04 || a batuu belittlement

"PLEASE, PILOT, THE ONLY THING YOU'RE GIVING ME IS A HEADACHE."

BATUU, OUTER RIM-

Batuu was nothing like what the three had expected.

The almost desert-like appearance of the planet was something that shocked Kyra, who expected vibrant life and greenery. She had expected trees and plants and tons and tons of people.

Most Outer Rim planets were like that, at least.

But instead, Batuu was much so the opposite.

The Black Spire outpost seemed to be a shell of what it used to be. As Kyra walked down the hallways of the trading post with 4236 and 6978, (who she had named Fox and Silas for the purpose of the mission), there were very few people that seemed to be roaming the streets with her. Looking behind her, Kyra was worried that she seemed too obvious. After all, a dark colored mission suit disguised by only a dark leather jacket gave not many interpretations other than First Order or Bounty Hunter.

"Princess, who exactly are we looking for?" 4236 asked the girl, nudging her as she confidently strolled down the trading market. "Because right now, we seem like we're in the middle of nowhere." He looked around at his surroundings with an almost sense of disdain.

"There's a cantina here. I'm assuming that any and all negotiations with the Resistance or Republic inside. It's loud, busy, and people get drunk out of their minds. Makes it easy to do business." Kyra assumed, walking to a staircase, seeing landing bases all scattered throughout the town.

"Smart thinking. But what's the plan Kai?" 6978 asked, seeming a little overprotective of the girl as they walked towards the place that was very obviously pulsing music from inside of it. "It doesn't do much for us if we come out as, you know," He whispered in her ear to ensure that no one heard the next few words, "First Order, and just start attacking guns ablazing."

"Simple." Kyra shrugged, unzipping her mission suit top down to a little more than what would normally be deemed acceptable. "Women bounty hunters have a tendency for flirting while being able to get the job done. Same for the smugglers. If I just-"

"This is incredibly stupid, Princess."

"Gotta say, for once in my life, I gotta agree with 4236 on this one." 6978 shrugged, starting his descent down the steps, taking over Kyra for the lead. "It seems incredibly thick headed of you to not assume that you're going to get taken away by some nasty man who wants to perceive you in the wrong way."

"Oh, but I'm counting on it." Kyra spoke in an almost sly tone, stepping down the staircase with a small smirk on her face. "What Resistance member wouldn't just love to come and sweep a 'damsel in distress!' off of her feet from the awful bounty hunters and smugglers who want to take advantage of her!" She sarcastically gave a dramatic sigh, pretend fainting over the side of the steps.

"That's... more stupid now that I've heard more about it." 6978 muttered, trying to comprehend everything that Kyra had just said within the few minutes that it had taken her to explain the idea that she had.

"Look, it's not like this is going to be easy for me either. But these kind of inconspicuous missions call for some unorthodox ideas. And this might be the kind that will help us find the Resistance member who's attempting to meet with a trader inside of that cantina. They're trying to figure out what they stole from the First Order, and if we get it before they figure out what it is and what it does, it's going to make our lives a lot easier when we head back to base."  Kyra sighed, running a hand through her ponytail, tugging out the band so that her hair was loose.

"6978, we could be inside the cantina watching out for her. If we don't make it obvious that we're watching her, we can still keep an eye on her and make sure that she's safe. This could make the whole mission a lot easier if she can steal the item, get in, and get out without any hassle." 4236 agreed with Kyra, the man being the second one to scale all of the stairs, the two troopers waiting for Kyra to catch up after her fake fainting incident on the stairs.

"So it's a plan?" Kyra whispered hopefully, rising from her place against the wall and bounding down the stairs to stand next to the two much taller men. Earning no sounds of complaint from 6978, she gave a small fist pump of victory. "Yes! Okay. I'm sure this plan will work. I'll head in the cantina first, and you two can trail in afterwards. Make sure that you're a few minutes apart, we don't want to seem overly suspicious."

"Still don't like this." 6978 grumbled, sounding almost father like to Kyra and he crossed his arms, arching an eyebrow at her. "You sure that everything is going to be okay? Like no random alien smuggler is going to sneak up from behind and-"

"Yes, Silas." Kyra poked fun at the trooper's fake name, earning a small chuckle from 4236 off on the side. "Everything will be fine. I have my blasters and knives if worse comes to worse." She showed her hidden weapons belt from underneath the worn out black leather jacket, the brown of the belt and white of the blasters easier to detect when not under the disguise of her overcoat.

"It'll all be okay." Kyra reassured the older man, patting him on the shoulder as she slowly started to walk through the alleyways of the buildings and the pavements in between. She was following the music playing from the cantina, sounding almost as if there was a live band remixed with some sort of droid DJ playing as well. "I'll see you boys in a minute!" She cheekily laughed before walking up to the doors of the cantina, which slid open for her.

And, of course, the somewhat crowded bar now had all eyes on her.

The song that was just playing had ended, making for a very awkward entrance for the girl, which she had not been expecting. Hearing the music begin to play again, all the eyes in the room diverted away from her, every person suddenly focused on what they were doing in the first place. The chatter in the room began to start again, Kyra walking up to the bar and leaning over the counter.

"I'll take some spotchka if you have some." She smiled over at the bartender, who gave her a nod as Kyra grinned even wider. "Thanks, darling." If she was going into a bar, the girl figured that she might have a taste of her childhood again, even if it was for just a moment.

"Spotchka? That's something for a refined taste." A man's voice drew Kyra's attention from a few ways down to the right in the bar, a man with dark curly hair and dark eyes meeting hers. "I haven't met someone who enjoys that drink in quite a while." His eyes twinkled with almost curiosity at the girl, staring straight into her eyes.

Somehow, something about this man put Kyra right at ease. Maybe it was her naivete towards some of those kinds of things, but maybe it was just his charming smile and bright eyes that seemed to reflect just a bit of the deep and wide galaxy.  There was something about-

Hearing the door slide open to the cantina again, Kyra saw 4236 walk in, the younger man giving her the slightest of nods before walking towards the other side of the bar, where there were tables that one could sit and relax at. Shaking her mind out of the first daydream that she'd had in years, Kyra turned her attention back to the man.

"What's your name?" He asked her, sipping on his own drink inside of a wooden cup. It wasn't long after he took a sip of his drink that Kyra's was placed in front of her, the girl giving a small muttering of thanks to the bartender. This man was starting with the straight up questions- if he could even be considered a man. He was only a year or two older than Kyra herself, and seemed to be enjoying the fact that he had made it into the cantina without being carded at the door.

Realizing what his question was, Kyra knew that she couldn't exactly give this stranger her name. "Prefer not to say. You don't know who you can trust and who you can't in places out here like the Outer Rim." Kyra responded, a smile lighting up the edges of her lips as she took a small taste of the spotchka placed in front of her.

The drink almost melted in her mouth, reminding her of a time that was long forgotten for her, a time that was filled with boring everyday tasks that Kyra would do almost anything to get back. The sharp yells of her mother, watching over the village children, the ponds that she once called her home.

"That's all too fair. I guess I'll just have to call you Space Girl for the time being." The man chuckled, earning a strange look from Kyra. "The patch on your jacket? It's of the entire galaxy. Don't think I wouldn't have noticed that. A girl like you must be desperate to escape and take a journey to somewhere beyond her wildest dreams, I figure."

Giving a small chuckle, Kyra watched the bright color of her spotchka swirl around in her cup, trying to conceal a small and pitiful smile. "I guess you could say that." Taking another sip of her drink, Kyra's eyes met the man's again. "And what's your name?"

"Poe. Poe Dameron."

"And what do you do for a living, Mister Poe Dameron?"

" I'm a pilot for the Republic."

Pilot for the Republic. That was normally a code word for something that meant he wasn't a pilot for the Republic. That meant that this man who had seen her from across the bar was her target- he was a member of the Resistance. And that meant that he had the piece of equipment that they needed on him.

"I see." Kyra muttered, seeing the doors slide open, watching as 6978 walked in through the door. Trying to keep her eyes away from the man, she looked down at her drink again, trying not to notice that he set up shop just across the bar from her, able to keep eye contact and communication with her if needed.

"That guy causing some trouble for you, Space Girl?" Poe Dameron asked, looking at her with the tiniest hint of worry in his eyes. "While I don't doubt that you can handle him yourself, I'd be more than happy to-"

"Oh, no." Kyra pretended to flush red at his offer, kind of embarrassed. "You see, they're smugglers, like I am. And we're all after this piece of equipment we heard that-" She paused for a moment, pretending to ponder if she would tell the man what she was thinking or not. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course."

"We're actually all after the same thing. It's," Kyra stopped for a moment, considering how to tell the man what she desired without giving anything away. "Well, it's this energy source that can be used to help modify a smuggler's ship to go even faster than before. And I'm hoping that I can find the person selling it on Batuu before they do." She sighed, taking another sip of her drink in almost fake pity. "But all those two have been doing all day have been following me around, trying to steal my trade."

"So that's what it does." The man muttered, taking a sip of his own drink before he looked back at Kyra, who had a look of shock and surprise painted all over her face. He seemed almost taken aback by her expression, a giddiness coming to her eyes as she spoke next.

"You mean you know where it is?"

"Space Girl, I'm the one who's here to sell it." Poe chuckled, patting the girl's shoulder. "My General wanted me to find out what it did, as the Resi-I mean, the Republic found it on a ship of illegal goods to the First Order, and my General wanted to know if there was a way to destroy it so that the First Order can never get their hands on it again."

"Destroy it?" Kyra pretended to be shocked and hurt at the notion. "Why would you want to destroy it? That's an opportunity to make some good trades with smugglers like me." She whispered, looking around at her surroundings before talking again. "If I were you, I'd-"

"Show it to the right lovely lady?" Poe offered, giving off some serious flirtatious notions to Kyra. It almost made her laugh, the "Republic pilot" having no clue that he was walking into a trap set up by the First Order. He was even more young and naive than she was, a cockiness and headstrong will sort of prominent in the man already. Defying his general to sell the machine piece to her, showing her as a way to show off- they were all classic signs of a cocky and sure of himself pilot.

"You'd really do that for me?"

"Why, of course." The man reached into the satchel on his side, pulling out the machine piece from inside, the part wrapped in cloth. "Go ahead, take a look at it. I'm sure that you'll find that it's exactly what you wanted."

Taking ahold of the machinery piece, Kyra inspected it as to make sure that it was, in fact, what she had been shown on the hologram. When she found that it was, a smile flew up on her face, her facade slowly dropping. Gripping the machine in her left hand, Kyra slowly reached down into her weapons belt, making sure that the naive Poe thought she was reaching for her money bag. Slipping out a blaster, Kyra pointed it at his chest, a wider smile coming to her face.

"Oh, it is."

Out of the corner of her eye, Kyra could see 4236 and 6978 stand up, almost ready to protect her if she needed their help. "I've got to say, I thought this would be a little bit harder." She inspected the machine piece in her left hand, turning back to face Poe. "You Resistance people are really easy to fool, aren't you?"

"You... you aren't a smuggler." The realization dawned on Poe's face, clear as day. "You're not even a girl hoping to travel the world and flirt with a man. You're with the First Order." He whispered, hatred burning up within his tone.

"And now he gets it." Kyra waved the machine in the air, 6978 smoothly walking over to grab the weapon from her hand for safekeeping. "You know, you shouldn't be so foolish to trust a girl that you just met." Her free left hand zipped up her top part of the mission suit, her right  hand's blaster still trained upon Poe. "Thought that'd be a lesson they teach early on to you rebels."

"You know," Poe started, putting his hands up as to not get himself into a deeper pit of trouble , looking up at the girl. "There's still time to renounce the First Order. You don't have to live under a regime of people that will just command you for the rest of your life."

That comment made Kyra falter for a moment, but as soon as she got over her initial shock, she pressed the blaster deeper towards Poe's chest. "I think that's where you're wrong, Mr. Dameron." Kyra gave a small sigh, pushing a strand of hair out of her way. "I don't have a choice." She whispered in his ear, looking behind her to make sure 4236 and 6978 had already made it back out.

"Meet me at the ship." She told them, the two of them walking out in a hurry, desperate to fire up the ship and get the hell out of Batuu as fast as possible. "I'll finish up in here." Kyra called out, the cantina activity still bustling around her as if nothing was happening.

Cantina stand offs seemed to be rather normal, as no one was fazed by this threatening at blaster point or the fact that Kyra had the high ground over Poe. Giving an even wider smile, Kyra pulled her blaster away from the Resistance pilot, twirling it in a grandeur fashion before tucking it back into her weapons belt.

"Well, that was much easier than I expected." A satisfied grin lit up her face as she turned away from Poe. "You gotta make it a little harder next time, Poe Dameron." A small nod went to the bartender as she gestured over at Poe, throwing two coins that she had snatched from his jacket on the counter, downing the rest of her spotchka in seconds.

Hearing a groan of irritation come from the Resistance pilot, Kyra just had to fit in one more line to the thickheaded Poe before she left the cantina, never to see him again. "Oh, and pilot?" She saw him look up at her one last time, a devilish glint coming from her eyes. Kyra held up some of the coins that she had snagged from him.

"Thanks for the drink."

<~•~>

haHA

guess who met whooooo

anyways I'm super tired, I had two finals today and two more tomorrow and then one on Thursday and then I'm !!  done !!

anyways I don't think there's much to talk about. we're establishing some stuff so that when we get into the force awakens there's more character relationship interaction and tea!

also please no spoilers for the rise of skywalker, I know the review embargo lifts tomorrow so pls don't hurt me like that 🥺

anyways I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will see you all in the next one!