Caught

'Let go of me!' Mira shouted as she struggled against the strong hands holding her.

'We're not taking any chances this time,' rasped one of the guards. 'You're going straight to the boss.'

'My friends will come for me. You'll pay for this!'

The same guard chuckled. 'They all say that...'

A horrible stench caught Mira's attention as she was dragged through an open door. Once through one of the guards closed it. Mira swallowed hard when the door clicked. She knew it had just locked. She grinded her teeth together as she kept her mind focused. She was going to get out of here.

The tight grip around her arm worsened as she was led down a narrow corridor that didn't smell any better. Mira knew exactly what lay for her at the end but part of her had hoped that she was wrong, or dreaming, either one would have been quite good right now.

As the corridor ended it opened unto a large room. As Mira twisted her head around she could see several closed doors. She immediately wondered where they led to. At the end of the large room on a raised up platform sat the massive blob that was Vogga the Hutt.

Mira's eyes narrowed as she stared at him. She had hoped to not see him ever again. The guards moved her over to stand directly in front of him. Mira could tell he was awake and watching everything that went on before him.

'Ah, here is the red-headed human,' Vogga spoke, looking at Mira. 'So thin and naturally beautiful and ... pale. I've waited a long time to have you.'

'Oh, go kill yourself!' said Mira venomously.

'Everything in good time, my dear,' he spoke deeply. 'It has taken so long to find you and used much of my resources...'

'I'm not sorry to hear that,' said Mira breathily.

She grunted as one of the guards jabbed her in the back with a blaster. Vogga just laughed. 'You are much more spirited than my other slaves.'

Mira looked down at the female that lay in front of Vogga. She was a yellow Twi'lek. She gave Mira a subtle look. When Mira was able to, she forced herself to look back at the Hutt. 'I am no slave,' she hissed.

Vogga just laughed again, adding insult to injury. 'What do you really want?' she asked through gritted teeth.

'It's not a matter of what I want,' said Vogga. 'But I suppose in the mean time, you'll join my slaves.'

'I'll never be one of your playthings you slimy worm!' Mira shot back angrily.

Vogga merely chuckled yet again and signalled his guards. 'Bring her to me!' Mira struggled as two Weequay guards brought her forward and pushed her up onto Vogga's dais, close to Vogga himself. Mira looked away trying not to smell his horrible stench. The yellow Twi'lek stood behind them and turned Mira's head towards Vogga's who stared at her with lust-filled eyes. 'Oh, I beg to differ my little one.'

With that he ran his small hand up Mira's stomach causing her to moan and struggle more but the guards still held her tightly. He then pressed his large lips to her exposed skin and licked Mira from her chest to her neck leaving small lines of green drool over her. Over the next ten minutes Vogga had his way with her, groping and touching wherever he pleased. Mira could hardly believe he was doing this to her and getting away with it. When Vogga was finished playing with her body he spoke.

'Get her ready!'

The conversation was over and Mira yelled out profanities as the guards led her back down the large room and through one of the many doors that she had seen earlier as she walked in. The door swished open and Mira was shoved through. She stumbled forwards but managed to stay on her feet. She quickly turned on her heel and attempted to push her way through the two guards.

They quickly grabbed her once again, pulling her to the ground as she grunted and kicked. Once she was on her back a Weequay guard placed his knee onto her stomach, holding her in place. 'Get off me!' Mira screamed.

The guards ignored her but quickly covered her mouth with a hand. She then stilled for a moment and watched as one of them walked towards an open locker to retrieve something. As it was pulled out, Mira's eyes widened. She really was about to become a slave. Within seconds there were many hands on and around her body. They were taking her clothes off. Her yells were muffled as she attempted to get them off her. She quickly stopped when her air ran out.

Mira felt her face burn as her clothes were carelessly flung across the room. She gasped as the coldness of the floor touched her skin. She quickly realised that she was naked and being stared at. The guard that took something from the locker approached her.

He was holding a bikini-styled costume. Mira's eyes widened as they went to his face. A feral smile crossed his lips as he approached the rest of the way. Once she was dressed Mira felt a sharp pain in her neck before her body began to go limp. The world began to spin rapidly before her eyes until she had to close them. The darkness settled upon her quickly.

When Mira's eyes slowly opened she glanced around without moving. She couldn't see anything of interest. She groaned heavily as she rolled onto her side. The only sound that she could hear was the whirring around her. She knew she was on a ship right now but she couldn't tell where they were going. Mira got to her feet and walked the short distance to the door.

A small ringing sound hit her ears. She glanced behind her. There was a long metal chain following her. Mira reached up to her neck. She was wearing a collar and the chain was attached to it. Mira sighed as her fingers felt along the edge of the collar. It was black and made of thick leather. Mira knew it was going to be hard to remove it.

Mira suddenly remembered her humiliation and she looked down. She was wearing a slave's outfit. It consisted of a black brassiere fastened over the neck and behind the back with a string, a black thong panty with flowing lines of beads attached to the front and back of it and silver leather high-heeled boots to finish it off. Mira felt the same humiliation all over again. She didn't want to be caught dead in anything like this, ever.

As Mira felt the ship land and the engines shut off, the door to the room opened. The same Weequay guard, along with a brutal looking human walked in, both of them holding blasters. Mira looked between them then at the pistols, wondering if this was the best time to try and escape.

Each guard grabbed one on her arms and led her from the ship. Mira immediately realised that even if she did manage to escape there was little chance of actually leaving this planet. She recognised her location by the sight and smell of it. It was Nal Hutta, or as it was once known, Evocar.

It was a very large planet, originally a lush jungle world, although the Hutt's had since transformed it into a polluted and barren wasteland. Much of the surface was covered by flat, marshy bogs, stagnant, muddy puddles and patches of marsh grass inhabited by insects and spiders.

From what Mira could tell, they were on an island and they were heading straight towards a large and lavish palace. The colour of the stones matched its environment well. The closer they got to it the larger it looked. Mira wondered if this belonged to Vogga.

They walked up the stairs and very soon they entered the audience chamber. It was an extremely massive room. Expensive carpet lead up to the dais which was currently empty, Mira guessed that Vogga was yet to return home. The floors around it were made of gleaming stone which seemed to be kept highly polished. To the side, Mira could see a slither of an opening but whatever was inside could not be seen.

Mira complied as the guards let her to the side and down a dark, narrow corridor. They reached the end and the guards opened the door before shoving Mira inside. She glanced back and gave them a dirty look. She was a little annoyed at being shoved everywhere. When she turned back she instantly froze.

There were at least six women in the room, all of them currently staring at her. She instantly noticed that four of them were Twi'lek's, all of them different colours. The only other human in the room approached her. She was extremely beautiful. Her most striking feature was her platinum blonde hair that reached her hips. She was wearing a similar outfit, although instead of black, hers was silver.

'I'm Jade Lapaz,' she said in a friendly tone. 'You must be Vogga's newest slave?'

Mira nodded numbly. In all that happened, Mira had forgotten that there would probably be other slaves here. 'I'm Mira Lanith. Are ... you all slaves?'

Jade nodded. 'Yes,' she replied quickly. 'There are some rules you need to follow though if you want to stay alive.'

'Alright,' said Mira, uneasily.

'We slaves do look out for each other,' she started quietly. 'All of us have been here for a while and have learnt the rules the hard way...'

'Consider yourself lucky,' spoke the yellow Twi'lek bitterly.

'Kaida,' Jade warned quietly. She turned to look at back at Mira. 'Kaida was the first slave. She's been here for a while.'

'I suppose it would make anyone bitter,' Mira commented. She glanced at Kaida and received a dirty look. Mira looked back at Jade. 'You were saying.'

'Like I said, we look out for each other here,' Jade said quietly. 'The amount of food we receive depends on our behaviour and we share all of it equally. If you disrespect Vogga or do something wrong, don't expect any one of us to help as it could result in someone else getting into trouble or killed. Did you notice the small room to the side off the audience chamber?'

Mira nodded slowly. 'Yes. Why, what is it?'

'It's the anti-chamber,' said Jade. 'It's where we are sent to wait for death.'

'Does anyone come out of that room?'

'Only one person has ever come out,' Jade said as she looked to the corner.

Mira followed her sight and saw a young girl. She was cowering in the corner, hiding her face from everyone in the room. Mira guessed that she couldn't have been more than ten years old and from her appearance she looked to be half-Theelin. Her white skin was beyond pale and her bright purple hair was parted and wrapped into twintails, reaching beyond her hips.

'Who is she?' asked Mira, suddenly feeling a flood of emotion.

Jade sighed sadly. 'Her name's Diva Layilqua,' she replied. 'She claims to have no knowledge of her father but she was very close to her mother. It was one of the first times I had ever seen a full blood Theelin.'

'How did they come to be here?' Mira asked with a small frown.

'She and her mother were travelling near Nar Shaddaa and their ship malfunctioned,' Jade explained. 'They landed in the Refugee Section and decided to stay until the ship could be fixed. But within mere days they were both captured. Some of Vogga's men had seen her mother and told the boss. He insisted on having her. Theelin's aren't really rare but they're hardly seen out in the open. I'm sure he originally was going to sell her to someone else but changed his mind. He brought them here and the mother was killed only a few weeks ago. Layilqua had been sent with her but something changed. We're still not sure what it was.'

Mira nodded slowly. The pity she felt for Layilqua was heavy but she pushed it aside. She swallowed hard and looked around at everyone else. 'So, who are you all?'

'I'm Rylla Saran,' said the green Twi'lek. She then pointed to the pale purple Twi'lek and then the blue one. 'My sister, Rhynna Riou and the other is Aria Raeth.'

Mira looked between all the Twi'lek's. Despite being different colours they all looked similar in appearance. Mira had always found their head tails to be a little off-putting. It made her wonder why every male seemed to find them attractive. All of their outfits matched each other's although they were different colours to match their unique skin colours. Mira noticed that their outfits were also different in style. All the Twi'lek's wore g-string panties, a large fishnet-like dress and all of them were barefoot. Mira instantly wondered how they kept warm at all wearing that.

Mira's eyes moved when someone else came into sight. It was a female Zabrak. 'I'm Risa Tanik,' she said softly. Mira nodded at her words. The Zabrak was quite pretty. She had short brown hair that was tied back and her facial tattoos were dark and done in black ink. Mira thought that it and the short horns on her head framed her delicate face nicely. Her outfit was similar to Mira's although it was brass and had red veils instead of beads.

'It's nice to meet you all,' said Mira in an almost fearful tone. For some reason, Mira suddenly felt taken aback by everything that had happened so far. Just a few days ago she had been hunting some Duros scum on Dantooine. The bounty on his head had been higher than normal and now Mira was stuck in this place and there was no telling how long she would be here. After learning about Kaida, she could guess that it would be for a long while.

Mira sighed out loud in frustration and walking to the corner opposite of the one Layilqua was sitting in and she slid down the wall and sat down on the cold floor. She shifted her outfit to see if she could get a little warmer. She wrapped her arms around herself and let her thoughts wonder. They went to her friends. She immediately questioned whether they would every find her. Why would anyone think she was here unless they found some sort of evidence?

The next day Mira hissed through her teeth at her rough treatment. She was being led towards the audience chamber. Once there she immediately saw Vogga there, sitting upon his raised platform but he definitely wasn't alone. The audience chamber was lined with people and a band in the corner. Mira immediately saw Jade and Layilqua there, singing softly. It was then that Mira noticed Layilqua's outfit. It was different to all the other slaves. It was more of a swimsuit from Spyra. It was a green two piece with sparkling patches of gold, silver and blue and it glittered brightly under the lights. It also had a long blue cape-like sash hanging from her bikini's shoulder strap with small sashes going and connecting to Layilqua's arm bracelets and to the rings of her bottom at the ships. She also wore dancing shoes and black stockings that went all the way to her mid-thighs.

Mira was deeply appalled that anyone, even a Hutt, would force a child to wear such revealing and suggestive clothing; especially given the lust-filled looks some of the audience were giving her and Jade.

Mira's eyes widened slowly as she realised that many of the people here were bounty hunters, like herself and some seemed to just be others that lived here or on Nar Shaddaa. Mira suspected that Vogga's party tonight had a purpose. Mira gasped again and she was dragged to the very centre of the room. She looked Vogga over. His wide eyes watched her greedily.

'It is now time for you to dance,' he announced.

Mira scoffed. 'I don't think so,' she hissed viciously. 'There's no way in hell I'm going to dance for you, you overgrown slug.'

Several people around them gasped but Mira ignored it as her eyes narrowed at Vogga. She had expected him to retaliate and punish her but he just laughed, his great big belly jiggling along with it. Mira's face contorted into disgust.

'I had expected a bounty hunter to adapt to her new surroundings, to be grateful for still breathing.'

'I'd rather stop,' said Mira calmly.

'No one is stopping you,' said Vogga, lifting his short, chubby arms. He chuckled again when he was met with nothing but silence. Mira bit her tongue bitterly. He was right. If she would rather have died then she would have already done it herself.

Mira's head turned as she noticed that the band had stopped and the girls were no longer singing. 'You have a choice...' Vogga started. 'Either obey or be punished.'

Mira looked down at the floor before up at Vogga again. She shrugged indifferently. 'Then punish me,' she said firmly.

Again, silence filled the room and Mira felt as though she could almost hear Vogga's mind ticking over, thinking about what to do with her. Before long, an evil smile crossed his large face.

'I've changed my mind,' he said slowly. 'If you do not dance then little Layilqua... shall be punished. Could you live with the guilt of killing a child?'

Mira heard a shrill cry fill the room as the child was brought to the middle of the room by a couple of guards. Mira looked towards her. She could clearly see the fear etched in her face. Her pale purple/grey eyes were quickly obscured by the tears filling her eyes. They quickly spilled over and fell down her cheeks.

'Please,' she mouthed to Mira as the guards took off her sash and top, exposing her pale chest and back. One of the guards was holding a small whip firmly in his hand.

Mira quickly looked way, the feeling of guilt already making its presence known. She didn't want anyone, especially a child, to suffer because of her. That wouldn't be fair. Mira hung her head and licked her lips lightly. She looked up at Vogga again.

'I won't do it,' she said almost inaudibly.

Several more gasps filled the room and Layilqua cried out as she was pushed to the ground. Her eyes were still focused on Mira but Mira couldn't look back. The pain in her chest tightened as a cracking sound echoed the room. Within seconds the sound echoed again but it was against flesh, not the ground.

Mira felt her own tears come to her eyes and as the second whip followed, a tear fell. Mira quickly wiped it away. When the third crack sounded Mira looked at Vogga.

'Stop!' she shouted in desperation. 'I'll do it just ... just stop hurting her.'

Layilqua sobbed as she was dragged away from the audience chamber. The music started up again, filling the room and so did Jade's voice. Mira slowly began to move her body in time to the music. Once she was in rhythm she just let it all happen. She knew that despite her feelings, she was stuck here and the only way off was going to be if her friends found her, which could take a while.

Mira watched Vogga a few times and each time her humiliation went higher and higher and right now she would give anything for a blaster or any kind of weapon.

When the night finally ended Mira was dragged back to the slave quarters. She instantly saw Layilqua cowering in her corner, her costume complete once more, hiding her face but she was shaking. Mira guessed she was still crying.

'You bloody Skug!' Kaida shouted, storming towards Mira. 'You let her suffer for your own selfish reasons!'

'I'm sorry,' Mira mumbled.

'Look, calm down, this isn't going to help anyone. What's done is done,' said Jade quickly. 'I did tell you about the rules. Almost immediately someone gets hurt because of you. I know it's humiliating but if you do as you're told you won't get hurt.'

Mira walked away from the angry stares and hisses and went to the corner she had been in previously. Before long everyone in the room had settled and gone to sleep except for Mira and Layilqua. Mira looked over at her. She was still shaking and now only a sniffling noise could be heard. Mira's guilt worsened.

Slowly, she got to her feet and moved over to where Layilqua sat. She noiselessly sat down beside her and lowered her head to speak, so as not to disturb anyone else.

'Layilqua, I'm sorry,' she whispered sincerely.

The child didn't move but Mira decided to continue. The girl could hear her. 'I arrived last night, but you know that. I was captured. I had managed to elude capture from Vogga's men for so long but I guess my luck ran out,' she said quietly. 'Part of me had hoped to leave here, escape somehow but seeing the other slaves and you, I'm guessing I'm going to be here for a while.'

'I didn't mean for you to get hurt,' she continued. 'Sometimes my pride gets the better of me. It's not the first time it's happened. If my friends come here and find me, I promise I will get you and the other slaves out of here.'

Mira bent her legs and stretched her arms over them, clasping her hands together, sighing softly. Layilqua shifted slowly and lifted her head. 'How would they find us?'

Mira jumped slightly. Layilqua had spoken. Green eyes met pale purple ones. Mira shrugged lightly. 'Well, one person I travelled with was a Jedi,' said Mira with a slight scoff. 'And she's stubborn, like me. I don't think she'd just give up.'

'A Jedi...' Layilqua whispered.

'Does that mean something to you?' asked Mira quietly.

She shrugged slowly, unsure of whether to say more. 'My mother used to talk about one Jedi before she died. She used to think he would rescue us from here but I believe him to be dead. I'm sure he would have come for us otherwise.'

Mira wondered if there was a connection. 'Was he your father?'

Layilqua shrugged again. 'I don't know,' she said quietly. 'I've never known my father but I like to think he is. I can see things, sometimes before they even happen. I like to think I'm special in some way.'

'Everyone is,' said Mira softly. Mira privately thought to herself for a moment. "She could be force-sensitive. Some Jedi that have children can pass on their talent and abilities. She could be hearing and feeling the Force."

Layilqua looked up at Mira and regarded her for a moment before shifting from her position. Mira placed an arm around her as Layilqua settled close to her. 'I would like your Jedi friend to come here.'

'So would I,' Mira whispered as she gently stoked Layilqua's soft hair. "She's so much like I was once, a long time ago," Mira thought. "I guess I'm not really alone here, even in this situation"

Despite not having anything covering their scantily clad bodies they didn't seem to take much notice of the coldness that filled the small room. It didn't take Layilqua long to fall asleep and for some reason Mira felt all of her fears and worries leave and a feeling of peace take its place.

A/N: Story was a request for someone. Theelin character was their idea, except for the name and I made up Mira's surname also. And the description of the palace was borrowed from Jiliac's 'Winter Palace' on Nal Hutta. Besides the owned characters all other's belong to me. Thanks for reading. Please Review.