This is meant to be a three part short fic set a short time before the events of Fallen Order.

SPOILER WARNING for Fallen Order. Read at your own risk.

"Don't stand out.
Accept the past.
Trust no one.
Trust... only... in the Force."

PART I - The Beginning

The Abednedo lowered himself on the makeshift bench squashed to one side of the transport train. Hunching over, with elbows resting on his knees, Prauf stretched out his legs, rotating his sore feet. The cutting job he had been tasked to do for the entire day required him to maintain an awkward position for hours because of the heavy-duty machinery he had to use. All that work, and he was still barely even halfway through removing the large hanger walls. It was slow progress, which meant that he would have to continue with it the next day.

Flexing his ankles to reduce the constricted blood flow from his already swollen feet, Prauf let out a small sigh. Every day was the same. He'd wake up after a less than restful sleep, haul himself to work, tear apart metal bits to be fed to the Ibdis Maw until the end of shift, return to the transportation train that would bring the scrappers back to the bunkers and have a little time to himself before bed, then repeating it all over again. Of course, having done this job for almost five years, Prauf could say he had grown used to the strenuous work cycle, so much so that he knew when he wakes up the next day, the pain and soreness he felt would have disappeared.

Sensing a new weight on the bench beside him, he looked to the side to find that a fellow scrapper, Cal, occupying the space. The redhead young human seemed to have noticed Prauf's shift in attention and quickly glanced at him.

"Mind if I borrowed the seat here? It's been a long day."

"No problem, Cal," he replied.

If his memory served him right, Prauf estimated that the boy had roughly two years of experience as a scrapper in this guild. A generally reserved and humble young man who kept to himself, save for saying only what was necessary, not many of his fellow scrappers knew much about Cal Kestis, apart from his growing reputation of navigating risky terrains of the rigging to dismantle the Venator-class Star Destroyer that they were working on. Prauf wished he could say he knew Cal better than most, but in such dark times, it was difficult to tell if someone had a motif or wasn't who they claimed to be. In short, no one could truly be certain of another person's intent, so Prauf didn't bother much with getting to know the boy. There just wasn't a need to.

Cal muttered a short, "thanks," before relaxing into the bench, slumping a little to the side such that his shoulder was pressing lightly against Prauf's left arm. Unconsciously perhaps, he thought, the boy must be dead on his feet after work that he was completely knocked out. The Abednedo contemplated nudging Cal upright, though he quickly threw the thought out of the window when he saw the exhaustion on his face as his eyelids fluttered shut. Besides, the weight on his arm made him feel grounded, and the boy wasn't too heavy at all.

Switching his attention again, Prauf tuned into the conversation between two other scrappers, Eddie and Jarrus, who stood a short distance in front of him. Both of them had been working here for almost as long as him, recruited shortly after the rise of the Empire.

"Wouldn't hope for a raise." The skinnier man Jarrus was saying, "Been in this guild for years and I haven't got any extra credit since day one. We should be lucky that they even pay us on time."

Eddie, with his arms crossed over his chest, was gruff in response. "Look, I ain't complaining. The scrapyard is basically all we have here in Bracca, and they are very selective on who gets to work."

"That's good though, isn't it? The way I see it, incompetency can very well be a danger to all of us. One mistake and we might all fall into the M-"

"Yes, but," Eddie interrupted impatiently, "with this being one of the only few jobs to earn credits, how is someone supposed to earn enough to support his family? I've got four mouths to feed back home!"

Jarrus eyes flashed warningly, silently reminding the other man to keep his voice down. Realising that his outburst might have been heard, Eddie hastily looked around. Fortunately, the other scrappers were much too tired to bother paying them any attention, except for Prauf, that is.

Eddie turned to look down at him, throwing into the yellow light numerous scars that ran down his heavily tattooed biceps. Shadows fell over his face as his bulky figure loomed over Prauf, obviously trying to be intimidating.

"Ed," whispered Jarrus.

The other man ignored him; his beady eyes still focused on Prauf.

"Eavesdropping, pal?" Eddie said, "Something caught your fancy?"

Prauf knew better than to pick a fight. While he disliked the Empire and what they stood for, it was unwise to speak carelessly about them. So he settled on telling them a little about his past, to show that he was not on the side of the Empire.

"Before all this," Prauf started, "I had a different job; one that I enjoyed. But after the Purge and the Empire took over, things started to change. The few jobs we used to have in Bracca just vanished. There was so much debris on the planet and they just wanted specific components. Many of us were stranded on this junkyard planet with no transport to leave to another system, and the Empire took the opportunity. They'd pay us small credits for selling them the engines and components they need, just enough to feed ourselves, but not enough to move away."

On his side, Cal stirred, likely disrupted by their conversation. Prauf made to lower his voice as he continued, but the boy was already fully awake, straightening up and listening in to what he was saying with interest.

In that moment, Prauf decided to open up more for the kid's sake, because he wanted the boy to feel at ease around him; to have someone to confide in. Cal's presence didn't feel menacing or hostile, instead quite the contrary, and Prauf's instincts were telling him he could trust the boy.

Like he'd said, having a friend to confide in would be a nice change.

"Back then, I moved to Bracca to work as an engineer. Always took joy in creating something new. Designing machines to do the heavy lifting, maintaining engines, building components and fittings for ships and the likes. It allowed me to use creativity in my job." Prauf continued, reminiscing the times before the Clone Wars. "Some days were hectic from the sheer number of orders for engines we'd got. But on other days, we spent the afternoon catching up with our hobbies of random tinkering. Money was never an issue either; we were paid generously for the engines we sold."

The two men who had initially been threatening him had a more relaxed stance now. Even Eddie had uncrossed his arms and shoved them casually into his pockets. Prauf had successfully managed to diffuse the tension.

Looking back at Eddie, he said, "so I understand how difficult it must be to be the sole breadwinner of your family and I respect how you've managed to adapt."

The guy gave a nod, reassured by Prauf's words and amazed by his recount. He had been listening attentively as Prauf talked, and now turned to Cal with curiosity, "And you? You seem rather young for a scrapper. What's your story?"

Prauf caught the brief hesitation, only because he was close enough to hear the slight hitch in breath.

Cal sighed staring determinedly at his palms, "It's not much of a story, really. I happened to be on a passenger cruiser just above this planet during the time of the Purge. My ship was caught in the crossfire and we crash landed on Bracca, not far from here. Spent a while searching if anyone else made it out of the crash site, and then learnt that my parents and guardians didn't." The boy paused, before continuing, "I was twelve then, and alone. Wasn't sure what to do, so I scavenged whatever I could find in the debris and survived in the streets for about three years. At that point I had been so close to giving up, when a stranger introduced me to this scrapper guild here."

Hearing Cal's past for the first time, Prauf was at a loss of words. He wasn't expecting something so tragic and dark from a twelve-year-old. A memory sparked in his head as Prauf remembered what happened on that day when Cal was brought to the guild. Prauf recalled being summoned by his supervisor where he had been given specific instructions to keep an eye on the boy.

"I remember." Prauf said to Cal, "I was told to watch you for a couple of months, and report back to my supervisor if I thought you were capable."

Cal shrugged, "They told me they were interested in my skills for climbing and navigating obstacles, but I was too young."

Nodding, Prauf explained, "They weren't sure if you'd be up to the tough job. Like I'd said, there wasn't room for sitting ducks in this guild, so you were put on probation and under my charge."

"They told me the same. If you were satisfied with my work, I'd get offered the job officially."

"Which I was. I was so impressed by your skill and maturity at such a young age that I reported back to them in only a month. They made you permanent immediately."

Cal looked surprised, as though praises didn't come often his way. "Thanks, Prauf."

"Don't mention it, kid. I liked you anyway."

He felt warmth spreading from his chest, and Prauf thought he'd finally managed to break down some of the walls between them. It seemed like a long shot, and Prauf knew the dangers that came with trusting others. Besides, he wasn't sure what Cal thought of him in return. Nevertheless, he could not help but wonder:

Was this the start of a budding friendship?

He was pulled back to the present when the discussion soon turned to selling contraband items to earn large sums of credit.

"Reckon we could pull in up to thirty times what we would usually earn in a single shift. For a shorter time too." Jarrus was saying.

Eddie agreed, "More like fifty times the money for a tenth of the time."

"Your family could live comfortably. You just have to operate under the radar on a few days of a month."

"Risky business though, working under the radar." Eddie said, "Imagine a legal job that could earn much more than that."

"Oh yeah?" Jarrus said, eyebrows raising, "What are you on about?"

"Bounty hunter."

"Ah."

"The Empire has a list of people with prizes on their head. Huge sums. One job and you'd practically be free to move out of this planet and settle in a much more comfortable system."

"That's true." Jarrus nodded slowly, "but not everyone is cut out for that. Besides, those with larger bounty are much harder to catch. They're dangerous and too cunning. That's why the Empire wants to capture them in the first place."

Eddie snapped his fingers. "Exactly. Highest bounty are always the Jedi, because they are extremely difficult to capture. Very dangerous people."

"This is one of those rare occasions where I support the Empire to eradicate all the Jedi. They and their the whole stupid Jedi Order was the reason why we're in such a situation. Traitors, every single one of them!"

"Calm down," Prauf said, "The Jedi Council may have made mistakes that have led to this. But surely that cannot mean that all Jedi are evil?"

Jarrus looked ready to argue and was about to retort when a much quieter voice spoke.

It was Cal, who had been silent for the longest time, only listening to them. "What do you mean?"

"All I'm saying," Prauf said, raising his arms in a placating gesture, "is that while the leaders made wrong decisions, these do not usually represent what all Jedi thinks. Perhaps the few who escaped could have been innocent and are struck down and are also struggling to live under cover."

"Whatever." Eddie said, attempting to lighten the mood, "If I caught one and received a bounty for it, I'd probably buy a transport ship for my family and move to Coruscant. It's a nice city to retire in."

Jarrus guffawed, rubbing the stubbles on his chin as he thought, "I'd stay to catch two Jedi, be rich and explore the Outer Rim. Maybe even settle there, create a gambling den or something and have servants work for me."

Eddie laughed, and so did Jarrus, slapping each other's backs as they thought of how ridiculous it was to even find a Jedi now that their species were all but extinct. Even Prauf could not help but let out a chuckle.

"Say, Prauf," Jarrus grinned, "what would you do if you'd traded in a Jedi?"

"Probably follow your route, Eddie." Prauf said thoughtfully, "Coruscant is a pretty place. In fact, anywhere will look pretty to us since we are from a junkyard anyway."

The transport train had started to slow as they pulled into the bunkers. Eddie and Jarrus left to pick up their belongings, leaving Prauf alone again with Cal. When the Abednedo looked at him properly, he noticed that the small smile plastered on the kid's face never really reached his eyes. The boy's expression was vacant, with the tiniest of frowns upon his forehead, but disappeared almost immediately when Cal stood up, and Prauf didn't think too much about it. He made a mental note to ask the kid about it on another day.

I should be posting Part II within the week. Reviews are welcome!