Ragged Dying

"In truth, they were not human beings; they were merely toiling machines in the service of the few"

Chapter 1:

A metal screech in the dark, a train hurrying though it. The lights were out again. 'The tyrant has fallen and the poor are saved' indeed. Another heroic Jedi had struck a blow against organized crime. Trouble was, that the crime lord so recently sliced apart was also the only one ensuring the utilities of Level 4097 remained functional. And so it was that Ves Lodiss, one of the unfortunate inhabitants, sat in darkness as the train made its way to her stop accompanied only by the horrid sound of metal scraping against metal.

At least she could finally rest her feet. In spite of what many believed, running system maintenance was quite a physically taxing job. The advertisement holograms for the skin joint she worked at had been acting up all day. There was little in the way of industry on Level 4097 and in the absence of that you yourself had to become the product or support those who did. Her boss had often tried to recruit her into the ranks. "Don't you ever just want to wrap your lekku around some lucky guy? Just think of all the money you could make!" She wasn't interested. For a Twi'lek, being lusted after was common - being respected unheard of.

Finally her stop came and upon stepping out she was greeted by the pungent smell of burning trash. Trash collection did not operate this far down and so the most expeditious way of getting rid of it was to simply gather it in several big piles and burn it. It was also one of few sources of warmth this far below the planet's surface and made navigating the darkness a lot easier. There had been countless promises to improve the situation. The result? Police droids arresting the people lighting the fires. Trash burning was illegal, after all.

She made it halfway to her home when one of the droids stopped her. One of the initiatives in the fight against crime: Random searches. It would pat her down for any contraband she might be carrying on her person. She once read on a slicer board that the police droids were 15% more likely to search Twi'leks than most other sentients. It brought to mind a passage she once read in an old glossary: "Twi'lek or 'Tail-Heads'. A beautiful yet duplicitous race. Best only interacted with from the waist down." The droid finally removed its metal claws from her. It found that she hadn't renewed her ID and issued her a fine of 25 credits. "There goes today's pay".

She wondered what she would do with the rest of the day. Spending time on the holonet was out of the question given the lack of power. Maybe she could listen to some of the music she had hidden to her comm. Still, she would have to conserve her battery if she wanted to make it through the days it usually took for the power to return.

She was immersed in her deliberations when she faintly heard a yell of "Catch!" followed by a dull thud against her chest. She barely managed to grab it before it hit the ground. From the feel of it it was some kind of bag and a heavy one. The shape that threw it to her vaguely resembled a Zabrak woman. Ves was about to yell back when the dark was suddenly illuminated by a red flash. Turning around, she saw the droid that had just searched her erupt in a shower of sparks and fall to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. She immediately heard the metallic thumping of another droid storming towards the mysterious stranger. It was soon dispatched with the same efficiency. Who was she? In the brief flashes of light she could see that she was wearing mercenary gear. Her mind raced: "What was she doing down here?" And even more concerning: "What am I holding"? "Hop on" yelled the stranger and in the same instant the motor of a speeder bike whirred to life, its headlights carved a sliver of light into the dark. She had no time to think or even hesitate. Even more droids were now hurrying towards them and a flurry of blaster bolts was flying towards the both of them. She quickly hopped on and barely managed to hold on as the bike accelerated in an instant.

Soon they had evaded capture and were flying up one of the planet's giant ventilation shafts. She now started to wonder what might happen to her once they arrived at their destination. Was casting her lot with an armed stranger really the best idea? Soon, her doubts began to quiet. No matter how things would turn out, it couldn't be much worse than where she stood just minutes ago.