A Hunter Named Bear

[Esther Hadrana]

Esther Hadrana had always grown up alone. Her first memories of her grandfather were holograms from whatever planet or dig he was off to, and whenever he was around, he would stay late at the University. She knew he loved her. He yelled and scolded her when she got herself in trouble, and praised her when she scored highly on her testing and simulations, he bought her presents and told her bedtime stories wherever he was, whatever he was doing, and she would fall asleep hearing his voice.

A part of her loved those stories, but he always put an emphasis on their shared family. He told her about her parents, but he didn't have more than two stills of them, and no holograms recorded of them either. He told her about the Merasska family, not high class, but with a nobility and charm all their own, composed of that quiet intelligence that doesn't change the galaxy but changes individual lives. She'd imagine her parents coming in from some great adventure and praise her and tell her they were sorry but the galaxy needed saving, and now we'll take you with us on our adventures.

Underneath it all, however, she felt like Grandfather Denton didn't want to be around her too much. He spoke with her most often via holograms. He was away most holidays, and her presents were delivered to the door. He would arrive home late, while she was sleeping, and would leave early, before she woke up.

This was how Esther Hadrana learned that love was strong, but also fragile. Not in so few words, of course. Or any words at all, in fact. It was more of a feeling.

And then, one day, he never came back.

To be honest, it was more than one day. He left her alone for weeks and months sometimes. No, one day, he did not call her. And the next day, when no call came through, she tried to call him, and received no answer. Esther didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but she was worried.

She found out that he was dead when a colleague of her grandfather's came to the apartment to pick up some documents and found her sitting on the living room divan, schoolwork scattered before her.

'Oh, Esther!' he said, jumping in fright. 'I'd totally forgotten you were here. You haven't been told, have you? Den... Denton is dead, my dear.'

That colleague, moved somewhat to guilt, had alerted the social services administration for the planet, and she had been moved into a state run facility. All of her grandfather's things and effects were put into a storage locker for when she attained her age of majority.

And that was how Esther came to live in an orphanage, with a high class Core accent, and nothing to her name but clothing. It was a change, but Esther made due. She dreamed of her parents, her grandfather, coming to rescue her, but then she learned of Yavin, and how Alderaan had been destroyed, and she remembered her grandfather telling her that there was no one left but himself and her. She still dreamed, but now she knew when she was dreaming.

Since she was a mostly quiet girl, she didn't make friends easily, but she was intelligent, and far braver than some other girls. She would come back into the building with black eyes and torn clothes. One worker who saw her like his little sister would just fix her up and send her on her way. Who could she tell? No one, if she wanted her situation to get better. He knew it. So he'd personally run through applications and look for someone who would love her like she deserved. She suspected him of being the one to organize all those meetings with prospective parents, but she knew she was too old. People wanted to raise a baby. A little girl, ten years old? No. She already had a personality, and she'd be gone in only seven years, if that. Adoption was a great option, but living in the system showed Esther that even in charity people could be selfish.

Each day was the same. Wake up, go to classes in the state school, and then come back, where activities and 'events' were scheduled for those who stuck around for them.

And for her eleventh birthday, Esther had every reason to believe nothing would change when she woke up.

[Bear Banthabrand]

The last time I was on Corulag, I was wrapped in polished plastoid. Times had changed. My suit was the deep blue of a Tattooine dusk, and my shirt, the Dune Sea. Maybe it was the nostalgia of home, but I liked it. It was a shame that the Devaronian I won it from hadn’t been longer in the leg. When I sat, my ankles were on display, so I wore my best socks, and, as long as I wanted to keep breathing, I kept my jacket unbuttoned. Shortcomings aside, it felt good to dress smart - helped me forget why I was there in the first place.

“You think you can walk into an orphanage dressed like that?” The Twi’lek sycophant hissed, as he handed me my flimsi work. He had taken issue with my weathered fatigues, and punctuated his distaste with a dramatic flourish that made his robes sparkle. “You are going to a Core World, and they will sniff you out in an instant. Literally! Change your clothes. Look smart. My master has given you a chance to redeem yourself - there will not be another one.”

The preening ponce had been right. Imperial folk were stiffer than protocol droids, even within the confines of a train, where they sat at perfect right angles and did their best to ignore each other. And when one of them did trouble to look at you, it was to size you up, like a prize kybuck, only to discover you were an eopie in disguise. My hands I kept clamped to my knees: I wasn’t sure what was considered excessive ankle exposure in polite society, but I wasn’t about to find out. When the train finally arrived at Curamelle North East, I was glad to get out of there.

Somewhere between the glossy monoliths of the business district and the towering needles of bamboo that surrounded it, Curamelle turned into a pleasant, multi-tiered stretch of suburbia full of schools, homes, and neat little shops. It had the glow of a place made for families, like something straight out of an Imperial propaganda piece, and, though the faces weren’t as hard, they were no less alien. And nestled at the heart of the picture-perfect community was where I found the orphanage; almost as if the locals themselves had taken the little bastards to heart, if it wasn’t for the telling wall of trees that surrounded it.

There was a receptionist at the desk, when I entered, and a row of nervous-looking couples who watched me cross the room. Maybe the briefcase was a bit much. In the time it took to reach the receptionist, I became aware of two things: first, if things went south, the polished-floor would be a death-trap for me, and secondly, new shoes squeaked like a farting hoojib. The farting echoed into a prickly silence, and I cleared my throat.

“Uh, hello. I’m here about the girl.”

[Esther Hadrana]

The receptionist stared at him for a moment, and then smiled smoothly and nodded.

"I'd like your name and the name of the child, sir, so I can get in touch with the proper social worker to handle your case."

A few minutes later, a heavyset man with a beard, in a faded old dress tunic, and slightly over sized trousers entered the waiting room.

"Okay, Mister... Banthabrand..." his face creased into a slightly bemused expression. "I understand you're looking to adopt little Esther..."

He trailed off as he looked at the man. He glanced over to the receptionist, who shrugged. He glanced back to the rugged looking man and then bit his lip.

"Please," he said, plastering a fake smile onto his face. "Follow me."

He led Bear back into the facility and then into a small office, which was a clean, neat affair with badly drawn pictures of smiling stick figures and houses with smiling suns shining over them on the walls and the desk was covered with datapads and comm displays scrolling messages and information. He sat behind the desk and gestured to a seat in front of it.

"My name is Crim Oleska. And you are... mister Banthabrand? Why do you want to adopt Esther?"

[Bear Banthabrand]

“The truth is, Mister Oleska, I always wanted to be a father.”

The way he looked at me was making it difficult to remember my lines. And if he stumbled over my name one more time, I was going to make sure he choked on it, too. This Crim Oleska was big for a snooty social worker, but I was bigger, and I had the element of surprise. And I wasn’t afraid to get dirty. In the briefcase, there was a stack of forged flimsi work and a pristine DE-10 blaster pistol - what I pulled out depended on my new social worker, and my ability to butter him up like a Life Day nuna.

From the walls, disfigured families judged me with their psychedelic smiles. With a deep breath, I braced myself for a second helping of shameless candor; a smell of multi-purpose cleaner permeated everything - it was almost as sharp as my cologne, but nowhere near as cheap. Once I was ready to share, I leaned forward: let Mr. Oleska think he's getting something good. Like a snivelling snitch, my chair creaked with every nervous movement. But, as I had reminded myself in the fresher mirror earlier that day: nervous was good, nervous was authentic.

“And I think I will be good for Esther, because… I get it. I was adopted, too.”

[Esther Hadrana]

Oleska looked at him intently, before looking down at his data tablet and writing something with his stylus.

"I will need to see identification and employment records, housing documents, and —"

"Mr. Oleska," a woman opened the door and glanced at Bear before looking back at the bureaucrat. "Someone is here about the —"

"The ice machine! Yes, the ice machine," Oleska exclaimed while standing and walking with the woman out the door. "I'll be right back, no no no, don't get up, I'll be right back, you stay right there."

They closed the door.

"Listen, Havva, listen!" he hissed while she tried to speak again. "I think this guy is dangerous. I don't think he means any good."

The woman rolled her eyes.

"You're always going on about some sort of conspiracy, Crim," she muttered. "We've got two more for you."

"For Esther?" he asked again in his 'quiet whisper hiss'. Havva looked at him like she was scared he was in fact going insane right before her eyes before nodding. "What are the odds? Really?"

He stormed down the hall to the waiting room.


***


Esther didn't like the main Offices. They were always busy with harried and bitter people still trying to do something good. But Andie Marno had told her that he'd seen Crim taking some guy into his office talking about her. Andie wasn't nice, but he wasn't mean either.

She'd decided to investigate; for a while she'd thought Crim had been lying to her about all the people he'd needed to turn down because they weren't right for her. It looked like he'd been telling the truth. He'd been taking her to the Offices for the past week, telling her to sit and play or write or draw while he would go into a conference room, shout for five to ten minutes, and come out hiding his look of frustration. Now she had something interesting to do.

Obviously the first thing to do was to check Crim's office. When she got to the hall where it was located, she ducked back around the corner and watched as he hissed something at Havva and walked quickly down to the waiting room. The guy Andie had been talking about must have left already; there's no way Crim would leave anyone alone in his office. She walked quietly up to the door and opened it, and her eyes widened as she looked at a very irritated man who looked as fitted to his suit as it was fitted to him.

They stared at each other for a good ten seconds before she broke the silence.

"Who are you?"

[Bear Banthabrand]

The moment the receptionist appeared in his doorway, Mister Oleska took off like a Kowakian monkey-lizard with its tail on fire, and that put me on edge. Maybe they were in the early stages of a steamy office romance, and just couldn’t keep their fumbling paws off each other for five minutes, or maybe the next time I saw my fuzzy-faced social worker he’d be flanked by the men in white. The chair gave a groan as I turned to face the door; the briefcase was open, my hand felt cold Dallorian alloy. I considered myself a pragmatic pessimist.

It seemed to take forever, but the door crept open. My fingers twitched. The girl was a surprise, and maybe it showed, because she didn’t say anything to begin with. In the eternal silence, my overactive imagination conjured a laundry list of improbables, with a couple of probables thrown in for good measure. The most likely of reasons for her sudden appearance occurred to me only once I’d remembered where I was, and why I was there: this was a test. She spoke to me at last, and I checked over my shoulder for hidden recording devices. Whatever.

“My name’s Bear,” I found myself wondering just how much eye-contact I ought to make. Didn’t want to scare her off while I was still playing verbal footsie with Mister Oleska. “Are you Esther?”

[Esther Hadrana]

"Yes," she answered, studying him closer.

He seemed ill at ease, but something was keeping him sitting down, and Esther wasn't sure what it was. She didn't want to ask him that question, though. She asked the most pertinent question first.

"Is Bear your real name?"

[Bear Banthabrand]

"I sure hope so." The familiar question teased a flicker of a smile from me, "Otherwise I've been answerin' for someone else my whole life."

The case closed in my lap. If the kid laid eyes on a blaster, the whole deal was going to go south. She was smaller than I expected. Maybe 8? 9? They all look the same to me. But this one could even pass for a boy. I wrestled with the idea of standing up and going over to her, but then I remembered there was nothing nice about being approached by a big strange man, no matter what age you were. Instead, I leaned forward, drawing from my seat a long miserable groan.

"I don't suppose you know why I'm here, do you?"

[Esther Hadrana]

"Same reason as anyone else, I guess," she answered, giving him a unimpressed look. "To adopt one of us."

It was a dumb sort of question, but now that she was looking more closely, she could see he was on edge. He moved slowly, but with the sort of slowness that a cat showed when it found itself in a kennel with a bunch of sleeping hounds. The way he looked at her; the way he'd known her name before she'd said anything; the way he seemed to be preparing.

"You're here for me?"


***


"Hello," the woman said. Crim eyeballed the woman while still looking down at the tab with all the information displayed on it. "I hope I'm not inconveniencing you, but I'm here to see about a candidate for our school. The Merivel Wemming School for Girls."

"Yes," Crim answered slowly. The redhead smiled disarmingly. She was dressed nicely, in a flowing dress in muted colours with a cloak thrown over the outfit in Knight Blue, which was becoming more popular as the military order increased its fame and recognition.

"She's the granddaughter of a great man, a benefactor of ours, and we felt it would be remiss if we didn't help her to repay in some small way the good he did us. Her name is Hadrana. Esther Hadrana? We contacted you previously to schedule an appointment."

Crim glanced over at Havva, before looking back at the woman.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he said. "I'm in a meeting right now, but I'll be glad to speak with you after I'm done. This shouldn't take long. What's your name?"

"Elina Marmalek," the woman said, extending her hand for him to shake. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr Oleska."

[Bear Banthabrand]

"Can't get nothin' past you, huh?"

An amused grin rebelled against my sabacc face. She was just like any other bastard kid of the galaxy: sharp as a vibroblade, and completely rough around the edges. I eased back into the chair like I was ready for my stimcaf and slippers, and regarded her for a moment. Those narrowed eyes were reading everything, I could tell.

"So, what do ya say, Esther?" I gave the room a cursory glance, "Wanna trade up for an ocean of stars?"

[Rossos Atrapes]

"I must apologize," a voice cut in to the conversation. The social worker paled, but interestingly the woman remained calm and hadn't even reacted beyond a superficial curiosity. Imperial Knight Osian Durrel nodded politely at both the woman and the man, his hands held in a deceptively relaxed position at his sides, where his lightsaber hilt and blaster pistol were holstered securely. "But as she is currently a ward of the Empire, all other decisions in this child's case are secondary to the decision of the Empire."

He looked at the social worker, his tall and well built frame (a byproduct of the callisthenics and training of the Stormtrooper Corps and genetics) almost dwarfing the pudgy man and the slender woman.

"The Empire has need of her. Go collect her and bring her to me."

[Esther Hadrana]

Crim blinked and glanced back over at Havva, who shrugged in return. Okay, it was all him. All him.

"Y - yes, of course," he answered the Knight. "I'll get her things together and bring her right out to you."

"Be quick," the Knight said, and nodded once more at him.

Crim turned and walked back down the hallway, questions and fears bouncing around and building in him that he was afraid he'd burst open. Esther had been here for long enough that it seemed like she would be a long term ward of the state, and now a shifty off worlder, a woman with eyes that didn't belong to a teacher, and an Imperial Knight were asking for her on the same day. At the same time. What was Esther a part of? But more importantly, Crim wasn't sure he wanted to turn her over to any of them. He was a loyal citizen of the Empire, but why send an Imperial Knight to pick up a child? What was happening?

He shut the doors to the lobby and foyer behind him and walked slowly back to his office, thinking deeply about what was best for a little girl, and how in the galaxy he could give her that with things turning out like this.


***


"It's not so bad here," Esther replied. "There's food. Activities. We get to go to museums and parks and fairs. I have a bed. There's always someone new to talk to, and it's sad that sometimes a friends gets a home but it's not really. Just for me."

She stopped. Bear was looking at her again, a mix of indecipherable emotions in his eyes while his face remained relaxed. But there was, she felt, understanding there. Everything she'd said before was true, but they were also excuses.

"You want me to come live with you?" she asked finally. He didn't look like the usual people who came looking to adopt; and while it was partially his clothing, it was mainly his look. His hands were large and his nails weren't smooth; his fingers were calloused and his hair and face were trimmed like he took the same razor to both. Not at all like the usual people who came to smile and look at the children and decide who they wanted to raise.

[Bear Banthabrand]

"Sure."

Esther's words were daggers, and my answer issued forth like blood from a wound. I couldn't afford to be seen dragging my feet over such a big decision. And it was easy to sound like I meant it, even when I didn't. I sucked it up: jobs came in all shapes and sizes, and the man who liked his job was a masochist.

"You don't want to stay in this place forever." Our surroundings were dismissed with a flicker of disdain, "It's time you started living your own life."

[Esther Hadrana]

"Why me?" she asked, looking at him intently. She knew already she wanted to go with him.

"Esther!" Crim burst down the hall and whisper-shouted her name before grabbing her arm and pulling her into the office. "Esther, what in the galaxy is going on?"

He palmed the door controls and locked them.

"Crim," Esther gasped. "Ow! Stop it!"

"Esther," the social worker started, but stopped when he saw Bear. He addressed the other man, now.

"What in the hell is going on?"

Bear's face turned a mix of confused and irritated. Crim spoke through it.

"There's an Imperial Knight right out there telling me he wants Esther. And a woman I sincerely doubt is a teacher at an elite boarding school too. Now, who the hell are you really, and what the fuck is going on!​"

[Bear Banthabrand]

"Esther, you're a popular girl."

The words trickled like hot molasses from my mouth, sweetened with a pinch of amusement, and even less surprise. I considered the girl across from me like she was my last piece on a dejarik board, held her gaze, weighed her up. Fear passed like a shadow over her face, but I didn't have time for that. The other players had revealed their hands. Now, it was my turn. And I'd just found out I was playing dejarik at the sabacc table. With just a shift in my seat, I became all business.

“My employer has a keen interest in seeing Esther delivered safely from the likes of your Imperial Knight, out there. Suspicious teachers, too."

So, this was what it felt like, when a well-laid plan fell apart in your hands. A plan. Don't suppose turning up at an orphanage in a Devaronian's gambling suit, with a blaster, and a fancy briefcase counted much for strategy. Best leave that to the big-thinkers. Me? I'm just big.

“I can’t promise you I’ll be a good daddy.” I stood up, “But, for as long as the girl is with me, no harm will come to her. Can you say the same for the scary folks outside?”

There was no weapon in my hand. Instead, I played a different hand. Esther's social worker was the kind of jittery that got people made, but, even in his fractured state of mind, he could surely appreciate the difference between a man who pulled a blaster in an orphanage, and a man who didn't. But, then, common sense was an endangered currency, these days.

“Mr. Oleska, I don’t envy your position. Believe me. Esther is leaving this place, one way or another. I suggest you say your farewells.”

A glance to the girl.

"Sorry, kid."

[Esther Hadrana]

"As a matter of fact, I can!" Crim hissed back. "As long as that Knight wants Esther alive, at least!"

Esther stepped back from them.

"But that's the problem, isn't it? I don't know what any of you want with her. Or why."

"I'm right here!" Esther snapped. "What's going on? Crim?"

"You have two minutes, Mister Oleska," a voice echoed from the P.A. system. The room went silent.

"I don't know what to do," Crim said, looking at Esther in apology. "I'm sorry, Esther. I don't know what to do."

Esther smiled at the man.

"It's fine, Crim. If I had to choose, I'd go with you."

Crim knelt down to give her a hug, and after only a moment, stood up and looked at Bear.

"I know you," Crim said, looking Bear over. "I swear on my life that if something, anything, happens to her..."

He paused.

"You'll regret it. Stun me. Go out the back."

[Bear Banthabrand]

If facing the wrath of a social worker was all that was in store for me, then I was a lucky man. Fate had never been so kind. Oleska's threat fell like a raindrop into my ocean of worries. He made a good show of it: holding eye contact, squaring up like the shockboxers on holonet, but he wore those words like a kid with a couple of tuber shooters. It wasn't his fault. The galaxy was a cruel place that made morsels of good men like Crim Oleska. Still, I kinda liked him for trying.

"Hmph." It was the sound of approval. Once his fever of anxiety broke, Mr. Oleska started making a whole lot of sense. He knew how to save his own neck, at least. My eyebrows climbed in an approximation of his request, "Stun you, huh? Stun you. Well, I left my blaster in my briefcase..."

I turned to reclaim my effects, and sprung back, like a rickety gate on shiny new hinges. My right hook connected, rattling Oleska's jaw, making a Hutt's ass of his face. I followed through with the left, not to strike, but to catch. And, as I settled him down, I spared a thought for the kid. I didn't need to check how she felt: her feelings were as thick and stifling as dioxis clouds.

"My blaster has no stun setting."

That was all the explanation she was getting. And, once I was sure Mr. Oleska wasn't about to choke on his own tongue, I stood, grabbed my case, and paused at the door. It slid open a crack. The corridor was empty.

"Okay, kid. Follow me, don't scream, and do what I say." I afforded her a glance over my shoulder, "Ready?"

[Esther Hadrana]

Esther didn't answer, choking back a sob as she looked at the slowly darkening bruise on Crim's face. She turned a glare to the man, who weathered it with the calm aplomb of someone who didn't really care.

Still mostly silent, she stormed up to the door and opened it completely, before tearing off into a run down the hall and away from that man​.