I managed to get this chapter done sooner. Enjoy!
The next thing she knew, Nya was waking up to the feeling of cold water splashed onto her face. She tried wiping eyes too see, but she winced as her arm ached when she moved it. All the memories came flooding back to her then, her idiotic decision, the chase, and when she took the shots for Poe. One had hit Nya in the right leg, and it throbbed painfully. The other two hit her right arm, one of them directly on the tracker band, breaking it. She used her left hand to wipe her eyes, and she focused on the scene around her. She could see metal bars that formed the tiny room she was in into a cell, and the shadow of someone in front of her.
She could barely make him out, but she recognized the man as Quin Xaan, the biggest slave dealer on Tatooine. A force to be reckoned with, Nya had only seen him a few times, but she knew exactly who he was and what he did. Anyone with a trouble making slave brought them to him, and he set them straight. He caught slaves, and even stole them from other owners. In short:
Quin was the reason Tatooine was avoided.
"Quin," She sputtered at him as she attempted to stand, "That's a terrible way to waste water." He stood in font of her, an arrogant smirk plastered across his face. When he spoke his voice was low, and heavily accented, "Feisty, aren't you?" His face was covered with various small scars, all of which Nya knew were made by "feisty" slaves. She would add to his collection if she had too.
She reached out with her left hand quickly, knocking Quin off balance. She stood herself up, breath shaky, and braced herself against the wall. Despite the pain, she limped to the corner of the cell, where she could stand more comfortably. Quin watched her, not saying anything. Instead he whipped out his blaster, standing up and walking over to her with it in hand. He leaned on the wall with one hand, making Nya feel uncomfortable in the small space between them, "Nya, the best mechanic on Tatooine, has been stealing parts! Can you make a worse decision?"
"Everything I'm thinking right now is a worse decision than that, Xaan." She clenched her fists by her sides and bit her lip, all to keep herself from cursing him out or spitting at him. She wanted so badly to wipe the smirk of his face, to kick him in between the legs, but she couldn't pick a fight, or it would be her last. Truth be told, she was terrified now. In the seconds before her robbery, her mind seemed to have registered she either got out of this alive or not. She was supposed to either get away with it or get shot on the spot, not hauled of to some slave dealer, especially one as low as Quinn. And now she would have to live the rest of her life with the overbearing guilt. That is, if she made it out of here alive. Quinn seemed to know what she was thinking, warning her cautiously, "Careful what you say, I don't want to kill you."
"I'm sure you can't say the same for others-" She fired back at him, and he kicked her leg out from underneath her. She skidded down the wall, and scratched up her back as she did. Quinn towered above her, before he knelt down once more. He warned her slowly again, this time nudging her arm with his blaster, "I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to-"
"Why? That Hutt could have killed me right there, so I don't see why you would like me any more." Quinn seemed annoyed at her defiance. He grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, pulling her to her feet forcefully, "Because," He whispered angrily through clenched teeth, "You're the only one on this whole damned planet that can build an entire engine from scratch in an hour." He let go of her and stepped back, "Can you imagine how much a dealer would pay for someone like that?"
"What-What about Zev?" She hadn't thought about him until that moment. Surely he would become angry when she didn't come back, even more so if he found out Quinn was holding her. Zev was a reasonably peaceful person, slave owner or not, and he preferred to stay out of conflicts. But Nya already knew that when he found out about her, he would drive to town immediately, looking for a fight. She was the reason why he was so successful. Without her, he'd be in ruins! At her question about him, Quinn merely smirked again, "That money loving bastard? Oh, we've taken care of him."
So, they killed him. They killed him and probably burned the whole shop to the ground, too. Which means all of Nya's things were gone. Now all she could do was hope that Poe didn't go back there, and that he was smart enough to look for somewhere else to stay. For all she new, Poe could be dead by now, and it would be her fault. Nya stood in the corner, the gravity of the situation finally setting in, sinking her heart all the way down to her stomach. She was Quinn's property.
By the time Nya had come back to reality, she saw that Quinn was already outside of her cell and halfway down the hall, "This isn't over!" He yelled back at her, and she knew he wasn't lying. And for once, Nya, her breath coming out in short gasps, didn't say anything. For once, she was quiet, alone, and scared out of her mind.
The next morning, Nya awoke to the sound of a key sliding into a lock. She didn't want to open her eyes, she was too tired and hurt to think much of anything. She felt as if she barely had gotten any sleep, when in reality, she had slept the whole evening and night soundly. Nya opened her eyes anyway to see Quinn standing above her already, his arms crossed. Great. Her stomach growled and begged for food, making Nya feel nauseous. The lack of water left her mouth as dry as the sand outside, and her voice was already cracking when she spoke, "Back for more?"
"Get up."
Nya moved slowly, trying not to hurt herself further. She stumbled to her feet, grasping at the bars nearby her to steady herself. Her head spun, and she nearly fell down again. Heart pounding, Nya leaned against the bars and closed her eyes. She wiped the sleep out of them with her left hand. Quinn was quiet, as he seemed to pack his patience this time, "Yesterday. Someone was with you, and he escaped. Where is he?"
Oh, no. No, no no no no. She should've seen this question coming, and now that it was here, her mind raced so fast she barely knew what to say. All she knew was that she had to protect Poe, wherever he was, whatever he was doing. Desperately, Nya hoped he had gotten himself off the planet, even away from this system...
She stayed calm on the outside, although on the inside, emotions ran rapid, turning her stomach to knots. "I don't know." Was all she could manage without letting the fear creep into her voice. It was too dangerous. She didn't want him to sense that she was hiding something.
"Oh, but you must know who he is?" Yes, of course she did, but she could never tell him that. Nya would never give Poe up to save her own skin. She couldn't hide the fear anymore, and it stuck clearly in her voice as she said quietly, "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
"This is getting ridiculous, Nya, stalling is pointless." He cornered her, same as yesterday, against the bars. His voice became vicious, like he was trying to hurt her with his words alone, "I've already taken everything from you. Your home, your father," At this, Nya breathed in sharply and held it. All these years...she had no idea it was Quinn who took her father. It infuriated her. Her father, the only person she ever got a chance to love, and gone all to soon, was taken by the same dealer standing in front of her now. "the only thing I haven't taken is your life, and we both don't want that.
I'd confess if I were you."
Feedback is appreciated!
