A Tough Compromise

Being a bounty hunter was a hard life. This was something Rylla could attest to in a heartbeat, and she would stand by that claim.

Oh it had its perks. No rules, you could choose what job you wanted to do, and go wherever she wanted.

The negatives involve the fact that bounty hunters usually have to go against the law to do their jobs, and they make lots of enemies, more than most people. And trusting someone? Forget it. You'd get killed by doing that. It was something she had learned the hard way.

"So, what kind of job you gonna choose next?" Hayden asks beside her.

Rylla rolls her eyes. That was also a disadvantage. Hayden was annoying.

"I don't know yet," she grumbled.

"Come on, there's loads to choose from! Retrieval's, protecting cargo, assassinations-" he started to say.

Rylla whirled around to glare at him. "You know I'm never doing that!" she hissed.

Hayden however didn't flinched, merely rolled his eyes. "Oh right, you grew up as a-"

"Shh!" Rylla shushed, glancing around warily and pushing Hayden down a side street, where they weren't in such a crowded area. "Don't say that out loud! You know what would happen if people knew what I was?!"

"Alright, fair enough, I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely, and Rylla accepted it with satisfaction and a hint of gratitude.

"But seriously, this is Jedha! There's loads of stuff to do here!" Hayden added.

Rylla sighed in exasperation and annoyance. "I swear I feel like throwing you at a gang of thugs and just leaving you there."

Hayden gave her a cocky grin. "Oh you won't do that! I'm an awesome mechanic, plus I can fly a ship fantastically. You need me."

"Yes I do," she huff reluctantly. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"If you didn't enjoy the company you'd have beaten me to a pulp right now," he retorted.

"Alright fine, I'll find us another bounty on this rock." Rylla finally relents.

"Splendid!" Hayden says cheerfully.

A few hours later, the pair had managed to find a job guarding a freighter full of food and supplies heading out of the system. They were both seated in the small two person shuttle Hayden had won from a gambling bet, with him in the pilot's seat while Rylla controlled the guns.

Hayden grumbled in the seat, not liking this job Rylla picked out.

"This is not what I had in mind when I wanted another bounty," he said in displeasure.

"Oh get over it, this'll be fine," Rylla replied. "This job pays well enough, and there have been lots of attacks against it for some time."

"But we're just waiting. It's boring," he complained.

"Well that's your problem," she retorted.

The freighter continued moving away from orbit, ready to jump to hyperspace, and they prepared to follow them. However, before the ship could make the jump, a small squad of smaller, but fast ships suddenly appeared out of hyperspace, and zoomed towards it, firing laser bolts.

"Enemy contact!" Rylla exclaimed in alarm.

"Oh I see them," Hayden said with a small grin, zooming the shuttle towards the attackers. Rylla aimed her guns and fired back.

The cargo freighter had taken some damage by the time Rylla and Hayden joined the action, and the invading ships were forced to break off their run to avoid them. One ship then targeted them, trying to blow them away.

"What was that you said about boring?" Rylla asked.

"Shut up!" Hayden responded angrily.

While they were distracted, the rest of the ships continued disabling the transport, while one attached itself to the hull in an attempt to board it. Hayden continued flying the shuttle around, avoiding their pursuers attacks.

"They're boarding the freighter!" Rylla said in alarm.

"What am I supposed to do?" Hayden demanded.

"Dock!" she said back.

Grumbling, Hayden then flipped the shuttle around, allowing Rylla to open fire and destroy the ship. He then flew towards the freighter, and connected to the docking bay.

"Better hurry up before I get blasted!" Hayden said quickly.

Moving fast, Rylla leaped from her seat and rushed to the door, opening it and entering the freighter. It closed right after her, and there was a clunking sound as the ship detached. Pulling out her blaster, Rylla moved cautiously through the ship, looking for signs of the pirates.

"Get those supplies detached quickly!" a voice ordered. There was a muffled reply, and Rylla narrowed her eyes.

Glancing around a corner, she saw a group of four pirates huddled around a console, which controlled the magnetic for the supply crate. The one who seemed to be in charge was dark skinned, mostly bald but with graying hair, wearing gray colored armor pieces.

Rylla then leaped into action, turning around the corner and firing her blaster. She hit one of the pirates in the shoulder, and he cried out in pain, drawing the others attention. She finished him off with another shot to the chest, although reluctantly. She had learned long ago that killing people was sometimes necessary to survive with her tough life.

The leader whipped out his blaster and fired back at her, the others following. She had to take cover, hiding behind a few crates. Peeking out, she fired again, hitting another pirate, this time in the leg.

"You can't win Imperial scum!" the leader roared, firing again.

Only her force sensitivity kept her from being shot through the head in time as she pulled back. She made a face.

"Who said I was Imperial?!" she retorted.

Rylla then rolled out of her cover and fired a few more shots. Some missed, but she managed to put the henchmen out of commission. What she wasn't prepared for was the leader to yell angrily and charge at her, slamming her onto her back.

She gasped in pain and surprise, and the pirate punched her in the head. Recovering, she brought her legs up and kicked him away, trying to get to her feet. However he was tough, and grabbed her by the arm before swinging her against the wall. He raised his blaster at her head.

"You Imperials are all the same, heartless, witless and arrogant cowards!" he spat hatefully.

"I'm not Imperial!" she growled out, wincing. "And that's a lot coming from a selfish pirate like you!"

"Selfish?" he exclaimed. "I'm fighting for freedom! For the galaxy, and we will defeat the Empire!"

"Stealing supplies from innocent civilians doesn't sound like freedom," she retorted.

"What would you know?" he growled. "Some lowly person like you? I fought the Separatists for Onderon to free us, and our payment is Imperial occupation!"

Something about that struck something in Rylla, remembering a mission an old friend once went on, but she ignored it. "If you steal this cargo, then starving families oppressed by the Empire will die!"

He stalled for a moment, before narrowing his eyes. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"A bounty hunter with morals," she replied.

He chuckled without humor. "No such thing."

"Coming from a pirate," she retorted.

"Rebel fighter," he corrected with a glare. "Named Saw. And I need those supplies for my men!"

"Starving citizens need those more than your stupid band of pirates! I don't care if you think you're rebels, you're taking the food of innocents!" she argued back angrily.

Saw stared at her with a fierce glare, but slowly lowered his blaster. "Then we compromise," he growled. "I take half."

"My job is to protect all of it."

"Half!" he yelled. "Or I kill you, and take all of it!"

The two stared at each other, tension high. Rylla was angry, but she didn't have much choice, unless she wanted to expose her Force powers, which was not happening.

"Fine then," she growled.

Despite the tense situation, the two supposed enemies managed to come to an agreement, and Saw called off his men from attacking. They took half the supplies, and he had taken a good look at Rylla before leaving. Something in her gaze had caught his attention, and he recognized that look from friends he had, long ago. It was enough for him to go along with his compromise.

He also saw her point, and after some checking, this shipment was meant to go to starving citizens. He hated all Imperials, but there were some who didn't deserve to be punished, especially starving ones. Even he saw that.

He decided to take this idea to heart, despite his ways, which were labeled 'extreme.'