STAR WARS: Gray Jedi

Chapter 5

DODORAN. RAJEVEE FOREST.

Neema Kin heard the last of the animal's roars off in the distance as it finally died down into silence. She figured the beast finally got it's paws on it's breakfast. She almost felt sorry for the so called "scavenger" she left as bait, but she didn't fret over his loss. It was obvious he was lying and a lot more dangerous than he led on. After all, there's no way anyone could snatch a First Order holocron from a band of bounty hunters without knowing their way around a blaster. Better to get rid of the bastard before he got the drop on her. 

 She trekked her way through the woods and as she did so, she couldn't help but walk with a feeling of accomplishment in her heart. She had finally retrieved what she had been looking for over a two month period of investigation, espionage, and a lot of much needed patience. It felt good. Still, she had to remind herself her mission wasn't over. It was time to get off world. Time to get this thing into the right hands. Neema pulled out her communicator from her pocket and tried to hail her co-pilot back at her ship, The Nighthawk. She opened up the frequency and chimed in.

"Bozin? Bozin! Come in Bozin! Can you hear me?" 

The radio crackled with static. Finally, her co-pilot spoke from the other end.

"Neema? Neema? That you?" Bozin asked.

"Yeah, it's me." she replied.

"Finally! What took you so long? I've been waiting for hours."

"Sorry, took me a while to track down the holocron, but I have it now. Turns out it was in the hands of some 'scavenger.'"

"Scavenger?" Bozin asked.

"Long story. I'll explain later. How's the ship?"

"Looking good. Just a few minor tweeks and we'll be good to go."

"Good. I..."

Neema dropped her voice. She paused and listened. She could hear chatter close by. She quickly hid herself behind the trunk of a nearby tree. She peered around the other side and found First Order Stormtroopers searching the area. Among them, she recognized the Officer barking orders at them - Admiral Maas.

"Damn," she said under her breath.

Bozin's voice crackled through the communicator.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The First Order...they're here. And so is he."

"What?" Neema heard Bozin's voice drop to a hushed tone. "What's The First Order doing on Dodoran?"

"They must be looking for the holocron."

This wasn't good. If Admiral Maas was here, that meant his Star Destroyer was too. A Star Destroyer meant a whole lot of canons, and a whole lot of canons meant getting off this planet would be a hell of lot more complicated. She turned to her comm.

"Bozin, high-tail it and get the ship running. We're gonna need to make a quick exit off this planet."

Neema didn't hear a response. She looked at her communicator and saw the channel between them had been lost. She tried hailing Bozin again, but nothing came through except the crackilng of static.

"Bozin? Bozin can you hear me?"

The static continued. She hit her comm, trying to get a clear signal. Nothing. Then all went eerily silent, until...

"You! Don't move!" 

A First Order Stormtrooper shouted as he pointed at her, alerting the rest of his comrades. Neema turned and ran as the Stormtrooper fired his blaster. The shot barley missed her, striking the tree she just hid behind as she ran.

"Over here!" The Stormtrooper waved over his fellow soldiers. They chased after Neema.

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Maas turned as his one of his Troopers called out to the rest of them.

"Over here!" the Trooper shouted.

Maas could see a woman running in the opposite direction. He squinted his eyes, trying to get a make on her. He couldn't see her face, but he saw what she was holding in her hand. It was a small, glowing red pyramid and he suddenly realized, this woman had the holocron he was searching for.

"After her! Seize her!' He shouted.

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Neema ran as fast as she could heading in the direction of Bozin and their ship. The Stormtroopers kept after her, but she was slowly losing them. After gaining some distance between her and them, Neema hid herself behind some thick brush nearby. She drew her blaster, ready and looking for her pursuers. She saw nothing, but she could hear the chatter. She hadn't lost them just yet. Then, from behind, someone jumped out at Neema and ambushed her to the ground, pinning her hand with her blaster to the floor.

"Get off of me!" she yelped.

"Shhh!" Destin said.

"Get off! Get off!" she demanded.

"Shh! I'm not gonna hurt you!" Destin did all he could to keep Neema pinned, but she put up a fight.

"I said get off of me!" she ordered.

"Quiet! They're gonna hear you!" 

Sat atop of Neema, Destin listened for the Stormtoopers.

"Quiet." he whispered. 

Neema settled. She heard the chatter of the Stormtroopers getting closer. 

Destin looked down to her. "Relax," he said calmly. 

He released Neema and she fumbled away, pointing her blaster right at him. Destin raised his hands, showing his palms. "I'm not here to hurt you." Neema kept her blaster aimed at him, cautious. "Are you with the Resistance?" he asked.

"What?" Neema replied, confused.

"Are you with the Resistance?"

"What if I am?" she answered.

"I can help you."

"Help me? Oh, yeah? How's that?"

"Well, I can help you get away from these Stormtroopers for starters."

"And why would you do that?" Neema asked skeptically.

The sound of Stormtroopers talking amongst themselves continued as they searched the area.

"The holocron - do you still have it?" Destin asked in a hushed tone.

"I'm not giving it back," Neema replied.

"That's fine. Just keep it safe. Do you have a ship?"

"...Maybe." Neema furrowed her eyebrows, wondering where he was going with this.

Destin continued. "Well, if you do, we need to get to it - fast. It won't be long until the First Order is all over this planet. You keep that holocron safe and I'll help you get off-world. Deal?"

Neema just looked at him.

"You can't take these troopers alone," he said.

Neema paused. She could hear the Stormtroopers getting closer, and there were a lot of them - a squadron. Neema knew she wouldn't be able to outrun them forever, and she was outmanned and outgunned. She didn't want to admit it, but some help could be useful right now - but could she trust the man in front of her. He could've taken her out if he wanted, that's for sure. He did catch her off guard. He had the chance to snub her and run off with the holocron, but he didn't take it. Instead, he offered to help her.

"Fine." Neema finally decided. "But try anything funny and I'll blast a hole right between your eyes, got it?"

"Fair enough," Destin replied.

"What do you suggest we do?" Neema asked.

"I have an idea," said Destin.