A/N: This fic is a sort of prequel or companion piece to Imperium, which is part of the "Pax Ut Prius" series.
Tags and fic warnings will escalate as more chapters are added.
Dogging footsteps, she slipped into the shadows with a near supernatural ease. The target - a pair of bedraggled sentients from the Outer Rim, bloody and bruised - had pried open the doors of the slowly decaying starship to escape the omnipresent heat of the desert.
They were sealing themselves inside of Rey's trap.
The halls were once perfectly polished panels of gleaming black metal. Now, ropes of frayed cable dangled from the ceilings and any consoles remaining were naught but empty husks. Scavengers had long since stripped this ship, so close to the trading outpost, of all worth.
Rey pulled herself into an air duct, skirting around the gaping holes and splintered supports. She could hear the two sentients. Though they both hacked and coughed sand from their lungs, one sputtered wetly.
Injured. Weak.
Easy prey.
The corridors did not allow for significant deviation. This particular craft lacked any sort of elevator system - not that one would be functional without a power system. Reason dictated they would either search out the cargo hold or the captain's quarters.
Rey had chosen her pathway with care - she could divert to either without losing sight of the bounty. Her hand caught on a sharp curve of metal, drawing a cut across her palm. Glaring at the offending panel, she tore off a strip of fabric from the base of her shirt to quickly bandage the wound.
Her eyes returned to the pair below her. Even having paused they were no more than a few paces farther along the corridor. The one who could breath properly spoke. Its language was foreign to Rey. Brandishing a long-fingered hand, they pointed in the direction of the living quarters.
Tighter space. Easier to lock in. Riskier combat situation.
A solution presented itself to Rey and she patted her belt to check that she still had - yes, there it was. Still concealed in the air duct, Rey advanced to the pair's destination. Dropping down, she rolled to soften the noise and the pain coursing up her ankles. It was nothing, a minor distraction much like the wound that was slowly bleeding through the cloth about her palm. She now clasped a grenade in that hand.
Her hiding place was simple but effective, tucked inside the refreshing unit of the largest quarters. They would chose this one over the smaller single crew quarters to avoid splitting up. It was reflexive to hide together, to avoid separating from the only other person who would protect you from the bounty hunters intent upon your trail.
Rey waited patiently. She closed her eyes now, listening for the slight groans and creaking in the floor panels first. Then the actual footsteps. And the labored breathing.
Speech again.
Counting to ten, Rey waited until she was certain that both were inside of the room. Then she flicked the pin and rolled the grenade into their sanctuary. Light and sound exploded as one, searing even against Rey's closed eyelids. She darted into the room as the flashbang detonated, extending her baton to its full length with a swift movement of her wrist.
Her targets were completely disoriented, wailing and grabbing at their triple sets of eyes. It would do no good. Even if they hadn't gotten the full force of the blast, they would be blinded for at least a minute. That was plenty of time for Rey to act.
The tip of her baton was weighted, snapping into the first sentient's skull with a thwack. Rey moved with her strikes, slamming the heel of her off-hand into the base of their jaw. The sentient toppled, making room for Rey to approach the other.
They were the weaker one, only able to cover their eyes with one hand as their other hung limply, useless. They pleaded with her, begging for mercy. Rey didn't need to understand their language to comprehend the intent behind the words.
Snarling, she advanced. This time it only took a single strike to render them unconscious. Securing their awkwardly skinny limbs with binders took very little time. Gritting her teeth, Rey surveyed the situation. Two very heavy, limp bodies.
A pickup, then.
Rey double checked their bindings before exiting the craft. She needed open air to signal for the pickup. Retrieving the comm unit from her stashed speeder, Rey dialed for the bounty hunter she had gotten the contract from. He was surprised but pleased to hear that both were alive and in her custody. "Send me your coordinates and I'll wire you the funds once I have the targets in my hold," he said curtly.
That suited Rey just fine. She crouched on her haunches under the shady overhang of the downed ship. Hung was an honest man - as honest as bounty hunters could be. A ship arrived within the hour, sleek and dark.
Rey dusted the sand from her shoulders and shuffled her feet back and forth. Something ate at her nerves. More so than usual, that is. As the craft turned to complete its descent, she noticed the bright red seal emblazoned on the wings. Her eyes widened. Her escape route was blocked, the ship landing firmly between her position and her speeder. A foolish mistake.
Turning, Rey scrambled to get to the open door of the crashed craft. Blaster fire scorched the ground under her feet and singed the durasteel just above her head. "Stop right there," a cold voice called out. "Unless you want to lose your life."
Her feet stilled. Still, Rey stared at the ship in front of her rather than turn around. It would give her that extra split second lead if she ran again. Her window was dwindling by the moment. Should she take that risk? Become the hunted?
A hand wrapped around her torso, drawing her up against white armor. "Girl secured. Scanners indicate two life forms inside." The soldier's voice was mechanical, lifeless.
"Lieutenant?"
"Leave the girl. Fetch me those targets. I'd rather not linger any longer on this mission. It's already taken far too long," the officer responded.
"Those are mine," Rey hissed. Her fingers pried at the plates of the armor of the soldier who held her. Nails scraped on hardened plasteel, useless. Adrenaline ran ice cold through her veins. She had to escape, had to protect her captives. They were food and water for a week. "You can't take them from me!"
The arm around her waist tightened to crush the air from her lungs. Rey found herself turned to face a slender human man dressed in a black uniform. Dust and sand had already begun to collect in the seams of the jacket, dulling the perfect darkness of the cloth. He crouched down to her level, a cold sort of amusement dancing across his face.
"But we already have. And besides-"
Rey snarled and lunged forward. One arm wrenched free from the soldier's grip, and she clawed at the officer's face.
Though he jumped away in time to save his skin, she successfully wiped the smirk from his face. Her arm was grabbed and bent painfully behind her back, the soldier issuing apologies. "She's stronger than she looks, sir," they said.
"She's a child. If you cannot detain a pre-pubescent brat then you have no place in the Order!" the officer retorted, standing several feet back now. His eyes flicked back down to Rey, anger seething in their depths now. Good. That made two of them.
He slowly returned to his crouch, his face inches away from Rey's. Taunting her. "I suggest that you consider your position very carefully, girl. We are taking our captives. You will nod and smile because I am showing you a mercy that of which you do not deserve," he hissed.
Though she could not escape the now iron-clad grip of the soldier, Rey pulled herself up to as tall a position as possible. "They're mine. My bounty. I caught them. I deserve the money, not you," she growled.
Still, no matter what she yelled, nothing would stop the soldiers who were now returning from the mouth of the ship with the sentients firmly in their grasp. They were barely conscious, stumbling rather than walking to the Order's ship. The officer continued to smirk, watching with amusement as Rey became more and more distraught.
He allowed the soldier to let go of Rey. She fell to the ground. Hot, angry tears spilled finally. It was over. She had failed. Hung would come and there would be no bounty waiting. No money for either of them.
A hand cupped her jaw roughly, forcing her to look up from the sand which eagerly consumed her fallen tears. "You saw nothing here today." Grey eyes compelled her to listen and accept every word.
"If you speak of this to anyone, you will receive no mercy from myself or those I command. Do you understand?"
Rey set her teeth. Still, she jerked her head in as best a nod she could while contained in the man's grip. A credit chip was shoved into her hand, and Rey was left kneeling in the sand, alone.