CHAPTER 23
UNKILLABLE

AN enormous wave of anger grew in the pit of Raena's stomach. Her knuckles were – most likely – bleeding, but she continued to hit them against the punching bag in front of her. The training center on the Resistance vessel, Raddus, was different to the one on Starkiller Base, and for that she was grateful. She didn't really want to be reminded of her years with the First Order, but truthfully, it was the only thing ever on her mind. She liked this ship better than their base on D'Qar.

Immortality had its perks. For instance, Raena didn't have to worry about being the last of the Nhagy bounty hunter family. She couldn't die – thanks to General Hux – so why should she have to worry about anything ever again? Well, just because she couldn't die, didn't mean that it wouldn't hurt to be stabbed again. That was a feeling that she would never forget.

On the contrary, immortality made Raena more confident, and not in the good way. The skillful assassin was already cocky as it was, but immortality did something to a person. She was angrier now; careful to not trust quickly. She valued the art of friendship and wanted to talk to others within the Resistance, but she wouldn't be so trustworthy. Raena held more grudges now, and frequently reminded herself of every bad thing that was done to her to bring her to this point. She wanted to make them all pay, and soon enough, her biggest enemy would.

A sweat coated her forehead, and she quickly wiped it away for a moment. She looked around at the few others in the training room. They were at the other end of the room, and they refused to talk to her. Raena got that vibe from most people on the Raddus, except for her colleagues, Poe Dameron and General Organa. But she couldn't really blame them. Raena had done some pretty shitty things, nor was she done with them. She wanted her grudges to be fulfilled, but only for the right reasons.

Raena took a long swig from her water bottle. She downed the whole thing in less than a minute. Deciding that she was done for the day, she walked towards the exit of the training room. She smiled towards the other Resistance members, but they made no moves.

As Raena walked the halls of the bustling Resistance base, she couldn't help but feel like an outsider. These were all good people, doing good things, and while Raena wanted to believe she was one of them, she knew she truly wasn't. She wasn't anything, actually. She didn't join the Resistance to be part of the greater good; she joined to extract revenge on the man who killed her. While she didn't listen to Supreme Leader Snoke's words very often, she knew he chose her to work with them for a reason; he knew who she really was on the inside. Raena Nhagy wasn't a good person. She never would be, but she would try her hardest to now do what she thought was right.

The Raddus, again, was nothing like Starkiller Base. The ship didn't have certain sections for people in higher ranking. Everyone was mixed together, with the exception of Leia Organa. Raena was given a personal room in the back of the ship, centered between male pilot and a female technician. Neither of them talked to her. It was times like these that she actually missed Gerardo.

Raena unlocked her chambers by placing her hand on a touch screen, allowing the door to slide open within a second of her blinking. She grabbed a fresh set of clothes and headed to the communal bathrooms, where, thankfully, someone was just leaving. The bathrooms were completely empty, for the time being that is. Raena quickly stripped down to her bare form and shut the door to her shower, turning on the machine before her.

Hot, steaming water cascaded down on her head, washing away the sweat that still lingered. Raena scrubbed soap into her hair and closed her eyes. She enjoyed the feeling of warm water blanketing her. She was truly at peace in her mind and life. It almost felt like there was no war going on. She had no grudges. She didn't even have a title. It was just Raena, covered by warmth in a peaceful world.

Her mind shifted suddenly. The peace had subsided, and it was replaced with an image of night. Specifically, one of three nights. A mere moment spent in the shower with the Commander of the First Order. She felt his fingers prodding her skin again. She felt goose bumps overcome her. She felt his long, black curls in her hands once again. She felt –

Raena opened her eyes, smacking the shower head off. Her hand hurt from impact, but she kept it there, on the wall, for balance. She swallowed down a lump in her throat, allowing drops of water to fall down her face. Her breathing wasn't normal; it was heavy. She couldn't catch it, causing her to place a hand on her chest. Raena was leaning against the tiled wall, then sliding down it, her whole body falling to the floor.

She was so tired. She was so drained. But this – oh, this – was only the beginning of a great journey ahead.

•••

Raena had the habit of sitting alone during meal functions, not that she cared anyways. She was used to sitting alone; being alone, and she had no problem with it. She liked being alone. It gave her time to think. She could be completely immersed in her thoughts. It allowed her to rest her body and brain. There was nothing better for Raena than being alone, except the feeling of warm arms around her.

She sucked down the energy-infused coffee by her tray before digging into the congealed, rubber jello in front of her. Her spoon scooped a mouthful of the dessert and she ate it. Raena felt comfortable with the light hum of discussion around her – just not at her – when she then heard a chair screech against the floor near her.

Raena looked up to see a girl, not much older than herself, sitting at the other end of her table. The dining hall seemed less loud then, and some seemed to be staring at the brunette taking a seat at the former-assassin's table. Raena sent a smile her way, for she recognized the girl as the technician who lived right next to her chambers. But the girl turned away.

Raena sat back in her seat, pouting her lip out sadly. She played with her spoon in her dessert. The hall had resumed its former volume, a ringing of laughter filled the air for a brief moment. Raena looked back at the girl, trying her hardest to remember her name tag that was screwed on the door of her room. Indascha? Inliria? No, Indira. That was it.

The assassin bit the inside of her cheek as she carefully turned to look at Indira, who tried her best to ignore the blonde. The technician had her eyes fixated on the food in front of her, and only the food. But the tension across the table was unbearable, and she couldn't stop herself from meeting Raena's eyes. "What?" She snapped.

"Do we live near each other?" Raena asked, tilting her head to the side.

Indira didn't answer, and instead chose to ignore Raena again. She took a long sip of the water in front of her as she felt her hands get clammy. Raena was not giving up so easily, and Indira realized this when she noticed the assassin was moving down the table to sit in front of her. Indira sighed loudly.

"I think we do live near each other," Raena smirked proudly. She rested her chin on her hands, propping her head up to stare at the technician. "You're Indira Beren, right?"

Indira, still, didn't feel like replying.

Raena's eyes flickered away for a moment, and then she propped her hand out. "I'm Raena Nhagy –"

"I know," Indira finally said. "All of us know who you are."

Raena slowly retracted her hand. She sighed and bit the edge of her tongue. She didn't need some technician to like her; she didn't need anyone to like her, but Raena was determined to be a better person. Befriending Poe Dameron's favorite tech would help that – plus, she liked Indira's spunk.

"Listen," Raena muttered, laying her hands on the table, "I know none of you like me. Trust me, I get it. But I'm really trying here. I know I've made some mistakes."

Indira's eyes met hers then, and they blazed with a fiery dark hue. "Some mistakes? You killed people for the First Order for years. You were under the command of Supreme Leader Snoke. You were part of the killing of Han Solo, and I saw that with my own eyes. There's no trying. You're a bad person."

Raena huffed out a heavy sigh. She leaned back in her chair and said something that the technician didn't expect: "You're right."

Indira blinked, dropping the fork in her hands with a clang.

"What you're saying is fair, but at least, here me out." Raena laced her hands together on the table. "My uncle always told me that our last name was important; that it had a legacy. The Nhagy family bounty hunters were known throughout the galaxy, and living up to that title was really difficult – not to sound pitiful. And I would be damned to allow myself be the family disappointment by letting the First Order to kill me over not telling a small bit of information I knew. I am the last of my family's name, and I did what I knew I needed to do to survive. I never had any sides. I just didn't want to die. Surely, you can understand that, Indira."

The technician was staring at the food on her plate, while also playing with the fork back in her right hand. After a moment, she replied, "Are you really, like ... unkillable?"

Raena frowned. "Yeah," she mumbled. "The general of the First Order gave me a vial of the reanimation serum, invented by Doctor Cornelius Evazan. I'm guessing he feared that Snoke or –" Raena paused and swallowed hard "– Commander Ren had a plan to kill me. He told me I was a ... valuable asset, and I supposed he gave me the serum because he knew the First Order needed me. He thought I would go back to them after their leader killed me. But, honestly, fuck that."

Indira laughed slightly, causing a smile to grow on Raena's face. The females' stares met, and both had joy dancing in their eyes. For once, Raena saw understanding in a Resistance member's eyes. She hadn't seen that in anyone's, besides Poe and Leia's.

"You know, I get it now." Indira said, lifting a finger. "I guess you aren't that bad, Nhagy.

•••

A/N: So here we are again. Hope the 2 year wait for this wasn't too bad lol. I definitely wasn't expecting to continue this story, but the Last Jedi really spurred something in me, and I realized how much I missed this character. My writing has changed slightly, so editing will probably happen to Books I and II when I can, but it won't be anything major. Anyways, I'm rambling, sorry haha.

I'm still looking for a good bootleg for the movie, but a couple of these first chapters of Book III might not need the script. Although, updates for this, for right now, will be slow and sporadic!

Also, Indira Beren belongs to my fave, dazzIers!!!!!!! You knew we had to do it to them 🤙🏻