Chapter 2: The Force of Silence

She had made a mistake. Somehow, even after realizing where she was and what power resided in everyone through midi-chlorians, she had forgotten about the very real possibility of possessing a great number of those microscopic life-form herself.

Turns out, she does. And Zarya can't say if she is happy about it or not.

She was walking alone in a plaza, sent on an errand to buy provisions that would help feed the orphans for the rest of the week. She was now six standard years old and therefore judged old enough to wander alone in a potentially dangerous desert city. If the people who allowed this were stupid or if they were making her used to serving others, she wasn't completely sure. Anyhow, she was aimlessly observing the numerous stands, bag in hand, humming quietly a song from her first life and avoiding the shifty looking people on her way back at the orphanage, when it happened.

Now, when taking into consideration the planet she is on, witnessing acts of violence and even cold blooded murder on occasion was unfortunately not a rare occurrence. Seeing slaves everywhere and injustice was also disgustingly common. She normally stayed away from such dangers to avoid becoming collateral damage or to be tempted to stop others from being hurt, but this one, she couldn't ignore.

A girl, a tiny, green twi'lek barely older than her, was being dragged away by a much bigger and older alien, a specie Zarya couldn't help but find familiar. With a pig-like appearance, sickly green skin and beady black eyes, the scene he made with the little girl was already alarming. His armour and tall battle-axe only sent more warning bells in her head.

At first, Zarya tried to look away, knowing that she couldn't do a thing without worsening the situation, but the desperate, pleading scream of the child caused her to look her way again. For a fraction of a second that seemed endless, their eyes locked together.

Instantly, fear raced across her whole body, adrenaline kicking in.

"Please! No, not again! It hurts, I don't want to suffer this again!"

She knew by instinct that the pleading voice she heard was the twi'lek girl's, as were the emotions now taking possession of her own body. It was as if the girl's soul was completely open for Zarya to watch and feel, and not a single barrier separated it from hers. She saw a flow of memories that didn't belong to her, the ones at the forefront being images of the girl being beaten for disobeying orders. Screams, words in a foreign language and harsh threats jumbled together created a cacophony of sounds she couldn't follow, but were unneeded to understand the situation.

That child, that slave, was about to be beaten again for trying to escape her master.

Without a single thought, Zarya ran towards the girl and in an unnatural show of strength, pushed the too big assailant off his victim. Surprised, he let go of the child, stumbling on the uneven ground and falling in the sand. The distraction, however short, was enough to give a chance for the young girl to escape. She looked back to Zarya one last time before running away. Again, no words where needed for Zarya to feel her gratitude.

Perceiving the assailant getting up from the corner of her eyes, she didn't waste another minute before running away herself in another direction, towards the orphanage. When stumbling on the previous scene, she hadn't noticed the other aliens like him, all coming in his direction. Now, the ones nearest to her put themselves in her way, blocking her escape.

Adrenaline still pumping in her veins and guiding her actions, she thrust he arm forward, pushing the first one backwards and making him fall on his back. Stunned by the strange power, the others paused, giving her time to run past them. Also shocked by her own actions, she glanced a few times backwards, barely avoiding the ones who tried to grab her by ducking and twirling clumsily around their hold. As soon as her path was clear, she sprinted as fast as she could on the shifty sand to reach the nearest buildings, turning many times in different alleys to lose her potential pursuers. When she was certain of her safety, she stopped slowly, her hand above her racing heart, until finally she leaned on the wall next to her and took big gulps of air to try and catch her breath.

Now that her mind was a bit clearer, her thoughts kept playing the event on loop, trying to grasp the extent of just what happened.

She had used the force.

More than that, she had felt the emotions of another person, and read their thoughts like an open book. If she hadn't already realized she had somehow landed herself in a fantasy world, this was definitely the last proof she needed. Although, telepathy and empathy weren't abilities she could have predicted having.

As soon as she was in control of her breathing, she inhaled through her nose, finally noticing the smell of rotten food and other suspicious substances she didn't care to identify. Her hastily chosen hiding place was probably behind some low quality cantina, and therefore near the trash bins. Shifting her weight, she stood back up and made her way back again, only now noticing the bag of food in her left hand she miraculously kept the whole time. Checking inside to make sure she didn't lose anything, she quickened her pace to make it back before anyone noticed she was late. She would have to contemplate her new powers later if she wanted to avoid punishment.

Hurrying, she made sure to take the safest path she knew, away from the bars and similar establishments that promised to cater to less than honourable clients, some probably drunk even in the late afternoon.

Her return was less than welcomed when she arrived. So they had noticed her delay. Oops.

( ( ) )

"Never, in all the children I possessed, have I had the displeasure of raising one as air-headed and insolent as you! What do you think you were doing, interfering in a business that doesn't concern you? You inconsiderate, reckless…"

Of course, the scuffle she unintentionally made couldn't have stayed secret. 'I do wonder how they got wind of this with only a tracker.'

"…promise you, if it was allowed, I would remove your privileges, or better! Beat some sense and respect into you…"

'Ah, but no! Can't have you damaging the merchandize, can we?' Zarya thought with a cynical smile she hurriedly repressed.

"…and the palace's guards, too! Do you know the trouble we would be into if the great Jabba learned of this? Because of you, he lost one of his servants! We must hope he doesn't link us to this mess, he would probably demand you as repayment…"

'…making you lose money? What a terrible loss, I can't help but despair at the thought.'

Even though the words were at the tip of her tongue, Zarya didn't let a single one escape her lips, in case her punishment could worsen. The keeper's hold on her harm, reminiscent of the guard's on the twi'lek, tightened while she dragged her farther in the hallway, occasionally shaking her when the female was at the peak of her arguments.

It turned out that the pig-looking guards were Jabba's guards, which explained their familiar appearance, and she couldn't help but agree on the trouble part if the giant slug ever found out she was the culprit. From what she could gather, the young slave had escaped the palace before a bomb could be put under her skin, forcing the guards to pursue her if they wished to retrieve her before words got around that it was possible to escape the Hutt's possession. She doubted Jabba wanted to appear weak this way, and who knew what his displeasure will bring upon his entourage. If she was lucky enough, she would never know.

However, one good thing did come out of all this: she now knew that, wherever she was on the timeline, it was during the lifetime and reign of Jabba the Hutt. Not that it shortened the range of possible time dramatically, but she could be reassured that the First Order wasn't spreading it's terror with a gigantic planet/turned weapon.

Now it was either an Empire, or an Empire in the making. Joy.

Most of the children they passed by glanced sympathetically her way, sorry for her situation yet relieved they weren't in her shoes. She couldn't really blame them; being stuck in a small, dark closet for hours could render anyone claustrophobic. Now if only she didn't cross Tarrik on her way there-

"Got in trouble again, mursto? Must be hard to be as useless as a pile of bentha poo, no?"

Nope. He was right there, the little shit.

During her year with her memories here, she had gained a certain… reputation. She had started humming, and sometimes singing in languages she learned in her first life that, for obvious reasons, no one else understood (remembering songs and their lyrics soothed her) tested the limits established by the keepers to an extent no one else dares (how else is she going to plan her epic escape?), and earned more time than anyone else ever had in the dark room. This made some kids look at her with admiration, confusion, and sometimes with a look that told her they thought she was crazy. She didn't mind, everything she did always had a reason behind it, not that anyone knew that. From their point of view, she was probably missing a few wires in her head.

She sent an unimpressed look Tarrik's way, not at all amazed by his toddler level insults. Again, she had to bite her tongue from entering one of her tirades that would definitely shut him up, using more clever words than poop and freak.

"Tarrik! For that comment, you'll come and share her punishment! One hour in confinement, now!"

The other kid groaned (he doesn't have any ground to complain, she'll be stuck there for five hours), but Zayra suspected it was mostly for show. For one reason or another, Tarrik, a Chiss boy around 8 standard years old, had taken every of her actions as personal insults, as if her show of foreign language was to make him feel inferior, and her reckless actions a challenge for him to rise up to.

Truth is; she had never looked his way twice.

Funnily enough, that seemed to infuriate him more.

Both were held by their arms at an awkward angle from their tiny frames compared to the keeper's tall build, who was a surprisingly strong human female who she never cared to learn the name of. They were unceremoniously thrown in the dark room, or as the more dramatic kids liked to call, The Room of Shadows. Inaccurate, in her opinions, for the lack of light prevented the presence of any shadows. But, kids will be kids.

The door closed on them, trapping them in the darkness that gave the illusion of the room being bigger than it was, yet restricting at the same time. From her newly found sensibility in the force, she could physically feel Tarrik's reluctant chill when their vision was completely taken from them. To try and appear unaffected, he continued taunting her when the foot falls of the keeper were far enough.

"Seriously though, you couldn't run a simple errand? You're such a waste of space, I wonder why the keepers haven't sold you at the tiniest price possible already just to get rid of you."

"Do you enjoy insulting younger kids, or am I the only lucky one?" Zarya couldn't help but inquire sarcastically.

"Don't worry, only you. I mean, there is no need for anyone else, you're more than enough on your own."

An amused grin made its way on her lips.

"Why, I didn't take you for one to show your affection to a girl by pulling on her hair, it's a bit immature as a way of flirting."

She could swear she felt his smirk disappear, and a blush darkening his cheeks.

"Shut up, that's not what I meant and you know it, mursto."

"Ouch, freak again. I'm so insulted; you could see it on my face if there was light."

"I said shut up! I'm not going to spend the next hour listening to your stupid voice."

Zarya rolled her eyes, but relented, not wanting to lose time arguing with a child with an inferiority complex. She had more pressing matters to think about, and she really shouldn't cope with her fear of them by getting a distraction.

Unfortunately, she couldn't resist one last jab.

"Hello darkness my old friend…" Zarya started singing, translated in basic.

"For the love of stars, don't even start"

She snickered.

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(Translations

Mursto : Freak)

Thank you to xenocanaan, Mads-Chikistorm, thatfanboi and mothedman for your encouraging reviews, I'm happy to see your excitement for this story!

I have to admit, I am surprised to have this number of followers already (as small as 13 followers can seem) when stories that have been out there for much longer have as many, if not less. This really makes me want to write more, and that is thanks to you all!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let me know if you find it too long or short, for now it should be my chosen length for most future chapters.

(Also, I have no idea if I can trust online translators for Huttesse words, so do correct me if I have the words wrong, thanks!)

Until next time!

-Maginary

*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OCs*

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