Catlula woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. She sat up, propping her back and head against the head of the bed, and thought, "If only yesterday could have gone differently. I wish my successes didn't correlate with my embarrassments." Her anxious rest drenched her tank top in sweat and wrinkled her tight shorts up her leg.

Catlula stood up and left her bed to turn on the light and alleviate the darkness. As she walked to the light switch, she felt the muscles in her legs and arms tighten, but the twi'lek recognized the pain from the activity from the previous day. She turned the lights on and closed her eyes to avoid the pain from the sudden light in the room. When she opened her eyes again, she saw her apartment, fully illuminated in color. She looked at the mirror in front of her.

The twi'lek stared at herself and thought, "I'm a mess. I'm an anxious, pathetic mess. Sometimes, I wish to trade my lekku and stupid blue skin for respect in this Empire."

Then, she sat back on her bed and thought again, "I'm just blaming my problems on stuff I can't control. I should be happy that I have come as far as I had. I'm only 18, and I graduate tomorrow. I could just as likely have turned out dead or enslaved. I need to remember my origins."

Then, the twi'lek looked at herself again and saw the powerful woman she recognized from the day before. She felt content again and walked to the light switch to eliminate the suffocating rays. Catlula felt comfortable in the dark but was too tired and worn to find her way to bed. Her fatigue was beating down on her mental state. She groggily and clumsily walked toward her bed but felt her leg collide with an object. She let out a small yelp, and her exhausted body fell to the floor. Catlula decided that standing back up was too much trouble, so she fell asleep on the carpeted bedroom floor.

In the morning, Catlula opened her eyes to find her body parallel to the floor. She noticed pain in her right arm and left leg. The twi'lek sat on the floor; the light from the windows allowed her to see the bed frame that caused her fall. Then, she looked at her leg and saw it was scratched and bleeding. She also looked at her arm and saw the bruises from catching her fall.

The twi'lek thought, "This is nothing. I can live with this." She looked up at her clock and saw that it would be an hour before she would need to be at the academy for graduation. The twi'lek sighed, and she slowly stood up, one leg after the other, and walked into her bathroom. Catlula was tired, but she still knew how to follow through with her morning routine.

The twi'lek removed her sweaty tank top and bra and felt paranoid about unwanted eyes on her. She pulled her shorts and panties down, looking around, hoping no one could see her.

Catlula threw her clothes in the corner of the room and walked into the shower. She turned the nozzle, and water flowed from the shower head. The liquid covered her body and washed away the sweat and dirt that clung to her body like a parasite. She grabbed her soup from a shelf in the shower and squirted some on her hand. She rubbed the soup on her body: down her lekku, on and between her boobs, and down her legs. The twi'lek ensured that every corner of her body would be clean and clear. After soap covered her body, she allowed the water to wash it away. The twi'lek separated her boobs to catch any corner of soap that may have remained on her body.

When satisfied, Catlula turned the shower off and grabbed a towel from outside the cubicle. She rubbed her body dry of any water and put the towel back on her hanger.

When Catlula exited the restroom, the ceiling light reflected off her clean body like steel. As she walked, she looked around, paranoid. She reached her closet with no issues and dressed in her officer's uniform and hat, covering her exposed beauty.

The twi'lek tidied her clothing, put on makeup in front of her mirror, and thought, "Someone will have something against me there; I know it. Some people will think of me as a harlot. I don't know if I should hate myself or everyone else for how I get treated. Meh, hatred destroys more than it accomplishes. There have been many other cadets who fell into grudges and fell into irrelevance. If I get angry at anything, the other officers will campaign for my removal from the Empire. I have consistently kept control of my emotions, and I don't think I should allow that to change. Whether they want me or not, I'm coming."

When Catlula finished preparing for graduation, she left her apartment room and building. She walked to the academy she was taught and trained in for the past few years. The twi'lek walked up the stairs to the entrance of the academy's main building; she was familiar with this journey. Catlula walked into the large black building and met a crowd of cadets. Graduating officers almost filled the main room of the building, and open space was rare.

The twi'lek made her way through the crowded room toward the tables in front of the stage. Along the way, she felt a tug on her lekku, causing her to fall. She landed on and bruised her butt. The twi'lek quickly stood back up, trying not to be embarrassed, and turned around to see a smiling male cadet holding her lekku and four friends surrounding him.

Looking at the five men, Catlula's heart dropped, and the man holding her lekku said mockingly, "Seems that the tail-head is here. I saw your amazing performance at the course yesterday."

The twi'lek said, trying to hide her fury, "Hello, Eskol. It's nice to see you today. If I may ask, can you please let go of my lekku?"

Eskol laughed with his followers and let go of her lekku, replying, "Sure, honey. The best parties I've been at have involved half-naked, dancing twi'leks. You are one of the most beautiful twi'leks I have seen, and I am sure you know a thing or two about dancing."

Catlula blushed and crossed her arms with embarrassment, saying, "I bet you think you are funny. I don't care what you do in your free time, but don't connect me with your sickness." Eskol and his followers laughed again, and he stepped barely an inch away from the twi'lek.

The man caressed her upper neck and said, "You seem uncomfortable. I wonder how you would feel if stripped of your clothes and exposed to the whole building. I would love to have you, to feel your body tighten as I consume you. I bet you would also try to struggle, but your small frame would easily get overpowered. I could do that to you at any moment, and I don't care about the punishments or the pain done to you. You are an intelligent woman, but you cannot escape where you came from, slave."

Catlula pushed Eskol away and said, with her face turning purple, "I'm not a slave. Get away from me."

Eskol laughed, "See you around, sweetheart. I hope this isn't the last we see of each other. ". He and his friends walked away.

The twi'lek tried to forget her interaction with Eskol as she walked to a seat at an empty table near the stage. She sat down and put her face in her hands, thinking, "Why does that loser keep bothering me? I'm not a sexual object; I'm a person. I hope someone deals with him at some point."

After a few minutes of waiting for the ceremonies to begin, a male cadet with short brown hair sits next to Catlula. The twi'lek removes her head from her hands and looks at the man sitting by her.

He extends his hand to her and says, "Hello, my name is Tomax Aldamir."

Catlula shakes the man's hand and replies, "My name is Catlula."

Tomax looked at the twi'lek, confused, and asked, "What is your last name?"

Catlula answers in a monotone voice, "My clan's name is Lula. It is a tradition in my family to add letters to the beginning of the family name to create a one-word name. The tradition started after the Hutts nearly wiped us out."

Tomax was intrigued by this story and asked, "The Hutts nearly wiped your clan out? Your family must be tough."

Catlula replied, "Not exactly. The Hutts almost wiped us out when my grandfather attempted a rebellion against their rule. They wiped out his troops, publically decapitated him in Lessu, and enslaved the rest of my family, including my mother, who was eighteen."

Tomax continued to be invested in the story and asked, "What happened to your mother? How did you come to be? How are you here and not a slave?"

Catlula replied in a more depressed voice, "My mother's name was Yaglula. She became a dancer in Tatooine for Jabba the Hutt and quickly became his favorite slave. She conceived me almost a month later when the Hutt forced my mother to breed with a male twi'lek slave to make a more attractive daughter, which was me. My mom cared for me; most of my values came from her. She died when I was twelve after protecting me from some palace guards. They fed her to the rancor, and she died screaming. I escaped the next day after stealing a pistol and threatening to shoot the Hutt. He let me go, and I found an Imperial base on Tatooine. The troops took me in, and the commander, General Ackerson, raised me as if I were his daughter. He taught me how to become a proper Imperial and pushed for me to get accepted into this academy. I'm hoping to join his army."

Tomax was impressed with the twi'lek's story and said, "I never thought a nonhuman, former slave would become an Imperial officer, but here we are. I was born in Coruscant, and my dad was a former officer."

Catlula disinterestedly said, "It seems everyone else here has the same story as you, but throughout the past few years, I have learned that the only important thing is getting an opportunity to do something. I bet you see me as an abnormality in the system, but you must realize we are on the same playing field. My warning to you is not to get complacent."

Tomax was confused about the twi'lek's statement and said, "What is that supposed to mean? I know my journey here was easy, but I don't only see you as a flash in the pan. I saw you completing that course yesterday. You will be a special forces commander as a sniper and jump trooper. You are a very accomplished woman."

Catlula was surprised by the praise and looked at the man to reply, "Thank you, sir. Not many people have praised my accomplishments. The most anyone here has ever said was, 'That's good for a slave.' or 'That's good for a twi'lek.'. Thank you, Tomax."

Tomax smiled and replied, "No problem, ma'am. Everyone else is always fighting each other, but I like to make friends with others. We all compete for the same cause, so we should get along."

Catlula became uneasy hearing the man's stance and replied, "I hope that works for you." and thought, "I don't think he understands how competition drives the Empire. Oh well, he'll find out sooner or later. Everyone in this room has something to learn, including me."

Tomax continued smiling and said, "I hope so, too.". The two graduating cadets continued sitting next to each other in comfortable silence.

Eventually, Grand Moff Hilax or the Central Overector, which covered Coruscant, walked up to the stage. He was a strong-looking man with greying hair who seemed to be in his early 50s.

The Grand Moff started the ceremony by saying, "I would like to congratulate everyone graduating today. It is an honor to welcome the next generation into the Empire. I will name officers and sort by their overall academic score, so you will know where you placed."

The man started naming graduating cadets. The first cadets were the few nonhuman and female cadets who found a way to survive the academy, but he did not call Catlula's name yet. Halfway through the list, the Grand Moff called Tomax's name, and the twi'lek watched as the man beside her stood up and walked to the stage. He shook the Moff's hand and received his certification as Catlula waited for the man to call her name.

Eventually, Grand Moff Hilax reached the last two cadets: Catlula and Eskol, and he called, "Congratulations Eskol." The twi'lek was surprised as she watched the arrogant man rank below her.

Then, Hilax said, "Finally, congratulations Catlula.". The twi'lek stood up from her seat and looked at the crowd staring at her. She felt uncomfortable walking to the stage to accept her certification, but she saw something else in his hands with the paper.

When the twi'lek reached the grand moff, she shook his hand, and the moff softly said, "Congratulations, Catlula. As a twi'lek, it would make sense for you to wear headgear built for you." As the Grand Moff handed the twi'lek her certification, he gave her a piece of traditional twi'lek headwear with a golden Imperial symbol on the front.

Catlula was impressed by the headwear and responded, "Thank you."

The Grand Moff continued with his lack of emotion and said, "It came from the Emperor. He did not like how you wore a cut-up officer cap in your uniform. He decided this was the solution. Also, the Emperor wishes to speak to you at the Imperial Palace."

Catlula was surprised by the news and replied, "Really? I better get going, then."

The High Ranking Imperial said in a monotone voice, "Leave, then. I don't need you here anymore." Catlula nodded at the grand moff, swiftly walking off the stage and out the door to meet with the Sith."