𝐑𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 - 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫

- 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

SHE NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D STEP FOOT ON TATOOINE AGAIN. memories stained the sand she walked on, and the air was thick with remorse. vana exhaled through her nose as she scanned the horizon of tatooine, the sand swirling from the increase in wind. the bad batch exited the marauder from behind her, casting her sympathetic looks.

hunter walked up to her, his helmet adorning his head. she couldn't see, but his face twisted with concern for her. he knew tatooine held memories for her, even if she hadn't grown up there.

"you sure you wanna do this?" hunter asked.

"we have to, cid'll have our necks if we don't," vana gave the sergeant a look, her eyes barely visible from under her hood. she wasn't born on tatooine, but anakin was, and anakin was her best friend. she'd been there with anakin a couple times over disputes with the hutts. it was a different time, one vana needed to put in the past.

she was the first to walk on, her feet heavy with every step. why did she agree to this mission? why didn't she just leave it alone? with every step, the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach grew. she should have listened to her gut this time.

the crew finally arrived at the small cantina. there was little foot traffic, but it seemed to house several regulars based on the demeanor of the owner.

"must be gale," hunter spoke softly, observing the scene in front of them. vana didn't say a word as she walked in. she didn't dare lower her hood; she didn't know who was an empire sympathizer or not. upon their entrance, the man assumed to be gale turned to greet them.

"ah! you must be the men cid sent," he wiped his hands before greeting them at the counter. vana ignored the comment, but she gave the place a lookaround. her eyes landed on a particular individual at the counter. the man had a familiar signature, but she was unable to place a finger on who it was. she started to walk towards him, but her attention was needed elsewhere.

"vana," a gentle touch from the sergeant brought her back to reality. at the name, vana swore she saw the mystery man's head twitch. she ignored it, but turned her attention back to gale.

"you're a jedi?"

"say it much louder and you'll have problems bigger than pirates," she warned him. gale visibly swallowed, not saying another word. he tensed and he mindlessly began cleaning the already clean glasses. she wasn't threatening him; if he said that word any louder the empire could somehow know and berate him with questions. the cost of asking a jedi for help nowadays was death.

"there really is no schedule for them. whenever they're done with...whoever or whatever, they come back for more."

"whoever?" hunter spoke up.

"yeah, they take one of the villagers each time they come. they always bring them back, but they're normally on a spike," gale explained, a shiver crawling down his spine. a chill was shared among the group members as they contemplated what they were going to do next.

"no one's tried to fight them?" vana asked. she knew something was off about that man sitting by them, off in the way of the force.

"everyone's too scared to," gale shrugged. vana nodded. if what gale was saying was true, she'd be scared too. vana thanked gale before she turned to leave. her eyes caught the now empty seat the strange man was sitting in. she saw he was leaving, and she went after him. vana ignored hunter's calls for her and she followed him. she picked up the pace as she followed him out of the cantina, only to see him take off on a speeder. she huffed and slapped her arms against her sides.

"what was that?" hunter asked.

"there was something strange about him, something off. i can't completely tell who he is, which tells me he's preventing me - or someone like me - from knowing who he is," she explained before venturing back into the cantina. hunter watched as the man drove off on his speeder, his own theories breeding in his mind. vana said her father was last seen on mustafar, but she also has mentioned her father had connections with tatooine. he pondered on the thought, but he wasn't going to say anything. he wasn't going to give vana the hope that her father was on tatooine when he wasn't 100% sure. he turned his back to the cloud of sand the speeder left behind and followed everyone back into the cantina.

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did i just? update after 7 thousand years? yes, yes i did. i re read the chapters and i'm like 'i'm excited!' and realized i wrote it so...here ya go! i hope you guys are staying safe; covid is a beast rn. please take care of yourself and each other!