"Why won't you love me!!" she screamed, then moaned "why won't you love me?"
"Why? I will tell you why…
Slaves are always whining and moaning on this damn ship, thought Crous as he passed the cargo hold, their lives are strait foreword and uncomplicated, just do what your told when told. What was so difficult in that?
As the human slaver past one of the cages a female twlick with her child, she reached out and grasped weakly at he trouser leg trying to get his attention.
"What is it slave?" he asked.
"Please," she rasped out in a husk of a voice, "My child, she needs food."
"Do I look as though I'm growing fat? So shut up, that goes for your brat too."
He walked away from them leaving her dejected and ashamed. Had she been more careful, she chided her self, we might not be in this fix, and little Maria would be home asleep in her bed. Which she realized was probably nothing more than a cider thanks to the pirates who had set their house ablaze. The young girl stirred and opened her sparkly blues eyes, gazing up at her mother.
"Go back to sleep my love," Elaina crooned softly to her, "go back to sleep."
As she closed her eyes she pulled her close to her to keep her precious daughter warm. She's all I have now, she thought.
Crous had finally reached the brig and sat at the nav stations putting his feet up on the dash. Five other men occupied the brig apart from him, the captain Brossr, the slave master Strev, the pilot Jaybce, a technician Yogdle, and a specially fitted battle droid for slave capture, standing at the captain's side, Grode.
"How are the slaves?" asked the captain.
"Usual moaning and groaning that we get, nothing my whip can't fix," said Strev, flexing his whip.
"We can't sell damaged good as easily to the Hutts, I want them in good condition, they like the t'wlick dancers," said Brossr, "are we still on course for Narshada?"
"Aye captain," said Jaybce, "We'll be there within the hour."
"Prepare all slaves for unloading."
"Mother, something is going on," Maria said her eyes snapping open, "I think we've arrived"
"How would you know such a thing?" asked Elaina.
"I saw the slavers talking in my dream about hutts and some planet," she murmured.
"We will know soon," said the mother tears coming to her eyes.
"Keep your eye out for the slave ship that's docking, it has one bounty on it I intend to collect."
"Yes, I got it boss, no slip ups this time," said Gyro.
As the man leaned back in his chair and put his cap over his eye and drifted off, the seven year old boy beside him continued his search of the incoming freighters, watching for the one. His eyes peeked out from a curtain of dark brown hair that fell across his face reaching his shoulders, he was garbed in his only set of clothes, a pair of faded slacks that were to big for him and a ripped up and stained shirt, and around his waist was a broad belt with a vibro blade thrust into it. His startlingly green eyes subtly changing color as the lights played their merry dance across them, as he found the ship.
"Boss, Boss!" he shouted, "found 'em"
"Good, where?"
"Over in docking port eleven."
Standing up the man's unkempt gray hair fell to his shoulders and his beard past that. He started toward the archway toward their prey, the boy at his heels. As they wended their way through the crowd he saw that the man they sought was not the one talking to the hutt's slave master but was a mangy man of about thirty.
"Over this way boy, and don't gawp at him, he might catch on."
"Got it boss."
He halted at a corner watching as the two men talked, waiting.
The mangy man re-enter the ship and the slave master walk a short distance to a bar, a common tradition for the receiver and the master of the ship to perform, a toast to future business.
As the Mangy man appeared again he was accompanied by a man of around fifty and they walked to the cantina.
"now we go in."
They walked resolutely up to the door and entered, these slavers not particularly interested in security thought Gyro, or are they?
They walked past cages of slaves some who reached out to them, but they slapped their hands away. Until one hand closed on Gyro's upper arm, what supprised him was it was blue, as was the woman looking out at him from the cage.
"Help me," she whispered, "please."
The man grabbed Gyro's other arm and yanked him away.
"We've no time to lose if we want to get this guy," he hissed into his ear.
"Right boss."
They moved up the passage, toward the bridge.
"Are you sure their on board?"
"Yes, I got it from the slave master himself," said the tradoshin, "She's definatily on there, why asks you?"
"What you don't know can't incriminate you or me," said the woman, " that'll be all."
With that she got up from the cantina table and walked out the door. She headed strait for a rusted old freighter and entered and crept along the passages looking for the two people she was charged with finding.
Then she sensed it, a sudden burst of emotion and blast of fear, she began to run to the ship brig. As she neared she slowed down and peeked around the corner. An old man lay dead on the floor a blaster bolt drilled through his head and a boy being throttled by a droid. Igniting her lightsaber she swept into the room and sliced the droid into pieces freeing the boy. She turned sensing another presence in the room; a man in the corner stood gaping at her as she strode across to him and said:
"Where is Elaina Secura?"
"They're all just slaves to me."
She cut his head off and left the brig. She stopped realizing the boy was following her. Turning she confronted him.
"What do you want?"
"To learn to do what you did."
"Why?"
"So I can defend my self."
She stared at this little boy.
"I will take you where they might teach you if you are proper for it."
"Fair enough, who are you looking for? I might be able to help."
"A t'wilick named Elaina Secura, I have been charged with finding her and her daughter."
"Oh, I know whom you speak of."
"Lead on then."
As he lead he down the winding paths of the ship she began to disengage the locks on the cages as she passed. When they reach Elaina's cage she sighed and looked up thankfully at the woman.
"Thank you, thank you for coming to get us old friend."
"Has Yonda Hasten ever let you down?" she said as she removed her hood revealing her nightmarish demeanor. Her Red glowing eyes and dark blue skin and blue-black hair made her look fearsome but beautiful.
"Now be free, I must get you home, your people feared of your death when you were captured and had me seek you out."
"I am so grateful you did, who is this boy, he came before you?" she said as she raised herself and her daughter out of the cage. How ever he did not answer for his attention had been captured by the young t'wilick girl climbing out of the cage, he stepped up to her and stuck out his hand.
"Hi, I'm Gyro."
"Hi," she answerd.
"let's go, we have very little time before they realize we're leaving so we need to leave now, come on this way." As they plunged on into the passage way they ran across several freed slave who soon joined them in the mad dash to freedom.
"My ship is on stand-by near here all we have to do is get there, then back to Dantooine."
"Not quite that easy I'm afraid" said the captain as he and his remaining men blocked the door, "see we stand to make a profit and you are in our way." He said as he gestured a blaster at her.
"We can do this where we all walk away or we walk away and you bleed on the durasteel, up to you," said Yonda.
"I think you will die."
As he fired the other three men opened fire on the slave with stunners and blasters. Yonda sprinted across the gap and sliced the captain in two and killed two others before the third fled. Gyro ran past her in an attempt to catch the man.
"No, let him go," said Yonda as she caught him.
"he's my bounty, I've got to catch him."
"No you don't come with me."
She led them away to a small freighter guarded by an edgy looking merc.
"Got everything?" he asked.
"Yeah, you can go."
Boarding the small vessel they found the engines primed and she sat down and began the launch sequence.
"Not so fast," said a voice right behind her. The man had come back and now pointed a blaster at Maria.
"I recommend you drop the blaster."
"No, and keeping watching, I think you might benefit watching her die," as he turned to shoot, Elaina moved between the two and he shot he through the chest.
"No!" screamed Gyro and Maria.
Making an inarticulate yell the boy jumped up and slashed the man across the throat with his vibrobalde.
Kneeling beside Elaina, Yonda looked into her friends fading eyes.
"I want her to be a jedi, yonda, promise me she will become one."
"I swear to you."
Hugging her daughter close, she let out a final breathe of air. The boy began writhing on the floor, his motions of a wounded animal. Reaching over she laid her hand on his forehead and his motions stilled.
"To dantooine we go then." She said.
"What!" yelled lord Secura, "she wanted her trained?"
"Yes, that was her dying wish, you wouldn't deny her that would you?" said Yonda.
Ah, cornering me in my own traditions, thought Lord Secura, my only granddaughter off to be a jedi at that damnable academy, and my own daughter using our clan's values to get this.
"I don't have a choice then do I?" he said.
"You don't, she does," said Yonda gesturing to Maria. She and Gyro sat on low chair at the big kitchen table with glasses of juice in front of them. Turning his back on the two, the lord bent his head.
"Grand daughter," he whispered, "what do you want to do? Stay here or go train as a jedi?"
His head tails twitched as he listened.
"Bumpa, I will go and train as mommy asked," she said in hollowed tones.
The boy reached over putting a comforting hand on hers. Yonda he could tell was watching the boy, trying to penetrate his hard exterior, catch a glimpse of his mind.
"Yonda, you and I will have words, in my chambers, leave them to their refreshments," he said.
As they took their leave Gyro noticed some alien presence in side his head trying to gain access to his thoughts, shutting it out of his mind he turned his attention back to the mourning girl.
He thought of how he had never know his parents, only the old man, who made him call him boss and sir, taking what ever credits they had manage to scrape and getting wasted in a local tavern. They hutt slime would just leave him in an alley and he'd have to watch for the bouncers to throw him onto the curb. Why would he do that to himself? Gyro had often wondered, what could come of it? Maybe this was it, he realized he would die soon and tried to drown his sorrows in the drink.
"You know you never told me your name?" he said. Shoot, I sound so inconsiderate.
"I'm Maria," she said in a dead monotone.
He grimaced, she wasn't really open to talking to him.
"You were lucky," he said, "You knew your parents, I lived in abandonment and isolation with a mean old guy who didn't give a rip for me."
She looked up at him, her eyes wide and wild glared at him, and his cool green ones stared back.
"Remember the good times and she'll always be with you, even at the worst of times," he murmured, Where did that come from? He wondered.
"What makes you think like that?"
His head snapped around to see the two adults watching him and Maria. Yonda marched over and leaned down to Maria.
"His advice is good, but guard your heart against the pain or learn to accept what you can not change."
She nodded in comprehension.
"Come, I shall take you to Yavin to train with Master Luke, he will gladly take you into his academy, as for you," she said as she turned to Gyro, "We still have to decide what to do with you."
"You said I could go and learn to do what you do!" He said.
"Yes I agreed, but other things must be decided, but I will take you to the academy."
"Your ship is ready, have a safe journey, and Maria, I will call for you when you turn sixteen," said Lord Secura.
"Then we shall take our leave," said Yonda.
Rising from their chairs the two followed the chiss woman out the door.
"In coming transmission Master Skywalker," said the techy.
"From who?"
"Jedi knight Yonda, and she has two possible new apprentices for the school."
"Tell her to set down on pad three."
"Yes master."