Lianna sat a few feet away from the bartender of her local watering hole. Jabfess was one of the few beings who knew, or perhaps had some inkling as to how she made her way in the world, yet still showed her some form of affection. The strange creature's race had long since been purged by the Emperor himself, and it had been over such issues that the two had bonded. He felt her pain when she had regaled him with the story of her home planet, a place she was glad to not have to bring into her thoughts terribly often. They had shared a distaste for their Lord and master, though to speak of such things in public, even on a planet set within the Outer Rim, was foolish and likely a death sentence if the wrong individual heard you. Still, this bar had become something of a second home to her and it had been how she had met with her current employer and foster father, Emeric.
Emeric was a Twi'lek with shimmering blue skin and a strange fondness for Lianna. She in turn shared a fondness for the man she had come to see as her true father figure, though she did not grasp the true reason behind their bonding. The being had found her, alone and destitute, fighting for her survival against a cruel bounty hunter. The pair had gotten into a particularly nasty altercation in the streets of the slums, coming to a head as she ran towards the only place that she thought she might escape him, the bar of Jabfess. It seemed for all her work to escape her home planet, she would travel so far just to die. But Emeric had intervened and saved her. He dispatched the hunter with a ruthless efficiency and skill that left the girl in awe. She expected him to ask for a reward, though he asked for none. Instead he told her he would take the girl under his wing and teach her the ways and means to thrive in the darkness of the Galaxy.
So had begun her training to become a smuggler, and she was a damned good one at that. She far exceeded the expectations of the other members of Emeric's gang and quickly became not only his favourite, but his second in command. She had long suspected that the creatures feelings for her extended beyond that of a mere father figure the issue had never been pressed, much to Lianna's own relief. Regardless the pair were a force to be reckoned with and their gang had grown considerably since then. They now operated the smuggling of the planet's three biggest illegal drugs and the credits rolled in. Despite the temptation to flee and live a quiet life, the girl persisted and for a time she was as happy as she could be in such a situation. Her heart had become cold and she had only become more ruthless. But at night strange things happened. Unreal images filled her mind as she slept. Stories of the past filling her head and waking her in cold sweats. Though her adopted family had no answers for this, she was simply told to brush them aside. There was no great destiny for them, only the harsh truths of life under the all seeing eyes of Lord Vader.
Things began to change on a rainy afternoon like all others. They had finished their normal smuggling route when Emeric burst through the door with a concerned look upon his face. Though he would not speak of his worries to any other, he summoned Lianna for a private meeting. After going to great lengths to ensure they would not be overhead, he began to open up to her about the seriousness of the trouble they were about to find thrust upon themselves. The Twi'lek told the girl that he was a force user. Not a particularly good one, but good enough to conceal it from the outside world. It was how he had began his business and beat his rivals from the trade, survived attempts on his life...and how he had found Lianna herself.
"You can't be serious." the girl would ask, her ears twitching at the thought of what she was being told, of it's magnitude.
"I am, but it gets far worse. There are rumours of a kyber crystal that has made its way to the planet. They were the heart of the lightsabers forged by the Jedi and Sith when such things still existed en mass. But now one had surfaced, and when, not if, Vader finds out..."
A look of terror spread across Lianna's face. She had heard only stories of the Emperor, but she had no desire to see if they matched the reality. No one could stand up to him.
"I don't understand, what does such a crystal have to do with us?" she asked, her voice almost pleading with him to make sense of this.
"That night I found you, you were cold, starved, alone and all but ready to die. But you did not. It was not chance that brought us together, I know that much. I am no Jedi, but my knowledge of the Force is enough to know there was something more. I believe you are a force user, and a potentially powerful one at that. I have avoided Vader because I am not strong enough to register on his grand hunt...but you...If that crystal finds its way to your hands, as I believe it is fated to do so, then Vader will find you and you will die."
Lianna was breathing heavily now. This was far too much to take in. Not only was she supposedly a user of the fabled and reviled force, but there was the core of a lightsaber destined to fall into her own hands?
She stood firm, belying her terror inside and spoke once more.
"What am I to do? If you say this crystal's destiny is to find itself in my hands then I have to run. I'll probably never stop having to run."
She now looked on the brink of tears. When last she had left her home it had been through choice, but this was a place she had realised in this moment that she was deeply attached to. To leave it all behind, even if it were to save her own life, would not be easy.
"Listen to me, Lianna. We likely have a small grace period to prepare you, but I will do my best to make sure that crystal never reaches your hands, even if it costs me my own life."
Such words hit her deep. Here he was, her foster father, willing to risk everything for a girl who was not his own. Moved by nothing more than her deep care for him, she lunged forward and embraced him in a hug. When she was finished she regained her composure.
"My apologies master." she stated simply, but the older being merely gave her that same knowing smile he had done when she first laid eyes on him all that time ago.
---
Lianna was sat speaking to her friend Jabfess. She had been instructed to tell no one anything or she would be at greater risk. The rest of the gang selected for the mission to find the crystal had not been told the nature of the task, and she was simply instructed to find somewhere to wait, somewhere that she could use for a quick getaway if needed. That had brought her to the bar, to Jabfess, and to the drink she swirled with her cybernetic hand. She did not believe in any kind of God or greater being, but if one existed she could only hope her foster family were safe, and that Vader would never find her...
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