Chapter 2

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(Lah'Mu)

"Abala we've searched far and wide," Xart, their neighbor, protested. "The others are tired and freezing. We can continue our search tomorrow."

"No!" Abala said with a furious stare which scared Keira. She had never seen her mother that upset before. It was all her fault and she knew it. The guilt had been eating her alive, but she couldn't bring herself to tell the truth as it would probably hurt her mother even more. For now, she would remain quiet. "I need to find her," Abala continued, her voice cracking. But she was tired as well, barely being able to stand on her feet anymore.

"I promise we'll come back. All of us will but we need to rest. If you push yourself harder, you'll end up harming yourself."

"Fine," she said through gritted teeth. As Xart went off to tell the villagers to go home Abala turned to Keira. "We'll find her. I promise."

That night her mother's sobbing was louder than ever before and combined with Keira's guilt which only became more and more burdening made it so that Keira was unable to sleep. She still felt the same pain only now it wasn't as prominent. The memories of her pushing her sister in response to being pushed flashed in her head followed by memories of how she helplessly watched her fall into the water below appeared whenever she closed her eyes and when she opened them, she swore that she saw the same blue streaks of light from the cave on the wall of her room for a moment.

The next morning her mother was making breakfast when all of the sudden the walls began shaking wildly and a ship could be heard approaching. Abala walked out the door just as the ship flew over the house. The ship resembled those in the Republic Starfleet with a white body and streaks of red paint. The ship landed on the outskirts of the village. Abala kept standing on the front porch waiting for anybody to start approaching the village which eventually happened. A man dressed in a dark brown cowl with a hood over his head walked right towards her.

Abala felt fear and slight hope. She hoped that the person somehow found her daughter and brought her back or knew where she was but she feared that it wasn't so.

"Abala Galician?" From how close the man was now she could see almost the entirety of his face clearly. An older human with a long dark beard and green eyes stood before her.

"Yes?" she managed to get out after a few moments.

"I am Jedi Master Wens Aleusis," he said, bowing slightly. "I'm here to talk about your daughters." Abala knew of the Jedi, being a person that was born on Shili and grew up there she heard the stories and even saw some Jedi, so she braced herself for the inevitable.

Myria found herself in a vast and open space with sand on the ground. The world didn't seem to ever end as the only thing she could see in the distance was darkness. She was standing there all alone with no pain and no bandages on her leg.

"Hello," she said, her voice echoing through the emptiness.

"You are a failure," a deep voice off in the distance said. Myria gasped and turned to where she thought the voice was coming from, but nothing was there. Then the sound of a whip followed by screams came from behind her again but when she turned there was nothing there as well.

"You will be forgotten."

"Your death will be the greatest gift to this galaxy, you monster."

"We'll find her. I promise"

"Mercy! Mercy!"

"You dare betray me!?"

There were more and more voices coming out of nowhere, overwhelming her. She kept aimlessly turning on her heels trying to see anything but still, all that remained was the sand and darkness until another whiplash turned everything into darkness.

Myria shot up and hit her head on the top of the low cage. It was all a bad dream. She was still in the dark and cold cargo hold of a ship going who knew where. She couldn't exactly say it was any better than the nightmare but at least she wasn't as afraid. What she hated the most about waking up was the pain in her leg which had lessened to an extent, but it still hurt.

The door to the cargo hold opened. A short dark girl carrying a tray in her hands entered the room and turned on the lights. She didn't look much older than Keira. She walked up to the cage and put the tray of food on the floor. Her expression matched one of remorse and sadness. It seemed like she wanted to say something but instead decided to remain quiet and leave the room.

Myria's gaze followed her until she exited the room, turning her attention to the tray of food after. A piece of bread and a glass filled with some weird orange liquid was all there was on it. She turned around and cautiously dragged herself towards the tray. She didn't even know she was hungry until her sharp teeth sank into the hard crust of the bread which had to be over a few weeks old. After taking a few bites she began drinking the orange liquid which turned out to be carbonated orange juice. Myria wasn't particularly a fan of carbonated drinks but she gladly consumed the sweet orange liquid which did wonders for her dry throat.

She was enjoying the humble meal so much she didn't even notice that somebody entered the room again. This time it was the Weequay that found her and with him was a well-built human with a crooked nose and short dark hair. They were searching the shelves.

"Have you seen the new arrival yet?" the Weequay asked as he took one of the big metal boxes off the top shelf.

"No," the man answered.

The Weequay put the box on the ground. "Well, then you should take a look at her."

"Fine," he answered with a sigh. They turned their attention away from the shelves and headed into Myria's direction.

The man's look of boredom instantly transformed into a look of slight shock and intrigue upon seeing Myria.

"What? Have you never seen a Togruta before?" the Weequay laughed.

"I've seen them, but this one looks familiar," he said, turning his attention to Myria. "Is your name Myria by any chance?"

Abala collapsed into one of the chairs on the porch. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. First, the Jedi came to her house and asked her if he could take her daughters to Coruscant to train them as Jedi. She never knew her children were force-sensitive as they never gave any sign of it but the Jedi told her that they had sent somebody here a few years ago and he managed to sense that they were sensitive to the Force.

But that wasn't what made her collapse into the chair. After the Jedi explained everything, he told her to go to his ship and tell him her decision when she made it. Then Xart came around and gave her the sad news that they found a pool of blood on the river bank and followed its trail to a nearby dock where they found a trail that led through the grasslands to a large are of stomped grass where there appeared to be a camp and a ship.

The front door to the house opened. "Mom?"

"Sweetie we need to talk," Abala said, blankly staring towards the Jedi ship which was parked amidst the familiar fields of grass. She couldn't and wouldn't waste her daughter's talent. She couldn't bring herself to do the selfish thing of keeping her daughter at home when the life of a potential hero awaited her. She taught Keira and Myria for their entire lives not to be selfish and she wasn't going to go against her own teachings. And if it turned out that Myria was… No. She shook that thought out of her head immediately. "I'll find her," she told herself. "And then I'll bring her to Coruscant myself if I have to."

"I don't know you," Myria answered.

"I knew your father," the man said. The emotions on his face showed that he cared about him. "We were in the army together. I was there when he fell." He took a few moments to compose himself. "He was a good man and he loved his family. Always spoke of his daughters and showed us the pictures his wife had sent. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." A tear ran down her cheek. She might've never seen her father but from what everyone was telling her he was a good man. This was all still confusing to her, being locked in a cage but she put it aside for a moment.

"I can't believe we're doing this to her," the Weequay said shaking his head in disapproval.

The man stood up to face and focused his attention on the Weequay. "I know, but we both know what'll happen if we try to say anything against it."

"Still doesn't mean it's the right thing to do," the Weequay argued.

"Yeah," the man agreed. He sighed and crouched back down. "Be strong little girl. For your father." Then they left the room.

"But I don't want to leave." Keira had been begging her mother for the past hour. She had told her that she was giving her to the man who would make her into a Jedi. It took a lot of explaining but even then, Keira wanted to stay home. The guilt of pushing her sister to her possible death was too much for her and she needed to be the one who found her. That was the only way she could ever forgive herself, but she expected that getting her sister's forgiveness would be harder.

"Keira please do this. You'll never get an opportunity like this again," her mother pleaded. Keira knew she only wanted the best for her children, but she still wasn't completely convinced.

"But we need to find Myria. Then we can go together." Even though most of the time she toyed with her sister she still loved her and could never imagine living without her. Sure, they had their differences but annoying each other was a thing all siblings did.

"No, I'll find her myself." It was the first time in her life that her mother raised her voice at her. Even when she and Myria sometimes did bad things, even breaking a window one time, Abala never seemed annoyed or angry, but instead used the circumstances to teach them about life and such. "Because if I don't…" Those words stung both of them hard but Abala knew she had to say them. "I need to be sure that at least you lead a good life," she said after a break.

Seeing her mother tear up again broke her. "Ok Mom," Keira said. "I'll do it for you and Myria. I'll try my best."

"I know you will," her mother said with newfound enthusiasm. "I'll do everything it takes to find your sister," Abala promised her.

"I love you mom." And with that Keira was already hugging Abala before she could react. She gladly returned her daughter's embrace.

"I love you too sweetie." She then pulled Keira out of the hug gently, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Just remember no matter what happens I'm proud of you for taking this step."

A few minutes later they approached the ship. It was still surreal to Keira that this might be the last time she gets to feel the Lah'Mu breeze and witness its vibrant green grasslands in years. After she had made her decision Abala again told her everything she knew about the Jedi and this time Keira listened carefully. She told herself she would make her family proud and she would stop at nothing to achieve it.

As they got close to the back of the ship the ramp extended slowly and the Jedi walked down it calmly. "Has she made a decision?" Keira felt a lot calmer and focused in his presence. Maybe that was a Jedi power but she could only guess.

"She said yes. What should she take with her?" Abala asked.

"I'm afraid that children are forbidden from bringing personal belongings to the temple. She will receive all the clothing and food and education she'll ever need I can assure you of that," Wens said with a dismissive wave of his arm. Abala gave her daughter one last smile and hug before she let her go.

The room shook violently as the ship appeared to land. All was silent for a few minutes until the now to her well known Weequay came into the room with his cyborg boss. They picked her up and carried the cage off the ship. As they began descending the ramp the sky of the planet, they were on came into view. It was yellow, the clouds being an even darker shape. She also observed the white pillars of smoke as they rose up from many large chimneys into the air.

The only thing she could say about the air was that it smelt like the inside of a bantha barn that somebody poured various chemicals in and hadn't cleaned in years. The strong stench made her head hurt slightly. The same looking high concrete and steel walls of the spaceport blocked the view of the outside. The two men loaded the cage on the cart along with various other boxes some of which Myria recognized to be the boxes the two men were fishing out of the river when they found her. She faintly remembered them saying that they were fishing out spice. She didn't know what it was and the unmarked tightly-closed boxes didn't emit a smell or anything that would give away what was inside them. A tarp was then thrown over the cargo preventing her from seeing where they were going. She didn't know where she landed but she was sure of one thing – it wasn't home.

The cart came to a sudden stop, rocking the boxes and her cage. She could hear the cyborg talking to something that instead of speaking, squealed and made other similar noises. Then the tarp uncovered the yellow sky and the boxes began being unloaded. A large humanoid pig-faced creature was revealed to her once it unloaded the large box that covered her cage. It looked at the cyborg angrily and squealed at him.

"Yes, she's part of the cargo. We're taking her to Javis," the cyborg said, appeasing the creature. It gave the cyborg a fist full of credits, picked up the box and carried it away.

"Come on Husk let's get her to Jarvis," he told the Weequay. They then pulled the cage towards them and began carrying it once they pulled it past the end of the cart.

Myria noticed that they were in a swamp with a few buildings that looked like warehouses. The two men carried her into one of them and gently dropped her on the ground. The room they were in was a scarcely furnished office. All there was, was a few chairs, a long desk and an old terminal.

"Husk get back to the speeder and tell the crew to get ready. I'll finish up here," the cyborg told him.

"Got it, boss," Husk said glancing at Myria one last time. He opened the door revealing another cyborg, although this one had less augments and a gray mustache. Husk made way for the man and then proceeded to leave and close the door.

"Brass," the man greeted heading for his desk.

"Javis."

"So, what has my favorite pirate brought me today?"

Myria couldn't believe it. She got captured by pirates. Their mother always told them how Lah'Mu was the safest planet in the outer rim.

"Something to go along with the spice," he said gesturing towards the cage.

Javis's happy expression faded a bit. "A child?"

"A couple of my guys found her with a broken leg," Brass told him.

"You know I don't take broken merchandise." Javis made it sound like Brass selling children was a common occurrence.

"Come on, she's a Togruta! You don't have many slaves like that from what I've seen and neither does the other Hutt."

"That is true," Javis said stroking his chin gently. "I'll take her," he said after a few quiet moments. "But at half price."

"Deal."

Myria's heart sank as she realized what had just transpired before her eyes. She had been sold into slavery. She couldn't help but cry as all hope of returning home left her.

"What have you managed to learn Aleusis?" a woman dressed in a robe similar to his asked, her hologram being the only thing alongside a dim light that illuminated the cockpit.

"There are more people there than we expected. Multiple villages not one. They don't have enough ships and ours are too far away to help them," Wens said.

"And the girls?"

"I only managed to find one. Her sister got lost and they're still searching for her," Wens reported. An earie silence fell on the small cockpit of the ship.

"It is a shame, but the Empire is too close now after Agamar fell for us to do anything. We can only hope that the Force will be with those poor souls." And with that, the hologram shut off. Anger went through Wens unlike any before. He was a Jedi Master, but he couldn't just not care about people being left to fend on their own against an enemy such as the Empire. He was even ordered not to warn the settlers. It all felt wrong to him, but it was war and he had to do what he had to do, so he pushed the anger aside and calmed down. He could rest easy knowing that he at least managed to get one of the girls out in time.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to help him calm down fully and recompose himself. He then opened his eyes and pulled back the lever, sending the ship into the wonderous blue tunnel of hyperspace.

And, that's the first arc of the story done. Hope you enjoyed it.

And if you have some time please leave a positive/negative review so I know your thoughts and what I could improve on.