Bounty

twelve

"Where exactly are we, again?" Kix asks, as the stolen ship makes its descent onto the planet below them.

"Raydonia." Calista says, preparing the landing gear as they approach the ground. "It's been uninhabited for years, nobody will look for us here."

Kix nods as he looks down at the mysterious plant life. Calista puts the ship down in a densely-wooded area before slipping her jacket on and grabbing her blaster. The medic grabs whatever supplies he can—not knowing where they'll end up—and follows her off of the ship.

As they venture out into the unusual forest, the sound of a few branches snapping catches the attention of both Kix and Calista. Before they have time to react, a voice sounds from behind them.

"Turn around. Slowly." The feminine voice orders and the pair turns to find a pair of blaster pistols in their faces. "Who are you?" The girl asks.

The mysterious girl has long, brown hair and piercing blue eyes. She also looks like she's around Calista's age, which can't be more than 30 years old.

"We mean you no harm." Calista speaks up, inching closer to to girl.

"Don't move." The girl snaps, cautiously wrapping her index fingers around the triggers. "Who. Are. You?" She asks again, her patience wearing thin.

Kix's eyes examine the strangely familiar girl. He can't quite put his finger on why, but he feels like he knows her. The medic quickly notices the girl's tense and defensive stance and decides to speak up.

"My name is Kix, this is Calista." He introduces himself and then the woman beside him. "We're looking for somewhere we can lay low for a little while."

The girl looks towards the man and her eyes widen in disbelief, which does not go unnoticed to Kix. Her arms fall a bit but she quickly raises them to keep the trespassers away.

"Is there a.. A village nearby? Somewhere we can stay?" Calista asks, feeling the strange tension between Kix and the girl.

"If you're looking for a village, you're about 20 years too late." She says, lowering her blasters. "A year after the fall of the Empire in 4 ABY, the First Order was founded and put into motion with its remnants. It wasn't long until they scoured the galaxy, eliminating as many ties to the Resistance as they could."

"Raydonia was with the Resistance?" Calista asks in shock.

Kix listens in, still trying to figure out why the woman seems so familiar to him.

"Some of the bravest rebels I ever knew lived on this planet." The girl's voice begins to tremble. "My parents helped in the struggle against the Empire alongside my uncles." Her bottom lip begins to quiver ever so slightly.

Calista picks up on the girl's grief and swiftly changes the subject. "We don't want to cause you any more trouble. If there's just a place we can stay for a few days we would be extremely grateful."

The girl looks both of them in the eyes before nodding and gesturing for them to follow her. After a short while of walking, they finally reach the ghost town of a village.

"The villa on the furthest east side is strictly off-limits." The girl informs them. "If you need anything, well, I'm sure you two can figure it out yourselves."

With that the girl turns on her heels and disappears into the trees.

"Rebels." Calista sighs as she opens the door to one of the villas. "At least we've got a place to stay for now, right?" She asks but doesn't get any sort of response. Cal glances towards the door to find Kix focused on the direction the girl went. "Kix?"

He pulls himself out of his thoughts and lets himself into the villa. "Yeah, sorry."

"Are you alright?" She asks, looking into his eyes.

Kix was very evidently not alright. Not only is he still trying to process everything that he's missed, but now the First Order may be after him; not to mention the weird moment he and Calista had shared on the ship a few hours ago.

"Fine, just.." Kix sighs. "It's nothing, forget it."

Calista eyes him suspiciously but nods. "Let's get some rest. We can see what else is around here once the sun is up."

Kix nods in agreement and plops down on the small couch, giving Calista the bedroom around the corner to herself. "Cal," Kix glances over at her as she walks by, "why are you hiding here with me?" He asks. "You could've just brought me here and gone about your life."

Calista feels a pang in her chest as she looks over at him. "I.." She swallows nervously. "My um.. My back." She lies. "I should let it heal, right? Doctor's orders."

Kix hums as he turns away from her. "Goodnight Calista."

Cal turns away and steps into the bedroom. "Goodnight." She speaks barely above a whisper as she crawls into the bed.

After a few minutes of silence, Calista is sound asleep on the bed whereas Kix is staring blankly at the ceiling. He tries to close his eyes, but the faces of his long-gone brothers appear each time he does.

Hours go by with not a wink of sleep for Kix. Growing tired of his predicament and accepting the fact that he's not going to get any sleep, he stands from the couch and makes his way to the front door. Kix glances back as he opens the door to make sure Calista is alright and slips out of the villa.

Little does he know, Calista was aware of his absence. Bounty hunters tend to be light sleepers considering that in their line of work anyone could come for them at any time.