(Y/N) awakens in her quarters of the Millennium Falcon in a fit of panic. The beads of sweat dripping from her forehead pool into the tears streaming down her cheeks. She had a nightmare last night, however, this one felt different to all the others she has endured. It felt real.
In her dream, she was face-to-face with her greatest fear; Darth Vader. This is not exactly uncommon for her, only the occurrences within the dream were far different to what she is used to.
Unlike the other dreams she experiences, this one revealed Vader's inner conflict. In her head, the good man Vader destroyed managed to resurface. In her head, she felt the presence of her soulmate. In her head, things were finally back to normal.
(Y/N)'s concerned droid comes to her side, eager to see if her Master is alright. This is something Arthree does every morning. No matter how many times it happens, she always checks in to make sure (Y/N)'s anxiety is decreasing.
"I'm okay, Arthree," She assures her loyal droid.
Despite wanting to stay asleep for the rest of the night, (Y/N) knows they have another task to complete. Unfortunately for her tired eyes, this is not something that could wait until the hours of daylight.
She changes out of her old night clothing and places on her armour. As a former Jedi who now acts as a bounty hunter for none other than Hondo Ohnaka, she needs to conceal her identity.
Standard, dark armour would work the best for the types of jobs Hondo assigns her. That does, however, remind her too much of Darth Vader. She has seen footage of the Emperor's right-hand man, and she does not want to see traces of him whenever she looks at herself.
Before leaving Coruscant on the day when she parted ways with Fives, (Y/N) and Arthree left the Falcon in search of weapon traders. These are highly illegal, but it was a necessity at the time. They eventually stumbled upon a trader with exactly what she needed; blasters, grenades, smoke bombs, thermal detectors, electrical charges, you name it.
However, what stood out to her was the dirty, formerly white clone armour in the back. That armour held too much value to her. She couldn't leave it there to be purchased and defiled by some criminal.
She used every Imperial credit to her name to purchase a case of smoke bombs, six blaster variants, and also other tools such as her own grappling hook. The most significant purchase, however, was the clone armour.
Using the workbench on the Millennium Falcon (Y/N) cut the full body armour apart and turned it into something slightly different. Her body shape would not fit into the mould of standard clone armour, which meant she had to improvise.
She modified the armour to create her own chest plate, shin and thigh guards, shoulder guards, and arm gauntlets. These would be worn over the top of a thin layer of clothing whenever she was working.
With the clone trooper armour successfully fitted, and the helmet ready, (Y/N) decided there was one final touch to add. That was painting pieces of the white armour blue in honour of the 501st. To her, this was a way to honour the friends she had lost, to both the Separatists and the Empire.
When she is fully dressed and ready for the day ahead, she and Arthree exit the Millennium Falcon. The two of them have much to do tonight, and the sooner they get started on their tasks, the sooner they can leave this place.
The streets of Batuu are not what they used to be. Sure, a certain level of villainy always existed on the surface; always lurking in the shadows. The difference now is, those with intentions less than pure are no longer hiding.
One would think the jurisdiction of The Empire would act as a deterrent to criminals and bounty hunters alike. The harsh penalties should be enough to stop crime completely. Unfortunately, it does not. In fact, The Empire supports the Bounty Hunter Guild and its often lack of morale. It claims bounty hunters are an easier way to catch their most wanted, thus making the planet a safer place.
Nowadays, any city with either a cantina, trading post, or spaceport is simply a hotspot for violence. In other words, every city is filled with some level of crime.
As a former Jedi, (Y/N) does not welcome the notion of violence as easily as others. Though she is not above resorting to less than civilised tactics, she will generally consider other options beforehand. Her moral alignment does not allow her to seek out violence.
She and Arthree step into the shadowy edges of the surrounding buildings, trying to remain unseen. It may already be a night out, but she is not willing to take any chances. Even with her armour, she needs to be extra cautious.
"This is going to be like every other job, Arthree," (Y/N) says as the two continue onward. "Locate the target, apprehend them, and get the hell of there."
Arthree whirrs in acknowledgment. Since they parted ways with Fives, Arthree has played a more crucial role than ever in (Y/N)'s life. She acts as (Y/N)'s eyes and ears, which is ironic considering she does not physically possess either.
As they walk along in the safety of the darkness, (Y/N) pulls out the "borrowed" holopad gifted to her by Hondo Ohnaka. She switches it on, revealing the face of a Twi'lek woman who happens to owe Hondo a significant sum of credits.
(Y/N) scans the face of the hologram as they continue the short journey to the nightclub. Once she is certain of the face, she puts the holopad away.
Before stepping inside the establishment, (Y/N) places her helmet firmly on her head. The last thing she wants, or needs, is to be recognised by someone while within the walls of the club. If just one person knows who she is, there is a large chance it will turn into complete chaos for her.
When (Y/N) and Arthree step inside the establishment, they both immediately begin to scan for their target. She is a Twi'lek, which should not make her overly difficult to find.
As soon as (Y/N)'s eyes land on the purple lekku of a nearby Twi'lek, she knows it to be the one they are searching for. Without wasting any more time than they need to, she and Arthree walk side by side to her position.
"Aayra Maurez?" (Y/N) asks.
The Twi'lek bounty spins in her seat, with her drink still firmly held in her hand. She looks (Y/N) up and down, with a smirk visibly plastered on her face. From this glance alone, (Y/N) can tell that she is certainly not a stranger to bounty hunters.
"Repurposed clone armour," Aayra takes a sip of her drink. "Couldn't you afford something...original?"
(Y/N) smirks beneath her helmet, knowing she has been presented with a golden opportunity.
"No, but this one certainly has a few upgrades. Here, let me show you," (Y/N) presses a button on the wrist piece of her armour.
The button triggers a small zap of energy, similar to that contained within the baton of a shock trooper. The jolt hits Aayra in the arm, prompting of slight gasp of pain. The action could be considered uncalled for, but (Y/N) would be lying if she said she did not enjoy it.
"Not bad," Aayra says, clutching her arm.
"You're coming with me," (Y/N) insists.
Aayra leans back in her chair, acting incredibly composed despite her predicament. It is impossible not to notice the similarities she shares with Hondo Ohnaka himself.
"Says who?" She questions.
"I have strict orders from Hondo Ohnaka to bring you in. Your betrayal left a lasting impression," (Y/N) explains.
At the utterance of Hondo's name, Aayra seems to flinch slightly. She isn't scared of Hondo, or of (Y/N) for that matter, but she does appear somewhat afraid.
"You seduce a pirate and steal his money and suddenly you're the bad guy," She whines, putting her head in her hands.
"Well, you kind of are the bad guy," (Y/N) points out.
Aayra groans as she puts her drink back on the table. She seems like Hondo in many ways; ambitious, yet too smart to do anything that could potentially risk her own safety.
(Y/N) reaches around to the back of her belt where she detaches a set of handcuffs for the occasion. Someone like Aayra will run the second they get the chance to do so, and (Y/N) cannot risk that. It has taken her long enough as it is just to track her to Batuu.
"Handcuffs?" Aayra licks her lips while bringing her wrists together. "All you had to do was ask."
(Y/N) groans in frustration at her comment. There was once a person in her life who would use almost any opportunity they had to throw an innuendo into a normal conversation. That could be the reason why she finds Aayra so unbearable.
With a heavy sigh, (Y/N) locks the handcuffs around Aayra's wrists. Like she keeps reminding herself, the sooner she and Arthree get out of this place, the better.
The three of them leave the club slowly and quietly, eager not to draw any kind of attention to themselves. (Y/N) truthfully did not believe it would be this easy. She thought it would be a struggle to capture Aayra, especially given the way Hondo has spoken about her in the past.
Somehow, this task has not involved any complications. They found Aayra without any trouble, and now she is willingly going with them. With only a few metres between them and the Millennium Falcon, nothing can go wrong.
Indistinct, yet vaguely familiar, pleading comes within earshot of (Y/N), Arthree, and their bounty. It is undecipherable from where they stand, but its familiarity is enough to subconsciously stop (Y/N) from walking any further. Her heart knows who the voice belongs to, but her head refuses to tell her who it is.
"Did you hear that?" (Y/N) asks.
"What, scared of the dark?" Aayra smirks.
(Y/N) ignores the comment made by the Twi'lek. She instead closes her eyes and attempts to connect to the Force on some level, any level at all. This is not an unusual occurrence for her. She tries every day, hoping that somehow she will connect to her soulmate again.
Unfortunately, like every time she tries, she still has no ability to connect to the Force.
Instead of wasting time debating whether or not she is imagining things, she decides to listen to her heart. This is something she has not had the courage to do for years. If there is someone out there who needs her, then they need to be her priority.
She takes the handcuffs off her bounty and puts her blaster back in its holster. "Go, before I change my mind."
"You're letting me go?" Aayra asks, sceptical of (Y/N)'s sudden change of heart.
"Don't worry, I'll find you again. Call it a head start." (Y/N) states, trying to justify her unusual reason for letting her go free.
She smirks at (Y/N), as though somewhat...entertained by the challenge she has imposed. Aayra's gaze only lingers on her for a few seconds before she runs as fast as she can in the opposite direction.
"Arthree, you know the drill," (Y/N) states.
The astromech beeps quickly before activating her thrusters. She begins to fly alongside (Y/N) as the two of them run to the source of the pleading voice.
The dim light of a nearby alleyway reveals the scene she had heard from afar. A cloaked figure stands at the end of the alley, backed up against a high brick wall. Before them stands three tall men; all of whom appear to be quite strong.
"Please, leave me alone," the same voice pleads, though they do not appear to be afraid.
There is something about this voice that sends (Y/N)'s mind back to the past; back to her time as a Jedi. The voice sounds so familiar, as though a younger version of it lives in her memory.
With this personal attachment in mind, (Y/N) decides she must do what is noble. She must act as the Jedi Shaak Ti and Plo Koon trained her to be.
She emerges from the shadows with her helmet on securely. "That bounty is mine."
The men each turn around, taking it upon themselves to look her up and down. They are all far bigger than she is, and likely stronger too, but she is not afraid. Even if they have greater strength than her, she is certainly more agile.
"Your bounty, eh?" One asks, while the other two laugh behind him.
"Aye," She responds.
They raise their blasters at her, not at all worried about the consequences of their actions. (Y/N) admittedly did not expect such a drastic response, and if she wants to succeed, she knows she will need to talk them out of their idea.
"Blasters?" She gasps dramatically. "I thought three strong men like yourselves could fight a single person without help."
"Listen here, Missy, we don't need anyone's help," Another one of the men insists.
(Y/N) chuckles. "We'll see."
She has someone else's lightsaber attached to her belt, but she does not wish to use it. She has ignited it once in the seven years since the fall of the Jedi Order, and she has regretted that decision every day since. Holding his weapon in her just felt wrong.
However, there is another weapon she is in possession of, and she believes it will work just as well. That weapon is her bare hands.
"This is where the fun begins," She grins as she readies herself in her fighting pose.
The first one of the men runs toward her, but she is too fast for him. (Y/N) slides on the ground between his legs, prompting him to miss her altogether.
She sweeps her leg behind the knees of one of the remaining men, causing him to topple to the ground. The other responds by throwing a punch in the direction of her face; an attack she manages to avoid. His fist instead slams into the cement ground, shattering the bones in his knuckles.
(Y/N) springs herself off the ground and delivers a strong, direct kick into the stomach of the last man standing. The sheer power behind her kick sends him backwards until he slams into a nearby wall.
With he and the one with the broken hand now unconscious, she only has to deal with one more opponent. She responds to this threat by walking up to the man, slowly pulling himself off the ground, closing her fist, and punching him right in the centre of his face.
Just like that, (Y/N) has taken down three opponents without the assistance of any weaponry.
With the threats now neutralised, (Y/N) approaches the person at the end of the alleyway who she had risked everything to protect. Even if she still can't quite figure it out, she knows this person holds some sort of significance to her old life. She knows they were worth helping.
She extends her hand to the figure on the ground. "Are you alright?"
The hand reaches for her own, but they only touch for the briefest moment. As soon as they made the slightest contact, the person she helped retracted their hand with a speed beyond what she thought possible. Their response to the contact was unsettling, to say the least.
"M...Master?" A fragile voice croaks from beneath their hooded cloak.
(Y/N)'s entire body freezes in place. For a second, it even feels as though her heart has completely stopped beating. There was a reason why the voice sounded so familiar from afar, and now that she is with them, she understands it.
Without giving it a second thought, (Y/N) takes off her helmet. She can't believe it. She won't believe it until she sees it with her own eyes.
As she takes her helmet off, the figure removes the hood of their cloak to reveal their own face. The teary green eyes of her Padawan meet her own. Up until this very moment, she truly believed he had perished during the events of Order 66. Without her connection to the Force, she had no way to confirm his presence in the galaxy.
The relief building in her heart is one of the strongest sensations she has ever felt. It sends every one of her emotions into overdrive. She is glad to see him, concerned for his safety, angry that it took her so long to find him again, and everything else in between.
"Cal," She whispers with a teary-eyed smile.
He steps forward and wraps (Y/N) into a hug; the tightest, longest hug he has ever given anyone. As soon as she wraps her arms around him, the two begin to cry into each other's shoulders. They have each dealt with so much pain and trauma, including allowing themselves to believe that the other had been murdered during Order 66.
After every awful experience she has endured since the fall of the Jedi Order, (Y/N) could not describe how happy she was to see her younger brother again.