"Where are they taking us?" thought Leorda as she lied on the floor listening to the roar of the transport as it drove over the city streets. It had been hours since her and her brother's were captured. The stun blasts have worn off but now she was chained to the floor the metal cuffs so tight around her wrists they cut off feeling to her fingers they were around her ankles as well both were attached to a short chain that ran through rings that were bolted to the floor making it impossible for her to stand
She was separated from her brothers by a sheer wall of Weequay prisoners on either side . Leorda had no idea where Terrec was but she saw Kuleb. With all the Weequay chained to the floor in rows she could see where they put him when they were loaded. He was still unconscious slumped to the floor three rows ahead his small form unmoved in all this time almost as if he was -"No he can't be if he was dead they wouldn't have loaded him"she reassured herself "But he hasn't moved since the blow to the head from that damn commander gave him ."thought Leorda.
She kept watching him hoping he would wake but he showed no sign of awareness.""Please wake up Kuleb."she pleaded as tears ran down her face."I should have known that their were more of them around why didn't I keep looking?.She thought angry with herself. She had grown closer to Kuleb in the years that Terrec was gone she wanted to be the strong sibling he could rely on like Terrec was for her but now she felt as she had let him down. "He will wake up."she thought firmly."He's tougher than he looks." She remembered the time Kuleb found a wild Sal-use when he was four years old the animal was the size of a house cat but with a scaly hide and three eyes that inhabited Maun long before the Weequay. He tried to pick it up and the animal went berserk trying to scratch him with its sharp Kuleb wasn't a weequay with hardened skin his arm would have been shredded. But Kuleb wasn't afraid he just hugged the animal the Sal -use sensing no danger calmed down and after Kuleb set it down it rubbed against his leg purring."Most kids would have been scared but not Kuleb he knew the animal couldn't hurt him and even though he was never allowed to bring it in the house they were still inseparable until it died in its sleep a year later."she thought.
She could hear the footsteps of the corporate authority guards patrolling around the rows of imprisoned weequay until one stopped next to the row where Kuleb was and he walked down the row to him Leorda seeing this started to panic as the soldier spoke."This one hasn't moved since he was loaded "
."Check him." said heard a buzzing sound and saw a flickering light at the end of a metal baton the soldier brought the lit end down on Kuleb who once it made contact with him let out a loud scream and jerked awake."Not dead" said the guard stood back and turned away to start his rounds again until a small voice called out."Leorda!"She watched in horror as the guard turned around and hit her brother a second time with the still lit baton making him scream could not just sit there."Leave him alone you bastard!" she guard right at Leorda and she glared right at her through the visor of her claw marked helmet Leorda recognized it was the same human that stunned her and Terrec. All she could do was watch as the human brought the baton down again on Kuleb who yelled for it to stop.
Leorda yelled out a flurry of curses at the scum who was torturing her brother before some guard marched behind her and smacked her with his baton as soon as the baton made contact with Leorda she felt a white hot pain coursed through her she screamed almost instantly but the guard held it there for almost a whole minute which felt like days to guard would have held the baton to the young weequay girl for an hour if he didn't hear a commotion in the back which was Terrec yelling to the guard to stop or he would kill him.
"Is that so?" The silver adorned commander said turning away from Leorda relieving her for a moment."You think you can kill me like you did that moron?"I would love to uncuff you and let you try just for fun but I have a quota to keep."He told Terrec.
"Still I can't have any of my passengers forgetting their manners."He then ordered all of the guards over to Terrec and as one they lit up their batons and began striking Terrec. Shock waves of pain soared through him it was as if they lit his body aflame Terrec yelled until his voice was hoarse.
Leorda was about to scream at them to stop but someone grabbed her mouth."Don't! Those batons won't kill him but if you scream they will make it worse you understand?"Leorda nodded and the stranger released her she traced the movement to an old petite weequay woman dressed in a blue night gown covered in dirt. After what seemed like hours of agony the guards finally stopped tormenting Terrec who passed out collapsing on the floor ."Now let that be a lesson to all of you I don't want to hear any more outbursts!One more and I will fry you all from here to our destination."The commander threatened. He walked through a sliding door and stepped out of the cargo bay. Leorda wished she could go to Terrec and see if he was alright or at least call out to him but knowing what that would lead to she turned back to the old woman to find her lying on the floor with her eyes wide copying her Leorda laid down next to her."We left the city two miles ago." she told Leorda the weequay woman's brown eyes finding hers.
"How do you know?"Leorda old woman said." I have been on this kriffing thing for a while now every time it leaves the road it goes silent."Leorda was amazed at the elderly weequay she asked for her name.
"Glara Onaka yours?" she said"Leorda Werne,"Leorda replied. Both of them stopped talking as a guard walked down their row when he passed them Glara said."The two boys the guards were shocking are they your brothers?" "Yes," Leorda said concerned about Terrec. Glara gave a sly smile and responded."Well, you three know how to irritate these humans."Leorda smiled."Are your parents here too?"Glara asked. Leorda's smile disappeared and her eyes started to water the memory of her parents lying dead in the bunker still fresh.
"No it's just us, our parents were killed the night they attacked." she replied her voice shaking. Glara's brown eyes stared at Leorda's blue ones."Don't give them the satisfaction of seeing you cry." she told her ."I won't." Leorda promised trying to keep the sadness out of her voice."Do you have a family?"Leorda asked Glara took a minute to respond but said.
" Yes I had a daughter who worked in the colonial government she and her two kids lived with me since her bastard of a husband left them. She was killed when the humans destroyed the government building. She was very driven when the humans' ships first showed up I barely ever saw her. She left her two children with me while she tried to help establish contact with them."
Leorda laid on the metal floor listening to the elder's story."Did they?" asked the young woman."No and every time I saw her I told Pano she was wrong to even try that we came to Maun for a reason to get as far from the Republic's racist policies as possible she snapped at me one day saying she was not going to live in an isolationist regime and how it was embarrassing how almost every colonist was ignorant of the rest of the galaxy that Maun needed outsiders to trade with once the colony grew planet wide.
I basically called her an idiot and that was the last time I spoke to her."Glara shut her eyes blinking back tears at this memory."I regret that more than anything knowing that my own daughter died thinking I thought less of her."Leorda felt a wave of sorrow for Glara thinking about her own final moments with her parents as she continued her story."
I was out with the children at the park by our house when they descended into the city looking for someplace to take cover from the bombs when we saw them land their shuttles and the humans poured out into the street they just pointed there weapons at us and just started firing we ran down the opposite street and took shelter in an empty speeder and prayed they would pass us by it was the longest few minutes of my life hearing them run past us calling out to each other getting orders to take us alive from the one in silver armor one complaining at the extra effort."
"They eventually stormed the first building they could find I heard screaming and blaster fire and then I saw their transports arrive and them dragging the weequay in them out into the street and then the ground transports arrived and hauled them stayed in the speeder until morning and left I told Set and lira to stay close. That was a mistake because that is how they caught us so easily they set up snipers on the roofs of buildings and one of them must have seen us and shot me first with one of those stun blasts. Set thought I fell and I couldn't tell him to leave me to take his sister and run because I couldn't speak."
"Then the son of a rancor shot them both while they were trying to pull me up they hit the ground on either side of me then they were around us pointing their weapons at our paralyzed forms kicking my grandson for laughs."
Glara stopped speaking as a guard passed them again this time Glara's eyes glaring at him with pure hate the soldier paid no mind to her or Leorda as he continued his walk between the two rows of prisoners once the guard was far enough away she spoke again."The transports didn't take long to arrive there were two of them they loaded me in this one and loaded the children in the other.
"Glara voice was filled with heartache at the end of her story. Leorda felt sorry for Glara ."They were separated I can only imagine if that happened to us if Terrec and I were separated from Kuleb." she shuddered at the thought.
All of a sudden the transport suddenly made a sharp turn to the guards confused at this change started murmuring to each commander clad in his signature silver armor returned to the cargo hold when he spoke he sounded deeply concerned."Well, it seems our destination has changed we are not going to any typical labor camp we're going to the camp outside our established research facility." The guards all showed signs of nervousness at these words."Is Mabus there?" one guard interrupted.
"Yes he will be and so will the rest of us," he said to the caused an uproar among the guards which was silenced instantly by the commander."This is not up for debate! That camp had a mining accident many prisoners and guards were killed we have been called in so deal with it!" the commander snapped at his men."Sir is the rumors all of us have been hearing true?." one guard asked the commander walked up to the guard who asked the question stopped right in front of him talking to him but loud enough for everyone to hear.
"You don't want to find out believe me."He turned away from him and spoke to all the transport guards."Listen to me all of you I'm going to give you some helpful advice do not under any circumstances attract Mabus's attention fly under his radar as much as you can because if you get his attention he will never forget you and trust me that's a fate worse than death, in short, he's a monster."
Leorda was puzzled why would this labor camp be the worst one?Who is this Mabus that they are all afraid of?She heard the guards one standing one sitting whispering in a hushed tone."One rumor is he killed a rival's kid and made the mom believe she did it." one guard said."How did he do that?" the other responded."He has a way of getting in your head." the taller one said."Is he a Jedi?" the one sitting asked.
"No he doesn't have any force powers and if he did he would be a Sith ." said the standing turned to Glara and asked what they were talking about."You never heard of them?"Glara asked. Leorda shook her head. Glara explained that Jedi were an order of peacekeepers to the galaxy using the force for good often helping settle disputes between all known races and in the galaxy and the Sith were the exact opposite using the force to acquire more power for themselves usually through galactic conquest.
Leorda reflected on this."Do you think this Mabus person is a Sith?" asked Leorda."Unlikely they have wiped out long ago."Leorda then asked if there was any way the Jedi could help them."If they didn't align with the republic government they could maybe but Maun is right on the edge of known Galactic space the rest of the Republic probably has no idea what's going on and even if they did the Jedi couldn't do anything until the Senate and chancellor sent them and with their pointless debates and finger pointing you and your brothers would all be old as me before they even left Coruscant."
"What is the force?" asked Leorda."The energy that comes from every living thing the Jedi harness this power to help people."Leorda pondered this only for a moment and dismissed it."Grow up Leorda. "she thought to herself.No Jedi is going to save you or anyone else on Maun especially if the Republic Senate is in charge of them."Glara looked at Leorda who was sitting next to her noticing the sheer exhausted look on her face."We both should sleep it might be our last chance to do so without one eye open." she told Leorda who have no reason to argue laid down on the cold metal floor.
"Glara despite the circumstances I'm glad I met you."Leorda said."Me too you would have died otherwise." said Glara smiled and Leorda smiled closed her eyes listening to the hum of the transport eventually letting sleep take her. AN:I know I should of wrote the fact that the weequay species,the corporate authority and the jedi and the galaxy they call home are owned by Disney (For now).
I finally started to reread my story and noticed a lot of mistakes made by me so I am editing right now I won't write/post any new chapters until I'm done once again any and all feedback is appreciated.