Hey guys! I'm back with a news Tory, sorry if the title and summary don't have spaces, it didn't let me add them. My computer isn't gonna be ready for a couple weeks, so uh it'll be weekly updates for now
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. If I did I'd just buy another computer
Chapter One: Infiltration
Ahsoka Tano stood in the hold of the stolen Zygerrian slaver ship in her gray cloak and fumed. The council insisted that she, a teenager, should play the part of the slave because she was a togruta woman. She hated how they called her a woman even though she was sixteen. She hated this kriffing outfit, too.
The original outfit was a tight dress showing more skin than the girl had displayed since she was fourteen, with a suggestive turquoise dress and a metal headdress that weighed heavily on her and messed with her hearing, the sharp peaks at the tips of her montrals muffling the noise and vibrations making their way in. Luckily, her Master had managed to get her a far less exposing outfit, a shirt and skirt that may not have been much better, but was an improvement nonetheless. It was a deep blue, the shirt cut just above the beginning of the slope of her breasts, sleeves cutting off at the shoulders. The hem of the shirt reached just above her navel and showed some of her stomach. The skirt didn't come with leggings, but it did have shorts underneath. It was also blue, the edges trimmed with a golden thread that set off the colours nicely. It ended mid-thigh, revealing more of her legs than the girl had ever shown in her life. The shoes were delicate sandals that would offer no ankle support and the poor teen was stuck with a headdress anyways, though it didn't hurt this time. It was made of gold, the precious metal taking the place of her akul teeth on her forehead ("a slave cannot be openly displaying that strength") and wrapping around the base of her montrals, cupping the gentle curves of her lekku with an additional band on each side of her head.
Ahsoka truly despised how sexualized togruta and twi'lek women were, she hated how the council had stuck her with this outfit and tried to stick her with one that would provoke the less savoury citizens. She was especially disdainful at how she was to act like Anakin's property, to be treated as lesser. It felt like a mockery of the struggles her people went through daily in their slavery, a slap in the face to the togruta colonists that had been abducted. Master Obi-Wan had agreed that the outfit was excessive, but he liked the plan.
Him, Rex, Anakin and her were to go undercover on Zygerria as slavers (or in her case, a slave) and Obi-Wan would take Rex to search for the people of Kiros whilst Anakin and his objectified padawan distracted the Queen.
The togruta was jarred out of her thoughts by Obi-Wan and her Master speaking about the large turnout of "high-class scum" to the slaver planet. She made her way to the main area of the ship. It had previously been used to house dangerous animals and possibly slaves, but now it just held Ahsoka and Rex.
The two Commanding Officers just looked at eachother. The togruta noticed his Zygerrian armour while the man noticed her forced outfit.
"Wow," he said, "I do not envy you."
She snorted. "Yeah, the council thought that putting a literal child into a slaver's palace, as a slave, in a skimpy outfit, was a good idea. You should've seen the first dress! I'm lucky Anakin talked them out of it."
They chuckled together, falling into a comfortable silence as the ship landed. Anakin and Obi-Wan finally emerged from the cockpit and the foursome headed out of the ship. The sun beat down on the padawan in her dark cloak, causing her to sweat. It made the already ill-fitting Zygerrian armour on the three men even more uncomfortable, and all four of them wished this mission was somewhere colder.
Rex and Obi-Wan headed off to go find the missing togruta colonists while Anakin and his student went to distract the Queen. The teenager could smell spices, herbs and perfumes from the marketplace she and her Master were passing through, but it was heavy in despair and pain in the Force. This whole place was. To a human, it just sounded like a regular market, haggling and merchants shouting about their wares, but the togruta's sensitive montrals picked up sounds of pain and anger. The Commander shuddered and walked a little closer to the General.
Being on Zygerria was hard for Anakin. He had been born into slavery and thought he would never be freed. He was lucky enough to have been freed by the Jedi at nine, even if his mother wasn't. Many slaves never got that opportunity and were oppressed for their whole lives. This place was just full of unpleasant reminders for the Jedi Knight.
He resented the idea of his teenage padawan playing the part of the slave, but the council had been adamant on that. The General in him had to admit that a female togruta was a better choice to play that role than a human male. At least the outfit had been changed.
Both Jedi stopped walking when they saw a scene Anakin would never admit to going through many times unfold before him. A Zygerrian was looming over a cowering twi'lek, the man's other slaves stopping to watch with apprehension. He was shouting in the cowering slave's face.
"But Master," he pleaded, a Rylothian accent apparent, "the bonds are too heavy!"
The Zygerrian, a thin, stringy man, sneered. "Tell that to my whip!"
Every single person in the marketplace seemed to be ignoring this scene. The other slaves just looked away as the vile slaver raised his arm, and Ahsoka decided that if nobody else would help this twi'lek, she would. As the Zygerrian raised his hand, the padawan leapt in front of him, grabbing the wrist gripping the whip. Making her voice low and dangerous, she warned, "You don't want to do that."
Sensing a fight about to happen, Anakin turned on his charm and stepped in. "Forgive my slave. She has not been properly processed." He hated parroting the words he had heard from his own oppression, but it was definitely worth it to save his headstrong padawan from a whipping or worse.
The slaver yanked his arm out of the angry togruta's grip and looked the General over. He noticed something odd about this man. "You wear our armour, but you are not one of us." It was a statement, an aloud observation.
The undercover Jedi decided a form of honesty would work as the best explanation and deflection. "I seek an audience with the Queen." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a floating droid, likely giving a feed right back to the palace. Good.
The Zygerrian sneered. "And do you have an invitation?"
Anakin was prepared for this. "No, but she will be quite upset if she finds that you have kept her from hearing the news of Bruno Dentourri."
Ahsoka remained expressionless and hoped this plan would work. The reaction was instantaneous from the man. "Of course. Come with me."
The two Jedi smirked and headed to the palace.
--
Ahsoka hated the Queen's fancy palace. It was built from suffering and pain, and it practically reeked of darkness in the Force. It also sounded like a dungeon to her sensitive hearing, screams of rebellious or punished slaves echoing faintly through the pristine halls. It was disgusting to realize the place was only pristine due to the hard work of unwilling labourors. She knew Anakin had also realized this, and they both had to keep their cover. With that thought in mind, the teen walked along the halls close behind her Master (now in two ways) and kept her head down.
The General kept his head up high, walking with faked gusto. Zygerria was a hard place for him to be, but he couldn't compromise the mission. Saving these people from a fate worse than death was more pressing than unruly emotions, something Jedi shouldn't even have. So he ignored the pain he sensed, he ignored what he could have sworn were screams, he ignored the ugly truth of how this horribly beautiful place was built.
The doors to the throne room were dramatically opened by two twi'lek slaves, the sight of them sent new, albeit concealed, anger into the undercover Jedi. They looked into the room and saw the Queen, a Zygerrian like the men that were roaming about the city but more feminine looking. Her fur had a pinkish hue, and she seemed slimmer and less hairy. A dainty crown was placed atop her head, and somehow it stayed completely stiff and without a single wobble as the graceful woman rose from her throne and delicately approached her visitors.
Once the two had entered the palace, a new Zygerrian had led them to the throne room and asked Anakin his name. The false persona he used was-
"Your Majesty, I present Lars Quell." The slaver had a quality to him that made the young togruta shiver. Even for a slaver, his presence was vile.
The queen looked down her small nose at him. "So you are the man claiming to be acquainted with Bruno Dentourri."
Time to turn on the charm. "Yes, your Highness, but when we spoke he failed to describe your beauty."
She giggled, a low, throaty sound. "Really? And did Bruno speak of my intense hatred of him, or did that escape his memory as well?"
The Queen turned aggressive, a snarl upon her face. The Zygerrian who had led them through the palace pointed a blaster in Anakin's face, and his padawan took an involuntary step back. The General merely brushed the weapon away with a smug look at the angry woman.
"He did not speak of it. In fact, Bruno Dentourri will not be speaking. Ever again."
She was intrigued. "What do you mean?"
Anakin gave her the truth, something he hoped she would appreciate. "Bruno Dentourri is dead by my hand. Here is a slave from his palace, compensation for my efforts." He gestured at the cloaked figure beside him, and the padawan knew it was time to really begin acting.
Her Master pulled off the cloak in one fell swoop and she exclaimed, "Unhand me, brigand!" He gave her an odd look and she realized that was overkill. Oops.
"You impress me, Lars Quell." The furred woman stepped forwards, and everyone bowed. It didn't occur to the togruta that she should bow, too, and Anakin gave her a nudge on the shoulder. Inside, she was fuming at being treated like she was property, like she was less than everybody else for her species. The Queen continued, "She is quite a prize. To have defeated Bruno Dentourri in combat, you must be quite a warrior." The was she said it sent shivers up Ahsoka's spine as she stood. It was a purr, a seductive sentence. Even playing the part of the slave, she vowed to keep that vile woman away from Anakin.
The woman circled the Commander, trailing her fingers lightly along her shoulders. "The slave is of fine stock. Bruno always knew how to choose a nice female."
The female in question had had enough of being talked about like she wasn't even there. "Don't touch me." She swatted the Zygerrian woman's hand and regretted it when the slaver's expression soured.
"Though she will have to be processed. Her demeanor leaves much to be desired." This Queen and her whole kriffing plant could rot. She turned to Anakin. "What is the price of this slave?"
Oh. Not good. The Knight was NOT selling his padawan to some crazy cat-woman slaver to be tortured. Thinking fast, he responded, "With respect, how can I price the beauty of this slave when your magnificence would make the brightest star seem dull in comparison?"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes but was secretly incredibly thankful. Whatever processing was, it did not sound fun. The feline woman said, "Lars, you flatter me!" Her flirtatious voice, smooth like honey, set the Commander on edge. She had the feeling that her Master was in danger, but knew that any mission was dangerous. This would be no different.
He responded, "No, your Majesty. Although," The General whispered in her ear, sweet nothings that had the Queen giggling playfully.
She swatted his hand away as she squealed, "Stop! Stop! Stop it, Lars!" Though her words were commanding, it was easy to see that the feline was pleased. "You are a bold one." The teen was able to see the innuendo in her words, to understand what she wanted. Well, the spoiled cat would have to go without.
'Lars' smiled. "My reputation precedes me."
"Walk with me. Perhaps we can find a way to put a price on the slave after all."
As the handsome couple strolled out to a balcony, Ahsoka in tow, a green twi'lek brought them a tray containing two drinks- one for each Master. Ahsoka felt the woman's pain, how she had been stolen away from Ryloth and beaten into submissiveness, but she felt something else. Beneath that despair, there was hope. A spark of rebellion. Reaching out with her senses and the Force, the togruta noticed a dagger hidden underneath the tray! She did nothing. Let the Queen die, good riddance!
Anakin, however, was preoccupied and did not notice until the slave raised her dagger arm with a feral cry, lunging wildly at her Master. The General's instincts kicked in, and he seized her arm, causing the weapon to clatter to the ground. He instantly regretted it and when she screamed at him to release her he did, absolutely numb. She fell down a short set of stairs, landing hard on her tailbone.
The Queen's lips pulled back into a snarl. "Clearly you require further processing if you would raise a hand against your own Master!"
The green woman looked terrified of that. Scrambling back until she reached the rail of the balcony, she screamed, "No! I won't go back there!"
The Commander closed her eyes and looked away. She knew that this woman was not worth risking this whole mission for. She was not worth an entire colony. Nonetheless, the teen would forever mourn every slave that could not be saved.
Seeing that there was no other way out of this situation, the twi'lek turned and jumped over the balcony with an agonzied cry that shattered Anakin's soul. He should have let her kill the Queen, they could find the colonists another way! He had to stop himself from running forwards and catching her with the Force. He felt her peace as she became one with the Force and was thankful that the poor woman could at least be at rest in the cosmic Force, even if she could not be saved.
Even as the Jedi grieved, the Queen just sighed, barely inconvenienced. "Such a waste. But perhaps she was more trouble than she was worth. But you, Lars, are proving quite resourceful. It seems that I am in need of a new slave. I trust you can set a price for this one."
As she gestured to his padawan, the Knight wanted to refuse, he really did, but a dangerous glint in the woman's eyes had him accepting. His student could handle some time with the Queen. "She is my… gift to you, your Highness."
As offended as the togruta was, she understood her change of "ownership" was important to the mission. The feline woman was delighted. "You please me. I wish you to be my guest at the upcoming slave auction."
It was the two Jedi's turns to be delighted. This would probably be the perfect way to find the missing togruta! Anakin accepted and he and the Queen smiled.
--
Anakin and Ahsoka stood on each side of the Zygerrian Queen, happy to be in the most temperature-controlled box. They were in a stadium, rows upon rows of slavers jeering and cheering as a slim announcer entered the arena.
"I give you, togruta from the Kiros system!"
The crowd drowned out the Commander's gasp. So the missing colonists were here! The slaver kept talking, speaking of their benefits as slaves, but the young togruuta's mind was whirring. All those slaves had to be kept somewhere.
Anakin was both pleased to have found the colonists and displeased that they were being sold already. He let the happy side show as he said, "So, where do you keep 50,000 slaves like the people of Kiros?"
Just then, the Zygerrian man who had led them through the palace entered the box. He whispered something in her ear, and she smiled. That could not be good. She walked up to the balcony and said, "Before we begin, I would like to welcome a special guest, a Jedi!"
Anakin and his padawan looked at each other in alarm as Obi-Wan was escorted out into the arena. This was definitely not good.
End of chapter!
Notes:
-Yeah, Anakin would DEFINITELY be more upset than shown at being on Zygerria, having literally been a slave
-There is no way he would let his teenage padawan be the slave, especially not it that outfit. A lot of the slavers would want to do bad things to her
-I'm changing up a bit of the scenes because I am unable to watch the actual episode in detail due to wifi reasons, so this is the best you'll get lol. Also, I changed some of it for plot reasons. I can't just do a rewrite with the exact same plot, that's boring
-Uh oh sisters! Obi-Wan is in trouble
Tune in next week for chapter two!