Star Wars: The Alderaan Affair/Part I - A Boy Named Epin

“Why cant I ever get a break? Why won’t they leave me alone!?”, a young boy said to himself as he ran from a group of other children, who had been chasing him through the streets. The boy was Epin Lanmaw, a Nerf farmer, who lived on the outskirts of Aldera, the capital of Alderaan. It was like this all the time, he would be sent into the city by his father, Sadvo, to sell Nerf hides that many stores in the city would use to make furniture, clothes and other everyday items.

The lead boy, Arod Vekkar caught up to Epin, and tackled him to the ground. The two hit the pavement, with Epin taking the brunt of it. Arod flipped Epin over, and sat on him in a mount position. “What now you Nerf loving scum? I thought I told you to stay out of my city.” Arod Vekkar was sixteen years old, four older than Epin. He was also the son of Darien Vekkar, Aldera’s chief of police. Arod could do almost anything he pleased, without any serious repercussions, and he used this to his advantage.

“C’mon Arod, leave me alone! I’m not doing anything!”, Epin pleaded. Vekkar slapped Epin across the face, “Shut up punk! You’ll talk when I say you can! Got it?” Epin gritted his teeth, growled, and tried to push Vekkar off. He may have succeeded had it not been for Otis Broxtin, Vekkar’s best friend, or so Broxtin thought. He was more of a lackey, a “gopher” of sorts, who did anything, and everything Arod said. Broxtin’s family wasn’t “upper class”, but they certainly weren’t poor. Broxtin was naive, and could be manipulated fairly easily.

Broxtin assisted Arod by kicking Epin in the side to stop him from struggling. While Epin was distracted, Arod took the opportunity to land a punch to Epin’s face, who then placed his hands up in an attempt to protect himself. Arod stepped off Epin and pointed to him, “Oh no, you can’t save yourself chump! Hold him Broxtin!” Otis held Epin down while Arod took shots on him. . “What now tough guy?! Want to fight back now!? You were lucky last time Lanmaw, but this time, I’m going to beat you until my body hurts.” Vekkar said with a snarl.

“Hey, leave him alone you bully!”, a voice called out to the boys on the otherwise empty street. Epin tried to see who it was, but his view was blocked by Vekkar and the others. Vekkar seemed to enjoy the newcomer, as he began to talk with an arrogant tone.

“Well, look who it is boys? What brings you to our part of the city?”, Vekkar challenged.

The person shot back, “Your part? Last I checked, this city belonged to those who lived in it Vekkar.” From the voice, Epin could tell the person was female, she sounded fairly young as well.

Night had fallen, and the glow from light posts began to illuminate the children on the otherwise empty street.

“Get going if you know what’s good for you” the girl said, with a demanding tone in her voice.

After a short pause, Vekkar laughed, and ran his fingers through his hair. “Heh, well, I think we got our point across boys. Let’s get going.” Epin was then released from Broxtin’s grip as the group ran off into the night.