Author's Games: Star Wars

Task Two: Female Entries

2: Bounty Hunter Female: Verita

Verita's hand burned inside of the spacesuit she'd been put in. It restricted movements, and there were bright, glowing numbers on the side of her injured hand. Still sore and raw from the arena, it seemed unbearably hot, and every movement sent sparks of pain through her arm. She barely had time to wonder if it was infected when a voice filled the air around her.

"You have one hour to leave the asteroid field and make it to Arena One's moon Obstillia. Obstillia is two miles away from the asteroid field you're in, so good luck getting past the Stormtroopers." There was a laugh and then the person added, "Oh, and just to make things interesting, we've placed a self-destructing droid inside of you that will detonate in exactly one hour. Have fun."

Fear curled around Verita's lungs like thorny vines as she took in the announcement, and she struggled to contain her panic. Beside her, Isaos was looking at her, fear clear in his expression. So she swallowed, bottling her fear and reaching her good hand towards Isaos.

"Come on, we've got to get to Obstillia." She spoke with a false confidence. For the next hour, she was a literal ticking time bomb. What happened after would depend on whether or not she made it to Obstillia. Verita knew it would safer for Isaos to leave by himself, well, as safe as one could be when in the middle of an asteroid field with Stormtroopers firing at him. At least he wouldn't be in the blast zone if she didn't make it in time. But she was selfish and she wanted him near her. I'll just have to make sure we both get to that moon before the droid goes off. No matter what it takes.

Verita glanced around her new surroundings. They were in the middle of an asteroid field, with Stormtroopers, TIE fighters, and starships stationed at periodic points. A chain was around her waist, extremely long and thick, attached to the main Star Destroyer.

The Stormtroopers started firing before she could take it all in. One of the blasts flew past Verita's leg, barely missing her. Adrenaline flooded her system, waking her up even as her mind threatened to go blank with panic. Forcing herself to breathe slowly, Verita found herself relying on Isaos to keep her safe as she struggled to think clearly. She was dimly aware of him guiding her in a crater of the larger asteroids, a temporary cover from the blasts. Before Verita could contemplate very long there was a tap on her shoulder. Instinctively she raised her blaster, pushing Isaos behind her and wincing as her injured hand sent sparks of pain through her arm.

"Hey, no need for you to shoot me," the man said jovially, and Verita stared at him. He looked like a human, and was taller than her. Dark hair was visible beneath the suit he wore, with eyes like gems. Beside him was a young boy, his son perhaps, or maybe a distant relative. His eyes followed her weapon carefully, a blaster of his held in his hand, the end of it pointing somewhere between Verita and the ground. "I'm Sha'ar and this is Keekee." There was a low murmur of, "Kaikai," from the boy but the Sha'ar didn't respond. Verita's eyebrows furrowed at the name. It was familiar. After a moment she recognized it- he was a fellow bounty hunter whom she knew only by reputation.

"Verita. What do you want?" she said warily, not quite lowering her blaster.

In front of her, Sha'ar looked no less wary. "You heard what we have to do. It'll be hard enough to get to Obstillia without these kriffing droids in us. Might go faster if we work together-and speed is rather important now." He glanced at Kaikai. "And this one is a fan of the whole 'working together' idea." He added in a mumble, "No idea why. If I'd done this before that would have meant sharing credits."

Verita's eyes widened. Around her, Stormtroopers were still shooting, some of the blasts coming perilously close. She glanced at her companion, silently asking his opinion. He gave the slightest of nods and she turned back to Sha'ar.