Okay, here it is. My first attempt at a Star Wars story, complete with weird title. This particular story is actually a catalyst, a prequel of sorts, for an upcoming story starring my favorite Star Wars character. it's going to be interesting to see how many people actually know who he is.
A special dedication to two of my favorite young authors in the fandom
xEPICxBULLSEYEx and MyDestinyIsWithTheWolves
Here's hoping they check it out.
Star Wars Rebels
Un-Jedi
The sand glistened in the sunlight like shattered glass. Scanning the dunes, he adjusted the goggles he had "confiscated" from some Imperial officials. There was a crate full of eye protectors and those slimeballs wouldn't miss one pair. He would retrofit his mask with an eye shield later; the goggles fit well and would do for now. He hated being out near the dunes when there was even the slightest breeze. The loose sand was easily sent airborne and usually made its way into his eyes.
It was quiet out. No ships had passed over in the last few hours and any Sand People that had been in the area had made themselves scarce before he had arrived. Which he was more than grateful for. There was absolutely no love between him and Sand People. Or anyone on Tatooine, really. Possibly the galaxy. Although there were times when he felt as if he were missing a large part of himself, as if there was someone else out there just like him. And not merely his own species.
He shook the thought from his head. He didn't need any of that floating around in his mind at the moment. Business needed to be taken care of ASAP. Or as soon as he felt like it. Whichever. Gizz was likely waiting for him at the cantina. Eh, the big oaf could wait some more; he wasn't in any hurry.
Sliding down the dune to his speeder-bike, an odd feeling ran through him. "A ship's coming," he said under his breath.
Within moments of getting onto his bike a freighter flew overhead, lower than it should have been. Clearly, there was something wrong. "VCX-100 light freighter. Modified. Largely, likely. Internal issues. Possibly low on fuel." He watched the freighter until it was out of his sight. "Why do I get the feeling I'm gonna be caught right in the middle of their problems?"
Starting up his bike, he noticed the sand start to roll along the dunes. "Sandstorm's coming. Fantastic."
He dropped down over the lower dune and headed towards Mos Eisley. Good thing the Imperials didn't give a womp rat's butt about him. It made his life slightly easier. Now if only he could say the same about Gizz and the rest of his swoop gang. Well, Gizman's swoop gang. He was just along for the ride.
Shooting past the now-grounded ship that had flown over only moments before, he glanced back briefly and sighed. This was going to get interesting. And he knew he was going to be right in the middle of it.
They were low on fuel, low on food, and had landed on a planet that needed to import nearly everything the people needed to survive. Nearly. But not entirely. All right, so maybe he was exaggerating a little; but Kanan Jarrus was not thrilled to be stranded on Tatooine, a planet controlled by the Hutts.
"The Hutts aren't looking for us," Hera reminded him.
"I know. But I just have a bad feeling about this."
Ezra gave him a cock-eyed grin. "Well…at least yer out of Imperial hands. Right?"
Kanan grunted, then sighed. "Sometimes I think the Force hates me."
"Tatooine isn't that bad," Sabine said. "It just needs a little color."
"And water…and cooler temperatures," Ezra began to add. "And trees…and better hiding places…."
Hera stared at him. "We get it, Ezra."
"I'm just sayin'." Zeb rolled his eyes at him. "I wonder who that is," Ezra continued as he gazed out the window.
An armored swoop-biker shot past the Ghost, quickly glancing in their direction.
"Prob'ly some swoop-scum," Zeb said.
"Swoop-scum?" Ezra raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't look like it."
"Trust me, he's swoop-scum."
"But he has cool armor."
Kanan sighed. "Anyway…. We need to get fuel and food. Then we can get out of here."
"Yeah…" Zeb began, grinning. "Unlikely it's gonna be that simple."
Kanan sighed again. "I know…."
Glowing red eyes scanned the interior of the cantina. It wasn't that the big oaf would be easily missed, he was keeping his eye out for anyone new. Perhaps someone from that ship had wandered in. Not that he was interested in meeting anyone who may be a part of that crew. If he was going to get caught up in the middle of their problems—and he knew he was—he was going to avoid it for as long as he possibly could. He had a sinking feeling that they (he was positive there was more than one) were going to walk in before he got out of there.
Spotting the Human-Moggonite he headed further into the cantina, stopping at the end of the bar. Did he want a drink now? He thought for a moment. Nah…he'd wait. Spiker huffed and headed towards his partner.
"Gizman!"
The large Human-Moggonite turned and grunted, showering Spiker with his rancid breath. "Yeah?"
"Even that ale hasn't helped yer breath any."
Gizz laughed. He liked the Chiss enough to let him get away with spouting insults. "How much of this stuff have you had, anyway?" Spiker asked.
"Not nearly enough," Gizz replied with a laugh.
Boga Noga. The extremely strong Hutt ale was so intoxicating two containers of it could knock out an entire squadron of Stormtroopers. There was a joke among swoop-bikers that it also made a good engine flush. Spiker could smell the stuff. He'd grab a couple pints to go.
"Come on," he said to Gizz. "I wanna couple pints, but I ain't drinkin' 'em here."
"Why not?" Gizz said. Spiker glared at him as he cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, right." He grinned. "Yer a sissy, ya know that."
"Shut up, ya big oaf. Let's get outa here."
They had just enough fuel to get the Ghost to Mos Eisley spaceport where the ship died completely.
Ezra cleared his throat as the Ghost crew headed towards the cantina. The others looked at him. "What? I was just clearing my throat."
"A little loud," Sabine said.
"So." He cleared his throat again and then spat on the ground. "I have a lot of phlegm ta get rid of," he added, feeling their eyes on him.
"You, Sabine and Chopper stay out here," Kanan ordered when they reached the cantina.
Chopper mumbled.
Ezra smirked. "I agree."
"Since when do you understand what that tin can is saying?" Zeb said.
"I've picked up on a few things."
"Anyway," Kanan interjected. "You three stay out here. And try not to destroy anything."
"Can't promise," Ezra said with a grin.
Chopper followed up with his own banter.
Kanan sighed. "Yeah, I know."
"They'll be fine," Hera said as she, Kanan and Zeb headed into the cantina.
"It's not them I'm worried about."
Grabbing the container of Hutt ale, Spiker made his way towards the exit followed closely by Gizz. As they approached the doorway a Human male and female Twi'lek entered, followed by a male Lasat. For a brief moment, Spiker made eye contact with the Human. He was definitely from that ship.
"You know them?" Gizz asked after Spiker broke eye contact with the Human.
"No…."
"Who was that?" Hera said.
"I don't know," Kanan replied. "Likely the person Ezra saw riding past the Ghost."
"He's not Human. That's for sure."
"No. But there is something…."
"What are you thinking, Kanan?"
"There's something familiar about him. I'm just not sure what it is."
"Doesn't look like much ta me," Zeb huffed.
Hera looked at him. "Not a good idea to underestimate anyone."
Ezra yawned. "This is so boring."
"They just walked in," Sabine said.
"Why do they need to go in there, anyway?"
Sabine shrugged.
"I wonder if that guy in the spiked-armor I saw is around here."
Chopper shot off with a "who cares."
"Yer such a joy ta be around," Ezra said to him.
The droid laughed in response.
Sabine leaned against the wall. "Somehow I think he's going to try and avoid us like we have the Candorian plague."
Chopper piped in with a reference to "Brainworm rot," aimed mostly at Ezra. The teenager growled in return. And then Chopper laughed—again.
Ezra turned his attention back to Sabine. "How can he try to avoid us if he doesn't even know who we are?"
"Well, when you were living on the streets you knew new faces when you saw them, right? You knew they weren't locals."
"Well, yeah."
"It's probably the same with him."
"I suppose that makes sense."
As Ezra slumped to the ground with another yawn, the guy in the spiked-armor he had seen ride past the ship stepped out of the cantina. He was followed by a huge…something or other. Ezra wasn't sure what species the giant was. The man in the armor looked at him. As they locked eyes, if only for a brief moment, Ezra felt something odd rush through him. There was something…different…about him. They moved on, leaving the three Ghost crew members staring after them.
"That was really weird," Sabine said after a long moment of silence.
"He has glowing, red eyes and blue skin," Ezra said, seemingly off in his own world.
Chopper added in his two credits, but neither Ezra nor Sabine were paying attention. Not that he cared.
"Sounds like a Chiss," Sabine said.
Ezra looked at her. "What would a Chiss be doing on Tatooine?"
She shrugged. "Working for a crime lord."
"It wouldn't surprise me."
The two teenagers turned their heads. Kanan stepped out of the cantina followed by Hera and Zeb.
"That didn't take long," Sabine said.
Zeb smirked. "They can be very accommodating when they need ta be."
Ezra stood up, dusting himself off. "So did you see him?"
"See who?" Zeb asked.
"The guy in the spiked-armor."
"Yes, we saw him," Kanan replied. "Now let's get some food and get back to the ship. Then," he looked at Ezra "you, Zeb and Chopper will go get the parts we need."
As they walked away from the cantina Ezra looked up at his mentor, who had a distant look in his eyes. "You saw it, too, didn't you?"
He looked at the teen. "What?"
"He looked you in the eyes, didn't he?" the Padawan said.
"Yeah, he did."
"There's something about him." Ezra now held the same distant look in his eyes that his mentor did.
STAR WARS REBELS
There you have it. I hope it was enjoyable.
Until the next chapter. Bye-bye.