The Daughter of Raxus

ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝟙

A planet entirely purposed for scrapping and junk was worth a lot of credits to those that braved it.

On occasion, smugglers and scrappers outside of the Foreman's jurisdiction were known to haunt Cinder's turf. This was likely because any Imperial that noticed her might realize she was human and the right age for the military. The Foreman used some antics to keep authorities outside of her territory.

Now, mysterious creatures and men were scrambling through the wreckage of a crushed starship South of her Shack. Upon inspection with her data-pad, she gaged they were ransacking a BT-7 Thunderclap, a transport used frequently during the wars of the Old Republic.

She remained hidden and tried to hail the Foreman through her comlink. Of course, the transmissions were jammed. Whoever these scrappers were, they were professionals.

As the atmosphere was toxic on Raxus, rebreathers were common. She could tell from her distance of about 10 meters away that these people were wearing not just rebreathers, but combat armor as well. From the cream colored slates on the shoulders, it was likely the armor was outfitted from former clone armor.

Scrappers didn't scare Cinder as much as they used to. They'd become scarce since stormtrooper patrols had been implemented in different sectors of Raxus. Dirtied armor meant there were people under all that protection. The shiny armor was something to fear.

The Empire seemed to have taken every human scrapper they'd discovered, preferring that droids be left to work in the gaseous environment of the scrap planet. What scrappers did remain were friendly enough most of the time. Either way, it was best to stay away from them in case they wanted a little more than just scrap.

Their language was either unfamiliar to her, or they were using scramblers. Everything she heard sounded like the chittering of droids in their native tongue, and not words, per se.

She studied her NT-242 sniper and made sure it was ready to fire. It wasn't like her to use lethal force before talking it out, but a girl had to be careful. Three of them were coming out of the Thunderclap carrying massive steel boxes. Old insignia from other eras were painted upon the sides of each crate, but time had washed away most of their outlines.

Something cried out from within one of the boxes. Cinder placed the scope to her eye and noticed a a hole had been carved in the side of one of the crates. Small bundles of what looked like straw were peeking through the hole. Something was alive in there.

She kept her scope trained upon the scavenger carrying the crate. His arms were wide and muscular. Too wide and muscular for a human. The good news is they were less likely on the side of the Empire, as stormtroopers and the like came in only one species, it seemed.

Another soldier, this one outfitted with metallic armor clearly made from duranium scrap, vaulted over one of the wings of the Thunderclap. It carried a rifle, new and shiny. Based on its structure, Cinder guessed it was something automatic. Something that would turn her to dust, should its lethal aim fall upon her.

Suddenly, there was a soft crunch of a footstep behind her, and a sliding of leather upon steel. She dropped her sniper underneath some rubble and straightened.

Before she could turn around, there was the sound of a blaster being lifted to aim, its internal components clacking together.

"BRRERK ZZZAHT," it said in scrambled dialect.

On any other world, this may have been the time to run or shoot, but on Raxus...

Cinder spoke gently and softly, her comm speaker translating her words into binary. She slowly, mechanically, turned to the scavenger.

It was humanoid. Its head rested on a set of mild shoulders and a muscular neck. Whoever it was clearly couldn't tell the difference between a human and a droid. To be fair, her outfit didn't suggest a sliver of skin and sparkled brilliantly with stray lights one might expect to find on an astromech.

The scavenger spoke a bit more, clearly to itself rather than the droid and then moved on.

Cinder waited for it to be out of sight and then retreated back to her shack.