reborn § cal kestis

1

Some things that you will find in nature are quite remarkable. There are certain plants, for example, that have the ability to grow—or even thrive—in conditions that definitely don't seem habitable. You will occasionally see brightly coloured petals blooming amidst murky, muddy swamp lakes, their pinks and reds standing out against the dull brown water. It is quite a rare sight, but striking nevertheless, and you will find yourself staring at that particular flower for ages. Sadira Carrino hoped that one day, she would be able to be reborn from the worst possible conditions too, just like those flowers.

As it turned out, the waters she resided in were far too polluted for even the strongest, most beautiful flowers to emerge from. Namely, the Grand Arena, where Bounty Hunters provided the hunted and gamblers would flock to in order to place bets or simply enjoy a battle between two or more creatures. It wasn't the most dignified place in the galaxy.

Sadira reviewed this fact in her mind as she stood, waiting, with her back pressed against a sturdy brick wall and her arms crossed tightly over her chest. This wasn't an unusual position for her to be in—in fact, it was a common occurrence—but she still felt, in that moment, as though she was sinking further into those swamp waters. Maybe it was the steadily loosening grip she had on her morals; maybe it was because she was doing so well in this place. She didn't know, but she couldn't decide whether she wanted to or not.

A door to her right opened, causing her to look up. Behind it stood a droid; tall with long, metallic limbs and a cylindrical head. "Hey ON-4," Sadira greeted the ON-unit.

The droid stood back, pulling the door wide open. "Sorc Tormo requests you now."

Sadira shuffled past ON-4, patting him on the shoulder as she did so. Stepping into the room, she marvelled, as she had done many times before, at the spaciousness of the place. In comparison to the rest of the building's grey, rock walls, dim lighting and compact cells, this room was lavish. Lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating ever corner and allowing no shadows to hide there. Every piece of furniture was made from a rich fabric or lustrous metal, colours varying from deep crimsons to navy blues and shiny golds. Everything about the place reeked of power and money.

In the centre was a sleek white desk, where an Umbaran man sat in silver robes. He rose, outstretching his arms as Sadira approached. "Sadira Carrino, one of my favourite Hunters," he began. Sadira leaned over and shook his hand before taking a seat across from him. "Did you see that fight yesterday? The poor Espirion didn't stand a chance against that Wookie."

Sadira nodded in response, but honestly had no idea what Tormo was referring to. "What did you need me for?" She figured that cutting to the chase would be her best bet.

Tormo sat up in his seat. "Well," he said, resting his elbows on the desk. "There's someone I want. The Brood were successful last time, but the target outwitted and outfought us. Now, the bounty on his head is even larger, and get this-" He moved closer and lowered his voice. "-the Empire are the ones after him."

"The Empire," Sadira echoed. She watched as Tormo relaxed in his seat. "I thought bringing people in for the Empire is what Troopers and Inquisitors were for."

Tormo shrugged. "They're desperate. The pay depends on his condition, and if you bring him in with his crew too."

"Wait, this guy has a whole-"

Sadira was silenced by Tormo raising his hand. "Relax, Sadira. I'll recruit some others to keep their ship busy, whilst you go and get him yourself."

"Sounds like a plan." It seemed relatively simple—just one guy was a walk in the park for Sadira. He had beaten the Haxion brood, but Sadira was sure she'd be able to do a better job than them.

"Good. We can split the money, seventy-thirty," Tormo continued. It wasn't a great deal in Sadira's eyes, but she knew that it was guaranteed with him, and hoped that maybe it'd be enough to get her out of the business for good; Sadira sighed internally and stood to shake Tormo's hand once more.

"I won't let you down," she promised. She retracted her hand to see a tracker slipped in by Tormo, with it's soft red light blinking slowly.

"I know." His words were kind, but Sadira knew him well enough to recognise the malice and warning behind them. "It's not a long journey, I've been given the word that he's headed here already."

"Easy."

"That's right. Easy," Tormo repeated. "Be careful, though—he's a persistent one." Sadira backed out of the room as Tormo spoke. She shot him one last grin before slipping out, patting ON-4 on the shoulder. The door was promptly slammed shut behind her, and she found herself alone.

She spared no time in making her way through the maze of hallways. Almost like reflex, she turned corners, swung on ropes and shuffled through thin passages. It was as if a map was stored in her brain; she didn't even have to think to climb onto one ledge here or press a button to open a door there. After all, she had spent over a year working for Sorc Tormo, hunting down the unfortunate and bringing them to his ship. She joined his team after leaving the Nevarro Guild, believing that it would provide her with stable pay, as well as guaranteed loyalty. Tormo had a reputation for always staying true to his word, no matter what, and only punishing those who didn't reciprocate this honesty. He was a lot of things, but at least he wasn't a liar or a cheat.

It wasn't long before Sadira arrived at the landing port. It was a relatively large area, where visitors, gamblers and Hunters left their vehicles. Sadira made her way over to her speeder, which she had recently acquired off of a trader when they had first arrived on Tatooine (Tormo's vast ship usually floated around between the stars, but he had recently taken a liking to the planet and decided to stay there). She climbed on, then tugged her mask above her nose and her goggles down so her face was protected from the scorching heat and blinding sand of Tatooine. It wasn't her favourite place to be—she was more used to the balanced weather of a city, not extreme conditions such as this, but it was better than having to stare out into the endless blackness of space all the time. She switched her engine on and set off into the desert.

  As she steered the speeder with one hand, she clutched onto the charm that hung from her neck with the other. It was a simple, translucent crystal attached to a thing string. Sadira had been gifted it by her younger sister before she died. She couldn't risk losing it.

The nearest village (and one of the only) wasn't too far away, and it had a more accessible landing station, so Sadira figured that if the target really was headed towards Tatooine, he would go there. The rest of Tatooine was mainly flat, stretched out pieces of dry land or rolling sand dunes anyway. As she approached, the tracker began to emit a high-pitched beeping sound. She glanced at it briefly, and observed it flashing on and off frequently. That must mean he's here already, she thought. This'll have to be a quick job.

Soon after, she entered the village and slowed her speeder to a halt. It was busy, not only with villagers trading food and spare parts, but with stormtroopers roaming every corner. Sadira guided her speeder to a wall and shut it off. She stared up at the building opposite her, mentally scaling it. Then, she grabbed onto two bumps in the rock, digging her boots into crevices lower down and began to climb up. The building was only small, so she easily reached the top. She knelt down on the flat roof, feeling the heat seep out of the rock, through her pants and burn her skin. Ignoring the discomfort, she surveyed the area. She could see almost the entire village from where she perched, but witnessed nothing unusual.

Having been a Bounty Hunter for a few years, she could usually tell who her target was without knowing their appearance. The majority of them shared commonalities, most of which were nervousness, suspiciousness or the tendency to jump at anything remotely unexpected. Most of them knew of the bounties on their heads, so were particularly cautious with every move they made.

But everything looked perfectly calm to Sadira, beside the small groups of stormtroopers here and there. She checked the tracker once again. The beeping was consistent, not rising or falling in speed as anyone approached or moved away from her position. She frowned, then peered closer. Maybe the orientation is wrong? Or maybe it's the direction, she thought as she span around. The frequency picked up, and the flashes became faster as she stood facing away from the village. She took a step closer to the direction and the sound sped up. Then a step backwards—it slowed. Where could this guy possibly be? she wondered. And then she saw it. In the distance, stood the ruins of a temple.