A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
Approx. 37 ABY
Chapter 1: In Which Zara finds a B1 Battle Droid's remains and a strange, violent orphan.
The streets of Coruscant were always cramped and filled with traffic, especially now, at the end of the world day. Aliens from all corners of the Galaxy twisted their way through each other in an intricate maze of people as speeders of all kinds whizzed on by.
Zara was no exception in this case.
She was a young Twi'lek woman of 15, with pale yellow skin, and brilliant green eyes hidden partially behind her oversized goggles. She wore a drab, brown scavenger's coat and boots, and a belt bristling with tools of all kinds.
Among this crowd, she was basically invisible, which proved to be bad for her health. She had narrowly avoided getting trampled thirteen times already, and not without a few bruises.
She finally found refuge in a nearby alley, and leaned heavily on one of the great, metal walls, catching her breath.
"By the Force," she grumbled. "I hate crowds so much."
At that moment, a black blur passed her by, yanking something from her belt as it headed deeper into the alley.
"Hey," she yelled, turning to run after what seemed to be a human child. "Get back here, you little thief!"
The child laughed, glancing back and giving her a glimpse of his blue eyes through his edgy haircut. He tipped over a passing trash droid (Zara was fairly certain it was a GNK power droid), which fell in her path.
Zara almost stopped to comment on how stupid a move this was. Almost. Hurdling over it was child's play compared to worming her way through the crowd earlier.
The kid skidded on the balls of his feet, scrambling as he made a left turn. He pocketed her credit chip, still in a dead sprint.
Zara muttered a curse under her breath. How in the name of the Force was this kid so fast? Skidding to a stop, she looked down the alley he had torn down through, raising her goggles and squinting.
The child was attempting to pull a large, metal barrel out of a stack of them. All he was really doing was making the stack wobble a little bit.
Zara folded her arms, one corner of her mouth rising as she watched the tiny bit continue his fruitless attempts for a moment.
When she had enough amusement, she cleared her throat.
The child whipped around in shock, stumbling away from the barrels as he caught his breath.
Zara gave him a slow clap, then held out her hand. "Okay, kid, game's over. Give me back my chip, and I'll pretend I never saw you."
The boy grunted, turning on his heel and making a break for it as he called back, "You'll have to catch me first-"
Zara launched herself at the child, and they tumbled into a nearby pile of scrap as they tussled with one another.
This fight was quickly brought to a close when a pale droid torso fell on them both, knocking the wind out of them.
The pair groaned in unison, and Zara rolled over, shoving the droid away.
They both laid there for a moment, catching their breath.
"Skrog," the boy muttered, glancing at Zara. "How much do you even have on this thing, anyways?"
Zara sat up with a defeated sigh. "Enough for two more meals. Maybe a dessert, if I save enough."
He shook his head, digging it out of his pocket. "In that case, here you go," he muttered guiltily, holding the chip out to her.
She took it back with a sigh. "Have you ever stolen anything before, kid?"
"Hey," he snapped. "I'm almost as old as you are."
She cocked an eyebrow at him, a small smirk crossing her face. "Haven't answered my question," she intoned smugly.
He sighed, propping himself up with his arms. "Nothing but food until now. Why didn't you have your chip in a vest pocket instead of sticking out your belt?"
"My vest's drying out," she sighed.
He frowned at Zara and incredulously inquired, "So… why are you still wearing it?"
She pointedly looked away from him before reluctantly answering, "Because I like it, okay?"
He appraised her vest for a moment, then admitted, "Fair enough. Sorry for taking it in the first place." He held out a hand and muttered, "I'm Zenon, by the way."
Zara sighed. "Not the best first impression, but I guess no harm's been done." Shaking his hand, she inferred, "Zara."
"Yeah, no damage except for our ribs," he joked, kicking the droid remains lightly as he got to his feet.
Zara snorted, looking down at the droid herself. "Yeah. Wonder what kind of Droid it was."
Zenon grabbed the one, pale, thin arm that still held onto the rectangular torso, lifting it experimentally. He blinked as the limb simply came off, held there only by a weak magnet. "Whatever it was," he noted, "It's junk now."
"Wonder what it's doing out here," Zara muttered, hopping up and looking around.
"Kinda looks like a trash chute was broken or something," Zenon snorted.
Zara shrugged, tilting the torso into a standing position and examining the thin, angular head that seemed only slightly cracked. "Oh, well. One man's trash is another's treasure. Mind helping me carry this?"
Zenon blinked at her. "Wait, what? Why should I?"
"Because you still feel bad for stealing from me," she answered with a devilishly innocent smile. "My place isn't too far from here, and while I could take this over there myself… I kinda don't want to."
Zenon rolled his eyes. "Fine. But you're splitting one of those meals with me."
"It's a deal," she nodded. "Now, I'll grab the top, you grab the bottom."
By the time they got to their destination, both kids were worn out.
They set the droid down roughly, each gasping for breath.
"How," Zenon wheezed, "How is this thing so heavy?"
"I don't know," Zara answered, just as out of air as he. "Just a bit… surprised it isn't heavier."
Zenon groaned, shaking his head. "How much farther is it?"
She motioned to the door on the right. "Through there," she grumbled.
He frowned, looking up at the building. "Wait," he said, holding up a hand. "A bar? You live in a bar?"
"Well, I technically work here in exchange for a room," she sighed. "Now come on, we only have a set of stairs to go up."
"Stairs?" Zenon asked, bewildered and dismayed. "You never said anything about stairs!"
"You want your part of the meal or don't you?" Zara asked, raising an eyebrow.
Zenon glanced away before his stomach growled audibly. After a moment more, he muttered, "Yes."
"Then hop to it," she chuckled, picking up her end. "Come on, the door's automatic."
Zenon rolled his eyes, hoisting the bottom up with a grunt. "You literally owe me for this," he grumbled as she led him through the door.
The bar wasn't busy at all. In fact, the only person there was an old human who stood behind the bar, cleaning up a grimy glass with an even filthier rag.
The man glanced up at them, his stubbled face frowning. "And who's your new pal, girl?"
Zara grunted as they continued across the room. "Acquaintances at best," she remarked.
"Put the battle droid down and introduce me," the old man grumbled, placing the glass on the bar and folding his arms.
Zara rolled her eyes, setting her end down. "Ugh, you're not my dad."
The old man cocked an eyebrow, smirking a little. "Yeah? Well, I might not be, but I do own the roof over your head."
Zenon glanced between the two, gently setting the droid down as he asked, "Uh, what's… going on here?"
The old man held his stare firm, and after a few silent moments, Zara rolled her eyes.
"Fine," she grumbled. "Zenon, meet mister Synn. He owns the place. Mister Synn, meet Zenon."
"Charmed," Mister Synn nodded to him. "How'd you two meet?"
Zenon chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uh…"
"He tried to steal my credit chip," Zara shrugged, picking up the battle droid once more.
Synn froze, blinking at them as he asked, "I'm sorry, he did what?"
Zara waved her hand, grunting, "It's fine, I got it back. And I got this droid torso!"
"Yes, I was meaning to ask about that," Synn muttered. "What… What are you doing with that battle droid?"
"You recognize it?" Zenon asked.
"Of course I do," the old man nodded, walking around the table as he frowned at the thing. "It's a B1 battle droid, last used in the Clone Wars."
"Wait, wait, wait," Zara held up a hand, putting the droid back down again. "That war where all the Jedi died?"
"Well, not all of them," Synn noted. "At least, if the rumors are to be believed. But yes, that war."
"I'm sorry, the Clone Wars?" Zenon asked, utterly confused.
Both turned towards him, mirroring expressions of confusion on their faces.
Zenon rolled his eyes and muttered, "Never really got schooling. I've been alone on the streets for as long as I can remember."
"That's… wow," Zara muttered, her voice dripping with newfound sympathy for the boy. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"I'm used to it," he shrugged. "Now who's gonna tell me what the Clone Wars were about, anyways?"
Synn took a deep breath, taking one of the many empty seats. "Well, from what I know of it, the Clone Wars were a series of conflicts between the Galactic Republic of the time and a splinter group known as the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Galactic Republic had a grand army of clone warriors led by Jedi generals; hence the name Clone Wars; while the Confederacy used battle droids like this one."
"That brings me to my next question," Zenon said, raising an eyebrow. "What even is a Jedi?"
Synn leaned back, sighing heavily before answering, "They were… a religious order centered around belief and use of the Force; a sort of energy field created by all living things. They wielded laser blades and were reportedly great warriors, and even better peacekeepers."
"So why aren't they around now?" the boy asked incredulously.
Zara piped up, "At the end of the Clone Wars, they were all branded as traitors by the Republic, which had turned into an Empire seemingly overnight, and were hunted down with extreme prejudice."
"Exactly," Synn nodded. "Now, this battle droid model wasn't known for being exceptional in any means, they had enough programming to make a few decisions on their own and shoot somewhat straight, but that was it. If this is one of the later B1's, then it would have a small inkling of a personality, but that's about it. The most danger they posed was the sheer numbers they had."
"Uh-huh," Zenon nodded. "And, uh, how long did this war last?"
"About four years," Synn answered. "It was one of the bloodiest conflicts this galaxy has ever seen, and that's counting the days of the Empire and the First Order."
"I see," the boy nodded again. "Now, uh, pretend I don't know anything about the Empire."
Synn was about to oblige him, but Zara rolled her eyes and groaned. "We are gonna be here forever if this keeps going. Come on, kid. Help me get this thing up the stairs."
Zenon glared at her and grumbled, "You're not that much older than I am." With a sigh, he leaned down to pick up the droid, and the pair stumbled their way up the stairs.
Synn watched them go with a strange look in his eyes. He reached into his coat, gripping the thin, metal rod that the leather hid. With a wry smile, he commented to himself, "Two Force sensitive children in my bar. Who would've thought?"
