-CHAPTER TEN-

"You are to go to Korriban and seek out Boba Fett and anyone who escaped four years ago," Mon Mothma ordered.

She was elderly, senile, and her office showed heavily upon the lines of her face.

"Yes, Ma'am," I said.

And so, Jin and me were off once again.

Conversation on the way there was as it always was with us…light and conversational. Jin talked about fighting moves and defense tips, obviously for my sake. I talked about the history of the Old Republic and the Clone Troopers of old. I think he liked the Clones more than the politics of it.

When Korriban was seen from space, Jin and I strapped ourselves in for the landing cycle.

Korriban doesn't like visitors.

"What do you want?" the port keeper asked.

"We're on a diplomatic mission to bring two oppressors into custody with calm negotiation. We hope aggressive negotiation won't be used in this situation," I replied cooly.

The keeper seemed satisfied with my response.

Jin and I were never fond of renting transports…we would trek.

And trek we did for hours.

Night fell. We knew we had to stop.

"G'Night," Jin sighed, and was out like a light.

"Night," I whispered. I soon joined Jin in dream land.

I awakened to a hand over my mouth.

I licked it.

No avail.

I bit it hard.

No response.

Jin is a heavy sleeper.

I tried to scream.

"I would stop that if I was you," a voice hissed into my ear, while his other hand unhooked my utility belt. Now, I had no weapons.

He lifted me up on my heels and dragged me to a cave no more than 100 yards away.

It wasn't as it appeared. It opened into a maze of rooms. A lair. A home. I was dragged into a room of Mandalorian steel and concrete floors. It was freezing in there.

The man let go of me, and I turned around. He was wearing a hood, and had a blaster pointed at me. He raised his arm to throw a baby blue dress at me.

"Put it on. But leave your undergarments off…they will only slows me up. In that corner," he gestured with his gun.

I went where he said

A panel came down like a door. I was trapped in this triangle with no way out. I had no choice but to do as I was told. I folded my uniform and put on the dress. There was no place for my implant receiver, so I held it in my hand.

The dress was a v-necked, ¾ sleeve, floor length, baby blue, twice layered chiffon, yet, I felt extremely exposed.

My heart pounded.

My stomach churned.

He opened the panel. I stepped out. I could feel the cold floor on my bare feet. I could feel the cold all around me. So, so cold.

The man removed his hood to reveal pale skin, yellow eyes, and sharp horns. He smiled…he showed me sharp, crooked, yellow theeth. We still don't know his name.

Pointing his blaster at me, he kissed me. When he pulled away, his teeth scraped my lip. Blood came and formed a thin crimson trail down my chin. He ripped off my magnets and receiver and threw them across the room at my uniform.

He lifted up my dress…and I cannot go into further detail at this time.

After a long stretch of time, Jin charged in and took control of the situation. He grabbed the guy, and used the Force to kill him.

Understatement: strangled, tore up, and imploded the man.

A rain of blood and guts poured down, no more than 15 feet away from where I was.

"Are you alright?" Jin asked Genuinely concerned.

"You're…he…eyes…control…boom…"

"Asenath, you're alright…breathe," Jin whispered. He held me. I think he was glad I was even alive.

I regained some of my composure. "Jin, you were in control? You're covered in-," I felt almost too weak to stand.

Jin walked to the corner and grabbed my uniform and magnets. He handed the pile to me, and turned his back. I put everything back on as fast as a person shaking from fear can.

He picked up the dress and wiped himself off with it. He tossed it back to me.

"Burn it. And here's your utility belt," I took the belt and put it on."

"And I don't care what Luke says, we're going home."

Jin gave me a ride back to the ship damsel in distress style, because I was shaking too bad to keep any form of balance well.

The port keeper was a friendly reminder of why we hated this place.

"Going so soon?" he sneered.

"Up yours," Jin growled.

He set me down in the seat, and put on my safety belt when he saw my shaking hands try clumsily to do so.

"You're going to be okay."

I said nothing in return.

When we had been drifting for some time, Jin told me to get Luke up.

Luke answered his transmitter. I faltered for only a moment and fought to get the shake out of my voice, "Grandmaster Skywalker, one perpetrator-," Jin cut me off.

"He was caught and slain in a struggle. Boba Fett was nowhere to be found. We're coming home," Jin finished.

"Well done, I'll tell Mon Mothma."

"We'll arrive late tonight," Jin said.

"Affirmative. Skywalker out."

"We can't tell anyone what that guy did to you yet, okay?"

I only nodded. I was still shaking. I felt dirty. Jin squeezed my shoulder. I had been fondled before, but nothing this extreme.

Jin told me to go to sleep. I did. Nightmare ridden sleep. What "rest" I got was horrible. Jin always shot me a smile when I awoke, covered in cold sweat and plastered hair. I fought to remain awake, but to no avail. My eyes would close, and again, the visions of this man and what he did filled my thoughts.

However, the real consequences for my foolishness would not begin for a month, be discovered after nearly three months, and would continue for months afterward.

Months passed.

I awoke one morning to feel a mass growing inside of me through the Force.

My first reaction was it was a tumor or cyst. It had a feeling. And essence of the man. My menses hadn't happened for a while.

"No…I feel him…Jin killed him…no…no…a baby?" my mind raced with sickening realization.

I ran to find Jin.

"Something isn't right, Jin!"

"Who's with you?" Jin asked with an awkward smile…

He can feel it, too.

"Jin, please tell me that what that man did…Jin…I think I'm going to have a…baby," I whispered.

"WHAT?"

"SHHHHHHH! If anyone knows now, it should be you." "Did that man go all the way?"

"I don't know what that means…" I began to cry. Jin knew this was serious…I never cried.

"Come with me. We're going 'cross planet."

He didn't lie. He paid off a random woman to go into a drug store to purchase a pregnancy test.

We hid it, and found a restaurant. Jin spoke to the owner, who let us into his place above the kitchen.

I don't know what Jin told him. I took the test…our fears were realized…positive.

I passed it to Jin.

"Well, we could get a hanger out of this owner's closet, or go through with the pregnancy," Jin sighed.

"If you mean kill it, don't even joke about that."

"Do you even have a choice? Someone could call the High Council, and try to have you removed as a Jedi, or worse."

"I know. But I didn't know my mother. I have to try and live for the child's sake. I'm 17, unwed, and going to have a baby. The HC could have me killed…this is getting better and better. But, I won't let them destroy three lives."

"Three?"

"Yours, mine, and the baby's."

"Mine?"

"They'll expect me to tell some secret to convince them that I should be spared, and the only one I have is what you did to that man."

"You wouldn't!"

"I'd rather die! Besides, there is a chance for miscarriage. I can't assume all will be well…yet. Don't bank on a tragedy, as my father would say."

"Hey, I'll help you. I'll witness for you. They can't just kill you."

"They'll give a trial and assign a great prosecutor who can kick-butt. Fey'lya would be my logical guess. Then I would have no hope.

"Fey'lya isn't that tough."

I gave Jin a glare that could have scared the fur off of Fey'lya himself.

We had to get back to the palace eventually, so we left that restaurant and returned.

Luke stood there waiting for us.

"Where have you guys been?" he questioned.

"Out to catch a Holo-Pic across the planet. Special showing about the Clone Wars," Jin lied smoothly.

Luke looked to me, "Very Educational," I swallowed.

I was scared that Luke might feel the baby within the Force like I could, we walked passed him, his eyes followed us, but he said nothing.

I waited until out of ear shot to breathe.

"Luke knows…maybe…" I whispered.

"Don't get jittery. He would have said something. It's his job to say something…to…" Jin faltered.

"The HC!" I near yelled back.

"You and that baby are safe. Keep confidence."

If Jin and I had been alert,, we could have sensed a very sneaky Bothan lurking in the corridors. If we had been alert, we could have stopped him from calling the HC, but we weren't, and lives would soon be on the line.

The HC is composed of Senatorial and Jedi leaders.

So, in this case, the judges were Mon Mothma and Luke. They would agree after a prosecution and defense. They would appoint (as they saw fit) lawyers.

Fey'lya was my accuser, and being on the council, chose to represent himself in prosecution…he was a most talented debater.

Garm Bel Iblis was to assist in my defense. He was no genius in this sort of thing, but when it came to battle, he was a master.

At this time, he was getting old and senile as well, so I was on my own. Putting lives on the line…I knew had to fight for life.

A few days later, HC was called, and I was summoned. Jin was also, as a witness.

Trial was held immediately.

"You know why HC was called?" Grandmaster Skywalker asked me.

"Yes, sir," I shakily stated.

"Are you indeed confronted with an unplanned pregnancy?" Skywalker asked.

"It is as you speak."

I heard mutterings in the galleries behind me. I felt my eyes burn and my frame shrink slightly.

No. Do not let them see you cry. Remain strong…just like Jin.

"You will have a chance to defend yourself with the help of Garm Bel Iblis. However, prosecution will be heard first, and presented by Borsk Fey'lya."

I'm dead.

Bel Iblis pulled me gently to a chair at a table, and my knees weakened, putting me in the position to sit.

"Council, we are here because Asenath Jochebed Zipporah Moonglider had willing sexual contact with a man. She is unwed, and not a Jedi. She is suppoed to be upholding the Republic and to not be a woman of the night. I call for her excecuted. She and the bastard child should be punished!"

Silence. I had chills from the feeling.

"Council, Asenath is a young woman who was forced upon. She wouldn't do this, and she is not a 'woman of the night'" Jin shouted.

"Please be seated, Mr. Motorashi. You will have your turn to speak, I promise," Mon Mothma soothed.

Jin sat, but he didn't look happy about it. He looked as if there was a bad taste in his mouth. He glowered at Fey'lya.

"Council, I'm defending?"

Everyone turned and gave Bel Iblis incredulous looks.

"Council, as much as I…appreciate you help, I think I could defend myself just as well."

"Council agrees. Are you sure you wish to represent yourself?" asked Mon Mothma, eyeing Bel Iblis.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"As you wish. Opening statements?"

"Council, on the mission to Korriban, I was forced upon and had no weapons. My attacker made sure of that. He removed my utility belt, and warned me not to scream. He forced me into a blue negligee and told me to leave off my undergarments. He forced himself onto and into me. Jin saved my life. What he did wasn't like at Decca's and Gardulla's…he did that, too at first, but he mainly stuck his…well…where it didn't belong. And now I stand before you, pleading for my life, and the life of my child. If the Force wouldn't wish this, it wouldn't be so."

I returned to my seat.

"She's lying! If it were rape, she wouldn't want to keep the child. She's trying to cover-up her sins!" prosecution chimed in.

"Then I call a witness! Jin Motorashi!"

Jin walked up to a chair directly under Mon Mothma and Luke Skywalker. He sat down his hulking seven foot frame.

"Jin, what did you see?"

"I saw Asenath being raped by a guy. I stopped him…but not soon enough. I guess he had just finished off when I entered."

"What did you do?"

"I don't remember. When I do, I was covered in blood and pieces of mush."

Jin was lying. If I told, he could have the HC turned around on him.

"Was this man evil? Was he with Skanato? Was he human?" I asked.

"Yes, possibly, and yes. His horn display must have been fake if they weren't, that species can't knock a human up. No one but a human could have done this to Asenath and caused her these problems."

"No further questions."

"Fey'lya took the floor, "You could be lying. Did you really see the man raping her? What clued you in?"

"She was being raped. She had on a blue dress. She hates dresses. She wears them when she has to…like state dinners. She gets really pretty, but for her to do just like that for no reason? Impossible."

"What else?" Fey'lya asked nastily.

"The man was…how graphic does the court wish me to get?"

Luke and Mon Mothma whispered to each other for a moment, "As detailed as you feel necessary," Luke answered.

"Okay…he was thrusting his hips into her and that whole kind of deal."

"Human mating ritual?" the elderly Bothan asked gravely.

"Yes."

"Was Asenath showing any signs of discomfort of displeasure with the situation?"

"She was crying. And she was whimpering in pain. He could have killed her, holding a blaster at her, if she didn't co-operate."

"Where were you when she was being forced into the dress and such?"

"I am ashamed to admit to the court, sir, that I was asleep. When I woke up I saw her utility belt on the ground. She never takes it off. When I saw that, I went looking for her, followed her boot trails, and saw that she was being forced upon."

"No further questions."

I re-took the floor, "Jin, this man, what did he look like exactly?"

"He was tall, wore fake horns, and had yellow eyes. Far from docile. You could tell he was violent. He wore ammo across his chest. He also had Thermal Detonators strapped there, and a Det Pack across his back. I can almost assure you it was for scare factor. She had to be terrified of him."

I was glad we were keeping this in second and third persons.

"So, Asenath had no choice but to obey this man, correct?"

"Correct."

"Defense rests."

"Prosecution calls Asenath to the stand."

Jin and I switched out. The seat was warm. I tried to look calm and collected. He wasn't going to ruin this.

"You were raped?"

"You keep using that term. What does it even mean?"

Jin laid his head on his palms. Fey'lya rolled his huge eyes, and I heard snickering from the galleries.

"It means to have sexual intercourse with a person without the other party's consent. Did he rape you?" Fey'lya's fur bristled.

"Yes."

"Did he ejaculate inside you?"

"Sir, this is over my head. I just found out the gist of sexual intercourse was weeks ago. Please go slowly. I don't understand. All I can really tell you was it hurt, and it felt like someone was taking a knife and cutting me open down in that region."

Jin stood up to come to my rescue once again.

"Could we resume this line of questioning in an hour or so? I could explain this to her better, so she can answer Senator Fey'lya's questions."

Luke and Mon Mothma whispered again.

"Recess is called!" Mon Mothma announced.

Jin dragged me to a back room. He explained…in an awkward way about the human mating ritual, known as sex.

"When a man loves a woman…well…he didn't love you, but when a man loves a woman…what I'm trying to say is…"

I just looked at Jin like he was granting me my knighthood.

"When a man loves a woman, he generally does to his woman what that man did to you. That is the human mating ritual known as sex…the friction on his…well…as you called it, creates a pleasurable feeling, and he may as Fey'lya called it ejaculate a…liquid, that could make the female pregnant."

"Might?"

"Doesn't always happen. However, in your case it did. Pity."

"So, it isn't just up to the Force, is it?"

"No, but now you can answer Fey'lya's questions abuot it and give more facts in necessary. Any questions?"

I went on the get more about the whole mating process out of him. It had to come sometime anyway. I needed to know…I just didn't like how he kept referring to it as mating and breeding. Selkath breed. Humans give birth.

Things are different in races, but it made enough sense to really matter in the process during this whole legal mess. He answered my questions about birth, too. Poor Jin. I was lucky to have such a wonderful friend like him around.

Back in the courtroom, Fey'lya reposed his previous question.

"Did he release inside of you?"

"Yes."

"Did you go to the clinic or med-center to get cleaned out?"

"No. if you had not seen from the whole fiasco about an hour ago, I didn't know what that even was. If I had, I might have done something about it."

"Might have? Explain."

"Who knows. Maybe. Possibly."

"I know what might means. What did you mean you might have gone?"

"I may have just left the matter up to the Force. Plus, I hate some of the doctors at the med-center. The one man scared me as a child."

"But you would have done nothing to prevent this pregnancy?"

"I guess that's right."

"No further questions."

"Council, I wish to just pose my version of these events, and then give plans for what I had hoped my future to be."

"Council agrees."

"Jin and I arrived on Korriban. As commonly known, it's dry. It's fauna can be vicious. Jin and I were to look for Boba Fett and Skanato's right hand man.. we stopped to sleep for the night. I awoke to a hand over my mouth and another unhooking my utility belt. He reacted not to licking and biting. He warned me not to scream, and dragged me to a crevasse in the rock. The crevasse opened into a huge maze of halls and rooms. It was more of a villain hide-away. In a specific room made of steel, he threw me a dress and told me to put it on, but to leave my underthings off. He sent me to a corner, where a panel came down behind me. In this triangle of steel, I had no escape. Seeing no way out, I did as I was told. When this panel lifted, he bid me come across the floor toward him. He walked toward me, his boot hitting the concrete floor hard. He came up and kissed me violently. When he pulled away, his sharp teeth scraped my lips and made them bleed. He ripped of my magnets and threw them. From there, he lifted the skirt of the dress and fondled me, and has been said numerous times this day, raped me. After a while, Jin came I and slaughtered the guy. Weeks passed. I must apologize to Grandmaster Skywalker. Jin and I lied about the documentaries two days ago. I was across planet, but I was taking a pregnancy test with the help of Jin. I now have been scoured from head to toe by my instructors and peers. Hear my plea for mercy. For the future, I had hoped to have my child in service also. I was hoping to live in the appointed chambers appointed to eighteen-year-olds in service by the senate. I have saved my pay from the government. And could afford to keep the baby, and continue to support myself with the Jedi. I have never wanted anything so much before. If you choose to have me executed, please allow me to live long enough to put the child up for adoption. Please, hear what I am saying. Not for me, but for the life of the unborn, unable to protect itself. I wasn't afraid to die protecting Jin and I'm not afraid to die now."

Silence…again, making me have horrible chills.

"Council will deliberate, final decision to Mon Mothma and Grandmaster Skywalker." The council left the room.

I lowered myself into a chair. More waiting…and more waiting…and more waiting.

Finally, the chamber doors were opened once more. Grandmaster Skywalker announced "Not guilty". I could breathe again.

Everyone watched as Jin waltzed up to Borsk Fey'lya. The chatter ceased. Jin raised a fist, and socked the Bothan in the nose.

The intoxicating silence was horrible as the once mighty Bothan fell to the ground. The only sound in the room was Mon Mothma laughing. Poor. Senile. Woman.