exploded she forced pushed the guards away from her. She tried to time her powers to the explosion in an effort to hide them. But the restraint is making it harder to end this all quickly since she could hear the guards coming after her again and ran outside.
Running into a nearby alley, she climbed up onto the building, giving her a good view of the slums, crowded streets, and run down buildings that have been in disrepair since the Jedi Civil War. However, there was no time to look for a clever escape route so she just quickly merged with the crowd and hurried to her hideout.
Her eyes were constantly darting from place to place, making sure no one was watching her as her heartbeat slowed back to normal. She was used to this kind of thing, in fact she was very good at it, as it was now second nature to her to be on the run.
She made sure she wasn't being followed and walked near what looked like an abandoned ruin, moved some rubble out of the way, and entered through a small passageway.
“Sis! I’m home!” She said as she walked in. There was no answer. “Daija?”
“Yeah, I’m here! Sorry, I just finished attempting some food in what used to be a kitchen,” Daija gave a slight laugh. “How did it go?”
“Could have gone better, I made some credits though,” She said as she sat down in the small living room area. The house they were squatting in was not beyond disrepair, but nothing even close to an ideal living condition. The two sisters took whatever they could get and were just happy to be reunited again.
Daija brought a bowl of soup for her and her sister Yinluu and they both started eating on their piece of rubble they've been using as a table. They had to almost scrounge for food for now, at least until they were able to get off the planet. Ashas Ree was their next destination, a relatively unimportant Sith controlled planet on the Outer Rim. Not many would think to look for them there.
"So how much more do we need?' Daija asked.
"A few thousand more and we have the travel part covered. The only real issue now is how we're gonna make credits when we get there. You can maybe apply for a medical license and open a small clinic. Not sure how much red tape we need to go through with the empire there," Yinluu said. “First of all let’s just get off this planet quickly. I want to leave by next week.”
“You sure it’ll work? Are you sure our ride won’t just turn you in for the reward?” Daija said.
“Lija will make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“How’s she gonna do that? Isn’t she off on Nal Hutta right now?”
“An agent is supposed to keep us company on the ride there. It’s the best chance we got.”
“I’m still worried but I suppose you're right.”
“Hey, you’re not in any danger, it’s me who’s got the bounty. If we get caught just say you were turning me in and take the money, I'll manage somehow.”
“You know I won’t do that. I won’t let them take you back there!” Daija said.
“Relax, I was just suggesting a last resort. Anyway, let's just get some sleep. I’m gonna wake up early and try and get some easy credits tomorrow.”
“What are you planning?” Daija looked at her sister suspiciously, knowing the basics of what she was thinking.
“This morning was a bit weird, something was off with that bar. I’m gonna try the rich side of town. It’ll take a bit of time so I’m getting up early,” Yinluu said.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself. There’s plenty of rich bantha-brained idiots who won’t notice a few pieces of jewelry missing.”
“Just be careful. I don’t fully approve but we don’t really have any other choice right now.”
“Hang in there a bit longer, sis. Hopefully we’ll be out of here soon,” Yinluu said, trying to reassure her sister. “I’m gonna get a bit of sleep now and leave in the middle of the night. Should be back by morning.” Her sister nodded and they both ate in silence. The silence was comforting in that, despite neither of them having a real home to return to now, they took solace in having each other’s company.
Yinluu awoke just after 2am. The nights were long on Telos IV and she was going to take full advantage of it. She grabbed her combat gear, her stealth field generator, two ion grenades, and a few of her homemade remote explosives Lija taught her how to make. She was running low on supplies and needed this heist to go well. She woke up her sister in order to give her a hug goodbye and headed out.
She dodged patrols wandering the higher end parts of the city before she finally made it to her destination. The noble district rested on a hill, almost towering above the rest of the city. Close to the edge of this hill rested the house of a Republic Noble she knew well. Terlell Knox had been funding the Jedi’s effort to establish a foothold on Telos IV and even met Yinluu while she was training on Tython. He was a stuck up, self righteous asshole according to Yinluu. Stealing from him was actually one of the biggest reasons they hid out on Telos IV.
Yinluu didn’t necessarily have a grudge against the Republic, just anyone who supported the Jedi order. Before she entered the mansion, she hesitated. Something was off in the air, it’s been like that since yesterday. Was she afraid of the heist? No, her skills were more than sufficient to rob a simple noble, it isn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last. She made sure she was in a safe spot before attempting to meditate and collect her thoughts. She wasn’t always the most attentive during Jedi training so meditation wasn’t second nature to her.
Her training was mostly just escape attempts, sneaking around the temple grounds, accessing the forbidden archives, and the occasional hand to hand sparring with whoever caught her. No matter what she tried she couldn’t shake that feeling. Eventually she decided to ignore it and enter the estate anyway. This was too important to stop now. Since the estate rested on a hill overlooking the city proper, she could always dampen her fall with a force leap if she had to make a quick escape.
It was going to be daylight in about two hours so she had to hurry. She avoided the guards and cameras with her stealth generator and eventually made it to the master bedroom. Terlell was not in his bed and she took this as a good sign. If he’s out, that just means more to steal, she thought to herself. After spending a few minutes checking if anything was rigged to explode or trapped in any way, she walked around the room looking for anything of value. A few pieces of jewelry, some business ledgers, and a vibro dagger was all that caught her eye.
She grabbed the jewelry and decided to look elsewhere in the building. After a bit of searching she found an office. No guards were out front and no one was in the room. She attempted to log on to the computer but didn’t know the codes. She was not skilled with electronics so she just left it alone. She noticed a lightsaber crystal in a glass case in the corner.
A ghostfire crystal sat in full view of her awestruck face. Selling this crystal would be more than enough for her and her sister to get to Ashas Ree and then some. She looked for a way to open the glass case and found a little slot at the bottom with the opening mechanism. She fiddled with it for a bit and finally got it opened. As soon as she pocketed the crystal she heard movement outside. Activating her stealth field once again, she stood by the door.
“Should be here any moment now,” A shrill voice said.
“There’s no rush, she’s not going anywhere for a while,” another voice said. “We’ll sweep the area. If we can’t find her, her sister will be our next target.” Yinluu almost gasped.
Are they talking about me? There’s no way anyone saw me come in here, she thought. Gotta leave asap. She waited until they walked away and stepped out into the hallway. It was clear for her to start going back the way she came, however as soon as she got outside she saw several mercenaries patrolling the area. These aren’t the usual guards…
At the end of the estate she saw a familiar looking ship as her blood ran cold. She saw that ship many times on Tython and knew what it meant. She was careless and should have checked the place more thoroughly. She moved with almost no goal other than to get out of sight but in her haste, rustled the plants next to her causing the mercs to look over.
“She’s here. Everyone on me!” One of them yelled. Moving too quickly, she was forced to give up on her stealth field and was not in full view of the mercs. As she ran towards her escape point, several blaster shots flew by as she ran.
“Stop! We need her alive!” The leader shouted. As Yinluu made it to the edge of the estate there was a huge drop. She had to muster all her courage to jump down into the city. Even with her minimal Jedi training she still inherited some innate skills and could use them if needed.
She was able to safely land but some mercs on jump packs caught up to her. The sun was not quite up yet and the city was not crowded so if she could defeat them quick enough, she wouldn't make a scene. She readied her staff.
A merc lunged towards her, she dodged, and stunned him in the back with her staff. As he went limp she pulled him in front of her as a shield so she wouldn’t be shot at. Her energy shield would only hold for a few shots at most.
“Just surrender now and we won’t hurt you,” their leader said. She was now surrounded by 7 mercs.
“Who are you? Are you with the Jedi? With that ship?!” Yinluu said.
“Yes, we’re here to take you home,” he said. She got a good look at him as he spoke. His voice wasn’t as harsh as his looks. He looked fairly young for the leader of this group.
“Like hell, I’ll kill every last one of you before I let that happen.” Yinluu strapped an ion grenade to the unconscious merc and shoved him forward. The mercs quickly backed up thinking it was a thermal detonator. Her diversion worked and the Ion grenade exploded as soon as she ran through her opening. She heard the sounds of the guards panicking as they realized the grenade knocked out not only their shields, but most of their jump packs too.
“It was a bluff! After her!” the leader said. Yinluu quickly climbed onto a nearby rooftop and jumped to the next one. As agile as she was with the help of the force, she was still not fast enough for the jump packs. The grenade must have not hit all of them. She was now face to face with two mercs. She readied her weapon and attacked the first one. It was deflected and she was knocked back. She spotted a plant next to her and forced it right at the other merc who dodged out of the way. While he was distracted dodging the plant she force pushed him off the building.
She figured there’s no need to hide anything if they already know who she is. She charged again at the merc with the sword and jabbed to his right. This was once again deflected and she spun around to hit his left side. Every blow she tried to land was deflected by the sword. Why was he not attacking? He’s buying time for something, she thought. A quick slash came from below her and she jumped to avoid it. As she jumped she brought the staff down onto the mercs head knocking him back. She then delivered a swift kick knocking him off the building.
She heard more jump packs behind her. The others fixed their gear and were able to chase her again. 4 more, she thought. She dropped a small explosive device and waited for the others to catch up to her. As soon as two of them landed on the building she jumped off and detonated it causing the roof to cave in. The mercs were not able to dodge in time and got caught in the blast just as she hoped. Yinluu landed safely in an alleyway and kept running, now making a huge scene. After a second of thinking where to go she remembered they mentioned her sister. She had to make it to their hideout and see if she’s ok.
She managed to lose the last two mercs as she made her way to her sister. She quickly moved the rubble around her hideout and yelled into the house.
“Sis, grab your stuff quick, we gotta go,” Yinluu said. She didn’t hear a response. “Sis, no time for food let’s go now!”
“Looking for her?” She heard an all too familiar voice say. Her heart sank as she turned around to see a human Jedi master with her unconscious sister in his arms. The man had middle length white hair and looked like he’d be the wise old sage you hear about in children’s stories.
“Bastard. Let her go!” She lunged towards him with her weapon ready. The master set Daija down and readied his weapon. “I’ll kill you right here and get it over with!”
“Poor lost child, getting your sister involved in your heretical schemes.” He sighed. Their weapons clashed and they were both knocked back slightly. The Jedi just smiled warmly as their weapons clashed again. Yinluu pirouetted and struck his leg causing him to take a step back. The Jedi planned for this however, he knew her combat style too well. He brought his lightsaber above Yinluu’s head and swung down. Yinluu blocked overhead just in time. His strength was bearing down on her as she desperately tried to keep from getting sliced. As they struggled the two remaining mercs finally caught up with her.
Yinluu remembered the valuable crystal in her pocket. As a last resort she kicked Jedi's leg causing him to pull his lightsaber back slightly. This however, caused Yinluu to be knocked off balance and fall to the ground. She flung rubble everywhere as a distraction, swiftly put the crystal in her sister's pocket, and fell on her side. As the mercs got close she jumped back up striking both of them with blunt force. They took a step back but both were still ready to fight.
“Look, we don’t want your sister, we just need you,” the leader said.
“You’re not taking either of us,” Yinluu said and spat at him. The other merc lunged toward her and she dodged to the side. The merc anticipated this and struck her near the shoulder. The blade pierced her shields and drew blood but was not painful enough to take Yinluu out that easily. She took out her last Ion grenade.
“That trick’s not gonna work twice,” The merc leader said. Yinluu armed the grenade and threw it towards him as she lunged with it. She force grabbed a few pieces of rubble and threw them towards him too. With all this combined there was no way he could dodge it. Her plan of confusion worked once again and she got a good blow on the merc even if the rubble missed. She quickly turned around and threw another piece of rubble at the other merc hitting him right in the stomach causing him to be out of the fight. She turned back around just in time to deflect a blow to the upper body by the merc leader.
Desperation showed in Yinluu’s face and she force pushed him away from her. They both once again assumed a ready stance. Yinluu felt something hit her in the back and she collapsed on the ground, all the wind knocked all the wind out of her. She panted and slowly stood up in desperation. Just as she got up and turned around another piece of rubble came flying into her stomach. She spat out blood and collapsed once again on the ground. The Jedi walked up to her and kicked her on the side. He leaned down to her and spoke.
“I couldn’t care less about that sister of yours, but if you don’t comply-” he paused as he forced up a large boulder and hovered over her still unconscious sister
.
“Bastard!” Yunluu said, spitting out even more blood. She attempted to stand up but he just knocked her back down.
“Sir, isn’t that a bit much?” The merc leader said. Yinluu finally stood up again and gripped her weapon. She wiped the blood off her mouth and spoke in a raspy voice.
“I’ll die before I go back with you,” she said. The Jedi moved the rock from above Daija and hurled it towards Yinluu. The Twi’lek mustered all her strength to jump over the rock and land back on the ground. As soon as she landed he lunged towards her and slashed her in the side. It wasn’t enough to kill, but enough to wound her even further.
“Master Taarik! Don't we need her alive?” The merc said in a mix of protest and confusion.
“Relax Shailen, she can take a lot more abuse than this. My apprentice is too tough to die from such a small injury,” The Jedi said. Shailen’s eyes went wide. Just who is this guy? He thought. Yinluu tried to speak but her voice was muffled by her panting. “Take her into custody.”
That was the last thing Yinluu heard before she lost consciousness.