As I explained earlier, the High Council (HC) is comprised of Senatorial leaders, Jedi leaders, and advisors on both sides.

Three days after the rats alerted him, Fey'lya filed charges against me for Dereliction of Duty and violation of my oaths.

The HC convened and I was summoned, as was Jun. Only I was charged.

Luke and Mon Mothma were the judges. They would reason together after a prosecution and defense. They would also appoint lawyers as they saw fit.

Borsk Fey'lya, as my accuser and member of the HC, chose to handle the prosecution himself.

Lucky me, because he was one of the most talented debaters in the Senate.

I situated myself at the defense table, and rested my head on my hands.

When Luke and Mon Mothma entered, everyone stood.

"Borsk Fey'lya wishes to represent the prosecution. Miss Moonglider, Luke and I would like to appoint Garm Bel Iblis to assist you in your defense," Mon Mothma ordered.

Representative Iblis came and stood next to me.

This trial was public and the galleries were filled. Luke said my name and I snapped back to attention.

"Do you know why you are here?" Luke asked me.

"I've been charged with Dereliction of Duty, Master."

"Are you faced with an unplanned pregnancy?" Mon Mothma queried.

"Yes, ma'am. It is true."

The galleries' patrons whispered among themselves. My eyes burned and I felt myself shrink.

Jun sat near the witness stand, and Nanette not too far away.

Do not let these people see you cry. Be strong like Jun.

"Asenath, you will have a change to refute the charges, but first, Senator Fey'lya will present his opening statement for the prosecution. The floor is yours, Senator," Mon Mothma said.

I'm dead, I thought as I sat down, legs shaking and knees weak.

"Thank you Chancellor and Master Jedi. We are here, because Asenath Jochebed Zipporah Moonglider had willing, sexual contact with a man while on duty. She is not a Jedi Knight yet. Only a padawan. She was supposed to be upholding the Republic and its values, not portraying herself as a whore. The prosecution calls for her immediate execution, taking the bastard child with her to the grave."

After the echo of his voice stopped, the chamber was deathly quiet, giving me the chills.

"Lies! I saw the man who forced himself on her! You know she wouldn't do that! She's no whore!" Jun shouted.

"Please, be quiet, Mr. Fett. You will have your turn to speak. I promise," Mon Mothma tried to soothe.

Jun shut up, but he didn't look happy about it. In fact, his looked mirrored the first day I met him and he ate the dried fruit, only instead of glaring at me, he was glaring at Fey'lya.

"Council, I'm defending?"

We all turned to look at Garm Bel Iblis s though he had three heads.

"Council, as much as I…appreciate your help, but I think I could defend myself just as well," I said, side eyeing Iblis.

"Are you sure?" Mon Mothma asked.

"Yes."

"Honestly, Council agrees. Asenath, you may proceed," Luke said.

"Council, on the mission to Korriban, I was forced upon and had no weapons. Vlad Belladonna made sure I was defenseless. He removed my utility belt and warned me not to scream. He forced me into a blue negligée and told me to leave off my undergarments. He forced himself onto and into me. Jun saved my life. Vlad fondled me and touched me. He stuck his…umm…something where it didn't belong. And now I stand before you, pleading for the life of my child and my own. I did not want him to hurt me."

I sat back down.

"She's lying. If she were raped, she wouldn't want to keep the child. She's trying to cover up her sins," Fey'lya chimed in.

"Jun saw who did it, so I call him up," I sighed.

Jun stood, walked up to the chair directly under Mon Mothma and Luke, and sat down. His hulking seven foot frame filled the chair.

"Jun, what did you see?"

"I saw Vlad Belladonna finishing up with Asenath. He was raping her. I did not stop him in time."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I don't remember. When I snapped out of it, I was covered with blood."

This was a lie and therefore perjury, but I wasn't about to press that issue. I was the one under fire right now.

"Was this the same Vlad Belladonna that was here the day Lord Skanato attacked?"

"Yes, it was."

"What did Vlad look like?"

"Like a Zabrak, but I know it was him. I grew up around him. He wanted to be one. If Vlad were really a Zabrak, he wouldn't have been able to impregnante Asenath.

I turned to Fey'lya. "Your witness, Senator."

Fey'lya took the floor, his robes sweeping behind him. "You could be lying. What clued you into the face that she was being raped?"

"Well, she was wearing a blue dress that was in tatters. Asenath hates fancy dresses, but wouldn't be caught dead in one in that shape. The dress was torn open at the front, revealing her bare breasts. The skirts were ripped from the floor all the way up to her rear. I saw her butt. I also saw..um…how graphic does the court wish me to get?"

"As graphic as you feel necessary," Luke answered after whispering with Mon Mothma.

"I saw his penis after he finished up. It was wet with blood and his own sperm."

"Evidence of the human mating ritual?" the Bothan asked.

"Yes."

"You were with her on this mission to Korriban. Where were you?"

"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 that off on missions. When I saw that, I went looking for her. There were boot trails in the sand, so I followed them to the lair and then found the room. I blew off the door and saw…what I said I saw, and then I don't know anything until after he was dead."

"Your witness, Moonglider."

"You identified the attacker as Vlad Belladonna. What was Vlad wearing?"

"A black utility uniform- at least on top. A detpack was strapped across his back. There were pockets across the torso with thermal detonators inside. He had an ammo belt across his chest. He was also waving a blaster at her."

I was glad we were keeping this in second and third person. It helped me keep calm.

"So, Asenath had no choice but to obey?"

"Correct."

"No further questions."

"Senator?" Mon Mothma asked Fey'lya.

"No further questions."

"Jun, you may step down."

"Asenath, do you have any more witnesses?" Mon Mothma asked.

"Just myself, ma'am."

"Senator?" Luke asked.

"Prosecution calls Asenath to the stand."

I walked to the seat previously occupied by Jun. It was warm. I tried to look calm and collected. Fey'lya wouldn't kill my baby.

"Miss Moonglider, you were raped."

"That term keeps being used. What exactly does it mean?"

Jun face-palmed and dragged the hand down his face. Nanette closed her eyes and massaged her temples. There were chuckles from the galleries.

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

"Sexual intercourse?"

There was howling laughter now. Nanette and Jun looked embarrassed for me. Fey'lya looked like he was trying to figure out if I was horsing around or serious. Nanette and Jun knew the truth: I was naïve.

Hanging his head in mortification, Jun stood and raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Fett?" Mon Mothma called on him.

"May we have a recess? I think if Nanette and I could define some terms now for Asenath, she will be able to answer Senator Fey'lya's questions in short order.

Luke and Mon Mothma whispered again.

"Recess granted. We will reconvene in two hours after lunch," Mon Mothma announced.

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Jun and Nanette dragged me to a small conference room and sat me down across from them.

"Okay, Asenath. Nettie and I are going to explain to you how your body, a man's body, and life work."

I looked at my friends, with hope and expectation in my eyes.

"Nettie, why don't you go first?"

"Thanks, Jun. You know how badly I wanted to go first."

Jun began fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Asenath, are you confused –er- do you know why you bleed each month?"

"No, I don't know. There is a reason?"

"Inside of you, you have an organ called a uterus. The blood is your uterus shedding its lining. Each month, you release an egg. If that egg is fertilized, it will stick to the uterine wall, so you can grow a baby. If the egg is unfertilized, the uterine lining is expelled. That's why you bleed.

"Do you know how an egg gets fertilized?"

"Hang on, Nanette. She's got to know how a dick works."

"A what?" I asked.

"You can explain that one," Nanette said to Jun.

"A dick is a slang term for penis. You know what that is?"

I actually knew what that word was, as well as vagina. Dad had once told me that boys had penises and girls vaginas. But that was all I knew.

"That helps somewhat. Anyway, when a man becomes aroused his di- penis gets hard. Friction on it will increase pleasure. When achieving climax or orgasm, a white liquid comes out from the tip. This is called ejaculation. Inside that ejaculation are sperm. Sperm are what fertilizes the egg. Ejaculation is produced in the testes. Do you know what those are?"

"No."

Jun pulled out his data pad and opened a diagram of a man's penis.

Nettie put her face in her hands. "Really, Jun?"

"Those," Jun said while pointing to a sac-like area on the diagram, "are the testes."

"Jun, pull up a uterus," Nanette ordered.

Jun did.

Nanette pointed out the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, and everything else.

"So, if those together make a child, how does it work?"

"When a man loves a woman- well, Vlad didn't love you- but when a man loves a woman and she loves him, he puts…he…he puts his…" Jun sighed frustrated and looked at Nanette for help.

Nettie put a comforting hand on Jun's shoulder.

"Mechanically, it's simple, Az. But emotionally…it's harder. The man puts his penis into the woman's vagina. When it's done for the right reasons, it can be referred to as love making. When a man shoots his sperm inside, they can swim up inside the uterus and fallopian tubes to find a dropped egg. If a sperm penetrates the egg, then it is fertilized which grows a baby."

"But Vlad didn't love me." My voice was small and high, as if I were seven and not seventeen.

"Sometimes it is done in violence, Asenath. He did not love you. Vlad wanted to hurt you," Jun said.

"So Vlad is the reason that I'm having this baby. He's the father?"

"Yes."

"Could this be the will of the Force, though?"

"I suppose it could. Just because the factors were right doesn't mean that you would have HAD to become pregnant. It doesn't always happen."

"I want to hate Vlad. Is that wrong?" I started to cry.

"You should hate him in my opinion. I know I do," Nanette said gruffly.

Jun gave me a grim smile, almost as though he were sorry for me when he said, "Hate isn't in you, kid."

"So the answer to Fey'lya is yes. I was raped."

"Yes," they answered me.

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For the remainder of the time, Jun and Nanette taught me more slang terms and their definitions, which wouldn't help me in the courtroom, but would help me in the real world while helping and serving in the community. I'm sure Luke would be proud that one of his stars knew so much about the bedroom and its intricacies.