The shuttle hurtled out of the palace hangerbay and out into space. Hera leaned against the frame of the door, panting, still hearing the sounds of blaster fire. She looked over at Fen, the wild look in her eyes dying, like the remains of a fire. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Fen tried to wrap her arms around herself and winced. "Nope." A blaster mark scorched her upper arm. Had she not noticed when it happened or had she forgotten in the heat of battle?
"I'll see if I can find a medpac." Hera turned, taking in the other twi'leks huddled in the narrow hall of the ship. "Is anyone else hurt?"
Two girls put their hands up. One was just a graze and the other had been shot in the leg. She sent a prayer to whoever had been listening. They had all made it. Hera was still searching for a medpack when she was reminded that they hadn't made it quite yet. The shuttle shook violently and she didn't hesitate, but ran to the cockpit. Kaasha had a pale-knuckled grip on the controls as Hera entered, trying to avoid the turbolasers coming from the cannons on the surface of the moon.
"I can take over now." Hera put a hand on her shoulder and Kaasha almost leapt out of the seat, her face pale with stress. She let her go to the back. She didn't really need a copilot. Another bast hit the rear of the ship as she put it into a steeper nose dive back towards the surface of Ryloth. Switching the deflectors to double rear, she angled the ship far away from her home. She wasn't going to be careless and lead the Empire right back to their door with the proof they needed to arrest Cham. Eventually she would get home, somehow. There were deep forests on Ryloth, ones the Empire would fear to enter. The twi'leks on the other hand, would manage. Yes, the forests would do nicely.
Fen slipped into the seat beside her. "I got bacta patches on the two girls. I think everyone's alright." She said softly. Hera spared a moment of attention to look over. She was still wearing the dress but other than that she looked entirely changed, all the intensity gone. Her eyes were just blue, her shoulders hunched as though she were trying to ward off the world. There was a fragility about her that made Hera want to wrap her arms around her. But Fen wouldn't appreciate that.
"That's good." Hera could see the thick green band of Ryloth's equatorial forests. "Because we're going somewhere dangerous."
"We're not going back to your home?" Fen looked at her in confusion.
"Not right away, we can't let the Empire follow us. We can lose them down there, then send my father a coded signal and he can come pick us up."
Fen nodded, opening her mouth as if to speak. Then she froze, eyes going wide before letting out a hiss of breath, "Be ready."
"What's wrong?" Hera tightened her grip, scanning the screens in front of her.
"I'm not sure, some kind of danger." TIE fighters emerged on her scopes a second later.
"Can you help fly? It's gonna be tricky to operate the cannons and steer at the same time." Hera asked, activating the laser cannons. Fen gave her a dubious look. "Kaasha?" The girl reemerged from the back of the ship. "Sorry, but I need you to copilot."
Fen gave her a look that might have been hurt, but there was no time to worry about injured pride right now. The advance warning had been nice, she hadn't seen fighter bays on the schematics, but she needed help, more than the Jedi could provide. Hera turned her mind to the battle ahead.
Minutes or hours later, the shuttle hurtled down towards the forest, Hera straining at the controls. This uncontrolled dive would be harder than she thought, but if she could fake this crash, that might throw the Empire off their scent. She just had to make sure it didn't turn into a real one. There. A clearing ahead. She watched as it grew larger. Behind her, she could feel Fen's eyes on the back of her neck. She had to hope that the all-too-real plume of smoke behind them was enough to cover her next move. At the last possible moment, she breaked, pulling up with all she could muster. It was still a shock when they hit the ground, the nose crumpling into the earth. Good. They had done it.
Adrenaline dissipating, Hera wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in the chair, but the Empire would send more fighters and search parties. If they wanted to stay free, they would have to keep moving. So she gathered the girls and all the supplies they could carry off the shuttle and stepped out into the woods.
The evening forest was warm and humid and unlike the Imperial-controlled moon, sounds of wildlife filled the air. She took a moment to assess their surroundings. "Okay." The girls looked wary. The forest was full of dangers and she knew they were thinking of the childhood tales about young twi'leks who wandered in here, never to return. But for now, it was their refuge. "They're hopefully going to expect us to move in the direction of the Taan province, to get closer to my father. We're not going to do that. We just need to be in here long enough to lose them so Fen." She turned to the only person who didn't know the direction of home. "Which way should we go?"
Panic darted across her expression, for a long moment, she didn't answer. "Uhh… this way." She gesutred in a direction.
"Okay, everyone carry what you can, let's get going before the Empire finds us." Weighed down by packs, they stepped from the dappled sunlight of the clearing into the wall of trees. The light changed abruptly as well as something in the quality of the air, thick with the scents of life and decay. Fen stayed close to her as they picked their way through, the sound of her trembling breath was loud despite the bird calls that echoed around them. Hera offered her hand to Fen, brushing the back of her knuckles, receiving a jolt to the heart, but Fen pulled away, retreating in on herself.
Slowly, she increased her pace, Fen following, seemingly oblivious. "What's wrong?" She asked once they were out of earshot, Fen looked as though she might cry.
"I…" She didn't look Hera in the eyes, pausing for a long moment. "It's nothing." She walked ahead, leaving Hera's heart bruised. She didn't trust her? After all they had been through? Had she read Hera's mind somehow, and was offended by the feelings she found there? Hera knew Jedi weren't supposed to love, but surely now… Fear stopped her from pressing Fen further. Instead, she fell back with the rest of the group, taking comfort from being surrounded by her people, from the role she was more secure in.
For the next several hours, they saw nothing, heard nothing of significance, except once when a pair of TIE fighters screamed overhead. Fen walked alone, Hera watching her in the distance, despite the knot that swelled in her stomach every time she caught a glimpse of dark black hair.
"Are we stopping soon?" A girl asked, Hera was almost certain her name was Iania.
"Just a little further." Hera looked to the pale fragments of sky she could see between gnarled branches, but it was hard to tell how much longer they would have the light. "If we could find water…" They had enough for what she had planned in their packs, courtesy of emergency supplies on the shuttle, but better safe than sorry.
Iania nodded then spoke again. "Who's that girl?"
There was no need to wonder which girl she was referring to. "That's Fen, she's a friend. She used to be a Jedi."
"Used to be? What happened? I didn't think people could stop being Jedi."
"I'm not sure." Hera answered truthfully. She had no idea how Fen had come to be a dancing slave in a Hutt Lord's palace, and now that the question had been voiced, it seemed like a large gap in her knowledge of her friend. In front of her, Fen hurried ahead, not looking back, shoulders hunched under the jacket she was using to cover herself, the torn hem of her dress coated with dirt. She suspected Fen didn't mind the damage.
"She's going to bring the Empire down on all of our head." A girl named Sotna hissed under her breath.
"If you hadn't noticed, she was quite helpful in rescuing us." Hera had to fight to keep acid bitterness out of her tone. She wasn't sure she was successful.
"They were very helpful in stealing our freedom." Cham would get along very well with Sotna.
"I am well aware of what the Jedi have done to our world." Hera stopped walking at this and turned to look Sotna in the eye. " But Fen is my friend and I will not hear her blamed for crimes she did not commit."The girl ducked her head. Satisfied, Hera kept walking.
The evening calm of the forest was broken by a sudden scream and a splash. Hera started to run, eyes scanning for Fen, so focused that she, too, almost ran off the washed-away cliff edge and into the raging rapids below.
Fen screamed as she fell, voice cutting off as she hit the water, breath pushed from her lungs by the impact. It was her own fault, her choice of footing coming in second compared to a whirlwind of thoughts and the onset of nausea that came with thinking about what she had just done. It was only when the ground slid out from under her that she realized that the rushing sound was not blood in her ears, and by then it was too late.
The river dragged her under, pulling at her in all directions Instantly, her treacherous mind took over. Memories filled her head as she was pulled down the rapids. She was being strangled, she was being drowned, held under by her throat. She was chained there too. Her scars flared with pain. Fen couldn't think which was was up as she tumbled, her head striking something, the pain echoing through her body. They were going too far at last, they were going to finally kill her and this would all be over. She was trying to scream, eyes tight shut. She sucked in water, unable to help herself, bright spots flashing across her vision. Were there manacles around her wrists again? No. Not again. She couldn't survive this again. The scars around her throat burned. Something was pressing on them. Was she being strangled? The stars behind her eyes grew brighter.
She was going to die.
No . Fen reached for the dark power inside of herself, only to recoil, frantic mind remembering. She had discarded people as though they were no more than dolls. She would rather die than do that again, right? Something grabbed her under the shoulders and Fen struggled, she would not be traggled to her execution. She tried to resist, but she couldn't remember how to make her limbs move, time seemed to be moving strangely.
Her head broke the surface of the water and she gasped for air. Fen had been pulled from the tank like this before. Pulled out of the bacta as soon as she had healed enough to survive being broken again. Sometimes the healing had been its own torture, held under without air, recovering while drowning. She was lost in that memory, eternity passing by unremarked.
Slowly, a distant sound permeated her consciousness. Someone was yelling at her, that was nothing new. She was being shaken as well. Had she been captured again? Fen pushed back, with her hands and something more. Finally opening her eyes, she saw Hera, sprawled on the bank of the river, several feet away, dripping wet and sporting a slowly forming bruise across her cheek. Fen could focus on almost none of this however as she tried to stand, her heart racing and throat raw. She stumbled on the roots protruding from loose soil as she looked for a way to escape. At a distance, the other twi'leks were watching her, wariness, fear, dismay, alarm, concern, disgust and more emanating from them.
Abandoning her attempt to get up, Fen collapsed back into the dirt, her face turned away from the others, mind slowly returning to her. What had she done to make them feel so? Her face flushed with embarrassment and the lingering shadow of fear as she heard the river, continuing on its uncaring path. Ghosts of memories pressed cold fingers against her spine and she shivered, despite the humid air around her. She couldn't escape the iron grasp of fear. She was still choking, hands clawing at the damp fabric of the dress that clung to her until she had shredded the collar.
Several more minutes passed as she regained her breath, her composure, staring resolutely up at the sky and trying to think of nothing at all. Slowly, the mediation did its work and she could sit up, searching for Hera. Fen found her talking to the others, directing the setup of the camp, further down the bank from where she had fallen in. Her hands clenched the damp earth as Hera turned to her, flicking her attention back to the dirt. "Are you alright?" There was concern in her voice that grated on her nerves.
"I'm fine." Anger burst out of her like sudden sparks. Hera flinched backwards as though struck. Her face hardened and Fen's anger melted to regret.
"Fine. You're welcome for saving your life." Hera spun around, leaving Fen still in the dirt, glaring despite the dismay that was crushing her chest, blocking her ability to respond. Around her, the girls laid out their packs, but Fen's had been lost in the river. So she sat, trying not to notice their sidelong glances at this strange, mad girl. Against her better judgement, Fen reached out with the Force, touching one of their minds.
Specific thoughts were well beyond her, but the emotions were clear, strong enough to send her reeling. Closing down her mind, Fen forced down the tears rising in her throat. Why couldn't she stop this flood of fear or these memories that ate her alive? Already her fingers were wet with blood from her neck. Would she ever allow those wound heal? A girl stared at her, she didn't need the Force to see the fear and alarm on her face. She tried to cover the wounds with her hands, tears escaping her fragile control. Was this her punishment? For using the dark side? For trying to help her friend? It was unfair. What other choice did she have?
Well, one thing was for certain. She didn't want to sleep here tonight. Not with these girls and their stares, not with Hera and the chill coming off of her like a mountain of ice. Struggling to her feet, body aching with the effort, Fen walked away from the river and their small camp into the darkening woods. Hera looked for a moment as thought she might try and stop her, but they locked eyes for an instant and Hera gave up without attempting it. Bitter satisfaction in her chest, Fen walked away.
Once she was out of earshot, she picked a likely tree and leaned against it, clothes drying slowly in the humid evening air. She reach for the Force to warm her, but did she dare? Was she risking losing herself to this dark power, so different from the Force she had used as a child?
It had seemed like a simple choice at the time, to use it to save Hera, to help the other girls. It was a good intention, but she had killed so many, without hesitation. Worse, it had been easy, even exhilarating. She had murdered and it had been fun. The thought made her gag. She may not want the life the Jedi had offered any more, but this?
A girl stepped from the forest, breaking Fen's train of thought. It wasn't Hera. Her heart sunk as she folded her into an even tighter ball. The twi'lek was looking over her shoulder, only turning her attention to Fen once she was almost on top of her. She tossed some nutrient bars, a blanket and a light in Fen's direction, a bar almost hitting her head. Her eye were narrowed and she glared at Fen for a long second before deciding to speak. "You had not right to treat Hera that way." Her voice shook every so slightly.
"What do you mean?" Fen stuck her chin out as she grabbed the food, stomach reminding her of her long-ignored hunger. Something she was all too good at.
"She saved your life!" The twi'lek lost her temper suddenly, balling her hands into fists.
Fen stood, anger in herself rising to meet the challenge. "I didn't ask her to, I was fine!"
"Fine?" She let out a hysterical laugh. "You think because you were a slave once you have the right to take your anger out on whoever you want? We've all been slaves you Jedi idiot! You're not special!" She paused for breath, then tried to speak again, but Fen's anger was blistering, setting her eyes alight. The other girl rose slowly into the air as Fen advanced on her.
"You have no idea what I've been through." She hissed, teeth clenched.
"Fen!" This time it was Hera running out of the woods. "I heard…" She paused momentarily to take in the scene, eyes going wide as she slowly looked between Fen and the twi'lek, confusion and horror passing across her face.
Shame dumped a cold bucket of water on her anger and the twi'lek dropped to the ground, Hera bending to check on her. Fen backed up towards the tree, fear rising like steam. "What…" Hera looked between both of them, desperate for some explanation to make this better. Fen looked for an exit, but there was only the dark forest all around them. "What happened?" The bark of the tree was digging into her back. She couldn't answer, and when she opened her mouth, desperate to say something, she couldn't even speak. Instead, she looked down at her own knees, peeking through the holes in her dress. She could hear the twi'lek girl answer Hera in impassioned tones, but the words eluded her, as though she were hearing them from under water. She shuddered involuntarily.
Fen didn't look up as the other twi'lek left, even as she heard, and sensed Hera drawing closer to her. "Just go." She heard herself say. "Please." She could feel tears welling up in her eyes again, but made no move to wipe them away. Hera must hate her, think she was weak and useless anyway, so what did it matter? She would leave. For an eternity, the silence pressed on her like dead weight. She didn't breathe.
Hera sat down next her her.