13 / A Hostile World

Ferrix

2 BBY

Kata started awake, panicked, shaky breaths escaping her mouth. Her head darted around her, disoriented at first, but then she recognised the alcove, the rooftop, the sound of the rain and the smell of smoke, and she remembered where she was. She relaxed somewhat, her guard still up as she leant back against the alcove wall, her heavy eyelids blinking wearily and a shiver gripping her as she registered the chill still in the air.

"boo-doop?"

She looked down at the droid who had been nestled in her lap, but was now looking at her with concern.

"Yeah, I'm ok," She assured him, petting his head. "It was just a dream."

"boo-bweep."

She wished it wasn't a dream. She had expected to be plagued by nightmares when her eyes had closed, but instead her subconscious had tormented her with dreams of happier times. She'd dreamt about Tanalorr, about her family, about the adventures they'd had together. In her dream, her Papa was still alive, and Cere was with them, too. They were all together, smiling and laughing. It had only made waking up feel all the more cruel. She stared out at the still-falling rain, her mind far away. A single tear slid slowly down her cheek as her thoughts dwelled on those she loved and she reached up to wipe it away with a sniffle.

"bwoo!"

She looked at the droid, then followed his gaze to her right shoulder. Her brows raised slightly as she saw a spider making its way silently over her shoulder and down her jacket. She reached out with her left hand and allowed it to crawl onto her open palm. She had never been freaked out by spiders or any other kind of 'creepy crawly' thing as she had found many other people to be. Cal wasn't a fan of them, and neither was Jynna, but she found them sort of fascinating. She also found that almost every creature in the Galaxy wasn't inherently aggressive or looking to harm people – she simply had to approach them with kindness and curiosity. BD-1 scanned the eight-legged creature which made Kata smile, then she raised it up to the top of the vent and let it walk off of her hand where it disappeared into the darkness.

"A lot smaller than the ones on Kashyyyk." She observed.

"brrllt."

She heard the rainfall finally beginning to relent and held her hand out from the alcove under the sky, the last drops of the downpour settling in her palm. She opened her fingers and let the cold water run through them.

"Well, we could just stay up here for..." Kata turned to BD-1. "How long has it been?"

"brrloop."

"Four more hours, or we could take a look around; maybe figure out a plan B if our 'friend' doesn't come through."

"myam-wam."

"You know what that means though, BD."

"frrrlllt!"

The droid was already reluctantly climbing back into the bag in front of her, accepting his fate. She chuckled at him and picked it up before making her way out onto the rooftop. She hauled the backpack over her shoulders and adjusted her cloak around herself, then stopped to look up at the sky. The clouds were beginning to thin and disperse and the pink and orange colours of sunrise were already peeking through. It was beautiful; it reminded her of home. She sighed deeply at the thought of home, of Tanalorr, of what she'd lost...

She shook herself from her reverie and started on her way west, or what she thought was west at least. She stuck to the rooftops, utilising whatever means she could to traverse between them – an electrical cable here, a daring leap there. She soon approached what looked like some kind of market square filled with all kinds of people milling about, even at this early hour, browsing the various stalls set up there. She was about to go around it when she looked up and saw Stormtroopers guarding the rooves across from her. Luckily, they didn't seem to have noticed her yet.

"Oh, shit, get off the roof, Kata." She whispered to herself as she crouched out of sight.

She carefully made her way down the back of the building she was on to the alley below, startling someone nearby as her boots splashed on the muddy ground. She quickly pulled her hood up to hide her face, stuffed her freezing hands in her pockets and tried to walk as casually as possible. At first she'd thought she should avoid the busy market square, but then she realised a place like that might be perfect for her to blend in to the crowd, as it were. She knew she would likely go completely unnoticed as long as she didn't draw attention to herself.

She followed the people heading in that direction through the main street and moved with the flow of the foot traffic. There must have been hundreds of people crammed into the small square, most of them conversing in low tones or browsing. Strangely, Kata found herself reminded of the square in Haven. Though the overall vibe here was much grungier, and honestly, more depressing than that of Tanalorr, apart from that it wasn't dissimilar. She sighed to herself again – it seemed like all she had seen since she'd arrived on this desolate world was things that reminded her of home.

Kata only glanced at the various goods being peddled as she passed by each of the stalls, her mind definitely not on material things. Eventually she stopped as she noticed a man across the square holding hands with a young girl. The girl couldn't have been older than eight, and the man she held hands with was clearly her father, that much was obvious in the resemblance. They were just going about their business, buying something from a stall that her father allowed her to carry. She could see them conversing, but couldn't make out what they were saying, then he smiled at her and she smiled back. It was such an innocent, unremarkable interaction, but it filled Kata with a deep sense of sadness and loss. It made her think of Niuna and Jeshan, back on Tanalorr, the day she had found the Youngling picking flowers. She didn't know if either of them had survived the invasion.

"So young..."

A strange voice clearly directed at Kata caught her attention and she was startled from her thoughts, looking to her left at a little old lady behind one of the stalls.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"So young," The old lady repeated, gesturing at Kata. "To be so alone in such a place."

Kata looked the woman up and down, unsure what to make of her immediately.

"Are you hungry, child?" She asked with a smile, motioning Kata forward.

Kata took a few tentative steps closer, her hand hovering over her blaster beneath her cloak out of instinct. It was then that she noticed the woman was standing behind a stall filled with fresh food. She picked up something – it looked like some kind of fruit – and offered it to her, but Kata waved it away.

"Sorry, I have no money." She explained.

"Did I ask for money?" The woman questioned.

Kata wasn't sure if this was a trick or if she was just a sweet old lady, but she was hungry, not remembering the last time she had eaten. Was it the night of the celebration? She truly couldn't recall; so much had happened since then. The woman waved the fruit at her insistently and she reached out tentatively and took it with a grateful smile, inspecting it for anything strange.

"It's not a trick," The woman assured her. "Take it. You look like you've been through hell."

Kata smiled sadly, her face falling.

"Yeah, you could say that."

The sadness on the woman's face mirrored her own and she looked at Kata with pity.

"What is your name, child?" She asked.

Kata hesitated.

"Tayala."

"Do you have a place to stay, Tayala? I know of somewhere—"

Kata held up a hand to stop her and shook her head.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I prefer to find my own way."

The old woman nodded.

"I can respect that. For someone so young to grow up in a world so full of hatred..." She lamented. "This Galaxy bleeds, child; the Empire threatens us all."

Kata looked down at the fruit she held, her thoughts wandering back to what she'd lost.

"They took my home, my family, and I..." She looked up at the strange woman's kind face. "I don't know what to do next."

Kata watched the old woman's frazzled hands as they reached out to touch her own, clasping them around the fruit. She looked into her hazy eyes and the woman smiled.

"Your life is but yours, Tayala," She said with the wisdom of all her years. "Destiny is a thing only you can find for yourself."

Kata wasn't sure exactly what she meant, and she wasn't entirely sure the old woman did either. She seemed a bit strange, but kind, and there was great knowledge behind her tired eyes. Kata smiled at her.

"Thank you." She said sincerely.

The woman nodded at her and released her hands, motioning with her head for Kata to move along. She walked away from the stall and the old woman and took a cautious bite of the fruit she had given her. It was sweet and tart and made a satisfying crunch as she bit into it. It didn't taste poisoned, so she supposed that was a positive start. She hadn't sensed anything amiss with the old crone, but she knew she couldn't be too careful in a strange place like this.

Kata looked about her at the various people busying themselves in the market square until a few rather shady-looking individuals caught her attention down one of the alleys. They were carrying crates of something and looked to be on a mission with a destination.

"Wonder where you're going." She muttered to herself.

She crunched at her food and decided to follow.

She tailed the people carrying the crates carefully, keeping to the shadows, and they eventually led her to the docks. She could see ships of all sizes coming and going, people loading and unloading various boxes and containers. They were mostly cargo freighters, but some single-pilot ships and yachts too; certainly plenty of plan B options.

"Well, if all else fails, I can always jack one."

"bwoop-brrtat." BD's muffled voice came from the bag.

"So is trusting Mister Makes-My-Skin-Crawl." She pointed out.

"fwoot."

Kata watched from the alley as people worked, hauling their cargo from the ships towards the markets and back. Trade didn't seem to be slowed by the Empire here, at least. A transaction caught her eye between a trader and one of the Stormtroopers guarding a path further west. She narrowed her eyes as she watched the trader hand them something – it looked like money – and they let them pass.

"Guess the Imps here aren't as stuck-up as the ones on Coruscant; could always bribe one to look the other way."

"wrrleep?"

"Credits aren't hard to come by, if you know where to look."

"bwee-boo-brrt."

"Yeah, well, Cal's not here."

Kata tried not to fall back into a pit of despair at her own statement. Cal wasn't there, she had to fend for herself. She had to get off this planet and find the rest of her family, no matter what it took. She kept observing for a while longer until she decided she had lingered too long. Not wanting anyone to take notice of her, she slinked back into the alley and rejoined the crowds.

The Padawan tried to lay low while she explored the trade sector, making a conscious effort not to look anyone in the eyes, keeping her head down and her mouth shut. Though it was hidden beneath her cloak, she could almost feel her lightsaber pulsating like a neon sign. She knew that if anyone saw it, she'd be toast. The Jedi hadn't been gone so long that people had forgotten what a lightsaber meant. She knew she had taken a risk in showing Dagan's to her "friend" from the bar, but she also knew she had seen that lightsaber in her vision for a reason. At the time it had seemed so strange a detail, but now she was grateful she'd had the foresight to stash it in her bag the night before the invasion. It was hard for her to believe that was barely two days ago; it felt like another lifetime.

She ducked out of the crowds back into the alleyways, feeling far too exposed in the daylight, noticing more than a few people staring at her as she passed them. As she wandered her way back to where she'd started that morning, her eyes ran over the graffiti on the alley walls. "Free Ferrix" seemed to be the common phrase, amongst others. It seemed the people here were no more pleased with the Imperial occupation than most of the Galaxy. There was a clear air of unrest and violence on this world and she wondered how long it would be before tensions boiled over.

Kata slowed as she noticed two men in an alleyway who were laughing and talking loudly start to quiet and stare at her as she approached. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, her instincts telling her they were about to be a problem.

Shit, here we go. She thought to herself.

"Hey there, little lady." One of them addressed her.

She stopped herself from looking up at him, keeping her eyes fixed on the muddy ground, pointedly ignoring him.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!"

The same man stood and Kata could see a bottle in his hand that was almost empty.

Don't say something smart, don't say something smart... She repeated to herself like a mantra as she tried to pass them.

Of course they blocked her way, both of them standing now across the width of the alley, no way for her to go around unless she scaled the wall, which she considered for a second.

Don't draw attention to yourself, Kata.

Though she had a feeling these two were about to draw far too much attention to her.

"That's very rude, ignorin' people like that."

The other man slurred his sentence and Kata could smell the booze on his breath despite the almost foot of height difference between them.

"Where are you goin' in such a hurry?" The first man asked.

"None of your business," Kata replied, keeping her voice even. "Let me pass."

"Not until you apologise," The second man leaned down towards her. "Go on, say you're sorry."

Kata looked him straight in his bloodshot eyes from under her hood.

"Let me pass or I will make you let me pass." She threatened.

He didn't like that. The sleazy smile was immediately wiped from his face and he frowned at her.

"That's no way for a sweet young thing like you to talk. You should be nicer to strangers."

He tried to reach out and grab her, but intoxicated as he was, he was very slow and she dodged his hand easily. She pushed her cloak back to reveal her blaster on her left hip, her hand already poised to draw it.

"Last chance," She warned. "Let me pass or I'll kill you both."

"That's a nice blaster," The first man said. "You sure you know how to use it?"

"Move out of my way or find out."

Both of the men laughed at her and she realised they weren't going to give her a choice but to shoot them. She could try to scale up the wall; they'd never be able to follow her in their condition. She could turn back and outrun them, but where would she run that she wouldn't draw every Imp in the area close? She started to pull her blaster from its holster when she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey, you two! What's going on over there?"

Kata froze. Kriff... A Stormtrooper.

She pulled her hand from her blaster, letting her cloak fall back over it, not wanting the Trooper to see she was armed. She could hear them approaching up the alley behind her. The two men in front of her straightened up as much as they could in their drunken state.

"Nothing, Officer." The second man responded, trying and failing to not sound drunk.

The Stormtrooper stopped just behind Kata and she could feel their eyes boring holes in the back of her hood. She didn't turn to look at them out of fear.

"Is there a problem here?" The Trooper asked the men.

They both frowned.

"No, there's no problem, Officer." The first man replied.

"Then you best move along before I decide there is." The Imperial threatened.

Both men glared down at Kata and she returned their unfriendly gazes, then they finally backed away and staggered down the alley. Kata was rooted in place, terrified to stay and terrified to move.

"Are you alright?" The Trooper asked her.

Her brows furrowed, thinking it was a strange question, then she realised that this Trooper had no reason to think she was anything other than just some kid wandering alone. They didn't know who she was – what she was – she just had to play it cool and she'd be fine. She blew out a silent exhale and forced a sweet smile onto her face as she turned and looked at them.

"I'm ok, thank you Officer."

The Stormtrooper nodded once at her and motioned her forward with their rifle.

"Move along."

She nodded in acknowledgement and forced her feet forward, turning left up the alley, the opposite direction that the two men had wandered. As soon as she was far enough away, she ducked behind a building, pressed her back to its wall firmly and tried not to have a panic attack. She closed her eyes and attempted to calm her erratic breaths and BD-1 stuck his head up out of her backpack.

"bwa-boop?"

"Yeah, I'm ok," She said breathlessly. "That was too damn close."

"bwoow."

"We have to get off this rock, BD. Let's hope Geezer hasn't sold us out to the Empire by now."

"prrtat!"

"Yeah, I won't hold my breath, either."

BD-1 disappeared back in the bag and Kata took a few more moments to calm herself before she headed back towards the bar.

Kata knew places this hostile existed in the Galaxy; she had seen plenty of them before, but she had always been with Cal or Merrin or Teelo or all of them at once. They had never shielded her from the ugliness of planets like these, but they had protected her from needing to interact directly with people like those that; people that would sell her, kill her, or worse, for sport. Hatred was all the Galaxy seemed to know these days – hatred and fear and contempt for one another.

She finally saw that sad neon sign for the bar and was almost relieved at the sight of it. Just as she was about to cross the street, a firm hand on her shoulder had her turning swiftly, a startled gasp leaving her mouth as she backed away, hand on her blaster.

"Easy, kid," An unfortunately familiar voice said, his hands in the air in a show of peace. "Bit jumpy, eh? Ferrix'll do that to ya."

Kata didn't relax her position.

"You have my ship?" She asked.

"Yeah, I have your ship. It's waitin' for us at the docks, Captain owed me a favour," He explained. "Gonna need that payment now, though."

Kata hesitated, looking him up and down, completely unsure if she should trust him, but not knowing what choice she really had. She could try to run, but then where would she be? No better off than she was now. She took a few seconds to weigh her options before she reached back into her bag, produced the saber and handed it to him. He stashed it away in his own bag and motioned with his head for her to follow him. Kata stuck close to him, right hand hovering over her saber the whole time.

He led her through the alleys back in the direction of the docks – at least she knew now where they were thanks to her earlier reconnaissance. They hadn't been walking long when Kata started to sense that something was wrong; it was too quiet and she inexplicably felt like she was being watched. Without really thinking to, she silently reached her hand into her belt pouch and felt around for her tracking beacon, activating it when her hand closed around the object. She knew how risky it was to do so, that anyone could track that signal, but she had a terrible feeling now might be her only chance.

She reached for her blaster, preparing to shoot Geezer in the back of the head and make a run for it when she was grabbed. Four of them jumped out from the alleys around them, two of them grabbing hold of her arms, holding her like vices. She yelled and struggled, but it was no use, they were far too strong, and she dared not use the Force out in the open like this. One of them pulled her hood back to reveal her face.

"It's her."

She didn't recognise them, but they certainly seemed to know her face. She looked at the symbol on their armour: Haxion Brood. BD-1 beeped angrily and popped up out of her bag, shooting his electro-dart at the guy holding Kata's right arm, instantly stunning him. One of the others snatched him while the guy to her left grabbed hold of her right arm before she could do anything.

"BD!" She called out to him.

Two more guys stepped out on either side of Geezer and the one now holding BD-1 put a restraining bolt on the droid.

"Sorc Tormo is looking for a droid like that one," One of the guys said. "And a Jedi."

Kata yelled in protest as she struggled vainly against the man holding her and she stared at Geezer with her teeth bared.

"Sorry, sweetheart," He said. "But your bounty is worth far more to me than a mere trinket."

"I'll kill you for this." She promised him.

Geezer chuckled at her. The guy to her right who had been on the ground from BD-1's zap finally stood and grabbed her again, giving her the chance to pull her lightsaber to her hand. She ignited the blade and it pierced straight through the side of his body, instantly causing him to lose his hold on her right wrist. She turned quickly as the one on her left also let go of her, probably out of shock or fear, and sliced him across the middle, cutting him cleanly in half. A mental image was frozen in her mind of his two halves hitting the soggy ground, his eyes widening as he saw his own boiling guts spilling from his body.

"Stop her!"

Kata turned towards the last three and deflected their blaster fire, charging directly at them with murderous intent. She was stopped in her tracks, crying out as she felt a blaster bolt tear through her left shoulder. She didn't feel the pain right away, but she felt the burning sensation of the pure energy that had ripped through her flesh. She fell to her knees, gripping her left arm, her lightsaber still on. It hadn't come from one of the ones on the ground and her eyes wandered up to see more of them on the rooftops. She cursed herself for not noticing them before attacking.

"Hold your fire!"

Kata groaned as the pain started to rear its head and she looked up at Geezer to see his smug smile. She thought about wiping it from his face when she felt a sharp impact in the back of her head and everything went black.

The first thing Kata felt when she woke was the pounding in her head. It was deafening in her ears as she tried to orient herself. She felt the cold of the hard floor beneath her and the damp, putrid air being sucked into her lungs. She was on the ground, lying on her side, her arms bound behind her back. The pain in her head was overwhelming and she could feel blood sticking to the back of her neck. As she tried to make sense of her surroundings, she became aware of two voices nearby.

"... have a crack at him myself."

"Man, you wouldn't last five seconds."

"Might have a go at her, too."

"What're you talkin' about?"

"You know what I'm talkin' about."

"Clite would have your head if you did that."

Kata opened her eyes enough to make out two Haxion Brood guys standing on the other side of a barred door in front of her. She shut her eyes again before they saw, making it seem like she was still unconscious, while she listened to their conversation, hoping to learn something.

"Not if he didn't know."

"You think I won't rat you out?"

"She's a Jedi, y'know. Pretty one, too. I've always wondered what it's like to kriff a Jedi."

"She's just a kid, Krev."

"So?"

"You're sick."

Kata was barely comprehending their words through the ringing in her ears, but she felt sick to her stomach at the way they were talking about her.

"Clite would be pissed if you damaged his bait."

"She'll still be bait when I'm done with her."

"Did you see what she did to Brax and Niles? She'd turn you inside out before you even got close."

"Not with her hands tied, she won't."

"If you think that's gonna stop a Jedi, you're even more brainless than you look."

"Hmph."

The voices stopped and Kata heard footsteps walking away. After it was silent for a while, she opened her eyes again and sighed in relief when she saw they were gone. She pressed her fingers into the floor behind her and tried to push herself up. Her head hurt so bad she felt like she might black out again, but she managed to sit up. She tested her wrist restraints and found they had some give, so she tucked her knees up to her chest and manoeuvred her arms from behind her back to in front of her, pulling her legs through. She gasped and whimpered as the action pulled at her wounded shoulder.

She sat back against the wall with her hands in her lap now, panting from the effort and the pain. Her vision was blurry and she felt so tired, but there was no way she could fall asleep here, acutely aware of just how much danger she was in. She started to make sense of the words she'd overheard, they'd said she was bait – bait for whom? She guessed probably for Cal, since they didn't know he was most likely already dead.

Stop thinking like that, Kata, She scolded herself. He's alive, he has to be.

She didn't know where they had taken BD-1 and she hoped he was ok. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes wearily. She took deep breaths, trying to keep a hold of herself, to not let her emotions overwhelm her when she needed to think. But she was so scared, more scared than she had ever been before. She didn't know what was going to happen to her. She cursed herself for not seeing it coming sooner, for not reacting faster, for trusting that shifty Geezer for even a nanosecond. Cal would surely scold her if he was here. She wished he was here. She missed him.

She felt around in her belt pouch for her tracking beacon, but it wasn't there. The bastards had found it and taken it; probably destroyed it, if they were smart. She desperately hoped the signal had reached someone, anyone in the Galaxy. She gripped the pendant Merrin had given her for her birthday that hung from her belt like it was a lifeline as a tear fell down her face and she couldn't stop more from falling. Now she was truly alone, held captive in this cold, dark place, waiting for a rescue that was never coming. The fear and despair overtook her and she buried her aching head in her knees and cried silently, feeling herself lose all hope.

Cal, please... help me...