Sparks

Chapter Fifteen - The Hunted

"She hacked into the Star Destroyer's electric systems and shut down the transformer in that area. It turned off the torture systems. The girl is very compassionate. You were there during Jedi's imprisonment, were you not?"

"I was not present when the incident happened. There were other matters to be attended to."

"You've never enjoyed interrogation." She smiled, remembering his discomfort with the subject during their time at the Academy.

"I will do what has to be done."

"So then you'll come to Raydonia."

"I will arrive tomorrow to assist the investigation. But I'm afraid what you're trying to find is a wisp of smoke. Orphans do not like to be found."

The transmission ended, and Agent Novar felt satisfaction. They would find this girl, and she would be punished.

~<-*->~

The running water echoes through the room. I wash my face in the sink, pausing every few seconds to listen for sounds, like an opening door. If that happened, I would have to sneak out of the washroom and jump from Jaina's window. She lets me use her washroom since I don't have one. Her parents haven't been home much. They're trying to get Jaina out. The familiar guilt runs through me. I shut the tap off and dry my face. Looking into the mirror, a pair of green stares back at me. Shadows hug my eyes from a lack of sleep. Nightmares have been worse for me lately, more every night.

I pull my sweater over my undershirt and cover it with my green jacket. It's older and torn in several places, but it keeps me warm when it's cold. Shrugging my bag over my shoulder, I walk through Jaina's small and plain bedroom. On the floor, she has a chair by her bed, below the window. Standing on the chair, I pull myself up and go through the open window. I kneel on the ledge, close it, and hop to the concrete. I move through the empty streets with a hand holding my old knife in my bag. I put it in my bag after cleaning the rabbit. Street crime has gotten so bad that now it happening during the day. Since my bow and arrows would raise suspicion, the knife is my protection. I had it before my arrows, after finding it embedded in a tree near the square.

I need a new power cell for my datapad, so I need to head to the electronics supplies shop near the diner. The owner knew my parents, and he kindly gives me a discount. I tried telling him I didn't need that years ago, but he didn't listen and I since then I've given up.

I get to the street where the shop is and I walk through the crowd, staying close to the wall. Stormtroopers are walking in straight lines, but it's mostly citizens. I see tired and dirty faces, from work and our current government. I don't know how other planets are, but the Empire is strict with ours. It wasn't always like this. Sure it's gotten worse in the past couple of months, but back when my parents were alive, people weren't forced to cut down trees for eight hours. People weren't forced to have regular house searches. I know why it happened though. Back when my parents were alive, a group of hackers broke into the main servers for the Outer Rim. Hundreds of important files containing battle strategies, ship blueprints, trade deals and others. All stolen. Around the time my parents died, it was found out that the group was from Raydonia. So now they work us until we break. The people here may be worn down, but as I look around I see the same emotion in everyone's eyes.

Anger.

If someone wanted a rebellion, it could happen here.

Hopefully, there's someone out there fighting back. Hopefully, there's someone out there doing the right thing. Because it's not happening here.

I walk into the doorway of the shop and wave to the owner, who's at a workbench in the corner working on something shiny. "Hey, Jack."

Jack looks up from his work, wiping his forehead with a greasy rag. "How are you doing Willow?" He's a tall guy, with dark skin and smile wrinkles by his golden eyes.

"Alright. How's business been?" I walk through the metal shelves, trying to remember where the power cells are.

"Slower than usual. I heard that work shifts were longer this week. The Empire changed quota again." Not surprised. "What do you need?"

"Power cell for a datapad. I forgot where they are."

"Bottom shelf at the back." He pulls his work goggles on and turns on a blowtorch, filling the area with blue sparks.

I get to the back shelf and crouch down, rummaging through a bucket. Jack's a talented mechanic, but he's not organized. As I dig around for a few minutes, The blow torch turns off. "The Imperials have been acting strange lately."

"You mean stranger than normal?"

"Stormtroopers keep coming into the shop at random times and they look around. They don't even say anything." He pauses. "They're looking for someone."

That grabs my attention. I look back at him. "Maybe."

I find a decent power cell and head to the counter across from Jack's workbench. He comes over to me and rings it up on a beat-up register that he bangs a couple times before it opens. "15 Credits."

I dig around in my bag and pull out the money, adding a few extra. "Thanks." I put the power cell in my bag. He takes the money except for the extras I added. He gives me that familiar look of those are yours. "At least I tried," I sigh.

He goes back to his workbench, smiling. "Nice seeing you again, Willow."

"See you around."

I leave the shop, heading for home on an emptier street. Even if they were searching for me, how would they know that I hacked? Jaina was only caught because I stupidly didn't realize that they could be scanning for IDs. And I know for a fact that Jaina wouldn't say anything...even if she was being...

My fists clench at my sides as I stop in an alleyway near some supply crates. I can only hope they won't do anything because she's a minor, but...the Empire's ruthless.

"Hey!"

I whirl around and find myself right in front of a Stormtrooper. I freeze. We size up each other for a moment. The look on my face gives it away. He knows.

He turns his head and calls, "It's her!"

But when he looks back I'm already gone, sprinting as fast as I can. Adrenaline runs through my veins. I need something to happen, something to block his path. Something crashes, but I don't look back.

I run through empty streets, taking the long way back to my place, only stopping to look back.