Chapter Text
3 BBY
Kalkovak System
Bortele Sector, S-8
Mid Rim Territories
Juniper Moss never knew violence could be so beautiful until that day. Her body was flung by the powerful force of exothermic redox she ignited before she limped around to the ground like a doll. The combustible chemical reaction expanded into the colours of the rainbow. She closed her eyes as the light played, waiting for the darkness to complete her mission. One less imperial base, blown-up ships and supplies, and crispy imperial soldiers bring the innocent civilians of the Galactic Empire rule a new day of peace.
In the darkness she had succumbed to, she embraced her fate.
"Shuttle bus 346 to Saleucami will be departing soon from platforms 3-B. Do not join the line without your boarding pass. Remember not to leave any luggage behind." The sound of the tanner echoed throughout the spaceport.
The young woman lurched from her seat, startled by the announcer who had risen her from the quick nap. Catching a quick reflection from the window was a tried-looking Juniper. Juniper pulled her satchel closer to her body as a comforting act. She reminded herself that she was on Kalkovak, a somewhat neutral planet despite being under Imperial rule. Her eyes carefully watched each new person stepping in. Still, she took them away just in time to avoid being too inconspicuous. All her effort of hiding from the Empire in plain sight would be for nothing if she was caught now.
A lime-green Twi'lek mother and her young daughter sat beside her. She smiled briefly when their eyes met, but Juniper changed her focus to outside, past the glass pane. The glass rattled to the spluttering engine.
"The gate for shuttle bus service to Saleucami is now closed. Shuttle bus 346 is now departing for Saleucami."
The last words of the announcer before she fades into the background. Juniper notices the young girl clamouring to look outside for the take-off as she stretches her neck out the window. Juniper leaned back as far into the hard synthetic leather seat as possible. There was some amusement watching the young Twi'lek girl, amazed as they exited off the desert planet and into space. All the distant planets and their stars twinkling ahead for the short trip straight for Saleucami.
The woman once remembered being that young girl with her mother as they travelled off the planet on the bus shuttle. It was her first experience being in space. Like every child, she dreamed of exploring the wider galaxy, and in a sense, she did, just not in the way she had ever expected. Forced to grow up quickly in a harsh galaxy, there was no time for idealism. Her smile for the Twi'lek girl faded as realisation sunk in that she would likely encounter the same fate as many children under Imperial rule. Her reason for joining the Partisans was to prevent other children from having their childhood ripped away like hers.
She stared out as they flew past the barren planets of the Suolriep Sector. A few were used as bases for pirates, smugglers and bounty hunters. However, most were gas giants and completely unhabitable for anyone to live yet breathe on. Saleucami was the only planet blooming with life in the wasteland despite being a ball of heat, desert regions and swamps. Yet, it was the place she called home.
She swore she would only return once she was done fighting the Empire. Juniper hadn't expected it would happen so soon.
As soon as the shuttle bus landed in Saleucami town, the largest settlement on the planet, Juniper took in the dusty wind. Hood pulled over her eyes; too many people would recognise her instantly, especially since it was soon eventide. A favourite pastime of the locals is talking about anything interesting. She was undoubtedly a local favourite, being the illegitimate daughter of Saleucami town's mayor, Jalil Hasni. Not that there was much of a relationship between the two to begin with. It was just simply an acknowledgement of the other's existence.
With a speeder on loan, Juniper left the town as soon as possible, her heart aching for home. Usually, it took a standard hour or so to reach just outside the city's outskirts. It was her and her mother's safe haven, and her plan was to restore it again. Find her mother and then live out the rest of their lives in solitude and away from the horrors of the Empire after living through the Clone Wars battles as the Republic tried to drive the Separatists off the world, specifically the Techno Union. They could ride out during most of the war, but that didn't stop the early years of her life from being filled with memories of hiding in bunkers and in the animals' haystacks from the Separatist's droids.
Slowly, she came to a halt as the small cottage appeared. It stood firm in the dead farmland. All the corpses of crops killed crumbled into the soil. They replaced the straight lines of grains and vegetables with wild plants growing erratically. She shouldn't have expected it to be in prime condition since her last time here was six years ago.
Juniper just stepped over the overgrown roots and pressed the door open. Wild eopies were chewing on the new garden. Somewhere in her mind, she hoped these wild eopies were the descendants of the eopies they kept on the farm. The door opened halfway, forcing Juniper to push the remaining to open or force herself through the gap. After grunts and strains to her poor arms, she opted for the second option.
"Home sweet home," she muttered under her breath.
The place needed to be fixed. Clearly, the imperials ransacked the house after she made sure her mother fled, and she remained behind to fight. Smashed Tupperware and chairs were thrown around carelessly in the open-plan kitchen. Holes in the roofs and some carbon scoring. Clothes are in heaps on the ground in the bedrooms. A thick layer -ten centimetres at least- of dust and sand covered. Indented footprints remained behind when Juniper turned around. The first thing to do was to clean up this place.
Only finding a broom to sweep out the dust through the small gap in the door. Every item cleaned was a touch of memory; somehow, the rhythm of every sweeping motion was soothing. Cradling the broken shards of the porcelain tableware to avoid any potential injuries. With the broom, she hit something metallic loudly on something round. Juniper dusted off to uncover the rounded top of the metallic R2 droid unit. She caressed the R2-D4. Mewles -the R2-D4- was bought to aid in their farm as she naturally transitioned as part of their family.
Juniper switched on the little droid. Praying that the dust didn't short-circuit the poor droid. Dim lights switched on before Mewles let out a synthetic shriek.
"Woah, calm down Mewles." Juniper held her hands in the air, a sign of no ill will. Mewles looked at her up and down before letting out a squeal of excitement.
"I've missed you too." Juniper said assuredly. "I'm sorry we had to leave you behind."
Mewles huffed as much as a droid could but let out a small beep of concern. Juniper explained everything that happened. Starting from the execution of her father to the days of that imperial base exploding, which almost killed her. Some parts were intentionally left out. Not because she thought Mewles would do anything, but there were just some things she wasn't ready to discuss.
In the end, Juniper managed to get the main chunks of dust, but plenty was left to do and fix. Mewles worked on fixing the broken, half-opened door. There were the small farm patches fixed up and preparers growing new crops. The small holes in the roof desperately need patching, especially when the monsoon season will usher in leaks.
After raiding through the cupboards, she found some tinned cans of food. She opened one up, and it looked preserved enough to eat out of. Juniper sat on the wooden deck, squeezing through the still small but slightly larger gap that Mewles managed to open further, eating her vegetable soup. Mewles joined her as they both enjoyed the company of the wind and wildlife in the distance.
Mewles remarked that she enjoyed the peace and quiet but thought it was too quiet.
"I did too once, Mewles," Juniper stated. "I mean, all I wanted to do was to get out of here and off Saleucami. I love this place and our culture, but there was more for me to see. I wanted all the life and noise of every place I visited. Wanted to see all the stars and what's beyond this tiny space where we exist."
Juniper dropped her spoon into the tin. She stared wistfully away into the distance. "I did have people and loud noises. Just not the loud noises I wanted."
Mewles hummed sadly, rolling closer to her. Juniper leaned her head against the hard metallic body. The rhythm of the machinery inside was soothing to her. Everything inside was slowly turning into liquid. She was just too tired to do anything. Her eyelids were heavy as she drifted off, but just for a few minutes to soak in the calmness.
Cool air gently nudged the young woman's eyes open. The clear skies were getting dark. A dull ache formed from cranial down to her neck. Mewles chirped something out, but Juniper could hardly make out the binary. Even without hearing, she could tell of the impending storm brewing up North East.
"We better get inside, Mewles." Juniper stretched out her sore neck. The R2 beeped in agreement as they headed inside for shelter.
Storms were bad on Saleucami. Especially sandstorms, which covered vast areas with sand and dust and ruined the crops. Thunderstorms were a lot more manageable. They were safe from getting fried as long as they stayed inside. However, something was unsettling about that storm. The elders always said lighting was a sign of a bad omen coming soon. She wondered if that bad omen was for her. Maybe she should have never come back.
She could barely sleep a wink. The thunderous sound grew ever louder as it crept over the cottage. Juniper pressed her left ear against the pillow. The other ear dulled out the noise, which made it much more tolerable. That blast of the imperial base on Gerrenthum permanently damaged her right eardrum.
Just as the lightning flashed, Juniper jolted up. Something was wrong, especially with the lousy omen puking over her with that thunderous cloud. She reached out for her blaster under her pillow. The first thing Saw Gerrera taught her was always to sleep with an eye open. She slowly crept out of her bed. Mewles started clamouring, but Juniper shushed her. There was someone in her house.
On tiptoes, she snuck up to her door. Blaster was ready as her other hand lingered over the controls to the door.
"Come out. I know you're in there." The intruder said, his voice almost monotonous. Before she could do anything, the door opened by itself. An open sight to the kitchen.
Cautiously, Juniper confronted the stranger in her cottage. With no lights, she only had brief moments of lightning to give her the shadow of the figure before her. He was clearly slim in the tight-fitting suit. Long limbs that look like they could contort in any way.
"What do you want?" Juniper demanded. Her heart was racing. Was it one of Saw's people to kill? A bounty hunter? Or a lone imperial?
He remained silent before she heard the hum of a red laser appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Juniper reacted first and aimed for the chest. The man immediately blocks it with his laser sword, though Juniper quickly remembers what the sword was. A lightsaber, like the ones the Jedi had, which her mother and the elders told her about.
He lunged towards her, his lightsaber craving blood. Adrenaline pumped through her as she felt the force in her exploding out. His attack stopped as his body was pushed back into the kitchen counter. The wind knocked out of him.
"I see." He muttered under his breath. His voice sounded even more synthesised through his bird-shaped helmet.
Juniper used the opportunity to fire another shot, this time for his head, but he was faster. Using his force to pull away her gun. Then, using his force powers, he pushed her into the wall, and her limbs were frozen. Juniper grunted as she tried to break free from his force grip, getting more restless as he hobbled over.
Juniper saw the mask shaped like a buzzard bird native to Saleucami within a few seconds of a lightning flash. The imperial signet on both of his shoulder pads.
"Guess the inquisition finally found me, huh?" Juniper let out a strained cackle. "Took you guys long enough."
"This wasn't on my agenda, but you would make an interesting prisoner." He said, cooly. Has she really managed to stay off the radar for the inquisitors? They're known for hunting and making anyone with a force ability disappear.
"And I'll be dead before the empire gets anything out of me." Juniper slipped out through gritted teeth.
"I highly doubt that."
He drew closer until he was a breath hair away. The inquisitor paused as she felt him stare at her intently. Everything inside was holding in like holding in a breath. She closed her eyes, ready to be knocked out, taken prisoner, or even killed.
She felt the heat of his lightsaber draw warm to her face like heat from a fire. Juniper felt him linger a little longer like something was preventing him. His fingers lifted the light chain around her neck. Attached was the weighted obsidian in the shape of a raindrop. Through her loud, racing heart beating against her eat drums, she heard a quiet gasp. It didn't come from her.
The obsidian weighted back down on her chest. She found her body loosened beneath his grip and collapsing down to the ground. His lightsaber was still on but slowly backing away.
"Take this as warning." He pointed and then left.
Juniper found herself frozen to the spot where her body rested against the wall. She waited several minutes, even reminding herself to breathe several times. Mewles rolled out of her hiding spot in a nervous wreck.
"What the hell just happened?" Juniper asked out loud. An imperial inquisitor had just broken into her home, ready to either end her life or take her as a prisoner, whatever it may be. Then, just for him to leave? Mewles chirped out precisely the events that had occurred.
"Yeah, I ken Mewles, I ken." Shakily, she stood up. She used the wall for support. "That was all too strange."
Her hand drifted subconsciously towards the necklace that had been touched by the strange intruder. Her thumb rubbed over the smoothed black obsidian stone. The necklace was gifted from her mother shortly before they were separated. She wanted some part of her to always stay with Juniper. As a child, she always loved and admired the precious necklace. Her mother always claimed it was a gift from her father that she chose as the deep and shiny black stone reminded her of her father's eyes, which she inherited.
And Jacob, too.
That name hadn't entered her thoughts in a long time. Years even. The brother whom she never remembered as he was gone before she was even born. All she knew about Jacob came from her mother. He was taken by a religious order called the Jedi Order in the core region. They convinced her mother that he had powers to help the galaxy; however, it came at the price of no contact with her son. She agreed, and then the Jedi Order betrayed the Republic, which became the Galactic Empire.
Juniper assumed he was dead based on the report. She didn't believe the Jedi betrayed the Republic, but she was certain he was dead. Her mother clung to the fact that he was alive in the galaxy. She would say it over and over again in a self-soothing prayer.
But now. Juniper wondered if her mother was right. Her fingers clutched tightly around the necklace. Something about that necklace sure got a reaction from the intruder. Juniper scrambled up, alarming the poor droid who questioned her.
"I'm going to check something out in Ma's room."
Juniper avoided tripping the mess she left and searched her mother's room next to hers. She pulled out the clothes from the drawers, which were previously tidied up until she found the Holo photo collection. She looked through the earlier pictures. She wasn't sure if the man had the same build as him, nor could she match any facial features due to him obscuring his face with a mask. One halted her in her tracks. A simple picture of Jacob and their mother wearing that exact same necklace.
Juniper felt more certain about the imperial intruder. That was Jacob. He was alive after all this time. She made up her mind right then and there. She turned to her droid companion who curious about the ruckess that she was making.
"We're going to find Jacob."