- hearts of kyber.

i

If Nora appreciated anything about the Empire, it was their flare for dramatics. 

Walking down the ramp of the Scythe slightly behind the Grand Inquisitor, she couldn't help but feel a little bit proud of the entrance they had made, but the feeling was quickly stamped out as she remembered just where she was and what she was doing. No matter what mask she was under, she knew she didn't belong on Tatooine. Her blonde hair still drew attention, the Imperial armor drew attention, and the lightsaber clipped to her belt drew attention. 

It shouldn't have mattered, she had to remind herself as she and the other three Inquisitors continued forward off the ramp and into the street. She had nothing to hide from, she could have as much attention on her as she wanted, but nevertheless, she hated it. She hated the way people turned their heads as they walked past, and she especially hated the feeling tugging her in a different direction than her companions as they headed towards a saloon. 

Nora followed, though, stopping in the open sided wall, covered only half way by red hangings. She leaned against the wall, her eye's following the Grand Inquisitor as he approached the man who had come out from behind the bar. 

"Who know who we are." Her companion spoke, coming to a stop in the middle of the room. 

"Inquisitors." The owner said, his voice shaky. 

"You know what we do?" The Grand Inquisitor continued. 

"You hunt Jedi." The owner answered. 

"In actuality, I would say the Jedi hunt themselves." He scanned the room without moving, taking note of a few of the people sitting at the small, round tables. "Do you know the key to hunting a Jedi, friend?"

Nora's eye's flitted around as well, landing on a younger man seated at a table against the far wall. He was deliberately looking at his hands, though it was clear he was listening, perhaps harder than the others in the room.

"It is patience." The Grand Inquisitor said when the owner had said nothing. "Jedi cannot help what they are," he said, beginning to walk around the edges of the room. "Their compassion leaves a trail. Fore example, in our line of work, rumors run rampant." Nora watched as he walked slowly around, following the walls like you would stick to one in a maze. "Here's one I heard just recently. It involves a Jedi hiding right here in your lovely saloon." He walked past Nora, leaving the area around her colder than it had been before. "Let's say ours is a wanderer. Maybe he's looking for people like him. Comes across this establishment. Nice place." He made it back around to where he had begun, in front of the bar. "And then he sees you. A man in need." He walked slowly behind the owner. "Perhaps the locals are stealing from you. Threatening you. So what is the Jedi to do?" 

Silence fell at the question. Nora narrowed her eyes at the back of the Grand Inquisitor's head as he came to face the owner once more. 

"Help you and risk exposure?" Nora wished he would shut up. "Or move on?" She wished he was done with is rant. "Now, if he were smart, he'd keep moving, but the Jedi Code is like an itch." A chill ran up Nora's spine at the mention of the Code. "He cannot help it. So he steps in and saves your saloon. You offer him a place to hide. Fresh water, shade from the suns, but the stories, they begin and they travel quickly. His compassion has been his undoing."

On the other side of the entrance, Reva, another Inquisitor, picked up a knife from a plate and threw it across the saloon. In the back of her mind, Nora wished she was aiming for their higher-up, but the knife came to a dead stop in front of the owner's face. 

Nora looked around and once again her gaze fell on the man at a table against the wall, but this time his hand was raised ever so slightly off the metal surface, palm facing the direction of the owner. 

The man jumped in the blink of an eye, making a run for it. Before he could reach the exit, Nora extended her lightsaber to block him. For what felt like the thousandth time, she glanced at it and remembered that was yet another thing she hated: the red that had replaced the blue ten years prior. 

"Prepare him for interrogation." The Grand Inquisitor said, watching as Nora, Reva, and the Fifth Brother blocked the Jedi from escape. 

"You're wasting your time." He said quickly. "You know that, right? You'll never find us all." 

Reva swung her saber around, but before it could hit the Jedi's shoulder, it stopped. Nora's eyes went from the saber to the Grand Inquisitor who had a hand up, holding Reva in place. He pushed her to the side, but not before the heat from the plasma had singed a hole in the Jedi's clothing. With Reva out of the way, he ran, using the Force to knock down some of the hangings on his way out. 

Nora and the Fifth Brother cut around the fallen hangings and back into the sweltering heat of Tatooine's two suns, but it was too late. The Jedi was nowhere in sight.