I don't own Star Wars. I only own Kieli. Well, actually I own a few more characters, but there would be two or three pages of them so I won't bore you. This takes place about two years before Star Wars A New Hope.
~*~
She tucked the data card in her jacket pocket and walked down the ramp to the tie-fighter she was using. The alarm sirens were blaring and the storm troopers were rushing to stop the intruder who was walking past them. She got into the cockpit and took off. She was well disguised and her fiery red hair was cut it a short guy cut. Kieli had made it out. Now she only had to deliver the stolen information.
~*~
In the crowded streets of Corusant, you could walk around unnoticed. That was one reason Kieli was so fond of it. She knew she would eventually be tracked down, there was no question to that. The empire new it was her that had delivered the information to the Rebels. They were not happy. Her fiery red hair was in a loose ponytail on the back of her head and her bright green eyes kept to the ground. It was best not to make eye contact with people. The small pack on her back carried all the 18 year-old's belongings. She slipped into an apartment and bought a room as darkness descended on the city.
After eating she decided to sleep, it had been a rough day. She couldn't sleep. The rumors made her too nervous. If Fett was after her, her life would shorten even more than before. Well, at least the bounty was dead or alive. She walked out into the cool night and headed for the docking bay.
She slipped into the small, stolen X-wing that she owned, one of her possessions that wouldn't fit in her pack. Kieli slipped into the cockpit, contemplating whether her luck would be better anywhere else. No. He'll find me no matter where I am.
~*~
She woke up still in the cockpit of the stolen X-wing. She rubbed her eyes against the light. Another day. She slipped out of the cockpit and shut the top. She then headed out for breakfast and then to the underground. That would be where she found out if Fett had arrived.
~*~
Everyone was talking. The Slave I had landed last night. Her lifetime narrowed down a few more days. She knew one thing; she would refuse to hide from him. If he was going to find her, why bother.
She walked back to her apartment. She walked right in. She hadn't locked the doors; there was nothing to steal. Throwing her pack down, she flopped out onto the couch and closed her eyes. She was on the brink of sleep when a noise from downstairs woke her. Blaster Fire. She slipped her own blaster out of the pack and slipped out a window, a reason she was on the first floor of apartments. She clutched the blaster tightly in her hand as she dropped into the alleyway below. She knocked some things over in her fall. She didn't hear anyone coming behind her until it was too late.
The point of the blaster pressed hard into her back. She took a deep sigh.
"It makes no difference to me whether I turn you in dead or alive, though it might matter to you," said the cold, metallic voice.
"Yeah, just might," she mumbled.
"Drop the blaster then."
"Oh." She dropped it down, where it clattered noisily at her feet. He led her back through the same backdoor he had come through and up to the roof where his ship was waiting. He had thought this was going to be easy money. She would enjoy proving him wrong.
She smiled. A very feral smile. She turned, the blaster now pointing at the gap between her collarbones. One shot was all it would take. She stared directly into the dark visor, not a glimmer of fear in her eyes. Then, she did something no one else knew she could do. She slammed into him with all the force powers she had, which knocked him down and back a few feet. She scrambled down to the street below and took off into the deserted streets where the hotel was located. If she was going down, she would make sure he remembered it. She knew he had the advantage with the jetpack, but she would make an attempt. She ran until she couldn't run anymore. Finally, sinking down into the dark corner of an alley and waited. The mandalorian armored figure came around the corner, a blaster pointed at her. The bright blue bolt came shooting out and the world turned black.
~*~
She woke up in the dark, holding cell below deck. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she sat up and looked around. There was nothing and in the darkness she didn't even know what time it was or how long until they would reach... well wherever it was they were headed. She began humming this is the song that never ends. On and on the annoying song played through her head. She was thinking about escape the whole time though. No chance of escaping from the Slave I. No escape pods. She leaned back against the wall in the cool darkness and began to think. If she didn't escape her fate would be less than desirable, but the chances looked bleak. Had anyone ever escaped him?
No, no they hadn't. These thoughts were still swirling in her mind when the door opened and the lights came on. He slipped a plate of food through the bottom of the cage and she looked at it distastefully.
"How long till we get wherever?" she asked, still eyeing the food as though it was going to try to eat her.
"Seven standard hours," replied the cold emotionless voice.
"Kay," she replied with a hit of despair in her voice that she had fought to keep out. As he turned and began walking out, she wanted to cry out, "Wait, I'll pay you more. Just how much is it? I'll find a way," but she knew such pleas would fall on deaf ears. Instead she took one fist and slammed it into the cold hard floor. What it did for anger and despair! Her mind was temporarily taken away from her impending doom to the throbbing pain in her hand. Temporarily.
She leaned back against the wall once more and sighed. The thoughts returned. A single tear traced its way slowly down her face before plummeting to the floor below. Seven hours to live. Maybe more if they wanted to know what she knew. The very glimmer of a plan was beginning to form. It would be risky, but the only other option was certain death.
~*~
He dragged her out and into the cockpit with a pair of cuffs slapped on her wrists as they neared the Star Destroyer.
"So what's it like? I mean being a bounty hunter and all." She was watching as the ship grew closer every second. A knot had formed deep in the pit of her stomach. Her plan was risky. Very. There was a chance though.
"Dangerous, risky," he replied.
"Wealthy," she muttered under her breath.
"Sometimes."
The ship landed in the docking bay and she was met by armed guards. (Happens a lot in my stories.) She had paid very close attention as Fett had disarmed the defenses. Now he went off to collect his pay. She smiled that feral smile. the group with her looked like a bunch of idiots. They made her job so much easier. She threw a handful of trash and metal parts to the outside of the ring surrounding her and when they turned took off. She led them around the ship and eventually lost them. She then backtracked and slipped back into the Slave I and disarmed everything. Finally she settled into a darkened corner to wait...
~*~
She had fallen asleep as she waited. She could feel the thrum of the ship's engines and knew she had made it, she was alive. Now came the hard part. She walked silently to the cockpit. She began o think about what to say. You didn't just go, "Hi! I escaped and stowed away on you ship!"
"Clever trick," he said.
For a moment she couldn't speak. "Tha-Thanks." It seemed so inadequate. "You knew?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't turn me back in?"
"No, I was already paid. Be ready in three hours. I'm leaving you on Corusant."
She stood there amazed. He wasn't the bad guy, no no. He was actually probably the good guy. She smiled and a couple of tears streamed down her face. Tears of Joy.
~*~
Well, Hope you have enjoyed. It is not that great and some of it is probably stupid (a.k.a. the escape), but I have enjoyed writing it. i would suggest you read some of Marian Blond's work. Some is funny, some is deep. Just read it. Also check out my other Star Wars Story, The Warp. Well please review!
~Kieli