A/N: Hello everyone! If you are reading this, thanks for sticking with me! I apologize for the absence of a proper introduction in the first chapter; I am new to the world of publishing.
I have been stalking this website for about a year now, reading countless fanfics on countless subject, especially Star Wars, but I've never had the courage to post a fic, until now. My plot bunnies were relentless.
I am an avid reader, aspiring author, and Star Wars fanatic (The Force Awakens was AWESOME!). I am also a hesitant Reylo shipper-key word being hesitant. I am refraining from writing any Reylo fics because of, you know, the possibility of them being related. So until some sort of relationship is established, I'll be busy working on a story that's been formulating and constantly evolving in my mind for the past couple months.
This is a slow burn romance; our OC won't be immediately falling head over heels for the Crown Prince of Darkness, and vice versa. This may drift towards an M rating, but I don't think that it will actually go that far. Just be prepared for a bit of violence, some tension of the sensual kind, a dash of crude humor, a few touches of angst here and there, and a full serving of action and adventure! Mix these all together and you get what is hopefully good enough to digest!
Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own neither Star Wars (technically Disney) nor its characters except for my OCs.
Alright everyone, strap in and hold on to your butts, because this is going to be a wild ride! Feel free to review (be gentle) and I'll do my best to entertain you all! Enough chitchat, on to Chapter 2!
Chapter 2
Tatooine- 3 hours earlier
The Hutts had long ago given up their control over Tatooine, but evidence of their rule was still present.
The ruins of Jabba the Hutt's palace stood out against the blue sky, casting a long and dismal shadow across the landscape before it.
The palace had been looted of its treasures over the past thirty years, but the building itself was still used for sinister purposes. It was said that the dungeons were still used to house the offenders of various crime lords and mob bosses, and fight clubs often met in the old rancor pit beneath the throne room.
That was where a young woman currently found herself, with her hands chained together above her head and being poked with a bone grabbed from the rancor skeleton nearby. Her captors had taken extra care to make her as uncomfortable as possible.
They were ugly brutes who obviously made up in strength for what they lacked in brains. "Oh, just wait till the boss gets here," taunted one of them, a wiry Twi'lekk with half of a lekku missing. "He's gonna teach you some manners!"
"Yeah, no one steals from Grimma!" exclaimed a Weequay with a smashed nose. Their prisoner scoffed. "Huh?" he asked. "Is something funny little girl?" He prodded her in the stomach with the bone again.
"Not really. It's just that I'll be the one to teach all of you some manners." Her captors laughed.
"You're threatening us?" the third one, a Devaronian, asked. "You aren't exactly in the position to be doing that. And just to prove that…"
He stepped forward and delivered a hard slap across his captive's face, the sound echoing around the pit, hiding the sound of the gate sliding open.
"Ayto, that is not how we treat women, now is it?"
Ayto and the other two captors whirled around to face the newcomer that was flanked by two armed guards, who were then ordered to stand outside of the pit. "Lock the gate," he ordered softly, and they complied.
The stranger stepped forward into the light, revealing a blue skinned sentient with fiery red eyes sporting short black dreadlocks and a brown leather trench coat. The three thugs parted enough so that the Chiss was now standing only inches away from the prisoner. He gave her a once over before flashing a blinding white toothed smile.
"So this is our little thief. It was quite foolish of you to come here, my dear. Did you really think that you would make it past my security? The trapdoor still tends to fool people, doesn't it?" He clucked his tongue almost sympathetically. "It's a shame too, that you would go through all of this trouble for a fake." He laughed at the confused expression that came over his captive's face.
"The crystal that you attempted to steal was a fake. This is the real one." With a devilish grin, Grimma reached into a pocket on the inside of his jacket, producing a small pouch, and dumped its contents into his hand. The woman's eyes widened when they beheld the tiny blue crystal between Grimma's fingers. A soft glow emanated from it, making it even more ethereal.
"It's called a kyber crystal," Grimma explained, gazing at the crystal as if in a trance. "It was obtained during the time of the Galactic Empire when the Imps were confiscating and destroying as many of these things as they could find. It's passed through many hands since then; I was lucky enough to find it. It's extremely valuable as an energy source, perhaps even more valuable than exonium. It can make one rich beyond imagination; anyone would do anything to get one, which reminds me…" Placing the crystal back into the pouch and pocketing it once more, Grimma stepped even closer to his prisoner. "Now tell me, who sent you?"
The woman bit her lip and said nothing. The Twi'lekk who had been standing respectfully off to the side suddenly scoffed. "She wouldn't shut up earlier, Boss. I could-," he began, taking a step forward when Grimma chuckled.
"No, no. It's alright, Viserin. I think that our guest is still shocked speechless, aren't you, my dear?" More silence, and then: "I'd thought that you would be much more intimidating, Grimma. I'm kind of disappointed. From your men's descriptions, I'd imagined that this would be a brutal affair, you know, one that included my screams, a beating, maybe a disembowelment." The woman turned her head toward her captors. "Liars," she accused.
The Chiss raised his eyebrows, and then chuckled. "And she speaks. Certainly not the words I expected, but this will make it all the better." He suddenly reached out and grabbed the woman by her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "I am going to give you one last chance to tell me who you are working for, or…," he suddenly held up a serrated knife "I will start by cutting out that tongue of yours. Your choice." He smiled as he saw her eyes go wide with fear.
Suddenly, the tense silence was interrupted by a high pitched beeping that echoed throughout the pit. Grimma frowned. "What is that?" he asked. "What is that noise?" He turned to look around the room, still keeping a hard grip on the woman, who then cleared her throat. His head snapped back towards her. "What?"
She tried to move her jaw to speak, but was prohibited by the hand currently encompassing her chin. Sighing in annoyance, Grimma relaxed his grip. "Do you know what this is?"
"That would be my special comlink that allows my clients to communicate with me during a contract. If you want to know who my client is, you might want to pick that up. It's on the belt."
Grimma turned toward one of Ayto. "Answer it."
Ayto lumbered over to where their captive's gear and weapons had been piled, and reached down to retrieve a small black circular object that was clipped to the utility belt. He clicked the button. "Who is this?" he growled into the comlink.
A feminine voice laced with static answered. "Who the hell is this? Shadow 4, are you there? I repeat! Shadow 4,do you copy?"
Grimma let go of the woman's chin and stuck the tip of his knife right underneath it. He held out his free hand. "Give it to me," he ordered. Ayto tossed it over.
"Let's make this quick. My name is Grimma Shek and I have your thief held captive right now, as she failed to get what she came for. She has refused to share with me the name of the one who tasked her with this mission, but I think that that situation has resolved itself. I want to let you know that you will never-."
"Look buddy, I have no idea who you are or really care for that matter. Just let me speak to her, and then you can do whatever you want to her after that, okay? Please."
Clearly confused and angry, Grimma silently shoved the com closer to his prisoner, who shot him a smug look before speaking. "What is it Kaydel?"
"Moira, we need you to come in."
Moira groaned and closed her eyes. "Are you kidding me? I'm working!"
An audible sigh was heard. "When will you be done?"
"In a few minutes. I'm working with amateurs here," Moira replied casually. "They made the mistake of locking themselves in a room with me. Stay on, will you?"
"Of course."
Moira looked up to meet the bewildered expression on Greema's face before asking: "So now, where were we? Oh, the part where I escape!" With that, she pushed up and kicked Grimma in the chest, sending him flying backwards.
She then wasted no time in making the final twist followed by a click that freed her wrists from the cuff, dropping the small and sharpened fragment of bone that she had managed to grab before she had been cuffed. Viserin had recovered from his shock first and came at Moira, who now easily blocked his punch and jabbed him right in the throat, dropping him.
She then spun to face the Weequay who came at her with the bone that he had been prodding her with. She ducked under his swing and leapt forward, smashing the rest of his nose in with a well-placed punch.
With a roar, Ayto practically lunged at her. Moira came forward to meet him, and promptly kneed him the abdomen first before knocking him out cold with an uppercut to the jaw when he involuntarily leaned over.
She then made a dash for her things, just as the two remaining guards outside opened the gate. Whirling around with her twin blasters in her hands, Moira never gave the guards a chance; they were down before they could even raise their weapons.
Calmly, Moira slid the guns back into her thigh holsters, which her captors had been gracious enough to leave on, strapped her utility belt back on after making sure everything was in place, and finally grabbing her tonfas and sliding them into the holsters strapped to her back. She was readjusting her goggles around her head when she heard a groan behind her. Ah, she had almost forgotten.
She turned around and walked towards the crumpled figure on the ground. Greema lay curled in on himself, struggling to regain breath after he had the wind knocked out of him.
"Hello, my dear, you have something that I need," she said, stooping down to reach inside his coat. Smiling, she pulled out the pouch. "King Prana will really appreciate this, thanks."
"Prana? He hired you?" Greema asked in disbelief in between gasps.
"Yep," Moira responded, "and now the Resistance is begging for me. I should start saying no."
"Wait, please, don't take it! I'll-I'll pay you double of what Prana promised you! Please!"
Moira paused, as if considering his offer. "I'm sorry, but I don't betray my clients, ever. Bad things happen. Trust me, I know that." She began to rise when Greema's hand launched out and latched onto her wrist. "Hey!" she began to protest, but was stopped by the terrified look in his eyes.
"If you are going to take it, then whatever you do, do not let the First Order find it, even if that means keeping it from Prana. Promise me this."
She stared at him as if he had grown another head. "I don't-," she began.
"You don't have to try to understand, just trust me," he wheezed. He then glanced down at her wrist. "You're one of them, aren't you?"
Moira quickly stood up, yanking her wrist free. "I was, but bad things happened," she said, her voice softening at the end. She then turned around and scooped her comlink that had fallen to the ground, and she began to walk toward the pit's exit. "Kaydell, are you still there?"
"Yes. Moira, we need you right away."
"Kaydell, I have a contract with the King Prana, I can't just-."
"Prana can wait a few extra days! This is paramount!"
Moira sighed. "Fine, where do I need to go?"
"Uh, actually, there's a pilot on his way to Tatooine right now. The General couldn't wait much longer."
"Is it who I think it is?" Her contact chuckled on the other end.
"You would be correct. He should be there within a few hours."
"Alright, let flyboy know that I'll meet him at Mos Eisley, specifically that cantina at the center of the city. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am. Hopefully we'll see each other soon. Connix out." And with that, the connection ended.
Moira looked down at the pouch she held in her hand. She hesitantly opened it up and dumped the crystal onto her palm. She stared at it for a few seconds. The thing seemed to have its own energy; she could almost feel it pulsing in her hand.
"If you are going to take it, then whatever you do, do not let the First Order find it, even if that means keeping it from Prana. Promise me this."
Moira shook her head and once again stared at the crystal. There was something about it, something almost familiar, but she didn't know why. It was almost as if she felt a pull towards it, though she couldn't explain that either. Besides, Greema's words had unusually jarred her. Perhaps it was the mention of the First Order, she didn't know, but if the First Order would want it...
Suddenly, she knew that giving this crystal to Prana was a bad idea, and it wasn't like it would be any safer with her, but...
"Oh kriff it all," she muttered before cutting a small piece of wire from her belt and punching a hole through the top of the crystal. She then hooked the wire through the crystal, and looped the rest of the wire around her chocker. She felt the crystal rest in the hollow of her neck, and it felt...right.
A/N: So this was just a flashback of what happened before the events of the first chapter concerning our OC (Moira). This is just a way of establishing her character a little more; trust me, there will be plenty of more action in the chapters to come.
I will try to update every couple of days; I have a few more finals this week (school comes first) and then I will be free to write as much as I want! Yay!
Update: I now have a tumblr account: fngrl-2187. On it, I will blog mostly about this fic (news/ideas). If you want to find out what Moira looks like, go there and check it out!