The watch

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When Melanie finally gained consciousness, she was all alone on the ship. Ahsoka's seat was empty and she couldn't even find R2. Start away she started worrying about what had happened. She couldn't believe that Lux would ever hurt anyone, especially herself. Had she really pushed him that much during their fight? He seemed to have changed a lot in the past two weeks.

Lux had obviously landed them on a planet. Outside the window was a snowy plant with blossom trees. However, Melanie couldn't see far out the window due to a vicious snowstorm. This meant that there was no way that she could follow any tracks that Ahsoka, R2 or Lux may have left. If she went outside, she might also freeze to death. 

Instead of going outside to look, she attempted to turn on the ship's engines or communication devices. To no avail, obviously, Lux had sabotaged them before he had left. Melanie cursed under her breath and punched the wall.

Retracting her sore hand, she realised that it was best to wait things out. Hopefully one of her companions would have the sense to return to the ship.

Melanie managed to fix the geo-map, which allowed her to see what was out there. The scanners picked up one settlement and decided that she would visit them in search as soon as the storm let up. However, an entire night passed before the snowstorm let up and she was able to begin her search.

The next morning, she pulled out the compact bike they had stored in the back of the ship. The snow was so deep that walking in it would sap your strength in minutes. Dressing up in her warmest clothing, Melanie headed for the settlement that she saw on her radar. 

Melanie was shocked to see a large plume of smoke rising from where the settlement was supposed to be. When she arrived she found the small town in ruins. Buildings were burnt down and she could hear lots of voices of people in pain. Arriving in what used to be the centre of the town, she found a small congregation of citizens. She pushed her way to the centre of the village to find a small man addressing the circle.

She felt bad, but she needed to find her friends and find out what happened here, so she interrupted him.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry-" She was cut off by a few of the villagers gasping and cowering away from her. Melanie narrowed her eyes in confusion.

Finally, a villager come forward, "Are you from that group of marauders?"

"I do not think so?" She replied still confused. "What has happened here?"

"The Death Watch attacked our village and murdered countless people," The same villager said. Melanie felt a shiver down her spine. She remembered hearing about the deathwatch somewhere. A band of Mandalorian fugitives, extremely deadly. She had a bad feeling that Lux was in league with the Death Watch.

"No, I am not with them. I came here with two of my friends but I have lost them. Have you seen two teenagers, one is a male with pale skin, the other is a Torgruta girl?" 

"Yes, they were here. The girl tried to stop them from burning our homes and was dragged away. She has probably not survived, but if you wish to find them, go that way." The villager pointed back down the main street. 

"Thank you and I am so sorry for the suffering that this heinous group has put you through." Melanie wished she could do more, but she had more pressing issues to deal with. 

Sprinting back to her bike, she sped off in the direction that the villager had pointed. She felt terrible to be leaving the villagers in their state, but if the villagers account of Ahsoka being dragged away, she must hurry.

The night began to fall as Melanie continued her journey. She began aware of just how short the days were here, the planetary rotation but be extremely fast.

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⏰ Last updated: Mar 16, 2022 ⏰

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