Bonfire

My routine changed one evening when I was in a small shed, rearranging some equipment around so I could sleep comfortably. Despite the Jetts' objections, I was insistent on not giving them any way to charge me interest—I knew they probably wouldn't, but I still wouldn't put it past anybody.

The suns were setting in a solid, cloudless display of colour when I heard a deafening squeal of joy coming from the house—definitely Kanji. An ecstatic cheer rose from the dwelling, and some playful, boyish laughter ascended far above the rest, standing out among the family like a Gundark in Naboo. Far from curious, I was only intent on going to sleep—it had been a long day, and Kanji was most definitely going to be as full of energy as always tomorrow.

A few short, rapid knocks on the shed door, and it swung open before I could say a thing.

"My brother's home!" Kanji beamed, practically lighting up the whole room. I shied away from the little girl, smiling fondly at her typical eagerness.

"Is he?" I asked, a hint of sarcasm lending a lilt to my voice. Oblivious, the sun-haired desert girl nodded vigorously. I let out a snort of laugher as she burst out into a fit of giggles.

"It's the first time we've seen him in months!" she yelped, and I realized she wasn't, in fact, speaking of the twenty-year-old I've spent all this time around—Jase, if I remembered correctly. "He's going to tell us all his stories, and we're having a bonfire tonight to celebrate his unexpected visit!"

"Are you now?" I leaned close, ruffling her hair with a smirk.

"And you're invited!"

I froze, my hand tangled in her golden locks, my bright red eyes wide. One word was circling around in my mind, and one word only.

Nope.

"I—I'm sorry…" I began pulling away and settling myself in a heap of old blankets. I knew I was not sorry. "I don't think I'll go this time…"

"Oh, but you have to, Rain!" Kanji whined, refusing to consider the fact that there probably wouldn't be a next time. "It's so fun, you'll get to see my brother, and—" I cut her off with a hand that was too exhausted to argue.

"You know what?" I sighed, immediately regretting my obvious decision. "Sure."

A bright fire blazed in the cold Tattoine night, flickering with any and every shade of blue and red and proudly displaying a core of pure white.

I sat with the Jetts, roasting parts of an animal Dakku had scavenged earlier that day. I took a long, hard look at the visitor as I chewed on my meat, scanning his face like a droid.

He had shaggy dark hair like his mother and inquisitive blue eyes like his father and Kanji, but his pale skin contrasted greatly with his family as a whole—he must either spend quite a bit more time inside, or work on a planet where sun was hardly ever shining. Jase made a joke, ruthlessly picking on his younger brother, and the new one shoved him lightly in the shoulder.

He looked… familiar.

I shrugged after a while of nothing, finishing the rest of my jerky and wiping my mouth on my cloak. I saw him glancing my way nervously and smirked at him, nodding him over. I was in the mood to talk, and I wanted to be the one asking questions for once.

"Hey," he smiled shyly, eyes peering out from underneath strands of shadowy hair, "Rain, right?"

"Yeah," there was no malice in my voice, and I absentmindedly twirled the stick I held between my fingers.

He took a deep breath, tapping his foot nervously. After a bit, he subtly shifted the brown canvas cape he wore to the side. I dropped my stick, eyes widening, as I saw his lightsaber.

"Thanks for saving me a while back."

A moment of stunned silence, the family's chatter fading off into the background until it was only us, staring into red and blue and black as our eyes met.

"It's you." I managed, after a few shallow breaths. "Is this your family, Jedi?"

"Yeah," he smiled again, giving a small chuckle as he glanced over in their direction. "And call me Linx."

I shook my head in amazement. This couldn't be happening.

"Have you actually been looking for me?" I laughed in disbelief, "How did you find me?"

Linx shrugged, letting out a small sigh. "I used the Force, I guess. Once you have a vision, its hard to let it go, you know?"

I opened my mouth to answer, feeling he meant that in more than one sense, but I never got to reply.

A blinding flash, a deafening boom that accompanies a shockwave that sent everyone flying back, and the domed sandstone hut was burning, burning to ashes and dust. Kanji screamed. Jase Linx drew his bright green lightsaber. Anya yelled some words I couldn't understand. A tall figure emerged from the flames, clad in metal and surrounded with an aura of hate.

In one fluid motion, he grabbed Kanji by the hair and raised a gun to her forehead, ceasing her shrieks with a threating growl. She let out a dull whimper, her eyes looking at me desperately. A tear fell down her face, watering the ground beneath her.

"Put her down!" I screamed, reaching for my lightsabers. But then I paused, remembering something I'd been trying to ignore.

The Jetts didn't know I was a Sith. A bead of sweat rolled down my forehead, and the figure before me laughed, nothing more than a metallic shadow outlined in flames.

"Go ahead," he hissed, his voice deep and gravelly. "Ignite your blades."

I closed my eyes, only hesitating for a second before grabbing my sabers. The Jetts would understand, wouldn't they?

My blades glowed like blood in the night.

"Drop her," I growled, but was surprised when the stranger actually obeyed.

"The weak ones are not my mission," he snarled back. "You are." He pulled something from a belt at his waist, and a blazing line of red sprang up from his sword hilt, humming softly in the thick silence. I should've expected this—I'd betrayed the Seps, and I wasn't exactly easy to pick off. It would make sense that Dookou would send another Sith after me.

I snapped my swords together at the hilt until they were a single entity, narrowing my ruby eyes.

"Then come at me."

We ran to meet each other, silent assassins, and our lightsabers met, crashing together in a display of sparks and fire that zipped between them. Gritting my teeth, I slid below his blade, ducking under him and kicking the back of his knees as hard as I could. He collapsed, and I sprung up, bringing my sabers down on top of him.

He dodged smoothly, and my weapon melted the sand on the ground into a thick, glowing paste. The mercenary rolled over and kicked me in the gut, sending me stumbling back, gasping for air. Dislodging my sabers, I barely managed to meet an oncoming blow, blocking it with my cyborg arm and flailing a lightsaber with my flesh one. The man tried to dodge again, but was too slow, and I caught him in the chest as I regained my composure. I heard him gasp in pain and grinned widely.

But, lucky for him, it wasn't fatal.

"Rain!" Linx called, and I took my eyes off the mercenary for a split second to see the Jedi holding Kanji tight, a terrified look in his eye.

"Do you need me to step in?" he asked, fingering his weapon. "I could—"

"No!" I yelled fiercely, "This is my fight. Go pro—"

I was cut of by a jab in the shoulder, and I stumbled back in pain, hissing harshly through my teeth. The man had staggered forward, getting over the shallow wound I'd given him, and stabbed my left arm, the flesh burning.

I cried out in agony and reeled backwards, barely deflecting blow after blow the other Sith threw at me, retreating another step each time. He kicked me in the ribs, and I doubled over, dropping a lightsaber in the sand, and only managing to hold onto the other one because of my mechanical arm. The mercenary yanked the saber out of my grip and tossed it away kicking the other one to the side like a rag doll.

"You end has come," he hissed through his helmet, steadily advancing until he was directly over me—I refused to move. "I suggest you meet it bravely."

"I will not die," I spat on his feet, shakily raising my head to meet his eyes with a defiant gleam. "Not by the hands of a murderer."

The man laughed. "It takes one to know one, does it?"

"No!" I shouted, fury boiling over inside me. "I'm a killer, not a murderer! There's a difference." I coughed up blood, pain flaring in my ribs.

"Call it what you like," the man shrugged," raising his blade, "you still will die."

The saber fell down. Linx ran towards me.

I screamed, feeling a pain tear through me.

But this pain was bright blue and energetic.

Sith lightning ripped through every muscle and vein, every nerve and artery, turning my blood to fire and my breath to ice. It blasted away in a million different directions, rocketing through my every pore.

The assassin was blown back. I laid limp on the sand.

All was silent once more.

After a moment, I managed to open my eyes. The murderer was gone.

I stood shakily, looking around at the scorched landscape and using the Force to retrieve my laser swords. I walked shakily towards the Jetts, hoping they would understand.

Lynx was lying at their feet, dead, and I somehow found myself kneeling by his body, stunned.

"NO!" Kanji screamed, pushing me back. I scrambled backwards.

"Get away from him!"

Tears formed in the young girl's sky blue eyes, marring the illusion of innocence.

"You're a Sith," she stated accusingly, her voice quavering slightly. She broke out into violent sobs that wracked her body as she fell over her brother's corpse. Anya and Jase defended her, moving forward with a threatening look in their eyes, and Dakku drew a pistol threateningly.

"I HATE YOU!"

My eyes shot down to stare a Kanji, and her words were hanging in the air like a toxic cloud, more deadly than any mercenary could ever be.

I took a step back, as if I had been physically slapped.

I looked down at me feet, ashamed.

And I walked away, disappearing back into the shadows where I belonged.

No tears came that day.