Author's Games: Star Wars

Task Four: Sha'ar Kagle

Is it finally over?

Sha'ar lay on the ground in the middle of hangar,  breathing heavily. His companion, Kaikai, stood over him with a concerned expression.

"You sure you are going to be okay, Mr. Sha'ar?" he asked.

"Yes, I'll be fine," Sha'ar said between breaths. Or at least, he had hoped he would be. His blue eyes flicked around the dark blue hangar and he saw the rest of the rebels in the same shape as he was, exhausted and beaten after the last obstacle. 

How much of this can we take?

He had originally dedicated himself to surviving these challenges for the credits offered at the end, but after what he had been through, he was not so sure anymore. All that was important was that he and his companion leave this whole ordeal, assuming that the Imperials actually intend to let them leave with their lives.

"Alright, on your feet!"

Sha'ar looked up to see two stormtroopers appear over him and push Kaikai to the side. They grabbed Sha'ar and roughly hoisted him to his feet. Sha'ar could only wince in pain as they started to drag him across the steel gray floor.Through the corner of his eye, he could see his sidekick receive the same treatment as him. He felt white-hot rage fester inside his stomach as he viewed Kaikai shrieking and squirming violently. 

So this is what it comes to, he thought bitterly. All this fighting and killing...for what? Are credits even worth all this?

He glanced around to see his fellow rebels being lifted up and forced to their feet by the soldiers of the Empire and despite their current state, the Imperials prodded them on like cattle toward a shuttle. 

"Typical of you Imps," Sha'ar grumbled. "You ever heard of something called empathy? Or are your helmets so thick that you can't understand anything?"

The only response the stormtroopers gave was a hard shove to get the bounty hunter moving. The Shi'ido yelped in pain, but kept moving.

Sorry I even asked in the first place.

Before they had arrived at the gleaming grey shuttle, one of the rebels, a huge Zabrak, started to struggle violently. He was successful in pushing off his captors, but before he could make any further moves, a man dressed in the gray garbs of an Imperial officer pointed his finger at the fleeing rebel. Blaster fire erupted and Sha'ar could see the tall Zabrak flinch when each shot made its mark, but miraculously he never slowed down. From the corner of his eye, Sha'ar saw a stormtrooper raise what looked like a RPS-6 rocket launcher and fire it at the fleeing Zabrak. In as little as ten seconds, a huge explosion shook the hangar and the fleeing rebel was no more.

"Kriff!" Sha'ar had cringed at the sight. Angrily, he turned to face his captors. " Can't you give us a break already?! I mean, we were forced into three different arenas for your entertainment without eve a minute's break! Do you have any idea how tiring that is? No, I didn't think so.  The least I would expect is some sort of com-"

"Shut up!" the stormtrooper hit him with the butt of his weapon.

Sha'ar bit his lip to avoid crying out as they were settled into the shuttle. Each rebel had a chain around their hands and legs while stormtroopers guarded each of them. Sha'ar bitterly gazed around at the dark grey interior of the spacecraft. He felt an immense amount of rage every time his eyes rested on the dreaded insignia of the Empire. He had hoped all this was a nightmare and if he pinched himself, he'll snap out of his nightmare. However, that did not happen and only resulted in Sha'ar feeling even more sore.