Chapter 4 - Dirty Little Thing
Can't stop thinking, musta been trippin this evening
My mind is racing demons and all of my feelings are numb
Yeah and when I roll with my head in the wind
And I feel like the king of the
Dead men wishin they had gotten together with you girl
But you're a dirty little liar with a message of obsession to come
You got your head in the clouds and your world's upside down
Get away from the life you're living
Get away from the man that's stealing your life
Velvet Revolver
- Ladies and gentlemen… welcome, to this special auction; hosted by, yours truly, Ragadat greeted his guests on top of stage in the back of the cargo hold. Beside him were two human female bodyguards, ready to kill anybody that would get within 10 meters of their master. Behind, giant red curtains, creating the twisted image of a circus ring leader about to unveil the stars of his freak show.
Mercenaries guarded all the exits, while the clients were seated in the middle of the hall. Right in front of their chairs was the made-up stage. Luke had taken a place in the last row. He felt a strong presence in the force… thought it wasn't from one person. It seemed like there were hundreds of low-level force sensitives in the room. The vibrations confused him, until he realized where they came from.
The giant curtains were pulled, and the audience was shown the merchandise itself.
- Here they are, my friends. Over 200 healthy, well fed, ready to be trained slaves. All under the age of 14. We all know what a hassle those adults can be, especially if their memory implants start to malfunction. But these are not just children… they are special. All these children right here, are Force sensitives.
Murmurs and excited whispers ensued. The nobles knew this was a special auction, one that involved children, but this was a complete surprise for most of them. Even for Luke. Ragadat knew how to keep a secret.
- Yes… they can feel the Force, to a limited extent. I have scowered the galaxy for them. Under normal circumstances they would be padawans, but, what is "normal" these days is not as important as what is "fashionable". And a Jedi-slave is most fashionable. Not to mention intoxicating. This is a once in a life time opportunity ladies and gentlemen, to have your own little Jedi knight to do your biding. Now, let's start shall we? First item on our list is a lovely little human boy from Feluccia. Item nr 4696. Age 11. Excellent health. Has manifested such abilites as empathy and spatial awareness. We start the biding at 10 000 credits.
A green eyed boy, with red hair and pimply face took his place on the stage. He had a blank stare and seemed to be indifferent to everything that was happening around him.
"This is madness" Luke thought. The sight of people biding over the soul of that little boy sickened him, but he had to control himself. Soon enough all these people would be in prison, and the children would be given proper homes. After the boy came a little rodian girl, and then another weeyqay boy… Ragadat was practically glowing as the money kept pouring in. He noticed however that Grafir, one of his most promising customers, wasn't biding at all. He signaled a couple of his guards to keep an eye on him.
- Moving on… item 6573. An irodian girl, age 9…
He was interrupted by the cough of the little girl. Her face was covered with several purple colored tattoos and she was quite lovely. But she wouldn't stop coughing. Again the nobles whispered and murmured. The girl was obviously sick, and a sick slave is a worthless slave.
A weequay mercenary stepped on stage and put a gun to her head, saying:
- Stop that.
The girl just coughed louder.
- I said stop it, he said louder this time.
The customers just watched the scene unfold, slightly bored. Luke was getting agitated, feeling the need to act, but he tried to remain calm. He was being watched.
The weequay squeezed the trigger a bit more, as the girl started to tremble. Luke put his hand on his lighstaber, safely tucked away in a secret pocket.
- Please, everybody stay calm. This is just a small setback, Ragdat said waving his hands around.
- You're right, a female voice was heard from behind him. That's a small setback.
A hand snaked around the faleen's neck and a red lightsaber was activated right under his nose. The female was wearing a large black hood that covered most her face.
- But this is a pretty BIG one, the she-warrior concluded.
As the weequay looked up to see what was happening to his boss, a twy'lek dressed a in black robe jumped on stage, activated another lightsaber and cut off the hand that was holding the gun. The mercenary fell to his knees screaming.
Mysterious warriors invaded the room, sliding down from the ceiling using ropes and grappling guns.
Chaos overwhelmed the clients, as they quickly got up to run panicked towards the exits. Luke remained calm, and just got out of sight, to hide in the shadows. The new-comers disarmed the mercenaries and gathered them in a corner. Some of them were carrying red lightsabers. They were obviously Sith but didn't seem very intent on killing just yet, so Luke thought it would be best not to intervene. A Jedi would no doubt attract the fire of both parties.
He turned to look at the stage, where the female had released Ragadat, but he was on the ground kneeling next to her feet. His bodyguards performed a series of complicated martial art moves. Flips, dives, uppercuts and kicks, all perfectly synchronized, like a dance routine they had performed a thousand times before. They assumed a fighting stance, ready for combat; strong, confident and defiant.
The female simply waved a hand and the women were thrown against each other and then off the stage, landing on top of each other, unconscious.
The female Sith looked around the cargo hold. Ragadat was at her mercy, her masked warriors had disabled the mercenaries and all the royal figures and nobles were cornered in the middle, staring at the stage, waiting to see what happens. She took her hood off.
Luke couldn't help but stare… It was the woman from before, the woman with the hair the coulor of fire.
"She's a Sith" Luke thought bewildered. "How could I not have sensed it?" Feeling himself at risk he quickly hid in a droid locker, watching the scene unfold through a set of blinders.
The woman was smirking, obviously proud of herself. She had changed her outfit, and now was wearing a black sleeveless dress, with very low cleavage and a strange belt around it. Her hair was braided, but a few shorter bangs encircled her face. One of her warriors, the twy'lek from before, jumped on stage beside her. Two more, a man and a woman, grabbed Ragadat and pushed him on his knees.
- Darth Pyra, we have the situation under control, the twy'lek raported. Should we proceed?
- Not yet, Neron she said and went over to the little girl that was threatened before. She kneeled down beside her giving her something. It looked like an inhaler. The girl quickly grabbed it and breathed in the medicine. She stopped coughing and looked at the woman with a grateful look.
- What's your name, the Sith asked while stroking the girl on the head, almost lovingly.
- Daria.
- Daria… my name is Mara, she continued smiling. You're a beautiful little girl. Listen Daria. I can take you away from here… I can take you somewhere where nobody will ever hurt you. We can teach you how to protect yourself. How to get even with the people that hurt you. Do you want that?
- Yes, the girl answered quickly, like a droid asked to perform one of his assigned tasks.
- Then you have to do something for me… see that man, she said pointing at Ragadat. I want you to kill him.
Daria's look changed from hopeful, to frightful.
- H-how? She asked starting to tremble again.
- It's ok, Mara said reassuring her. If you don't do it, you won't be punished. I just need to know how badly you want to get out of here… how strong you are. Are you strong Daria?
The child nodded her head. Mara signaled one of her henchmen to bring a blaster rifle. The girl took it, although it was bigger then her entire hand and approached Ragadat. He struggled desperately but an invisible force was holding him down, on his knees.
- Come on D-d-aria… he said releasing his pheromones. You don't want to do that… I always treated you n-n-nice.
What Ragadat didn't know is that the spray she inhaled rendered the child immune to his pheromones. Her mind was clear, and she remembered how her parents sold her, how she was beaten time and time again, how she starved, how she suffered. So when she heard the word "nice", her little finger pulled the rifle's trigger on reflex and she shot the faleen in the right arm. The overlord screamed in agony and fell to the floor. His attacker approached and shot more rounds. She started crying and yelling… she shot at the body till there was nothing left to shoot at. All the while Mara was watching, her green eyes sparkling with pride and something much more sinister. After she was finished Daria threw away the gun and ran at Mara, hugging her tightly.
- It's ok, Mara said picking her up and squeezing her light frame. You're such a good girl. Such a good girl.
Luke watched the entire scene from a distance, feeling sick to his stomach. Darth Pyra had stolen the little girl's innocence, and pushed her into a life dedicated to the dark side. Daria had killed, and now was marked for life.
"So this is how the Sith operate. The true face of the Dark Side, perverting all that it touches" Luke thought and felt hatred and disgust build up inside him.
Since Darth Sidious death at the hands of Master Windu, no Jedi had encountered the Sith again. There were rumors and vague reports that Darth Tyrannus established a new Sith Academy, but nothing concrete was ever found. Dooku was already old by the time Sidious turned him, so it was thought he died since years passed and the Sith never made their presence truly known. Until now, when they seemed to be coming back with a vengeance. Luke needed to get away with this new information. He needed to warn the Council.
Mara comforted the girl a few more minutes and then released to what appeared to be her second in command, the twy'lek Darth Neron.
- Kill the rest of the slavers and the mercenaries. Grab the other children and load them on our destroyer. Set this piece of junk to self destruct and then head for home.
- What about the clients, he said pointing to the group of nobles that were still being held at gun point.
- Let them go, she answered after pondering a few seconds. Just make sure they know who they're working for now.
- Yes, master. He grabbed Daria's little hand but turned around. What about you? Aren't you coming?
- I got some unfinished business she said and stared at a certain droid locker. Don't worry about me Neron, she added turning back to look at her second in command. You just get the children to the academy. She leaned down and gently caressed the little iridonian's bare shoulder. Bye Daria, I'll see you soon.
Darth Pyra jumped off stage, as the cargo hold was being emptied of people, either clients that were leaving in a panic, or mercenaries being executed. She ran towards the droid locker and quickly opened it. It was empty. The ceiling now sported a round whole, it's edges still sizzling after being cut with a lightsaber. Darth Pyra sighed and quickly gave chase…
