Taris - Part 9

Zaalbar.

As they left the Undercity behind for the safety of the Beks base, Zaalbar found himself growling at Carth a great deal, and keeping himself between Carth and the small human (Sphene) a most of the way. He owed Sphene a lifedebt, and that meant no threatening the small human. Not even from someone she worked with.

"Carth's not so bad, really." Mission had tried to explain. "I don't think he liked that Sphene did something she wasn't supposed to though. That or… Um. The bit with the people she freed. I hope they're ok."

Zaalbar could agree with that much. But the small human had given them that chance – to live free, or die. Anything was better than being enslaved. Those that could, would return to their kin and tribes. Those that could not would be eaten.

The undercity was much like the shadowlands in that respect.

Eventually they stopped leaving a trail of bloody footsteps, but anyone with a decent sense of smell could follow them easily. It was best to be alert.

0000

It was by unspoken consensus that once they'd arrived at the Beks base, everyone wanted to spend some time in the refresher. The two humans were covered in gammorean, and although Mission and Zaalbar had not done much fighting, they'd still emerged from a derelict sewer system. Their entire group reeked.

Zaalbar didn't care much for baths, most wookiees didn't. Not the same way that humanoid sentients generally did. Wookies had proper fur after all, not like humans or twi'leks who had to deal with their nakedness with clothes. But unlike clothes, Zaalbar could not take his fur off when it was soaked. Drying out was a long and tedious process.

The smell of the slave pen clung to him. So Zaalbar was willing to deal with the trouble of a shower.

However, with the two humans covered gore, they were able to call first run in the only two refreshers the Bek base had to offer. The small human – Sphene, his lifedebt's name was Sphene – had pieces of bone in her fur (it was quite an impressive mane as far as humans went) and a mask of red that went from forehead to her middle. Carth was somewhat less splattered, blood concentrated around his hands and feet. Whatever mines he had set off, he had not done so when the gammoreans had been close enough to splatter him excessively.

The refreshers were connected to the bek shooting range and training area. So while he waited, Zaalbar took the opportunity to settle on one of the benches and clean the weapons (or some of the weapons, Carth had taken his blaster into the shower with him and Sphene had procured a vibroknife from… somewhere somewhere on her person). It was the least he could do.

Mission took the opportunity to fidget about like an anxious kinrath pup with its mother.

"I'm so sorry that I took so long. I tried for days to find some people Big Z." Mission had her hands in his fur. She liked to call it 'grooming.' Zaalbar called it 'unnecessary.' He was just grateful she didn't have a comb. Bad enough that he was going to have a bath.

"[It is fine Mission. You got help. I am concerned about… what price, you offered to pay them with.]"

Mission tittered, but it was not her 'I got in over my head but don't worry about it' laugh. "They wanted a guide! Can you believe that? I mean, it worked out perfect!"

"[A guide? That was all they asked for?]"

"Well, Carth did the negotiating, but yeah."

"[Did they say what they needed guiding to?]"

"… no. But I'm pretty sure they're republics from that battle about a week ago. They're probably trying to find some of their people in the undercity or something."

"[… that pod was stripped clean days ago Mission. The people are gone. You know that. They will not be happy.]"

"I… I know." Mission hung her head slightly, then rested her forehead against Zaalbar's arm. Mission was always exceedingly familiar, but Zaalbar tolerated it from her. Mission saw him as a surrogate brother, which made Zaalbar 'family.' She had different views on what that meant than he did. "I just couldn't leave you there. They were the only ones who'd come to help. The Sith, the gang wars, everyone's got something else to do now. Not even Gadon would help."

Zaalbar huffed. "[Remember, your brother did not leave on the best of terms. Even in better times, there is only so far Gadon's good will can go. But it is done now. Do not be sorry.]"

"Well I am anyway. You shouldn't have had to go through that! You should've run with me."

"[Then they would have caught us both.]"

"You don't know that!"

"[It doesn't matter now.]" The slavers – well, not all but most of them – were dead. It was over. There was only one thing left to do. Mission wouldn't be happy. She'd feel she was loosing a 'brother' all over again. "[Except for the life debt I owe the small- Sphene.]"

Mission stiffened, her eyes going wide and her mouth tightening. "… a lifedebt? Are you sure? Why? It's not like they aren't getting paid!"

Zaalbar gave her a disapproving look. Mission bit her lip. In a way, the humans were not getting paid. At least, not in what they'd come for. The pod was empty, their people were gone. But this was not about conventional payment. It was not about a contract. It was about kindness given by those who had no reason to give it. This was about a debt that had not only saved his life, but saved him from cruelties few imagined possible. Cruelties many wookiees who were not so fortunate lived under, broken, diseased, and mad, because they had no choice.

Mission didn't understand. "So that's it? We're through now?"

"[It does not mean I am leaving you. Simply, that we are going with her.]"

We. Mission did not understand lifedebts. But if the way she smiled was any indication, she understood that.

0000

"A lifedebt? Are you sure?" Sphene echoed Mission, likely unknowingly. With the blood washed off, her jaw and neck were a deep purple-black, likely from when the gammorean had tried to strangle her. But aside from wincing every so often, she seemed well.

"[I am sure. You have saved me from a life of slavery. I will journey with you, wherever you go.]"

She swallowed, and frowned slightly. "I did not rescue you so you would… become my slave, Zaalbar. The opposite of that, really."

"[It is not slavery if I choose it.]"

"I didn't think lifedebts were a thing of choice."

Zaalbar huffed. It seemed Sphene did not understand any more than Mission did. "[There is always a choice.]" Although in this case, it was not necessarily his choice. The lifedebt was already there, more binding than any manacles could be. Given the option, he could run away from slavery, defy his masters, and die. But he could not deny this any more than he could stop trees from growing or stars from burning. Even if she said 'no,' it would not be erased. Life would just become very, very difficult.

After a few moments, Sphene nodded slowly. "There is. Well Zaalbar, um. Welcome to the team I guess."

"And don't forget, wherever Big Z goes, I go too!" Mission added. She wasn't going to let them forget her, or that Zaalbar was 'hers' as much as Sphene's. "We're a team!"

"… hooo boy." Sphene rubbed the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. "Well, first thing first I guess. You all can throw chops for whoever gets the refresher first. But then we gotta get ready for the other search and rescue. Carth did tell you what we're looking for right?"

0000

Carth

Zaalbar was quick to claim the refresher Carth left. Mission was not in sight.

Sphene was fighting with her hair. Unbound, it was probably long enough to reach her knees, but she'd claimed one of the benches so Carth couldn't tell exactly. She was trying to run her fingers through it – they'd brought no combs – and separate it into three separate ropes for braiding.

Why she kept it so long when it was a hassle was beyond Carth. Someone could easily grab it and yank her by it. Or wrap it around her neck.

"Look, sister, we need to talk." Carth crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, waiting. He wasn't used to this. In the Republic Forces everyone knew what their roles and priorities were and stuck to them. This mess with the bad communication – the Sith party, the stealth generator, and especially when she freed a small army (not really an army, a group?) of slaves and basically siced them on a few gammoreans to clear a path…

Except the words dried up when she turned to look at him, and Carth could see the deep purple that started at her jaw and disappeared somewhere under the neckline of her stolen clothes.

"Yeah? I'm always up for a good argument, what's your damage?"

"What's my damage? Look sister-" Carth stopped himself and took a deep breath. He was not there to argue with her. Again. He wasn't going to be provoked into a fight because of her bad attitude. "Are you alright?"

Sphene blinked at him for a few moments. Her shoulders relaxed. Good. "Do I look alright?"

Not really. She looked like she'd been hit with a sledgehammer. Or a gammorean. She'd been covered in blood so Carth knew he hadn't been quite successful in drawing all the attention. But he hadn't thought she'd gotten hurt. "You've looked better."

There was a long silence. This wasn't really how Carth expected this to go. "Look-"

"You didn't like what I did, with those people. That's what this is about?" She turned back around slowly, her back to him and began braiding her hair.

She let him have her back. She knew he was armed. Carth wasn't sure if that meant anything in spacer terms, but years of having 'do not turn your back on the enemy' drilled into him in training… well, it meant something to him. The only people you wanted at your back were your people.

Which was why 'backstabber' was such a nasty insult.

"Among other things. Using them as… to clear out any of the other gammoreans like that wasn't right."

"Right?" She didn't look at him. "What wasn't right about it?"

That was not a question he expected her to ask him. She wanted him to explain why her actions weren't acceptable. He'd expected her to defend herself instead. "They were unarmed, they were probably sick, if they'd been down there long. Most of them probably had no combat training-"

"I'm hearing a lot of 'probably' Carth."

"This hasn't been the first slaver ring I've helped clear out. Between you, Mission, and Zaalbar, you should've been able to-" Sphene was purple chin down. "-handle it. Get them out safe."

"Carth, there was no way in this or any other armpit of the galaxy I would've been able to keep them safe. Especially not and make sure you were ok at the same time. There were too many of them, we couldn't have herded them all through the undercity – and they would've wanted us to, trust me."

"… a lot of them probably were eaten by the rakghouls." She could've left them there, where they'd still be alive. But still enslaved by whatever remained of the gammoreans. Maybe Carth, Mission, Sphene and Zaalbar could have gone back for them, gotten them out slowly. But it was a big 'maybe.' There was no way to know for sure.

They still had to rescue Bastila. Did they have that kind of time to do this too?

Sphene sighed. "I think most of them were locals, should know their way around the rakghouls. But if not… then they got their shot at dieing free instead of living as slaves."

Carth wasn't so sure that was any better. Being that 'dieing free' involved being eaten alive. "You believe that?"

Her arms were stretched out behind her to keep her braid tight. "You… ah. You know, Zaalbar swore a lifedebt to me, for freeing him."

Again, that was not the response he'd been expecting. "… that sounds like walking straight from one set of chains to another."

"It isn't. I don't understand, what exactly it means to Zaalbar's people. But I have an idea. You saved my life, you know."

She 'owed' him. She said that quite a few times, that they weren't even. At least, that was the best Carth could make of it. But she'd never said how much she owed, or how far. "But for life? Isn't that a little extreme?"

"You still don't see." She tied off the end of her hair but still didn't look at him. "Have you ever had someone point at you Carth, and tell you you were worth a piece of furniture? Has anyone ever pawned you off to pay their debts? Has anyone ever decided that your life was worth less than a machine?"

"Of course not-" Carth stopped mid-sentence. She wouldn't say it, but now it was so obvious Carth could almost kick himself for not realizing sooner. No wonder she'd reacted that way the moment Mission had said 'slavers.'

"Then don't tell me if it was right. You can't know what…" She fell silent.

Carth didn't know if she felt she'd run out of things to say, if saying it was simply too hard, if she didn't know the words, or if she felt she'd said too much already. They were both quiet for a minute.

"I'm sor-"

This time her head snapped around, her braid fell from her hands unfinished. Carth wasn't sure if the pain was from moving so fast with an injured neck, or something else. But she was definitely angry. She actually hissed at him. "Don't. Don't ever say that to me."

He didn't know her at all. "Why not?"

"It … doesn't change anything. Doesn't mean anything. Doesn't make it hurt less or…" She clicked her teeth, agitated. "Don't-"

"I'm not pitying you."

Some of the anger drained away. "I know. Doesn't fix anything. So just… don't."

Carth knew four things about Sphene. She was a smugger. She loved pazaak. She had a hellish temper. She used to be a slave.

0000

Author's Notes

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